Kaalakaandi~ LSD (It's not about love, sex or dhoka)

Cast- Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Oberoi, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Deepak Dobriyal,
Vijay Raaz, Sobhita Dhulipala,Amyra Dastur and Shehnaaz Treasury

Writer/ Director- Akshat Verma

Budget- 20 Crores approximately

Most informative Dialogue- You don't take LSD. You drop acid!

Kaalakaandi is a Marathi slang for when things go disastrously wrong.
The film is a dark comedy written and directed by Delhi Belly(2011) fame, Akshat Verma.

Life changes overnight for Saif Ali Khan (as we don't get to know his name till the end of the film) when he comes to know that depsite leading a healthy lifestyle he has stomach cancer and has just 3 months to live. To makeup for the lost time he decides to check off things to do from his bucket list. Though he only manages to get high on LSD and tell a transgender, "humko bahut curiosity hai aapke saman ke baare mai".

Along with Saif's story there are other stories of his brother getting married, two mafia henchmen planning to double cross their boss, a girl who has to catch a flight to the US to pursue her PhD, leaving her boyfriend behind because she thinks that they don't have the time, energy or money to get married.

Like Delhi Belly, the characters of Kaalakaandi are colourful and don't mind using provocative or abusive words as and when the script demands. So we have a drunk Shehnaz telling her BFF that she likes young boys because they follow you around and are always horny. A hot girl tells her timid boyfriend that she will teach Kamasutra to the whole country.

First half of the film is fast and keeps us rooted to our seats. The scenes where Saif is hallucinating from the effects of the acid are beautifully shot. We get to see dolphins on the streets, helicopter infront of the car and Saif holding a dropping comet on his hand.

After interval there is no surprise element and it looks like the director was in a hurry to link all the three stories.

The film was completed almost a year back but it's release kept getting postponed. Because of poor advertising and competition from Mukkabaaz, 1921 and Tiger Zinda Hai, the film managed to earn around 2 Crores in 2 days which is dismal considering the star cast.

In a line, despite having its moments, the film just starts and ends like an episode of a Hollywood series and has not a single memorable dialogue or well acted scene.

Avoidable.

Daddy~ Feared Gangster or a Victim of Circumstances?

Cast: Arjun Rampal, Aishwarya Rajesh, Nishikant Kamat, Farhan Akhtar

Director: Ashim Ahluwalia

Budget: 15 Crores approximately

Daddy is a biopic on the dreaded gangster turned politician, Arun Gulab Gawli, who was for a long time associated with major kidnappings, extortions, contract killings and other major crimes in Mumbai. The film covers a time span of 40 years and is told from the point of view of six different characters who were connected to him.

The film starts with a man being shot to death in his own home by two unidentified men.

Arjun Rampal as Gawli, wearing a Gandhi topi asks his daughter why on TV they address him as Robinhood. His daughter says, “Jo chor to hai par villain nahi”.

We are taken to the 70s when Mumbai's textile mill industry witnessed mass strikes and eventual lock-outs. Many people resorted to illegal activities like matka gambling and hafta-vasuli.

When one of Arun’s friend is murdered he is forced by other friends to join them in taking revenge and thus Arun commits his first crime. When in jail the witnesses refuse to identify him and he is released, his friends tell him, 'Bhai Ko tumhari daring ka pata chala’ and 'Bhai ka haath hai tumhare upar’.

So it feels strange when unlike his other friends Rama and Babu, Arun refuses to bow to the supremacy of “Bhai” even refusing to shake hands with him on Eid.

In the full film there are several characters who try to tell that Gawli didn't choose this line, he wanted to leave crime, because he was born in Dagdi Chaal and not in a posh area, he became what he was. In the end also there is a statement that although he used his power and henchmen to get lands cleared but that land was used by big businessmen for making their apartments or malls.

I haven't seen a gangster film where from the starting till the end we are made to believe that the gangster was indeed a victim of circumstances.

