In 2013, actor Farhan Akhtar and director-producer Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra collaborated on BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG. The sports biopic of Milkha Singh got unanimous praise and it resulted in box office collections of Rs. 100 crore plus. 8 years later, both have joined hands once again for yet another sports film, TOOFAAN. This time, Farhan has stepped in as a producer as well, along with his partner Ritesh Sidhwani. So does TOOFAAN manage to be as compelling as their earlier film? Or does it disappoint? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1242092" src="https://ift.tt/3kihFns" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> TOOFAAN is the story of a street brawler’s transformation into a top-class boxer. Aziz Ali aka Ajju (Farhan Akhtar) is an orphan who was raised by Jafar Bhai (Vijay Raaz). Aziz now lives with his friend Munna (Hussain Dalal) in Dongri, Mumbai and does all the dirty work for Jafar bhai. While thrashing a restaurant owner (Imran Rashid) over a feud with Jafar bhai, Aziz gets injured. He goes to a charitable hospital for treatment where the doctor, Ananya Prabhu (Mrunal Thakur) ousts him after learning that he’s a goon. A few days later, Ananya witnesses Aziz buying gifts for children in an orphanage. This makes her realize that he’s a good person at heart. One day, Aziz visits a gym in his neighbourhood, run by a man called Merchant (Deven Khote). Merchant trains boxing aspirants in his premises. Aziz witnesses it and gets into a brawl with a player practicing there, Parvez (Arhan Chowdary). Instead of hitting back, Parvez praises him and says that he has a lot of strength. Aziz gets surprised and realizes that boxing can make him a better human. He starts his training. But he still continues working for Jafar bhai. One day, Ananya witnesses Aziz evicting a person from his shop violently. She admonishes him and insists that he should wholly focus on boxing. Aziz realizes she’s right. When Merchant sees a potential in him, he takes Aziz to Nana Prabhu (Paresh Rawal), the best boxing coach in Mumbai. Nana gets Aziz to fight with his student. Aziz gets defeated and he asks Nana to train him. Nana, however, refuses at first due to Aziz’s Muslim identity. Meanwhile, Aziz goes back to the hospital to get treated for the injury sustained in the match. This is when he tells Ananya that he met Nana sir, unknown to the fact that she is Nana’s daughter. Soon, Nana agrees to train him and turns him into a top boxing player. Aziz also gets selected for the state championship where he manages to defeat a seasoned player, Dharmesh Patil (Darshan Kumaar). This is also a time when Aziz starts dating Ananya. After his victory, Aziz is having a drink with Nana when he blurts out that he’s in a relationship with Ananya and that he wants to marry her. Aziz had no idea that she’s Nana’s daughter. Nana, in a fit of rage, slaps Aziz and accuses him of conning his daughter. Nana then forces Ananya to end the relationship and remarks that Aziz is carrying out ‘Love Jihad’. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Farhan Akhtar's story idea and Anjum Rajabali's story is clichéd. The rise, the fall and the rise of a sportsperson has been witnessed in many sports films, from Mithun Chakraborty starrer BOXER [1984] to the more recent SULTAN [2016], and also in Hollywood films. Anjum Rajabali's screenplay (additional screenplay by Vijay Maurya) is decent but also predictable. You know what is going to happen next in most parts of the film. Thankfully, the writing is peppered with lot of interesting moments. But ideally, the story should have been novel and screenplay should have been gripping. Vijay Maurya's dialogues are simple and sharp. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's direction is first-class. The director is back in form, after delivering two forgettable fares in the form of MIRZYA [2016] and MERE PYARE PRIME MINISTER [2019]. He executes a clichéd and ordinary story very well. The sports and training scenes manage to engross. What’s also praiseworthy is that in the middle of the second half, another round of training track is infused when Aziz makes a comeback after a gap. Even these scenes are well shot and don’t look repetitive. TOOFAAN however also has other subplots and raises some pertinent issues of the society. On the flipside, the second half is where the film drops a bit. The tragedy comes in suddenly and some viewers might find it difficult to digest. At 161 minutes, the film is too long and its run time should have been trimmed. Lastly, one expects a lot from this film as it’s made by the BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG director and also stars the same actor. In that regard, TOOFAAN is no match to their earlier film. