Scam 1992 - The Harshad Mehta Story (Sony Liv)

 

 

There was a time in the 80's and 90's when investments meant only fixed deposits and other secure instruments that earned you interest headache free. 

India post independence was growing and the advent of the stock market was limited to a handful not as of now how everyone is interested in making quick money.

This would have stayed that way if the name of Harshad Mehta was not splashed across newspapers as the big bull in the stock market and making more money than anyone at that point of time. The scam one of the firsts of white collar crimes of such scale surely made heads turn and yes put in the limelight on the financial market. There are court cases that are still going on even though the man has passed away.

When we talk about the Indian movie/tv industry about depicting movies/series based on real life individuals, there are very few that has been able to capture the attention of the audience. Most of them stray away from projecting the real facts the way it was and choose to go for creative inspiration and diluting the impact from what it could have been. 

If we look at Hollywood, there would a collection of such movies/series based on individual and some stand apart.

The series Scam 1992 - The Harshad Mehta Story on the OTT platform Sony Liv is based on Harshad Mehta who from a job of a jobber became one of the big bull of the stock exchange and the scam he got embroiled into.

The series is based on the book The Scam: Who Won, who Lost, who Got Away written by Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu. Sucheta Dalal was the one who broke the news of scam to the public.

The series showcases the life of Harshad Mehta wanting more out of his life and ends up as a jobber in the share market. His rise from there on has been captured and the downfall that saw him caught behind the bars for the scam that he claimed he never committed.

One of the good things about this series is that it stick to the facts and that is truly fascinating be it the stocks, companies involved or the people (fictionalized).

The way the whole scam has been explained in a lucid manner with the financial terminologies used. Its very easy to understand for viewers not good in maths. The series has maintained a balanced view and not going around the blame game on who is wrong and who is not. That again is a very good aspect to see.

The hold on the series is very tight from small to big details. From capturing the Bombay of the 90's and ensuring the reel depicts the reality like the Harshad Mehta photo/interview in front of his famed Lexus car.

It was good to see the way the essence of the husband-wife (Harshad and his wife) and Sucheta, Debashish relations was captured. Not much has been said but one gets the gist.

This is a 10 episode series and each one of them keeps you hooked to the screen. The credit goes to the editors Kunal Walve & Sumit Purohit  and also to the director/s Hansal Mehta/Jai Mehta. 

The series writers Saurav Dey, Sumit Purohit, Vaibhav Vishal & Karan Vyas also deserves applause because its the narration of the story telling that either works or not. In this one, it has made its kill.

The theme and background music by Achint Thakkar keeps pumping up the energy in the right way and surely gets one's attention.

Another unique aspect of this series is the casting of the characters. I am not sure if one has noticed, but most of them have been playing character roles for a while now and its good to see such a cast with rich background in acting abilities. To name a few it will be Chirag Vohra, Sharib Hashmi, K K Rain, Ananth Mahadevan, Satish Kaushik, Paresh Ganatra, Rajat Kapoor and Rajesh Jais.

It sure was surprising to see Nikhil Dwivedi in a character role after ages. There was also short appearances by Mamik Singh and Ayaz Khan. 

Its Pratik Gandhi who walks away with all the accolades with his presence over shadowing other in his lead as Harshad Mehta. He did well to capture the nuances of the late big bull and put it across the screen. His acting abilities adds up to the shine of this well crafted series.

This is by far the best series depicting the life of an individual who shook the nation and the stock market with his ingenuity.

The climax of the series makes you think if he deserved the kind of treatment he was given or others were let go scot-free. The snippets of the actual events, interviews ends up adding a lot more credibility to it.  

This is a must watch series which stands out in all aspects and can be watched more than once. 

Hope this paves the way for many more such series/movies to come.

Raat Akeli Hain (Netflix Movies)

Raat Akeli Hain is a movie starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte, directed by Honey Trehan. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala & Abhishek Chaubey. It is streaming on Netflix.

The movie is a whodunnit one and the entire premise is to find the killer of the bridegroom who dies on his wedding night.

Nawazuddin dons the role of an Inspector Jatil Yadav who is handed over the case to look into it. Radhika Apte plays the role of Radha whose husband has been killed and all suspicion is on her, the one who killed her husband.

The victim Raghubeer Singh was a powerful man and this was his second marriage. As the investigation went ahead it bought other suspects into the play. 

The movie subtly shows the challenges of the police working in the rural areas when it comes to collecting evidences and ensuring the crime spot is not tampered with.

On the other hand there is Jatil's mother played by Illa Arun who has been seen on the screen after a long time. Though she has been given a short role she splendidly makes one to take notice of her.

The attempt of a mother trying to get her overage wheatish son for marriage. Nawaz applying cream on his face to look fair.

The plot of the movie though is on a thin ice when it comes to how its shown. The back stories and trying to show and understand each character's purpose for the killing. The maid's death and investigation of another death comes to naught when you will see and understand the climax. 

There is a scene in the middle of the movie where it kind of gives the timeline when they could have easily know who the killer was and that itself would have put an end to the story. 

In the kind of whodunit movies, the audience aspect should also be considered kind of making them think who the killer would be or shows each characters roles on why they are been considered as a suspect. At least make the story line tight enough that it does not comes as a surprise.

Somehow the plot lost its impact towards the end not able to build up the energy leading up to it. All one could say that it was good attempt showing one. Not sure who is at fault here the editor or the director or the writers who could have filled in the gaps.

Three actors stood out in this movie. Illa Arun, Riya Shukla and yes Aditya Srivastava (its good to see him after a long time of CID tv series). All three of them given very little screen time and they manage to make it count. Shweta Tripathi certainly deserves better this in a blink and you miss role.

Nawazuddin and Radhika were on their usual nothing out of the ordinary. Is it me that I find Radhika Apte carrying the same expression in every scene? She can do a lot with her eyes. Just look at Illa Arun.

