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Uunchai: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara For The Older Generation

A delightful trek that is high on visuals and emotions

Uunchai (Hindi)            3.5 out of 5

Starcast: Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Danny Denzongpa, Sarika and others

Director: Sooraj R. Barjatya

Story: Sunil Gandhi

Producers: Kamal Kumar Barjatya, Mahaveer Jain and others

Production Company: Rajashri Productions

Music: Amit Trivedi

Genre: Adventure/drama

Running time: 2 hours and 53 minutes

Sooraj Barjatya is one of the most successful commercial directors of the 90’s. He made Salman Khan into an overnight star with Maine Pyar Kiya. For a long time Salman’s off screen persona was synonymous with his onscreen image of Prem, thanks to the way the director presented him in multiple films. Often times the director repeated himself with simplistic plots. It was mostly set around large families and half way through an unfortunate incident happened resulting in a deep divide. Inevitably the protagonist would set things right with his basic goodness. Even his last film Prem Rathan Dhan Payo ticked all the boxes of 90’s family dramas; the only difference being that PPDP was set in a princely state where monarchy still exists.

However with Uunchai the director attempts something different, and for most part manages to pull it off. Barjatya not only takes a few elements from Farhan and Zoya Akhtar’s mode of storytelling but also takes inspiration from Nag Ashwin’s directorial debut ‘Yevade Subramanyam’. The inspiration can be clearly seen in the mountain scenes in the second half.

The film opens with a group of three friends- Amit Srivastava (Amitabh Bachchan), Om (Anupam Kher) and Javed (Boman Irani). There is also Mala (Sarika). These four are on a trek to reach the EBC (Everest base camp). The tour guide is Shraddha Gupta (A grumpy Parineeti Chopra). From there we move to a flashback from two months ago. This flashback involves the trio’s close friend Bhupen (A delightful Danny Denzonpa). It is refreshing to see Danny in this small but important part. His presence is felt throughout the film. Bhupen’s biggest desire is to go on a trek to the base camp of Everest with his three friends. However the friends are reluctant and they don’t take it too seriously. But things take a turn for bad after the birthday of Bhupen. The next morning he dies of cardiac arrest, this in spite of Bhupen being the fittest among the four. Amit decides to fulfill Bhupen’s last wish.

Both Om and Javed feel that Amit is being mad. But Amit manages to convince them about the importance of fulfilling their friend’s wish. However it is a trek that comes with many hurdles, the chief one being the age bracket that this trio comes under. Also Javed’s wife Shabina (Neena Gupta) is a controlling woman who doesn’t let him go outside the city and Mount Everest is a far off thing.

The rest of the story is about whether the trio is able to fulfill the last wish of their friend or not. Along the way the film also gives some important life lessons. These include how parents aren’t always in the right and children are not always in the wrong. How marriage partners sometimes need a certain distance, and lastly how love often can succumb to worldly comforts. The last one is brought out through the character of Mala. She has an important connection to Bhupen.

For any friendship film to work, the most essential aspect is that no character should end up overshadowing the others. A major reason why a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara or a Dil Chahta Hai works is due to the way the characters were written. As an audience you root for all the three protagonists.

Here too Sooraj Barjatya gives equal space to all of them and makes you empathize with all. All the three have their own inner battles and the director does a splendid job in portraying them. Uunchai also dwells into the importance of solitude and successfully showcases how certain battles are best fought alone.

The individual back stories have also been smartly used by Sooraj Barjatya. They come in when you least expect it. Case in point being how Mala is connected to Bhupen, or even Amit’s past with a woman called Abhilasha (Nafisa Ali in a graceful special appearance). These stories add to the impact of the film.

The dialogues written by Abhishek Dixit are mostly heartwarming, both in the situations involving the friends and also the husband and wife scenes between Boman Irani and Neena Gupta.

The cinematography by Manoj Kumar Khatoi is simply splendid. He deserves distinction marks for how he captures the mountains through his lens. The trekking scenes of Amit, Om and Javed give us lot of thrills. This thrill is further enhanced by the cinematographer.

