'All is Well that ends well' ~ Pun intended

Release date - 21'st August 2015

One Word which describes the film - Stereotyped

Best Dialogue - ' Bhaag ke jaao, par dabe paanv jana.'

Genre - Family Drama

Music -Himesh Reshammiya, Amaal Mallik
Meet Bros Anjjan, Mithoon

Producer - Bhushan Kumar,Krishan Kumar, Shyam Bajaj, Varun Bajaj

Story- Sumit Arora, Niren Bhatt

Direction -Umesh Shukla

Cast-  Rishi Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Asin, Supriya Pathak, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub

Budget- 40 crores approximately

I went to watch this film only because of Umesh Shukla's last directorial venture Oh My God (2012) which I enjoyed to the hilt.

The film started with the song "Tu Milade" where we are shown that Abhishek Bachchan is a struggling musician in Bangkok. He delivers a very heavy duty dialogue, 'Kuch log apne sapno ko sach karna chahte hai isliye wo unke peeche bhagte hai aur kuch log sapno ke peeche is liye bhagte hai kyonki wo apni jindagi ki haqeekat se bhagna chahte hai' and i thought maybe the critics were too harsh on Junior Bachchan.

In the next one hour I was made to regret this thought and how.

We are introduced to a couple who is always fighting with each other, a cynical singer, a romantic girl who believes in destiny and signs and the crooked money lender. 
The characters were well thought of but the screenplay and dialogues are so poor that we wonder why veterans actors like Rishi Kapoor and Supriya Pathak agreed to do this film. The only good thing about the film is it's songs which are so well shot that it appears as if half of the budget of the film was spent on just the songs and then some story and random dialogues were written around those songs.
Some dialogues are so pathetic that we are forced to laugh at the sheer stupidity of the writer and director for even thinking that they can make this idea work. There is an item dance by Sonakshi Sinha where she looks like a fair sumo wrestler. Then comes the mindless running which is a very bad imitation of Rohit Shetty style of films. Interval comes with the line ' All is not well' and we wonder what torture will be inflicted on us in the next half.
In the second half we are showered with a dose of equally bad dialogues along with some emotional drama. The director has now started following Farha Khan style of Om Shanti Om and tries to make everything right so we can have a happy ending.
Abhishek Bachchan has tried to act and manages to give expressions in some scenes. Though when he tells his father, 'Man, get a life' we wonder how a person who has come from Bangkok manages to talk in an American accent.
Asin as the girl next door looks sweet but in some scenes her dresses are so common and dull that we wonder if she actually got them from Pantaloons or Globus.
Rishi Kapoor is a good actor and we expect nothing but a great performance from him but when he was made to say those silly dialogues like ,' Kinare karo, mujhe make water karna hai', we wonder why can't he simply say NO to such films.
Mohammaed Zeeshan after leaving his mark in Tanu weds Manu Returns totally disappoints in this film. 
There are few scenes which make us laugh but they are lost in the overall slow pace of the film. The overall film looks so low budget that it gives the feeling of a stage drama rather than a full fledged film. There was a picture of a young Abhishek Bachchan which was sometimes hanging in the bedroom and sometimes in the hall. People like me who pay attention to such minute details must have laughed at the director's folly.

The film got an opening of just 10-15% and has collected approximately 5 crores in 2 days which is too less for a Rishi Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan starrer. The reviews and word of mouth are so bad that it will be a big task for the film to even collect 20 crores.

2015 has been a really bad year for T-Series as apart from Baby none of their films such as Roy, Ek Paheli Leela and I Love New Year have managed to make money at the box office.

In a line the proverb  'All is well that ends well'  holds true for this film as we were back to our all is well status and took a sigh of relief when the film finally ended.

Highly Avoidable. Junior Bachchan fans can watch this film at their own risk.

Brothers ~ Over dramatic Warriors

Release date - 14'th August 2015

One Word which describes the film - Melodramatic

Best Dialogue - ' Duniya badi zalim hai Master, dard par hasti hai.'

