Vijay 69

Having spotted Anupam Kher, the veteran actor on the movie poster, I chose to go for it. It was a pleasant experience to see him on screen, as well as watching the movie. It is about Vijay Matthews, played by Kher, who is assumed dead by his family members because he had not returned home the earlier night. He had been spotted by on the edge of a river bridge, and everyone was under the impression that he had committed suicide. Much to the surprise of his friends and family, who had gathered in the church for his final prayers, Vijay shows up at his funeral and kickstarts the movie. 

The story revolves around his mediocre life, his past achievements as a swimmer, how he had promised to do something worthwhile to his wife, who was also no more. All of 69 years old, he decides to become the oldest person to complete a triathlon which consists of daunting tasks such as swimming, cycling on long stretches on plain and hilly terrain, and sprint. He faces many hurdles, including discouragement, but he persists. He also befriends Aditya, who is pushed by his father to become the youngest individual to complete the same challenge. Overall, this is a tale of humanity, relationships and perseverance.

Acting wise, all characters have done a good job. The storyline is predictable, but still a happy ending makes you feel good. Also, it inspires you to follow your dreams, and keep trying to achieve it.

Mr. and Mrs. Mahi

The protagonist, Mahendra is forced to join the family business after he misses out on being selected for national cricket team. He gets married to a very bright girl, Mahima, who is a young doctor. Inspite of being quite different from each other, they have a common passion - cricket. He spots Mahima’s cricketing talent and convinces her to take up the sport professionally. She follows her heart and prowesses well under the guidance of her husband turned coach, Mahendra. Soon her success gets in the way of their marital relationship, when Mahendra starts feeling insecure and sidelined. On the other hand, Mahima loses focus on her game.

The story is about coming around of both Mahi-s, Mahendra and Mahima – how they fight social pressure, and their inner devils to recognize their true selves. It is equally difficult to say sorry and repair a relationship, without which your mental peace is disturbed, directly affecting your performance.  

You should look out for versatility of Raj Kumar Rao as Mr. Mahi – how well he emotes the struggles faced by an average guy, with the world around him doing nothing but being judgemental about him, his jealousy when Mrs. Mahi (Jahnvi Kapoor) rises to fame and his coming round at the end. This is a one-time watch movie which encourages you to believe in your abilities and give your best shot to pursue your dreams, even if others may not approve of it.

Image courtesy: Google

Bad Newz

Both Vicky Kaushal and Triptii Dimri have been recognized for their superior acting abilities and characters portrayed by them. This one comes as a total surprise – it is a light hearted commercial film you can watch if you are a fan of the lead actors; or if you want to binge on some casual entertainment. A chef (Triptii as Saloni Bagga) aspiring to win a prestigious competition finds herself on a topsy turvy – roller coaster ride when she gets married to a charismatic chap named Akhil Chaddha (Vicky Kaushal) and also divorced too quickly. She meets Gurbir (Ammy Virk). Life takes her to the hills where she finds herself pregnant, but in a miraculous situation.

The story gently stresses the importance of relationships, and that one should not give up easily, without trying to assess difficult situations from points of view of others. Vicky also comes out of his nomophobia, and lets his love take correct decisions. Acting wise everyone seems to have done a decent job. Neha Dhupia does a small cameo as Tripti’s aunt, while Sheeba Chaddha has played the role of a doting mother who thinks her son is the best among all.

The only thing to look out for is Vicky Kaushal’s dancing – his moves from the song at the very end has become very popular recently.

Image courtesy: Google

Ulajh

Suhana Bhatia, played by Janhvi Kapoor, is a young officer from Indian Foreign Service who gets promoted to a prestigious position in London. Some people who are jealous think it is because of her lineage, but she is determined to prove them wrong. To her dismay, she finds herself entangled in a big time mess – being blackmailed to leak out sensitive information much against her wishes. Her frustration leads her to verge of resigning from her post, and even suicide. Circumstances around her take sharp turns as she discovers that she had been a puppet in a bigger play of power, and there were people out there with enough evidence to prove her to be a traitor. She teams with Sebin Kutty, who had been named as a prime suspect. With help of his IT skills, Suhana and Sebin embark on the task of prevention of assassination of Hon’ble Prime Minister of Pakistan on Indian soil, who was the chief guest at Independence Day celebrations of our country.

