Pink~ A tale about women of questionable character.

Release date- 16th September 2016

One Word which describes the film- Gritty 

Best Dialogue- 'Nahi apne aap mai ek sentence hai. Ise kisi explaination ki jarurat nahi hai. When a woman says No, you stop.'

Genre- Thriller/ Courtroom Drama

Music- Shantanu Moitra

Producer- Rashmi Sharma, Shoojit Sircar

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Story- Ritesh Shah

Direction- Annirudha Roy Chaudhary 

Cast- Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang, Angad Bedi, Piyush Mishra

Budget- 25 Crores approximately

PINK is a social thriller that reflects on the dubious morals of today's times.

Based on their preconceptions of women, people often exhibit subtle forms of subconscious bias that cause them to treat women differently from men. Men and women are often held to different standards and the same behavior is viewed differently in women than in men. So if a man is assertive, the woman behaving in the same manner is aggressive. Men lose their cool whereas women get emotional because they are suffering from PMS.

If a woman drinks she is a woman of questionable character, but for a man it's just a 'health hazard'.

The film starts on a slow note as we are introduced to the main characters of the story. We get to see how an incident changes the lifestyle of people associated with it. 

When an older man tells a young woman, "I can either be truthful or liberal" the film starts taking shape. 

Amitabh Bachchan is the life and soul of the film. As an old retired lawyer he silently observes people but as soon as he dons his lawyer's robe there is a distinctive change in his demeanour which makes the whole film engrossing.

When Mr Bachchan says, "Hamare yahan ghadi ki sui ladki ka character decide karti hai", all the ladies in the theater couldn't agree more with him.

There are so many things in the film which everyone knows about but we never talk about them because of the social taboos associated with such discussions. There is a scene where the girl's father walks out of the court to save her from embarrassment.

Tapsi Pannu has given stiff competition to Mr Bachchan in the acting department. How the society and the system breaks a strong willed girl can be easily seen in the film. From a girl who isn't afraid of shouting on the phone, "I'm bored you coward, so stop talking and come and show what you can do" we see her transforming into a girl who's asking for mercy.

Other actors of the film have also done a good job but they don't deserve a special mention.

I was in a state of constant fear and tension as to what is going to happen next so despite the UA certificate, I wouldn't recommend to watch it with kids. Teenagers can watch it with their friends. 

In a line, Pink tries to explain in 2 hours how a NO means no and should be respected as a choice, not as a rejection or challenge to your ego.

Good one time watch.

Happy Bhag Jayegi~ An opportunity missed is an opportunity lost

Release date- 19th Aug
2016

One Word which describes the film- Perplexing

Best Dialogue- ‘Kaisa desh hai, yahan bandook ke bina baat karo to koi sunta hi nahi hai.'

Genre- Romantic Comedy

Music- Sohail Sen

Producer- Anand L. Rai, Krishika Lulla

Story & Direction- Mudassar Aziz

Cast- Diana Penty, Abhay Deol, Jimmy Shergill, Ali Fazal, Momal Sheikh, Piyush Mishra

Budget- 15-20 Crores approximately

In 2010 Mudassar Aziz made his directorial debut through Dulha Mil Gaya. This is his second film as a director. He is also the story writer and the lyricist of the film.

The film has an interesting list of characters. There is a reluctant bride, a corporator, a struggling musician, a reluctant politician, a dominating fiancee, an angry father and some other characters playing the role of friends and family members.

The story starts when Happy escapes from her wedding and jumps into a wrong truck which is going to Pakistan along with a minister's convoy.

Jimmy Shergill makes a grand entry when he copies Sunny Deol's dance moves in "Yaara o  yaara" song. He tells the bride's father,'Ek corporator hokar ministero wale kharche kiye hai aur hua kya?' His character has dark shades and he has done full justice to the role.

Abhay Deol plays the role of a politician's son. His father expects him to be a game changer and change the history of Pakistan. His feelings keep changing and he keeps us confused too. When he says, 'Madhubala ke to hazaro chahne wale the, fark isse padta hai ki Madhubala kise chahti thi', we expect some sparks to follow but nothing happens. 

