Movie Review: Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola

Produced by: Vishal Bharadwaj, Fox studios
Directed by: Vishal Bharadwaj
Story by: Vishal Bharadwaj, Abhishek Chaubey
Starring: Pankaj Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Imran Khan, Anushka Sharma and Arya Babbar

 

 

 

 

 

 

I kick-started my passion for movies with Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola and after having practically lost hope in Hindi Cinema in 2012, this movie finally proved to me why I used to have undying faith in this industry. Because in between all the masala packed, nonsensical maar-dhad movies you will find a movie like Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola.
And no, it is not a political sattire on the electricity crisis – but anyone who watched the trailer would be able to establish that, with its colourful songs and the infamous pink bhains. What it really is about is a bloke called Matru who works for the rich drunk Mandola and is in love with Mandola’s daughter Bijlee. Bijlee in turn, wants to get married to Badal (ironic, I know) who is the son of wealthy politician Chaudhari Devi who loves to flirt with her samdhi Mandola. Yes, its one big happy family until Mandola begins to sabotage his industrial career and Chaudhari Devi’s political career every time he gets drunk. We then begin to go deeper into the traumatic lives of all these people and who they really are beneath the appearances they put up.
So much for the plot. Sounds interesting doesn’t it? Well this is just the cream of the cake and I don’t want to dig deeper and spoil it for you. Coming to the direction – Vishal Bharadwaj has outdone himself yet again, by combining a happy go lucky atmosphere that prevails throughout the movie with a much more serious real life plot. There are minor flaws in the direction which I would prefer to overlook because I basically enjoyed the movie through and through. The acting was phenomenal – with Pankaj Kapoor and Shabana Azmi setting the standard with their remarkable acting skills. Shabana Azmi more than Pankaj Kapoor, because I have never seen her in a role like this one. Imran Khan proves that his roots are closely linked to Mr. Perfectionist and Arya Babbar performs well in every third scene or so. But he still does a good job for a first timer, though I would say that he still has a long way to go. But he may not lose hope seeing how Imran Khan has come a really long way since his first movie. The way he shows multiple sides of his character with completely ease is commendable. Anushka Sharma though is a bit of a let down, as she is barely there for most of the movie but proves her metal in the climax where she has a pivotal role. The dialogues on the other hand, are refreshing and wonderfully witty. All in all this is a well thought-out and well executed movie which you must not miss.

Movie review: Skyfall (007)

Produced by: Michael G Wilson

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Story by: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan

Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench

 

 

 

 

 

 

The movie starts out with a typical Bond chase which takes place in Turkey, I think. And though we don’t know what Bond is up to, we still watch eagerly as he runs behind the bad guy, chases him over rooftops and trains, damages half the city and engages in varied number of fight sequences. And at the end of it all, he dies. Yes, James Bond gets shot by another agent and he dies. But of course, we all know that he can’t actually die and we wait and watch to find out what’s actually happening. The scene then shifts to M. And it turns out that the guy Bond was chasing, had a file which contained information of all the secret agents who were working undercover, most of them being placed in dangerous locations. Knowing that the person who had the file would soon expose these agents, M has to act fast. At the very same time, there is a security breach in the network of the secret service, and MI6 is bombed. Bond, who was vacationing on some beach till this point, decides to come back. And the rest of the movie follows how Bond and M uncover the identity of the person who has the file and has hacked into their network.
The movie is absolutely thrilling, with not a single moment of boredom. You blink, and you miss something. It really keeps the audience engaged till the very end. It has those moments where you think all is well and the movie is over but then suddenly there is a new twist in the story. The direction, action, acting, etc are impeccable of course, and Daniel Craig has outdone himself yet again. The dialogues are simply Bond-like; witty and quick. My favorite is when Bond is asked, ‘what is your hobby?’ And his quick reply is, ‘resurrection’. All in all, it is a typical Bond movie which has all the gadgets and the girls, but there is also something very unconventional about this movie, especially the climax. Something Bond fans will thoroughly enjoy and want to go back to, every now and then. In short, its a must watch!

