Tag: Jacqueline Fernandez

‘A Flying Jatt’ is passable kid stuff

The producers of A Flying Jatt, Balaji Motion Pictures, takes a total diversion with this film. From their earlier blend of films with mainly adult themes, they have moved to a film that caters to children and the preteen lot. Complately inspired by foreign superhero films, A Flying Jatt keeps Indian sensibilities as its main theme instead.

The film follows in the footsteps of earlier films of this genre: the incognito superhero kinds like Boney Kapoor’s Mr India (1987), Rakesh Roshan’s Krrish (2006) and Krrish3 (2013), Romu Sippy’s Shiva KaInsaaf (3D- 1985), Tinnu Anand’s Shahenshah(1988) and earlier ones like Kishore Kumar-starrer Mr X In Bombay (1964), which dealt with the villains of the mortal kind.

A Flying Jatt is about a superhero who propagates Swachh Bharat or Clean India and sings paeans to the valour and glory of the Sikh community and fights a super villain.

Tiger Shroff is a martial arts instructor at a local school in Punjab. Thanks to his blundering ways and shy nature, he is never taken seriously and even his mastery over the art is passable. His young students make fun of him. While he nurses a silent love for Jacqueline Fernandez, he can’t gather the courage to express it.

Tiger is the son of Amrita Singh who always pushes him to take inspiration from his dead father who was considered a hero by the locals. Amrita’s troubles start when a drug mafia run by KK Menon decides to grab her land, which would help his drug factory save millions in money as well as time, due to easy access to the drug markets. But the piece of land holds deep memories for Amrita and it also has a 200 year old tree that is worshipped by the people.

Menon fails to convince Amrita with money and tries the only other way he knows: by sending out his goons. While the average goons are dealt with by Amrita herself, the tougher ones are for Tiger to handle. To match the strength of Tiger, he sends out his ultimate weapon, the gigantic-looking Nathan Jones (an Australian actor, power-lifting champion and an ex-professional wrestler). Jones takes on Tiger who, in the process of their duel, gets blessed by the sacred tree with super powers and also gets the imprints of the religious symbol of Sikh faith on his back.

Tiger can now do things a normal human can’t like flying and also packing a powerful punch. Jones, who was buried in the mud, returns to the scene more powerful now as his blood has turned black and he survives by whiffing on polluted air and other waste strewn around by the society. Thanks to the people’s apathy towards environment, Jones is unbeatable, at least on Planet Earth.

Amrita wants Tiger to don the pagree his father wore, which he refuses because other kids made fun of him with Sikh jokes. While the film goes on to teach people the virtue of keeping the environs clean as well as planting more trees, Amrita, for her part, initiates Tiger into the virtues of Sikh way of life and tells him stories of their exploits.

Meanwhile, Menon has mended his ways after he almost lost his daughter to pollution-related ailment. But, by this time, Jones is out of control. He has a personal grudge against Tiger now.

A Flying Jatt does not have much of a story. It is about a simpleton who gains super powers and a lot of footage goes into showing his prowess as he saves people in distress, from calamities as well as goons.

The length at 151 minutes makes things repetitive while trying for a film aimed mainly at children. In the first half, some comic scenes entertain its target audience. The direction is good in general with impressive use of special effects; the effects in the song ,which also has a nice melodious feel to it, are good. Beat pe booty… is already popular and both songs are appealing. Cinematography is competent. Tiger Shroff excels in dances and action, both being his forte. Jacqueline is okay. Amrita Singh makes her presence felt, while KK Menon has little to do. Nathan Jones can’t act and his drawls are incomprehensible. The film needed to be edited extensively.

A Flying Jatt is a passable fare with appeal for kids besides audiences in Delhi and Punjab generally. Released on Thursday to cash in on the festive mood of Janmashtami, it gets three more days to rake in the moolah over the weekend at the box office. Sustenance thereafter will be tough.

Producers: Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor.

Director: Remo D’Souza.

Cast: Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez, Amrita Singh, KK Menon, Nathan Jones and Shraddha Kapoor in a cameo.

August 25, 2016
‘A Flying Jatt’ is passable kid stuff

The producers of A Flying Jatt, Balaji Motion Pictures, takes a total diversion with this film. From their earlier blend of films with mainly adult themes, they have moved to a film that caters to children and the preteen lot. Complately inspired by foreign superhero films, A Flying Jatt keeps Indian sensibilities as its main theme instead.

The film follows in the footsteps of earlier films of this genre: the incognito superhero kinds like Boney Kapoor’s Mr India (1987), Rakesh Roshan’s Krrish (2006) and Krrish3 (2013), Romu Sippy’s Shiva KaInsaaf (3D- 1985), Tinnu Anand’s Shahenshah(1988) and earlier ones like Kishore Kumar-starrer Mr X In Bombay (1964), which dealt with the villains of the mortal kind.

A Flying Jatt is about a superhero who propagates Swachh Bharat or Clean India and sings paeans to the valour and glory of the Sikh community and fights a super villain.