The climax setting was portrayed in a good way but the way the killer was found was a downer. The direction could have been better and I am not sure why Nawazuddin & Radhika back story was shown. Was it because mommy dearest wanted him to get married and everyone want to make sure this happened. :D

Overall you wont miss anything if you manage to skip this one.

Afsos (Amazon Prime)

I was staring at the wall lost deep into the abyss. The mosquito buzzing around got my attention and it was not until I made my kill that I could come out of it.

That is what happened post watching of the new series Afsos on Amazon Prime.

Hangover of watching the black comedy which is rare in the Indian shows be it web series and the what not's.

When we talk about black comedy or satire, its a very risky proposition. You can either hit the mark or miss so badly that it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Another problem is that a majority of the audiences just don't understand it. In case you are wondering why, its because no one wants to use their brains when they are trying to just pass time or have fun. The one that do falls in minority and no one really cares about it.

The series takes us in the life of Nakul (Gulshan Devaiah) who left his job to become a writer. Later realizing that he was not good enough when he received no response on  his book submitted.

Its takes us on his journey of trying to give up up on his life but someone else always beats him to it.

Its the troubles of trying to meet death but unable to do so even post giving a hit job on his own name. There are side plots running in the form of Fokhtiya Baba trying to find the immortal man to give him the elixir of life. The Psychiatrist (Anjali Patil) love angel with Nakul. The hit man (Heeba Khan) who has never missed a hit wants to keep the record clean.

Will he succeed or give up? Will the other sub plots played around will  work and impact Nakul's life is what the series about.

Like I said in a satire plot, its very important how it plays out to hit the mark. This one is on shaky grounds given that the climax takes the cake and keeps the confusion continued. Hinting that there will be a second season coming.

The saving grace or the ray of sunshine would be Gulshan Devaiah whose acting prowess made it easy to watch. He was well complemented by Anjali Patel, Heeba Khan, Ratnabali Bhattacharjee, Robin Das & Ujjwal Chopra.

The writers (Dibya Chaterjee, Anirban Dasgupta & Sourav Ghosh) lost the plot towards the end. First its a satire and then no clarity provided. Audience is not going to rake its brain given that there was no hints on how it is going to play out. Its a tough ask to think that people will understand.

The direction by Anubhuti Kashyap was tight but the climax was pathetic. It could have been well written & shown. The series was completely dependent on Gulshan's acting abilities. Not sure how it would have pan out if for any other actor.

Watch it only if you like black comedies or Gulshan Devaiah's acting.

P.S.: The series is based on the Bengali book Golper Goru Chaande, you can find the English version here.

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Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime (Season 2)

Hollywood movies, tv shows on a specific genre of drama, comedy, horror, cops, espionage, etc have similar plot lines. The originality of the story telling and the cast makes a difference of it being a hit or flop.

Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime is no different. Based on espionage, it follows the life of Jack Ryan an analyst who finds himself on the front end of it.

The first season had made its impact but the second one left a lot to be desired.

It takes Jack Ryan to Venezuela where his ex boss and senator gets killed in an ambush. He hunts to find the killers and to unveil the conspiracy behind it.

The beginning of the series was good, hoping there were going to be more twist than what meets the eye. Then again it was not meant to be.

James Geer, Ryan's ex-boss also end up there but apparently has a heart condition which his new boss is not aware of. This is a gap as being a field officer, health conditions must be duly noted.

The CIA station officer takes matters in his own hands and helping out Jack & James felt like inspired from Bollywood movies as one can see such things happening but Hollywood series, I don't recall. It depicts a very poorly written plot.

What we saw is what we got. It was very clear who the villain was but the story raises a lot of gaps which are quite evident.

A US senator gets killed in a foreign country and there is no action from the US government and no coverage on how the situation plays out. It was treated like its normal business and no hue and cry raised.

The intrusion of US in another country's affairs as in giving in an acceptability that its okay to do so. This again has international repercussions in the world politics but there was again no view point shown by the story writers.

These are glaring gaps which impacts the show season 2 story plot. The story writers could have come with a better story line.

John Krasinski as Jack Ryan does a decent job. Wendell Pierce plays out his character well of James Greer

The series is unable to keep you glued as a viewer with the predictability of knowing what will happen next. Then it becomes difficult to watch remaining episodes.

I am disappointed with the season 2 as expectations were high with season 1 which had good reviews but turned out to be a blip.

You can certainly watch it as a one time but don't keep your expectations high.

You can avail books based on Jack Ryan below.

The Hunt for Red October (A Jack Ryan Novel)
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Books 1 - 3
Threat Vector

Joker

The world of comics be it Marvel or DC Comics have come out from the pages of comics onto the screens of theaters long time back.

Marvel hit its big time gold with the MCU movies, while DC was not left far behind albeit with less number of characters with the likes of Batman & Superman  making most out of it.

By far, the most remakes that has been made from the DC comics stable has been of Batman and Superman. The Dark Knight series surely one of the finest series that has made its mark with the audiences.

We have always seen movies made on the comic books hero, went on from being an ordinary person to becoming the super hero meant to be. How many of them you remember have been made on the villains?

The numbers can be counted on the finger tips.

When a movie like Joker is released, it offers us the rare glimpse on the other side of a person on earth who have decided to make it their hell. We have seen Gotham's cape crusaders now its time for the enemy to steal the limelight.

The movie gives us a peek into the journey of  Arthur Fleck from being the clown to becoming the Joker, Gotham's dreaded criminal.

When we talk about the character of Joker, Heath Ledger names pops up and his performance certainly makes an uphill task for anyone trying to fill his shoes. Jared Leto did played the Joker's character in a minuscule role in Suicide Squad movie.

However, for this movie it was actor Joaquin Phoenix who essayed the character's transition from happy face to clown face.

