Category: Hindi Movie Reviews

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Fighter: A Thrilling Action Extravagance With A Charismatic Hrithik Roshan

The storyline is clichéd but director Siddarth Anand packs in the right amount of masala. Fighter is a perfect Republic day outing for those enjoy patriotic action movies.

Rating 3
Starcast: Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Akshay Oberoi, Karan Singh Grover and others.
Story and direction: Siddarth Anand
Additional story: Ramon Chibb
Producers: Ramon Chibb, Mamata Anand, Ajith Andhare and others
Music: Vishal Shekhar
Production Companies: Viacom 18 Studios and Marfix Pictures
Genre: Action/drama
Running time: 2 hours and 46 minutes

The genre of patriotic/ war movies have mostly been huge money spinners at the box office. There is a certain thrill associated with these films provided the filmmaker makes the viewers root for the men in uniform. Siddarth Anand’s Fighter very much falls under the traditional patriotic genre, but what makes this a different experience are the elements of aerial action. It offers a unique experience particularly if you are seeing it in 3D and IMAX format.

Hrithik Roshan

Fighter focuses on a squad called Air Dragons. The team includes Shamsher Pathania aka Patty (Hrithik Roshan), Taj (Karan Singh Grover), Basheer (Akshay Oberoi) and Meenal Rathore aka Minnie (Deepika Padukone). Anil Kapoor is Rakesh. He is their commander. There is a palpable tension between Shamsher and Rakesh. This is because of a tragic incident that had happened in the past. In brief the story chronicles the bravery of these men while protecting India along with their camaraderie and team spirit.

Deepika Padukone

A big USP of Fighter is its slick and enthralling action sequences. There are many shots of aerial combat and these are a treat to watch. The Action directors along with the cinematography department deserve a big applause. There are three action directors Parvez Sheikh, Sunil Rodrigues and Seyeong Oh. The trio have done a fantastic job in creating exhilarating stunts. Cinematographer Satchith Paulose also does a credit worthy job in capturing the action over the mountains, valleys and airbase through his lens.

Hrithik Roshan as Shamsher Pathania is an absolute treat to watch. The actor’s physique of course makes him a perfect fit for the character, but more than that his performance also stands out; the actor is charming, cocky and ferocious at the same time. Hrithik has some strong emotional moments and he does a swell job.

Deepika, Hrithik and Anil Kapur

The camaraderie between Shamsher, Taj and Basheer has also come out well. Director Siddarth Anand does a good job in etching out their friendship. Akshay Oberoi and Karan Singh Grover do a fine job in their respective parts.

Anil Kapoor plays a strict and brooding senior officer whose working methods are very different from Shamsher. This angle has also been well depicted. Rishabh Sawhney plays the main antagonist. He has a strong presence and manages to stand his own.

Karan Singh Grover and Akshay Oberoi

What doesn’t work for Fighter are the usual tropes of India and Pakistan. There are lines about the true meaning of religion and patriotism; but these dialogues have a jaded feel.

Deepika Padukone as Minnie pairs off well with Hrithik but the actor has shared a stronger chemistry with the likes of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra. Character wise also there is nothing special. She is supposed to represent women empowerment but the ineffective writing coupled with Deepika’s glazed expressions makes it difficult for the viewers to care.

Fighter is an engaging fare particularly if you are an action buff and enjoy watching Hrithik Roshan.

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Main Atal Hoon: Pankaj Tripathi Delivers A Magnetic Performance In This Moderately Engaging Political Drama

The film is notches ahead of ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ and ‘PM Narendra Modi’ but continues the caricaturist portrayal of the Congress.

Rating : 2.5

  • Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Piyush Mishra, Daya Shankar Pandey, Pramod Pathak, and Prasanna Ketkar
  • Director: Ravi Jadhav
  • Producer: Vinod Bhanushali
  • Music: Payal Dev, Kailash Kher, Amitraj, and Salim–Sulaiman
  • Background Score: Monty Sharma
  • Runtime: 2 hours 19 minutes
  • First Published in: SouthFirst

Bollywood’s track record of political dramas is not the greatest, particularly in the recent past. The Accidental Prime Minister (2019) and PM Narendra Modi (2019) were both absolute travesties in terms of storytelling and performance.

Acclaimed actor Anupam Kher reduced Manmohan Singh to a cartoon figure in The Accidental Prime Minister. Vivek Oberoi fared even worse with the horrible make-up and his horrid performance in PM Narendra Modi.

There is no denying that Main Atal Hoon comes under a political hagiography (the subject being treated with reverence).

But unlike the above-mentioned films, this is not a complete washout.

The main reason is Pankaj Tripathi’s histrionics and how Ravi Jadhav staged the speeches.

Synopsis

Main Atal Hoon is a biography of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Main Atal Hoon is a biography of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. (Supplied)

Main Atal Hoon introduces a young Vajpayee who cannot give a speech in the class.

