Movie Review : Tum Bin 2

When the Captain of the Ship (Anubhav Sinha, in this case) is as confused as hell on how to move his liner forward, what else can the verdict be!

Tum Bin 2 begins well, builds up well- but by the time you leave the theater you feel unwell. You question the director Anubhav Sinha whether why couldn't he muster courage to show that the heroine (Neha Sharma) wants to live in the present and lives happily thereafter. 

Instead, her present lover (Aditya Seal) who accepts her in a Gurdwara and takes her for a long drive (or whether short, whatever) turns around to question her that why the hell did she take her former lover to a doctor.

To cut a long story short Tum Bin 2 is just what I feared if it can go beyond the nostalgia factor ??  of Tum Bin. It bears the same story of the 1st part except that the female lead's past, (Aushim Gulati) which unlike the fact that it got buried in the first part, comes alive in the second (right at the interval point).

Boy meets girl- is declared dead in an accident- girl begins life afresh with another man- the 'corpse' stirs and comes alive.

Over his popcorn, Sinha then stretches out a girl's dilemma which is so made up because her heart and hormones have started beating for someone else.

My suggestion to Sinha. Have you seen, Bassera? How Rakhee return to the asylum feigning that she has gone mad again. Couldn't you do something like that? Or have you not seen that 1981 Shahshi Kapoor-Rakhee-Rekha classic?

Ab end to karni hai, phas gaye to kya karen ??? - so the current lover is shown to hold Neha's face in her hands and say: Tell me that you don't love your former lover and I shall accept you. I order you to love your ex- and pronto, Neha runs into Seal's arms'. All this after Neha has told her ex in a Gurdwara that there's someone else in her life now.

It's a family film alright barring two kisses- the one with Seal in particular when they go underwater- but the post- interval session leaves inerasable marks 'yeh kya ho raha hai' ?? !! 

Kanwaljeet is so graceful that you wonder why he's not cast in films which matter.

Neha Sharma makes use of a lot of makeup to look good but passes muster when it comes to acting abilities. Aditya Seal was 'growing up' when he fantasized about Manisha Koirala in Ek Chhoti se Love story but he has indeed grown up to be someone who can emote. Seal's counterpart (Gulati) when unsealed falls flat on his face, and looks simply zoned out in every frame.

Tum Bin 2 is a plot which has the seeds of content but loses fertility when put on celluloid. We could have had a love story which we fell in love with but...

I will go with One-and-Half Star - That Too for the Music + Cinematography and Locales ...nothing else ! 

Movie Review : Force 2

Cast: John Abraham, Sonakshi Sinha, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Adil Hussain, Narendra Jha
Director: Abhinay Deo

In this sequel to the 2011 ‘Force’, ACP Yashvardhan returns in a faster, more thrilling actioner, set mostly in grand, scenic Budapest, which has been used as a hotbed of espionage in several flicks. Scratch that. ‘Force 2’ aims for all of those things, and by rights, should have been all of those things, but ends up feeling overlong and stretched, and more than anything else, over familiar.

That’s the problem when you try doing a Bond-Bourne combo full of bristling cops and smart spies and twisted villains, and sexy Mata Hari types, but you end up papering over the thrills and spills by Bollywood-style swelling background music, and a female lead in a complicated relationship with her gun.

In the first one, Yashvardhan (John Abraham) was a battering ram, all flint-eyed and stone-hearted after the death of his pretty wife. Five years later, the cop is given a good-looking RAW agent KK aka Kamaljit Kaur (Sonakshi Sinha), who is strictly business, attired in collared shirts and holstered guns and a raised eyebrow. But underneath all the confident bluster, there’s just a silly little girl.

Movie Review : Shivaay

Before I begin with my review for Shivaay, let us first see what noted critics from all across the internet are saying about the movie

Indian Express says The only thing your eye can rest on is the spectacular scenery. The rest is a bloated star vehicle.

Rediff.com says This Ajay Devgn video game gets more unwatchable with each minute – and there are 173 of them.

The Huffington Post says Watching Ajay Devgn’s brainless actioner is like watching a turd drop. For three hours. In slow-motion.

India today says if you’re determined to watch Shivaay any way whatsoever, a sensible thing to do would be to carry the chillum along, a la Shiva. Take a few puffs and you’re all set. Without the puffs, it is impossible to survive Shivaay.

The rest are no different. From fart to turd to orgasm, Shivaay will probably go down in history as a film with one of the most creative reviews ever. Apart from the Bengali surnames of the reviewers, one striking feature common across all the reviews is that they are overly negative. To earn reviews as creatively negative as these, Shivaay must have been a colossal disaster, a Himalayan blunder as another Shivaay review screeches. We’ll come to why Shivaay is at the receiving end of the review cartel of Bollywood, later on. Let me formally review the movie first.

