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.

Happy Bhag Jayegi~ An opportunity missed is an opportunity lost

Release date- 19th Aug
2016

One Word which describes the film- Perplexing

Best Dialogue- ‘Kaisa desh hai, yahan bandook ke bina baat karo to koi sunta hi nahi hai.'

Genre- Romantic Comedy

Music- Sohail Sen

Producer- Anand L. Rai, Krishika Lulla

Story & Direction- Mudassar Aziz

Cast- Diana Penty, Abhay Deol, Jimmy Shergill, Ali Fazal, Momal Sheikh, Piyush Mishra

Budget- 15-20 Crores approximately

In 2010 Mudassar Aziz made his directorial debut through Dulha Mil Gaya. This is his second film as a director. He is also the story writer and the lyricist of the film.

The film has an interesting list of characters. There is a reluctant bride, a corporator, a struggling musician, a reluctant politician, a dominating fiancee, an angry father and some other characters playing the role of friends and family members.

The story starts when Happy escapes from her wedding and jumps into a wrong truck which is going to Pakistan along with a minister's convoy.

Jimmy Shergill makes a grand entry when he copies Sunny Deol's dance moves in "Yaara o  yaara" song. He tells the bride's father,'Ek corporator hokar ministero wale kharche kiye hai aur hua kya?' His character has dark shades and he has done full justice to the role.

Abhay Deol plays the role of a politician's son. His father expects him to be a game changer and change the history of Pakistan. His feelings keep changing and he keeps us confused too. When he says, 'Madhubala ke to hazaro chahne wale the, fark isse padta hai ki Madhubala kise chahti thi', we expect some sparks to follow but nothing happens. 

Diana Penty makes her comeback through this film. Initially her scenes made us laugh but afterwards the humor becomes repetitive. She has no on- screen chemistry with any of the three male leads and so the audience get no chance to fall in love with her character.   

Ali Fazal's character is the weakest link of the film. He's so in awe of Happy that for him the sun rises and sets with her. In one scene when he is telling another character, 'Happy karodo mein ek hai aur jo use jaan leta hai wo use pyar kiye bina nahi reh pata', we wonder if he's actually in love with her or just an ardent fan.

Piyush Mishra as ACP Afridi is the most hilarious character of the film. His comic timing is perfect. Whether it's his expressions or his explanation on the usage of urdu words, whenever he comes on the screen he makes us laugh.

Pakistani actress Momal Sheikh makes her Bollywood debut with this film. She's average and fails to leave any impression.

Music by Sohail Sen (son of Samir Sen) is good. Zara si Dosti and Tera Aashiq songs are quite melodious but they don't fit in the story.

The promos suggested the film to be inspired from the 1999 hit American Rom Com, Runaway Bride and it would have been better if the makers had just copied that story instead of presenting us with a story which goes nowhere.

The film has collected approximately 6 Crores in 2 days which is too less considering the production houses involved. It will be a difficult task for the film to even collect 20 Crores in the coming days.

In a line, because of the confusing story line and too many subplots, the talented actors fail to leave any impact and the film lost its entertainment value.
Time pass. Can be seen when is aired on TV. 

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

Review of Revolver Rani

Release date – 25'th April  2014

One Word which describes the film – Bizzare

Best Dialogue - ' Hum hai Alka Singh. I love fashion , fun aur gun .'

Genre –Political drama 

Music – Sanjeev Srivastava

Producer- Wave Cinemas , Crouching Tiger Motion Pictures , Nitin Tej Ahuja , Rahul Mittra , Tigmanshu Dhulia

Story & Direction - Sai Kabir Shrivastav

Cast - Kangna Ranaut , Piyush Mishra , Vir Das , Zakir Hussain , Zeishan Quadri

Budget- 35 Crores

Sai Kabir (writer, Kismat Konnection ) makes his directorial debut with this political drama.

Kangana plays the role of Alka Singh , a Chambal dacoit turned politician who is ugly but orders all her clothes from Paris , likes to give interviews in English and is generous enough to build an entire Chambal film city for her boy friend. Her look inspired from Michael Jackson and Gabbar Singh  is quite innovative . 

Guess for her character , the director must have taken inspiration from Hollywood mafia films but watching an Indian dacoit wearing metallic bustiers and immersing her somehow perfectly toned body in a jacuzzi seemed too comic and out of place. 

The basic problem with the film is the story which starts as a revenge saga and then turns into an obsessive  love story along with some political planning and backstabbing . At every chance the characters are either shooting bullets, drinking whiskey or indulging in dirty politics . The film goes on and on and the climax really disappoints .

After Anurag Kashyap's 'Gangs of Wasseypur ' a trend has started of showing too much violence , bloodshed and killings in a film irrespective of the story which highly compromises the content of the film and becomes unsuitable for family viewing.

It was a great move by the producers to release the film just after 'Queen' and cash on Kangana's popularity. The critics who were dazed by Kangana's last performance gave rave reviews to the film but the audience who is much wiser waited for word of mouth and when there was none, stayed away from the film. The film, which was released in 1500 theatres managed to earn just 10 crores in 5 days which is pretty less considering the budget of the film.
Music  is average. Though it was a pleasant surprise to listen to Asha Bhosle sing ,' Kaafi nahi Chaand ', in her melodious and haunting voice.

In a line even though the  film  has some comic moments and fine acting by lead actors it could  have been much better if proper attention was paid on the story .

Avoidable .