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 

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

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

Dhootha: The Messenger

Have you come across a series that makes you wish you had not started it at all? Well, Dhootha, a Telegu web series, dubbed in multiple languages, was the first of this kind for me. I would say the faint hearted should not watch it at all – there’s lot of blood and ugly deaths. Also, paranormal activity is something that fails to appeal me.

The basic idea is acceptable – one should be honest towards his profession and not succumb to political pressure and greed. Heinous crimes lead to the death of an honest journalist, who was a man of principles. Thereafter, his spirit takes on the onus to teach corrupt journalists their lessons in the hard way.

Naga Chaitanya is a handsome man and has portrayed his character (Sagar) very well. He carries the series on his shoulders. The insensitive trait of Sagar comes across strongly during his final interaction with his secretary (Prachi Desai). But what she did in revenge was way more awful. The director shows no consideration for audience and portrays crimes and deaths in realistic manner. You may end up spending nights uneasily after watching gory scenes.

Plus points: Absolutely perfect cast: Everyone seems to tailor made for their roles. Direction, Story build-up, connecting the dots are good. 

Only negative is that there seems to be too much blood. And I thought couple of deaths, especially that of the Youtuber, could have been reduced.

So brace yourself, and then watch the horror series.

Image courtesy: Google