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.

Movie review: PINK

Finally we understood. And Finally we triumphed.
Some years back it was QUEEN. And now it is PINK.
PINK, like QUEEN, is more than just a film. And it does more than just entertain.

While QUEEN was all about finding yourself, PINK is about realising what one has become.

PINK is actually BLACK. It is scary, unpleasant and disturbing. A reflection of the society we inhabit.

PINK is also symbolic. Symbolic of the helplessness we find ourselves in, symbolic to the feudalism we are accustomed to and symbolic to the times we live in.

"PINK is for the girls". So we say to ourselves. And many more irrational, chauvinistic and sexist taboos we tag to women.
'Independent women' remains a phrase only and nothing more.
And thus, PINK hits you right where it should. It hammers on the subject, both by being subtle and not, and in turn makes you sit up and take notice.

PINK is for everyone because it can happen to anyone. PINK walk the streets, drive down the roads, work hard and party harder.
The only thing they don't is that they don't feel safe. We don't feel safe. We don't let them feel safe.
PINK draws out the problem and projects the filth inside us. It offers us the mirror and forces us to look away. Brilliant.

Pink preaches too. But, only after practicing.

Go watch it. Do not miss it at any cost.

Movie review: SULTAN

Reviewing a Salman Khan film is always a tricky proposition. Tricky because one is not sure who to review, Him or the film. His stature against the film's substance, and the line turns ever so blurred.

"Bhai ki entry dekhi. Paisa vasool." And you can't debate about the 200 bucks you paid for.
"Bhai ke moves dekhe. Repeat value hai film ki." This when you can't even muster the courage to complete viewing it the first time.
"Bhai rocks. He is actually like this only. He doesn't need to act. He is a natural." And you get lost in the transition too.

His movies then, on most occasions, become a mere vessel to portray the length and breath of his larger than life image. They are manufactured to suit the fancies of the superstar and to cash-in on his super stardom. And in that regard, they seldom fail.
SULTAN too, though in trying to be different, ends up being not much of an alteration. Not a great film, but a big big money spinning blockbuster.

The Man has an enchanting persona and a screen presence very few actors possess, there is no denying this fact. The charm, the innocence and the sincerety he brings to the forefront is both infectious and engrossing. To give credit where it is due, he even makes ordinary scenes look stunning and spectacular.

But it is time now when one needs to separate Him from his films. Yes, he has an unmissable charm and a peculiar swagger, but will that always suffice?. What about the film at hand which boasts of having a screenplay, a story and other characters.
Just because he is brilliant in a film, doesn't mean the film is brilliant too.

SULTAN then, is an overlong, overly simplistic and way too predictable sport-romance drama which doesn't spring any surprises.
Yes, Salman khan is the life of the film. He makes you invest in his character and even root for his redemption. He makes his Man-child character lovable and shines throughout the proceedings.
He succeeds for sure but the film doesn't.
The movie ropes in every trick of the trade and every possible clichés from numerous bollywood and Hollywood enterprises to amalgamate a redemption story.
But sadly, it lacks the novelty, the depth and the sentiments associated with that redemption.
No heart warming in the romance, no heart wrenching in their separation and no adrenaline rush in his redemption. 

Unfortunately though, this won't ever matter. After all, "Bhai ki film hai, bus dekhni hai." And it won't end here. After watching his films, they would declare it a Blockbuster never ever witnessed on celluloid. The fans will go berserk painting the social media with taglines such as- "Bhai rocked,"  "The best Salman khan film ever".
What they will forget is that they said the same for BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN too and before that and before that too.
2018 EID and they will have yet another "Best Salman khan film ever".

UDTA PUNJAB : Movie review

UDTA PUNJAB could have been more penetrating. Yes, it could have been more tighter and yes, it could have been more insightful.

But still, it deserves to be seen. Because it dares to be brave, dares to be different and dares to break the norm.

Does it really make a dent on the subject it offers? Maybe not, but it doesn't die wondering.
It offers no breakthrough either, but then it wasn't meant to. It reflects a reality that has plagued the state and succeeds in displaying some great dark humor.

The film works on many levels, even though it falters in doing so. Just like a kid who has suddenly learnt to walk, it is more of a triumph  though discomforting in the process.

The film soars and soars high when it projects dark humor. It succeeds when it stays dark and dizzy, capturing the drug addicts with all their moods and nuances. Though to be critical, One would have wished more infiltration into the subject.
Also, the film could have easily done without the investigation part. Instead, it would have been wonderful if the story chewed into the turbulence and life-style of the protagonists.

Now to the other question: Does it entertain? Yes, it does. It displays a disturbing issue and yet stays light, witty and non-preachy. The characters keep you invested in the narrative and the screenplay keeps hitting you with some splendid scenes.
Though it does drag a bit more for our comfort, yet it stays away from self-indulgence. It dips every now and then, but rises with some brilliant moments.

Here are some moments of absolute brilliance.
1. The scene in which Shahid kapoor, locked in jail finds the criminals chanting him as as idol is both hilarious and hard-hitting. The youth cheering for a celebrity for all the wrong reasons.

2. Alia's outburst in front of Shahid stirs and shakes you. Alia makes the scene her own reflecting how powerful an actor she has become.

3. The dialogues at places are pure gems.
"Pehle banda to ban jaa, VIP baad mein banana", shouts Diljit to Shahid.
"Puri nasal kharaab kar di hai, Jab bhai par baat aayi to Jhatka laga", voices Karen to Diljit.
All relevant statements projecting the world we breathe in and the bubble we are used to live within.

Watch it in case you haven't.

Movie review: MASSAN

"Everyone may not be a great talent, but great talent can come from anywhere."
Good filmmaking doesn't demand or necessitate a manufactured grandeur.
All it needs is a skilled craftsman who understands the essence of the script and has a penetrating perspective and depth to his filmmaking.

MASSAN then, is an immensely natural, disturbing and moving portrayal of two protagonists faced with their biggest odds. Painted with remorse and poetry, the film has an insight and is thoroughly enriching.

Shot against the backdrop of U.P., the film has two different stories running in parallel. The female protagonist, whose sexual adventure with her boyfriend ends up tragically and the male protagonist's love and grief saga- form the film's premise.

The film has a lot to offer both in terms of its narrative and its substance.The entire ambience of a small town is beautifully captured with each character written in blood and flesh. Every character has his own turmoil, his own characteristics, his own grief making the display so compelling.

There are so many facets to the proceedings and each one so subtle and with much emotional depth.
The father-daughter confrontations feel authentic and has an alarming realistic polarity to it. The friction and the love they share are a treat to watch.
The romance has this infectious charm and innocence which is hard to find currently. For all those in their 30s and beyond will find the romance so very nostalgic.
The father-cop interactions reveals the shocking reality. No matter how defiant you stay, you have to bow down to the harsh truth.

The biggest strength of the script is that you can feel the pain of each character, their fear, their anguish and their remorse. You are smitten from the word go, and gets invested and engrossed gradually.
The beauty of the script is that by the end you have a smile on your face no matter how disturbing the circumstances were shown to be before.

There are moments of absolute brilliance too. The scene where the male protagonist gets a FB page print out of his lover, the scene where the female protagonist calls the house of his dead boyfriend to recover her money and many others are pure gems. The love, anguish and fear of the father, the resilience and defiance of the female protagonist, the sorrow and the melancholy of the male protagonist are all intertwined spendidly.

The music and lyrics are powerful and become a character in themselves. The acting is spell-binding. Every actor is terrific and succeeds in bringing out every possible emotion.
All in all, a perfect film of an imperfect world.

You will miss a lot if you miss this film. Highly recommended.