Tiger Shroff is a martial arts instructor at a local school in Punjab. Thanks to his blundering ways and shy nature, he is never taken seriously and even his mastery over the art is passable. His young students make fun of him. While he nurses a silent love for Jacqueline Fernandez, he can’t gather the courage to express it.

Tiger is the son of Amrita Singh who always pushes him to take inspiration from his dead father who was considered a hero by the locals. Amrita’s troubles start when a drug mafia run by KK Menon decides to grab her land, which would help his drug factory save millions in money as well as time, due to easy access to the drug markets. But the piece of land holds deep memories for Amrita and it also has a 200 year old tree that is worshipped by the people.

Menon fails to convince Amrita with money and tries the only other way he knows: by sending out his goons. While the average goons are dealt with by Amrita herself, the tougher ones are for Tiger to handle. To match the strength of Tiger, he sends out his ultimate weapon, the gigantic-looking Nathan Jones (an Australian actor, power-lifting champion and an ex-professional wrestler). Jones takes on Tiger who, in the process of their duel, gets blessed by the sacred tree with super powers and also gets the imprints of the religious symbol of Sikh faith on his back.

Tiger can now do things a normal human can’t like flying and also packing a powerful punch. Jones, who was buried in the mud, returns to the scene more powerful now as his blood has turned black and he survives by whiffing on polluted air and other waste strewn around by the society. Thanks to the people’s apathy towards environment, Jones is unbeatable, at least on Planet Earth.

Amrita wants Tiger to don the pagree his father wore, which he refuses because other kids made fun of him with Sikh jokes. While the film goes on to teach people the virtue of keeping the environs clean as well as planting more trees, Amrita, for her part, initiates Tiger into the virtues of Sikh way of life and tells him stories of their exploits.

Meanwhile, Menon has mended his ways after he almost lost his daughter to pollution-related ailment. But, by this time, Jones is out of control. He has a personal grudge against Tiger now.

A Flying Jatt does not have much of a story. It is about a simpleton who gains super powers and a lot of footage goes into showing his prowess as he saves people in distress, from calamities as well as goons.

The length at 151 minutes makes things repetitive while trying for a film aimed mainly at children. In the first half, some comic scenes entertain its target audience. The direction is good in general with impressive use of special effects; the effects in the song ,which also has a nice melodious feel to it, are good. Beat pe booty… is already popular and both songs are appealing. Cinematography is competent. Tiger Shroff excels in dances and action, both being his forte. Jacqueline is okay. Amrita Singh makes her presence felt, while KK Menon has little to do. Nathan Jones can’t act and his drawls are incomprehensible. The film needed to be edited extensively.

A Flying Jatt is a passable fare with appeal for kids besides audiences in Delhi and Punjab generally. Released on Thursday to cash in on the festive mood of Janmashtami, it gets three more days to rake in the moolah over the weekend at the box office. Sustenance thereafter will be tough.

Producers: Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor.

Director: Remo D’Souza.

Cast: Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez, Amrita Singh, KK Menon, Nathan Jones and Shraddha Kapoor in a cameo.

August 25, 2016
‘Dishoom’… Weekend fun: ‘Murder Madhuri’…Cinema murdered!

MUMBAI: Sajid Nadiadwala believes in presenting entertaining fare, having experimented with serious stuff only once with Highway. With the best of stars available to him thanks to his track record, his entertainers generally pass muster, usually meaning profits to him and his distributors.

Dishoom as the title suggest, in an action film though the title is only suggestive as the action is of the fast-paced gun-and-chase kind. One-day matches are being played in the Middle East where, thanks to their star batsman, Saqib Salim’s (named Viraj in the film to read as Virat) last over heroics scoring the required runs. The next and final match is with the traditional rivals, Pakistan.

All bets are being laid on to India win, again, thanks to Saqib. But someone somewhere has other plans. Rahul Dev kidnaps Saqib 36 hours before the finals. Soon the phone lines are burning between the host country officials and cricket bosses in India. The matter is beyond both and soon gets the Indian government involved.

When solving tough cases overseas, Indian cops are the best and, thus, the ministry dispatches their very best, John Abraham, to do the needful. He is supposed to work with the best the host country police has to offer but, instead, John opts for a bungling cop, Varun Dhawan, whose CV so far credits him with tracking a lost dog, fetching provisions for the superior cop’s family and escorting his children to and from school.

It seems, in the process of tracking the lost dog, Varun has become a sort of Google Map for the county. That is what John needs, a guide, since, like all super cops, he believes in working alone otherwise. As the two set out to find Saqib, they remind you of pairings in films like 48 Hours (remade in Hindi as Andar Baahar), the Terence Hill-Bud Spencer films, Abhishek Bachchan-Uday Chopra capers and many more.

It is fun as the duo get tracking the culprits, what with Varun’s gimmicks and the one-liners between the two till the interval. That is when Varun decides to turn into a serious cop thanks to the influence of John and the villains are brought into open at this stage. The fun is over and so is the suspense. Rahul, it seems, was only the face in the kidnap drama while the real villain is Akshaye Khanna.

