Sui Dhaaga - . "सब बढ़िया है "

Writer & Director- Sharat Kataria

Cast- Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav, Yamini Das, Namit Das

Music- Anu Malik

Lyrics- Varun Grover

Best Dialogue- "Ab Zindagi Ki Cycle Pe To Maarna Padega Pedal… Chahe Mile Ya Na Mile Medal."

Sui Dhaaga is the story of a lower middle class couple who decide to take the first step on the journey of improving their living standards. They face several roadblocks but instead of getting disheartened they treat them as life experiences and continue with their hard work and struggle. 

Mauji played by Varun Dhawan is the heart and soul of the story. He lives by the simple rule "Sab Badhiya Hai" even when everything is going wrong in his life. He is an optimist with a never say die attitude who can't see any of his family member unhappy. He has a low paying job where his employers constantly humiliate him, his father thinks he is good for nothing, he has no connection with his wife, he has to cycle for miles in the scorching sun to save few rupees, still, sab badhiya hai.

Anushka Sharma plays the role of Mauji's wife, Mamta. Though she talks less, she is not scared of expressing her opinions. She is a caring wife and the perfect daughter in law. There is only one scene when we see her in her original glory, otherwise through out the film she is shown in printed sarees with the pallu of her saree neatly covering her head. 

Raghubir Yadav as Mauji's father, shines in every scene. In the climax when Mauji wins his father's respect, we cheer for both the father and the son.

Yamini Das as Mauji's mother is a treat to watch. She's so sincere about filling the buckets from the municipality tap that even when she is in the hospital she keeps reminding Mamta about it. She is unlike any other mother- in- law shown in Hindi films and will surely win your heart with her performance.
  
After National Award Winning film, Dum laga ke Haisha (2015), Sharat Kataria is back with another heart warming tale about the underprivileged. The characters are so well written that when Mauji starts working on the sewing machine it looks like he was born to do this. The hospital scenes, the struggle to get a sewing machine, the first time the husband and wife hold hands despite staying in the same home are so real that you will fall in love with them.

The film hints at the corruption in hospitals, over-billing the patients, low wages for workers but mainly is about Mauji's family. How the neighbours unite in times of need is another strong point of the story. Though the director has taken several cinematic liberties, he successfully conveys the message that:"For those who dare to dream big, there is a whole world to win".

Chaav laga is a melodious song which stays in our mind for long.

The film has earned 36 Crores in 3 days and with rave reviews and positive word of mouth it's on it's way to become a box-office success.

In a line, Sui Dhaaga is a total roller coaster of emotions with Varun Dhawan giving his career's best performance. 
Must watch. 

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil- An ode to Love

Release date- 28th Oct 2016

One Word which describes the film- Intense

Best Dialogues-
Ayan- "Aasan Hai Kya? Aisi Mahobbat Karna Jiske Badle Mohabbat Na Mile."

Alizeh- "Pyaar Mein Junoon Hai, Par Dosti Mein Sukun Hai."

Saba- "Main kisi ki jaroorat nahi khwaish banna chahti hoon."

Tahir- "Agar baazi ishq ki baazi hai toh jo chahe laga lo, dar kaisa. Agar jeet gaye to kya kehna, agar haare bhi toh baazi maat nahi."

DJ Ali- "Tumhari mohabbat ke samne meri mohabbat kam pad gayi." 


Genre- Romance/ Drama

Budget- 80 Crores approximately

“Jab pyar mai pyar na ho,

 Jab dard mein yaar na ho
Jab aasoun mein muskaan na ho,
Jab lafzon mein zubaan na ho
Jab saasein bas yunhi chale,
Jab har din mein raat dhale
Jab intezaar sirf waqt ka ho,
Jab yaad uss kambat ki ho
Kyun hun mein rahi
Jab wo hai kisi aur ki manzil,
Dhadkano ne saath chhod diya
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil”
~ Karan Johar

It has been two weeks since the film released and despite the mixed reviews it has managed to do well both in Indian and international markets.
I have always appreciated Karan Johar's larger than life films where everything is grand, there are perfect people with perfect relationships and by the end everything ends in a happy note.
But this film is unlike any of his film. This film is a dramatized version of his own life story. The characters of the film experience the unreciprocated love and heartbreaks he has gone through in his life. The characters are so real that in everyone you will find some traces of yourself.

Ayan- In a scene Ayan tells Alizeh that he was sure that one day he would meet someone who will understand his craziness and accept him like he was. He's the 'private jet' rich kind of guy who has everything and still is not happy because he doesn't understand why a girl who calls him his bestest friend can't be in love with him too. He aims to please everybody. Ranbeer as Ayan is the guy anyone can fall in love with. We found him cute, understood his confusion, shared his excitement and at times sympathized with him too.

