Movie review: ANDHADHUN

WOW. Sriram Raghavan and the writers. TAKE A BOW. 

ANDHADHUN is one hell of a visual.

ANDHADHUN gives us a bizarre, immoral, unethical and absurd reflection of a world where nothing is what it seems. (The Reel world or the real world, you might ask.)

We,as a society have excelled in camouflaging our characters and concealing our intentions. What we say is not what we mean and how we act is nothing like what we meant.

This has become the essence of our existence and Modus-operandi.

ANDHADHUN exploits this very idea and stitches a crafty, intelligent and thrilling set of events which engages us from start to end.

Every character in the film is flawed, ambiguous and unpredictable. Their motives, intentions and rationale imbibing greed and deceit sets up an entire sequence of episodes which are surprising and thrilling. Each character has a significance and each event has a consequence. 

Sriram Raghavan(director) has an eye for the detail and the hands for the craft. His projection of the dubiousness in his characters(both within and on the outside) is both deft and artistic. His sheer brilliance in joining the dots and culminating them with a crackling climax is commendable. 

This is one film which mocks at your intelligence and you appreciate and enjoy it.

Go watch it and have a ball.

Movie review: MANMARZIYAAN

Bollywood seems to be in pretty good form. They are being novel and creative in crafting stories and are finding decent enough evolved ways to tell their very own old love-stories. 

And most importantly, they are finally feeling the pulse of the audiences rather than taking them for granted.

MANMARZIYAAN then, bollywood’s latest offering is your usual love triangle bolstered with Anurag Kashyap’s craft and  strengthened by Amit Trivedi’s magic.

MANMARZIYAAN borrows from a handful of earlier Bollywood flicks, draws-out predictable characters and throws-in the same old predicaments too but treats it deftly and handsomely.

The first half is absolutely fantastic. Kashyap flaunts his talent and skill and projects the notion of his ‘fyaar’ with aplomb. The writing is crisp, earthy and complements the mood of the film. The music feels another character in the film. In short, the music coupled with the writing and direction escalates the proceedings on screen.

The second half is where Mr. Kashyap falters. He gets carried away and becomes indulgent and repetitive. The scenes drag and dip with only glimpses of his genius throwing-up in between. 

Yet in the end, you feel good about your time at the theatre. 

Give it a watch.

Movie review: STREE

Ohhhh Yes. Bollywood has finally cracked their most uncomfortable genre-horror comedy. Earlier, the horror was uninspired, shamelessly plagiarised and plain bad. The comedy too,was all about cheap laughs, dimwit and below the belt. In short, the horror gave us unintentional laughs and comedy made us look away.

STREE then, is an original and refreshing blend of horror-comedy which breathes crackling humour and infuses enough scares along the way to make our time and money worth at the theatre.

The movie entertains and entertains with aplomb delivering laugh-out-loud moments one after the other. The laughs here are not cheap or slapstick, they are well-earned and well-thought of. 

The brilliant part is the fusion of both the genres. The competence of the filmmaker in handling this narrative is commendable. Watch how smoothly and assuringly he blends a frightful scene into a laugh-out-loud moment and Vice Versa. Praiseworthy.

STREE doesn’t what you to just laugh, it wants to send home a message too. Infact, the movie does to men what society does to women. The men in STREE are unprivileged, insecure, unsafe and subdued reflecting the treatment offered to women in most cases.

This projection however,is delivered so cleverly that it is finds a perspective and yet remains thoroughly entertaining .The credit for this enormously must go to the writing which is razor-sharp, clever and astute.

“Woh Stree hai, purush nahi; anumati lekar pakadti hai”,  “Yeh naye Bharat ki churail hai”  are few of the many gems the movie vocals.It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the dialogues add the required gravitas and have the maximum impact on the proceedings.

The film also benefits largely from its tremendous actors. Their expressions, dialogue delivery and comic timing escalate almost every scene and amplify their effect on the audiences.

Go watch it. And recommend it.

Movie Review: RACE 3

Remo D’Souza, the director of RACE 3 said before the film’s release, “This is not a film for the Critics”. The arrogance in his voice hinted at the same sad story. A badly made film will again make money at the box-office.