The second half is serious chases with modern cars, bikes, speedboats and choppers joining the action. In the process, the makers also take you on a brief trip into a medieval Arab town right out of Arabian nights, but with goons wielding guns rather than swords! The fun is over. In the process of investigations, the John-Varun duo is also introduced to Jacqueline Fernandez. That is some pastime till she decides on which of the two will be her man. As a consolation, Varun does get to meet his match in the end title song in Parineeti Chopra to complete the foursome.

The script by Tushar HIranandani and Rohit Dhawan treads familiar ground and borders on routine through its second half. Dialogue is fun at times, drying out as the film progresses. Rohit has handled the film well considering its canvas and extensive action scenes. Music in the film is foot tapping, fast to blend with the proceedings. Action sequences are ably executed and keep the viewers’ interest going in the later parts. Cinematography is very good. Editing is okay considering the film’s duration is a mere 124 minutes with nothing much to delete.

While John playing the no-nonsense cop serious only about his mission does well, Varun gets a better deal playing a light role catering to the mass. Jacqueline looks charming and does better than in her earlier films. In the absence of an established evil man, establishing Akshaye as the villain is a task the writers-director accomplish only partly. Rahul as junior villain is okay. Akshay Kumar regales in a cameo.

Dishoom is a fair entertainer with appeal for both, mass (mainly) as well as class where it is expected to pick up. The solo release status is a plus. The collections in the Hindi belt will be affected till early next week due to (Kavadia) religious processions causing road blocks leading to traffic restrictions in many parts of UP and Delhi.

Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala.

Director: Rohit Dhawan.

Cast: John Abraham, Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Akshaye Khanna, Saqib Salim, Rahul Dev, Vijay Raaz and, in cameos, Akshay Kumar, Mohinder Amarnath, Rameez Raja, Atul Wassan, Parineeti Chopra.

Murder Madhuri:

Murder Madhuri seems to be the outcome of somebody’s lifelong dream to make a film. Previous experience: Having watched numerous films, Hollywood as well as Indian. Qualification: Money to waste. The catch to draw audience: name Madhuri in the title.

A girl, Shanaya Kureel, has finished some sort of her exam at some odd hour of the day when it is dark all over, the streets are deserted and no public transport is available or no private vehicle willing to give her a lift. However, the girl need not worry because her father, Sharat Saxena, is with her for safety.

Finally, after trying to hail down a lot of vehicles, they succeed in getting a ride with a private luxury coach. They are welcomed by four, a driver and three others, with ‘goons’ written all over them. If the producers are inspired from the real life incident of Nirbhaya, it seems, so are the goons.

Though tough as he may be, Saxena is overpowered by the goons. The guys take turns to rape Shanaya as the other two keep Saxena under control. After the rapes, the father-daughter duo are thrown out on the streets. They are spotted lying unconscious by a mentally disturbed woman who herself is a rape victim; she was raped by one of the luxury bus men’s father, Kiran Kumar. Raping, it seems, runs in the family.

Kiran Kumar is the home minister of wherever this incident has taken place which, according to convenience, keeps shifting between Mumbai and other places.

Shanaya succumbs to her injuries sustained because of the brutal assault on her by the rapists. The police is divided. While the commissioner is at service of Kiran and seems to be running his force from Kiran’s bungalow, there is one honest office in Sonali Joshi who takes on the home minister as well as her commissioner to bring the rapists to book. Nothing works though arrests and acquittals take place on regular basis.

That is when, suddenly, Saxena remembers he is senior ex-army man who specialized in hand-to-hand combat no matter the number of enemies he had to contend with. Good too that he did not remember this in the bus for had he done so, this film would not have reached so far!

Saxena arms himself with guns of various shapes and sizes and decides to play Charles Bronson (Death Wish and sequels) to pick the culprits and seek revenge for his daughter.

The film has one 1960s song playing in the background meant to rouse the viewers’ emotions. The script, direction, make up, props, just about everything ranges between amateur and juvenile.

Producer: Ali Mohamed Oosman.

Director: Ali Mohamed Oosman.

Cast: Sharat Saxena, Kiran Kumar, Deepshikha, Sonali Joshi, Vinay Verma, Suneeta Rana, Raza Murad, Amit Kumar, Shanaya Kureel.

July 29, 2016
‘Dishoom’… Weekend fun: ‘Murder Madhuri’…Cinema murdered!

MUMBAI: Sajid Nadiadwala believes in presenting entertaining fare, having experimented with serious stuff only once with Highway. With the best of stars available to him thanks to his track record, his entertainers generally pass muster, usually meaning profits to him and his distributors.

Dishoom as the title suggest, in an action film though the title is only suggestive as the action is of the fast-paced gun-and-chase kind. One-day matches are being played in the Middle East where, thanks to their star batsman, Saqib Salim’s (named Viraj in the film to read as Virat) last over heroics scoring the required runs. The next and final match is with the traditional rivals, Pakistan.

