The Stoneman Murders Hindi film review

Year 1983.A series of killings occur in the mega city of Bombay.The victims happen to be pavement dwellers with their heads smashed with stones and the killings occur at night when the victims are asleep.Police is mystified and in spite of increasing night patrol,there is no stopping of the carnage.Mean while inspector Sanjay is suspended for a custodial death.He wants to get back into the force,so with the help of his superior Satam,he unofficially carries out the investigation to nab the serial killer who is known as the Stoneman killer by now.The film looks at the cat and mouse game between the officer and the psychopath where Sanjay is so overwhelmed in this quest where by cracks begin to appear in his family life.The film is an edge of the seat taut thriller where a surprise conclusion awaits at the end when the serial killer's identity is unmasked.

Director Manish Gupta has to be applauded for telling this story in a realistic manner,rather than taking the approach of the manipulative ways of Hindi commercial cinema.He has been able to extract good performances from lead actors.The investigative aspect is structured in a way with which one can identify and seems authentic and natural.The inner skirmishes among the police department is portrayed without any exaggeration.In fact loved the portrayal of Sanjay who also has some dirty secrets in his cupboard who is not the straightforward one as one assumes. Even though there is no wide pool of suspects,still the way suspicion shifts from person to person hooking the viewer to the proceedings has to be applauded,thereby passing the litmus test of what a good suspense movie requires.

The reasoning behind the serial killer's objective seems plausible,but the film's minor flaw sees to be the fact that the ease in which the killer is able to pursue Sanjay,do raise doubt about killer's identity at early stage.May be the screenplay should have taken care to have a wider pool of suspects so that film would have been more interesting.

Kay Kay Menon has given an excellent performance.He has been able to bring forth the inner turmoils,emotional outbursts of a cop outwitted by a wily,cunning psychopath convincingly.Arbaaz khan unfortunately has not been able to nail the character.He looks wooden in many scenes.The rest of the cast is adequate.Background music is excellent.It has been able to bring alive that eerie and haunting atmosphere of the film.The songs are also well tuned.

My Rating: ABOVE AVERAGE

Game Hindi Film Review

Suspense/mystery is a genre which requires considerable thought and has the chances to bomb if not done right.The most important aspect of  this type of film is a racy screenplay which do not distract the attention of the audience and forces him to invest his attention on the film.'The Game' is a film which breaks this cardinal rule and is an abomination to this intelligent genre.The screenplay is weak,the story is implausible,the performances are irritating,add all these factors and what you get is a mish mash of a suspense movie,devoid of any mystery,which the viewer wants to finish as quickly as possible so that he can get on with his life and forget the fact that he wasted 2 hours of his life on this crap.

Kabir Malhothra is a billionaire with some secrets to hide who resides in an Island at Greece in his palatial home.He keeps track of four people from different parts of the world with whom he has a connection which will be made clear as the movie proceeds.These four people are from different backgrounds ranging from a casino owner in Turkey,a movie star in India,a journalist in England and a prime ministerial candidate in Thailand.He invites these four people to his island.They also have some secrets to hide and is at a stage of life where they are staring at failures,so this invitation from a billionaire rekindles hope in them for a better future.But what awaits them is not what they expect and they could see that their already miserable life crumbling in front of them when they meet Malhothra.The meeting sets off a chain of events that turn their lives upside down.What now follows is a murder and then the investigation with these four being the primary suspects,the secrets are slowly revealed,we are exposed to shocking truths and surprising revelation awaits at the end.

The film struggles to keep the attention of the viewer.The shocking revelations do not have the necessary impact and there are logical flaws through out the movie.The setting in a foreign country completely botches the authenticity aspect,since the intention here seems to shoot only at scenic places around the world rather than concentrate on the mystery aspect and give a satisfactory solution to the puzzle.

The film is technically sound.Stunt scenes are well pictured.But the chase scene involving Neil Menon trying to get rid of surveillance was poorly done and was getting on the nerves due to its length and its drag on the already snail like pace of the movie.Music of the film is also disappointing.None of the songs are memorable.Background music also do not rise up to the occasion.