Diana Penty makes her comeback through this film. Initially her scenes made us laugh but afterwards the humor becomes repetitive. She has no on- screen chemistry with any of the three male leads and so the audience get no chance to fall in love with her character.   

Ali Fazal's character is the weakest link of the film. He's so in awe of Happy that for him the sun rises and sets with her. In one scene when he is telling another character, 'Happy karodo mein ek hai aur jo use jaan leta hai wo use pyar kiye bina nahi reh pata', we wonder if he's actually in love with her or just an ardent fan.

Piyush Mishra as ACP Afridi is the most hilarious character of the film. His comic timing is perfect. Whether it's his expressions or his explanation on the usage of urdu words, whenever he comes on the screen he makes us laugh.

Pakistani actress Momal Sheikh makes her Bollywood debut with this film. She's average and fails to leave any impression.

Music by Sohail Sen (son of Samir Sen) is good. Zara si Dosti and Tera Aashiq songs are quite melodious but they don't fit in the story.

The promos suggested the film to be inspired from the 1999 hit American Rom Com, Runaway Bride and it would have been better if the makers had just copied that story instead of presenting us with a story which goes nowhere.

The film has collected approximately 6 Crores in 2 days which is too less considering the production houses involved. It will be a difficult task for the film to even collect 20 Crores in the coming days.

In a line, because of the confusing story line and too many subplots, the talented actors fail to leave any impact and the film lost its entertainment value.
Time pass. Can be seen when is aired on TV. 

MOHENJO DARO~ There's nothing new under the sun.

Release date- 12th August 2016

One Word which describes the film- Uneventful

Best Dialogue- 'Antar hai, tujhe Mohenjo Daro pe raaj karna hai aur mujhe sevaa"

Genre- Period Drama/ Romance

Music- A. R. Rahman

Producer- Siddharth Roy Kapur, Sunita Gowariker

Story & Direction- Ashutosh Gowariker

Cast- Hrithik Roshan, Pooja Hegde, Kabir Bedi, Arunoday Singh 

Budget- 100 Crores approximately


Ashutosh Gowariker was first inspired to make a film set in the ancient Indus Valley civilization way back when he was in Bhuj, Gujarat, scouting locations for his then-upcoming Lagaan (2001), and stumbled across the massive excavations in progress at the ruins of Dholavira.
Over the years he must have thought a lot about his dream project, the ancient city, its inhabitants and their life styles, as a lot of hard work and planning is visible in the larger than life sets, the different seals, the statues, the depiction of the 2016 BC era.

The film starts with the famous crocodile fight and the people talking in some different language. Slowly the language starts resembling hindi with just few new words here and there like sapina (dream), janawar(animal), son(gold), turinto(immediately) and hamalkhor.
As the film progresses, the story starts resembling any other typical Bollywood film,where boy sees girl and tries to woo her.
There is a grand set made of a market place where the director has tried to show people from different countries coming for trade, but the characters are so stereotyped that it looks more like a fancy dress show.
Hrithik Roshan plays the role of an indigo farmer who sees unicorns in his dreams. He believes in honesty and justice. He is a born leader who unites the poor farmers and motivates them to fight for what is right.
"Jo muthhi ab tak khuli hui thi..usse band karne ka samay aa gya hai."
Pooja Hegde doesn't get much opportunity to show her acting skills. She is quite thin and wearing those elaborate headgears for hours must have been a task in itself.

The main problem of the film is that instead of focusing on the city as a whole the director has focused just on one individual. There is no team-representation, no grand sequences. If the director had to show a love story then why did he spent crores on making a big set even differentiating it into the upper city and lower city. The pace of the film from the starting itself is so slow that by the time it catches some speed most of the audience has already lost interest.  
A.R.Rehman's music is set according to the era but except 'Tu Hai', all other songs fail to leave any impact on the mind of the viewers.
The film has collected 18 Crores in two days and as it's getting fierce competition from Rustom, it will be a task for the film to even recover it's production cost.

In a line, with such a grand set and a talented actor like Hrithik Roshan the film could have been a magnum opus, it's sad that the director wasted this golden opportunity and chose to focus just on the central character's love story.