All bets are being laid on to India win, again, thanks to Saqib. But someone somewhere has other plans. Rahul Dev kidnaps Saqib 36 hours before the finals. Soon the phone lines are burning between the host country officials and cricket bosses in India. The matter is beyond both and soon gets the Indian government involved.

When solving tough cases overseas, Indian cops are the best and, thus, the ministry dispatches their very best, John Abraham, to do the needful. He is supposed to work with the best the host country police has to offer but, instead, John opts for a bungling cop, Varun Dhawan, whose CV so far credits him with tracking a lost dog, fetching provisions for the superior cop’s family and escorting his children to and from school.

It seems, in the process of tracking the lost dog, Varun has become a sort of Google Map for the county. That is what John needs, a guide, since, like all super cops, he believes in working alone otherwise. As the two set out to find Saqib, they remind you of pairings in films like 48 Hours (remade in Hindi as Andar Baahar), the Terence Hill-Bud Spencer films, Abhishek Bachchan-Uday Chopra capers and many more.

It is fun as the duo get tracking the culprits, what with Varun’s gimmicks and the one-liners between the two till the interval. That is when Varun decides to turn into a serious cop thanks to the influence of John and the villains are brought into open at this stage. The fun is over and so is the suspense. Rahul, it seems, was only the face in the kidnap drama while the real villain is Akshaye Khanna.

The second half is serious chases with modern cars, bikes, speedboats and choppers joining the action. In the process, the makers also take you on a brief trip into a medieval Arab town right out of Arabian nights, but with goons wielding guns rather than swords! The fun is over. In the process of investigations, the John-Varun duo is also introduced to Jacqueline Fernandez. That is some pastime till she decides on which of the two will be her man. As a consolation, Varun does get to meet his match in the end title song in Parineeti Chopra to complete the foursome.

The script by Tushar HIranandani and Rohit Dhawan treads familiar ground and borders on routine through its second half. Dialogue is fun at times, drying out as the film progresses. Rohit has handled the film well considering its canvas and extensive action scenes. Music in the film is foot tapping, fast to blend with the proceedings. Action sequences are ably executed and keep the viewers’ interest going in the later parts. Cinematography is very good. Editing is okay considering the film’s duration is a mere 124 minutes with nothing much to delete.

While John playing the no-nonsense cop serious only about his mission does well, Varun gets a better deal playing a light role catering to the mass. Jacqueline looks charming and does better than in her earlier films. In the absence of an established evil man, establishing Akshaye as the villain is a task the writers-director accomplish only partly. Rahul as junior villain is okay. Akshay Kumar regales in a cameo.

Dishoom is a fair entertainer with appeal for both, mass (mainly) as well as class where it is expected to pick up. The solo release status is a plus. The collections in the Hindi belt will be affected till early next week due to (Kavadia) religious processions causing road blocks leading to traffic restrictions in many parts of UP and Delhi.

Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala.

Director: Rohit Dhawan.

Cast: John Abraham, Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Akshaye Khanna, Saqib Salim, Rahul Dev, Vijay Raaz and, in cameos, Akshay Kumar, Mohinder Amarnath, Rameez Raja, Atul Wassan, Parineeti Chopra.

Murder Madhuri:

Murder Madhuri seems to be the outcome of somebody’s lifelong dream to make a film. Previous experience: Having watched numerous films, Hollywood as well as Indian. Qualification: Money to waste. The catch to draw audience: name Madhuri in the title.

A girl, Shanaya Kureel, has finished some sort of her exam at some odd hour of the day when it is dark all over, the streets are deserted and no public transport is available or no private vehicle willing to give her a lift. However, the girl need not worry because her father, Sharat Saxena, is with her for safety.

Finally, after trying to hail down a lot of vehicles, they succeed in getting a ride with a private luxury coach. They are welcomed by four, a driver and three others, with ‘goons’ written all over them. If the producers are inspired from the real life incident of Nirbhaya, it seems, so are the goons.

Though tough as he may be, Saxena is overpowered by the goons. The guys take turns to rape Shanaya as the other two keep Saxena under control. After the rapes, the father-daughter duo are thrown out on the streets. They are spotted lying unconscious by a mentally disturbed woman who herself is a rape victim; she was raped by one of the luxury bus men’s father, Kiran Kumar. Raping, it seems, runs in the family.

Kiran Kumar is the home minister of wherever this incident has taken place which, according to convenience, keeps shifting between Mumbai and other places.

Shanaya succumbs to her injuries sustained because of the brutal assault on her by the rapists. The police is divided. While the commissioner is at service of Kiran and seems to be running his force from Kiran’s bungalow, there is one honest office in Sonali Joshi who takes on the home minister as well as her commissioner to bring the rapists to book. Nothing works though arrests and acquittals take place on regular basis.

That is when, suddenly, Saxena remembers he is senior ex-army man who specialized in hand-to-hand combat no matter the number of enemies he had to contend with. Good too that he did not remember this in the bus for had he done so, this film would not have reached so far!