Well, Mr. D’Souza, forget the critics, this is not a film for anyone, not even for the Salman-devotees. And I honestly wish that this time a bad film stays the way it is and not become a successful film.

The problem with RACE 3 is not just that it is a bad film.( that was a given with Remo D’Souza at the helm). The problem is that how brazen and shameless it behaves in being such a dull and insipid affair.

Still then, I went in to see how bad it was and it wasn’t disappointing on that front. The filmmaker’s incompetence was on display right from the start-Excruciating slow-mos, pedestrian dialogues, dim-wit presentations unfolded quite consistently and predictably. The Proceedings kept on going from bad to worse and the arrogance of the celebrated star left no stone unturned to mock the viewers expectations.Almost every character in the movie behaved as a star and not as an actor.Their weird accents added further insult to injury.

Every scene, it seemed was constructed only to glorify the stars, every proceeding portrayed only to showcase the lavish production values and the entire product assembled in a manner as if the makers knew that the audience would be taken for granted. 

It is sad to see such extravagant amount of money being splurged on such stale and poor film projects.There is no shame in experimenting and failing. But it’s a sham if they don’t even make the effort.

It is time the filmmaker understands that his competence matters, the stars understand that their efforts and preparations matter. It is time the film fraternity understands that the audience matter.

Don’t watch it and spread the word.

Hurt the film and its makers.

Movie review: RAAZI

A rare Bollywood film which offers no chest-thumping, no jingoism, and more so, no sight of an Indian flag being hoisted anywhere. And yet a film which portrays patriotism in its true sense.

RAAZI then,is a sensitive and a gripping tale about love, sacrifice, loyalty- all for a cause and eventually the futility of it all.

Early into the film, the protagonist Sehmat (played by a brilliant Alia Bhatt) voices,“ The country is us, We are our country”.

Quite an appealing statement, and yet an obvious one. And therein, a valid point to comprehend as to how our deeds and actions would invariably pave the way for a Nation we aspire to build and safeguard.

The film,on the other hand slowly and steadily gathers steam as Sehmat works her way into gathering intel. Surely, the ease at which she is able to infiltrate and gain access feels convenient and contrived, yet the ‘building-up to something’ narrative keeps us invested. 

The tension feels palpable and the scenes where her cover would blow up anytime are thoroughly engaging.

To the filmmaker’s credit, she deliberately steers away from any unnecessary sub-plots, slapstick humour and spoon-fed explanations. She stays true to the gripping narrative infusing and expressing just the right sensitivities on both the sides. This is no ‘My Nation is holier than thou’ film. There are no villains here. Just ordinary people in a situation where everyone would stand to lose.

“When its War, nothing else matters, not you or me, nor anyone, just the War”, remarks an Officer in the end. 

War and its preparations consumes one and all. And if anything remains,are just the casualties. 

Go watch it.

Movie review: RAID

In our country, if ever the corrupt powerful Ultra-rich feel threatened and are subject to damage, it is only and only on celluloid.

And when Bollywood showcases them feeling helpless and getting decimated, the common man, even though transiently,feels empowered.

Hence, movies like RAID are more than just welcomed and looked upon with sincere expectations. Unfortunately though, the product seldom matches the assumption.

RAID hence, is another lost opportunity. At best, it is just another average film which runs out of ideas post intermission.

Based on true events, it begins promisingly. Slowly and steadily building up the tension and throwing up genuine laughs in between. Both the protagonist and the antagonist matching up and matching well. 

But soon, predictablilty surfaces and from there on, it is all redundant and repetitive.

The problem doesn't just begin, it further amplifies after the interval. 

Post-interval it is painstakingly abyssmal. Absolutely nothing to keep us intrigued, nothing left to suprise and nothing causing an emotional orgasm. 

And when the job is finally done, it just ain't clapworthy. Never for once, giving you the high, never truly making you feel empowered.

A movie which can easily be avoided.

Movie review: SONU KE TITU KI SWEETY

Movie review: SONU KE TITU KI SWEETY

You laugh on a joke instantly, not because it made much sense but because it was funny. It is purely instinctive driven and not a thought-out event. 

