HIGHWAY :: Movie Review

Anyone who has tagged Imtiaz Ali as a maker of big Bollywood blockbusters is in for a surprise with Highway.The RockStar and Love Aaj Kal director’s first foray into digital filmmaking sees him use a documentary-style aesthetic. The result is a stylish two-hander that is defiantly unconventional, if not entirely satisfying. But it isn’t just the visual and auditory delights on offer that make Highway a sensitive, understated entertainer. Its two exceptional characters sway to the kind of subtle emotional riffs that usually elude mainstream Hindi cinema. But that is not to say that Highway is anywhere near perfect. It has many a moment that is endearing and exquisitely etched, but the film is not always engaging enough to be able to offset the occasional inertia that stems from its lack of physical action.The director’s attempt to move away from his trademark candyfloss-ness has mixed results: this is perhaps the most picturesque road movie I have seen coming out of Bollywood, but the story struggles with its twin threads and uneven tone. ‘Highway’ is a patchy ride, with the occasional high spot. It is a film about nature and travel; about a meandering journey without a definite destination. It is purely incidental that two interesting characters find themselves while traversing this ever-changing array of bewitching landscapes. It is also precisely why this couple is even more visible, more relatable and less contrived, despite their unlikely circumstances. The focus is not entirely on them, they just happen to be there.

STORY & SCREENPLAY                           :       In an interview last year, Imtiaz Ali said he didn’t have a script when he set out to make “Highway“. All he had was a one-line draft and he wrote the film during the shoot. What you get is a complete departure from Ali’s usual fare – a film that is as pristine as some of the locations it is shot in; almost meditative in parts and wonderfully understated. It adopts a novel mode to address issues pertaining to the class and culture divide, the exploitation of women in feudal communities, and the safety, or lack of it, of the girl child within and without the family. Imtiaz Ali litters the narrative with little touches that speak of human connections in ways that are disarmingly simple but effective. The story is simple enough. Veera (Alia Bhatt) is the daughter of an influential man who is kidnapped after a freak incident at a lonely petrol pump two days before her wedding. Her kidnapper is Mahabir (Randeep Hooda), a brooding contract killer with a troubled past. Taken out of the world she has known all her life, Veera is at first disoriented, then bewildered, and takes her time coming to terms with her situation. When she does, the façade of her seemingly normal, privileged existence comes crumbling down, much to Mahabir’s surprise. The biggest achievement of “Highway” is that there is never any compulsion to label the relationship between the two characters – you could call it an unconventional romance, a strong friendship.

STARCAST                                                        :         The ever-dependable Randeep Hooda delivers a solid performance. A measure of his confidence in his craft is provided by the restraint that he brings to the characterisation, never seeking to get ahead of the plot. He manages to deliver a restrained performance and not overdo it for the sake of capturing more attention. Randeep Hooda has backed up the flick with a staggering performance and sketches the rugged Mahabir’s volatile personality with remarkable subtlety. A scene where he breaks down when he sees a life he cannot own is the most poignant. Alia Bhatt is a revelation. She responds to the demands of the role with all the skill at her disposal, nailing both the vulnerability and the tenacity of a harried but spirited ingénue. Her Veera is effortlessly fresh-faced, absurdly young, scrubbed and vulnerable. Although there are a few slip-ups along the way, for most parts she has fairly stood her ground.She has captured Veera’s emotional upheavals, her childish quirks and stubbornness with earnestness.It’s her impromptu jig with her captor Aaddoo in the middle of a rocky road that’s the most endearing.She also nails the scene that exploits Veera’s desperation and subsequent breakdown as she fails to discover anescape route despite being challenged by her abductors.

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                     :           The biggest asset of the movie is its technical finesse for which credit must go to Imtiaz for choosing the perfect crew & extracting the best out of them. The music for the flick has been composed by the maestro, A.R.Rahman who has given some of the most soothing & melodious tracks. Sound design by Resul Pookutty, plays a major role in making this film a mini-vacation, a calming experience for its viewers. The background score is minimal; moments are not punctuated with annoying cues, instead letting the performances do the talking (or no talking).  The cinematographer Anil Mehta’s lovely, unfussy images ground the film and show us a good bit of India. (It was shot in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir). The cinematography is plush and passionate & makes the visuals an occasion for optical enchantment. The movie has been edited by Aarti Bajaj who has kept the running time of the movie to 133 minutes but i personally feel that lot of scenes could have been edited as far as their duration is concerned. As a director, Imtiaz Ali has again excelled who through this movie has tried to portray that :  when the home and the world feel like a cage, the wide open road, no matter where it leads, is a surefire path to liberation. Imtiaz Ali articulates this thought with a sense of quiet purpose, and with Zen-like serenity.