Saxena arms himself with guns of various shapes and sizes and decides to play Charles Bronson (Death Wish and sequels) to pick the culprits and seek revenge for his daughter.

The film has one 1960s song playing in the background meant to rouse the viewers’ emotions. The script, direction, make up, props, just about everything ranges between amateur and juvenile.

Producer: Ali Mohamed Oosman.

Director: Ali Mohamed Oosman.

Cast: Sharat Saxena, Kiran Kumar, Deepshikha, Sonali Joshi, Vinay Verma, Suneeta Rana, Raza Murad, Amit Kumar, Shanaya Kureel.

July 29, 2016
Jacqueline Fernandez becomes Spice Girl In #WhatIReallyReallyWant Film

MUMBAI: Two decades since British girl group Spice Girls debuted their smash hit, “Wannabe,” the iconic music video has been recreated with non-other than mega star Jacqueline Fernandez in it. She is one of the ‘Spice Girls’ representing India in the film, along with British hip hop group M.O, Nigerian singer Seyi Shay, South African award winning Hip Hop artist Gigi Lamayne, singer Moneoa and American dancer Taylor Hatala.

Ever since the film hit the internet it has gone viral with 36 Million views and has been retweeted and shared by many of Hollywood’s super stars. The original Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and Hollywood actress Emma Watson were amongst countless personalities to support the film Victoria Beckham, in her support for the Global Goals campaign, has encouraged women to share the goals they want to achieve by using the hashtag #WhatIReallyReallyWant.

“I think this film is a wonderful idea. How fabulous is it that after 20 years, the legacy of the Spice Girls’ — ‘Girl Power’ — is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation”

She later tweeted –

“#WhatIReallyReallyWant is no more girls dying of HIV @TheGlobalGoals”

Spice Girls member Mel C wrote on Twitter –

“Flattered and honoured that our crazy song is being used so beautifully@theglobalgoals #WhatIReallyReallyWant”

Emma Watson who is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador also took to Twitter —

“#WhatIReallyReallyWant is to see Goal 5 – Gender Equality achieved@theGlobalGoals”

Lily Singh a.k.a Super Women who is a vlogger and influencer shared the video on facebook saying –
“Yas! Love this spread that #girlpowe”

Talking about being a part of this film Jacqueline Fernandez said “Gender discrimination has to stop and the global community has to start putting girls first. We need to create a community where girls feel strong, safe and supported and have equal access to education, technology, health and sanitation….The world needs a dose of girl power and that’s why I’m supporting the Global Goals campaign for girls and women.”

-Ends-

Please share the link to the film #WhatIReallyReallyWant which is now live:

About the film:

• Tying in with the 20th anniversary since the release of Spice Girls’ Wannabe video, Project Everyone (founded by filmmaker, campaigner, SDG Advocate Richard Curtis) with their partners Getty Images and SAWA (the global cinema advertising association), have released a remake of the video called #WhatIReallyReallyWant

• The film is directed by the supremely talented director MJ Delaney features artists from India (including Bollywoodstar Jacqueline Fernandez!), Nigeria (Seyi Shay), South Africa (Gigi Lamayne, Moneoa), UK (music group M.O), USA(Larsen Thompson) and Canada (Taylor Hatala). It launches online today and in cinemas later this month.

• The film reflects the voices of girls and women all over the world telling world leaders what Goals they ‘really really want’ to be achieved to help improve their lives. These include issues like quality education, an end to violence, an end to child marriage and equal pay for equal work. People will share a picture of #WhatIReallyReallyWant for girls and women and the visual response from around the world will then be presented to world leaders at the UN General Assembly in September.

July 8, 2016
Jacqueline Fernandez becomes Spice Girl In #WhatIReallyReallyWant Film

MUMBAI: Two decades since British girl group Spice Girls debuted their smash hit, “Wannabe,” the iconic music video has been recreated with non-other than mega star Jacqueline Fernandez in it. She is one of the ‘Spice Girls’ representing India in the film, along with British hip hop group M.O, Nigerian singer Seyi Shay, South African award winning Hip Hop artist Gigi Lamayne, singer Moneoa and American dancer Taylor Hatala.

Ever since the film hit the internet it has gone viral with 36 Million views and has been retweeted and shared by many of Hollywood’s super stars. The original Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and Hollywood actress Emma Watson were amongst countless personalities to support the film Victoria Beckham, in her support for the Global Goals campaign, has encouraged women to share the goals they want to achieve by using the hashtag #WhatIReallyReallyWant.

“I think this film is a wonderful idea. How fabulous is it that after 20 years, the legacy of the Spice Girls’ — ‘Girl Power’ — is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation”

She later tweeted –

“#WhatIReallyReallyWant is no more girls dying of HIV @TheGlobalGoals”

Spice Girls member Mel C wrote on Twitter –

“Flattered and honoured that our crazy song is being used so beautifully@theglobalgoals #WhatIReallyReallyWant”

Emma Watson who is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador also took to Twitter —

“#WhatIReallyReallyWant is to see Goal 5 – Gender Equality achieved@theGlobalGoals”

Lily Singh a.k.a Super Women who is a vlogger and influencer shared the video on facebook saying –
“Yas! Love this spread that #girlpowe”

Talking about being a part of this film Jacqueline Fernandez said “Gender discrimination has to stop and the global community has to start putting girls first. We need to create a community where girls feel strong, safe and supported and have equal access to education, technology, health and sanitation….The world needs a dose of girl power and that’s why I’m supporting the Global Goals campaign for girls and women.”

