Nanak Shah Fakir :: Movie Review

NANAK SHAH FAKIR is exceptionally intellectual, intelligently compromised so that it does not defy Sikh sentiments, lavishly & impressively captured and spiritually well focused epic saga highly recommended to be seen on big screen. " We are not human beings having spiritual experience. we are spiritual beings having human experience ". This is what hoovers your conscious, sub conscious and super conscious state of mind after viewing this EPIC MOVIE which makes you feel like having a personal audience with Guru ji in-spite of being seated along with co-watchers. When you enter the hall, you are full of Anek Omkaar and by the time you leave, you are full of Ek Omkaar. A journey from Marjana to Mardana. You become a Co-Journeyer. Millions of salutations to the genuine intentions, spiritual efforts and salutation-al courage in giving silver screen shape to Holy Commandments of Guru Nanak Shah Fakir Ji. Bharat, surprisingly has this time and for the first time gifted a Screen to the world for which it is best and well known as Genesis of Divinity and Spirituality. Indian Film Industry, perhaps the largest producers of films in the world, has been cowardly scared to deliver spiritually rich movies. Reasons are many and the intentions are remotely genuine. After this movie, it will grow up hopefully. With billions of restrictions and taboos, it is painstakingly challenging to compose such an Epic giving rooms to many obvious shortcomings for sure. Yet a very certain unconditional appreciation for the acumen with which His Holiness has been projected becomes a must, perhaps which could have not been possible without his blessings. Simple messages are most complicated to live by and much entangled to be delivered too as well. Baba Nanak Ji miraculously lived it with such an ease as if it falls in his comfort zone. Besides, a well traveled man understands life and its purpose with very compassionate way. His learning gets un-fathomed reach and vision sky broad. If a normal person can achieve so much, it is beyond our reach to understand how much a His Holiness would have gathered and delivered. We have heard about one and only unconditional & selfless love between Lord Krishan and Radha ji, but among siblings, perhaps its first instance of its kind. Baba Nanak and Bibi Nanaki are perfect Gods for the festival of Rakhi by all means. Baba Nanak Ji is a messiah of universal equality, humanitarian compassion and religious tolerance and the film very much justifies his these teachings, the very reason that the film was widely appreciated at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2014, at the Sikh Film Festival at Toronto in Oct 2014 and at the Sikhlens Film Festival at Chapman University, California in Nov 2014. It is pity & ironical that his teachings have been failed by those people who have banned this movie in some parts of India.   

Story & Screenplay                                                                                 ::   The story of the movie has been penned down by Prof. Amrit Basra & Bhai Veer Singh Sadan and the screenplay of the movie has been written by Harinder Sikka . They have ably structured the screenplay in such a balanced way that the movie never sounds preachy but instead comes across as an inspiring biopic which is able to hit the right spiritual chords with the audience. It ably depicts the beliefs of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first of Sikh Gurus and his four Uddasis (Spiritual travellings) across India to spread the message of "Ik Omkar" meaning God is one. The movie begins in village Talwandi where one night, Tripta Devi wife of a village inhabitant Kalu Mehta (Anurag Arora) is undergoing labor pains and is about to deliver a baby. While the birth of Baba Nanak Ji's takes place, village landlord Rai Bular ( Adil Hussain) experiences a divine aura in his alpha state of mind. Later on, Rai Bular shares a unspoken, well understood affinity with Baba Nanak Dev Ji so much so that before his final departure he transfers all his property in Baba Nanak's name. When a PanditJi visits Kalu Mehta's house with Nanak's Kundli and listens to Rai Bular saying that he experienced a divine aura last night, he confirms that he was already aware that a divine soul is going to incarnate while drafting horoscope of Bibi Nanaki (Puneet Sikka), elder sibling of Baba Nanak. This itself proves that there was a strong divine connection between brother & sister which became evident that Nanaki used to understand each & every expressed as well as non expressed feelings of Guru Nanak Ji. Right from his childhood Baba Nanak is inclined more towards spirituality which remains a cause of worry for his father for quite a good time. When marriage of Bibi Nanaki gets fixated with a revenue official, Bhai Jai Ram (Manav Kaul), a shehnai player visits their house along with his son. When Tripta Devi inquires about the name of his son from the shehnai player, he says that since all his previous children died after taking birth hence he has named his son Marjana. Baba Nanak Ji who is listening to this conversation rechristen his name as Mardana (Arif Zakaria) i.e. one who will live forever. Mardana develops a strong affinity towards Nanak Ji which can be better explained as total samarapann at first sight and remained his eternal friend, companion and follower. Sensing Baba Nanak's inclination towards spiritualism his worried father arranges for a Government job for him at Sultanpur where Bibi Janaki resides. Soon, Bibi Janaki with the help of her husband arrange and solemnize the marriage of Nanak Ji with Sulakhani. How Nanak Ji got transformed from Nanak to Guru Nanak ? What inspired him to compose his universal aarti at Jagannath Puri temple ? What is the story behind Patther Saheb ? How 200 years old cave Rishis became disciples of his holiness & what is the height of selflessness in the form of Mardana is what forms the rest of the story.   

STARCAST                                                                                             ::           The makers have wisely selected talented ensemble starcast who have ably portrayed their respective characters convincingly, irrespective of their appearance duration. Arif Zakaria along with the technical brilliance of the movie hold the key to the film's efficacy by portraying the character of Mardana with utmost conviction. To his credit, we are not able to locate Arif Zakaria in the movie but only Mardana. Adil Hussain as Rai Bular has given a subtle, mature, true-elderly performance. His dialogue delivery is mesmerizingly thoughtful with a perfect voice modulation. Watch out for him in the scene where he is on his death bed and blessed Nirvana by Nanak Dev ji. Anurag Arora has a done a commendable job while portraying the character of Kalu Mehta. His concerns for his son were genuinely reflected, his worries were so well connected with that of father's regarding stability of his son that we could walk in his shoes. Puneet Sikka as Bibi Nanaki has given an earnest performance. She has been able to portray the other end of spiritual umbilical chord of Guru Nanak Ji effectively. Manav Kaul who got noticed earlier for his performances in "Kai Po Che" & "Citylights" gets to play the character of Bhai Jai Ram who is brother-in-law of Guru Nanak Dev ji. Manav, once again ably manages to make his presence felt in the movie. After a long hiatus, we get to see Tom Alter on-screen in this movie portraying the character of Daulat Khan, the ruler of Sultanpur. It was difficult to recognize him because of the prosthetic make-up Only a dignified & seasoned actor like Tom Alter could give justice to a complicated character of Daulat Khan, who on one hand is sick, tired and looks cruel but on the other hand is just, understanding and well balanced ruler. 

