Review of Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya

Release date - 11'th July 2014

One Word which describes the film - Entertainer

Best Dialogue - 'Main marriage wali parties par line nahi marta.'

Genre - Romance / Comedy

Music -Sachin - Jigar
Toshi Sabri

Producer - Karan Johar

Story & Direction -Shashank Khaitan

Cast -Varun Dhawan ,Alia Bhatt , Ashutosh Rana
Siddharth Shukla

Budget- 40 crores (approximately)

We all know Karan Johar's love for Aditya Chopra's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). Not only he was an assistant director on the film he also played a small role and helped director Aditya Chopra in writing the screenplay. In addition, he selected Shahrukh Khan's costumes too.
Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya is a rightful tribute by him to the epic romance.
In 19 years, as there has been a revolutionary change in the younger generation same change can be seen in the way of thinking and actions of the lead characters.
We have a hero who has no interest in studies and want to have fun in life.
We have a heroine who is about to get married and wants to buy a designer lehenga.
The hero and heroine meet and become friends.
Though the basic story follows the DDLJ pattern yet it is different. The heroine is smart and confident. She is not afraid of her father and wants to take her own decisions in life. 
Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt are both Karan Johar's find and they are doing exceptionally well in the film industry. Both have given a wonderful performance and share a great on screen chemistry. 
Siddhart Shukla makes his bollywood debut. His role in small and he just has to look good. He has very few scenes and so getS no chance to show his acting skills.
Ashutosh Rana as the sometimes doting sometimes strict father looks quite good and realistic. 

Lavish sets and exorbitant budgets have always been Karan Johar’s style.
As the film shot in Delhi and Ambala had no scope for big sets, he has fulfilled his passion by creating a massive set in film city resembling the Colloseum in Rome.
The song 'Saturday Saturday' choreographed by Ahmed Khan has a whooping 3 crores budget and stars the lead actors along with 200 junior artists.

In a line, Humpty's romance may not be some epic love story but he is cute and lovable and his dulhaniya is bold and beautiful.
Good one time watch. Can be seen in theaters.

Review of Bobby Jasoos

Release date - 4'th July 2014

One Word which describes the film - Mundane

Best Dialogue -' Tereku malum nahi ki kis se panga liya hai , choregi nahi Bobby tereku.'

Genre - Comedy

Music - Shantanu Moitra

Producer- Dia Mirza ,Sahil Sangha ,Reliance Entertainment

Story & Direction -Samar Shaikh

Cast - Vidya Balan, Ali Fazal

Budget - 30 crores

Sherlock Holmes after solving complex cases used to say to his assistant "Elementary, my dear Watson" , while explaining the case to him.
Guess the makers of the film took this phrase too seriously and made such an elementary film that in no way it can be categorized as a detective film. The characters,the plot,the suspense everything is so simple that it just borders on being boring.
Though the story is simple the director has paid ample attention to detailing and giving authenticity to the sets. The hyderabadi dialect ,the small houses,the busy streets all look real but sadly the current generation who like thrill and speed will hardly be impressed by these things.
Vidya Balan is an excellent actress but after giving flops like Ghanchakkar and Shaadi ke side effects ,we have started doubting her choice of films. Once you have given master pieces like , The Dirty Pictute and Kahaani people expect nothing but the best from you.
Ali Fazal has a small role but has given a good performance.
Other veteran acors like Zarina Wahab , Tanvi Azmi and Supriya Pathak have also done justice with their roles.
Music is average and all the songs are forgettable.
The film had a poor opening and managed to earn just 10 crores in a week. As the film has a big budget it is a big loss for the producers.     
In a line if you are a very big Vidya Balan fan then also you must think twice before spending money on watching this film in theaters.
Can be seen when is aired on TV.

Review of Lekar Hum Deewana Dil

Release date – 4'th July 2014

One Word which describes the film – Crap

Best Dialogue - ' Yaar , ye to epic fail ho gaya.'

Genre – Romance/ Drama

Music – A. R. Rahman

Producer- Dinesh Vijan ,Saif Ali Khan , Sunil Lulla 

Story & Direction - Arif Ali

Cast -Armaan Jain ,Deeksha Seth

Budget- 10-15 crores (approximately)

The film marks the directorial debut of Arif Ali , Imtiaz Ali's brother . 

The promos of the film looked promising as it was being produced by Saif's company Illuminati films and music was by A.R.Rehman.

Close to it's release date all the buzz related to the film died and there was almost no promotional activity. When I reached the theater , it was fully deserted and there were just 6-7 poor souls. The film started with the popular 'Khaleefa' song. After that the film became so nonsensical that within 30 minutes half of the audience left the theater.
Armaan Jain, with his thick eyebrows and bad hair looks like a kid and fails to put any emotions in any scene or dialogues. His character calls his girl friend 'jaaneman' every now and then like Saif of Love Aaj Kal , is carefree and a party animal like Sid of 'Wake up Sid' and is confused about his feelings for his best friend like Jai of 'Jaane tu ya Jane Na'.   
Deeksha has already acted in many hit South Indian films , so although she is confident ,yet the story doesn't give her much scope to show her acting talents.
The melodious songs which came after every 15-20 minutes were the only welcome relief.
The film has performed badly all over India and in many cities many shows were cancelled because of no audience. It will be a difficult task for the film to even collect 2-3 crores over the week and without any doubt is the worst bollywood debut of 2014.

