Movie Review : Bajrangi Bhaijaan .... Salman Khan's BEST Film So Far !!

If you think you have to leave your brains at home for a Salman Khan film, be surprised. This one will need you to take your heart along with your brains as well. For above everything else, 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' sure has its heart in its right place.

Year after year, Salman Khan wins hearts with his mere appearance on the silver screen. And no matter what else a film has got to offer, everything fades in front of the aura of Salman The Superstar, Salman The Superhuman. However, Kabir Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan is not quite in that bracket. It does have Salman, sure, but he's hardly the driving force of the film; contradictory POVs be damned. What shines through more than anything else in this film are two people - Nawazuddin Siddiqui and child artiste Harshaali Malhotra.

"Surat dekhi hai iski," asks Salman's Pavan Kumar Chaturvedi to a policeman in a police station, while trying to explain Munni's (Harshaali) plight. And by the end of this near-three-hour film, the girl's face is among the things that stay with you.

As the film begins, one is treated to the devastatingly beautiful scenes of Kashmir. And you don't want to blink for even a moment, lest a shot is missed. The camera zooms in on a gathering in front of a TV set, somewhere in the mountains of the Sultanpur district in Pakistani Kashmir. Cheering to Shahid Afridi's sixes, a heavily pregnant woman declares that her yet-to-be-born son would be called Shahid.

Six years later, on board the Delhi-Lahore Samjhauta Express, the woman is accompanied by her daughter, Shahida. On their way back to Pakistan after a mannat in a 'Hindustani Dargah', Shahida gets off the train, and is lost. She reaches Kurukshetra, and happens to cross paths with Pavan Kumar Chaturvedi aka Bajrangi, a hard-core devotee of Lord Hanuman. Pavan takes the mute Munni to Delhi, where he lives. After several twists and turns and revelatory moments, Pavan and his landlords, Rasika's (Kareena Kapoor Khan) orthodox Hindu parents, realise that Munni a) is a Muslim, and b) belongs to Pakistan.

Movie Review : Bahubali - The Beginning - A Visual Extravaganza !!

Baahubali is undoubtedly the most prestigious project that has come out of Tollywood in the recent times. Directed by the genius Rajamouli, this film has Prabhas, Tamannah, Rana and Anushka in lead roles. Touted as the biggest motion picture in India, Baahubali has hit the screens on 10th July 2015. Let’s see whether it lives up to its hype or not. I of course saw the Hindi dubbed version of it. 

Story:-

Shivudu (Prabhas) is brought up by some native villagers. He grows up with special skills which turn out to be a mystery for every one. One fine day, he spots Avantika (Tamanna) and falls in love with her.

As time passes by, he comes to know that she and her group are trying hard to rescue the royal princes Devasena (Anushka) from the evil clutches of Bhalaladeva (Rana). Shivudu decides to help Avanitka and enters the Mahishmati Kingdom.

As soon as he lands there, he comes to know that he has a past associated with both Mahishmati and Bhalaladeva. What is that past ? What does Shivudu have to do with Mahishmati ? Who is Shivudu in real life. To know answers to these questions, you need to watch the film on the big screen.

Plus Points:-

As you start watching Baahubali, one thing that hits you instantly is the scale of this magnum opus. The extravagant sets, spectacular visuals and the sheer magnitude has not been showcased in any Indian film before. One cannot shy away to laud Rajamouli for thinking something this huge and also executing it on such a mammoth scale. The war sequences and the way they have been executed are in true Hollywood style.

Prabhas is terrific in a dual role and is the apt choice as Baahubali. No one except him could have done justice to the role which is larger than life and has many heroic moments. His sheer screen presence and emotional performance will be immensely loved by his fans. As expected, Rana is menacing as the baddie Bhalaladeva. This is a dream role for him and he gives a top notch performance as the bad guy.

It is quite surprising to see the amount of detailing that has gone into every aspect of this film. What catches your attention right away are the terrific visual effects. There are certain scenes in the film which will just leave you spell bound. Tamanna is gorgeous as Avantika and plays her part well.

Ramya Krishna is elegant as Shivagami and brings a lot of depth to the film. Nasser and Satyaraj play their roles perfectly. Second half of the film has a lot of emotions which elevate the film to another level.

Minus Points:-

The story line of Baahubali is quite routine and predictable. The actual film kick starts only during the second half and ends abruptly which might leave you a bit unhappy. Anushka has nothing much to do in the film as her character will be revealed only during the second part.

Certain war sequences have been dragged out and could have been trimmed to decrease the run time. There is so much hype surrounding the film that certain unwanted songs side tracks the film. The romance between Prabhas and Tamanna also looks exaggerated at times.

Movie Review : Guddu Rangeela

Guddu was a stupid Shah Rukh Khan film, Rangeela was a terrific Aamir Khan film.

Subhash Kapoor’s Guddu Rangeela might have nothing to do with the Khans or their 1990s films, and yet it falls, fittingly enough, halfway between a really fun ride and a film that goes nowhere. It has an intricate, interesting plot and a set of fine actors visibly having a good time, but it lacks finesse and consistency.

Still, thanks to the actors and the brisk narrative, it’s certainly worth a watch.

Guddu and Rangeela, played by Amit Sadh and Arshad Warsi, are a pair of singing-dancing scamps who cross paths with too many gangsters, and, with a big debt on their heads, they take on a lucrative mission to kidnap a deaf-and-dumb girl.

This kidnapping happens within seconds; one moment the girl is being asked if she prefers Shah Rukh or Salman, the next she’s been carted into the back of a Scorpio. (See what I mean about a brisk narrative?)

The plot rolls on and quickly establishes its heroes and villains, setting us up for a fun melee, with some anti-Khap commentary thrown in.

The problem can be illustrated by the fact that the girl, Baby, played by Aditi Rao Hydari, fiery-eyed and fierce, isn’t mute after all. That plot-point lasted all of two minutes.

Despite the fun opening song Mata Ka Email, the fact that Guddu and Rangeela are professional performers is never used again either. (See what I mean about utter inconsistency?) Kapoor tries so hard to make sure his film is quirky that he doesn’t care about how clever or funny it actually is, and Guddu Rangeela could well have fallen flat -- except for the actors.

Ronit Roy leads the pack, playing a small-town Melisandre as he enforces Khap rules and tells parents to strangle their disobedient daughters. As Billu Pehelwan, Roy is intensely demonic and utterly believable as a local tough, snarling a 'rrrap' sound to makes sure even goats leap out of his rampaging path. He’s super.

Arshad Warsi could, to be fair, now sleepwalk through a part like this. Then again, it’s Warsi’s sheer likeability that keeps the film going at least in the first half.

Aditi Rao Hydari is perfectly cast as a bright-eyed girl who knows more than she lets on, and the actress looks luminous -- particularly when surrounded exclusively by laffangas.

It takes a while for Sadh, the laffanga in love with her, to find his groove; the first few scenes see him very uneasy, but he gets better and his body language feels less forced.

There’s a fine moment the two actors share where he propositions her with strikingly succinct bawdiness -- I doubt any film has had a one-word seduction -- and he nails the delivery while her eyes instantly brim with scorn even as her tongue is too busy telling him off.