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                                                                 ::        The musical soundtrack of the movie that has been composed by Uttam Singh is as pristine as it can be. The soulful Shabads that he has composed have been sung by vocal chords of Padma awardees Pandit Jasraj & Bhai Nirmal Singh. The background score that has been composed by eminent Finnish composer Tuomas Kantelinen & conducted by music maestro A.R.Rahman is spellbinding and provides further impetus to the visuals. Due regard for this must be given to Resul Pookutty who is the sound designer as well as co-producer of the movie. Plenty of the credit for the tonal correctness of the narrative must go to the cinematographer of the movie i.e. A.K.Bir who has captured stunning visuals that look as pious as the theme of the movie. His camera has not only captured the locales of Jagannath Puri, Tibet and the Himalayas with utmost finesse but his usage of color palettes as per the requirement of the shots is praiseworthy. The movie has been edited by Archit Rastogi who has kept the runtime of the movie to 145 minutes. The editing is precise as despite the languid pace of the movie, your yearning for the movie never fades away. Kudos to producer Harinder Singh Sikka for not only being brave enough to make a movie on Baba Nanak ji despite knowing its repercussions but also making it on such a magnanimous scale that every frame of the movie is enriched. The makers have done an outstanding job by keeping a fine balance while helming this tale so that it does not defy Sikh sentiments. It is not an easy job to direct a biopic where you cannot actually show the face of main protagonist but with his finesse & able assistance from technical crew, director has made a cult biopic with a mix of myriad emotions that will invoke a range of sentiments in your heart while watching this movie. There are no exaggerated dramatic flourishes here, no playing to the galleries. Unlike other biopics & period films which have conveniently and lazily restored to antiques, artifacts and vintage songs, Nanak Shah Fakir simply and effortlessly emerges from the character and his milieu. 

CONCLUSION                                                                                              ::     Since God has no religion, Nanak Shah Fakir is also not confined to single path-faith, hence a must watch for all humans who wish to understand the true meaning of love and humanity. Also a must watch for all those who wish to understand how India looked like & suffered during the said tenure.  

ROHIT SHARMA. 

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Dharam Sankat Mein :: Movie Review

                                               

Dharam Sankat Mein is a honest & specific social face-off which depicts dilemma of a common middle class man going through identity crisis with respect to religion in a thought provoking manner. While the premise of Dharam Sankat Mein is interesting in the way it presents the dilemma of its protagonist who is an atheist & doesn't care much for the religion he belongs to but the frequent oscillation of the narrative between being a satire & preachy,insightful one robs the common middle class man's uncommon story of its charm making it a tepid film. Though, the movie is an official remake of the 2010 satirical comedy "The Infidel" (by Josh Appignanesi) written by David Baddiel but the makers have rechristened the screenplay keeping Indian backdrop in mind. The Infidel is the story of Mahmud (played by Omid Djalili) whose life is turned upside down when he discovers that he is not a British Muslim, but a Jewish by birth. Since the movie talks about religious fanatics & self styled Godmen, comparisons are bound to be there with past films like O.M.G. & P.K which also revolved around the same subject. But, there is a major difference in all these three movies as both the earlier ones were deliberate satires on Godmen and blind faith of people in their respective religious parameters. Where as in this movie there is no deliberate attempt to make mockery of any religion as they drop in obviously due to given circumstances. Another major USP of this film as compared to P.K & O.M.G is that these two movies had portrayed Hindus as most intolerant, violent, superstitious, blind followers, narrow minded religious fanatics but in Dharam Sankat Mein, the director has tried his level best to give justice in keeping right balance between two religions. He has portrayed the shortcomings amongst the blind followers of both Hindusim as well as Islam as on one side there is Hindu Baba Neelanand (Naseeruddin Shah) who is fleecing his followers for his own ulterior motives & on the other side is Imam (Murli Sharma) who is trying his level best to convert Dharam Pal to Islam. The movie begins with ordeals faced by DharamPal (Paresh Rawal), who one fine day discovers that he is a born Muslim who was adopted and brought up by a Hindu family. This comes as a real shocker to him as he is a very liberal common man with an obvious mindset towards Muslims. He even questions the sense of humor played by God on him. Soon, as the reasons behind his adoption get revealed to him along with the fact that his biological father is still very alive and hasn't got remarried because of his affection towards him, he treads on a path to self discovery. Despite having a good storyline & some powerful actors, Director Fuwad Khan has not been able to capitalize on them as the movie has got several loopholes in it. To quote a couple of examples ; the movie through one of its principal characters states that Muslims in this country are a harried lot being in minority which seems illogical as Muslims in this country are leading a healthy, respectable life & especially the film fraternity to which Fuwad Khan belongs is full of prominent people belonging to this community. This perception voiced in the movie is not based on concrete grounds. Secondly, when a Hindu religious preacher is called to teach some rituals to Dharam Pal, he is shown teaching him "Shiv Tandava" which is totally irrelevant as it is not a part of the prayers. While Dharam Sankat Mein makes a solid case against blind faith, the excesses of religious rituals, it never sticks its neck out far enough as if afraid to be too provocative. If only the film had the nerve to go the whole hog with its healthy spirit of scepticism and fired on all cylinders, its unusual central premise would have made infinitely more sense and found its intended mark.

STORY & SCREENPLAY                                                           ::                        While the credit for the story has been given to David Baddiel (The Infidel), the screenplay of the movie has been written by Sanjay Sharma, Alpesh Dixit, Vijay Desai & Vedish Jhaweri. One of the drawbacks of this film is its patchy screenplay that aimlessly oscillates from one issue to another without addressing anyone with the required clarity. As a result of this, Dharam Sankat Mein ends up on a dull note conveying the age old preaching about message of humanity & that self styled Godmen are all fraudulent people who work for their own vested interests. Though, the movie begins on a promising note by setting a tone of being a cinematic critique of prejudices that are prevalent in Indian society but soon looses its steam by amalgamating drama & satire which fails to bind the movie as a coherent whole. Due to this, even the satire fails to leave that inducing effect. The way screenplay has been penned, the drama appears quite far-fetched and unbelievable at places, robbing the film of the plausible element. Had the entire film been comical and satirical rather than philosophical in parts, it would have been far more entertaining and universal in appeal. The film begins with the movie's protagonist Dharam Pal (Paresh Rawal) trying to cover his ears as he is getting irritated from the sound of morning "Azaan" coming from a nearby mosque. He is a well settled caterer in Ahmadabad who is leading a happily married life with caring wife and two doting children that include a son and daughter and his biggest passion is to listen to songs of a singer by the name of Manchala (Gippy Grewal). His son, Amit falls in love with a girl whose father is a staunch Hindu and devotee of Baba Neelanand (Naseeruddin Shah) & wants Dharam Pal to visit the ashram of Baba as well as learn finer nuances of Hinduism to impress the girl's father. While going to the ashram, Dharam Pal's car accidentally rubs across with the car of his neighbor Nawab Mahmood Nazeem Ali Shah Khan Bahadur (Annu Kapoor) who is a lawyer by profession and sends a legal notice for the same to Dharam Pal. This infuriates Dharam Pal who is already at logger heads with him due to their religious differences and they have a verbal spat. The twist in the story comes when Dharam Pal's wife asks him to to go & open the locker of his dead mother. On opening the locker, his life is turned upside down when he finds an old affidavit which states that he is a muslim by birth and was actually adopted by his Hindu parents. He is taken aback and hides this fact from his family fearing disgrace from the society he lives in. To know the identity of his biological parents, he approaches Nawab Mahmood with a plea to trace his parents who soon comes to know that Dharam Pal's mother is dead and ailing father is living in a Muslim sanctorum. Upon reaching the sanctorum, he is not allowed to meet his father by the Imam (Murli Sharma) who wants Dharam Pal to learn all the rituals of a devout Muslim. Until he becomes a devout Muslim, he will not be allowed to meet his father.  He finds his savior in Nawab Mahmood who begins to teach him mannerisms and rituals of a Muslim. On the other hand, his son, Amit calls a Hindu preacher at home to teach Dharam Pal finer rituals of a devout Hindu. Dharam Pal is caught in a fix ; learning the finer rituals and mannerisms of both the religions, simultaneously. Now, Amit wants his father to impress Baba Neelanand to win over father of his ladylove and in the process of doing so Dharam Pal ends up burning Muslim skull cap which attracts backlash of Muslims. To save his skin, Dharam Pal reveals in front of everyone that he is a Muslim by birth following which his family abandons him. Left all alone, he stumbles upon a startling truth about Baba Neelanand. Will Dharam Pal be able to meet his biological father, will his family come back to him, will he able to expose Baba Neelanand & will he able to get his son marry the girl he loves, is what forms the rest of the story.

