High on Josh!!

#UriTheSurgicalStrike-A full of “josh” start to the new year!

The film strikes a chord with the viewers from the get-go and ensures that you are high on adrenaline (read: patriotism) right till the end.

Although there were tons of opportunities for the director to get carried away and stray from the plot (read: become bollywood masala), control and restraint has been exercised to keep it crisp.

Of course there is dramatisation involved but then its not a documentary. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Vicky Kaushal is brilliant; Yami Gautam is decent and so is Mohit Raina; somehow I liked Swarup Sampat’s acting in her short role; felt that Paresh Rawal looks a bit too old!

Overall, a worthwhile watch.

4⭐️ from me.

Sanju Aa Gaya Mamu...

#Sanju - Rajkumar Hirani has hit a sixer yet again!

The biopic flows at a steady pace and depicts the upheaval in Baba’s life perfectly. The narrative is crisp and just when things get extra-serious, you are served a Hirani style mood lightener!

Ranbir Kapoor is just amazing with the body language, look and style perfected to the T. No words to describe his fab performance. Worth a special mention is Vicky Kaushal as the best friend. The other cast is also apt - be it Manisha Koirala, Paresh Rawal, Dia Mirza or Anushka Sharma. Anjan Shrivastav is extremely hilarious in his 2 minute cameo.

A perfect blend of a very interesting story, dialogue, acting, direction and so on, there is hardly any room to find flaws. The only mood dampner for me was the English subtitles where Pani puri was translated as Waffles, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi as Mary Poppins and Shivaji as Santa Claus!

That forgiven, its definitely worth a dekko mamu! 4.5⭐️ from me.

P.S. Please consider room for the maker’s creative liberty and take the film with a pinch of salt.

God-Damn-Awesome Movie!

I decided that I wanted to watch "OMG" the moment I saw the first promo. It definitely seemed like a light-hearted take on God and religion. Not being a very God-loving/God-fearing person myself, I wanted to see how the man vs God concept panned out.

The film turned out to be very smooth-flowing and simple from the beginning to the end. There is not a single dull moment.

The central character, Kanjibhai, is a total atheist and a very practical person. When an act of God(earthquake) destroys his sole source of livelihood, his antique shop, and when the insurance company refuses to pay, he decides that the one who has destroyed must pay up. That's when his courtroom battle with God begins.

The story then progresses to explore the various facets of religious leaders and god-men and how religion has become a mere business in today's day and age. It exposes the mockery made out of god-fearing/god-loving people by the so-called sadhus/babas/gurus. Worth mentioning are the performances by Govind Namdeo and Mithun Chakraborty as religious leaders, though I still fail to understand why Mithun's mannerisms are so gay!!

Comedy is a major ingredient in this film and definitely proves to be the highlight. All the jokes are witty and light-hearted and most of them do make sense! To cite an example, when the defendant lawyer asks why Kanjibhai is suing the religious places like temples and ashrams when his fight is with God, Kanjibhai simply responds that when we have an electricity problem with Reliance, we go to a Reliance office and not to Anil Ambani directly!!

Paresh Rawal is simply superb as Kanjibhai... no one could have played the role better! Akshay Kumar as the modern day "Krishna Vasudev Yadav from Gokul" gives an effortless performance. All the supporting actors are apt.

Overall, a very interesting storyline and a full-fledged family entertainer. Although some people may feel that it is an insult of religion, it should be taken with a pinch of salt. The film-makers have made a good effort to expose the business that takes place in the name of religion. Definitely a must-watch film in my opinion!

Murder They Wrote...

It has been a while since I saw a well-acted “murder” mystery in Bollywood. The reason I put murder in quotes is that this film is a murder mystery without a murder.  The tag line says it all…”How do you murder a man who has already committed suicide?”

The film opens slowly, a tad boringly. We see a typical Bollywood-style dysfunctional marriage with a once-successful, drunk, slightly older husband (Naseeruddin Shah) with a young, attractive, and probably gold-digging wife (Neha Dhupia).  And there is a family friend cum confidante cum lawyer, Boman Irani. A near-death DUI experience for the husband brings an average Joe, Paresh Rawal, into the household as a driver. As the plot progresses, we are introduced to the hopelessness and eccentricity of Naseeruddin Shah’s character.  Then comes a day when he decides to screw his wife’s life for good…he reveals to her and  the driver the secret about his Rs.250,000,000 insurance and the twists and complexities involved in claiming it,  and then commits suicide. All the wife needs to do is prove that he was murdered in order to claim the money. At this point begins a tale of twists and turns, trust and betrayal, and double cross, which keeps the viewer engaged. There are several moments when the movie is totally predictable (at least it was to me!), but it is enjoyable nonetheless.  There are some obvious plot holes and inaccuracies but overall it is a good effort.

