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Hindi Movie Reviews

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Andhadhun Review

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Andhadhun Review – Andhadhun is an Indian crime thriller released in 2018. Aakash a pianist who pretends to be blind witnesses the murder of a famous film star, what unfolds next is the plot of Andhadhun.

Director Sriram Raghavan has sketched yet another gripping dark tale with suspense weaved in, that makes it an interesting watch. The story starts with the narration of the protagonist about the events that had happened in the past. Sriram has teased with the usual twists in a typical thriller much ahead in the movie giving you the sense of wondering is what is left. As you begin to wonder what would be left, the movie takes unexpected turns and goes deep down a rabbit hole of complex knots, that makes it more interesting. Ayushman Khuranna and Tabu play a pivotal role in the movie. Tabu has played a badass character with so much ease. The entire sequence at the house of Ayushman Khuranna is one of the brilliantly scripted scenes in the movie. The script reveals the truth at the right moments of time leading to a very engaging climax.

The movie opens with thanking Chitra Geet and Chitra Haar for entertaining us for a long time and ends with the great piano sequences from yesteryear bollywood movie. The music from Amit Trivedi stays up in the game and forms the soul of the movie.

High Points: The script is the strength of the movie, the performances of Tabu and Ayushman Khurana stand out very well, the art design of the locations add to the aesthetic flair of the movie. The background score and songs of Amit Trivedi lightens up even a dull scene.

Low Points: The only weak point of the script is Radhika Apte’s character. It is too shallow and forms too irrelevant for the plot to move forward. 

Overall Andhadhun is a very gripping dark crime thriller that would entertain you. It may not be the movie of epic scale but still would join the list of well written and made dark crime thrillers in Bollywood. This is now available on Netflix.

Worth a Watch

Drama, English Movies, Genre, Hindi Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Thriller

Tigers Review

Tigers Review – Tigers is an Indian thriller drama released in 2014. A Pakistani Salesman takes on a dairy product giant when he finds out that the product he is selling for them is harmful to kids.

Certain movies that are true gems, unfortunately, live in the realms of film festivals and don’t see light. Tigers is one such movie. The movie, although directed by Danis Tanovic, the director of No Man’s land couldn’t make it to the theaters. Thanks to the digital platforms, this movie is now available on Zee5 for folks to watch.

The movie has a non-linear style of narration where you get to see the life of the salesman Ayan as he is narrating the events that led him to the state of fighting against the corporate giant to a bunch of filmmakers. As the story unfolds, we get to see the life of a lower-middle-class family in Pakistan and Ayan, a very talented salesman is not able to sell medicines manufactured locally as the incentives paid by the MNCs are higher to the pharma and doctors. He then takes up the job in the MNC and becomes a star performer for the employer by building a friendly relationship with doctors, pharmacy owners, nurses to meet his target. The movie gets gripping from the point in time where he learns about the dark secret of the product he sells. The story is truly inspiring.

Emraan Hashmi shines in the role of Ayan and the transformation from a quirky salesman to a rebel is very convincing. The lighting and cinematography are also quite good as it suits the mood of the movie. In particular, the frames captured in the middle-class household and neighborhood takes you into space.

High Points:Very strong storyline, the performance of Emraan Hashmi, Cinematography, Lighting, Social message, length of the movie is 90 minutes and stays to the point, no commercial elements force fitted.

Low Points:Not been marketed well is the only low point of the movie. As the movie uses natural languages spoken by the actors it may cut off a few audiences.

Tigers movie is easily Emraan Hashmi’s power-packed performance after Shangai. If you love realistic movies and social thrillers, do watch this one.

Must Watch

 

Drama, Genre, Hindi Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews

Lust Stories Review

Lust Stories Review – Lust Stories is a Hindi anthology film released in 2018. After the successful anthology of Bombay Talkies in 2013, directors Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akthar and Dibankar Banerjee come together yet again to create this new anthology series that explores the theme of lust.

The striking difference in these stories is that lust is explored from a women’s perspective. Each of the stories is bold and the one’s filmmakers dare to deal it in full-length scripts. This one is also in line with the theme of Lipstick under my Bhurka Kudos to the filmmakers to come up such a theme and make a movie around it. The film doesn’t miss a chance to poke fun at the taboo surrounding physical relationship and Indian upbringing. The lead ladies of the stories Radhika Apte, Bhumi Pednekar, Manisha Koirala, Neha Dhupia and Kiara Advani have portrayed their roles very well.