In a line, when the hero himself tells you that his love story is an epic failure , you should take it as a warning and steer clear of this romance.
Highly Avoidable.

Review of Filmistaan

Release date – 6'th June 2014

One Word which describes the film – Optimistic

Best Dialogue - ' Budget kitna bhi chhota ho , film ka dil bada hona chahiye.'

Genre – Drama

Music - Arijit Datta

Producer - Shyam Shroff ,Balkrishna Shroff , Subhash Chaudary,Shaila Tanna , Siddharth Roy Kapur

Story & Direction - Nitin Kakkar

Cast - Sharib Hashmi , Inaamulhaq , Kumud Mishra ,Gopal Dutt

Budget- 5 crores (approximately)

If you are  truely filmy, you use Bollywood dialogues in your everyday life . We don't even think twice before using these lines,'Mere paas maa hai' , 'Dhai kilo ka haath' , 'dosti ki hai nibhani to padegi' , 'bade bade desho main aisi chhoti chhoti baaten hoti rehti hai or ' Rahul , naam to suna hoga.'

Filmistaan takes this love of Hindi films across the border.

Sunny wants to be an actor but when he fails to get any role he takes the job of an assistant director. He is kidnapped by terrorists who keep him hostage in a village in Pakistan , where he meets his soul mate, another film buff who makes his living , selling pirated CDs.

The film shows the life style of very poor people with just enough to survive, for whom watching Maine Pyar Kiya on a 21 inch TV is pure joy. 

Both the protagonists share great on screen chemistry and brotherhood . There is a dialogue where one guy tells another,' aam aadmi ke bas ki kaha hai siyasat ',which shows that poor people living near borders have always been pawns in the bigger game played by politicians and terrorists.

In a line , overall the film is entertaining and has some touching moments.

One time watch . Can be seen in theaters.

Review of Citylights

Release date –30'th May 2014

One Word which describes the film – Emotional

Best Song - 'Muskurane ki wajah tum ho.'

Genre - Drama

Music - Jeet Ganguly

Producer- Mukesh Bhatt

Story - Based on Metro Manila by Sean Ellis

Direction - Hansal Mehta

Cast -Rajkummar Rao , Patralekha , Manav Kaul

Budget- 6-7 Crores

In the film industry , timing plays a very important role in the success of a film. Hansal Mehta and Rajkumar Rao both are in news these days for winning National Awards for best director and best actor respectively for their film Shahid.

Citylights is their second film together and before it's release it received lots of critical appreciation . Rajkumar Rao is becoming the new Irrfan Khan or Nawazzudin , who are known to do meaningful cinema and Patrelekha is filling Chitrangada Singh 's place , who was last seen doing senseless films like I Me aur Main and Desi Boyz.  .
The movie shows the life of a middle class family from Rajasthan who move to Mumbai in the hope of a better life, but get only disappointment. The film is slow but the way the story builds and especially the climax is interesting.
Rajkumar Rao 's body language and expressions are so real that from the start of the film to the end , we feel his pain , sympathize with him and hope that his life turns better.
Patralekha , who is dating Rajkumar in real life , shares an amazing on-screen chemistry too with him. Though her character is soft spoken and docile yet she manages to leave an impact on the audience.

Manav Kaul is the surprise element in the film. He was not shown in any promos and was absent from any promotional events but he has a strong role in the film . 
The film was made on a small budget and has managed to recover most of it's production cost.    

In a line the film shows the deep love of a man for his family and his wish of giving them a better life at any cost.
One time watch . Can be seen in theaters.

Review of Heropanti

Release date – 23'rd May 2014

One Word which describes the film – Entertainer

Best Dialogue -
Prakash Raj: Heropanti karega ?
Tiger- Kya karu yaar...Sabko aati nahi.. Meri jaati nahi

Genre – Action/ Romance

Music – Sajid-Wajid , Manj Musik

Producer- Sajid Nadiadwala

Story -Sanjeev Dutta

Direction -Sabbir Khan

Cast -Tiger Shroff ,Prakash Raj , Kriti Sanon , Sandeepa Dhar

Budget- 25- 30 Crores

'Mirror mirror on the wall , who's the fairest one of all ?'

This is the thought which came in every one's mind when we saw the first promos of Heropanti . Tiger Shroff with his milk and peaches complexion , rosy lips ,chiseled face and broad smile soon became the topic of whattsapp jokes and people started trolling him by comparing him with Kareena and other fair ladies. 

Basically there is nothing new in the story and the film takes inspiration from all Bollywood films you must have seen over the years . 