Paresh Rawal excels as the driver Subhash. It is a good change to see him as a character-actor rather than a comedian. Boman Irani and Naseeruddin Shah have done a great job as well. Surprisingly, Neha Dhupia is good too! Om Puri is good, but wasted in the miniscule role. The only thing I didn’ t like much was the title..I would rather name it differently, and try not to give away the entire story through the tag line!

This movie is an adaptation of a Gujarati play by Paresh Rawal. It is pretty decent as a film, but I believe it would be more engaging as a play. The screenplay is a little play-like and seems designed to be performed live on stage instead of the silver screen.

In conclusion, “Maharathi” is a good entertainer, with a nice plot, and a stellar cast. Definitely worth a dekko.  

"Welcome"...No Thanks!!

When you have such a strong cast, you also have lot of expectations from the film. ‘Welcome’ does not live up to the expectations at all!

It is a “so-so” film, okay to watch on cable, but definitely not worth spending money in the theater. There is nothing new to it; it is another example of good actors coming together and not being able to create anything special! The story is very predictable, and is a kind of patchwork from various films. For example, Nana Patekar’s character Uday Shetty is a cross between Shankar from Major Saab (a don, who is a loving brother), and Aslam Bhai from Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (LKLKBK)(a don with a strong passion for acting). He is a goofy goon, as portrayed by various actors in innumerable films; Sanjay Dutt in Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi (2002), Johnny Lever in LKLKBK (2001), to name a few. Nana Patekar is his usual self, with nothing new to offer as such. Anil Kapoor is another don, named Majnu Bhai, a close associate of Uday Shetty. He has done a pretty good job with his role, and definitely adds on to the value of the film. One can easily notice that Majnu Bhai’s character takes a variety of traits from Circuit of the Munnabhai series, Crime Master Gogo of Andaz Apna Apna, and other similar "comic sidekicks". Paresh Rawal is decent as Dr. Ghungroo, but his acting is repetitive from so many of his other movies. Even though Akshay Kumar is the hero, he is often sidelined by the dons, and we don’t get to see much of his impeccable comic timing. Feroz Khan is ok as the “Godfather” of the dons. The heroines (Katrina Kaif and Mallika Sherawat) seem to exist merely to add oomph value.

The film drags all along until the climax, which is pretty much the only enjoyable part. The dialogues are not great..or rather, they are quite “ghise peete”. Songs are okay, but often seem forcefully inserted into the script in places where no song is needed! All in all, a forgettable movie.

It definitely did not seem like a “Welcome” change from the norm!

Smoking Brilliant Film!

'No Smoking'...another sixer from Anurag Kashyap. After the hard hitting 'Black Friday', he has done it again.

However, it is definitely not a movie for everyone..I recommend it only for people who love movies and not those who are looking for pure timepass and entertainment! It is one of the best abstract movies that I have seen in recent times.

The story revolves around "K"...just K! It is about K's struggle to quit smoking. The film is full of metaphors and clues, and the director forces the audience to come out of their passiveness and think! If you are not alert enough, you might end up confused and clueless about what's going on. There is much more than what meets the eye..you need to activate your brain cells and relate the activities on screen to what the director is actually trying to convey! Miss that and the entire movie seems like a waste of time! There a quite a few things like a bath tub in the middle of nowhere in Siberia, Baba Bengali cutting off 2 fingers from peoples' hand, the dirty room where people arrive through the bath tub, cupboard or such unusual places, the right to take a 'bath' for the people who have paid the full fees to Baba Bengali, or a woman singing "Jab bhi cigarette" in Adnan Sami's voice, that look weird to the normal eye. But, this symbolism itself proves the sheer intelligence of the film maker.

This film is a gem in all the departments: direction, cinematography, acting, music. John Abraham has done a commendable job as the egoistic and obnoxious K. Paresh Rawal is outstanding as the eccentric Guru Ghantal Baba Bengali . Ayesha Takia is decent. Ranvir Shorey excels in his short, but well etched out character.

Kudos to Anurag Kashyap for this brilliant piece of work! A must watch for cinema fanatics!