Anupam Kher  has given a fine performance as Kabir Malhothra,Shahana Goswami as a journalist has also done justice to that role.Abhishek Bachchan is just about passable as Neil Menon.Rest of the actors do not pass muster.Jimmy Shergill is generally a reliable actor but here he seems to be out of sorts.Kangna Raut seems to be trying too hard to make an impact and comes off superficial and fake.The entire concept of Indian police officer working with English police is something difficult to digest.Then again this film is such a poorly thought out one that there is no point in wasting time in analyzing stuff like this.

My Rating: POOR

Dum Maaro Dum Hindi film Review

ACP Vishnu Kamat is given the assignment of cleaning up the serene Goan beaches from the clutches of drug mafia which involves not only Indian drug lords but also international ones.He forms a task force to take on the dreaded drug mafia.The film starts with a bang with an excellent title track which gives the indication of taut,high octane,high decibel entertainment ahead.But in the initial reels itself fissures are visible when you see not so young teenagers but passing for teenagers indulging in the cute teen talk.But the initial apprehensions aside,the film sorts of pick up steam where you see stereotypical fall of a straightforward middle class lad who for the sake of dollars try to be a mule only to be upstaged by super cop Kamath.The cop and robber drama starts, Kamath in his superman avatar trashes villains to pulp,pound their asses with chilli powder and guns, but still the big bad guy Michael Barbosa is missing.So the big chase starts and you get to meet a musician with a well toned gym body, an air hostess aspired turned drug addict with a fetish for wearing only white shirts and nothing else underneath, a middle class guy who feels that being middle class is a curse so goes in search for dollars and a drug lord who also runs drug rehabilitation center to wash off his sins.

The first issue with this film is style is given more importance than substance.There are some nice moments,the formation of task force,the banter of Mercy,the realistic stunt scenes,some nicely done exchanges between Kamath and Biscuit,suspense factor to some extend well maintained.But if you look beyond that it is just another action movie,excessive violence,crude and vulgar interrogation scenes just to show how tough our super cop is.But truth is Abhishek do not look the part of tough,super cop.As such he is a mediocre actor,but to give credit he shines in the parts where he don't have to shout or show any intensity.But once the scenes that require it we can see his limitation as an actor,dead eyes,lips that curl in weird angle when he shouts, not a welcome sight.The back story of the cop to milk emotional aspect of the audience falls flat,inspite of Vidya Balan. Prateik is just about OK and little bit of leeway can be given since he is a newcomer and hope that he improves in his future endeavors. Rana looks more like a Mr. Universe contestant than a musician. He has a good screen presence but unfortunately like most hunks it is indirectly proportional to acting talent. But time is on his side and ample opportunity to improve in future. Bipasha just sleep walks through the role and since she is a drug addict may be that was the intention.The only genuine actors in this film seems to be Govind Namdeo as Rane and Muzammil as Percy.

The film is technically sound.At least on that aspect Sippy should be given credit.Music is irritating and test your patience by jumping you at inappropriate times thereby elongating the boredom further.To add insult to the already fatigued audience, matchstick figure of Deepika gyrating to poorly choreographed Dum Maro Dum song is the last nail in the coffin.The second half keeps on dragging and by the time the big reveal about the master bad guy Barbosa is revealed, most will be in deep slumber.

My Rating : BELOW AVERAGE

Saath Khoon Maaf Hindi Film Review

This movie is about Susanna, a beautiful woman who kills her 6 husbands.Why she kills them is being explored here. Director Vishal Bhardwaj uses Susanna as a medium to look into the dark corners of human mind and about the evil that lurks behind it.This film is not just about a wronged woman's revenge,rather about the evil that lurks behind a human being who takes advantage of person who is dependent on him.The message is that they should be exterminated at any cost,rather forgiving them leads to further exploitation of weak.Susanna is no psychopath who kills for pleasure,rather a strong hearted woman who stands by her faithful associates at the time of need,who has taken the path of violence so eventually the world is more peaceful by getting rid of the evil.But in this zeal to terminate evil,we see gradual destruction of Susanna where there comes a time when her human side with its full frailty is exposed.But this film is not so dark and it is heartening to see that in a surprise twist towards end,Susanna finds happiness and true love in the form which she has been searching all along.

