Movie Review: Manjhi – The Mountain Man

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“Manjhi – The Mountain Man” takes you through the painful journey of a so-called low caste Bihari who takes on a mountain to avenge his wife’s death.

Story (5/5):
Based on a true story, the movie depicts how, the determined Dashrath Manjhi carved out a road through a mountain using only hammer and chisel in spite of all the bashing received from the fellow villagers (including his father), conspiracies by the village head to stop him and fake promises by the government. In the backdrop, the movie spends some significant time in the build up of the entire story, which is the life of Dashrath Manjhi before the incident – introducing the audience to the rampant and barbaric view of caste based discrimination in Bihar during 50s and 60s, which is prevalent to some extent even today, not just in Bihar but across India. The story is extremely well written and thoroughly researched. It is a story that deserved to be told to the entire country.

Acting (4/5):
Apart from Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the movie doesn’t boast of any big names. However, with the support cast of NSD stars – (late) Ashraf Ul Haq and Pankaj Tripathi – and the promising Radhika Apte, acting is one of the strongest departments of the movie. Their hard work behind projecting the characters is evident and the Bihari accent never sounds taught. The dialog delivery is impeccable and does great justice to the writer who wrote them. Some of the dialogs are very profound and will keep you pondering over it. A special mention for Radhika Apte who has rose like a phoenix through some of her recent performances in short movies – That Day After Every Day and Ahalya – and upped the benchmark in Manjhi, complementing and competing with Nawazuddin, in terms of acting.

Direction (4.5/5):
Ketan Mehta has done a stupendous job in terms of ensuring the movie doesn’t lose momentum at any point of time. The flow of the story moves back and forth between the years before his wife’s death and after the death. But never, for once, it loses audience attention – full marks to the editing team for that. Some of the scenes are a complete surprize in terms of conceptualization and executed to perfection. His depiction of the socio-political scenario in Gehlaur during 50s and 60s through various incidents that Dashrath Manjhi and his wife encounter shows the depth of research that has went before shooting the movie. Some of the scenes are gruesome (even though a reality at that time) and makes you cringe. At one point of time, it reminded me of Prisoners which had a similar aura.

The Mountain:
I would also add the “mountain” to the list of characters as the movie also portrays how its relationship with protagonist evolves over a period of time. Although the movie celebrates the victory of a man over a mountain, it also portrays Manjhi’s relationship with the mountain and its evolution from his childhood till he carves out the road through it.

Overall (4.5/5):
Overall, the movie is a must watch. It shows what strong determination can achieve against all odds.

Movie Review: Brothers

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Story and Screenplay (3/5):
It is a story of two brothers turning enemies due circumstances and end up in a face-off at a Mixed Martial Arts competition, where it is a matter of life and death. While the story is highly predictable and quite cliche , the execution has been very good. They made some changes to the flashback story in the Warrior to suit the Indian audience and unlike in Warriors, you don’t see any suspense on the background stories of characters in Brothers. They revealed everything right in the first half and the second half is completely dedicated to the “fight” which this movie is all about.

The Fights (4/5):
So far, not many bollywood movies have had the amount of violence this movie has. The fights is the centrepiece of the movie and it does reasonably well, in spite of having stunt choreographers from the west. When you compare it with Hollywood movies and even some of Akshay Kumar’s own movies like Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi, you realize the level of action could have been better. Director puts in some of the technical jargons around fight moves but there is nothing much more than that.

Acting (4/5):
The casting of the movie is where I feel it does better than Warrior. The power packed performances of Akshay Kumar and the “beefy” Siddharth Malhotra provides the much needed steam to the movie. Siddharth might not have the physique of Tom Hardy but his height and voice does a lot of work for him. Akshay Kumar is impeccable with his expressions throughout the movie. However, the movie is a big let down when it comes to other characters like Jackie Shroff and Jacqueline Fernandez who are off track when it came to acting and dialog delivery. Kareena Kapoor has no work with the ridiculous unwanted item song. The movie could have done away with all the songs.

Direction and Cinematography (3/5):
The plot demanded melodrama and the director, Karan Malhotra, exploits it quite well. He has kept the story relatively simple compared to Warriors, making audience focus only on fights in the second half. However, editing sucks big time as the flashback appears in patches and doesn’t knit well. The entire first half could have been cut down by about 15-20 minutes with proper editing. The movie required an above average camerawork and that’s where it falls flat in the ring.

