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Tag: KrIshan Kumar

  • Simran: Ill-defined

    Simran: Ill-defined

    Gujarati NRI family or a Gujarati abroad seems to be the current theme for filmmakers. We recently had Jab Harry Met Sejal and this week has seen the release of Simran. 

    Simran is about a Gujarati family settled in the US that consists of a mother, a father and a daughter. The daughter, KanganaRanaut, is a divorcee and, mainly, a rebel without a cause. She works at a hotel in the housekeeping department. Her job is the usual – making beds and cleaning room, but, she is particular about calling her job as one in housekeeping department; that probably gives it dignity according to her. Still, she does not think much of her father’s business of vending Gujarati savouries. 

    Kangana is always at loggerheads with her father except, of course, when she needs a favour, especially monetary help. While her father and mother are keen on getting her married again, her priority is to move out to a place of her own. She has been saving for a new house due to which her contribution to the household is nil.

    Asked to accompany her cousin to Vegas, she agrees. Her cousin has a rendezvous planned with her boyfriend there.Deciding to leave her cousin alone with her man, she wanders into a casino. On the bar counter she spots a handsome man and decides to hit on him. As the hunk goes to a gambling table, she follows him there where she meets another Gujarati who encourages and teaches her to gamble. 

    Kangana has that customary beginners luck, wins some money and immediately decides cater to some urges to buy a dress and other things. And, she is back to the gambling table. The beginners luck has worn out and she starts losing and, like most gamblers, wants to one more go finally also losing her savings. The casino loans her money, 32,000 dollars! 

    Kangana’s troubles have started. Since her savings are finished, her credit rating falls and her application for a loan for her new home is denied. The gun totting black collector for the casino is at her back, threatening all the time. 

    To lay her hands on money, Kangana decides to rob banks. Her three attempts are successful but, strangely, no bank seems to have 50,000 dollars which she now owes to the casino including interest. Kangana loses her job when the black casino collector comes to her workplace. To add to her troubles, the stolen money which she kept in her locker in the hotel changing room is also gone.

    Kangana decides on one final robbery.

    In the meanwhile, she has come close to the guy her family has chosen, takes a liking to him as well. But, it is also the time for her troubles to climax. 
    The film’s story does not quite convince a viewer. There is no logic to the protagonist’s behaviour. Her attitude, way of life and thinking are not identifiable. The walking into a bank and scaring the teller enough to hand over all the money on a lipstick inscribed threat chit seems easier than cashing a cheque in any bank! For one who never cares for the feelings of her father or the saamaj which he often cites, it is strange that she decides to lead the police away from the population lest the samaaj sees her. The direction of the movie is passable but has taken too many liberties. The cinematography is good as the US locations provide ample scope. Using Gujarati dialogue frequently does not help the cause with other audiences as has been seen in earlier films that have resorted to a regional language. The music works well for the film.

    This is purely a KanganaRanaut vehicle with other actors being incidental. She excels. Soham Shah in a small role is sincere. 

    Simran has had a poor opening. The chances of picking up are dim during this dull period.

    Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Shailesh R Singh, Amit Agarwal.
    Director: Hansal Mehta.
    Cast: KanganaRanaut, Soham Shah.
     

  • Raabta…..Intolerable

    Reincarnation has worked when it is made around emotional bonds. There have been some memorable films made on reincarnation and there have been some rejected as utter thrash. There are writers in English language like Brian Weiss and Dr Ian Stevenson among others who specialize on reincarnation cases. And, some recent filmmakers have even been inspired by their work weather it suits Indian beliefs or not.

    While the reincarnation films that worked are Madhumati, Mahal, Milan, Neel Kamal, Karan Arjun, there are also those which did not, like Kudrat, Mehbooba, Karz (was okay in Bombay Circuit.).

    Raabta is a reincarnation story which, in this case, is incidental. Because, as the film proceeds, you do think that the same story could have been told even without the reincarnation angle. But, then, the reincarnation theme only gives the luxury of stretching the story to look like a complete screenplay. Also, what is sad is that, instead of keeping the film simple, the makers try to make the film spectacular when they deal with the previous birth and take it to a medieval period. It would make more sense to keep it more identifiable with the audience.

    The character of Sushant Singh Rajput is a compulsive flirt. He is a charmer and ethics or morals are not for him. He is in Belgium where he comes across with the character of Kriti Sanon.

    A romance grows between Rajput and Kriti. Love stories are all same but, what usually works is the chemistry between the leads coupled with melodious music. Here, sadly, that chemistry is not given time to build.

    Love stories need a hurdle in some sort of a villain. Here, the villain is from Sushant and Kirti’s previous birth, a thousand years ago. It was a love story that turned into a love triangle which ended with a tragedy.

    Now, Sushant, Kriti are reincarnated and so is the villain from previous birth, played by Jim Sarbh.

