JAI HO :: Movie Review

Although,much was expected from Jai Ho but unfortunately it has turned out to be an outdated, cliched, ham fisted attempt at a hero fighting for the common man. Salman, plays an Hulk Hogan version of Arvind Kejriwal who bashes up corrupt politicians, saves damsels in distress, writes exams for amputees, helps injured beggars, restores lost children to their parents. Jai Ho has tried to reach a new milestone in marriage between boredom and non-sense. It is strictly hackneyed fare about a wronged man who goes berserk in his mission to rid his own life – and that of the nation – of a very powerful tormentor. He growls at the film’s halfway point: the aam aadmi is a sleeping tiger; don’t provoke him or else…Should we say jai ho to that? We might have felt inclined to lend our voices to that cry of jubilation if only the film had a little more to offer by way of common sense. Jai Ho is a sluggish film with a preponderance of action sequences thrown in at regular intervals. It also has a painfully pedestrian romantic track (involving a girl whose unmentionables form an integral part of the storyline). But a superstar vehicle that runs on a single wheel – even if that wheel happens to be box office dynamo Salman Khan – cannot go very far. The other three wheels of Jai Ho – story, screenplay and characters – are terribly wobbly.

STORY & SCREENPLAY                              :          The story for the movie has been penned down by A. R. Murugadoss but i was unable to figure out a storyline throughout the movie's playtime. It is only an armory of characters, situations and fight scenes that compile the whole movie.  The male protagonist of Jai Ho, suspended army officer Major Jai Agnihotri, is a comic-strip superhero that resembles a runaway armoured tank rather than a recognizable human being. But he is no ordinary do-gooder. He doesn’t take a mere ‘thank you' for a response. He exhorts the grateful beneficiaries of his acts of bravery to keep the spirit going by helping three other people each. Make no mistake, Major Jai Agnihotri is no Gandhian crusader, and the only method that he is comfortable with is sickeningly violent. Evil is rife in the form of bad politicians, policemen and goons and hell hath no fury like a Salman Khan scorned.  The Jai Ho plot has one upright policeman, one well-meaning politician, one henchman who has a change of heart, one auto-rickshaw driver who goes out of his way to be of help, a reformed alcoholic and, of course, an prim and proper elder sister who espouses all the right values.  Even, die hard Salman fans will be bored to death with the painfully drab romantic subplot  between Sallu Bhai & Daisy Shah. Apart from this we have jokes about women's underwear, horny neighbourhood MILF'S and excessive usage of Gujarati word Gando. As if not enough, you have to suffer artificial emotional wrangling and above all even Army tanks come on streets to save Bhai. That is when you begin to say, " God save us from Boredom ". 

STARCAST                                                    :         As a casting director Mukesh Chhabra has made Jai Ho a virtual parade of actors whose movie careers are in desperate need of assistance – Ashmit Patel, Yash Tonk, Mohnish Behl, Nauheed Cyrusi, Tulip Joshi, Bruna Abdullah, Sana Khan, Aditya Pancholi, Sharad Kapoor, Varun Badola, Santosh Shukla,Sudesh Lahiri  and the like. Each of them gets his or her few flashes of fame in the film. But eventually none of them rises above the din to be seen and heard which is expected as its Salman's movie, after all . When Salman Khan flexes his muscles and bellows with all his might, nobody stands a chance in hell of standing out. Undoubtedly,this is one of Salman's better performances and if the movie fares well, it will be cause of him only. As the female lead, Daisy Shah has played the pesky girl next-door who keeps barging into Salman’s sprawling household comprising of any number of kins and their visitors/lovers/associates and has given very average performance. Tabu, whom we have seen onscreen after a while has fared well as per her character. Mahesh Thakur as Salman's bro in law has done well and so has Mahesh Manjrekar as an auto driver. Danny Denzongpa has been wasted and could have been utilized more. Mukul Dev has looked good in his brief appearnce as a baddie and gets to hit all over by Salman. But two actors stand out : One is Nadira Babbar as Salman's mother who has delivered an outstanding performance and other is Pulkit Samrat as a honest cop. 