This is a good espionage thriller, albeit with room for improvement - a movie which is devoid of the usual Bollywood romance and expensive locations. Janhvi has been dressed very formally, and looks equally beautiful in her sarees and western wear. Gulshan Devaiah did not seem like a good choice as the master blackmailer, though. The rest of the cast have done justice to their roles. The movie ends with a subtle hint of a sequel, and you would definitely be on the lookout for it.       

Image courtesy: Google 

Call me Bae

Having spotted lot of promotion online, I downloaded this webseries with lot of anticipation. It did not seem like a good decision for the first two episodes, which are consumed in story building and character introduction. However, third episode onwards, you would start loving Bae, aka Bella Chowdhury who is forced to live a middle class life after a series of unfortunate events. Bae gets hired as an intern in a news channel and soon discovers her true calling. She receives an anonymous video, and she gets on uncovering the truth. Bae and her friends bring out the true colours of a powerful person, who is not only the CEO of an organization but also a soon-to-be politician. Alongwith, the real character of anchor of a popular show is also revealed.

The series is a one-time watch with its own share of comedy, romance and mystery. Ananya Panday, daughter of veteran actor Chunkey Panday, has carved out her own niche and carries the role of Bae well. Vir Das as Satyajit Sen is also a treat to watch – he has come a long way from a comedian to an actor, I must say. The others have tried to do justice to their characters. The story gently touches on topics such as true friendship, standing up for what is right, fact based journalism and relationships. There is room for improvement, but you should watch it for some binge watching.

 Image courtesy: Google

Choona

A very well made webseries based around a money heist, crime, politics and comedy. A corrupt and powerful politician, Avinash Shukla (Jimmy Shergill) wishes to construct a mall on an existing settlement. His ultimate aim is to overthrow the existing government with the help of money from the beneficiary builder. A team of young fellows, one of them a policeman, decide to rob him. Needless to say, the task is easier said than done – the party office is no less than a fortress with lot of security measures in place, be it CCTV cameras, security personnel and even laser beams.

What follows is a tale of meticulous planning, delicate balance between betrayal and loyalty, as sides flip unexpectedly. Shukla proves to be a formidable enemy, shrewd and well versed in astrology. Things go in the favour of the scheming team when Shukla’s brother in law joins them. The techniques used are also in sync with modern times, where characters do video calls, create simulations of their plan and more. Keeping pace with technologies, age old science of astrology asserts its importance.

Most of the faces are new - but they have done a commendable job; while Jimmy Shergill plays the pivotal role, once again proving that his talent has been underutilized in Bollywood movies. Shukla accepts defeat gracefully, leaving the audience yearning for a new season. 

Image courtesy: Google

IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack

Imagine a situation when a short duration flight becomes a 8 day nightmare, because of dangerous hijackers. Lives of everyone associated with us, directly or indirectly, would get impacted. This six episode webseries recreates a true incident of a plane hijack from December 1999. A pack of terrorists manage to smuggle arms into Air India flight no. IC 814 from Kathmandu to Delhi, in a bid to free their fellow criminals who had been captured by Indian soldiers. The events are portrayed in a realistic manner.. how the terrorists hold the team of pilots at gun point and force them to follow their instructions. The terrified passengers are also subjected to lot of difficulty with overflowing toilets, limited food and water – two passengers are even injured seriously.

On learning of about limited fuel availability, the terrorists are forced to allow the flight to land at various cities. While senior Government officials of various agencies take critical decisions, newspaper and TV channels cover this incident with passion.

The casting is done very well, along with their makeup. Every scene looks realistic. Vijay Varma looks dapper as Captain Sharan Dev. Dia Mirza is almost unrecognizable as a senior media professional, whereas Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, Arvind Swamy, Kanwaljit Singh and others have done justice to their roles. 

