OK JAANU (BENGALI FLIM REVIEW)

OK JAANU REVIEW

OK JAANU REVIEW

It's 2017, and Bollywood is still coy about 'live-in' relationships. They have parents wanting answers to questions like 'shaadi ka iraada hai ki nahi'. And in a city like Mumbai where no one cares whether the neighbors are alive or dead, this film seems rather anachronistic.

And why on Earth will two people who are so serious about their careers are never shown doing a day's honest work? And why does Shraddha Kapoor allow her 'Jaanu' to call someone she respects as an architect 'budhau' (old man)? And why does no one in Shraddha Kapoor's office object to her picking up her bag and walking off whenever her 'Jaanu' calls? What makes Prahlad Kakkad who's a video game company boss so lenient with Aditya Roy Kapoor's absences (his sternness is so fake, you would rather believe Tiger Shroff can really fly!) when he goes away to romance his 'Jaanu'?

They had better pay the dialog writer lots of money for the number of times he has managed to accommodate the title in the conversation. For example: He says, 'Let's make these last few days together the best!'. She answers, 'Yes, let's.' He says, 'The best, Okay?'. She says, 'Okay!' Then he says, 'Okay, Jaanu!' 

Use the same dialog to ask for ice cream. The 'okay?', 'Okay!', Okay, Jaanu!' thing still works! 

You get so tired of the dialog you wonder why the Tamil version directed by Mani Ratnam (thankfully this follows frame by frame) was not such a bore to watch. Then you realise that in staying true to the original, there are pauses and silences induced because Dulquer Salman and Nithya Menen have far better screen presence and acting chops than Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor. Aditya has played characters who commit suicide in most of his films, and this romance also seems to drive the audiences to it, especially in the second half.

So slow is the movie that your attention begins to wander at all the geographical liberties the film takes. How does Leela Samson (who is still as elegant in this version as she did in the original) who lives on Malabar Hill manages to get lost in Mohammed Ali Road, or how Aditya Roy Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor get off on Marine Drive and are seen eating ice cream at the Birdsong Cafe in Bandra... Naseeruddin Shah hams as always but the moment when he hears Shraddha kapoor sing and reacts, that moment shows us why he is considered to be great. But Prakash Raj working in his kitchen in the original is hard to beat.

The film, as all Dharma productions are is beautifully art directed, but we could have less of it. Don't know anyone who props dinner plates on the wall in a row like they do here. But will the younger audiences notice? They probably do not think beyond riding on motorbikes and buses and trains and taking selfies for Facebook hashtag 'Feeling Bliss With Jaanu'. Maybe they're 'okay' with an 'okay' movie. Some of us who grew up looking up to Casablanca and Roman Holiday (or for that matter DDLJ and KKHH) for romance, could give this one a miss.

KAABIL (HINDI FLIM REVIREW )

Kaabil Review

Kaabil

Blind Rohan Bhatnagar (Hrithik Roshan) meets blind Supriya (Yami Gautam) on a blind date (apologies) arranged by a well meaning auntie who knows them both. His friend (Suresh Menon) takes them to Pizza By The Bay restaurant (says: this restaurant is famous for Pav Bhaaji!). Before you can say a disbelieving, 'What?!' the blind couple have sung two songs and are in love and they get married. But not before you hear them spout dialog like: 'Two negatives don't make a positive', 'Looks like two negatives are becoming positive', 'Darkness feels light when I'm with you!', 'Never thought I would ever know the difference between aloneness and loneliness.'

It's one hour into the movie and you seek shelter in caffeine because they're speaking ever so slowly. (It gives you time to get really upset over him calling her 'Su' even before she has agreed to become his girl! Also, if she's an independent woman with a job like she insists, how come she stays at home immediately after her wedding? So much patriarchy!)

It's awful throwback to the 70's where the brothers and sons of zamindaars had nothing to do but rape village belles. Here too, there is Amit Shelar (played with 100% sleaze by Rohit Roy) and his friend Wasim who speak what is possibly the worst dialog of the year (to prove their sleaze): 'Do blind people make out with lights on?', 'How do they make love without seeing?' The two rape the blind girl and when the couple proceed to a hospital to get a medical examination, the bad guys have them kidnapped. The cops are unhelpful because they've been bribed by the local politician. Remember those movies where Amrish Puri and his builder friends with police drinking while poor folks in shanty towns run helter-skelter because the builder has sent bulldozers... 