From there on, we follow his journey of becoming a prominent opposition leader and eventually becoming the prime minister of India.

A major USP of Main Atal Hoon is how the director captures the spirit of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s politics. His ideologies have come out well, including wanting peace between neighbouring countries and respecting his political rivals.

This particularly comes out in the dialogues related to Jawaharlal Nehru.

The film is replete with many poems by Vajpayee. Thankfully, these poems have been integrated well and do not come across as tacky.

Performances

Pankaj Tripathi as Atal Bihari Vajpayee in ‘Main Atal Hoon’. (X)

Pankaj Tripathi as Atal Bihari Vajpayee in ‘Main Atal Hoon’. (X)

The scenes of Pankaj Tripathi delivering political speeches also leave a huge impact. A particular mention must be made of the scene where Atal expresses his anguish about the horrific events that happened during the emergency.

The cinematography in these portions is also rock-solid. Lawrence D’Cunha has done a brilliant job in capturing the big scale.

The songs are all melodious. My favourite ones are “Ram Dhun” and “Desh Pehle“.

Among the subplots, Atal’s relationship with his father Krishna Bihari Vajpayee (Piyush Mishra) and Rajkumari (Divya Uppadhayay) has been written well.

In the title role, Pankaj Tripathi adds another feather to his cap. The actor commands the viewers’ attention from the first frame. There is an instant charisma that captivates the audience.

Drawbacks

A big flaw of Main Atal Hoon is the rushed second half. The entire duration of the second half comes across as a political advertisement for the BJP.

Also, the film needed more insight into the statesmanship of Atal.

Lastly, the Congress characters come across as extras from The Accidental Prime Minister and PM Narendra Modi.

Payal Nair, as Indira Gandhi, suffers the most with a very weak characterisation. The stone-faced expressions of Payal Nair also don’t help in any way.

Final take

Main Atal Hoon is worth watching if you want to see how Pankaj Tripathi has stepped into the shoes of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

But those looking for a nuanced political drama are advised to look elsewhere.

(https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/main-atal-hoon-movie-review/)

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Merry Christmas:  A Concoction Of Darlings And Andhadhun

Sriram Raghavan’s latest doesn’t hit the high notes of his previous films but still this is an intriguing thriller

Rating 3
Starcast: Vijay Sethupathi, Katrina Kaif, Sanjay Kapoor, Ashwini Kaleskar, Vinay Pathak and others
Director and writer: Sriram Raghavan
Additional writers: Arjit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Suruti and Anukruti Pandey
Based on: Le Monte Charge by Federic Dard
Producers: Ramesh Taurani, Jaya Taurani, Sanjay Routray and Kewal Garg
Production Companies: Tips Films and Matchbox Pictures
Genre: Thriller/drama
Running time: 2 hours and 25 minutes

Sriram Raghavan has established his credits as a thriller specialist starting from his debut film Ek Hasina Thi starring Saif Ali Khan and Urmila Matondkar. Except for Agent Vinod also starring Saif Ali Khan the director has created some delicious characters and has done an excellent job in capturing the dark nature of human beings. Additionally Sriram is also known for casting actors against the type. The perfect examples of these are Varun Dhawan in Badlapur and Ayushmann Khurrana in Andhadhun.

Katrina, Vijay Sethupathi and Sriram Raghavan, the director.

The director has continued his penchant for unusual casting with Merry Christmas. Not many directors would have thought of casting Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi together in a movie. This unique casting has created anticipation for the film. For those who are not aware Merry Christmas is based on a French novel Le-Monte- Charge.

Merry Christmas starts off as a date movie between two strangers. Katrina Kaif is Maria and Vijay Sethupathi is Albert. Both of them meet on Christmas Eve and end up forming a certain connection in a short span of time. Maria is stuck in a turbulent marriage much like Alia Bhatt’s Badru in Darlings. Vijay Sethupathi’s Albert has returned to the city of Bombay after a long gap. Here it has to be mentioned that the story takes place in the 90’s before Bombay had become Mumbai.

Sriram Raghavan’s dark christman with Katrina

Both Maria and Albert have some secrets which they are hiding from each other. As the story progresses the plot turns into a murder mystery when a dead body is found on the couch of Maria, what follows is a tale of deception, death and darkness.

A big strength of Merry Christmas is the recreation of the 90’s Bombay. The viewers feel a certain sense of nostalgia. Like Johnny Gaddaar and Andhadhun there is a certain retro touch which adds to the story.

The casting of Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif has raised many eyebrows given the huge discrepancy in terms of the acting capabilities. But it has to be said they do feed off each other. Katrina Kaif’s acting does fall a little short in a key emotional sequence related to her husband however it has to be said that overall she has given a proficient performance.  Katrina has done a good job in conveying the different emotions through her body language particularly the portions where Maria has to come across as alluring. Additionally her character has also been designed well going from a gorgeous and vulnerable single mom to a hurt and revengeful wife.