STARCAST                                                                                                        ::       Kudos to Vinod Rawat (Casting director) for casting 3 National award winners i.e. Paresh Rawal, Nasseruddin Shah & Annu Kapoor for this movie but alias! he failed to assemble talented ensemble starcast to back them up. Paresh Rawal is acknowledged as a supremely accomplished and consummate actor of our times. The veteran actor is so talented that he can carry any film on his own shoulders and execute any kind of challenging character with candor. But, in this film Paresh Rawal looks like an under utilized actor. One reason can be that his character in this movie is quite similar to Kanjibhai from Oh My God, that there was nothing much left for him to bring anything new or fresh to the character of Dharam Pal. Still, there are few scenes where he is able to come out of the shadow of Kanjibhai and leaves a lasting impression. Watch out for him in the scene where he goes to Muslim function by putting on a fake beard with Annu Kapoor and wins over everyone present in the function by the virtue of his presence of mind. His act in that scene is stellar as well as effortless. Naseeruddin Shah as Baba Neelanand is simply a treat to watch. He has ably captured and enacted the finer nuances of his character that include being flashy, over the top and loud. His entry scene on a modified mobike, wearing flashy clothes and donning goggles are reminiscent of another present day Baba who also made a film recently in which he himself played the role of protagonist. Whenever Naseer appears on-screen, he leaves a smile on your face with his loud act. But, as per me the best performance of the movie has been delivered by Annu Kapoor who endears you with his class act as Nawab Mahmood Nazeem Ali Shah Khan Bahadur. Be it his verbal banters with Paresh, emotional bonding with him, teaching Muslim mannerisms to Paresh or his defending Paresh in courtroom ; he has come out equally good in all of them. Suffice to say, his sequences with Paresh Rawal contribute enormously to the delightful moments. Murli Sharma is another fine actor who always manages to leave his mark even by playing small cameos like he did in "Badlapur". In this movie, he has portrayed the role of Imam with utmost conviction. His face expressions and firm body language lend a certain aura of authenticity to the character he portrays in this film. Another actor who deserves a special mention is Mukesh Bhatt who has enacted the role of Hindu Priest. With his comic timing, he brings chuckles on your faces. Alka Kaushal has given an apt performance as wife of Paresh Rawal. Punjabi singer & actor Gippy Grewal makes his Bollywood debut with this movie, though his performance is restricted to singing songs only. The ensemble starcast includes Auritra Ghosh, Rushita Pandya, Sharat Sonu, Suresh Venkataraman, Jagdish Rajpurohit & Jahangir Karkaria. 

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                                                           ::       The musical soundtrack of the movie that has been composed by Meet Bros Anjjan, Sachin Gupta, Jatinder Shah & D J Kiran is on a very average scale with couple of good numbers. "Allah hoo" sung by Sachin Gupta & Ravi Chowdhary is a retrospective number with some fine lyrics from Kumaar and is pick of the album. "Tu Takke" sung by Gippy Grewal, Meet Bros Anjjan & Khushboo Grewal is another foot tapping number from the album. The background music of the film that has been composed by Sachin Gupta is apt enough as per the genre of the movie. The cinematographer of the movie is Anshuman Mahaley who has not done a fine job behind the lens. His camerawork is uneven and you can gauge the paucity of light in several visuals of the movie. He had a brilliant opportunity to capture the outdoor locales of Ahmadabad as the whole movie has been shot there but he has hardly captured any of those. His uneven camerawork comes out all the more surprising as the movie has been directed by Fuwad Khan, who himself is an ace cinematographer. So as an audience, I had preconceived notion that quality of visuals in this movie would be excellent which turned out to be otherwise. But, I would like to applaud Alpesh Dixit, Sanjay Sharma & Vijay Desai ( Dialogue writers) of this movie who have penned down some real good one liners in the movie. Their well conjured dialogues add up spice to the narrative and never dry out till the end. To quote a few ; Dharam koi bhi ho, topi sab pehnate hain. When Annu Kappor enters the courtroom pronouncing his name "Nawab Mahmood Nazeem Ali Shah Khan Bahadur" as the defense lawyer, judge asks where are the other lawyers to which Annu promptly replies " Kai baar to mera naam parrne mein hi case ki agli date dall jaati hai ". The movie has been edited by Apurva Asrani who has kept the runtime of the movie to 129 minutes which seems a tad too long for movie of this genre. The editing is tacky & some of the scenes could have been shortened or done away with on the editing table. Cinematographer turned director Fuwad Khan chose an ambitious, sensitive subject while helming his debut movie but his inexperience is perceptible across the canvas. His biggest flaw is that he fails to draw a trajectory with respect to what he wants to portray ; emotional drama or a well meaning satire. As a result, what we get is a convoluted movie which keeps on oscillating aimlessly in different directions with the pace lagging & humor falling flat several times. Fuwad chose a very good subject but was not able to execute the same in a flawless manner.

CONCLUSION                                                                                            ::     Dharam Sankat Mein is frequently weighed down by verbose and preachy passages that overstay their welcome. The film's premise is courageous no doubt, but its heart and sinews are rather weak. It seems to chicken out a tad too easily in the end. So, despite the high fun quotient inherent in the concept and the steady flow of droll one-liners from the principal players, the movie never rises to particularly great heights either as an entertainer or a social message-oriented drama.  

ROHIT SHARMA. 
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Detective Byomkesh Bakshy :: Movie Review

                                       
                       

