Raanjhanaa

Cast: Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Mohammed Zeeshan

Genre:  Romance

Director: Aanand. L. Rai

The concept of “first love” isn’t novel, but neither does it ever get jaded. That feeling of happiness by just being in the presence of someone special. “Raanjhanaa” brings back that unconditional love back to the screen. It marks the debut of Dhanush (Kolaveri famed) in Bollywood as an eternal lover.  

Kundan (Dhanush) is a small town brahamin boy in Banaras, who falls in love with Zoya (Sonam) at first sight. Zoya belongs to rich muslim family. Kundan grows up watching and dreaming about her. As he starts getting close to Zoya, her parents send her out of town for further studies. Zoya comes back after 8 years, becoming an independent and educated woman. Kundan is still madly in love with her and proposes her. But Zoya has moved on and now is in love with Akram (Abhay Deol), a young upcoming leader at JNU. Just as   Zoya and Akram are about to get together, a strange truth emerges that will change the lives of everyone forever…

Dhanush, as an earnest lover leaves a mark. His mannerisms are very real and earthy, which gives his character believability. Where he struggles though is in the second half of the movie, where he needs to portray more intense/ serious emotions. Lack of command over the language shows at places. Sonam Kapoor looks a part in the movie. She gets into her character from the start and plays various shades with ease. Abhay Deol is the surprise package. He leaves his mark as a no nonsense young leader. His choice of roles remain interesting which most of his fans like him for. Among the other cast, Mohammed Zeeshan deserves special mention. As a childhood friend of Kundan, he brings the house down with witty one liners.

Aanand. L. Rai, directs his second movie after lovable “Tanu Weds Manu”. He brings similar freshness in the movie in the first half but second half is lot more intense here. Seems to get it right at most parts but loses the grip towards the end. The political drama in the second half at times becomes a little stretched and out of  context of overall narration. AR Rehman’s  music is a soothing and goes well with the mood of the story.

I will rate Raanjhanaa 2.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a movie which keeps the heart at the centre of everything. But then heart can be stupid at best of times, isn’t it…!

Rating: 2.5/5  

MURDER 3

Cast: Randeep Hooda, Sara Loren, Aditi Rao

Director: Vishesh Bhatt

Genre: Suspense/ Drama

Do you trust your partner completely or how far are you willing to go to find the truth..?? Murder 3 is the third in the series of movies which deal with matters of Love, Lust and Murder mystery. One difference this time is that it is Randeep Hooda and not the usual suspect, Emraan Hashmi who is in the midst of this all.

Vikram (Randeep Hooda) is a successful fashion photographer. He is happily staying with his long time girl friend, Roshni (Aditi Rao). One day Roshni goes missing and leaves a message for Vikram that she's leaving him because she feels that he's cheating on her. Police starts the investigation of a missing person and Vikram is a prime suspect. At this juncture Vikram meets Nisha (Sara Loren), a beautiful, desirable women working in a hotel. As they get close, the traces of past start coming back to haunt them...

Vishesh Bhatt makes his directorial debut with Murder 3. He seems to get few things right in terms of the plot of movie and the cast. But unlike the earlier 2 movies, Murder3 is slow in screenplay. Events take their own time to pan out. Though there are some nice twists in the story but they come little too late. Other concern with the screenplay is that it is repeatative. Lot of sequences in the second half do have resemblance to first half. It is imperative for a Suspense thriller to have good pace to keep the audience guessing, which is missing.

Randeep Hooda is okay in the role of a fashion photographer, who can't have enough of beautiful women. His character lacks depth which limits his scope as an actor. Sara looks gorgeous in the role of a sexy waitress, but lacks in certain emotional scenes. Aditi looks slightly out of place in the first half but comes into her own in the second half and acts the best in the emotional scenes. Music has been a big part of the earlier two movies of Murder franchise, which is not the case this time. It is strictly average and doesn't leave much impression.

Vishesh Bhatt's Murder3 promises much more than what it delivers. I will rate it 2.5 out of 5. It manages to surprise the audience at places but doesn't hold them completely.

Rating: 2.5/5

SPECIAL 26

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Manoj Vajpayee, Jimmy Shergil

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Genre: Crime/ Drama

This week’s new release Special 26 is a very unlike Akshay Kumar movie. It is not a laugh riot, non-brainer, larger than life entertainer. For a change there is a plot, real characters and real motives. So does it manage to hold your attention..!

The story is set in the 1980’s. Ajay (Akshay Kumar) and Sharmaji (Anupam Kher) are a part of 4 member gang which conducts raids at the corrupt politicians and businessmen. They pretend to be CBI officers and on the name of the raid, rob the money of people. Since it involves Black money, the victims never complaint to Police about these raids. Waseem Khan (Manoj Vajpayee), an honest CBI officer takes this case in hand and is out to catch the gang red handed. Inspector Ranveer Singh (Jimmy Shergil) helps him in this cause. Kajal plays the love interest of Akshay. The gang plots for the biggest robbery till date but it requires building a much bigger team. The stakes are high, the plan is in place but the rules of the game are about to change…

Neeraj Pandey is back after a promising directorial debut with “A Wednesday”. He again displays his art of storytelling in an interesting manner. And like his earlier venture, the emphasis is here on the plot and not so much on the individual stars. The story is loosely based on the real incidents which happened in 1980’s and is the high point of the movie.