And therein lies the crux of SKTKS. It’s a film like all other Luv Ranjan films: illogical, nonsensical, sexiest and stupid but like all his earlier films provide for some great instinctive laughs. Laughs that are easy and cheap, slapstick and sexiest but still, they are what they are-LAUGHS.

Good humour stays with you for long, seldom gets redundant and is thoroughly enjoyable. 

And yet, if not for these all it could manage is just a burst of laughter somewhere, the job is still pretty much done.

You know what to expect from a Luv Ranjan film. A silly plot, absurd predicaments, stupid protagonists and an implausible gender sketch. It is an unconvincing and unrealistic world he portrays, but that is exactly his recipe to garnish laugh-out-loud moments. And on that front, he delivers and delivers consistently.

He knows his audience, and he knows what makes them laugh. They will laugh from the heart and not from the mind, he must believe.

For Every dip in the scene, for every drag in the proceedings, for every redundancy and cosmetic approach on the screen, he has the ‘Belly laugh’ as his answer.

Works for many, doesn’t work for some. Probably, he understand the numbers.

So far so good. But will he evolve? The bigger question, does he need to?

NEWTON: Movie review

"The problem is not your honesty, it is the pride that you take in your honesty", vocals Sanjay Mishra to Rajkumar's character NEWTON.
Quite a statement. He further adds, "Doing you job honestly is always expected". And therein lies the crux of NEWTON.

NEWTON hence, is all about doing your job. Not bringing about a change, not causing a revolution, not being a rebel: just doing your job sincerely.

NEWTON is no hero, and the film isn't heroic. But it is penetrating enough. Perspective enough. Intriguing enough.

Hope in our country is not an option, it is a compulsion. And hence we aspire for greater endeavours. It questions our pride in our nation, in our democracy and many a times provide insights into our Modus operandi.

The beauty of NEWTON is that it doesn't pretend. It only portrays. And portrays subtly and splendidly.  It doesn't want to impress anyone( we all haven't forgotten the self-propaganda laden TOILET: Ek PREM KATHA), nor pretends to find a solution. It just wants you to know.

NEWTON is beautifully written, emaculately characterised and wonderfully enacted. Almost every character is flesh and blood and belongs to the movie. You just can't imagine anyone else playing these characters.

NEWTON doesn't have answers nor it dwells in finding them. All it wants is to make you understand your responsibilities and work towards it. Don't be remembered a hero, but be remembered the Man who did his job.

NEWTON is one of the finest films made in Bollywood.
Don't just watch it, recommend it.

Movie review: JAB HARRY MET SEJAL

'Today's cinema is today's literature', is a school of thought that Imtiaz Ali believes in.Over the years, his execution of that thought have intrigued us and entertained us.

Given his celebrated past, his films have carved a reputation of their own.
A reputation that says, 'Good is not good enough. Better is expected'.
And hence, we don't expect just good films from him, we want great films.

Sadly, JAB HARRY MET SEJAL is an Imtiaz Ali film that doesn't behave like an Imtiaz Ali film. Doesn't behave nor feel because it stays stagnated and dwells long into shallowness.
The man who made me fall in love with his earlier films now breaks my heart with his current one.

It breaks my heart to see Imtiaz Ali falling prey to bollywood clichés. It disappoints me that the man who wanted to experiment tells a 'Been there, done that' story. It hurts to see that the characters we always seemed to connect, cause no turbulence in our blood.

It is quite acceptable that a filmmaker fails to translate a novel concept, an idea or an experiment into a decent expression. Trying and failing is anyday better than failing to try.
The sad part is that with JHMS, Imtiaz Ali doesn't try anything different. His Harry met Sejal long time back.He basically  replicates the same approach of his earlier films(even dilutes them), throws in  newer, beautiful European landscapes and tells a story. A story where the European landscapes overpower the central protagonists.
The filmmaker known for his characters and their journeys being limited to showcase just exotic locations.

