Welcome to Karachi- A tedious journey

Release date - 29'th May 2015

One Word which describes the film - Directionless

Best Dialogue - 
Jackky- Ye tune delivery karna kisse sikhaa ?
Arshad- Rajiv Hirani se !

Genre - Comedy/Political Satire

Music -Rochak Kohli, Jeet Ganguly, Komail Shayan (KK), Amjad Nadeem

Producer - Vashu Bhagnani

Story-Vrajesh Hirjee

Direction -Ashish R Mohan

Cast -Arshad Warsi, Jackky Bhagnani, Lauren Gottilieb

Budget- 30 crores approximately

Two guys in a drunken stupor decide to go to America by boat. Their boat is caught in a storm and the cruel waves of the ocean bring them to Karachi. In one scene they are dancing with bikini babes and in the next they are in midst of bomb explosion and gun shots. As if this was not enough they are mistaken as terrorists and are taken to the Taliban. 
The story aimlessly drifts from hospitals to fake passport offices to terrorists' camps to Al Qaeda to clubs to parliament sessions. There are many scenes which make us laugh but they are lost in the non ending journey of the protagonists.

Jackyy is shown as a dim wit Gujarati guy who doesn't realize the gravity of the situation. He talks with a terrorist in a very jovial manner.   

Jackky : Uncle mera ek garba karte hue video hai , aap Youtube mai dekho 

Pakistani: Youtube Pakistan me ban hai.

Jackky : Skype

Pakistani: Ban 

Jackky : Whatsapp

Pakistani: Ban 

Jackky :Toh uncle aap ke ghar pe 3G hai kya? Main toh bol raha hoon katwa lo. Bahut paise bachenge

Arshad Warsi's character is older and wiser but at times he is shown doing equally stupid things. His comic timing is perfect but just humorous scenes can not save a film which has a weak screenplay and poor dialogues. 

Lauren is mainly in the film for the item songs and to provide some glamour in the otherwise drab film.

We have heard that, 'A life without a vision is a journey without destination.' So what was the filmmakers purpose in making this film? If they wanted to show that Karachi is a really unsafe place where one's life is under constant threat then initially they did manage to create some tension in the minds of the viewers but soon it was lost in between the crowd of junior artists and item songs. 
   

In a line, even though the film has some funny moments, the overall Karachi journey is not entertaining enough to be seen in theaters.

Avoidable. Can be seen on TV

Tanu Weds Manu Returns - Reality Check !

Release date - 22'nd May 

2015

One Word which describes the film -Laugh riot

Best Dialogue -
Tanu-' Haalat dekhi hai apni? Adrak ho gaya hai ye aadmi. Kahin se bhi badh raha hai!' 
Manu- "Haan toh shaadi se pehle Hrithik Roshan tha kya?

Genre -Comedy/ Drama 

Music - Ramesh Vinayagam

Producer - Kishore Lulla
Anand L. Rai

Story- Himanshu Sharma

Direction -Anand L. Rai

Cast -Kangana Ranaut, R. Madhavan, Jimmy Shergill, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Deepak Dobriyal

Budget- 35 Crores 

After giving  two hits Tanu Weds Manu (2011) and Raanjhanaa (2013), the director-writer duo  Anand L. Rai and  Himanshu Sharma have hit the jackpot with their third tongue in cheek comedy Tanu Weds Manu Returns which has become the first film of 2015 to enter the 100 Crore Club. 

With big budget films like Baby and Bombay Velvet failing to touch the 100 Crore mark it's no mean feat.

Kangana Ranaut is slowly and steadily becoming the poor producers' Amir Khan (pun intended).

When Tanu tells a small kid to write a letter which says , 'Laal kalam se likh do unko bahut hua sammaan..' we know that the rebellious Tanuja Trivedi is back and we can expect some fireworks . She has no second thoughts about hugging a rickshaw wala who once used to study in the same college with her and telling him ,'Bahut acche din the yaar wo, waqt aur umar ne sab barbaad kar diya yaar.' 