Shivaay – Plot review:

Shivaay (Ajay Devgn) is a daredevil guide who makes hiking and climbing look extremely easy. He is an orphan who has been raised in the tough Himalayan terrains and is a natural when it comes to climbing (and descending) mountains. A group of trekkers join Shivaay for a mountaineering mission. Olga (Erika Kaar) is a Bulgarian studying at the Delhi University. Olga gets bowled over by Shivaay’s rustic charms, his deep expressive eyes and his sculpted body adorned with 3 Shiva Tattoos (Shiva with matted locks, Coiled Serpent and the majestic trident). They fall in love almost immediately. Olga delivers a baby girl.

The mother and daughter get separated for some reasons and 9 years later, Gaura (Abigail Eames) wants to meet her mother who incidentally is in Bulgaria. All hell breaks loose when the father-daughter enter Bulgaria. Shivaay soon finds himself chased by Bulgarian police and haunted by the Russian Mafia. Does Shivaay have it in him to beat the baddies and ensure a safe return for her daughter?

Shivaay is an extraordinary tale of an extraordinary man caught in extraordinary circumstances. He has superhuman strength and agility, as was amply clear from the teasers and the trailers.

Shivaay Review – The Good Part:

Acting

Ajay Devgn single handedly carries the movie on his shoulders. He looks every inch of a superhero sans any superpowers. He is kind and menacing at the same time. He screams a la Singham and is fiercely protective about his family like the protagonist in his much-acclaimed Drishyam. Ajay Devgn delivers a breath taking performance.

Cute little Abigail Eames as Gaura, the lively yet mute girl delivers a powerful performance too. While Rushali Malhotra (Bajrangi Bhaijaanfame) bowled every one with her cute expressions, Abigail actually acts. One of the scenes in which she makes a defiant face at a sneering baddie and signals that his end is near is superb.

Visuals

Shivaay is one of the most gorgeous Bollywood films ever. The mountains, the trenches, the avalanches have been shot at their splendid best. The opening scene where a shirtless Shivaay lies amidst a massive expanse of snow is breathtaking. The interval scene where Shivaay turns into Shiva momentarily is commendable too. Likewise the chase scenes and the car crashes in Bulgaria are brilliantly shot.

 Stunts

Action has always been Ajay Devgn’s forte and he outperforms himself with Shivaay. Almost every fight scene in the movie is a treat to watch. He doesn’t beat baddies to pulp in this movie but decimates them swiftly and deftly.

Background Score:

Shivaay sets a new standard for background score. It is riveting. It is powerful. The boom sirens along with ‘Nagendra Haraya’ mantra cast a spell on the audience.

Movie Review : Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Cast: Aishwarya Rai, Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Fawad Khan

Director: Karan Johar

Genuinely Moving Drama With Terrific Performances by its Leads ! 

Perhaps it’s fitting that Karan Johar, whose very first film addressed themes of abiding friendship and the pain of unrequited romantic love, should revisit those themes nearly 20 years later, armed with the maturity that comes with time and age. The result, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, is easily Johar’s best film since his widely polarizing extramarital love story Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna from 2006.

Operating well within the comfort of a world that is familiar to him – namely rich, good-looking NRIs disconnected from the trials and tribulations of us normal folk – Johar crafts a surprisingly sensitive, and for the most part genuinely moving drama whose biggest strength is unarguably the terrific performances of its two leads.

Bound by a shared love of cheesy Bollywood songs from the 80s, Londoners Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor), a wannabe singer, and Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) become thick friends after an awkward hook-up attempt at a party, and in the wake of their respective breakups with meaningless partners (a scene-stealing Lisa Haydon in his case, a stiff Imran Abbas in hers). His friendship with Alizeh turns quickly into romantic attraction for Ayan, but her deep affection for him remains firmly platonic.

Over two hours and thirty minutes, Johar puts his protagonists through an emotional wringer, testing what’s between them with the appearance of exes (Fawad Khan), new lovers (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), and ultimately an un-vanquishable villain.

Movie Review : M.S Dhoni: The Untold Story

MS Dhoni The Untold Story is directed by Neeraj Pandey who has directed hit films like ‘A Wednesday’, ‘Special 26’ and ‘Baby’. Coming to the story of this movie, the director Neeraj Pandey has written the script along with Dilip Jha. The script highlights the difficulties that were faced by MS Dhoni since his childhood who dreamed of playing at the highest level. What are the problems that he has faced during that time? What led him to join as the Ticket Collector at the station and what led him towards going once again to the game. The director managed to recreate the 2011 world cup winning shot. Furthermore, this scene in the climax literally brings goosebumps to audience. Not only the struggles but the director has also shown the love story between MS Dhoni and Sakshi Dhoni. One has to admit that the love story of MS is as good as it gets. All in all this movie has got every emotion.