CONCLUSION                                         :         Highway is a sprawling stretch of splendour, created by a director who shoots every frame in a painter’s vein but At the end we are left with a deeply dissatisfying film whose very incompleteness lends a sense of beauty to the narrative. It is a totally character driven movie which will appeal to a certain section of audience but it is a must watch for cinema connoisseurs. 

ROHIT SHARMA.

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DRAMA OF CASTING COUCH SURFACES AGAIN IN BOLLYWOOD.

 Subhash Kapoor         Geetika Tyagi

The casting couch drama has hit Bollywood, once again. And, this time the allegations of sexual assault have been made by former journo turned small time actress, Geetika Tyagi who lately appeared in movies like : One by Two, Aatma  and What the fish. And, the man in the line of fire is acclaimed director, Subhash Kapoor who has made movies like Phas Gaye Re Obama & Jolly LLB. 

                                               The whole drama which seems to have been captured on a spy camera, seems to have transpired at Subhash's place where Geetika Tyagi went to confront Subhash along with her boyfriend i.e. Atul Sabharwal ( Director of movie Aurangzeb). In the video, wife of Kapoor, Dimple Kharbanda can be seen pleading with Tyagi and her boyfriend to bury the hatchet and keep the matter private. Kapoor, too, says he is ashamed of what happened and has already apologized and is ready to face the consequences. " I dont know what to to do," he says, while Tyagi is heard crying hysterically, before she appears in the frame of the video, to slap Kapoor.

                                           In what can be called a perfectly orchestrated move to capture all the tamsaha happened in the private space, Jolly LLB director Subhash Kapoor and actor Geetika Tyagi are seen in altercation over their relationship in this video. Geetika, further says that “ I cannot trust a single man. I cannot face my father, brother-in-law or any man who asks me out for coffee without feeling Fu#%$* jittery,” as she is seen screaming and howling for what happened to her.
                                           There are several angles of this episode which seem controversial including shooting the whole incident on a spy cam. In their conversation, it is heard that she is saying that you forcibly held my hand and there seems to have been no mention of him having forced himself upon her to molest her physically.  

  Did Jolly LLB director Subhash Kapoor sexually abuse actor Geetika Tyagi ?: Watch videos whose link have been pasted below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7SmP6FqlrE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R46smqVBFuA

ROHIT SHARMA.

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rohitreview@gmail.com

GUNDAY :: Movie Review

GUNDAY is a flick packed with liberal servings of kitsch and colourful quirks from the flamboyant 70s, three good-looking actors and incredible tunes reminiscent of a glorious past. Ali Abbas Zafar’s visual extravaganza ‘Gunday’ has all the commercial ingredients to keep audience hooked unto the screen. The plot of Gunday kicks off from the violence that surrounded the creation of Bangladesh and takes you on a whirlwind journey with several twists n turns in it. I would not say that its a masterpiece or a classy flick but let me assure you that you won't regret paying for the ticket of this film. It's packed with action, emotions, friendship, drama and some terrific performances. Friendship is forever and many Bollywood flicks have shown its various shades. And now director Ali Abbas Zafar has come up with Gunday and has been successfully been able to portray the camaraderie between his main leads i.e. Ranveer Singh n Arjun Kapoor by extracting great performances from both of them. And mind you,  Gunday’s muscular leads are fitter and better oiled than the heroes they are supposed to resemble, but they remain just as virtuous, apolitical and virginal. And they are boys, rather than men (the heroine’s words, not ours).