We loved Imtiaz's work for a reason. We were invested in his soul-searching, travel laden explorations, were intrigued in his take on contemporary love, feelings and character journeys. But in JHMS, all he does is repeat himself. And he not just repeats his work ,dilutes it and displays a half-baked, stale and boring tale of love and longing.

This was one film I wanted to enjoy. And j didn't. Sadly i wanted Harry to meet Sejal differently.

Movie review: LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKA

In many of the scenes, LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKA does to men what many bollywood films have done to women -  treat them as objects, make them look silly and mark them as one-dimensional. But if we didn't complain then, no reason why we should now.

The good thing is, LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKA wants to talk Women empowerment, not shout, scream or yell. Prime-time debated and discussed, echoed in ever metro city, this term has made the most noise but has hardly found a solid footing.
The film then, has a serious undertone but expresses it with genuine fun and humor.

To be honest, India is more of a Man's world. Most of India dwells in small towns and Small towns have their own bizarre modus operandi. They want their women to have varied roles but be submissive in all of them. They want them to be the 'Buajis' , 'biwis' , 'bahus and betis' with their terms and conditions. Every role with a tag, every behaviour with a restraint, and every move meant to be judged.

LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKA resides in these small cities, shows their taboos  and in turn, reflects a larger image.
An image which might not hold a universal appeal, but a reality that exists.
A reality which we are apprehensive to accept, but most of us inherently want.

Men in India are a scared species. Scared and insecure. They are scared of women, are insecure of them. They fear when a  woman responds, reacts and retaliates.
They are used to the tamed ones and hence lose it the moment a stronger one is face to face.

LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKA is not a penetrating perspective nor a wholesome justification. But it works because it dares and still stays breezy. It is terrific at places and has some genuinely funny moments. The good thing is that even when it is not, it doesn't drag or gets too indulgent. Repetitive maybe yes, but never boring.

A small film about small cities reflecting smaller mentalities. But raises a question? Is the mentality limited only to the smaller cities?
Watch it.

Movie review: DUNKIRK

"All we did was Survive", voices an embarrassed, rescued soldier.
"Well, that's good enough", is the response he gets.
DUNKIRK then, is a WAR film not about WAR. It is after all, a Christopher Nolan film, the Christopher Nolan way.

DUNKIRK was history to us when we read about it. But Nolan makes it an experience. He grasps us by the neck, drops us amidst that dreaded period and forces us to feel. And not just feel, imbibe.

Nolan does not allow DUNKIRK to celebrate much. Infact, what should it celebrate? He traps us, scares us, chokes us. But not unlike other war films showing corpses, mutilated bodies and intestine protruding bellies. He doesn't want you to look away, he wants you to get invested.
Invested in the grim and hopelessness of the soldiers? Why and what for?
And pretty soon you realise Why. With DUNKIRK, Nolan wants to give you, infact give us a sense of purpose.

Yes, he gives us a sense of purpose. A purpose beyond our limitations. A purpose beyond our self-centered, self-catererd and self-driven walk of life.
He uses DUNKIRK to address 'US', to give away the 'I'.
If a cluster of civilians could evacuate an army, it is purely because they wanted to.
Likewise, We could make the world a better place, only if we want to.

We all have the grit, the mettle, the resilience and the strength. It is just that when pushed to the walls, only then we realise it. Nolan gives you that Wall.

Should you watch it or not? It's a Christopher Nolan film, you will regret it if you don't.

Movie review: JAGGA JASOOS

First things first: JAGGA JASOOS is a mess. But a mess oozing out of something experimental, something original. An experiment far from success, but yet a try that didn't fall on its face.

JAGGA JASOOS is as messy as a kid's room.A room that is all tangled up and untidy on the surface. But look closer, and you will be invested in the kid's processes that lead to the mess. His intelligence, his ideas, his usage of resources at hand, his clumsiness, his unorthodox methods all contributing to the mess.
Ideas, intelligence leading to a mess, you would question? Of course yes, if they go out of control. Of course yes, if one becomes obsessed with them. Then they become the mess.

But a mess is not all bad, though its not all good either. But I am not an 'All needs to be good' waala person. For me 'Something great' is always a better alternative.'Glimpses of genius' is stimulating enough, 'Everything needs to be in order' is very textbookish.