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy helmed by Dibakar Banerjee is an uncompromising, classic whodunit thriller which starts as a murder mystery but catapults with each subsequent scene, cooking up the suspense gradually with the best saved for the last. The best part about the movie is that its screenplay has been layered with different characters being introduced at several junctures which not only keeps the audience engaged but also keeps them guessing till the climax unfolds. What begins as a simple case for Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (Sushant Singh Rajput) to locate the missing father of Ajit Banerjee (Anand Tiwari) soon takes a dangerous recourse with enough twists & turns, inducing obvious horror that it might out turn out to be his last one. Soon, several sub plots are unraveled centered around World War 2 that include drug lords fighting for supremacy in Kolkata, refugees flowing in from Shanghai-Burma route, nationalists fighting for freedom and the city is under threat of a Japanese attack. All these plots are intertwined and it is left for Bakshy to join the dots, unravel the mystery and save the city from impending threat of Japanese attack. The concept behind a jigsaw puzzle is most fascinating. Its three step model involves drawing an intricate picture laden with buried details and fine clues, cutting it into several unrecognizable segments and assembling a jumble that carries a seemingly simple challenge - to fall in place, to make sense. Suspense thrillers are just the same. But very few times films belonging to this genre are able to fit the right piece in the right place. And that's what makes Dibakar Banerjee's accomplishment in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy worth all the applause that comes its way. He builds anticipation and tension without relying too much on the age-old ploy of red herrings or an overwhelming background score. It's as though he wants his viewer to follow the cues, solve the quandary on a personal level and entertain every conceivable theory/ wild suggestion that pops in the head. Gratifying, if you nail it and astounding even when you don't. Either way his refreshing approach is appreciative of his viewer's intellect and enthusiasm. Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is a captivating recount from its commencement to its conclusion. Dibakar has fashioned enough scenes around the plot that keep the viewer on the edge of the seat. Besides, fragments of tongue in cheek humor pop up when you least anticipate to liven up the solemn plot. Yet, the storyteller never deviates from the fundamental somber premise. The movie triumphs in invoking emotions. You experience compassion, resentment, triumph and defenselessness at a variety of stages. A wonderful movie-going experience, you come out feeling a sense of pleasure and fulfillment after watching Detective Byomkesh Bakshy. Not only the suspense in Dibakar's Byomkesh is nail biting but his eye for detailing also succeeds in getting Kolkata of 1940's to perform at its peak and look like it's on a wire between vintage and dilapidated. Every shot which Dibakar has shot has been captured with such intricate detailing that it brings pre independent Kolkata to life. The overall attitude of the city and the city's voice is consistent in the story and the characters too. 

STORY & SCREENPLAY                                             ::       The story as well as screenplay has been penned down by Dibakar Banerjee along with Urmi Juvekar. It's no mean task, penning a script that holds your attention while its intention is to throw you off the mark. To the credit of writers - Dibakar & Urmi - no strand remains untied. Taut and refreshing, the script of Detective Byomkesh Bakshy keeps you on your toes with its tendency to throw surprises and twists at every turn. As is integral to all good stories, writers sketch out solid characters with most of them wearing a mask of falsehood and pretending to be, what they are not. The movie is set in 1940's when World war 2 was its peak and the threat of oncoming Japanese bomber-jets was looming large over Kolkata. The movie begins with a boat landing on coast of Kolkata in 1942 with few Asian people in it and one of them saying that it takes time to load 500 kg of opium. A hooded figure emerges from darkness who guffaws terrifyingly and warns the Chinese that it wants Kolkata back. A man's eyeballs are popped out and throats of others slit. This dark scene captured brilliantly sets the tempo for the rest of the movie. Cut next, Byomkesh Bakshy (Sushant Singh Rajput) who is sitting in a sports room is approached by Ajit Banerjee (Anand Tiwari) who wants Bakshy to solve the case of his father, Bhuvan, who is missing since last couple of months. Bakshy refuses to accept the case and bluntly tells him that his father might be no more leading an upset Ajit slap Bakshy in front of everyone. Later, Byomkesh takes on Ajit's missing father case maybe because he wants to prove to him that his intuition about his father being no more is true. Bakshy questions Ajit about intimate details of his father and comes to know he was a genius bio-chemist who was living separately in a lodging house. To find clues about the case, Bakshy moves to the same lodge posing as a tenant which is run by Dr. Anukul Guha (Neeraj Kabi) where several other tenants live including Kanai Dao (Meiyang Chang) who is an opium dealer. He starts gathering evidence and soon meets (or is made to meet) Angoori Devi (Swastika Mukherjee) who soon warms upto him. In her purse, Bakshy finds some letters which lead him to a closed factory of a local politician where he finds corpse of Bhuvan. And then starts his journey to find the killers of Bhuvan. Hereafter, the story takes an intriguing turn when his investigation takes a dangerous turn on finding that a local politician, a Japanese dentist and Chinese drug cartel are all a part of some big conspiracy. As the case progresses, several new characters are introduced, who in turn, lead to various twists and turns. Throats are slashed, blood spurts, sirens wail - and in the middle of all this is Byomkesh, trying to piece together a gory jigsaw puzzle. Soon, following the clues Byomkesh Bakshy catches hold of a mysterious map. Does Byomkesh becomes successful in finding the culprits behind Bhuvan's as well as series of other murders, Will he be able to solve the mystery of the map is what forms the rest of the story.           

STARCAST                                                                                            :: Sushant Singh Rajput who has already established himself as a romantic hero and made quite a hearts go aflutter with his boy next door image by displaying his charming persona through his past flicks like Kai Po Che, Shudh Desi Romance & P.K. gets to display his acting mettle by playing Detective Byomkesh Bakshi. He has left no stone unturned to delve deep into the skin of the character and live upto the expectations of Dibakar who showed a lot of confidence in him by giving him a chance to play the main lead in this film. Expectedly, Detective Byomkesh Bakshi unspools as a one-man narrative, and Sushant proves that he can carry a film on his own, even with no other recognizable star. He is alternatively firm, fierce, vulnerable, playful and charming that you're sometimes unsettled by these shifting emotions. What he does do is lend undeniable credence to his role and this thriller, making you walk every step with him in this journey. Anand Tiwari (Go Goa Gone) fame gets every sensitive nuance of his role spot-on, as Bakshy's companion who assists him along the way and endears himself completely to the viewer. We can say that if Byomkesh Bakshy is Sherlock Holmes, than Anand Tiwari is Watson. Swastika Mukherjee looks stunning as the femme fatale and has portrayed her character of Angoori Devi with utmost conviction. Swastika amazingly transforms herself into physical & mental aura as a carved marble dice of the Shakuni minded antagonist who kisses the dice when he is winning & breaks it, otherwise. Kudos to Swastika for capturing the finer nuances of her character in her first big budget outing. Divya Menon manages to impress as niece of the politician during her brief stint on-screen. Meiyang Chang has played his character to pitch perfection during his extended cameo in the movie. But, the icing on the cake is the performance of Neeraj Kabi as Byomkesh's landlord, Anukul Guha. His character has several layers attached to it which keep on unraveling with due passage of time and it speaks volumes about his acting finesse, the way he enacts his character. Watch out for him in the scene where he laughs like a maniac but without going overboard. 

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                                                           ::     As per the trend these days, the musical soundtrack of the movie that has been composed by a battery of composers that include Sneha Khanwalkar, Dibakar Banerjee, Madboy/Mink, Blek, Mode AKA, Joint Family, IJA & Peter Cat Recording Co. - PCRC. befits the tagline of the movie i.e. expect the unexpected as it is unconventional. The soundtrack is not run of the mill stuff and the genre of most of the tracks is Western Indie music. The cinematographer of the movie is Nikos Andritsakis who has done an outstanding job of capturing visuals. Kolkata's architecture, even in the rundown bits, lends a wonderful edge to Nikos's visual commentary. Dark, lingering, soulful and enigmatic - Kolkata is multiple people in city's body. This varied, pulsating and intriguing temperament is what is documented in well captured frames without distracting itself from the story or its telling. A special mention of Vandana Kataria (Production designer) & Manish Malhotra, Manoshi Nath, Rushi Sharma (Costume designers) who with their brilliant contribution in their respective fields have been able to recreate the Calcutta of 1940's. The movie has been edited by Manas Mittal & Namrata Rao who have packaged the whole action in run-time of 150 minutes. Some people might have a problem with the languid pace of the movie but this is how good thrillers are meant to be ; cooking up the suspense slowly & gradually. As a director, Dibakar Banerjee, with the skills of a master storyteller, amalgamates a missing person story in a thriller format. Without doubt, Dibakar gives it his best shot with gleaming sincerity. Positioned alongside an intimidating environment of Kolkata's tapered side streets and constricted alleyways, the setting is ahead of credence in its realism. Dibakar has ably captured the falling phase of Kolkata which used to be center of power being capital of India till 1912.