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                    :      The credit for the music of this flick has been given to Sajid-Wajid, Amal Mallik and Devi Sri Prasad. The irony is that despite of so many music composers having composed the songs are close to being unbearable - it seems as if they are punching our ears with cactus embroidered gloves. Santosh Thundiyil’s cinematography and Sandeep Shirodkar’s background score are almost affable extensions of Salman’s messianic hero-giri. The visuals and the sound nail his crusade down to a cohesive if not comprehensive cinematic statement. The movie has been edited by Ashish Amrute who has kept the run-time to 2 hours 23 minutes which seems a bit too long. To his credit director Sohail Khan has spun a credible and often compelling anti-corruption yarn that succeeds in justifying the need for Salman’s stardom to monopolize the entire length and breadth of the footage but His rhetorical rowdyism brings the house down. There is an unmistakable sense of desperation in Jai Ho as if the the director has tried to put in every available commercial trick including characters to hold on to audience's interest.

CONCLUSION                                              :          Jai Ho tries to make for an engaging if somewhat incomplete view of present-day corruption-ridden India. Seize the moment, and you’ll probably make a difference to society...This is the mantra Salman adopts in Jai Ho. This formula of instant socio-political remedy seems quite appealing, though the vigilante insinuations are also dangerous. So, overall it comes out as a very inconsistent piece of cinema.

 ROHIT SHARMA.

Follow me on twitter at  https://twitter.com/smgr105

rohitreview@gmail.com

     

, Jai Ho time travels back to the ’80s and delivers an outdated, clichéd and ham-fisted attempt at showing a hero fighting for the common man. Bhai plays Jai, a Hulk Hogan version of Arvind Kejriwal, who fights corrupt politicians, saves damsels in distress; helps injured beggars, amputees write exams; restores kidnapped children to their parents and beats up goons who dare to lay a hand on his sister (Tabu).

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/jai-ho-a-marriage-between-boredom-nonsense-1357357.html?utm_source=ref_article

Jai Ho time travels back to the ’80s and delivers an outdated, clichéd and ham-fisted attempt at showing a hero fighting for the common man. Bhai plays Jai, a Hulk Hogan version of Arvind Kejriwal, who fights corrupt politicians, saves damsels in distress; helps injured beggars, amputees write exams; restores kidnapped children to their parents and beats up goons who dare to lay a hand on his sister (Tabu).

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/jai-ho-a-marriage-between-boredom-nonsense-1357357.html?utm_source=ref_article

DEDH ISHQIYA : Movie Review

Dedh Ishqiya is one of those rare movies that genuinely engulfs your mind and grips you into the cinematic proceedings right from the word go & the first shot. Thematically, the movie casts its net far wider and comes up with striking insights into the flaws and foibles of people who haven't lost their flair for the flashy despite their lives having hit the skids. When i personally am despirited by the crassly sexist ethos that governs Hindi films today, Dedh Ishqiya is one of the films i like to think of as out of the blues.  Just to hear the roguish, duplicitous characters walk the talk in this flick is a pleasure beyond the ordinary. Make no mistake, Dedh Ishqiya walks many extra miles beyond expectations and negotiates a nawabi era long gone. And, it does so with a bracing bewildering beguiling blend of aristocratic arrogance and ironic humility. 

STORY & SCREENPLAY                                     :       The credit for writing the story and screenplay has been shared by Abhishek Chaubey, Vishal Bhardwaj & Drab Farooqui. Each neatly constructed sequence leads unto the next flawless sequence without leaving any creases behind. Rarely is a Hindi flick as mischievously besotted with wordplay. Chaubey has master word smiths Vishal Bhardwaj & Gulzar alongside him, making for a script that balances words as deftly -- as a knife-juggler with a case of hiccups. Coming to the storyline, In this sequel, Vidya Balan is history and the two men, Khalujaan & Babban have new targets, Rather Khalujan has set his sights upon Begum Para (Madhuri Dixit), the gorgeous widow of a nawab. Begum Para has announced her intention to remarry. It's a swaymavara with a difference and Khalujan shows up as a contender,pretending to be a poetic nawab. There is also another serious contender in the form of Jaan Mohammad (Vijay Raaz) who is a local politician and is ready to do anything to marry Begum including kidnapping a poet and killing Khalujan and Babban. Fluttering through this central plot are a prized necklace worth a fortune, a plot to abduct begum, the sly stratagems of Begum's companion Munira (Huma qureshi) and a shayar named Italvi played by Manoj Pahwa. Not to forget, Babban who gets smitten by Munira and falls for her. There are no ingenuous twists and the screenplay keeps you hooked till the very end.

