Author: aninditaroy444

IB 71: A middle-rung movie marred by a confusing screenplay and terrible execution. The movie set in the context of the Bangladesh liberation movement in 1971 is too muddled to engage the audience. The third India-Pakistan war after 1948 and 1965 was a strategic brainchild of Indira Gandhi but she is surprisingly absent in the proceedings. Anupam Kher who plays the chief of the Indian Intelligence Bureau, is a caricature. Dilip Tahil plays Zulfikar Ali Bhutto but fails to leave an impact. The actor playing the defence minister Jagjivan Ram is non-descript. This movie, produced by Vidyut Jammewal is a vanity vehicle for the actor. The hijackers use a toy pistol to hijack a plane carrying Indian passengers. The cinematography is brilliant though, essaying the vintage look and feel of this period drama. The movie, touted as an espionage thriller, fails at all levels due to a convoluted script. Two thumbs down.

ABOUT MY FATHER: An average movie, mildly tolerable by the presence of senior citizens Robert De Niro and Kim Catrall(famous for the portrayal of nymphomaniac Samantha Jones in the Sex and the City sitcom). The movie has a Meet THe Parents hangover and the humor revolves around the clash of cultures of the Italian and American couple waiting to be hitched. Robert De Niro plays himself as the grumpy old octogenarian who hams and haws with frowns and scowls. Kim Catrall plays mom to the would-be-bride and has an all-American cheerleading persona and is all buttoned up(surprise!surprise!) with a respectable demeanor. The humor is subtle and does not add to the entertainment quotient. The first half is slow paced and boring-things perk up in the second half with the climax ending on the July 4th weekend with fireworks, food and festivities while the two sides accept their cultural differences and embrace holy matrimonial alliance. The movie ends with the quintessential uplifting and cheerful aura that so common in Hollywood movies. The movie might do well in India where senior citizens are respected the most in the whole wide world.

TENIDA AND COMPANY: The cult favorite Tenida (a creation of Narayan Gangopadhyay) comes alive for the second time onscreen bringing a much needed humor break on celluloid. The foursome of Tenida, Pyala, Kyabla and Habla are etched out true to the original depiction of the much loved and celebrated author. Kanchan Mallick shines as Tenida. And yes, Paran Bandopadhyay is also present in a cameo and brings in a good dollop of comic delight. Gourab Charaborty is Kyabla and Habla speaks in Bangal. The entourage of Riddhima, Mithu Chakraborty and Sabyasachi Chakraborty plays to the gallery. The famous Yogsarpa’s Hari scene in the train is missing and so is the Ghachang Fu, Kachang Ku message from Kagamachi.Tenida’s famous dialogues “Kan Kete Kanpure Pathiye Debo”, “Naak Kete Nagpure Pathiye Debo”, “Puducherry” are there in the movie in all their glory.The screenplay and the editing is brilliant and so is the cinematography. All in all, a wholesome entertainer. Must watch for kids and adults to savour the golden age of Bengali literataure.”DE LA GRANDI MEFISTOFILIS YAK YAK!!!”

NONTE FONTE: What a sheer delight of a movie! In the initial few reels you would feel that familiarity with the famous comic strip by late Narayan Debnath is a pre-requisite. But as the movie progresses, you would realize that it is a fresh new script with a brilliant ensemble cast. The casting of Keltuda is a casting coup. The character of Nonte has the same spiked hair as envisaged by Debnath.The character of Paran Bandopadhyay has been woven into the script to bring in the required flair and comic interludes. The music by Anupam Ray is great too. Overall, an enjoyable fare for kids and adults alike. Do watch it for the world.

DABANGG RELOADED TOUR: I have never seen a Salman Khan live show before and with the entourage comprising of Prabhudeva, Sonakhshi,Jackqueline, Pooja Hegde and Ayush Sharma I was intrigued.
The highest tickets were priced at 40000.(Yes you read that right). The box office opened at 1:30 pm and the gates opened at 5:30 pm. The parking was about 1 km away from the venue. Frisking was more severe than that for frequent flyers almost akin to a cavity search. The organisers confiscated my water bottle (understandable) and my binoculars(but,why?). The show started at 7 pm with Manish Kaul as the MC. The usual ghisa pita “Ami tomake bhalobasi” “Kemon achho Kolkata” was mentioned ad nauseam.
There was also some body shaming with uncouth members of the audience being asked to do complex acts. The stars performed in increasing order of popularity or the pecking order. Sonakshi tried to engage with the audience and Jacqueline did a “Boro Loker Biti Log” number.
Salman’s “Jag Ghumiya” act was the high point of his performance. Guru Randwa also tried to form a Bong connection. Salman did not effuse charm ala Shahrukh, Big B or even Aamir and kept his boorish image intact.There were fireworks and roaming drones and the weather at the East Bengal Club was also nice. But overall the show was scripted in an aloof, nonchalant way that couldn’t warm up the audience, stir its soul or work it into a frenzy. And at 10:45 pm it was a wrap. Still I didn’t feel shortchanged as most handsome men have a way with women. Saat Khoon Maaf.