-Ends-

Please share the link to the film #WhatIReallyReallyWant which is now live:

About the film:

• Tying in with the 20th anniversary since the release of Spice Girls’ Wannabe video, Project Everyone (founded by filmmaker, campaigner, SDG Advocate Richard Curtis) with their partners Getty Images and SAWA (the global cinema advertising association), have released a remake of the video called #WhatIReallyReallyWant

• The film is directed by the supremely talented director MJ Delaney features artists from India (including Bollywoodstar Jacqueline Fernandez!), Nigeria (Seyi Shay), South Africa (Gigi Lamayne, Moneoa), UK (music group M.O), USA(Larsen Thompson) and Canada (Taylor Hatala). It launches online today and in cinemas later this month.

• The film reflects the voices of girls and women all over the world telling world leaders what Goals they ‘really really want’ to be achieved to help improve their lives. These include issues like quality education, an end to violence, an end to child marriage and equal pay for equal work. People will share a picture of #WhatIReallyReallyWant for girls and women and the visual response from around the world will then be presented to world leaders at the UN General Assembly in September.

July 8, 2016
Houseful 3……Happy hours!

MUMBAI: Houseful 3 follows Sajid Nadiadwala’s Houseful (2010) and Houseful 2 (2012), both of which saw varying degrees of success. This instalment too follows the same pattern of many characters filling the screen with silly gags and actions that are meant to keep the viewer occupied. In short, it is a leave-your-brain-at-home film that does not require a script.

Boman Irani is a kind of shipping tycoon based in UK with three daughters, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri and Lisa Haydon who he assumes to be simple, sanskari girls living according to their names: Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati. He has some superstition about women in his family marrying because there are instances of bad happenings in the aftermath.

However, unknown to Boman as well as to each other, all three sisters have a man in their life. These are Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh. These three pretend to be in love but their real aim is to pocket many millions of wealth that vests between these three sisters.

Boman has sought the help of Chunky Pandey, playing Aakhri Pasta in all the films, who comes dressed as a fortuneteller and predicts that the marriage of each girl bodes ill for Boman, who will die the moment the each sister’s man sets eyes on him, or steps into the house or utters the first word to Boman, respectively.

For the comedy and buffoonery to happen, most of the characters have to be under one roof. The girls and guys devise a plan. Akshay, an aspiring footballer, comes over on a wheel chair, he is incapable of stepping down or walking so Boman is safe on that count. Abhishek, dreaming of becoming a rapper, enters the house as a mute so there is no question of uttering a word to Boman. Riteish, who is raring to become a formula one driver, pretends to be blind; he can’t set eyes on Boman and hence even the third bad omen is ineffective.

Now enter three more suitors for these girls in Nikitin Dheer, Sameer Kochhar and Arav Chowdhary. Just out of jail, they are presented as Boman’s choice for the girls. Jackie Shroff enters the scene. An ex-don of Mumbai, Jackie is also just out of jail and decides to meet his underling, Boman in London. When jailed, Jackie had transferred Boman along with all his wealth to London. He also agrees with Boman’s choice of boys.

For Dheer, Kochhar and Chowdhary, the hitch is that though Boman and Jackie prefer them for the girls, but the girls love Akshay, Abhishek and Riteish. After some more one-upmanship duels between the two groups, the good have to win over the evil. The idea is toraise some laughter and, hence, the battles have to be won with wit, not hand-to-hand fights.

The film does not have to adhere to a particular script. It resorts to gags to follow a loosely woven story and anything can be turned or twisted at will. On that count, Sajid and Farhad do a fair job. The film has passable musical score despite a number of lyric writers and composers; however, the choreography is executed in an entertaining manner. Photography captures lush London locations very well.

As for performances, Akshay Kumar, playing one with a split personality, excels in this film with his varied expressions and deadpan timing. Abhishek and Riteish play the perfect foils. Jacqueline, Nargis and Lisa add to the glamour quotient. Boman and Jackie do well. Of the three villains, Nikitin towers over the rest while Kochhar and Chowdhary are okay.

Houseful 3 is a fair entertainer to hit the cinemas after a long draught. The film caters to all kind of audience and should manage a decent stay at the box office.

Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala.

Directors: Sajid, Farhad.

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri, Lisa Haydon, Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff, Chunky Pandey, Nikitin Dheer, Sameer Kochhar, Arav Chowdhary.

June 3, 2016
Houseful 3……Happy hours!