There is a song shot in snow covered mountains where the heroine dances around in dazzling sarees and sleeveless blouses. The hero watches the heroine eating something and falls in love with her. The hero's shirt automatically disappears while the villain is beating him. There are the friends who get tortured every now and then. There is the hero who tells the heroine to do what her heart wants and the list goes on.

So how does one manages to leave a mark in a very ordinary story. This is where Tiger stands tall and outshines everyone. The confidence he shows in the film comes from hours and hours of practice and the knowledge that he is perfect in what he is doing. His dance moves are smooth , his stunts look realistic , his body language relaxed and he manages to give just the right expression in all the scenes. The writer has woven the story around him in such a way that from start to end Tiger does just Heropanti , he doesn't do any work , his family is not shown, we don't even know if he stays with his parents or in some hostel. 

Sabbir Khan who made his directorial debut with Kambakkht Ishq (2009) has managed to give Bollywood an athletic action hero who can give Vidyut Jamwal , another action hero and martial artist ,  a run for his money.

Kriti's job in the film is to look pretty and dance along with the hero. She provides the required glamour but doesn't leave any mark on our mind.

Prakash Raj's character is the most confusing character in the film. Initially he is shown as a ruthless Haryanvi who kills people in cold blood and can go to any extent to save his family honour. But as the film progresses he turns into an emotional father who cries and gives long speeches about his love for his children . It was like we were witnessing a person facing a double personality disorder.

The film has collected over 30 crores in 5 days which is a very good number considering the way the critics and the classes shunned the film.

According to Amir Khan and other celebrities ' A star is born ' and  guess a happy Jacky Shroff can finally relax and enjoy his son's success. 

In a line the film is a full masala entertainer with the perfect dose of action , comedy , drama , music and dance.

Timepass . Can be seen in theaters. 

Review of The Xpose'

Release date – 16'th May  2014

Best Dialogue - ' Pyaar main galat bhi sahi hota hai.'

One Word which describes the film – Unexpected

Genre – Musical / Romance/ Suspense

Story & Music –Himesh Reshammiya

Producer- Vipin Reshammiya

Direction - Anant Mahadevan 

Cast - Himesh Reshammiya , Sonali Raut , Zoya Afroz , Honey Singh , Anant Mahadevan , Ashwin Dhar

Budget- 15 crores (approximately)

So let's start with accepting the fact that however  successful may Himesh Reshammiya be as a music director , as an actor we love to hate and bash him for all his acting attempts.
When promos of The Xpose were aired I was surprised by how much weight Himesh has lost and was impressed by the perseverance of the man to be accepted as an actor.

The film is set in 1968 and deals with the life of budding actresses , directors and larger than life superstars . Every character has grey shade and is out for blood. 

As a writer and co-producer of the film, Himesh's character of Ravi Kumar must be a role he must have fantasized about since years.
Ravi Kumar , angry policeman turned South superstar , is loved both by the masses and beautiful actresses. He has no fears in telling the director of his new film ,' Meri ek sharth hai, mei villain se maar nahi khaunga.' When the stylist tells him that they will have to work on his style and attitude he says with confidence ," style tum dekh lo , attitude par main bachpan se kaam kar raha hoon.' It's these dialogues along with some good acting which makes this film better than his earlier attempts. He stays away from any kind of dancing or comedy and sticks to his songs , though trying to pose like a fashion icon in a red trench coat and tight jeans or his style of holding a whiskey glass with a brooding look or holding an unlit cigarette in an attempt to copy Hollywood heroes was too much to take. 

Sonali Raut 's character Zara , who is making her debut through a film called 'Ujjawal Sheetal Nirmal' asks the director played by Anant Mahadevan , what will she have to do in the film to which he says , 'Na dance ,na expression na pose, sirf expose .' Her make up , hairstyles and dialogue delivery makes her look like the poor man's Priyanka Chopra .

The other actress Zoya Afroz also gets to show her assets in a bikini if not much acting talent.

The starting credits stated that the film is inspired by real life incidents and the characters of the two actresses may be based on Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman who both emerged as sex sirens in the 1980s .

Honey Singh looks sleazy and stylish but fails in the acting department.

Ashwin Dhir as the ruthless and unethical producer, director Bobby Chaddha  gives a fine performance.

Irrfan Khan is the narrator of the film and has a 1 minute role which will surely not be appreciated by his fans. 

The songs are nice and one will surely be humming Ice cream khaogi  or Catch me if you can or Darde dilon ke kam ho jate once they leave the theaters. 

The film has some really beautiful sets and outdoor scenes shot in Paris. Though some scenes are unintentionally funny but overall the film is fast and has an unpredictable climax.  

As it was a medium budget film the producers have already  recovered close to Rs 12 crore from the sale of Satellite, Music, Overseas Video, Home Video and other rights .The film also made a decent collection of 10 crores plus in 3 days which shows that word of mouth has the power of rising above critics' expert opinions .

In a line , if you can get over your aversion of spending money to watch Himesh Reshammiya on the big screen you will surely not be bored.

Time pass . You are in for a pleasant surprise.