ashwathdesai

Manmarziyaan (2018)

Method to madness

Movie Review: Manmarziyaan From the time Manmarziyaan was announced I was really looking forward to the movie mainly due to two reasons

• Anurag Kashyap directing a love triangle
• Unusual but interesting starcast

And this excitement doubled when the trailer was launched and songs were released.

Manmarziyaan tells us the story about Rumi, Robbie and Vicky(Tapsee, Abhishek and Vicky respectively) who are all tied by the complex string of love and relationships. I am sure you would have got the gist of the story from the trailer so let me be brief- Rumi and Vicky are madly in love with each other ready to rebel at the drop of a hat. But there is a problem- They do not know how to take the relationship to the next level-not because their parents are against but they themselves are confused individuals. Enters Robbie who creates the "stable" option for Rumi.

Though the concept at a high level seems beaten to death, the movie looks fresh mainly because of meaty characters whom you can see and relate to in real life. And the superlative performances make it even better. Tapsee is the powerhouse of the movie ensuring she gets every note right. Vicky Kaushal continues his dream run in 2018- Watch out for his brilliance in the scene where Tapsee is trying to fill sense into him but his inner conflict is not able to understand it. But the surprise package of the movie is Abhishek Bachchan. Initially I thought this may end up being like his role in Main Prem Ki... or Ajay Devgan s role in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. But no, this character seems far more real because he always wants to win over the girl but in the right way. Splendid music(courtesy Amit Trivedi)adds to the performances.

Lastly, you can see multiple shades of Anurag Kashyap's style be it in dialogues or just the execution of the movie. So I am sure this movie would have its own set of audience who will love it but you will also find those who will dismiss it as an average movie-just like Supriya. For me the movie worked mainly because of its "mode of story telling" and performances. An honest onetime watch!

Kai po che! (2013)

Movie Review::Kai Po Che

When I first heard that Abhishek Kapoor was planning to make a film based on Chetan Bhagat's "3 Mistakes of My Life" I was puzzled. Reasons being 1. The novel itself had a mixed response when it was released. 2. The novel being episodic with so many plots and sub-plots. 3.Actors being able to do justice to the 3 main characters in the story. January 2013, I watch the trailer of Kai Po Che(KPC) on a Monday evening and I am totally thrilled. I mark my calendar that very moment and decide that KPC is going to be one movie to-watch-out for this season.

As I stepped out of the theater today, I knew I was not wrong in getting excited about this movie. In short Kai Po Che is an absolutely brilliant movie. The movie retains most parts of the novel with minimal yet effective changes. I would give Abhishek Kapoor the complete credit for these changes and making the movie more believable with a resounding impact. The way he has chosen his characters is simply amazing. Raj Kumar Yadav("Calculative" Govind), Sushant Singh Rajput("Impulsive" Ishaan) and Amit Sadh("Gullible" Omi) do complete justice to their roles. I do not know how to rank their performances because each of them have scenes which make it difficult to judge who is better of the three. Amrita Puri as Ishaan's sister Vidya is top notch. Even with limited screen space she manages to leave a mark. Rest of the supporting actors play their roles really well. Amit Trivedi 's music engages the story well with minimal no. of songs which run in the background. But the best performance comes from the man himself, the director Abhishek Kapoor. After Rock On!! expectations from him were huge and he delivers as expected. Each and every scene of the movie is beautifully crafted. There are some scenes which have tremendous impact and even leave you moist eyed. Scene when Govind runs to the mall only to see it destroyed by the earthquake. The scene where India wins the historic cricket test match at Kolkata post which Ishaan and Omi get back to being friends. And of course the climax which I shall NOT reveal in my review! On a whole Kai Po Che is one of the finest movies to come out of the Hindi film industry. It is already garnering praise in the festival circuits and I am sure it will win the hearts of the masses too. So take a break this weekend, book your tickets and celebrate Cricket, Friendship and Love!