This time Karan Johar goes last and in fact, the order of the films have been reversed in terms of its directors to that of Bombay Talkies. This is probably the second movie made by Karan Johar that I loved after the short film in Bombay Talkies, it brings out the best in him. Without giving a spoiler of plots I wanted to touch upon the few areas that impressed me very much. Anurag has explored a monologue to jump the scenes, he has remained within the three walls of the film space and the monologue of Radhika Apte keeps it under her personal space where she can speak her mind freely. Zoya’s film has Bhumi Pednekar give out a very compelling performance without uttering a dialogue for most parts. She has shown that a normal situation can be made thrilling if you connect the audience to an emotion. Dibankar Banerjee has told many a thing without them being actually said between his characters. Karan Johar has explored one of the most less spoken about topics in a quick-witted manner but still gets his message very clear.

All the situations in the movies are like you hope it doesn’t happen and it happens.

High Points: 4 great directors coming together to make an anthology, exploring the concept of lust from a women’s perspective, the performance of the lead characters.

Low Points: Hardly any

Overall Lust Stories is an anthology that explores areas very less explored in Indian Cinema and does make a statement that would make you think.

The movie is rated 13+ and is available only on Netflix.

Must Watch

Crime, Genre, Hindi Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Thriller

Raid Review

Raid Review – Raid is a Hindi crime thriller released in 2018. Amey Patnaik is an honest IRS officer, he conducts an IT raid in a powerful MP Rameshwar Singh, which ends up being one of the longest raids in the history.

This is based on true events that had occurred in the early 80s. The movie is gripping right from the first scene. Ajay Devgan shines well in the role of the IRS officer who is fearless and honest. The movie is precise and to the point. There is no unnecessary introduction build up, a song to please the fanfare, nor does he remove the shirt to show his muscle power. Rather a simple incident of not been able to enter the party due to dress code and how he adheres to the rules establishes the character well and the movie jumps right into thick of things.

A lot of research seems to have gone into the actual process of a raid. The moment the door of the MP is knocked on the wee hours of the morning, the pace of the movie picks up and gets engaging. The swag of Ajay Devgan at times of conflict is subtle yet powerful. Ileana although having limited scope, yet her character brings in the emotional connection to the story. Saurabh Shukla is a brilliant choice for the role of the MP. He has played the part of a very cunning, menacing MP very well. The end climax is a bit dramatic which seems to have been done for the commercial success of the movie. But nevertheless, it is enjoyable.

High Points: Gripping Screenplay, Ajay Devgan’s performance, Saurabh Shukla’s performance

Low Points: an Overdramatic climax

Overall, It is a very gripping IT raid that will hold you in your seat till the end. Do watch it in theaters.

Must Watch

 

 

Comedy, Drama, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Worth a Watch

Lipstick Under My Burkha Review

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Lipstick Under My Burkha Review – Lipstick Under My Burkha is a Hindi  Black Comedy released in 2016. The movie revolves around 4 women of various age group living in Bhopal. Each one of them has a dream that appears “Rosy” to them.

First and foremost this is a very bold movie and many of you may not like what you see on the screen. Although deep inside it reflects some of the true facts in an overly dramatic fashion that needs to be done to drive the point home. The movie captures the conservative background the four women live in and how contrasting wild their dreams are. A college-going girl Rehana wants to free herself from her Burkha. She idolizes Miley Cyrus and loves Led Zeppelin. Leela, about to get married wants to become an entrepreneur and start a honeymoon package for couples.  Shireen, a mother of three kids living with an insensitive husband is a successful sales women and wants to grow in her career and a 55-year-old lady Usha who had lost her husband very young finds solace in fulfilling her desires by reading a soft porn magazine.

The events build up and the transition between the lives of the lead characters are filled in with the description from the book Usha is reading. Rosy is the lead lady in the book and it talks about her dreams. Rosy is a metaphor for the dreams these women wish for. The rosy picture in the dream is not so rosy in reality. There are very brilliant moments in the screenplay subtle yet powerful that exposes the stereotypical nature of the society. The scene where Usha introduces herself as Buvaji and then realizes she has a name. Another scene where Rehana steals items from the shop to look fashionable.

The problem with the plot is not everyone would be able to relate to every woman. But definitely, they would be able to relate to one aspect of it.

High Points: The plot and the premise is an interesting one, the narration style of using text from the book for the transition has worked well, The lead characters have performed well, in particular, Rathna Pathak’s performance.

Low Points: The story touches some sensitive subjects which many might find hard to digest, Due to the content this is an Adult movie.

Overall Lipstick Under a Burka is a bold movie that paints the picture of various stereotypes women are subjected to. Not all that one dream is as “Rosy” as the reality is.