All on one leaf

Vijay Sethupathi on the other hand is as brilliant as ever. He portrays the different emotions of grief, pain and others in his trademark style. The actor also leaves you in splits with the one liners.

The supporting cast comprising of Sanjay Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Ashwini Kalsekar and others also do a good job in maintaining the mystery with their impactful performances. However it has to be said the supporting characters in Badlapur and Andhadhun had a bigger impact.

Talking about twists and turns some of twists have the trademark Sriram Raghavan touch but they are not entirely satisfactory. The climax in particular is a low point. It has not got the thrill and the heft of the last scene in Andhadhun where many people had come up with different theories.

Merry Christmas does not entirely live up to the standards that Sriram Raghavan has set but for Katrina Kaif this film is a new start. Here’s hoping the actress continues to take on challenging roles like this.

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Dunki: This Rajkumar Hirani Directorial Is A Heartwarming Tale That Tackles An Important Social Issue

The ace director is once again successful on taking the audiences through an emotional rollercoaster particularly in the second half

Dunki (Hindi)
Rating 3.5 out of 5
Starcast: Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Anil Grover, Vikram Kochhar, Boman Irani and others extended special appearance (Vicky Kaushal)
Director and writer: Rajkumar Hirani
Additional writers: Kanika Dhillon and Abhijat Joshi
Producers: Gauri Khan, Rajkumar Hirani and Jyoti Deshpande
Production Companies: Jio Studios, Red Chillies entertainment and Rajkumar Hirani films
Genre: Comedy/drama
Running time: 2 hours and 36 minutes

Rajkumar Hirani is one of those filmmakers who has struck a chord right from his first one Munnabhai MBBS. The director has successfully developed the knack of bringing social issues to the fore in a way that is accessible to the mainstream audiences. The one exception though is Sanju as that was an autobiographical work.

With his latest Dunki Rajkumar Hirani has focused his lens on Donkey Flight (illegal immigration). The film opens with the characters of Manu (Taapsee Pannu), Buggu (Vikram Kochhar) and Balli (Anil Grover). They have been in London for the past 25 years but now they are homesick and want to return to India. But this is not possible for reasons that cannot be revealed here.

Taapsee Pannu and Shah Rukh Khan

The only person who can get them back to the country is Hardyal Singh Dhillon aka Hardy (Shah Rukh Khan). Manu, Buggu and Balli plan a meeting with Hardy in Dubai. The irony here is that once upon a time three of them were desperate to make a good living in London. The story shifts to a flashback where we are introduced to a group of people apart from those already mentioned. Their biggest dream is going to London in search of better prospects. Unfortunately all of them are poor in terms of both social status and education. In this scenario Hardy comes to that town situated in Punjab. Boman Irani plays Gulati. He runs an English speaking course. In this group of friends only one manages to pass the IELTS Exam. Manu and Balli manage to overcome their disappointment. Vicky Kaushal’s Sukhi though is not able to swallow the bitter pill. Sukhi’s reasons for going to London are different from Manu and Balii. He wants to save his ex girlfriend from an abusive marriage. Just before the interval there is the disturbing scene of Sukhi committing suicide by burning himself. Now Hardy takes it upon himself to make sure that Manu, Balii and others reach London even if it is through the illegal and dangerous means of Dunki.

Shah Rukh Khan with Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Vikram Kochhar and Anil Grover

The first half of Dunki mostly has a breezy tone to it. There are many instances of Raj Kumar Hirani’s trademark humor in the portions featuring Boman Irani. The humor here hasn’t got the quality of the directors previous ones particularly the Munnabhai films and PK. The punch lines in fact come across as forced on certain occasions. However there are scenes which tickle your funny bone too.

There are also cute moments between Shah Rukh Khan and Taapsee that bring a smile to the viewers face. Through this love Rajkumar Hirani focuses on the serious subject of illegal migrants. How they resort to dangerous routes in order to reach foreign countries. Many of them do not even make it and die in the process.

There are scenes in the second half where we see the characters going through several ordeals in harsh terrains. These moments are disturbing to watch.

Raj Kumar Hirani, the successful director 

Rajkumar Hirani is also successful in making some pertinent points about the struggles of Non English speaking Indians.

What doesn’t work for Dunki apart from the inconsistent humor are its foreign characters. They are mostly reduced to stock caricatures.

Talking about the performances Shah Rukh Khan blends well into the world of Raj Kumar Hirani. He particularly shines in the second half when things get serious. Taapsee Manu is also solid as Manu. She shares a good chemistry with SRK. Her Punjabi dialect is also spot on bringing back memories of Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyaan.

Shah Rukh Khan plays the soldier

There are portions in the film where SRK and Taapsee are seen with grey hair reminding the viewers of Khan and Preity Zinta in Veer Zara. The prosthetic work is neat and as a result the audiences feel that they have convincingly aged.