STARCAST                                                       :       One must give due credit to the casting director i.e. Honey Trehan as one of the reasons the movie works wonderfully well is because of the consistently high order performances delivered by the cast. Naseeruddin Shah is great, wistful, dreamy and unashamedly wicked, chewing luxuriantly on the dialogues as if they came wrapped in betel-leaf. He captures the essence of worldly wise Khalujaan with the kind of acuity that only an actor of his proven calibre could have. It is difficult to take one's eyes off -screen when Madhuri Dixit is on it. She has played the part of Begum with exemplary ease and finesse and has proven why she is considered to be one of the finest actresses of Indian Celluloid. Arshad Warsi has always been instantly loveable, but he equips his character with a flammable fury that makes him very compelling indeed. He has again acted like a livewire who injects full-on-fizz into the proceedings without breaking into sweat. But it is Charming Huma Quresshi who once again steals your heart not only with her beautiful looks but her fiercely intelligent eyes which she uses to great effect as she keeps things unpredictable. And then there’s Vijay Raaz. Too often do we Hindi cinema audiences unfairly sideline villains and comedians, but here is a gem of a part, a truly meaty role -- the kind of character that, in a Hollywood film, would have been played by Christian Bale or Javier Bardem -- and Raaz sinks his teeth into it magnificently. Amongst the ensemble cast, Manoj Pahwa and Salman Shahid make themselves impressively indispensable with mere scraps of screen-time. 

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                      :        Undoubtedly, the pastiche that encompasses all the lunacy and decadence in Dedh Ishqiya is complemented by its splendidly evocative music by Vishal Bhardwaj. He has woven some real melodious tunes ranging from Honey Singh's rap song " Horn OK Please" to the enchanting " Dil Ka Mizaaz ".  Much of the credit for the dusky visuals of the film must go to the cinematographer of the movie i.e. Setu who has done his job exceedingly well. Working primarily with natural sources of light, Setu composes some truly remarkable images whose glow lingers long after they have played themselves out. But along with him, equal amount of credit must be given to Subrata Chakrabarty and Amit Ray for giving authentic nawabi and textured look to the movie. A. Sreekar. Prasad, as the editor of the movie has kept the proceedings real tight and keeps you engrossed in the proceedings despite a little stretched out ending. Kudos to Writer and director Abhishek Chaubey for following up his rompy revenge caper Ishqiya (2010) with a sequel like Dedh Ishqiya, a terrific entertainer about friendships and the ways in which human beings bind for solace and dreams.

WOW MOMENTS                                                :              The duel between Kanpuri poet and Jaan Mohammad, a man with Nawabi aspirations, is one of the best motifs of the movie, climaxing in hillariously campy sequence that could be titled " Vengenance of the poet ". Movie is filled with many delights : the repeated banters between Khalu & Babban, Khallu's efforts to woo Begum, Babban's typically brazen attempts to win Munira over, and of course the dangerous cat-and-mouse game that they all play with the unrelenting Jaan Mohammad.   

CONCLUSION                                                      :           The one thing that can be said with supreme certainty about Dedh Ishqiya is that you've never seen such a marriage of old-world charm and new-world subterfuge before. Dedh Ishqiya ia at least Dedh times more delectable, saucy, audacious and amorous than Ishqiya. It constructs the dynamics of love and redemption from the rubble of a lost world. 

ROHIT SHARMA.

Follow me on twitter at  https://twitter.com/smgr105

rohitreview@gmail.com

           

DHOOM 3 : Movie Review

When the writer of the first two films of a successful franchise takes the director's chair for a third shot at more of the same that is exactly what one gets : more of the same. This time around, the bikes, babes and brawls formula is dished out even more liberally than before. So, for the most part, Dhoom:3  is a high voltage action flick that relies squarely on known methods of genre. Actually, familiarity of this kind isn't such a bad thing since the audience knows what is coming and does not have too many unsettling surprises sprung at them. Writer-Director Vijay Krishna Acharya who scripted earlier Dhoom 1,2 and directed Tashan, has mounted this one a scale that is no less unapologetically lavish. There are beautifully layered frames, shots where lighting creates the afterglow that follows moments of spiritual revelation. Though, that sort of depth is just an illusion and a mirage in this film, like the magician's trick which defines the film's plot. But, there is a secret that this intriguing film springs at us mid-point. Alas, the secret, if one may call it that, only contours the film's most well known fact : this is an Aamir Khan show all the way. And he gets to give his most over-the-top performance - some of which looks like a dig at Shah Rukh Khan's My Name is Khan.