CONCLUSION                                                                                    ::       Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is a 150 minutes epical noir with its unescapable gritty tone. The suspense remains consistently tight, and the story well-executed. The film delivers on its promise, and keeps you guessing until the end. It's a well made thriller especially for those who like slowly cooked up suspense films moving at a languid pace. I am giving it 4 stars out of 5.

ROHIT SHARMA.

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HUNTERRR :: Movie Review

Hunterrr is a quirky adult comedy that takes us through the journey of sexual escapades (spanning a timeline of 25 years) of Mandar Ponkshe portrayed brilliantly on-screen by Gulshan Devaiah through his acting prowess. In the last decade or so, Bollywood has been churning out adult sex comedies like Kya Cool hain hum & Masti which were lapped up by the masses so much so that the makers even made sequels of these movies. Though, Hunterrr also belongs to the same genre but this movie is a different ball game altogether. Where as movies like Masti & its ilk relied on obnoxiously named characters, below the belt jokes & forced gags for the laughter content, Hunterrr is devoid of all these elements. In Hunterrr, the humor quotient flows along with the narrative through its well etched characters who mouth some real quirky dialogues. It is in stark contrast to other mindless adult comedies that we have been subjected to watch in the past viz a viz its crafting and storytelling. Harshavardhan Kulkarni (writer & director) has tried to keep things as close to reality as possible without adding any dash of gloss or glamor in the movie which works hugely in its favor. He has assembled talented but not so popular ensemble starcast due to which he has been able to portray realistic looking Indian middle class milieu on-screen which lends an authentic touch to the movie. Coming back to Mandar or Vaasu, the reason why he calls himself  Vaasu is because he is an expert in sniffing out the sexual needs of women. He is so obsessed with sex and trying his Vaasugiri with various women that he doesn't believe in love or getting married. When his friends coax him to get married and leave Vaasugiri, he justifies his acts by saying that having sex is a biological need. He tries to prove his point by saying that sex is also as big a necessity as going to the loo every morning for defecating.  In fact, the evolution of Mandar Ponkshe into Vaasu (that is how he likes to call himself ) in the first half is a treat to watch but alias ! the second half fizzles out and fails to keep up the pace with the brilliance of first half. The scenes depicting Mandar's childhood where he goes to his native village along with his cousin Dilip & learns some tricks of the trade from his elder cousin, Surya are fun to watch. Surya is a carefree bird who never goes to urinals for peeing but likes to water down dry plants. It is charming to see young Mandar (Vedant Muchandi) dispense advice to his classmates on how to impress girls by saying that always go for the second best girl as uske patne ke chance jyada hote hain while he himself gets perplexed after a girl cross questions him after he proposes to her. But soon he develops the skills, becomes Vaasu who is an expert at sniffing out sexual needs of women and becomes the Hunterrr. It is only when Trupti (Radhika Apte) enters his life that cupid strikes him and he begins to think of tying nuptial knot with her leaving his Vaasugiri behind. I would also like to add here that his high libido and desperation not only provide him with various sexual encounters but also often land him in troublesome situations. To mention a few ; twelve year old Mandar has half his head tonsured when cops catch him watching a porn movie at a local video parlor, he is thrown out of college hostel when he sneaks in his girlfriend (Veera Saxena) in his hostel room, he is beaten and chased by group of young guys when he tries to hit out at one of their girl friend at a bar. It is exasperating to watch Hunterrr fizzle away in the second half because of some contrived storytelling and some sloppy editing especially when the film seems like a breath of fresh air in the first half.

STORY & SCREENPLAY    ( Spoilers Ahead )                                                       ::            The story of the movie has been penned down by Harshavardhan Kulkarni who is also the director of this movie. Kudos to him for penning down a storyline which is an adult comedy but not at all a sex comedy laden with all the sleazy elements. He has ably kept the storyline devoid of vulgarity and concentrated more on the sexual journey of the movie's protagonist. He has kept the narrative simple and so close to realism that some part of audience might be able to relate the journey of Mandar with theirs' or any of their friends'.  This is where his writing scores big time as you can make an instant connect with on-screen proceedings. He has ably showcased that apart from being a sex addict, Mandar has an emotional side too. His close bonding with his cousins and the way he weeps uncontrollably after the sudden demise of his cousin, Surya, shows his softer side. While Harshavardhan is able to catch hold of your attention in the first half with the character development of Mandar, his hold on the script falters in the second half. Frequent oscillations in the narrative and elongated second half spoils most of the charm that has been ably built in the first half making it an average flick, out of what could have been a brilliant path breaking adult comedy. But, Harshavardhan Kulkarni & Vijay Maurya deserve a big applause for penning down some real quirky dialogues which have added to the fun quotient of the movie. The movie begins with a telecon between Mandar Ponkshe  (Gulshan Devaiah) and his fiancee Trupti (Radhika Apte). After that the narrative begins to oscillate frequently to show the journey of Mandar turning into Vaasu. Hereafter, the narrative gets carried forward with a series of flashbacks merging into present making it a constant feature till the movie ends. Young Mandar (Vedant Muchandi) goes to his native village along with his cousin, Dilip (Kshitij Kothari) where they catch up with their elder cousin, Surya (Viraj Deshmukh) who is the smartest of all & teaches them tricks of Vaasugiri. Soon, Mandar develops confidence and goes across to propose a girl and befriends her. Hereafter, there is no looking back for Mandar who becomes a champion at Vaasugiri i.e. smelling the needs of a woman and his sex-escapades begin. While studying in college, Mandar befriends Parul (Veera Saxena) & soon she is found hidden in his hostel room getting him expelled from his hostel. He takes a room on rent so that Parul can visit him frequently out there. Now that he has become a hunter, he hunts down another married female Jyotsna (Sai Tamhankar) who lives across his building. Soon, they both start frequenting each others' houses for obvious reasons. He also hunts down another lady for his sexual desires whose name is stored in Mandar's mobile by the name of Savita Bhabhi. After he is chased by a group of boys in a pub calling him uncle & pressure put up by his cousin, Dilip (Sagar Deshmukh), Mandar decides to meet up with  prospective girls for tying up nuptial knot. After meeting couple of them, he meets Trupti (Radhika Apte) and falls in love with her. Now, the irony is that Trupti is a free spirited girl who openly brags about her past affairs & broken engagement in front of Mandar where as Mandar is afraid to disclose his past Vaasugiri to her & pretends to be doodh ka dhula in front of her. After a couple of meetings both of them get engaged. Since Mandar has truly fallen in love with Trupti, his subconscious keeps on haunting him about hiding his past from her. One fine day, dead drunk Mandar decides to go and confess about his colorful past to Trupti. Will Trupti accept him after hearing about his past Vaasugiri, Will Mandar be able to mend his ways and marry Trupti is what forms the rest of the movie.           

