ALIGARH - Movie Review

Aligarh is directed by Hansal Mehta and written by Apurva Asrani, the film stars Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao. The story is based on true events where a university professor is caught having a sexual relation with another man in his private life. This is later deemed as a sting operation to have the professor suspended from the university ahead of his retirement stage. This becomes a tarnishing image for the professor and makes him feel even more lonely until a young passionate journalist seeks to support him and fight his case which later reveals it was a fixed case from the fellow professors and members of the university to get rid of Mr. Sira. A winning battle can't always bring back smiles for those who suffered.

POSITIVES

• The film manages to deliver effectively the strong subject matter of a gay relationship being seen as a bad image in the indian society in India. The director portrays the conflicts being created behind such relationship and how it is seen as a negative depiction in the country, yet at the same time the film manages to show how it is unfair to discriminate over such relationship. The film touches upon the struggle one faces with human rights and gives a glimpse in to the life of those who are affected and pointed fingers at.
• Actors played well together, both main leads Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao were impressive in their respective roles. In a film that is a little bit arty and and dark to a certain extent, seems to be given a bright spark through these two fantastic characters.

NEGATIVES

• The film does begin to drag on at times leaving an unease feeling as a spectator but due to the film topic being so interesting, you remain eager to wanting to know what happens next. But if the dragged out scenes which were used to create the emotions and loneliness of Sira, the stretched scenes seem to derail some attention that is being focused to the movie.
• What does disappointment me slightly is the ending climax, the way it was shown had a visual input with the conclusion of the film but I wish it had been showcased slightly better. At least more significance could and should have been shown to the character whilst dying, at least add more to what he felt during that very specific moment, what went through his mind despite winning the case that really tarnished his reputation prior to the court case. I wanted to see more of that and that was lacking. Throughout the film and during the court case, we do get to know the emotions that the professor is going through, but more emphasis towards the final stages of his life would have given more sympathy towards the climax.

CAST

• MANOJ BAJPAYI - A lonely man and troubled figure who has his image tarnished in the film for his actions. He leaves a dominating performance on screen, making you feel supportive towards him as well as admire such acting ability. He has chosen a challenging role and delivers it with precision.
• RAJKUMMAR RAO - A talented young actor who is beginning to make strong strides up the ladder. He does remarkably well whilst playing a slightly lower role as Manoj Bajpayee. Rajkummar has to play the second fiddle role but manages to maintain the heights of Manoj in the film and you can't praise him enough for what he has achieved and shown in the film. He brings humour in a detailed and serious movie. His acting is great and deserves full credit in being the motivational saviour towards Manoj Bajpayee.

RATING

Overall, I would rate Aligarh 4/5. The movie is praiseworthy and such attempts by any director and writer should be credited heavily for trying to portray a very touchy emotional topic to showcase to the society today. They manage to epxploit such true events and portray it well enough, as it allows significance to be given and addressed to the audiences well enough for them to walk away thinking more about what people would go through due to their sexuality preferences in the real world. The storyline was detailed, the characters did superbly, allowing the film to have some kind of a film experience. I would highly recommend the audience to watch this film as it teaches you many things, topics that we have heard or seen but hardly paid any indepth attention to, Aligharh manages to teach you through a cinematic form, leaving you feel sorry for that character who suffered.

PIKU - Movie Review

‘PIKU’ movie is comedy drama film directed by Shoojit Sircar, starring Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan.

STORYLINE

Piku Banerjee (Deepika Padukone) is an architect but at the same time looking after her really old father Bashkor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan). They are on-route to a road trip journey where Rana Chaudhary (Irrfan Khan) drives them to Kolkatta. Bhashkor suffers from constipation and causes tantrums over it causing mental stress to Piku. The film is an enjoyment about life and that is exactly what Bashkor begins to do after Rana can’t deal with it and tells him everything that was on his mind. A heart warming story based upon parenting and responsibility, something that will keep you smiling.

