Alia Bhatt in "Highway"

ALIA BHAT

Randeep Hooda as a Trucker

Randeep Hooda(Mahavir Bhatti)  is good in his rustic trucker’s mannerism and an almost perfect dialect. Hailing from Haryana undoubtedly helped Randeep Hooda achieve authenticity. But, why I say “almost” is because, “I have spent substantial amount of time with people hailing from that belt and can easily distinguish the variations”.

  Mahavir’s want to amend his sinful past and start a new life is quite palpable in his dialogue when Veera(Alia Bhat) asks him“ek goli mein aadmi khatam ho jaata hai na?”  and he replies, “Do aadmi! Jai pe chale, aur jo chalaawe”!

(Veera: Does a man die with one bullet? 
Mahaveer:Two persons, one who is shot, and the one who shoots!)

"She almost made my eyes wet with her performance in the scene"

Aliua Bhat's groovy moves

In the end scene, when Mahavir Bhatti realizes he has gone too far with his crimes and there is no turning back, he is quite intense.

Though, there is a hint of Marco Brambilla’s Hollywood movie “Excess Baggage” (1997) starring Alicia Silverstone and Benicio Del Toro in the plot, but, the end is remarkably different. The child abuse angle does feel like a foreign object in the film but, Imtiaz Ali manages to pull it off convincingly.

The star of the movie is indeed Alia Bhat. Imtiaz Ali gave layers to her character and also managed to time its reveal perfectly, but, how plausibly Alia Bhat unwraps it is sheer beauty. She first comes across as an impulsive and fun loving girl in the film. Post her kidnap; she is just a fragile, withdrawn and helpless creature.

The transition where Alia triumphs over her fear of her captor (Randeep Hooda) is lyrical. In the end, she is bold, fearless and rebellious and manages to liberate herself from all her inhibitions and culminates it by confronting her abuser. She almost made my eyes wet with her performance in the scene where she confronts him (uncle).

She provides authenticity to the entire plot and its sub plots. Her child like candour provides that much needed credibility to the story as a whole. Alia Bhat is indeed a fine actress! 

Her groovy dance moves on techno track “Wanna mash up” is breathe taking, in a non-sexual way of course! Alia Bhat is raw and can be moulded according to her character and is unquestionably a director’s delight.
I bet, Alia Bhat is going to be one of the finest actors in coming years.

"Shandaar" official movie trailer.

"Shandaar" starring Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhat releases on 22 October 2015

9 comments

Posted at 11:36 |  by Frenzy Media

Kangana Ranawat: Bold and the beautiful!

Kangna Ranaut

What could possibly go wrong with the Movie “Tanu weds Manu Returns”. Anand L Rai is a director I feel is one of the best India has, today. He has proved it yet again with this one. His mastery with the nuances of a scene and intricate emotions is just perfect.

Deepak Dobariyal

I feel, all the news about kangana’s remarkable performance is over hyped and totally unnecessary as it is not the first time that she has bestowed upon us with her intense performance.

Today, Kangana rules the price tag competition with highest fees of 11 Crores. Let me tell you she deserves every bit of it.

Though Dipika Padukone is still considered Number 1, and surely not for unjust reasons, we must keep in consideration that Dipika got a launch with super star  Shah rukh Khan whereas, Kangana had to establish herself with Imraan Hashmi as her first film co star. This might have favored Dipika immensely.

Two years ago Kangana was nowhere near the A list Actors of Bollywood. But, time changes and it has changed, at least for Kangana.

Today Kangana is compared with the A- listers and she is a strong contender for the top position too.

It was wise of Anand L Rai to not tweak the original plot and characters too much and just take the plot forward from its preceding film. To aid the gap more realistically he had some characters from “Tanu weds Manu” craftily underline it too.

Jimmy Shergil did not have as impressive role as he had in the first part but, he was as impressive as ever.

I won’t dwell on the performances of other actors be it R Madhavan, Swara Bhaskar or Deepak Dobarial which was equally delightful. But, Kangana just floored every one with her rustic version “Kusum Sangwan”. 

Kangana Dancing on "Swagger"

Don’t miss Kangana’s untamed moves in “Banno tera Swagger” which is a killer number from the movie.

I won’t call “Tanu weds Manu returns” a masterpiece, but, it certainly is a movie which is thoroughly enjoyable and strikes a chord with people and in the process also tries to slip in a social message very subtly.

Don’t miss it!


Kangana Ranawat's movie Katti Batti set to release on 18th September 2015.

2 comments

Posted at 16:56 |  by Frenzy Media

Salman Khan: we are all guilty

Salman Khan

Today salman Khan’s fate will be decided. Verdict on 13 year’s old case of hit and run case is about to come. Only time will tell if the punishment exceeds his crime. Weather he gets a lenient punishment or harsher , the film industry is set to take a hit as two films which are being shot “Prem Ratan dhan payo”, and “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” which are currently under production will be stalled.

Salman shooting for "Bajrangi Bhaijaan"

It is estimated that these two films alone are pegging approximately 200 crores. Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan is already being shot at Kashmir from where Salman Khan had come back for the court hearing.

"Somehow, we are all guilty in this opaque world."

Salman Khan is known to help needy people and support many social causes. We are not trying to cast aspersions on his intentions as somehow, we are all guilty in this opaque world. We wish Salman Khan all the best for the work he did for the noble causes but, in the end, Truth shall prevail. 


