Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive

Release date- 26th September 2016

One Word which describes the film- Gibberish

Best Dialogue- 'Agar shakal acchi na ho to acting to acchi kar liya karo.'
(My advice to all the actors in this film)

Genre- Comedy

Music- Dhruv Dhalla

Producer- Pooja Shetty Deora,  Aarti Shetty

Story & Direction- Abhishek Sharma

Cast- Manish Paul, Sikander Kher, Pradhuman Singh, Mia Uyeda, Piyush Mishra

Budget- 15 Crores approximately

Tere Bin Laden was a spoof on Osama Bin Laden as well as a comic satire on America's war against terror and the realities of the post-9/11 world. The film because of the novelty factor was a hit.
After 6 years the makers decided to release a sequel based on Osama Bin Laden’s mysterious death and the controversial counter reports claiming he is alive.

Osama bin Laden, the founder and head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011. If this sequel was released in 2011 maybe out of curiosity people would have seen it. After 5 years not only the topic becomes irrelevant the story is so predictable that after 15 minutes you can guess how it's going to end.
Manish Paul is the Bollywood director from small town who has given a hit and wants to repeat the success story. ( The same concept was used in Roy where Arjun Rampal, a highly successful film maker of Guns Trilogy is waiting to find the perfect climax for the third part of the film.) There is hardly any scene in the film where you can appreciate either his acting or his comic timing.
Pradhuman Singh as Osama's look alike is cute but we have already laughed on his simplicity in the first part.
Sikander Kher plays the role of U.S agent David. He has transformed himself so much that not even his mother Kiran Kher could have identified him in that getup. He looks ugly and irritating. If there was any chance of him getting roles of hero's friend I think after this film all his hopes will be shattered.

There is a poor man's Obama too in the film who has to give a proof to his countrymen that Osama was actually killed in 2011. This Obama is haunted by the ghost of Osama so much that after some scenes we see him lying on the psychiatrist's couch.
The comedy scenes are so cliché that you wait for the film to end. That the film is just 104 minutes long is a blessing in disguise.
In a line there are 101 better ways of spending your money than watching this film.
Highly Avoidable

Loveshhuda~ Let there be Vodka and Beer!

Release date- 19th Feb 2016

One Word which describes the film- Superficial

Best Dialogue- 'Agar cheers karte samay ek dusre ki aankhon main nahi dekho to 7 years tak you will have bad sex.'

Genre- Romance/ Comedy

Music- Parichay, Mithoon

Producer- Vijay Galani, Pratik Galani

Story & Direction- Vaibhav Misra

Cast- Girish Kumar, Navneet Kaur Dhillon

Budget- 15-20 Crores approximately

Girish Kumar, son of Kumar Taurani made his Bollywood debut through Ramaiya Vastavaiya (2013). After 3 years he is back in another romantic comedy along with Miss India Winner Navneet. 
The couple look cute together but they are made to act for 2 hours in a film which has no story. It seems that Vaibhav Mishra was in a drunken stupor when he thought of this film as throughout the film he has created situations where the actors and their friends can drink and party.
The film takes us from London to Delhi to Shimla to Mauritius and still doesn't give any insight into why the characters are behaving in that particular way. The film superficially covers the journey of the hero from being single to married to single to loveshhuda. If this sounds confusing to you then guess you must stay away from the film.
There are glimpses of Hollywood film Hangover but soon Bollywood drama takes over any creativity and anyone who watches films can guess how the film is going to end.
The film has four songs where the actors are all drunk and wild, 'Total Talli', 'Peene ki Tamanna,' Chitta Kukkad and 'YOLO' which must have been played a lot in discs and weddings.

Mar Jaayen sung by Aatif is quite melodious. The film got 5% occupancy and collected just 1-1.2 crores on it's opening day. Even huge promotions and postponing the release date from 5'th Feb to 19'th Feb couldn't save this film and the producers are going to lose a considerable amount of money. Guess they should drown their sorrows in a bottle of Vodka! In a line the film is a mirror of the lifestyle of the current generation who believe that drinking and partying is the solution to all problems. Time-pass. Avoidable.

Fitoor ~ Red Alert

Release date- 12'th February 2016

One Word which describes the film- Gloomy

Best Dialogue- 'Khud se azadi to sirf maut hi de sakti hai, ya fir ishq.' 

Genre - Romance/ Drama

Music- Amit Trivedi

Producer - Abhishek Kapoor, Siddharth Roy Kapur

Story -Abhishek Kapoor , Supratik Sen
(Based on Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)

Direction -Abhishek Kapoor

Cast -Aditya Roy Kapur, Katrina Kaif, Tabu

Budget- 50-55 Crores approximately

The film is about a poor boy Noor who falls in love at first sight with the rich Firdaus. Years pass and the boy travels from Srinagar to Delhi, becomes a famous painter then travels to London and still remains obsessed with her.

The film revolves around Noor well portrayed by Aditya Roy Kapoor. He lost weight to look younger. His body language and expressions are perfect in most of the scenes.

Katrina Kaif had to play the 'femme fatale' in the film but in most of the scenes she looks confused and tensed. The child artist who plays the character of young Firdaus looked more confident and arrogant and when she tells young Noor, 'Neeche dekho' there was an authority in her voice. When Katrina tells Aditya, 'Ghoorna band karo, ab tum bacche nahi rahe' it sounded more like a request than an order. The posters show intense chemistry between the lead pair but in the film there are no such vibes which may set the screen on fire.