Sushant Singh Rajput is the heart and soul of this movie. This talented young actor has got under the skin of real MS Dhoni and has enacted the same on the reel. Such is the perfection that his performance in this movie made everyone connect to the character. The movie has already created a huge buzz on social media & all the credit goes to Sushant Singh Rajput for the dedication and the time that he has taken for this role. He has also enacted the cricketing shots of Dhoni very accurately. In no way, you can right off this actor in this movie. Such is the essence that he has brought for this movie. Coming to the other actors of the movie, Kiara Advani is seen playing the role of Dhoni's wife has also done a great job in the movie. The romantic love scenes between Sushant and Kiara perfectly highlight the chemistry between the two.

Movie Review: Dishoom

Buddy cop action movies were a specialty back in the '90s. These movies were a heady mixture of physical comedy and action thrills. Dishoom is a throwback to these films. Picture it like a cross between David Dhawan's Bade Miya Chhote Miya and Abbas Mustan's Race. This two-hero team up is unmistakably high on masala movie set pieces and easy to digest. It's classic Hindi movie fluff, updated with modern film-making styles. It won't challenge your ability to comprehend, neither will it offend your sensibilities. It'll sweetly settle in to your suspension of disbelief, just like popcorn entertainment should.

The movie kick starts with a missing Indian cricket star called Viraj (Saqib Saleem) somewhere in the Middle East. Viraj is a superstar and the one hope of Indian cricket, kind of like Virat Kohli. Once he goes missing, the Indian authorities send in their toughest cop Kabir (John Abraham) to investigate and rescue Viraj. Kabir has issues with authority, so in a bid to bypass the stifling police department in the foreign country, he decides to team up with the bumbling cop Junaid (Varun Dhawan). Junaid's number one unsolved case is that of a missing bull dog named Bradman. Kabir thinks he can have his way with the investigation by muscling out Junaid as his partner. So the unlikely team of a tough cop and a funny cop get down to tracking the cricket star and his kidnappers. The story is classic masala movie formula. Every situation in the movie is either a set up for an action sequence or a comedy gag. Jacqueline Fernandez steps in to add some glamour and romance to the proceedings.

Even though the concept of Dishoom is unoriginal, its got enough slick contemporary treatment to engage its audience. At just over 2-hours long, the movie seems like a breeze. It doesn't waste time with sentimentality or characterization, it just throttles from one scene to the other. There are car chases, bullet fights, running around, easy humour and just one song in the middle: Sau tarah ke. Dishoom is a snappy film. The helicopter stunt right at the end is a never-seen-before moment in Hindi cinema at least. The motorcycle and side carriage stunt is a slick throwback to movies like Sholay and Main Khiladi Tu Anari. Dishoom has the trappings to entertain fans of '80s and '90s movies.

The performances are okay. John Abraham takes care of the machismo while Varun Dhawan deals with the comedy. Both actors look at ease in their characters, effortlessly sailing through one gag after the other. Jacqueline Fernandez looks pretty but apart from sizzling in the Sau tarah ke song, she has very little to do. Saqib Saleem plays the cricketer and the victim and the only big challenge in his performance is the multiple shoulder dislocation. Akshaye Khanna plays the main antagonist and he's in the same form as he was a few years ago in Race. He makes the bad guy look good. But the stand out performer here is Akshaye Kumar in a two minute cameo playing a homosexual to hilarious effect.

The basic requisite of enjoying Dishoom is to not have any heavy duty expectations. This film by director Rohit Dhawan is the same brand of easy entertainment that his dad was known for. The movie starts with a song (Toh dishoom) and it ends with a song (Jaaneman). The new age filmmaker has just added a whole lot of style to the same old substance. And as it did 20 years ago, the gimmick still works out.

My Rating :  2.5 / 5 

Dhanak : Shed your burdens, search for that magical rainbow

Dhanak
Cast: Hetal Gadda, Krrish Chhabria, Vipin Sharma, Suresh Menon, Raghu Ram
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
My Rating: 3/5

There is something incredible happening around us, but we don’t know it yet. Call it magical realism or our inability to spot a rainbow (Dhanak), we keep marching ahead with our blinkers on. But, Pari (Hetal Gadda) and Chotu (Krrish Chhabria) are not like us, not anymore.

They live in a small mud house near the desert in Rajasthan where life is as difficult as it can be. Pari has been failing her exams for two years to study in the same class as her brother Chotu. The young boy will be turning nine soon and his sister believes that her idol, Shah Rukh Khan, who appears on the posters of an eye donation campaign, can help restore blind Chotu’s vision before his birthday. Now, they need to meet Khan who is shooting at the other end of Rajasthan.

Unlike most road movies, Dhanak is not about any inward journey for its lead characters. Undeniably innocent, their approach to life is pure and full of trust. They believe in a house with walls of sweets, and sing folklore with foreigners. They fight to prove Shah Rukh’s supremacy over Salman. And, to walk across Rajasthan is just another sport for them.

This may prove dangerous because the barren lands stretched on both sides of the road can trick you into believing things that aren’t there.