Movie Review: 'Thugs Of Hindostan' is redeemed by Bachchan's towering presence

A straight-laced fiction mounted in a historical set-up, director Vijay Krishna Acharya's "Thugs of Hindostan" is a sprawling, ambitious 164-minute epic action adventure.

Entertainment News: The story begins Circa 1795 when the British East India Company tries to annex the princely state of Ronakpur. When negotiations fail, they assassinate its ruler Mirza (Ronit Roy) and his son Aslam. Mirza's trusted Lieutenant Khudabaksh Azaad (Amitabh Bachchan) escapes from the British's bullets, taking along with him Mirza's young daughter Zafira.

Khudabaksh aka Azaad along with his band of Thugs, give a tough time to the foreigners as they aspire to free the country.

Threatened by Azaad's growing popularity, the British engage Firangi Mallah (Aamir Khan), a small-time but ambitious con man, to locate and capture Azaad.

Thugs of Hindostan Movie Review

Everything about this film is in capital letters preceded by articles; the story befitting the intertextual clash of the good against evil, the mounting on the massive scale and casting of the leads.

While the two legendary icons of the Indian screen are pitted against each other, Aamir Khan steals the show with his flamboyance. He is the pulsating heart of the narrative. He brings his character to life with his energetic on-screen presence, priceless expressions on his visage, flawless dancing and agility during the action scenes.

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Thugs of Hindostan Review

'Pakhi': Amateurishly crafted and tedious to watch (Movie Review)

The narrative begins with Suhani, a young girl getting conned into the flesh trade operated by a goon called Bali (Sumeet Kant Kaul).

Entertainment News: Coming from a National Award winning director and the "Natya Bushan" winner, "Pakhi" is a huge let down.

Based on true events akin to the last week's released "Love Sonia", "Pakhi" is the story of Pihu, a 10-year-old girl who is forced to marry an older person. It is her journey, which is the most painful journey the audience must endure and that is not because of Pihu's trails and tribulations but because the director takes us through a senseless and complex route.

Pakhi Movie

The narrative begins with Suhani, a young girl getting conned into the flesh trade operated by a goon called Bali (Sumeet Kant Kaul).

Circumstances make the brutal Bali believe that Suhani is lucky for him and so gives her a royal treatment compared to the other girls in his coterie. Several months later, Pihu, her brother Maulik and an older sister land in Bali's den after their uncle sells them to Bali.

While the older sister escapes the trauma by killing herself, Pihu is subjected to a Hyderabadi business man's gaze, who is keen to marry her. How Suhani helps Pihu and her brother escape from Bali's clutches forms the crux of the tale.

Read my full review → Pakhi Movie Review

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News Source: BS

'Ishqeria': An out-dated and poorly written love story (Movie Review)

A chick-flick, "Ishqeria" is a film about a small town girl Kuhu (Richa Chaddha) who falls madly in love with her college senior Raghav Dalmia (Neil Nitin Mukesh).

Entertainment News: "Sabko confuse karna band kar do". This harmless dialogue told in a jocular tone in the film, inadvertently sums up the fate of the narrative of this 2 hour film. Purportedly, a college love-story, this film ends up confusing the audience with its constant failed attempts to create suspense.

How she manipulates her way into his heart, the circumstances that lead to their separation and a happily-ever-after ending, is what this film is all about, albeit centred round a convoluted plot.
A hackneyed a la Mills & Boon love story set in Mussorie, there is nothing refreshing or new in the treatment of this film. The characters seem jaded and the drama, trite and oft-seen.

Ishqeria Movie

Narrated in a non-linear manner, the screenplay appears a tad confusing. The first half is seemingly watchable, while the second half drags and makes for tiresome viewing. The uncalled for playful suspense elements are over-stretched for no apparent reason and in the bargain lay bare gaping plot-holes.

Hinging on a wafer-thin and frivolous plot, the narrative is overextended and fails to involve the audience beyond the first half an hour. Richa Chaddha as Kuhu Singh, a small town girl, essays her character with sincerity and aplomb. She is effervescent and bubbly and lights up the screen with her energy.

Neil Nitin Mukesh as the sad rich boy, Raghav is staid and plays his studious character to perfection with restraint. The duo are ably supported by stereotypical characters who play their respective friends.

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News Source: BS

'Manto': A moving biopic, astutely told (Movie Review)

Nawazuddin Siddiqui's "Manto" taps into every feeling and mood of his complex erudite character. The actor doesn't miss a single heartbeat of his character.

Entertainment News: Director Nandita Das' "Manto" is a poignant and hard-hitting biopic about the controversial, Indo-Pakistani, Urdu short-story writer Sadat Hassan Manto. It is her tribute to Manto, albeit one she renders with honesty as she presents the celebrated writer with all his failings and greatness.

The film opens in Mumbai where a young and raring-to-go Manto is slowly but surely making his presence felt in the Indian film Industry. With the Partition breaking out, circumstances compel Manto to move to Pakistan and his life changes.

The film portrays how circumstances can break a straightforward and talented man who depicted the society through his unapologetic writing.

Manto Review

The Director succeeds in allowing the audience to be privy to the life of this author who lives in Lahore but has his heart belonging to Mumbai.

The narrative flows smoothly and the origination of some of his short stories like "Toba Tek Singh", "Khol Do" and "Thanda Gosht" are successfully depicted.