POSITIVES

• The look of the film is appealing and the simplicity that has been portrayed helps the type of movie we are witnessing. Credit goes to the director for managing to compliment the storyline along with the visuals.
• What I also liked with this was that the main leads were introduced straight away in the first scene, which keeps you completely focused to the movie, no filler scenes to help drag the movie runtime.
• All characters, Irrfan Khan, Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan, all bring a smile to the viewers face. The on screen presence is so worthy to see and keeps you engaged to the film throughout.
• First half and second half, no complaints about how slow or dragging either may have been. Both were entertaining and the type of film that keeps your attention stable and focus, wanting to know what shall transpire to the next scene.
• Screenplay was good and film that is neither luxurious nor classy, glamour was kept away in this basic looking movie. But that is what makes it a gem of a movie, the average appearance and set up, keeps the viewers attention solely on the characters.
• Dialogues are something that will keep you smiling throughout. The film did contain comedy, even when Piku’s father dies, a few tears occur but everyone is remembering him on a happier note so that is the type of film you can expect to see, a full of heart film.

NEGATIVES

• It really is hard to pinpoint something negative from such a fantastic movie. If I had to complain about something then I would say the film lacked a bit of romance between the characters that Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone played. Something more should have been shown at the end before the end credits.

CAST

• Deepika Padukone – Simple and not presented in a glamorous form that a beautiful actress would be associated as. She is kept to an average appearance and that makes her character much more realistic. Taking matters in her own hands and having to deal with a father pressure looking after him, you would feel sorry for the struggle she has to face but then the love that she has for her father in the film, she may not express it much through dialogues but her performance clearly shall portray this. Deepika is one of the finest actresses in the cinema and once again she has notched up another hit performance.
• Amitabh Bachchan – The legend puts in a spectacle for the audiences. He brings the comedy to the film, manages to keep you engaged to the screen. You can’t help but to laugh at him, not in a negative way, but in general the way that he has performed and his stubborn old-aged character. He will be annoying but that is what will bring the comedy because of the issues his character is dealing with. Absolutely amazing performance.
• Irrfan Khan – This actor seems to do nothing wrong. Playing a character on the side whilst Deepika and Amitabh are the ones taking more of the screen space. Irrfan does plenty in his scenes to make you remember his character on the same level as the other two. You want to see more of him, because even when he is serious, you can’t take him seriously. His dialogue delivery was perfect and he brings a childishness to the scene and that is something the audience would love seeing.

MUSIC

The music is fitting for the type of movie you are expected to see. The pick outs for me firstly is ‘Bezubaan’ sung by Anupam Roy. A soft melodic song with a good flow to your ears, with light instrument touches and vocals that make this a beautiful track. ‘Journey Song‘ by Anupam Roy and Shreya Ghoshal is another worthy song with Anupam Roy in the vocals. The song has a bit more of a higher tempo to it but it is the vocals of the duo that keeps it on the loop. ‘Lamhe Guzar Gaye’another track by Anupam Roy, much slower but lacks an impacting edge to it. Still la worthy song to litem to but I felt that with the vocals it could have had more feeling coming out of the song. ‘Teri Meri Baatein’, sung by Anupam Roy. Most likely the standout song from the whole album, the vocals are a blessing to the listeners and the tone at which the song is performed, keeps you glued to the song wanting to hear so much more and not wanting it to end. Lyrics were impressive and the touch of tabla in the background scoring makes it a satisfying song to listen.

RATINGOverall I would rate Piku movie 4/5. A film that showcases about parenting and responsibility, it keeps you so attached to the movie and makes you consider life. This is a happy and a heart-warming movie that shall keep you thinking everything about life. The characters played well in their respective roles and the script was a gem. Everything about it was impressive and it is a fantastic on screen performance from all the cast even the side role characters, they impressed with their small screen space. The dialogues were brilliant and overall film will bring a smile to your face. Something that I certainly can and will be able to watch more of again. Go and check out this movie, you will not be disappointed, a gold film for family to see together.

PK - Movie Review

PK is a comedy, drama and fantasy film that is directed by Rajkumar Hirani and stars Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput, Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani and Saurabh Shukla.