Vikram Kochhar and Anil Grover also lend good support. They don’t feel burdened by the presence of SRK at any point. Vicky Kaushal in an extended special appearance makes his presence amply felt.

Pritam’s music is not a chartbuster but goes well with the mood of the film. Lutt Putt Gaya has a catchy tone. O Maahi and Nikile The Kabhi Hum Ghar Se are soulful in nature.

Watch Dunki for the top notch performances and the social relevancy of the subject.

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Animal: A Chilling Psychological Portrait Of A Man Who Is Desperate To Get Love And Affection From His Father

Ranbir Kapoor and Anil Kapoor bring their A game but the conundrum of Sandeep Reddy Vanga persist

Rating: 2.5
Starcast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Rashmika Mandana, Bobby Deol and others
Direction, Screenplay and editing: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Additional screenplay: Pranay Reddy Vanga and Saurabh Gupta
Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishna Kumar, Murad Khetani and Pranay Reddy Vanga
Music composers: Pritam, Manan Bhardwaj and others
Production Companies: Bhadrakali Pictures, T- Series Films and Cine 1 studios.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga is one of the few directors who became a big sensation with his very first film. Arjun Reddy (Kabir Singh in Hindi) was not just a box office success but it was also intensely scrutinized given the extreme raw nature with which he had depicted the love story of his protagonist.

Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna and Bobby Deol

With Animal the director dwells into another dark tale. This time it is about a father and son; Ranvijay Singh (Ranbir Kapoor) is the son of a successful industrialist Balbir Singh (Anil Kapoor). Ranvijay considers Balbir as the best father in the world, this in spite of having many issues with him. He is sent out of the house twice by his father; first when he went with a gun to threaten his sister’s classmates for ragging her and the second time for a huge argument with his brother-in-law on the occasion of his father’s 60th birthday.  

After a brief love story, marriage and two kids in US Ranvijay returns to India when he comes to know his father was attacked and grievously injured. He decides to find out who his father’s enemies are. In this process his path crosses with that of Bobby Deol who turns out to be his stepbrother thirsting for revenge. Rashmika Mandanna is the disgruntled wife of Ranvijay. She bears the brunt of her husband’s violent actions and his obsessive love for his parent. Soon enough there are no traces of the man that she fell in love with.

A big strength of Animal is easily the twisted father and son dynamics. Sandeep Reddy Vanga doesn’t waste any time in establishing how much Ranvijay craves for his father’s affection along with the workaholic nature of the father. There is a wild streak in Ranvijay from a young age itself.

Anil Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra and Bobby Deol

As mentioned above there is a scene where Ranvijay’s sister comes home crying after a ragging incident. She calls up her father multiple times but Balbir doesn’t lift the phone. Later she pours out her frustration to Ranvijay who immediately goes to her college with a gun. Not surprisingly Balbir gets pissed with his son and ends up slapping him.

This scene successfully sets the base for the friction between father and son. The gradual progression of Ranvijay into an ‘Animal’ has been well staged and does send a chill down the audience’s spine.

The emotional bits between father and son in the later stages are also directed well. There is a scene in the pre-climax where Ranvijay does a role reversal with his father, that is, Ranvijay acting as the dad and Balbir acting as the son. The long years of inner frustration and Anil Kapoor’s repentance packs a big punch.

Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna

Bobby Deol appears only in the second half. His scenes are few but Bobby makes a solid impression just with his eyes and overall physical demeanor. The climatic fight between him and Ranbir has lot of raw action and is definitely a delight for those who like this kind of action.

But the overdose of blood and violence is a definite put off. The scenes of Ranbir hacking and killing several men gets nauseating after a point.

Another major flaw with Animal is the depiction of its female characters. They are mostly there only to bear the brunt of men. The best example of this is Rashmika’s Geetanjali. There is an important scene in the second half when Geetanjali has a severe argument in a high pitched tone with her husband. This is because of an affair that Ranvijay had behind her back.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga, director

Ideally the viewers should have rooted for Geetanjali but Rashmika’s screaming makes it difficult to empathize. Another example of a badly written female character is that of the one played by Tripti Dimri. She is a moll who is sent to seduce Ranvijay by Bobby Deol. Ranvijay knows that she is a moll but still ends up having a physical relationship and also makes her lick his shoes to prove her love. This is, to say the least is in very bad taste. 

The music composed by Pritam, Harshavardhan Rameshwar and others make for a good listen. The songs that stand out are Satranga and Pappa Meri Jaan.

Not surprisingly it is Ranbir and Anil Kapoor who lead the acting department. Both the actors get into the zone of Sandeep Reddy Vanga with zero inhibitions.

Animal is not a film that can be slotted as either good or bad. Still there is enough to enjoy if you are a fan of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s style of filmmaking or if you like Ranbir and Anil Kapoor’s acting. But it is clear that Sandeep Reddy Vanga hasn’t learnt anything from the criticism of Arjun Reddy.

