Jai Gangaajal movie review

Prakash Jha Productions and Play Entertainment’s Jai Gangaajal (UA) is the story of corrupt politicians whose word is the law of the land and how an honest lady police officer ultimately puts an end to their rule.

Lakhisaria  a very small town in Bankipur district. The local MLA, Babloo Pandey (Manav Kaul), and the minister, Ramakant Chowdhary (Kiran Karmarkar), are so powerful that they can get away with just about anything. Chowdhary has dreams of becoming the chief minister in the ensuing elections. The poor people of the town sell their agricultural produce in the huge market place but this big plot of land is now being purchased by an industrialist, Samanta. Babloo Pandey’s brother, Dabloo Pandey (Ninad Kamath), has been forcing the farmers to accept whatever compensation Samanta is offering them but there are a few who are unwilling to sell their plots of land. Minister Chowdhary also has a lot to gain from this transfer of land.

Except for the SP, the other police officers are all paid stooges of the Pandeys and, therefore, the farmers find themselves at the mercy of the Pandey brothers. B.N. Singh (Prakash Jha) is one such corrupt police officer who is very close to the Pandey brothers. The honest SP is soon transferred when he starts becoming a threat to the Pandeys.

In place of the outgoing SP comes a lady SP, Abha Mathur (Priyanka Chopra). Minister Chowdhary has her appointed the SP of Bankipur because he is under the belief that since she and her family are obliged towards him for favours done in the past, she would never go against his wishes and would, therefore, let the Pandeys and him carry on with their illegal activities.

But Abha Mathur is made of sterner stuff. An extremely principled police officer, she starts getting the corrupt politicians and their family members and men to book. She even warns B.N. Singh to mend his ways but often finds herself helpless when she sees the rot that has set in in her subordinates.

Slowly but surely, the people of Bankipur start to see a ray of hope in Abha Mathur. But the kidnap and rape of Sunita (Vega Tamotia), a young girl who refused to sell her plot of land, at the hands of Dabloo Pandey, and her ultimate suicide shakes the people of Bankipur. It also awakens the conscience of B.N. Singh because somewhere, he feels responsible for her death. With the parents already being dead, there’s only the school-going Nagesh (master Ayush Mahesh Khedekar), brother of Sunita, who is left in the family, to fend for himself. The little boy seeks revenge at the first opportunity by publicly lynching and killing Dabloo Pandey after he is beaten black and blue by B.N. Singh who has now turned over a new leaf.

The people of Bankipur muster courage and kill a few more people working for Babloo Pandey. But, with the help of B.N. Singh and other police officers present at the place where the public lynching happens, the murders are projected as suicides so that nobody gets into trouble. B.N. Singh now hides little Nagesh as he fears for his life.

Abha Mathur is aware that the suicides are actually cold-blooded murders but she is unable to book anybody for them. However, soon, B.N. Singh takes responsibility for the same. Meanwhile, Babloo Pandey, aware that little Nagesh had killed his brother, Dabloo, is baying for his blood.

Does Babloo Pandey track down Nagesh and avenge the murder of his brother? Or do Abha Mathur and B.N. Singh bring Babloo Pandey to book?

Prakash Jha’s story is oft-repeated and focusses too much on B.N. Singh instead of Abha Mathur, making it seem as if B.N. Singh is the hero of the drama although the build-up is to project Abha Mathur as the hero. There are two major inherent drawbacks in this – firstly, B.N. Singh’s character is played by Prakash Jha who is a first-time actor and hence has no fan following to carry off such a lengthy role of a hero; secondly, Prakash Jha is well into his sixties and for the audience to accept a debut-making actor of that age as a hero seems unlikely. Even otherwise, Jha’s story gets repetitive after a point of time and fails to involve the audience if only because it does not have even a hint of novelty. Why a corrupt-to-the-core B.N. Singh has a sudden change of heart has not been clearly established and, therefore, does not have even half the desired impact on the audience.

Prakash Jha’s screenplay is clichéd, to say the least. It moves forward without giving the viewers much of a high. Although the build-up of Abha Mathur’s character gives the audience the impression that she is the real hero of the drama – and this impression is also because she is the most saleable name in the cast – the unfolding drama presents B.N. Singh as the hero, something which the audience is absolutely unprepared for because it is least expected and also because B.N. Singh is too old to pass off as a hero, not to speak of the fact that the character is played by a rank newcomer, Prakash Jha.

Further, the screenplay keeps reminding the viewer of similar films made in the past, more so, Singham. Having said that, it must be added that the film looks like a very poor cousin of Singham, because it does not have the highs of Singham. Even the climax belongs more to B.N. Singh than Abha Mathur, giving the audience the feeling of having been taken for a ride. The clap-traps one associates with heroic acts are almost missing and for a film about exposing corruption and the corrupt, that’s a big minus point.

Prakash Jha’s dialogues are very good at places but lack the sting at other places.

Priyanka Chopra does a fair job as Abha Mathur. The need of the character was a firebrand performance but that does not come from Priyanka. Not only is her acting less than what was needed but she also gets limited scope to act because of the lopsided script. Prakash Jha acts well as the unscrupulous B.N. Singh who finally has a change of heart, but the audience’s acceptance of the debut-making actor in such a lengthy role is unthinkable! Jha giving his character the maximum prominence and footage is the biggest blunder even though his acting is good. Manav Kaul acts ably as MLA Babloo Pandey but does go overboard in a couple of dramatic scenes. Ninad Kamath is very effective as Dabloo Pandey. Murali Sharma leaves a mark in the effeminate character of Munna Mardani. Kiran Karmarkar plays the polished villain, Ramakant Chowdhary, with conviction. Vega Tamotia is quite nice as Sunita. Rahul Bhatt, in a special appearance as Pawan Raghav, leaves a mark but he comes and goes as per the convenience of the script writer. Shakti Kumar (as DSP Prabhu Narayan), Jagat Singh Solanki (as Amreek Tiwari) and master Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (as Nagesh) lend fair support. Vijay Kumar (as farmer Deenu), Pradeep Kukreja (as industrialist Samanta), Vinod Nahdih (as mukhiya), Ravi Khandwailkar (as mahasarpanch), Indraneel Bhattacharya (as IG Mithilesh Kumar), Mikhail Yawalkar (as SP Naveen Chandra), Sushant Mishra (as Pappu), Karuna Verma (as B.N. Singh’s wife), Salone Mehta (as Abha Mathur’s mother), Ankush Bali (as Moti Pahelwan), Pranay Narayan (as Ratnakar) and Queen Harish (as the dancer in drag) are alright.