"Prem Ratan Dhan Payo" directed by Sooraj Barjatya set to release on 12th November 2015.

1 comment

Posted at 13:30 |  by Frenzy Media

ROY

“Roy” was one movie I was really looking forward to watch, for almost 2 months. There was a strange eagerness to watch it. In a way, you can give the credit to the promos doing the rounds. The music is melodic and videos of the songs also looks promising. “ Chittiya kaliyaan” featuring Jacqueline Fernandez has been ruling the top-10 singles chart for weeks now. Some fanciful girl I know even installed it as her ringer tune. Though, quite why, I don’t know!

Jacqueline Fernandez 

Arjun Rampal & Jacqueline

Vikramjit singh is a first time director. What intrigues me even more is the fact that he is a investment banker, who was working in the US with no formal film degree.  Well, you can not say that he has no bollywood connection or background as his father has been associated with the industry and worked for Yash Chopra for quite some time.

Still, roping in stars like Ranbir Kapoor in a debut movie can be quite a Herculean task. Despite all my optimism, the initial reviews of the movie were not promising and discouraging enough for me to change my decision. I took refuge in the saying,”when everybody says it’s bad, it probably is bad.”

Unwilling to shell out money on this dethroned contender of a super hit title, I am still contemplating as to what could possibly go so wrong with this movie that people claimed to have left their seats in the middle of the story. 

If not for fun, I will conjure up the critic in me and watch “Roy” to find out the reason of the debacle and may be give a pointer or two to Vikramjit singh, when I meet him.

All in the name of art, I guess.  

2 comments

Posted at 15:30 |  by Frenzy Media

Badlapur!

Varun Dhavan in "Badlapur"

Varun Dhavan is getting there and he is getting there fast. Yes, I mean the “A listers” of Bollywood bandwagon. Last movie we saw him in was “Humpty sharma ki dulhania” opposite Alia bhat, who also debuted with him in “Student of the year”.

I personally feel as if I have witnessed Varun Dhavan grow right in front of my eyes. His school boy roll in “student of the year”, the college going boy in “Humpty sharma ki dulhania” and now as a married man who works in a n ad agency in “Badlapur”.

Initially, I wasn’t really impressed with the promos of this film as it was still somehow baffling and didn’t place it in a segment, firmly. To me, it appeared as if “Badlapur” is going to be another futile attempt by some film maker with over blown egotism to prove his cinematic supremacy and creative superiority.

But, the film is almost a master piece, at least as far as the performance of most actors is concerned. The story is fresh and apart from few glitches takes you through quite comfortably.

Huma Qureshi

Huma is limiting in impressing the people who matter. She is limiting herself in similar Hot Huma characters.You can feel her struggle to get in the skin of the character of Jhimli as he is too refined to play the character. Yami Gautam is in a brief role which does not really need a mention.

Nawazuddin

I am speechless about Nawaz’s acting. But, this is not the first time he has impressed us with his almost perfect acting skills. The role it appears was made for him.

Though, there isn’t much of it, music is a bit disappointing but with murder as its core theme, you can’t play around much, yes, even in Bollywood.

I would say “Badlapur” is a sensible movie with sensible direction from Sriram Raghavan. 

RATING:   3/5

2 comments

Posted at 23:53 |  by Frenzy Media

Haider

A still from "Haider".

“Haider” commands respect!, and so does Vishal Bhardwaj! “Haider” is not a movie you can enjoy while munching popcorns with your Pepsi. You don’t want to miss even a single moment of this intense drama which is based on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”. Your eyes refuse to leave the screen as if they are spell bound and glued to it magically.

This third adaptation from “Vishal Bhardwaj” is a true work of art. With “Haider” Vishal has taken a big leap and proved his irrefutable superiority among his contemporaries.

The film speaks of the hard work pumped into it and there is a distinctive detailing in this adaptation that is a signature style of Vishal Bhardwaj. Set in the 90s with turbulent Kashmir as its backdrop, this film presents two aspects of Kashmir brilliantly. There is a clear reference of force’s transgressions, which will not be pleasing for many eyes. But, in a film you do take some liberties and “Haider” after all is a work of fiction.

 Tabbu symbolizes the very purpose for which film is regarded as an art form.

“Shahid Kapoor” struggles in some parts of the initial half of “Haider” as at some points you do feel like shahid is not letting go of his star image but, Shahid matches up to the plot’s intensity in the second half.

Hero becomes big only if he is matched with a villain of same magnum. K. K. Menon is a marvellous villain who proves it, yet again with his flawless performance. Irfann Khan is also there in a short yet intense role.

Shraddha Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor

“Shraddha Kapoor” who plays Haider’s love interest means business and she has proved, ‘she is here to stay’. Her performance is smooth and she performs both intense and passionate scenes with ease and finesse.

Tabbu

 But who takes the cherry on the top is Tabbu. Playing Haider’s mother, her captivating performance leaves every one speechless. She makes you realize what you miss when she is not shooting. She symbolizes the very purpose for which film is regarded as an art form.

Tabbu and Shahid Kapoor

In one of the last scenes when she requests her husband (KK Menon) to spare her son’s life, you feel a mother’s plight. She has reached a resolution. She is unfazed now. she is a mother who is protective of her son. She is going to protect him at all costs. She will stand against the world, against her own husband and even death.

What an adaptation! Vishal Bhardwaj leaves everyone speechless!

RATING:   5/5

8 comments

Posted at 21:53 |  by Frenzy Media