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Category: Reviews

  • ‘Ek Villain’…Box Office Hero

    ‘Ek Villain’…Box Office Hero

    MUMBAI: In the old days, they would say that there are only seven story themes in this world and we keep making films around them. Then came television, and the serials took away more than half of them to beam into people’s drawing rooms on a daily basis. Of these, romance and comedy as feel-good themes work on both mediums, films as well as television.

    The situation led to some trying out different storylines. So we have makers who work on finding new blends and we get a Vicky Donor or a Dirty Picture or a Kahaani once in a while. Ek Villain, for a change, combines many varied genres. It is a love story, it has that tried-and-tested Love Story (Erich Segal) angle of one of the leads having an expiry date, and it is a psycho killer thriller, with cops and criminal and also a dash of underworld. It takes all that to make the 209-minute saga that is Ek Villain. Film titles are at premium and, at times, (like this one) look forced.

    Sidharth Malhotra had a bad childhood watching his parents being killed by goons while he hid under the bed. Next thing you know, he is all brawn punching people into oblivion. He represents the local Goa don played by Remo Fernandes. He plays the kind of character Dharmendra played in all time classic Phool Aur Paththar (1966); a heartless inhuman kind who melts due to circumstances.

    Sidharth knows only one thing well, how to liquidate a person. And he does not use a gun to do that. Shraddha Kapoor, a journalist, spots him at a police station going through third degree. Sidharth catches her fancy and she chases him in her typical choolbooli ways, again done earlier by just about every heroine since the inception of cinema. But, Shraddha plays what Rajesh Khanna played in Anand or what Ranjeeta Kaur played in Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se. Sidharth is now in love with her. His softer side takes over and has a purpose to live. 

    Producers: Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor.

    Director: Mohit Suri.

    Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Shradha Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Aamna Sharif, Shaad Randhawa, Remo Fernandes, Kamaal Rashid Khan and cameo by Prachi Desai.

    He has changed, he has just managed to land a job when Shraddha is killed by a psycho even as he listens to her shrieks on his cell phone. There is no secret about who the psycho is as he is revealed to public soon enough though Sidharth has still to find out who he is and get after him. There is a cop who likes to play two sides against each other and he directs Sidharth to Remo as the killer of Shraddha which he has not but this opens an opportunity to add an action sequence to the film. Remo assures Sidharth that he looks upon him as a son and had no cause to kill his love.

    Sidharth is back to square one but soon gets lucky as he comes across a young boy who leads him to the killer, Riteish Deshmukh. Sidharth decides to punish Riteish on regular basis instead of killing him in one go. Beaten badly, Riteish is delivered to a hospital doorstep by Sidharth and there he tries to kill a nurse. What sets off the murderer in him? It seems Riteish has always been ridiculed and humiliated mostly by women including his wife. But he loves his wife too much to kill her and takes his revenge on other women who provoke him in any way; whatever jewelry he finds on his victim, he gifts it to his wife to try to win her back.

    The wrap of the story is on expected lines but convincing which works in the favour of the film. That it does not threaten the viewer with a sequel is a relief.

    The script is generally well-etched; a few glitches and liberties here and there are accepted. Direction is able with Mohit Suri maintaining a generous dose of emotions throughout. The film drops momentum at times but catches up again soon. Suri has been able to eke out good performances from his cast when not through histrionics then through expressions. Sidharth does a lot just by his expressions and also doing well in brute action. Shraddha as a cute do-gooder waiting for her inevitable death impresses. Riteish gets a killer look with the help of grey contact lenses which are exploited mainly during his killer moods which also helps juxtapose his docile, henpecked husband at home. Aamna Sharif does a decent job of being his nagging wife. Shaad Randhwa as a sly cop is okay. But, what is Kamaal Rashid Khan doing here? He is supposedly the comic relief. Maybe the makers thought his very presence provides that.

    One of the positives of the film is its music as it has already become popular. Item numbers are a norm nowadays but, here, Prachi Desai does an item on a sad number which is well thought of. Photography is good.

    Ek Villain has had a bumper opening with positive word of mouth and looks set to be a hit.

  • ‘Humshakals’…Dumbshakals

    ‘Humshakals’…Dumbshakals

    MUMBAI: In Humshakals, Sajid Khan tries to do one better on the Royal bard, William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s one of the earliest plays was Comedy Of Errors, a play about two sets of identical twins. That was a short play about mistaken identity. On a mistaken notion that he can do better than Shakespeare, Sajid makes a film about a set of three identical sets of people who are not related. They are not separated at birth twins or triplets; they are just identical. Having taken this suicidal step, Sajid goes on to create a comedy.

     Sajid has had a successful debut and follow-up in his rise as a director of films from a standup comedian of a kind who regaled in running down film folks on TV. He had a great start with Heyy Babyy! Followed by Housefull and Housefull2. Disaster caught up with him soon after when he delivered a dud in the remake of 1983 Jeetendra hit, Himmatwala; he made the mistake of trying to better it.

    This time he makes the mistake of trying to improve on Shakespeare and that is quite a task. Gulzar presented a fairly decent version of the Shakespeare story in Angoor in 1982 where he had the advantage of two among the best artistes playing lead roles in Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma.

    Saif Ali Khan is Ashok and Riteish Deshmukh is Kumar, both childhood friends. Like Ashok is the ward of a Tata or Birla kind of family whose father is in coma and the business empire is left to him to handle. His hobby is to gather people over free drinks and tell them PJs. It does not matter that he is an heir to an empire, he still wants to be known as a standup comedian. Actually, if that has nothing to do with the film’s script thereafter, nothing or no sequence has relevance. Sajid Khan just tries to put together a feature film of 159 minutes together with whatever content he comes across, relevance being immaterial.

    Producer: Vashu Bhagnani.

    Director: Sajid Khan.

    Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Ram Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Tamannaah Bhatia, Esha Gupta, Satish Shah.111

    So, Humshakals goes on to being one marathon jamboree of poor jokes, sick jokes, dated jokes and no jokes at all. And, the film is shot in UK where even the whites speak Hindi dutifully, an asylum has Indian attendants and doctors and it is India Raj in UK, a sort of payback for the British Raj in India.

    If Angoor had great talents in Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma handling two roles each, here we have two limited actors in Saif and Riteish trying to better them with three each. Yes, not to forget Ram Kapoor. I mean, how many nails can you add to a coffin?

    Till most of the first half, the film has one Saif and one Riteish after which another pair is added, both with same names and the third comes in the form of a villainous doctor’s handiwork who gives a face change to two of his assistants. Mercifully, the writer director are a easy with three Ram Kapoors, introducing them gradually.

