Airlift

Movie Review (Hindi)

Quite a misnomer. I really do not understand why the movie has been titled Airlift when the act of lifting in the air happens at the end of the movie. For me, it was the journey towards the rescue operation that was the highlight of the movie rather than flying out.

Many of us would not have the faintest idea of what really happened to Indians during the Iraq war with Kuwait. So this movie truly engages. The film is well shot and the editing is tight. There are no moments of relief keeping in mind the nature of the plot.

I stayed glued to the screen wanting to know how Ranjit Katiyal (Akshay Kumar), the protagonist, overcomes one obstacle after another. A man who was a go-getter businessman turns into a messiah for more than a lakh Indians stranded in Kuwait.

There are moments in the movie where patriotism shines through and it is nice to see the bureaucratic wheel turning sometimes, while the politicians are really painted in a bad light, though I am not complaining.  I generally do not watch Akshay Kumar’s movies, but am glad I watched this one. You should watch it too. 

Bajirao Mastani

Movie Review (Hindi)

To be quite truthful, I did get a little biased with all the negativity I was hearing about this movie, how it had moved away from the truth and how the greatness of the Peshwas had been put down. 

Once I saw the movie, I really appreciated it. I did not remember the historical figure, Peshwa Bajirao I or the reality of the Maratha empire. What remained with me was the scintillating story of Bajirao, a straight forward and valiant General and his love for his land and his love for Mastani.

I think Ranveer Singh is one of the actors to look out for in the near future. He literally scorches the screen with his presence. Both Priyanka (as Kashibai) and Deepika (as Mastani) have done justice to their roles and Tanvi Azmi played the strong matriarch to the hilt.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali really knows how to create magic in every shot. The end was superbly shot. The cavalry galloping into the water and the Peshwa trying to fight them off is a scene I will keep revisiting.

A must watch just to remind us of the magic that is movies.

The Intern

Movie Review (English)

Robert De Niro is one of the few actors who is a guarantee to a worthwhile 2 hours or more watching the silver screen. And I have never been let down. So when The Intern comes along, I have no choice but to go. Anne Hathaway is another actor difficult to ignore. I enjoy the magic she brings to the screen. 

Being of an past the thirties, I found this start-up world, inhabited by today's youngsters a little intimidating. Seeing Ben Whittaker (De Niro) take up a job as an intern after retirement  in a start-up firm dealing in e-commerce was a gutsy thing to do. Loved his perspective of the world and the way he conducts his life.

With a personality like him around, Jules (Hathaway), the founder of the company, is bound to have found her North. And mind you she has the driven CEO syndrome, the guilty mother and wife syndrome and OCD. 

Simply enjoyed the relationship between the two. 

If you want to feel "All's well with the world", then go watch The Intern. You will not regret it!!

Thank you Nancy Meyer. Though sometimes, too much on the plate might just make one lose appetite.

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!

Piku

Movie Review (Hindi)

I enjoy movies directed by Shoojit Sircar. Especially because he teams up with an excellent scriptwriter, Juhi Chaturvedi, and voila! an excellent movie is created.

Piku has an interesting story and well defined characters. I have always appreciated Irrfan Khan's acting abilities. I find Amitabh Bachchan getting better with age. But the surprise package is Deepika Padukone. She was so much at ease, getting into the skin of Piku, that I really felt sorry for her and annoyed with her dad.

The humour built around the digestive tract was beyond compare and the toilet seat sitting on top of the car is something I am not likely to forget in a hurry. The last shot of Mr Bachchan touring Kolkata was a delight as was the huge ancestral house where the last scenes were shot.

But the movie is all about the journey from Delhi to Kolkata, Bhaskar Banerjee's (Amitabh) perception of life as it changes and Rana's (Irrfan) exasperation and growing fondness for Piku.

Looking forward to more such quirky though true to life stories...

Margarita With a Straw

Movie Review (Hindi)

This is a fairly simple coming of age story of a college going girl. Only tiny hitch -- she suffers from cerebral palsy. Now that tiny hitch is what makes the movie worth watching. Good thing I had read about Kalki Koechlin or I would want to know, since when did Bollywood audition young girls with cerebral palsy for roles in mainstream cinema. Whether this is mainstream is another question.

