Film Review Krrish 3

                                 

                                          Superman Meets X Men

Film: Krrish 3

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut

Directed by: Rakesh Roshan

Duration: 2 hrs 32 mins

Rating: * *

The problem once a franchise is established is that the makers just have to package a film together, with lots of publicity and all that jazz. Krrish already has a fan base in place and they are more than likely to return to watch the new installment. 

Krrish 3 directed by Rakesh Roshan looks like a mish mash of popular Hollywood superhero films – Spiderman, Superman and even X Men they are all blatantly ripped off in this two and half hour saga that mainly caters to kids and juveniles. Why else would you show something, then tell about it and then explain it, just in case you missed it the first and second time around.  Five writers have been credited and don’t be surprised if each of them was given a Hollywood franchise ‘adapt’

The first half of the film also has more product ads in terms of placements than you would see during an extra long break on television. Cars, pens, milk supplements, television – all brands are promoted here, in your face.

Meet the father and son duo of Rohit and Krishna (Hrithik in a double role), the former is a scientist working in a lab, the latter is a security guard by day and becomes Krrish when need be. Which is quite often, like when gunmen break into a jewelry store or, when he single handedly helps an aeroplane to land, just the way Superman did.

The villain though is straight from X Men, Kaal (Viveik Oberoi) has the traits of both Professor and Magneto, he is bound to a wheel chair but in the finale we also see his Magneto skills. He also has an army of mutants called maanwars, the most trusted one being Kaya (Kangana Ranaut) clad in latex suit. She can transform her self just like Mystique, so much for originality.

When the villain wants to destroy the city, Krrish saves the day reminding you of The Amazing Spiderman and that makes our villain very angry. Priyanka Chopra plays Mrs. Krrish and since they are expecting their first child, she promptly gets abducted by the wheel chair guy.  

While there is an effort made to raise the bar in Bollywood films as far as the special effects and the action is concerned, it still looks pretty antiquated. But the biggest whammy is in the form of the story and dialogues are strictly of the 80’s type. 

Rajesh Roshan’s music has forgettable tunes and only in a Hindi film will you see a mutant singing a song, that too in a dream sequence. Spare us that, please.

As for the cast, Hrithik Roshan delivers a rock solid performance both as the father and son and he is clearly the mainstay of the film. Kangana in the cat suit is sincere but it is her character that is a let down.This is a film that kids might enjoy. As for adults, if you can handle mediocrity easily only then it might be your cup of tea. Or Bournvita, in case of Krrish. 

(Published in The Navhind Times on 3rd Nov. 2013)

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A Tribute to Manna Dey

Memories of Dey

 

During the Golden era of Hindi film music, right from the 50s to the 80s, virtually every popular actor had a playback singer who suited his voice the most. But Prabodh Chandra Dey, known to us as Manna Dey, was an exception. He sang a variety of songs and to say that he was versatile is as obvious as saying the sky is blue.

The first song that he recorded was at the age of 22 for the character of the sage Valmiki in 'Ram Rajya', and some of the songs he sang subsequently were filmed on old people! Over the years, his voice was not restricted to any particular actor but that often proved as much a bane as a boon. Unlike a Rafi-Shammi Kapoor or Rajesh Khanna-Kishore Kumar team, Manna Dey was a lone ranger. True, he had a few hits with Raj Kapoor but the actor had far more hits with Mukesh. Manna Dey's legacy is thanks to songs with a classical touch like Laaga Chunri Mein Daag to fun ones like Aao Twist Kare from Bhoot Bangla, with Mehmood doing his antics on screen.

Today, it is interesting to note the choice of personal favourites on social media  among Dey's fans and listeners. They range from Ae Mere Pyaare Watan (Kabuliwala) to the more upbeat Phool Gendwa na Maaro (Dooj Ka Chaand). Incidentally, Balraj Sahni, who sings the song Ae Mere Pyare Watan, a perennial favourite on certain national holidays in India, plays an Afghan longing for his motherland. It is said that when Manna Dey was recording the song, the sound recordist wasn't too pleased. He thought the singer was singing it too softly but Manna Dey knew the essence of the song better.

The story of Ketki Gulab Juhi is well known, but for those who haven't heard it before, it goes like this. The music directors Shankar-Jaikishen wanted to record a song with Manna Dey and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, to be picturised as an on-screen singing duel between two vocalists. It turned out that Dey was meant to win the competition, but he developed cold feet before the recording. How could he win a competition with Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, that too one involving a classical song? As legend has it, Panditji comforted Manna Dey saying he had no problem losing to Dey on screen. A half century later, the song is still a treat to listen to. Music aficionados with a broader horizon might want to savour a hard rock version of the same song on Youtube by an Indian rock band called Lambada.