Her first husband, a wounded soldier who has won laurels for his country but insecure due to his handicap and inability to have children,subjects Susanna his object of frustration.Things reach a boiling point when he seriously injures a loyal associate of Susanna by his cruel act,which prompts her to take necessary action .Neil Nithin Mukesh does justice to this selfish,cruel,possessive soldier's role.

Second husband a handsome musician,who wins her heart turns out to be a copycat and a drug addict who in spite of best efforts of Susanna,do not mend his ways and so pays the price.John Abraham is a mediocre actor,but fortunately he is just a blink and miss character here,so his inadequacies are not noticeable.

Third husband a poet,who won the heart of legions of followers with his heartrending poetry,turns out to be an animal with no control on his primitive instincts rather than the soft hearted poet,physically abusing Susanna to the extend that she had no option other than to cut short his life on earth. Irrfan Khan plays the role of chameleon like poet convincingly who hides a cruel streak behind his soft poetry.

Fourth husband a handsome Russian wins her over by his charm and wit ,but in reality was a double crosser who leads another life in Russia,which becomes the reason for his eventual demise.Russian who played this role is a revelation,he is at his charming best when he blurts out Hindi film dialogues to woo Susanna.

Fifth husband a police officer,takes advantage of his ability to pinpoint Susanna's role in previous murders,by embarking on a relationship with Susanna which is purely based on lust on the part of officer.The obsession of this lecherous officer reaches a flash point where taking out his life seems to be the only option before Susanna.Annu Kapoor is perfectly cast in this role which has shades of dark humor.

Sixth husband an Ayurvedic doctor,who tries to poison her and kills her faithful associate instead gets his own medicine when Susanna decides to avenge his death. For an actor of the calibre of Naseeruddin Shah,this role is cake walk and he does justice to it.

These incidents are narrated by Arun,whom Susanna gives shelter,nurtures and helps him to become a doctor who in turn of fate helps in eventual redemption of Susanna.Vivaan Shah impresses.

As a director Vishal Bharadwaj is in fine form.He is able to extract a competent performance from Priyanka who played central character and all other actors.The film's pace is sluggish at some points,but overall the screenplay holds together.Music didn't rise to the expectation we have of a Vishal Bharadwaj soundtrack.

My Rating : ABOVE AVERAGE

No One Killed Jessica Hindi Film Review

This film is based on Jessica Lal murder case.Vidya Balan plays the role of Sabrina Lal, sister of Jessica Lal.Manish the accused is let off by court due to lack of evidence since prime witnesses turned hostile which was enabled by bribe paid by his politician father.A reputed journalist comes across the acquittal and takes up this case and through sting operations expose the foul play behind acquittals.The film looks at how this journalist was able to drum up public support which forces the court to reexamine the case and bring the accused to trial again.

Vidya Balan as Sabrina Lal is perfectly cast.She is able to bring the helplessness of a middle class girl wronged by the justice system to the forefront well.Rani is a disappointment in the role of a journalist.Director wanted to portray her as a tough nut,so he forces her to utter some F words frequently,but it sounds superficial.The trial scene also looked fake and some attempt to generate humor also come unstuck.In spite of these flaws it is a good attempt for a cinematic version of a contemporary incident.The actors who played Sabrina's dad and police inspector have done well

My rating : AVERAGE.

DevD Hindi Film review

DevD is the retelling of tragic story of devdas in modern settings.Eventhough it is a familiar story already remade many times,this film differs by the novel treatment by Anurag Kashyap.Music plays an important role here.Amit Trivedi's music is excellent and appropriate placement of songs take the movie forward.Through Dev,how the emotion of love can destroy as well as redeem a man is shown expertly by director and he succeeds in it without any melodrama associated with usual commercial Hindi cinema.

