Badla~ The Invisible Guest

Director- Sujoy Ghosh

Cast- Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Manav Kaul, Amrita Singh

Best Dialogues-
1. Sabka sach alag alag hota hai

2. Woh moorkh hota hai joh sirf sach ko hi jaanta hai aur sach aur jhooth ke fark ko nahi jaanta hai

Badla is the official remake of Spanish hit film, The Invisible Guest. It’s a scene by scene remake so if you have seen the original film on Netflix, this one can be skipped.

The film is about Naina Sethi, who has recently been facilitated with the Businesswoman of the year award and Badal Gupta, an advocate who hasn't lost a single case in his 40-year legal career.

Naina Sethi is accused of murder and her lawyer thinks that only Badal Gupta can save her. Badal agrees to take the case on the condition that Naina should tell him the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 

As the film progresses, through the table discussions of the two protagonists we come to know about the other characters and the plot slowly unravels.
Amitabh Bachchan as Badal Gupta is superb. It's his screen presence and dialogue delivery which keeps us hooked to the film.

Taapsee Pannu has the same bored expression throughout  the film. 

Amrita Singh shines in a small role.

The film is made on a  small budget, there are no grand sets or songs, and most of it is shot in a room.
The story has several plot twists, though the climax could have been better.
The film has managed to earn 30 Crores in 5 days and has turned out to be a profitable venture for the producers.

In a line, if you are a Bachchan fan, the film can be seen for his energy otherwise watch the original on Netflix.

One time watch. Can be seen when is aired on TV.

Kahaani2- Durga Raani Singh

Release date- 2nd December 2016

One Word which describes the film- Dramatic

Best Dialogue- "Jo raaz raaz rehne the, wo aaj mujhe phir kholne honge." 

Genre- Thriller

Music- Clinton Cerejo

Producer- Sujoy Ghosh, Jayantilal Gada

Story & Direction- Sujoy Ghosh

Cast- Vidya Balan, Arjun Rampal, Jugal Hansraj

Budget- 30-35 Crore approximately


Kahaani was made on a budget of 8 Crores and it earned almost 70 Crores at the box office, making it one of the super-hit films of 2012.
After 4 years we get another film of the same franchisee but this time the director has failed to recreate the same success story.

Initially, Durga Rani Singh was intended to be a standalone film starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, but later the makers made it as a sequel to Kahaani, starring Vidya Balan.
I think this was the biggest mistake as Kahaani is known for its suspense which kept the audience rooted to their seats till the end. This film was made in an entirely different way with events happening one after another and till interval any person of average IQ could have guessed what was going to happen next. The predictability factor disappointed the audience and most of them came out of the theater saying that though the film is good it's no match to the original "Kahaani".

Vidya Balan is perfect for the role of Durga. Her acting is flawless. The way she expresses the anguish, disappointment, pain and anxiety is so real that she manages to keep us involved in the story till the end.

Arjun Rampal looks fit and smart. As his character supports the main character, his acting is subtle and he has managed to give a decent performance.

Jugal Hansraj makes his comeback as an actor but his acting is average and he doesn't looks very convincing in his role.  

Lighting is one of the most critical aspects of a film. In most of the scenes the lighting is so less that we couldn't appreciate the beauty of the surroundings.

The film was released in 1250 screens and it managed to get an opening of just 4.5 Crores. With YRF'S Befikre occupying almost 60% screens next week, it'll be a task for the film to even make a lifetime collection of 30 Crores.

In a line, though the story is quite predictable, it can be seen for Vidya Balan's excellent acting.
Time-pass

Te3n~ More of a one-man show.

Release date- 10th June 2016

One Word which describes the film- Perplexing

Best Dialogue- "8 saal pehle jo hua wo phir se ho raha hai, wo tumhe ek aur mauka de raha hai, ab God ki bari hai, baki sab ko to tum pehle se hi nirash kar chuke ho."

Genre- Thriller

Music-Clinton Cerejo

Producer- Sujoy Ghosh, Gulab Singh Tanwar, 
Hyunwoo, Thomas Kim, Suresh Nair, Sameer Rajendran, Gauri Sathe

Story & Direction- Ribhu Dasgupta

Cast-Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vidya Balan, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty

Budget- 28 Crores Including P & A approximately

Te3n has three characters, an old man who keeps visiting the police station to find clues related to the unsolved kidnapping case of his grand daughter, a cop, and a priest who was once a cop.

The film starts on a slow pace and the the director wastes time in showing Amitabh riding his old scooter and bargaining for fish in the vegetable market. There is the talented Nawazuddin who because of one failed mission resigns as a cop and becomes a priest but regains his sense of humor when he is joining a couple in holy matrimony.
'Father, meri shadi ho rahi hai koi mara nahi hai.'
Nawaz- 'pata hai mujhe, koi jyada farak nahi hai dono mai.' 

When all doors seem to have closed, the old grandfather finds a clue. 
The cops come into action when another kidnapping happens which is planned in almost a similar fashion.

Amitabh Bachchan as John, is the life and soul of the film. He looks like a tired old man who doesn't want to accept defeat . He manages to keep the audiences engrossed in the story for some time but as there is no help from the other characters, soon the story starts to drag.

The talented Vidya Balan is just wasted in this role where she has neither powerful dialogues nor any scope of showing her acting skills. She is in such a de-glam look that we wonder why didn't the makers cast some side actress  which could have at least reduced the budget of the film. There is a hint of a relation between her and Nawaz but it isn't explored anywhere in the film.  

Before interval Nawazuddin's character is confused and he just sleep walks in the film, afterwards he has some good scenes but till then we have already lost interest in the story.

The director has unnecessarily tried to confuse the audience by showing two different stories which were happening in different timeframes, simultaneously. Much before the climax most of us were able to guess what was happening. I wonder, why do makers try to make such pseudo intellectual films when in reality simple films like 'PIKU' make more money at the box office.

Music is average. 'Kyun Re' sung by Amitabh Bachchan, which depicts the pain of a man who has lost his granddaughter, touches our soul. 

The film will collect around 10-12 crores over the weekend which is quite less considering the powerful star cast.

In a line, ideally the story should have been about three powerful characters who work together to solve the case, in reality the film turns out to be a badly conceived thriller made to encash on Mr Bachchan's popularity.

Timepass. If you are a big Amitabh Bachchan fan, only then you should think of watching it in theater.