Time pass. Can be seen for Hrithik Roshan.

Rustom~ The man every woman wants.

Release date- 12th Aug 2016

One Word which describes the film- Charismatic 

Best Dialogue- 'Matlab baazi jeetne se hai ... phir chahe pyada qurbaan ho ya phir rani.'

Genre- Crime/Mystery

Music- Ankit Tiwari, Jeet Ganguly, Raghav Sachar, Arko Pravo Mukherjee

Producer- Neeraj Pandey, Aruna Bhatia,Nittin Keni

Based on- K. M. Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra

Direction- Tinu Suresh Desai

Cast- Akshay Kumar, Ileana D'Cruz, Arjan Bajwa
Esha Gupta, Pawan Malhotra, Sachin Khedekar

Budget- 50 Crores

Rustom is based on the famous Commander K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra (1959) court case which received unprecedented media coverage and inspired several books and movies. The case was the last to be heard as a jury trial in India, as the government abolished jury trials.
The film is set in the 60s and despite the disclaimer that it's a work of fiction most of the story line and the characters are taken from the Nanavati case.
In the first half of the film we are introduced to the central characters who belong to the upper-class of Bombay. They drive the swankiest cars, drink the finest wine, are members of elite clubs and throw the most happening parties.
The second half is a court room drama between the judge, the public prosecutor, the defense attorney and the witnesses.
The full story revolves around Rustom and Akshay Kumar has given his best performance till date to bring life to the otherwise dull and predictable story.
Akshay Kumar is known either for his action or comedy roles. In this film he does neither. There is not a single scene where he gives the audiences' an adrenaline rush by doing some daring action stunt or makes us laugh till our stomachs ache, still by the time the film ends we are so enamored by Rustom that it seems that we can't get enough of him. As a decorated naval officer his look is just perfect. He delivers every single dialogue with such sincerity and confidence that we believe in him. We feel his frustration, his pain, his helplessness and anger. He's the perfect man, who even for his wife's mistakes, blames himself.

Pawan Malhotra as the investigating officer has done complete justice to his short but significant role. He's also in awe of Rustom and time and again tries to create a balance between what his mind tells and what his heart feels.
Ileana's character mainly had to look pretty and she has done a good job in getting the 60's look right. Her on- screen chemistry with both men is quite weak and no sparks fly when they are together.

Esha Gupta adds to the glamour quotient. In her sleazy dresses, perfectly coiffured hair and brightly painted bee-stung lips, she looks like the Indian version of Marilyn Monroe. She has very few dialogues and in most of the scenes she's either looking smoking-hot or smoking a cigarette.

Most of the songs of the film are melodious though they are not part of the film. 'Karam khudaya hai' and 'Tay Hai' can be heard on loop.

The film has collected almost 30 Crores in two days. Once the film crosses 100 Crores, Akshay Kumar will be the only actor to have given three 100 Crores plus films in a year.

In a line, though the film is a court room drama, the events unfold in a very interesting way and keep the viewers engrossed in the story till the end.

Must watch for Akshay Kumar fans. Good one time watch for others. 

Dishoom- Just another Bollywood Masala flick

Release date- 29th July 2016

One Word which describes the film- Masala entertainer

Best Dialogue- "Jab jab hamne aapse pyar karne ki kosish ki aapne apne daam badha liye."

Genre- Action

Music- Pritam

Producer-Sajid Nadiadwala
Sunil A Lulla

Story & Direction- Rohit Dhawan

Cast- John Abraham, Varun Dhawan, Akshaye Khanna, Jacqueline Fernandez, Saqib Saleem