That is not the only ‘competition' song that Manna Dey sang; Ek Chatur Naar in which he competes with Kishore Kumar still remains popular and, incidentally, he loses to Kishore Kumar on screen in that contest. Here, as with many of Manna Dey's songs, it would be hard to recollect on whom it was picturised. Take for instance that brilliant rendition of Khamaj Raag in Aayo Kahan se Ghanshyam. If you haven't see the movie, it might come as a surprise that it is the character actor of yesteryears, Om Prakash on whom it was filmed. Har taraf ab yahi afsaane hain penned by Kaifi Azmi (Hindustan Ki Kasam, 1973, Madan Mohan) had a dapper Raj Kumar in his Air Force uniform longing for Priya Rajvansh.

While we associate Manna Dey singing Zindagi kaisi hain paaheli in 'Anand' for Rajesh Khanna, later he also sang Tum bin jeevan kaisa jeevan (Bawarchi, 1972) with Khanna wearing a postman's uniform and a Gandhi topi with a tanpura in hand. Hasne Ki Chaah ne (Aavishkar 1974) involved the relatively unknown Kapil Kumar and Kanu Roy as lyricist and music director, with the song used in the title credits, while in the less celebrated Gori teri paijaniya (Mehbooba, 1976) Rajesh Khanna plays a court singer and Hema Malini dances to his tunes.

Manna Dey had a splendid partnership with Shankar-Jaikishen and Salil Choudhury, even though it did not last very long with the former. In his autobiography, Memories Come Alive, he wrote that the first song he recorded with the composer duo was a duet with Lata Mangeshkar, Tere bina aag yeh chandni (Awaara). Over the next few years they delivered a string of hits like Dil ka haal sune dilwaala, Pyaar hua ikraar (Shree 420), Yeh raat bheegi bheegi, Aaja sanam (Chori Chori) and Lapak jhapak from Boot Polish based on Raag Miya ki malhar, superbly filmed on David singing to inmates in a jail. The last song that Manna Dey sang for Shankar-Jaikishen was the memorable Sur Na Saaje from Basant Bahar (1956). Apparently the first choice for this song was Mohd. Rafi but Shankar insisted on Manna Dey.

During his early days, Dey was a member of the Bombay Youth Choir which was set up by the maestro, Salil Choudhary. In the later years, he sang quite a few hits for the music director like Zindagi Kaisi hain Paheli (Anand) and Ae mere pyaare watan. Salil Choudhury also gave Dey his first break in Bengali films with Ek Din Ratre starring Raj Kapoor and Chhabi Biswas. In fact the song Ei duniyay bhai shobi hoy was also recorded by Manna Dey for the Hindi version, Zindagi Khwab hain (Jaagte Raho), but in the film it was Mukesh's voice which was used. The genius of Salil Choudhary and Manna Dey was such that the former composed the music for a landmark Malayalam film Chemmeen (1965) and the singer immortalized the song Maanasa Mainey Varoo which remains popular till date. It helped that Dey's wife Sulochana Kumaran was from Kerala and she assisted him in getting the pronunciation right.

During the twilight of his life, Manna Dey was still active performing on live shows and on television as well. The voice that delighted us over the years may have fallen silent but the legacy Manna Dey left behind will live forever.

(Published in The Navhind Times on 26th Oct 2013)

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Film review - Mickey Virus

 

Quite a Hack

Film: Mickey Virus

Cast: Manish Paul, Elli Avram, Manish Choudhary

Directed by: Saurabh Varma

Duration: 2 hrs 15 mins

Rating: * *

Mickey Virus is one of those films that have an interesting premise and characters but ultimately, the whole is much smaller than the sum of its parts. It desperately wants to be hip and different but yet it falls in some of those standard Bollywood traps.

Thrillers are a rare breed in Hindi cinema these days and that too ones involving modern technology. So we have Mickey Arora (debutant Manish Paul, reminding you of Virat Kohli) who is a numero uno hacker in the Delhi-NCR and beyond. He has also designed a computer game and the main character is called Kung Fu Chameli who looks more like Savita bhabhi.

The company he keeps is also a bunch of hackers including a girl curiously called Chutney (Puja Gupta). I was most fascinated by the kind of computers and monitor screens they use, it is something you see only in movies, that too Hollywood ones. In an underground office in Delhi, they looked a little out of place.