    What do these three humshakals do? They do buffoonery in the absence of scope for showing any histrionics. But, even in buffoonery, Satish Kaushik takes the cake as he excesses by all accounts as even Akash Khurana joins in at the end. The three girls, Bipasha Basu, Esha Gupta and Tamannaah Bhatia remain at the director’s back and call to make an appearance when he can’t think of anything else.

    There is nothing such a script here but just an attempt to put together gags which, sadly, are dated and PJs. Direction is juvenile. Music is poor with no song carrying appeal. The use of foreign locations is not justified.

    There is nothing that works for Humshakals and, this rather costly film, will be a big jolt for its investors.

  • Fugly…Ugly!

    Fugly…Ugly!

    MUMBAI: If Fugly is based in Delhi, it can only be attributed to Delhi’s reputation of being lawless where anything works. The film’s title warns you of the challenge lying ahead; if you don’t understand the meaning of the title, you will not understand what is going on thereafter.

    Mohit Marwah, Vijender Singh, Arfi Lamba and Kiara Advani are childhood friends who have stuck together through thick and thin. For quite a while you see the gang just hang around and have fun and you have no clue what the film is all about. That is when the makers decide to do something about it. Kiara’s mother supplies some edible stuff to local grocery stores and Kiara helps by delivering it. A local storeowner, the thirkee kind, acts fresh with her and gets a slap in return. He tries to defame her instead. Her three friends decide to teach the man a lesson. First they bash him up in his shop and when he threatens them, they kidnap him. He is dumped in the car bonnet and taken for a rough ride.

    The fun ride soon ends when they are stopped by Jimmy Shergill, an unscrupulous and dishonest police man. Vijender makes the mistake of dropping the name of his father, a Delhi minister, which riles Shergill. Shergill finds the shopkeeper in the boot of the car and kills him with an iron road, framing Vijender for the murder. From here starts the extortion and blackmail of the four by Shergill. He makes them get into all illegal work like arranging rave parties to even killing. All this while, Shergill’s right hand man, another cop, keeps vigil on the four to check they are doing as instructed.

    Producers: Alka Bhatia, Ashvini Virdi.

    Director: Kabir Sadanand.

    Cast: Jimmy Shergill, Mohit Marwah, Vijender Singh, Arfi Lamba, Kiara Advani.

    This goes on and on as the four friends are shown to be totally helpless and there is nothing to stop Shergill; this is rather too much to digest and the film becomes senseless and boring.

    The script is bad with direction being poor; don’t know how a murder can be made to look like a suicide with a bullet in the back! Why do all the cops in all Delhi-based Hindi films have to be Haryanvi? Music is no help either. While Mohit, Virender and Arfi are not cut out to become actors, Kiara is better. Shergill goes overboard. The film is described as comedy but there is no humour except for the toilet kind.

    Fugly has nothing to offer and is a poor film on all counts.

    ‘Chal Bhaag’…Warning?

    Chal Bhaag is yet another film based in old Delhi, which builds some sort of story around the triumvirate of youth, politicians-cum-underworld, and police. The theme is overused and fatigued. The film brings together three differently tuned young men together. Initially, the trio has two pitted against one but, when trapped and fighting for their lives, they unite for the sake of their survival.

    Deepak Dobariyal is Munna Supari, a razor slashing guy whom the mohalla fears. Varun Mehra rides roughshod; his vocation is to chase the woman, Keeya Khanna, who has caught his fancy and bashing up anybody who tries to mess with her. Tarun Bajaj is a typical bike-riding chain snatcher who makes the mistake of snatching the chain of a police station in-charge’s wife (Yashpal Sharma). The trio is not aware or concerned with the fact that a loudmouthed ex-MLA who is expected to win the forthcoming elections is shot dead and, though there are no eyewitnesses or survivors, miraculously the police decide there were three shooters! (The film is filled with such inconsistencies.)

    Producers: Mohammad Zaheer Mehdi, Fatima Zaheer Mehdi, Ali Zaheer Mehdi, Tamkanat Ali Mehdi.

    Director: Prakash Balwant Saini. Tarun Bajaj, Sanjay Mishra, Yashpal Sharma, Mukesh Tiwari, Keeya Khanna.

    Cast: Deepak Dobariyal, Varun Mehra.

    Bajaj is taken into custody for chain snatching as are the other two who follow: Mehra for bashing up two roadside Romeos who dare to make a pass at Keeya and Dobariyal because of his bravado in the process of coming into good books of the local don and his brother, Manish Khanna and Kuwar Aziz. When the don’s three shooters are being picked up by the police, Dobariyal decides to get arrested too to show his loyalty to the don.

    The don’s three men have shot the ex-MLA and have been arrested. However, Yashpal is on the don’s take and is asked to free the don’s men. Since money speaks louder, a deal is struck and Yashpal decides to free the don’s men and frame and kill the other three petty criminals his people have rounded up. The three boys are taken to a lonely place and told that they are now free and to run. Mehra knows what is in the offing and guides the other two. As for Yashpal, his gun which was jammed, suddenly goes off and it has killed somebody who is neither any of the three boys nor any of his men. Though expected, that is an interesting turning point which could have been cashed in on in the second half. Alas!

    The man killed is the don’s brother and Yashpal pushes the blame for shooting him on the three boys. Now, just about everybody is after the boys to kill them without asking any questions. While the boys are on the run, Keeya helps them and the romance grows between her and Mehra. The chase has gone on for long enough and no sure how to close it, so guys from the Intelligence Bureau are brought in!

    The film has a decent idea that needed better scripting. This is a rather piggy-bank-budget film and looks crude. While Dobariyal is okay, Mehra is stiff while Bajaj overacts. The supporting cast of veterans Sanjay Mishra, Yashpal Sharma and Mukesh Tiwari make the film somewhat watchable. Direction is average. Musically, Teri maujudgi…. is hummable. Other aspects are okay.

    Chal Bhaag has no hope of lasting through the weekend.

  • Review: ‘Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty’… Akshay strikes

    Review: ‘Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty’… Akshay strikes

    MUMBAI: Starved of audience-drawing films, exhibitors are going to heave a sigh of relief this week as the old guard, Akshay Kumar, returns with the sort of action drama he is known to excel at. A film about a soldier must be about guns and extraordinary physical prowess, and this film delivers on that front. It also makes a nice change from the many recent films filled with goons driving around in brand-new black SUVs or sedans and brandishing hockey sticks and swords and sickles. What is good about Holiday is that it caters to both, the single screens as well as multiplexes. While patriotism meted out in films is otherwise jeered at, patriotism in the right film released in right atmosphere only adds to the film’s pluses. That is to say, after the recent general elections, the mood and the swing in the country is positive and the feeling of belonging is back.

    Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty is a remake of the Tamil film, Thuppakki, also written and directed by A R Murugadoss’ (director Ghajini) of which has also been made in Bengali as Game.

    Akshay Kumar is an army man returning home in an army special Western Railway train to Mumbai on a holiday. The engine has developed a snag on the way and the jawans are out in the open enjoying a game of street fight: Akshay vs another tough jawan. This is to establish Akshay’s character and his fighting prowess for the nth time since he was launched.

    At Mumbai Central, Akshay is pulled away by his father, mother and two sisters to a family where he is to present himself as a suitor for Sonakshi Sinha. This is a sort of relief since in this long, 2 hour 50 minute film, Akshay is not required to fall in love, pine and all that. This way, he and Sonakshi will help fill the romantic angle without wasting much time and also provide some entertainment in the process.

    Producers: Aruna Bhatia, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Reliance Entertainment.

    Director: AR Murugadoss.

    Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, Farhad Daruwala, Sumeet Raghavan, Zakir Hissain.

    The story starts now. Akshay is on a holiday and meets his old friend, Sumeet Raghavan, a PSI with Mumbai Police. Akshay imposes himself upon him, takes charge of his files and also his case. There is a blast in the street bus and a lot of school children are killed. Akshay chases the bomb planter because he is running away when he had no reason to. Akshay makes the man his personal prisoner to get whatever information he can from him.

    It looks like the sleeper cell has been activated by the chief of terrorists; Farhad and 12 members of the cell have been given instructions to place bombs at 12 important locations of Mumbai. Akshay knows the plan and the date. He decides to involve his army colleagues who have all gathered at the wedding of one of the batch. Twelve army experts follow twelve terrorists on a mission to plant bombs. Akshay, who knows the details, is in command and chooses a specific moment when all 12 terrorist planting the bombs should be shot in the army way; right in the middle of the forehead.

    A pace is set for a showdown between Akshay, flaunting the Indian army banner, and the terrorist handler, Farhad, also a bag of muscles. Anybody can guess who will win but the script makes it worth your while to go through it because the climax is interesting.

    This film, frankly, is not about performances, one does not expect that with Akshay and Sonakshi in the lead. Akahsy’s forte is his fitness and action and he gives all of it here. The stunts, performed by Akshay himself and composed by Greg Powell, are daring and thrilling. Sonakshi Sinha looks fat and unattractive and she also displays all of that here. The third most important character in the film is Farhad, who fits this role like a proverbial glove. Govinda makes a cameo as Akshay’s army commander with comic shades.

    The director caters to the masses though he does suffer from a few usual glitches in details. He has got the pulse of the mass. Musically, the film has a couple of good songs with Tu hi toh hai…. being quite lilting while Ashq na ho… has a special appeal. Dialogue is witty at places. Action is excellent, in fact the soul of the film. The action sequences and Akshay do full justice to each other.

    Thanks to recent record of Akshay films and admissions and reopening of colleges, the opening response of Holiday is about 10% less than expected but the film should get better over the weekend as the word spreads.

    Filmistan…………No go

    Interestingly, the credit list of Filmistan names Shyam Shroff and Balkrishna Shroff as producers who are a film family of three generation’s standing; they have been into everything from producing-financing films, world rights holders, distributing films, being in exhibition trade in that they have been among the early entrants to multiplex era as well. The film is about India Pakistan people, divided by borders but otherwise so similar. It also depicts two extremes of the population across the line and how the lives of the innocent are dominated by others.

    Producers: Shyam Shroff, Balkrishna Shroff, Shaila Tanna, Subhash Choudhary, Siddharth Roy Kapur.

    Director: Nittin Kakkar.

    Cast:  Sharib Hashmi, Inaamulhaq, Kumud Mishra, Gopal Datta, Waseem Khan.

    Sharib Hashmi is a total film buff and aspires to be an actor. While his struggle is on, his roommate, an AD, suggests Hashmi also join as an AD. He explains how many of the top stars of today were AD before they got a break. While on this job, he gets another offer, that of working with a foreign unit shooting a documentary in Rajasthan. Hashmi readily agrees.

    It is while Hashmi is driving back to the base after shooting that he is kidnapped by terrorists from across the border. Their plan was to kidnap the white men who had come to shoot the film but in the dark of the night, they kidnap Hashmi. He is taken to a hamlet where a local family of an elderly man, Waseem Khan, and his two sons is asked to look after him and the terrorist group’s two men, Kumud Mishra and Gopal Datt, who will look over Hashmi. Along with Hashmi, they have also brought his camera and film rolls which fascinates Khan’s older son, Inaamulhaq.

    Inaamulhaq is also a film buff selling Hindi film DVDs to make a living. He makes sure the others in the village are entertained by arranging film shows on DVD regularly. These are the occasions when Hashmi, otherwise locked up in a room, talks his way out to watch films. He and Inaamulhaq hit it off instantly and become great friends.

    Hashmi’s one attempt at escaping is foiled but now he has a friend who has decided to help him. Inaamualhaq tries to get him out in a burkha but again to no avail; they are caught within minutes. Finally, the chief of the group visits the village when Khan requests him to release Hashmi. The chief agrees but Kumud has other plans.

     Filmistan has good intentions and a fair idea to make a small budget film. However, the very premise is not convincing. Even if terrorists have walked into India and kidnapped a man, what are they doing not only keeping him but also wasting their two men on him to keep guard round the clock? Though the film is edited again after Censor, it still feels lengthy as the proceeds become monotonous for the entertainment is provided in the form of hero mimicking various film stars of past and present. There is no apathy either for the cause or for the hero’s situation.

    Director has an eye for details. The script needed to be tauter. Songs are used in the background. There is also the use of some old films and clippings which usually finds favour with the audience. While all the performances are good, Hashmi tops with Inaamulhaq coming close second. Kumud Mishra and Gopal Datt are effective.

    Filmistan is okay for festival circuit only.

  • ‘Citylights’ …Dark and drab…

    ‘Citylights’ …Dark and drab…

    MUMBAI: Citylights is a pretentious film which attempts to depict the plight of a migrant family in a metropolis like Mumbai! The film is actually a crime story but is touted as a poor migrant’s travails in a major city.

