Movie Review: 'Bahubali'

An infant is shown floated on the surface of river, backed by a royal palm of a dead queen, Sivagami, who had surreptitiously escaped from her kingdom of Mahishmati to save this child – her grand-nephew, and son of Bahubali (her nephew) and Devasena (his wife). The child is raised by a tribal family and is named Shiva. He grows up to be a cheerful, free-wheeling, mother-lover soul preferring to stay mostly bare-bodied and is shown insanely crazed about getting on top of the waterfall and the mountain causing it. Neither the village folks nor he has any clue why he was so psyched about it. Making true the universal saying Boys are boys, Shiva too is no different. After repeated attempts over the years, a girl’s face-mask becomes the strongest motivation for him to achieve his age-old goal. He does reach at the top to find the girl, and finds her surrounded by blue butterflies and loses his heart to her. His freshly sparked testosterones make him chase wherever she goes dancing which is captured by a labored song, as uncalled for as I feel Uday Chopra’s presence in all of his movies.

To extend this bad patch of the movie further, Shiva seems to have acquired a special talent for making tattoos without someone’s knowledge. Thinking that tattooing the chick free of cost would make her happy and fall for him, he draws tattoos whenever he finds a chance with her, without her knowledge, also without even knowing whether she likes such body-spoiling stuff or not. And that's what happens; she certainly isn't impressed with this cheap display of talent from a stranger. However when confronted, he manages to make her realize that he is the dude born to be her partner for life and she somehow agrees to it. Having seen the confidence and devotion in his talks and a couple of punches, she smartly passes the baton to him that was given to her – to free the former queen, Devasena, Shiva’s real mother – the fact unknown both to her and Shiva. She was chained by Bhallal Dev, the current ruler of Mahishmati, the elder brother of her late husband.

This Bhallal chap is introduced when a wild bull isn’t controlled by anyone. He takes charge and controls the bull like a manager treats an underperformer during appraisal and the bull ends up eating dust. His father was sidetracked (I am sure, politely) by his younger brother who was deserving of being a king. So he became one and ruled but he had to pass away as the destiny had decided so. After this, Bhallal's mother, Sivagami, an all powering, kickass lady with strategic insights, became a queen. She believed only a worthy would get the throne and after a decisive battle she announces that Bahubali, her orphaned nephew would be the king and offends her power-hungry son, Bhallal, and her good-for-nothing husband. It looks that both father and son had conspired to get Bahubali killed by the ready-to-kill senapati, Katappa, ruthlessly loyal to serve Mahishmati who confesses this secret by the end of the movie. And there SS Rajamouli calls it CUT for the first part of the sequel, leaving the audience hungry for the second one.

The visuals are more than amazing even though waterfall looks laughingly fake. VFX more than makes up during war scenes when the black heads are slashed through acrobatically deft weapon strokes by Bahubali and a customized sudarshan chakra, riveted onto the smart chariot of Bhallal Dev. This is one of the few movies where acting voluntarily sides to give way to charismatic spectacles in the fantasy world.

Movie Review: 'Tamasha'

Imtiaz Ali loves tempering with normal love between his lead roles. In this one, he creates a guy named Ved (Ranbir), a crackpot, dumb-in-math, who is brought up listening to stories and eyeing fictional figures. He is so damn abnormal in his behaviour that even in normalcy he acts like a joker. As God is kind and even kinder to such buffoons, his nautanki impresses a swear words-mouthing bold babe, Tara (Deepika). In being friends-without-benefits and friends-without-identity, they have a gala time with each other before Tara has to fly back to India from Corsica – a Mediterranean island.

The song Heer to badi sad hai (a good song unnecessarily throws zoomed-in ugly faces in your face) spans across many years depicting Tara pleasantly lost in the times spent in Corsica. Ved on the other hand transforms himself from a stubbled live-wire to a French-cut bore. Imagining Ved a cool chap, Tara plots an accidental meet with him in a Delhi café. Both hit it off immediately but soon our I-know-what-I-want heroine realizes that he isn’t the same guy who would do Matargashti in public being a Dev Anand. Like all sane, smart girls do, Tara breaks off with him and tells him to get his life back. He takes some time in introspection and in process funnily humiliates his boss and emotionally moves his father. Since he has found a mentor in his lover, he goes back to her and professionally begins to do what he does best - Tamasha.

Even though the end is predictable, Imtiaz Ali ensures freshness and keeps the movie majorly entertaining. Leads make a perfect pair with evolved acting. The music is a big plus and Rahman is, well, Rahman. Go, watch it to know, yet again, that following your heart has bloody no alternative.

