The Movie Review – Saas Bahu Aur Sensex

Star rating:

Cast: Tanushree Datta, Kiron Kher, Ankur Khanna, Farooque Shaikh, Masumeh Makhija, Lillete Dubey, Sharon Prabhakar, Mukta Barve, Seema Azmi, Shahnaz Anand, Anoushka Anand, Farid Currim, Chirjyot Singh, Kiran Yadnopavit, Farrokh Mehta, Kartik Ramachandran, Karishma Chandna, Vidyadhar Karmakar, Rustom Irani, Divyatta, Sumer Arora, Ayan Malik, Khoobad, Shreya Sharma

Director: Shona Urvashi

Producer: Jayshree Malhija

Lyrics: Raqueeb Alam, Blaaze, Shona Urvashi

Cinematography: Diego Rodriguez

Editing: Adesh Verma

Screenplay: Shona Urvashi

It delighted me to see Farukh Sheikh in the trailers of a movie about to be released. You got me right. I am talking about the newly released movie Saas Bahu Aur Sensex. Well, truthfully it was not just the veteran actor, but also the title that seemed quite interesting about this movie. Kiron Kher is definitely another actress who undoubtedly leads me to the theater gleefully. The film seemed like a great dose of laughter with a light feminist angle to it and of course great acting skills from industry veterans.

I got the the tickets for the movie and very excitedly waited for the show to kick off at the theater. And right after the first fifteen minutes, I realized that the film was an upgraded form of a soap opera from the television screen. In fact, it looked like a TV serial that had graduated to become a movie.

The film has a simple theme and opens with a family of two shifting to a new housing society in Mumbai. It majorly centers around the lives of the two- a mother-daughter duo played by Kirron Kher and Tanushree Dutta respectively and the boy-next-door Ritesh played by Ankur Khanna. The film is all about a group of ladies investing their money in shares and a rude but sensitive stock broker played by Farukh Sheikh. Oh ya! Let’s not miss out the fabulous performance by Mesumeh as a middle class girl planning to marry a millionaire with Ritesh as a stand by.

The theme and the storyline of the film reminded me of an old classic by Sai Paranjpe-Katha. The only difference is that the older version was set in a chawl while this is set in a high class residential society. The ambitious money-minded Masumeh with an unapologetic attitude is symbolic of the manipulative Farooq Sheikh from the original (urban corruption in the antihero was an age-old approach).

Apart from some real powerful performances, the film also rests on great direction and director Shona Urvashi’s ability to successfully depict the share market. It ably points out the pros and cons of this market and in a way encourages more women to come forward and invest in shares. Further, the movie also has a very strong screenplay which hides many other follies that could have actually ruined the movie.

The film has its own ups and downs like the stock market and definitely does justice to the title. However, to conclude I may say that it is a good film and recommended one time watch.

The Movie Review – The Last Lear

Star rating:

Actors: Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal, Preity Zinta, Divya Dutta, Shefali Shah

Director: Rituporno Ghosh

Producer: Arindam Choudhary

Music Director: Raja Narayan Deb, Sanjay Das

Writer: Rituporno Ghosh

Lyrist: Sameer

Coming from the desk of one of the best and most talented film makers of the nation- Rituporno Ghosh, “The Last Lear” presents a touching tale of three ladies and the suspicious, authoritarian and imposing men in their lives. The film undoubtedly has a feminist angle and its close proximity to the famous Shakespearean Drama ‘King Lear’ makes it a good food for thought. However, it is unlikely to appeal to an average Indian audience who is used to of watching star studded drama unfolding with every scene.

Though, ‘The Last Lear’ also features few of the biggest names of the industry, none of the characters are larger than life and each of them is a common man from everyday life..made of flesh and bones. The movie opens on the eve of Diwali in Kolkata and the stage is all set to host the premier of a movie titled “The Mask.” Amitabh Bachhan plays the role of a bed ridden old man Harish Mishra, the uncompromising theater stalwart addicted to Shakespeare. The story revolves round the lives of three women- a dejected young nurse played by Divya Dutta, an ill-tempered wife played by Shefali Shah and Shabnab, the leading lady of the film played by Preity Zinta. APart from power packed performances from these four, Arjun Rampal also impresses as a perfectionist film director who would go to any extent to get a shot right.

The most spectacular moments of the movie undoubtedly come from the living legend himself. Specially the scenes where, Harish Mishra, an eccentric and domineering theater person actually goes down on his knees begging to the director of “The Mask” to let him the do the last scene of the movie.

The film ably moves to and fro in time with many scenes embedded in the past and perfectly captures the frustration and angst of emotionally oppressed women. This is a theme which runs parallel to the main theme and takes up much of the film. The movie is directed well by Rituporno Ghosh who has given good films in the past also. Further, the script deserves special mention as that is the mainstay for any film to do good.

For those of you who appreciate realism over reality, watch The Last Lear. It is a good work of art where human emotions are well presented.

The Movie Review – A Wednesday

Star rating:

Movie name: A Wednesday

Actors: Nasseruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill, Aamir Bashir, Deepal Shaw

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Producer: Ronnie Screwvala, Anjum Rizvi & Shital Bhatia

Music Director: Sanjoy Chowdhary

Writer: Neeraj Pandey

“A Wednesday” is a rare variety of film that is made once in many years and takes the closest brush with reality. The film is certainly not about the train blasts that ripped through Mumbai in 2005. It is also not about terrorism and counter-terrorism, more appropriately the movie is about making these inexorable socio political facts into an assimilate and absorbing cinema.

Directed by debutant Neeraj Pandey, the movie depicts extremism in a completely new light and probably that is where, according to me, it scores high above others like “Mumbai Meri Jaan.” The director turns the ugly reality of terrorism into a hide and seek game being played between Nasseruddin Shah and a veteran cop Anupam Kher.