    Jim Sarbh is a liquor baron, who commutes in a personal helicopter and thinks he own all of Europe. There is a belief in filmmaking that to make your hero look like a hero, you need to make your villain strong. In this film, Sushant humiliates and makes fun of Jim soon as they come face to face so the villain’s character becomes a caricature.

    The film passes its first half with only Sushant and Kriti on screen with the only relief being European locations. That makes the first half boring. And, if one thought the first half was boring, the second half when the film goes into flashback of a thousand years ago, it is sheer torture. The fact that the villain, Jim, enters the proceedings adds to the tedium.

    Raabta is a poorly conceived film with equally poor execution. The music is poor and the one popular number, Mera tujhse….., filmed on Deepika and does not help either. The cinematography is competent making for pleasant viewing in the first half while the medieval era camouflaged in darkness is taxing. Editing is poor.

    Counting on just three actors, Rajput, Sanon and Sarbh, is getting rather ambitious since none of the three commands a draw or are known for their histrionics. They fail to carry the film through.

    Raabta is poor in all respects with box office prospects being poor.

    Producers: Dinesh Vijan, Homi Adajania, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar.
    Director: Dinesh Vijan.
    Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarbh.

  • Hindi Medium….Fun in parts

    MUMBAI: Hindi Medium is meant to be a satire on the education system as it has evolved in India lately. Just about every institution likes to add the word ‘International’ to its name and claim to be affiliated to a system of education somewhere in the West. 

    It is a take on the money versus schooling and the snob value added to education.

    Publications have taken to ranking educational institutions and many swear by these rankings. And, just about every family on the top of the social ladder in Delhi, where the story is based, wants its ward to get into the number one in ranking; the rest would be a compromise and a blot on their status during society parties.

    Saba Qamar is one such mother who wants her daughter to go to Delhi Grammar School, ranked number one.

    The characters of Irrfan Khan and Saba are an old Delhi, Chandni Chowk, couple, married after a phase of teenage courting.  The couple have a daughter. Irrfan, a ladies tailor’s son, has grown up to be a millionaire now owning a huge women’s high-end dress showroom. 

    Along with that, he also possesses the gift of gab. His customers, mostly women and into buying wedding trousseaus, usually go away having bought more than they planned to.

    While, Irrfan, a dropout and has no English, Saba, a graduate, is fluent. Irrfan and Saba’s love is intact but Saba has just one ambition which is to get her daughter into Delhi’s number one school.

    To this end, the process starts when Saba convinces Irrfan to shift to a posh Delhi locality, Vasant Vihar, because Chandni Chowk is downmarket and schools number one to five would not admit a child from this area. Some schools also have rules about admitting new students only if they are wards of ex-students or those belonging to vicinity.

    Having moved, Saba now tries to fit in to the new neighbourhood. She pretends to be in with the rich neighbours but Irrfan’s way of life is a pure giveaway of his old Delhi ways. They are soon told that being rich is not the only criteria, being suave and savvy is also important. The neighbour’s kids would not play with Saba’s daughter because she speaks Hindi, not English!

    Saba tries a number of ways but when everything fails, Irrfan is informed of the 25% RTE (Right To Education) quota meant for the poor as per the law set by the authorities. On Saba’s insistence, Irrfan applies. What ensues thereafter is another story altogether.

    To prove that theirs is a poor family, Irrfan and Saba shift to a typical Delhi jhuggi jhopdi basti. That is because the school authorities plan to visit and verify the poor applicants. Here, in poor basti, the film takes a detour, going into the equation between selfish rich and the sacrificing poor. Irrfan’s neighbour, Deepak Dobrail, has also applied for his son’s admission under RTE and what ensues is pure 1960s drama of pure heart versus evil heart.

    So far riding on subtle humour and human bondage, the film unfortunately decides to conclude on preaching. This costs about 20 extra minutes to finish. Its 133 minute duration starts feeling like 180. The climax is way too predictable. Which means, once again, that the editors have little say nowadays. Music plays to no effect. Dialogue is simple and witty. Saba’s takiya kalaam about her daughter ending up as a drug addict is fun.

    This is an Irrfan vehicle but the one who excels is Deepak Dobriyal in an author-backed role. Saba, as an obsessed wife and mother, follows next. Irrfan remains his usual competent self.

    Hindi Medium has had a weak opening. The film has been exempted from paying entertainment tax in Gujarat and Maharashtra and some more states may follow suit. With a good word of mouth, the film should pick over the weekend.

    Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Dinesh Vijan.

    Director: Saket Chaudhary.

    Cast: Irrfan Khan, Saba Qamar, Deepak Dobriyal.

    Half Girlfriend……Half Hearted!