7aum Arivu

Produced by: Udhayanidhi Stalin

Directed by: A. R. Murugadoss

Starring:  Suriya, Shruti Haasan

Music by: Harris Jayaraj

The movie follows the life of a Arvind, who works in a circus. His life takes an interesting turn when he meets Subha, a genetic engineering student, and falls in love with her. He coincidentally meets her in several places and the two soon become friends. Just when he is about to admit to her that he is in love with her, he finds out that their meeting so often hadn’t been a string of coincidences but a planned strategy by Subha. The angered Arvind goes to her to find out why she had been playing with his heart, when he finds out that she had other, more important reasons to meet him. Though reluctant in the beginning, he eventually decides to help her out. The movie then spirals out into a world threatening plot which can only be stopped by Arvind and Subha.

Though it doesn’t sound like much, the plot is quiet interesting. I haven’t disclosed much because it takes away the fun in watching the movie. It is a typical A. R. Muragadoss plot which is detailed, lengthy and yet – believable. The story-telling manages to engage the audience all through the movie and moves smoothly from one scene to the other. Suriya was fabulous. The transition that he showed from the character of Arvind to Bodha Dharman was clear and well-defined. The way he is agitated and restless as Arvind and calm and collected as Bodha Dharman is close to perfect. And after a long time I’ve seen an Indian movie where the actress actually had a pivotal role and wasn’t just kept in the movie to look pretty (but she does look ravishing!). Shruti Hassan played the role of a researcher impeccably. That slight part where she seems to be distracted because of her love interest is done well and does take over the rest of the movie. Most of the movie concentrates on the main plot and seldom gets side-tracked by the ongoing love story between the lead pair.

The music wasn’t very good and sounded like it had been pieced together from different songs. The action sequences too went on for longer than needed. It tends to be irritating when the lead is engaged in fighting when you are really eager to know how the story is going to unfold. They haven’t been done very well either and in today’s day and age of advanced visual effects they are quite disappointing. All in all, it is an innovative concept and you can’t help but be interested in knowing what is exactly happening. The second half does tend to drag just a bit but that is pretty much ignorable.

Verdict: I wouldn’t mind watching it again!

Ra.One

Produced by: Gauri Khan

Directed by: Anubhav Sinha

Starring:

• Shahrukh Khan
• Kareena Kapoor
• Arjun Rampal
• Armaan Varma

Music by: Vishal-Shekhar

 

The story follows the life of Shekhar Subramanium, who creates a game where the villain can never be killed just to please his son. But all hell breaks loose when a character from the game – Ra.one – comes alive in the real world. He is in pursuit of  Subramanium’s son – Pratheek – who had left the game half-played and wishes to finish him off. As Pratheek is helpless against such a huge monster, he gets the hero – G.one – out of the game to help him. But G.one’s survival chances against Ra.one is 0.01%. Will he survive or will he be killed by Ra.one taking the boy along with him?

The story line as it is, is very simple, basic and uninteresting. The whole cast had to add a lot more so that the story line wouldn’t be noticed, but it was. This movie is basically for kids – anyone below the age of 15. It pretty much follows Krish except with better effects. Direction was impeccable and the director manages to keep you interested in the movie. Performance wise, I would Shahrukh Khan was as usual – outstanding and delivered very well. Suprisingly so did Arman Varma – the child actor. He had a major part in the movie and he maintained to hold himself and match up to Shahrukh Khan’s level. Arjun Rampal, was an outstanding villain, with that menacing look of his livening the screen up just when you were starting to get bored. But he was brought into the movie very late and half the time, you just kept wondering, ‘where is Arjun Rampal?’ Kareena Kapoor on the other hand, was just in the movie to look pretty, though she did do something mildly useful and interesting in the second half. But the movie would have gone on just fine, even if she hadn’t been there. She is just there to look pretty and doesn’t in anyway fit into the role of a South-Indian housewife. Its a total let down from her performance in Bodyguard. Its basically a one time watch. Its got perfectly timed dialogues, just a touch of humour, great sound and visual effects and believable action sequences. But since the story isn’t much, it wouldn’t hold my attention for the second time. SRK did everything else perfectly in his movie, he just neglected the script. Also, you never really understand just how the characters got out of the game. The music is a typical Vishal-Shekhar album and you love the bollywood feel to it. I really loved the song ‘Raftaarein’ and it would have been much better if they had put Arjun Rampal in the song instead of SRK. Akon‘s two songs have also been received well by the audiences and Ganesh Hegde also did justice to the songs. So basically, its a fun movie ( better watched in 2D ). And the excitement created by the hype goes down when you watch it. I wouldn’t say it was a ‘oh my god!! it was amazing’ kind of a movie, it’s more of a ‘its good’ kind of a movie.