Kangana as Datto is the real surprise package of the film. Tanu and Datto are like chalk and cheese. It's hard to believe that both the characters are played by the same woman. Where as one is a drop dead beauty who attracts men like moths to a flame the other one is a dedicated athlete who has no time for love or to enjoy the finer things in life. When a befuddled Manu collides with her she shouts at him in Haryanvi , 'Ke kar raha tha bahen faela ke, yo jagah se Shah Rukh Khan bannan ki?'

Madhavan is an excellent actor who always manages to express his feelings through his eyes. Every married man in the audience must have identified and sympathized with him. His silent nature and simple looks act as the perfect foil for Kangana's beauty and exuberance.
His recent weight gain may have acted as an advantage in portraying the role of a 40 year old married man but if he has any intention of playing other mainstream roles he should seriously start working on loosing the extra kilos.

Jimmy Shergil has few scenes in the films but he manages to leave an impact. His character has matured over the years and now instead of raw anger his character depicts maturity. He gets irritated now and then like when he tells Tanu, 'Hum kahe tum nahi tumhare jaise hi sahi, lekin tumhare pati se wo bhi dekha nahi ja raha! Saley ko original bhi yahi rakhenge, duplicate bhi yahi rakhenge.'

Deepak Dobriyal first came to limelight for his award winning performance in Omkara (2006) .  He is totally loyal to Madhavan and plays the role of his inner conscience. You can't stop laughing when he tells Manu ,' Tum kya Salman Khan ho jo tumhe commitment issues hai.' With him around, there's never a dull moment.

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Chintu is a new addition in this sequel. He is in awe of Tanu and wants to win her by hook or crook. He tells Raja ,'Bhaiya, hum kandha. Bhaiya Kandha ek biradari hoti hai na ladko ki, hum tab ate hai jab kanya bahut udas hoti hai, sare rishto se pareshan hoti hai.'
All these characters along with a well scripted story and screenplay keep you entertained and teach you some basic facts about life.
1. In life there is no happy ending. Till you are alive there will be ups and downs.
2. Never say things which you don't mean.
3. Just because you're mad at someone doesn't mean you stop loving them.

In a line, over the years you must have heard the quote 'Love is blind, marriage is an eye opener' a 100 times, this film just explains it to you  in a very detailed and funny manner.'
Must watch. Paisa vasool. 

Bombay Velvet - Big shots, Guns and all that Jazz !

Release date -15'th May 2015

One Word which describes the film - Kashyap's Waterloo

Best Dialogue - Abhi to apun small se large hua hai, abhi patiala hona baki hai.'

Genre - Crime/ Drama

Music - Amit Trivedi

Producer - Vikramaditya Motwane, Vikas Bahl, Fox Star Studios

Story - Based on Mumbai Fables by Gyan Prakash

Direction -Anurag Kashyap

Cast -Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar, Kay Kay Menon, Satyadeep Misra,  Vivaan Shah

Budget- 90 crores approximately (Including P & A)

‘Bombay Velvet’ is a period drama set at a time when Bombay became a metropolis.
The film starts with Raveena Tandon crooning a Jazz number which has lines like 

'Roothi hai mehbooba

Roothi roothi sharaab hai
Hey aam hindustani teri kismat kharaab hai.' 

We are mesmerized by the elaborate costume of the singer and the grandiose of Bombay Velvet's sets. As the story is set in the sixties, elaborate sets of Bombay's landmarks were specially mounted across various locations in Sri Lanka to recreate the ambiance of a bygone decade. Every minute detail is taken care of. When we see a bus it has the advertisement of products of those times. Every character has the perfect get up and hairstyle. So the question is why Kashyap's magnum opus became the brunt of the audiences jokes ?