    We have had titles such as JhuthaSach, ThodisiBewafaii which raised some pre-release debates. But, in the absence of such widespread and active media we have now, not as much as Half Girlfriend did. Normally too, people are in a habit of defining friendship with unnecessary adjectives like True friend, loyal friend etc. A friend is a friend and, similarly, one has a man/boyfriend or a girlfriend. 

    The title Half Girlfriend may have sounded good enough for the novel ChetanBhagat wrote since it would help raise curiosity and sell copies. In the film, it sounds funny despite explanations. Does a girl qualify to be called girlfriend after she has slept with the boy? That is how it comes across in this film. Since Shraddha Kapoor has no such immediate plans, she suggests Arjun Kapoor consider her as his half girlfriend! 

    This, then, is an indication of things to come. 

    Arjun Kapoor, a native of a small town in Bihar, applies at Delhi’s prestigious college, St Stephens, on sports quota being an ace basketball player. He is being interviewed by a panel but is unable to answer since he knows no English. He suggests he be interviewed in Hindi rather than ‘the language of a country thousands of miles away’! The panel looks extremely ashamed of their insistence on English no matter all the education meted out by the faculty is in English. 

    He calls up his mom, Seema Biswas, who runs a school in his hometown and expresses a desire to return because of language problem. She gives him a new mantra about never to give up or something to that effect! While he is talking to Seema, he spots Shraddha practicing basketball. More than the mother’s mantra it isShraddha magic that makeshim ‘Mantramugdha’ and he decides to stay. Shraddha, who arrives in college in a limousine, is the daughter of a millionaire Delhi businessman.

    The list of students accepted by the college is put up and Arjun has qualified. This looks a bit strange since the college seems to be functioning in its full glory with students teeming all over the campus!

    Forget English, Arjun now concentrates all his attention on Shraddha. He manages to draw her attention when she is not having a good time with her scoring on the basketball court by suggesting how to go about it. It works for her. But, there is nothing thereafter. She seems to have forgotten he existed while all of Arjun’s time around the college is spent stalking her. To guide him are three of his fellow Bihari friends in the hostel who may never have talked to a girl but know what Arjun should do next!

    Friends advise Arjun ask Shraddha out on a movie date and only then will they believe she is not leading him on! That done, Arjun is told that the only way Bihar knows to make sure if a girl really loves a boy is to invite her over to have sex! 

    Angry, Shraddha, walks out and decides it is better to sleep with a suitor her parents have chosen for her by marrying him than to sleep with the man she loves! 

    There is no way to salvage the film hereafter.

    Half Girlfriend has two major faults: casting and scripting. As for casting, the chemistry does not work between Arjun and Shraddha, Arjun and Seema or Arjun and his friends. As of the script, if there are 80 scenes in the film, they all seem to have their origins in some or other old film. It is a totally contrived script. The situations created of a pining lover Arjun fail to create empathy.  Direction is below par. Music has no takeaway value. Editing is lacking. 

    There is not much to talk about performances. Arjun Kapoor lacks range and carries limited expressions. Shraddha Kapoor is okay. Seema Biswas’ is an ill-defined role. Same goes for Vikrant Massey. Rhea Chakraborty is good in a brief role.

    Half Girlfriend has at some centres and average at others and not expected to sustain for long.

    Producers: Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, MohitSuri, ChetanBhagat. 

    Director: MohitSuri.

    Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Shradha Kapoor, Seema Biswas, Vikrant Massey, Rhea Chakraborty.

     

  • Rio medalists Sakshi Malik, Marwa Amri bout keenly awaited

    Rio medalists Sakshi Malik, Marwa Amri bout keenly awaited

    MUMBAI: Colors Delhi Sultans will face Haryana Hammers in the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

    However, in the second season of Patanjali Powervita Pro Wrestling League encounter, all eyes will be set on the fight between Sakshi Malik and Marwa Amri in the 58 kg category bout. Live telecast can be seen on Sony Max and Sony ESPN. You can catch the online streaming of the event on the Sony website as well.

    While Sakshi became the first Indian women wrestler to win an Olympic medal, Marwa created history as she was first women medalist from her country Tunisia. It makes the tussle between two wrestling icons more interesting.

    Both grapplers are yet unbeaten in the league. However, being a marquee player Sakshi has got more opportunities and playing like a champion she never let her opponents to score a point in her both bouts. First she defeated Jaipur Ninja’s Pooja Dhanda and later outmuscled national champion Manju. On the other hand, Marwa has got just one bout, in which he has performed impressively.

    Meanwhile, Sakshi’s fiancé Satyavart Kadian, who has registered a massive 14-4 win over Krishan Kumar of NCR Punjab Royals, will face a tough challenge from former world champion Abdusalam Gladisov.

    Welcoming news for Delhi is that their Mongolian grappler Erdenebat Bekhbayar in 57kg and Indian grappler Bajrang Punia in 65kg are now completely fit and will be crucial against Haryana. Even in 74kg weight category, Praveen Rana has better record than his counterpart Sumit Sehrawat.