STORY & SCREENPLAY                                   :          The story as well as the screenplay of the movie has been written by Ali Abbas Zafar. Kolkata features as a location provider, the name of a night-club, and a playground to stage a spectacular tribute to 1970s’ cinema in Ali Abbas Zafar’s Gunday. This flick is a retro tribute to 70's with good-hearted heroes pushed by circumstances to the wrong side of the tracks, an ultra-glamourous heroine who might lose her nerve but never her poise, a hot-on-the-trail policeman, games of loyalty and betrayal, anachronistic period details, proper introductions for key characters, spectacularly staged action, a pre-climax loo break song sequence, and a pantomime of social commentary.As far as the storyline is concerned, the movie is Set in the backdrop of 1970s, when an independent Bangladesh was formed, the film tracks the story of two inseparable friends Bikram (Ranveer Singh) and Bala (Arjun kapoor). These two young orphans are refugees, who find shelter in Kolkata. Since their first meeting they become inseparable and stand by each other in ups and downs. They battle each and every day for their living and finally the two find themselves in murky mafia world of arms carrier and coal bandits. With the passage of time, the two best friends become the most influential goons in the city. The story progresses and the duo fall in love with cabaret dancer Nandita (Priyanka Chopra). Nandita sweeps both Bala and Bikram on their feet. When everything seems to be fine, ACP Satyajeet Sarkar (Irrfan Khan) appears into the scene.He sets out to put an end to their black market business. How the friendship of Bikram and Bala survive through all these hurdles, forms rest of the plot.

STARCAST                                                 :               A big asset of the movie is its performances and credit must be given to Shanoo Sharma for choosing the right artistes as per their characters. Ranveer Singh is setting the bar higher up with each film and fairly emerges unscathed as he effortlessly slips into the character of Bikram. The actor’s impulsive vein comes handy in this role especially because he acts with such ease, that it will be hard to take your eyes off him. Arjun Kapoor has given his best shot. He is intense, brimming with emotions but the rendering is not done to rightly tinted perfection. Priyanka Chopra does not have much to do as the focus of the script is on camaraderie between male protagonists but she still captivates you whenever she appears on screen as the dancer and proves her acting forte in the climax as the tough cop. But, the icing on the cake is Irrfan Khan. He is nuanced as the shrewd cop and his charming subtlety is hands down, the most irresistible thing about the film. He gives you the required giddiness with a well blended smoothness. Amongst, the ensemble actors it is Saurabh Shukla, Pankaj Tripathi, Victor Banerjee and Manu Rishi who are noticeable.

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                           :         The music for this flick has been composed by Sohail Sen who has given an above average score although couple of tracks have become rage and chart busters. In fact, it is the back ground music that really scores high which has been composed by Julius Packiam. Credit must also be given to Rajat Poddar for his fashionably distressed production design. Aseem Mishra as cinematographer of the movie has done an excellent job as each and every frame bathes in lush colors. He has given a flamboyant touch to most of the shots and used bright color palette which flourishes especially during " Tune Maari Entriyaan " song. The editor of the movie is Rameshwar S Bhagat who has edited the movie very sleekly n sharply and kept the duration of the movie to 154 minutes. As a matter of fact, each department seems to have worked really hard and in consonance to realize the director's vision on celluloid. Now, coming to the director i.e. Ali Abbas Zafar whose has done an excellent job as his last offering " Mere brother ki dulhan " was a totally different genre. Although, he has made an age-old formula flick, but Ali makes sure he reinvents it with flourish, serving the formula in a contemporary format. GUNDAY is designed as an entertainer and it serves it all unabashedly.

CONCLUSION                                                         :         Gunday moves at a satisfying clip from the beginning to the end. It’s formula food for the present day, spiced with flamboyance, a fair sense of rhythm that occasionally slackens during the 153-minute running time, and a clear understanding of the meaning of popular entertainment, Hindi movie Ishtyle.  

ROHIT SHARMA.