    Rajkumar Rao is an ex-army man turned sari trader in Rajsthan’s Pali district. He fails to pay his liabilities and is thrown out of his shop by his creditors. After some deliberation, he decides to migrate to Mumbai with one contact number of a relative. He decides to do this with his wife and daughter, a move that you don’t see a sensible person make.

    In Mumbai, where a newcomer ceases to be so within minutes as the city takes him into its embrace, Rao’s start is not good. His contact is not traceable on the number he has, and with just a name and no address to go on, Rao doesn’t make much progress. Next, someone offers him a one-bedroom home against Rs 10,000 deposit and rent to be paid later. The house is actually in the hands of painters who are giving it a fresh coat of paint. Rao has been duped of his money. Finally he finds shelter in an under construction building for Rs 100 a night.

    From then on starts his struggle to find a job, which he lands eventually as a driver for a security company’s armoured car. These cars deliver sealed boxes to various clients and contain cash or stuff worth crores of rupees. Out of a horde of applicants, Manav Kaul, the supervisor, chooses Rao with a design in mind. Rao’s wife, Patralekha, meanwhile, finds a job with a dance bar.

    Producer: Mukesh Bhatt.

    Director: Hansal Mehta.

    Cast: Rajkumar Rao, Patralekha, Manav Kaul.

    Kaul gradually cultivates Rao and plots to involve him in an earlier foiled robbery. Kaul had managed to save the box from that robbery and now he needs Rao’s help to get the key lying in the security company’s locker room. The boxes can’t be forced open as doing that can detonate a bomb inside killing the one who attempts. Kaul shifts Rao to the house where he has hidden the box before telling him about his plan. Rao is livid but Kaul has trapped him from all sides. While on one assignment, the robbers catch up with Kaul and kill him. Rao is suspended for not saving him. He is now jobless and broke. Patralekha has kicked her job too. Exasperated, Rao decides to make a sacrifice for his family. He decides to execute the plan Kaul had made.

    The direction is fair. Music has no place yet is forced in. The original simple script has been complicated here. Performances by Rao and Patralekha are very good. Kaul makes an impact.

    A black film with no relief, Citylights is hard to take; all it can hope for is an award or two.

    ‘Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi’…Same to you…

    This is one more film with Delhi flavour and locales. It is about a middle class locality of Delhi where two friends have grown up together. They are inseparable and the most clandestine thing they do is to indulge in fruit beer once in a while. And, lest the audience not believe it is truly a Delhi story, the inevitable statue of Bajrangbali of Jhandewalan/Karol Bagh does not fail to make its appearance like in all Delhi centric films! And, of course, the title, Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi, is a local colloquial having little to do with rest of the country.

    Producers: Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Bejoy Nambiar.

    Director: Aman Sachdeva.

    Cast: Sidharth Gupta, Ashish Juneja, Simran Kaur Mundi.

    Siddharth Gupta (Kuku) is an average student who fails to get admission to a college after high school. He, like all boys of such age, has agendas they dare not open up about. Siddharth attends the English tuition class only because the girl living in the house opposite the class, Simran Kaur Mundi, has caught his fancy. He is motherless, responsible for looking after and cooking for his younger sister and father, a government servant. But cooking is something he relishes doing. His dream is to own a restaurant some day while his father wants him to become a NASA scientist.

    Kuku’s best friend, Ashish Juneja, is a little better off, hailing from a trading family. His family runs a sari shop and decides to set up a matching centre for him next to the sari shop so those who buy saris may go next door to his shop to buy matching falls and blouse pieces. While Ashish gets busy selling matching blouse pieces, Siddharth manages a job as a spot boy with a Haryanvi film unit. Here, at the shooting, just about everybody humiliates Siddharth. He snaps when his best friend too insults him.

    Siddharth is seething with anger when his cousin from Kanpur enters the scene. The cousin is as foxy as they come and, as a way of taking revenge on Ashish, suggests to Siddharth that they burn down the Sari godown owned by Ashish’s family after stealing all the goods which could be sold to another trader to finance Siddharth’s dream of starting a restaurant.

    Siddharth is now a successful eatery owner. Things change, he now has a car and, finally, also starts dating Simran who never noticed him in the seven years that he pined for her. But, the Kanpur cousin proves destructor for the family; his father gives up on his job while his sister is talked into leaking exam papers, both on the cousin’s advice.

    Siddharth’s conscience begins to bite him for his crime. He decides to meet Ashish and own up to his crime. Eventually, crime does not pay but friendship does.

    It is tough to understand the title of Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi to care enough to watch it. It was explained to me by the director as the generally used term ‘Vaat lag gayi’ in Mumbai. That is the most likely fate of this film at the box office.

  • Heropanti: Of a one man army

    Heropanti: Of a one man army

    MUMBAI: There are a few oddities about Heropanti, probably created on purpose. The film is identified with the 1983 film Hero which launched, Jackie Shroff, the father of the hero of Heropanti, Tiger Shroff. All that is common between Hero and Heropanti is that the latter uses the signature flute tune of Hero, that too in a badly slaughtered and remixed version.  The genes of both films have nothing in common. This film seems to have been made on a shoestring budget with the intent of cashing in on Jackie Shroff’s goodwill of over 30 years and freshness of Tiger Shroff.

    In fact, Heropanti resembles any south Indian film where a strong family with a lot of muscle power finds suitors for its daughters in a similar family status. Even the treatment meted out is like any recent south film though here the strong muscle-wielding family is Jat, who don’t mind killing their own daughter if she marries outside of the family arrangement.

    The story goes like this: the daughter of the most dreaded Jat Chaudhary, played by Prakash Raj, has eloped with her lover on her wedding day (in films they have to vanish from the mandap for greater effect). The Chaudhary is devastated as his izzat is at stake. He decides to follow the tradition, find his daughter and her lover and kill them. To find them, he rounds up the guy’s friends because they should know where the couple has gone. While the two friends are easily picked up and half beaten to death and imprisoned, the third one, Tiger, is not as easy to handle. He bashes up all of Prakash’s goons until he is taken by surprise.

    Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala.

    Director: Sabbir Khan.

    Cast: Tiger Shroff, Kriti Sanon, Prakash Raj, Vikram Singh.

    Tiger too is locked up in a barn with his other friends and they try to escape on the first opportunity. However, Tiger wastes the chance when he spots the girl he had fallen in love at first sight back in Delhi. He decides to stay back, track the girl and win her over. As happens in film stories, the girl he loves is the Chaudhary’s other daughter. Chaudhary, who is overly possessive about his daughters and can’t bear to think that his daughters can love somebody else more than they love him.