Genre - Action/ Drama

Music - Ajay-Atul

Producer - Hiroo Yash Johar, 
Karan Johar, Endemol India

Story- Gavin O'Connor, Cliff Dorfman ( Official remake of the 2011 Hollywood film, Warrior)

Direction - Karan Malhotra

Cast - Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez, Jackie Shroff,  Shefali Shah 

Budget- 65-70 Crores approximately

Karan Malhotra made his directorial debut in 2012 with Dharma Productions' Agneepath. This time both Karans are back with a Bollywood version of the 2011 American sports drama film Warriors.
The basic story revolves around two estranged brothers whose entrance into a mixed martial arts tournament forces them to come to terms with their past and each other.
The first half of the film is quite dark and gloomy. We have a shabby Jackie Shroff and a bland Siddharth who move around in slow motion. The director tries to build a story around the main characters but fails to create interest among the audiences. 
We get to see Kareena Kapoor trying to do a Sunny Leone type item dance, 'Mary'. So Karan Johar did give you a Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham at the starting of your career but Bebo, now that you are the Begum of a billionaire you don't need to do such cheap songs to stay in limelight.   
Akshay Kumar and Jacqueline's 6 years relation is shown in a 5 minutes song which reminds of a similar Teri Meri Kahani song from Gabbar is Back showing the flash back of Akshay and Kareena's love story. Afterwards both Akshay and Jacqueline carry the same pained expression in most of the scenes.
Jackie Shroff looks old and haggard but in some scenes he has given such an excellent performance that we forget that he is acting and start sympathizing with the poor father who is repenting for his sins.
After interval the film takes a sudden change and we are literally taken from the darkness to light. There is a big lighted stadium with thousands of people cheering for their first winner of the Right To Fight championship. Raj Zutsi who plays the role of a commentator has some good dialogues and manages to make the repetitive fights entertaining.
The film got a 35% opening and managed to earn around 35 crores in two days which is a little less considering the production houses involved and its big budget. The film didn't receive many positive reviews because of it's over dramatic story and a slow first half.
Akshay Kumar fans must watch this film as he looks fit and has performed most of his martial arts stunts himself. 
If you are a lover of Hollywood films don't watch Brothers hoping to get another Warriors. Watching Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation will be a safer bet.
In a line though the first half is quite slow and stretched, the second half makes up for it and you emerge out of the theaters with a smile on your face.
One time watch. Can be seen in theaters.  

Bangistan - Disastrous Destination

Release date -7'th August 2015

One Word which describes the film - Excruciating

Best Dialogue - ' Dushman Ko Haraane Ke Liye Dushman Ki Tarah Ban Jao.'

Genre - Satire Comedy

Music - Ram Sampath

Producer - Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar

Story- Puneet Krishna, Sumit Purohit, Karan Anshuman

Direction - Karan Anshuman

Cast - Riteish Deshmukh, Pulkit Samrat, Jacqueline Fernandez
Arya Babbar, Tomasz Karolak, Chandan Roy Sanyal

Budget- 30 Crores approximately

The film is about a fictitious place Bangistan where Muslims and Hindus have their headquarters. The story revolves around two wannabe terrorists who decide to swap their religion in order to destroy the other community. 

Film critic Karan Anshuman makes his big Bollywood debut with Bangistan.
In an interview Karan said , “It was just for some time that I decided to write about films. I really understood a lot about cinema, especially Indian cinema in terms of the current trends, what are the kinds of films people are making, what does the audience like and not like, what do I like and what would I like to make. So that really helped me in shaping my first film.”
The film had an opening of just 8-10% and collected just 1.3 crore on Friday. In few cities evening shows were cancelled due to insufficient audience. With Brothers releasing this Friday there is hardly any scope for the film to perform and it's a big flop. 

After the film's disastrous performance Karan must have realised that in Bollywood instead 

of saying things in over confidence you should let your film speak for yourself. 
As a film critic he too must have ridiculed Sajid Khan for giving over the top statements like Himmatwala making 100 crores in it's opening weekend and Hamshakals being a really good comedy.