    Amongst women, Rio Olympic silver medalist Mariya Stadnik of Azerbaijan and Alina Makhynia of Ukraine possess a good challenge against their weaker opponents. Mariya will face Indu Choudhary while Alina will take on Kiran in 75kg category.

    The challenging bout will be in 53kg category between Sofia Mattsson and Sangeeta Phogat, along with bout between World champion Magomed Kurbanaliev and David Tlashadze of Georgia in 70kg.

    Delhi team co-owner Anurag Batra and Gaur Gupta are confident about Sakshi’s win. “She is a champion. She has not just raised India’s reputation at the international level but has also given a new direction to women in her country to follow their dreams,” they said.

    On the other Haryana team’s co-owner is of opinion that their team is in full swing and no one can stop them now. “We have a current world champion, a former world champion, an Olympic silver medalist and one bronze medalist. We are the title contenders for sure,” he said.

  • Rio medalists Sakshi Malik, Marwa Amri bout keenly awaited

    Rio medalists Sakshi Malik, Marwa Amri bout keenly awaited

    MUMBAI: Colors Delhi Sultans will face Haryana Hammers in the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

    However, in the second season of Patanjali Powervita Pro Wrestling League encounter, all eyes will be set on the fight between Sakshi Malik and Marwa Amri in the 58 kg category bout. Live telecast can be seen on Sony Max and Sony ESPN. You can catch the online streaming of the event on the Sony website as well.

    While Sakshi became the first Indian women wrestler to win an Olympic medal, Marwa created history as she was first women medalist from her country Tunisia. It makes the tussle between two wrestling icons more interesting.

    Both grapplers are yet unbeaten in the league. However, being a marquee player Sakshi has got more opportunities and playing like a champion she never let her opponents to score a point in her both bouts. First she defeated Jaipur Ninja’s Pooja Dhanda and later outmuscled national champion Manju. On the other hand, Marwa has got just one bout, in which he has performed impressively.

    Meanwhile, Sakshi’s fiancé Satyavart Kadian, who has registered a massive 14-4 win over Krishan Kumar of NCR Punjab Royals, will face a tough challenge from former world champion Abdusalam Gladisov.

    Welcoming news for Delhi is that their Mongolian grappler Erdenebat Bekhbayar in 57kg and Indian grappler Bajrang Punia in 65kg are now completely fit and will be crucial against Haryana. Even in 74kg weight category, Praveen Rana has better record than his counterpart Sumit Sehrawat.

    Amongst women, Rio Olympic silver medalist Mariya Stadnik of Azerbaijan and Alina Makhynia of Ukraine possess a good challenge against their weaker opponents. Mariya will face Indu Choudhary while Alina will take on Kiran in 75kg category.

    The challenging bout will be in 53kg category between Sofia Mattsson and Sangeeta Phogat, along with bout between World champion Magomed Kurbanaliev and David Tlashadze of Georgia in 70kg.

    Delhi team co-owner Anurag Batra and Gaur Gupta are confident about Sakshi’s win. “She is a champion. She has not just raised India’s reputation at the international level but has also given a new direction to women in her country to follow their dreams,” they said.

    On the other Haryana team’s co-owner is of opinion that their team is in full swing and no one can stop them now. “We have a current world champion, a former world champion, an Olympic silver medalist and one bronze medalist. We are the title contenders for sure,” he said.

  • Wajah Tum Ho: No Cause de Celebre, this!

    Wajah Tum Ho: No Cause de Celebre, this!

    MUMBAI: Wajah Tum Ho is a murder mystery just like any other. One may have heard of suicides being committed on live phone video or computer video and one hears a lot about hacking of computers on the highest levels. Wajah Tum Ho combines the ideas for its new approach to dealing with a thriller; here a TV channel is hacked to telecast live murders.

    The TV channel Global Times Network is hacked by a mysterious person to telecast a murder being committed live. The immediate suspect is, of course, the owner of the channel, Rajneish Duggal’s character , because this incident is expected to add to his channel’s TRPs. The case is being investigated by an honest inspector, Sharman Joshi’s character, and a lot rests on his shoulders since the person murdered was another cop.

    Duggal’s case is being handled by Sana Khaan’s character who is in love with another lawyer, i.e. Gurmeet Chaudhary’s character. The lovers have a conflicting interest as Gurmeet is helping Sharman with the investigations.

    After the usual twists and turns and red herrings, when Sharman thinks he has cracked the case, there are a couple of more murders in similar fashion.

    The director, Vishal Pandya, who earlier made thrillers like Hate Story 2 and 3 manages to create interest when one thinks of the theme of live murders but that is about all since that has little to do with what follows. The film changes tracks to resort to some romance, intimate scenes and songs between Sana and Gurmeet. It also takes time off to get in to the cop Sharman’s personal life.

