Christmas inheritance

"Christmas inheritance"

Watched English movie 'Christmas inheritance', directed by Ernie Barbarash and stars Eliza Taylor, Jake Lacey in lead roles and Andy Macdowell and Neil Crone in supporting roles. Music is by Terry Frewer. This movie released in Dec 2017. I watched this Netflix film with Aditi. 

Ellie, heiress of Home and Hearth, a Christmas gifts and cards company, is known more as party heiress than successor of her father.  Her dad sends her to a village called Snow Falls, to meet Uncle Zeke, with a condition that she travels incognito and with only 100 bucks at her disposal.  Here she meets manager of local inn Jacob (Jake).

What will Ellie learn? Can she remain incognito? What will her fiancee do? What is Christmas inheritance?

This is a typical Christmas movie. Snow everywhere. Atmosphere of charity and giving. Helping each other. A romantic story. No very bad guys. No violence. All issues resolved at the Christmas party. Sweet end. So, everyone knows how it will end. It's what happens before it ends that matters. 

Eliza is outstanding. She portrays good at heart party heiress, who doesn't know bus ride, very well. She is beautiful,  she's a gymnast and she excels in acting, especially emotional scenes too. Jake is good,  but appears stiff sometimes. Other characters also do justice to their role. 

Director has maintained the balance in the movie. He does not over-do anything. He handles the movie deftly. Cinematography is good and village Snow Falls is beautiful.

The movie emphasizes the importance of basic characteristics of Tradition,  Friendship and Love. This is the inheritance in addition to the company for Ellie. It is also the message for Christmas from the movie team. 

All in all, a good family entertainment. 

Recommend watching. 

The terminal

"The terminal".

Watched English movie "The Terminal". This movie is directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Hanks as Victor Navorsky, Catherine Zeta Jones as Amelia Warren, Diego Luna as Enrique Cruz, Stanley Tucci as Frank Dixon, Zoe Saldana as Dolores Torres, Kumar Pallana as Raman Gupta and Chi McBride as Mulroy. This film released in 2004.

Victor Navorsky, a citizen of Republic of Krakozia (An imaginary east European country) lands at JFK. While he was in air,  there was a military coup in his country and government was overthrown. New government has cancelled all passports and visas. So now, American immigration is in a fix. They can neither allow him to enter nor send him back. To add to it Victor speaks almost no English. He is stranded at The Terminal. 

How long can Victor stay at The Terminal? How will he survive without money? Why had he come to New York? Who will he meet? What lives will he affect?

It's an interesting seed. The idea of a man stranded without passport and visa at a terminal is fantastic. How he gradually develops relationships, what drives him, what are his skills? this and such questions are answered as the story unfolds. Almost entire movie happens in The Terminal. Steven Spielberg handles the story delicately and tactfully. Even when the story slows down, he does not lose the audience, they stay with him. He also adds small special touches to the movie like the airport staff playing poker with lost and found items. The characters at the airport are conceived thoughtfully. They bring in variety and their own stories to the movie but don't overshadow the protagonist. 

Tom Hanks is fabulous. He portrays a man on mission who doesn't understand English but gradually picks the language. Although he is stranded he doesn't lose hope, he perseveres. Catherine Zeta Jones displays that she can act well. Kumar Pallana plays a memorable character. Others are also very good. 

The revelation of why Victor comes to New York gives the movie a shift. The light movie becomes emotional. With this the story and movie become whole. 

Recommend watching!

Rajma Chawal

"Rajma Chawal"

Watched Hindi movie 'Rajma Chawal', directed by Leena Yadav, starring Rishi Kapur, Anirudh Tanwar, Amyra Dastur, Harish Khanna, Manu Rishi, Nirmal Rishi and Sheeba Chaddha. Music is by Hitesh Sonik. This movie released in 2002. I watched this Netflix film with Aditi. 

A wedge is created between Rishi Kapur and his son Anirudh Tanwar after demise of his wife. To add to that, he moves from New Delhi to his old home in Old Delhi, against his son's wishes. To bridge this communication gap,  he opens a fake account of a beautiful girl, Tara, using a random photo from internet. When this virtual friendship is blossoming, luck brings them face to face with  this random girl.

What does Anirudh want? Will Rishi Kapur succeed in establishing communication with his son? What complications will this random girl create? Will there be a happy ending?

The story is light. It takes the expected route. There are hardly any surprises or twists. Acting by all actors is good. This film addresses a pertinent subject of lack of communication. Use of social media to make two people living in same house talk is today's reality. 

Cinematography is very good. Cinematographer takes us to the heart of old Delhi easily. The cosy atmosphere, old architecture,  narrow streets and close relations is captured very well. Music of Hitesh is decent and mostly pop. 

As far as acting goes: Rishi Kapur is good as usual. Anirudh gives an intense performance. Amyra is beautiful and acts well. Other supporting actors perform their duty diligently. 

Character development falls a bit short,  especially that of Rishi Kapur. He is a loving father desperate to establish communication with his son,  but towards the end of movie he suddenly becomes arrogant,  obstinate and ungrateful. Then he changes back to his normal self suddenly without any reason or explanation and no one minds. 

Director had a golden opportunity to make an important statement,  but he prefers to focus on making the movie fluid and light and misses the opportunity. Apart from these points she does well. She captures sights and sounds of Delhi and Punjabi atmosphere. She also gives some good touches e.g. when Anirudh is morose,  their servant fiddles with his guitar like a tanpura. She had a right blend of comedy, drama and emotions in this movie. 

Why title Rajma Chawal? Well apart from one scene that shows them eating Rajma Chawal the words are never uttered. May be title is because it's the identity of Punjabi's and the characters are Punjabi. But the title could have been anything else like Chole Bhature, Facebook, Tara, Baap, Rishte etc... However,  the title and Rishi Kapur were the reasons we watched it. 

Watch it as a 'time pass', don't expect substance. 