Anupam Kher, Amitabh Bachchan and Boman Irani, none of the three veteran actors disappoints

The action and stunts by Sham Kaushal are filled with the right amount of tension. For example there is a scene in the second half where all of them have to cross a bridge with the weather at its worst. The audiences get the feeling that something tragic will happen to Amit in particular. However no damage happens and the weather does settle down.

Also read: Thank God: A fantasy ride that you won’t mind hopping on

Music by Amit Trivedi is also good. My favorite is the Keti Ko song which leaves you with a smile on your face.

Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher and Bomal Irani in a jovial dance sequence

Coming to the flaws the length of the film could have been easily trimmed down. The first half feels indulgent at certain places. The trek could have begun much earlier rather than leaving it to the second half.

Another issue with the film is the way the character of Parineeti has been written and performed. She spends most of her time either being exasperated or being angry with the senior citizens. There is an attempt at humanizing her but it comes across as rather labored.

Uunchai boasts of fantastic veteran actors and none of the seniors disappoint. Amitabh Bachchan is marvellous as Amit Srivastava. He captures all the nuances without missing a single beat. Amitabh’s brilliance can be particularly seen at a crucial juncture in the second half; in this important scene his character is revealed to have Alzheimers. Om and Javed scold Amit for hiding his condition and decide to go back. This is followed by Amit’s long dialogue where he talks about the purpose of this trip and how he is not backing down now. Amitabh Bachchan does a swell job in bringing out the emotions of Amit.

Sarika leaves solid impression in her part

Anupam Kher has been on a roll this year with a knockout performance in Kashmir Files. The actor also made a huge impression with his small role in the Telugu film Karthikeya 2. With Uunchai Anupam continues his golden form. He excels in both the lighter and emotional bits. It is a delight to see Anupam getting one meaty role after another. Boman Irani compliments Amitabh and Anupam wonderfully. He conveys a lot with his body language. Sarika and Neena Gupta are also very good. They leave a solid impression in their respective parts.

Final word: Uunchai is rich in both visuals and also emotions. A tighter edit would have made it even better. But still this is a delightful trek with the smashing veterans leading it.

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Monica O My Darling: A Noir Thriller That Keeps You On Your Toes

Vasan Bala is one of those directors who are known for a distinctive style of storytelling. For example in Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota you had a protagonist who has a rare condition named Congenital insensitivity to pain. It was a whimsical ride that combined new age tropes with some old Bollywood elements. In the anthology segment Spotlight (the Satyajit Ray anthology) he made a social satire that combined religion and movies. His latest Monica O My Darling is a wonderful addition to the director’s repertoire. The film is based on the 1989 Japanese novel Burutasu No Shinzou.

Monica O My Darling follows the life of Jayant Arkhedkar (Rajkumar Rao). Jayant is a robotics genius who gets an opportunity to climb the social ladder after doing lot of hard work. A series of murders follow in the ‘Unicorn Group’, the workplace of Jayant. Huma Qureshi plays the titular character Monica. Monica is the secretary who serves the robotics company with great deal of zeal. Monica and Jayant are in secret relationship. But Jayant has no intention of marrying her as he is dating his boss’s daughter (Akansha Ranjan). ACP Naidu (Radhika Apte) is a quirky cop who is assigned to solve the case. There are a host of others too with special mention to Sikander Kher playing the entitled son of the boss. He is not very happy with the special attention that Jayant is getting. The film mainly talks about how being at the top of the social ladder isn’t always a great place to be.

The storytelling in Monica O My Darling will remind you of Sriram Raghavan’s thrillers at a few places in terms of how it explores the dark nature of human beings. Much like Sriram Raghavan films here too none of the characters are pure white, each of them come with their own shades of grey. However Vasan Bala gives his own touches to this tale of an ambitious outsider.

Every time Jayant considers himself as a winner or hero life cuts him to size as no wins are absolute.