STARCAST                                                                                    ::             One of the main highlights of the movie is apt & natural performances by its starcast for which due credit must be given to its casting director. Gulshan Devaiah is one of the most versatile actors who has already proven his acting finesse by playing diverse characters in movies like Shaitan, Dum Maro Dum, Hate Story & Ram Leela. In Hunterrr, he got the chance to play the main protagonist and boy ! with the kind of performance he has delivered, it won't be wrong to say that he is the soul of this movie. He has carried the whole movie on his broad shoulders and the best part is that he makes you feel for the character of Mandar despite him being a skirt chaser. He is one brilliant actor who has displayed myriad number of emotions in this movie. You get to see him in various avatars in this movie ; sensual Mandar making love to Jyotsna, Flirtatious & naughty Mandar chasing Parul, sentimental Mandar crying like a child on death of his cousin & innocent looking Mandar who after falling in love with Trupti wants to go and reveal all the truth about his past and he has emoted with equal amount of finesse in all these avatars. It is definitely his best performance till date. Radhika Apte who recently garnered lot of appreciation with respect to her extended cameo in Badlapur is back with a bang in Hunterrr. She has portrayed the character of Trupti in the most natural and realistic way. She looks every inch the free spirited girl who has no qualms about disclosing her past affairs to the guy she is meeting with prospect of getting married. Watch out for her in the scene where she urges Mandar to go & strike a conversation with an unknown girl buying lingerie in street market. Her timing and acting abilities are effortless and she deserves to be seen more frequently on big screen. Another top notch performance has been delivered by Sagar Deshmukh who plays Dilip, cousin cum confidante of Mandar. His performance is as realistic and natural as it can be and it doesn't seem as if the guy is acting. Watch out for him in the scene where he accompanies Mandar to Trupti's house in an auto rickshaw but not without carrying Chicken wings in his hand. Sai Tamhankar has given an earnest & sizzling performance as Jyotsna and her love making scene with Gulshan has come out real sensuous. Veera Saxena, who makes her debut with Hunterrr has given a descent performance as Parul. Vedant Muchandi as young Mandar, Kshitij as young Dilip have delivered excellent performances. Amongst ensemble starcast noticeable performances have been portrayed by Vaibhav Tatwawdi, Neena Kulkarni, Ravindra Mankani, Suraj Jagan, Abhijit Wagh & Nitesh Pandey.

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                                                 ::             The musical soundtrack of the movie has been composed by Khamosh Shah who is a protege of music maestro A.R.Rahman. Most of the tracks that he has composed are situational which gel well with the flow of narrative and none of the songs seems to have been injected into the screenplay just for the heck of it. The music is melodious and pleasing to ears. Two songs namely Hunterrr 303 sung by Bappi Lahiri & Dil Lagaana by Altaf Raja stand out and are more catchy. The background music of the movie that has been composed by Hitesh Sonic is apt enough and syncs well with the on-screen proceedings. The cinematography of the movie that has been handled by John Jacob Payyapalli leaves a lot to be desired. Agreed that the movie has been shot in most realistic way and is devoid of gloss but the lighting and color palettes at several junctures of the movie seem inadequate. The movie has been edited by Kirti Nakhwa who has packaged the whole action in runtime of 141 minutes. There are two flaws in the editing ; first is the duration of the movie which should have been more crisper especially in the second half and secondly, the frequent oscillations in the narrative make audience loose their interest in the on screen proceedings after a certain time-span.Had the editing been more crisp, it would have done a huge favor to the prospects of the movie. A special mention of Taaneevaa Oak (Costume designer) & Sandeep Shelar (Production designer) who with their brilliant work have been able to recreate a typical Maharashtrian milieu in the movie. As a debutant director, Harshavardhan Kulkarni scores brownie points for taking up a subject that openly talks about sex rather than opting for a typical commercial potboiler script while helming his first movie. To make a good film on this subject, a director needs to craft the movie with lot of sensitivity & maturity which he has ably succeeded in. As a writer & director, he assembled talented starcast and etched out their characters to perfection who have portrayed their respective parts in the most realistic way. Unfortunately, he is let down by the stretched second half where the movie begins to falter. As a director, Kulkarni has proved that he has the crafting abilities and is here to stay.

CONCLUSION                                                                                   ::              HUNTERRR is well & honestly conceived adult comedy which doesn't offend you with its content despite sex featuring as a recurring theme throughout the movie. The movie strikes a fine balance between naughtiness and vulgarity by not offering anything sleazy. If naughty journey to adulthood portrayed in a realistic & quirky manner fancies you, you might relish this movie. I am giving it 3 stars out of 5.    

ROHIT SHARMA.

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NH10 :: Movie Review

                                             

NH10 is a neo noir genre flick that takes you on edge of the seat excitement, no holds barred cinematic journey comprising of grit, action, thrills and intrigue. The movie has been directed by Navdeep Singh whose debut movie Manorama six feet under (2007) is not only one of my favorites but is a cult flick in thriller genre and I am amazed what took him so long in coming out with his second movie. Coming to NH10, the landscape is ruthless, rugged and riveting. The emotions are primeval. Caveman tactics, with characters caught out of their hideouts kicking, dragging and screaming, are the prevalent mode of vindication. It's a tough world. And, obviously a very tough film to make. There is no state for the squeamish. And, perhaps that is the reason behind the movie's release getting delayed by a week with Censor Board objecting to usage of some cuss words and excessive violence in the movie. Herein, I would like to say that Kudos to Anushka Sharma for believing in this flick so much so that she decided to don the producer's hat for the first time by producing this film. The best part about NH10 is that Navdeep Singh has helmed it in the most realistic way. As the film progresses, it touches various social aspects prevalent in the society ; female foeticide, honour killings and the big cultural gap that is prevalent between urban & rural class especially when it comes to inter caste marriages. It also sheds light on how law and order under democracy goes for a toss when you move out from big concrete jungles out in the hinterland. Writer of the movie Sudip Sharma has ensured that the sarcastic remarks about deteriorating law & order are mouthed by cops only in the movie. When Anushka n Neil go to cops after she is harassed by some stalkers, the cop says, " Gurgaon to badhta bacha hai ji, kood to lagaega hi". In another scene where Anushka is driving with a cop in his jeep in the rural area, he says, " Madam Ji, Ye democracy to Gurgaon ke malls ke saath hi khatam ho jaati hai. Yahaan to Paani aur bijlee nahin pahunchti, democracy kahaan pahunchegi". It is hard hitting n realistically portrayed dialogues like these that add a further impetus to the narrative. Also, in a way the movie talks about women empowerment. How Anushka rubs off a filthy word scribbled down on a wall in a loo, how she gazes in the opponents eyes despite being told to look down. But, the best is saved for the last. In the climax, how Anushka lights up n smokes a cigarette before battering Darshan with an iron rod is a scene to watch out for. NH10 is a chilling, nerve wracking, edge of the seat thriller which gives you no time to breathe because of its racy narrative.             