So the blind wife hangs herself from the fan and with her death the case is closed. But the politician (Ronit Roy in a cool role but his Marathi accent is sometimes present and other times absent!) shows up to warn the blind man to shut up, and asks him: why did she wait to be raped again to kill herself?

The revenge drama begins now. You look at the watch: It's been two hours already. The last thirty minutes of the film are filled with a systematic revenge against the perpetrators, the politician and the cops are left to count bodies. They know it is the blind man who has planned it all, but they don't have any proof. The violence with which the revenge is extracted is a horrific watch. You know it is deserved, but it makes you want to look away from the screen. How the baddies die is a tad predictable, but the twist in the tale is close to brilliant. This is perhaps Hrithik Roshan's best work, but the slow pace of everything: the dialog delivery, the hesitant walking, the dull songs (even the title track is a funeral dirge, and hence slow) make it a test of your patience.

RAEES (HINDI FLIM REVIEW)

Raees Review

Raees Review

Little Raees may be myopic in the classroom, but he certainly can see opportunity when the local alcohol smuggler Jayraj (Atul Kulkarni) looks for delivery boys. Under the nose of the cops, Raees (Shah Rukh Khan) and his best friend Sadiq (the ever competent Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) smuggle alcohol, and become his confirmed employees! The enmity begins when Raees and Sadiq grow up and want to get into the same business on their own. Not only does he become king, but rules the hearts of the people... 

That Shah Rukh is hot even when he's self-flagellating at the Ashura during Moharram is something you do not wish to admit. You seek the dimpled charmer you have seen in his romantic movies. But the beard cannot hide the charm and you fall in love with the badshah of romance again as he attempts to get the ball from his girl (Mahira Khan, in a role that she just does not fit in. She's intimidated by the Khan and her acting skills are zilch, alas!). 

But thankfully, it's not the romance that makes the movie. It's the action. Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays a cop Jaideep Ambalal Majmudar who is posted in Fatehpur and becomes a pain to deal with. He's upright and unbreakable. The writers of the film give him the best lines and comebacks. He makes you smile just as much as Raees' wicked ways to outsmart the ploys the cops use to stop alcohol smuggling. If you knew alcohol can be injected in tomatoes, you'd wonder how thirsty the public is for getting drunk!

Of course there is ambition and politics and guns, and even though Raees wants to just do 'dhanda' without hurting people, there is a little flashback of Raj Kapoor's Shri 420 in the dream city he wishes to build. And there is betrayal too. But does Raees manage to wiggle out of that as well? It's a great 70's style story where the baddie with a heart of gold outsmarts an upright cop. 

Shah Rukh and Nawazuddin Siddiqui are simply fun. But at 143 minutes sometimes the cat and mouse game becomes tiresome. And the lackluster music does not help despite the words that insist 'Raees is single piece' (one of a kind). Despite all this Shah Rukh pulls off an action hero role that clearly encroaches on Salman territory and manages to keep it convincing. In fact, the violence in the fight sequences make you squirm. And the anger in Shah Rukh's surma-lined eyes feels straight out of Amitabh Bachchan revenge dramas like Kala Patthar (watch out for the scene from the film beautifully juxtaposed!). Watch it because the recent spate of silly romances have not touched you at all. The bad-guy-with-a-golden-heart Shah Rukh fills that space, and really well.

Hindi Movie Finding Fanny 2014 (Hindi Flim Review)

Finding Fanny

Cast: Deepika Padukone, Dimple Kapadia, Arjun Kapoor,

          Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah

Direction: Homi Adajania

So, Finding Fanny reveals not one but two surprising ladies - Deepika and Dimple, who run away with this lustrous film. Angie (Deepika) is the daughter-in-law of Madame Rosalyn (Dimple), two lovely widows living in the Goan village of Pokolim, a place that's gently fallen off the map. Time quietly passes Pokolim by - until its postmaster Ferdie (Naseeruddin) has his proposal to Stefanie Fernandes returned, unopened after 46 years.

Angie's determined to help devastated Ferdie find answers. She enlists the rusting Impala of Ruben-like painter Don Pedro (Pankaj Kapoor), lusting after amply endowed Rosie, the group driven by Angie's snarling, stubbly ex Savio (Arjun). Do they find Fanny - and love?