Bodyguard

Yet another guest post from another one of my best friends, this one being a die-hard Salman Khan fan (no wonder she chose to review this movie!!) Known to be spontaneous, unpredictable, creative, super smart and i’m also pretty sure she ate an encyclopedia when she was small, this friend of mine doesn’t have a blog yet, but after reading this review, if you feel that this one needs to create a blog ASAP, then please let her know.

BODYGUARD – By Sujatha Nayak Sujir

Produced by – Reliance Entertainment

Directed by – Siddique

Starring – Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor

Music – Himesh Reshammiya

It couldn’t get any better for a Salman Khan fan like me!! A bag of popcorn, a large Pepsi, and a rom-com to go with it on a rainy afternoon. Like I said, it couldn’t get any better! J J Salman Khan – romancing his lady love and fighting the gundas for her – basically doing what he is best at! Blush! Kareena Kapoor – The damsel in distress and some amazingly good songs – a perfect combination for a Bollywood blockbuster! (No surprises when it became the highest opening day grosser ever!)

Lovely Singh (Sallu Bhai), son of Balwant Singh, is indebted to Sartaj Rana (Raj Babbar) for saving his mother when she was expecting and hence gets on the mission to save Divya Rana (Kareena Kapoor), Mr. Rana’s daughter from the local goons. But Divya is not very happy with the idea of a bodyguard following her around college, invading her privacy! (Even entering the wash room accidentally! ) So after frequent and failed attempts to get rid of Lovely, Divya and her best friend Maya (Hazel Keech) prank call him with the name Chaya. Poor Lovely Singh, being a hopeless romantic at heart falls for the prank and coincidentally Divya starts falling for Lovely, knowing that they can’t have a future together. Sartaj Rana suspecting a romance brewing between the two of them sends his men after Lovely Singh! Just in time, Divya sends her “BFF” to Lovely to reveal her true identity! What happens next? Well.. you need to watch the movie to find out!

Salman Khan- The Bodyguard, the boy-next-door, the average Indian male doing more than average (rather extraordinary!) stunts. So many different shades of Mr.Commitment in a 3 hour flick! Kareena Kapoor looks stunning throughout the movie – a true fashionista! Hazel Keech, the debutante has a perfectly sound screen presence despite two other superstars sharing screen space with her! One character in the movie one can’t miss is Tsunami Singh – a little on the healthier side and hilarious – Tsunami is way too adorable!! Although Himesh Reshammiya has composed the music for this movie, guest composer Pritam takes home all the accolades for his romantic number ‘I Love You! (At least a goofy smile lightens up my face every single time I listen to it!)

Another one of Salman Khan’s Eid releases seems to have struck the chord with the general masses ofIndia! Although I have to admit that the storyline is wafer-thin, true SK fans will love this movie!! I wouldn’t mind falling into trouble if I had a Lovely Singh by my side… What about you??

Aarakshan

This is a guest post written by a budding writer, a devoted movie watcher, a true fan of this movie, a dedicated student, a marketing enthusiast, a Ranbir Kapoor fan and also a very close friend of mine. If you would like to write a guest post for this blog, please click here.

Murder 2

produced by : Mukesh Bhatt

directed by : Mohit Suri

story by : Mahesh Bhatt

screenplay by : Shagufta Rafique

Starring : Emraan Hashimi, Jaqueline Fernandis, Prashant Narayanan

when the daughter of a French diplomat goes missing, the entire police force of Goa work on the case hoping to find her alive and soon. But no one thinks anything of the 11 Indian girls who have already gone missing. No one but ex-cop Arjun Bhagwat. For his own personal reasons which are still unclear to me he tries to find this serial killer and he does. only, he has political influence and a known politician will be coming to bail him out the next morning. so unless Arjun Bhagwat can find evidence against his killer in one night, he is going to walk away and probably continue to kill..

