Mubarakan - Movie Review

CAST: Anil Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz, Athiya Shetty, Ratna Pathak Shah, Pavan Malhotra, Neha Sharma

DIRECTION: Anees Bazmee

DURATION: 2 hours 36 minutes

As soon as you know this is a film by director Anees Bazmee (Welcome, Thank You, Welcome Back) you begin to make certain – and not entirely inaccurate – assumptions. There will be a case of mistaken identity, there will be meddling men, there will be an ear-drum shattering decibel level to the background music, there will be ensemble songs and a complicated climax where all the confusion gets cleared – you hope — once and for all.

Mubarakan opens in 1990s England. Some rather reckless driving leads to a car crash resulting in orphaned twins who are adopted by a doting aunt and an equally doting uncle, respectively. Karan grows up in London while Charan is raised in Chandigarh.

Unlike their appearance (Arjun Kapoor in a double role), the brother’s personalities are not identical. Karan is fast-talking; Charan is docile. They have another thing in common: the inability to reveal the truth about their love lives to their family.

Surprisingly the confusion in the plot (story by Balwinder Singh Januja and Rupinder Chahal) does not revolve around the twins since one is without headgear and the other wears a turban. They also dress unlike each other, though both have questionable fashion sense. The madness pivots around marriages being arranged for the brothers.

In an early scene in a London mall, you see Karan and Sweety (Ileana D’Cruz) chatting to each other on their phones. A slightly impolite Sweety observes an Indian woman trip and, for no particular, proceeds to taunt her. This cringe-worthy exchange of juvenile verbal abuse goes on for an uncomfortably long time, long enough though for you to begin to dislike Karan’s girlfriend and his mother/ aunt (Ratna Pathak Shah). Of course Karan does not have the courage to stand up for either woman in his life.

Across continents, Charan is in no better place. He’s in love with lawyer Nafisa (Neha Sharma) but is too meek to tell his prejudiced and patriarchal father/ uncle (Pavan Malhotra) about his non-Sikh girlfriend. You don’t blame him really because Malhotra’s default performance setting is shouting. It’s a disappointing acting choice by a fine performer like Malhotra.

When Karan’s guardians find a suitable girl for him, things begin to go from complicated to absurd and then plain stupid. Karan does not want to marry Binkle (Athiya Shetty) because he’s in love with Sweety. Charan does not want to marry Binkle either because he is in love with Nafisa, until he meets Binkle and then he’s confused. Helping the boys out in their state of paralysis and fear is their youngest uncle Kartar Singh (Anil Kapoor).

Anil Kapoor is the only actor in the piece with a hint of a British accent, saying ‘my boy’ and ‘my lad’ with flare. Kartar is a single, middle-aged man who lives in an opulent home that is his homage to Punjab. His Man Friday, Jolly, is a Punjabi speaking English man who offers lassi to the guests and plays along with Kartar’s preposterous ideas.

One of these is convincing Binkle’s family that Charan is a drug addict in order to put them off the marriage alliance. You just know a talcum powder gag and a reference to Udta Punjab cannot be far behind.

Even as he desperately tries to hold his family together, to protect his nephews and solve his own dilemma of being torn between a feuding siblings, Anil Kapoor is the soul of this ensemble comedy and makes up in spades for the rest, who seem to be acting comedy.

But since there’s little to pick between the performances of Arjun Kapoor, Shetty, D’Cruz and Sharma, Anil Kapoor can only do so much to compensate for their endeavours.

Long drawn out scenes and overwritten speeches overacted in overdressed sets bring in narrative drag, which is hara-kiri for a situational comedy that can succeed only if your brain is not given time to apply logic.

Fortunately, the humour does not degenerate to crass double entendres. Family entertainment is clearly at the core and Mubarakan manages to deliver enough laughs.

My Rating: 2/5

Lucknow Central - Trailer Review

When you have cast like Farhan Akhtar, Deepak Dobriyal, Rajesh Sharma, Ronit Roy and Diana Penty in one movie, half of your work to impress the audience is done. Trailer of Lucknow Central starts subtly and leaves you to say ‘wow’ when it ends.

“Sapna! Band banane ka,” this is how the trailer starts with Kishen Mohan Girotra (Farhan Akhtar) explaining his dream of aspiring to become a big singer. Kishen gets allegedly arrested for a crime he has not done or has he? The promo has this thrilling feel to it making us wonder is this the prison escape movie Bollywood is looking for. We’ve seen many attempts at this genre but this seems to stand out of all those.

