Film Review - Bombay Velvet

Rough and Smooth

Film: Bombay Velvet

Cast:  Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar

Directed by: Anurag Kashyap

Duration: 2 hrs 30 mins

Rating: *  *  *

Based on historian Gyan Prakash’s book Mumbai Fables, Bombay Velvet gives us a glimpse of how Bombay became the big bad city in the late 60’s. Against this backdrop, at the heart of the film, there is a love story between a gangster and a jazz club singer. The story oscillates between the love birds and the politics of the city with the prohibition era, politicians joining hands with builders, the mafia taking over. The city aspect of the film wins hands down, the love story is a bit of a downer. 

The film opens with a young boy who goes on to become Johnny Balraj (Ranbir Kapoor) in Bombay, just a couple of years after independence. He along with his side-kick Chiman (Satyadeep Misra) are small time thugs but Johnny boy is harboring big ambitions. He watches James Cagney die in the arms of Pricilla Lane in The Roaring Twenties (1939), “He used to be a big shot” she says. Now Johnny also wants to be one. Like Bachchan’s character in Deewar, another film more or less in the same era, the young man will do anything to make it to the top. The motivation for the same is not very clear or convincing.

He falls in love with Rosie (Anushka Sharma) a jazz crooner with a troubled childhood. She is sent to spy on Johnny by a newspaper editor (Manish Chaudhary) but expectedly, ends up falling in love with him.

Johnny is also a part time cage fighter and by chance, he meets Khambatta (Karan Johar) a ruthless baron who has his finger in many pies, mostly illegal ones. The ambitious young man becomes his right hand man and is given charge of Bombay Velvet, the most happening club in town.

Scrupulous politicians and greedy builders who want to make hay by forcing the sunshine are also a part of the scene. The film uses many real life references right from the prohibition which closed down many clubs in Bombay to mill workers agitation and the land grab that happened to form the famous Nariman Point are all part of the story, which is fabulous.

What doesn’t particularly work well is the love story which is more or less like any another love story but the city angle that Kashyap has explored is unique in many ways. The plot also gets unnecessarily contrived in the second half and the other problem is the characterization – we don’t really know what his motives are and what keeps him ticking –he is like a race driver who wants to finish first but is driving without any strategy in place.    

The production design and period details are from the top draw. This is perhaps as authentic and eye catching as it can get. Constantly, throughout the film, even when the story dips, the visuals grab your attention.

The music and background score by Amit Trivedi fits the bill perfectly, including a rehash of O.P. Nayyars Jaata Kahan Hain Deewane (which was shot for CID but didn’t make it to the final cut). Of the cast, a ravishing Raveena Tandon is seen performing a song and Karan Johar in his maiden appearance makes an impression. The supporting cast of Manish Chaudhary, Kay Kay Menon and especially Satyadev Misra deserve a mention. Anushka Sharma is aptly cast as Rosie and Ranbir Kapoor is good in parts – at times, an actor can only get as good as the character.

All said and seen, this velvet is not very smooth but it is still worth a try. 

Published in The Navhind Times, Goa on 17th May 2015

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Film Review- Roy

Oh Boy!

Film: Roy

Cast: Arjun Rampal, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ranbir Kapoor

Directed by: Vikramjit Singh

Duration: 2 hrs 27 mins

Rating: *

A deathly boring film like Roy is only made once a while, why was it made in the first place still remains a mystery. Towards the end Arjun Rampal who plays a director says “Pata nahin yeh film kaisa ban gayi” echoing the sentiments of the audience watching this travesty of a film.

I am yet to figure out what exactly the director Vikramjit Singh was trying to convey. But whatever it is, it is dull and dreary. Pointless scenes and meaningless dialogues go on but it is made to look very profound. It takes less than five minutes that you are being taken for a ride. Kabir (Rampal) is the director of two hit films, Guns I and II but he can’t find enough inspiration for the third part which he is all set to start shooting. 

In Malaysia where he is filming, he is inspired by the story of Roy (Ranbir Kapoor) a mastermind thief who has stolen paintings from all over the world including The Louvre in Paris. The director also meets another film maker (Jacqueline) and falls for her. An episode involving them is supposedly inspired by the Tarantino-Coppola love affair but don’t let that excite you. 

The proceedings are more pretentious than one of those Page 3 parties. The romance is sleep-inducing, the thrills are non-existent - all you are left with is two and a half hours of nothing. 

You can’t really blame the actors, the best thing they could have done is steer clear of this script, if there was one. Even someone like Ranbir Kapoor who otherwise exudes a certain charm can’t save the day. If you think Besharam was his worst, remember that with the release of Roy, it is no longer the case. 

Published in The Navhind Times, Goa on 15th February 2015

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Film Review - Besharam

       

                    Shame Shame Paapi Shame

Film: Besharam

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Pallavi Sharda, Rishi Kapoor

Directed by: Abhinav Singh Kashyap

Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins

Rating: * 1 / 2

Ranbir Kapoor was on a roll with a string of hits making him one of the most bankable stars at the box office. And then he did Besharam, a film devoid of any imagination or wit. What prompted Ranbir and the remaining Kapoor clan to be a part of this atrocity remains a mystery. I mean, presumably they must have been narrated some ‘story’ before signing this film but then there is no story or a plot at all that is evident here. Perhaps it was a case of a  few lines were scribbled on one of those sticky notes.

There has been this tendency among film makers to ignore important aspects like a decent storyline, after all, if you have a big star in your film then the audiences are more likely to come anyway. But then there is a very fine line between being silly and being ridiculous and this film crosses over to the latter.

 

So Ranbir plays Babli, a car thief who gives away all his earnings to an orphanage which he is also a part of. With his sidekick (Amitosh Nagpal) he steals cars in the dreariest fashion. A couple of cops (Rishi, Neetu) who also happen to be a couple, try to hunt him down after he outwits them.

 

He falls in love with Tara (newcomer Pallavi Sharda) who lives in a very modest house but still owns a Mercedes Benz A Class (approx. Rs.24.09 lakhs ex-showroom price) Since he is an uneducated, unsophisticated besharam and she is A class in more ways than one, she gives him as much attention as the government has given to the Lokpal bill. And since a villain is needed to spice things up (in vain though), we have Bheem Singh Chandel (Jaaved Jafferi) who is a hawala kingpin.

The proceedings are so dull that it could put an insomniac to sleep and those who stay awake, have to go through torture. Amusingly, two writers are credited for the ‘story’ even though anyone with half a brain could have done a better job.

Ranbir is also shown stuffing a sock in his crotch to make an impression and that’s not all, in a scene that has nothing to do with the plot, he shows his posterior and you almost get to see the place where the sun don’t ever shine. Not that you want to see it. 

  

Butt seriously, this is unadulterated lame, lazy and embarrassing writing.

While Ranbir Kapoor sparkles in his role, it is not enough to take the film to safe shores. Neetu and Rishi Kapoor are wasted in insignificant roles, it looks like someone put a gun to their head and made them do this film. Debutant Pallavi Sharda is just about okay and it takes a special director to get absolutely nothing out of Jaaved Jafferi.

Here’s one word to sum it up – avoid.

(Published in The Navhind Times on 4th Oct. 2013)

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