Badrinath ki Dulhaniya~ The formula of a hit film, one dose of Feminism mixed with one dose of women empowerment and a pinch of random fun and humour

Release date - 10th March 2017

One Word which describes the film- 

Over-the- top

Best Dialogue - 'Are ye tedha munh karke kyo smile kar rahe ho, Shahrukh Khan ho kya?'

Genre - Romance / Comedy

Music- Amaal Malik, Tanishk Bagchi

Producer - Karan Johar

Story & Direction -Shashank Khaitan

Cast- Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt

Budget- 50 crores (approximately)

Gone are the times when you needed a very innovative or unique story to make a hit film. In 2016, most of the films which performed well at the box office had simple plots, had a female protagonist or dealt with women empowerment.

Badrinath ki Dulhania is a sequel to Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya(2014), which was a moderate hit.

Badrinath looks at Vaidehi and falls in love with her. His only target in life is to marry her.

Vaidehi is a career oriented woman who wants to be the son her parents never had. 

The story is a typical masala film which you must have seen 100 times and seasoned viewers will easily predict what is going to happen next.

Like Humpty Sharma there are more moments of friendship and comfort between the lead pair than any sizzling chemistry.

Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt have given excellent performances and have some how tried to make the slow film interesting with their comic timing and intense expressions.

The dialogues are not what you will remember after the film, it's the silent exchanges between the lead pair who have become the most bankable stars of current times.

The film has many supporting characters who have done justice to their small roles.

The film was released in 2700 screens and has managed to earn around 12 Crores on Friday. This figure is greater than the 2016 Varun Dhawan & John Abraham starrer, Dishoom which was a much bigger film with a higher budget and marketing expenses.

In a line, though the film is not about some epic romance or great love, the good performances manage to keep the viewers entertained.

Good one time watch. Time-pass.

Dear Zindagi ~ "Sleepless in Goa"

Release date- 25th November 2016

One Word which describes the film- Exaggerated

Best Dialogue- "Life mai jab koyi pattern ya adat bante hue dikhayi de to uske baare mai acche se sochna chahiye. Genius is about knowing when to stop."

Genre- Drama

Music- Amit Trivedi

Producer- Gauri Khan, Gauri Shinde, Karan Johar

Story & Direction- Gauri Shinde

Cast- Alia Bhatt, Shahrukh Khan, Kunal Kapoor, Ali Zafar, Angad Bedi

Budget- 45 Crores including P&A

After watching Dear Zindagi, I read some reviews of famous critics which made me wonder that did they see the same film as us. Whereas most of the people with us were getting restless about how the film went on and on and how some even walked out after interval, the critics couldn't stop talking about how handsome and down to earth SRK looked as Jahangir Khan, or how the film has easily recovered it's production cost cause of it's low budget and selling of distribution rights to a single company.

An average movie goer has no interest in knowing about the economics of a film. He/she is only interested in the entertainment, informational or motivational value of the film.

Gauri Shinde made her directional debut with the highly acclaimed English Vinglish(2012). In her next film Dear Zindagi she tells about Kiara who is having problems in her life and so she decides to visit a 'dimaag ka doctor'.
If this visit to a shrink was just an episode in the film as was in '2 States' where Arjun Kapoor because of the complexities of his relationships couldn't sleep, the film could have been interesting. Sadly Dear Zindagi is 75% about the long conversations between Shahrukh Khan and Alia Bhatt and how he makes her come to terms with her life, which almost everyone in the audience found too monotonous and boring.

There are three heroes in the films but instead of playing any significant roles they just come in 2-3 scenes and then disappear.

Then we have SRK playing the role of a psychiatrist who tells his patient that boyfriends are like chairs which is such a silly thought but is absolutely loved by the patient. Anyone who watches Koffee with Karan will agree that SRK is a smooth talker and he says everything with such sincerity that not only we believe it, we love listening to him too. But that's in a talk show. In a film we expect him to play a larger than life character, a lover, a father, a hockey coach or even his own fan.

Alia Bhatt is an excellent actress and she has perfectly portrayed the role of a confused girl. She is a natural performer but if she wants to be a part of the big league she has to do more main stream roles like Anushka Sharma or Deepika Padukone.

The film's basic problem is the lack of a proper story. It's more of a set of incidents where we sometimes see Kiara partying with her friends in a disco, or shouting at her parents, or flirting with any guy who hits on her. These scenes make her character look like a shallow girl than depressed.

There are some moments like when a talk between the protagonist and her doctor inspire us on how we must leave some memories for our kids or how we shouldn't let our past effect out future but they are so few that after an hour we couldn't wait for the film to finish.