Movie Review: 'The Walk'

Those who have heard about the movie know that there is no convoluted story. It is mainly about basking in the digital genius to see the fantastic demonstration of what an absolutely unflinching power of belief can achieve. Let me wrap up the story quickly before I jump on to what it feels like witnessing it in a theatre hall.

A death-defying young French boy Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), fascinated by the skill of walking on high wire, pursues it mainly through self-learning which is bettered and completed by his mentor Papa Rudi (Ben Kingsley). His eyes constantly hunt for a space to connect it with his rope and be a showman of the place. He makes up his mind to bridge the gap between the then tallest towers of the World Trade Center. He forms a team of accomplices to pull off this coup - his dream. He spreads a wire in the no man’s land of the New York sky and turns the wire-walk into a cakewalk.

The long, heightening shots of twin towers act as teasers for the main show as they haughtily send shivers down your spine. 3D version gives you a special access, transports you to the terrace of the World Trade Centre, and gives you a frightening privilege of walking with that crazy chap who would salute, sit, dance, and even lie down on wire. You will observe many rounds of gasps from the audience while Philippe enjoys his walk and acrophobic souls recover from dizziness. Visuals are simply out of this world; particularly the early morning sight from the tower and the scenes from the wire, between the towers, are enough to knock you off your feet. Robert Zemeckis, the director, creates as big voids between our continual breaths as the void between the towers.

As Philippe Petit, Gordon-Levitt shines through brilliantly and enjoys as many silent prayers for his safe comeback as Amitabh Bachchan might have had gathered while in hospital. The movie is truly a spectacular spectacle. What Petit pulled off is the exact opposite of petit; to say the least, it was and till date, the ballsiest act the world has ever seen. Go and be a part of the most exciting morning walk you can ever have in this lifetime.

Movie Review: 'Manjhi The Mountain Man'

Love can move mountains. Love can also break them if need be.

A strong-willed, freedom-loving Bihari, Dashrath Manjhi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) falls for a girl named Falguni, aka Phagunia, (Radhika Apte) having come home after seven years since he escaped being a slave to a landlord. When he discovers the attractive lady he is after is no one else but his childhood bride, he goes all out to pursue her and manages to run her away from her objecting family on an axe point. Both seem to be deeply in love which gives them two children. While fighting against the caste discriminations and feudal oppressions, a mountain-borne misfortune comes upon his wife during her second pregnancy. She passes away gifting her husband with a daughter he had so sweetly requested her for. Now Manjhi is all heartbroken and torn to pieces as he struggles to accept her death. Visibly stoic, he then pulls himself together and heads to tear the mountain down.

The character Manjhi is yet another lovely feather in Nawazuddin’s mutli-coloured acting cap. His diminutive frame on screen resembles a mammoth acting institute for those muscle-flexing and mirror-staring dudes wanting to be or calling themselves actors. Radhika shines through as a dusky, charming muse to Manjhi’s herculean feat. Other actors do their bits well however at times inconsequential or uncalled for. While crafting the backdrop for the story, many atrocities shown send a chill down your spine and are sure to unnerve a human being. Many aspects of that era are forced to fit together in the movie – police abuse, corruption, draught, Naxalism - which was a bit too much for the topic chosen.

In the end you might sense that the movie is given only a little better treatment by the director than what is given to Manjhi’s endeavour in the movie by his fellow villagers. Instead of allowing us to leave the theatre hall with a positive force after witnessing the indomitable willpower of a man, Ketan Mehta makes us settle with sympathy for our Mountain Man. This goes to show that a film can lose its desired punch if the subtle elements of film-making are not blended well with good story, good intention, and even with good actors. However, it is a good watch even though you are right when you feel like knowing the story having seen its trailer.

Side note:

Whenever a movie title ends with a Man, mostly it brags about its portrayal of a super hero. Manjhi The Mountain Man from India joins the global pattern – and mind you, he is not a fictional character.  The irony is – he never wanted that goddamned title of a Mountain Man while siding more than 2 decades of his life to continue to chip off the mountain piece by piece only to make lives easier for villagers. The story brings to light the pathetic state of Indian system of governance, which I doubt has changed much since then.