Time please (टाईम प्लीज)

"Time please (टाईम प्लीज)"

Watched Marathi movie "Time please (टाईम प्लीज)".

This film is directed by Samir Vidwans and stars Umesh Kamat, Priya Bapat, Siddharth Jadhav, Sai Tamhankar, Vandana Gupte, Seema Deshmukh and Milind Phatak. Music is composed by multiple music directors. This movie is based on Marathi play 'Nava gadi nava rajya (नवा गडी नवं राज्य)'

Umesh and Priya have arranged marriage. Umesh is mature,  serious, working professional. Priya is still like a college girl,  fun loving,  not interested in house work. Entry of two characters changes the situation. Priya's best friend, Siddharth, who appears villager but is a fellow at Oxford and Umesh's college friend, cigarette smoking,  Sai. A series of events lead them to think that they are incompatible.

Priya excels in her role. Umesh does justice but can't scream when angry,  Siddharth acts easily but his flamboyance is overdone,  Sai under plays the role and impresses. Vandana Gupte is mostly wasted. 

Most of the movie happens indoors but the outdoor locations are carefully chosen. Sometimes, the set is apparent. Music is ok. 

Direction,  however, is found short. Director had a golden opportunity to make a profound statement. But he misses it and makes the movie more superficial. He could have used character of Vandana Gupte more effectively. He also struggles to tie the loose ends. There are continuity issues. When Priya's mom tells her why she does not get transferred to Pune, audience comes to know that she works and works out of Pune. How does she know to go to the rendezvous on her birthday.? Editing needs improvement.

Any novelty? For all titles, names are written in English and surnames in Marathi. Don't know why,  but that's the novelty. 

Give it a miss. 

Tumbbad

"Tumbbad"

Watched Hindi movie "Tumbbad". This movie is directed by Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi and Adesh Prasad. It is produced by Sohum Shah, Mukesh Shah and Amita Shah. It stars Sohum Shah, Anita Date (Mazya navraychi bayko fame) and Mohammad Samad in lead roles. It was released on 12th Oct 2018 and is one hour 45 minutes long.

There is a Wada (Mansion) in Tumbbad where a hidden treasure is rumoured to be hidden. Strange things happen. Vinayak returns to Tumbbad, from Pune, to search this treasure from his ancestral Wada. Hastar, the fallen son of Devi, cursed to be forgotten, is worshipped here. A worship that is dangerous and that makes Vinayak wealthy. 

What is the secret of Tumbbad? Who is Hastar? Where is the treasure?

Its a period horror film. It starts about 35 years before independence and ends just after independence. Generally I am not into horror films but I read good reviews of this one and Priya recommended it,  so I decided to watch.

Art director has created the uterus of Devi in this movie where Hastar resides. Hastar can't cross grains or grain powder and craves for it. They have chosen very good locations for the film. Vinayak who displays greed throughout the movie fulfils his fatherly duties towards the end making him human. 

Director has used rain as a character in the movie. It also adds to the eerie atmosphere. The wetness seeps into the audience. Normally a movie is not divided into chapters. A book is.  But here the movie is divided into chapters. A novelty!

Sohum and little Samad have acted very well. Samad, especially, shows lot of potential at young age. This is a promising kid. We have known Sohum from films Ship of Theseus, Talwar and Simran. He is handsome and plays his role very well. 

The movie creates an impact. There are scenes that make the audience jump. There are scenes they increase the heart beats. Good thing is that despite being horror movie,  it's not gory. It's a good movie, good direction, cinematography and acting. 

Music is largely relegated to background music. But background music plays the role of a character in a horror movie. Credentials say that music is by Ajay-Atul and Jasper Kyd, don't know who is responsible for background music. 

A couple of improvements are in order. Characters turn the grinding stone (जाते) in wrong direction, not once,  not twice but thrice. Sometimes the dialogues were not clearly audible.

Watch if you don't mind the genre. 

Two weeks notice

Two weeks notice

Watched English movie 'Two weeks notice', directed by Mark Lawrence, starring Hugh Grant, Sandra Bullock & Donald Trump. This movie released in 2002.

The movie stars Hugh Grant, Sandra Bullock, Alicia Witt, Dana Ivey, Heather Burns, Robert Klein and Donald Trump. It's directed by Marc Lawrence. 

Hugh Grant is a billionaire and owner of Wade Group. Sandra Bullock is a Harward attorney working for common, poor & destitute and fights against the likes of Trump and Grant. By the twist of fate Sandra becomes chief counsel of Wade Group. 

Hugh makes Sandra's life a hell by calling her at odd hours for something as minor as 'What colour shirt should I wear?'.  She decides to resign,  after almost an year because he breaks the promise made while employing her, and gives two weeks' notice.

What happens when a handsome hunk and a fiery lady work together? Well it's anybody's guess. How it happens is what matters.

Hugh Grant portrays a character of casual, careless, good at heart,  impulsive, handsome,  flirty billionaire. He does not come out as arrogant but rather as a lost soul. Sandra is a perfect choice for badly dressed, fiery,  compulsive eater,  compassionate attorney who sees opportunity of changing the system by being the part of it. 

Other characters remain on the periphery and aren't much to write about. Donald Trump makes a guest appearance. 

Direction is good. The touch of ordering Chinese food is good. Their understanding while eating salad is subtlety suggestive. Music is fine. Cinematography is good. 

The movie runs for under two hours. It's a light movie and good to watch with family. This movie makes a good family evening. 

Recommend watching. 

T. C. G. N. (Take care good night)

"T. C. G. N. (Take care good night)"

Watched Marathi movie "T. C. G. N. (Take care good night)".

This film is directed by Girish Joshi and stars Sachin Khedekar, Iravati Harshe, Parna Pethe, Mahesh Manjrekar, Adinath Kothare, Vidyadhar Joshi, Sulekha Talwalkar, Sanskruti Balgude and Jaywant Wadkar.