Like every character-driven film, this film too moves at a slow pace, but manages to keep you engrossed. The drama is in the inner turmoil within the character. You can feel Manto's frustrations as he feels incapacitated when in Lahore and this is enhanced by the circumstances and times he lives in.

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News Source: BS

'Love Sonia': A familiar tale brutally told (Movie Review)

With some shocking moments based on true incidents, "Love Sonia" is a slick and dramatic, fictionalised film about human (especially women) trafficking in India.

Entertainment News: For a tale about women being exploited for sex, what makes "Love Sonia" stands out is that it treats its women as relatively unimportant. The narrative takes off in a place 1,400 km north of Mumbai, where Shiva (Adil Hussain), a farmer of a barren land is forced to sell one of his two daughters to "Dada Thakur" (Anupam Kher), a zamindar.

Seventeen year old Sonia (Mrunal Thakur), the daughter who witnessed the sale of her older sister Preeti (Riya Sisodia), is distraught. She learns that her sister is taken to Mumbai. So, with the hope of reuniting with her sister, Sonia runs away from home. And soon, she lands in a brothel in Mumbai, and from thence her ordeal begins. The film is her journey.

Love Sonia Movie Review

Mrunal Thakur is a brilliant actress and as Sonia, she slips into her character with natural ease. With naivety written large on her visage and innocence in her demeanour, you empathise with her and feel her pain. She is aptly supported by a retinue of power-packed actors.

Manoj Bajpayee in an extremely new avatar shines as the brothel owner Faisal. You watch him with awe as he manipulates from being a soft-spoken concerned person to a ruthless man who conducts his operations as a "business".

Adil Hussain as the desperately helpless farmer who drinks in frustration and Anupam Kher as the detestable landlord, are equally convincing. Richa Chadha and Freida Pinto as prostitutes -- Madhuri and Rashmi -- are stereotyped, but they do add some fine nuances to their character which makes them memorable.

Read my full review → Love Sonia Review

'Manmarziyaan': Performances elevate this predictable love-triangle (Movie Review)

The only thing that makes this film unique are Director Anurag Kashyap's sensibilities.

Entertainment News: "Manmarziyaan" seems like a derivative of the 1999 released Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam", or the numerous love triangles that one witnesses in Hindi cinema where the girl falls for a loving but irresponsible, commitment-phobic and then settles for a sober, "husband material". The only thing that makes this film unique are Director Anurag Kashyap's sensibilities.

Set in Amritsar, Rumi (Taapsee) an orphan living with her Grandfather and uncle's family is a bold girl who is unabashedly in love with Vicky also known as DJ Sandz (Vicky), who is a total narcissist, self-absorbed and a loser of sorts. Despite this, he is likeable. He is in his own world of music, where he literally mixes leading songs of every musician he finds. But when it comes to love, he professes to love her intensely and passionately.

Manmarziyaan Movie Review

One never quite understands what Rumi sees in him besides the physical. She, an ex-hockey player lives life on her terms, and is effervescent and raw. They have a bohemian affair, having so much fun with each other. In fact he sneaks into her bedroom and the fun becomes almost a tangible thing; you can witness on the screen that they like each other, and so cross boundaries brazenly.

When they get caught, Rumi's aunt insists that they marry her off. Rumi is nonchalant, not realising that Vicky is commitment phobic, she confidently proclaims that Vicky would come the next day with his parents to ask for her hand in marriage. From thence their relationship vacillates till Robbie (Abhishek) a London returned banker in search of a bride, lays his eyes on Rumi and they marry.

Infatuation, lust and love are emotions that are handled with equal fervour. There is a lot happening and it happens so charmingly and with such quick spirit and wit, that it's enough to keep you hooked.

But here, in a predictable story with one easily anticipated development after another, it is the strong cast in the lead, including great chemistry between the trio that keeps "Manmarziyaan" from totally derailing.

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'Chef': Saif's careers best in heartwarming culinary drama (Movie Review, Rating ****1/2)

There is a lot of teasing between the father and son ,played with endearing casualness by Saif Ali Khan and Svar Kamble. Aptly , "Chef" teases our appetite for cinema. It's a culinary delight-warm tender, inviting and appetizing-- served up in a dainty dish with a dash of debonair but played-down posturing, like a masterchef who is shy to show off his skills but can't help it. He's so adept at what he does.

 "Chef" conveys the kind of sagacious skill born not out of arrogance but wisdom sometimes misplaced.Like the protagonist Roshan Kalra's traditionalist father who believes the kitchen is for women.

Speaking of which -- arrogance more than wisdom -- Saif Ali Khan's Roshan Kalra (from Chandni Chowk Delhi married to and divorced from the lovely Malayali danseuse Radha Menon) is portrayed as an epitome of prideful arrogance waiting to fall.

The fall comes sooner than we expect. Director Menon wastes no time in taking on his protagonist's burnished ego and cutting it down to size, piece by piece.

Come to think of it, Roshan's downsizing needs no push. Saif Ali Khan's inbuilt nawabi pride and an urbane humour that often hurts others in ways that are more permanent than permissible,seize the character to make it so imminently relatable ,I felt someone had stolen parts of my life.

Saif's Roshan says things to earn points as a clever conversationalist. Much like the prestigious Michelin star rating for food which determines quality to the point of rendering the pleasure of food into an exercize in technical grading.

Much in the same way that music binds human relationships, food is great unifier .

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