Arthur Fleck the clown tries to put on a happy face. Trying to make the world smile around him even when he his not. His inner demons getting the better of him, but he is trying to come on top of it by ensuring that he takes his medications, has a job and takes care of his loving mother.

The movie gives a glimpse of his struggles to lead a normal life, his dreams, desires.

However all he got was despair and setbacks one after another leading him to take matter in his own hands to decide the outcome of his fate.

The movie pace has been a bit slow through out even though it did manage to create an excitement in the climax but could not deliver. In a way, the movie is very understated.

The whole movie is about Arthur's transformation into Joker in its various phases. The story appears weak  as it only revolves around the Arthur's character and Joaquin acting prowess has been the only saving grace.

The tempo of the movie never picked up even in the climax when there was a blip.

The direction of the movie Todd Philips keeps you on a leash but the story does not. This could have been great if it was written with a tight story.

The only thing going for the movie is Joaquin Phoneix

Towards the end of the movie, we could see Arthur becoming the Joker but it never evokes any response as a viewer. We knew it was going to happen but the treatment given to the movie left one yearning for more.

When one looks at the earlier representation of the Joker's character played on the screen, one can see it witty even when running amok. This one leaves you in a gloomy state of mind.

Watch it only for Joaquin acting abilities.

Its a one time watch.

Bard of Blood (Netflix Web Series)

The Bard of Blood web series has been released on Netflix. Espionage seems to be the theme these days for web series. Recently we saw the Family Man web series on Amazon Prime on similar lines.

Before reviewing the web series, would like to add that the web series on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, etc are considered to be a niche segment for an audience who have moved away from the idiot box (television shows). 

The segment is still in an infancy stage, given that the number of Hindi web series is yet to hit good numbers compared to the English ones running across all the platforms. The makers need to realize that the Indian audiences have really matured up and knows the difference between a good and bad web series especially the nitty gritty of the story plots. We can see through that. Since we are still growing, expect that the makers start doing a good job on it.

Coming to the Bard of Blood, given the India Pakistan simmering tensions currently going on, the series seems to hit the right areas.

The series is based on the book by the same name written by Bilal Siddiqi in the year 2015 and also credited as writer for the series.

This is a 7 episode series starring Emraan Hashmi as the lead actor playing the role of Kabir Anand who has been dismissed from the agency and now being contacted by his ex boss Sadiq Sheikh (Rajit Kapur) to go on off the book mission to rescue four Indian agents trapped in Pakistan as they have got hold of secrets useful to India.

Before the mission could even begin, Sadiq is found dead and then began a game of cat and mouse.

One of the good thing of this web series is the way they have been able to maintain the continuity and keep you engaged. Every episode ends with you wondering what will happen next?

The focus on keeping it minimalistic, having only one plot and no subplots worked out great. Everything is weaved well within the series.

However, there are some very glaring loopholes/gaps in the plot that is hard to miss.

Isha Khanna's (Sobhita Dhulipala) disappearance. Seriously if you are working in an intel agency and don't turn up at your work, is that not noticeable? They way it has been depicted is really poor.

On top of it, there is no action on part of the Head of the agency when he comes to know she is in Balochistan in an off record mission. He knows nothing about it and does not even attempts to know, implying that he assumed its a rescue mission for the agents captured. No explanations asked for!!

The best part was the connectivity of the data card in the remote areas of Balochistan using a stolen laptop. if they can get such good connectivity then why did the four agents visited a cyber cafe to upload data? They could have done the same thing and not get caught.

The Agency Head seemed completely clueless about his role. His second in command is dead, comes to know Kabir and Isha are in pakistan and does nothing. I am not sure if the writers gave a thought to his character which they should have, given head of the agency.

The funniest scene was perhaps when they were at the oil pump station surrounded by pakistan forces and Isha was taking cover behind a metal crisscross fences. She along with Veer (Vineet Kumar Singh) were also taking their shots through them. This was so genius that reminded me of the South movies scenes or should I say Mithun Chakraborty scene taking cover behind a cycle. I hope the makers were not paying a tribute!!

The chase of Isha behind the Taliban's leader convoy has to be the dumbest scene to be scripted. You are in middle of a desert chasing a convoy and she gets caught, seriously!! If she maintained a distance of a mile too she would have know where they were going. There were no other cars in between...

Kabir finding the Royal Enfield Himalayan in the midst of the desert takes the cake.

The good part of the series is its ability to keep attention of its viewers on the screen. The climax of the season one was somewhat of an anticlimax. There was no mention of agents captured revealing the secrets for which the mission took place. On top of it information of attack finds them instead other way round, does not makes the agency look good. The ending was predictable.

Emraan Hashmi had the same expression throughout the series, not sure if that's a good thing or bad. Rajit Kapoor was impactful in a small but meaty role. Kirti Kulhari also did a good job. Sobhita Dhulipala could not do justice to her role. Sahiba Bali stood out in her minuscule role. Vineet Kumar Singh, Jaideep Ahlawat & Abhishek Khan did justice to their respective roles.

Despite the flaws in the series, one can navigate through them through a tight direction from Ribhu Dasgupta. The writers surely could have done a better job by getting hold of the loop holes/gaps which could have made these 7 episode series more fine.

Bard of Blood is recommended as as a watch as mentioned for its hold to maintain his narrative, continuity and yes the suspense throughout the series.

Do watch it.

The Family Man (Amazon Prime Web Series)

With the success of Sacred Games, Mirzapur and other web series, viewers are always on the look out for web series on Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc to see which one does better.

Amazon Prime has come up with The Family Man web series. Very interestingly the trailer of the series was introduced in the month of september while Bard of Blood series of Netflix which again looks to have similar plots (as per the trailers) was running from august month onward.

Was this intentional or not only time will tell, the Bard of Blood will be released on sept 27.

Coming back to The Family Man web series, the story plot is about an undercover analyst who has to circumvent certain attacks from taking place and prevent the inevitable India Pakistan war.