With the film portraying a major talking topic but shown through a lightened humour form, the directors creativity in representing such methods within the script allows this entertainer to be worthy. Aamir Khan once again puts in a performance that betters his last film; this is what he is good at. He continues to better his previous film and role, with every movie release he just keeps getting better and better. No wonder why he is labelled as Mr Perfectionist in the cinema.

Synopsis – Aamir Khan plays a character of being from out of space and is stranded on Earth, his chain pendant was a key to call back the spaceship but a villager hence why Aamir Is left stranded stole it. The film is similar to OMG movie where so much is placed and trusted upon religion and god, hence this is exactly how the film begins with Saurabh Shukla being a holy priest laying down the marker for ones future. But Aamir Khan’s character is there to go against the religious rituals that seem to be a business. He fights against it all and showcases some worthy pointers in proving that nobody can do anything and that god is someone who created everything, not the holy baba’s that are duplicates trying to make fortune out of gods name. Anushka Sharma plays a journalist who helps create the show from which Aamir Khan gains fame but more importantly shows the world who is watching the truth and what and how they should believe in god. Boman Irani plays the boss of the news channel who has a helping hand in allowing Anushka Sharma to allow the show to happen. All in all, the film casts shadows over a societies mentality and how ones facts blind them.

As for the negatives I have to think about Sushant’s character where he had so much potential of being an actor that can act but never gets to fulfil his acting abilities in a major film by playing small roles. Anushka meets Sushant but his character despite being very nice and something you want to see more off, was erased within 20 minutes of the movie and I felt that was a downer completely as more could have been showcased with his presence. But nevertheless, Sushant does get dragged back in to the film towards the climax and once again not enough was shown of him.

What more that I liked about this film was the dialogues, they were on point and delivered quite well, they were something that as a viewer, you can recall back and remember quite easily because they were so worthy. Unlike some films where dialogues are placed in and totally bypasses the viewer as it never quite seeks the attention. But in PK dialogues were strong and attention grabbing hence why PK keeps you interested at all times. The storyline is good but considering it being an Aamir Khan starrer, his acting and on screen presence takes away some of the notice from the story concept itself as he delivers a commanding performance. I have to mention that Anushka Sharma and Aamir Khan pairing in this film was brilliant and they just gelled together on screen so well.

As for the characters, as mentioned earlier, Aamir Khan is the main star and once again puts in a remarkable performance and it makes you wonder if only he could do more films in the year and keeps doing eye-catching performances at all times. Anushka Sharma, who plays a journalist in the film, is a character that you will end up loving because she is not shown over the top being glamorous but she is displayed as a blending person who fits in well with Aamir Khan. Boman Irani is funny and serious and that helps the film role flow. Saurabh Shukla plays a holy person whose character is deemed as a fraud hence why dialogues directed towards him bring laughter for the viewers. Sushant plays a small but vital role and he is somebody that as an audience you would want to see more of. Sanjay Dutt has a small role too but plays a huge significance to the life of Aamir Khan and for that he is still remembered by the time you end up finishing the movie.

Now for the movie soundtrack there were 2 songs that really stood out for me were firstly, ‘Bhagwan Hai Kahan Re Tu’ and secondly, ‘Dil Darbadar’. These tracks really grabs your attention and are songs that you can listen to over on repeat, the rest of the album is average and not something that I would be playing continuously. So do go check out these 2 songs as they are composed and sung really well.

Overall, PK is a must watch movie and it is something that can be watched more than once. It has been directed really well and the storyline progresses quiet well in terms of keeping the viewers attention locked to the movie. Characters played well in their respectful roles as well as Aamir Khan taking away the entire spotlight as he always does with his amazing performances. I rate this movie 4/5and for me it could have taken all 5 rating stars if the film had been dragged longer especially the show scene which I felt ended in a flash and not showing what Saurabh Shukla has to deal with especially from the community and the audience whom were present. But unfortunately not everything can be picture perfect. Despite having so much buzz around the release for this film, it certainly lived up to the expectations and is an admirable watch. Note to take, expect a cameo from Ranbir Kapoor in the movie too.