Prakash Jha’s direction is reasonably good but his unexciting script will not find too many takers, especially in the multiplexes. Salim-Sulaiman’s music is more functional than anything else. The first song is well-tuned. Lyrics (Manoj Muntashir; one song by Prakash Jha) are in keeping with the film’s mood. Rajit Dev’s choreography is so-so. Salim-Sulaiman’s background music is routine. Sachin Krishn’s camerawork is good. Sham Kaushal’s action scenes afford excitement. Udai Prakash Singh’s production design is appropriate. Santosh Mandal’s editing is alright.

On the whole, Jai Gangaajal is a dull and unexciting film with an oft-repeated subject and one which gives the audience the feeling of having been cheated because it revolves around Prakash Jha instead of Priyanka Chopra. It will face rejection from the public and will, therefore, entail heavy losses to the investors.

Neerja: Movie review of Neerja

Fox Star Studios and Bling Unplugged’s Neerja is the true-life story of brave airhostess Neerja Bhanot who died while saving the lives of passengers aboard a PanAm flight, after it was hijacked by terrorists.

Neerja Bhanot (Sonam Kapoor), an accomplished airhostess and also a model, is on board a flight from Bombay to New York via Karachi and Frankfurt. Although she has flown on a number of flights, this is her first flight as head purser. The moment the flight makes its first stop at Karachi, it is hijacked by Palestinian terrorists who are demanding the release of some criminals. The pilots in the cockpit escape from the aircraft as soon as Neerja informs them that the aeroplane has been hijacked, leaving the cabin crew and the 379 passengers aboard, at the mercy of the gun-toting terrorists.

The terrorists now begin to demand that the Karachi officials provide them a pilot who would take the aircraft to Cyprus but the Pakistani airport officials are buying time. The nervous and edgy terrorists kill one person who was holding an American passport, to impress upon the officials that they mean business. The passengers and cabin crew members are terrified as the terrorists threaten to kill more. But Neerja, with her unbelievable sense of equanimity and presence of mind, keeps postponing the impending carnage.

Ultimately, due to sheer grit and presence of mind, Neerja manages to evacuate and save 359 of the 379 passengers but is unable to save her own life, laying it down in the call of duty.

Alongside this chapter of braveheart Neerja Bhanot’s life are shown glimpses of her days with her family members. Her mother, Rama Bhanot (Shabana Azmi), is a doting mother. Her father, Harish Bhanot (Yogendra Tiku), always teaches her to be brave and to face all difficulties with courage. He works in a newspaper office and gets the news of the hijack before anyone else. Neerja’s failed marriage with a heartless and inconsiderate Naresh (Kavi Shastri) haunts her on a couple of occasions even while she is braving it out against the terrorists. Jaideep (Shekhar Ravjiani), a close friend, is keen to marry Neerja but she has not yet been able to get over the scars of the first marriage.

The film shows the hijack drama in all detail. It also shows the preparation of the Palestinian terrorists before they hijack the PanAm aircraft. Snatches from Neerja’s life mostly come in flashbacks when she is putting up a brave fight against the armed terrorists, in a bid to save the lives of her passengers, many of whom are children, women and old people.

Saiwyn Quadras has written a heart-rending story of Neerja Bhanot, borrowed from the real-life story of the braveheart airhostess of PanAm. The story has many emotional moments which shake the audience and make them cry, sob and weep. His screenplay is cleverly crafted and his weaving of the drama of her personal life into the hijack drama is absolutely outstanding. Emotion is the catchword in the drama and Saiwyn Quadras does not let go of it, making the viewers cry at regular intervals. The plight of the family members of Neerja is so poignantly brought out by the writer and director that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the audience is moved to tears every time Rama Bhanot or Harish Bhanot comes on the scene. The scenes in which Neerja is shown to be using her sharp mind to save lives are so beautifully written that instead of applauding in the cinemas with claps, the viewers silently shed tears for Neerja! It is almost as if they are scared, their thunderous applause would alert the hijackers, so real is the drama which unfolds on the screen!!

The climax speech by Rama Bhanot on the first death anniversary of Neerja is one of the best written scenes in recent times. It will move everybody to tears and the tears will flow continuously, through the entire speech. The weak-hearted would actually weep inconsolably! The victory of the film is in the fact that the audience will not move even when the end titles are rolling – it finds itself speechless and motionless. No doubt, the film will appeal more to the audience in the bigger centres but that’s because the dialogues spoken by the terrorists are kept in the foreign language and can be comprehended by the viewers by reading the subtitles, something the audiences in the smaller centres are not used to. But the emotional appeal of the entire drama is universal and that will help the film do business in small centres too.

Sanyukta Chawla Shaikh’s dialogues are natural to the core and pierce the heart, adding to the emotional appeal of the drama.

