WAITING - Movie Review

WAITING directed by Anu Menon, starring Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin in this drama film that puts two opposite individuals in a surreal scenario at a hospital. They both wrestle with the situation of losing their loved ones, but during the time spent in a hospital and waiting, these two sufferers connect to try and seek a life and brace themselves for the future with what is ideally a losing battle tragedy.

What I liked the most about this film was that, it allowed two different generations to express and share their views and stories upon the situation they are having to deal with. Not your everyday kind of film but a film that gives back enough to the audience to think about life. The film is slow and not much developing as the story concept is deep and already the story has hit rock bottom. You would think that a miracle will happen but just as how gradually the characters begin to lose hope, you as an audience will soon too. The film makes no dramatic U-turn and comes to a quiet close giving closure to what was seen evident and likely to occur. A good effort by the filmmakers, a film that is not glamorous and not dictating anything too highly. The film implants an emotional bearing on the cast from the start, this helps to set the tone for the rest of the film.

What does not work with Waiting, is that you don’t get development in the lives after both the losses that these individuals encounter. As the whole film was giving us an insight in the moment of ‘waiting’, I felt that the film should have had an inclusion of an insight on how much bearing the outcome has had on their lives as they move forward.  With the writing department being strong and consistent with portraying the message that is evident, I was a little disappointed with the climax and closure being too soft and almost seems as if a lazy effort of constructing it. It came to a calming curtain close and such film as this, would have done with a more sudden impact with the aftermath, despite the characters knowing what the realistic ending would be.

CAST

NASEERUDDIN SHAH – He allows his experience in holding the film together, not allowing the seriousness of the situation to affect him mentally. Naseeruddin Shah shows a solid presence and this helps narrate the motive of waiting and hoping as well as preparing for the future. He maintains this restricted figure, not keen on expressing openly, but that signifies the ageing mentality too of not moving way ahead of yourself. He holds back more often, thinking more and doing less, so he knows what needs and should be said at the right moment instead of making hasty decisions.

KALKI KOECHLIN – Kalki comes in with a free-bird, a bit of a brightening spark in this quiet waiting film. Her acting can be labelled as loud, as she intends to get things moving, as well as she begins to help her co-star to loosen up with life at some points, adding a new dimension to the plot. With her performance she was allowed to express more since she has the younger mentality in seeing things in society as they are today.

RATING

Overall, I would rate Waiting 3/5. The movie was well made, knowing the type and genre, there was not much to expect from the film as it all was quiet conclusive from the beginning with the outcome. But what works well is what happens when you have such problems that make you cave right in. The two leads bounce off each other in supporting one another without having no previous bonding. But a waiting room does do wonders in helping to support each other when nobody else is around to do that.The film tackles life questions and make you thing about things around you and putting life in to perspective. 

BANJO - Movie Review

Banjo is directed by Ravi Jadhav, starring Riteish Deshmukh and Nargis Fakhri in the lead roles. A film about Chris (played by Nargis Fakhri) goes for a search for Banjo band, she comes across Tarrat (played by Riteish Deshmukh) who at first is hesitant of giving his identity away as a banjo player. Eventually he does by helping Chris as she struggles. But playing the Banjo is just another part of his life, whilst his real lifestyle is in the dirty of the small streets in the village and dealing with activities such as extortions and fighting with others. Will this unity help create a Banjo band on an international scale?

POSITIVES

• The on screen chemistry between Riteish Deshmukh and Nargis Fakhri was great to see, they looked good together although it is Riteish Deshmukh who takes control on screen by being the better performer in comparison. His efforts of trying to hit on her as well as maintaining his dignity status helps keep this an interesting movie.
• Dialogues are likeable, especially the ones for Riteish Deshmukh’s character. It helps to bring the comedy moments in to the scene. The script had a good concept but was not executed with another new, quite cliché. But what stood out the most along with the dialogues was the climax. The climax was the most powerful part in the film as the rest deemed fairly slow. The unity was great to see and once again that falls to the persona of Riteish who manages to add a spark to this movie. 
• Scenery choices and cinematography was enjoyable showing the streets, small and dirty environment and showcasing the citizens struggle in daily life. How these band members adjusted to such living and how it has affected their mentality and be the way they are. They do struggle to adjust to the westernised attitude of Chris. But I felt this was very informative to help justify why their attitudes were the way they had been presented on screen. 

NEGATIVES

• The beginning voice over narration that gives the information about the characters and their lifestyle was a real bore. The voice needed to help attract but it really did not entice and kept distracting the attention.
• I felt the film was slow paced, it did not create a high intensity with the buzz of the band rise with shows. I felt that was lacking and it was missing for such film. It needed to be bit faster paced with action slamming on screen to help build the importance. I also felt that there were so many things going on in the film, it seemed a bit scattered all over. It needed consistency which was lacking and that disrupted the viewing experience too.

CAST

• RITEISH DESHMUKH - He is impressive with his role, you like to see him in the movie more often. Riteish excels with managing the hard-hitting gangster type character with a bit of a softer romantic type person on screen. This makes the film more appealing and adds more emotion to the scenes. Riteish is strong in his role and implicates a spark in the film when it needed it the most as majority of the pace is slow and needed a push forward. He manages to do that with his co-stars in the band as they shadowed Riteish.
• NARGIS FAKHRI - She is given just as big of a role as her co-star, tries to push the film forward but it just does not come out strongly for her. Her poor Hindi accent does no justice to the film, her acting seems lacklustre at times and it is evident on screen. But she does add the glamour to the film as well as helping Riteish’s character in playing out of his lifestyle persona. Nargis does attempt to boss the team, sometimes it works but sometimes it does not and that does not do justice to her character.