Alizeh- The girl who knows she has been a fool in love and so values the comfort of friendship more than the excitement of an obsessive love. She is mature when explaining about love to others but when it's about her, she commits the same mistake again, even telling her friend, "Mohabbat karne walo ka vishwas nahi karna chahiye". Anushka Sharma is perfect in the role. At some places her friendship with Ranbeer looks very real and we could feel her enjoyment in bullying him.

Ali- Fawad Khan has a small role in the film. In his unkempt unruly hair he looks messy. His character was important to the story but he has just 3-4 dialogues and hardly leaves any impact.

Saba- Aishwarya did two woman oriented film after her comeback , Jazbaa and Sarabjeet, but both didn't do well at the box office or got her any critical acclamation. As Saba Taliyar Khan she looked so hot and beautiful that even those who hated the film couldn't ignore her presence. The video of "Bulleya" has got 71 million hits in a month and must be the most viewed Bollywood song. Her chemistry with Ranbir is so real that it set the screen on fire. Karan Johar very wisely showed most of the passionate scenes between them in the trailer and created so much curiosity among the audience that the film got a very good opening.

Music is the life and soul of the film. Whether it's the title song which explains the pain of one sided love or "Channa Mereya"  the heartbreak song, they are bound to stay in your mind long after you have seen the film.
Karan Johar has given so much of himself in this film that I doubt that he'll direct another film soon. Karan Johar said that he learned a lot from Aditya Chopra while assisting him in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaynge. Without even watching Aditya Chopra's upcoming film "Befikre", I can say that with this film Karan has shown that he has gone way ahead than his mentor.

In a line, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is that kaleidoscope which will bring to your mind all the meaningful & loving relationships you have ever experienced in your life.

Good one time watch.

Sultan~ The Uncrowned Box Office King

Release date- 6th July 2016

One Word which describes the film- Uplifting

Best Dialogue- "Asli pehalwan ki pehchaan akhade mein nahi, zindagi mein hove hai... taki jab zindagi tumhe patke toh tum phir khade ho aur aaisa daanv maro ki zindagi chitt ho jaye."

Genre- Sports/ Drama

Music- Vishal-Shekhar

Producer- Aditya Chopra

Story & Direction- Ali Abbas Zafar

Cast- Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma, Randeep Hooda, Amit Sadh

Budget- 75-80 Crores approximately

Sultan Ali Khan is a simple hearted man who falls in love with a wrestler and enters wrestling to win her heart. How his life changes after that is what the film is about.

Salman Khan makes a grand entry in black underwear, over a perfectly muscular body and gives his opponent a 'dhobi pachaad' which makes us clap and whistle. After that the story becomes slow until he receives a slap from the love of his life. We again see some action followed by some drama and some really bad choreographed dances by Farha Khan.
Salman is surely not obsessed by how he looks in the film as in most of the scenes he looks old and worn out. His character is real, who cries, goes through heart break and still when the time comes collects all his strength to fight a new battle handled to him by life.
So there is this cute guy who innocently tells a girl, 'Manne lage hai ki angrezi mein ladki jaldi pate hai. I love you bolo aur uske baad seedha kiss hove hai', and in the same note later tells the girl's father, 'ShahRukh ka mazak mat udao, manne bahut pasand hai, jab wo ladki ki ankh mein dalke dekhe hai na to andhi ladki bhi pat jaave hai'.
His change in looks in the second half is drastic but still in many scenes we get a glimpse of the simple guy who made us smile with his innocent remarks.

Anushka Sharma as Aarfa gives tough competition to Salman in the wrestling and acting departments. There is a love story between them but there are no great dialogues to express the intensity of their feelings for each other. We get to see them together in between songs but without dialogues they fail to establish their chemistry in our minds.

There were rumors of Sylvester Stallone and later of Sanjay Dutt playing the role of Sultan's coach but the role is finally played by Randeep Hooda and how well has he has portrayed the character. The story becomes fast and pacy with his entry. When he says,'I don't train dead people', we see a new life coming in Sultan's eyes too. He's a true coach urging his student to first give his best and then a little more. His words,'Woh dus maarenge aur tu ek maarega ... us ek mein dus ka vazan hoga',  echos  in Sultan's mind and makes him fight with new energy and vigor.

Salman Khan's films are known for his one-liners but here the title song is it's life and soul.
'Khoon mein tere mitti, Mitti mein tera khoon Upar Allah niche dharti, Beech mein tera junoon' Aye Sultan!