Sonam Kapoor, it seems, was born to play Neerja Bhanot. She looks every inch the airhostess she plays and she delivers an extraordinary performance. The way she conveys her poise and balance of mind in the face of adversity is indeed praiseworthy. For all those who felt, Sonam is a wooden actress and only all about looks, this film is her answer to them. Shabana Azmi is mind-blowing! She makes every single, repeat, every single scene in which she appears, memorable. She makes the audience cry buckets with a performance which may well go down as one of the best ever not just in her career or in Indian cinema but in world cinema. Every single award for the best character actress may well be Shabana’s this year. Frankly, no amount of praise would be too much for Shabana Azmi in this film. Yogendra Tiku is another splendid actor who makes the character of Neerja’s father memorable with an absolutely heartfelt performance. His expressions and his body language are to simply die for! A word here about the dialogue deliveries of Shabana Azmi and Yogendra Tiku when they converse with each other after learning about the hijack operation – their dialogue deliveries are exceptional. It is delightful to see them falter, murmur, mutter and even console each other, trying to put up a brave front while internally dying a hundred deaths. Shekhar Ravjiani makes a definite mark in a special appearance, in the role of Jaideep. Kavi Shastri leaves an impression as Neerja’s wretched husband, Naresh. Jim Sarbh evokes hatred in the role of terrorist Khalil. Abrar Zahoor (as Safirini), Vikrant Singta (as Fahad), Ali Baldiwala (as Mansoor) and Ismail Mohammad Mirza (as Al Turk) lend excellent support. Sushil Tyagi is effective as Inzamam Younis. Nikhil Sangha (as Akhil Bhanot) and Arjun Aneja (as Aneesh Bhanot) are very natural. Shashi Bhushan shines as Imran Ali. Meghana Kaushik (as Sanjana), Eisha Chopra (as Debina), Sunanda Wong (as Tina), Anjali Khurana (as Dolly), Deepak Shah (as Brigadier), Aarush Rana (as Jatin Desai) and the child actors and other actors playing the passengers are all very good.

Ram Madhvani’s direction deserves distinction marks. Just from the manner in which he starts the narration, it is evident to the viewer that the man knows his job and has a distinct style of his own. Credit to him for extracting such great work from out of his cast members and for extracting the audienc’s emotions to the fullest. Although there is no scope for music, the songs (composed by Vishal Khurana) come as a good aside. Prasoon Joshi’s lyrics are, of course, rich and meaningful. Vishal Khurana’s background music is remarkable. Mitesh Mirchandani’s camerawork is extraordinary. Manohar Verma’s action scenes are very real. Production designing (by Aparna Sud and Anna Ipe) is appropriate. Monisha R. Baldawa’s editing is outstanding. Full marks to her for a job wonderfully done.

On the whole, Neerja is a surefire hit. It is a human drama which will move the audience to tears a number of times. Because the story is not too well-known, the curiosity value of the film will be immense, more so because it presents a realistic account of what happened in the hijack drama of 1986. The film may have started slow but there can be no two opinions about the prediction that the film has wings to take flight and its collections will shoot up on the strength of a hugely positive word of mouth.

Sanam Re: MOvie Review Sanam Re

Series’ Saman Re is a love triangle. Little Akash (master Neil Tyagi) falls in love with little Shruti (baby Delissa Mehra). Their love blossoms all through their schooling days, till, one day, at the end of their schooling, Akash (Pulkit Samrat) has to leave his home town and go to Bombay for further studies. He leaves without informing Shruti (Yami Gautam).

He returns to his home town several years later, to sell the photo studio owned by his grandfather (Rishi Kapoor). His boss (Manoj Joshi) in Bombay threatens to dismiss him because of which he returns to Bombay as soon as the sale is completed. To save his job, he must now get a contract from Mrs. Pablo whom he has never met. To meet Mrs. Pablo, he goes to Canada because she has enrolled herself in a yoga camp there, after divorcing Mr. Pablo. The yoga camp has a strange rule – people have to enrol themselves under pseudonyms. This makes it even more difficult for Akash to trace Mrs. Pablo. However, he does ultimately succeed. Akash also gets lucky and meets his childhood sweetheart, Shruti, who has registered under the name of Anjali. Shruti denies that she is Shruti but, nevertheless, she spends a lot of time with Akash at the yoga camp, which alludes more to sex talk than yoga when an erstwhile sex addict (Bharti Singh), now reformed, fills in for the disposed yoga instructor.

Participants complete the yoga course and return to their respective homes. By the end of the course, Mrs. Pablo, who, it turns out, was also a childhood friend of Akash, has fallen in love with Akash. But she soon realises that Akash loves Shruti. Why, Mrs. Pablo even assists Akash in tracing Shruti as she has not given her address to Akash.

Does Akash track down Shruti? Why is Shruti unwilling to admit that she is Akash’s childhood beloved? Is she taking revenge because Akash had left for Bombay, for further studies, years back, without informing her? Or is there some other reason? Does Akash get Shruti’s love or do his grandfather’s words, that he would never get the love of his life, prove prophetic? Does Mrs. Pablo sacrifice her love? Or does Akash marry her?

Sanjeev Datta has written a very childish story which fails to strike a chord in the viewer’s heart. He makes it appear to be an intense love story but the shallowness manifests itself every now and then, making it look like a joke of a love story. His screenplay is weak, to say the least. Making little Akash ask questions about love, lady love, and matters of the heart to his grandfather looks irritating rather than cute as was the intention. Why the yoga camp is made to appear like a quasi-sex camp is not explained. The entire angle of Akash’s grandfather telling little Akash that he would find love within 500 steps from their photo studio looks silly, more so because Akash takes it literally and searches for love at the end of 500 steps rather than within 500 steps. The grown-up Akash asking the tea-stall owner whether his own grandfather’s prophecy generally comes true looks a bit silly. Frankly, the screenplay runs out of steam every once in a while and the director tries to camouflage this major shortcoming by letting the camera capture the snow-filled locations and falling snow flakes, probably not realising that there’s a difference between content and visuals and one can only complement the other, not replace the other.