Sachin Khedekar, a technologically illiterate guy,  decides to take VRS. After receiving his settlement, he and his wife go on Europe route. When he comes back he realises that some one had withdrawn 50 Lakh from his account. To add to it someone has posted first part of compromising video of his daughter on internet. 

Who has stolen his money? Will the subsequent part of his daughter's video be damaging? Will he come out of the scam? Will police help? How will he react?

This movie has powerful performances by Sachin Khedekar and Mahesh Manjrekar. With such stalwarts others get limited scope but young Parna creates her own niche. Iravati Harshe appears a bit stiff and Vidyadhar Joshi is as good as always. Adinath Kothare is the surprise package, a good one.  

Story is good. Acting is very good. Cinematography is apt. Don't remember music. This movie handles today's pertinent issue of cyber hacking and phishing. I am not aware what the target audience producers had in mind but people in their mid forties to late fifties need to watch as the technological details are limited. 

Director has done a good job of keeping the audience interested and has used recent flashbacks effectively. However, I thought that the story is presented in a simplistic manner. Hacking is not addressed. Focus is on how the problem is solved rather than what the problem is. Nevertheless, producer and director have handled a very current subject and deserve praise for it. 

Recommend watching. 

Tula kalnar nahi (तुला कळणार नाही)

Tula kalnar nahi (तुला कळणार नाही)

Watched MaratTula kalnar nahi (तुला कळणार नाही)hi movie "Tula kalnar nahi (तुला कळणार नाही)". This movie is directed by Swapna Waghmare Joshi and stars Subodh Bhave as Rahul and Sonalee Kulkarni as Anjali, Neetha Shetty as Menaka and Uday Tikekar.

Rahul and Anjali are married for four years and now can't stand each other and want divorce. Rahul finds a diary in a burnt hostel confessing Babdu's love for Nandini. To escape marriage and wife he decides to find Nandini and give her diary of her dead lover. Destiny brings his wife on the same journey. 

Well,  everyone can guess what the outcome would be. Rediscovery of lost love. It's the journey towards it, literally as well as figuratively, that makes the movie. 

Director has given a few small twists like entry of Menaka, Anjali's parents and Menaka's exit. She has also used flash backs effectively. Characters spend a lot of time in vehicle.

Subodh Bhave is fantastic as usual. Despite this being an off beat role for him,  he excels. Sonalee is good. Uday shines in a cameo and makes impact. Neetha can't hide her discomfort with Marathi. Locations and cinematography are good. Not much to write about music, except the title song. 

I liked the movie,  recommend watching. 

The Dictator

The Dictator

Watched English movie 'The Dictator', directed by Larry Charles, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Admiral-General Aladeen, Anna Faris as Zoey and Ben Kingsley as Tamir.

Fictitious African nation Wadiya, east of Sudan, is ruled by despot leader Admiral General Aladeen. He declares that Wadiya is close to developing enriched uranium. UN demands that he either address the UN general assembly personally or be ready for strikes. Aladeen and his entourage reach America. There is a big plot. 

What is the plot? Who is behind it? Can General Aladeen survive? What will he learn in America?

A person who does not know humanity, humility, empathy and love suddenly finds himself with nothing. He is a pauper and wants to regain his position. Who does he meet and how does he foil the plot? Can he change?

It's a comedy movie. Comedy is created in everything like his subordinates kissing his armpits to show their affection and respect, going on camel back on American streets, passing derogatory comments about sex,  colour and ethnicity etc. This movie has some brilliant jokes, some satirical jokes, some standard jokes, some black comedy, some awful jokes, some derogatory jokes and some below the belt jokes. Some of them seemed unnecessary. 

The movie had a limited story and the pace is good. Direction is ok. Anna's acting is ok too. Ben Kingsley is mostly wasted in role of little consequence. Sacha is the central character of movie and hogs the limelight.

Watch, but not with your family. 

One way ticket

"One way ticket"

Watched Marathi movie "One way ticket". 

This movie is directed by Amol Shetge, produced by Kamal Unawane. It stars Neha Mahajan as Urvashi, Sachit Patil as Samar, Gashmeer Mahajani as Aditya Rane, Amruta Khanvilkar as Shivani and Shashank Ketkar as Aniket. It was released in 2016.

Aniket mortgages his house and land to get the dream job in Italy. Ion reaching he realises that he is duped. Heir of money,  he witnesses a shoot out between gangs and manages to Nick the wallet of a deceased Indian gangster and uses it to return to India on a cruise. Here he meets Urvashi and Samar, the blogger duo, and Shivani who is in love with that dead gangster. 

Can Aniket bluff his way? Can he escape the intrusive bloggers? Will Shivani hate him for taking place of her dead lover? What is at stake?

The story is interesting. Most of it happens on the cruise. Cinematography is decent. Make up of Decosta was very good. Direction was good, except some issues with continuity. 

Established actors carry their roles effortlessly. Sachit Patil is the best actor of this film. He handles transformation very well. Amruta looks older than Shashank. Shashank is ok. Gashmeer has a stunning physique but needs to improve acting. He acted better with getup than his natural self. 

Watch of you have spare time. 

Ani... Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar

"Ani... Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar"

Watched Marathi movie "Ani... Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar".

This film is directed by Abhijeet Deshpande and stars Subodh Bhave as Kashinath Ghanekar, Nandita Dhuri as his first wife,  Anand Ingle as Vasant Kanetkar, Mohan Joshi as Bhalji Pendharkar, Sonali Kulkarni as Sulochana, Prasad Oak as Prabhakar Panshikar, Sumeet Raghavan as Dr. Lagu and Vaidehi Parshurami as Kanchan.

The movie starts from Kashinath being foremost dentist and a struggling actor and takes us through his first superhit play,  his first dalliance with films,  his second superhit play, superstardom, affair with Kanchan, legendary rivalry with Dr. Shriram Lagu, hubris, excesses and downfall, second dalliance with films, marriage to Kanchan and final comeback. 

Casting is excellent. Subodh, Anand Ingle, Prasad Oak, Sonali Kulkarni, Sumit Raghavan, Mohan Joshi etc. are all established actors and do justice to their roles. 