Director Shonali Bose has handled the actors so sensitively that every act seemed to evoke an emotional response. I asked myself, how many times have I given a thought to the real needs of  a person suffering from cerebral palsy? Answer - Never. That certainly does not mean they don't have a life as real as mine or that they are too mired with their disability.

I was really surprised that the censor board members for once decided to act like adults. Love the fact that young actors take the plunge with unorthodox roles. Both Kalki as Laila and Sayani as Khanum seemed quite comfortable in their roles as partners. Revathi who plays Kalki's mother is excellent as a loving parent, an angry parent, a forgiving and dying parent, all in one movie.

Here's to more Margaritas with or without straws!!

Movie Review (English)

Whiplash

 A wonderful film depicting the myriad hues of grey of the creative world.

Andrew, a young jazz drummer played with aplomb by Miles Teller, passionate about the skill, wants to become the next Buddy Rich, joins a studio band led by conductor Fletcher, (JK Simmons, at his best). However, the instructor has a totally different take on how to push his students to further their skills. Fletcher is excruciatingly cruel in his words and actions and needs the students to be perfect or else he makes them bleed (literally!!) It can be called a revenge drama for the revenge exacted both by the struggling drummer and the teacher. 

Beautiful ending with some superb solo drumming.

Movie Review (English)

Gone Girl

Does a movie do well because of a particular director only or also because the original novelist also wrote the screenplay? Gillian Flynn translated her book on to screen with love and imagination and thrill which was evident.
The twists in the story left me dazed. Ben Affleck as Nick and Rosamund Pike as Amy are really wonderful actors giving the right dose of chill on screen. When it began, which was the end actually, I was sure I had got the gist of the story. But every half hour I changed position and thought I had got the gist yet again. But when Amy returns, that was quite a master stroke. First she lets people think her husband murdered her. For this she prepared like a master artist, down to the last detail. Once out of the house, she prepares never to come back, preferring to watch her husband being hanged. But luck does not always favour the evil. So more twists follow and she returns. Poor hubby, he wanted a divorce long before, now he is caught in his suffocating marriage! The people will not let him leave her.

I enjoyed the movie. Highly recommended!!!.

Movie Review (English)

Finding Fanny

Thanks to Homi Adajania, for roping in big name from Bollywood to act in his movie. This is a great deed for small budget film makers who have a story to tell. I wonder, if this film had unknown faces would people still go and watch it. 

I loved the slow movement unfolding real kind of life experiences and emotional upheavals all of us have, that the movie portrayed. Hopefully, more well meaning directors will take to making such movies and again give those actors a chance who might not be well known faces but excellent actors.

Deepika was a surprise. Loved her subtle performance. I also could not get over the Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron touch. I have no words for Naseeruddin, Pankaj and Dimple. 

All in all, had a great time watching a worthwhile movie.

Movie Review (Hindi)

Khoobsurat

The original was one of my favourite movies, mainly because the protagonist was a woman (Rekha) and she was a rebel. She stood up against the rigid rules put in place by the matriarch. I was hoping this Khoobsurat would be along those lines. Well, it was in a way. Only I did not see Sonam as the reason for my liking the movie. She was wildly over the top for me. You know, Mr Director, subtlety is not obsolete, really. I liked Ratna Pathak Shah though as the tough woman laying down tough rules. Wish the younger girl (Ratna's daughter) had more life in her. Now, I must mention the hero, Fawad Khan. Total waste of a good actor. But he kept me interested. And yes, Kiron Kher though predictable, was hilarious. Thanks for the laughs... 

Though it does bring in the big question, what had gotten into Disney to do this movie???

Movie Review (Hindi)

Mary Kom

It is rarely that I get to see two Bollywood movies back to back which I enjoy. Also both movies being women oriented is also an interesting coincidence. So, soon after Mardani, I get to see this wonderful movie, Mary Kom, based on the life of India's champion boxer, Mary. 

When I had heard about the making of the movie, I read that Priyanka Chopra was to play Mary Kom. Frankly I had my misgivings about her being cast in this role. And thank goodness I was proved wrong! 

I do wish all women were blessed with such an understanding husband as Mary Kom's. He takes over the household chores and looking after the twin sons and forces Mary to stick to her discipline!! Is he for real? Apparently he is. Also like all great achievers, Mary has a super coach who keeps her 'boxing fit'. 

