Bajirao Mastani ~ A cinematic treat for the Romantics

Release date- 18th December 2015

One Word which describes the film -
Passionate

Best Dialogue - 
'Tujhe yaad kar liya aayat ki tarah, ab tera zikra hoga ibaadat ki tarah.'

Genre - Period Romance/ Drama

Music - Sanchit Balhara, Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Producer -Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Story - Based on Marathi novel Rau by N.S. Inamdar

Direction -Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Cast - Raveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Tanvi Azmi, Milind Soman, Mahesh Manjrekar

Budget- 100 Crores plus

We all know that in 2003 Sanjay Leela Bhansali  wanted to cast Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai for the eponymous roles, but could not cast them together after their highly publicised break-up. After 12 years we are presented with his dream project and the film is surely worth the long wait.

As soon as the film starts we are struck by the grand and magnificent sets which take us to an era about which we have read in history books.

The film tells about the life of a commander who is loved and trusted by his army. He is brave and doesn't accept the norms of the society.

Ranveer Singh is the perfect choice for the role of Bajirao. Whether he is telling his army men ,'Cheeteh Ki Chaal, Baaz Ki Nazar Aur Baaji Rao Ki Talvar Par Sandeh Nahi Karte, Kabhi Bhi Maat De Sakti Hai' or saying romantic dialogues like Humare dil ek saath dhadakte hai Mastani', he says them with equal ease. We are so engrossed with his charm, exuberance and energy that we can feel his confusion, his love, his pain and his heart break.

Deepika Padukone has excelled as Mastani and looks like a real princess who believes in following her heart. All her costumes are so beautiful that we can't take our eyes off her. The moment she  makes her entry we can feel the chemistry between her and her real life boyfriend Ranveer Singh. If Katrina Kaif felt insecure after watching Deepika's chemistry with Ranbeer Kapoor in Tamasha, she should now watch Bajirao Mastani to see the real thing. She gets to say powerful dialogues in the film which will make you whistle and clap

Ishq, Jo Tufani Duniya Se Bagawat Karjaye Woh Ishq,
Bhare Darbar Mein Jo Duniya Se Lad Jaae Woh Ishq,
Jo Mehboob Ko Dekhe Toh Khuda Ko Bhul Jaae Woh Ishq.

Priyanka Chopra is touching new heights in her career these days so the only reason she must have accepted to do a supporting role can be that she was too much touched by Bhansali's dream project and wanted to be part of this epic saga. Her role is powerful but such is the aura of Mastani that it shadows all other female characters of the film.

In a line Sanjay Leela Bhansali's love sagas may bring a tear to your eye from time to time, but without tears every so often even smiles lose their meaning. 

Must be seen in theaters to experience the grandiose and magnificence of the film.

Dil Dhadakne Do- Not Another Master Piece by Zoya

Release date- 5'th June 2015

One Word which describes the film -Scenic 

Best Dialogue - 'Is family ki yahi problem hai, sab upar upar se bat karte hai, asli bat to koyi karta hi nahi hai.

Genre - Comedy/ Drama

Music- Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

Producer -Ritesh Sidhwani
Farhan Akhtar

Story- Reema Kagti, Zoya Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar (dialogue), Javed Akhtar (additional dialogue) 

Direction- Zoya Akhtar

Cast- Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Farhan Akhtar, Rahul Bose,Zarina Wahab, Vikrant Massey, Ridhima Sud

Budget- 60 Crores approximately 

The film was first announced as a story based on the brother- sister relationship between Zoya and Farhan Akhtar played by Kareena Kapoor and  Ranbir Kapoor respectively.

Over the years not only the cast was changed but from a brother- sister film it became the story of a dysfunctional Punjabi family who plan a cruise to celebrate the parents' 30'th wedding anniversary.

Most of the celebrities and film stars were all praises for the film as they must have identified with this ultra rich family who instead of chocolates and toys offer planes to their kids as bribe.

Initially I was happy to see that the film was 170 minutes long but once it started, within 15 minutes it became very clear that the journey is going to be a very slow one. There are 20 seconds dialogues followed by 10 seconds of silence. Some episodes are totally unnecessary and should have been totally edited from the film.

Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah are perfect in their roles. In some scenes their chemistry is so good that you will feel that they are actually married to each other. Their characters have various shades of grey and like experts they manage to give the perfect expression in every scene.
Anil Kapoor gets to say this epic line which every kid must have heard at least once in his/her life 'Tumne aaj tak kiya kya hai ? Nothing ! You are lucky that I'm your father.' 