An experiment might be based on a textbook, but it generally doesn't end that way. And that is the beauty of it.
JAGGA JASOOS is that experiment that didn't go by the book. And hence, faltered.
But amidst, showed great promise.
It gave me melody, it gave me freshness and most importantly instilled my faith in the medium.

If everything was to be judged by the end product, the journey everytime would feel miserable. Anurag Basu had a great time making the movie, I had a decent time watching it. Exhaustive yes, laboured yes, silly yes but still I had a decent time.

I won't recommend this to everyone. Only for those, who understood what I wrote.

Movie review: HINDI MEDIUM

Reviewing HINDI MEDIUM in English is quite an irony in itself. Nonetheless, I write in case it saves you the time and the money.

I had decent expectations from HINDI MEDIUM. The subject at hand felt not only interesting, but relevant too. It had so much potential to work with.
But as we have seen on most occasions, great potential not always transform into great result. HINDI MEDIUM is then, again a lost opportunity.

HINDI MEDIUM begins promisingly. It gives you a feeling that you just might get what you came in expecting -a satire on topical issues, humour stemming out from the protagonist's muddle, an insight on social vices and eventually leading to probably a penetrating perspective. But nothing of the sorts happen. Your expectations take a beating, your grey matter remains unaltered and your emotions run pretty much dry.

Barring a few genuinely funny and moving scenes, nothing much stirs or shakes you. The chemicals in your blood never gets their escalation, the neurons fail their stimulation.

The film though, means well. It is well-intended and brilliantly enacted. It even wants to. It wants to address issues and even wants to send home a message, it just doesn't know how to.
Hence, no matter how relevant the predicaments are, their presentation comes across as forced and contrived. On most occasions, scenes are merely constructed to make them funny. Would have been so much better had humour trickled down naturally from the scenes. It all feels laboured, uneasy and incomplete.

"English is not a language, it is a class", vocals Irrfan's wife.Quite a statement, but the film never establishes the theme. It scratches social taboos aplenty, hints on the prevalent malices,but doesn't penetrate deep enough. All shallow and dealt superficially and lacking the much needed weight or depth.

What the film does manage,(and that usually works for Bollywood)is that it plays to the populist gallery. What it does have are two splendid actors in Irrfan Khan and Deepak dobriyal. It is these two actors who save the day and make the film watchable.

Watch only if you have nothing else to do.

Movie review: MERI PYAARI BINDU

We have all been a witness atleast, if not a participant, to a One-sided love affair.
The 90's we grew up in saw us dwell and succumb to its feeling.
Remember the tape-recorders with the cassettes? The varied songs with their "apni-waali-haalat"lyrics? Truly Nostalgic.

Yes. MERI PYAARI BINDU makes you nostalgic. Not only this, it charms you, moves you and gets you smiling all the way through.

Surely, it offers nothing new. "Pyaar ke baare mein naya kya likhoge", voices Parineeti to Aayushmann. But the mere warmth that PYAAR exudes is enough for us. And the film has a lot of it. Genuine warmth and touching scenes.

The film celebrates the feeling of being in love. The feeling of helplessness, the feeling of being and acting stupid, the charm of innocence, the joy of seeing your loved one happy.
But most importantly, it celebrates holding onto the long-gone love, not letting it go and being comfortable with it. Staying with it even if it is not yours.

I liked it. Chances are that you might like it as well.

LOGAN: Movie Review

Yes, The WOLVERINE can bleed to death. And yes, the fitting send-off will make you misty eyed. As ironically it may seem, the mutant franchise LOGAN feels amazingly humane.

We have always liked Hugh Jackman as The Wolverine. Here in, we fall in love with his Logan.

His Logan gets beaten and we get hurt, he runs scared and we want him to be safe, he cries and we get the lumps, he feels vulnerable and helpless and we want his redemption. And we he does run wild and smashes the bad guys, we shout and clap with aplomb.

He always had the style with his admantium, this time we feel his bleeding heart.
His every second on screen stirs the chemicals in our blood.