Agneepath (2012)

Movie Review::Agneepath

"Naam…. Vijay Dinanath Chauhan" When Agneepath released in 1990, this dialogue did not have a baritone feel to it.So the makers decided to re- dub the whole movie in which Amitabh Bachchan was asked to speak in a husky, baritone voice which would add a spark to his character.Though it did not work on the audience those days, over the years his role in Agneepath gained a cult status.Fetching him a National award for his performance was just the beginning.Post the success of Don(The chase begins again) in 2006, there was a new formula which Bollywood thought was up for grabs.It was about mixing the age-old superhit formula with a contemporary feel.Movies like Karzzz, Umrao Jaan and Sholay(unforgettable) tanked at the Box Office proving that even making good remakes was not child s play.Cut to 2012, it takes one of most successful production houses, a producer who has a penchant for every aspect of Cinema, an actor who s recent past has been horrendous and a debutant director to resurrect a movie which had failed to get the cash registers filling during its time but nevertheless it had 2 of its actors (Big B and Mithun) winning National Awards!

Lets start the dissection now! One the whole concept of revenge remains the same but the surroundings change.Addition of Rishi Kapoor's character of Rauf Lala is a masterstroke.Besides that the whole look and feel of the movie is contemporary which makes it even more engaging.One of the most important high points of the movie is the screen play.Each and every scene is carefully written and handled quite astutely.Be it the setting of Mandva village or streets of Bombay dock; looks very realistic.Even music unlike the previous Agneepath is quite compelling, specially the background score of the movie. Coming down to the performances.Hrithik as Vijay is top notch.After duds like Guzaarish and Kites, he is back where he belongs to!Best part of his act is that he never tries to emulate Big B's Vijay.He plays himself into the role so gloriously that after sometime I gave up comparing the two acts.Priyanka is competent in a very "I am also there in the movie" kind of role.Rishi Kapoor is in form yet again.You just cannot imagine that he is the same actor who played sober roles like ones in Daamini, Deewana , Sagar or even Bobby.As a negative character he gets into the skin of the character, watch out for the scene where meets Kaancha.Om Puri gets little scope as Commissioner Gaitonde.Now comes the biggest and brightest performance which is THE show stealer.Sanjay Dutt as Kaancha is simply amazing.Perhaps you can call him as scariest villain ever(After Gabbar Singh of course).He simply sets the screen ablaze every time he is on it.Be it him reciting verses from Bhagwad Geeta, killing Master Dinanath Chauhan or even the climax; Dutt Saab you simply rock!!Please avoid Rascals and Chatur Singh Two Star and do more of these kind of roles. Agneepath gets a thumbs up from me! Would give it 4.5 on 5 stars.Be it the story, performances or even direction by debutante Karan Malhotra is superb.Of course it also carries the asli masala in form of Chikni Chameli where Katrina sizzles which results in loads of wolf whistles all around.I would say Agneepath is one of best remakes to come out of Bollywood after Don(2006).Watch to know other side of actors you have never seen before, be it vengeful Hrithik, cunning Rishi Kapoor or baddie bad Sanjay Dutt! Go book your tickets now!!

Paanch (2003)

Paanch talks about 4 friends, their love for music, their life entangled in dreams, drugs and deceit.

I do not know why I am writing a review for this UN-released movie.It s because I feel Paanch is a must release considering its mind-boggling storyline, deft execution of scenes and best of all the spine chilling climax! Paanch, directed by Anurag Kashyap was banned by censor board for "certain reasons" which I shall state below:-

The film glorifies violence(As if all the movies releasing these days are perfect for family viewing!); it shows the modus operandi of a crime ("killing of a police officer"-So Censor board should have banned Shaan, Garv, Gangaajal etc); it shows excessive use of drugs(then ban Hare Raama Hare Krishna, Dev D); it has double meaning dialogues ("with sexual undertones"- stop releasing most of the comedy movies made in India ); it has no positive characters(Still shocked to see this as a reason!! ); it does not carry a social message(Oh right! All the Govinda and Mithun s movies did..forgot?).

I am sure you will agree with me that these reasons stated by Board really seem futile to ban a movie, that too of such a class!

For complete review click http://rrachna.com/2012/01/15/movie-review- paanch/