    As Tiger displays his prowess with action and dancing while chasing his love, the second half of the film succeeds in generating more interest than the earlier part which dragged a lot. In fact, with no known face except Prakash Raj, the film is all about Tiger’s abilities.

    The fact is, Heropanti, like its title, is forced (the real Mumbai slang is Herogiri). While the background of the film is about north Jats, it is made to look like a typical southern film. The direction is shoddy with chalta hai attitude. The dialogue is good in parts. Action is very well shot. The film has two good numbers with well choreographed dance moves. Performance wise, Tiger excels in action and dance but needs to improve in dialogue delivery. Kriti Sanon is a mismatch with Tiger; she looks much more mature and manly. Prakash Raj is his usual self. Rest of the goons are okay.

    Heropanti has opened to over 50 per cent houses which are very good for a new face film and considering its budget. The film should jump to plus side on its first weekend of business thanks to curiosity to watch Tiger.

  • ‘The Expose’…Limited Exposure

    ‘The Expose’…Limited Exposure

    MUMBAI: The composer singer Himesh Reshammiya, wanting to turn and be accepted as an actor, is a mission that is into its fourth essay with The Expose, a film to re-re-re- launch him. The earlier attempts being Aap Kaa Surroor, The Moviee–The Real Luv Story and Karzzzz which were blanks, neither earning Himesh monies nor stardom.

    In the latest search for recognition and stardom, Himesh has managed to shed much weight and assumed a new- mustached look. Also, the subject has been selected that does not tax an artiste too much while also creating the scope to play with music and atmosphere.

    This is 1960s and 70s and Himesh is a star from South films who was a cop responsible for shooting a politician. His carries an attitude like South superstar Rajnikant; he does not require his face to be touched up as he believes he was born with makeup. He is now making his debut in a Hindi film.

    There is a film awards function. Pitted against each other are two female debutantes, Zoya Afroz and Sonali Raut, who shared a PG accommodation and struggled together. Sonali pips Zoya at the awards and a catfight follows. Next, one knows, Sonali has fallen from the terrace. After initially calling it a suicide, it is later declared a murder. This leads Himesh to assume his original profession, he is a cop again.

    Producers: Vipin Reshammiya.

    Director: Ananth Narayan Mahadevan. ,

    Cast: Himesh Reshammiya, Sonali Raut, Zoya Afroz, Honey Singh, Ananth Mahadevan, Irrfan

    The director and the camera are dedicated to Himesh rather than get into the details of the era the film is set in; it tries to be smarty pants. The dialogue is the plus with Himesh’s sense for music adding to the advantage. While Himesh tries his best but remains static as an actor, the girls are okay while Irrfan as a ticket black-marketer is a misfit.

    The Expose holds limited appeal due to music factoronly.

  • ‘Hawaa Hawaai’ …Sweet Ride

    ‘Hawaa Hawaai’ …Sweet Ride

    MUMBAI: Amole Gupte has established himself as an ace writer of scripts about children in an era when children’s film is almost a dead genre. And, he deals with relevant themes depicting ambitions and aspirations of less privileged children. His very first script, Taare Zameen Par showcased his special talent. Since then, his son, Partho Gupte, gives life to his child character as he did in Stanley Ka Dibba and now in Hawaa Hawaai.

    Patho works with a chaiwala in a commercial zone of Mumbai delivering tea to offices in the area. After the offices close, when the area becomes deserted, Saqib Saleem, teaches roller-skating to children. Saleem aspired to become a champion but could not fulfil his dream. He now wants to create champions out of other children. His training point is near the tea vendor Partho works for. Partho is fascinated with this sport which involves precision and is full of grace.

    Partho is a recent arrival in Mumbai having lost his father, Makrand Deshpande, to a heart attack after a crop failure in his native village. While his granny looks after his kid sister and other sister attends school, his mother works as domestic help and Partho tries to augment the family income with his earning of Rs 50per day delivering tea. But, besides this, he has a bunch of urchins as his close friends. The group conducts its daily meeting on a traffic island before they proceed to their work. These are Ashfaque Khan (Gochi), Salman Chhote Khan (Bhura), Maaman Memon (Abdul) and Tirupati Krishnapelli (Bindaas Murugan). While one works for a motor garage, and the other at a zari weaver’s while one sells gajras at traffic signals and one is rag picker.

    Partho tells his friends about the skates and the friends decide to help him and make him a champion. Gochi inquires about the cost from a skater and mistakes 30k for plain Rs 30. They collect Rs 30 and proceed to buy a pair only to realise their mistake. But, Gochi is a genius with tools. The kids embark on a trip to junkyard to collect material to make roller skates in Gochi’s garage. And, they do come up with a pair which works as well as the one worth 30k. The pair is duly decorated by two pieces of zari work.

    Producer- Director: Amole Gupte.

    Cast: Partho Gupte, Saqib Saleem, Ashfaque Khan, Salman Chhote Khan, Maaman Menon, Tirupati Krishnapelli.

    Partho now waits for the skating sessions of Saleem to get over and the skating area to empty out so he could start his own session. He observes Saleem’s sessions and later tries to emulate his instructions to other skaters. However, things are not going as well as he wished. Realising this, his buddies decide to literally launch him in the midst of Saleem’s session. Impressed by his enthusiasm, Saleem decides to take him on. Happy with the progress, Saleem decides to enter Partho in a district level competition. The day of the reckoning is here but Partho is not. He is nowhere to be seen neither at the venue nor at his usual hangouts. There is a setback in the plans which teach Saleem a vital lesson that champions can’t be produced in such a hurry without taking into account other issues.

    Watching Hawaa Hawaai is a delight while the boys’ camaraderie continues and for their single-minded determination to make a champion out of Partho. In later parts, there is a bit too much happening in the film and not all of this is easy homour as it was through the earlier parts. The boys, Partho, Ashfaque, Salman, Maaman and Tisupati are all very natural and confident. Saleem has a pleasing demeanour. Neha Joshi does well.

    Direction and script by Amole Gupte are well handled with ample humour and depicts the contemporary Indian story of small town talent making it big.

    Hawaa Hawaai is worth a watch, for kids and grownups alike. Having opened to weak response, some word of mouth may help it do better over the weekend.

    ‘Manjunath’…Bleak and Drab

    This is the biopic about of a local hero, a well educated (IIM graduate) young man who took his job responsibilities seriously and tried to challenge an oil mafia; a clique of fuel pump owners who indulged in illegal means for profiteering. Since the story of Manjunath is less known, some mistake for the story of another whistleblower, Satyendra Dubey, of Bihar, who squealed on highway construction wrongdoings. He graduated from IIT Kanpur and got his masters from IIT Varanasi and went on to join Indian Engineering Services.