Budget- 45-50 Crores approximately

Rohit Dhawan made his directorial debut through Desi Boyz in 2011. After 5 years we get another film from him which is just like his earlier film having all the elements supposed to be there in a Bollywood blockbuster like top stars, foreign locations, scantily dressed heroines, peppy dance numbers and big sets. But all these factors can not mask the fact that the film lacks an engaging screenplay which totally loses appeal in the second half. Like in the first film there is bromance between John and Varun. We have Pariniti in place of Bruna Abdullah doing a really bad item number 'Jaaneman Aah'. Like Sanjay Dutt did a really insignificant role of the owner of a Gigolo firm in Desi Boyz, here we have Akshay Kumar playing the role of a gay guy who is more interested in noticing Varun Dhawan's assets, even using the corny pickup line, 'Your father must have been a baker, cause you've got a nice set of buns'. 
Varun Dhawan and Akshay Khanna have managed to give some decent performances but John and Jacqueline as usual just manage to get whistles from the front benchers.
There is an item number Sau Tarah Ke, picturised on Jacquelin Fernandez, John Abraham and Varun Dhawan shot in Morocco with 200 junior dancers.  There is also a helicopter action sequence which is said to be shot in real time without any body doubles. If this much attention was given to the story we could have got a good film which had repeat value.
Desi Boyz got an opening of 9 Crores in 2011. Now when the ticket prices have almost doubled and the screens have also increased Dishoom getting an opening of 11 Crores can not be called as an achievement.
In a line, Dishoom is just another attempt of making money by just bringing all the elements together in a weak story and offers nothing new to the audiences.
Time-pass.

Sultan~ The Uncrowned Box Office King

Release date- 6th July 2016

One Word which describes the film- Uplifting

Best Dialogue- "Asli pehalwan ki pehchaan akhade mein nahi, zindagi mein hove hai... taki jab zindagi tumhe patke toh tum phir khade ho aur aaisa daanv maro ki zindagi chitt ho jaye."

Genre- Sports/ Drama

Music- Vishal-Shekhar

Producer- Aditya Chopra

Story & Direction- Ali Abbas Zafar

Cast- Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma, Randeep Hooda, Amit Sadh

Budget- 75-80 Crores approximately

Sultan Ali Khan is a simple hearted man who falls in love with a wrestler and enters wrestling to win her heart. How his life changes after that is what the film is about.

Salman Khan makes a grand entry in black underwear, over a perfectly muscular body and gives his opponent a 'dhobi pachaad' which makes us clap and whistle. After that the story becomes slow until he receives a slap from the love of his life. We again see some action followed by some drama and some really bad choreographed dances by Farha Khan.
Salman is surely not obsessed by how he looks in the film as in most of the scenes he looks old and worn out. His character is real, who cries, goes through heart break and still when the time comes collects all his strength to fight a new battle handled to him by life.
So there is this cute guy who innocently tells a girl, 'Manne lage hai ki angrezi mein ladki jaldi pate hai. I love you bolo aur uske baad seedha kiss hove hai', and in the same note later tells the girl's father, 'ShahRukh ka mazak mat udao, manne bahut pasand hai, jab wo ladki ki ankh mein dalke dekhe hai na to andhi ladki bhi pat jaave hai'.
His change in looks in the second half is drastic but still in many scenes we get a glimpse of the simple guy who made us smile with his innocent remarks.

Anushka Sharma as Aarfa gives tough competition to Salman in the wrestling and acting departments. There is a love story between them but there are no great dialogues to express the intensity of their feelings for each other. We get to see them together in between songs but without dialogues they fail to establish their chemistry in our minds.

There were rumors of Sylvester Stallone and later of Sanjay Dutt playing the role of Sultan's coach but the role is finally played by Randeep Hooda and how well has he has portrayed the character. The story becomes fast and pacy with his entry. When he says,'I don't train dead people', we see a new life coming in Sultan's eyes too. He's a true coach urging his student to first give his best and then a little more. His words,'Woh dus maarenge aur tu ek maarega ... us ek mein dus ka vazan hoga',  echos  in Sultan's mind and makes him fight with new energy and vigor.

Salman Khan's films are known for his one-liners but here the title song is it's life and soul.
'Khoon mein tere mitti, Mitti mein tera khoon Upar Allah niche dharti, Beech mein tera junoon' Aye Sultan!

'Jag Ghoomiya', a melodious romantic number was supposed to be sung by Arijit Singh
but after his much publicized tiff with Salman Khan his version was removed from the film
and in its place we get to hear the song sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan which was not
at all soulful.