Both Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota and the short segment Spotlight had plenty of pop culture references which added to the story.  And Monica O Darlings is no exception to that. The film’s title itself is taken from the iconic song sung by RD Burman. The title song keeps playing in the background at important junctures which adds to the immersive experience.

Monica O My Darling is filled with multiple characters and each of them are important, even the side characters. Vasan Bala does complete justice to each of them.

The dialogues co-written by Bala and Yogesh Chandekar have a lot of wit particularly those spoken by Radhika Apte. More importantly the film is an allegory to class struggle.  

In this galaxy of actors Huma Qureshi stands out in the title role. She has to switch her mood from being frustrated, sad and maniac in a matter of minutes. And the actress does it splendidly. Huma does a commendable job of keeping Monica humane in spite of her grey areas.

Rajkumar Rao proves once again why he is one of the best actors that we have. The character of Jayant requires him to showcase a range of emotions and the actor nails it. Radhika Apte has a late entry but the actress is fun to watch with her cool demeanor. Sikandar Kher has a limited part but the actor is nevertheless good.

The film’s music and cinematography are also perfectly in sync with the film.

Final word: Monica O My Darling is a delicious watch particularly if you like Sriram Raghavan’s brand of cinema. The talented ensemble is the cherry on the cake.

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Yashoda: An Overstuffed Thriller That Bites More Than It Can Chew

Yashoda directed by Hari-Harish is an attempt at exposing the underbelly of surrogacy through the lens of good versus evil. Generally it is the male protagonist who takes on the baddies and saves the day but here the director has a female protagonist who is entrusted with this responsibility. Yashoda’s battle is both personal and professional.

Fans love Samantha Ruth

The film begins off interestingly enough with the murder mystery of a Hollywood starlet; there is also a business tycoon and a supermodel who are also bumped off in the film’s initial bits. Sampath Raj & Co are given the task of catching the murderers. Yashoda (Samantha) becomes a surrogate who is in desperate need of money. She is urged by the basti doctor to continue her pregnancy in a high-end facility called Eva. Eva is owned by Madhu (Varalakshmi Sarathkumar). There is also Dr Gowtham (Unni Mukandan). This facility is luxurious in every sense of the word. It is a dream come true for any pregnant woman; however things are not what they appeared to be. Yashoda is also not the helpless woman that she appears to be in the beginning. She has been sent by someone to bust Eva. Additionally her young sister is also trapped in Eva. Yashoda soon starts her secret investigation and this leads to tumbling of several secrets.

Samantha and Unni Mukundan who makes solid impression

The murder mystery and the track of Samantha go side by side leading to some unexpected twists which are quite engaging. But the missing aspect is a tight screenplay to bind things together.

Yashoda starts off on a high until Samantha reaches Eva but soon starts stagnating. The major reason for that are her Eva inmates and a forced attempt to show a bond between Samantha and them. These inmates have their own reasons to become surrogate mothers; however the problem is that audiences don’t feel anything for them. The humor also comes across as rather unwanted.

Varalakdhmi Sarathkumar with Samantha

Things take a turn for good when Samantha gets into her investigative mode. Of course, suspension of belief is needed here in terms of how easily Yashoda investigates in spite of the secret cameras and the tight security. The interval bang is very exciting indeed.

The second half starts off promisingly with the back-story of Varalakshmi Sarathkumar. Her back-story looks at the concept of beauty consciousness and the society’s obsession with the outer exterior. Madhu is a woman who never wanted pregnancy as it would ruin her beauty. However, there is a major issue in terms of how she has been portrayed. Through her character the director duo reinforces the stereotypes of how a woman who doesn’t want to become a mother must invariably be an abnormal psychopath. This hardly leaves space for any nuance.

The pre-climax twist of Yashoda being policewoman and also Murali Sharma being a negative character does come as a surprise. The ending has an emotional high. However the elongated fight scenes test the patience of the viewers.

Hari Shankar and Harish Narayan, the directors, duo bite more than they can chew?