Direction is excellent too. To retain the audience interest for the duration of film, that is a biopic, is not easy. Director manages to walk the thin line and come out victorious. First half is very interesting. Second half is interesting but a bit slow. This film is based on the biography titled 'Nath ha maza' by Kanchan Ghanekar.

Subodh Bhave has proved his versatility and excellence many times over. Here he proves himself again. New face Vaidehi also plays smitten Kanchan to perfection. With her beauty and acting we should see her adorn lead roles in near future. 

Editing could have been better. The last scene should have been a bit earlier and the length of movie should have been about 20 minutes shorter. 

Marathi movie industry has come off age and has come out of the shackles of comedy. It bodes well for the art and business. INterval cinema now had substance and the subjects are varied and carefully chosen. This shift has brought audience back to Marathi cinema. The fact that I could watch this Marathi movie in a theatre in Abu Dhabi speaks volumes. 

Those who have not seen Kashinath Ghanekar in person should see the movie and those who have should see it too. 

Recommend watching. 

Barely Lethal

"Barely Lethal"

Watched English movie "Barely Lethal".

The film is directed by Kyle Newman and stars Hailee Steinfield as Megan, Jessica Alba as Knox, Samuel Jackson as Hardman, Sophie Turner as Heather and Dove Cameron as Liz. This movie was regressed in 2015.

America has a school of orphan girls who are trained as assassins. Megan, though a topper, wants to live life of a normal girl with friends,  school,  boys etc. She manages to fake her death and joins a school living with a family as exchange student from Canada.

How does she find school? Can she survive it? Does Her training help her? Will she live happily ever after?

The idea is interesting. A trained assassin who wants to live a normal life, who values the school,  the tiffs,  jealousy and drinks wonders why other kids can't appreciate what they Areadne and enjoy it. When her foster family is in danger,  she has to leave the mask of student behind and protect her foster family. 

The movie is good. Story is good. Acting is good. The end, although anti climactic is good too. 

Recommend watching. 

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!

"Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!"

Watched Hindi movie "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!". This movie is directed by Dibakar Banerjee and stars Sushant Singh Rathod as Byomkesh Bakshy, Anand Tiwary as Ajit Banerjee, Swastika Mukherjee as Anguri Devi and Neeraj Kabi as Dr. Anukul Guha. Its a Yash Raj film. 

British Calcutta. Chinese gangs control drug trade. Ajit seeks help of Byomkesh to find his missing father. Byomakesh starts from hostel run by Dr. Guha and goes from one place to another in search of the missing man. There is another murder. His search leads him to something much bigger.

Is the missing man dead? Who is the beautiful Anguri Devi? What is the bigger plot? Will the British administration help?

The movie takes its to pre independence Calcutta. City with trams,  cars, pedestrians and rickshaws. Director has created authentic period atmosphere. The sights and sounds of old Calcutta make us think that this is how it must have been. 

But the story is slow,  very slow. There is a danger of audience falling asleep. Although it is understandable that the story in old times would be slow as compared to the break neck speed of thrillers, this one is also uninteresting in patches. Director should have taken more efforts to make it interesting. 

Shushant is good. Swastika is stiff. Neeraj shines. Cinematography is good. Don't remember music. Fight scenes are symbolic. 

Movie ends with the villain escaping and determining to continue fuelling with Byomkesh. It's preamble for a sequel. Thankfully it hasn't come. 

Give it a miss.

Dhokha

"Dhokha"

Watched "Dhokha", a Hindi movie on 22nd Sep 2018.

The movie stars Muzammil Ibrahim and Gulshan Grover in lead roles. Tulip Joshi, Anupam Kher and Ashutosh Rana ably support them. Movie is directed by Pooja Bhatt and produced by Mukesh Bhatt.

ACP Zayed (Muzammil) and Nandini (Tulip) could not marry due to opposition by family, while in college. Years later, there is bomb blast in Mumbai and Zayed's wife is accused of being the suicide bomber. Zayed is also seen with suspicion.

The story is interesting. It addresses the issue of terrorism,  police atrocities on the name of terrorism and systematic attempts by a handful to alienate their community from the mainstream, creating trouble for even the good people.

Muzammil, smart and young, gives justice to the character. His acting is pleaser and intense. Gulshan Grover appears rusty. Tulip Joshi is ok, but looks older than Muzammil. Whatever Anupam Kher does is always good. He creates his impression in the cameo and so does Ashutosh Rana in his negative role.

Pooja Bhatt's direction is good. But she had to pay more attention to details like consistency and continuity. How can there be no mark or injury on the face of suicide bomber after the blast? Zayed lives in a posh sea facing house but the locality outside the house is shabby and there is no sand. There were some more scenes with continuity issues that could have been avoided byword a little more attention.

It's a good story by Shagufta Rafiq. Pooja does justice to the story and also concludes it well.

Recommend watching!

Shubh Laguna sawadhan (शुभ लग्न सावधान)

"Shubh Laguna sawadhan (शुभ लग्न सावधान)"

Watched Marathi movie "Shubh Laguna sawadhan (शुभ लग्न सावधान)" with Oka family,  Mane family,  Patil family,  Thangaokar family, Aditi & Mihika.

Subodh Bhave (सुबक भावे) and Shruti Marathe  (श्रृती मराठे) star in lead roles. Girish Oak, Nirmiti Sawant, Vidyadhar Joshi, Kishori Ambiye, Pratik Deshmukh, Revati Limaye & Anand Ingle are in supporting roles. Movie is directed by Sameer Surve. This movie also starts Nilesh Deshpande & Aditi Marathe, UAE based Marathi artists.

Subodh Bhave and Shruti Marathe love each other. Subodh lives in Dubai and Shruti in India. Subodh does not believe in the institution of marriage. Destiny, nudged by Shruti, takes him to destination wedding of Shruti's cousin.