Inspired by true events, the story talks about a small town boy Kishen Mohan Girhotra, who dreams of becoming a singer, gets convicted and sent to Lucknow Central. Kishen witnesses the life in the jail and befriends fellow inmates played. Deepak Dobriyal, Rajesh Sharma, Inaam Ul Haq & Rajesh Sharma, as he finds an opportunity to form a band with them. Diana Penty plays a hard-working NGO activist who lends a helping hand to Farhan and the team.

The makers adopted a unique strategy to promote the film through viral campaign #KishenNirdoshHai that piqued the interest of internet users. Several videos and memes claiming Kishen’s nirdoshi were floating around the internet, were later revealed to be a part of Lucknow Central’s marketing campaign.

What does Kishen really choose? Does Kishen escape prison? We will have to watch.

Produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures, Lucknow Central stars Farhan Akhtar, Ronit Roy, Deepak Dobriyal, Diana Penty, Gippy Grewal, Rajesh Sharma and Inaamulhaq. 

Directed by Ranjit Tiwari, the film is slated to release on 15th September 2017.

Bareilly Ki Barfi - Trailer Review

The trailer for Rajkummar Rao, Ayushmann Khurrana and Kriti Sanon's new film Bareilly Ki Barfi is out — and it looks great.

Bareilly Ki Barfi is the story of Bitti (played by Kriti Sanon) who rebels against the conservative norms set by her family.

Her parents want to get her married, but Bitti just doesn't want to settle down.

Enter Ayushmann Khurana, who is in love with her, and enlists Rujkummar Rao's help to win her heart — but she ends up falling for him instead.

The premise of a love triangle between the leads seems very predictable, but maybe this time with Rajkummar Rao's acting skills, and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (who has directed Nil Battey Sannata) in the director's chair —there will be a fresh spin on an old tale.

If we go by Aishwiny Iyer Tiwari's past work like Nil Battey Sannata, we can expect the film to be a realistic take on relationships with a hint of humour and very real, grounded settings rather than the grandeur we are used to in films with love triangles, like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Kriti Sanon, who was recently seen in Raabta, said that playing a 'bratty' UP girl is like a fresh change for her. "It's a very tomboyish character. She is a girl living in Bareilly but doing things on her own terms. She is someone who is quite bratty and who questions the basic norms. What I really like about the film is also the fact that every relationship is shown very nicely. Also, for me to play a UP girl was very fresh," IANS quoted her as saying.

The film which will be out on 18 August.

Thor Ragnarok - Trailer Review

The new trailer for Thor: Ragnarok released at San Diego Comic-Con was packed with crowd-pleasing moments, from gun-toting gods of thunder and mischief to the reveals of Fenris Wolf and Surtur. But one of the biggest moments is reserved for the end, where Thor and the Incredible Hulk hold an actual conversation.

That’s right, no more “Hulk smash!” but instead, “Yeah, same. Hulk like fire, Thor like water.” OK, it’s not exactly Shakespeare, but the point is, Hulk is talking in sentences, even if it’s like “a 2-year-old.” But why, and why now?

“I was always fascinated by the duality of Hulk and Banner, and seeing how their brains could be interconnected,” director Taika Waititi told at San Diego Comic-Con. “Could we sometimes see Hulk and could we have a bit of Banner’s voice in there? Could we see Banner and have Hulk’s personality through there? And I think in this film we’re going to see that for the first time, where the two are fighting — really fighting this time — for control of the body. And Hulk talking, this idea of a more cognitive Hulk who can say sentences — that obviously has existed in the comics, but I think it’s something the fans want to finally see. […] It’s exactly what fans want to see, and what I want to see too.”

The film, which incorporates elements from Marvel Comics’ popular “Planet Hulk” storyline, finds Chris Hemsworth’s Thor banished to the barbaric world Sakaar, where he’s pitted against his fellow Avenger the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in a deadly gladiatorial contest. Facing a ticking clock, the thunder god must fight his way back home in time to stop Hela (Cate Blanchett) from destroying Asgard.

Arriving Nov. 3, Thor: Ragnarok stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Karl Urban as Skurge, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/the Hulk and Anthony Hopkins as Odin.