There are just two or three scenes in the film which will make you laugh.
Jacqueline Fernandez: 'Naam Mein Kya Rakha Hai?'

Ritesh Deshmukh: 'Inke Naam Main Hi Allah Rakha Hai, Aur Aap Keh Rahi Hai Ki Naam Main Kya Rakha Hai.'

8 reasons why you should stay away from visiting this fictitious city Bangistan  

1.  The director who happens to be a famous film critic and has also written the screenplay seems confused about the actual meaning of satire and the story goes no where. 2. An excellent actor like Ritesh  who gave two back to back hits , Lai Bhaari and Ek Villain, is wasted along with a bad actor like Pulkit Samrat who can't get over his Salman Khan hangover. 3. Its touted as a satire comedy but guess the makers didn't even know the actual meaning of satire as from start to end there is only confusion which makes you wonder how can a big production house like Excel Entertainment , Junglee and a film critic make such a pathetic film. 4.  The idea was brilliant  but it's execution is forgetful.  5. There is not a single hummable  song  in the film. 6. A good looking actress like Jacqueline Fernandes has a cameo role of a bartender and appears only in the song and dance sequence. 7. There are too many yawn moments which will make you curse yourself  for actually spending money on watching this film. 8. The posters of the film have a line ' No damn clue'. This actually describes the frame of mind of the story and screenplay writers .There is no pace in the film before or after interval hence a complete waste of time and money. In a line if after reading this review you are still tempted to watch this disaster maybe you can survive the film too. Highly Avoidable.

Review of Drishyam

Release date - 31'st July 2015

One Word which describes the film - Riveting

Best Dialogue- पुलिस के पास एक ही सबूत है, हमारा डर।

Genre - Thriller/Drama

Music -Vishal Bhardwaj 

Story- Jeethu Joseph, Upendra Sidhaye

Direction -Nishikant Kamat

Producer - Kumar Mangat Pathak, Ajit Andhare
Abhishek Patha

Cast -Ajay Devgan, Shriya Saran, Tabu, Ishita Dutta, Rajat Kapoor

Budget- 40 Crores approximately

Drishyam, directed by Nishikant Kamat, is a remake of the 2013 Malayalam film of the same name. Ajay plays Vijay Salgaonkar, a cable TV operator in a Goan location who in a turn of events has to fight against a strong opponent IG Meera Deshmukh. It's a game of wits and a single mistake can have adverse effects on his family. 

In 1994, Tabu came into prominence with her role in Vijaypath opposite Ajay Devgan for which she received the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. If you are a Bollywood movie lover you can not forget Tabu in the ruk ruk ruk are baba ruk song, for which she received the tag 'thunder-thighs'.
After 21 years they are back in an equally electrifying chemistry where love has been replaced by fear.

The first half of the film is very slow and focuses on the close knit family, the husband who stays awake at night in his office for his passion for films, the wife and kids who love him and don't come in the way of his passion. From the family the focus shifts to other residents of the village, the local coffee shop owner, the contractor and the corrupt policeman. Too much time is spent in tea and gossips in the local coffee shop and we wonder when will the film catch speed.
Just before interval Tabu makes her entry and after that slowly and steadily the film catches speed. We wait eagerly for every scene which takes us on a journey of fear, suspense and thrill and the mind shattering climax totally makes up for the slow start.

Ajay Devgan as Vijay is not only believable but also immensely likeable. Though he is neither like the powerful Singham or the dumb Gopal but his brooding eyes look right into your soul and make you fall in love with him. 

Tabu in her no makeup look, looks gorgeous. She has given such a range of expressions that in some scenes even when you know she is right, you hate her.

The film is a scene by scene copy of the Malyalam film so if you have seen the dubbed version or already know the story, then there is not much there for you.

In a line, if you are a Ajay Devgan fan, then you must see this film for him.

Time-pass. Can be seen in theatres for the thrilling second half. 

Prologue ~ Bezubaan by Sumit Agarwal

           

Aryan was walking along the road that led to the main college building. He was one of those poor boys whose families stretch themselves to the limit to provide their only child, a good higher education. God had deprived him of a lot of things…he lived a life of scarcity.  But only as far as material things were concerned! God had given him his two best friends, Neeraj and Akash, who walked alongside him. 

