Andhadhun (Blind tune)

Movie Review (Hindi)

Director and screenplay writer, Sriram Raghavan is a master of thrillers and he has not let his audience down in this movie either. The title itself is interesting – Blind Tune – and the entire movie revolves on Andha and Dhun.

Akash, the protagonist, played by Ayushmann Khurrana, the apparently blind pianist who becomes a blind pianist and then becomes an apparently blind pianist does a wonderful job trying to anchor the story with his presence at places where he his not required.

The person who stands out for me is Simi played superbly by Tabu, the wife of Pramod Sinha (Anil Dhawan), the yesteryear actor. She lives only for herself and therefore faces no conscience trouble.

What keeps the audience glued are the amazing twists that stand out on the screen (quite literally). The later half is a bit pulled but even that ends with a huge bang and you come out smiling. An open ending is always the best way to keep the audience happy.

Talvar

Movie Review (Hindi)

I was intrigued to see that a director would dare make a movie on a real double murder case and clearly show the lack of evidence which anyway led to a guilty verdict. Meghna Gulzar, the director, has brilliantly executed the happenings of the tragic night and the days that followed, the goof ups by the police and the rivalry within the CBI leading to more goof ups.

 
It is scary to note how the so called law protectors (the police and the CBI) completely lose their game, making the common man's tragedy a humongous one.

I do not understand why the parents of the victim (young Aarushi) should be sentenced to life if the evidence is not concrete. The murder of the household help, Hemraj, also complicates matters. But such is the imbalance of justice. 

The film is fast paced and the director has chosen her actors carefully. Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Konkona Sen Sharma and Neeraj Kabi are really accomplished actors. There is a documentary feel to the movie as if no one knows there is a camera filming their every move. The different versions of the night of the murder is a master stroke.

Drishyam

Movie review (Hindi)

Frankly I am a little wary of watching remakes. They generally turn out to be duds when compared to the original. But thank goodness, in Drishyam's case, this was not so. I saw the movie because I had heard of the excellent film made in Malayalam and am happy I saw it. 

 The trailers of the movie are very misleading, as far as the story is concerned. Vijay (Ajay Devgn) will go to any extent to save his family from disintegrating. A death and then the ways to avoid detection. How? Through movies of course!! Vijay owns a cable service company and loves watching movies through the night in his office, his phone off the hook. (That's not advisable...). So all his education comes from watching movies. He is after all class 4 fail. The twists and turns keep the audience engaged as does the performances of Tabu and Ajay. 

Good to see an engaging Hindi movie after a long time. When Ajay Devgn decides to perform, he is one of the best. Thanks Jeethu Joseph for the excredible story!

Movie Review (Hindi)

Haider

I was really eager to see this third offering by Vishal Bharadwaj, with his take on Shakespeare's tragedies. I was disappointed. After Maqbool and Omkara, it was only natural for me to have my hopes high, but in vain. I was unable to connect with the characters or the story which is very important for me to be able to enjoy a movie. 

There were flashes of excellent acting when I was really impressed with Shahid Kapur's acting skills, especially when he addresses a crowd with his head shaven for the first time. Tabu had the strongest role but what was her character trying to do? She loves her son, she does not love her husband, she lusts after her brother in law, lives with him and then marries him the moment she comes to know of her husband's death. She loves Haider, her son, but she also suspects he has lost his mental balance. Finally, she realizes that her present husband is no good and blows herself up. Shraddha Kapoor, Haider's love interest was a disappointment. 

The movie left me cold which left me quite depressed. Enjoyed the music though.