Finding Fanny sails on the fresh breeze of Deepika's smooth performance, her lonely Angie happy, yet tremblingly vulnerable, her face covered with a lace-like tension when she asks Savio, "Are you...married?" Alongside, the movie's mast is Dimple's unabashed, terrific Rosie, whose backside drives Pedro to paroxysms of painterly lust, who throatily screams, "Stupppid! I'll castrate these dogs one day!"

Naseer as bumbling, fumbling Ferdie is the perfect foil to the luminous ladies - he recalls a desi Mr. Bean, showing just enough spark to sidestep being a has-been. As sardonic Don Pedro, Pankaj Kapoor has the funniest lines, delivered with sleazy flourish - "You Casanova of the Konkan!", he goads Ferdie, while Arjun Kapoor makes a knuckle-sucking sexy Savio, who adores Angie but can't say it - till she climbs atop him on a gorgeous, phosphorescent night.

Finding Fanny is funny, dark, yet bright, a shimmering ride through a Goa far from the tight-rooted Trikal, the touristy Dil Chahta Hai. Its drama keeps surprising - but also meanders, including around an overacting Russian and an unnecessarily macabre cat. It evokes an Almodovar-Anderson-Marquez-in-Goa feel, but occasionally, its cleverness grows obvious while little details - catch the changing colours of Ferdie's petrol can - are overlooked.

However, these are small creases on an otherwise scrumptious cake. Move your fanny for this one. For the most part, it is utterly, bitterly delicious.

Hindi Movie Mary Kom 2014 (Hindi Flim Review)

Mary Kom

Director : Omung Kumar

Producer: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Cast : Priyanka Chopra as Mary Kom, Minakkshi Kalitaa,

           Zachary Coffin, Sishir Sarma.

When adapted for the big screen, a biopic has to tread its own path. Debutant director Omung Kumar's Mary Kom is based on the incidents in the life of MC Mary Kom (Priyanka Chopra), India's most high-profile female pugilist between the years 1991-2007. The film has been shot for the better part in Imphal, Manipur, where the sportswoman was bred. Born in a humble home in Kangathei, Mary was only a teenager when she decided to pursue boxing, despite inviting her father's ire.

Literally starting with street brawls, Magnificent Mary, as she is nicknamed, blazes her path from ignominy to fame under the tutelage of her coach M. Narjit Singh (Sunil Thapa). But wait, she also chooses to make way for matters of the heart, marriage and kids before coming back to winning global recognition again in 2008, 2010 and 2012. The filmmaker has captured her indefatigable spirit beautifully. He has also thrown light on the administration's apathy towards sports and every time a film mirrors the red-tapism involved in the arena, you want to pick up the baton!

Mary Kom is Bollywood's answer to the Oscar-winner Million Dollar Baby (2004), where Hilary Swank plays an amateur boxing champ trained by Clint Eastwood. But the similarities are only because the protagonists in both films are female boxers. The intention is definitely not to ape.

One star in the rating is definitely reserved for Priyanka. She may not have transcended the physical attributes of the diminutive Mary in the actual sense (except adding a few obvious freckles to her face and slightly drooping eyelids), but she has brought the boxer to life convincingly enough, leaving you rooting for her, long after the end credits roll.

Omung has a tight check on the proceedings post-intermission. The emotional tracks between the boxer and her father (Robin Das), and Mary and her husband Onler (Darshan Kumar), leave you misty-eyed.

But the main reason why Mary Kom appeals is because it doesn't just give you a ringside view of boxing; it leaves you rooting for our sportsmen who have put India on the world map.

Hindi Movie Identity Card 2014 (Hindi Flim Review)

Identity Card

Cast: Tia Bajpai, Furqan Merchant, Saurabh Shukla,Vipin Sharma

Direction: Rahat Kazmi

TV journalist Nazia, her friend Ajay and local tourist guide Raju get abducted in Srinagar, only to find themselves locked in a Special Task Force (STF) cell. With no identity cards on them, rigorous interrogation sessions begin. While the trio claims innocence, the counter-terrorism unit thinks otherwise. Is this a case of mistaken identity or are the three really at fault?

*Identity Card* predominantly tries to highlight human rights violations of Kashmiri civilians in the form of forced disappearances, torturous interrogations and extrajudicial killings. It also tries to comprehend the psyche of terrorists, police and the STF who struggle to differentiate between innocents and suspected insurgents, given the volatile circumstances.