What will happen during wedding? Why Subodh does not believe in marriage? Will Subodh understand meaning of marriage?

The subject of movie is interesting. It has a very good cast. Locations for shooting are chosen carefully. Movie upto interval is preamble to the main story. The real story starts after interval. Director has stretched the preamble too far and lost the time that could have been gainfully used for the main story.

Movie is good, mediocre and outright shallow in patches. It lacks the flow and steady pace. The objective of educating Subodh in the institute of marriage transforms into educating him in relationships.

This movie raises a lot of questions. Subodh does not believe in the institution of marriage but why does he have aversion to enjoyment and participation in a function? Why does he have to be Khadoos, even downright impertinent? Why Shruti does not try to understand his reason for not believing in marriage? Was this issue never discussed between Subodh and Shruti's parents, earlier?

Girish Oak & Vidyadhar Joshi excel in their respective roles. Subodh remains stoic and under plays the role.  Shruti looks beautiful, especially in traditional Marathi attire, after shedding extra kilos and justifies her selection.

Although the end of movie is a foregone conclusion,  director has concluded the movie intelligently, considering both sides of the coin and deserves credit for it.

Cinematographer has made very good use of Dubai skyline and various locations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

All in all,  the movie falls short of expectations.

Give it a miss!

Parmanu

"Parmanu"

Watched "Parmanu", a Hindi movie with Aditi, Siddhant, Sucheeta, Jayant, Prakash, Swati, Gargi, Gauri, Sameer and Pooja on 1st June 2018.

The movie stars John Abraham and Anuja Sathe in the lead roles and they are ably supported by Boman Irani, Mark Bennington and Diana Penty. Movie is directed by Abhishek Sharma and produced by Zee Studios.

Parmanu is the fictionalized account of India's nuclear tests in 1995. This movie gives identities to the nameless and faceless scientists, security force personnel,  bureaucrats and politicos. The movie tells the take of this great achievement. It is a good objective. To lend authenticity to the account,  real life clippings are also used.

It is  understood that the director should get artistic licence while telling a story. But this director takes a lot of latitude. Some scenes are over dramatized.

Although the movie is titled Parmanu, that word is not used in the movie even once. Even the basic words like fusion, fission or chain reaction do not appear in the movie. There are no technical details. Everything is superficial.  The movie shows a scientist in charge of laying cables!! He also repairs the generator instead of asking a technician to do it! BARC scientist supervises welding within shaft! An astrophysicist can not make the connection to Pokhran! The jokes created by the use of Hindi movie songs as code word for entering the Pokhran range are appalling. Letters and faxes issued by the government (interview call to the hero,  authorisation to detonate) are not on government stationery.

Diana Penty performs decently,  but she does not fit the character. John Abraham and Anuja Sathe perform well. Boman Irani is impactful in the cameo. The scientists also do well.

Director has taken too much liberty,  but the movie is not boring.

Give it a miss!

Bucket list

"Bucket list"

Watched "Bucket list", a  Marathi movie with  friends and family on 25th May 2018. This was a special show organized by Maharashtra Mandal Abu Dhabi.

A middle class housewife undergoes heart transplant that gives her new life. She traces the donor,  a young free spirited girl, Sai. The housewife comes across the  bucket list of her doner and determines to fulfil it.

Film takes grip right from the word go. Audience is interested til interval. But it slows down after interval when there comes a song and Malaysia trip that has little relation with the story. However,  later on it re-acquires the grip.

Special mention should go to the casting of Shantanu Bhake for the movie. All the established actors make an appearance albeit the roles are not always major. All of them justify their characters.

Sumedh Mudgalkar makes an impression with his intense acting and good looks. This is Madhuri's first Marathi film. Her long overdue Marathi debut was eagerly awaited. She plays a housewife 10 years younger than her actual age. She delivers a decent performance but she needs to work on improving her Marathi diction.  Sumit Raghavan and Madhuri are a very good couple on screen. Surprisingly Vandana Gupte appears stiff.

There were some minor flaws of continuity and direction. But they can be ignored. One or of two songs was good. Cinematography sass good.

A new trend is visible now a days. That of blatant advertising. Movie scenes are  customized to promote products. In this movie these scenes appeared like  unwanted appendages. If you have to do blatant advertising at least blend it nicely in the story.

This movie is about self discovery. A housewife who's routine has become her life. She discovers herself through Sai's bucket list. However,  there is a threat that Madhuri's debut overshadows the substance.

It is good to see Marathi movies travelling off the beaten path and handling different subjects. Finally Marathi cinema has come out of the comedy cast

Special thanks to MMAD for bringing the movie to gulf and providing opportunity to watch and socialize. Madhuri's personalized video message to MMAD was enthusiastically applauded.

Recommend watching this movie.

Raazi

"Raazi" - 2018

Watched "Raazi", a Hindi movie with Jayant, Sucheeta, Sameer, Pooja, Rucha & Mihika.

It is directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Vineet Jain, Karan Job at, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta under the banner of Dharma productions.

Alia Bhat and Vicky Kaushal play the lead roles. Ranat Kapur, Shishir Sharma, Amruta Khanvilkar, Ashwath Bhet & Jaydeep Ahalawat play important storing roles.

This film is an adaptation of Harinder Sikka’s novel Calling Sehmat which is inspired by real events.

The movie is about an Indian spy, a young beautiful girl - Sehmat who marries a Pakistani military officer during the India- Pakistan war of 1971. Mission is  to spy on Pakistan to help India fight the war of liberation of Bangladesh.

Alia, Vicky and all the supporting cast excels in acting. Alia demonstrates her acting prowess and proves that she is not just a beautiful chic.

Meghana's direction is excellent. She does not let the tension recede and maintains the the intensity. Her grip on the story never falters.

Music of Shankar-Ehsan-Loy is worth one  song. 1970s Pakistan is created in the movie. Credit to art director.

Recommend watching this movie.