The film is shot mostly in Goa and though there is lot of scenic beauty we wish that the director has worked a little more on the story too.
The film was released in 1200 screens and because of Shahrukh Khan managed to earn 8.75 Crores on it first day which is quite good. 

In a line, with talented actors like Shahrukh Khan and Alia Bhatt and no budget restraints, the director could have made a much better film which was high on entertainment quotient too.
Time-pass.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil- An ode to Love

Release date- 28th Oct 2016

One Word which describes the film- Intense

Best Dialogues-
Ayan- "Aasan Hai Kya? Aisi Mahobbat Karna Jiske Badle Mohabbat Na Mile."

Alizeh- "Pyaar Mein Junoon Hai, Par Dosti Mein Sukun Hai."

Saba- "Main kisi ki jaroorat nahi khwaish banna chahti hoon."

Tahir- "Agar baazi ishq ki baazi hai toh jo chahe laga lo, dar kaisa. Agar jeet gaye to kya kehna, agar haare bhi toh baazi maat nahi."

DJ Ali- "Tumhari mohabbat ke samne meri mohabbat kam pad gayi." 


Genre- Romance/ Drama

Budget- 80 Crores approximately

“Jab pyar mai pyar na ho,

 Jab dard mein yaar na ho
Jab aasoun mein muskaan na ho,
Jab lafzon mein zubaan na ho
Jab saasein bas yunhi chale,
Jab har din mein raat dhale
Jab intezaar sirf waqt ka ho,
Jab yaad uss kambat ki ho
Kyun hun mein rahi
Jab wo hai kisi aur ki manzil,
Dhadkano ne saath chhod diya
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil”
~ Karan Johar

It has been two weeks since the film released and despite the mixed reviews it has managed to do well both in Indian and international markets.
I have always appreciated Karan Johar's larger than life films where everything is grand, there are perfect people with perfect relationships and by the end everything ends in a happy note.
But this film is unlike any of his film. This film is a dramatized version of his own life story. The characters of the film experience the unreciprocated love and heartbreaks he has gone through in his life. The characters are so real that in everyone you will find some traces of yourself.

Ayan- In a scene Ayan tells Alizeh that he was sure that one day he would meet someone who will understand his craziness and accept him like he was. He's the 'private jet' rich kind of guy who has everything and still is not happy because he doesn't understand why a girl who calls him his bestest friend can't be in love with him too. He aims to please everybody. Ranbeer as Ayan is the guy anyone can fall in love with. We found him cute, understood his confusion, shared his excitement and at times sympathized with him too.

Alizeh- The girl who knows she has been a fool in love and so values the comfort of friendship more than the excitement of an obsessive love. She is mature when explaining about love to others but when it's about her, she commits the same mistake again, even telling her friend, "Mohabbat karne walo ka vishwas nahi karna chahiye". Anushka Sharma is perfect in the role. At some places her friendship with Ranbeer looks very real and we could feel her enjoyment in bullying him.

Ali- Fawad Khan has a small role in the film. In his unkempt unruly hair he looks messy. His character was important to the story but he has just 3-4 dialogues and hardly leaves any impact.

Saba- Aishwarya did two woman oriented film after her comeback , Jazbaa and Sarabjeet, but both didn't do well at the box office or got her any critical acclamation. As Saba Taliyar Khan she looked so hot and beautiful that even those who hated the film couldn't ignore her presence. The video of "Bulleya" has got 71 million hits in a month and must be the most viewed Bollywood song. Her chemistry with Ranbir is so real that it set the screen on fire. Karan Johar very wisely showed most of the passionate scenes between them in the trailer and created so much curiosity among the audience that the film got a very good opening.

Music is the life and soul of the film. Whether it's the title song which explains the pain of one sided love or "Channa Mereya"  the heartbreak song, they are bound to stay in your mind long after you have seen the film.
Karan Johar has given so much of himself in this film that I doubt that he'll direct another film soon. Karan Johar said that he learned a lot from Aditya Chopra while assisting him in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaynge. Without even watching Aditya Chopra's upcoming film "Befikre", I can say that with this film Karan has shown that he has gone way ahead than his mentor.

In a line, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is that kaleidoscope which will bring to your mind all the meaningful & loving relationships you have ever experienced in your life.

Good one time watch.

Shaandaar ~ Vikas Bahl redefines the Heights of 'Chutzpah'

Release date -22'nd October 2015

One Word which describes the film - Absurd/ Senseless/ Weird/ Stupid/ Silly (One word is not enough to describe this film)

Worst Dialogue - 

Pankaj Kapoor- ' Tu samajhta kya hai apne aap ko?'

Shahid Kapoor - 'Kuch nahi Sir, tucch praani. Aam admi. Raju Hirani.'