'Jag Ghoomiya', a melodious romantic number was supposed to be sung by Arijit Singh
but after his much publicized tiff with Salman Khan his version was removed from the film
and in its place we get to hear the song sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan which was not
at all soulful.

The film has released in 4350 screens and with almost 85% occupancy rate and a 5
day weekend the film can have the highest weekend earning record of almost 
150-170 Crores. The film was expected to make new records of 350-400 Crores but 
because of an average story line and lack of powerful dialogues it'll be a task for the film to
even touch the 300 Crore mark. Madaari and Great Grand Masti releasing on 15th July
will also effect the business of Sultan, once the initial euphoria of it's release has ended.

In a line, the film is about how at times you just have to die a little inside
to be reborn and rise again from the ashes like the Phoenix.

Good one time watch. Paisa-wasool.

Dil Dhadakne Do- Not Another Master Piece by Zoya

Release date- 5'th June 2015

One Word which describes the film -Scenic 

Best Dialogue - 'Is family ki yahi problem hai, sab upar upar se bat karte hai, asli bat to koyi karta hi nahi hai.

Genre - Comedy/ Drama

Music- Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

Producer -Ritesh Sidhwani
Farhan Akhtar

Story- Reema Kagti, Zoya Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar (dialogue), Javed Akhtar (additional dialogue) 

Direction- Zoya Akhtar

Cast- Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Farhan Akhtar, Rahul Bose,Zarina Wahab, Vikrant Massey, Ridhima Sud

Budget- 60 Crores approximately 

The film was first announced as a story based on the brother- sister relationship between Zoya and Farhan Akhtar played by Kareena Kapoor and  Ranbir Kapoor respectively.

Over the years not only the cast was changed but from a brother- sister film it became the story of a dysfunctional Punjabi family who plan a cruise to celebrate the parents' 30'th wedding anniversary.

Most of the celebrities and film stars were all praises for the film as they must have identified with this ultra rich family who instead of chocolates and toys offer planes to their kids as bribe.

Initially I was happy to see that the film was 170 minutes long but once it started, within 15 minutes it became very clear that the journey is going to be a very slow one. There are 20 seconds dialogues followed by 10 seconds of silence. Some episodes are totally unnecessary and should have been totally edited from the film.

Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah are perfect in their roles. In some scenes their chemistry is so good that you will feel that they are actually married to each other. Their characters have various shades of grey and like experts they manage to give the perfect expression in every scene.
Anil Kapoor gets to say this epic line which every kid must have heard at least once in his/her life 'Tumne aaj tak kiya kya hai ? Nothing ! You are lucky that I'm your father.' 

Priyanka Chopra has lost too much weight and looks tired. She has an excellent voice but in most of the scenes she has a bad throat and doesn't sound like her usual self.

Ranveer Singh is the life and soul of the otherwise reticent family. He is vibrant, makes the audience laugh and is cute in some scenes. He is paired opposite Anushka Sharma with whom he made his Bollywood debut in 2010 ( Band Baaja Baaraat ) and later was also romantically linked. Though now they are dating other people , they share a great on screen chemistry. As aptly described in a dialogue, ' Mohabbat ki shuruwat mai aisa hi hota hai, zabaan kam bolti hai, ankhen bolti hai, jism bolte hai.'

Anushka Sharma has a strong role and some good dialogues but as she is not part of the family she gets less screen space. First Bombay Velvet flops at the Box office and now this film is off to a bad start, guess the news lips are not that lucky for Anushka.

Farhan Akhtar must have been added in the film as an after thought as least attention is paid to his character. He is shabbily dressed in most scenes, doesn't even bother to shave or comb his hair which was quite disappointing for his fans. Moral he should learn from this film is, even when you are the producer and your sister is the director you shouldn't be over confident.
Javed Akhtar has penned some dialogues which are used in a narrative style. Loved this one, ' Doosre karte hai to use hypocrisy kehte hai aur jab khud wohi kam karte hai to use duniyadaari kehte hai.'

The main problem of the film is the presence of too many characters. So many parallel stories are running in the film that many scenes just add to the existing confusion. Many characters are introduced but near the end they just fade away and the focus abruptly shifts to the main members of the family.
The music is average and none of the song stays with us once the movie ends. Guess you really need a Honey Singh or Arijit Singh to have a chart buster song. 
The film has nothing to offer to the masses and so it will be a difficult task for the film to  reach the 100 Crore mark.   

In a line, the film is 170 min long, slow at times, will make you sleep in some scenes but overall it's a classy film made by a woman for other women.

Time-pass. Can be seen in theaters if you have nothing better to do. 