Arjun Rampal used prosthetics to make his nose look  like Arun Gawli but he fails to portray the character of a feared Don who had the guts to organise a shootout of Dawood. In a scene shot in prison he tells his wife “Mujhe yaha se bahar nikalo ye log mujhe marwa denge”. When the wife arranges for his bail he tells her, “Mai jail Mai hi rahunga, bahar ye log meri fielding lagaya hua hai, maar denge mujhe”..If the feared Don was such a weakling what was the need to make a film on his life?

Arjun Rampal as Daddy is as bad as it can get. His dialogue delivery is flat. He’s expressionless in most of the scenes. Even when he tells the girl he’s attracted to, “Tu mujhe mast lagti hai” his voice has no energy.

In a scene, Arun & his ladylove are watching Hema Malini's, Dreamgirl in a theater. His friend, Rama, is making out with a girl in the back seat. Arjun looked as clueless in this scene as if was blackmailed to come to the theatre. Marathi actor, Rajesh Shringarpure as Rama outshone Arjun in many scenes.

Another actor who gives strong competition to Arjun Rampal in the poor acting department is Farhan Akhtar who plays the role of Dawood.

Although the film starts with a disclaimer that it is based on a true story, the name of Dawood is changed to Maqsood.

The only way we can connect Farhan's character to Dawood is that throughout the film he keeps wearing big shaded glasses. He is shown in every third scene but hardly has any dialogue worth mentioning. He’s shown watching cricket (so the audience can guess that he's a part of the Betting Syndicate).

Director, Ashim Ahluwalia made his debut with Miss Lovely in 2014 for which he won Special Mention Jury, National Award. In an interview before the release of the film he said that other directors were unsuccessful in presenting the real Mumbai of 80s. As he has lived through those dark alleys and conjusted areas he knew what Bombay was like in that time.

He has managed to recreate Dagdi Chaal and other shady areas. The crew also shot in areas where Gawli’s biggest rivals lived, an environment that was openly hostile to them.

In an interview Ashim also said, “I like putting people in this insanity. It is not healthy but it is very good for the movie. Taking people into really difficult locations and getting them out of their comfort zone. You are on edge there because you are getting yelled at by real gangsters or there are rats falling from the ceiling.”

All these background preparations would have worked if we had powerful actors in the key roles who had better dialogues to say.

The only actor who clearly shines in this dark film is Nishikant Kamat who plays the role of Inspector Vijaykar Nitin. He's non-affected by the sob-stories of Gawli’s friends and family and thinks that it would have been better if he had done Gawli’s encounter when he got the chance.

The film was released in approximately 700 screens and made less than 5 Crores in its opening weekend. It will be a difficult task for the film to recover it's budget.

“In a line, Daddy could have been more entertaining if the director focused more on making the lead actors act than on creating the perfect background.”

Timepass. Can be seen in theatres only if you like to watch documentaries on gangsters.

Baadshaho~ Masala entertainment with solid dialoguebaazi

Cast: Ajay Devgan, Emraan Hashmi, Vidyut Jamwal, Ileana D'Cruz, Esha Gupta, Sanjay Mishra

Story & Screenplay- Rajat Aroraa

Director: Milan Luthria

Budget:  60 Crores

Best Dialogue: “Wo ishq hi kya jo salaamat chhod de”

In June, the first teaser of Baadshaho was released which said that 2017 was going to be the year of the 'Bad’. The teaser was full of stunning visuals, drama and punchlines like “Chaar din ki zindagi hai aur aaj chautha din hai ye soch ke itne saal nikal diye” and "Sharam aur Mai to ek sentence Mai nahi ate hai Madam".

The songs, “Mere Rashke Qamar” and “Piya More” became instant hits on their release.

Baadshaho is completely shot in Rajasthan and is a fast paced, action packed entertainer.