However, Rahat Kazmi's ambitious film tries to bite off more than it can chew. While the director's intention is sincere and noble, he fails to evoke a reaction, owing to his vague execution. Performances are decent but they prove to be futile, given the incoherent script. Especially given the gravity of the topic, solid research was required. The climax too disappoints, given the characters' wishful thinking and over-simplistic conclusion.

Also, throughout the film, you keep wondering if it was intended to be a short dramedy or a gut-wrenching tale of suffering. In either case, it fails to make an impact. After all, you can't merely 'touch upon' an issue as sensitive and intricate as Kashmir.

We don't know about identity but the film lacks substance for sure.

Raja Natwarlal 2014 (Hindi Flim Review)

Raja Natwarlal

Banner : Utv Motion Pictures

Producer :Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur

Cast : Emraan Hashmi, Humaima Malick, Paresh Rawal

            Deepak Tijori, Kay Kay Menon

Story / Writers : Parveez Shaikh

Music Director : Yuvan Shankar Raja

Director : Kunal Deshmukh

Singers : Arijit Singh, Shweta Pandit, Mamta Sharma

               Anupam Amod, Benny Dayal, Mika Singh

Lyricist : Irshad Kamil.

 

Raja Natwarlal is a golden-hearted con for it leaves you smiling at its tricks, despite obvious flaws. Raja (Emraan) and partner Raghav (Deepak) pull off small confidence tricks in an appealing Mumbai of clattering trains, fragrant Iranis and gleaming dance bars. Raja loves dancer Zia (Humaima) and is set to marry after he persuades Raghav to steal 80 lakhs - which belong to big-time swindler Vardha (Kay Kay), who makes Raghav pay with his life. Raja's determined to take revenge but he needs the guru of crooks, Yogi (Paresh), to guide him. Will Yogi agree - and will Raja win?

With its twisting story, good-looking frames and zingy acting, Raja Natwarlal keeps you entertained. Paresh Rawal stands out as Yogi, short-tempered, foul-mouthed and shrewd, a malicious mentor - "Kheenche hue kaan se mila hua gyaan hamesha yaad rehta hai" - wincing as he mentions "a very sweet boy", the fine actor displaying the flair of an old lion that eats bottles of rum. Kay Kay matches with his Vardha, a savage in a suit, oil-slick and lean, desperately keen on acquiring a cricket team, ready to bludgeon his way towards this. And Emraan convinces too, Raja both swaggering and vulnerable, a hero who smiles shyly, then kisses on the mouth (although pecks on the cheek can get more passionate than the demure caresses here). Pakistani actor Humaima presents a graceful Zia, her role relatively slender but including chest-thumping numbers like 'Mere hothon ke namak-pare', which will have your inner tapori tapping her feet.

The plot travels from Mumbai to Dharamshala and Cape Town but director Kunal Deshmukh retains firm control. The story packs in paisa, pyaar, confidence, over-confidence, chummas, chases, corrupt cops, cricket associations, surprises and some rather nice songs - but keeps its weight under control. Despite flaws - like how a don like Vardha doesn't know the face of a man he's seeking, who's now persuading him to buy a non-existent team - Raja Natwarlal wins you over by the sassy swagger of its tricks, its hit-men and 'HDMC Bank', its tongue lodged firmly in its cheek.
Go watch - this one is, ahem, definitely worth a kiss.

Hindi Movie Katiyabaaz 2014(Hindi Flim Review)

Katiyabaaz

Cast: Loha Singh

Direction: Deepti Kakkar, Fahad Mustafa

When circumstances push you way past your breaking point, can disobeying the law be justified? This conflict lies at the heart of this riveting docu-drama based on real events in Kanpur. Though it predominantly deals with something as serious as 'electricity theft', it never ceases to be a humane drama that is heartbreaking, yet funny at times.

True to the title, the film's (self-proclaimed) 'hero' of sorts is local vigilante Loha Singh, who is a Katiyabaaz, Katiya being the wire used to steal electricity and Katiyabaaz, the expert electricity thief.

Plagued by poverty and power cuts which last for as long as 15 hours a day, Kanpurites prefer paying thieves like Loha to get illegal but instant electricity, as opposed to paying KESCO (Kanpur Electricity Supply Company Limited), which fails to meet their expectations.

