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!

Jazbaa movie review

Jazbaa movie review

Zee Studios, Viiking Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and White Feather Films’ Jazbaa (UA) is a thriller. Anuradha Verma (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) is a single mother and a celebrated lawyer who has a fantastic track record. She has the reputation of winning court cases and has got acquitted several hardcore criminals too. For her clients, she can adopt any means, fair or unfair.

Anuradha gets a strange phone call one day, asking her to represent incarcerated criminal Niyaz Khan (Chandan Roy Sanyal) and anyhow ensure his bail. Niyaz has raped and murdered Sia (Priya Banerjee), daughter of Garima Chaudhry (Shabana Azmi). The caller informs Anuradha that her little daughter, Sanaya (Sara Arjun), has been kidnapped and she would be set free only if Niyaz Khan is granted bail by the court.

Anuradha is devastated and she has very few days to accomplish the task in court, to save her daughter. Decorated but now suspended police officer Yohan Khan (Irrfan Khan), who is a dear friend of Anuradha, helps her in her mission. He introduces her as a writer, to Garima so that Anuradha can extract details about the fateful night when Sia was killed. All along, the intention is to get evidence which can ensure Niyaz Khan’s freedom so that little Sanaya is returned safely to Anuradha. The pressure on Anuradha is mounting as the phone calls from her daughter’s abductors continue.

The court case begins. As arguments progress, Anuradha Verma proves in the court that besides Niyaz, there was another man in Sia’s house on the fateful night and that man was Sam (Siddhanth Kapoor), son of politician Mahesh Maklai (Jackie Shroff). She presents the events of the night in such a way that it appears that either of Niyaz or Sam could have murdered Sia. Even while she is arguing her case in court, she is surprised to see a criminal (Abhimanyu Singh) whom she had saved in an earlier court case, present Sam in court. Much to the embarrassment of his father, Sam admits in court that he had brought home Sia’s dead body which was then disposed of by his father. The court now orders the arrest of Sam and politician Mahesh Maklai.

Does Niyaz Khan get bail? Does Sanaya return home safely? Who is the person behind the telephone calls to Anuradha Verma? Why does the person want Niyaz Khan to be set free from prison?

The film is based on Shin-Yeon Won’s Seven Days. Sanjay Gupta and Robin Bhatt have penned a screenplay which is full of holes. No doubt, there are thrilling moments which leave the audience stunned but the flaws in the screenplay question the very foundation of the script and make the thrilling scenes look like small change. Anuradha Verma, right in her introductory scene, is shown as a lawyer who can go to any lengths to defend her client – and this, even if the client is a hardened criminal – and this is a well-known fact. That being so, what was the need for the kidnapper to abduct Anuradha’s daughter? Even without the abduction, Anuradha would’ve taken up Niyaz Khan’s case and tried her best to secure bail for him for a fee, of course. What’s more, law gives every lawyer the right to fight for his/her client irrespective of whether the client is the guilty/accused or the complainant. Had Anuradha Verma been an upright lawyer and had she refused to take up Niyaz Khan’s case, the kidnapping of Sanaya to pressurise her to take up Niyaz Khan’s case would’ve made sense. But the writers have made it amply clear before the abduction that Anuradha has no qualms about arguing for criminals and winning cases on their behalf. Also, Anuradha Verma could only argue the case in court, the judgement would still be for the judge to deliver. Wouldn’t it be more worthwhile for the kidnapper to abduct a family member of the judge rather than an even otherwise willing lawyer?

Again, when the identity of the kidnapper is revealed towards the end, the audience is left wondering why the kidnapper had to pretend to be in favour of a death sentence for Niyaz Khan while working towards securing his bail. Obviously, the drama has been built solely for confusing the audience, not any character/s in the drama. Anybody with even very basic knowledge of screenplay writing would agree that this is one of the most silly ways to write a screenplay. Even otherwise, the revelation of the suspense in the end has only academic interest because all that had to happen has already happened even without the identity of the kidnapper being revealed. For all the audience could care, the kidnapper could’ve been anyone!

Another drawback of the screenplay is that the emotional part of the drama – after all, a lawyer has to win a court case to ensure that her little daughter is alive – fails to move the viewers. The angle of the kidnapped Sanaya takes a backseat post-interval and this has a negative effect on the minds of the audiences who get to see a super-confident Anuradha arguing in court as if she was under no great pressure. What the writers could not bring out in the courtroom drama is mother Anuradha Verma’s mental trauma. Yohan Khan’s character is more of a catalyst than anything else and considering that the character is played by Irrfan Khan, his fans will feel disappointed because he doesn’t have any heroic scenes.

Kamlesh Pandey’s dialogues are very good. In fact, the dialogues he has written for Yohan Khan are truly entertaining and, to an extent, make up for the terribly weak screenplay of Sanjay Gupta and Robin Bhatt.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan acts well but does go overboard in some scenes, mainly those in which she is required to scream and cry. Irrfan Khan once again delivers a lovely performance, making his presence felt wonderfully despite playing just a catalyst. Shabana Azmi leaves a mark as Garima. Chandan Roy Sanyal is effective but gets limited scope. Atul Kulkarni has his moments. Abhimanyu Singh is natural. Jackie Shroff makes his mark in a special appearance. Siddhanth Kapoor is quite nice as Sam. Priya Banerjee is okay as Sia. Sara Arjun lends decent support in the role of little Sanaya. Shivraj Walvekar is lovely as ACP Rokde. Deeksha Kaushal (as the dancer in the discotheque), Dadahi Raj (as Parmar), Ankur Vikal (as Vijay), Pramod Pathak (as Satnam), Sangeeta Kanhayat (as Nazia), Rajat Kaul (as Benny), Kaizad Kotwal (as Dr. Satish), Rajiv Kachroo (as Joe), Taran Bajaj (as Sunny Locksmith), Shahnawaz (as Ram) and Sanjay Gurbax Singh (as lawyer Boman) lend adequate support.

Sanjay Gupta’s direction fails to create the right kind of impact. He has concentrated too much on making a stylised film but that has not taken care of the emotional side of the drama which remains dull. Music (Sachin Jigar, Arko Pravo, Amjad-Nadeem and Badshah) is good but the manner in which the songs are incorporated in the film, it doesn’t do justice to them. For instance, the ‘Bandeya’ song (which is rather melodious) comes in the end rolling titles and that too, without visuals! Lyrics (Sanjay Gupta, Arko Pravo, Amjad-Nadeem and Badshah) are appropriate. Ahmed Khan’s choreography is alright. Amar Mohile’s background music is impactful. Sameer Arya uses his camera effectively to capture the drama. Javed-Aejaz’s action scenes are interesting. Wasiq Khan’s production designing is appropriate. Bunty Nagi’s editing is good but the fast cuts tell on the emotional impact of the drama.

On the whole, Jazbaa will fail to deliver at the box-office and will entail losses to all concerned. Class audiences may find the film interesting but that will just not be enough.