MUMBAI: Houseful 3 follows Sajid Nadiadwala’s Houseful (2010) and Houseful 2 (2012), both of which saw varying degrees of success. This instalment too follows the same pattern of many characters filling the screen with silly gags and actions that are meant to keep the viewer occupied. In short, it is a leave-your-brain-at-home film that does not require a script.

Boman Irani is a kind of shipping tycoon based in UK with three daughters, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri and Lisa Haydon who he assumes to be simple, sanskari girls living according to their names: Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati. He has some superstition about women in his family marrying because there are instances of bad happenings in the aftermath.

However, unknown to Boman as well as to each other, all three sisters have a man in their life. These are Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh. These three pretend to be in love but their real aim is to pocket many millions of wealth that vests between these three sisters.

Boman has sought the help of Chunky Pandey, playing Aakhri Pasta in all the films, who comes dressed as a fortuneteller and predicts that the marriage of each girl bodes ill for Boman, who will die the moment the each sister’s man sets eyes on him, or steps into the house or utters the first word to Boman, respectively.

For the comedy and buffoonery to happen, most of the characters have to be under one roof. The girls and guys devise a plan. Akshay, an aspiring footballer, comes over on a wheel chair, he is incapable of stepping down or walking so Boman is safe on that count. Abhishek, dreaming of becoming a rapper, enters the house as a mute so there is no question of uttering a word to Boman. Riteish, who is raring to become a formula one driver, pretends to be blind; he can’t set eyes on Boman and hence even the third bad omen is ineffective.

Now enter three more suitors for these girls in Nikitin Dheer, Sameer Kochhar and Arav Chowdhary. Just out of jail, they are presented as Boman’s choice for the girls. Jackie Shroff enters the scene. An ex-don of Mumbai, Jackie is also just out of jail and decides to meet his underling, Boman in London. When jailed, Jackie had transferred Boman along with all his wealth to London. He also agrees with Boman’s choice of boys.

For Dheer, Kochhar and Chowdhary, the hitch is that though Boman and Jackie prefer them for the girls, but the girls love Akshay, Abhishek and Riteish. After some more one-upmanship duels between the two groups, the good have to win over the evil. The idea is toraise some laughter and, hence, the battles have to be won with wit, not hand-to-hand fights.

The film does not have to adhere to a particular script. It resorts to gags to follow a loosely woven story and anything can be turned or twisted at will. On that count, Sajid and Farhad do a fair job. The film has passable musical score despite a number of lyric writers and composers; however, the choreography is executed in an entertaining manner. Photography captures lush London locations very well.

As for performances, Akshay Kumar, playing one with a split personality, excels in this film with his varied expressions and deadpan timing. Abhishek and Riteish play the perfect foils. Jacqueline, Nargis and Lisa add to the glamour quotient. Boman and Jackie do well. Of the three villains, Nikitin towers over the rest while Kochhar and Chowdhary are okay.

Houseful 3 is a fair entertainer to hit the cinemas after a long draught. The film caters to all kind of audience and should manage a decent stay at the box office.

Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala.

Directors: Sajid, Farhad.

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri, Lisa Haydon, Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff, Chunky Pandey, Nikitin Dheer, Sameer Kochhar, Arav Chowdhary.

June 3, 2016
Jacqueline Fernandez to endorse Hardwyn’s lifestyle range

NEW DELHI: Actor Jacqueline Fernandez has been appointed as the new brand ambassador for Hardwyn for a period of two years. The actress has also shot an ad commercial that will hit the TV screens soon.

Hardwyn, the manufacturer and provider of an exclusive product range that includes door, glass and kitchen fittings and accessories apart from wardrobe and furniture fittings is planning to enter the Kitchen Appliances category soon where it will be offering products like chimneys, hobs, cooktops, built-in-ovens, built-in-microwaves, dishwashers, complete cooking range and induction cooktops.

The creative mandate for Hardwyn has been taken up by Promodome Communications.

August 27, 2015
‘Bangistan’: Just a whimper

MUMBAI: When a comedy is attempted in Hindi films, one is very sceptical, since we don’t have decent writers in general, let alone humour writers. And, in a scenario where there are no writers for comedy, the inspiration needs to come from other sources, a la foreign films.

Bangistan has been ‘inspired’ by a British film titled Four Lions, a crisp comedy about four UK-based wannabe jihadists.

The land of Bangistan is divided into two parts, North and South, representing Muslim and Hindu dominance, respectively. While Riteish Deshmukh belongs to a jihadi family in North, sports a longish beard and does his worshipping as required, he is also educated and works for a call centre using an English pseudonym. However, when one client calls finds out he is actually a Muslim, he abuses and calls him a terrorist. Riteish is disheartened and gives up his job.

Pulkit Samrat represents South Bangistan. He is a staunch devotee of a religious head-cum-political leader who heads a party called Maa Ka Dal. Elections are round the corner and this guru-cum-politico needs some riots, which are not happening thanks to a Hindu and a Muslim religious head, Shiv Subramaniyam and Tom Alter, who preach harmony and peace.