The movie brought all elements of good cinema together. The script was tight, the editing close, the acting just right and the direction couldn't be better. 

This makes me more confident of looking forward to movies revolving around women. There was Kahaani, English Vinglish, Queen, Mardani and now Mary Kom. Thanks to the changing times... Here's to WOMEN!!!!!

Movie Review (Hindi)

MARDANI

When I heard about this movie starring Rani Mukherjee, I was instantly reminded of the Hindi peom weitten by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan on Rani Laxmibai. There was a refrain in the poem... Khoob ladi mardani, woh to Jhansi wali Rani thi. I wondered at the simile. Was the earlier Mardani going to be reflected in this Mardani? And thank God she was! One of the few occasions when a Hindi film is carried on a woman's shoulders and the woman holds a position of power being a police officer who takes on the menace of trafficking of the girl child.
The movie impressed because of a crisp script, smart editing, clear direction and capable acting, both by the actress and the villain. Commercial movies make sense when they deal with such socially relevant topics. The more it is publicized, the more people will watch it and somewhere deep in the mind something will change. All those 100 crore clubs (or more) nonsensical movies make no difference to society other making millions for the producers and actors and creating other wanna be actors mirroring themselves after those stars.
Here's to more Mardanis!!! Thank you Rani Mukherjee. You never cease to amaze me!

Movie Review (English)

X-Men: Days of Future Past

I am a big fan of the X men. I have always wished to be a mutant with secret powers that go way beyond human. Well, that wasn’t to be. So I live vicariously through the marvelous X-Men. The latest movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past stood out in the concept of giving me an overdose of X-Men. There were X-Men from the present and X-Men from the past and together they fight the Sentinels who are a huge giant force created to wipe out mutants. Professor X and Magneto coming together was such a wonderful idea! As  usual, the sound effects, the cinematography and the actors leave one asking for more. Wolverine and Mystique, of course, remain my favourites.

P.S.:Thank you Marvel comics!

Movie Review (English)

Dallas Buyers Club

It was a joy to see one of my favourite actors reach the top of his acting quotient. Matthew McConaughey has always dazzled as a romantic hero, full of chutzpah. But for him to attempt this movie was so out of character, I was floored. Thank you Matthew for having shown there is no ceiling to acting. He plays the real life Ron Woodroof, an HIV afflicted electrician and a gambler at a rodeo. He achieved a body that looked like it hadn't been fed for quite some time. His bones and skin body played a big part in letting him get into character. Jared Leto who played the role of a transexual, Rayon, with aplomb, is at once shunned by Ron and then goes on to become a big part of his life. Jennifer Garner comes up as the humane doctor who doesn’t necessarily prescribe to the FDA’s findings. Given 30 days to live, our man lives for 7 years using alternative medicine to boost his immune system, instead of using FDA approved drugs that randomly kill the cells of the body. During this time he works at providing these medicines to those in a similar condition and forms a Buyers Club that charges money and supplies these illegal medicines. In the process, he keeps dodging the law which tries to prevents him from selling, never mind that they work.

Yes, the Oscar was definitely deserved.

Movie Review (English)

The Wolf of Wall Street

Another power packed performance by Leonardo. Scorsese never lets me down. This is the thrilling real life story of the rise and fall and rise again of Jordon Belfort, a New York stockbroker. But why so much of debauchery?! Drugs and Sex seemed a better title for the movie. The movie moves with the premise that every one and everything has a price. It’s a scary world that opens up the immense possibilities with money and the vast black hole somewhere down the road waiting to engulf you. And then you no longer remain yourself. You are a distorted shadow of yourself who thinks you have got it all, that you are the King of the World till this world comes crashing down taking everything away. But for those who have sold their souls to money, drugs and sex, there is finally no coming back on the path originally taken. The black hole is a companion for them.I am now a little scared to see Leo’s films. They are getting too dark.  Have also learnt – NEVER EVER INVEST. Thanks!