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>"Farhan is the REAL PERFECTIONIST, Aamir Khan comes on No.2"- Farhan REACTS to this comment | Toofaan</strong></span> <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://ift.tt/3yX1UWU" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> TOOFAAN’s first half is fair. The characters of Aziz, Dr. Ananya and Nana Prabhu are well written and presented to the viewers. Also, the fact that Ananya has a connection to both adds a lot of drama to the story. The boxing track is great but the religion angle particularly works big time. The makers have also made a balanced viewpoint and have shown how both communities have elements that have issues with inter-religious romance. Another relatable part of the film is when Aziz and Ananya failing to find a residence of their choice due to their separate religious identities. The second half has a lot of unexpected developments and it takes a while to process. Aziz’s comeback is great but it’s bewildering to see how he manages to make it to the national championship conveniently. Farhan Akhtar is in a superb form. He looks very convincing as a boxer but even in dramatic and emotional scenes, he rocks big time. After DIL DHADAKNE DO [2016], he wasn’t seen in memorable films and performances. Hence, it’s a pleasure to finally see him in a film where he gets an opportunity to shine. Mrunal Thakur is the surprise of the film. She has a very important part to play in the happenings of the movie and she does total justice with her performance. Also, her hundred watt smile is infectious. Paresh Rawal is terrific and pulls off a challenging role with ease. He’s missing in the beginning of the second half but makes up for it in the pre-climax and climax. Hussain Dalal is lovely as the sidekick and contributes to the film’s humour quotient. Vijay Raaz doesn’t have much to do surprisingly especially since his character seemed unhappy with Aziz’s decision. Darshan Kumaar is great as the baddie. But it seems he’s getting typecast. Dr. Mohan Agashe (Bala Uncle) is adorable and also is the voice of reason and sanity. This makes his character very special. Supriya Pathak (Sister DSouza) is alright. Gauri Phulka (Myra) steals the show as Aziz and Ananya’s daughter. Gaganpreet Sharma (Prithvi Singh) is menacing as the dangerous opponent of Aziz. Deven Khote is confident while Arhan Chowdary, Imran Rashid, RJ Anmol (State championship commentator) and Akashdeep Sabir (Mallik; match fixer) do well. Sonali Kulkarni (Sumati) is there for a scene while director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (IBF Secretary) is okay. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is disappointing and this is also one of the weak points of the film. Also, there are as many as 8 songs and on top of that, the album is not memorable. Ideally the movie should have been a song less entertainer. That would have increased the impact. The title track is the best of the lot followed by <em>'Star Hai Tu'</em>. Both are well shot.<em> 'Ananya', 'Jo Tum Aa Gaye Ho'</em> (composed by Samuel and Akansha) and <em>'Purvaiya'</em> fail to register. The rap songs, <em>'Dekh Toofaan Aaya Hai'</em> and <em>'Todun Taak'</em>, don’t have recall value. <em>'Ganpati Vandana'</em> is played at an important juncture in the film. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Tubby's background score is exceptional and would have made a bigger impact on the big screen. Jay Oza's cinematography is spectacular and elevates impact in several scenes. The boxing scenes, especially, are very well shot. Rajat Poddar's production design and Abhilasha Sharma's costumes are straight out of life. Alan Amin's action is raw. Cinegence and Futureworks' VFX is appropriate. Meghna Manchanda Sen's editing is neat but should have kept the duration in check. Lastly, special mention should also go to Farhan Akhtar's fitness team - Drew Neal (Boxing trainer), Samir Jarua (fitness trainer) and Dr Anand Kumar (physiotherapist) - for making him seem like a seasoned player. On the whole, TOOFAAN boasts of powerful performances along with some heart-touching and dramatic moments. But the film’s lengthy runtime, poor soundtrack, clichéd plot and the predictable narrative diminishes the impact to a great extent.