“Oops!” said Neeraj as an empty coke can whizzed past Aryan’s temple, like a bullet that had missed it’s target. It was Tauseef and his gang, the rich whiz kids. They drove past in their convertible BMW , making vulgar gestures and passing lewd comments at them. Neeraj and Akash clenched their fists till their anger subsided. Tauseef was not only rich… but the son of the city’s Mayor.  Tauseef and his gang were not as infamous for their bullying, as they were popular for their hip-hop. The drove the crowd mad with their synchronized dance, whenever they hit the dance-floor.

Aryan used to dance too, but only in his dreams… or his bathroom. Dance was the last thing his father would appreciate his son doing. But everytime he saw Tauseef dance, Aryan would feel  a dormant part of him, shake inside. The muscles inside his athletic body would resonate, as he remained static.

“I have to study harder now, the mid terms are just round the corner,” he told himself, as he headed from the college lawns towards the academic area. As he passed a clump of trees to his left, he heard a rustling sound. There she was! The most beautiful and innocent face he had ever seen. She was laughing her heart out. It was like divine symphony filling up the surroundings with positive vibes. An involuntary smile surfaced on his face. The girl noticed it and smiled back. Only then did he notice she was with someone, holding his hand.  Her boy friend !

Aryan could not get Divya out of his mind. She would smile at him as they crossed paths and he used to reciprocate. He would often see her with Vikram, and could see that they were in a serious relationship. He was content being her silent smile-friend, or maybe it was something he had contrived to please himself.

One day as he passed the same tree clump, hoping to receive his “make my day” smile, he could hear a heated argument in place of the laughter.

“How dare you ?” he heard her saying.

He could not help stepping closer to the thicket.

“Didn’t I tell you to unfriend that bastard?” he heard Vikram say.

“Don’t shout at me.  I am not used to it.”

“Then answer me. Are you some kind of a slut? Making friends with uknown boys ?”

“What did you just say ?”

She could see Aryan standing there and it made her feel even more insulted. Vikram had his back towards Aryan and could not see him.

“ Yes, you heard it right. God knows how many guys you’ve got hooked up.”

She looked at Aryan. Vikram turned back too and his eyes met Aryan’s bloodshot eyes.

“Oh! So here’s another “Aashiq” of yours…,” he bowed down sarcastically, “Welcome Sir. She’s all yours.”

There was an awkward silence.

“ Losers!  My fault. ..” she turned back and scuttled away, with teary eyes.

After this incident, she used to avoid even looking at Aryan. It was as if he was invisible to her. He was broken inside. Neeraj and Akash were upset to see their friend in this condition. They asked Hemangi, a mutual friend with Divya to arrange a word with her.  Reluctantly, she agreed to give just two minutes.

“Why are you mad at him?”, asked Neeraj.

“ You better ask your friend. He didn’t have the courage to speak when I was being insulted and he doesn’t have the courage to speak for himself now,” she said with perceivable disgust in her voice.

“Because he can’t… he really can’t. It’s not his fault. He can’t speak…”

Tears trickled down her eyes as she stepped forward and hugged Aryan. Her hair caressed his face, her sweet smell lingered around him and her velvet touch sent sparks flying. He had never imagined he would touch her, let alone hugging.  It was soul salvation for him.

They spent a lot of time together. She came to know about his passion for dance and encouraged him to bring it out.  He would show her spontaneous moves on some latest Bollywood number, on her insistence. He could be himself with her.  Akash and Neeraj too would join him. They had seen numerous performances of Tauseef and his gang together, and like most other boys in the college, aspired to dance like them.

Aryan once got to see the place where Tauseef and his gang used to practice. They had converted a shed in a closed factory to their hangout. He was impressed by the colorful graffiti on the walls and even sent Divya it’s pictures on Whattsapp. She was happy that Aryan had found his passion, a form of expression to make up for silence.

Watch the video to know more….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DvdJcKw_pM