Overall (3.5/5):

Overall, you would enjoy the movie if you haven’t watched Warriors. The movie is well made, especially in the second half. I can’t see a better casting for the movie among the contemporary lot of actors and Akshay Kumar and Siddharth Malhotra nails it.

Movie Review: Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation

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Incidentally, I came to know about Rogue Nation only a few days before the release and instantly I checked on to book the tickets. I had watched Ghost Protocol in IMAX and the movie did justice to the IMAX screen through stunning visuals, brilliant stunts and amazing background score. I booked IMAX for Rogue Nation, expecting the same, and it did not disappoint me at all.

Story and Screenplay (4/5): 
The plot takes a teeny tiny leaf from the previous movie and elevates it to build a breathtaking, edge of your seat story that keeps you glued to the screen for the entire 131 minutes. The movie has it all that takes to make an amazing thriller – good action, stunning bike and car chase sequences, betrayals and small surprises that keep coming every now and then. The movie doesn’t use much of special effects that gives a unique and a very real experience while watching those action and chase sequences. The screenplay does good justice to the story. The dialogs have elements of humor, emotions and drama – all that is required.

Acting (4.5/5):
Tom Cruise is brilliant as ever, pulling off some amazing stunts right from the word GO! He does well in constantly improvising over the benchmark, his performances has set in earlier MI movies. It is a very difficult thing to do, looking at what is happening in other franchises like FF, and Tom Cruise shows how it is done. He doesn’t make it feel ever that he is 52. The supporting cast of Jeremy Reener, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and Sean Harris have played their part beautifully. A special watch out for Rebecca Ferguson who almost steals the show from Tom Cruise in the movie with a very intriguing character sketch.

Direction (4/5):
Christopher McQuarrie does a commendable job in keeping up the benchmark set by the earlier directors in the MI franchise. His choice of locations, the conceptualizing and execution of stunt sequences (the plane one and the underwater one) is brilliant. But what takes the cake is the way he portrays the character of the female lead that does not take a back seat to Cruise at any point of the movie, which is kind of breaking away the stereotype.

Cinematography (4/5): 
The cinematography is great. Some brilliant camera work has gone into the movie, especially during the plane stunt and the bike chase sequence in Morocco. Full marks to Robert Elswit for that.

Overall (4/5): 
The movie loses momentum a bit in the middle but regains it as the climax approaches. Overall, its a good watch and a movie which you would love to keep in your collection.

Movie Review: Drishyam

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Drishyam is an intense story of an average middle class family caught into a “legally wrong morally right” act from which they have to escape any which way. The only way they can do that is to be together come what may. Just like in the trailer, it shows that a person can go to any extent for his/her family. Shot in the backdrop of Goa, it shows a Marathi family putting every bit of their energy (physical and mental) in escaping from the claws of our legal system for a supposed crime. But when it comes to family, there is nothing right or wrong.

Story is meticulously written and all the pieces explained and tied up perfectly. It keeps surprising you till the last scene. The twists and turns in the movie has been well conceptualized and ensures that audience keeps guessing the next scene even though the movie is more of a thriller. This is one of those rare movies that shows a flawless plan executed to perfection without any loopholes unlike other planning based movies  like Players, Dhoom 3 etc where directors take things for granted due to their “chalta hai” and “Bollywood movies mein aisa hi hota hai” attitude. All kudos to the story writer, Jeethu Joseph and Upendra Sidhaye, for a perfect story.

Ajay Devgn has given a memorable performance with his effortless acting. His eyes do most of the talking. He plays a role of a street smart person, a family man and extremely protective for his family. Tabu has been a little weak, mainly in terms of dialog delivery, compared to her performance in Haidar but does well enough to give justice to her role. Other actors – Shriya Saran, Rajat Kapoor, Ishita Dutta – have complemented the efforts of leading stars very well. A special watchout for the youngest kid among the fantastic four, Mrinal Jhadhav (other three – Ajay Devgan, Shriya Saran and Ishita Dutta), who holds up with the big shots through her brilliant performance.

At the end, Drishyam compels you to put yourself in the shoes of Vijay Salgaonkar and think about right and wrong. It is a must watch.

What makes “12 Angry Men” an all time CLASSIC for me?

