Movie review of " GO GOA GONE ".

To begin with, I'll say this is a movie about adult Indian men who will forever remain adolescents, made by two men who have an intimate perception of this population sub-group. The incredibly funny and sharply observed dialogues are in perfect sync with the intelligence levels of the sexually repressed man-boys. The casual sexism, ignorance, irreverence and inability to concentrate on any event beyond a minute are all in keeping with the insular, Facebook addicted generation that the movie targets as well depicts. The makers have fashioned a fiercely funny fable filled with loads of innocuous innuendos and rumbustious scare attacks that never quite reach the stage of stomach churning goriness. But, the question is this movie funny enough to be called a comedy, even if set among zombies ? The Answer is YES, the performances are breezy, the comic timing is brilliant, dialogues are witty and youth centric.

SCRIPT & SCREENPLAY                                                                     : The credit for the story writing of GGG goes to the director duo of  KRISHNA DK,  RAJ NIDIMORU along with SITA MEMON. I'll say the biggest strength of this movie has turned out to be its clever writing, just sample this : The first time our heroes encounter humans with blood dripping from their melting faces, they wonder aloud thinking who these creatures could be. And a funny debate ensues between them with answers ranging from Chudail, bhoot or vampire. Than someone says Zombies & the others say " Ye India hai, yahan Zombies kaise aa sakte hain" & pat comes the reply of Globalization along with a cheeky remark " In angrezon ne pehle India ko HIV diya, ab Zombies de rahe hain". It can be seen as a brutal burlesque of horror genre. Scenes of Zombies chasing our puny heroes are through the Goan foliage are more satirical than scary. This innovative ode to terror movies moves at a quirky yet measured pace, gamboling quickly from one terror ridden scene to other without loosing track of the movie's ultimate bro-mantic theme. The story begins with our three main protagonists who are shown to be cubicle coolies. One of them, Bunny, (Anand Tiwari), is the only one who is hard working amongst the trio. Of the other two, the Cool cat is called Hardik, (Kunal Khemu) , which they feel for a name is the worst crime a parent can commit on their unsuspecting infants especially these days when girls flirt openly. Third one is Luv, (Vir Das), who is bad at relationships with females, keeps breaking up and is loveless. But basically they are both of junkies. They drag the good boy in their group to a rave party in a supposedly isolated island in Goa. Most of the crowd there pops up some real expensive pills which these guys can't afford so they go for booze. When they wake up in the morning everyone out there seems to have disappeared. Soon, they get astonished to find themselves surrounded by people whose faces are melting. What happens next, are they able to reach back forms rest of the story. 

STARCAST                                                                                      :  Peppery and with a punch of assault, the performances are pitched at just the right level of fright. All the three characters seem to have had fun while shooting which reflects on-screen.  KUNAL KHEMU, has got the meatiest character to play as it is through his character that most of the juvenile, sleazy humor comes. But, the ease with which has portrayed and expressed a synthesis of the slimy and the slippery without falling out of his character is commendable. While VIR DAS'S straight faced, matter of fact style of comedy coupled with his innocent expressions is bone-tickling to the core. He has not only looked good but has delivered a superlative performance. It seems as if ANAND TIWARI, researched a lot about the psyche of the character that he plays in this flick as he has given a stupendously calculative performance by staying true to his stint and focused his vision entirely on it alone. PUJA GUPTA has delivered an average performance and understandingly it seems even the director duo  also deliberately focused more on her physical attributes rather than giving her a meaty role. But, it is SAIF ALI KHAN, who has turned out to be the show stealer with his lofty absurd Russian accent and flavorful kickass screen presence. He plays, Barees, a desi, Delhi druglord with a twang of Russian and the only one who can save our protagonists with his assortment of bazookas and knives. For a mainstream bolly star, it is not a easy call to accept and play such a different junky kind of role and i am sure he'll more than happy for taking this call.