When you watch Ranbeer Kapoor playing the role of Jhonny Balraj you are instantly reminded of Tony Montana (Scarface,1983). Balraj is shown watching Hollywood films and he dreams of becoming a big shot. He is temperamental and has no qualms about killing people who come in his way. He is a violent and possessive lover. To give vent to his anger he participates in street fights because of which in most parts of the film he has a scarred face. 

Karan Johar makes his acting debut as Kaizad Khambata. He is the ruthless business man whose ultimate objective is to earn money. His ideology is, 'Main jo bhi karta hoon khud ke liye karta hoon.' Small time crooks like Balraj and his friend Chimman are just pawns in his game. He wears tailored suits and walks around with such elegance that it will remind you of the undulating movements of a snake. He looks down on people.In a particular scene he tells the lead actors that they look like the hired help and a zebra crossing respectively. He maintains a cool composure and in a really hilarious situation he comes outside the room and laughs his heart out and goes inside with a straight face.

Anushka Sharma plays the role of Jazz singer, Rosie  who is the object of desire of almost half of the male cast. She is the star of the Bombay Velvet club and her elaborate costumes and hairstyles reflect it.

Earlier when there was a sudden speculation about her lips Anushka tweeted that she was using a temporary lip enhancing tool and make-up techniques for the sake of her look in her upcoming film.

Satyadeep Mishra as Balraj's friend has the most well defined role. His loyalty is towards his friend. He has expressive eyes and his body language is perfect.

Veteran actors like Kay Kay Menon, Siddhart Basu are totally wasted. Even Vivan Shah plays a totally insignificant role.

The main problem in the film is it's weak screenplay and lack of dialogues. In Indian films special emphasis is paid on the entry of the hero or heroine. Here they randomly appear in a scene. We are shown a man bent on a bank counter and it turns out he is Karan Johar. Shouldn't the man who makes larger than life candyfloss romances get a better introduction than this ?

There is no continuity in the scenes. There are so many songs that in many situations instead of dialogues background music and songs are used. In the full movie there was hardly any scene where the audience can whistle or clap in appreciation.

Bombay Velvet is the perfect example of  'Too many cooks spoil the broth.' A team of writers including Vasan Bala, Gyan Prakash, Anurag Kashyap and S.Thanikachalam wrote the screenplay. When the producers were not satisfied with the results, Prerna Saigal (The Lunchbox) and Academy Award winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker were called to do the editing. 
Till interval the film is fast and manages to hold interest. Afterwards it's just unnecessary blood shed and violence. The much hyped song' Mohabbat Buri Bimari' shown in promos was not in the film. Instead we get to see a different version starring Raveena Tandon which was a big disappointment.      

In a line, Anurag Kashyap despite his passion for gangster films and detailing could not give proper shape to his dream project and so it has turned into a nightmare for the producers and the audiences.

Only for die-hard fans of Kashyap's  kind of Noir films. Time pass.

Piku - Motion se Emotion tak

Release date - 8'th May 2015

One Word which describes the film - LOL

Best Dialogue - 
Amitabh Bachchan: Insaan ka emotion uska motion ke saath juda hua hai.

Irrfan Khan: Kamaal hai, ap har baat ko pet ke sath kaise jod dete hain

Genre - Comedy/ Drama 

Music -Anupam Roy

Producer - N.P. Singh, Ronnie Lahiri, Sneha Rajan

Story -  Juhi Chaturvedi
Direction -Shoojit Sircar

Cast - Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan,
Jishu Sengupta, Raghuvir Yadav, Moushumi Chatterjee,

Budget- 30 crores approximately

Deepika Padukone plays the titular role of a single woman who manages her career along with her aging father. In recent films we have seen Deepika in ultra glamorous roles wearing bikinis or minis and doing steamy scenes. Here in simple kurtas or tees paired with palazzo pants she looks pretty and her love and concern for her hypochondriac father touches our hearts. She is the regular next door girl who is not perfect, gets irritated now and then and even shouts at her father.