I found the story-line both interesting and idiotic. Interesting because of the way the killer and the cops are portrayed (taking into consideration their pasts and detailing all the characters very well) and idiotic because the plot is once again a typical hindi movie masala plot which is very predictable where the hero has supernatural powers to beat up the villain even though he is shot and bleeding. from the very beginning the mentality of the killer is explained in a very delicate manner. he seems to hate women and loves to see a women being tortured. his insanity rises to such a height that after repeatedly locking his wife in a tiny cage he finally makes himself impotent. every time he kills a woman he dresses up as one and records the screams of every woman. the killer actually holds the whole movie together because he, unlike the male and female leads, keeps you guessing. all through the movie the destructive path of the killer is shown, where every person coming into contact with him, does not feel very normal after.

in the beginning i liked the way the characters and pasts of the leads were portrayed, the chemistry and sexual tension they shared, their gloominess and all. but as the movie went on it felt like they were just not getting past that. they were constantly stuck in the same position trying to relate their sad lives to that of the audience (which they failed to do). i don’t even know what Jacqueline Fernandis was doing in the movie, because the movie would have gone on just fine without her. and i expected more from Emraan Hashmi, and i thought that he would have more to offer and a good explanation to his ridiculous hairstyle.

but what kept the movie going was the screenplay. witty dialogues which delivered on time and went hand in hand with the music. the movie was able to maintain that eeriness mainly through the behavior of the killer. it got a little weird towards the end as the movie dabbled in the napunsak way of life and what seemed to be a bit of black magic thrown in too. (but i’m not very sure about that) a lot of aspects of the movie were left hanging and a lot of questions were left unanswered. but yet, its not that bad a movie and its actually pretty watchable.

F.A.L.T.U

produced by : Vashu Bhagnani

directed by : Remo D’Souza

starring : Jackky Bhagnani, Puja Gupta, Ritesh Deshmukh and Arshad Warsi

initially i thought that this would be a movie for youngsters which the older generation wouldn’t understand or like. but my dad liked it, i liked it and turns out everyone else liked it too!!

it is based on three teenagers who don’t do very well in their boards and don’t get into any colleges. and as they don’t want to get fried by their parents they make a fake college. they think of it all – a fake name, a fake admission letter, a fake website, a fake ad in the paper, a fake premises(an old abandoned bulding which they polish), a fake principal and even fake students. but unfortunately the students turn out to be real. people very much like them who have no where else to go because of their low grades. they finally decide to keep the college open because none of them can go anywhere else. its a story of how poeple who are rejected by the world, come together, find themselves and prove to the world that they too can achieve a lot!!

this movie was not only touching but it was also fun and very real. it showed me that we do not have to follow the rules set by society. we can make our own rules and our own lives!! we can think out of the box and choose any career we want to. even though we have developed so much in matters of education and career opportunities, we are still compelled to go by the norms of society. a change in  our lifestyles and our thinking is very much needed and this movie proves it very well. not to mention the dance and the speech in the climax. that dance was probably one of Remo’s best work to date!! the songs too are a fresh change from what we have been hearing for the past few months this year. acting – well not that impressive. of course Arshad Warsi and Riteish Deshmukh were good and Jackky Bhagnani was not bad. but it is the movie as a whole that blows your mind. a great directorial debut by Remo and one you should definitely not miss!!

Game

produced by : Farhan Akhter, Ritesh Sidwani

directed by : Abhinay Deo

story by : Althea Delmas Kaushal

cast: : Abhishek Bachchan
Kangna Ranaut
Sarah-Jane Dias
Jimmy Shergill
Boman Irani
Anupam Kher
Shahana Goswami

in one word, i would describe it as a bit thanda. it is a murder mystery set in different parts of the world. it mainly revolves around 5 poeple – a casino owner ( Abhishek Bachchan), a politician (Boman Irani), a film star (Jimmy Shergill) and a multi-millionaire (Anupam Kher). Anupam Kher brings the three men together to punish them as they each had a hand in the death of one girl (Sarah Jane Dias) who turns out to be Abhishek Bachchan’s girlfriend and Anupam Kher’s long lost daughter. Anupam Kher threatens to ruin them all. But – the next morning he is murdered. The case lands in the hands of a British police officer from the International Vigilance Squad(Kangana Ranaut) who mainly suspects Abhishek Bachchan. three men in one house, one murder and all of them have the motive and opportunity to murder the man. and the game is on..