The main character is played by Manoj Bajpai namely Srikant, a senior analyst. He is seen back on the screen after ages. He has a loving family, his wife Suchitra (Priyamani) and two children Atharv (Vedant Sinha) & Dhriti (Mehal Thakur).

Only his wife knows about his real job, while the kids think their father works in a government cushioned job and too polite to stand up for himself.

He also has a sidekick by the name of JK (Sharib Hashmi) and a rookie Zoya (Shreya Dhanwanthary) for support.

It was a normal day when Srikant and his team were suppose to interrogate two criminals Moosa (Neeraj Madhav) & Asif (Dinesh Prabhakar) and share their report to higher authorities.

Then again things were not meant to go this way as it was the start of the roller coaster ride that would lead them to the bigger plot of an impending attack on the Indian soil.

Even as the main plot was on the works, their were other aspects of the story too, like the exploration of the husband and wife relationship, daughter's attempt of giving into peer pressure, wife's closeness to another guy (Sharad Kelkar) and the divine work-life balance.

As one goes through the complete series, it leaves a lot to be desired. There were some very obvious glaring loop holes which are hard to miss. One has to actually wonder if no one thought of correcting it given that it was a web series.

The sex scene was anything but sensuous. How can someone with needle inserted in hand for drip move his hand so freely? We surely have a lot of work to do to iron out such small details. I hope they were able to fool the viewers.

The way Moosa's real identity was discovered leaves you speechless. If one has seen espionage movies/tv shows/web series there are better ways to execute it.

This is perhaps the only web series wherein the Indian government is getting in touch with Pakistan government and sharing intelligence in order to prevent the attack from happening in India. If only this could be happen in reality...

There seem to be no direction when it came to highlighting other aspects of the story. The intend was there but sadly no execution. Not enough screen time given to build on it or connect with the viewers. It was a case of hit & miss. Perhaps 10 episodes were too less to show it all.

The direction of the series by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. who incidentally happens to be the writes too along with Suman Kumar could have done well. There were certain scenes which seems to be abruptly moved on to the next scene.

Editing could have been better. For example the son finding his father's gun and hiding it under the pillow of the sofa even as both the mother and daughter make their way to home. Then out of the blue to cover it up, in another scene he informs his father about his gun but does not asks what he was doing with it. Nor their is much reaction on the father side if the son could have killed himself with the real gun. The writing, direction & editing falters..

Manoj Bajpai has been good in his role, so did Gul Panag who stood out in a small role. Priyamani, Sharad Kelkar & Dalip Tahil were not given enough screen time for their performances to do justice. Neeraj Madhav stood out in his villainous role.

The climax of the series could have been done differently but then again there could be more than meets the eyes. As suspense is still maintained if the attack is successful or not.

The series has its moments, then again it fails to get you on a high. Hope the second season is a learning.

Its a one time watch.

Gully Boy

Toh kya bolta hain Bantai? Toh kaise lagi movie?

Kya abhi tak dekhi nahi, review ka intezaar kar rahele the. Pehle bolne ka tha na.

Sirf tum log ke liye yeh review. Phir batane ka haan, picture dekhi ke nahi aur kaise lagi.

Yeh review bhi hindi main hoga apne panter ke tarah. Kya hain apne bhai log aur unki bhene ko bhi samaj main aana chaiye na.

Yeh kahani hain apne Murad (Ranveer Singh ) Bhai ki. Bolne ke liye college ka londa hain. Par apne haal ka bayan kya kare. Abba (Vijay Raaz) jo ke ek driver ka kaam karte hain, jawan beta ko chod ke khud hi dusre shaadi kar aate hain.

Ek toh dharavi ka chawl aur us chote se ghar main badtee abadi. Us waqt sirf NAS rapper ke gaane aur kavita likhne ka shauk uske chupe dard ko rahat deti the.

Bhai ke dost bhi the Moeen (Vijay Verma) aur Salmaan (Nakul Sachdeva) jinke saath woh TP (timepass) karta tha.

Par apna bhai bhi kuch kum nahi. Uski ek girlfriend bhi thi. Woh bhi school time bole toh ek dum long term relationship. Naam uska Safeena (Alia Bhatt). Par kiski afat se kam nahi. Bana hain use surgeon. Dimag ka shot kiya toh sirf hi phod deti hain. isse bachke rahena kyuki woh aati hain "handle with care" ke saath.

Dil ke kashmakash chali rahi the, ke Abba apne tang tudwa bhete aur bheja apne Murad bhai ko apni jagah naukri. Driver ka beta driver hi hoga kya? 

Par apne bhai ka time anne wala tha. College ke festival main usko mila MC Sher (Siddhant Chaturvedi) jiske sangat ne bhai ke life ich badal dali. Bole to ek gaana nikala "Mere Gully Main" suna toh hoga. Uske baad kya peeche mudke bhi nahi dekha.

Par taqdeer toh apne paate bheecha rahi the. Apne abu ka ghar chod diya toh khane ke lale ho gaye. Ateeq Mamu (Vijay Maurya) ke yaha naurki kar li. Ab ghar sambale yea apna junoon, kaise yeh majboori hain.

Kya lagta hain apna bhai kya karega. Aur toh aur apne NAS bhai bhi Mumbai aa rahe the jiske show main perform karne ka chance bhi milega. Par kya yeh ho payega?

Yeh jaane ke liye toh picture dekhne padegi na, haan bacchi.

Iske gaane bhi kamal hain, Aur apne India ke rappers bhi apna kirdar nibha the hain. 

Picture ki direction, script aur dialogue baazi ek number hain. iske cinematography ek dum awaal hain, Jay Oza ka naam bolna zaroori hain.

Picture ekdum hard hain. Bole toh itne level pe connect hota hain ke kiya bolu. Zoya Akhtar aap toh chaa gaye. Har ek kirdaar ko  screen time diya hain aur sab ek se ek ubhar ke aate hain.