Bombay Velvet - Big shots, Guns and all that Jazz !

Release date -15'th May 2015

One Word which describes the film - Kashyap's Waterloo

Best Dialogue - Abhi to apun small se large hua hai, abhi patiala hona baki hai.'

Genre - Crime/ Drama

Music - Amit Trivedi

Producer - Vikramaditya Motwane, Vikas Bahl, Fox Star Studios

Story - Based on Mumbai Fables by Gyan Prakash

Direction -Anurag Kashyap

Cast -Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar, Kay Kay Menon, Satyadeep Misra,  Vivaan Shah

Budget- 90 crores approximately (Including P & A)

‘Bombay Velvet’ is a period drama set at a time when Bombay became a metropolis.
The film starts with Raveena Tandon crooning a Jazz number which has lines like 

'Roothi hai mehbooba

Roothi roothi sharaab hai
Hey aam hindustani teri kismat kharaab hai.' 

We are mesmerized by the elaborate costume of the singer and the grandiose of Bombay Velvet's sets. As the story is set in the sixties, elaborate sets of Bombay's landmarks were specially mounted across various locations in Sri Lanka to recreate the ambiance of a bygone decade. Every minute detail is taken care of. When we see a bus it has the advertisement of products of those times. Every character has the perfect get up and hairstyle. So the question is why Kashyap's magnum opus became the brunt of the audiences jokes ?

When you watch Ranbeer Kapoor playing the role of Jhonny Balraj you are instantly reminded of Tony Montana (Scarface,1983). Balraj is shown watching Hollywood films and he dreams of becoming a big shot. He is temperamental and has no qualms about killing people who come in his way. He is a violent and possessive lover. To give vent to his anger he participates in street fights because of which in most parts of the film he has a scarred face. 

Karan Johar makes his acting debut as Kaizad Khambata. He is the ruthless business man whose ultimate objective is to earn money. His ideology is, 'Main jo bhi karta hoon khud ke liye karta hoon.' Small time crooks like Balraj and his friend Chimman are just pawns in his game. He wears tailored suits and walks around with such elegance that it will remind you of the undulating movements of a snake. He looks down on people.In a particular scene he tells the lead actors that they look like the hired help and a zebra crossing respectively. He maintains a cool composure and in a really hilarious situation he comes outside the room and laughs his heart out and goes inside with a straight face.

Anushka Sharma plays the role of Jazz singer, Rosie  who is the object of desire of almost half of the male cast. She is the star of the Bombay Velvet club and her elaborate costumes and hairstyles reflect it.

Earlier when there was a sudden speculation about her lips Anushka tweeted that she was using a temporary lip enhancing tool and make-up techniques for the sake of her look in her upcoming film.

Satyadeep Mishra as Balraj's friend has the most well defined role. His loyalty is towards his friend. He has expressive eyes and his body language is perfect.

Veteran actors like Kay Kay Menon, Siddhart Basu are totally wasted. Even Vivan Shah plays a totally insignificant role.

The main problem in the film is it's weak screenplay and lack of dialogues. In Indian films special emphasis is paid on the entry of the hero or heroine. Here they randomly appear in a scene. We are shown a man bent on a bank counter and it turns out he is Karan Johar. Shouldn't the man who makes larger than life candyfloss romances get a better introduction than this ?

There is no continuity in the scenes. There are so many songs that in many situations instead of dialogues background music and songs are used. In the full movie there was hardly any scene where the audience can whistle or clap in appreciation.

Bombay Velvet is the perfect example of  'Too many cooks spoil the broth.' A team of writers including Vasan Bala, Gyan Prakash, Anurag Kashyap and S.Thanikachalam wrote the screenplay. When the producers were not satisfied with the results, Prerna Saigal (The Lunchbox) and Academy Award winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker were called to do the editing. 
Till interval the film is fast and manages to hold interest. Afterwards it's just unnecessary blood shed and violence. The much hyped song' Mohabbat Buri Bimari' shown in promos was not in the film. Instead we get to see a different version starring Raveena Tandon which was a big disappointment.      

In a line, Anurag Kashyap despite his passion for gangster films and detailing could not give proper shape to his dream project and so it has turned into a nightmare for the producers and the audiences.

Only for die-hard fans of Kashyap's  kind of Noir films. Time pass.

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 

Music -Ajay Atul,Shantanu Moitra ,
Ankit Tiwari

Producer - Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Siddharth Roy Kapur

Story, Direction & Editing -Rajkumar Hirani

Cast -Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Boman Irani, Saurabh Shukla, Sanjay Dutt ,Sushant Singh Rajput

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.