Manjha

#Manjha - Happened to catch this one on TV.

Kinda the marathi variant of the movie ‘Mom’, this is an engaging thriller.

Sumedh Mudgalkar is brilliant as the psychopathic Vicky - one just can’t fathom how sadistic he is and just end up hating his guts!

Ashwini Bhave shines in her character and looks as pretty as ever!

Cannot figure out the reason for casting washed out/low key Hindi actors in the supporting parts. Their accent is a big turn off.

Overall, was an interesting one time watch.

3⭐️ from me

I Spy....

#Raazi - An engaging tale of espionage, patriotism, love, pathos and so much more!

Story-telling is an art and #MeghanaGulzar has aced it with this one. The film moves at a constant pace, while keeping the viewers engaged the whole time.

Hats off to #AliaBhatt! She is top-notch as #Sehmat and effortlessly osciallates between the plethora of emotions that she needs to portray. #VickyKaushal portrays his character’s restraint as well as the aggression with equal brilliance. The rest of the actors are aptly cast.

Overall, a must watch!

4⭐️ from me.

Tendulkar Out!

#TendulkarOut - Happened to catch this comic thriller on TV today.

The plot was simple; there is the guy (10dulkar), his pregnant wife, their respective lovers, and 3 killers along with some eccentric characters like a sadhu-aspirant rickshaw-wala thrown in.

What ensues is a chase for the target and the things that happen enroute. Slight warning about the language; numerous *beeps* are present.

What makes it unique is the narration; it draws parallels with a cricket match where each defining moment in the characters’ life gives you some sort of an adrenaline rush!

All actors are completely in the zone; be it Santosh Juvekar, Sayaji Shinde, Aniket Vishwasrao, Atul Parchure or Vijay Maurya. Sai Tamhankar is the only one with a passable role.

Overall worth a dekko if you want something different in Marathi.

3.5⭐️ from me

Dark Comedy

#Blackmail - A ‘black’ comedy about a distressed ‘male’!

Simple yet engaging story which is entertaining all through. The humour is mostly crass but has its own moments.

#Irrfan is brilliant; trust him to emote the quirkiness of the character perfectly. The rest of the cast is also excellent, be it Arunoday Singh, Pradhuman Singh or Anuja Sathe.

This genre is Abhinay Deo’s niche; the entire film is executed brilliantly.

Overall, definitely worth a watch.

4⭐️ from me.

Hichki

#Hichki - Basically #DahaviFa meets #FreedomWriters, this is a mashup of numerous films with inspirational teachers having out-of-the-box methods!

That said, this is a very well-made slice of life film drawing attention to another neurological disorder - Tourette’s syndrome.

The storyline is predictable and kind of abrupt in some places thus missing being “picture perfect” or should i say “picture prefect” 😉. But it did jog some wonderful memories of amazing school teachers. 😊

Rani Mukherjee is simply fab. All the kids are aptly cast and a couple of them do stand out. Would have liked to see more of the #NilBatteySannata girl but she barely has any scope. Sachin Pilgaonkar seems kinda lost much unlike any other film he has acted in!

Overall, a simple entertainer.

3⭐️ from me.

Hanging on a khil-ji!

#Padmaavat - Or should I say PadmAWat! While I was in AWe of the grandeur of the sets, I was equally upset by the AWful performance by Shahid and Deepika.

Ranveer Singh is the only Khil-ji on which this movie is hanging. He is simply brilliant as the obsessive lunatic! The other two could be easily replaced by mannequins with Mewar themed costumes.

That said, the supporting cast is pretty good. Special mention to Jim Sarbh (Malik Kafur) and Aditi Rao Hydari (Mehrunisa).

However, one can draw parallels with Bajirao Mastani and Bahubali in too many scenes, including the Khalibali song where Ranveer dances just like Malhari; thats where the 2.5+ hours saga starts to get a bit repetitive.

Wonder where Deepika lost her Mastani charm though! Also, in the subtitles, all words beginning with “Y” were missing the “Y”. Es. Ou must believe me! 😬

Overall, nothing great. 2.5⭐️ from me

Sweetness!

#Gulabjaam - Something whose sweet taste slowly grows on you, just like a gulabjaam.

The story is simple but the execution and performances are brilliant. Loved the subtle psychological undertones!

Hats off to the director Sachin Kundalkar for the detailing; *spoiler alert* be it the year on the calendar on the wall or the moped that Radha is seen riding.

Really liked the background score as well. The food shots are just too appetizing for words!!

Sonali Kulkarni is amazing as usual; Siddharth Chandekar is also good though he looks weird in the Harry Potter-esque look towards the end.

Overall, I really liked it.

Almost 4⭐️ from me.