Worth a Watch

Action, Fantasy, Hindi Movies, Historic, Malayalam Movies, Other Languages, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion Review

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion Review – Baahubali 2 is a Telugu historical fantasy fiction released in 2017. This movie is a sequel to the Baahubali: The Beginning released in 2015. Shivdu, after rescuing his mother from the prison has to take over Mahishmati kingdom by defeating Bhallaladeva to regain his father’s glory. The movie is also released in Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi as well.

More than Shivdu’s plight, the expectation has turned towards the reason as to why Kattappa had killed Baahubali. There are no much surprises here. I am not going to reveal it and spoil the fun for you.  The movie is an out and out visual grandeur with a lot of war sequences. The visual effects are quite stunning with some great production quality. Rajamouli is a true magician for he makes everything believable and when you sort of think logic he has slipped in emotions for you to overlook it.  Prabhas, Ramyakrishnan and Sathyaraj have a more elaborate role to play in this edition. Anushka plays a younger avatar and the love interest of Amarendra Baahubali. Rana’s performance comes only in the second half of the movie.

Certain key sequences in the movies have been done really well. The initial war sequence in Anushka’s palace, the pivotal scene of Kattappa killing Baahubali, the interval block. All these sorts of gives you goosebumps.  There are many minimum guarantee cliched sequences as well in an attempt to please a wider variety of audiences like the introduction of Prabhas, catapulting using a Palm tree, the final war sequence. Despite these the movie still keeps you engaged for the 2 hours 47 minutes of run time. The creative touch in the titles using brass statue figures to cover the highlights of the first part of the movie is brilliant.

One of the key element I look forward to in Rajamouli’s movies is the characterisation. The stand out is the characterisation of Rajamaata and Amarendra Baahubali. Rana and Anushka’s characters have been constructed well. I felt Kattappa’s characterization has mellowed down from the first part. He fills in for the role of hero’s sidekick in the first half of the movie. While the performance is enjoyable, but having seen Kattappa fierce fully jumping on his enemies to save Sivagami this did not go well for me. While focussing on visual grandeur the script loses the emphasis on drama. For instance, Anushka trying to practice with two arrows just passes through subtle when compared to Shivdu’s irresistible desire to climb the mountain in the first part. You could see many instances where the script hasn’t given any time for you to soak in the drama of the scene. Whenever the drama is created even fewer instances it is quite a treat to watch for instance Bhallaladeva stopping his father from speaking in the meeting and letting him loose at an opportune moment, the crown ceremony during the interval block.

The climax fight looked to be a cloying overdose of special effects and emotions.

High Points: Visual Effects, the interval block as in the first part, Prabhas, Rana, Ramyakrishnan and Sathyaraj’s performance, the initial war sequences, Kattappa killing Baahubali.

Low Points: Cliched sequences of the hero worship. The BGM scores well in key sequences otherwise it was a forgettable affair for me. Kattapa’s character transformation to be hero’s sidekick performing comical acts. The Catapulting sequence using palm trees.

Overall Baahubali 2 is a much greater visual grandeur compared to its prequel. In a haste to cater to formalities, it fails to bring in the punch like its prequel. Nevertheless, it is a treat to watch this on the big screen.

Worth a Watch

 

 

Biopic, Drama, Genre, Hindi Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews

Dangal Review

Dangal Review – Dangal is a Hindi sports biopic released in 2016. The movie is based on the real-life story of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat on how he had coached his daughters to compete and win in the international arena.

In the past few years, there has been some successful sports biopic released in India.  Dangal not only joins the list but sets a new benchmark. Aamir Khan steals the show by playing the role of the wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat. He breaks all the stereotypes and peer pressure of making a movie that idolizes a hero with mass elements. As the real life hero he plays, he puts his daughters in front in the movie. There is also a scene in which he loses a wrestling match with his daughter. A scene that many superstars would dread to do in the current scenario. Also, his younger self with a fit avatar just appears for a couple of minutes in the entire movie.

The first half of the movie has been created with absolute creativity. Every frame has been crafted beautifully and has a great cinematic value. The opening sequence itself will hook you on to the lead protagonist. The screenplay has been made interesting with a careful mixture of emotions and humor. The use of Aamir’s nephew to move the screenplay through narration adds an interesting dimension to the movie and helps in introducing the main protagonist and his daughters very well.

The second half is like any other sports biopic with more focus on wrestling matches and has been executed very well.

High Points: Aamir’s performance, The opening sequence,  the first half of the movie where the girls get trained, their ways to avoid training going futile, the transformation they go through to fight male wrestlers. Interesting screenplay. Songs and the way they have been picturised. Direction by Nitesh Tiwari. Among everything is how the stereotype of a male-oriented subject has been broken.