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rohitreview@gmail.com

      

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gunday-review-starring-priyanka-chopra-ranveer-singh-arjun-kapoor/1/343438.html

HASEE TO PHASEE :: Movie Review

Wrapped in bag of drama, chaos and amply quirky situations which will tickle your funny bone, ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ is all about how love takes over all odds. Two people who are poles apart finally end up engaging their emotional chord is what keeps the audience engaged. No genre of cinema is as prolific and palliative as the Hollywood romcom—an index of our appetite for the quickie fairy tale. If the milieu is urban and somewhat damaged, it’s likely to prove more abiding on the multiplex screen. Director Vinil Mathew’s debut feature film, Hasee Toh Phasee, is a smart and winning feint of that formula. It is an extremely likable balance between light and shade, the sadness in his beautiful lead woman sitting happily alongside her smiles. The sugar is pleasingly granular.

SCRIPT & SCREENPLAY                      :          The story as well as screenplay of this flick has been penned down by Harshvardhan Kulkarni who deserves real accolades for chalking out some interesting characters in his storyline which is the basic strength of this movie. The detailing to each character strikes. They have professions, they have family and the story sails through both. You see the scientist Meeta blabbering jargons and talking in Mandarin with her Chinese colleague, Nikhil trying to get money for his event company, the families into their respective businesses... and behaving accordingly! Needless to say there are umpteen moments which will make you smile, wishfully. And that's apart from all those moments which will at least let a chuckle out of you, if not a laughter. The night Meeta (Parineeti Chopra) runs away from home, she has a fleeting encounter with Nikhil (Sidharth Malhotra), who goes on to fall for her sister Karishma (Adah Sharma), a woman with porcelain skin and an hour-glass figure. After seven years, Nikhil is struggling to hit the professional jackpot with a contract that is somehow dependent on the Indian Premier League mania. Karishma insists that without money her marriage to Nikhil would be hopeless. Meeta returns, with a psychotic bluster about her, and Nikhil and Meeta build a friendship built on sympathy for each other’s little tragedies and quarrels with the world. There is a tragicomic unease from the moment Meeta appears in this suburbia of designer dreams. By the end, Nikhil calls Meeta a “phattu” (emotional coward in this context) and challenges her addiction to psychotropic pills. Thereafter, no force, even as big as the Gujarati conviction on monetary supremacy or the misplaced egotism of a retired police officer, can stop this couple from the happy-ever-after upshot. 

STARCAST                                                      :         Parineeti is at her best. She makes it virtually impossible for the audience's eye to waver from her when she is on screen. She plays two avatars - a druggie genius and a lovable girl next door - with class. Chopra adopts Meeta’s rough edges with a confidence that belies the work that has gone into it. The role is refreshingly free of jerky, over-the-top physicality. Meeta reaches her personal redemption—which is not necessarily the socially correct one—revealing the character’s innocence as well as selfishness scene by scene. Siddharth Malhotra surprises in his second film. He finds his own and manages to establish himself as someone who cannot be ruled out. Malhotra is the good-natured man, a black sheep in his own family, and not self-aware enough. Although he starts off by exhorting everybody to ‘shake it like Shammi’, his elegantly gangly gait and cool, confident screen presence are reminiscent of the mannerisms of the early Amitabh Bachchan. Adah Sharma is comfortable in her relatively smaller role and has managed to impress. The delights are the seasoned Sharat Saxena and Manoj Joshi. They have moments which take your heart away. After Jai Ho, you once again get to see Sameer Khakkar on screen. 

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                  :       The music for this flick has been composed by the seasoned duo of Vishal & Shekhar who have belted out some good numbers including a robust Punjabi wedding song. The various hues,shades of the locales have been captured by the lens of cinematographer Sanu John Varughese who has done a fairly descent job out of it. The movie has been edited by Shweta Venkat who has kept the length of the movie to 141 minutes and has done well as there are no major dull moments which could dampen the proceedings. Vinil Mathew who is an ad-film maker, has made his debut as a movie director with this flick and has proved his mettle by making an entertaining movie. He has invariably managed to get some freshness onto the big screen with his quirkiness. He has focused on effective, gimmick-free technicalities, and it is obvious the director is concerned largely with tapping his actors, and making performance the praxis of his film-making. 

CONCLUSION                                                   :       Hasee Toh Phasee, notwithstanding its rather unimaginative title and its muddled core, is a mildly diverting, if somewhat woolly-headed, entertainer held together by its unapologetically absurdist spirit. It definitely works out and is an interesting watch.

ROHIT SHARMA.

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rohitreview@gmail.com

     

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.

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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.

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