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.

TE3N - Movie Review

TE3N is directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, with the lead cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. A broken soul looking for justice, Amitabh Bachchan, the acting maestro strikes with a gripping performance in this weak movie script. A grieving grandfather sparks an emotional lifestyle that the family faces through the consequences. The first half has a steady pace by giving us more of the devastated grandfather whilst the second half tends to be much higher tempo with suspense building up towards the conclusion

POSITIVES

•  What stands out the most firstly is the performance of the leading stars. With fine performers up against each other, the film was primed to showcase a spectacle. In TE3N we get exactly that with another praiseworthy and likeable performance by Amitabh Bachchan who manages to deliver a packed performance. 
• The film had the suspense visible most of the times. It keeps you guessing, wanting to know the unfolding of a kids abduction. Whilst the story gives little away throughout, turning this into an eye catching movie. The strategic influence behind finding the culprit is quiet engaging, keeping you glued to the screen.

NEGATIVES

• The film does become a drag at parts, stretching heavily but despite this being a drawback, it still never keeps your attention away from the screen. You want to continue to watch further and find the truth. But with a crisper and more finesse towards the writing department, this film could have been much more edgy and intense than what it already was to a certain degree.
•  Once again, a film with a concept of police force being utilised fails to show realism. The lack involvement of police officers to help fight the case and solve the mystery is neglected, leading to failure to succeed in certain scenarios in the movie. This is not a major factor to the final climax but as a viewing experience it becomes less believable.
• The film also lacked visual creativity, in particularly with the flashback scenes where it needed to be more gripping. It did not captivate that intensity the film was trying to portray. The actors do their bit in carrying the burdens of flashbacks on their shoulders but the screenplay itself falters. Also the lack of high exposures during the investigation scenes, they were not enthralling enough.
• What also is a major let down with the film is the dialogues, not being the best one-liners that as an audience you can recall as the stand out ones. They very pretty average, not really noteworthy.

CAST

• AMITABH BACHCHAN à A striking performance, leaves you giving sympathy to this grieving grandfather as well as admiring such fine acting abilities, which never can be questioned. He brings that fragile inclusion, makes the tense build up seem realistic through his semi-slow and weak body language.
• NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI à Almost coming out of his shell. He starts of dull, not really up to it within this edgy dark film. But once coming in the scene along with Vidya Balan, he becomes more interacted but it doesn’t really bring the best out of him, as we know how good his capabilities are.
• VIDYA BALAN à Plays the detective thinking officer but such role for a female would require a substantially prominent role to be played on screen. I felt that was missing with Vidya, she did a good job but not quite eye-catching of a female officer trying to be a dominant one.

RATING 

Overall we rate TE3N a rating of 3/5. TE3N keeps you indulged in this suspenseful film and seeing Amitabh Bachchan on-screen, makes you feel sad for him, keeping you attached to the film till the very end. A fragile man giving his all in fighting for justice, the movie has a bit of everything but not the finished package. There are flaws with it and that never does justice to a good concept that needs a perfection type of execution. That was lacking evidently, there were glimpses of the film being a strong production, if only everything went as fine as the suspenseful build up.

JANUARY 2016 - Movie Of The Month

During the month of January 2016, Airlift was the best film to watch. Airlift is directed by Raja Krishna Menon, starring Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur in the lead roles. This drama thriller is based on true events that transpired during the evacuations of Indians based in Kuwait during the Iraq-Kuwait war.  A strong script, praiseworthy acting and good direction help to take Airlift on to a promising journey.

What stood out for me the most was firstly; a strong script, which ensures a packed movie that, narrates the true story. Whether it comes from the characters emotions and what they are going through, the battle that is taking place, or the consequences the community faces, Airlift touches on every aspect leaving little room for questioning towards portraying a worthy depiction of a true story. Secondly, directional efforts were straight to the scene, not much experimentation was going on with trying to make such scenes seem mesmerizing, this could be due to the type of film that was being portrayed. But the lack of creativity and playing around with shots proves to be a positive, as the film required nothing spectacular. Throughout the film, shots were firm in trying to show realism and as an audience you feel as if you are a part of what is going through the mind of Akshay Kumar. Thirdly, performance was convincing from Akshay, nothing fancy or overly exaggerated, just stuck to his role that compliments the scenario occurring around him. Nimrat Kaur also proves to be a strong presence in pushing the film forward despite starting of slow.

As for the cast, Akshay Kumar packs in a solid leadership figure in being the mastermind behind obtaining the evacuation for the people. He showed emotions, promise and commitment throughout his role that made his character stand out and one that you want to see continuously. From a businessman kind of mentality thinking about himself and his family only, he soon becomes a thinker for others and worries about those around him for once, because unlike what he did in the beginning when it was all about making money, it now was about saving, saving the people and not the money. At times you will feel for his efforts, there be times you will appreciate his assurance as he pledges the safety of the Indians, you just get to witness several sides to Akshay in this film and that leaves him standing and walking tall in the film. As for Nimrat Kaur, at certain points in the film she seemed below par when compared to Akshay Kumar but she soon becomes a prominent figure in making her existence felt. She seems to be side to side with Akshay in the latter parts of the film unlike through the start where she seemed as a shadowing character instead. She has that bit of a upper class persona but soon stoops to the level of Akshay’s mentality towards helping others.