Low Points: There are no much low points in the movie, the emotional melodrama in the climax could have been kept low. 

I was bit let down after watching Sultan for the way it had typecasted women to sacrifice life for her man’s dreams. Dangal has completely removed it by breaking the stereotypes. Kudos to Nitesh Tiwari and team for belief in the script and executing with perfection. Probably the best sign off from Disney pictures in India.

Overall Dangal is a movie that will inspire you and nail the importance of sports and women empowerment. Go and watch it in the theaters with your family.

Must Watch

Biopic, Genre, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Worth a Watch

M S Dhoni: The Untold Story Review

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M S Dhoni: The Untold Story Review – M S Dhoni The Untold Story is a Hindi biopic released in 2016. The movie captures the significant events in the life of Indian Cricket Captain M S Dhoni until the 2011 one day world cup final.

Recently biopics seem to be the happening trend in Bollywood. M S Dhoni’s biopic had so many promises ever since it had been announced. One it was based on a sport that is considered next to religion in India, it was based on the man who led India to victory in the world cup after 28 years, the other it was directed by Neeraj Pandey who has movies like Special 26, Baby and A Wednesday to his credits.

The movie is nevertheless a well-made movie. It has been shot well and the life in Ranchi has been captured well. The biggest highlight is the performance of Sushant Singh Rajput. He is very convincing as M S Dhoni on screen. His hard work on emulating the captain has worked well. The credit goes to him and director for executing this well.

What starts with a promise of becoming an inspiring biopic nose dives in the second half chasing down the romantic story in Dhoni’s life. And the important milestones in his cricketing career like becoming the T20 Captain, winning the T20 world cup and that bold decision of bowling change for the final over, all just become muffled in the background of the romance story. The movie is clean and does not enter into any controversy. The most interesting part is the first half which covers Dhoni’s life and struggles in Ranchi and Kharagpur.

High Points: The sequences of Ranchi, Dhoni’s life as a ticket collector at Kharagpur, The highlights of Dhoni’s character after losing the selection opportunity to the U 19 team. Sushant Singh Rajput’s performance steals the show.

Low Points: The length of the movie is a big negative. It is too long to be appealing, the romance portions although good it takes away the focus from the game.

Overall M S Dhoni is a well-made movie that falls short of becoming an inspirational biopic.  The movie is powered by the performance of Sushant Singh Rajput.

Worth a Watch

Drama, Genre, Guest Post, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Worth a Watch

Guest Post: Sarabjit Review

Guest Post: Sarabjit Review

Guest Post – This review is written by Ritu Verma working as part of SnapperBazaar

When the trailer of Sarbjit was released, people were really excited to know about the life of an unfortunate Punjabi who drunkenly ambled across his field to cross the Indo-Pak border which lead into his dreadful journey of torture and death. While the audience expected to see his ‘Jai Jai Shiv Shankar’ song transform into blood cuddling cries and whines, the movie showcased his sister’s character more often. Even the poster had Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead and the expected main lead, Randeep Hooda, was shown in her shadows.

Sarbjit was ruthlessly beaten and tortured after being caught by the Pakistani police force who suspected him of being an Indian terrorist named Ranjit. He was drowned in water, left in a room full of rats who scrawled all over him, locked in a box and many more unspeakable acts of torture were done to him. While he was suffering in the prison, his sister Dalbir (Aishwarya) and wife Sukh (Richa Chaddha) struggled to get him back to India. Both of their efforts went in vain when officials of both countries did not pay much heed to their demands. The result being, an innocent Indian subjected to numerous mental and physical tortures and finally a merciless death.

Randeep’s performance is the sole thing that might make the movie ‘paisa vasool’. But less spotlight on him and more on Aish has lead into poor collections of the movie. The acting of the all the three leads is appreciable. The sorrow and pain in Sarbjit’s character was beautifully portrayed by Randeep and Aish and Sukh successfully managed to illustrate the pain of hopeful loved ones wishing to see their beloved brother and husband beautifully. The makeup and costumes were also up to the mark. The songs of the movie were soothing and appropriate for the storyline. Overall it is a good watch.

Worth a Watch

Drama, Genre, Guest Post, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Worth a Watch

Guest Post: Aligarh Review

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Guest Post: Aligarh Review

Guest Post – This review is written by Ritu Verma working as part of PngFever

The movie Aligarh is all about the lonely life of a homosexual person in this society. Siras is the main character which is being played by Manoj Bajpayee. This movie would definitely question us our morals and our reactions to other’s sexual needs which wouldn’t match with your own or you would think is not right. If any film that makes you think twice before giving final responses after having watched would be a great film for sure.