Tabu looks old and over dressed in most of the scenes and doesn't do justice to the character. She was supposed to be the master planner but in the film she comes out as a sulking middle aged lady who has a constant grudge with everyone around her.

The director must have envisioned a fiery, passionate love story and so there is a huge castle with hues of red, a red Mercedes and even a heroine who has red hair. The paintings made by the hero have bright red maple leaves and red backgrounds. Sadly his vision couldn't transform into reality and instead of seeing any passion we just have to do with heavy duty dialogues narrated by the hero now and then.

'Agar meri kismat mein sirf khaak likha hai, mujhe qubool hai. Agar yeh hi meri aakhri aah hai,  mujhe qubool hai. Qubool hai, qubool hai, qubool hai.'

Ajay Devgan has a 5 min role in the film and I think all his fans would like to know whether he owed something to Abhishek Kapoor that he agreed to do this insignificant role where he looked old and ugly.

The film has successfully captured the beauty of Kashmir but most of the scenes are shot in such dim light that in half of the film we keep waiting for it to come from darkness to light. 

The film got a poor opening of just 3.6 Crores and with bad reviews and word of mouth the film has turned into a losing proposition both for the producers and actors.

In a line despite creating a beautiful backdrop, the director has miserably failed in his attempt to tell a passionate love story.

Time-pass. Can be seen for the beautiful cinematography and melodious songs.

Sanam Teri Kasam ~ Cry Another Day

Release date- 5th  February 2016

One Word which describes the film- Sob story

Best Dialogue- 'Uske aasooon rokne ke liye mai mar bhi sakta hoon aur maar bhi sakta hoon.'

Genre- Romance/ Drama

Music- Himesh Reshammiya

Producer- Deepak Mukut

Story & Direction -Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru

Cast - Harshvardhan Rane, Mawra Hocane

Budget- 11-12 Crores approximately

True love stories never have endings ~ Richard Bach

The director duo must have fallen in love with this Richard Bach quote and decided to make a film on it. The only problem is they made the film too late. The film has a very 80's-90's kind of feel where the heroines were subdued, parents were strict and dominating, lovers were too shy to confess their feelings and just a glass of bhaang could make a girl all drunk and convert her from an introvert to an extrovert.

Harshavardhan Rane known for his works in Telugu cinema is making his Bollywood debut through this film. He has also shot for 'Satra ko shadi hai' which is being produced by John Abraham. Guess he is too much influenced by John as in most of the scenes he is seen shirtless showing his perfectly chiseled torso and abs. He has acting potential but the story was so simple that in most of the scenes he has to either drink or stay silent.

Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane also makes her Bollywood debut. She is a God fearing, docile and obedient daughter who works as a librarian in the film. Though how with her meagre salary she manages to buy an iPhone and rent a flat is beyond logic. In all scenes she is either sad or crying. The film is 155 minutes too long and after interval almost all characters are either teary or crying now and then. 

Music by Himesh Reshammiya is the only saving grace of the film. 'Tera Chehra' sung by Arijit Singh and 'Sanam Teri Kasam' sung by Ankit Tiwari and Palak Muchhal can be heard on loop.

The film collected just 4.55 cr in 3 days and as it won't get any screens coming Friday because of two big releases Sanam Re and Fitoor the producers are bound to lose some part of their investment.

In a line if you are a die-hard romantic and love mushy dramas then this film is for you.

Time-pass. Can be seen when aired on TV 

Review of Ghayal Once Again

Release date- 5th February 2016

One Word which describes the film - Thrilling

Best Dialogue - ' Jab ek corrupt admi marta hai to uski satta khatam hoti hai, aur jab ek saccha admi marta hai to uski satta shuru hoti hai.'

Genre - Action/ Drama

Music -Vipin Mishra, Shankar Ehsaan Loy

Producer -Dharmendra

Story & Direction -Sunny Deol

Cast - Sunny Deol, Om Puri, Narendra Jha, Shivam Patil, Diana Khan, Rishabh Arora, Aanchal Munjal, Soha Ali Khan

Budget- 50 Crores approximately

The film opens with flashbacks of Ghayal (1990). Ajay Mehra kills Balwant Rai and surrenders himself to upright cop Joe DSouza. He is sentenced to life. Upon his release he begins a new career as a reporter for an independent newspaper.

This has to be the most realistic sequel made in the history of Bollywood. Ajay Mehra is older and wiser now and though at times he is consumed with rage he still listens to logic and reason. He believes in the power of truth which makes him quite popular among the youth.

The story is simple but there are many scenes where you will sympathise with the protagonist and feel his frustration and pain.

Dan Bradley who has worked in Hollywood films like Independence Day, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol etc is the stunt choreographer of the film. His expertise can be seen in the 20 minutes long chase sequence just before interval which kept us rooted to our seats.

Sunny Deol and Narendra Jha have given powerful performance. Though there is no confrontation scene still a state of fear and anger is well created in the film.

The film has earned 23 crores over the weekend. There is lack of powerful dialogues and at times in an attempt to be too realistic the hero is just reduced to being a common man. With a maximum life cycle of two weeks it will be a difficult task for the film to make decent profit.  

In a line the film is a complex tale of the hardships one has to face while moving on a path of truth and justice which will definitely appeal to Sunny Deol's fans and those who enjoy action films.

Good one time watch.