Chaiye woh Vjiay Raaz, Vijay Verma, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Amruta Subhash aur baki, bas fad dala.

Ranveer aur Alia toh picture ke sitare hain jinke bagair uske chamak ojhal ho jayegee. 

Yeh picture apne Divine aur Naezy rapper bhai ki zindagi se prabhavit hain.

Yeh picture toh dekhna banta hain. 

Ek dum hard!!

P.S.: Could not post earlier, was not keeping well :(

K.G.F. Chapter 1

Before we can proceed ahead for the review, I have just one question, "Why do you watch a movie?" Give it a thought and let me know.

I am sure you have your answer. This is that type of movie which may leave you inspired, emotional and enthralled.

The movie is originally a Kannada production with it being released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu & Malayalam languages.

 The beginning of the movie takes you back in time to tell a story of a young boy. A young boy who wants the world.

The plot of the movie is simple and short. Its the visualization of it on the big screen takes it on a whole new different level. If you thought Bhaubali was epic in the Indian film industry, then this one is going to blow your mind.

Its a visual treat to watch and is an out and out action movie. It keeps you engrossed from the start that you wont move your eyes off it. It captures the journey of the young man whose mother makes him take a promise that he will be a rich man when he dies. From being a shoe shiner he ends up becoming the most dangerous guy.

It has its moments. From the way the story is told, the mother-son bonding, the young man's desire to become rich & powerful, the play at hand... Depends which one gets your attention.

Its the direction and the screenplay of the movie which plays a pivotal role. Prashanth Neel does a great job at it. There however is a flaw in the movie which can be overlooked which would be the love angle. It could have been shown in a better way especially the connect.

The movie protagonist Raja Krishnappa Bairya alias Rocky played by Yash does his job to the core. The intensity of the eyes especially when his face is covered with his hair & beard.

Archana Jois as the mother, Anmol Vijay as young Rocky have also done a splendid work. Srinidhi Shetty had a small role. Anant Nag & Malavika Avinash were good. So was the character who plays the house keeping role and the old Muslim guy who plays as a confidante of Rocky. I am not commenting on the grey role played by others as very small role given except for Ramachandra Raju as Garuda who killed it with his ferocity.

Overall, the movie will leave you in awe. You get the same kind of feeling that one might have felt during Bhaubhali, only bigger this time.

Its a must watch movie and on the big screens. Go for it!!

Lupt

It was a holiday yesterday and decided to catch up on movies that you haven't watched for months. You check up on the movie listing and shortlist two movies both equally good. A moment of indecisiveness comes in.

You weigh the pros & cons and then make your choice. Check the movie listing timings and decide on it.

Its the D-day and you make a dash to reach the theater on time to book tickets & watch movie. However the traffic on the roads felt otherwise as you looked on the clock ticking....

The counter is filled with people in line something that never happens. You knew you were going to miss the beginning but you will wait for your turn to buy tickets. Reached the counter and tell the girl "Tumbbad, 12:20 show" You select your seats and rush inside to catch up on the movie.

As you enter the screen, the attendant stops you saying the movie has not ended and that yours starts at 12:55. You are amused thinking that they probably postponed it. Check the ticket for timings and it says 12:55.

You enter the screen hall to find it empty making you wonder it cannot be. Find your seat & take it. The movie begins and shows the title as "Lupt".  I checked my ticket again and find it written on it. 

The thought of leaving did come but I decided to stick and yes it was certainly not a wise decision....

 Lupt is supposed to be a movie based on supernatural horror genre but it fails badly to come as one.

Its a story of a family vacation turning into a nightmare. The lead character is played by Javed Jaffrey who is troubled by images which he thinks is a figment of his imagination. His psychiatrist friend recommends taking a break to unwind. 

 He ends up losing his son, wife in an unexplained manner. The question arises if he can save his daughter's life...

I am at my wits end on how can Javed Jaffrey, Vijay Raaz & Niki Walia could agree to do such movie. The script of the movie is so weak that even a kid could point out the flaws. 

The direction felt as if it was done scene by scene something one can easily notice. The writer and director of the movie are one & the same Prabhuraj. Makes me wonder why would anyone produce such a half baked movie.

This will not be recommended and I hope I have your sympathies for going through this difficult time and churning a movie review out of it.

 

Ant-Man And The Wasp

I have to admit that when Ant-Man was released, I almost did not see it. Later when I came to know that all MCU movies are inter-connected. I watched it.

It requires no guesses that when Ant-Man and the Wasp released, I made sure that I watch it so that I am able to connect the dots.

When you look at Ant-Man, he looks like the regular guy with family and ended up becoming a superhero. I think one would wonder why they should watch the movie when Ant-Man is not big of a superhero compared to Iron Man, Thor or Captain America who simply own their movies.

Everyone has a role to play in the built up of the aftermath of the use of Infinity stones and I believe Ant-Man will be playing a vital one. I think apart from Deadpool (who have no connections with the related MCU movies), Ant-Man is the other guy with a sense of humor.

Taking it from the Ant-Man movie and before the Avengers: Infinity War, Hank Pym & Hope believe that they can bring Janet back from the Quantum Realm. As Scott Lang was able to do that.

Meanwhile Scott is under house arrest for helping Captain America and is two days away to get his freedom back. Apparently when Hank & Hope do their experiment of connecting to the quantum realm, Scott end up with a vision and they realize that he is in quantum entanglement with her.

There is only one problem that apart from them, there is a ghost named Ava & Sonny Burch who are also behind it for their own reasons. 

Do they succeed in getting Janet back and saving the technology from falling in the wrong hands is what the movie is all about.