The twist in the end is a nice one but that’s actually about all. In other words, the screenplay has just one scene which touches the heart! The comedy is weak. Sanjeev Datta and Hussain Dalal’s dialogues are ordinary for most of the part. At a couple of places, they are even incorrect. For instance, the characters keep referring to the ‘importance’ of quality of life but keep talking about the ‘necessity’ of quality of life!!

Pulkit Samrat is ordinary and fails to rise above the script. He looks good, of course, but his performance is routine. Yami Gautam does an average job. Urvashi Rautela hardly gets any scope to perform. Rishi Kapoor is alright in a special appearance. Manoj Joshi tries to entertain but succeeds only at places. Bharti Singh just about evokes laughter in a role which does not do justice to her talent. Prachi Shah is okay as Akash’s mother. Divya Khosla Kumar’s dance in an item song is average. Ketaki Dave and Jiten Mukhi have been wasted. Ashish Kaul (as Akash’s father), Ashwin Kaushal (as the landlord), Rajender Sharma (as Bantoo), master Neil Tyagi (as little Akash), baby Delissa Mehra (as little Shruti), baby Kritikaa (as little Akanksha), S.K Batra (as Shruti’s father), Abhishek Khanna (as the office peon), Uday Nene, Kaizeen Daruwala and Vishal Malhotra (all three as friends of Akash), Shashwita Sharma (as Akash’s maid) and the others just about fit the bill.

Divya Khosla Kumar’s direction is routine, at best. Her choice of subject is very poor. Music is the film’s biggest asset. While the title track (composed by Mithoon) is fantastic, the other songs (Mithoon, Jeet Ganguli, Amaal Malik and Epic Bhangra) are also good. Lyrics (by Rashmi Virag, Mithoon, Manoj Muntashir, Manoj Yadav, Ikka and Kumaar) are nice. Choreography (by Divya Khosla Kumar and Ganesh Acharya; ‘Hum ne pee rakhi hai’ by Directorgifty) is commonplace. Raju Singh’s background music leaves something to be desired. Sameer Arya’s camerawork is lovely. The locations are truly heavenly. Salonee Dhatrak’s production designing is nice. Chandrashekhar Prajapati’s editing is not upto the mark.

On the whole, Sanam Re is a dull film with good music as its plus point. In fact, it is because of the very popular music that the film has opened reasonably well. But it does not have the strength to sustain in the cinema houses for too long and will not be able to do much at the box-office. Its medium budget on the one hand and recoveries from non-theatrical sources on the other will ensure that the producers make a profit.

Movie review of Fitoor

UTV Motion Pictures and Guy In The Sky Pictures’ Fitoor (UA) is a love story which begins in Kashmir and travels to Delhi and London.

Noor (master Mohammed Abrar Sheikh) is a very young boy who one day helps a jihadi, Muazzam (Ajay Devgan), by providing him food and shelter. Muazzam escapes when the police, in search of him, reach too close for comfort. Noor, who lives in Kashmir with his sister and brother-in-law, is not very well-off and so, he soon starts working for a rich heiress, Begum (Tabu). Begum has a little daughter, Firdaus (baby Tunisha Sharma), whom young Noor falls in love with as soon as he sees her. Begum realises this and tells him that he’d have to work hard and achieve a lot in life if he wanted to be close to Firdaus.

Soon, Firdaus also starts liking Noor. She invites him for her birthday party but Noor loses his sister in a bomb explosion the same day and hence can’t make it to the party. He goes to Firdaus the next day to share the sad news with her but is shocked to know that Begum has sent her away to another city for studies. Since he has loved Firdaus, Noor is unable to forget her over the years.

Noor (Aditya Roy Kapur), a young man now, is a fine painter. Begum encourages him to pursue his art and one day, he gets a chance to go to Delhi for further polishing his art. In Delhi, he learns some things about painting under Leena Becker (Lara Dutta), who holds an exhibition of his paintings. The exhibition is a grand success.

In Delhi, Noor meets Firdaus (Katrina Kaif) who has grown up to be a very beautiful girl. The old sparks between Noor and Firdaus are re-ignited. Sensing this, Begum, who is in Kashmir, tries to keep Firdaus away from Noor. However, Noor and Firdaus get physical one day.

Soon thereafter, Firdaus leaves for Kashmir to look after her ailing mother, leaving a letter for Noor. In the letter, she explains to Noor that as she is soon to get married to a rich and influential guy in Pakistan, she may not be able to meet him (Noor) again. Aghast, Noor reaches Kashmir and confronts Firdaus who plays hard to get. Begum is relieved that Firdaus has shunned Noor.

Then, one day, at an auction of paintings, where Noor’s painting is also up for sale, he meets Firdaus who has come with her beau, Bilal (Rahul Bhat), and her to-be father-in-law, Salman (Talat Aziz). He tries hard to convince Firdaus that she should leave Bilal and marry him as he loves her, but Firdaus tells him that she won’t marry him as she has no such feeling of love for him.

Noor is now convinced that he has lost Firdaus forever. Soon, Noor gets a chance to go to London to participate in an international art exhibition. Begum, too, reaches there and compliments him for his sculpture and painting. And then, Muazzam, the jihadi whom Noor had helped many years ago, re-enters his life and reveals a secret that shocks him. What is that secret?

Noor confronts Begum and asks her why she wouldn’t let Firdaus marry him? Incidentally, Begum has been pressurising Firdaus to get over Noor and marry Bilal.

Begum has a past which prompts many of her actions even today. What is that past and why is it so devastating for Begum? There is also a secret between Begum and Firdaus. What is it? Does Firdaus marry Bilal or does she listen to her heart and return to Noor?