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Farrey: An Engrossing Film About A Genius Student Who Goes Wayward

A must-watch!

Farrey (Hindi)

  • Cast: Alizeh Agnihotri, Juhi Babbar, Ronit Roy, and Sahil Mehta
  • Director: Soumendra Padhi
  • Producer: Atul Agnihotri, Alvira Khan
  • Music: Sachin-Jigar
  • Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes

The Thai film Bad Genius (2017) was about an A+ student who devises innovative methods to cheat in exams.

It was based on a real-life incident and focused on themes of class inequality and some general issues that teenagers go through. It is a subject that can fit in any language.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Salman Khan has chosen this film as a launch for his niece Alizeh.

Soumendra Padhi’s first feature film was the critically acclaimed Budhia Singh-Born to Run (2016). It was based on the life of Budhia Singh, who ran 48 marathons and was the world’s youngest marathon runner.

Surprisingly, the buzz around Farrey (Slip that students use for cheating in exams) has been on the lower side despite the film opening to positive reviews in the International Film Festival of India, Goa.

Whatever the box office outcome of Farrey is, there is no denying that Salman Khan has produced a quality film and a star is born.

Synopsis

Farrey is based on the Thai film Bad Genius
‘Farrey’ is based on the Thai film ‘Bad Genius’. (X)

For those who have not watched the Thai movie, Farrey focuses on two students from an underprivileged class.

Niyati (Alizeh Agnihotri) is one of them. She is brought up in an orphanage under the loving care of a warden-cum-father figure (Ronit Roy) and his wife (Juhi Babbar Soni).

Niyati is always a top student. She passes her 10th-class exams with distinction marks and gets admission for Plus-Two in a popular institution. Here, too, Niyati becomes a top student.

The principal (Shilpa Shukla) grants her a full scholarship.

Her nearest competitor in studies is Aakash (Sahil Mehta). He is Niyati’s friend and comes from the same social strata as she does. He, too, is granted the same scholarship.

On the other side of the spectrum, you have the super-rich Chhavi (Prasanna Bisht) and Prateek (Zeyn Shaw). Niyati and Chhavi become good friends.

Chhavi’s father (Arbaaz Khan in a two-scene cameo) wants his daughter to follow in the footsteps of her brother and secure a seat at Stanford. She constantly faces the pressure of being pitted against her brother.

Chhavi lures Niyati to help her and a few others. After some agonising, Niyati agrees to earn some quick money because she wants to help the orphanage.

What starts as a one-time help ends up as a serious affair.

Farrey is essentially a coming-of-age story of a girl who realises her mistakes and undergoes a transformation.

Class divide

Director Soumendra Padhi does a good job of presenting the class divide and the two vastly different worlds of Niyati and Chhavi. This comes out particularly well in the scenes where Niyati goes to Chhavi’s house. She feels like an “Alice” lost in some strange land.

Another aspect that stands out is the character of Chhavi. There is no denying that Chhavi is manipulative and not likeable. But at the same time, the viewers also understand why she does what she does.

Chhavi wants to become an interior designer and is not interested in taking over her father’s business. However, the pressure of living up to the expectations of her father’s desires gets to her.

Prasanna Bisht does a swell job of portraying the grey shades of Chhavi.

The second half of Farrey is more about the cheating methods that Niyati employs along with her friend Aakash. The drama becomes more heightened, and soon, the film turns into a morality play where the viewers feel tense about the plight of these two students. Of course, all ends well.

Alizeh Agnihotri and Sahil Mehta stand out

Alizeh Agnihotri in Farrey
Alizeh Agnihotri stands out in ‘Farrey’. (X)

The scenes featuring Alizeh and Ronit Roy are filled with warmth. For example, there is a scene in the pre-climax where Niyati confesses about her wrongdoings.

It has been solidly directed and acted. It is nice to see Ronit Roy in a character like this for a change, as he mostly played a stern father. The actor plays his part with a lot of warmth.

However, the same thing cannot be said about the two-scene cameo of Arbaaz Khan. It doesn’t add any significance to the film.

More scenes between Prasanna and Arbaaz would have enhanced the drama.

The scenes of Niyati helping her rich friends have the right amount of thrill, but they are also stretched in some places.

The character arcs of the rich kids needed to be tied up in a more uncliched manner.

Alizeh Agnihotri makes a truly sparkling debut. She has a difficult character to play, given the moral ambiguities. But the young actress pulls it off like a pro. She pulls off the various transitions in Niyati’s life admirably.

Sahil Mehta, as Aakash, is solid. Just like Alizeh, he also does a swell job of depicting the grey shades of his role.

Verdict

To sum it up, Farrey is a film that should be on your weekend list — whether you have watched Bad Genius or not.

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Tiger 3: An Action Spectacle For Fans Of Salman And Spy Movies But This Tiger Doesn’t Pack The Same Punch As War And Pathaan

Emraan Hashmi roars the loudest with his portrayal of the menacing Aatish. Shah Rukh Khan more than makes his presence felt in an extended cameo.