Movie Review: 'Dil Dhadakne Do'

A proudly successful businessman, blessed with copious luxuries, named Kamal (Anil Kapoor) and his hapless-yet-supportive wife (Shefali Shah) wear a Happily Married mask in the social circle. Their daughter Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra) bears the fortune of her father in business and plight of her mother at home. Their son, Kabir (Ranveer Singh) despite giving his tries is now convinced that he is not born for the business but for the plane that the business has brought in. Ayesha despite making it to the Forbes’ list doesn’t seem to effuse the powering aura of a businesswoman in her personal life. She succumbs to do the balancing act between herself and both her alienating family before freeing herself eventually. Anushka wears a micro version of Katrina’s role in ZNMD of a pseudo life coach with clarity in life. 

The movie is narrated from the point of view of a dog, narrated by Aamir Khan. Beyond a point it feels like Aamir taking up a family episode in Satyamev Jayate with the same repetitive, already-highlighted insights. However, the movie belongs to the entire cast. Ranvir and Priyanka make an effortlessly amazing pair of siblings and Anil and Shefali nail it to their roles like none other could. The impact from Farhan is seen more through his unconventional dialogue writing than through his character. The songs are no match to the zappy numbers of ZNMD. Pardon some off-the-track, stretched parts of the movie in regard to the refreshing shots of one-liners that you will often be gifted with.

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn.

Till yesterday millions of messages were circulated on how the tiger would devour the kangaroo. Today the tiger looked a bit unfit, the kangaroo escaped and the tiger had to back off. This wasn't digested by many who took leave from their work or had nothing better to do than showing how freaking hypocrites they were. The same crowd after the defeat is now leaving no stone (pun) unturned in defaming the otherwise proud team till the match began. This shows that many wear jingoism for a day in the name of patriotism without knowing what supporting a nation is about. Many are bloody phonies with no clear idea whether they are supporters or just dogs who can only bark at every situation! It saddens and after a while angers when you see bashing up of Indian cricketers the way many have chosen to do so for their own reasons.

Okay, India couldn’t make it to the final. And that is a reality. Even I believe we couldn’t put up a show we were capable of. There were some glitches and so we couldn’t fit the bill. But get this loud and clear. You have no business to ridicule someone who proudly wears the Blue for the nation especially when all your job is to forward messages on WhatsApp or to give your damn opinion at a nearby paan shop. Check what you are up to. You are far from even knowing what it means to representing a nation.

There are no failures. There are only results. The result of today was not favourable. We all get it. Move on. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn.

Movie Review: 'Shamitabh'

A confident village lad, Daanish (Dhanush) overwhelmingly crazy about movies, spends his childhood living in his fantasy of being an actor. However the nature has a condition with him that he could only be a mute actor which he has no problem with but the world at large wants otherwise. He is rejected by many but he gets lucky to be spotted by a wanna-be-director girl, Akshara. She even though looks down on him and often calls him Monkey, becomes a fan of his acting. She finds a way that a voice can be embedded into the dumb actor which can give his facial expressions and moving limbs some understandable meaning. The actor then chooses the voice of an old, shabby, serial whisky-drinker Amitabh Sinha (Bachchan), whose acting career wasn’t taken off due to rejections for his voice, and who spends his life in hangovers in the middle of a graveyard. With the help of technology the strengths of both the artists are put together and they rule the Box Office without letting out their secret. The villager becomes the talk of the town and gains enough fame to cause indigestion to his voice donor. They argue, fight, and abuse to prove that the other is less talented and often convey that by lowering the alphabets of other’s name parts used in Shamitabh, the pseudonym they make for their combined endeavour. Egos clash, both separate, and when wisdom strikes, join hands again. At this time of the movie, R Balki, the director, pitches in and makes his presence felt.

Both the leads exhibit power pack performance and is fun to watch before things begin to cross the fine line between adequate and over-the-top. The bits that delighted me the most are - the intensity of Daanish to be an actor, and music, which is a touch of a genius named Ilaiyaraaja. The movie celebrates the most popular and dearly loved baritone of Indian cinema and is certainly a good watch especially the concept is novel and a few directional touches truly deserve thumbs-up.

Movie Review: 'Birdman'

If you hear of any Hollywood movie with a title ending with Man you know that the superhero is blessed and designed by the Almighty in his happiest hour. He possesses super powers that can woo women and patronize villains first by his trademark costume and then by his stunts. Birdman does neither of them or rather, can't to any of them. He is no way close to the charisma of even the antagonists of the usual super hero flicks. In here, the protagonist aka Birdman (Michael Keaton) is a sloppy, wretched, flabby middle-aged theatre actor who in the nineties became famous as Birdman before fading away under the glitz of technology-borne omnipotent charmers. He is in search of his lost identity especially when he is still a passionate actor and simply cannot bear the prevailing stain-on-acting, formula stars bask in the fame that is meant for pure acting. He decides to pull off a play in Broadway and in the process he battles with his ego, love, producer friend, newly found actor and his idiosyncrasies, his daughter’s rehab, stalking social media, and above all, his career.