On the other hand, due to poor billing and collection standards, lack of funds, soaring demand, inadequate power generation and meter tampering, KESCO has been making heavy losses.

To bring the situation under control, KESCO's MD Ritu Maheshwari tries her best to resolve the long-standing issues and generate revenue. She orders taking serious steps against the perpetrators and during the process, faces multiple challenges. Is there a solution to this rampant problem?

The film draws your attention to the reasons and repercussions of the critical crisis, instead of merely focusing on the illegalities, thus giving you the whole picture. Balanced in its approach, this is one of very few social issue-based films that dares to take sides. A tale of survival was never so poignant and entertaining, all at once.

Sensitively directed, realistically shot,* Katiyabaaz* will make you value the most basic thing your city provides you with, that you often take for granted - *bijli.*

Hindi Movie Mad About Dance 2014 (Hindi Flim Review)

Mad About Dance

Cast: Saahil Prem, Amrit Maghera

Direction: Saahil Prem

No Elvis this. Yet his thrusts have a lot of pelvis. He 'locks', 'pops' and 'breaks'. He's fast, smooth and footloose. The heart of this story rests on the dance floor, but dares to step out too.

Aarav Anand's (Saahil) life pirouettes on one big dream - he wants to join his idol Caesar's dance group. With little money and pounds of passion, he moves to the quaint town of Sheffield in UK to track down his dancing guru. He bonds with other struggling desis having similar woes of living in a phoren land. He traces Caesar and his troupe of sinister-looking white snobs, who hate the 'brownies' ("Brownies are fit to be waiters, cabbies and caterers!").

He even suffers a humiliating defeat in a dance battle and is ousted. He meets UK-born desi girl Aashira (Amrit) who hates the 'browns', but abruptly waltzes over to the other side, finds a partner in him and falls in love too. Aarav then forms the first Asian dance crew in Sheffield that participates in a fierce dance battle at the national level.

Debutant director Saahil Prem's film is simple with a formulaic story line. It doesn't ever 'step-up' to another level. It delves into issues beyond dance - racial conflict, youth dilemmas and dreams. While none of these sub-plots are well-fleshed out, they end up throwing the story off the dance floor.

Debutant director Saahil Prem's film is simple with a formulaic story line. It doesn't ever 'step-up' to another level. It delves into issues beyond dance - racial conflict, youth dilemmas and dreams. While none of these sub-plots are well-fleshed out, they end up throwing the story off the dance floor.

Some dance routines (B-boying, locking, popping, break-dance, free-style - Salah Benlemqawanssa & Supple Nam - Kryptic Movement) will arouse cheers, and the dancers are undeniably impressive during the fiery dance face-offs. Yet, for a dance film, it lacks pace, energetic enthusiasm and a good soundtrack. The lead pair burns the dance floor, can't say the same about their romance. Most of the cast dances better than they emote.

Saahil strikes with aggressive moves, he's silently charming, but underplays his emotions. Amrit is smooth on the dance floor and likeable; Raashul Tandon (of the buddy gang) provides laughs.

'MAD' puts its best foot forward at the end, hold your breath for the last dance.

Overall, it's a film for dance lovers. Even if it leaves the heart dancing for more.

Hindi Movie Life Is Beautyfull 2014 (Hindi Flim Review)

Life Is Beautyfull

Banner : M.A.A.Productions

Release Date : 22 Aug 2014

Producer : Manoj Amarnani

Cast : Manoj Amarnani, Anokhi Dalvi, Nancy Brunetta

Story / Writers : Manoj Amarnani, Sanjay Sankla

Music Director : John Hunt

Singers : Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Udit Narayan

Lyricist : Vimal Kashyap

The plot seems to be inspired by popular rom-coms 'The Proposal' (2009) and 'What Happens in Vegas' (2008). Of course, these Hollywood films were way superior in every possible way but this one has its own twist or (the lack of it) and innocence.

Set in Canada, 'Superman' fan-boy Raj (the lovelorn protagonist) works less and fantasizes more about his model-like crush Linda. On the other hand, 'temporary' wife Pia realizes she may have developed feelings for her 'husband'. What happens next and who gets whom forms the story.

Actor Manoj Amarnani juggles the multiple roles of director, background score composer, choreographer and stylist for the film. He dabbles in almost everything and in spite of being a newcomer, manages to make a film that is watchable if not memorable.

