Film Review - Welcome Back

Sorry Bhai

Film: Welcome Back

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, John Abraham,  Shruti Hassan

Directed by: Anees Bazmee

Duration: 2 hrs 27 mins

Rating:  * 1 / 2

Almost a decade after Welcome, which was no great shakes by any stretch of imagination but nevertheless was good enough for a few silly laughs, we have the sequel in the form of Welcome Back.  As the audience, we were surely much better off if they hadn’t come back. It is not worth a wada-pav, and a big ensemble cast has just been cobbled together to create some kind of chaos to pass off as a story.  This is sheer lazy writing that too at its worst.    

So the original story has been tweaked just a little bit here. The two buddies,  Uday Shetty (Nana Patekar) and Majnu (Anil Kapoor) have given up their erstwhile profession of bhaigiri and have settled in Dubai. There are more characters and complications here than the on-going Indrani saga. Maybe not quite, but you get the picture.  Dr. Gungroo (Pareh Rawal) discovers that he has a step-son (John Abraham, desperately in need of a crash course in acting) and on the other side of the planet, Uday discovers that he has a step sister (Shruti Hassan).  

The two friends meanwhile are on the radar of con women, one posing as a Maharani (Dimple Kapadia in an unworthy role) and the other a princess (Ankita Shrivastava, who needs to start with the ABC of acting) and both of them fall for the young lady. More chaos when a blind bad guy (Nasseurddin Shah) and his son (Shiney  Ahuja in a pink jacket) land on the scene.

One outlandish episode is followed by another and looks the dialogues were written with severe stress on the grey cells. “Jab maine chunaav me vote daala hi nahi toh mukhyamantri mera kaise ho gaya?” says Paresh Rawal trying to understand the existence of his step son. “Inke ghar mein ladies ke naam pe chipkali bhi nahi hain” whatever that is supposed to mean. 

It opens with a pixellated shot of Dubai and ends with climax that has some tacky CGI effects.  There is also a scene where a characters jumps from the one camels hump to another to save the don from a sandstorm.  Not sure whom we should feel sorry for, the camel or the audience who had to sit through this baloney. 

The acting is equally atrocious – Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor manage to hold fort, but otherwise it is all downhill. 

The only relevant line in the film is where a character says – “Dimaag ki naas ko mat phaad” My sentiments exactly. 

 Published in The Navhind Times on 6th Sept. 2015
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Film Review - Ab Tak Chhappan

Underworld Woes

Film: Ab Tak Chhappan 2

Cast: Nana Patekar, Gul Panag, Vikram Gokhale

Directed by: Aejaz Gulab

Duration: 1 hr 45 mins

Rating: * 1 / 2

More than a decade after Shimit Amin made one of the more memorable gangster films, a deathly dull sequel to it is here. Ab Tak Chhappan 2 merely wants to cash on its predecessor, the underworld had almost taken a backseat then in 2004, but the memories of it still remained fresh due to the havoc it unleashed earlier.

This sequel tries to connect the dots to the previous film but it has no real story to speak of. Inspector Sadhu (Nana Patekar) is spending a quiet life in Goa because of the pending departmental enquiry and the death of his wife.

The home minister (Vikram Gokhale) coaxes him out of retirement to hunt down and eliminate some gangsters. He forms team that includes a policeman (Ashutosh Rana) who doesn’t particularly like him. They go around shooting gangsters after receiving random phone calls and there is no conviction at all as to how they go about their business. Gul Panag plays a journalist who is completing an unfinished book on the underworld written by her father.

The film has no plot to speak of, just so that the audience doesn’t feel completely cheated, a few predictable twists are thrown in towards the end.

It has the hangover of a Ram Gopal Varma film, from his latter career that is. The dialogues, the camerawork all have shades of an RGV influence. You feel sorry for Nana Patekar, he gives it his best but there is nothing anyone can do to save this Ab Tak whatever. 

Published in The Navhind Times, Goa on 1st March 2015

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Film Review - Dr.Prakash Baba Amte

An Inspiring Story

 

Film:Dr.Prakash Baba Amte (Marathi with English subtitles)

Cast: Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni, Mohan Agashe

Directed by: Samruddhi Pohey

Duration: 2 hrs 17 mins

Rating:  * * * 1 /2

There are reel heroes and real life heroes. The full title of this film is Dr.Prakash Baba Amte - The Real Hero and the latter part is no exaggeration.  Son of the renowned social worker Baba Amte, the life of Dr.Prakash is well and truly inspiring full credit to the director Samruddhi Pohey for telling this richly deserved story.

Baba Amte and his work his well known but the name of his son Prakash will be familiar mostly to those in Maharashtra.

Biopics are rarely made in India and on the whole they have been a mixed bag, some work some don’t. But the Pohey who has also written the screenplay has rock solid material on hand.  After all, how many doctors, whose fathers were well known in the society gave up everything and worked for the welfare of tribals and animals. It is no surprise that the Amte’s were the first father son duo to be given the prestigious Magsaysay award. 

The film also benefits immensely from the lead pair of actors. A large part of the story is told in flashback. Dr. Prakash (Nana Patekar) following his illustrious father’s footsteps lives in the tribal area of Gadchiroli with the Madia tribe. He has a doctor by profession and decides to live an austere life by helping the locals along with his wife Mandakini (Sonali Kulkarni) whom he met in his college.   

Apart from serving the local tribe Dr. Prakash is also an animal lover and started an orphanage for injured wild animals which came to be known as Amte animal arc, snakes, leopards, deer, you name it, they are all at the orphanage. The kind of rapport that the good doctor has with the animals is to be seen to be believed in the real life footage shown during the end credits which are not to be missed.

The issue of naxalism and excess by the police is also highlighted but more importantly, the film captures the essence of the tribulations he had and how he overcame them to serve selflessly. Along with the doctor, his wife also comes as a pillar of strength and their relationship is heartwarming.  In fact the Magsaysay award

Technically, the film is just about okay, but this factor can be easily overlooked. The screenplay is not watertight either and the editing also could have been sharper. Couple of scenes where they treat ill people could have been trimmed.  But this is just nitpicking considering what has been portrayed in the film.

Of the cast, Nana Patekar is in splendid form in the lead role, we have seen his histrionics before but this is a highly commendable and restrained performance. Sonali Kulkarni matches the lead actor on every step and they share a good chemistry.

During times when everyone is caught in a rat race (even if you win the race you still remain a rat as a wise man once said) this story of a man working tirelessly and altruistically has even more relevance. This is a must watch film for everyone.

Published in The Navhind Times on 12th Oct 2014

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