Ileana D'Cruz plays the role of Rani Gitanjali and the full story revolves around her. During emergency the gold hidden by her in her palace is confiscated and is being transported to Delhi by road. How she stops the gold from falling into wrong hands makes the plot of the film.

Ajay Devgan as Bhawani brings back the charm of the larger than life hero. He entertains the audiences with his soulful eyes and powerful dialogues.

Emraan Hashmi makes his entry as a 'rangeen’ character with the famous 'Piya More’ song featuring Sunny Leone. His scenes with Esha Gupta and Sanjay Mishra keep the audience entertained throughout the film.

Sanjay Mishra as Guruji is the big surprise package of the film. Everytime he says a line the audience whistles and claps.

Vidyut Jamwal as Officer Samar Singh is shrewd and dangerous. He’s a man on a mission and his sincerity woos the audience.

Esha Gupta aptly dressed in clothes which were in fashion in the 70s adds to the glamour quotient.

There is more to these characters then what meets the eyes and they have their own hidden agendas.

In a turn of events Emraan Hashmi tells a puzzled Esha, “Dosti pakki hai, Khatra apna apna”.

With interesting episodes unfolding one after another, the film keeps us glued to our seats till the end.

The film was released in 2800 screens and has earned almost 28 Crores in 2 days. It's a single screen entertainer and is getting appreciated by the masses.

In a line, the film is fast paced, high octane action film with powerful/comic dialogues which make you smile even during tense episodes.

Paisa-wasool. Good one time watch.

A Gentleman, Sundar ✔️ Susheel ✔️ Risky ❌

Directors: Raj and DK

Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez, Darshan Kumar, Suniel Shetty

Budget- 50 Crores

Raj & DK are an Indian/ American film director duo known for their unique sense of style and humor. In 2013 they made India's first zombie film, Go Goa Gone which earned almost 25 Crores. Happy Ending (2014) wasn't a box office success but it's still remembered for the comedy scenes between Govinda and Saif Ali Khan.

Sadly their latest film, A Gentleman is neither unique nor very entertaining.

The film has not 1 or 2 but 4 party songs Chandralekha, Baat ban jaye, Dil Disco Disco and Bandook Meri Laila and the music album would have surely found a place in parties and discos.

The first half goes in telling about the lives of the two characters, Rishi and Gaurav, played by Siddharth Malhotra. 

Sidharth looks good and performs his roles with sincerity but the story and characters are so average that they hardly manage to hold our interest for long.

Jacqueline Fernandez is the new Katrina Kaif. Her only role in a film is to add glamour in the scenes, say some dialogues and do some difficult dance steps. Infact she is her best when she is dancing. (You must remember her dance moves in Sau tarah ke Rog from Dishoom). 

The film starts with this dialogue

“Jab jab jiske lagne hai ... tab tab uske lagte hai ... ab use ittefaq kaho ya phir what the f* ck!!”

From here the quality of the dialogues worsened and we have Gaurav's best friend Dixit who is pronounced by all Americans as ‘Dik-Shit’(how original!) telling him , 'I like thug-life’.

Then there is a scene where the hero asks the heroine,’ Tumne gaadi chalana kaha se seekha?’ and she answers, 'X- Box se’.

As if the directors were also under the influence of X-Box, there were long chase scenes full of gun shots and racing cars or bikes.

During the action scenes I really felt that playing “Call of Duty” would have been more entertaining.

Expert actors like Supriya Pilgaonkar and Rajit Kapoor have just 2 scenes in the film.

Sunil Shetty makes a  very disappointing comeback. The star known for his superb action skills has not a single action scene and is reduced to giving instructions to his protegees.

Darshan Kumar, who made an impressive debut through Mary Kom (2014) has a very forgettable role.

The film is mostly shot in Miami and Mumbai. There are few scenes in Goa and Bangkok too. When Dostana came in 2008, people used to lust at the blue beaches and bikini babes and think,”Wow, I’ve to go to this place.” But now most of us watch so many Hollywood series and films that we expect more than exotic locations.