STORY & SCREENPLAY  ( Spoilers Ahead )                                             ::               The story, screenplay as well as dialogues of the movie have been penned down by Sudip Sharma. As a writer, Sudip knows the rugged North Indian hinterland of blood savagery and abuses which he has penned down with finesse. He transports us out from the civilized society where we live in and takes us to rugged hinterland where lawlessness, casteism still rule the land and mindless belief in patriarchy leads to honor killings. His edgy, taut n racy script amalgamated with social issues is a winner all the way. No wonders, after hearing this script Anushka decided to produce this film. The movie begins with a corporate working couple, Meera (Anushka Sharma) & Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam) going to a party in Gurgaon. During the party Meera gets a call from her office and decides to leave for her office alone late night. On the way to office she is stalked by some lecherous guys leaving her traumatized. Arjun also gets disturbed to see her in this state and moreover, a sense of guilt is prevailing over him for not accompanying her during that fateful night. So, in order to relieve her from this stress he plans a getaway by booking a cottage on the outskirts of city and celebrate her birthday there. Soon, they hit the road i.e. NH10 happy and romancing which is short lived. En-route to the cottage, they decide to make a stopover at a Dhaba where a hapless young girl approaches Anushka with a plea to help her else she will be killed. However, Anushka ignores her and proceeds to the loo for a smoke. When she comes back to have food with Arjun, six men packed in SUV embark on the dhaba and start beating up that girl and a boy mercilessly. Arjun stands up and walks upto the man Satbir (Darshan Kumaar) who is beating up the couple and inquires about the matter. Satbir replies that she is his sister and it is their family matter. After beating them up mercilessly, they bundle them up in their SUV and are about to leave when Arjun again approaches them. This time, Satbir punches Arjun hard in his face and tells him to mind his own business before zipping away in his vehicle. Soon, Arjun n Meera also resume their journey with Arjun feeling frustrated for not being able to help the couple. After covering a short distance, Arjun finds Satbir's empty vehicle parked aside on a deserted road. Despite Meera's warning, he alights from the vehicle to lookout for them and soon Meera follows him. Hereafter, both of them witness the barbaric activities of Satbir and his accomplices who finally kill the couple for the sake of honor killing. Since Meera n Arjun have witnessed the killing, Satbir n his accomplices go after them. Now, begins a cat and mouse chase game and a melee ensues. Arjun gets critically injured and it is left for Meera to get them out of this difficult situation. Will they be able to come out of this situation safely, Will they be able to nail down Satbir & his accomplices is what forms the rest of the story.

STARCAST                                                                                         ::  The actors, in keeping with the no holds barred raw ambiance that the film exudes, take recourse to express the minutest of emotions. Due credit for this must be given to Jogi who is the casting director of this movie for choosing the apt starcast. Anushka Sharma, who made her debut with Rab ne bana di jodi (2008) has featured as leading lady in just eight movies in past seven years but has evolved as an actress with every release of hers. In NH10, it is Anushka who has stolen the show with her pure, deliberate, ferocious star power. The striking thing about her performance as Meera 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. Troubled and brooding, angry and helpless, frustrated yet committed - she plays it all with uncharacteristic maturity. You can literally feel the pain n agony that her character undergoes in the movie through her effective portrayal. Anushka, who's very close - if she isn't there already - to becoming the star amongst stars in her generation. Her every gesture is fascinating. Neil Bhoopalam got a great opportunity to play the main lead in this movie and Oh Boy ! he has caught this opportunity with both his hands by giving an earnest performance. Neil fits into the narrative with minimal fuss, neither dominating the proceedings, nor getting overwhelmed by the weight of the script. But, the icing on the cake is the performance of Darshan Kumaar. In NH10, Darshan gets to play a character which is in stark contrast to his portrayal of Onler Kom (a loving, caring husband and a doting father) in Mary Kom. If he excelled in Mary Kom by bringing just the right amount of sensitivity to his part, here he excels by doing exactly the opposite i.e. by bringing the right amount of goriness and brutality to his part. His expressions, body language and especially dialect are a treat for audience and these are hallmarks of a fine actor. Deepti Naval leaves a mark during her brief appearance as Ammaji who is not only the Sarpanch of a village but also mother of Satbir. Another actor who deserves a mention is Ravi Jhankal. He has portrayed the character of Satbir's savage uncle with utmost conviction who is always advising him to be more ruthless. He taunts Satbir for killing the boy with bullets whereas he deserved to be butchered with rod.

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                                                     ::          The soundtrack of the movie that has been composed by a battery of composers including Bann Chakraborty, Samira Koppikar, Ayush Shrestha, Savera Mehta, Sanjeev-Darshan is radically different yet engaging. Chhil gaye naina sung by Kanika Kapoor & Le Chal Mujhe are the tracks which stay with you for a long time. Karan Gour's background music underscores every scene without hammering in the situations and is not that loud and jarring. Plenty of credit for the tonal correctness of the narrative must go to Arvind Kannabiran's brilliantly unadorned cinematography, which locks in on the stunning visuals of violence and action without falling into the mistake of making the frames look prettier than the grim situation that they are meant to capture. Arvind's cinematography uses cluttered garish spaces to create a sense of spiritual emptiness during times of tremendous stress and anxiety. A special mention of action directors Armin Sauer & Abdul Salaam Ansari for orchestrating the apt action sequences in the movie. Editor Jabeen Merchant imbues a raw style mood to the footage. But the sense of cinematic expansiveness is retained in the way the camera moves through the characters' restless lives, searching for positions of comfort in a situation laden with desperate anxiety. Jabeen has neatly packaged the action in runtime of 115 minutes with crisp n taut editing. The direction by Navdeep Singh is unblemished in every aspect of filmmaking & he deserves full marks for making a film with very strong sensory perceptions. We have seen some road trip gone awry thrillers earlier too but none could come close to the brilliance of Navdeep's subject, vision and treatment with which he has created this film. Kudos to Navdeep, as a director he has managed to keep a tight rein on the proceedings all the way upto a nail biting climax. He has also ensured that the movie does not look unconvincing or goes over the top at any place and maintains a tight grip.  

CONCLUSION                                                                                           ::       NH10 portrays a rare synthesis of real life credibility and cinematic flamboyance where-in narrative's over all mood is one of urgent crises point reached with optimum energy. It is one of the best thrillers I have seen in a long time which has come out good minus those jarring BGM & raunchy item numbers. I am giving it 4 stars out of 5.    

ROHIT SHARMA.

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A must watch debate where Arnab meticulously rips apart and exposes the chunks in the armory n ideology of AAP

A must watch debate where Arnab meticulously rips apart and exposes the chunks in the armory n ideology of AAP making Ashutosh go jittery. Ashutosh gets so baffled that deviating from the topic,he starts questioning the credibility of Arnab and is given a befitting reply by him. AAP, a party prone to leveling allegations on its opponents every other day has become the laughing stock when they are asking others to authenticate when they facing the heat. Watch how Ashutosh gets hyper, counters Arnab on not running Bank scam tapes and his lies are exposed right there by Arnab asking him to apologize. One of the panelists clearly says that AAP has been caught with its pants down and within one year of its formation, this party has taken a u-turn on all its ideologies with intra party bickering, removing couple of its main founder members from its core committee and now finally found indulging in horse trading. Way to go, AAP.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha :: Movie Review

                                                    