An international gang of hackers who call themselves Bhram gang (bhram as in illusion) are on the loose in Delhi so a top cop (Manish Choudhary) decides to recruit a hacker to tackle them. After all, as we know, loha hi lohe ko kaat ta hain.  

Since Bollywood films can barely do without romance, our hacker guru meets a foreigner Kamyani (Swedish-Greek model Elli Avram) and falls in head over high heels in love with her. The rest of it involves an ultra complex plot with wheels within wheels.

In the first half, Mickey Virus tries to be too clever and in the second, it is too silly. If they had found a middle ground, it would have been more effective. The dialogues written by the director Saurabh Varma are the best part of the film, the lingo is authentic Dilli with quite a few smart lines thrown in. Take for instance the hawaldar who sees Mickey working on the computer and says “Pata nahin ke www type kiya jar aha hain” (I don’t know why you keep typing www)

Manish Paul in the lead role is not the most smashing actor to make a debut but he is likable. As for Elli Avram, she still needs more lessons in acting. This virus business is okayish if your mental security levels are on the higher side.

(Published in The Navhind Times on 27th Oct. 2013)

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Film Review - The Fifth Estate

Open Secrets

Film: The Fifth Estate

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl

Directed by: Bill Condon

Duration: 2 hrs 8 mins

Rating: * * 1 / 2

Directed by Bill Condon whose has films range from the eminently watchable Gods and Monsters to the disastrous Twilight films (Breaking Dawn I & II), The Fifth Estate tells us the story of Wikileaks and Julian Assange. From what we know, it should ideally be a gripping account of how that one man caused so much upheaval all around the world by exposing dark deadly secrets but the screenplay leaves a fair bit to be desired. The primary source for it is two books, one of them written by Assange’s former friend Daniel Domscheit-Berg, the two had split acrimoniously.

Benedict Cumberbatch essays the role of Assange and the film starts at a point when he still was one man force. He met Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Bruhl) a young programmer who shares Assange’s enthusiasm for setting things right in the world. The Wikileaks website offered a platform for sources to anonymously provide information about corrupt practices and the duo had first exposed a Swiss bank and from there on, their campaign to publish information that would rattle the powerful and mighty continued. Till the Bradley Manning episode occurred that made waves around the globe and most importantly, riled up the United States no end. 

On key issues, the film doesn’t really know what stand to take. Since the book is biased against Assange, it projects him as a very self centered, selfish guy. And because Daniel has written the book, he gets as much screen time and his character comes off far more polished and clear. There are moments when Assange is shown as a crusader with a vision but at the end of it all, there is no clear picture.

Comparatively, Alex Gibney’s documentary We Steal Secrets-The Story of WikiLeaks was far more insightful.The Fifth Estate keeps you engaged because of the nature of the subject and a good performance, both from Cumberbatch and Bruhl.  

(Published in The Navhind Times on 27th Oct. 2013)

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Film Review - Boss

Boss Karo !

Film: Boss
Cast: Akshay Kumar,  Shiv Pandit, Aditi Rao Hydari
Directed by: Anthony D'Souza
Duration:2hrs 15 mins
Rating: * *

The good news is that Boss is not as bad as some of Akshay Kumars other films.  But if you leave those abysmal standards aside, it is still a lousy film with an asinine story and that is the bad news. Directed by Anthony D'Souza so gave us that unforgettable under water dud Blue, this horrible Boss is a remake of the super hit Malayalam film Pokkiri Raja starring Mammoty and Prithviraj.

By now, film makers should have realised that what works in the South, may not work anywhere else. Yet you see many remakes that sink in without a trace, occasionally they do make money for the producers in spite of being a bad film, like say Rowdy Rathore.

So Akshay Kumar plays the lead role of Boss, a goon and contract killer of sorts. Several sunrises ago when he was a kid, his dad (Mithun Chakraborty) had banished him because he was a very violent character. Not since Amar Akbar Anthony have we seen the opening credits come in so late into the film but that's the only similarity it has with Manmohan Desai's classic.

The younger son Shiv (Shiv Pandit) was and remains the apple of his eye but he gets into trouble with a politician (main top par pahunchna chahata hoon he says) and a corrupt police (Ronit Roy). Incidentally,  he also falls in love with the cops sister (Aditi Rao) and that complicates it further.

The old man then 'hires' his elder son to rescue the younger one. The rest of the film involves family bonding, breaking limbs but mercifully, no romance. Sonakshi Sinha makes an appearance in an item number but even before you can dig and not find gold, she vanishes.