SCRIPT & SCREENPLAY                                              :          Aditya Chopra along with Vijay Krishna Acharya share the credit for being the story & screen-play writers of Dhoom 3. Had they invested as much energy on developing the characters beyond superficial levels and investing  the dramatic situations with more depth than what one encounters in standard revenge dramas and cops-and-robbers capers, the third instalment might have towered above the first two. A lot of time in the first 50 minutes or so is wasted on the protracted 'entry' scenes that are apportioned to the principal members of the cast. There is a tremendous sense of fun and games in the goings-on but there is also a deep sense of tragedy underlining the playfulness. Sombre ramifications accentuate the bevy of bacchanalia. The finely framed out film finally comes to a very sad conclusion where the theme of twin is seen as a mirror image that's wiped out under pressure. The story begins in 1990 in town of Chicago with Iqbal (Jackie Shroff), committing suicide as his Great Indian Circus is closed by bank after he becomes defaulter. His son, magician as well as a circus performer, Sahir (Aamir Khan) grows up with an aim to virtually destroy the bank to the verge of closure. He successfully robs the bank and to nab him our desi cops Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) & Ali (Uday Chopra) are called from India. The rest you can go and watch in theatres. 

STARCAST                                                                   :     Aamir Khan along with technical brilliance holds the key to the film's efficacy. And how much you like this segment of this Dhoom franchise depends entirely on how well you accept Aamir's over-emphasized performance, ceaseless smirk, constantly arched eyebrows and all. Aamir Khan, needless to say, takes predence over everyone (and everything) else in the film, including occasionally the script. From the word go, he gets to 'perform' an array of gravity-defying acts and motorcycle stunts that are difficult to describe. Abhishek Bachchan as Jai, Aamir's law-enforcing adversary tries to offset Aamir's double edged swat with some staright faced acting and has looked impressive too. But, Alias he doesn't have much scope to perform and the same stands true for Uday Chopra as Ali who had considerable better comic moments in  Dhoom predecessors. Although Katrina Kaif has a minuscule role but she has series of breathtaking dances to perform and looks ravishing while doing them and simply bowls us over. She jumps,glides somersaults and gambols until we flip for her graceful moves. Our, Jackie Dada also manages to impress in his special performance while chanting " Bande hain hum Uske, Humpe Kiska Zor".    

TECHNICAL FINESSE                             :             Undoubtedly, Dhoom 3 can be touted as one of the best ever flicks in terms of technical excellence right from the word go n the first frame of the movie. The music for the flick has been given by Preetam who i feel has done an average job if compared to the other earlier Dhoom offerings. The cinematographer of the the movie is Sudeep Chatterjee who has done an astounding job and definitely deserves all the praise for the same. He definitely knows, recognizes, acknowledges and records beauty in every form, right from the architecture to Katrina Kaif. Two other technical crew who deserve applause is Production Designer Sumit Basu and Art director Adri Siriwatt. Gimmicky props are constantly brought for consideration. Sleek motorcycles that turn into motorboats in green-blue canals, magician's tricks which show up at any given moment, twins who swap roles without warning. The movie has been edited by Ritesh Soni who has really done a great job as despite being overlong (172 minutes) and a tad laden footed at times, Dhoom 3 stays true enough to its avowed intent of being passably engaging.  Director, Vijay Acharya who helms this avatar of Dhoom, furnishes a fabulous style to the proceedings with beautifully lit  frames. The director knows how to juice the characters' emotions without spilling the sentiments all across the frames. 

WOW MOMENTS                                     :        The scene in the beginning of the flick with Jackie playing a magician on the skids, is done up in shades of shimmering discontent suggesting a deep fracture in the plot separating the haves from the have-naughties. The tap dance performed by Aamir Khan with such an ease despite his short stout built is also a highlight of the movie. And, "Malang" song has also turned out to be a real visual treat. 

    

CONCLUSION                                                   :    DHOOM : 3 is an intriguing piece of work....slender  supple     smart    extravagant .....and yet helmed by a central performance that screams for attention. 

ROHIT SHARMA.

Follow me on twitter at  https://twitter.com/smgr105

rohitreview@gmail.com

           

Official Trailer of Imtiaz Ali's upcoming flick " HIGHWAY".

The official promo of Imtiaz Ali's upcoming flick " HIGHWAY " is out and is creating quite a buzz. Watch out ..........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o66nNnGZ5Rg 