Tiger 3 (Hindi)                 2.5 out of 5            

      • Starcast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi and others; Special appearances (Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan)
      • Director: Maneesh Sharma
      • Story: Aditya Chopra
      • Screenplay: Shridhar Raghavan
      • Dialogues: Anckur Chaudhry
      • Music: Pritam
      • Production Company: Yash Raj Films
      • Genre: Action thriller/drama
      • Running time: 2 hours and 36 minutes

    In the year 2012 the spy journey of Aditya Chopra and YRF began with the Kabir Khan directorial EK Tha Tiger. It was a love story between a RAW and an ISI agent. Ek Tha Tiger was appreciated for its action and also the love story.

    The success of Ek Tha Tiger led to the creation of an entire spy universe like Tiger Zinda Hai, War and Pathaan. Tiger 3 is the fifth film of this universe and there are more to follow.

    Maneesh Sharma the director of Tiger 3 had a huge responsibility on his shoulders as all the previous films of this franchise have gone on to become blockbusters. The director’s last film was Fan. Fan had a gripping first half followed by a lackluster and implausible second half. Viewers could clearly see Maneesh Sharma being overwhelmed by the scale of the film and losing focus. Tiger 3 is another example of Maneesh Sharma’s inability to handle stories of large scale. Tiger 3 is not a bad film but in comparison to War and Pathaan it does fall quite short.

    Emraan Hashmi roars the loudest

    The plot of Tiger 3 focuses on one of Bollywood’s most favorite theme. That is India, Pakistan’s love hate relationship. The mission of Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger (Salman Khan) is to prevent a military coup and also the assassination of the Pakistani Prime Minister (Simran modeled on Benazir Bhutto). Tiger’s biggest thorn in the back is a Pakistan agent gone rogue Aatish (Emraan Hashmi).  The biggest desire of Aatish is to take over Pakistan and make sure that no kind of peace happens between both the countries.

    Katrina Kaif also reprises her role of Zee Humaimi aka Zoya from the previous two Tiger films. This time around the character of Zoya has a back-story. In this back-story the viewers get to know that Aatish was her former handler. Once upon a time she was a protégée of Aatish but in the present scenario things have changed drastically.

    Salman Khan gets into his shoes with practised ease

    A big strength of Tiger 3 is the galore of twists and turns at regular intervals. For example in the beginning the viewers are led to believe that Zoya is betraying Tiger by hiding certain information. These twists and turns do keep the viewers on their feet.

    Cinematographer Anay Goswamy also does a wonderful job in capturing the many locations of this globe trotter. These include Europe, Russia and Istanbul among others.

    The action sequences have plenty of hand to hand combats and are a definite treat for those who like to see raw action. Two action scenes deserve a particular mention. One is the climax fight between Salman and Emraan Hashmi. The other one is Katrina fighting in a towel inside a Turkish hammam or bath. Both these sequences have been brilliantly shot.

    Katrina Kaif in her towel fight scenes

    As mentioned in the beginning Emraan Hashmi shines the brightest in this cast. His demeanor and the body language are a treat to watch. Emraan plays the ruthless villain without missing a single beat. A special mention must be made of the scenes that Emraan shares with Katrina in the flashback portions.

    One of the most enjoyable portions of Tiger 3 is definitely Shah Rukh Khan’s extended cameo as Pathaan. It is a perfect mixture of action and some very witty dialogues. Viewers can clearly see that Shah Rukh is having a blast. In one of the scenes you have Shah Rukh Khan and Salman in a Sholay inspired motorcycle scene. Pathaan is in the driver’s seat and Tiger makes a joke about how the last time this vehicle was driven only one person came out alive. There is also a post credit scene involving Hrithik Roshan’s Kabir from War. The scene doesn’t last long but Hrithik’s swagger is unmissable.

    A big problem with Tiger 3 is the overtly simplistic treatment of the issues between India and Pakistan. Director Maneesh Sharma doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the Indo-Pak angle. Tiger 3 operates in a fanciful zone of two rival nations hoping to initiate peace talks and end the fear of war. But these noble intentions do not translate effectively on screen.

    Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, a camio scene

    The love story between Tiger and Zoya is in the same space as in the previous two films. There is no substantial character development in spite of Zoya’s back-story.

    Both Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif get into the shoes of their respective characters with practiced ease. As said earlier Katrina shines in the action sequences but her performance in the emotional ones leave a lot to be desired.

    Some of the supporting cast from Tiger 1 and 2 are seen in this film as well. They include Ranvir Shorey and Kumud Mishra among others but they are reduced to side dishes. Revathi as the boss takes over from the late Girish Karnad. Unfortunately the senior actress has been severely underutilized. This is sad because Dimple Kapadia in Pathaan made a terrific boss woman.