As far as the execution is concerned, the director's liking for the Yash Chopra-Karan Johar brand of cinema is evident. Colourful saris, romantic songs picturised in snowy locales and dream sequences are aplenty. The lead actors are easy on the eye and render decent performances, especially the hero who has potential but needs to work on his Hindi diction.

However, what works as a spoiler here is a pointless story that makes the romance look unconvincing. The film thus works as a comedy rather than a love story. But even the juvenile jokes, which predominantly revolve around Raj and his sidekick, get repetitive after a while.

The songs are the film's USP for they are melodious and have been sung by renowned singers like Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan and Shreya Ghoshal. 'Manzilein' in particular is hummable.

Overall, those who are obsessed with love stories, no matter how inconsequential or conventional they are, won't mind watching this one.

Hindi Movie Mardaani 2014 (Hindi Flim Review)

Mardaani

Banner :Yash Raj Films

Status : Completed

Release Date : 22 Aug 2014

Producer :Aditya Chopra

Star Cast  : Rani Mukerji, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jishu Sengupta

Story / Writers : Gopi Puthran

Music Director : Salim Merchant, Sulaiman Merchant 

The film claims to be inspired by true events. However, for cinema-buffs, it's easier to trace the inspiration to several Hollywood thrillers, including the Liam Neeson one, Taken (2008). Like Neeson, a former CIA operative hunting down his daughter who is kidnapped by human traffickers for sexual slavery, Rani is a current-day crime branch inspector searching for a teenager who goes missing from a local Mumbai shelter. The young girl Pyaari (Priyanka Sharma) is someone whom Shivani treats like her own niece. Her sole objective in the film is to track down the men who have kidnapped the orphan and blow the lid off their sex racket.

As she engages in a thrilling encounter with the baddie Karan Rastogi (Tahir Raj Bhasin) in Mumbai and later in Delhi, you can sit back and enjoy the action. While there is nothing in the plot that you haven't seen before, it is still watchable for the superb performance of Rani, whose amber-coloured eyes breathe fire when she is packing those punches! And her unabashed use of Hindi expletives like `chut**', `madar*****' should work with the lowest common denominator. The frequent *MCBCs* is the obvious reason for the adults-only tag.

This movie could have continuous recall had the pace been racier. And if you could also buy into the emotional tracks between Shivani and her husband, her niece or her ward. Also, Rani is the only member of the cast with star value. The rest of the actors, including the English-speaking young goon, are inconsequential.

Hindi Movie Yeh Hai Bakrapur 2014 (Hindi Flim Review)

Yeh Hai Bakrapur

 Banner: Shruthikkaa Films
Star Cast: Anshuman Jha, Asif Basra, Amit Sial
Story / Writers: Janaki Vishwanathan
Music Director: Agnee

In an industry where fame and fortune changes every Friday, where equations and relations are correlated with the BO earnings [strange, but true!], the only thing that remains constant is change. Several film-makers are making an earnest attempt to be an integral part of the transformation, attempting wide-ranging genres and embarking on a path less travelled. Of late, a number of storytellers are in the mood to attempt satires, doing away with the mundane and unexciting tried and trusted stuff. Recall PEEPLI [LIVE], OMG - OH MY GOD! JOLLY LLB, SAARE JAHAAN SE MEHNGA… more recently, there was DEKH TAMASHA DEKH. Now Janaki Vishwanathan attempts a satire that's set against the backdrop of rural India -- YEH HAI BAKRAPUR.

Like Anusha Rizvi, who directed PEEPLI [LIVE], Janaki, has also been a journalist. The question that crosses your mind is, why do journalists attempt satires? I guess, when you watch life at such close quarters -- examining the ludicrousness and illogicalities so meticulously -- you hope to present the myriad experiences on celluloid some day. And what better genre than satire to highlight the message. After all, tackling a grim issue and coating it with humor makes it easily palatable, right?

I am told the premise of YEH HAI BAKRAPUR is inspired by a news-report about a goat brought from Rajasthan to Delhi. The story explores the innocent relationship between Zulfi [Shameem Khan], a young kid, and his pet goat Shah Rukh. Burdened with poverty, recurring expenses and loans, the family is always in distress because Ansari [Asif Basra] and his nephew Majid [Faiz Khan] don't earn enough to sustain the family. As a last resort, the family decides to sell off the goat at a mela, much against the wishes of Zulfi, who is completely heartbroken by the decision.