R....Rajkumar : Movie review

When Prabhu Dheva ventured into directing exaggerated action sagas, one wondered on the dancing demigod's diverse choice of genre. But in his last three bollywood directorial offerings, Prabhu Dheva followed a set trend which was quite similar to evergreen mindless masala genre that is synonymous with names like Manmohan Desai, Subhash Ghai. In fact, Prabhu Dheva tends to direct a film pretty much like he choreographs a song i.e. in a perky way. He packs both i.e. direction as well as choreography, from end to end, with a frenzied hurry of brisk hand and feet movements and a surfeit of high - decibel musical clatter. The astoundingly lithe dance steps that he conjures up tend to flummox the eyes ; the attendant sounds unleash a non-stop assault on the eardrums. The two together ( and singly as well ), have clearly outlived their utility to a certain extent for a certain section of movie watchers. A violent action film that has been designed to bring Shahid Kapoor into the tough guy league, R....Rajkumar is weighed down by just the kind of music and machismo formula that worked for Wanted and Rowdy Rathore. R....Rajkumar pushes every Prabhu Dheva trademark element to the maximum of its hilt but alias, the screenplay falters somewhere down the line and its only some performances especially of  Sonu Sood & Mukul Dev which save the movie.

SCRIPT & SCREENPLAY                                    :                     The weakest point due to which this movie falters the most is its storyline as well as screenplay (( As if the earlier flicks of Prabhu had the best of storyline )). The amazing part is that not one or two..but four people have been credited for their writing efforts for this movie which ( storyline ) you find non-existent while watching the movie. Prabhu Dheva has written the story where as he along with Sunil Aggarwal, Shiraz Ahmed, Ravi.S.Sundaram have been credited for screenplay writing. And, the screenplay, whatever little there is of it, is mangled heap of nonsense with logic and good taste given a wide berth all the through. The film also takes limp shots at raising some laughs by way of the rustic villain's attempts to learn Queen's English and pick up modern ways. Romeo Rajkumar ( Yes, the big secret to "R" was that our hero is a big Romeo who believes either in pyaar pyaar pyaar or maar maar maar.) Now, our male protagonist lands himself in a lawless village governed by two warring parties Parmar ( Ashish Vidyarathi ) and Shivraj ( Sonu Sood ) who are at loggerheads with each other over monoplizing the business of drugs and Rajkumar starts working with Shivraj. While Rajkumar is rugged, passionate and rebellious, he is blessed with a well chiseled body and devilish charm. Rajkumar's life and ambition go haywire when he comes across beautiful Chanda ( Sonakshi Sinha ) and falls heads over heels over her. He leaves no stone unturned to woo Chanda, an educated smart girl who lives her life on her own terms and is quite bindaas. While Rajkumar is raw yet hot, Chanda is gorgeous, strong headed. But in order to make his love flourish, he needs to fight his own employer,Shivraj along with other drug dealers and mafias and gives an open challenge to Shivraj. So, you think its time for claps....hold on guys....this is a Prabhu Dheva movie, hence you will get ample opportunities to clap scene after scene.

STARCAST                                                     :                 Coming to the performances, the whole movie revolves around the male protagonist i.e. Shahid Kapoor who could have really benefited from this role. But,  It's quite a pity to see Shahid Kapoor putting all his efforts into a banal character which doesn't work out as per his persona.. His hardwork can be seen with the tremendous dancing that he does in all the numbers and also manages to put up a commendable performance. Blame is on the script for not doing justice to the actor. Shahid looks like a complete misfit, what with his body type, bashing up countless people to pulp. This genre is just not meant for him. Sonakshi Sinha yet again takes her prop position in the film and fails to please as her character in this flick has not been sketched to perfection. The rest of the ensemble cast including the likes of  Aashish Vidyarthi, Asrani and Srihari, ham to the fullest, guess on the filmmaker's direction. Two actors who stand out and impress with their performances are namely Mukul Dev & Sonu Sood. Sonu Sood gets ample scope to showcase his diverse acting range as his character encompasses both comic as well as villainous traits. Mukul Dev on the other hand makes the most of his character-sketch and actually is credited not only with some of the laugable gags but also with an emotional outburst towards the penultimate part of the movie.

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                    :                  Another highlight of Prabhu Dheva movies has been their peppy music which Prabhu uses brilliantly to choreograph in his immaculate style. And music of R....Rajkumar also falls in the same league and the man who has composed it is Pritam Chakraborty. The background music has been given by Sandeep Chowta which is in tandem with the screenplay and works well. The cinematography has been handled by Mohan Krishna who has captured some brilliant visuals. The movie has been edited by Ballu Saluja who has done a good job and kept the length of the movie to 134 minutes. As a director, Prabhu Dheva has tried his level best to provide some impetus to a banal script and screenplay but this time he has been been able to achieve success to a certain extent only. The movie works in the first half but fizzles out in the later half. R....Rajkumar is incontrovertible proof that Prabhu Dheva has been hit by the law of dimnishing returns and has to think out of the box lest he falls prey to the repetitive genre and looses his credibility.

