Review of Kriti

Release Date- 22nd June on You Tube

Genre- Psychological Thriller

Cast- Manoj Bajpai, Radhika Apte, Neha Sharma

Direction/ Background Score/ Editing- Shirish Kunder

Production- Muvizz.com

Releasing short films on You Tube came into fashion after film makers realized that the younger generation preferred You Tube over TV and even theaters.
Sirish Kunder who has been black listed in the audiences' mind for making films like Jaaneman and Joker has tried to reclaim his directorial skills with this 18 minutes short film.
The film starts with Manoj Bajpai's interaction with his psychiatrist. In just a short span of time his expressions turn from excitement to anxiety to anger and finally to realisation. He will surely keep you guessing till the end.
Though Radhika Apte has acted in few films, she has the confidence of a seasoned actress. She has just 3 scenes but she will leave her impact on your mind.
Neha Sharma has done 4-5 films but she will always be remembered as the girl with a chirpy voice, long legs and no expressions. She just adds glamour to the film.
Background music is a bit weak. Overall the film is fast and triggers your thinking process.

In a line you can surely find 18 minutes from your busy schedule for Manoj Bajapi, the guy who has entertained you since the mega TV serial, Swabhimaan (Doordarshan) days.

You Tube link of the film ~
https://t.co/p91XOtLp77

Phobia~ It's all in the mind or not!

Release date- 27th May 2016

One Word which describes the film- Enthralling

Best Dialogue- 'Wahan ghar ke bahar jane mai dar lagta tha, Yahan ghar ke andar dar lagta hai.'

Genre- Psychological Thriller

Music-Daniel George, 
Background Score: Karan Gaur

Producer- Sunil Lulla, Viki Rajani

Story- Pavan Kirpalani, Pooja Ladha Surti, Arun Sukumar

Direction-Pawan Kripalani

Cast-Radhika Apte, Satyadeep Mishra, Ankur Vikal, Yashaswani Dayama

Budget- 7-8 Crores approximately including P & A

Mehak, an artist, meets with an unfortunate mishap that traumatizes her and she develops agoraphobia, a phobia where the individual is paranoid about being in public places.
It's a gripping and intriguing thriller that succeeds to captivate the audiences, thanks to a well written screenplay, competent direction and excellent acting by Radhika Apte.
The director has created a good balance between fear, humor and drama. Just when you think the plot is getting eerie, a new character enters the plot and you get time to take a deep breath and relax. There are no loose ends in the story and by the climax the director successfully manages to inter link all the scenes.
This is surely Radhika's best performance till date. Her character has different shades and she manages to transform from one shade to another with great ease.
The best thing about the film is that just when you think you have figured it all, there is a sudden twist, followed by more thrill and drama. It's mostly shot in a flat but by using different camera angles the director has made the most of the limited locations.
The background score helps in  heightening the mystery and fear.

In a line, with an interesting plot, unpredictable twists and turns and a climax that sums up the full story, the film provides enough thrill to keep you rooted to your seats.

Good one time watch for those who love this genre.

Review of Badlapur - A film sans Climax

Release date -
19'th  Feb 2015

One Word which describes the film - Brutal

Best Dialogue -
Log kehte hai apne dushman ko maaf kar dena chaiiye....
Main Bhi yehi Maanta Hun....Lekin unhe tadpa tadpa ke maarne ke baad 

Genre - Crime/Drama 

Music -Sachin-Jigar

Producer - Dinesh Vijan, Sunil Lulla

Story & Direction -Sriram Raghavan

Cast -Varun Dhawan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Huma Qureshi, Yami Gautam, Vinay Pathak, Divya Dutta, Radhika Apte

Budget- 25 crores

The film had a warning ,' Don't miss the beginning.' Unfortunately we missed it and for the next 2 hours we kept wondering who was the culprit. Later I came to know that the film was actually not about who did it as it was clearly shown in the beginning and it was only the hero who was unaware of what happened that day. The film is basically a revenge saga.

Varun Dhawan looks perfect in the role of a young man with a good job and family. His transformation from a carefree to a devastated man who loses everything in an accident is sudden but he plays both characters with an ease which defies the fact that he is just three films old. We feel his pain and anguish and though his dialogues are few he manages to connect with the audience through his eyes. 

His character is complex and we keep wondering about what his next move will be.

Nawazuddin plays the role of Laik who is sentenced to a 20 year jail term. His character has the maximum scope as in jail he deals with other criminals, outside he has his love interest Jumli. He is a criminal yet he has a tender spot for people he love.

The four ladies Huma, Yami, Divya and Radhika have small roles but they play important part in shaping up the story .

Vinay Pathak is totally wasted in the film.

Sriram is known for giving us thrillers like Ek Hasina Thi and Jhonny Gaddar. But here the storyline is predictable at times and the climax disappoints. There are certain scenes which are crass and have absolutely no importance in the story.    

In a line even though the main characters have given good performances, the basic story remains dark and there are just few scenes which provide entertainment.

Watch at your own risk.

If you really want to know what happened then you can check the wikipedia page of the film which surprisingly has a detailed  scene by scene  story.   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badlapur_%28film%29