Hugh Jackman as The Wolverine and as Logan fittingly deserved and eventually gets one of the finest last scenes.
Yes, you will get nostalgic.

Go watch it.

feels vulnerable. 

Rangoon: Movie review

Rangoon feels like schizophrenia or maybe a split personality disorder. It is beyond saving for most parts but every now and then shows promise and glimpses of Bhardwaj's brilliance.

It is either horribly wrong with Rangoon(predominantly) or flashes of excellence from the filmmaker.
Inconsistent is what the treatment is and incomplete is what the product feels.

Vishal Bhardwaj is a man of many talents but his film making craft always feel incomplete. Almost all his films have brilliant moments but moments alone do not make a brilliant film. On several occasions he seems to loose grip, inevitably succumbs to self-indulgence and falls bait to the abstract.

He picks up difficult subjects, adapts and blends them into our style and manages to create a 'seldom treaded ambience'. It is not that bad though, the problem is that it ain't as good either.

Bhardwaj is never shy to try. He tries because he can, not sure now whether he should. He needs to command his territory and not get lost in the transition.
He need to be ultra sure and keep a leash on his subject and not get scattered.
More condensed and more compact.

Indulge us as an audience, but do not force you self-indulgence. Stay abstract but let us interpret in a better way.
Stay unorthodox but engage us.

We will wait for one more Mr. Bhardwaj.

Movie review: RAEES

Invariably every Salman khan film does it,  Ajay devgn tried doing it (SHIVVAY) and now Shahrukh khan is falling into it with RAEES. Such established superstars and yet their films manufactured to suit their stardom. Always wanting to be important  than the script, more significant than the plot and much bigger than the film.

To begin with, it didn't matter. Then, it began to disappoint. But now, we feel cheated. Cheated and Insulted.
Cheated because we don't get our money worth. Insulted because the filmmakers  take us for granted.

RAEES could have been(and infact should have been) a complete entertainer. A complete paisa-vasool. But it didn't. The sad part is, it seemed that it didn't wanted to.
It had everything laid out well: an Able director, a charming superstar and a brilliant Nawazuddin Siddique.
It also began well. It entertained and entertained good in the first half. We loved the ambience, the dialogues and we loved the Shahrukh-Nawazuddin duo.

And then it happened. All the promise evaporated. The second half turned into a "Let us show what Shahrukh is capable of".  And it began to overstretch and drag. The superstar feeling comfortable at the cost of our inconvenience.

They took us for granted yet again.(The fans would love it anyway, they thought).
We were taken for a ride yet again.( The fans would understand, they believed).

Movie review: DANGAL

DANGAL movie review: Remember what CHAK DE did for hockey and women? DANGAL does the same for wrestling and women.

A Good sport biopic film invests you in the protagonists and intrigues you into the sport, while a great one makes you fall in love with both. DANGAL, then, oscillates in between- rising above than just being good but falling short of being great.(Only if it could have done without the caricature villainous Indian coach).

For all those who thought of DANGAL as SULTAN 2.0,  DANGAL is actually what SULTAN could never be.
DANGAL paves the way of how a sport biopic film should be - insightful, moving and inspiring. Maybe not entirely, but predominantly.

When the opening credits are rolled out, we see the haryana dialect advisor's name along with the wrestling advisor's name (Arjun awardee),  and you know that the filmakers had put in the extra effort and done the research requisite for a sport biopic.(The film gets the wrestling moves spot on, a commendable effort).

The success of a sport biopic is when the journey of the protagonists absorbs the viewers. Their plight, their efforts, their pain, their rise, their fall and eventually their redemption all sweeping the viewers along the way. What happens to them on the screen, alters the chemicals in your blood. DANGAL does that to you.

DANGAL smells of the 'akahadas mitti' and feels like the 'thud on the wrestling mat'.
The father's desperation, the girls initial aversion, their transformed passion all having the emotional depth.
The 'Kushti in the Akhaadas' and the 'Wrestling in the tournaments' competently and splendidly executed.(Never before they seemed so real).