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                                                           :  Technically the movie is stupendous as lot of international names have worked behind the camera. Music for this flick has been composed by another talented duo SACHIN JIGAR. It is not an easy job to compose music especially background music for a movie with such a wacky concept as music has to underline the situations.But they have done an excellent job and come up with electrifying music. Cinematography of the movie has been handled by DAN MAC.ARTHUR & LUKASZ PRUCHNIK who have given a gritty look to the movie but with a sense of dark humor attached to it. They have made perfect use of light bat cinematography which in turn has translated into a very edgy and stylish visuals on screen. I would also like to mention the names of makeup designers SEAN GENDERS, TOM LUHTALA and PIRANHA STUNTS (SOUTH AFRICA ), because with their skillful contribution they made Indian audience watch first Desi Zombies. Editor of the movie is ARINDAM GHATAK who has done an outstanding job by shifting scenes at a quirky pace without letting any single genre overpower other which is a big highlight of this movie. Director duo of RAJ NIDIMORU & KRISHNA DK deserve full marks and accolades for making GGG. The directors have successfully given the movie a sluggish pace and have managed to belt out one side-splitter after another, delivered with elan' by the boys.   

OVER THE HEAD                                                                                           : The biggest glitch i found in the movie was the scene where Pooja meets Vir in the pool. Kindly notice the number of co-incidences of this scene which happen only in Bolly movies :  1. You see a girl coming towards you in a pool  2. Right at same time when u r Full Monty.  3. She swims to you n hands over your bottom wear back to you.  4. When you tell her to turn around for you to change, she frankly says that no need to be shy as she has already seen.  5. She turns out to be your FB friend who knows all about you.  6. The biggest irony being that you dont even recognize her.     These kinds of scenes make you feel sad thinking " Ye humare sath kyun nahin hota ".  

WOW MOMENTS                                                                                   :  I'll say that most of the scenes in this movie are WOW moments. Still, watch out for the scene where Kunal Khemu pataofies Pooja by concocting a hearbreaking story about his g.friend. Also the scene where he gets confused while buying a condom at Chemist store. On top of all the scene where Kunal and Zombie girl dance around the trees in slow motion.

CONCLUSION                                                                                                   : This movie is definitely  a refreshing attempt in its genre especially for Indian audience who have grown up watching different versions of Bhoots, Chudails, Voodo dolls, blackmagic , possessed souls courtesy horror movies made by RAMSAY BROTHERS. Although, some Indian audience might feel apprehensive to watch this unknown  genre but nothing to be afraid of as this movie makes Zombies and hillarious repartee walk along. The best part is that the laughs flow with energetic-gusto melting into a spooky gore without creating a genre confounding mess.


ROHIT SHARMA.
Follow me on twitter at  https://twitter.com/smgr105
rohitreview@gmail.com

" SHOOTOUT AT WADALA " : Movie Review

    SHOOTOUT AT WADALA is  basically camaraderie of blazing guns, flaring nostrils,sanguinary revenge & bleak atonement. The characters are   hardened underworld players of 70's with aggressive attitude. The men in SANJAY GUPTA'S flick behave like teenagers who never want to grow up. They fight, scream, throw tantrums  virtually kill,when everything fails. Everyone speaks as if they are reading a copywriter's wisdom from billboards and hoardings. These guys are those kind of smart-asses whose mothers should have delivered solid spankings to them in childhood. In fact characters pull out their guns faster than JOHAN WAYNE & CLINT EASTWOOD. But for sure SANJAY GUPTA'S trademark style flourishes in the sepia-soaked camerawork, slow-mo action sequences and slick editing.