Despite good promotions and publicity the film earned less than 16 Crores in 5 days. The film wouldn't cross the 20 Crores mark thus making it Siddharth Malhotra's lowest earner till now.

In a line, if you are a Sidharth Malhotra fan then for Sundar, watch Student of the Year, for Susheel, watch Kapoor and Sons and for Risky, watch Ek Villain.

Timepass. Avoidable.

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz~ About small towns, sharpshooters, scandals, sex and sleaze.

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Divya Dutta, Jatin Goswami, Anil George, Murli Sharma, Shraddha Das

Director: Kushan Nandy

Best Dialogue: "Insaan to karke bhool jata hai, par uska Kiya hua ek din ghoom ke uske samne jaroor ata hai"

The film is an action drama which focuses on the life of  Babu Bihari, a small town sharpshooter. He’s a colourful character with a sense of humour.

When asked about his profession he says, “Hum to outsourcing karte hai...yamraj ke liye”

No-one could have played the character of Babu better than Nawazuddin. He’s ruthless, cold blooded and can kill anyone who dares to cross his path. But he can be tender too when he’s with his friends or when he's with the love of his life 'Phulwa’.

Bidita Bag is good as Phulwa. She's a tough girl who has seen too much in her life and is not scared of anything. Her character portrays a raw sexuality which draws Babu towards her.

Jatin Goswami plays the role of Baanke who considers Babu as his idol. The 'chela’ has so much admiration for the Guru that not only he has renamed himself Banke Bihari, he also copies his style of killing.

There are many scenes between Babu and Banke where we get to see the bond they share. At times their chemistry is more entertaining than the chemistry between Babu and Phulwa.

Divya Dutta plays the role of a corrupt politician with a high sex drive who doesn't mind having affairs with her Bahubalis. She’s cold and calculating and abuses non-stop. Her equation with Babu forms an important part of the story.

Ghalib Asid Bhopali, the writer of the film has told us a bold tale about characters who get involved in crime because of circumstances. The film is a reflection of our society where good coexists with evil. The dialogues are witty or hard hitting depending on the mood of the story.

The film was made on a moderate budget of 5 Crores. It was released in 1000 screen and has  managed to earn 4 Crores in two days.

The film has an A certificate and there  are certain scenes which may be considered too inappropriate by some people. To get an idea you can check the film's trailer

https://youtu.be/8Bakp3UKa3c

In a line, if you are over 18 and like desi action mixed with some powerful performances, you must not miss it.

Good one time watch.

Bareilly Ki Barfi..Not sweet enough

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Seema Pahwa, Rohit Choudhury, Swati Semwal

Director: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

A house where nothing is normal

A free spirited girl

A broken-hearted boy

A little secret

Bareilly and all its small town charm

Bareilly ki Barfi had all the ingredients for a hit film.

The film starts with a voiceover of Javed Akhtar telling us about “Mishra Sadan” where nothing is normal. We are introduced to Bitti Mishra and her parents. Bitti shares amazing chemistry with her parents and we laugh at the events happening in their lives.

After 20 minutes, Ayushman Khurana makes his

entry and the story starts taking a predictable turn.

Like a typical small-town story the hero has a best friend who is his partner in every crime but doesn't hesitate in telling him that,“Bhaiya, aap bahute neech ho”.

After some time the story takes us to the third character, Rajkumar Rao and his opening scene is so hilarious that our hopes are raised.

There are many small incidents which make us laugh and with Javed Akhtar telling us

“Ek chalbaaz nahi, doosra Rangbaaz nahi par ek chaal Bana Raha hai, doosra jama Raha hai”, the first half comes to an end.

After interval the story manages to keep us entertained for another 15 minutes and then as if the writer/director has lost all interest in the plot, the story goes in all directions and ends in a very predictable manner.