Samantha in the title role gives her blood and sweat and is easily the biggest reason why you stay with the film. She pummels the bad guys with conviction and also adds a certain gravitas to the emotional scenes. Varalakshmi Sarathkumar makes for a great antagonist; however she comes across as rather helpless in the climatic portions of the film. Unni Mukundan also makes a solid impression as Madhu’s partner in crime. Sampath Raj, Murali Sharma and others are good in the space that they have been given.

Music by Mani Sharma is just functional but the background score is good. The cinematography by M. Sukumar deserves distinction marks for a job very well done.

Final word: Yashoda is a treat for Samantha fans and an interesting experiment but that is not enough for this to sail through.

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Urvasivo Rakshasivo: A Refreshing Romantic Drama Which Belongs To The Heroine

The genre of romantic comedy/drama is one of the most overused genres in cinema across languages. Hence it is difficult to make an engaging romantic film given that only two kinds of endings are possible. One happy and the other sad, but when done well it is always a delight to watch a good Rom com like this one.

Allu Sirish and Anu Emmanuel in a rom com that is well made

Conflict points in romantic films have varied over the years. Earlier it used to be parental opposition. Often times this parental opposition used to come on the grounds of money and caste. However this soon became a cliché in movies (though not in the real world) and thankfully it has now taken a back seat. After money and caste next came the protagonists belonging to different communities. Abhishek Varman’s  2 states is a perfect example of this. The director gave a nuanced film about a Punjabi boy and a Tamil girl and how they overcome the barrier of belonging to two different cultures.

Bharadwaja, Allu Sirish, Anu Emmanuel, Allu Aravind, Balakrisna and director Rakesh Sashi

Currently the theme of live in relationship is hugely in vogue. Many Hindi films like Shuddh Desi Romance, Luka Chuppi etc have had stories of live in set in non metro areas. Urvasivo Rakshasivo directed by Rakesh Sashi deals with modern issues in love and also an interesting conflict point between marriage and a live in relationship. Keeping with the current trend of remakes Urvasivo Rakshasivo is also based on the Tamil film Pyaar Prema Kaadhal. Since I have not seen the Tamil film my review will be as a standalone.

Sree Kumar (Allu Sirish) gets smitten by Sindhu (Anu Emmanuel) who is working in a different office but soon joins him. Sree makes several attempts to woo her with the help of Sunil and Vennela Kishore. Sindhu starts liking Sree too but it isn’t love for her yet. On a rainy night they both get intimate and Sree proposes love to Sindhu but she doesn’t accept. The reason according to her is it happened in the heat of the moment. Sindhu has some very clear cut goals with ambitions of setting up a restaurant and marriage doesn’t really feature in that yet. Sree on the other hand comes from a conservative middle class family where the mother played by Amani wants a nice homely girl for her son. Sree gets heartbroken when Sindhu doesn’t accept his love but things change when Sindhu also falls for him. However, there is a big hitch. Sree wants marriage but Sindhu proposes live-in. After some thinking Sree agrees for live-in hoping that he can convince Sindhu for a marriage later on. They take a pent house and soon Sree is juggling between his live-in relationship and also being a dutiful son without the parents’ knowledge. This is the basic synopsis.

Allu Sirish stands his own and makes the tribulations of Sree relatable. He is a perfect fit for his part

The best thing about Urvasivo Rakshasivo is how the director does justice to the title. Sindhu is easily the trickier part out of the two leads both to write and also enact. On more than one occasion Anu Emmanuel may come across as spoiled with her opinions and dreams, but at the same time the audiences also understand where Sindhu is coming from and why she is so stubborn when it comes to not wanting marriage. Anu Emmanuel does a brilliant job in striking the perfect balance and makes the audiences fall in with love with her. This is easily her best performance till date. Kudos to Rakesh Sashi for not spoiling the core of Sindhu’s character even when the situation becomes ugly. The happy ending also doesn’t come at the cost of squashing Sindhu‘s dreams which is very satisfying.

Anu Emmanuel comes across as a strong leading lady

Rakesh Sashi also deserves credit for how he portrays the differences in the attitudes of his two protagonists. Both Sree and Sindhu come across as very believable persons and perfectly right in their own place. The chemistry between Sirish and Anu Emmanuel is on point and their love making scenes have been aesthetically shot.