It was quite late (in my mid-20s) that I started watching Hollywood movies regularly and started to appreciate the really amazing ones. No, I am not talking about Titanic or Jurassic Park or James Bond. Of course, they were very well made and no taking away from the brilliance these movies depicted on the celluloid (taking that word from Karan Johar’s dictionary). But there were many subdued movies that were not meant to preach a great message or portray larger than life characters. These were probably the simplest of movies that were meant just to tell a simple story in a simple manner – like Serendipity, Night At The Museum, P.S. I Love You, Music and Lyrics, Blended, Jerry Maguire, 500 days of summer, Life is Beautiful and few more.

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These movies, I would love to watch any time. However, “12 Angry Men” is one movie, and probably the only Hollywood movie, that I have actually watched at “any time”, over and over again, and even right now I feel like I can watch it one more time.

The movie is about 12 jurors trying to arrive at a verdict on the guilt or innocence of an 18 year old boy who is charged with his father’s murder. As they deliberate over it, they encounter different facets of a person’s character shaped by his experiences. The film boasts of distinctly diverse set of personalities having a hard time to build consensus. While some of them were victim of their biases, others were a result of their upbringing or just heeding to their rational thinking. It also explores different ways of persuasion and shows what works and what doesn’t.

What I personally love about this movie is that it tells a very compelling story in a simplistic set up with brilliant performances by all the actors, which makes me watch it again and again. No crazy chase sequences, no out of the world special effects, no larger than life characters. The dialog delivery and the expressions of each actor is near perfect. Technically as well, something which you won’t notice easily, the movie boasts of great camera work.

Although it was not a commercial success, the movie is regarded as one of the Hollywood classics and was remade in various languages around the world. It is often shown in business schools and other education institutes to teach persuasion techniques and conflict resolution. I came across the Hindi version of the movie during our group discussion training for the MBA schools.

At the end, it makes you think – and reminds, if you are watching it again – to be free of our biases while taking decisions and approach things rationally.

Some of the most amazing facts about the movie:

• Almost the entire movie has been shot in a single jury room, except for three minutes at various places – courtroom, outside courtroom, washroom adjoining the jury room.
• Not a single name is referred in the entire movie – jurors, accused, witnesses, victim, lawyers – except in the last few seconds where two jurors exchange names after coming out of the court house.
• The entire movie was made within 21 days, including rehearsals that lasted two weeks, and in 365 takes.
• None of the 12 actors (jurors) are alive today. Juror #5 (Jack Klugman) was the last to die on December 24th, 2012.
• Henry Fonda, producer and the actor in the film, never received his deferred salary for the movie as it failed commercially.
• The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
• It is ranked #2 in AFI’s all the greatest courtroom dramas
• The movie received three academy awards nominations but didn’t win any.

Facts Source: IMDB, Wikipedia

Movie Review: Bahubali – The Beginning

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Extravaganza…..is the first word that came to my mind after watching Bahubali. 2015 has been the year of spectacular movies but Bahubali takes it to another level. The story belong to the era of kingdoms and narrates the first part of the journey of a man as he discovers his genesis.

Cinematography:

To start with the best part, the cinematography. The film has brilliant camera work and it speaks for itself right from the first minute till the last. You would want to watch some of the scenes over and over again. The art direction is excellent and complements well to the hard work of the camera. The opulent lifestyle of ancient Indian kingdoms is well depicted. The special effects has been most effectively used and never appears to be overdone. One of the best computer graphics work seen off late – to the standard of Hollywood.

Story: 

The story is well written and keep the audience engaged throughout even though it is a 2 hours 39 minutes movie – and that’s just the first part. One of the key highlights of the story is the strong character sketch of each lead characters – the kind of strong characters only seen in Mahabharat before this. A special mention goes for the level of detailing and explanation of war strategies that this movie has shown is simply mind blowing. The movie depicts the brilliant engineering that used to be implemented during wars in India.

Acting:

Acting level, just like in the most high profile South movies, is above the benchmark. Given that I haven’t followed Andhra cinema off late, Prabhas was new to me but the guy has given brilliant justice to his character and has acted his heart out. The Tarzan of Baby (Rana Daggubati) emotes well to generate audience’s hatred. Tamannah gives an impression to be a very important character of the movie in the beginning but is gradually sidelined as the story progresses. The surprize, for me, is Anushka Shetty for her bold acceptance of a role much older than her current age. With limited screen time and talk time, she lives up to the benchmark she has set based on her past performances.

Music:

Music is good but not so relevant with the story. Songs are pretty much forcefit and you may just want to skip them.