Till 10

"Till 10", a short film - 2017

Watched this short film on YouTube. It was directed by Nachiket Banchhode. Story and screen play by Kanishka Soni. Director of photography Nachiket Banchhode and Samyak Bakliwal. Edited by Samyak Bakliwal. Main actors Tarsh Khanna and Kirti Bal. This is a film made by 12th standard students of DPS, Navi Mumbai.

A school boy finds a photograph of a girl and boy. He finds the girl and returns the photo. They come close. What happens next?

Tarsh shows good potential for acting. There was a little awkwardness, between the protagonists, in the romantic scene but that is understandable.

Director shows his talent, especially in the scenes of tuning fork and restaurant. His knows exactly what he wants to show. He also manages to give a shock at the end.

Special mention should go to cinematography. It was professional. There were a few scenes that were at par with professional cinematographers. I would like to specifically mention the scene focused on shoes, the scene when hero climbs the circular staircase, the scene of dark figures on bright window backdrop and the scene of bloody potato.

Sound was one thing that needed some additional efforts. Probably the team used the microphone of the camera. This deteriorated the sound quality, especially in the class room scene.

Story was good. It would appeal to the young audience as it has romance and mystery.

Congratulations are due to the young students who made this short film. They have shown a lot in just thirteen minutes. They have demonstrated their imagination, creativity, hard work and dedication. We can expect more from this group.

Recommend watching this short film to encourage young talent. The link is given below.

Faster Fene

Faster Fene - 2017

Watched Marathi movie this week end.
Good story, intense drama and no slack. Nostalgic feelings too.
Amey Wagh and Girish Kulkarni stand out.

Appa chapter is not closed and it's not known if FaFe gets admission to medical college. 

Expect a sequel!

Secret Superstar

Secret Superstar - 2017

Watched Hindi movie over the week end.

Story of nobody, a talent, a sensation!
Lucky that the girl finds all good people.

An off beat role by Amir khan.
A bit too dramatic end.

A good movie.

Tumhari Sulu

Watched 'Tumhari Sulu" - 2017

It's a story of a housewife who has aspirations, aspirations to bee more than just being a housewife. A chance encounter provides her the opportunity.

Vidya Balan and Manav Kaul carry the movie on their shoulders. Neha Dhupia plays the supporting role very well. She gets a chance to do real acting.

A couple of things are not convincing and the very end is too fast. Other than that it's a good movie.

In short, good but not great.

Padmavat

Padmavat - 2017

Watched movie Padmavat this weekend. 

I did not find anything objectionable.

Sets and cinematography is excellent.
Music, except song Ghoomer, is forgettable.

Three lead actors present a solid performance.

Delhi and Chittod appear to be only a few miles apart in the movie.

Story is very slow. There was a chance to add side stories, but director chose not to.

A one time watch.

Gulabjaam

"Gulabjaam", a Marathi movie - 2017

Watched "Gulabjaam", a Marathi movie on 15th Feb 2018 directed by Sachin Kundalkar, starring Sonali Kulkarni and Siddharth Chandekar. I watched it with Aditi, Jayant, Sucheeta, Sameer, Pooja, Rucha and Mihika.

A young man having a very good job in London, is passionate about cooking and wants to learn to cook authentic Marathi cuisine. Here he meets a whimsical lady whose food has amazing taste. Initially she rejects him but relents eventually and agrees to be his guru. As their friendship develops, an unexpected story comes to the fore.

Why is she so difficult? What is behind the facade? Can the young man fulfil his dream?

The movie has two assets. One is the powerful acting by the protagonists. Sonali is amazing as usual. She carries the transformations with ease. Siddharth plays the Indian foreigner with passion for cooking perfectly.

Other is direction and directors attention to details. His touch is evident in some noteworthy scenes like the beggar choosing only one note from the purse or the old man getting up from chair for the first time in the movie when the rain comes. He handles the story with utmost care and subtlety. The story is on slower side, but director ensures that audience remains interested.

It must be a low budget movie. However, audience gets to see numerous authentic Marathi dishes that are not only very eye pleasing but also mouth watering. Here director does not spare any expense.

Finally why name it Gulabjaam?  Well it's the dish that introduces the protagonists. That's all. It could have been Amti, Alu wadi or any such name.

A good movie. Recommend watching.

Aiyaary

"Aiyaary" - 2017

Watched "Aiyaary", a Hindi movie on 16th Feb 2018 written and directed by Neeraj Pandey, starring Siddharth Malhotra, Manoj Bajpai, Vikram Gokhale, Anupam Kher and Nasiruddin Shah. I watched it with Jayant, Sucheeta, Sameer & Pooja.

Manoj is head of a covert unit of army that is used to eliminate country's enemies. Arms lobby inevitably comes into the picture. Siddharth defects. A chase ensues.

What is the big plot? Why did Siddharth defect? Who is Aiyaar? What is Aiyaary?

The word Aiyaary can be loosely translated as shape shifting / magic. True to its name the movie has excellent transformations of characters. Full marks to make up and equal marks to the bearing adored by the actors in transforming the personality.

Manoj and Siddharth justify their selection.  Acting by all the cast is good. The two new female faces have also done well. Anupam and Vikram are good, as always. Nasiruddin also makes a guest appearance and hogs the lime light. Manoj's lip movements seem constricted.

Direction is good, but the story lacks the flow and the speed is uneven, slowing the tempo at times. Aadarsh scam is also part of the story.

It was a good movie, but not what you would expect of a Neeraj Pandey film.

Hichki

"Hichki" - 2017

Watched "Hichki", a Hindi movie with Jayant, Sucheeta, Prakash, Swati, Gauri, Gargi, Mihika & Aditi.

It's a movie directed by Sidharth P Malhotra and produced by Maneesh Sharma and Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films. The main cast included Rani Mukherjee, Supriya & Sachin Pilgaonkar, Harsh Mayar and Neeraj Kabi.

The film is an adaptation of the book, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had by Brad Cohen. Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics.