“Special 26” presents a challenging role to Akshay Kumar and he doesn’t disappoint. He plays the role of suave thief with complete aplomb. He looks apart with an assured body language and dialogue delivery. This is amongst his best performances of the career. Anupam Kher is brilliant in the role of Sharmaji; a man caught between the greed and the needs of his family. He brings the house down with his witty lines. Manoj Vajpayee and Jimmy Shergil are top notch in their respective roles. Kajal doesn’t have much scope in the role she has in the movie. Background score adds to the flavor of the movie. Songs though aren’t a big part of movie and are strictly ok.

“Special 26” is a gripping tale of old fashioned drama between police and thief. A genre which hasn’t been explored much in the recent years. I will give 3.5 out of 5 to the movie. Recommended watch!

Rating: 3.5/ 5

STUDENT of the YEAR

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhat, Rishi Kapoor
Genre: High School drama
Director: Karan Johar

Karan Johar tries to come out of his comfort zone and brings a high school drama with complete new comers. Although few familiar suspects remain - mushy romance, party songs, homosexual humor, love between friends... It is a story of friendship in the background of the life changing competition. It is about making choices at that tender age between friendship and love. So would you defeat your best friend to win the ultimate prize..!

Rohan Nanda (Varun Dhawan) is a son of business tycoon. He is the most popular brat of St Taresa High School at Dehradun. Shanaya Singhania (Alia Bhat) is a rich, happy go lucky girl who also happens to be a possessive girl friend of Rohan. But Rohan isn't too grateful of her as he enjoys the attention of other hot girls in the school. Here comes the new comer, Abhimanyu Singh (Sidharth Malhotra). He is dashing, ambitious, state level champion in sports and seems to be the only match to Rohan in the school. After initial hiccups, Abhi and Rohan become friends and life seems like a never ending party. But things are about to change as the competition for the most coveted 'Student of the Year' starts. It is an award given to the student par excellence in studies, IQ, dance & sports. As  Abhi starts liking Shanaya, things get even worse. So who wins in the end and more importantly at what cost, is how the rest of the story unfolds..

All three leading protagonists are making their debut with SOTY. Rohan looks most natural of all in front of the camera and handles different emotions with ease. Sidharth is decent in a restrained portray of Abhi but need to add more emotions. Alia Bhatt looks the youngest of them all and lends teenager charm to her character. Rishi Kapoor in the role of Dean and Ronit Roy as coach are good. Music is an integral part of the movie. There is a clever usage of hit songs of yesteryears. Overall music is above average. The movie has its light moments which keep the humor going. 

One thing you can't help but notice that except Alia, most of other actors look little too big to be in high school. The mannerism of the "teenage" students resembles more to that of fresh graduates. Surely there was more to explore the world of teenage student, their insecurities, different emotions...which could have been captured. Some sequences seem to be inspired from "Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar" and the narrative is more on the lines of "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na". 

I will rate Student of the Year, 2.5 out of 5 stars. It is a movie which promises more but delivers just short of it. Watch it if you like the Karan Johar brand of freindship & love....I mean 'Ishq wala Love'!!

Rating - 2.5/5  

ENGLISH VINGLISH

Cast: Sridevi, Adil Hussain, Priya Anand

Director: Gauri Shinde

Genre: Comic/ Family Drama

Sridevi returns to the mainstream cinema after a long gap. She is being away from action for so long that she has forgotten to even speak.........English! But one thing that she hasn’t forgotten is acting and that’s what is on show in full glare in this week’s release English Vinglish.

Shashi Godbole(Sridevi) is a typical Indian housewife. She cleans the house, readies children for school, keeps husband in good humour and all this at the cost of neglecting her own self. The only possession she has is cooking, and that doesn’t seem to be enough for getting respect around her home. She is being ridiculed repeatedly for her inability to speak and understand English. Life gives her a chance to learn English when she visits her elder sister at New York. But she has only 4 weeks to turn her fortunes around. So can Shashi manage to get her respect back by learning English while keeping up with the household work.... You need to find out!

The movie brings about the sensibilities and pain of middle class housewife in an effective manner. It is not a mad comedy but there is subtle humour in the proceedings as Shashi tries to make peace with the language she isn’t accustomed to. The classroom proceedings and the interactions between ‘students’ of different cultures are amusing.

