Review of The Lunchbox

Release date – 20'th September 2013

One Word which describes the film – Wistful

Best Dialogue  – 'Kabhi kabhi galat train bhi sahi jagah pahuncha deti hai '

Genre – Romance 

Writer- Ritesh Batra

Music – Max Richter

Producer - Anurag Kashyap , Guneet Monga , Karan Johar , Siddharth Roy Kapur

Direction - Ritesh Batra

Cast - Irrfan Khan , Nimrat Kaur , Nawazuddin Siddiqui

  

Budget - 10 crores

The film is an Indian version of the 1998 hit Hollywood film ' You've Got Mail '. 
In the film the heroine says a line , 'People are always telling you that change is a good thing .But all they're really saying is that something you didn't want to happen at all ,has happened.' 
This film is also about changes . A man who is about to retire and a lonely housewife exchange small notes through a lunchbox and develop a strong bond . The woman is young and is ready to take steps which can totally change her life but the man who is old enough to be her father has his doubts.

The direction of the film is it's finest point. It's really commendable that how with just 3 characters and a voice the director manages to present a story which makes the audience identify with the characters. We feel the fear of an about to retire man who was so engrossed in his work and daily life that he never realised that he has grown old. We feel sad for the housewife whose husband has lost interest in her and pays more attention to his cell phone . 

Irrfan Khan has played the role of a much older man with such ease that you forget the actor , you only see him as Mr. Fernandez .
Nimrat Kaur gives strong competition to Irrfan and it's difficult to decide who has given a better performance.
Nawazuddin is an amazing actor and though he has a vital role in the film ,this story isn't about him.

After a totally detailed sketch of Mumbai dabba system and local trains the abrupt climax was a bit disappointing . 

In a line the film is about how sometimes the small things can bring a big change in your life and it's better to take risks at time than to lead a mundane life .
Good one time watch.
Rank - 16  (Out of the 54 films I have seen in 2013)

Review of Shuddh Desi Romance

Release date – 6'th September 2013

One Word which describes the film – Sizzling

Best Dialogue  – ' Doubt ghadi dekhkar thodi na ate hai .'

Genre – Romance / Comedy

  

Writer- Jaideep Sahni

Music – Sachin - Jigar

Producer- Aditya Chopra

Direction - Maneesh Sharma

Cast – Rishi Kapoor ,  Sushant Singh Rajput , Parineeti Chopra , Vaani Kapoor

  

Budget - 20 crores 

Yash Raj films had promoted the film as a bold film dealing live-in relations by giving statements like ‘In a survey 80% people thought that those who were in a live-in relation had loose characters.’

The song ' Chanchal man ..ati random..kal ispe aya tha , kal uspe ayega ' sets the theme of the film. 

The characters were introduced in a humorous way and then started the kissing scenes which came every now and then till the movie ended.

Sushant Singh Rajput’s  character who is a tourist guide but is hardly shown doing any work is a bit hard to believe. In Rishi Kapoor’s words ‘ tujh main aisa hai kya jo sari ladkiyan tere paas ati rehti hai !’ He dresses shabbily, uses lame pick up lines and still manages to impress everyone.

Parineeti Chopra’s character is bold and fiery. She has had lots of relationships and affairs and she is open about it . She believes in doing what her heart tells her to do and is not concerned about what people will say. She represents the generation who stay away from their parents to avoid questions about their way of living.  

Vani Kapoor , a model turned actress makes her bollywood debut with this film. Her acting is effortless and she looks pretty . Her character is not very well defined , so we are clueless about the reason behind her actions. She has signed a three film deal with YRF so hopefully we will see her in a full fledged role in future. 

Rishi Kapoor as the ,wedding planner cum  caterer cum advisor manages to outshine all the three young actors.  

After watching twice in every movie how ‘Mukesh Harane’ died because of chewing tobacco it was quite a turn off to see the lead actors smoking throughout the film.      

  

‘Shaam gulabi , sehar gulabi’ is the only melodious song in the film which one would want to listen more than once.

The title of the film is very misleading as there is neither anything pure (Shuddh ) about it nor Indian ( desi) . As far as Romance is concerned , jumping into bed at any opportunity is not the kind of love story  you will like to see with your parents or kids. 

In a line watch this film for it's situational comedy and some sizzling scenes between the lead actors.

Can be seen in theatres only with friends or spouse. Time-pass

Rank - 19 (Out of the 54 films I have seen in 2013) 

Review of Satyagraha

Release Date- 30'th August

One Word which describes the film – Inspirational  

Best Dialogue  – 'Paisa hi apka dharm hai aur bazar hi apki morality. '

Genre – Political/Thriller 

  

Story - Anjum Rajabali , Prakash Jha , Rutvik Oza

Music – Shantanu Moitra

Producer - Prakash Jha , Ronnie Screwvala , Siddharth Roy Kapur

Direction - Prakash Jha

Cast – Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai, Amrita Rao ,Vipin Sharma

  

Budget - 50 crore + (15 crore prints and publicity)

Prakash Jha is famous for his political and socio-political films such as Gangaajal (2003), Apaharan (2005), Raajneeti (2010)  Aarakshan (2011) and  Chakravyuh (2012). 