WOW MOMENTS                                                :     The verbal duel that ensues between Shahid & Mukul Dev in the beginning as to who is the chief confidant or the best man of drug lord (Sonu Sood) is quite witty. The way Shahid looses himself whenever Sonakshi crosses his way looks very very cute and has been shot well.

CONCLUSION                                                      :     R....Rajkumar is a typical Prabhu Dheva Ishtyle movie, fully loaded with over the top action sequences accompanied by loud dialogues and punches. To make R...Rajkumar a typical potboiler, Prabhu has put in mesmerizing dances, power packed stunts but forgot to concentrate on the screenplay. Hence, it might appeal only to a certain section of cine watchers.
ROHIT SHARMA.

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rohitreview@gmail.com

           
  

BULLET RAJA : Movie Review

If Ram -Leela gave an impression of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's particular cinematic style, BULLET RAJA carries bold stamp of Tigmanshu Dhulia's vision of real raw cinema at its best. This movie is Tigmanshu's best political thriller till date with everything in perfect Black and White. The tagline of the movie which says that " Aengein to garmee badaeinge " stands true with context to the raw power packed screenplay that Tigmanshu has penned down for this movie. Mind you, this movie is not everyone's cup of tea especially in context to its raw treatment and intertwined screenplay which becomes too complex at times. It takes guts to turn the conventional formulistic cinema about male bonding and revenge into a tightly wound intelligently scripted and judiciously executed drama of political subterfuge in Uttar Pradesh. This is a film about the scummy people who govern our country from the fringes. Politicians and entrepreneurs hobnob with criminals and criminals end up becoming heroes of the masses just because democracy in India gives us little to choose from.

 

 SCRIPT & SCREENPLAY                                  :             The  highlight of this movie is its storyline and screenplay which has been penned by Tigmanshu Dhulia and Amaresh Mishra. Bullett Raja is woven around characters who aren't particular about the company or the morals that they keep. They are the kind of characters who either end up rich or dead. We can only curse them under our breath. And yet the spoken language of the characters remains liberated from overt profanities. The same goes for the characters themselves, so lowly and yet redeemed by unexpected bouts of humour and even compassion. The way Saif's Raja Misra meets Sonakshi's sketchily-written character and the manner in which the script allows him to warm up to her without wasting time is a marvel of scriptural balance. Indeed, Dhulia in his most nakedly commercial outing, catches the routine friends-on-a-rampage plot by its lapels and goes for the kill with splendid skill. This is a fearless film. And then, Dhulia takes his audacity from city to city in Uttar Pradesh. The jagged but constantly coherent plot takes the very conventional characters (good-bad heroes, bad-bad villains, a damsel in distress and lots of decadent politicians) on a bumpy journey across the politics of the cow-belt where there are no sacred cows. Only brazen wolves. Dhulia, in his most mass-oriented cinematic outing to date, brings a lot of Jai-Veeru's Sholay bonding into play. They gamely sink their teeth into the morass of Indian politics, giving a stirring dignity to inherently unsavoury episodes from the murky politics of Uttar Pradesh.

STARCAST                                                   :                               Another, major highlight of the movie is its cast ensemble. Each and every actor, whatsoever character they are playing has done his job commendably and have fit in the mould of their characters to the hilt of perfection and leading from the front are Saif and Jimmy.  Saif Ali Khan's Raja Misra ( no 'h' in the surname, plij ) is a scummy sort of Robin Hood who is a mix of goon and boon, gun and grins doesn't tire of reminding his adversaries of his Brahminical roots. Here's an actor who can bring gravitas to his character without weighing it down in self-importance. Saif has great support from the ever-reliable Jimmy Shergill. Even, Jimmy has portrayed with utmost conviction and has looked totally at ease while performing which speaks volumes about his acting skills. Sonakshi Sinha plays her 'typical' Bollywood heroine role, and does not have much to contribute.    Gulshan Grover and Raj Babbar in negative characters make you nostalgic for their performances in the 90s. Even Chunky Pandey, who plays a negative cameo in the first half is really commendable. Ravi Kishen plays a character with a lot of potential in the movie and could have been utilised better. A special mention should go to Vidyut Jamwal as he delivers a power packed performance and the jaw dropping stunts in his special appearance of say around 45 minutes. In the ensemble cast, the noticeable performers are Vipin Sharma, DeepRaj Rana, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Mahie Gill, Sharat Saxena, and Rajeev Gupta.