like i said earlier – thanda. the case doesn’t really manage to hold your attention through out the movie and the sad stories of the characters also do not seem that sad. songs are also not bad – but i particularly liked the song ‘mehki mehki’ – both the song and the choreography were remarkable!! everyone else pretty much does justice to their characters but Sarah Jane Dias was somehow really noticeable. for a first timer i think she did very well. with a little bit of help, she has the potential to make it big in bollywood. the main area in which the film lacked would be in the story because it doesn’t have a lot of suspense for a suspense movie. but even then, if all the other movies in a theater are sold out then it would be better to watch this movie than go home!!

the most romantic ones :)

i was in a pretty romantic mood some time ago. and i decided to make my own ‘best romantic movies’ list. and after putting myself through the tedious (:P) task of watching the following movies, i have decided that these are simply amazing. you may not understand a few of the movie names or the languages that they are made in but please look into the story, get a version with subtitles and watch it!! there is a reason why i put these here.!!

1. letters to juliet
2. a lot like love
3. sweet home alabama
4. maid in manhattan
5. 27 dresses
6. 50 first dates
7. a walk to remember
8. 10 things i hate about you
9. Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya
10. jab we met
11. shakespeare in love
12. love aaj kal
13. someone like you
14. amrithadhare

also these are the movies which i couldn’t watch but their trailers looked pretty interesting. so watch them and let me know what you think of them:

1. the next best thing
2. then she found me
3. new york minute
4. the rebound
5. the holiday
6. the ugly truth
7. the break up
8. bounty hunter
9. wedding crashers

i will keep updating this list, as and when i feel like it. especially to bring in more regional movies which are really good but do not get the credit they deserve.

[ also the movies aren't necessarily in that order. i just put them in the list when i remembered them]

dhobi ghat

directed by :- Kiran Rao

produced by :- Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao

story by :- Kiran Rao

starring :- Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra

Dhobi Ghat is Aamir Khan’s wife- Kiran Rao’s directorial debut. and i have to say that she has lived up to the expectations that we have from a perfectionist’s wife. she is as creative and perfect as her husband. actually, a tad more creative than he is

dhobi ghat is a very interesting movie and it is about four people in Mumbai. they are as ordinary as you and me and it is the tale of the small things that happen in their lives which affect them in some way or the other. there is a painter who mostly keeps to himself, an investment banker from New York who comes to India to dabble in photography, a dhobi(laundry man) who aspires to be an actor and a newly wed bride.

as i said they have ordinary lives and the things that happen to them could happen to any one of us. in other words, they do not go through any uncommon situation. you just sit back and observe their lives and as the movie unfolds you begin to understand what the director is trying to potray.

i felt she was showing us the simplicity of life in Mumbai and how even those simple lives are so unique and interesting in their own way. it is a movie about love and life and the different people we meet and the things we experience and feel because of these people. every single person around us has a story, and if we listen we will know that every story is unique.

it is not a movie to feel, but a movie to understand. it is a simple movie and i do not understand why people claim that it is complicated and very heavy and you need to have patience to endure the movie and to understand it. it is very simple and each person can see something different in the movie.

(also known as mumbai diaries)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WdAS2-Czg4

If My Life Was a Movie….

im not exactly sure if i am happy with my 'chocolat' life or i want a more 'ten things i hate about you' life.. sometimes i feel my life is great.. and some other times i feel like there is something missing.. so.. i couldnt find a more appropriate movie thats a cross between the two. because choclat is where this woman enters a new environment where no one likes here and every one thinks she's trouble. but with her charm and tact she proves them wrong and wins them all over.. even the main opponent which only happens in the end. then there is this mysterious stranger who she takes to immediately. because he has this charm which she likes and it just turns her on. they are perferct for each other and somewhere deep down they both know it.

but in ten things i hate about you.. she has this rude outlook to everyone in society and she repels all of them. and she likes it. and she has to put up with this crowd pleaser sister, whom she badly wants to slap but for some reason she still loves(though i dont really have a sister like that- all my friends are like that). and then she finds this guy who is totally wrong for her in the beginning but they soon adapt at which point she discovers something she doesnt like about him-they fight- and then they make their way around all the porblems that they once faced.

so i wish my life was like that. the only thing missing is the wrong guy a.k.a the mr. right

but there might be someone i just gel along with for some reason. right from day 1. we seemed perfect. though i will never openly admit it i think it MAY be the truth.

so,… again.. i dont know if i am happy(i know i should be happy beyond doubts) or if i want something more….

ten things i hate about you