    Manjunath (played by Sasho Satiiysh Saraathy) is a Tamilian from Bengaluru who excelled academically and finally got a job at Indian Oil Corporation, which is represented in the film as Bharat Oil. Manjunath stumbles across a discovery that petrol pumps mix petrol with kerosene thereby depriving poor people of kerosene which they end up buying in Rs 30 per litre instead of recognised rate of Rs 11. This act, of course, is widespread adding to the coffers of the pump owners. This mafia has become so powerful, nobody dare touch it.

    Producer: NFDC and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures.

    Director: Sandeep Varma.

    Cast: Sasho Satiiysh Saraathy, Seema Biswas, Kishore Kadam, Yashpal Sharma, Anjori Alagh, and Faisal Rashid.

    Manunath soon realises that not only do his colleagues know of what is happening; some of them may even be involved. However, he decides to continue his crusade against the mafia singlehandedly only to be faced with regular threats. He is advised by his friends and colleagues to seek a transfer to his hometown but Manjunath is not ready to give up. Soon, the threats start working on his mind. He sees his killers everywhere. He is advised to take a break and visit home till he is normal again.

    Despite his family’s insistence, Manjunath refuses to accept a job in hometown and returns to UP and resumes his job. Here, back to his strict ways, he seals the same pump, belonging to Yashpal Sharma, for the second time. Sharma has had enough of Manjunath whom his cartel even offers Rs 50 lakh and let them continue doing their business as they wish. One day, after a heated argument, Yashpal calls Manjunath to his pump to collect his instrument used for checking fuel purity. There again, Yashpal tries to reason with Manjunath who refuses to bow down. In the heat of the moment, Yashpal shoots at Manjunath. Lest he may survive this single bullet shot, his colleague completes the task and Manjunath ends up with six bullets in his body.

    The body is found accidently by the police after two days. To speed up police action, an alumnus of his institution, Divya Dutta, starts a movement and raises funds to fight the legal battle. There is usual candlelight marches and media interactions follow.

    Manjunath is a one honest man’s fight against corruption. This is a biopic but even in our commercial films, the hero is always honest so what is new? Manjunath is so psyched that he is perpetually scared of somebody chasing him to kill him, then how come he becomes brave when his killer is right in front of him pointing a gun at him? That makes the script quite contradictory. Direction is passable. Sasho Satiiysh Saraathy acts sincerely, aptly supported by Seema Biswas and Yashpal Sharma.

    Poorly promoted with an insipid theme, Manjunath will be an also ran.

    ‘Koyelaanchal’… Gory Saga of Nothing

    Coal mining and coal mafia are the news headlines of yesteryears. The mining of coals was nationalised in 1974 but that did not change things much except making the government a partner with mafia. Coal mining continues to remain a controversial subject since the strings are now pulled from Delhi in the guise of mining rights. But, does it make a worthy subject for entertainment which a film is supposed to be. The past record of films on coal mafia has failed to stir the audience interest. Yash Chopra’s Kaala Patthar, Shatrughan Sinha’s Kalka, Raakesh Roshan’s Koyla are some examples. These films boasted of superstars of their era. Koylaanchal, on that count, has two past their prime actors in Vinod Khanna and Suniel Shetty.

    Vinod Khanna runs his reign in these coalmines regions for 40 years with terror being his only tool. The exploitation of the people and labour is total and there is no way law can do anything to Khanna as most of his activities are officially in the name of his subordinates. However, the district has got a new collector, Suniel Shetty, who is a bit of a stickler for rules. On the other hand, there is some movement against Khanna as the people of backward community have risen against him, killing his people and spreading hatred against him.

    Producer- Director: Ashu Trikha.   

    Cast: Vinod Khanna, Suniel Shetty, Vipino, Roopali, Brij Gopal.

    Khanna decides to let loose his main weapon, a living killing machine, Vipino, on these people. Vipino looks scary enough with his perfectly chiselled muscular body, long hair and a face that never betrays emotions. His way of killing someone is brutal to say the least and worse if it is someone who has abused Khanna for Khanna is the only god he has known.

    Suniel, contrary to his image, is not a fighting machine here but a practical government official with wife and a child to tend to. But, then, he sees Vipino loose his control despite Khanna’s orders to stay cool and kills a villager for writing dirty message against Khanna on a village wall. Suniel being an eyewitness to the incident, Vipino has to be arrested who is sent into hiding by Khanna. As Khanna feels uncomfortable with this new DC for the first time in his reign, he sends Vipino to scare him that harm may come to his family if he persists with his ways. Vipino’s ends up hurting Suniel’s wife grievously and, unknowingly, ends up with Suniel’s child in his lap.

    Since Suniel alone is not enough, there is help come from Intelligence Bureau who also fails to contain Khanna and soon more officers join in. Finally, in absence of any evidence of wrongdoing, Khanna is arrested for cruelty to animals; he, it seems, uses a banned drug on his herd of cows.  While Khanna is in police custody and Vipino in the hiding, the people have joined hands with Maoists and destroyed his house and properties.

    Koyelaanchal is an orgy of gory violence and nothing in the name of entertainment. Despite Khanna and Suniel around, the hero of the film is Vipino considering the footage given to him. Vinod Khanna is his usual self. Suniel Shetty is okay. Vipino looks sinister enough which he is supposed to. Rupali is good. Direction is average. Rest of the aspects are uninspiring.

    Koyelaanchal stands no chance at the box office.

     

  • ‘Purani Jeans’ Review: Purani Story

    ‘Purani Jeans’ Review: Purani Story

    MUMBAI: This one is a love triangle and, like most love triangles, it has a forced script of convenience in which people don’t own up to the things they are supposed to when they should or create a situation where he is on the verge but something keeps him from doing so. Love triangles thrive on silence.

    Tanuj Virwani and Aditya Seal are childhood friends in the hill station cantonment town of Kasauli. With three other friends they make a bunch of five, nicknamed Kasauli Cowboys who celebrate life together. It is summer time and the town gets its due share of holidaymakers. While at the railway station to receive Aditya, who is returning from UK after finishing his studies, Tanuj bumps into pretty and petite Izabelle Leite causing her to spill things from her baggage. Izabelle, along with her sister, has come to spend her holidays in her ancestral home. It is a small town and it is not long before they meet again at a music shop. Love blossoms. But that is not the end of their love story.