I have to say that Scott Lang played by Paul Rudd is very understated and he pulls it off very well. Apart from him, Michael Pena is the one to watch out for. He stood out in Ant-Man too and this one too. Evangeline Lilly does not shine out in this one. Michael Douglas was good with this one-liners

The pace of the movie is enough to keep you glued to the screen and not too fast to wonder what's going on.  Laurence Fishburne & Michelle Pfieffer make their presence felt in the movie albeit minuscule roles.

The plot of the movie is not that great but the direction of Peyton Reed makes sure that there is no room for boredom.

This movie is certainly worth a watch more than once. Do watch it.

P.S. Do not miss out on the post credit scene. Holds vital clue.

Deadpool 2

Deadpool 2 is out and going by the first movie of the series, the expectations are surely set high.

The movie's beginning gets your attention from the start and yeah with the witty and sarcasm, one can just fall in love with it.

A note of caution though, you need to know a whole lot more about the X men to get the references and jokes. Otherwise it will be a lost cause.

The movie plot is about protecting a boy from the villain from the future out to kill him.

I have to say when you look at the movie as a whole, it surely does disappoints. The plot not being strong enough. Might have well have to sit back and think what's going on here.

Having said that, yes there are scenes that gets you a laughing riot. The team formed to save the boy, then again it all comes down to the plot of the movie. It surely can't get it up and running.

Even Deadpool's witticism cannot save the movie. The script of the movie is not tight enough and there are moments where you feel completely bored...

Director David Leitch should have taken care of that. Ryan Reynold was at his best. Moreana Baccarain looking beautiful. Josh Brolin playing the villian, somehow could not do justice. If you look at Thanos in Avengers: Infinity  War you will understand.

Julian Dennison the kid did justice to his role. Zazie Beetz certainly gets your attention in her minuscule role.

 If you are going to watch the movie, watch it for Ryan Reynolds and you will not be disappointed.

This is going to be a one time watch movie unless you like Deadpool's witticism!!

Avengers: Infinity War

The last time the Avengers movie came out, it was in 2015 that's like 3 years ago. Isn't that a long time to wait for all the superheroes to come together again to save the world?

Thankfully MCU knows how to keep the audience busy with other superheroes movies coming out. With each movie interconnected to each other, that only kept them going with keen.

The Avengers Infinity War could not have got any bigger the way it was build up through its others movies in the past. I take it that you are an Marvel movie fan to understand what the movie is all about. In case you are not, then I suggest you either read the comics to get hold of who is who and what they are fighting for or watch every movie MCU has released from Avengers: Age of Ultron.

No spoilers will be revealed so you can certainly read the review but that also means that I cannot reveal the plot of the movie. It only makes my job difficult on how to put it across...

The first scene of movie drags you straight in the movie plot. There are many small plots that is played out in different planets and eventually leads to one dramatic showdown.

On one hand Thor has his own reasons to go after Thanos. Hulk, Iron Man & Dr. Strange come together to save Earth. Captain America, Black Widow & Falcon fight to save Infinity Stone from Thanos's Black Order.

One can also see the presence of Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Parker, Wanda Maximoff, Vision, Black Panther among others. There were quite a few surprises.

The movie is completely action packed from the beginning till the end. It certainly does not disappoints the way expectation has been build up.

The one thing that comes odd is the way the character of Thanos is portrayed. Bear in mind, that he is the villian but certain actions of his goes the other way. He does not fit into the generic bad guys and that makes him stand out. We will only know about it when the next Avengers will be out. Was he meant to be more than a bad guy?

In a nutshell, the movie is about Thanos vs Avengers & other superheroes trying to get their hands on the Infinity stones to save the universe.

There are however certain aspect though minute in the movie that does not make any sense. Like can humans breathe in other planets? When your body is pierced with a weapon, shouldn't one die which is not the case here. Not sure if this was done deliberately to have the next installment coming up.

When you have a movie plot which is interconnected with other MCU movies, I think its a big task for the writers to ensure that everything that is shown has its relevance. After all the fans keeps checking every detail.

The movie keeps you engrossed and that says all about the directors Russo brothers. To keep audience glued to the screen is not an easy task.

When a movie has a multiple star cast, it becomes difficult to point any single character given the footage that has been given to them. However for me, its the Thanos character played by Josh Brolin stands out.

The climax of the movie certainly evokes mixed reactions (word used since cannot reveal everything) and it depends on how one takes it.

The end credit scene certainly add further enigma which I believe is going to be revealed in 2019. Till then one has to be patient and enjoy other MCU movie releases this year hoping it provides clue...

The movie is a must watch for any MCU fan. For the non MCU fan, well you have to learn from the beginning to understand it.

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

One of the problems for sequel movies is that if they don't release them in time in a span of say one or two years, people forget what the movie was all about.

This holds true for the third sequel of the Maze Runner i.e., Death Cure. The movie is being released after three years of the last movie came out of the series.

If you have not watched the earlier series movies, then you wont come to know what the movie is all about.

The plot carries on from the previous installment wherein Teresa joins back WCKD. While Minho is captured by Janson among other immune children who were being taken to the last city.

Thomas however had different plans as he leaves the camp to rescue his friend Minho. Was he able to that? Was a cure was found for the Flare virus? Was the end of WCKD near?

You will have to watch the movie to know that!

As the movie begins, it quickly gets into action from the word go. The plot keeps you intrigued until you find Thomas and his friends make an entry into the Last City. 

There does comes a moment in the movie where you wonder if what the WCKD was actually doing the right thing. Given that it was helping in saving lives of people. Then again its a question of contemplation best left to each on its own.

Its the passage to the climax that becomes to hard to digest. The way they found the cure for the disease. Again if you are watching a sci-fi theme movie, one does expects them to be backed up with facts and how its shown. This was missing here.

The climax however certainly had a different take altogether, surely may touch emotions of a few specially with Newt's note.

The film does leave you on a mix note. It could have been better had the cure of the virus was shown in a better way then what it was. It certainly had elements to be a good series of sequel movies but then lost its momentum to build the end.