Abhay Deol as Dev shines and is able to portray the gradual self destruction of Dev effectively.Mahi Gill as Paro and Kalki Koechlin as Chanda is adequate.One weakness I found was the back story of Chanda which was not convincing.

My rating :  ABOVE AVERAGE

Delhi-6 Hindi Film Review

An NRI along with his grandmother returns to Delhi.Director tells this story through the eyes of an NRI about middle class Old Delhi.Here he gets to meet number of characters which include two feuding brothers,an aspiring middle class girl,lower caste trash collector girl,a money lender,an young photographer,a corrupt cop.How their lives intersect in this middle class Delhi is told through the  eyes of NRI.The film looks at how religious divisions appear among them due to report of appearance of Kala Bandar(a black monkey) which attacks people and steals various articles.

Director is successful  in recreating middle class Old Delhi neighbourhood.The superb set of character actors give authenticity to it.I would have loved the movie if director concentrated more in their lives and made it as a slice of life of old Delhi.Instead he goes after the oft repeated Hindu Muslim tension.The scenes involving Kala Bandar is picturised well with its humour elements working fine.But Kala Bander as a metaphor,as well as a mad man holding a mirror do not work,but only acts  to prove an over the top,silly intellectual exercise to confuse an average film viewer.There is no need for this type of gimmick in a commercial movie. Abhishek Bachan is a disappointment in the role of NRI.Sonam Kapoor also proves that she has miles to go before she learns anything about acting.All the characters expect Atul Kulkarni is in fine form.Atul is not convincing.

My rating: POOR

Udaan Hindi Film Review

A strict father who believes that excellance can be bred only by being tough on his children.A father who take out his frustration by beating his children.Udaan looks at this father and his relationship with his two kids.Teenager Rohan is expelled from school.His strict and abusive father is disappointed with it and wants him to pursue engineering where as he wants to be a writer.He rebels against his father and this forms the crux of the movie.An younger brother is caught between this fight and this film chronicles the lives of these three in the steel city of Jamshedpur.

Director Motvane shines,but some scenes are not directed well.One scene that comes to my mind is the ragging scene of Rohan at bar.Then again there are some great moments like the scene of departure of Rohan from school.The scene where two brothers walk away hand in hand is a also a great one.In both these scenes Amit Trivedi's music also enhances the impact.In acting front Ronit Roy and  Rajet Barmecha are adequate.But acting honours go to Aayan Barodia as Arjun.Manjot Singh also impresses as Rohan's friend.

My rating: ABOVE AVERAGE 

Phas Gaya Re Obama Hindi Film Review

An NRI who becomes bankrupt due to recession wants to sell his family property in India to tide over his economic difficulties.Little did he realize that his state is held to ransom by gangs specializing in kidnappings.As soon as he lands in India,he is kidnapped for ransom.When local gangsters come to know about his bankruptcy,they hatch a plan with the idea given by NRI himself.The film looks at how they execute the plan. This film works wonderfully as a satire on the "kidnapping industry" in which police and even minister is involved.

Direction,screenplay by Subhash Kapoor  is top class.Rajat Kapoor,Manu Rishi,Sanjay Mishra play their parts well.Neha dupia is not much impressive.Amol Gupta shines in parts.

My rating: GOOD

Band Baaja Baaraat Hindi Film review

Bittoo Sharma(Ranveer Singh) is a lazy  college graduate who don't have any plans for future.He meets Shruti Kakar(Anushka Sharma) at a marriage party.He falls in love with her,but she is not interested in him rather she wants to pursue her dreams of becoming a wedding planner .Circumstances force them to become partners in a wedding planner company.The film tells how they achieve success in wedding planning business,how Shruti started to have feelings for Bittoo and how he reacts to it.

Debut director Maneesh Sharma impresses.He is able to extract great performances from Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma.Dialogues by Habib Faisal is natural and captures Delhi effortlessly.Music by Salim Sulaiman is adequate.

My rating: ABOVE AVERAGE