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                    :                     The music for this flick has been given by Sajid Wajid  which is fairly average and yes, one track, " Tamanche pe Disco" has has been composed by RDB. But, Sajid-Wajid have provided a good background score with a true Hollywood western style mouth organ playing at the pauses and the intense parts of the movie. The cinematography of the movie is by P.S.Vinod who has captured locales of U.P, Chambal, Mumbai and Kolkatta with fine tuning and aplomb. Another person who deserves due credit is Rahul Srivastava who has edited the movie and controlled the film's reckless momentum and hit the right notes while taking a route that hardly affords safe options. Now, coming to the master craftsman Tigmanshu Dhulia, who has written the story, screenplay, dialogues as well as directed the movie and fared exceptionally on all the fronts. Apart from the screenplay, his dialogues are crisp, brazen and in tandem to the screenplay..sample this..Brahman bukha to sudama, samjha to chanakya , rutha to ravan. Dhulia's skills as a raconteur of remarkable aptitudes is most evident. He merges mythological and historical allusions into current politics and he weds heroism and hooliganism without causing any discernible damage to his work's aesthetics. Dhulia's treatment of violence in the hinterland is sharp and constantly tongue in cheek. Midway through the mayhem he brings in Vidyut Jamwal ( described picturesquely as (Chambal Ka Chowkidar) to bring our scummy hero Raja Misra under control. Tigmanshu has become a director to reckon with and undoubtedly is one of the best when it comes to making raw, unadulterated cinema.  

WOW MOMENTS                                                    :     Watch the camaraderie between Saif & Jimmy as it has to be seen to be believed. After, a lot of time Filmy dosti has come which matches and reminds you of Jai -Veeru of Sholay which one of the characters refers to in the the movie itself.

 CONCLUSION                                                      :      It is a conventional, formulaic cinema made in raw, brazen, unadulterated and tightly wound way which is a treat for genuine movie lovers. It is definitely not the run of the mill kind of cinema and has been intelligently made and presented.

  ROHIT SHARMA.

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RAM LEELA : Movie review

                                              Just when you think you have seen it all, there comes a film that reminds you of how far the cinematic medium has come....And how far it can go in the right hands. And let’s face it. Bhansali is Bhansali. Every image, every frame tells a story. Every shot in this brilliant film has a place in his cosmos. You won’t be left wondering for even a split second why you saw what you just did. Yup, size matters. And in the case of Ram Leela you can say that with a wink. Bhansali’s Romeo and Juliet are unabashedly sexual in the body and verbal language. None of that traditional coyness and hesitation that characterizes traditional courtship when Ram and Leela discuss one another’s vital statistics. He runs a porn video parlour. She comes from a family of gun-wielding criminals helmed by a steely matriarch (Supriya Pathak, brilliant). As far as Ram & Leela are concerned, he comments on her ‘136 inch’ chest, she talks about his, er, trigger. They are in love and they know lust is an integral component of their relationship. No two lovers derived from a classic romance have celebrated their mutual sexual desires so frankly and fearlessly. 

SCRIPT & SCREENPLAY                                           :          Goliyon ki Raasleela Ram-Leela is Bollywood’s third stab at ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in a year and a half. Full marks must be given to its writers that include SLB, Siddharth and Garima who have embellished this tale by blending traditional tale along with modern elements.  It’s violent and vicious Verona all over again; this time around the theatre of action is relocated to a village in the Rann of Kutch. In the bargain, the essential spirit of the Bard is left by the wayside. Bhansali’s Romeo is Ram (Ranveer Singh), a rakish, hunky Lothario who believes that physical love is as essential as acts of violence are avoidable. Needless to say, he falls prey to both. Juliet is Leela (Deepika Padukone), an epitome of feminine grace who thinks nothing of giving free rein to her sexuality. Boy and girl are so smitten by each other that, after the initial moments of tentativeness, they aren’t sure where lust ends and love begins. But once passion blossoms, there is no stopping the duo.But in their path are their respective families. One clan peddles guns, the other spreads terror. Venom flows free, and so does blood. Bullets fly thick and fast and lives are snuffed out with a thought. The young lovers have no choice but to turn their backs on their folks and elope.Amid all the ballyhoo, the village manages to produce a newspaper of its own. It’s called Ranjhar Times. Wonder who has the time! Goliyon ki Raasleela Ram-Leela is neither Romeo and Juliet nor your friendly neighbourhood Ram Lila, where the audience knows exactly what the outcome is going to be. The pacing also dips rather badly in the middle and whenever Ram and Leela are separated, since from a dramatic standpoint their tandem star power is the engine that makes the whole thing run. Those caveats aside, visual splendor and hot-blooded melodrama mostly win out over rickety pacing and scripting.