Rani plays a teacher with TS. She is assigned to a class of poor kids from slum who study in a posh convent school as part of 'Right to education'. The kids are ignored and not integrated into the mainstream. Eventually they rebel. Then Rani joins the school. She has an uphill task of reforming the hopeless. Her TS makes the masters worse.

The movie is gripping. The main story is not TS,  it's reforming the talented but hopeless  kids. The scene where the kids come to convince their teacher is epitome of the movie.

Although the story is good, reforming such  kids in 4 months is not practical. It is definitely possible but within a longer duration. Some cinematization (don't know if it is an English word) or cinematic liberty is allowed to the director.

Making Rani old  towards the end was unnecessary. Director had made his point before that. They have chosen excellent likeness while showing the students grown up. Full marks to casting team.

Special mention is due to Rani, Harsh Mayar and Neeraj Kabi for their acting.

Although content, I left the cinema with a question that if Rani did not have TS,  would it make any difference to the story? The answer is NO.

Recommend watching this movie.

The sentinel

The sentinel

Watched English movie 'The sentinel', directed by Clark Johnson, starring Michael Douglas as Pete Garrison, Eva Longoria as Jill Marin, Kiefer Suderland as David Breckinrid and Martin Donovan as William Montrose. 

Michael is a secret service agent on Presidential protection duty. He is also having an affair with first lady. There is a mole in secret service and Michael fails lie detector test. He is suspected and hunted.

Is Michael the traitor? Did his affair make him vulnerable for black mail? What is the ultimate aim? Do they succeed?

Unthinkable has happened. In 141 years there had been no traitor in US secret service.  But now there is one. 

All the actors are well known and good actors. Story is fluid and maintains pace. Actions are good. 

The way Michael is absolved is very anticlimactic. Identification of the real traitor is also spontaneous rather than methodical. Writer and Director are overly reliable on the foolproof ness of polygraph test. Trained agents can beat the test, but that possibility is never considered in the movie. Till the end audience does not know who the assassins are working for. 

Watch if you don't have a better movie to watch. 

Rumour has it

"Rumour has it"

Watched English movie "Rumour has it". This movie is directed by Rob Reiner and stars Jennifer Aniston as Sarah Huttinger, Kevin Costner as Bough Burroughs, Mark Ruffalo as Jeff and Shirley MacLain as Katharine.

Years ago a book was made into a movie about how a mother and daughter seduced the same guy and how the daughter married another boy. Jennifer comes home for wedding of her little sister. She determines that the book was inspired by her own family. She wants to meet Kevin to determine if he is her father but ends up doing something else. 

Jennifer is all screwed up in the head and confused. Doesn't know what's right and what's not. Her actions lack logic. She goes from one trouble to another. Having two understanding males (father and fiance) saves her from self destruction. 

The movie is odd. Story is strange. Handling is ok. Cinematography is good. 

Why does Jennifer behave recklessly? Why didn't she simply ask her father before going on a witch hunt? How can one determine if Kevin speaks the truth? These and many such questions go unanswered. 

In short the movie peaks curiosity but does not deliver on the promise. 

Give it a miss.

Clear and present danger

"Clear and present danger"

Watched English movie "Clear and present danger". This movie is directed by Phillip Boyce and outs a Tom Clancy story. Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, James Earl Jones as Admiral Greer, William Dafoe as John Clark,  Joaquin de Almeida as Felix Cortez and Miguel Sandoval as Ernesto Escobedo are cast in main roles. 

A friend of US President is dead. Investigating reveal that he was connected to Columbian drug cartel. President asks NSA to destroy the Columbian using illegal resources. Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of intelligence at CIA after his boss is detected with cancer. Others in CIA carry out the illegal operations without knowledge of Jack. US confiscated 650 million $ drug money. Jack is attacked. There's visits Columbia. There is a traitor in Columbians. Someone from CIA leaks information.

How will Columbians react? Is there a traitor? What can Jack Ryan do? How high will the repercussions go?

This is a thriller so obviously it has a lot of action and fight scenes. Audience can see the drug empire and it's operation. Columbia is scenic. 

Harrison Ford plays Jack Ryan but he looks lost for most part of the film. His acting is also nothing to write about in first half. William Dafoe does well.

This is an old movie. So CIA had CRT monitors and DOS computers. Appears ancient,  but we used it not long ago. 

This movie is based on Tom Clancy's book. Since I have not read that book,  can't say how faithful the director sass to the story. 

 Not a must watch. 

Kill ratio

"Kill ratio"

Watched English movie "Kill ratio". This movie is directed by Paul Tanter and stars Tom Hooper, Amy Huberman, Lacy Moore and Nick Dunning.

Amy is trying to negotiate a telecom deal for her company in a fictional country in Eastern Europe. She is assisted by fixer Tom. There is coup and the President Lacy is believed dead. General Lazar had taken over.

Amy finds the injured President, brings her to the hotel and seeks Tom's help. But Tom is not what he looks. He is good at everything and he is also the lat hote of democracy in that country. 

Tom has excellent looks. He also acts ok. Amy is decent. Lacy is good. Nick impresses in his short but effective role. 

Fighting scenes are not good. Story is deficient. Direction is mediocre. Climax is tepid. 

Good thing is that movie is only one and half hour long. This was main reason I chose to see it. 

Give it a miss.

London has fallen

London has fallen

Watched English movie 'London has fallen', directed by Babak Najafi, starring Gerard Butler as Secret service agent Mike Banning, Aaron Eckhart as President of USA, Morgan Freeman as Vice President and Radha Mitchell as Leah. This is second film of the Fallen series. 

America had struck Pakistani arms dealer Barkawi, killing his daughter in the past. British Prime Minister dies. The world leaders come for the funeral. Terrorists led by Barkawi's son attack London. Italian, French and Canadian Prime Ministers are dead. Convoy of US President is attacked. Bulletproof vehicle is destroyed. Marine 3, Marine 2 and Marine 1 (Presidential choppers) are downed. The president is captured. Who to trust? London has fallen. It's terrorists against Mike Banning.