    The script leaves some gaps and complicates things. The direction is average and the music is fair. The dialogue is routine and editing is weak. Sharman Joshi is the star attraction of the film, and justifies his presence. Rajneish Duggal has little to do. Sana Khaan and Gurmeet Chaudhary are okay. Wajah Tum Ho is a routine thriller. The film’s solo release status won’t help much either.

    Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar.

    Director: Vishal Pandya.

    Cast: Sharman Joshi, Rajneish Duggal, Gurmeet Chowdhary, Sana Khaan.

     

    Shor Se Shuruaat: A collection

    With the emergence of small screen, entertainment was sure to come in small doses. Earlier, short films usually meant documentaries or diploma films for film students. Shor De Dhuruaat is an omnibus of seven short features based on the central theme of Shor- the sound around us.

    Aazaad

    Aazaad has Atul Kulkarni as its protagonist. It is about a father son relationship and is set in the present day India. Mentored by Mira Nair, it is directed by her associate Rahul V Chittella.

    Aamer

    Aamer is a 10 year old deaf boy helping his mother sell flowers. Though he can’t hear, he relishes the life around him till one day his mother has saved enough to buy him a hearing aid. The world around him changes but he is not quite prepared for the din he hears. Luckily for Aamer, he can control the noise by reducing the volume knob on his hearing aid or just turn it off totally. Mentored by Zoya Akhtar, the short is directed by Amira Bhargava.

    Decibel

    Decibel is ironic as well futuristic in that  the protagonist is in an age when the sound is totally banned beyond a certain decibel level and the one breaking the law faces severe consequences. Having moved to the city, this girl can’t sleep without sound. She checks into a remedial facility where one is treated for a soundless sleep. However, she ends up breaking the rules each time. Mentored by SriramRaghvan, the feature is directed by Annie Zaidi.

    Yellow Tin Can Telephone

    Yellow Tin Can Telephone is about a girl with overdeveloped sense of hearing and a boy who has the similar sense of colour. While she finds the world around her too noisy and wants to live in a soundless world, for the boy things are too colourful and he prefers to live in a black and white world. Mentored by Homi Adajania, it is directed by Arunima Sharma.

    Hell O Hello

    Hell O Hello deals with the world of consumerism and takes a comic approach. Here, two competing mobile phone salesmen try to convince a seemingly vulnerable buyer with the sales peach, he subjected to all sorts of lies and the noise created around him. And, while all this is going on, the consumer has no voice at all! Mentored by Shyam Benegal, the film is directed by Pratik Rajen Kothari.

    Mia I’m

    Mia I’m is about a girl from North East who becomes the victim of an MMS after falling in love with a boy. Her exploitive MMS follows wherever she goes. She gets rid of what her so called lover loved the most about her, her splendid mop of hair. She than vents her anger through music and works on altering her life. Mentored by Imtiaz Ali, it is directed by Satish Raj Kasireddi.

    Dhvani

    Dhvani is about a man confined to a solitary prison and awaiting his turn to gallows. His only companion here is total silence and before he is hung, he has just one wish. He wants to feel the world away from this silence around him. The film has Sanjay Mishra as its protagonist.

    Mentored by Nagesh Kukunoor, it is directed by Supriya Sharma. The films here have quite a bit of relevance in modern life and identification for the viewer. While they may not hold sway at the box office, they are a must watch for talent scouts.

    Producers: Humara Movie in association with Amazon Prime.

  • Wajah Tum Ho: No Cause de Celebre, this!

    Wajah Tum Ho: No Cause de Celebre, this!

    MUMBAI: Wajah Tum Ho is a murder mystery just like any other. One may have heard of suicides being committed on live phone video or computer video and one hears a lot about hacking of computers on the highest levels. Wajah Tum Ho combines the ideas for its new approach to dealing with a thriller; here a TV channel is hacked to telecast live murders.

    The TV channel Global Times Network is hacked by a mysterious person to telecast a murder being committed live. The immediate suspect is, of course, the owner of the channel, Rajneish Duggal’s character , because this incident is expected to add to his channel’s TRPs. The case is being investigated by an honest inspector, Sharman Joshi’s character, and a lot rests on his shoulders since the person murdered was another cop.

    Duggal’s case is being handled by Sana Khaan’s character who is in love with another lawyer, i.e. Gurmeet Chaudhary’s character. The lovers have a conflicting interest as Gurmeet is helping Sharman with the investigations.

    After the usual twists and turns and red herrings, when Sharman thinks he has cracked the case, there are a couple of more murders in similar fashion.

    The director, Vishal Pandya, who earlier made thrillers like Hate Story 2 and 3 manages to create interest when one thinks of the theme of live murders but that is about all since that has little to do with what follows. The film changes tracks to resort to some romance, intimate scenes and songs between Sana and Gurmeet. It also takes time off to get in to the cop Sharman’s personal life.

