Saturday 27 December 2014

Bollywood Report Card 2014

Top 5 must watch films of 2014 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Critically Acclaimed films of 2014 (Receiving 3.5-5 stars from all critics) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Top 5 blockbusters of 2014
1.  (Box Office collections- 233 crores) 2.  (Box Office collections -203 crores) 3. PK (Box Office collections - 198 crores, still running )
4.  (Box Office collections - 181 crores) 5.  (Box Office collections -141 crores) 

Surprise Hits of 2014 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.



Biggest Disappointments of 2014
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Ugly - It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World

Release date - 26'th December 
2014
One Word which describes the film -Dark

Best Dialogue - 


Chaitanya-'Sir,actor log aisa karte hai ki ghar par ek naam aur parde par doosra.'
Inspector Jadhav- Accha, to Amitabh Bachchan ka ghar ka naam kya hai.'

Genre - Suspense/Thriller 



Producer - DAR Motion PicturesPhantom Films

Story & Direction -Anurag Kashyap

Budget- 5-6 crores (approximately)

The film starts with a depressed and alcoholic woman contemplating ways to end her life. The first thought which comes in our mind is maybe she considers herself ugly. But slowly as the plot unfolds we come to know that the film is about the wicked ways of the world and how darkness resides inside every individual which overcomes all love and relations.
The story is about the people in the life of a woman, her daughter, her husband, her ex-husband, her brother and her friend. The woman's daughter disappears which lead to an array of events which show the selfishness, cruelty and wickedness of the lead characters.
Ronit Roy is perfect as the head of police detection unit. He is ruthless, shows no mercy and trusts no one. 
Rahul Bhat plays the role of a struggling actor. Though this is his first film he has given stiff competition to Ronit Roy in their scenes together.
Tejaswini is waiting for her Bollywood debut since 2000 but sadly her debut film Paanch, also directed by Anurag Kashyap was never released in theaters. She plays the role of a depressed housewife perfectly. 
Surveen Chawla is the eye candy of the film. 
Siddhant Kapoor has a small role and in one scene where he does a crazy dance he looks exactly like his father Shakti Kapoor.
Vineet Kumar plays the role of a casting director who plays an important role in the lives of the lead actors.
Marathi actor Girish Kulkarni is superb as Inspector Jadhav. His body language and expressions are just perfect. There is subtle humor in his scenes. 
With these characters Anurag has written an intriguing story where he takes us on a roller coaster ride through the streets of Mumbai where we go through different emotions and feelings which at times make us doubt the sanctity of various relations we make in our lifetime.
The film has all the features of a typical Kashyap film, lots of violence, abuses, drama, twists along with a strong message.

Ugly has been in news since last year as the Indian Censor Board required a "Smoking is Injurious to Health" sign to be flashed whenever a character in the film is shown smoking but Anurag Kashyap fought this regulation stating, ' It's the Health Ministry that should take the responsibility of curbing use of tobacco and work towards measures to control it and films should not be a medium to advertise non-smoking.'
Finally the film is released along with the statutory warning but Kashyap could not have chosen a worse time for release. The cold waves in the North kept the audience away from theaters and those who went chose to watch last week's much acclaimed release 'PK

In a line the film has a dark and disturbing story, full of violence and cuss words and is surely not meant for the romantics or weak-hearted.

Watch at your own risk. Can be seen if you like dark thrillers.

Saturday 20 December 2014

Review of PK

Release date - 19'th December 2014

One Word which describes the film -Heart-warming


Best Dialogue - 'Jo dar gaya wo mandir gaya.'

Genre -Comedy/Drama 



Story, Direction & Editing -Rajkumar Hirani


Budget- 50 crores +P&A 

PK was the most awaited film of 2014. Rajkumar Hirani uses his time tested formula of questioning the current system and providing an alternate solution.
The plot is simple, the characters are down to earth,there is no item song or exotic locations still the director manages to evoke emotions with the tale of a person who is not used to the corrupt ways of our world.
Amir Khan is the soul of PK. He is the wide eyed, big eared alien who manages to steal all attention with his weird dresses and innocent questions. The shooting of PK started in 2012 when a similar film OMG – Oh My God!  was released. Any other actor would not have dared working in a film with an almost similar story. It's Amir's belief in the director and his own acting capabilities that made him do this film.
Anushka Sharma as the young and enthusiastic journalist gives stiff competition to Amir and manages to leave an impact in the mind of the audiences.
Other characters have small roles which provide ample drama and keep us fully entertained.
As expected the film got a good opening day collection of 26 crores. With no competition and good word of mouth the film has the capability of earning 200 crores plus at the box office. 
Other superstars who are busy in just making money and working in forgettable films like Happy New Year, Kick, Happy Ending, Kill Dil, Bang Bang, Action Jackson should learn from Amir the art of choosing films which touch hearts and make a special place there forever. 
 In a line, though the story is simple but it's presentation is such that you will get attached to the characters and wish to have people like that in your life.
Must watch for Amir Khan fans. Paisa vasool.