The film is based on Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations. The screenplay, adapted from the novel, is penned by Suprateek Sen and Abhishek Kapoor. The story is quite confusing due to the following reasons – there are too many characters in it; the suspense about Begum’s past is revealed quite late; the character of young Begum is played by an actress (Aditi Rao Hydari) who is different from the actress playing the present-day Begum (Tabu), something which takes a long time to register. The screenplay moves at a very slow pace, often testing the audience’s patience. Of course, the many twists and turns in the drama prevent the interest level of the audience from declining to an alarmingly low level but even they cannot make up for the boredom which creeps in at several points. Although it is a love story, the romance in the film is far from heart-warming or happy and, in fact, has a tinge of sadness and depression associated with it. There are simply no light moments in the film, making the drama appear even more depressing. Emotions just don’t touch the heart as the character of Noor never really makes such a place in the viewers’ hearts that they end up feeling miserable for Noor when Firdaus walks out on him. Firdaus’ character is quite sketchy so that the audience tends to believe her when she tells Noor that she doesn’t love him. The revelation of the suspense – Begum’s past – may shock the audiences but they aren’t still able to appreciate, even if they understand, why she did what she did in the love story of Firdaus and Noor. The audience gets confused at several places, not just because there are too many characters and flashbacks but also because some of the characters re-emerge in the film after long periods of absence. Suprateek Sen’s dialogues are excellent and several of them touch the heart – more than the story and the screenplay.

Aditya Roy Kapur does a very ordinary job as Noor. He has the same expression on his face almost throughout the film and fails to evoke sympathy for his character. He doesn’t quite match up to Katrina Kaif who plays Firdaus, whom Noor (Aditya Roy Kapur) loves. Katrina Kaif does fairly well. But her costumes are often quite an eye-sore. Tabu steals the show with a terrific performance, playing the frustrated Begum with élan. Ajay Devgan adds star value in a guest appearance as Muazzam, who re-appears, after years, as Mirza Baig. Rahul Bhat is adequate as Bilal, in a special appearance. Aditi Rao Hydari leaves a mark as young Begum. Master Mohammed Abrar Sheikh (as little Noor) and baby Tunisha Sharma (as little Firdaus) are both endearing and also confident. Lara Dutta leaves a mark as Leena Becker. Kunaal Khyaan looks handsome and makes his mark as Aarif. Akshay Oberoi is effective in a brief role as Mufti. Talat Aziz is alright as Salman. Rayees Mohi-ud-din performs ably as Junaid. Khalida Jaan Tourey (as Rukhsar), Ajaz Rah (as Kaleem), Ishwak Singh (as Zafar Peerbhoy), Dilnaz Irani (as Samira Peerbhoy), Namit Malhotra (as Jagirdar), Jason Shah (as Aarif’s friend), Kavita Seth (as Hazrat’s mother), Sameer Roy (as young Salman) and the others provide the desired support.

Abhishek Kapoor’s direction, like the script, would find favour with the class audience mainly. His narration doesn’t really make the confusing proceedings very easy for the masses to comprehend. Amit Trivedi’s music is hit. The ‘Pashmina’ song and the title track are supremely melodious numbers. Swanand Kirkire’s lyrics are rich. Bosco-Caesar’s choreography is in keeping with the film’s mood. Hitesh Sonik’s background music is effective. Anay Goswami does an absolutely fantastic job with his camera. If the locations are heavenly, the cinematography does full justice to them. Mayur Sharma’s art direction and Sukant Panigrahi, Shashank Tere and Nidhi Rungta’s production designing are appropriate. Deepa Bhatia’s editing is very good.

On the whole, Fitoor is very slow and confusing too. Rather than happiness, it sells depression. It may be liked by a section of the class audience but it will be rejected by the masses and will, therefore, prove to be a box-office disaster, entailing a huge loss to all concerned.

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo review

Fox Star Studios and Rajshri Productions (P.) Ltd.’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo is a family drama. It is the story of a prince, a princess and a commoner.
Yuvraj Vijay Singh (Salman Khan) is a prince who lives in Pritampur. He is engaged to be married to princess Maithili (Sonam Kapoor) of Devgadh, who is a free-spirited girl with her family values intact. Maithili runs an NGO, Uphaar Foundation, which helps the poor. In another town lives Prem (Salman Khan), better known as Prem Dilwala because of his large-heartedness. He and his bosom pal, Kanhaiya (Deepak Dobriyal), act in Ram Leela stage shows. Prem also contributes to Uphaar by collecting money from those who can afford to donate.

Vijay Singh has a step-brother, Ajay Singh (Neil Nitin Mukesh), who was born to his father (Sameer Dharmadhikari) and another woman. Vijay Singh also has two step-sisters, Chandrika (Swara Bhaskar) and Radhika (Aashika Bhatia), from another of his late father’s alliances. Although Vijay Singh cares and loves his step-siblings and wants to stay together with them in peace and harmony, just as his late father had hoped, he is aware that they are against him for different reasons. Ajay Singh resents the fact that as per their late father’s wishes, every bill of his has to be passed by elder brother Vijay Singh. Chandrika and Radhika hate Vijay Singh because they are extremely bitter about the fact that their mother never got to live in the palace and now, they don’t have money to lead the luxurious life being led by Vijay Singh. Since Chandrika is a self-respecting girl, she works in a school in Pritampur to make ends meet.