Sridevi is definitely BACK. She gets the nuances of the characters just right. She plays a role closer to her age (mother of two kids) and looks apart as vulnerable Shashi, torn between family responsibility and search for self respect. Her moments with kids are adorable and her attempt to speak English brings smile on your face. Special mention for new kid artist Shivansh, who plays Shashi’s son. He pitches in a lovable act. Amitabh Bachchan in a special appearance steals the show. Adil Hussain as an ignorant husband is impressive. Rest of the support cast is competent.

Gauri Shinde as director gets it right. She brings about the sensibility and emotions of a mother and wife in an Indian household. Music is not the high point of the movie and is strictly ok.

I rate ‘English Vinglish’, 3 out of 5 stars. It is not a breakthrough cinema but it is sincere, desi at heart and brings smile at your face.

Rating: 3/5 

OMG Oh My God!

Cast : Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar, Mithun Chakravorty

Director: Umesh Shukla

Genre: Comic/Social Drama

OMG - Oh My God! is based on the Hindi play "Kishen Vs Kanhaiya". It's an attempt to discuss the most relevant issue in Indian society - the importance of religion, its impact and whether we need it at all. So what happens when you put God under scrutiny to defend itself.....let's find out!

Kanji Lalji Mehta (Paresh Rawal) is a Gujrati businessman who trades in antiques made of the Gods of different religion. He is an atheist to the core, for whom the only importance of God is that it helps him sell his antiques at astronomical prices. He mocks everyone who believes in God and seems to be doing well in life...... until a natural calamity results him losing his business and money. Once insurance company shows him the door, there is only one person he can sue for his loss - GOD!

Now starts a series of court drama as Kanji Mehta files case against God for his losses. In the meanwhile, Krishna Vasudev (Akshay Kumar) enters his life as new owner of his house. He becomes his philosopher and well wisher. But the big question remains - whether an atheist find God and recover what he has lost...

Paresh Rawal is terrific in role of a fierce Gujrati trader who won't even spare God to get his claim. He brings the house down with his comic one liners and at the same time keeps the story topical while bringing forth the custom of blind faith in different religious institutes. His take on the religion while debating in the court is highlight of the movie and makes you sit and take note of the present belief system in our society. Akshay Kumar looks charming in the role of Lord Krishna. He gives a restrained and competent performance. In terms of content this is Akshay's best movie in last few years.

Talking of content, it is the USP of the movie. It brings focus on the whole concept of faith and dares to question the very institution of religious believes in the context of goodwill of society. Screenplay is well paced, tight and remains true to the topic. Director Umesh Shukla seems to know his craft. He understands and delivers the subject very well. Supporting cast of Mithun, Govind Namdev and Ashvini Yardi pitch in good performances. "Govinda" song featuring Sonakshi Sinha and Prabhu Deva is entertaining and is used intelligently as part of the narration.

Movie like OMG should be given tax free status in India. I would rate OMG, 4 out of 5 stars. It is topical, relevant, entertaining. Take your family, especially parents to watch this movie.

Rating: 4/5

HEROINE

Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Randeep Hooda, Divya Dutta
Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Genre: Drama

“What success brings to you; it takes lot more in return from you” these lines from Helen (playing a veteran actress) sums up what Heroine is all about. Madhur Bhandarkar has always been associated with a certain brand of cinema – realistic, contemporary, women centric, hard hitting... This time he brings story of a Bollywood Diva, her quest for stardom, her struggle with failure, her dilemma between success and happiness...

Mahi Arora (Kareena Kapoor) is a leading actress of Hindi cinema. She is glamorous, successful, chased by media, seeked by big banners and big producers. She is in love with Aryan (Arjun Rampal), a star actor. But things don’t quite work out between them which leads to Mahi getting in mental depression and ending up ruining her career. At this juncture, she meets Pallavi (Divya Dutta) who’s a sharp PR professional. With the new resolve and the help of image makeover, Mahi gets back her position. With success also comes love in the form of Angad (Randeep Hooda) the vice captain of Indian cricket team, who is charmed by the beauty of Mahi. But can she handle all the adulation and control the biggest danger to her success......herself!

The biggest problem with Heroine is that it gives you the feeling of déjà vu. Page 3 parties, rivalries among movie stars, sexual favors for getting advantage, homosexuality.....we have seen it all in Page 3, Fashion & Dirty Picture. After a while the sequences seem to repeat themselves. In fact the length of the movie could have been short by 25 min at least.

Kareena Kapoor tries very hard in what she declares as “role of her life”. She looks gorgeous as a Diva and vulnerable as a girl looking for true love. She gets it right at most places but her emotions become repetitive after a while because of the limitations of script. Arjun Rampal, Randeep Hooda, Divya Dutta all pitch in decent performances. Music is not a big part of the movie but couple of songs are ok.

Madhur Bhandarkar seemed to have repeated himself in this movie which time and again provides flashbacks of his earlier work. He still shows his grip as a storyteller at times, but the problem is that he has nothing new to say.

I will rate Heroine, 2 out of 5. The movie might have left a better impression with a more novel script, better editing and had it released a decade ago.

Rating: 2/5