Dum Laga Ke Haisha is a quirky, refreshingly " Hatke " wholesome family entertainer from YRF which is able to hit the right chords with the audience because the movie has its heart and soul at the right place. The movies makes us nostalgic as it takes us back into the 90's era where we had tape recorders instead of CD/DVD players, more of Priya scooters could be seen hovering on the roads and soothing voice of Kumar Sanu could be heard on nooks & corners of the streets. In fact, Kumar Sanu is spirit of this movie so much so that when the YRF title appears, the usual title track sung by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar has been replaced by vocal chords of Kumar Sanu. The protagonist of the movie Prem (Ayushmann Khurana) owns a cassette recording shop in Haridwar and is a die hard fan of Kumar Sanu. Due to family pressure, he is forced to marry Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar) who is a fatso. On top of it, Sandhya is educated and holds B.Ed degree where as Prem is not even matriculate. Now, Prem feels ashamed of taking his wife out in public and maintains a safe distance from her which is not acceptable to articulate Sandhya, hence tussle ensues between both of them. There is a scene in the movie where Ayushmann plays a song on tape recorder and goes to bathroom, Bhumi immediately replaces the cassette and plays a contrasting song & in reaction Ayushmann comes out of bathroom with soap on his body to replace the song and as soon as he goes back to bathroom Bhumi changes the song again......This goes on & on with almost 4 different songs being played. This scene is a treat to watch and it is several scenes like this in the movie that make the movie so entertaining. There is no forced humor or gags inserted in the movie by unwanted characters, instead the humor flows automatically through the witty situations woven in the screenplay. Most of the humor is mouthed through the simple characters of the movie who represent common people living in small towns of India and their mannerisms. It is the way this story has been crafted and narrated that takes this movie par excellence. The director has in a jovial way reiterated the fact that more than looks, understanding and commitment are the characteristics that pave way for an ideal wife. Traditional men generally go in for looks while choosing their life partner where as the key to a successful marital life lies in compatibility and mutual understanding. Also, the director has beautifully conveyed that it is not necessary that love happens at first sight but it can develop gradually by understanding your partner. In later half of the movie, in one of the scenes Ayushmann says to Bhumi that there will definitely be someone who will love you the way you are irrespective of your being overweight and she replies that she was of the view that you are that guy. This scene has been beautifully captured and sets the tone for the rest of the movie to follow. It is movie made by heart about the usual happenings in the lives of common people of small town and it is this sheer reason that makes this movie stand tall in front of the other typical Bollywood movies.

STORY & SCREENPLAY                                                                   ::                           The story, screenplay as well as dialogues of this movie have been penned down by Sharat Kataria who is also the director of this movie. Kudos to Kataria for penning down this narrative which is laden with some very well written scenes which are filled with emotions but never go overboard. You will find abundant situations in Kataria's well chiseled screenplay that are a fine blend of genuine wit and humor. And the biggest strength of his screenplay lies in his well crafted characters who give you a feel of all those common people whom you come across in neighbouring 'Galis' & 'Mohallas'. The movie begins in Haridwar where Prem Prakash Tiwari  (Ayushmann Khurana) is sitting in his father's shop and recording songs on a tape recorder. In his self introductory scene, he confesses about his three weaknesses in life namely his father's slippers, Kumar Sanu's melodious voice and question paper of English exam. Cut next and his father, Chander Bhan Tiwari (Sanjay Mishra), mother Shashi (Alka Amin) & Bua Nain Tara (Sheeba Chaddha) force Prem to tie the nuptial knot with a plump girl, Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar), in spite of his protests. Sandhya is chosen by them because she has a B.ED degree and might add to the fortunes of the family by getting a teacher's job. Prem, however is least interested in her because of her fat figure and cannot accept the fact that he has to share the bed with her. When nothing happens on their first night, the same is conveyed by Sandhya to her mother Subhadra (Seema Pahwa) who in turn insists her daughter to lure her husband by wearing flimsy costumes while playing 'Foreign waali' movies on VCR. The morning routine of Prem includes going to a Shakha for doing exercise. One of his friends from Shakha is about to get married and invites Prem along with his wife to the function. On the eve of function, out of frustration of getting married to a plump girl, Prem drinks too much of alcohol and uses real bad words for Sandhya which she co-incidentally overhears. Being an educated girl, she refuses to stay with Prem any longer and files for a divorce after moving to her parents house. As a legal formality, the court orders the couple to stay together for a period of six months and in case they still don't have a change of mind, they can get divorced legally. As Sandhya comes back to Prem's house, a competition by the name of 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' is announced in their town in which husbands have to carry their wives on their backs and run amongst manmade hurdles. Meanwhile, Prem also starts to understand the feelings of Sandhya and develops a soft corner for her. Prem is coaxed by his parents to participate in the competition. Will Prem & Sandhya have a change of mind regarding divorce, Will they participate in the competition and win, is what forms the rest of the story.

STARCAST                                                                                               ::      Shanoo Sharma, Casting director of this movie deserves a round of applause for choosing the apt starcast as per their characterization in the movie.  Ayushmann Khurana, is one actor who has taken lot of risks by playing diverse characters in all his movies and has not confined himself to any kind of stereotyped roles. He has portrayed the character of Prem to pitch perfection by capturing the finer nuances of his character including the dialect and enacting them on-screen. He has delved so much deep into skin of the character that you will not to be able to locate Ayushmann Khurana in the movie but Prem. It won't be wrong to say that Bhumi Pednekar is the revelation in the movie. Whether it is the shy feeling of her first night, verbal duel with nagging Bua or slapping Prem in front of his friends, she has stood her ground in all these scenes in the most genuine manner. She has ably portrayed the feeling that for a lasting relationship, size and looks does not matter. She gradually charms her way unto your heart by the time movie ends. Sanjay Mishra as Ayushmann's father is a delight to watch. He is one actor who adds substance to every character that he portrays and makes it look as surreal as possible. Alka Amin has given an endearing performance as Prem's mother in the movie. Watch out for the scene where she says " Ab, Humara Prem Syana Ho gya hai". Similarly, Seema Pahwa has portrayed the character of Bhumi's mother to perfection and it is amusing to watch how she educates her daughter on phone about how to entice her husband. Sheeba Chaddha is apt enough as the constantly nagging Bua of Prem. Amongst the ensemble starcast, noticeable performances have been delivered by Sanjeeva Vatsa, Shardul Rana, Chandrachoor Rai, Shrikant Verma and Mahesh Sharma. Also, you get to see Kumar Sanu in a special appearance.  

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                                                                ::       The soundtrack of the movie has been composed by Anu Malik where as lyricist of the movie is Varun Grover. Anu Malik has given surprisingly good music making one feel nostalgic about the bygone era. Another highlight of the soundtrack is that it brings backs the soothing n melodious voice of Kumar Sanu. Some of the songs namely Moh moh ke dhaage, Sunder Susheel stay with you for a long time. The cinematographer of the movie is Manu Anand who has done a fine job of capturing the visuals. Manu, through the roving eye of his lens has been able to capture the essence of 'Galis' n 'Mohallas' of Haridwar & Rishikesh in an enchanting manner. Meenal Aggarwal, who is the production designer also deserves accolades for deftly recreating the nineties era with ample usage of cassette recorders, VCR's, Priya scooters and likes in the movie. The movie has been edited by Namrata Rao who has crisply packaged the movie in run-time of 111 minutes which is perfect for the movie of this genre. As a writer-director, Sharat Kataria has managed to impress and scored all the brownie points in crafting this movie. The best part is that he has made an entertaining movie without adding any extravaganza, excessive melodrama or regular bollywood cliches to the movie. He has ably extracted the best performances not only from his lead pair but also from the ensemble starcast. With this movie, Sharat has proved that he is a director to watch out for in future.

CONCLUSION                                                                                            ::          DUM LAGA KE HAISHA is an out of the box, sweet, simple movie that brings smile to your faces and is an out and out family entertainer. I am giving it 4 stars out of 5.  

ROHIT SHARMA.

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