SCRIPT & SCREENPLAY                                                                               :  The screenwriting is watertight. Although it takes time to settle down, the solid writing in the second hour keeps you on the edge. In fact, the turn of events in the second half takes the film to its zenith. A large chunk of SHOOTOUT AT WADALA is devoted to high-voltage action sequences. Unlike some recent films, the action here is raw and real, reminiscent of the films of the 1980s. The credit for the story goes to HUSSAIN ZAIDI & SANJAY GUPTA where as Screenplay has been written by SANJAY GUPTA, SANJAY BHATIA, ABHIJIT DESHPANDE. The screenplay in first half, almost anecdotal in nature, jumps from killings to killings never immersing the audience in the lives of its characters, unfortunately. The movie starts off with the story of a bright college student , Manohar Surve ( JOHN ), who is in love with Vidya ( KANGNA ). They are set to marry each other after getting their college degree. But their world collapses when Manya is sent to prison over a murder that was committed by his step brother. While in jail, he meets Sheikh Munir ( TUSSHAR )  who helps him in escaping from prison and becomes his trusted aide. Together, they form their own gang by inducting a few more outlaws including Gyanch** (  SIDDHANT ). This new gang poses a serious threat to the gang of Zubair ( M.BAJPAYEE ) & Dilawar ( SONU SOOD ) and hereafter a bloody turf battle ensues between both the gangs. On the other hand, there is ACP Ishaque ( A.KAPOOR ), who has pledged to erase the mafiaraj in Mumbai and Dilawar as well as Manya are on his hit-list. Will Manya become the undisputed king of Mumbai underworld or ACP Ishaque succeed in his plans ?

STARCAST                                                                                                               :   Every performance in the movie deserves unfathomable praise. JOHN ABRAHAM, in his last couple of flicks has started to break the notion that acting is not his forte. He does it all with a hitherto unseen rawness - be it while mouthing cuss words or emptying bullets and has done justice to almost all of the screen time that has been allotted for him. If as the ruthless gangster, he kills with passion, he beds his ladylove, KANGNA RANAUT, with even more of that. The latter ( K.RANAUT ), meanwhile fits well as the gangster's moll. She is appalled at the transformation of her Manohar into Manya, but loves him way too much. In fact Kangana's character in this flick is reminiscent of her role in ' ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAI ' and she has acted with grit. ANIL KAPOOR who has portrayed the character of ACP has acted like a live wire. The man infuses life into ACP's frustration of not being able to do justice to his khaki uniform and has acted with aplomb. He has shown so much maturity in his expressions that it seems impossible to find any flaw in his act. Although, MANOJ BAJPAYEE'S character has got less screen-time but he sets screen on fire and is able to showcase sparks of his brilliant talent. But the man who surprised me is SONU SOOD, who has given a subtle, firm and commendable performance. His serious face expressions and tough stance make him look like a typical 70's gangster. TUSHHAR KAPOOR once again manages to impress in his gangster looks and carries on the same look, style which he earlier portrayed in Shootout at Lokhandwala. SIDDHANT KAPOOR in some scenes looks as well as acts like his father SHAKTI KAPOOR and has given an average performance as Gun wielding baddie. Two other actors who deserve a mention are RONIT ROY & MAHESH MANJREKAR who have acted as Cops. While the former has acted as a tough postured, gritty and stern faced cop, the latter has played a cop who is easygoing, laid back for the reason that he has seen it all and is well versed with deficiencies of corrupt system. Not to forget PRIYANKA CHOPRA, SUNNY LEON, SOPHIA CHAUDHARY who add a fair mass entertainment value by innuendo laden item numbers with grotesque dance moves in their individual item numbers.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS                                                                           :          It being a SANJAY GUPTA movie, one can definitely expect technical finesse at its best and surely as usual he doesn't disappoint you this time also. As per the trend of inducing several music directors for one movie, SAW also has a coterie of music directors namely ANU MALIK, ANAND RAJ ANAND, MUSTAFA ZAHID & MEET BROTHERS. But the music has not become very popular albeit its item numbers have been lapped up by certain section of listeners. The background music given by AMAR MOHILE is in sync with movie and goes in tandem with the on-screen proceedings. Cinematography by SAMEER ARYA & SANJAY F GUPTA is top notch and they have managed to capture the aura of the 70's with an impeccable visual finesse. TINU VERMA who has directed the action sequences deserves a big applause for depicting the action in raw, real, brutal, unrepressed way which has resulted in high voltage action-sequences. The editing of the movie has been done by BUNTY NAGI who has managed to catch hold of your attention all through the movie duration of 150 minutes. One more person who deserves accolades is MILAP ZAVERI  who has written dialogues for this movie. Every other dialogue that he has written is capable of conjuring up either a laugh riot or a veritable tornado in the theaters. My viewpoint is that as a director SANJAY GUPTA has put in an overwhelming surfeit of everything i.e. blood soaked action, glorified machismo, cuss words and raunchy dance numbers but in the process has overlooked character development which lends the real emotional feel to a movie. Undoubtedly, this flick like Sanjay 's earlier movies is full of style but for a movie to be successful in Bollywood, even to the stylish content  you have to attach a soul.

