OCTOBER 2015 - Movie Of The Month

During October 2015, it was TALVAR that emerged as the winning film from the month as it overpowered the rest of the competition. It was the clash between Singh Is Bling, Talvar, Jazbaa, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 and Shaandaar.

Singh Is Bling directed by Prabhu Deva, starring Akshay Kumar, Kay Kay Menon, Amy Jackson and Lara Dutta in the lead roles. This was another disappointing show from filmmakers trying to utilize the image and name of Sikhism to help try and sell a film. What significance does Bling have in the film with a Singh? Putting the lackluster use of Sikh identity to sell the film aside, overall the film did not prove much of a spectacle. After Singh Is Kinng, there really was no need for Akshay to try and top that film. In fact, in Singh Is Bling it was a poor chemistry on screen with the cast as well as a below par storyline that never really created a talking point. Akshay performs well as he always does, whether it is a serious or a comedy situation. The comedy dialogues some were laughable but not enough, more of it seemed as a slapstick attempt but it just never lived up to the genre. As a film it was a one off movie that had no chance of being the top film from the month.

Talvar is directed by Meghna Gulzar, starring Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma and Neeraj Kabi in the lead roles. This film was showing the angle of the case and investigation process, the twists and turns and the connection of politics, it was an edgy dark thrilling movie that keeps you dragging along in finding the truth. Meghna Gulzar has screened tension throughout as it leaves you wanting to have the truth unraveled. The cast put in a believable performance especially Irrfan Khan who controls the screen with his calm and confident persona to tackle the case. He arrives at a later stage in the film leaving a striking acting show. Konkona Sen Sharma plays an average looking parent and she makes her role feel and seem so genuine, with little effort she manages to add more drama and emotion to the situation in the film. As for the story there are a few flaws, not seeing much viewpoint of the parents and what they are going through currently, prior to the incident and after the murder. I felt this would have added much more dramatic moments to the case but the director focuses on having the perspective of the enquiry which I also felt was a good concept in making a crime film not too cliché. Overall, I found this film to be quite engaging and keeping me eager in wanting to find the final outcome even though we don't get a strong conclusion, just another assumption, the film progression kept me enticed to it and it was intriguing enough.


Jazbaa directed by Sanjay Gupta, starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi and Jackie Shroff. This film showed the return of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, playing a working class mother figure who embraces kidnapping problems in her family. Story concept was decent but not portrayed with enough intensity as well as leading to a climax that you can only sit and smirk towards due to such a disappointing outcome. Performance wise, Aishwarya Rai did well playing the lawyer character adding that mature, focused mindset as well as playing a convincing mother figure showing the attachment, frustration and sadness in losing and finding her loved one. Irrfan Khan who has displayed some strong enactments previously, he was an interesting watch, a character that you would like to continue seeing due to the nature of his character persona in the movie. The film marked a decent effort return for Aishwarya Rai, but it required a much stronger script development and outcome. It just did not fit the build up around it well enough.

Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 directed by Luv Ranjan, starring Kartik Aaryan, Omkar Kapoor, Sunny Singh, Nushrat Bharucha, Sonnalli Seygall and Ishita Raj Sharma in the lead roles. This was an entertaining film with acceptable acting and scenarios that friends and couples encounter. The film keeps you keen on wanting to know the outcome. The cast paved a good performance and story line was a good one to watch seeing something with a younger expression and take for the audience. Could the screenplay be better? Rightly so, it required more of a creative approach to help spark this youthful film. Nevertheless, a decent watch movie that entertains.

Shaandaar is directed by Vikas Bahl, starring Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Pankaj Kapoor in the lead roles. This film almost like a fantasy rom-com tale did not survive at the box office, being deemed a failure. Ideally it was evident where the film failed but it did not fail with complete disaster. The on-screen pairing of father and son was a glimmer of hope for the film as their chemistry was perfect as well as the pairing of Shahid and Alia giving a feel-free perception adding a laid back expression on screen which was a delight to see. But it was the story that failed the film heavily, not spectacular from the script aspects, but the only positive would be the performances that leave you liking this film to a certain extent. 

Overall, I would pick Talvar as the movie of the month as it had a complete package of good script and performances to compliment a well-made movie. The least likeable film from the month would go down as Singh Is Bling as that left no significant affect to me as a viewer, I struggled to sit through the movie and complete it, at times wanting to avoid it before it finished. But for me, Talvar proved to be a sitter of a movie that had a bit of the intensity and thrive within.