    Pritam’s music consists of only one good number and that is Ruaan. Pritam’s tune coupled with Arjit Singh’s voice makes it a good hear and watch.  

    To sum it up Tiger 3 is a step back for the spy universe but here’s hoping that War 2 and others bring it back on track. 

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    Ganapath: A Show Reel For Tiger Shroff’s Somersaults

    The film begins off as a dystopian drama with some promise but soon becomes a generic Tiger Shroff vehicle with no head or tail 

    Ganapath (Hindi)             1 out of 5

    Starcast: Tiger Shroff, Kriti Sanon, Amitabh Bachchan, Rahman and others

    Writer and director: Vikas Bahl

    Producers: Vikas Bahl, JackkyBhagnani, Vashu Bhagnani and others

    Production Companies: Good Co and Pooja Entertainment

    Runtime: 2 hours and 30 minutes

    Genre: Action/dystopian

    Vikas Bahl’s Ganapath starts off with a voice over of Dalapathi (Amitabh Bachchan with his trademark baritone). He talks about how a destructive war has led to a world divided in two parts. On the one hand you have the ‘Silver City’ where the rich and mighty are ruling the roost. Their leader is the cold hearted Dalani. On the other hand you have the ‘Garibon Ki basti’. The people living here don’t have sufficient food, water or money. However they are living in a certain hope that a saviour called Ganapath will get them out of this hell. This was prophesied by Dalapathi before he dies. Ironically their saviour Guddu aka Ganapath (Tiger Shroff) is living a super rich life in the Silver City.

    Tiger Shroff’s introduction shot shows him waking up with many skimpily clad women swooning over him. This has to be one of the worst hero introduction scenes ever. Guddu works for John English (Ziad Bakari). John English is an aid of Dalani. Things take a turn when John’s girlfriend (Elli AvRam) tries to seduce Guddu and both of them are caught red handed. The rest of the story is about what Guddu’s actual identity is and how he ends up being a messiah for the ‘Garibon Ki basti’.

    There is no denying that the story of Ganapath had the potential to be an impactful action drama with some social commentary. However the problem is that director Vikas Bahl had given more focus on Tiger Shroff’s physical agility rather than a well structured film.

    Tiger Shroff’s action and swag is very much on point but we have seen Tiger do all these in his previous films so there is nothing new for the audiences. A primary reason why Siddarth Anand’s War remains Tiger Shroff’s best performance so far is that his action in that film was backed by a strong emotional undercurrent. Here it is mostly missing except for a heartfelt speech in the climax. But by that time audiences are well past caring for what is happening on the screen.

    Further adding to the woes is the unnecessary Mumbaiya slang which doesn’t make any sense. Kriti Sanon plays an underground rebel warrior called Jassi. Her introduction scene is filled with a few  impressive stunts but soon she ends up being a mere girlfriend with little agency.

    The love story between Guddu and Jassi is another sore point. Guddu’s flirting with Jassi is cringe worthy to say the least.

    Amitabh Bachchan’s extended cameo is powerful and we wish that he had more screen time. Tamil actor Rahman makes a good Bollywood debut. He brings in much needed intensity to the story.

    Another sore point is the shoddy graphics. They make Ganapath look like more of a video game than an actual film.

    The fight sequences have been choreographed well but there is no novelty particularly for those who have seen Tiger do action before.

    Characters from the ‘Garibon Ki basti’ feel like extras from the sets of Bahubali and KGF films. Their only job is to wait for the saviour to arrive.

    To sum it up Ganapath is Vikas Bahl’s worst film till date. This movie makes Shaandar look like a masterpiece.

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    The Vaccine War: Vivek Agnihotri’s Directorial Is Not As Good As The Title

    A big problem with ‘The Vaccine War’ is the extreme heavy-handedness with which Vivek Agnihotri narrates his story.

    Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files was one of the biggest hits of 2022. The movie was a surprise hit as not much was expected from it.

    And now, the director is back with another heavy subject. This time, the results are not so satisfactory.

    The Vaccine War is about a group of determined scientists who face many challenges while making a vaccine when the entire world including India was crippled by the Coronavirus in 2020.

    Synopsis

    Nana Patekar plays Bhargava, the chief scientist, in the film. He is both eccentric and a workaholic.

    At times, Bhargava also comes across as stone-hearted, but he enjoys certain respect from his team.

    His army consists of mostly women. These include Priya Abraham (Pallavi Joshi), Nivedita Gupta (Girija Oak), and Dr Pragya Yadav (Nivedita Bhattacharya).

    It is a treat to watch these women handling multiple roles, professionally and personally.

    The main villain of this tale is a science journalist Rohini Singh Dhulia (Raima Sen). Her character is shown running a smear campaign against the government, with particular vehemence. She writes long articles that undermine the noble efforts of the scientists.

    On the surface, The Vaccine War reminds us of Mission Mangal (2019). There too, you had a group of women scientists headed by Vidya Balan. However, the treatment of both the films is quite different.

