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)

Review of Shuddh Desi Romance

Release date – 6'th September 2013

One Word which describes the film – Sizzling

Best Dialogue  – ' Doubt ghadi dekhkar thodi na ate hai .'

Genre – Romance / Comedy

  

Writer- Jaideep Sahni

Music – Sachin - Jigar

Producer- Aditya Chopra

Direction - Maneesh Sharma

Cast – Rishi Kapoor ,  Sushant Singh Rajput , Parineeti Chopra , Vaani Kapoor

  

Budget - 20 crores 

Yash Raj films had promoted the film as a bold film dealing live-in relations by giving statements like ‘In a survey 80% people thought that those who were in a live-in relation had loose characters.’

The song ' Chanchal man ..ati random..kal ispe aya tha , kal uspe ayega ' sets the theme of the film. 

The characters were introduced in a humorous way and then started the kissing scenes which came every now and then till the movie ended.

Sushant Singh Rajput’s  character who is a tourist guide but is hardly shown doing any work is a bit hard to believe. In Rishi Kapoor’s words ‘ tujh main aisa hai kya jo sari ladkiyan tere paas ati rehti hai !’ He dresses shabbily, uses lame pick up lines and still manages to impress everyone.

Parineeti Chopra’s character is bold and fiery. She has had lots of relationships and affairs and she is open about it . She believes in doing what her heart tells her to do and is not concerned about what people will say. She represents the generation who stay away from their parents to avoid questions about their way of living.  

Vani Kapoor , a model turned actress makes her bollywood debut with this film. Her acting is effortless and she looks pretty . Her character is not very well defined , so we are clueless about the reason behind her actions. She has signed a three film deal with YRF so hopefully we will see her in a full fledged role in future. 

Rishi Kapoor as the ,wedding planner cum  caterer cum advisor manages to outshine all the three young actors.  

After watching twice in every movie how ‘Mukesh Harane’ died because of chewing tobacco it was quite a turn off to see the lead actors smoking throughout the film.      

  

‘Shaam gulabi , sehar gulabi’ is the only melodious song in the film which one would want to listen more than once.

The title of the film is very misleading as there is neither anything pure (Shuddh ) about it nor Indian ( desi) . As far as Romance is concerned , jumping into bed at any opportunity is not the kind of love story  you will like to see with your parents or kids. 

In a line watch this film for it's situational comedy and some sizzling scenes between the lead actors.

Can be seen in theatres only with friends or spouse. Time-pass

Rank - 19 (Out of the 54 films I have seen in 2013) 

Review of Satyagraha

Release Date- 30'th August

One Word which describes the film – Inspirational  

Best Dialogue  – 'Paisa hi apka dharm hai aur bazar hi apki morality. '

Genre – Political/Thriller 

  

Story - Anjum Rajabali , Prakash Jha , Rutvik Oza

Music – Shantanu Moitra

Producer - Prakash Jha , Ronnie Screwvala , Siddharth Roy Kapur

Direction - Prakash Jha

Cast – Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai, Amrita Rao ,Vipin Sharma

  

Budget - 50 crore + (15 crore prints and publicity)

Prakash Jha is famous for his political and socio-political films such as Gangaajal (2003), Apaharan (2005), Raajneeti (2010)  Aarakshan (2011) and  Chakravyuh (2012). 

This film is based on the Anna Hazare movement where Shri Hazare started an indefinite hunger strike on 5 April 2011 to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a stringent anti corruption law , the Jan Lokpal Bill and Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party. The fast led to nation-wide protests in support .

The story revolves around an idealistic retired teacher , an ambitious capitalist , a youth leader , a corrupt politician and a journalist.
Though the idea of presenting the most talked about issue in a dramatic form was great but somewhere the film stopped being a story and was presented just as a series of events. 

Amitabh Bachchan as the main protagonist is the backbone of the film. When he tells the corrupt politician ,"Janta sarkaar ki malik hai. Malik nirdesh deta hai. Maang nahin karta" , we actually start believing in the powers of the common man. In the fasting scenes he looked frail and delicate as if really had nothing to eat since days.

Ajay Devgn , as the master mind behind awakening the public has done a good job. Though in some scenes especially the ones with Kareena he looked haggard and out of shape .

Kareena Kapoor as the fiery journalist who believes in doing the right thing and following her heart has given a good performance.

Time and again Manoj Bajpai has proved that he's an actor par excellence. In his grey shades we love to hate him.

Arjun Rampal had the weakest role which could have done by any junior artist . 

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are shown playing an important role in sharing information and  spreading the movement among the masses. 


In a line despite the flaws , the film is a one time watch for soul touching performances by Mr. Bachchan and Ajay Devgn.   

Time-pass.
Rank- 21  (out of the 43 films I have seen in 2013)