There is an international peace conference, which is due to be held in Krakow, Poland, where religious heads of all sorts will gather (there are 4200 religions in the world, it seems). The jihadis and South Bangistan guru-politician may have different ideologies but in this case they think alike. Both want to bomb the conference through suicide bombers. One can’t figure out how a bombing in distant Poland will help a local, small-time politician win an election nor as to how it will help a nondescript jihadi family. And neither side wants to claim credit since the jihadis sends their volunteer as a Hindu while the guru- politician sends his man as a Muslim to blame the incident on Muslims.

The Muslim candidate in the guise of a Hindu is Riteish while the Hindu posing as a Muslim is Pulkit. Both end up at the same Polish airport at the same time. While Pulkit is a freewheeling guy, Riteish, though feigning to be a Hindu is a hard-core Muslim at heart. When he sees Muslims, including Pulkit, being taken away from the immigration queue for a thorough search, Riteish reacts as to why only Muslims are considered terrorists. This stand of his continues through the film.

Both check-in to a same accommodation, which is supposed to be the cheapest in town at 200 Zloty. Their rooms are separated only by a ceiling with a huge hole. Both have already become friends at the airport (which is the undoing of this film among many other things). As the film progresses, the two bond like childhood friends instead of playing a game of one-upmanship a la Spy vs. Spy (famous MAD magazine strip).

The rest is not worth telling as the film goes from banal to juvenile. The original, Four Lions was a mere 97 minute while this one stretches to 124 minutes for no reason!

The scripting is immature and direction complies (the director, Karan Anshuman, is a former film critic). There is no help from songs and only one song shows money spent with a group of dancers. Dialogue is mediocre. So are editing and background score.

While Riteish underplays, Pulkit shines. Jacqueline Fernandez gets about two and half scenes and a song.

Bangistan is a mess of a film with no hope at the box office.

Producers: Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani

Director: Karan Anshuman

Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Pulkit Samrat, Jacqueline Fernandez, Zachary Coffin, Shiv Subramaniyam, Tom Alter, Arya Babbar

‘Jaanisaar’: Lifeless

In his career spanning almost four decades as a filmmaker, Muzaffar Ali has attempted a total of seven films and has four released films to his credit. His debut with Gaman was impressive and the film that earned him laurels was Umrao Jaan. Both boasted of immortal music in lyric and songs. Ali tried to take up a social cause with Aagman, a film about exploitation of UP sugarcane farmers of Awadh, which did not quite work. Umrao Jaan was about that region and now, Ali’s latest, Jaanisaar is also about Awadh.

The story goes back to what is now called the first war of independence, in 1857. Among those killed by the British in this war were the mother and father of Imran Abbas. The British and Queen Victoria select Abbas to train him, educate him in Britain to make his a pucca sahib so he does not become another rebel leader like his father!

Abbas is now grown up and back in India with a British mindset, to the extent that he even thinks his father was a traitor and served his British masters. He has been brainwashed. He has no issues with that since he plans to do the same. Abbas’s maternal grandfather, Dalip Tahil is taking care of the state while he is away. When he realises that Abbas is totally angrez, he decides to instill some local language and culture in him. To this end, he sends him to a kotha run by Beena Kak where Abbas falls in love with one of the dancers, Pernia Qureshi. It seems to be a norm in Ali’s films, if not in Awadh, for royals to fall in love with tawaifs. Pernia falls in love too without any preamble.

While, Abbas and Pernia are busy romancing, the shots are called by the local British agent, Carl Wharton, who treats his wife like dirt and the only way he enjoys his sex is through sadomachism, his imagination being limited to almost strangling his wife in the process. She in turn, enjoys leering at Indian royals. Carl, the sadist, loves to kill people and collect his victims’ finger as a souvenir. This has nothing to do with the main plot except to suggest how bad the British were to no effect.

Abbas’ grand father plots to separate Abbas and Pernia. Some futile emotional scenes follow and both are back together again after Abbas finds her in the care of Muzzafar Ali, who is also a rebel and colleague of his father in the war of independence and a mentor of Pernia, who has been training in some sort of lathi wielding. Ali, Abbas and Pernia decide to take the war to Carl’s door through, which they think they will destroy the British Raj.

The climax ends in a Wild West sequence where Carl is riding on a train when the duo and Ali along with his gang decide to ambush him.

As far as story, script, direction are concerned, this film is a total let down. Even a newspaper report would be more interesting than this 124-minute torturous saga. If music was the heart and soul of Gaman (Jaidev) and Umrao Jaan (Khayyam), here Ali takes it upon himself to compose songs, and it is just another drawback. In nutshell, there is nothing working for this film.

There is nothing to performances as well since they are all bad, except, to an extent, Kak, who makes an effort. Most don’t even fit the roles assigned.

Jaanisaar is poor in all respects and will find it hard to attract the audience.

Producer: Meera Ali

Director: Muzaffar Ali

Cast: Imraan Abbas, Pernia Qureshi, Dalip Tahil, Carl Wharton, Beena Kak, Muzaffar Ali

August 7, 2015