Dear Zindagi ~ "Sleepless in Goa"

Release date- 25th November 2016

One Word which describes the film- Exaggerated

Best Dialogue- "Life mai jab koyi pattern ya adat bante hue dikhayi de to uske baare mai acche se sochna chahiye. Genius is about knowing when to stop."

Genre- Drama

Music- Amit Trivedi

Producer- Gauri Khan, Gauri Shinde, Karan Johar

Story & Direction- Gauri Shinde

Cast- Alia Bhatt, Shahrukh Khan, Kunal Kapoor, Ali Zafar, Angad Bedi

Budget- 45 Crores including P&A

After watching Dear Zindagi, I read some reviews of famous critics which made me wonder that did they see the same film as us. Whereas most of the people with us were getting restless about how the film went on and on and how some even walked out after interval, the critics couldn't stop talking about how handsome and down to earth SRK looked as Jahangir Khan, or how the film has easily recovered it's production cost cause of it's low budget and selling of distribution rights to a single company.

An average movie goer has no interest in knowing about the economics of a film. He/she is only interested in the entertainment, informational or motivational value of the film.

Gauri Shinde made her directional debut with the highly acclaimed English Vinglish(2012). In her next film Dear Zindagi she tells about Kiara who is having problems in her life and so she decides to visit a 'dimaag ka doctor'.
If this visit to a shrink was just an episode in the film as was in '2 States' where Arjun Kapoor because of the complexities of his relationships couldn't sleep, the film could have been interesting. Sadly Dear Zindagi is 75% about the long conversations between Shahrukh Khan and Alia Bhatt and how he makes her come to terms with her life, which almost everyone in the audience found too monotonous and boring.

There are three heroes in the films but instead of playing any significant roles they just come in 2-3 scenes and then disappear.

Then we have SRK playing the role of a psychiatrist who tells his patient that boyfriends are like chairs which is such a silly thought but is absolutely loved by the patient. Anyone who watches Koffee with Karan will agree that SRK is a smooth talker and he says everything with such sincerity that not only we believe it, we love listening to him too. But that's in a talk show. In a film we expect him to play a larger than life character, a lover, a father, a hockey coach or even his own fan.

Alia Bhatt is an excellent actress and she has perfectly portrayed the role of a confused girl. She is a natural performer but if she wants to be a part of the big league she has to do more main stream roles like Anushka Sharma or Deepika Padukone.

The film's basic problem is the lack of a proper story. It's more of a set of incidents where we sometimes see Kiara partying with her friends in a disco, or shouting at her parents, or flirting with any guy who hits on her. These scenes make her character look like a shallow girl than depressed.

There are some moments like when a talk between the protagonist and her doctor inspire us on how we must leave some memories for our kids or how we shouldn't let our past effect out future but they are so few that after an hour we couldn't wait for the film to finish.

The film is shot mostly in Goa and though there is lot of scenic beauty we wish that the director has worked a little more on the story too.
The film was released in 1200 screens and because of Shahrukh Khan managed to earn 8.75 Crores on it first day which is quite good. 

In a line, with talented actors like Shahrukh Khan and Alia Bhatt and no budget restraints, the director could have made a much better film which was high on entertainment quotient too.
Time-pass.

Pink~ A tale about women of questionable character.

Release date- 16th September 2016

One Word which describes the film- Gritty 

Best Dialogue- 'Nahi apne aap mai ek sentence hai. Ise kisi explaination ki jarurat nahi hai. When a woman says No, you stop.'

Genre- Thriller/ Courtroom Drama

Music- Shantanu Moitra

Producer- Rashmi Sharma, Shoojit Sircar

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Story- Ritesh Shah

Direction- Annirudha Roy Chaudhary 

Cast- Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang, Angad Bedi, Piyush Mishra

Budget- 25 Crores approximately

PINK is a social thriller that reflects on the dubious morals of today's times.

Based on their preconceptions of women, people often exhibit subtle forms of subconscious bias that cause them to treat women differently from men. Men and women are often held to different standards and the same behavior is viewed differently in women than in men. So if a man is assertive, the woman behaving in the same manner is aggressive. Men lose their cool whereas women get emotional because they are suffering from PMS.

If a woman drinks she is a woman of questionable character, but for a man it's just a 'health hazard'.

The film starts on a slow note as we are introduced to the main characters of the story. We get to see how an incident changes the lifestyle of people associated with it. 

When an older man tells a young woman, "I can either be truthful or liberal" the film starts taking shape. 

Amitabh Bachchan is the life and soul of the film. As an old retired lawyer he silently observes people but as soon as he dons his lawyer's robe there is a distinctive change in his demeanour which makes the whole film engrossing.

When Mr Bachchan says, "Hamare yahan ghadi ki sui ladki ka character decide karti hai", all the ladies in the theater couldn't agree more with him.

There are so many things in the film which everyone knows about but we never talk about them because of the social taboos associated with such discussions. There is a scene where the girl's father walks out of the court to save her from embarrassment.

Tapsi Pannu has given stiff competition to Mr Bachchan in the acting department. How the society and the system breaks a strong willed girl can be easily seen in the film. From a girl who isn't afraid of shouting on the phone, "I'm bored you coward, so stop talking and come and show what you can do" we see her transforming into a girl who's asking for mercy.

Other actors of the film have also done a good job but they don't deserve a special mention.

I was in a state of constant fear and tension as to what is going to happen next so despite the UA certificate, I wouldn't recommend to watch it with kids. Teenagers can watch it with their friends. 

In a line, Pink tries to explain in 2 hours how a NO means no and should be respected as a choice, not as a rejection or challenge to your ego.

Good one time watch.