Image courtesy: Google

Kalki 2898 AD

You would be taken by surprise as the opening sequence unfolds in the battlefield of Kurukshetra from Mahabharata. “Wait, was this not supposed to be set in the future?” – Just when this question pops in your mind, you are taken to the future, more than 800 years from now. You’ll need a while to understand what is happening and get a hang of the terminologies, because everything is different in this new setting. Soon you would find yourself enjoying this high end science fiction movie, along with Prabhas, who looks handsome as the carefree Bhairava. The past emerges in the present (2898), when a young girl accidentally encounters Ashwatthama, son of Guru Drona, who has been living 3000 years to fulfil a task entrusted to him by Lord Krishna during the Kurukshetra war.

Deepika Padukone plays the role of lady in whose womb Lord Krishna is about to reincarnate as Kalki Avatar. Ashwatthama, played by Amitabh Bachchan, is committed to safeguard her and the unborn child, whereas Bhairava wants to gain some credits by surrendering her to the evil forces.

While you realize this is only part of a series that is yet to be released, you would enjoy action sequences between Ashwatthama and Bhairava. Kudos to the creativity, and visualization of the film, because it is not easy to imagine the future and build a strong story, interspersed with glimpses from the past. I loved the scene when Ashwatthama’s stick responds in Bhairava’s hands, revealing his true identity to the audience. Saswata Chatterjee as Commander Manas succeeds to get the audience to hate him whereas you cannot recognize Kamal Haasan as Supreme. You are left yearning for more ... looking forward to the sequel!!

Image courtesy: Google

Chandu Champion

The film opens with an old man coming to a police station, with a grievance against President of India (!!!) and stating his claim for Arjuna award, the prestigious recognition for sports persons. He identifies himself as Murli Kant Rajaram Petkar, and the story goes into flashback.

A young child from a humble background dreams of winning an Olympic medal, but is often ridiculed by his peers. His elder brother brings him to local wrestlers, to learn the sport. Destiny brings him into the army – where he gets trained as a boxer. However, life comes to a standstill when lower part of his body is paralyzed after being riddled by bullets in war. His own family also leaves him to fight his own battle. He takes a second chance at life when his earlier coach, Tiger Ali (Vijay Raaz), trains him for swimming and inspires him to participate in Para-Olympics. He goes on to become the champion he had always dreamt of being.

This movie is definitely a masterpiece that has missed out on the publicity it deserves, I must say. Kartik Aaryan has done  a great job by stepping out of his comfort zone of playing heroes with chocolate boy looks – he looks stunning as a army man turned sportsperson, and even as an old man. Please watch this one for a true story that conveys the inspirational message of resilience, not giving up inspite of all adversity and following your dreams.

Image courtesy: Google

Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba

Tapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey come back on screen as Rani and Rishu, to tell you about their life post their escape from police. A surprise addition is Sunny Kaushal, who plays the role of Abhimanyu, a compounder. He is totally smitten by Rani and much to his own surprise, he gets married to her. However, he discovers that she is not only married, but her husband is also alive, living in the same town, under the pseudonym of Ravi. Jimmy Shergill also comes back to screen as the persistent cop, who has personal interest in uncovering the truth behind the crime the lead pair had committed in the prequel.

The twist in the story is introduced midway – the apparently simpleton guy is a psychopath in reality, who would go any lengths to punish betrayals. This movie revolves around Sunny Kaushal, his passion for Rani and how he helps her and Rishu to escape from claws of police, just to see her happy, and hoping against hope that she would choose him over her previous husband.

For me, this was a great movie and a befitting sequel, albeit a few badly written dialogues and loose ends. Great acting by Sunny Kaushal and Jimmy Shergill, very beautiful Tapsee, except her overly done floral hair do-s, are key things to look out for.

Image courtesy: Google

Haseen Dillruba

A good plot to keep you hooked to the movie till the very end. This is an apparently simple tale of love, which is moulded on the lines of a crime thriller. Vikrant Massey plays the role of Rishu, a simple guy who gets married to an incredibly beautiful girl, Rani (Tapsee Pannu). While they are in the process of getting to know each other, enters a very handsome cousin (Neel, played by Harshvardhan Rane). A short fling and he is gone. Rani confesses about her extramarital affair to Rishu, who cannot accept the pain of being betrayed. You should watch out for this segment, when Vikrant has done most of the emoting with his eyes. Gradually things start getting better between the two – when Neel resurfaces, and the past comes back haunting Rani and Rishu.