    The script leaves some gaps and complicates things. The direction is average and the music is fair. The dialogue is routine and editing is weak. Sharman Joshi is the star attraction of the film, and justifies his presence. Rajneish Duggal has little to do. Sana Khaan and Gurmeet Chaudhary are okay. Wajah Tum Ho is a routine thriller. The film’s solo release status won’t help much either.

    Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar.

    Director: Vishal Pandya.

    Cast: Sharman Joshi, Rajneish Duggal, Gurmeet Chowdhary, Sana Khaan.

     

    Shor Se Shuruaat: A collection

    With the emergence of small screen, entertainment was sure to come in small doses. Earlier, short films usually meant documentaries or diploma films for film students. Shor De Dhuruaat is an omnibus of seven short features based on the central theme of Shor- the sound around us.

    Aazaad

    Aazaad has Atul Kulkarni as its protagonist. It is about a father son relationship and is set in the present day India. Mentored by Mira Nair, it is directed by her associate Rahul V Chittella.

    Aamer

    Aamer is a 10 year old deaf boy helping his mother sell flowers. Though he can’t hear, he relishes the life around him till one day his mother has saved enough to buy him a hearing aid. The world around him changes but he is not quite prepared for the din he hears. Luckily for Aamer, he can control the noise by reducing the volume knob on his hearing aid or just turn it off totally. Mentored by Zoya Akhtar, the short is directed by Amira Bhargava.

    Decibel

    Decibel is ironic as well futuristic in that  the protagonist is in an age when the sound is totally banned beyond a certain decibel level and the one breaking the law faces severe consequences. Having moved to the city, this girl can’t sleep without sound. She checks into a remedial facility where one is treated for a soundless sleep. However, she ends up breaking the rules each time. Mentored by SriramRaghvan, the feature is directed by Annie Zaidi.

    Yellow Tin Can Telephone

    Yellow Tin Can Telephone is about a girl with overdeveloped sense of hearing and a boy who has the similar sense of colour. While she finds the world around her too noisy and wants to live in a soundless world, for the boy things are too colourful and he prefers to live in a black and white world. Mentored by Homi Adajania, it is directed by Arunima Sharma.

    Hell O Hello

    Hell O Hello deals with the world of consumerism and takes a comic approach. Here, two competing mobile phone salesmen try to convince a seemingly vulnerable buyer with the sales peach, he subjected to all sorts of lies and the noise created around him. And, while all this is going on, the consumer has no voice at all! Mentored by Shyam Benegal, the film is directed by Pratik Rajen Kothari.

    Mia I’m

    Mia I’m is about a girl from North East who becomes the victim of an MMS after falling in love with a boy. Her exploitive MMS follows wherever she goes. She gets rid of what her so called lover loved the most about her, her splendid mop of hair. She than vents her anger through music and works on altering her life. Mentored by Imtiaz Ali, it is directed by Satish Raj Kasireddi.

    Dhvani

    Dhvani is about a man confined to a solitary prison and awaiting his turn to gallows. His only companion here is total silence and before he is hung, he has just one wish. He wants to feel the world away from this silence around him. The film has Sanjay Mishra as its protagonist.

    Mentored by Nagesh Kukunoor, it is directed by Supriya Sharma. The films here have quite a bit of relevance in modern life and identification for the viewer. While they may not hold sway at the box office, they are a must watch for talent scouts.

    Producers: Humara Movie in association with Amazon Prime.

  • Sarbjit…Insufferable

    Sarbjit…Insufferable

    Wanting an easy way out, the run for biopics continues. The fact that biopics rarely work in India; an odd one which works to an extent, needs to be fictionalized in parts or more. If such films on Gandhi (which had just scrapped through in English original version but failed in its Hindi version) as well as films on Bose, Patel, Nehru, Savarkar, Ambedkar have all passed unnoticed, to think that Sarbjit was the least of a real life story to be adapted for a film! 
    Sarbjit Singh, played by Randeep Hooda, is a farm hand in the village of Bhikhi wind in Punjab near the India Pakistan border. His upbringing has mostly been under the aegis of his older sister, Dalbir Kaur, played by Aishwarya Rai. As he comes of age, he falls for the village belle, Richa Chaddha, and soon becomes the father of two daughters. 

    Fond of wrestling, Hooda is engrossed in the sport one day when Rai watches him from a passing street bus. For whatever reason, she is angry with him. The film or the script does not bother to tell you why for, in a small village, youth do indulge in such harmless sport for pastime. However, Rai decides to punish Hooda, married and father of two, for his indulgence as if he was a school kid. He is banished from house even as he keeps bantering from outside the main door. The scene has been prolonged unnecessarily and makes little sense.