The cast of the movie did justice to their part. Be it Dylan or Thomas Brodie-Sangster and others.

The screen play by T.S.Nowlin should have been tight. Taking into consideration on what is highlighted. The credit does goes to the director Wess Ball for keeping the movie on a tight leash only to be let down by the story plot.



The movie is a one time watch.

P.S.: A word of advice, do watch the earlier movies in the series to understand the plot of the movie.

Insidious: The Last Key

When the third movie came out of the Insidious series, I thought that it was the end to a beautiful series which kept on getting better and better like wine.

However two days earlier, I came to know that the fourth installment of the series is being released.  This I conclude is the end of the series.

It is about the life of Elise Rainer and how she ended up being a psychic and had her own demons to fight for closure.

It takes back her to the house where it all began. She also have her sidekicks Specs & Tucker on her side.

I have to say that one cannot compare the previous parts of the series to this one. The movie though is not that tight as its earlier parts.

It surely though makes you scream or move out of your chair with its evil presence on the screen. The comic scenes also gets you going.

There are though many flaws in the plot which was either not paid attention too or was overlooked. There was no back story to the demon who was causing so much trouble. No explanation of significance of the keys on the demon fingers.

On top of that Elise has no recollection of talking to herself as a child. I am sure one would remember that! Her mother's role and strength is another mystery.

Kind of disappointed the way victory was hailed over the demon.

Overall, the movie does gives one enough goosebumps that one might even overlook at what is mentioned over here.

Specs played by Leigh Whannell also happens to be the writer of the Insidious series and Saw. The series could have been a perfect, had they pulled the plug on the holes on this one. Yet to come across a series which gets it right on all the parts.

The actors in the movie Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson, Bruce Davison, Leigh Whannell, Hana Hayes & Tessa Ferrer have done their jobs well.

Director James Wan has done well with the series and this one too keep the audience glued to screen if only the plot had done justice.

Do watch it, its worth a watch.

Blade Runner 2049

You decide to watch a movie on a lazy sunday and then hop on to your bike to the theatre to watch your movie. As you reach the theater, you come to know that the show is cancelled. What to do you do?

I simply hopped on my bike and went to another theater and got the tickets in time to watch the movie that happen to be this one.

It is said to be a sequel to the movie Blade Runner in 1982 (isn't that a long time?) and I have not watched it. Too bad as if you have not seen the movie as getting to understand this movie will not be easy.

The movie is based on a plot that takes place in the future wherein bio engineered humans are integrated into the society. There are various versions of these out of which rogue replicants were to be made extinct. The job of this was given to the blade runner, a part of the LAPD but again a bio engineered human.

The task is assigned to K (Ryan Gosling) who ends up killing a replicant on a farm and finds a body hidden below the ground.Forensics reveal it to be the body of a female replicant who give birth to a child. 

Believing that if word of it got out could end up creating chaos, his boss (Robin Wright) orders him to find the child and kill it. On his search to find the child he ends up passing on the information to Niander Wallace (Jared Leto), a scientist creating bio-engineered humans who send his replicant Luv (Sylvia Hoeks) to find the child so that he could bolster the bio engineered humans production.

 It becomes a mouse and cat hunt as K ends up uniting the father & the child in the end.

The movie is too slow even though its able to keep audiences glued to the screen. I ended up yawning in between something that has never happened before.

The climax of the movie is disappointing. Even though the father & daughter meet, the way they meet and ending shown seems abrupt. It leaves you yearning for more like how replicant got pregnant and all.

Harrison Ford seems to be wasted in this movie as there is hardly any role for him to play in. The rest of the actors from the likes of Ryan to Sylvia have done a decent job.

Not sure how many people have watched the first part but they certainly should have included the background of the plot for people to understand.

The movie is a one time watch and you wont be missing it if you dont watch it...

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion

I was trying to get tickets for this movie from the day it went live and I couldn't. The theaters were going house full. Finally managed to buy a ticket and watch this movie Baahubali 2.

I missed watching the first part on the big screen and made sure that I watched this in the theater.

Normally when a movie's sequel is made, lot of high expectations are set and pressure too that they do well. Indian movies are not known for making sequels compare to their western counterparts. So a movie made on such a grand scale mattered on all the scales.

The beginning of the movie itself gets your attention giving a peek into the first part of the movie. If you have watched the Lord of the Rings movie series, then it feels a similar touch has been given to this. However this does not take away the uniqueness and thought put out to create the sets of scenery.

The story is in continuation of the first part which is about the son taking revenge of the father's murder by the unworthy King. Even though the plot line of the story has been seen in many movies, its the treatment and the variation that gets the movie going. 

One cannot completely take away their eyes from the screen as it maintains its momentum. It has its moments be it the love story of Devsena & Baahubali or the motherly affection between Sivagami & Baahubali. It also does well on the comic part and yes the jealousy emoted by Bhalla & his father.

The movie relies heavily on the VFX and special effects but it felt as if they missed out on giving finishing touches as there were scenes where one could easily made out the models created of forts. Given that this is could be probably the first Indian movie relaying so heavily on it can be over looked.

The story line is not tight as one expected it to be.None of Indian movies normally have as they depend on human emotions of the audiences to sway them from the gaps.

The battles gets your attention. Specially the part wheren Baahubali rips apart Bhalla's chairot or the way they penetrate the fort in the climax. Bhalla's eyes screaming for revenge when he throngs himself on Baahubali.

Everyone played their part to the tee. One wont be able to see an actor in a dull moment as they are etching out the characters they play. They all do well from Prabhaas, Anushka Shetty, Rana Daggupatti, Ramya Krishna, Satyaraj & Nassar. Tamanna hardly had any role to play in this one.

It certainly would have been a tough task for the director Rajamouli to direct such a movie when very few get made least in India. He surely did a good job at it. The tougher job probably would be for the editors to choose which ones to keep and delete.