Movie Review (English)

Saving Mr Banks

When I was a kid I believed that if a fairy godmother did exist, her name should be Mary Poppins. So when I saw Saving Mr Banks, I was fascinated learning about the origin of my fairy godmother. The writer of the Mary Poppins stories, P.L. Travers played by Emma Thompson struggles with her traumatic past. The film weaves beautifully through her past and present and the entire mystery of why Mary Poppins appears in the Banks' household unfurls. 
Pamela (P.L Travers) shows total disdain for everything American including Walt Disney, played by Tom Hanks. The gradual transition from a crotchety old lady with rigid ideas to a warm, creative person is so masterfully achieved by Emma. Tom Hanks is, as usual, at his best as the one and only Disney who gets what he wants and he wants the rights to Travers' Mary Poppins. For 20 long years he has cajoled Pamela to grant him this wish (for his daughters) but in vain. This time things are a little different. In the end, the two do get to save Mr Banks.

Movie Review (English)

American Hustle

A movie I thoroughly enjoyed not only because of the twisted plot but because each actor was so different from what I had seen them do till now in other movies. Christian Bale with a paunch and balding head which he tries to keep covered; Bradley Cooper with his curlers and superiority complex; Jennifer Lawrence with her blonde hair and silliness; and Amy Adams (and my favourite in the movie) who shifts from being a miserable American to an Englishwoman with ties to Royalty. A con man and woman caught between the Feds and the political mafia get their own when they con both the Feds and the politicians. But the movie is also about strange emotional graphs and the superb way the actors have handled it. 

Movie review (Hindi)

The Lunchbox

Yes, the central character of the movie is the Lunch box or Dabba as it is known in Mumbai where the movie unfolds. It is the story of a stainless steel lunch box with four container contained in a green bag which is delivered from Ila (Nimrat Kaur, the female protagonist) to Fernandes (Irrfan Khan, the male protagonist). The twist lies in the fact that the dabba is delivered to the wrong person. The dabba lands up on the wrong table for several days and so we have this unique story unfold with every letter sent in the box.

Kudos to the director for fusing documentary and drama. The Mumbai local trains, the dabbawallas, their singing together – it’s all a slice of reality and seems to be happening somewhere in my neighbourhood. And thanks to the producers for having landed such a talented cast with Nawazuddin adding to the magic. The voice of the neighbour is an interesting touch to get the movie going ahead since Ila has no one to share her dilemmas with, which again showcased lives in the city. Hard hitting stories of Ila’s mother, her brother, her unseen neighbour, her husband’s affair add on to the bigger picture.

So does the lonely housewife and excellent cook, Ila get to meet the middle-aged Fernandes? Cunningly, the director leaves us to decide that.

Movie Review - Bollywood

Lootera (The Thief)
After hearing rave reviews of this Hindi movie, I decided to take a look myself. Another reason why I do not watch a movie after going through the reviews. I either have very high expectations or just don't have any. Lootera suffered because of this. The film is well shot. A lot of importance has been given to each shot which is great and a welcome change. But the story did not really work for me. It reminded me too much of Fanaa (the Kajol-Aamir Khan starrer). Boy meets girl, falls in love and then ditches her coz his line of work does not allow for love. Ditto here. Then there is more of Fanaa at the end with snowscape and the hero's death. I was really glad the writer did not get a child into the mess.
But the best of all was the use of the O. Henry short story, The Last Leaf. The artist in the story claims to paint a masterpiece at some point in his life and finally the masterpiece is the last leaf painted on a wall that helps a young woman live, while he dies of pneumonia. The story was, of course, used in pure Bollywood style in Lootera. But I thank those responsible for this tribute to O. Henry.
P.S. - Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh are good actors.

Movie Review

World War Z
I was quite excited about this movie starring one of my favourites, Brad Pitt. Maybe, it was too much excitement. I was disappointed with this movie about Zombies. Does the Z in the title stand for Zombie?  
I thought I had seen all that with I am Legend. A disease let loose on mankind through some bacteria or virus and then men turn into zombies who bite each other to spread this diaease. But mind you, they are only looking for healthy hosts and therein lies the solution to the problem. Watch the movie if you like Brad Pitt. There is no takeaway from this one. :(

The Heat
Again went to see this movie coz I am a Sandra Bullock fan. Again was disappointed. The script was quite loose. However, this all women movie with a name like The Heat is a good change. Loved Melissa McCarthy. Both Sandra and Melissa have impeccable comic timing and that is what worked for me.