STARCAST                                                          :        The actors, in keeping with the no-holds-barred ambience that the film exudes, take recourse to grandly expansive gestures to express the minutest of emotions. What makes the ride as enjoyable as it is, are the performances of Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in the leads. Singh prevails over a very odd (even by masala hero standards) mustache to give a deeply affecting and rich performance as Ram, but it's Padukone, as is increasingly the case, who steals the show with pure, deliberate, ferocious star power. The striking thing about her performance as Leela is how tightly coiled and tense it seems; she's ready at a moment's notice to kiss or kill (or both), never passive, never merely a photographic subject.  Padukone, who's very close—if she isn't there already—to becoming the star among stars in her generation. Her every gesture is fascinating.  Apart from the leads, three male performers who stand out are - Sharad Kelkar who has played the part of Leela's brother. Supporting a stubbed beard, he manages to impress even in the short duration of his screen presence. Secondly, Abhimanyu Singh who we saw as Bukka Reddy in Rakht-Charithra has delivered an astounding performance as Ram's elder brother. He looks really mean & menacing and his expressions are really convincing while portraying the character of a Don. Thirdly, Vishnu Devaiah as Leela's greedy cousin who wants to become the leader of clan by hook or crook has given a commendable performance. Similarly,  in females three performers who stand out are : – Supriya Pathak Kapur as Leela’s mother, Richa Chadda as the heroine’s sis-in-law and Barkha Bisht Sengupta as the widow in the enemy camp. Especially impressive is the way Chadda nails the local accent even as it fluctuates wildly all around her. So, all in all, SLB has extracted the best performances from all his actors and it is a treat to watch them portraying their characters onscreen and credit should also be given to the casting directors i.e. Shruti Mahajan & Parag Mehta.   

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                                          :     On technical front, it’s the cinematic equivalent of a well set, festooned moveable tableau where all the ingredients seem to be outshining each other that ultimately its difficult to ascertain whose the best. The music for the flick has been composed by SLB himself, and if not very good still he has done a descent job out of it. Monty Sharma, has given very good background music. I will also like to give due credit to the Production Designer, Wasiq Khan whose art work too unfurls a spiraling tapestry of kaleidoscopic colours that find a place in the hectic frames without jostling or crowding the canvas. S.Ravi Varman's cinematography is plush and passionate and yet the film's visuals never topples over into the kingdom of the garish. And what visuals as he has made the desi Romeo and Juliet's turbulent togetherness an occasion for optical enchantment. Varman, let me state, uses the camera like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan uses the Sarod. It’s an instrument to converse with divinity. Movie has been edited by SLB himself along with Rajesh Pandey who have kept the length of the flick to 154 minutes which i feel could have been restricted or better fine tuned by editing some of the lengthy scenes. Now, coming to the man himself i.e. Sanjay Leela Bhansali who has written, produced, composed music, edited as well as directed this opulent movie. So much has been said about Bhansali’s cinematic sense. But not enough. The way he composes the shots to convey the passionate desperation of lovers who know they’re running out of time is a subject that textbooks can be written about. With a magician’s dexterity Bhansali weaves the characters into frames with seamless splendour magically making space for the passionate and the tender. You could say Bhansali’s cinema is the visual equivalent of Lata Mangeshkar’s singing. And you wouldn’t be wrong.

WOW MOMENTS                                          :          Of the innumerable imperishable images that emerge from Ram Leela’s tumultuous tale, I’d single out two. The first shows Barkha Bisht as Ranveer’s widowed sister-in-law running away from a gang of attackers. As she runs through the rugged hinterland her brass vessel tumbles down-slope with her. The sequence, caught in a desperately dying light, is probably the most vivid image of impending doom I’ve seen in any recent film. The other unforgettable image features Deepika, her hand bloodied after an injury, lying on the wet ground in a streak of blood which reminded me of Aishwarya Rai’s slashed wrist creating a pond of blood with her hand in Bhansali’s Hum...Dil De Chuke Sanam.

CONCLUSION                                                          :      Ram Leela’s visual poetry is so eloquent you wonder at times if the filmmaker is a closet-painter. Really, you’ve never seen anything quite like this before. Exhilarating, tumultuous, passionate, flamboyant, fluent and quite simply fabulous....Sanjay Bhansali’s Gujju take on Romeo & Juliet would have surely made Shakespeare giddy with joy. Brimming with exuberance and energy Ram Leela’s exalted aesthetics and powerhouse narration once again prove Bhansali to be an incomparable storyteller.

ROHIT SHARMA.

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