SULTAN had one Superstar(Salman Khan) playing the character to his whims and fancies, whereas DANGAL has another superstar(Aamir Khan)becoming the character. What you see on screen is Mahavir Singh Phogat, the father and not Aamir Khan, the star. Fantastic portrayal.

DANGAL wins your heart, Mahavir Phogat wins your heart, the Girls win your heart. You cry when they cry, you smile when they smile and you celebrate when they celebrate.
Go watch it.

Movie review: SHIVAAY

You learn a thing or two about Ajay Devgn after surviving SHIVAAY. Existing virtually in every frame of the movie, he seems to be smitten by self-obsession and engrossed in self-indulgence.
And so it turns out, SHIVAAY is an absolute mess that should never have happened.

For what I understand, movies are made for the audiences.They are manufactured to suit our nuances, crafted to cater to our emotions and customised for our entertainment.
Sadly, SHIVAAY delivers nothing for the audiences. It is strictly by Ajay Devgn, of Ajay Devgn and for Ajay Devgn.(Not even for his fans).

With all its self-indulgence, SHIVAAY might have still worked, if at all it had a coherent script with an emotional core.(After all, it had a father-daughter relationship). Alas, it turns out not just bad, it ends up being disastrous.

There is not one sane moment in the film. Like the film itself, each character and their predicament is either ridiculous or pure bizarre. You seem to loose count of absurdity, as scenes one after another keep unravelling.

So half-witted the characterisation is, the mother acts childishly, the father behaves irrationally and the child never feels like one. Hence, the sympathy and the concern for them never ever surfaces.
The agony is, it ain't just all shallow, it is stupid.

The problems are not few or many. The problem is the entire product.Your patience is not just tested, it takes a pounding. Your intelligence is insulted and your emotions run absolutely dry. What a waste, What a shame.

The audacity of the Director is omnipresent. As if the opening credits weren't enough, the end credit displays Mr. Devgn's name yet again in case we happen to forget who was behind the camera.

Mr. Devgn, we loved you in front of the camera. Behind the camera you have insulted Devgn, the actor and many of us, the audience. We won't forget this easily.

You might gain something from the film, but you surely will loose a lot of credibility.

Don't watch it.

MS Dhoni: Movie review

"It is good that you chose cricket, but beyond that what matters is the kind of person you are"( SACHIN, A BILLION DREAMS), this quote has stayed with me ever since, summing up the entire essence of playing the sport and being the Man.

And here we are then, having watched DHONI and falling short in knowing the Man.Failing to even remotely relate to the kind of person he was or currently is. Failing to come to terms with the Man that got us 2 World cups.
Disappointingly, we have yet another biopic that reveals nothing about the protagonist.

DHONI, AN UNTOLD STORY should have been titled DHONI, TELL ONLY WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN KNOWN STORY.

With DHONI, the intrigue was never in his rise to stardom. 'A small town boy dreaming big and getting it', ain't just about Dhoni. As a matter of fact, it is almost about every third Indian sportsman. And a lot many sportsmen have had a far more challenging, formidable and taxing ordeal.

The intrigue then, is the Man himself. A Man of very few emotions, his ambiguous demeanour has never been an access to what lies beneath the skin. A Man who has been a revelation and yet have faltered on many occasions, someone who has brought laurels to the nation and yet has been questioned about his conduct, should have made for a fascinating and an insightful premise.
A man that won many hearts, but along the way disturbed many a minds.
(His conflict of interest in the IPL, leaving the captaincy Mid-series, decision regarding his retirement and many more).

To be honest, it needed a great deal of research and balls of steel to address the pertinent questions about an Indian Cricket demi-god. Could the filmmaker do it? (last heard MS DHONI was paid 70 percent of the total film's cost to make his biopic). Could the filmmaker even think about it?
Easier way is to be smart instead, cash in the brand of the cricketer and mint money at the box-office.

Hence, the filmmaker played safe and smart, showcasing the flamboyance of the cricketer's batting that has pumped the nation's heartbeat.( Who cares even if you have watched it a 100 times over in the highlights package on Star cricket? Don't forget, you are a true cricket fan and patriot.)

Matters of the heart never needed the mind to intervene.

Alas, I had other ideas.