Brothers ~ Over dramatic Warriors

Release date - 14'th August 2015

One Word which describes the film - Melodramatic

Best Dialogue - ' Duniya badi zalim hai Master, dard par hasti hai.'

Genre - Action/ Drama

Music - Ajay-Atul

Producer - Hiroo Yash Johar, 
Karan Johar, Endemol India

Story- Gavin O'Connor, Cliff Dorfman ( Official remake of the 2011 Hollywood film, Warrior)

Direction - Karan Malhotra

Cast - Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez, Jackie Shroff,  Shefali Shah 

Budget- 65-70 Crores approximately

Karan Malhotra made his directorial debut in 2012 with Dharma Productions' Agneepath. This time both Karans are back with a Bollywood version of the 2011 American sports drama film Warriors.
The basic story revolves around two estranged brothers whose entrance into a mixed martial arts tournament forces them to come to terms with their past and each other.
The first half of the film is quite dark and gloomy. We have a shabby Jackie Shroff and a bland Siddharth who move around in slow motion. The director tries to build a story around the main characters but fails to create interest among the audiences. 
We get to see Kareena Kapoor trying to do a Sunny Leone type item dance, 'Mary'. So Karan Johar did give you a Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham at the starting of your career but Bebo, now that you are the Begum of a billionaire you don't need to do such cheap songs to stay in limelight.   
Akshay Kumar and Jacqueline's 6 years relation is shown in a 5 minutes song which reminds of a similar Teri Meri Kahani song from Gabbar is Back showing the flash back of Akshay and Kareena's love story. Afterwards both Akshay and Jacqueline carry the same pained expression in most of the scenes.
Jackie Shroff looks old and haggard but in some scenes he has given such an excellent performance that we forget that he is acting and start sympathizing with the poor father who is repenting for his sins.
After interval the film takes a sudden change and we are literally taken from the darkness to light. There is a big lighted stadium with thousands of people cheering for their first winner of the Right To Fight championship. Raj Zutsi who plays the role of a commentator has some good dialogues and manages to make the repetitive fights entertaining.
The film got a 35% opening and managed to earn around 35 crores in two days which is a little less considering the production houses involved and its big budget. The film didn't receive many positive reviews because of it's over dramatic story and a slow first half.
Akshay Kumar fans must watch this film as he looks fit and has performed most of his martial arts stunts himself. 
If you are a lover of Hollywood films don't watch Brothers hoping to get another Warriors. Watching Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation will be a safer bet.
In a line though the first half is quite slow and stretched, the second half makes up for it and you emerge out of the theaters with a smile on your face.
One time watch. Can be seen in theaters.  

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.