Genre - Comedy/ Drama

Music - Amit Trivedi

Producer - Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Karan Johar, Madhu Mantena

Story- Vikas Bahl, Chaitally Parmar

Direction -Vikas Bahl

Cast -Pankaj Kapur, Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Sanah Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor

Budget- 50 Crores

How times change in a year. If last year Vikas Bahl was the most popular Bollywood director, winning almost all awards for Queen, this year he will be the most criticized person for making a really weird and senseless film and then calling it Shaandaar!
After SRK's over the top promotions for RaOne, Shaandar must be the next film to promote itself on every reality show. In fact the chemistry between Shahid and Alia Bhatt during promotions was 100 times better than their chemistry in the film.

In an interview Alia said that, "What I really liked about the concept is that Vikas came to me with only five lines. He said that it's a love story of two insomniacs, there is a destination wedding, there are some four characters that seem completely crazy to me." 

Guess Vikas himself too didn't work anymore on the concept as the final story can also be narrated in 5 lines with lots of stupidity and sleep inducing moments. If only the characters had seen Shaandar themselves their insomnia could have been cured and the audience could have been saved from the torture.

Apart from a bad story line the film is full of stupid dialogues like

Alia - I can't believe...kabhi tumne kiyaa nahi hai....Hath mein kabhi fevicool nahi lagayaa hai..Aise..! 

I would really want to ask the makers of the film that who was the target audience for this film ?

It's a well known fact that when Karan Johar saw the film he was not very happy with the end results and wanted the director to edit it and also  re shoot some parts. The film has Karan's touch as there were castles, girls whose only aim in life was to dress up in shortest of dresses, pout and click selfies and last but not the least a 'Mehendi with Karan' sequence.

To create sensation among the audience a totally irrelevant to the story, Alia Bhatt in a bikini scene was added in the film which was the most discussed topic on social networks few weeks back.

Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt have blindly followed the director and have mouthed the really weird lines with supreme confidence. 

Pankaj Kapoor is a great actor but he has no scope to show his acting talents.

Sanjay Kapoor has tried to copy big brother Anil Kapoor both in terms of dressing style and dialogue delivery but guess it's his bad luck that success continues to elude him.

The two dance numbers Shaam shaandaar and Gulabo are good but we have seen them so many times in promos that even they failed to bring any life in the already lifeless story.

Because of the promotions too much hype was created and the film got an opening day collection of 13 Crores. But now with bad reviews and  negative word of mouth it will be a difficult task for the film to earn decent numbers over the weekend. 

In a line there is not much to enjoy in the film except Alia Bhatt's pretty face but after some time the weird story starts getting on your nerves.
Avoidable. If you are a big Alia Bhatt fan or under 10 then you can watch. 

Brothers ~ Over dramatic Warriors

Release date - 14'th August 2015

One Word which describes the film - Melodramatic

Best Dialogue - ' Duniya badi zalim hai Master, dard par hasti hai.'

Genre - Action/ Drama

Music - Ajay-Atul

Producer - Hiroo Yash Johar, 
Karan Johar, Endemol India

Story- Gavin O'Connor, Cliff Dorfman ( Official remake of the 2011 Hollywood film, Warrior)

Direction - Karan Malhotra

Cast - Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez, Jackie Shroff,  Shefali Shah 

Budget- 65-70 Crores approximately

Karan Malhotra made his directorial debut in 2012 with Dharma Productions' Agneepath. This time both Karans are back with a Bollywood version of the 2011 American sports drama film Warriors.
The basic story revolves around two estranged brothers whose entrance into a mixed martial arts tournament forces them to come to terms with their past and each other.
The first half of the film is quite dark and gloomy. We have a shabby Jackie Shroff and a bland Siddharth who move around in slow motion. The director tries to build a story around the main characters but fails to create interest among the audiences. 
We get to see Kareena Kapoor trying to do a Sunny Leone type item dance, 'Mary'. So Karan Johar did give you a Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham at the starting of your career but Bebo, now that you are the Begum of a billionaire you don't need to do such cheap songs to stay in limelight.   
Akshay Kumar and Jacqueline's 6 years relation is shown in a 5 minutes song which reminds of a similar Teri Meri Kahani song from Gabbar is Back showing the flash back of Akshay and Kareena's love story. Afterwards both Akshay and Jacqueline carry the same pained expression in most of the scenes.
Jackie Shroff looks old and haggard but in some scenes he has given such an excellent performance that we forget that he is acting and start sympathizing with the poor father who is repenting for his sins.
After interval the film takes a sudden change and we are literally taken from the darkness to light. There is a big lighted stadium with thousands of people cheering for their first winner of the Right To Fight championship. Raj Zutsi who plays the role of a commentator has some good dialogues and manages to make the repetitive fights entertaining.
The film got a 35% opening and managed to earn around 35 crores in two days which is a little less considering the production houses involved and its big budget. The film didn't receive many positive reviews because of it's over dramatic story and a slow first half.
Akshay Kumar fans must watch this film as he looks fit and has performed most of his martial arts stunts himself. 
If you are a lover of Hollywood films don't watch Brothers hoping to get another Warriors. Watching Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation will be a safer bet.
In a line though the first half is quite slow and stretched, the second half makes up for it and you emerge out of the theaters with a smile on your face.
One time watch. Can be seen in theaters.  