While there is the odd funny moment,  most of it is rather hackneyed.  The is a fair amount of violence as well which was strictly avoidable.Akshay Kumar does his usual bit but it's not enough to salvage the situation. The audience certainly deserved better than a Boss like this one !

(Published in The Navhind Times on 20th Oct. 2013)

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Film Review - Captain Phillips

Captain Courageous 

Film:Captain Phillips
Cast:Tom Hank,Barkhad Abdi
Directed by:Paul Greengrass
Duration:2hrs 15 mins
Rating: * * * *

With films like United 93, The Green Zone and a couple from the Bourne series, director Paul Greengrass is no stranger to making thrillers. With Captain Phillips,  he has added yet another gem to his already impressive repertoire.  Like his other films,  Greengrass gets the best out of his actors and knows precisely how to generate tension and excitement even with routine action scenes.

Based on the true story of Captain Richard Philips (played admirably by Tom Hanks) who was in charge of the  massive cargo ship Alabama when it got hijacked by Somalian pirates in 2009. An American citizen,  He is a family man who takes charge of the ship when he boards it at Oman port.

Even though there are warnings about the pirates, what should be a routine trip turns out to be a night mare. The captain is on his guard taking possible measures but that didn't prevent a bunch of gun wielding young men to board the ship and take the captain hostage.

The cat and mouse games begin as the captain and his crew try to outwit the pirates as the situation gradually spirals out of control. Since he is an American citizen, along with heaven and earth, the navy and the SEAL team is moved to diffuse the situation.

The story doesn't take too long before cutting to the chase, you are in the middle of the action right from the word go and once the action starts, the tension is relentless. Take the scene where the pirates approach the ship and hijack it, as the audience, you know that they are going to take over but the manner in which it unfolds keeps you on the edge of your seat. Even the characterization was solid, even though the deeds of the pirates were not likable, as people, there was an element of sympathy for them.

Greengrass uses a lot of his usual hand held camera shots which gives you the feeling of being in the middle of the action. The shaky movements may also be unsettling for some viewers.

Of the cast,  the director brings out the best in the newcomers who play the pirates. Tom Hanks in the lead role is nothing short of brilliant. The final scene where he breaks down is itself worthy of an Oscar.
It is films like these that restore your faith in main stream Hollywood,  don't miss it.

(Published in The Navhind Times on 20th Oct. 2013)

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Film Review - Shahid

Minority Report

Film: Shahid
Cast:Rajkumar Yadav, Prabhleen Sandhu, Zeeshan Ayub
Directed by: Hansal Mehta
Duration: 2 hrs
Rating: * * * 1 / 2

Based on the life of lawyer/activist Shahid Azmi, this film directed by Hansal Mehta is remarkable for the story and the treatment. Real life stories or serious issues are rarely highlighted in Hindi films hence this effort is all the more commendable also because it is made with sincerity and dares to trod the uncommon path.

Since the 90's there has been a huge polarisation within the communities in India.  The have been bomb blasts and terrorist attacks but in the process of apprehending the culprits, many innocents have also been put behind bars and tortured without getting a fair trial. A young man Shahid (Raj Kumar) is picked up by the police after the '92 Mumbai blasts.

The next thing you know,  he has joined a terror camp across the border but since he doesn't agree with their ideology he escapes from there. Once he is back in Mumbai,  the police apprehend him again,  this time he serves 7 years in prison. But there he is inspired by another gentlemen (Kay Kay Menon) who is also a victim of a crime that is ambiguous. Shahid studies law and as a professional, he takes up cases of those innocent people who have been wrongly accused of terrorist activities.  It is not an easy job for him as he has to tackle many issues- cases go on forever in courts and he also receives death threats for being 'anti national'. He also marries one of his clients (Prabhleen Sandhu) who already had a son and is very liberal in nature.

Rather than the politics, it is Shahid and his dedication to the cause that makes an impact.  The plight of many innocents is aptly high lighted but it also makes you wonder,  in troubled times like these,  what is the best and fair way out in such situations. 

Full credit goes to Hansal Mehta and his team for crafting a superior film.  Apart from the screenplay,  it is the acting which deserves an applause. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub as the brother is a natural born actor and surely we'll see more of him in the days to come. The star though is Raj Kumar Yadav who had delivered one of the best performances of the year. 

Shahid deals with issues that concern all of us,  those who are concerned about any such things, should not miss this film.

(Published in The Navhind Times on 20th Oct. 2013)
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