Right from the beginning the movie takes the course of a gripping action thriller compelling the audience to be perpetually at the edge of their seats. It all starts with an anonymous call from a character played by Shah, to the Commissioner of Police Rathod (Anupam Kher). The former warns the latter of six bombs planted in various parts of the city of Mumbai. He also threatens to detonate them, if, his demands of freeing four hard core anti-national terrorists are not met.

“A Wednesday” is different from a conventional Bollywood flick, where the hero takes on the evils and perils single handedly. I thought that the infinitesimal specification integrated in the script adds conviction to the trade-off that sets the film a class apart. Apart from powerful acting from the best and most experienced actors of the industry, Neeraj Pandey’s well-etched screenplay adopts aphoristic character introductions, credible buildup, an amazing pre-climax and finally a great ending. As a debutant, his hold and grasp of the script is just amazing. There is no doubt that Pandey is extremely talented and here to stay in the industry. As far as acting is concerned, apart from the two acting jargons, I really admired Jimmy Shergill and Amir Bashir in their roles as fellow police officers. Deepal Shaw also impresses as a TV news reporter. Further, the music of the movie was truly heart rendering.Over all, I feel that the movie is good and a welcome break into the world of reality. Watch it to know the difference yourself.

The Movie Review – Mumbai Meri Jaan

Star rating:

Movie: Mumbai Meri Jaan

Star Cast: Paresh Rawal, Irrfan Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Kay Kay Menon, R Madhavan, Vijay Maurya and others.

Director: Nishikant Kamat

Producer: Ronnie Screwvala

Writer: Yogesh Vinayak Joshi

Script: Yogesh Vinayak Joshi and Upendra Sidhaye

Released on Aug 22, 2008, ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ is a sensible movie worth watching. In today’s scenario where comedy, romance or great music are considered as the hit formulae for any movie, taste the difference (of course, for good) with Mumbai Meri Jaan. Showcasing the lives of five individuals in one of the busiest metropolitan cities, Mumbai, this movie unfolds the aftermath of 7/11 Mumbai train bombings on these five people and how in the end, they meet with a common climax.

Beautifully written and scripted by Yogesh Vinayak Joshi, this movie witnesses a power packed performance of six extraordinarily talented people. Paresh Rawal, who has always proved his acting mettle in all his movies, came out with yet another superb performance in this movie, playing the character of senior constable Tukaram Patil, who is on the verge of his retirement. His role as a patrolling constable is wonderfully supported by another brilliant performance by Vijay Maurya, playing the role of a junior constable, Sunil Kadam. The director, Nishikant Joshi has wonderfully captured their perceptual differences, with Sunil Kadam feeling strongly against corruption, while Tukaram suggesting him to only sit on the fence and watch. However, the climax belongs to Paresh Rawal. Kay Kay Menon playing the role of Suresh, a Hindu Extremist has been convincing in portraying the hatred carried by his character towards the minority, something that we get to see in many fanatics in real life. Nikhil, a simple office going guy played by R Madhavan suffered a train phobia after the serial bomb blasts. This character in particular, is touching as in some way or the other, we might have felt the same, had we gone through a similar experience. If you were waiting to watch Soha Ali Khan in a meaningful role, this is the movie to watch out for. Playing the role of a television journalist (Rupali), who believes in sensationalizing every news, she looked really impressive. How the Mumbai Train blasts result in a traumatic experience for her in the form of a personal loss and how she comes in terms with it, is an integral, thought-provoking part of the story. Last but not the least, the hilarious performance of Irrfan Khan as a tea seller who takes full advantage of a sensitive issue like terror attack adds another dimension to the entire film.

The uniqueness of this movie lies in its being away from preaching its audiences or asking them to be judgmental. It simply unfolds five different perceptions to a common incident. Wonderful direction and cinematography add a real touch to the movie, which helps the audience to connect with it. Hats off to the producer Ronnie Screwvala for financing such a wonderful film rarely made in today’s time.

The Movie Review – Rock On

Star rating:

Actors: Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny, Purab Kohli and Prachi Desai.

Director: Abhishek Kapoor

Producer: Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani

Music Director: Shankar Ehsaan Loy

Lyrist: Javed Akhtar

The promos of the movie Rock On had actually rocked all of us even before it hit the theaters. And that is probably the reason why me, along with a handful of my friends, cued in front of the Box Office in one of the high end cinema theaters of my city on the first day of its release. After two hours of what was claimed to be all about rock and rocking, I would honestly say that I am not disappointed with Farhan Akhtar. This movie had to rock with Arjun Rampal and Akhtar himself taking the center stage…not to forget some real meaningful acting from debutant Prachi Desai. Out of the regular TV tear jerkers, Prachi did a great job to create a place for herself in the hearts of the audience.

It was a simple story told with emotions and a lot of feeling. Like most Akhtar films such as Dil Chahta Hai, even Rock On is about the various facets of a youth’s life. The movie is about a rock band and their trials and afflictions. Farhan Akhtar impresses in all the roles that he plays- that of an actor as well as a singer. The movie touched hearts as it didn’t just depict a great story, but also re-affirmed ones faith in Bollywood’s conventional happy ending style.

When I talk about performances in the movie, how can I miss Luke Kenny and Purab Kohli? You can never miss Kenny, who looks like an original rock star amongst the four. Apart from Kenny, you cannot help but notice Purab Kohli who stuns you with his amazing performance.

Finally, putting in a word about the music of the film which is literally its mainstay. With Shankar Ehsaan and Loy, music can never go wrong, which was also the case here. The songs of the film were captivating and very young and fresh. If you ask me, they are going to rule the charts for the next few months for sure.

Rock On left me feeling happy even hours after I had left the theater. I would say that the movie is a must watch!