    Aditya’s love is music and his dream is to one day cut an album. He forms an impromptu band with the Kasauli Cowboys to perform at the local summer mela. That is where Aditya eyes Izabelle and it is love at first sight for him. Love is something he has always been deprived of. His father died when he was a child, his mother is always high on alcohol and he can’t stand his stepfather who is cheating on his mother.

    Izabelle realises what is happening. She loves Tanuj and wants him to clear things with Aditya as she sees him becoming obsessed with her. Somehow, Tanuj never gathers the courage to do that and it is strange because in love triangles the one whom the girl loves is always the underdog, under much obligations of the other man. Here, Tanuj has no such obligations and no reason to act like a subordinate to Aditya which he does all through the film. However, Izabelle distances herself from Aditya.

    Producer: Manju Lulla.

    Director: Tanushri Chattrji Bassu.

    Cast: Tanuj Virwani, Aditya Seal, Izabelle Leite, Rati Agnihotri, Sarika, Rajit Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa, Param Baidwan, Kashyap Kapoor, Raghav Kakad, Kashika Chopra, Umesh Rajput.

    The summer mela has helped two other friends to find girlfriends, one of which is Kashika Chopra. When she becomes pregnant and the one of the five, Param Baidwan, leaves her high and dry and even leaves the group, Aditya helps her and earns some brownie points from Izabelle. The pendulum of this triangle goes through all the routine swings until Aditya sees Tanuj and Izabelle together in bed. This is followed by Aditya taking a leap from a cliff along with his jeep.

    Tanuj, who is in the US now, lives with guilt all his life blaming himself for the suicide of Aditya. He avoids coming to Kasauli until his mother passes away and he has to return to complete the rituals and also get rid of the cottage. The past catches up with him as does his love, Izabelle. He meets Aditya’s mother, Sarika, who helps clear his conscience when she tells him that a family feud had led Aditya to take the drastic step and not Tanuj.

    This being a film with unknown actors, it should have been a little shorter so as to lessen the burden on the actors. Also, some things become repetitive. Still, fresh faces coupled with scenic locations backed by good cinematography do make it pleasant watch. Direction is fair but some things could have been clearer in the narrative. The film has peppy music catering to youth. Dialogue is not up to mark. Performance wise, Aditya is impressive. He acts well, looks good and holds promise. Tanuj is okay. Izabelle has to look pretty and that she does. She is not taxed with acting. Sarika is convincing. Manoj Pahwa, Rajit Kapoor and others are adequate.

    Lack of face value will deprive ‘Purani Jeans’ of a decent showing at the box office.

    Kya Dilli Kya Lahore Review…………Who Cares!

    India-Pakistan stories work when the Indian hero gets the better of the Pakistanis as in ‘Gadar: A Love Story’ or, more recently, in ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’.  Otherwise, it is a drain on the audience’s mind.

    ‘Kya Dilli Kya Lahore’ is a film about an expatriate Muslim from Chandni Chowk in Delhi (Vijay Raaz), now in Pakistan, and a Hindu one, Manu Rishi, from Lahore, who now lives in a refugee camp in Old Delhi. Both have joined the army of their adopted countries. A day comes when both come face to face in a war zone. Raaz has infiltrated into Indian territory on his senior’s say so to pick a file which contains details of a secret tunnel India has dug from Lal Killa in Delhi to Lahore!! As ordered, Raaz walks into Indian territory and to a camp as if on an evening walk. He is not aware that at that moment, the cabin is occupied by only one person, the camp coo, Manu. Yet he starts shooting at the cabin. Isn’t that rather suicidal in case there are more soldiers inside? And what would a secret file be doing inside a deserted army outpost few hundred meters from the border? But that is how a juvenile this script works.

    Producer: Karan Arora.

    Director: Vijat Raaz.

    Cast: Vijay Raaz, Manu Rishi, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Raj Zutsi.

    After initially shooting bullets, a dialogue starts between the two. Manu denies the existence of any such file, so with little else to do they go into a debate on partition: who caused it and who faced injustice. Who lost how much personally leads them to talking about what they had to leave behind and about friendships, no matter if one was Muslim or Hindu, in the undivided India.

    The two spend the night talking and carry the film for most of its 98-minute running time. Bonhomie is created between the two and Manu even throws boiled potatoes at Raaz for breakfast. But, after breakfast, enters Raj Zutsi, a vagabond dressed in khakhi aspiring to join the army as an officer. Meanwhile, Raaz finds some bullets and takes Manu by surprise, planning to take him to Pakistan to serve as a cook there. Zutshi thinks Manu is deserting the army and crossing over to Pakistan and takes control of the situation—and then loses control too. By then, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Raaz’s superior also comes for a walk in the Indian land. He kills Zutsi and is about to kill Manu but is killed by his own army man, Raaz, instead.

    ‘Kya Dilli Kya Lahore’ looks like it was written as a stage play and some temptation made the makers convert it into a movie. It is ancient in its story content. Had it come in, say, 1950, it would have had some relevance to that generation. Both the main characters are not doing this for the love of their country; they are underdogs and doing what they are to make a living. No emotion comes through due to this. Direction is patchy. In terms of production values, this must be one of the cheapest productions with just about four players and a log cabin and surroundings as background. The one song the film has is bad. While Raaz is subdued for a change, Manu does really well. Vishwajeet is fine in a small role and Zutsi goes overboard with his expressions.

    ‘Kya Dilli Kya Lahore’ won’t find any takers.

    Kahin Hai Mera Pyar Review           Audience Kahin Nahi

    ‘Kahin Hai Mera Pyar’ looks like the outcome of a director who has nursed the ambition of making a film for a long time, has seen many films, especially old ones, and eventually got around to making it. The influences of decades-old films are apparent in its story, scripting, characterisation and treatment.

    Producer:  Mahesh Vaijnath Doijode, Santosh Vaijnath Doijode, Balasaheb Vaijnath Doijode.

    Director: Mahesh Vaijnath Doijode.

    Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Kapoor, Abhishek Sethiya, Sonia Mann, Gajendra Chauhan    Kishori Shahane Vij, Nishant Sharma, Karuna Arya, Shankar Sachadev, Sunny Agarwal, Dhaval Barbhaya, Krupa Sindhwad.

    Abhishek Sethiya is an artist who lives with his younger sister. He is trying to create the painting of his love, the woman he will fall in love with. The painting is not coming through and he is exasperated. One day, he is so angry he spills all his colour tins on the canvas and the room. Out of this shower of colours, a face emerges on the canvas. Now he has a face and he goes on painting her. His sister is making tea for everybody all the time and considering Abhishek keeps making only his imaginary lover’s paintings, it is a mystery where she gets milk, sugar and the stuff for tea. Food is another matter!