Also the film never gets into the zone of preaching about live in relationships. There is enough entertainment particularly in the second half when the juggling act begins. Sunil and Vennela Kishore are majorly responsible for that. Their scenes with Sirish are a laugh riot. Vennela Kishore in particular is a hoot with his one liners inspired from the OTT terminology. My favorite bit in the second half is when Sree is running from his parent’s house to the pent house and vice versa becomes a representation of a batsman running between the wickets.

Allu Arjun, Allu Sirish’s proud brother, praising the film with Sirish, Anu Emmanuel and Rakesh Sashi in the background.

The portions between Anu and her on screen father Prithvi are also good to watch. There is certain sweetness to them. Prithvi as the modern dad works as a contrast to Amani’s traditional mother.

Allu Sirish as Sree is a perfect fit for his part. He does stand his own and makes the tribulations of Sree relatable. However, there is one bit which sticks out and that is the scene when Sree gets drunk.

The songs by Achu Rajamani and Anup Rubens are mostly a delight to watch except for the break up number.

The one area where Urvasivo Rakshasivo could have been better is the first half. The conflict point could have come earlier with a cut down on the office scenes.

Final word: Urvasivo Rakshasivo is a rom com with enough entertainment and more importantly a strong leading lady.

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Mili: An Engrossing Survival Drama Led By Brilliant Janhvi Kapoor

The genre of Survival drama lends itself to a vast array of human emotions. A film like Tom Hanks’ Cast Away is still considered to be a classic. Closer home Vikramaditya Motwane’s Trapped was a brilliant exploration of the loneliness in a big city, captured in a nail biting manner through the character of Rajkumar Rao. The protagonist in Trapped accidently jams himself inside his apartment. This year itself Fahad Fassil’s Malyankunju explored caste through the lens of a survival drama. Mathukutty Xavier’s Mili, a remake of his own Malayalayam film Helen is a wonderful addition to this list.

Structurally speaking Mili stays close to the original except for a few tweaks. For example in Helen the love interest of Anna Ben is a Muslim boy. Here the director makes Sunny Kaushal a Hindu boy who is supposedly from a different caste.

Milli starts off with establishing the daily routine of its lead character (Janhvi Kapoor).Before getting into the gritty space the director sets up the two important relationships in Mili’s life. One is with her father Niranjan (Manoj Pahwa). The other is with her boyfriend Sameer (Sunny Kaushal). Father doesn’t know anything about the boyfriend. Mili works as cashier at Take Out Mall in Dehradun. Before that Mili worked as a nurse. Milli has aspirations of going to Canada which the father doesn’t exactly approve of but he has no option. Things take a turn when father comes to know about Sameer and all hell breaks loose. The next night Mili gets trapped in the freezer room after a late night shift and no one has any idea of where she has disappeared. What follows is a race against time where the father and boyfriend unite together in search of the person they love. The director also explores the misogyny and the stereotypes attached to young working girls through Inspector Satish (Anurag Arora). 

The first half of Mili is mostly about setting the base and giving an insight into her personality. These portions may appear stretched but they play an important part in the scheme of things. The father and daughter bond gives the film some of its best moments. In both the emotional and lighter bits, the scenes between Janhvi and Manoj Pahwa have certain warmth that touches the hearts of the audience. Manoj Pahwa is one of those actors who can do a variety of roles, case in point being Article 15 and Mulk. Here too as father Manoj makes the audiences root for him. The desperation of a father is brilliantly brought out by the actor.

The love story between Janhvi and Sunny could have been better written; nevertheless their scenes are still good to watch. Sunny Kaushal has less to do but the actor still stands out with his amiable presence. He is successful in bringing out a boyfriend’s concern for Mili. Mathukutty Xavier does a wonderful job in showcasing how Milli’s father develops a fondness for Sameer in their search together for Mili.