This film is based on the Anna Hazare movement where Shri Hazare started an indefinite hunger strike on 5 April 2011 to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a stringent anti corruption law , the Jan Lokpal Bill and Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party. The fast led to nation-wide protests in support .

The story revolves around an idealistic retired teacher , an ambitious capitalist , a youth leader , a corrupt politician and a journalist.
Though the idea of presenting the most talked about issue in a dramatic form was great but somewhere the film stopped being a story and was presented just as a series of events. 

Amitabh Bachchan as the main protagonist is the backbone of the film. When he tells the corrupt politician ,"Janta sarkaar ki malik hai. Malik nirdesh deta hai. Maang nahin karta" , we actually start believing in the powers of the common man. In the fasting scenes he looked frail and delicate as if really had nothing to eat since days.

Ajay Devgn , as the master mind behind awakening the public has done a good job. Though in some scenes especially the ones with Kareena he looked haggard and out of shape .

Kareena Kapoor as the fiery journalist who believes in doing the right thing and following her heart has given a good performance.

Time and again Manoj Bajpai has proved that he's an actor par excellence. In his grey shades we love to hate him.

Arjun Rampal had the weakest role which could have done by any junior artist . 

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are shown playing an important role in sharing information and  spreading the movement among the masses. 


In a line despite the flaws , the film is a one time watch for soul touching performances by Mr. Bachchan and Ajay Devgn.   

Time-pass.
Rank- 21  (out of the 43 films I have seen in 2013) 

Chennai Express - Rohit Shetty's tribute to Tamil films .

Release date – 9'th August 2013

One Word which describes the film –  Melodrama 

Frequently used Dialogue  –
'Don't underestimate the power of a common man '

Genre – Action /Comedy

  

Screenplay - Yunus Sajawal

Music – Vishal–Shekhar 

Producer - Gauri Khan , Ronnie Screwvala , Siddharth Roy Kapur

Direction - Rohit Shetty 

Cast – Deepika Padukone , Shahrukh Khan

  

Budget - 70-80 crores

Chennai Express started in a narrative style with SRK saying that 'Myself Rahul, 40 saal ka ho gaya hoon aur normally is age tak har kisi ki life main ek aadha twist to aa hi jata hai .' We prepared ourselves for a happening journey with lots of twists and entertainment. As soon as Deepika made her entry in the film a big twist came and suddenly everyone started talking in Tamil. There were no subtitles. In a Rohit Shetty's film we are used to flying cars but when 30% of the dialogues are being said in Tamil we wonder for which audience the film is being made. 


Deepika Padukone , after exposing to the limits in Coctail and Ye jawani hai diwani appears as a well dressed South Indian girl. She looked beautiful when she is quiet and expressing with her eyes but the moment she starts talking in the weird accent she has adopted for the film she starts getting on our nerves. She herself must be fed up of the simple look as in the item number 'lungi dance' at the end she is back  in her glamorous look in  see through sarees and low cut blouses.

Shahrukh Khan was the king of romance once. When he said to Kajol 'Kuch kuch hota hai anjali ,tum nahi samjhogi' we all felt his love for the girl who once was his friend . 
In Chennai Express , he himself was using all his famous lines in a comic way which was not at all humorous. Though we did laugh in some scenes but then we expect much more from Shahrukh Khan. 

The film shows some really beautiful and scenic locations  of the South which are at par with the Switzerland we see in Yash Chopra films.

Music of the film is very ordinary . Just one song 'Meherbaani nahi tumhara pyar maanga hai' is melodious .

In a line the film would have been more entertaining ,if Rohit Shetty had made it for the common man who doesn't understand Tamil .

Shahrukh Khan fans will watch it. Time pass .

Rank - 19 out of the 40 films I have seen in 2013

Review of Ramaiya Vastavaiya

Release date – 19'th July 2013

One Word which describes the film –  Sweet 

Best Song – ' Jeene laga hoon '

 

Genre – Romance / Comedy

  

Screenplay - Shiraz Ahmed

Music – Sachin-Jigar

Producer - Kumar Taurani

Direction - Prabhu Deva

Cast – Girish Kumar Taurani  , Shruti Haasan , Sonu Sood

   

Budget - 38 crores

 

In 2005 Prabhu Deva made his directorial debut through Telugu hit film Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana which was inspired by Maine Pyar Kiya . After being remade in Tamil as Something Something... Unakkum Enakkum, in Kannada as Nenello Nanalle and in Bengali as I Love You , the film is now remade in Hindi as Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya .

The film is about a NRI boy who comes to India to attend his cousin's wedding and falls in love with his cousin's best friend . Their love is opposed by the  boy's parents and girl's brother. 

 

Sonu Sood ,who plays the role of heroine's brother has given a wondeful performance . He totally steals the limelight from the lead pair.

 

Girish is perfect in the role of a rich and spoilt brat . He has acted and danced well and given an above average performance in the emotional scenes.

 

Shruti Hassan looked like a replica of her mother Sarika. She looked beautiful and has given a good range of facial expressions.