The climax though seem hurried in a bid to end the movie and that certainly does not leave you with a feel good moment when you leave your seat in the end.

However it does get it me thinking what was Bhalla's Dad doing at Baahubali's coronation.Why was he kept alive? Maybe a third part on the way? Something we will never know.

This movie certainly deserves a watch more than once for its magnum opus.

Jolly LLB 2

I am very choosy when to comes to watch movies in theaters. Majority of the time it will be English and yes I do go for Hindi and other movies provided I think they are good enough to watch on big screen.

Heard good reviews about Jolly LLB and decided to watch it in the theater.

However, like every other Indian movie, the makers of the movies believes in playing with emotions of the audiences. Instead the plot of the movies always goes for a toss. What matters is you have a bigger star in the movie.

I though Jolly LLB 2 was going to be different but alas it was not going to be different. I have to say that Jolly LLB was much better when you look from the story plot angle.

This time round the role of Jolly, the lawyer was played by Akshay Kumar. He was good at his role but like I said story plays an important part of the film making too which was a big let down.

Its the story of a legal assistant who wishes to practice on his own. To do it, he must own a place in the court chambers and that leads to the death of Hina who wants the lawyer Rizvi under which he works to fight her case. 

Post her death, its the remorse that makes Jolly to take up the case and prove the innocence of Hina's husband and punish the guilty.

The drama of the courtroom has its moment with some witty liners that has punches.

However the climax and the way the movie progresses is a big let down.

For e.g., if there is a case of mistaken identity, the first thing one would do is check the photos of the person involved. Apparently this big flaw of the story was never thought of. On hindsight, if they had they probably would have to change the plot of the movie.

On top of that the actor has four days in hand to defend himself in front of law board. In those four days he traveled to J&K and back. Indian film makers certainly have a tendency of thinking the audience as fools.

The movie could have been better had the story line was kept tight. Also in the end, it felt as if the fight was about all Jolly's glory and not about the lives lost as the movie ends.

Akshay was usual at his best. Huma Qureshi was like a lost cause as her role was not defined. Wearing a Gucci dress in UP locality seriously needs a thought.

The highlight of the movie will be Sayani Gupta who played Hina and she certainly gets your attention. Anu Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla do enthrall you with their acting. However the story could not do the justice.

The Holi song is sure going to be catchy. The writing and direction of Subhash Kapoor did not do justice to the movie.

All in all, its a one time watch movie if you want to see the acting of Sayani Gupta, Akshay Kumar, Anu Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla...

 

Dangal

When I heard about Dangal, the plot sounded similar to Sultan which had release few months earlier. However this movie is said to be inspired from the true story of Mahavir Singh Phogat.

The movie stars Amir Khan as Mahavir Singh Phogat as the wrestler who resigns himself to his desk job as he had to choose between earning money to follow his passion of wrestling. 

However the passion refuses to die. His dreams of fulfilling it through his son could not happen as his wife bears him four daughters. He gives up on his dream until one day his two daughters end up beating up two boys. 

That stirs up his passion as he aims to fulfill it through his daughters. Both of them who had to go through a strict rigorous plan at an early age. Geeta (Fatima Sana Shaikh) excels followed by her sister Babita (Sanya Malhotra).

The relationship between the father and daughter Geeta strains as she goes on the national level and her performance deteriorates. Family intervenes and relationship is back to being a healthy one. 

However no movie can be complete without a villain in the form of the national coach Pramod Kadam. The coach techniques were different from Mahavir. However father won over the coach and daughter ends up winning the competition with the coaching from her father.

I must say that though the movie is projected as some kind of women empowerment and their achievements. It certainly is not given that the daughters were never given choices of their own. It was like the father wish being put on them to fulfill his desire. Quite a contradiction if you think about the movie Three Idiots. 

The movie has been directed well that it keeps engrossed. However the writing was not that scripted well when they decided to introduce the national coach as a villain. It felt like he had a vengeance from the beginning.

Amir as usual was at his best. The new comers Fatima & Sanya too did their job pretty well. One of the underplayed character was perhaps of Sakshi Tanwar the mother of the daughters. Even though it was a small role, but she does leaves her mark.

The wrestling matches sure gets one going.

Its a  one time watch movie.

Inferno

Another movie by Ron Howard on the novel of Dan Brown. I know everyone is wondering if this related to the earlier movies of Da Vince Code and Angels & Demons but its not.

You can watch this movie even if you have not caught up on the earlier movies.

One thing that I like about these movies that it creates a curiosity to know more about the places, names where its shot in or the mystery unravelled upon. For example post watching this movie, I looked upon Dante and his book Inferno which describes the hell.

This movies is no different where Professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) finds himself in the midst of finding a situation wherein a deadly virus will be unleashed by a maniac billionaire Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Frost).

The plot begins with Langdon having no memory and informed that a bullet has been grazed through his skull. He is under short term memory loss but has no time to regain the same as he is being hunted and aided by doctor Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones).

One is completely engrossed in the movie from the word go and the twist in the plot as Langdon and Brooks are being followed is certainly a good one.

Irfan Khan plays the role of Harry Sims, makes his presence felt on the screen. Somehow what I did not like was the way his character had to die. Something felt amiss there.

The movie is similar to the earlier Robert Langdon character movies wherein they are trying to solve the mystery and get to it before the bad guys does. It keeps you hooked till the end. The suspense is well kept.

Tom Hanks and Felicity along with Ben do their job well and one cannot take their eyes off them. Omar Sy also carries that presence.

Ron does know how to keep the audience engrossed. There was not a single moment when I could take my eyes off the screen. I do feel the character of Harry Sims should have been better etched out given the way it ended.

Langdon's hallucinations of hell was beautifully depicted. 

The movies is a must watch for those who love to see mysteries getting solved.