Big shoutouts go out to the performances of all actors, who bring the characters to life. Vikrant Massey showcases his acting abilities as he transforms from a reserved guy from a small town to an insane lover. The support cast have also done their job well. Initial awkward moments after marriage have been portrayed realistically, adding a subtle comedy element. You’ll love the movie right from the start – and the ending would leave you looking forward to its sequel.

Image courtesy: Google

Maharaja

A much hyped movie, I thought, maybe because the central character, Maharaja is played by Vijay Sethupathi, a popular actor from South India. The story revolves around a dustbin, which has lot of emotional value for Maharaja, who claims to be a simple hairdresser. However, the dustbin gets stolen. Police are baffled when Maharaja comes to them to file a report for a missing dustbin, inexpensive and old. Actual events that had happened are shown in series of flashbacks with intermittent swings to the present. There are events when Vijay steps out of the simple man version to become someone who is willing to kill, for a purpose that is revealed at the end.

Conceptually it is ok that our past experiences shape our present and future. Life comes boomerang to the villain after he and his friends commit a heinous crime against Maharaja’s daughter. However, continuous harping around a missing dustbin, and finally turning out to be a crime has been poorly designed, I’d say. Also, the director seems unsure about police being an honest force or not. Since it is a dubbed from a Tamil version, there is not much lip sync between dialogues in Hindi, but that is acceptable. Nothing much to look forward to when it comes to locations, because it is mostly shot in police station, in and around Maharaja’s workplace and home. 

Much criticism apart, you may still watch it to form an opinion yourself.          

Image courtesy: Google

Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life

This is a painful tale of a simple villager and his brother who find themselves stranded at an airport, where they arrive after being promised jobs in the Middle East. A stranger takes them away after snatching their passports into the sandy desert. The brothers are separated and put to do jobs they had not imagined. Najeeb (Prithviraj Sukumaran), the protagonist, faces much difficulty in adjusting to the situation – people around him speaking a language he does not understand, without basic amenities, amidst a desert that appears endless, no telephone to contact family or any means to find out about his brother. He loses track of time as he learns his new job as the herd of fleets of camel and goat. There seems to be no hope ahead for him.

Miraculously, he meets his brother and his friend, who help them escape. The second part is about endurance, when the trio embark on an impossible mission – of walking across the desert, without food and water. This part could have been more practical.. like if their savior had managed to smuggle a vehicle for transportation - I mean, who can even dream of walking across a huge desert?

The movie ends abruptly wherein it says that it is not Najeeb alone, but many such youths, who are hoodwinked in the name of work and good pay abroad. Many of them are lost and never return.

As for the acting, Sukumaran does a commendable job as Najeeb. The makeup artist deserves applause too, as he creates the unkempt look of the protagonist and his brother, the white-clad Arabs, and others.      

Image courtesy: Google

Srikanth

Imagine your life if you happen to be completely blind by birth. While those of us blessed with vision cannot imagine how difficult it would be to survive, this movie narrates the real- life tale of Srikanth Bolla, a blind boy, who went on to become a successful industrialist. His life is transformed by his teacher, Devika (played excellently by Jyothika) and his sheer perseverance. In a fortunate interaction with late President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, he stated that he wanted to become the first visually challenged president of our country. 

This is such an inspirational story wherein one can do well in life, by accepting your limitations and giving an honest shot to achieve the best out of life. He says, that although he cannot see, he can very much dream. 

I did not know that earlier, visually challenged persons were not allowed to pursue Science after Class 10 – a rule Srikanth fought against and opened up opportunities for blind students in the future. He went on to study in MIT, Boston which is a prestigious institute and came back to India to establish Bollant Industries, working in the area of packaging material. He gets the support of his teacher and also Ravi, his investor cum friend.

Superb acting by Rajkumar Rao has made this film a must – watch for everyone. He had to keep his eyes closed throughout. Jyothika fits in the role of Devika Teacher well, whereas Sharad Kelkar looks convincing as Ravi.

 

Image courtesy: Google