Airlift is a worthy watch as an average film portrays strong details in addressing a true event. But not only does the script and direction seem to be showcased well, credit needs to be heavily given to Akshay Kumar for taking this movie on his shoulders and just airlifting. Without a doubt, whether you like or dislike the story concept, you will witness a solid performance from Akshay, that is something to look out for.

KI AND KA - Movie Review

KI AND KA is directed by R. Balki and it stars Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor in the lead roles whilst a cameo appearance by the couple Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. The movie is set to challenge gender stereotypes as both these actors surface a career and lifestyle which is opposite to how it is usually seen in society today.

What the film tries to convey is a message attached to the sexes, the normality duty of men and women. This movie goes against these stereotypes and attempts to create a whole new meaning to such perceptions by reversing the roles. Does it portray gender equality strongly enough? Yes this film does exploit this strong topic really well and even shows the consequences of such role reversal and how it affects one another. But it merely just touches upon these rather than exploiting it much further in the story to a dramatic climax.

First half the story is a bit slow to proceed, but once it does pick up it becomes exciting in wanting to know what is to transpire and whether these gender roles being reversed, work out for the family or not. Second half portrays the consequences both members face and slowly it begins to pave a bearing on their marriage. It tends to be more packed with emotions and drama whilst the beginning seems to be a bit more of a walk in the park. 

POSITIVES

• A good message has been shared and I feel the director and storywriters have done justice to this topic that is widely questioned in the society by all.
• There are comical moments in the film making it an easy watch, Ki & Ka showcase a wide range of reactions that help develop their married life and balancing it with the story concept. They film not only implicates too much in-depth detail on the subject matter, but it also pays importance on how both genders still can do their own duties as to what each gender is stereotyped as. The argument between the actor’s inputs towards stereotypes and the director has done well in showing these. In particular the one-liners and certain dialogues are impressive and adjust well into such view.
• The actors were a joy to watch, Kareena almost seems as a serious kind whilst Arjun Kapoor is presented as slightly confused but calm figure. Both of these actors leave a good impression on screen.

NEGATIVES

• The story had a promising concept that surely could have been screened much well than what it was. It had potential which it failed to live up to. The lack of innovation with the script became a drag for the characters that have not been developed much in the film. The film could have been expressed much further.
• It also takes a while to narrate, leaving unnecessary shots of things that leave no impact in the film by any means. No relation to what occurs further. If these shots were swapped for more scenes that state or has some implication for the story, then it could have given the actors more freedom to have a character development.
• The viewing experience is less satisfying due to the excessive use of close up shots. It becomes a disturbance and is used quiet often. Then there are other scenes where the camera work is shaky, camera shots are used to create more meaning, but it was overly applied in this film leaving more distractions.
• Some scenes were left hanging in the balance, not adding enough closure in having an attachment to the upcoming scene next. This is down to the weak script leaving lack of importance to major scenes that are to be a talking point towards the climax. The director has failed to narrate the story with more purpose and that is the biggest disappointment with this film.

CAST

The characters are good in their roles. Kareena, the working class and Arjun, the housewife making things happen for the family and future.

• ARJUN KAPOOR - Arjun despite being the housewife, has that masculine side to him, being a housewife is an art in his perspective and idolizes his mother for doing such fine job, hence the inspirational and motive behind Arjun being the housewife. He emotionally manages to add drama and his role manages to seek sympathy in majority of the film. As for his on screen acting, he is given enough screen time to lay down a marker and he does this deeply by showing enough ability in keeping the story to flow. 
• KAREENA KAPOOR - Kareena Kapoor brings a hard working class individual mentality but not home based. As the story becomes more melodramatic, she loosens up and ends up having emotions. She impressed with her presence on screen and tries to remain in character for majority of the film. What I also liked about Kareena Kapoor, was that she makes her dream a priority and showed the type of action that is required in living that dream. The way she acted, dressed and stood by her decisions, slowly her emotions started to change to add the feminine side that a female is usually associated with, for example becoming extremely worried for her other half. 

RATING

Overall we rate Ki and Ka 3/5 purely due to a weak screenplay and not much plot development whether it is a backstory or present moment. The best thing about it is that majority of the acting seems relaxed and believable as if it is happening in a real household. But what fails is the way the story has not inputted justice to a very important and much anticipated concept. The writing side and execution directionally has failed this story. There were moments that impressed but not enough was screened to allow elaboration during the movie. This is a one-time watch; do watch it for a fun and free time as well as a solid performance by the cast. But such concept lacked the emphasis of more intense drama and this turned out to be lighthearted film over a dramatic gender positioning.