That's when Jaffer [Anshuman Jha], who is in love with Zulfi's elder sister Naaz [Yaushika Varma], gets a brainwave…

YEH HAI BAKRAPUR marks the foray of National Award winner Janaki Vishwanathan into Hindi films [she also doubles up as the writer of this film]. Frankly, she couldn't have chosen a more appropriate theme for her Hindi debut, since the written material offers her ample scope to entertain the viewers with an out-of-the-box theme, plus drive home a serious message. The serpentine twists in the plot and the engaging screenplay manage to keep you alert and attentive, except when Janaki decides to have an abrupt intermission and an open end, which stands out like a sore thumb. Ideally, it would've worked better had she thought of a firm resolution.

Janaki also uses the songs [Agnee] smartly in the narrative; the tracks don't look forced into the goings-on. Like CHENNAI EXPRESS, which paid tribute to Rajinikanth ['Lungi Dance'], the team of YEH HAI BAKRAPUR too pays tribute to SRK towards the end credits. The background score is subtle, but effective. Extensively filmed in Bidar in Karnataka, the DoP [Abinandhan Ramanujam] captures the locales wonderfully on celluloid.

The cast slips naturally into their respective parts. Anshuman Jha and Yaushika Varma enact the lovebirds with conviction. Asif Basra is absolutely at ease, while Faiz Khan is convincing as the helpless husband. However, it is Suruchi Aulakh who breathes life into her character of the nagging housewife Suraiyya. She's remarkable! Shameem Khan, the child artist, exudes the right amount of smartness and innocence required for the part. Wasim Khan [Jaffer's father], Utkarsh Mazumdar and Amit Sial are alright.

On the whole, YEH HAI BAKRAPUR employs a comic tone to tell a serious story. Armed with a simplistic, but innovative plot and an engaging screenplay, this small little film deserves a watch because it's made with heart.

Hindi Movie Mastram 2014(Hindi Flim Review)

Mastram

Cast: Rahul Bagga, Tasha Berry
Producer: Ajay G.Rai, Sanjeev Singh Pal
Director: Akhilesh Jaiswal

In today's world where everything is available at a mere press of a button, many of us have forgotten as to how the bygone era was and what all were the means of livelihood that they had adopted as a career [both conventional and unconventional]. Strange but true, one such unconventional but well paying job was the art of writing porn!

MASTRAM is about yesteryear's one such writer in northern India named Rajaram Vishram aka Hans [Rahul Bagga]. Even though he works as a small-town bank clerk, he always nurtures and harbours the dreams of moving to Delhi and becoming a famous author. Since his bank's boss doesn't approve and encourage his writing, he quits the job and starts going from one publisher to the other to get his works published.

When he meets with dejection everywhere, a certain publisher points out that if he really intends to get his books published, there is a certain amount of 'masala' that he needs to sprinkle his writings with. An innocent Rajaram then starts looking up to the lengths and breadths of almost everywhere to understand the meaning of the said term. And the moment he understands what the term 'masala' is actually meant, it gives rise to 'Mastram', a pseudonym under which he start writing his pornographic novels.

This pseudonym is something that only he and his publishers know about, so much so that he keeps his best friend and his ever-so-supportive wife Renu [Tara-Alisha Berry] in the dark about his writings. With the advent of his newfound success, his middle class life takes a U-turn towards richness, thus making him the subject matter of discussion on everyone's lips. What happens when his family gets to know the reality of 'Mastram'?

As far as the cast is concerned, Rahul plays the title role with the right amount of innocence and conviction that the role demands, although the same cannot be said about Tara, who plays his ever-supporting wife. She is good in parts. While the man who plays Rahul's best friend delivers a decent performance, the rest of the cast do their bit in carrying the film forward.

Director Akhilesh Jaiswal seems to know his job. Given the movie premises, the dialogues should have been more impactful. At the same time, the editing could have been a bit crispier in order to have the desired impact. There's absolutely no way anyone will remember the film's music as it's the film's content that will drive the audience to the theatres. Surprising enough, the film doesn't have any of such explicit content as was expected from a film of this stature.

All in all, MASTRAM is a film that can be given a try, if you haven't tried anything else this week.