Priyanka Chopra has lost too much weight and looks tired. She has an excellent voice but in most of the scenes she has a bad throat and doesn't sound like her usual self.

Ranveer Singh is the life and soul of the otherwise reticent family. He is vibrant, makes the audience laugh and is cute in some scenes. He is paired opposite Anushka Sharma with whom he made his Bollywood debut in 2010 ( Band Baaja Baaraat ) and later was also romantically linked. Though now they are dating other people , they share a great on screen chemistry. As aptly described in a dialogue, ' Mohabbat ki shuruwat mai aisa hi hota hai, zabaan kam bolti hai, ankhen bolti hai, jism bolte hai.'

Anushka Sharma has a strong role and some good dialogues but as she is not part of the family she gets less screen space. First Bombay Velvet flops at the Box office and now this film is off to a bad start, guess the news lips are not that lucky for Anushka.

Farhan Akhtar must have been added in the film as an after thought as least attention is paid to his character. He is shabbily dressed in most scenes, doesn't even bother to shave or comb his hair which was quite disappointing for his fans. Moral he should learn from this film is, even when you are the producer and your sister is the director you shouldn't be over confident.
Javed Akhtar has penned some dialogues which are used in a narrative style. Loved this one, ' Doosre karte hai to use hypocrisy kehte hai aur jab khud wohi kam karte hai to use duniyadaari kehte hai.'

The main problem of the film is the presence of too many characters. So many parallel stories are running in the film that many scenes just add to the existing confusion. Many characters are introduced but near the end they just fade away and the focus abruptly shifts to the main members of the family.
The music is average and none of the song stays with us once the movie ends. Guess you really need a Honey Singh or Arijit Singh to have a chart buster song. 
The film has nothing to offer to the masses and so it will be a difficult task for the film to  reach the 100 Crore mark.   

In a line, the film is 170 min long, slow at times, will make you sleep in some scenes but overall it's a classy film made by a woman for other women.

Time-pass. Can be seen in theaters if you have nothing better to do. 

Review of Barfi

Release Date - 14'th September 2012

The song which describes the film 
Yaar dildar tujhe kaisa chahiye
Pyar chahiye ya paisa chahiye . 

Best Dialogue –  Life main sabse bada risk hota hai koyi risk na lena .

Genre- Romance / Comedy

Story / Screenplay /Direction- Anurag Basu

Producer –  Ronnie Screwvala , Siddharth Roy Kapoor

Music Director - Pritam

Cast – Ranbir Kapoor , Priyanka Chopra , Ileana D'Cruz

Budget –  (Not disclosed but has to be above 30 crores)

Rating - 5 stars to Anurag Basu for daring to be different , 4 stars for Ranbeer's acting , 3.5 stars for the 70's look created in the film , 3 stars each to Priyanka and Iliena .

Anurag Basu tweeted on 2'nd Sep "Just got the censor certificate, 'Barfi' is my first U certificate film .
This tweet reminded me of his earlier works ,the passionate Murder , the unfinished love story Gangster ,the complicated lives of people in Life in a... Metro   and the ultimate disappointment for me , Kites . 
I thought that, was it a good move by Anurag to shift from his comfort zone and take a risk which will surely win the critics but may or may not appeal to the audience ?" 

When I entered the theater it was just 30% full which was surprising considering the excessive publicity the stars did in the last 10 days. As the film progressed , we got involved in the daily life of a deaf and mute simpleton who lives life to the fullest , never complains , loves his friend but doesn't hesitate in testing their friendship.  Yes,there were some slow moments, times when the film became monotonous and confusing but the end half an hour totally made the film a MUST watch and we left the theaters with a smile on our face.

The one dialogue which totally won my heart was " Usne soch ke pyar nahi kiya aur jab pyar ho gaya to kuch socha nahi "

Ranbir Kapoor is one actor who dedicates himself fully to his films. He did it with Rockstar and here too he doesn't disappoint the audience with his character which is a combination of Charlie Chaplin and Mr Bean . To get the perfect expressions he has himself shot some portions of the film featuring him in intense scenes .  He even has done some of  his own stunts in Barfee.
The idea of showing the different time periods by street hoardings advertising a Murphee radio then  Prestige cooker actually took us back to that time  .There are very few dialogues between the lead actors but the lack of dialogues is made up with the soul touching lyrics and music by Pritam .

It's sad that the film is released between two commercial blockbusters , Raaz3 and Heroine which will surely effect the box office collections but hopefully word of mouth will encourage people to watch it. 

In a  line if you have forgotten to enjoy the simple pleasures life offers to us everyday, this film is for you .
Watch the film in theater to experience some heart touching moments .