For any survival drama the technical departments have to be very strong. Much like the original, here too the production design is one of the biggest assets of the film. Apurwa Sondhi does a brilliant job in converting the freezer room into a battleground. The shots of Janhvi trying to survive in the freezer room are sure to give goosebumps. The cinematography by Sunil Karthikeyan is also award worthy particularly in the freezer room portions.

The police characters may come across as generic particularly Anurag Arora who hasn’t got any redeeming quality but still his character of Satish is an important reminder of how certain stereotypes can become dangerous to young working women’s lives. Sanjay Suri as the other Inspector is the ante thesis of Satish and the actor infuses his part with the required righteousness. Jackie Shroff as the prisoner has a short cameo but his role is important to the proceedings. The senior actor makes his presence amply felt.

Now let’s move to the leading lady Janhvi Kapoor. Since Dhadak there has been a concrete effort on the part of Janhvi to prove her worth in the industry, as someone who is much more than just late Sridevi’s daughter. The actress has been making some right choices with Gunjan Saxena and Good Luck Jerry but with Mili she outdoes herself with a spectacular performance. She is particularly brilliant when the focus shifts to the freezer room. Janhvi makes the pain of Milli so real. The audiences almost pray for her to come out safe. Irrespective of Mili’s box office result there is no denying that the actress is far ahead of her contemporaries like Sara Ali Khan.

AR Rahman’s music isn’t of the popular type but the tunes go perfectly with the mood of the film, they complement the story. Tum Bhi Raahi is my most favorite song in the album. Sun Aye Milli is also a wonderful number. The background score, also composed by Rahman himself, is praise worthy.

Final word: Watch Mili even if you have watched Helen. It is a survival drama that makes you go through a roller-coaster of emotions. Janhvi Kapoor’s performance is the cherry on the cake.

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Ram Setu: More Adventure And A Younger Hero Would Have Been Better

Before the pandemic entered our lives Akshay was easily one of the most bankable stars in the Hindi Film Industry. The actor had created a brand for himself as a kind of nationalistic hero. Akshay expertly juggled between doing films where he saves the day and also slapstick comedies like the Housefull franchise. Raj Mehta’s Good news was an exception as Akshay’s Varun Batra was an elitist jerk. But since pandemic a lot has changed and Akshay’s brand of cinema has stopped working for people. Bachchan Pandey, Bell Bottom and Samrat Prithviraj are examples of this. Yes, Sooryavanshi was a big hit in 2021 but the film immensely benefited from the timing of its release and also from Rohit Shetty’s fan base.

2022 has been particularly a bad year for Akshay as nothing has worked for the actor. Ram Setu directed by Abhishek Sharma is similar to Nikhil’s Kartikeya 2. Both deal with important mythological characters. Kartikeya 2 was about the existence of Dwaraka and the historicity of Lord Krishna. Ram Setu on the other hand is about Lord Ram and the debate surrounding the bridge of Ram Setu. The film Ram Setu has an interesting premise which could have resulted in a complete edge of the seat thriller but the film doesn’t completely live up to its promise.

Ram Setu revolves around an atheist archaeologist Aryan Kulshrestha (Akshay Kumar). Aryan has been entrusted with the job of disproving the mythological origins of Ram Setu, the bridge between India and Sri Lanka described in Valmiki’s Ramayana. However upon further research Aryan comes to the conclusion that the structure may be actually man- made, implying that Lord Rama may be a historical person after all. Nushrratt Bharuccha plays Akshay’s wife. She is a strong believer in god from the start. Dr Sandra (Jacqueline Fernandez) is an environmental scientist. Senior actor Nassar plays the corrupt businessman. Last but not the least Satyadev plays the Lankan guide AP. He has a mysterious background which we don’t know till the end. This is the story in a nutshell.

Ram Setu works best when we see all the three protagonists in the thick of action. The scenes of Akshay and Co searching for historical evidence keeps you involved. You are curious to know about how Aryan changes from an atheist to a believer and how he will save the bridge.

The scenes which I particularly liked were the ones when the team goes on a trail to find Ravan’s Lanka. They have a certain thrill.