source https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/toofaan/critic-review/toofaan-movie-review/
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Friday, July 2, 2021
Movie Review: Haseen Dillruba
Director Vinil Mathew made a smashing debut with the light-hearted entertainer, HASEE TOH PHASEE [2014]. 7 years later, he’s back with his next outing, HASEEN DILLRUBA. This time, he has chosen a dark subject with a dash of thrill and whodunit. The casting and the intriguing trailer has already made people curious. So does HASEEN DILLRUBA manage to shock and entertain the audiences? Or does it fail to impress? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1235646" src="https://ift.tt/3AiO8PX" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> HASEEN DILLRUBA is the story of a wife accused of murdering her husband. Rishabh Saxena aka Rishu (Vikrant Massey) resides in Jwalapur along with his mother Lata (Yamini Das) and father Brijraj (Daya Shankar Pandey). He is looking for a girl for marriage and his search leads him to Rani Kashyap (Taapsee Pannu) in Delhi. Rishu falls for Rani instantly. Lata realizes that Rani is not the simple and homely girl that she’s looking for. But Rishu is adamant. The marriage takes place. A nervous Rishu fails to consummate the marriage. Lata, meanwhile, starts chiding Rani for lying that she can cook. One day, Rishu overhears Rani speaking to her mother (Alka Kaushal) and her masi (Puja Sarup) that Rishu is not good in bed. Rishu is hurt and retreats into a shell. Rani gets lonely. One day, Rishu’s cousin Neel Tripathi (Harshvardhan Rane) comes to stay with the Saxena’s. Neel is dashing and well-built and Rani gets charmed by her. Neel realizes that Rani is attracted to her and both begin a fling. Rani falls in love with Neel to the extent that she begins to learn cooking so that she can feed him his favourite dishes. One day, Neel expresses the desire to have mutton. Rani, who’s a vegetarian, agrees and goes out to buy meat. The same day, she tells Neel that she'd like to end the marriage and move in with him. A commitment-phobic Neel panics and runs away. Rani is hurt and she blurts the truth to Rishu. Rishu wanted to have a fresh start but this confession hurts him even more. A few months later, an explosion takes place in the Saxena residence, killing Rishu. The investigating officer, Kishore Rawat (Aditya Srivastava), is sure that Rani has killed Rishu. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Kanika Dhillon's story works only in parts. The characters are interesting and coupled with the setting, the story had the potential to be a great murder mystery. But things go haywire in the second half. Kanika Dhillon's screenplay is not consistent. Some scenes are very well written and thought of. The first 45 minutes raises the expectations of a thrilling next hour and keeps you hooked. But the subsequent portions suffer due to inept writing. Kanika Dhillon's dialogues are sharp and well-worded. HASEEN DILLRUBA begins on a thrilling note and instantly sets the mood. The scene where Rishu meets Rani for the first time is hilarious and the same goes for the scene where Lata protests by pretending to kill herself. Then the sequence where Rani blasts Rishu in the bedroom is sure to make viewers chuckle. In other words, the first 45 minutes to 60 minutes doesn’t give viewers any reason to complain. Later, however, the film slows down and even becomes unconvincing. A few developments are not easy to digest and are sure to get thumbs down from the viewers. In the pre-climax, the interest rises once again, especially in the lie detector scene. But the finale acts as a disappointment. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1235647" src="https://ift.tt/3yfURZf" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> Vinil Mathew's direction could have been better, especially when we have seen what he’s capable of in his debut film. The narrative is like a see-saw – while the film goes on another level at some places, there are scenes where the interest level drops. The initial portions are interesting and even Neel’s entry adds spice to the narrative. However, the biggest problem of the film is the climax. In a suspense thriller, the viewer is keen to know the suspects, the actual murderer and the motive behind the murder. The climax where the identity of the murderer as well as the motive is revealed comes across as a downer, outright unconvincing and difficult to fathom. Talking of performances, Taapsee Pannu yet again delivers a smashing performance. The actress has raised a certain bar for herself and fortunately, she manages to meet the expectations through her act. The role and script required her to switch between being vulnerable