Movie review: TAMAASHA

An Imtiaz Ali film warrants a watch. His storytelling and narrative has always been novel and many a times quite non-obvious
And when he teams with AR Rahman, Ranbir and Deepika, even at worse,it would still be a decent watch.
TAMAASHA then, is a fairly inconsistent film which with all its blemishes deserves to be seen. It might be unfulfilling, unsatisfactory and even drives home the same Imtiaz Ali message, yet it is not at all disappointing.
With its heart at the right place, one is more than willing to condone the irregular beats.

Rat-race can take a man from you, transform you into a machine and gradually drain you off emotionally. The materialistic need overpowering the elemental emotions.
Also,True love can show you your true self. Running away from the daily chores actually brings you closer to your self.
These messages formed the backbone of earlier Imtiaz's films and this movie too works on the same tangent.

There is a lot to like here if you are willing to invest yourself in the narrative. The crackling chemistry between the leads, brilliant music, and the genius of Imtiaz Ali on quite a handful of scenes.
The scene in which Ranbir and Deepika split, the scene in which Deepika persuades Ranbir to take her back, Ranbir's outburst in front of his Dad and many more emotionally move you. There are inventive presentations and some penetrating predicaments striking our hearts. The turbulence in Ranbir's life feels genuine, and his trauma feels relatable. His outbursts though feels contrived and uneven.

Ofcourse, the film suffers from a lot of self-indulgence and redundancy. The messages too,though well intended, are too many and poorly communicated. The predicaments of the protagonists lack the depth and on a few occasions even come across juvenile.

The performances as expected are powerful.Though Ranbir does a brilliant job, it is Deepika who steals the show with her big expressive eyes and an emotionally enriched performance.Many scenes work solely because of the maturity the lead pair brings to them.

Far from being thoroughly engaging and insightful, the movie sure has a large chunk which can be appreciated.

Do watch it.

Movie review :SPECTRE

Movie review: SPECTRE
There is one thing common between Salman khan in bollywood and JAMES BOND in Hollywood. Both are greater than their respective films. Their brand and reputation is larger than the movies they are a part of. Sadly though, On almost all occasions their movies are mediocre, hardly offer any novelty, are repetitive and so very predictable.

The new bond film: SPECTRE is not only predictable, it is dull and a big bore.
Gone are the days when spectacular locations around the world and a scintillating background worked for the BOND FLICK. The Bourne series and MI series provide all this accompanied by edge of the seat thrill.

Sadly here, there is no thrill, no nail biting narrative and absolutely no depth.
I am among the very rare breeds who are not fond of BOND films. They fail to excite me purely because the spy has it very easy. Troubled waters, but he rarely breaks a sweat and an edge of the seat Action thriller we are talking about.

The demeanour of BOND is the sole thing I love. His tuxedo is something to die for. But that is not enough to make your 200 bucks worth.

The BOND movies were never known for their emotional depth and we are perfectly fine with it. But the flamboyance is missing, the urgency is lacking and the coolness is a thing of the past.
No suspense whatsoever and even the Villainy is disappointing.

All in all, it is a below average film. Avoid it.

Movie review : PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO

Movie review: PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO

A Sanjay leela Bhansali wannabe that is old-fashioned, overly simplistic and too melodramatic.
Save for the last 20 odd minutes which has the signature Suraj barjatiya touch, most part of the movie (though pleasing to the eyes) is quite bad to your senses.

The Prince, with the swagger and style has the riches and the Pauper, with the heart and soul, has love to offer.
The message too is well intended: Family and love transcending every hatred.
But alas, all this thwarted by superficial writing and infantile treatment.

The problems are a plenty here.
The first half is a drag. Meant to be light and breezy, it turns out to be neither. Too many songs(none a chart buster or melodious), sporadic scenes, pedestrian comedy never giving the movie any steam to gather. The entire RAJGHARANA feels superficial and the characters mere caricatures. Visually stunning sets, brilliantly choreographed and shot song-dance sequences all ending up futile. The family clashes are way too shallow, the empathy and sympathy too naive and the screenplay weightless and cosmetic.

The second half too feels stretched and bogged down by lack of emotional depth.
The reunion of family members doesn't give you any high, the scenes failing to escalate any sentiments. Bits and pieces genius of Barjatiya gets diluted by the entire superficial ambience.

To make matters worse, the casting is horribly wrong. Sonam kapoor, Neil nitin Mukesh are the worst possible actors to play these roles. The brilliant Deepak Dobriyal and Sanjay Mishra have no meat whatsoever in their roles. Anupam kher is left stranded (quite literally too) in this overbearing franchise.

Eventually as in most his films, it boils down to Salman Khan to save the day. He is earnest, looks a billion bucks and offer some relief in this overdrawn and tedious watch. I could sit the entire length just because of him.

But here is the catch. After all this overbearing and over enduring proceeding, the final 20 minutes might just suddenly transform your thoughts. Strangely, you might ignore and forget everything and feel good about the movie. Why? Because it made you cry, gave you lumps in your throat.
If that is all what you are looking for ( and Salman khan ) give it a watch.
Otherwise, Stay away.