Special mention must also be made of the stunning underwater sequences. Director Abhishek Sharma does a wonderful job in capturing the grandeur of Ram Setu under the Indian Ocean. These shots look straight out of a Discovery documentary.

What also helps Ram Setu are the scenes of Satyadev with Akshay Kumar. Satyadev brings in the much needed energy with his charm and adds a layer of intrigue. He also generates some humor with his poked faced comedy.

Both the cinematography and the production design are also a treat to watch. They give a grand feel which adds to your viewing experience.

What pulls down Ram Setu is the casting of the protagonist. Akshay Kumar as the archeologist is a mixed bag. He is good as the atheist but becomes less interesting as the believer. One reason for that is we have seen Akshay do this in the past too. Also you get the feeling that a younger actor like Karthik Aryan who is light on his feet would have been better. This becomes even more apparent whenever the scenes of Akshay and Nushrratt come up. The significant age gap coupled with their inability to generate any warmth is a major put off.

We also don’t understand why Jacqueline Fernandez was cast as an environmental scientist. She looks beautiful as always but there is nothing that she does, except for mouthing some scientific terms.

The climax in the courtroom is way too elongated. The message is hammered in instead of being organically integrated. By the time the court declares that Ram Setu shouldn’t be demolished you feel thoroughly exhausted. In Kartikeya 2 you cheer for Nikhil when he is successful in his adventure but here there is no feeling of euphoria, just tiredness. As a result the revelation of Satyadev’s identity in the end doesn’t give the necessary high.

Final word: Ram Setu is definitely the best Akshay starrer in the recent past but that is not enough for the film to sail through. Watch Ram Setu if you are interested in mythology or if you want to see how Satyadev fares in his Hindi debut.

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Thank God: A Fantasy Ride That You Won’t Mind Hopping On

Indra Kumar’s Thank God is an attempt at creating a make believe world that wants to entertain, as well as give a message. This is a difficult tightrope and the dramatic bits don’t completely land but still there is no denying that Thank God is a film that leaves you in a good mood. For those who are not aware Thank God is based on the Danish social comedy Sorte Kugler.

Ayaan Kapoor (Siddarth Malhotra) is a bankrupt real estate agent married to a cop played by Rakul Preet Singh. Ayaan is someone who has many flaws. He has anger management issues, low self-esteem, and doesn’t get along well with either his wife or the daughter. Additionally he is very jealous and adores Nora Fatehi as a fantasy figure. One day, he meets with an accident. Instead of waking up in a hospital room he wakes up to afterlife. Indra Kumar’s version of afterlife consists of a giant stadium full of people who would be judging him in a game show called The Game of life. The host is C.G shortcut for Chitragupt (A flamboyant Ajay Devgan). If Ayaan gets enough white balls he would be sent back to be resurrected. However, abundance of black balls would mean hell.

What follows is a roller coaster journey where Ayaan has no other option other than to win this Game of life. There are many life lessons along the way presented in the format of an escapist fantasy.

The best parts of Thank God are easily the interactions between Ajay Devgan and Siddarth Malhotra. The one liners of Ajay will leave you in splits. The first half has lot of situational humor. Thankfully Indra Kumar stays away from making it a vulgar comedy. One of my favorite bits in the first half is when Siddarth Malhotra tries to bring his inner Singham but ends up failing miserably. There is also a KBC reference when Ajay Devgan talks about how a superstar had come here once, and took the idea of his game and adapted it as KBC.

Another good thing about Thank God is how the director portrays the transformative journey of Ayaan. The way CG makes Ayaan relive episodes from his own life make the drama more interesting.

The gradual progression in his character and how he learns to appreciate the good happenings in his life and letting go off the bad has been well portrayed.

Thank God heavily relies on the shoulders of Ajay Devgan and Siddarth Malhotra and both don’t disappoint. Siddarth Malhotra is successful in capturing the different shades of Ayaan. This is the first time that Siddarth has tried his hand at a situational comedy and the actor does a pretty good job. The scenes in the first half where he pretends to be a broker in order to sell his bungalow are hilarious to say the least.