    Jackie Shroff is a hotel owner who likes to promote young talent and holds exhibitions in his gallery. He offers Abhishek the chance to hold an exhibition of his paintings but Abhishek does not want to exhibit or sell his love and refuses the offer. Like all purane zamane ki films, his sister meets with an accident and money is needed for her operation. Reluctantly, Abhishek agrees to an exhibition and there, when the bidding reaches four lakh, Sanjay Kapoor materialises from nowhere and bids 25 lakh. The villain of the love story which is yet to happen is already here.

    Abhishek knows the only way he can find his love is through Sanjay as he would have bought all the paintings only due to some interest in the face. It turns out the girl in the paintings works for Sanjay’s company. He has been very helpful to her family and he wants her to himself. The usual planning and plotting follows to eliminate the hero, because, not only has he traced the girl, now she also loves him.

    The film has gone stale in the making and the content would have been stale even fifty years back. Treatment is amateur. Music is passable. Performances are uninspiring.

  • ‘Revolver Rani’… Of Bullets and Boredom

    ‘Revolver Rani’… Of Bullets and Boredom

    MUMBAI: The title of the film, Revolver Rani, sounds like Hunterwali and various others mid 20th century woman-oriented films. These films commanded their own audience; a class of moviegoers who remained loyal to the brand.  Some makers like to find such local subjects which either fail to find buyers or, when they do, don’t work with the audience at all. Despite a couple of woman dacoit films like Putlibai and Bandit Queen, Revolver Rani seems quite outlandish as the story of a woman bahubali from the dacoit belt of Chambal.

    Kangana Ranaut has just lost an election to a creepy politician, Zakir Hussain, who had lost to her in an earlier election. Zakir, it seems, got a bribe to the tune of 200 crore from a mining giant to get them a concession on a mining belt. Wonder which corporate would invest that kind of money in a loser politician expecting him to win because they gave him 200 crore. But this is nothing compared to what follows.

    The film is actually about the plight of a woman who has never had anything work in her favour. She is unattractive to start with. She sees her mother being raped by the very man who killed her father. One day she empties all six bullets into him. After that, she is taken away by her mama, Piyush Mishra, with ambitions to turn her into a terror in his area and make her a political heavyweight. Her marriage has also been disaster with her husband branding her as a banjh and torturing her and also ending up with bullets with Kangna emptying an entire magazine in his body.

    Piyush is a master manipulator and uses Kangna’s angst for her political rise. Her opponent, Zakir, as well as the local police are  equally scared of her. She is the gun-wielding terror though it is another matter that when she and her rivals shower each other with bullets, no bullet hits anybody! While their battles continue, Kangna finds or she thinks she has found true love she always craved for in a small time actor, Vir Das. Vir actually has a girlfriend waiting in Mumbai but he decides to exploit Kangna’s weakness and talk her into financing his films. Since Kangna really loves him and is overtly possessive about him, Vir is now trapped. He is virtually a prisoner not allowed to step out without her.

    Producers: Raju Chadha, Nitin Tej Ahuja, Rahul Mittra.

    Director: Sai Kabir.

    Cast: Kangna Ranaut, Piyush Mishra, Zakir Hussain, Vir Das.

    Piyush, meanwhile, does a sting on Zakir through a TV journalist making him confess to accepting 200 crore. He loses his ministry. In the by-election, Kangna is sure to win. The enmity is now at its peak and ways are being sought to eliminate her. That is when Kangna finds out that she is pregnant. She was not a banjh after all. The woman in her comes alive and she wants to keep the child and marry Vir, collect all the party funds and move to Venice with Vir. While Vir wants nothing to do with this idea, mama Piyush sees all his plans going awry. Both Vir and Piyush, now turn into Kangna’s enemies and are ready to join her enemies and betray her.

    Kangna is ambushed at a night halt by an army of her enemies. She fights, killing many and heavily injured herself is given up for dead. But, she has survived and threatening you with a sequel!

    But before a sequel, the makers could at least have made the first version a bit tolerable. The film is shoddily written; it wavers from one thing to another and, let alone convincing episodes, they are not even plausible. If this kind of politics and political rivalries still exist in parts of India, what about the audience in general finding identification with them? If the script is bad, direction is pointless. The film has a couple of good songs, including one from Asha Bhosle, but they don’t fit in the scenario. Neither the film nor Kangna’s plight touch you. Why has the director gone out of his way to make Kangna look unattractive? As for performances, Kangna excels despite her character offering little variation. Piyush is impressive with fair support coming from Zakir. Vir refuses to change his expressions.

    Revolver Rani was expected to cash in on the recent Kangna hit, Queen. But it is a letdown on that count and otherwise too.

    Samrat & Co… Bankrupt

    A detective thriller is still a genre the big screen can share with small one even as many genres are now monopolised by the television. A decent Hindi detective whodunit has not been seen in a long time on the screen and the idea is sound enough to try one. Kavita K Barjatya of the Rajshri banner attempts one here. The inspiration comes from various original sources such as Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie novels and even Satyajit Ray’s famous Bengali character, Feluda, among others. The film pays homage to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his best known character, Holmes. Since the sources are from past, so is the story of Samrat & Co.

    Producer: Kavita K Barjatya.

    Director: Kaushik Ghatak.

    Cast: Rajeev Khandelwal, Madalsa Sharma, Gopal Datt, Girish Karnad, Priyanshu Chatterjee.

    Rajeev Khandelwal plays a private investigator that has been called in by Madalsa Sharma, daughter of a rich patriarch from Shimla, Girish Karnad, to check on a series of mysterious events taking place at his mansion. The lush green garden in the mansion is going dry, her father’s horse dies and Karnad himself suffers from indifferent health and dies soon as Rajeev arrives on the scene.

    It is a typical old-fashioned investigation as read and seen in various books and films earlier. Rajeev talks to himself as he works on various clues and red herrings. As Madalsa visits Rajeev to seek his help, he decides to impress her by telling things about her observed from her presence. Not all his explanations are convincing. He says she has had an eye correction surgery to get rid of her spectacles because she is still in the habit of adjusting her nonexistent specs but it could easily have been her migration to use of contact lenses. Much more is in the offing on this account as the film proceeds. 

    The film neither has anything new to offer nor does it present the old story in a manner worth watching. The writing is poor and so is the direction. The film lacks finesse having been made on a small budget. While Rajeev is a misfit for the role and his fuzzy hair look not going well either, Madalsa is around only to fantasise about romancing Rajeev.

    Samrat & Co has had a poor opening with ‘No audience, No show’ tags at many halls.