Preparations are afoot for Vijay Singh’s raj tilak.Maithili is due to attend the same at Pritampur. Prem gets wind of this and sets out for Pritampur with friend Kanhaiya just so that he can personally hand over the donation money to Maithili whom he admires.
Here, in Pritampur, Vijay Singh meets with a life-threatening accident. Although doctors manage to save his life, he is unconscious and it is clear that he would not be up on his feet for his own raj tilak.The royal diwan (Anupam Kher) and the royal chief security officer (Deepraj Rana) are among the few loyalists of the palace who have Vijay Singh and the royal family’s good at heart. They hide the fact about Vijay Singh’s accident from the world as it would create a bad impression on the foreign media and guests from the world over, who are expected to attend the raj tilak ceremony. They don’t intend to even reveal the news of the accident to Maithili.

Seeing the very similar-looking Prem Dilwala in Pritampur, the diwan and the security officer prepare him to pose as Vijay Singh not just in front of Maithili but also before the world till the real Vijay Singh is fine and ready to come in front of the world. Maithili, who has not been happy with Vijay Singh’s ways – probably because Vijay Singh himself has been extremely worked up about the tension in his family – begins to see a marked change in his behaviour and attitude. Of course, that’s because what she is getting to see is Prem’s humane side which she mistakes to be Vijay Singh’s transformation. Maithili now begins to love ‘Vijay Singh’ like never before. On his part, the conscientious Prem is aware of his limits and refrains himself from getting too close to her.
Soon, Prem learns of the tension in the royal family and takes it upon himself to bring the family together again. But as if this itself is not a Herculean task, Vijay Singh is kidnapped by step-brother Ajay Singh.

Will Prem be able to ensure Vijay Singh’s freedom or will Ajay Singh kill his step-brother? Does Maithili get to know that the person she has begun to love is Prem and not Vijay Singh? Does Maithili marry Vijay Singh or Prem? Does the royal family unite and live happily ever after?

Sooraj Barjatya has written a story which may not have great novelty but it, nevertheless, has its heart in the right place. The drama has romance, light moments and superb family emotions. The first half gets a little boring at places as the real drama comes only after interval. But once the second half begins, the film moves like a rocket, consuming the viewers completely for its terrific emotional appeal. The screenplay, also penned by Sooraj Barjatya, is entertaining and engrossing, more for the family audience and the viewers in cities other than the metropolitan cities and for audiences in towns and villages but a bit less for the youngsters. If the light moments bring a smile on the audience’s lips and intermittent laughter too, the emotional scenes shake them and move them to tears. In particular, the following scenes will activate the tear ducts of the viewers for sure: the one in which Prem, posing as Vijay Singh, announces that he was not just giving up his palace for sisters Chandrika and Radhika but has also made them equal partners in all his businesses and co-owners in every single property of his; the scene in which Prem Dilwala advises Vijay Singh to be a good husband; the scene in which Vijay Singh and Prem argue about family as a unit; the one in which the Bhai-doojfestival is celebrated; and, most importantly, the scene in which Prem bursts into tears when the diwan tells him that he had not got married as he never had the time which got consumed in serving the king and his family. It would be appropriate to add here that the angle of Vijay Singh and his step-sisters is the best part of the film, besides the changing attitude of Maithili in her romantic drama. The climax is very touching and also extremely fulfilling. Aash Karan Atal’s dialogues are mind-blowing and many dramatic and serious ones are so profound that they touch the heart and leave an indelible mark on it.

Salman Khan looks like a million bucks in both the roles and acts like he has rarely acted before. The honesty and integrity on his face add so much to the two characters that they force the audience to believe in the drama. To say that he is extraordinary in emotional scenes would not be an exaggeration. His look with fondness when he, as Prem Dilwala, is bidding goodbye to Maithili from the car’s front seat is to die for. In the light scenes, he is just too endearing. All in all, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he carries the film on his shoulders. Sonam Kapoor looks glamorous and acts well. She is especially good in the emotional scene in which she overhears the conversation between Vijay Singh and Prem Dilwala. Neil Nitin Mukesh does an ordinary job and doesn’t really add much to the character of Ajay Singh with his performance. Swara Bhaskar is first-rate, making every scene of hers truly good. Anupam Kher lives the role of the loyal royal diwan. He is very nice. Deepak Dobriyal is cute and has his moments. Aashika Bhatia makes her presence felt as Vijay Singh’s younger step-sister, Radhika. Deepraj Rana is dignified and efficient as the palace security chief. Armaan Kohli is average as the CEO of Vijay Singh and the scheming friend of Ajay Singh. His villainy doesn’t have the venom it needed to have. Samaira Rao, as Vijay Singh’s secretary, is alright. Suhasini Mulay leaves a mark in a very brief role in special appearance. Sameer Dharmadhikari is okay in a special appearance. Lata Saberwal Seth (as Chandrika’s mother), Karuna Pandey (as Maharani), Brijendra Kala, Vishwa Badola, Mukesh Bhatt (as Chhuttan), Gurpal Singh (as Sardarji), Sucheta Khanna (as Sardarni), S.M. Zaheer (as doctor), Mickey Makhija (as the second doctor), master Dhruv Vinay Kumar (as young Vijay Singh), master Darsheel Vinay Kumar (as young Ajay Singh), baby Miraya Suri (as young Chandrika) and baby Hridaan V. Surana (as young Radhika) lend able support.

Sooraj Barjatya’s direction is splendid. He has handled the film with the maturity, understanding and sensitivity needed for such a drama. His honesty is reflected in every single scene of the film. He has extracted great work from out of his hero and has catered completely to the family audience. But in the process, he will lose out on a part of the youth audience which may not be able to identify with a pure character like that of Prem Dilwala and with so much of family drama. It must be added here that the traditional audience, which frequents cinemas once in, say, five or seven years, will find the film made to their liking. Music (Himesh Reshammiya) is good but, again, it caters to the family audience rather than the youth. The title song, of course, is already a major hit and it will soon become the wedding song of the season. ‘Jalte diye’, ‘Jab tum chaho’ and a couple of other songs are melodious. Irshad Kamil’s lyrics are truly superb. Shabina Khan’s choreography in the title track is extraordinary. Her choreography of the other songs and the choreography by Radhika Rao-Vinay Sapru in one song and by Ahmed Khan in another song is appropriate. Himesh Reshammiya and Sanjoy Chowdhury’s background music is just too brilliant. V. Manikandan’s camerawork is marvellous. Nitin Chandrakant Desai’s sets are opulent. Action scenes, choreographed by Greg Powell and Kaushal-Moses, are appropriate. Sanjay Sankla’s editing is crisp.