    This is when a friend of Hooda enters the scene and flashes a quarter of alcohol (180ml) at Hooda and both vanish in to nearby fields to share the drinks. And, in no time, both are beyond themselves totally inebriated. Imagine, 90 ml of alcohol each doing that to two Punjabis! Leaving his two-wheeler for his friend to tend to, Hooda decides to amble home. Instead, he ambles into Pakistani territory where the rangers are ready to pounce on him and consign him to a jail. He is branded as an Indian terrorist, Ranjeet Singh, who bombed various locations in Pakistan killing many.

    The treatment meted out to Hooda in a Pakistani jail is inhuman to say the least. On the Indian side, Rai is desperately looking for her brother to no avail. She soon learns that he has landed in a Pakistani jail. There on starts her ordeal and, that of the viewer of this film, as she bangs on every possible door to come to help her get her brother released. She sits on fasts, leads numerous candle light marches (which have become popular in our films more than they happen in life) and these things get repetitive all through the film.

    Rai yells at people all around, may it be in Indian officialdom or in Pakistan jails as if her brother was the only Indian languishing in Pakistani jail and, as if, India did not have any Pakistanis in its prisons. Her approach as shown in the film, lacks logic or normalcy. 
    The film is titled after the so called victim, Sarbjit, but it is all about Rai. She is in each frame as a crusader on a mission to get her brother freed. Neither does she convince the authorities nor the audience with her tirades nor her overacting. 

    To think in its perspective, Sarbjit was not a subject to turn into a film; it is a local story with no identification with all India audiences. It is an inconclusive story where nothing positive comes out in the end. The other mistake was to cast the glamorous Ms Rai as the protagonist who neither looks nor convinces as Sarbjit’s sister, Dalbir Kaur would expected to be. She also lacks the native Punjabi twang as most of the time she mouths Hindi. In fact, Rai, expected to be the star and draw for this film, is its major drawback.

    In this film about Sarbjit, Hooda playing Sarbjit is sidelined as isRicha Chadha, playing his wife. The script is wonky and, at 131 minutes, intolerable. Direction is below par. Editing is poor. Cinematography is fair. Music had no place in this film except for one song in the beginning when Hooda and Chadha romance; the rest of the numbers are forced in. The film’s dialogue lacks spark. Richa, despite a much curtailed secondary role, stands her ground. Hoodagives into poor substance.

    Sarbjit is insufferable. Tax Free tag in a couple of states notwithstanding. 
    Producer: Vshu Bhagnani, Jackey Bhagnanai, Sandeep Singh, Deepshikha Deshmukh, Omung Kumar, KrIshan Kumar, Bhushan Kumar. 

    Director: Omung Kumar.

    Cast: Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadha, Darshan Chadha, Ankita Shrivastav, Shiwani  Saini. 

  • Sarbjit…Insufferable

    Sarbjit…Insufferable

    Wanting an easy way out, the run for biopics continues. The fact that biopics rarely work in India; an odd one which works to an extent, needs to be fictionalized in parts or more. If such films on Gandhi (which had just scrapped through in English original version but failed in its Hindi version) as well as films on Bose, Patel, Nehru, Savarkar, Ambedkar have all passed unnoticed, to think that Sarbjit was the least of a real life story to be adapted for a film! 
    Sarbjit Singh, played by Randeep Hooda, is a farm hand in the village of Bhikhi wind in Punjab near the India Pakistan border. His upbringing has mostly been under the aegis of his older sister, Dalbir Kaur, played by Aishwarya Rai. As he comes of age, he falls for the village belle, Richa Chaddha, and soon becomes the father of two daughters. 

    Fond of wrestling, Hooda is engrossed in the sport one day when Rai watches him from a passing street bus. For whatever reason, she is angry with him. The film or the script does not bother to tell you why for, in a small village, youth do indulge in such harmless sport for pastime. However, Rai decides to punish Hooda, married and father of two, for his indulgence as if he was a school kid. He is banished from house even as he keeps bantering from outside the main door. The scene has been prolonged unnecessarily and makes little sense.

    This is when a friend of Hooda enters the scene and flashes a quarter of alcohol (180ml) at Hooda and both vanish in to nearby fields to share the drinks. And, in no time, both are beyond themselves totally inebriated. Imagine, 90 ml of alcohol each doing that to two Punjabis! Leaving his two-wheeler for his friend to tend to, Hooda decides to amble home. Instead, he ambles into Pakistani territory where the rangers are ready to pounce on him and consign him to a jail. He is branded as an Indian terrorist, Ranjeet Singh, who bombed various locations in Pakistan killing many.

    The treatment meted out to Hooda in a Pakistani jail is inhuman to say the least. On the Indian side, Rai is desperately looking for her brother to no avail. She soon learns that he has landed in a Pakistani jail. There on starts her ordeal and, that of the viewer of this film, as she bangs on every possible door to come to help her get her brother released. She sits on fasts, leads numerous candle light marches (which have become popular in our films more than they happen in life) and these things get repetitive all through the film.