OVER THE HEAD                                                                                               :  The scene where Kangana on seeing Manohar being beaten by cop, immediately changes her stance and lies about him  to her parents despite the fact that she herself has called them for introducing them with him . Also it is surprising to see the tough convict who in one scene teaches fighting skills to John in prison, in other scene is found standing outside Gateway of India & earning his livelihood in an interesting manner. He is found asking the onlookers to vent out their personal life frustration by punching him in lieu of money.

WOW MOMENTS                                                                                                       :   The first fight scene of John in jail where he bashes up his opponent has turned out well. Also the chase scene where-in Anil with aides catch hold of a gangster in a Chawl is a marvel. And finally the last scene where Kangana gets shattered on getting betrayed by cops is a treat for emotional cine-watchers.

CONCLUSION                                                                                                              :   SAW does not delve deep into psyche of gangsters nor is a fact finder but what it does is beyond that : It stamps the presence of forgotten Manya Surve on your mind and makes you feel for him. It's rare that you find major part of audience feeling sad while coming out of the hall after watching gangster die in the last scene. It can be seen once for its gargantuan amount of gore action, general sleaze, titillation and sleek style quotient.    

ROHIT SHARMA.
Follow me on twitter at  https://twitter.com/smgr105
rohitreview@gmail.com

LUCKY DI UNLUCKY STORY : Movie Review

                                                                                        

Being a Punjabi by heritage as well as nature i am feeling overwhelmed by the fact that finally Punjabi cinema is churning out movies week after week and that too with excellent technical finesse. Continuing the trend of fun filled, mindless but entertaining laugh riot cine flicks, comes LDUS. This movie surely pampers your funny bones and relieves you of all your stress with some brilliant performances n witty dialogues which have been knitted together to entertain you to the core. After CARRY ON JATTA , director SMEEP KANG has again got a winner on his hands.

STORY & SCREENPLAY                                                                             :           Like most of its peers, the main focus of  LDUS is on comical content only but the story has elements of suspense as well as thriller thrown in as a surprise element. Although one can not deny the fact that even the suspense n thriller content also mutually turns out into comedy, raising guffaws from audience instead of them biting their fingers. The story of this movie has been written by  SMEEP KANG and the credit for the screenplay goes to trio of SMEEP KANG ,  NARESH KATHURIA & VAIBHAV SUMAN. The story revolves around Lucky (GIPPY), a carefree, flirt, reckless n quintessential guy whose motto is to live life to fullest. One fine day, he meets Seerat (SURVEEN) and needless to say falls in love with her,  woos her along with her brothers with his smart talks and gets engaged with her. He has three best friends namely Dimpa (BINNU), Brar ( JASWINDER) & Sidhu (GUGGI) who are married but completely unhappy n frustrated with their spouses & marital life. Unfortunately, lots of misunderstandings occur between Lucky n his fiancee which keep on increasing rift between them and Lucky goes under depression. When his b'day comes, the trio of his friends think of an idea to pep him up. They take him along to Ludhiana for celebrating his b'day where they have already called a female model ( SAMIKSHA SINGH) to seduce him in their hotel room. But little do they know that this adventurous celebration will turn out to be the biggest nightmare of their lives. Samiksha is found dead in her hotel room and the fingers are pointed towards Lucky. Herafter begins a journey which is fun filled , witty & full of humor. One of the biggest assets of  LDUS is its script as in Punjabi Cinema, we have hardly watched a flick whose story is woven with suspense, thrills along with ample quotient of wit. In a way , we can say that this movie unlike its counterparts does not concentrate on one particular genre of Comedy only but is a mix of  several genres to entertain the audience throughout.