On the whole, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo will be loved by one section of the audience and will not find favour with youngsters initially, but it will, in the final tally, emerge as a comfortable box-office winner for all concerned. It will do huge business at the ticket windows. Despite its high cost (investment of Fox is to the tune of Rs. 235 crore), profits are assured. In fact, the film may go on to earn very well if the ladies audience patronises it in a big way – which is a very big possibility.

On the whole, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo will be loved by one section of the audience and will not find favour with youngsters initially, but it will, in the final tally, emerge as a comfortable box-office winner for all concerned. It will do huge business at the ticket windows. Despite its high cost (investment of Fox is to the tune of Rs. 235 crore), profits are assured. In fact, the film may go on to earn very well if the ladies audience patronises it in a big way – which is a very big possibility.

WEDDING PULLAV movie review

WEDDING PULLAV

Eros International and GR8 Entertainment’s Wedding Pullav (UA) is a love story. Adi (Diganth Manchale) and Anushka (Anushka Ranjan) are very close friends. Adi is due to get engaged to Rhea (Sonali Seygal). He is thrilled when Anushka makes it for the engagement ceremony at the last moment. Even as preparations are on for the grand wedding a few days later, it is decided by Anushka’s family that her marriage with boyfriend J (Karan V. Grover) should also be solemnised at the same time. J comes from abroad for his wedding.

The functions leading to the two weddings and the time the people spend together makes both, Adi and Anushka, realise that they actually are more than just good friends, that they love one another. Some elders in the families of Adi and Anushka also realise this and so do Rhea and J. But nobody is willing to say this. Probably, Adi is too indebted to Rhea’s father, Kumar (Parmeet Sethi), for having given him a chance to realise his long-cherished dream of designing a motorcycle and hence cannot muster courage to call off his impending marriage with Rhea. On her part, Rhea loves Adi so much that she is in denial mode and wants to dismiss off the sparks between Adi and Anushka as nothing more than two friends being very close to one another. Anushka is hesitant to make the first move.

What happens thereafter? Are the marriages stalled or do they get solemnised as per plans? Does anybody try to present the real picture before the rest? Who is he/she?

Pooja Verma’s story is oft-repeated and moves on the predictable path without offering any novelty. The screenplay, written by Shashi Ranjan, Pooja Verma and Rahul Patel, is as routine as routine can be. The elders in the families of Adi and Anushka realise that both are in love with one another but they, quite stupidly, refuse to come forward and stop the impending catastrophe if the two were to marry the persons they are slated to marry. Why any concerned elder in the family would behave so weirdly is not explained. Again, Adi meets Anushka one evening to pour his heart out, but the latter – aware of what he has in mind – gets irritated at a minor aberration and walks away without letting him tell her what she, in the first place, was dying to hear. It is scenes like these which put the audience off the drama. Although Luv Kapoor (Rishi Kapoor) is not a family member, his proactive participation in trying to solve the mess looks a bit uncalled for, especially when the family members maintain an uncalled for silence. What’s more, the film starts on a light note but becomes so heavy in the second half that it seems difficult for the newcomers to shoulder its burden. The audience does not sympathise with any character and, therefore, does not root for anyone – something which is a big minus point in a love story. Even otherwise, the film does not have the fun and frolic of a youthful love story made with newcomers. Bharat Kukreti’s dialogues are routine.

Anushka Ranjan makes an ordinary debut. She looks fair and her performance is average. Diganth Manchale also makes a lacklustre debut. He doesn’t have the traditional looks of a hero. His acting is okay. Sonali Seygal is alright and makes her mark in a couple of emotional scenes. Karan V. Grover is mechanical. He looks okay. Rishi Kapoor is earnest. Satish Kaushik is natural. Himani Shivpuri makes her presence felt. Parmeet Sethi leaves a mark. Kitu Gidwani is good. Upasna Singh adds energy in her scenes. Aru Verma is good as Petha. In the role of Batli, Ali Khan passes muster. Neha Tomar is passable as Nikki. Tripta Lakhanpal is endearing in the role of Bijji. Aparna Ghosal (as Shammi), Radha Khandelwal (as Pammi), Julia Bruchwitz (as Roxy), Joe (as Derek, friend of J), Elena (as Paula, friend of J), Sumant Bhatia (as Khurana) and Harpreet Sethi (as Khurana’s son) provide dull support.

Binod Pradhan’s direction relies heavily on the tried and tested style of narration. Of course, the unexciting script is also a handicap he has to contend with in his maiden film as director. Salim-Sulaiman’s music is a plus point. The party songs are fast-paced while the ‘O jaaniya’ song has melody. Irfan Siddique’s lyrics are alright. Pony Verma’s choreography doesn’t add much to the songs. Rohit Kulkarni’s background music is functional. Gopal Shah’s cinematography is very nice. Kunal Bhandula and Bijon Dasgupta’s production designing is okay. Sayyed Sameer’s editing could have been much more sharp.

On the whole, Wedding Pullav will not find many takers because it is too routine, too predictable and too plastic. Flop.

Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2

PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA 2

Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Panorama Studios’ Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 (A) is the second in the Pyaar Ka Punchnama series. It is a comedy, based on the same premise as the first – that girls can mess up any and every relationship because of their self-centred nature. Anshul alias Go Go (Kartik Aaryan), Siddharth alias Chauka (Sunny Singh Nijjar) and Tarun alias Thakur (Omkar Kapoor) are bosom pals living together in a rented house. Cupid strikes all the three around the same time.

Anshul meets Ruchika alias Chiku (Nushrat Bharucha) at a party and sparks fly between them. Ruchika is self-centred to the core and she has different rules for herself and for the rest of the world. Siddharth falls head over heels in love with Supriya (Sonali Seygal) whom he meets at a wedding. Supriya reciprocates his romantic overtures and although she has no courage to tell her parents (Sharat Saxena and Mona Ambegaonkar) about her affair, she continues to date Siddharth. Meanwhile, Supriya’s parents, treating him as a dear friend, use him to do all their household work and, because he is an engineer, also get their electronic and electrical gadgets repaired from him. Tarun dates Kusum (Ishita Sharma) who pretends to be very clean and clear in money matters but doesn’t miss a chance to blow up Tarun’s money. She is so money-minded that she keeps poisoning Tarun’s mind against his two friends as far as finances go.

The party for all the three friends is on the verge of getting over after some courtship time.

Ruchika has a friend, Sunny (Manvir Singh), coming and staying over with her after a breakup and she starts ignoring Anshul while looking after Sunny. Why, she has no qualms even about sleeping on the same bed as Sunny. To add to Anshul’s woes are Ruchika’s friends, Tina (Karishma Sharma) and Ruchi (Rumana Mola), who keep filling her ears against him.

Siddharth realises that Supriya will never muster courage to tell her parents about him even though the parents have started groom-hunting for her. She keeps meeting prospective grooms, even exchanging text messages with them on her cellphone while all the time professing her love for Siddharth. But when her father complains against Siddharth to the police, Supriya has no spine to stand up for him.

Kusum drives Tarun nuts with her greed and selfish nature. She uses the same friends, whom she bad-mouths in front of Tarun, to make Tarun see her viewpoint.

What happens thereafter? Do all the three friends reconcile their differences with their respective girlfriends? Or is only one of them lucky? Or do two of them tide over the difficult times?

Luv Ranjan has come up with a fresh story although the premise is the same as in Pyaar Ka Punchnama. The story flows seamlessly and the characterisations are so superbly written that just ten minutes into the film, and one falls in love with the endearing characters of Anshul, Siddharth and Tarun. Rahul Mody, Tarun Jain and Luv Ranjan’s screenplay is fantastic. For one, it keeps the audience engrossed and entertained right from the word ‘go’. Secondly, although the premise is the same as in the first film, nowhere does it appear to be exactly like the first film. Thirdly, the comedy is so fresh that the viewers have a truly fun time watching the drama unfold on the screen. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the audience feels completely entertained, thanks to the outstanding comedy. At several times, the drama offers laugh-a-minute comic scenes which bring the house down with laughter. The lengthy monologue by Anshul is a clap-worthy highlight. The scene in which Siddharth sums up, in just two words, what he thinks about Supriya, at the police station, is another highlight scene and will be met with thunderous applause in the cinema halls. The good part about the screenplay is that nothing in the drama looks forced or contrived. Rather, it is a very free-flowing screenplay with fresh situations and comedy galore. Rahul Mody, Tarun Jain and Luv Ranjan’s dialogues are extraordinary, and the use of the language and words is so contemporary that the youth will simply adore them while identifying with them. Although a lot of swear words have been beeped by the CBFC, that doesn’t seem irritating because the beep sounds tickle the audience which understands what word has been beeped while not embarrassing the family audience.

Kartik Aaryan has an endearing and innocent face and his acting goes well with that. He absolutely shines in the role of Anshul. Sunny Singh Nijjar is cute and natural to the core. He does a fantastic job as Siddharth. Omkar Kapoor is lovely in the role of Tarun, adding the right amount of maturity to his role. He dances very gracefully. Nushrat Bharucha is excellent as Ruchika and adds a good amount of zing to her character. She looks glamorous. Sonali Seygal exudes oomph and performs very beautifully. Ishita Sharma is sexy and acts with effortless ease, leaving a distinct mark. Her solo dance is also lovely. Sharat Saxena makes his presence felt with a fine show. Mona Ambegaonkar provides very good support. Manvir Singh has his moments as Ruchika’s heartbroken friend, Sunny. Rumana Mola (as Ruchi) and Karishma Sharma (as Tina) lend excellent support. Amit Arora (as Pankaj), Swarna Mamgain (as Supriya’s friend), Kanwal (as Siddharth’s friend) and Vini Bakshi (as Ruchika’s maid) provide the required support.

Luv Ranjan’s direction is praiseworthy. He has not only extracted wonderful work out of his cast but has also kept a fast-paced narrative style which keeps the audience thoroughly entertained. Credit is due to him for making a second film on the same premise as the first and yet not making it a copy of the first. Music (Hitesh Sonik; one song, ‘Sharabi’, by Sharib-Toshi) is good but not hit. Lyrics (by Kumaar, Akram Sabri, Danish Sabri, Hitesh Sonik and Luv Ranjan) are lovely and complement the mood of the film. Choreography (by Bosco Martis, Caesar Gonsalves and Howard Rosemeyer) is eye-filling. Hitesh Sonik’s background music is excellent. Sudhir K. Chaudhary’s camerawork deserves distinction marks. Rajat Poddar’s production designing and Kailash Sahu’s art direction are of a good standard. Editing (by Akiv Ali and Ajay Sharma) is crisp and sharp.

On the whole, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 is a small film which will prove to be big at the box-office. Its comedy will keep the youngsters and young at heart in splits and, therefore, its distributors smiling from ear to ear. A sure fire hit!