It’s a raw satirical tale that stands tall on the back of its fine performances from all the actors without any glamour peppered over. The movie offers more laughs than scowls and silences. Keaton's dialogues with his ego, shown as the nagging character in the Birdman suit (with the voice like that of Batman, somehow!), his frequent scuffles with the actor he hires for the play, his arguments with the biased critic - all bundle up a package of desperation stuffed with fun. Also, the amazing thing is, it looks to have been shot in a single take. The camera is in awe of Birdman and never gives him a break. It is like almost chasing him throughout the movie! You must watch it if you have patience and sense of admiration for the heavy art. Else, stay away from this if you want everything to be logically connected without loose ends. You know which side you stand.

Movie Review: 'American Sniper'

 It is a real-life story of Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), the deadliest sniper in the U.S. Military history based on his memoir. A young kid born to hit the bull’s eye is taught to be a “sheepdog” by his father and grows up to be a kickass bronco rodeo rider whose heart beats for his country. He joins the U.S. Navy SEALs. The crack shot gets deployed in Iraq to save the lives of American soldiers by stopping the enemies from ambushing their Marines. He operates mainly from terrace tops with the telescopic vision of his rifle. During his four tours of duty he gets the title of Legend with 160 confirmed kills to his name.

The movie has the potential to transport you to the warzone and gives you some serious moments when your eyes get glued to the screen without a blink while you struggle to hold on to the edge of the seat. The one in which Kyle blows Mustafa’s head from 2100 yards shows a real mettle of the man. Some of the scenes are so fantastically shot that they resemble live footage being run. The best thing about the movie is that it is filled with believable frames. Chris is always on the war, be it on the field or off it, be it struggling to be with his family or regretting over what he could have done. He is lost in the war field even when he is home with his wife (Sienna Miller) frequently calling out to him. Also, his ears reverberate with gun sounds whenever he hears any raucous sound.

A fine film-making presents subtlety with strength and keeps narration at bay. I simply loved that the director Clint Eastwood has done a fabulous job of not letting the words dominate the movie. Emotions and sounds have done better justice and added beautifully to the overall impact of the movie. The characterization of Chris Kyle is so strong that by the end of the movie one can know him well enough and say that he was not only an ace sniper but also a great human being and above all, an extremely proud patriot. To get a look of the Legend, Bradley Cooper packs on 40 pounds and claims a power pack performance. This is a movie made with a heart; needless to say it's really a good watch to know the Legend that lived.

Movie Review: 'The Theory Of Everything'

An ambitious cosmologist Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) badly wants to define the equation that could explain everything. He wants to lock Time up with all its mysteries in an equation but before that happens, Time shows its might and pits him against the gruelling motor neuron disease when he is only 21. A doctor tells him he is left with 2 years but his love of life, also his first wife, Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) looks after him so well that Hawking becomes a world known name in next 30 years but she gets jaded in the process, singlehandedly supporting him and raising their three children. Responsibility-laden Jane then gets further close to the choirmaster Jonathan (Charlie Cox) who offers her support in the beginning, before offering himself in totality.

The movie belongs to Redmayne who portrays a lean, hunched, bespectacled Stephen with an ever-wearing Hawking smile and letting out perfect Hawking gestures, both disease-borne and natural ones. Even though during its early part the movie shows the nerve to carry such loaded biopic with multiple dimensions to balance, the latter part lacks the punch and dilutes into normalcy ranging within obvious and known. The movie exhibits theories on life with opportunities and vulnerabilities, love, patience, determination, and attitude, but floats mainly on the surface without sufficiently allowing us to look into the life of the living legend.

Staying away from Christopher Nolan’s path of testing the intellect of the audience, director James Marsh makes a movie for the masses and lays out the story of Stephen Hawking after filtering out all the heavy scientific theories and other complexities. The theory Of Everything is based on Jane Hawking’s memoir which has more messy things about their marriage breakdown and has also Stephen being painted in not so charitable light. Overall the movie looks like a sanitized version of the selective yet inspiring reality, packaged with undoubtedly brilliant performances, and that makes it certainly watchable.

If you think life sucks then go and see how this tough guy sucks life.