Initially, Kriti Sanon gets good screen space and her body language and dialogue delivery is good too. She ends most of her lines with “Hai ki Nahi” or “laga lo 100-100 ki”, which is both cute and funny. But once the heroes make their entry she is reduced to being a showpiece, dancing to the occasional songs.

When Ayushman Khurana is being bad he is really good but as the love bug bites him he loses his charm. By the time he says with a long face, “Aakhir pyar ne hame doosre ki khushi mai bhi khush hona sikha hi diya”, everyone in the audience yawned in boredom.

Rajkumar Rao has got the best scenes and lines and he has played them to perfection.

Pankaj Tripathi, who plays Bitti's father is too good. In the scenes where he speaks with guthka in his mouth, he does it with so ease we forget that he's acting.

Seema Pahwa as the typical “log kya kahenge” Mummy gives equal competition to Pankaj Tripathi. In every guy who comes to her home, she sees a prospective groom for her daughter. When she asks them, 'Shadi ho gayi hai kya tumhari’ and the boy says “No” you can feel her happiness and the interest with which she serves them tea and snacks.

When the director, Ashwini Iyer Tewari has debuted with a socially relevant yet entertaining film like Nil Battey Sannata and the writer has given us the film of the decade, Dangal, we expect nothing less than a masterpiece.

In the film Javed Akhtar says in the end

“Agli baar jab aap Bareilly aye to jhumka dhoodne ki jagah Bareilly ki Barfi khana mat bhooliyega.”

Sadly the film hardly leaves any long lasting impression on the minds of the viewers and Bareli will still be remembered for the, “Jhumka gira re, Bareli ke bazaar mein” song from Mera Saaya (1966).

In a line, Bareilly Ki Barfi is just a light hearted film which one can watch for few funny scenes and hilarious dialogues.

Timepass

Mom- A doting husband's extravaganza!

Cast: Sridevi, Nawazudin Siddiqui, Akshaye Khanna, Sajal Ali, Adnan Siddiqui
Director: Ravi Udyawar

Producer: Boney Kapoor

Budget: 45-50 Crores approximately

Best Dialogue:

Sridevi- “Galat aur bahut galat mein se chun'na ho.. toh aap kya chunenge?

Nawazuddin: “Insaan ki raakh se uski kundli nikaal leta hoon”

Bollywood is not a place for aging actresses. There are author based roles written for actors but producers think that investing in an older heroine is a risky proposition.

Rani Mukherji’s last film Mardaani(2014) was produced by Aditya Chopra and her comeback film Hichki (2018) is also a YRF film. Madhuri Dixit’s last film Gulaab Gang (2014) was a box office failure and so she is still waiting to sign her next. Raveena Tandon’s comeback film Maatr (2017) couldn't even earn 3 Crores in its one week run.

Sridevi's last film English Vinglish (2012) was praised both by the critics and the audiences. Even though it made good money, producers shied away from casting her as a main lead. So as always Sri’s doting husband Boney Kapoor came to her rescue.

Mom is as stereotypical as it gets. The whole film exactly progresses as you must have thought when you saw it's first teaser.

The first half of the film is slow. Sridevi with her screen presence and flawless acting manages to keep the viewers involved in the story. Second half is faster and keeps us engrossed in the film.

Akshay Khanna has a small role and plays it to perfection.

Nawazuddin Siddhiqui was present throughout the film so I wonder why his name came with the special appearance mention in the end credits. He gets the best dialogues and with his acting and comic timing provides some light moments in the dark story.

Hollywood is making heroine centric films like Erin Brockovich since 2000. I wonder what's stopping Bollywood from venturing into newer territories.

The film has good word of mouth but considering that next week the much delayed Jagga Jasoos and War for the Planet of Apes is releasing, the film will find it difficult to even cross the 30 Crores mark.

In a line, if you are a Sri Devi fan, you have to see “Mom” just for the range of expressions she has given throughout the film.

One time watch. Can be seen when is aired on TV