Justice League - Trailer Review

Warner Bros.’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con has pulled out all the stops for the DC Extended Universe. For the latest trailer for Justice League, the world is still in mourning after the death of Superman. Now, it’s up to the newly formed League to face Steppenwolf (Game of Thrones alum Ciarán Hinds) and his armies of Parademons.

Justice League is the superhero team-up Warner Bros. has been promising since the inception of the DCEU. After Superman (Henry Cavill) sacrificed himself in the fight against Doomsday in last year’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman (Ben Affleck) takes it upon himself to find other superheroes to fight otherworldly threats. That means teaming up with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). There’s even a mention of both Kryptonians and the Green Lantern Corp, even though they’re nowhere in sight. Clearly, the heroes have their work cut out for them.

Warner Bros. celebrating Justice League comes after Wonder Woman’s outsized success at the box office. This trailer also makes the movie look like a whole lot of fun, with plenty of action and humour (especially from Alfred (Jeremy Irons) and The Flash). But that doesn’t mean the film will necessarily be another feather in the studio’s cap.

There’s still scepticism as to whether or not it will be an Avengers-style landmark and if it will be yet another black mark on Warner’s slate. At least there’s enough here to keep fans more than invested.

Justice League will hits the screens on November 17th.

Poster Boys - Trailer Review

The makers of the Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, and Shreyas Talpade starrer Poster Boys just released the film’s official trailer and it was one to be reckoned.

The trailer of the upcoming film revealed more on the story of the three lead stars, where Sunny Deol is a retired fauji, Bobby Deol is a school teacher and Shreyas Talpade plays a recovery agent whose lives turn upside down after an uneventful incident happens when their photos appear on a vasectomy poster. The film is said to be inspired by a real life incident.

The situation becomes so awkward and complicated that it becomes difficult for them to explain things to their own families! The movie is a light-hearted comedy where there will be a series of events they will have to experience together.

Also, Sunny and Bobby who have always shared the screen space as brothers, will for the first time not be seen as brothers in this comic drama.

Poster Boyz is a Hindi remake of the 2014 Marathi flick Poshter Boyz, which was produced by Shreyas himself and directed by Dilip Prabhavalakar.

The comedy film was very well received and is again going to be remade in Telugu as ‘Poshter Boyz’ which will be presented by Akshay Kumar and Baahubali star Rana Daggubati.

Meanwhile, this Hindi remake will also be Shreyas Talpade’s directorial debut.

Produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions, Sunny Sounds Pvt. Ltd., and Affluence Movie Pvt. Ltd.

The film that promises to be a rib-tickler is slated to release on September 8.

Jab Harry Met Sejal - Trailer Review

Shah Rukh Khan-Anushka Sharma-starrer Jab Harry Met Sejal has been creating a lot of buzz. This Imtiaz Ali film is currently one of the most anticipated films of the year. With SRK looking the most handsome version of himself in the recent past and Anushka doing the adorable 'gujju' accent, the film has struck the right chords so far.

Finally, the film's trailer is out. Red Chillies Entertainment launched the trailer on 21 July and it appears to be another quintessential-Imtiaz Ali 'strangers-find-love-in-a-journey' saga.

The 3-minute-long trailer contains scenes straight from the five already-launched mini trails. What is new is the strong undercurrent of a budding romance between the two protagonists which amplifies as the trailer progresses. In a candid conversation, Sejal tells Harry that she isn't one of those women who leaves her fiance for a tourist guide.

The subtle romantic relationship between these two strangers is what that gives meaning to the film's tagline - 'What you seek...is seeking you!'

Their unique promotional strategy of releasing a string of half-a-minute-long trailers which were named 'minitrails' introduced the two characters, Harry and Sejal, to the audience and delved into their lives gradually, making sure too much of the story isn't revealed.

Even the songs of the film were launched in the most social-media friendly manner encouraging maximum audience participation. The songs have also been recorded and released in 11 languages including Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and Arabic.

The actors did everything — from club hopping in Mumbai to promote their song 'Beech Beech Mein', the #HarrySeekingSejal contest where SRK asked the audience to find the city in India with the most number of Sejals and he would visit there (which he actually did) or the recent 'Butterfly' song, whose teaser was launched on Twitter and viewers had to tweet using #ButterflyTeaser in order to unlock the teaser video.

Presented by Red Chillies Entertainment, Jab Harry Met Sejal stars Shah Rukh as a Punjabi guy called Harinder Singh Nehra and Anushka Sharma as a Gujarati girl named Sejal Parikh.

The film is expected to release on 4 August.