The film has released in 4350 screens and with almost 85% occupancy rate and a 5
day weekend the film can have the highest weekend earning record of almost 
150-170 Crores. The film was expected to make new records of 350-400 Crores but 
because of an average story line and lack of powerful dialogues it'll be a task for the film to
even touch the 300 Crore mark. Madaari and Great Grand Masti releasing on 15th July
will also effect the business of Sultan, once the initial euphoria of it's release has ended.

In a line, the film is about how at times you just have to die a little inside
to be reborn and rise again from the ashes like the Phoenix.

Good one time watch. Paisa-wasool.

Shorgul~ Too much chaos, not enough anarchy!

Release date- 1st July 2016

One Word which describes the film- Chaotic

Best Dialogue- 'Hamara beta mara hai, vivek nahi. Hum apn bete ki laash par rajneeti nahi hone denge.'

Genre-Political Drama

Music- Lalit Pandit

Producer- Swatantra Vijay Singh, Vyas Verma

Story- Jitendra Tiwari, Khalid Azmi, Raj Verma, Shashie Vermaa

Direction-Pranav Kumar Singh, Jitendra Tiwari

Cast- Ashutosh Rana, Jimmy Shergill, Suha Gezen, Sanjay Suri, Narendra Jha, Eijaz Khan, Sanjay Suri, Hiten Tejwani

Budget- 5 Crores approximately

The film is loosely based on the Muzaffarnagar communal riots of 2013. It is set against the backdrop of Uttar Pradesh showing religious clashes, political rivalry and how innocent people become pawns under the influence of corrupt political/religious leaders. Many characters are inspired from real life leaders to give authenticity to the story like CM Mithilesh (Akhilesh Yadav), MLA Ranjeet Om (Sangeet Som) and Home Minister Alam Khan(Azam Khan).
The film started with an item song followed by some powerful exchange of dialogues between Jimmy Shergill and Asutosh Rana. 
Asutosh Rana is the honest and idealistic Chaudhry who is respected by all and thinks of the welfare of everyone irrespective of their caste or community. He keeps guiding his people, 'Zameen ho ya Zameer, ye mazhabi nahi hote aur Om jaise log dono ko hi mazhab ke rang mai rang dete hai'. Even when tragedy strikes his family he doesn't lose his cool and tries to calm the restless mob. He tells the police inspector handling the case,'Hamne hamesha nyay ka saath diya hai, aj bhi denge.Lekin aapse bhi yahi ummeed hai'.
Jimmy Shergil is the power hungry corrupt politician who wants to win the upcoming election by hook or crook. He has no morals and has a complete team of 'yes men' who blindly follow his commands. Even when he is flying a kite he relates the activity with politics , 'Aasmaan par patang uski raaj karti hai jise waqt par dheel dena aur kheenchna ata hai'. When his worker tells him that as many of their party workers have been arrested they will have a problem in creating unrest he says,"Shanti ko ashanti mein badlne ke liye bheed ki nahi....sirf ek pathar ki jarurat hai".
To counter a corrupt Hindu poiltician there is a Muslim leader who brainwashes the crowd by giving provocative speeches like,'Hum to marte hai to bhi do gaz zameen lekar marte hai aur ye to jal ke hawa mai fana ho jate hai'.
In between this fight for chair and power there is a small love story which becomes a spark for starting a fire which is fueled by the selfish interests of some leaders and spreads like a jungle fire. 
The film was earlier called 'Zainab' but it was changed to 'Shorgul' which also can not be called an apt title for the film. The film is just a sequence of events which lead to a riot and how when a riot spreads everyone loses in some way or the other. The film was entertaining when it started but soon all the characters started dying and the film became more of a documentary.
The release of the film was postponed twice because of the outrage it created. It's released in around 700 screens but because of low buzz and odd show timings the audience stayed away. Sultan is releasing on 6th July, so the film will just have a 5 days week.
In a line, the film has tried to present how riots start along with superficially touching controversial issues like land acquisition in the name of making temples, beef ban and Gowdhara riots, because of which the film has very less entertainment value.
Can be seen if you like this genre. Time-pass