Ajay Devgan makes for the perfect modern Chitragupt. The actor is a delight to watch as the all knowing game host who has nothing but the best interests of the contestants at heart. You can clearly see that Ajay is having a ball.

Rakul Preet Singh is good as a devoted wife but suffers majorly due to a one note characterization. Like numerous female characters in this year Rakul ends up being a prop later on. More scenes between Siddarth and Rakul would have enhanced the romantic portions. The talented Seema Pahwa is also relegated to the backseat.

The music is more situational but thankfully the songs do not come across as speed breakers. The song Manike filmed on Siddarth and Nora Fatehi is easily the best song in the album.

Final word: Watch Thank God for some lighthearted moments and if you are in the mood for some life lessons.

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Four Women And Alia

On a rainy night in Mumbai’s Kamatipura area an unusual get together happened.

It was in a restaurant called Princess Plaza.

Badru was sitting at the cash counter when Gangubai walked in.

I am sure you know Badru; the battered wife in the movie Darlings. Now she started a restaurant after her cruel husband Hamza died in a train accident; when the entire nation heaved a sigh of relief. In Mumbai, I suppose, that is the easiest way to get rid of bad guys. But to be fair to Badru she did not push him under the wheels though she thought of it many times. It is he who got knocked down by a speeding train on his own accord while standing on the rail tracks shouting and threatening his wife till his last breadth. One thing is certain. He left at the right time; because if he had continued to live with Badru one of us would have definitely gone and smashed his head.

Coming back to the present Badru is now financially and emotionally a very happy person. On the third anniversary of the restaurant she decided to invite Gangubai, Veera and Bauria aka Mary Jane to her restaurant and spend some time with them. She wanted to know a few things from them.

In few minutes Veera and Bauria also joined them. They seemed to have met at the railway station. One was coming from Himalayas and the other from Goa. Both of them looked quite cheerful. There was an air of enthusiasm and anticipation in everyone’s face. Badru warmly invited them and after a round of introductions they sat down for a chat.

Snacks and chai followed with some light banter. After a while Gangubai asked Badru why she arranged this meeting. Badru looked at all of them and said “Any guesses?”

“All of us suffered in life for no fault of ours. Maybe you wanted to know how each one of us is coping with it now.” Veera was the first one to speak. She seemed to have given a lot of thought about the purpose of this meeting.

“Of course… that is one of the reasons. But did you ever think of whose faults we all suffered” replied Badru.

 “I am not very educated like some of you. But I can say that we women are also very gullible. Why did I elope with a man whom I hardly knew and leave my house? In my obsession to become an actor, a heroine I neglected my safety and paid the price” said Gangubai.

 “You might think it was your fault. But for many women like me there is no choice. My father died. I had no one look after me. I had to migrate for work. How would I guess I will land up with rapists and drug mafia? Many things are not in our hands” Bauria said.

 “True. Look at me. I am from a rich family. Ideally I should not have had any serious problems. But see what happened. My own uncle sexually abused me. I was a child. Even my mother could not protect me. The man who accidentally kidnapped me was much more decent than my own uncle” Veera recollected her ordeal.

Badru was silent for a long time. Then she looked at each one of them intensely. Slowly she started to speak.

 “For Veera it was her uncle. For Gangubai it was her lover. For me it was my husband. For Bauria it was the outside male world. I feel we are not safe anywhere – inside home or outside; with anyone – family or outsiders. Swimming in oceans and climbing high mountains are considered great achievements. People don’t realise we are no less achievers. We are the SURVIVORS of male cruelty. We are the ones who should be shown to the suffering girls and women of this country as the real role models, at least until the society changes for the better. I wish no woman should think of taking her life after seeing how we shaped our lives. I invited all of you to celebrate our new life.”

They looked at each other and broke into laughter. They all seem to agree with the new term they coined for themselves. “Let us change the name of this restaurant to Survivors and invite all our fellow survivors to this place” laughed Gangubai.