Zanjeer Movie review

Critic's Rating:  3/5 Cast: Ram Charan, Sanjay Dutt, Priyanka Chopra Direction: Apoorva Lakhia Genre: Action Duration: 2 hours 17 minutes Avg Readers Rating: 3/5

Story: An upright cop sees himself transferred innumerable times in five years. Will he succumb to the pressures of the administration or will he make his voice heard above the din?

Review: Apoorva Lakhia's Zanjeer has many similarities to its four-decade old namesake Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer (1973) that breathed fire and brimstone. The original film earned Amitabh Bachchan the epithet 'angry young man' and made him world-famous. The 2013 action thriller brings Andhra icon Chiranjeevi's son, Ram Charan (also an Andhra superstar) to Bollywood. It retains the key plot points and the main characters are rechristened Vijay (Ram Charan), Mala ( Priyanka Chopra), Sher Khan (Sanjay Dutt), Teja (Prakash Raj) and Mona (Mahie Gill) just like the original.

Yet, this film should be judged as a stand-alone offering because attempts to compare the two versions will find the current one falling short, especially in the dialogue and music departments. Nostalgia happens when some original dialogue like 'Yeh police station hai, tere baap ka ghar nahi' and 'Sher Khan beimaani ka dhanda bhi imaandari se karta hai' are uttered.

To reprise the plot, Zanjeer is the story of an idealistic cop, Vijay Khanna, wanting to bring criminals to the book. Set in Andhra Pradesh, the initial part sets the stage for how dons and ministers have more clout with and within the administration, than an honest policeman. As a result, Vijay is transferred 17 times within AP. In his 18th assignment in Mumbai, this Assistant Commissioner of Police takes on an oil mafia don, Teja (Prakash Raj).

Teja fails to strike fear, playing something between Al Capone (Untouchables) and a buffoon. Anyway, whistleblowers are set on fire and uninhibited killings happen on Mumbai streets, making it seem as if the entire khaki force (except Vijay) is asleep. The climax, shot against the backdrop of a Moharram procession, is interesting.

Ram Charan, as the brooding policeman, excels in action. His dark eyes with long lashes adeptly convey anger. Sanjay Dutt is competent and lovable. Priyanka looks smashing but is overzealous in the American Born Desi Gujarati Girl act. Mahie Gill as the gangster's girl Mona is raunchy.

Shuddh Desi Romance

Critic's Rating:   Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra, Vaani Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor Direction: Maneesh Sharma Genre: Romantic Comedy Duration: 2 hours 21 minutes Avg Readers Rating:

 

 Story: One loverboy and two lovely ladies. Live-in, walk out, make-up, makeout. In turns. Not necessarily in that order. Confused about love and marriage, they follow their heart (at times) and all that lies in between (pun!).

Review: So there, Bollywood breaks the stereotype. It steps out from behind the bloomin' trees in tulip fields and comfortably 'shacks-up' with the times. Here 'smooch-at-first-sight' happens in a bus-full with baaratis. Coffee dates are sipped in bed (Happy Endings? Huh!). Commitment is not the criteria. Marriage is not on the cards. And sexual compatibility is high priority. Yes, welcome to a modern day shuddh romance in desiland. Plenty 'Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang', tucked in with some emotion and drama too.

Raghu-(Sushant)-the-Romeo is a tourist guide in Jaipur, who also doubles up as rental baraati for Goyal (Rishi), a shaadi planner. He meets the rebellious Gayatri (Parineeti) and feels a "tezwala" attraction towards her. They waste no time in moving in, and making out. Soon, they're love-addicts, but commitment-phobic. The third character in this threesome (don't expect any of that) is Tara (Vaani), who was supposed to wed Raghu, until he fled on his wedding day. She makes a re-entry for revenge, but ends up with a complicated status, really.

Sushant swings between the Patiala-clad women and makes for the perfectly confused, charming and lovable Romeo. His hair perfectly styled at all times (though he should have had the 'out-of-bed' look more often), his clothes are more designer than dehati, but he more than makes up for it with his desi cool performance.

Parineeti is a phataka, firing dialogues (smoking up too) and living it up. She makes the character her own, complementing Sushant with a casualness that's commendable. Newbie Vaani is impressive, pretty and commands a good screen-presence. Rishi Kapoor, blows you away yet again with his incredible histrionics.