Verdict:

Overall, the movie sets a great benchmark on movie making, art of story telling and capitalizing on visual effects. At the end, it just keeps you waiting for The Conclusion.

Movie Review: Dil Dhadakne Do

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DDD peeps into the hollow life under the glittering lifestyle of a wealthy Mehra family. It is the depiction of the same, through the eyes of their pet dog, which is the charm of the movie. The story is beautifully written and well supported by the able direction and the editing. The hypocrisy, backbiting, jealousy, conspiracies and biases of the wealthy Indian business class has been all well captured under the blanket of humor that stays throughout the movie. The movie does well to depict the issue and ends with the message on the missing fundamental in the modern Indian family, at large, let alone billionaires.

Given that this is only the third full movie of Zoya Akhtar, discounting Bombay Talkies, she does a commendable job in elevating an average plot to a fun filled entertainer. The idea behind picturization of the song “Gallan Goodiyan” is novel and worked amazingly well. Special kudos to the cameraman and all the actors for the song. The music gels well with the movie and none of the songs appear to be a force fit.

Zoya has also been able to squeeze out the best of Ranveer Singh, so far, who stands out of the pack in spite of the stalwarts like Anil Kapoor and PC. His expressions and comic timing is something to watch for in the movie. Anil Kapoor, in a gray haired avatar which we never want to see, has been another gem of the movie in the role of a successful yet struggling businessman and a frustrated husband and father. Shefali Shah has complemented well with her acting talent. While it is quite difficult to digest Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra playing siblings, both of them depicted the sibling chemistry quite well.

The dialogues have a great punch, coupled with impeccable timing. All the supporting actors have acted brilliantly to ensure there are no dark patches in the entire movie.

What I particularly liked was the to-the-point ending of the movie that drifts away from traditional bollywood modus operandi. Zoya and the editors, Anand Subaya and Manan Mehta, took enough care that there was no point wasting time on the obvious and instead, focused the climax on the heart of the movie – the central message – on family relationships. Full marks to the team on this.

Movie Review: Tanu Weds Manu Returns

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Tanu Weds Manu Returns brings in all the cinematic excellence at one place – be it the story flow, acting, direction, screenplay, dialogs, editing or the music.

Kangana is again going to set a tough benchmark this year for the rest of the actresses after her stunning performance in Queen last year. While her overall filmography in last two years has more flops (Ungli, Revolver Rani, Rajjo, Krrish 3 and Shootout at Wadala) and just one big hit (Queen), there is hardly any doubt over her potential and the talent. TWMR and Queen makes up for all those bollywood flops. She has raised the bar even further, playing completely contrasting characters of Tanuja and Kusum. Her transition from Tanuja to Kusum is absolutely seamless to the extent that you don’t see a hint of Tanuja in Kusum and visa versa. Her hard work in ensuring the correct Haryanvi language is very much visible. Her command over the language and accent is extremely commendable.

Although the title says Tanu Weds Manu, the Manu part is yet to emerge strongly. Being on and off from Bollywood, R Madhavan struggles against Kangana, especially in emotional scenes. Thankfully he has those deep eyes that gives him a bit of advantage in emotional scenes even if the facial expressions do not support. He does well to project the role of a disheartened husband who has been trying hard to save his marriage but everything goes vain. However, the effort is just enough to keep the standard of the movie.

Even though not in the lead, there is one character who makes his presence felt throughout the movie as Manu’s friend, played by Deepak Dobriyal. With perfect comic timing and amazing punches throughout the movie, he commands viewers’ attention. The rest of the eminent cast – Jimmy Shergill, Swara Bhaskar and Mohammed Ayyub, Rajendra Sharma and Rajesh Gupta have acted well enough to movie’s reputation.

Anand Rai’s direction and Hemal Kothari’s editing has created a master piece resting on a brilliant story line by Himanshu Sharma. The story keeps the viewer engaged till the last moment. To some extent, it comes to a conventional and predictable ending but the sequencing of events and ground level details of the story has been worked out very well. The screenplay is amazing and reflects the hard work of the writer. The dialogs and the timing of the same elevates the entire movie. The music gels well with the movie and doesn’t appear, even for once, to have been forced into. The timing and relevance of each song is just perfect.

While I have not seen Tanu Weds Manu (the first movie), the movie did not throw me off. It stands well on its own and makes me want to watch the first one too. Finally, Bollywood seems to have learnt the art  of making good sequels.