Whenever Amitabh Bachchan does any role he is so much engrossed in it that we forget that he is Mr. Bachchan, the legend and just think of him as the character he is playing. Here he is Bhaskar Banerjee , a 70 year attention seeking man who thinks that his daughter should take care of him in the same way as he took care of her when she was a kid. He thinks that only females with low IQ get married. 

Irrfan Khan is the owner of a taxi company who has to accompany the two lead actors on a road trip.

The film has no story and is like a series of incidents taken from anyone's life but the dialogues and the scenes are so real and funny that we become part of the family and eagerly wait for what is going to happen next. There are no pseudo intellectual characters or inspirational message still the way in which the lead actors interact with each other through their eyes and expressions is commendable. 

When the three actors are together their timing is perfect and you can not stop laughing.

In a line the film has so many laugh out loud moments that they will make you laugh your heart out and leave you with a smile on your face.

Must watch.

Gabbar is Back- The Dream of creating a corruption free India

Release date - 1'st May 2015

One Word which describes the film - Over-the-top

Best Dialogue - 'Sabke Karam Saamne Aayenge, Woh Kya Hai Na Karma Rishwat Nahi Leta.'

Genre - Action/Drama

Music -Chirantan Bhatt, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Manj Musik

Producer - Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

Story- Remake of Tamil film Ramana written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss

Writer- Rajat Arora

Direction -Krish

Cast -Akshay Kumar, Shruti Hassan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Suman Talwar, 

• Sunil Grover
• 
  

Budget- 80 crores  approximately.

Gabbar is back is a scene by scene remake of the hit Tamil film  Ramanaa (2002), directed by A. R. Murugadoss. It's remade in Telugu as Tagore, in Kannada as Vishnu Sena and in Bengali as Tiger. All the remakes have earned money at the box office. So it was expected that Gabbar will also open to full houses. It has collected almost 46 crores in 4 days. 

The press gets information that 10 tehsildars across Maharashtra have been mysteriously kidnapped. But they are as mysteriously returned, except the most corrupt one. Other corrupt officers of various departments also become the target of Gabbar's fury who wants a corruption free India.
The film is very fast and has spicy one liners by the king of dialogues 'Rajat Arora',.
Digvijay Patil- Rishwat li to Gabbar maar dega, nahi li to main maar dunga.
Sadhuram Yadav- 'Jab mujhe expert advice chahiye hoti hai to mai khud se baat kar leta hoon.'
At times the film becomes too unreasonable and overblown which I think is a regular feature of any South Indian film.
Akshay Kumar who is known as the fitness icon looks bulky and has a very funny hairstyle. The moustache and grey beard do nothing for his look. In scenes with Shruti Hassan the age difference is very much visible.
Shruti Hassan who is a lawyer but also helps in successfully delivering a baby in the backseat of a car just based on google research is loud and most of the time looks like a fashion model.
Sunil Grover who plays the role of an intelligent hawaldar has given a good performance.
Suman Talwar comes across as a powerful antagonist.
Kareena Kapoor appears in the Teri Meri Kahani song and adds to the glamour quotient of the film. 
Chintragada Singh who was declared as the next Smita Patel when she made her debut in Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi(2003) is now reduced to doing steamy item numbers. Aao Raja recreated by Honey Singh is his worst creation till date.
So the question is whether you should listen to all the critics and just avoid the film as it's nowhere near the magnum- opus 'Sholay' or you should leave your brains at home and just enjoy this masala entertainer.
In India the audience is already divided into classes and masses. The teenagers totally avoid Hindi films and stick to films like Fast and Furious and an equally mindless Avengers as they think it's cool to watch them.
Any film which has some patriotic message should be seen by all countrymen. So I would say go and watch it and if even one scene touches your heart and brings a minor change, the purpose is solved.  

In a line the message conveyed to the audience  is very good, I just wish the way in which it was presented was a little better. 

One time watch. Timepass