RATING

Overall I would rate Banjo 2/5 purely on the basis of Riteish Deshmukh’s acting performance and the concept and the music. The rest of the film struggled but what keeps you tagging along is the decent and likeable dialogues that also livens up Riteish’s acting performance on screen. The storyline was good but did not get executed really well, the writing department lacked execution and that falters for the film. Dialogues are the only positive aspects of the script whilst the climax powers the film to a strong finish. Performance wise Nargis struggles with her Hindi, she is not convincing enough. She actually holds the film back; her westernised Indian character does not seem believable. She brightens up some scenes with her on screen chemistry with Riteish but it is not enough, only for Riteish to save the film from a complete fall.

BAAR BAAR DEKHO - Movie Review

BAAR BAAR DEKHO is directed by Nitya Mehra, starring Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra. This drama romantic film is based around the concept of time travel, in which transitions are screened to forward the screenplay and give life another chance.

Positives:

I really enjoyed this concept in a Bollywood movie, seeing something new and not cliché. Yes, it is predictable as the movie moved on, but it was still a good idea to base a film on. Cinematography is a sight to see, well-crafted shots to try and exploit the surroundings in these visuals, the vision has been taken advantage of by the creative department.  The styling is attractive and that is a delight to watch. Performance level, both Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif put in a worthy performance and both looked great together on screen. They seem a good pairing and compliment each other with their performance. Sidharth Is given majority of the screen space and has portrayed a variety of emotions whilst Katrina Kaif is the pillar to the scenarios from the start till the end and even she manages to place a believable character act.

Negatives:

With the time travel concept, a few loopholes were evident and unclear answers, hence the lack of execution for such scenario. It was a distraction at times but begins to get better during the latter stages. Dialogues were average and not noteworthy or ones that will keep you recalling after the film. The idea behind the story lacks development, leaving phases in the film of dragging and stretched as well

Rating:

Overall I would rate this movie 3/5. It had an interesting concept but did not get executed strongly as it could have been but it still was a decent attempt to base a movie upon. Possibly the inexperience of such concept may just be the bearing pulling this film back rather than progress forwards. The actors do well in their roles to help initiate some urgency in the screenplay which at times seems to leave gaps in the script, creating a diversion of the focus from the film. But in the end, the idea will lure you in to watch it, the film portrays second chances, that’ll be the answer to the travels.

APRIL 2016 - Movie Of The Month

During April 2016, it was the film Laal Rang that emerged as the best film from of the month, out-winning the likes of Ki And Ka, Fan and Baaghi. 

LAAL RANG directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal and starring in the lead roles are Randeep Hooda, Piaa Bajpai, Jaihind Kumar and Akshay Oberoi. This film portrays blood donating greed of making quick easy money but even that would lead to heavy consequences within the illegal activity and friendship chemistry as money overpowers everything. The film is packed with powerful dialogues that helps to bring out a praiseworthy performance by the cast. The script is written with realism and that helps make this film seem as if it is a real life event, nothing in the film was over the top or extravagant. Performance wise, Randeep Hooda nails it by being the lead star in paving way for the story to unravel in an intense scenario. This film for me is a well-crafted dark film that needed bigger commercial coverage because this was a film from the start to the end that keeps you tangled within all the drama, you just don’t want it to end. 

KI AND KA directed by R. Balki, starring Arjun Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles in this romantic comedy drama where the stereotype of the male and female gender is given a swap. What I liked about this film the most was to see something different and not often very common in Bollywood cinema. The ideologies of a male and female couple relationship takes a turn adding entertainment as well as complications with feuds. Storyline is the seller for this whilst the director could have utilized further relationship development. As for the performances, both were good on screen and fit well together, Arjun Kapoor playing a housewife whilst Kareena Kapoor plays the working class woman. The film was attractive, it shows things in a gender swap perspective and that was an eye opener to a certain extent, for that this film is a worthy watch. 

BAAGHI directed by Sabbir Khan starring Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles in this action thrilling film. Tiger Shroff has this persona of an action fighter and that is exactly what this film cashes in on. Fitting film for Tiger to showcase his fighting ability and he really does packs in a punch in this one. Shraddha Kapoor adds the love angle to it whilst also bringing her fighting skills to go side to side with Tiger through the battle that awaits them and their love relationship. All the action was gripping and solid and somewhat realistically presented by those fighting but what was a letdown was that it kind of seemed as a video game. The story was evident and a good concept but so much emphasise was placed on the action which of course was not a letdown. It was hard hitting and bone crunching with some gruesome visuals. 

FAN directed by Maneesh Sharma with Shahrukh Khan playing a double role in this thrilling encounter. A very good idea but lacked practicality and a solid script. Shahrukh Khan who no doubt is a huge star but what has been depicted in the film seems unreal. No big Bollywood star would be chasing somebody in the public and busy area, firstly wont risk his body and secondly he would usually be surrounded by security. Script wise I liked the concept of showing what a fan means to the stars and what a star means to a fan. But it could and should have been written in a better film as it almost become a film that leaves huge significance of showing Shahrukh Khan as the special one and making him look the superior. As for the performance both characters of Shahrukh Khan were pleasant, Shahrukh Khan playing himself as the star was exactly what we see in the media world but Shahrukh Khan as a fan was the bright spark in this film and simply outshines the real Shahrukh Khan character.