    Rai yells at people all around, may it be in Indian officialdom or in Pakistan jails as if her brother was the only Indian languishing in Pakistani jail and, as if, India did not have any Pakistanis in its prisons. Her approach as shown in the film, lacks logic or normalcy. 
    The film is titled after the so called victim, Sarbjit, but it is all about Rai. She is in each frame as a crusader on a mission to get her brother freed. Neither does she convince the authorities nor the audience with her tirades nor her overacting. 

    To think in its perspective, Sarbjit was not a subject to turn into a film; it is a local story with no identification with all India audiences. It is an inconclusive story where nothing positive comes out in the end. The other mistake was to cast the glamorous Ms Rai as the protagonist who neither looks nor convinces as Sarbjit’s sister, Dalbir Kaur would expected to be. She also lacks the native Punjabi twang as most of the time she mouths Hindi. In fact, Rai, expected to be the star and draw for this film, is its major drawback.

    In this film about Sarbjit, Hooda playing Sarbjit is sidelined as isRicha Chadha, playing his wife. The script is wonky and, at 131 minutes, intolerable. Direction is below par. Editing is poor. Cinematography is fair. Music had no place in this film except for one song in the beginning when Hooda and Chadha romance; the rest of the numbers are forced in. The film’s dialogue lacks spark. Richa, despite a much curtailed secondary role, stands her ground. Hoodagives into poor substance.

    Sarbjit is insufferable. Tax Free tag in a couple of states notwithstanding. 
    Producer: Vshu Bhagnani, Jackey Bhagnanai, Sandeep Singh, Deepshikha Deshmukh, Omung Kumar, KrIshan Kumar, Bhushan Kumar. 

    Director: Omung Kumar.

    Cast: Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadha, Darshan Chadha, Ankita Shrivastav, Shiwani  Saini. 

  • I am scared of not living up to the audiences’ expectations: Amitabh Bachchan

    I am scared of not living up to the audiences’ expectations: Amitabh Bachchan

    NEW DELHI: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has one fear: “I am still scared of not living up to the expectations of the people,” he says.

     

    Now in his early seventies, the star says box office figures do not affect him so much as what people say about a film in which he has enacted a role since the expectations from him have grown over the years.

     

    Bachchan also denied that he overawes other stars on a film set and he has confidence in his fellow stars. However, he admitted that he does help them feel comfortable, even as he denied ever giving tips to directors or interfering with their vision of a film. He said he liked working with children as he found them very ‘uninhibited’. “It is a wrong premise that I direct other directors or stars,” he reiterated.

     

    The star was speaking at a press meet about his latest film, ‘Bhootnath Returns’ directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar of T-Series and Abhay Chopra, Kapil Chopra, and Renu Ravi Chopra of BR Films.

     

    Being released on 11 April, the film has been presented in the name of the late B R Chopra and the late Gulshan Kumar. Others in the film are Boman Irani, child actor Parth Bhalerao, and Usha Jadhav, though there are guest appearances by Ranbir Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan.

     

    Although the story to a large extent deals with elections, Bachchan denied that it was in any way made to capitalize on the poll season, adding that the story had been related to him more than eighteen months earlier. He also said the same actors could not be taken as it was a completely new story.

     

    Tiwari said he had taken up the film as a sequel to the first film as ‘Bhootnath’ had captivated the audiences even as it left a strong message-oriented impact. “I cannot give any assurance about a sequel of ‘Bhoothnath Returns.’ There was a lot of pressure working with Amitabh Bachchan, and two big production banners but they really made me feel comfortable with them.”

     

    Bachchan particularly praised Yo Yo Honey Singh who had sung a song in the film. “You do not need to put a lot of efforts working with him,” Bachchan added.

     

    Bachchan said the film takes off from where the first film ended, when Bhootnath lands in heaven but is a butt of humour as he could not frighten even a child (Banku in the earlier film) so he is sent to earth again in the slum colony Dharavi where he meets Akhrot who is the only human who can see him. The film then goes on to comment on elections and Khan and Kapoor make appearances to encourage people to exercise their franchise.

     

    While reiterating that he had retreated from politics as that was not his arena, Bachchan said “every vote makes a difference, and it is in any case the democratic right of citizens.”

     

    Bachchan said in answer to a question that AB Corp was still in the business of making films, but did so in collaboration with other filmmakers. Insisting that he was doing films that could be seen by the family, he was also doing a series with Sony which is being overlooked by Anurag Kashyap, apart from coming for another season of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’.  

     

    Bhushan Kumar said he had been very excited when he heard the story and had immediately agreed to come on board as producer as it had been his dream to do a film with Bachchan.

     

    Parth, who is a child star from Marathi cinema, said he had been frightened at first when told he would have to act with Amitabh Bachchan. But later he enjoyed working as he had a lot of fun with him.