and bold, and she manages to be fully convincing. Vikrant Massey, too, gives his best shot. In fact, his role has a lot of shades and it’s a treat to see how he essays the part. Harshvardhan Rane has a late entry and has limited screen time. But he puts up a great show. Aditya Srivastava does remind one of his role in the TV show ‘CID’. But he is too good and also raises laughs in a few scenes. Yamini Das is hilarious while Daya Shankar Pandey is fine. Alka Kaushal and Puja Sarup are decent in their small roles. Ashish Verma (Afzar) is fair. Amit Trivedi's music is forgettable. <em>'Dil Melt Melt'</em> is placed in a great situation. <em>'Lakeeran'</em>, <em>'Phisal Ja Tu'</em> and <em>'Mila Tu'</em> fail to register. Amar Mangrulkar's background score is better and leaves a mark in the thrilling scenes. Jayakrishna Gummadi's cinematography is appropriate and the locales of Rishikesh are well shot. Madhur Madhavan and Swapnil Bhalerao's production design is straight out of life. Varsha Chandanani and Shilpa Makhija's costumes are realistic with Taapsee’s clothes standing out. Vikramjeet Dahiya's action is convincing and not over the top. Shweta Venkat Mathew's editing is not up to the mark as the film should have been shorter. On the whole, HASEEN DILLRUBA is embellished with some fine performances but the unconvincing narrative in the second half and the disappointing climax spoils the show.
source https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/haseen-dillruba/critic-review/haseen-dillruba-movie-review/
source https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/haseen-dillruba/critic-review/haseen-dillruba-movie-review/
Thursday, June 17, 2021
Movie Review: Sherni
The man-animal conflict is increasing in our country, with each passing year, as more and more forest land is being taken over for residential and other purposes. It is a burning issue but surprisingly, very few films have dealt with this issue. NEWTON [2017] director Amit Masurkar takes up this initiative and comes up with SHERNI. The intriguing trailer and Vidya Balan’s towering presence has generated hype for the film. So does SHERNI manage to thrill and enlighten the audience? Or does it fail to impress? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1229360" src="https://ift.tt/3gKdzAS" alt="Movie Review Sherni" width="720" height="450" /> SHERNI is the story of a tough forest officer intending to capture a tigress that has caused havoc in a region. Vidya Vincent (Vidya Balan) has joined as the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) in the Bijaspur Forest Division. Her husband Pawan (Mukul Chadda) is away in Mumbai while she resides alone in a residence allotted by the Forest Department. She is not happy with the promotions and salary hikes that she has received in the last 9 years and wants to quit. But Pawan advises against doing so as his corporate job is on shaky grounds. One day, Vidya learns that a tiger was spotted close to a village. A few days later, the tiger kills a villager, leading to anger among the locals. Through the camera traps, the forest officers learn that it’s a tigress, named T12, which is behind the killing of the villager. The elections are around the corner and the sitting MLA, G K Singh (Amar Singh Parihar), makes it a political issue. He promises the village residents that he’ll kill the tigress and thus provide respite to them. On the other hand, P K Singh (Satyakam Anand) is an ex MLA who wants to get back to power. He provokes people against G K Singh. Amidst this madness, another villager is killed while she goes to collect wood in the forest. G K Singh then invites Ranjan Rajhans aka Pintu (Sharat Saxena), a self-proclaimed conservationist but who is actually a hunter. He desires to kill T12 to fulfil his hunger for hunting. Vidya, however, is not in favour of killing the animal. She advises the villagers to stay away from the forest. Using camera traps and tracking the pug marks, she hopes to find T12, tranquillize her and then release her in a nearby national park. Time is running out and it’s important she succeeds in her endeavour before it snowballs into a huge controversy and before Pintu hunts the tigress down. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Aastha Tiku's story is impressive. The issue keeps coming up in the news all the time but to see a whole film dedicated to it is rare. But Aastha Tiku's screenplay is bland and stretched. The initial portions are interesting but after a point, the proceedings seem repetitive. And the climax is the biggest downer. Amit Masurkar and Yashasvi Mishra's dialogues are simple and sharp. A few one-liners are unexpectedly funny and help to keep the interest going. Amit Masurkar's direction is average. He seems to love shooting in forests. NEWTON was majorly set in a jungle and so is SHERNI. A few scenes are exceptionally helmed. Amit also neatly explains the role of the forest officer, the concept of Forest Friends, how bureaucracy and government apathy can mess up things etc. On the flipside, he directs the film like a documentary. On top of that, the film’s run time is 130 minutes. It’s a bit too long and ideally, the film should have been under two hours. At certain points, nothing much is happening and we get to see repeated scenes of forest officers and others searching for the tigress. These scenes are sure to test the patience of the viewers. The finale moreover is disappointing and bewildering. A few questions remain unanswered and it leaves audiences confused as to what exactly happened. Lastly, Vidya Vincent’s character is not that impressive, and more on that later. SHERNI begins on a dry note. The opening credits are shown on a black screen with no music. It makes it clear that the film is for niche audiences. The beginning portions are engaging as audiences get acquainted with Vidya Vincent, her job, the search for the tigress etc. The humour quotient also works well. Two scenes that stand out in the first hour are when G K Singh storms an awareness programme of Hassan Noorani (Vijay Raaz), and P K Singh chasing Vidya’s senior Bansal (Brijendra Kala) in his office. The latter is quite amusing and novel, and would surely be appreciated. In the second half, one expects fireworks as the characters seem quite interesting and their conflicting motives were a perfect recipe for a captivating drama. Unfortunately, the makers don’t handle it well. The film ends on an unjustified and drab note. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Vidya Balan: “Entertainment is being RE-DEFINED today, very honestly if this…”| Amit Masurkar</strong></span> <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://ift.tt/3gC7gAS" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Vidya Balan as expected gets into the skin of her character and delivers yet another commendable performance. She looks and suits the part and makes one forget about her past performances. However, her character is not well fleshed out. The promotional campaign had drawn parallels between her character and that of the tigress. However, Vidya Vincent doesn’t really protest or rather, she doesn’t really roar when she witnesses injustice happening around. There are scenes where she’s just a silent bystander. In the end, one finally gets hopeful that she’ll take up matters into her own hands. But the makers don’t explain it well and hence the character loses its sheen. Sharat Saxena is credited immediately after Vidya in the opening credits and rightly so as he has an important part. He’s too good as a passionate hunter who can go to any lengths to achieve his goal. Vijay Raaz doesn’t raise laughs for a change and yet, he’s very impressive. Neeraj Kabi (Nangia) has a great screen presence. Sadly, even his character’s confusing actions seem unconvincing. Mukul Chadda is decent while Brijendra Kala is dependable. Anoop Trivedi (Pyare Lal) is funny and a great find. Satyakam Anand leaves a huge mark while Amar Singh Parihar does well. Gopal Dutt (Saiprasad) is wasted. Ila Arun (Pawan’s mother) is okay; her track in fact increases the film’s length. Suma Mukundan (Vidya’s mother) and Nidhi Diwan (Reshma; Hassan’s wife) don’t get much scope. Sampa Mandal (as the feisty villager Jyoti) is too good. Bandish Projekt's music is poor. <em>'Bandar Baant'</em> is the only song in the film. It is relegated to the background and fits well into the narrative. Benedict Taylor and Naren Chandavarkar's background score is minimal and impactful. Rakesh Haridas's cinematography is splendid and the forest scenes especially are very well captured. Devika Dave's production design is straight out of life. Manoshi Nath, Rushi Sharma and Bhagyashree Rajurkar's costumes are non-glamorous, in sync with the demand of the script. Futureworks and The Cirqus' VFX is great in the scenes of the tiger. But it is unrealistic in the bear sequence. Dipika Kalra's editing is not up to the mark. The film ought to have been shorter. On the whole, SHERNI rests on an interesting storyline and Vidya Balan’s performance. But the slow and documentary-style narrative, longer runtime and bewildering climax ruins the impact.
source https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/sherni-2/critic-review/sherni-2-movie-review/
source https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/sherni-2/critic-review/sherni-2-movie-review/
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Thursday, July 30, 2020
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