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.

Aapla Manus

#AaplaManus - It would be wrong to say that it is “based” on the Marathi play #KatkonTrikon; it is exactly #KatkonTrikon except the name of Nana’s character and the unnecessary deviation at the end.

Although overall flow is smooth and engaging, it gets a little dragged towards the end. Saw couple of people dozing off during the climax scenes (too much gyaan? 🤔).

I had absolutely loved the play and would have easily rated it 4/5.

Although Nana Patekar is amazing, Dr. Mohan Agashe was just at another level in the play! Same goes for the other characters as well.

Another observation was that the English subtitles were way off in plenty of places leaving a lot to the viewer’s ability to interpret!

Overall, if you have not seen the play, you may love this one. Else its just a repetition.

2.5⭐️ from me.

Genius

#Newton - A different and relevant story shedding light on the “gravity” of the sad state of affairs in the election process.

Like Sir Newton would say,

1. An object (Our hero Nyuton Kumar) remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity (in his life) till acted upon by a force (election duty)

2. The more the force (sincerity to perform his duty), the more the acceleration (for going against odds to hold a fair election)

3. For every action (steps taken to abide by the rules), there is an equal and opposite reaction (from people screwing up the process)

That said, the execution is excellent with hardly any loopholes.

Rajkumar Rao is simply superb as the quirky hero. In fact, the entire cast is apt. Special mention to the cinematographer for capturing the nitty-gritties of the landscape and region perfectly.

A worthy nomination for the #Oscars, this one is definitely worth a dekko.

4⭐️ from me.

Sweet

#BareillyKiBarfi - A sweet concoction of #Saajan meets #SirfTum.

Typical and predictable storyline of a friendzoned guy and the "other" guy with a bindhast gal.That said, the story is lucid and narrative is smooth.

I am beginning to like Ashwini Iyer Tiwari's simplistic presentations though this one is not as great as #NilBatteySannata.

Special mention to Rajkumar Rao for his impeccable comic sense. But somehow Ayushman is too much of a Punjabi munda to pass off as a "Dubey".

Overall decent one time watch.

3⭐️ from me.

Soch ko badalna hai

#ToiletEkPremKatha - A crass and in-the-face film about stopping the crap - literally!

There is no beating about the bush about bushes/jungles/nullahs. The point is conveyed loudly and clearly.

All performances are strong. Bhumi Pednekar is very impressive while Akshay Kumar again proves that he is fungible in all kinds of roles.

Just one observation - the government is portrayed as a saint which was kinda too sugarcoated for my taste.

Otherwise the message is clear - Soch ko badalna hai. Hope for the best.

3.5⭐️ from me.