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.

Review of Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya

Release date - 11'th July 2014

One Word which describes the film - Entertainer

Best Dialogue - 'Main marriage wali parties par line nahi marta.'

Genre - Romance / Comedy

Music -Sachin - Jigar
Toshi Sabri

Producer - Karan Johar

Story & Direction -Shashank Khaitan

Cast -Varun Dhawan ,Alia Bhatt , Ashutosh Rana
Siddharth Shukla

Budget- 40 crores (approximately)

We all know Karan Johar's love for Aditya Chopra's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). Not only he was an assistant director on the film he also played a small role and helped director Aditya Chopra in writing the screenplay. In addition, he selected Shahrukh Khan's costumes too.
Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya is a rightful tribute by him to the epic romance.
In 19 years, as there has been a revolutionary change in the younger generation same change can be seen in the way of thinking and actions of the lead characters.
We have a hero who has no interest in studies and want to have fun in life.
We have a heroine who is about to get married and wants to buy a designer lehenga.
The hero and heroine meet and become friends.
Though the basic story follows the DDLJ pattern yet it is different. The heroine is smart and confident. She is not afraid of her father and wants to take her own decisions in life. 
Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt are both Karan Johar's find and they are doing exceptionally well in the film industry. Both have given a wonderful performance and share a great on screen chemistry. 
Siddhart Shukla makes his bollywood debut. His role in small and he just has to look good. He has very few scenes and so getS no chance to show his acting skills.
Ashutosh Rana as the sometimes doting sometimes strict father looks quite good and realistic. 

Lavish sets and exorbitant budgets have always been Karan Johar’s style.
As the film shot in Delhi and Ambala had no scope for big sets, he has fulfilled his passion by creating a massive set in film city resembling the Colloseum in Rome.
The song 'Saturday Saturday' choreographed by Ahmed Khan has a whooping 3 crores budget and stars the lead actors along with 200 junior artists.

In a line, Humpty's romance may not be some epic love story but he is cute and lovable and his dulhaniya is bold and beautiful.
Good one time watch. Can be seen in theaters.

Review of The Lunchbox

Release date – 20'th September 2013

One Word which describes the film – Wistful

Best Dialogue  – 'Kabhi kabhi galat train bhi sahi jagah pahuncha deti hai '

Genre – Romance 

Writer- Ritesh Batra

Music – Max Richter

Producer - Anurag Kashyap , Guneet Monga , Karan Johar , Siddharth Roy Kapur

Direction - Ritesh Batra

Cast - Irrfan Khan , Nimrat Kaur , Nawazuddin Siddiqui

  

Budget - 10 crores

The film is an Indian version of the 1998 hit Hollywood film ' You've Got Mail '. 
In the film the heroine says a line , 'People are always telling you that change is a good thing .But all they're really saying is that something you didn't want to happen at all ,has happened.' 
This film is also about changes . A man who is about to retire and a lonely housewife exchange small notes through a lunchbox and develop a strong bond . The woman is young and is ready to take steps which can totally change her life but the man who is old enough to be her father has his doubts.

The direction of the film is it's finest point. It's really commendable that how with just 3 characters and a voice the director manages to present a story which makes the audience identify with the characters. We feel the fear of an about to retire man who was so engrossed in his work and daily life that he never realised that he has grown old. We feel sad for the housewife whose husband has lost interest in her and pays more attention to his cell phone . 

Irrfan Khan has played the role of a much older man with such ease that you forget the actor , you only see him as Mr. Fernandez .
Nimrat Kaur gives strong competition to Irrfan and it's difficult to decide who has given a better performance.
Nawazuddin is an amazing actor and though he has a vital role in the film ,this story isn't about him.

After a totally detailed sketch of Mumbai dabba system and local trains the abrupt climax was a bit disappointing . 

In a line the film is about how sometimes the small things can bring a big change in your life and it's better to take risks at time than to lead a mundane life .
Good one time watch.
Rank - 16  (Out of the 54 films I have seen in 2013)