LOVE AGAIN: This is an old school romcom featuring Priyanka Jonas and Sam Heughan as the main protagonists. The storyline is hugely inspired by the old desi movie “Main Prem ki Diwani Hoon”. Nick Jonas plays a cameo as an adrenalin charged brainiac hating gym trainer on a first date with Priyanka. Piggy Chops plays Mira Ray who is a woman of color still in love with her deceased husband John. Along comes Rob Burns who inadvertently gets the texts from her which she still sends to John.(Some cinematic liberty this).
Priyanka is chasing her Hollywood dreams hard and the world is joining hands to help the former Miss World conquer the West. Though she is a soni chitti Punjaban in Bollywood, she is more content being a brownie in Hollywood. Hope she doesn’t resort to frontal nudity ala Anne Hathway and gets more ambitious to get her way. Music is ho hum except for the Celine Dion numbers who plays herself with aplomb. The screenplay is smooth and weaves logic, comedy and huge dollops of mushy romance. The climax has a feel good aura as with most Hollywood movies. Priyanka carries the movie on her slim shoulders and the credit for this pleasant romedy goes entirely to her.

FATAFATI:Set in a small town of West Bengal, this superbly entertaining movie is a cross between “Dum Lagake Haisha” and “Mean Girls”. There is a slant on Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Fashion” too. There is a worldwide uproar against obesity-being fat will kill you, rob you of youthly pleasures and be subject to bullying and body-shaming. Open Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, home delivered flyers-people are screaming for your attention and money promising you the moon-diets, pills, exercises, and believe it or faint, magnetic buttons. The weight loss ads are more than get rich schemes. Abir Chatterjee has the author backed role and yes, he can even kiss a piece of wood and make it look real. Ritabhari is superb and acts real, true to the skin of the character. There are addorable Bengali moments in the movie, the blow-hot blow-cold equation between the mom-in-law and the bouma and the amiable relationship between the brother-in-law and boumoni. The screenplay is crisp and fat-free without even a dollop of margarine. The dialogues are engaging and the eponymous track ” O Phullora” is the best soundtrack of the lot. I found shades of “My Sulu” too in the movie.
And the movie also conveys the message that wearing flats is cool even for petite women. The climax is uplifting and heartwarming keeping with Hollywood trends and brings hope for women obsessed with weight loss and achieving a zero-figure and ready to dish out two lakhs per month to Rujuta Diwekar or read her superficial books (“Don’t lose your mind, lose your weight” etc) who could not alter the physique of the billionaires like the Ambani scions.
Women have a propensity to gain weight-post pregrancy, post menopause or due to hormonal imbalance, bad genes or simply unmindful eating and irregular lifestyle. This movie teaches us to accept our body type and move on to better pursuits and accomplishments.

PONNIYIN SELVAN 2 (PS 2): This movie set in 9th century Chola dynasty is a mediocre outing from the stable of Mani Ratnam. A.R. Rahman’s music is ho-hum and fails to create an impact.The story is convoluted and not compelling. Aishwarya plays a double role as Mandakini and Nandini-she is poker faced and subtle in the first half but shows her histrionics in the second half. She looks regal and would remind you of her Jodha Akbar look. Wish she imbibes the workaholic trait of her famous father-in-law and we get to see more of her. I did not see the first installment and I am not familiar with the Tamil actors but the person who plays Arulmozhi displays a royal grace. The palace intrigue is complicated with the presence of too many characters.The dialogues are good but could have been better. The cinematography is average. There is no “wow” moment in the movie barring the last 15 minutes which depicts the battle for supremacy of the Chola warriors.The movie tries to be a “Bahubali’ clone but lacks the soul and substance of the same. With the audience’s penchant for period drama and historicals coupled with Aishwarya’s star power this movie is okay as an one-time watch.