Maneesh Sharma's 'SDR' has a 'Band Bajaa Baraat' blend, but the essence lies in the conversational chemistry between the characters, some beautifully captured moments and slice-of-life scenes. He doesn't play safe, which is good, but the second half seems repetitive. The concept is engaging, but the plot is little shudd, little desi and quite confused.

RajaRani – Music Review

RajaRani – Music Review, & My take/analysis on what the film can offer!

The teaser was unveiled sometime in May, and boy, yes we were all taken aback after seeing the novelty in the idea. We were expecting some very normal “love-failure” dialogue/song/tune to be presented as first look and teaser. But what we got was, a wonderful tagline saying “There is *love* after love failure”, and then 30 seconds of pure creativity, with GVP’s magical “Hey Baby” number playing in the background. The mental conflict between a husband and wife was depicted in a completely different way! We were already impressed by it, big time. The next thing that I loved was the logo and simplistic feel to the posters... Gave a beautiful feel to product! Expectations shot up with more posters being revealed, that had wonderful collages of all the characters. The designs have been done by Gopi Prasannaa, quite a renowned guy in his field of work. He was also behind making the posters of cult film "Aaranya Kaandam"!

What made my expectations shoot up high, was the interview on Star Vijay that featured Arya, GVP and Atlee! The clarity of thoughts in Atlee's talk made me realise that this young lad isn't just another luck-by-chance director coming into the industry. He has worked hard, under Shankar sir! He was also behind the popular "Yuvvh" music video in Malayalam. Hoping for a quality product that will be remembered forever in our hearts!

As for the music, I feel that it is GVP's best in recent times, after "Paradesi". The album is one wholesome package! "Hey Baby" is one of the highlights... It starts of as a very ordinary husky voice number, and reaches zenith with Gaana Bala's portion!! Totally enjoyable! "Angnyaade" by Shaktisree is beautiful. Just beautiful! May not be a "Nenjukulle", but definitely a winner in its own way. "Chillena" is my favourite of this album. What a song! Gives a mesmerising feel throughout the 5 minutes that it lasts. It does sound like a familiar tune, but still everything is original until you get the true source/origin "Unnale" and "Imaye Imaye" are completely intriguing... the visuals will be something to watch out for! The singing, the tune, interludes all give a pathos feel as well as the catchy rhythm for these two songs to be a success! "Oday Oday" is a typical Yuvan-ish song, with a purely enjoyable tune! I bet it will be picturized with Arya! "A Love for Life" sounds like an extension to "Imaye", and drags quite a bit. Not a very memorable theme like "Ecstasy of Dance" in Thalaivaa, but just another one which might work with visuals!
As a whole, I would rate the album 3.75 out of a total of 5!

The film has a stellar cast... Arya, Nayanthara, Jai, Nazriya, Santhanam, Sathyaraj, Mano Bala!! The trailer promised some matured acting from Jai and Arya, and pure fun from Santhanam's Thalaivar tribute get-up! "Raja Rani" could also end up as the perfect breezy romantic entertainer that is yet to come to our cinema! A roller-coaster ride laced with comedy, fights, tragedy, love failure, and love... Hollywood has seen it, Bollywood has this kind of film every month, and now it is our turn. Of course, the acting is going to be rock solid indeed!

Just wanted to talk about the film, because it has caught my attention everytime there is an announcement regarding it. Hope this article shoots your expectations high too Do not forget to leave your feedback in the comments section!

Satyagraha - 3.5/5 - Movie Review

Everything was in place. The best crop of actors, the best technical team. But still, Satyagraha as a whole could not manage to be right there alongside Raajneeti. But does this mean it is a bad film? NO! Why? Read on to know more...

If you ask me if Satyagraha is based on Anna Hazare's movement, I will have to reply with a loud "YES", even though each and every person connected to the film has denied that. There are just too many coincidences for me to call this film a work of fiction. You will realise when you watch it for yourself...

First things first - the initial dialogues are layered, and have deep meanings. You get a sense that you are in for a roller coaster ride! And then comes Bachchan ji.. His screen presence, acting and dialogue delivery is second to none in Bollywood. The way he stutters, shivers in emotional scenes is just mesmerising! Just when we are admiring his performance, we have an item song, which has unfortunately become an inevitable element in Bollywood film-making. The song that cropped up from absolutely nowhere, was kept to establish Ajay Devgn's rich-brat character. But that could have been done just by showing him drinking in a bar. One shot, less cost, no waste of screen time too. But now there is no use of crying over spoilt milk. Hindi film-makers do not seem to be realising their mistake even if we have pointed it out in every review!