STARCAST                                                                                                    :  GIPPY GREWAL has shown a tremendous growth in his acting skills which clearly proves that he is really working hard on that front. I feel he has realized that he can definitely play a longer innings in Punjabi cinema as his fan base is increasing constantly, hence is giving everything to hone his expressions and body language.  SURVEEN CHAWLA looks sweet but on the acting front she has churned out an average performance. In a way we can't really blame her as her character in the movie doesn't have a meaty role. But it is BINNU DHILLON who again has worked as icing on the cake and keeps you rolling with laughter with his funny antics & crazy face expressions. He once again manages to delve deep into skin of his character of Dimpa, who is the dumbest out of all friends. This guy is real treat to watch and he definitely will go a long way in the times to come. JASWINDER BHALLA as usual is flawless in his acting but it is his dialect and ability to speak n carry one liners which make him rise above others. GURPREET GUGGI as Sidhu is also impressive and has portrayed his flirty character with aplomb. SAMIKSHA SINGH definitely looks sultry n seductive as per her character. In between you'll see ROSHAN PRINCE also playing a short & sweet role as sweet as his looks as well as voice. Not to forget, BIG DADDY JACKIE SHROFF, who makes his debut in Punjabi cinema but alias his style, expressions & even voice-over looks very artificial. Also for a change, SMEEP KANG  has once again stepped in front of camera by playing Surveen's elder brother. It becomes difficult to recognize that he is the same lean hero who played main lead in Late STALWART MR.JASPAL BHATTI'S "MAHAUL THEEK HAI" due to the immense weight he has put on.

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                                                                              :       The credit for music direction in this flick goes to JATINDER SHAH who has done an above average job. Some of his compositions like WHISKEY n KACH DA SAMAAN are real catchy and have become quite popular. Cinematographer of the movie is TOBY GORMAN whose hard work to capture the best of visuals is quite evident while watching the movie on big screen. He has made optimum use of the beautiful locales of Thailand. The editing of this flick has been done by MANISH MORE who has once again shown his hold over his work and has managed to maintain a smooth flow of narrative during the run-time of 121 minutes. It seems as a director, SMEEP KANG seems to have understood n felt the pulse of his audience and hence is dishing out the kind of entertainment which audience is craving for. The best part in his last offering Carry On Jatta as well as this flick is that the humor has not been crudely inserted but it comes automatically with the funny situations which arise in the screenplay. This aspect really makes him stand apart from his other peers and shows that SMEEP really concentrates on his screenplay and writing. He also deserves Kudos for paying attention to overall finesse of the movie including set designing, lighting, costumes, shot composition, shot selection and editing which was never on the main radar of Punjabi movie directors. 

OVER THE HEAD                                                                                                       :  The biggest flaw of the movie according to me is the selection of JACKIE DADA for the character of main villain. He looks completely out of ease, uncomfortable n cheesy and i feel that apart from playing on-screen villain in this movie, he has virtually turned out to be villain in reality with respect to the overall look of LJUS.

WOW MOMENTS                                                                                                       : It is very difficult to figure out the best scenes as the whole movie is a fun ride. But still, watch out for expressions of BINNU DHILLON when he goes mute & speechless while divulging shocking news to his pals. Also, the scene where Binnu, Bhalla n Guggi make fake phone calls to each other's spouses for going on vacation is too hilarious and takes you on a laughter ride.

CONCLUSION                                                                                                             :  If you have penchant for entertainment in form of laughter, this is absolutely the right movie for you. And it is that kind of cinema which you can definitely go and enjoy along with your family members. It will definitely de-stress you from all your worries provided you don't let your logical senses to come in forefront while watching this movie.

ROHIT SHARMA.
Follow me on twitter at  https://twitter.com/smgr105
rohitreview@gmail.com