    Pluses and minuses

    A big problem with The Vaccine War is the extreme heavy-handedness with which director Vivek Agnihotri narrates the story.

    There is a lot of high-sounding terminology that the director uses, and this ends up boring the audience.

    To give credit where it is due, Vivek is successful in staging some good emotional moments. Most of these moments are concerning the characters played by Pallavi Joshi and Girija Oak. Viewers feel genuine empathy towards them.

    The struggles of the women scientists in balancing their professional and personal duties are shown well by the director.

    He also gives some nice emotional touches to the character of Nana Patekar. The duo makes sure that Bhargava doesn’t come across as a caricature.

    Another big problem with The Vaccine War is the characterisation of journalist Rohini Singh Dhulia. This is not the first film which is guilty of portraying the media in a negative light.

    Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju (2018) also made the media a big scapegoat for Sanjay Dutt’s bad image, but the director balanced the negative portrayal of the media with other elements.

    Nevertheless, in The Vaccine War, not only does Rohini Singh occupy much more space than needed, but also has a constant smirk on her face which is irritating to watch. There is no second layer either in her characterisation or performance.

    Final take

    To sum it up, The Vaccine War is a long-drawn showcase of the government’s “achievements”.

    (Views expressed here are personal.)

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    The Great Indian Family: Vijay Krishna Acharya’s Plea For Inclusivity In Diversity

    The director shows a huge improvement from ‘Thugs of Hindostan’, but a stronger female lead would have elevated the movie.

    An appreciable attempt!
    The Great Indian Family (Hindi)
    • Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Manushi Chhillar, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, and Bhuvan Arora
    • Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya
    • Producer: Aditya Chopra
    • Music: Pritam
    • Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes

    Vijay Krishna Acharya is known for directing big-budget extravaganzas. All his films — Tashan (2008), Dhoom 3 (2013), and Thugs of Hindostan (2018) — belong to the action genre and feature big stars.

    However, the subject of his latest outing — The Great Indian Family — on the surface appears as a misfit for the director. But he pleasantly surprises us, particularly, when the film gets to the meat of the story.

    The Great Indian Family is about a Brahmin boy Ved Vyas Tripathi, also known as Bhajan Kumar.

    Ved Vyas (Vicky Kaushal) faces an identity crisis when all of a sudden he comes to know that he is actually a Muslim by birth.

    His father, rather the adopted father Siya Ram Tripathi (Kumud Mishra) is a most respected pandit of the small town where the film is set.

    Manoj Pahwa plays the uncle of Ved Vyas. His character Balak Ram goes through a shift when the identity of Ved Vyas is known. All this happens when Siya Ram Tripathi is on a pilgrimage.

    Yashpal Sharma, on the other hand, plays the rival pandit who wants to bring down the popularity of Siya Ram Tripathi.

    And finally, you have the female lead Manushi Chillar who shows no improvement from her Samrat Prithviraj (2022) days.

    Positives

    The Great Indian Family does take time to get going. Vicky Kaushal’s scenes with his two friends don’t add much to the film.

    Manushi Chjillar’s entry only further slackens the proceedings. Her attempt at being a Punjabi firebrand is rather laboured. There is zero spunk.

    Vicky’s chemistry with Manushi has none of the sizzle that he shared with Sara Ali Khan in Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (2023).

    The best portions of the film are the scenes where Ved Vyas is going through an existential crisis. There was a time when he was adored by his uncle and others. But now, the same family turns its back on him owing to societal pressure.

    The situation reaches a point where Ved Vyas seriously thinks of embracing Islam. The paradox here is that without knowing his identity, he finds shelter in a Muslim family. Additionally, his Sikh girlfriend has no issues about him belonging to either of the religions.

    It is in these bits that the directorial skills of Vijay Krishna Acharya come forth.

    Performances

    Another area where the movie scores is the scenes featuring the senior actors Manoj Pahwa and Kumud Mishra.

    Manoj Pahwa plays a citizen who is good at heart but can get easily influenced by WhatsApp forwards. But the director makes sure that he doesn’t become a caricature.

    Vicky Kaushal and Manoj Pahwa have a couple of dramatic showdowns, and these bits are a delight to watch because of the intense acting on display.

    Kumud Mishra conveys a lot with his silence and expressions. The actor particularly shines in the scene where he opens up to the other family members about how he and his wife decided to adopt the boy born to a Muslim mother.

    What pulls the film apart from the female lead is the lacklustre music. The only song that works in The Great Indian Family is “Kanhaiya Twitter Pe Aaja“. It has a catchy tune along with Vicky Kaushal’s energy.

    Pritam’s soundtrack in Rock Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (2023)had far better songs.

    Final take

    The story of The Great Indian Family might sound a little clichéd and a filmy attempt at unifying religions in these difficult times. But it is still an effort that needs to be appreciated.

    (Views expressed here are personal.)