 

Prabhu Deva has again proved that a good director can turn a very simple story into a complete entertainer. There were many scenes where we just couldn't control our laughter . We felt the innocence of young love , the excitement and pain . 

 

The item dance Jadu ki jhappi featuring Prabhu Deva and Jacqueline was an added bonus.

Everyone who believes in the power of love must watch this film in theaters before it gets derailed by Chennai Express releasing on 9'th Aug.

 

In a line the film takes us back to the days of innocent and sweet love  when a film was more about a well written and executed story and less about exposing and special effects .

 

Complete family entertainer . Good one time watch. 

Review of Lootera

Release date –5'th July 2013

One Word which describes the film – Soulful

Best  Dialogue – 'Pehli baar jab tumhe dekha , toh thodi der ke liye laga ki main mar gaya ' 

Genre – Romance /Drama

Story - Vikramaditya Motwane 

(based on "The Last Leaf" by O.Henry )

Music – Amit Trivedi

Producer - Anurag Kashyap , Ekta Kapoor , Shobha Kapoor , Vikas Bahl

Direction - Vikramaditya Motwane

Cast – Ranveer Singh , Sonakshi Sinha , Vikrant Massey ,Arif Zakaria , Adil Hussain

Budget - 35 crores ( approximately )

Lootera set in 1950's is the love story of a rich Zamindar's daughter and a young man who comes and stays at their home.
The film starts with a Ramleela scene where we are introduced to the two main characters of the film ,Pakhi  and her doting father the Zamindar of Manikpur. Pakhi is an artistic, strong willed girl who is not afraid of telling what her heart wants.
The Zamindar is worried because, post-independence the zamindari system has come to an end and he has to surrender his lands and precious artifects to the government.

The sets of the film look real with emphasis on minute details like the presence of a gramophone in the living room, antique furniture , vintage car, and an old radio playing songs of Dev Anand's film 'Baazi' . 

The second half shot in Dalhousie , captures the natural beauty of the town. 
So despite having good sets ,great music and above average actors why didn't the film appeal to the audience ?

All of us who have read 'The last leaf' , know it's a short story about two girls and an old painter who wishes to create a master piece. 

To convert this short story into a full fledged film the director converted it into a love story with lots of unnecessary tragedies and pathos. 

Sonakshi Sinha manages to give an award winning performance in the film. With her minimal makeup and rich sarees she looks like a rich heiress. In the second half her pale face and dark circles look so real that you feel pity for her.

Ranveer Singh's clean shaven look in first half wearing high waist trousers is quiet 1950's. Though , I wonder why most of his dialogues were dubbed in such a low voice that they were hardly audible.

In a line , the film is surely not made for the masses and has many slow sequences where you will get bored and  wonder when is it going to end.

Can be seen when is aired on TV .

Rank- 16 (out of the 35 films I have seen in 2013)

(You can read the story 'The Last Leaf ' here - http://www.online-literature.com/donne/1303/ )

Preview of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Release date – 12'th July 2013

One Word which describes the film – Motivational

Best  Dialogue (promos) – 
'Ye apki zindagi ki akhiri race saabit ho sakti hai .'
Milkha- ' Daudunga bhi waise hi. '

Genre – Sports /Biography

Story - Prasoon Joshi

Music – Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

Producer - Viacom 18 , Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Direction - Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Cast – Farhan Akhtar , Sonam Kapoor, Prakash Raj , Yograj Singh

Budget - 30 crores

Duration- 188 minutes

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is the most awaited film of 2013 .The name of the film comes from the last words spoken by Milkha Singh's father, which were to save his life during the riots of Partition of India. The story tells about his perseverance and courage as an athlete.

Farhan underwent extensive preparation for the film's Ladakh schedule .He went to a  training center in the suburbs, which specialises in training people to adapt themselves to harsh conditions. He trained there and religiously ran around 10-12 km every day. While in Ladakh, he would sprint for hours together in the backdrop of jawans coming out for a jog. He would tie a rope to his waist and do a high intensity tyre and rope workout and run for several hours . All the preparation showed when the first promo was launched in which the 39 year old actor managed to look like a lean and well  toned athlete in his 20's.

Sonam Kapoor has charged only Rs 11 for the films  and claims that she blindly trusts the film-maker.
On being asked about her reason behind signing the film for Rs 11, Sonam said, "They had a budget and they told me they can't give money and that's why I said give Rs 11 and I will do the film.

After watching the film Milkha Singh said  ,"Farhan Akhtar has done a brilliant job. He looked like my duplicate in the movie.  It was my son's decision to make the movie for Rs 1. However, I mentioned a clause in the agreement that 10-15 per cent of the profit which the movie makes will go to our trust which promotes athletes. 

The music of the film is good. Hawan kund and Zinda have become popular among the young generation . 

The film will get a very good opening and can easily collect 30-35 crores or more in it's opening weekend. The only drawback can be it's 3 hour plus duration .I hope the director has made an engrossing  film which makes the audience forget everything and just be a part of Milkha Singh's journey from being a refugee to a carefree young guy to a devoted athlete.

Rank- 2 out of the 40 films I have seen in 2013