What is Barkawi's plan? Will they behead the President on live TV? Can Mike Banning save the day?

Similar to the first movie of the series, this movie is also non stop action. However here most of the action is outdoors giving more freedom and creativity to the action director. The action is also better. Cinematography of the destruction is good. This movie has a lot of violence. 

Acting of Gerrard,  Aaron and Morgan is decent. Now Morgan has become Vice President but he does the same thing that he did in first movie. Take charge of crisis operation center, stay loyal to President and keep faith in Mike. 

Again there is the unanswered question of how so many terrorists go unnoticed in London and how can they breach the security of multiple head of states?

Third movie of the series 'Angle has fallen' is declared and is expected next year. 

Watch if you like action movies. 

Olympus has fallen

Olympus has fallen

Watched English movie 'Olympus has fallen', directed by Antoine Fuqua, starring Gerard Butler as Secret service agent Mike Banning, Aaron Eckhart as President of USA, Morgan Freeman as Speaker Trumbull and Rick Yune as North Korean terrorist. This is first film of the Fallen series. 

North Koreans have taken over white house. President, Vice President and Secretary of defence are taken hostage in the presidential bunker. The north Koreans want to activate Cerberus. President's son is also somewhere in the white house. Mike Banning is the lone free survivor in the white house and all hopes are on him to save the day and save the world. 

Can Mike save President's son? What is Cerberus? What is Mike doing in White House? Can he save the day?

As the name and plot suggests this movie is full of action. It is non stop Acton from start to finish. There is also some scope for acting!

Gerrard Butler is the hero and he does week in Acton sequences. Aaron Eckhart's character had empathy but he doesn't look like US President. Rick Yune fires well as antagonist. 

Direction is decent. He covers all the points. Action sequences are good,  especially the crashing of choppers and aeroplanes. This movie has a lot of violence. 

If the President is shot in the bunker and there are dead terrorists lying around, what would one do? Call for the security and medivac or walk the injured, bleeding President out? Natural choice is first but director chooses second. How so many terrorists with domesticated weapons reach White House (The most protected building) is another enigma. 

Watch if you like action movies. 

Body of lies

"Body of lies"

Watched English movie "Body of lies".

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Russel Crow, Mark Strong in main roles and is directed by Ridley Scott.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a CIA agent. While stationed in Iraq, he gets information about a high value target in Amman, Jordan. He approaches GID Jordanian secret service. There is a lack of trust between two intelligence agencies and Leonardo wants to rectify that and catch the dreaded terrorist Al-Saleem (Alon Abutbul).

The movie has good action scenes. Leonardo and Russell Crow are proven actors. But Mark Strong in his role as head of GID, steals the show.

Story appears promising and Leonardo is supposed to be in control of operation but for interference of Russel. Audience think that somehow between the two they will deliver. The terrorist is captured, but the one pulling the strings is someone else. So who is running the show? Director has also introduced a love interest for Leonardo to make the climax happen. It appears that director is not fully in control. 

Not a must watch!

Badhai ho (बधाई हो)

"Badhai ho (बधाई हो)"

Watched Hindi movie "Badhai ho (बधाई हो)" with Jayant, Sucheeta, Sameer, Pooja and Aditi.

This movie is produced by Vineet Jain et al, directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma and stars Ayushman Khurana, Sanya Malhotra, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao and Surekha Sikri in main roles. 

Ayushman is son of a Gajraj and Neena Gupta. He stays with his parents, younger brother and grandmother in a middle-class locality. He works in a company and has a sweetheart, Sanya. One day the news breaks that Nina Gupta is pregnant. 

The movie has a very limited story. However, the initial reactions of the family and society and gradually change in their perspective is what makes the movie. Each character reacts differently. Some with anger,  some with disdain, some find it unpalatable, some find it romantic and some make fun of it. But everyone is shocked. 

Ayushman has a pleasant personality, good looks and acts well.  Sanya looks beautiful but has awful hair. Gajraj (relatively unknown actor) surprises with his subtle acting. Neena Gupta looks beautiful even after she has crossed 60. I dare say she looks better than some of the current heroines and underplays her role very well. But it is Surekha Sikri as Dadi who wins the audience over. She plays the old outspoken but yet inwardly soft Dadi to perfection. 

Director ensues that there is no slack in the movie. He stays true to the story and handles it with care. He has to walk a fine line to ensure that double entendre does not become prominent and focus remains on the story. 

Cinematographer has limited opportunities as most of the shooting is indoors. Music is forgettable. 

This movies uses a lot of Punjabi. So it will not make its mark where Hindi is not regularly spoken or Hindi movies are not regularly watched. If all the dialogues were in Hindi,  the movie would have had a pan India reach. 

All in all a good entertaining movie. 

Recommend watching!

Force 2

Force 2

Watched Hindi movie Force 2, directed by Abhinay Deo, starting John Abraham,  Sonakshi Sinha and Tahir Bhasin.

Three RAW agents of India are killed in China. One of them sends a coded message to his friend and cop John Abraham that the leak is in Indian Embassy in Hungary, Budapest. John and RAW agent Sonakshi are sent to investigate and bring the traitor back.

Do they find the traitor? Who is he/ she? Why is he doing it? What is his story?

The movie has a good story. RAW and the cloke and dagger game pique the interest and good direction maintains it. The story is fast and tidy,  it doesn't slack.

Almost all the shooting is in Hungary and audience it treated to good locations. Action sequences are also good. Music is nothing to talk about.

John is good,  Sonakshi is OK. Genelia wins the audience in her cameo as spirit of John's dead wife.

Being a Hindi movie one has to ignore certain things like: Sonakshi doesn't feel the tracking patch on the inside of her watch, John is better than RAW and other special forces although he is only a police officer, a police officer is sent to find a traitor etc..

This movie is sequel of Force. I have not watched it. Force 3 is already announced. Although a good movie, it was not a big hit on box office.

Recommend watching.