The story was taken from a heart breaking and true story of Professor Ramchandra Siras who in the year 2010 was forced to leave from the Aligarh Muslim University after getting caught involving in the sexual activity with a male rickshaw puller. He was trying to have physical relationship with that male rickshaw puller.

The movie gives the strong message to the Society to changes their mind sets about the homosexual persons. This type of person should be treated with respect and they are not different from all of us. They are the part of our society as well and not different from anyone.

The movie Aligarh is like a jugalbandi between a man of nervous energy and man of stillness. Rajkummar Rao essays the journalist Deepu Sebastian role and Manoj Bajpayee plays Dr. Siras role. The movie is a completely unique step in reality cinema which uses actual places and people involved in the real incident. The film shows the psyche and personality of Siras. It also considers his inner life: his advancing age, loneliness and the humiliation and betrayal in his life.

Aligarh movie is worth watching and surely change your thinking regarding Homo Sexual person. After watching it, you would be able to think about them in a different way for sure.

 

Genre, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Thriller, Uncategorized, Worth a Watch

Wazir Review

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Wazir Review – Wazir is a Hindi mystery thriller released in 2016. Anti-Terrorism Squad officer Daanish and Ruhana lead a fairy tale life with their little daughter Noori. Things take an unprecedented turn when Noori is killed in an unplanned ambush attack in Daanish presence. He is stuck with guilt but finds some peace with learning chess from Noori’s chess teacher Pandit Omkar Nath Dhar who has lost his wife and daughter. Soon Daanish learns that Omkar Nath’s daughter is killed by a politician and decides to help him settle scores.

Director Bejoy Nambiar has taken up a mystery thriller with some stellar star cast after his multi-star film  David. This is based on a script initially written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra in early 90s. The movie is slick and engages with the audience throughout. However, the more predictable nature of the mystery involved spoils the watch. At least, I felt the story gave too much away before it should have. One more reason is the interval break. This movie shouldn’t have had one. That gave me time to think and predict the next half easily.

The performances of Amitabh and Farhan are the pillars of the movie. They seem to have slipped into their roles with ease and are very convincing.

The first 5 minutes (titles) of the movie has been sketched like a happy ending of a fairy tale with some ultra motion visuals and jump cuts. This is visually very appealing. Even the rest of the movie is visually appealing product and helps you glued to the screen. The encounter operation in the night is shot well. Also, the length of the movie is just right for the script. I hope all the Indian movie makers follow this to keep their movies precise.

High Points: Performances of Amitabh and Farhan, Visuals, Stunts, short length of the movie

Low Points: Predictability in the suspense

Overall Wazir is a commendable attempt in the Bollywood. This would be a memorable movie for Farhan Akthar and Bejoy Nambiar. I hope to see more such movies from our talented filmmakers.

Worth a Watch

Genre, Hindi Movies, Historic, Other Languages, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies, Wait for DVD/TV, War

Rudhramadevi Review

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Rudhramadevi Review – Rudhramadevi is a historical film released in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi in 2015. The movie is based on the life of the warrior queen Rudhramadevi who ruled the Kakatiya dynasty during the 13th century.

First of all kudos to the film crew for taking up a historical subject on woman warrior and bringing it to the silver screen. The magnanimous Baahubali had raised the expectations of film audience so high that anything less than that does not appeal anymore. Rudhramadevi also falls as a prey for this.

In the effort of making a visual grandeur in a limited budget, the filmmakers have lost the viewing pleasure. The visual effects look very amateurish compared to the standards we see today. The only thing that keeps your interest going is the story itself. The story has inspirational parts to it and some good war stories. However, the scriptwriters have failed to capitalize on this one and tailor to the movie format. In the end, it ends up looking like a TV show.

Anushka’s performance is a big strength to the movie. She has literally transformed himself as she plays the warrior. The only other character that had turned out well is Gona Ganna Reddy played by Allu Arjun.  Rana Daggupati’s character is weakly portrayed. The climax war sequence is the weakest part of the movie. In the effort of making it visually spectacular they have lost preparing the audience for it. Most of the times you are confused about who is fighting whom. In the end, it looks too easy to defeat the villain.

High Points: Anushka’s performance, Gona Ganna Reddy’s characterization and Allu Arjun’s performance, The story of a warrior queen.

Low Points: Ambiguous war sequence in the climax, Amateurish visual effects, Lack of character build up for other characters.

Overall Rudhramadevi ends up being a tale better made for the small screen than for the big screen audience.

Wait for DVD/TV