Friday, June 29, 2018

Sanju - bole toh, achhi hain!



The two reasons I went to watch Sanju were Ranbir Kapoor and Rajkumar Hirani. The third reason some may go are if they are Baba fans. Sanju, as the makers too mention, is a biopic of the always-in-the-headlines-for-the-wrong-reasons Sanjay Dutt. What they do not tell though is that it is a pick-and-choose biography, where the makers have selected those portions of Sanjay Dutt’s life they felt would make a great story. Forget mention of an actress whose name rhymes with Mr. Fixit, there is no mention even of his first or second wives. With so much to fit in an almost 3-hour film, those story lines have been ignored completely. The biopic touches only three areas - his connection with drugs, his love for women and the 1993 blasts- all vices. But the presentation is such that it feels more like a story about a father and a son and about a friendship that lasts through testing times - well played Hirani.

The three main characters in the movie are Sanju himself (played by Ranbir Kapoor; and if you did not know this, you are from a different planet), Sunil Dutt (Paresh Rawal) and Kamlesh (Vicky Kaushal). It would be unfair to start the review without giving a big round of applause to the Kapoor scion – Ranbir. What an actor, par excellence he is! The way he looks, the way he emotes, bang on! Twenty minutes into the movie, you forget that the man on screen is Ranbir. Ranbir, I see you holding the black lady next year. The other actor who ranks second is Vicky Kaushal who plays Sanju’s best buddy. If you wanted a fourth reason to watch the movie, it should be Vicky. His Gujju dialect, his naivety and his will-die-for-a-friend character make him extremely loveable. Paresh Rawal as Sunil Dutt, performs with conviction to paint the picture of a committed politician and a tired but strong father. Manisha Koirala, Sonam Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Dia Mirza have small roles in bits and pieces. One performance you will hear of even though you do not see the movie is of Anjan Srivastav. He plays a top-class politician with a unique lisp that easily gives away who he is. His portrayal may not go down well with the current government and with the general public who mostly reveres him. I see a controversy being blown out of proportion by the media coming very soon.

The movie is not Hirani’s usual style – this one a lot more serious and impactful. But there are sporadic moments in between where Hirani sprinkles a little bit of laughter in his genuine magical style. The last scene where Kamlesh says to Sanju “Tera beta ekdum tere daddy jaise dikhta hain re” and the reaction that follows will make sure you leave the theater with a smile on your face.
Word of caution - avoid watching the movie to pass a judgement on Sanjay Dutt, else like the media that the movie bashes frequently, we would be no different. Leave that to the judicial system of India. I went into the theater knowing one side of the story that the media had presented. I came out hearing the other side. That’s it. Who am I to judge which side is truthful? Or to decide whether he was really guilty or not. Watch it for a story – about a man who makes a lot of bad choices and pays for it. For whatever reason each of us had, in the jam- packed theater that we sat in, the movie ended with a loud applause.

p.s: Don’t walk out and miss seeing the song “Baba bolta hain bass ho gaya” after the end credits. The lyrics of the song are so relevant and entertaining, I would give just the song an independent 5*.

Overall rating for the movie: 4*, 
For Ranbir: The galaxy isn’t enough!

Friday, June 15, 2018

Race 3 - Allah duhai hain!

Firstly, Eid Mubarak to my friends who are celebrating. It's a long weekend here and salman khan is back with his Eidi. We had not much to do, so we headed out to watch Race3. It was a fight getting tickets and the theater was jam packed (i feel it's important to mention here that we weren't the only idiots) But the movie turned out to be one of the most boring and dull movies i have seen in recent times. first there was no plot. whatever plot there was, came to light in the last 15 minutes. till then, characters came and went. characters fought. characters danced - with no story built up.

when bobby deol and daisy shah started swaying to a meaningless song that goes "ek baar selfish... blah blah blah" i saw a man from my row walk out. wait, that was my husband! when another party song came up a girl in the row said "what! one more?" wait, that was my daughter. and the one boy who normally laughs loud in the theater was awefully quiet - my son. anil kapoor sums up the movie brilliantly in his dehati accent in one of his dialogues, "ee ka bullsit family melodrama karat rahein ho bituwa"

of the star cast, anil kapoor does his job well, as the senior of the family. salman khan is on a leash - he wants to do more for his die hard fans, but the director promised equal footage to all. daisy shah and  deol seem to be trying too hard to make a comeback. bobby looks crooked (did he always look this way?). daisy shah is good in some action scenes but emotes like a parrot. saqib saleem has a few lines and plenty of fast cars. jackie is hot!

The Race franchise is supposed to churn out movies that are full of twists and turns in the plot with shock after shock. The only point in the movie when i felt a shock was when, towards the end, anil kapoor (a la black panther) says "the race is still on", hinting a Race4. Allah duhai hain, fir jaan pe aayi hain!

Some races are best left to the Men in White. abbas mastan we want u back!

Bucket list - a bucket half full

When I first saw the trailer of Bucket List, Madhuri’s first Marathi movie, it showed everything Madhuri is best known for – her style, her grace, her dance. The trailer however gave out almost everything the movie had to offer. There was literally no surprise element left for the viewer paying to watch it in the theater – even the Ranbir cameo had no one squealing in enthusiasm, as everyone in the theater already knew who the hooded man in the bar would be.

The story is simple – a quintessential housewife, Madhura (Madhuri) in a typical Maharashtrian joint family staying on Prabhat Road (where else), undergoes a heart transplant and as a gesture decides to complete her organ donor, Sai’s bucket list – a half completed list of things, the now deceased Sai, wanted to complete before she turned 21. Madhura’s journey, while she completes Sai’s bucket list is fun to watch – learning to ride a Harley, drinking in a pub, getting arrested, going viral –giving the ever-so-charismatic Madhuri Dixit a chance to showcase her talent.

Coming to what I liked in the movie – I was nervous about Madhuri’s Marathi diction considering we haven’t seen her speak much Marathi before, plus the fact that she has lived in the States long enough for the American accent to pop up. However, Madhuri did the Marathi task flawlessly! The second thing I was worried about whether Madhuri’s majestic onscreen persona would fit the role of the simple Marathi “soon” (daughter-in-law). She did that job fine too.  And she still lights up the scene when she plays with her eyes and flirts mischievously with the audience. Of the supporting cast, Vandana Gupte played the mother in law character with ease. The way she speaks Hindi (Marathi style) reminded me a lot of my own mom ðŸ˜Š Renuka Shahane, as the mother of Sai, was pleasant but making an actress who is best know for her big broad smile look glum because of the loss of her daughter, felt like a wasted resource. Sumeet Raghavan, known for his sweet on-screen persona, fitted the job of the caring husband well. But all in all, the movie was about Madhuri, and Madhuri alone.  Well, that was why the audience was there too!

Coming to where the movie felt short – some of the scenes between Madhura and her teenaged daughter felt straight out of English Vinglish. The song with Madhura and her husband in Malaysia, with wind blowing through 2 yards of saree pallo, seemed awkward and unnecessary. Maybe it was added only for the Dharma stamp. With so many producers name in the credits, I would think the makers had enough money and yet we see Madhuri advertising MakeMyTrip in one of the scenes – it so didn’t suit her class!  And then the bucket list itself – felt so short. One of Sai’s friend clarifies in the beginning “Sai has already completed a few tasks, but a few remain”. And the audience can’t help but feel – “Why did Sai have to do anything, it would have been so much better if Madhura had to finish the entire list”. Why did the bucket have to be half full? The audience leaves the theater yearning for more. We love you Madhuri and we can't have enough.

3.5 stars for the movie, with one star only for the Diva.