Regarding the acting, I need not point out everyone! Arjun Rampal was totally energetic, Amrita Rao was adequate, Ajay Devgn needless to say, was inspiring again, though this role looked like an extension to the one of Mani Ratnam's Michael in "Yuva". For me, Manoj Bajpayee stole the show, right from his entry till end! EPIC one liners and actions, that deserved claps! But I felt that Kareena's character, her dialogues and mannerisms were totally artificial and did not suit her at all. She was much better in "Talaash". I have no idea why her performances differ for every film. Could be the director's fault too, but here all the others are literally perfect! So Kareena is the person to be blamed for not giving consistent performances. The junior artistes and secondary supporting cast were amateur.

The background score was downright uninteresting. Nothing new, and the songs were big speed breakers too. The unwanted songs could have been shot as montages instead of making the lead actors sing for us! "Janta Rocks" songs will leave you with a bitter taste indeed!

The editing and cinematography were really very good! Perfect for the film, no complaints at all. The screenplay was fluctuating throughout, and slowed down a lot in the second half, mainly due to the songs and melodrama.

The film did not offer suspense/thrill/surprise anywhere. There was simply no scope for these elements in the story. Few scenes were cliched too. Yet, it will engage you, mainly due to the inspiring dialogues, monologues, the dark and dirty political games, and finally the acting! This is an inspiring tale that portrays the naked truth of our corrupt society. A noble effort, worth watching!

Varuthapadatha Vaalibar Sangam - VVS - VPVS - Movie Review - 2.75/5

The film kicks off with its hysterics right from frame 1! You will not have a problem even if you bring your brain to watch this one It leaves a smile on your face at many places. The comedy, the one-liners, the reactions, mannerisms of the Soori-SivaKarthikeyan combo make this one a rock-steady entertainer. The songs make for a very good listen too, with some pulsating choreography! The cinematography has got to be the most colourful of 2013.

Sathyaraj stands as a strong pillar throughout the film, his screen presence second to none regarding veteran old heroes who do character roles now. Every dialogue of his has that tinge of "nakkal", the reason our audience love him! His 4 side-kicks are a bit of stereotype again, but still bring in the necessary laughs. Soori does not appear to be imitating Vadivelu. He has his own style of timing and he has also got the flair for bringing in the laughs at regular intervals. SK is at his best again, playing to only his strengths. The other man who has defined the rating for the film is Director Rajesh, and his dialogues! Few EPIC ones crop up from nowhere!

But still, why a low rating when there are so many positive points? The all-important screenplay fluctuates and lingers here and there... this makes VVS a lazy watch indeed. Doesn't matter in having such a film every 4 months. But it got highly repetitive this year! KLTA, KBKR, Desingu Raja, Pattathu Yaanai, all were mediocre to say the least. They more or less fall in the same category of "time pass comedy"! Seriously, they have become even b-o-r-i-n-g as the time has passed. But still, VVS is the better of the lot, and you will not regret a watch.

The sensitive topic of honour-killings has been used in such a simple and light-hearted way without hurting anybody's feelings Kudos to the director for executing the issue very well.

That is all I have to talk about this film, nothing much in it!

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Review Coming SOON....Stay Tuned.....

Paradesi Movie Review

Paradesi (U) TELUGU ----------------- my Rating : ★★★★ EXPENSIVE ONE

WON NATIONAL AWARD FOR COSTUME ....

STRENGTHS : -
* Story and Direction : Shows the Reality behind the concept .....
* Background Score : was perfect and takes the movie to the next level....
* Costumes : deserves the award....
* Casting and Performances : will make u cry and feel in some scenes ....
* Lighting of the movie : hats-off to the Camera man ....

WEAKNESSES : -
* Songs : are not special whereas the lyrics are powerful....
* Movie not completed
* First half : was small less than a hour but was very draggy ....

FINAL VERDICT : -
Overall ... it is must watch movie by all .... Superb movie especially the climax was unbelievable "U will keep Ur hands on Ur head " ....Go watch it .....