Rajneeti Film Review

Rajneeti is a film which is all about men killing men and women throwing themselves at men. The political machinations are good but tend to get tedious after a point.

Katrina Kaif and Sara Thompson shine by sheer acting chops among a galaxy of men who are seasoned actors. The one who disappoints is Ranbir Kapoor trying to underplay but not quite pulling it off.

The dialogue should have matched the scale of the film but falls woefully short and lapses into clichés like “yahan se raasta tumhe akele hi taiy karma hai.” The combination of Karna and Duryodhan just doesn’t work because Duryodhan is played to the gallery by Manoj Bajpai and Ajay Devgan holds back in the face of his co-star’s rank over acting. The voice over in the beginning tries to pack in too much and the viewer is left to figure out who is related to who and how and Katrina is nor explained till after the interval. Kunti’s role is badly written and terribly enacted.

The tragedy of Rajneeti is that while showing the ugliness of politics, it revels in it and becomes a far cry from Prakash Jha’s earlier political films that left one with a sense of anguish at what was unfolding on screen as it held up a mirror to India. Here Prakash Jha seems to be mocking himself for having taken it all so seriously.

Raavan Film Review

Raavan begins with a silent montage. It works. As it does in the last sequence as well. It would have worked marvellously as a silent film. For the shrill trite dialogue jars. The film is a visual treat and that’s to be expected given Mani Ratnam ’s films always are.

What one expects and doesn’t get is a story and character motivations. Worse, the actions contradict the dialogue repeatedly like Beera claiming the woman he’s kidnapped does not fear death, when a few reels earlier she admitted she didn’t wish to die. Floating down as opposed to jumping off a hill takes away the impact of the heroine’s action. The performances are atrocious because the scenes give no scope for nuance. From the start one knows the film maker will go all out to paint Beera as golden heart and Dev the cop as blackheart. Constant mindless shrieking by hunter and hunted adds to the cacophony.

Thankfully, the choreography be it the action or the way sequences are fused together in the dance montage takes one’s breath away. Priyamani’s turn as Beera’s sister is a wow performance. Along with her groom-to-be they make for the only natural performances in the film. Govinda shines but could have been better if the monkey allusions were done away with.

Aishwarya Rai redeems the film in the end game. And kudos for Sabyasachi who manages to make the clothes match the natural beauty of the heroine and landscape in the end. Especially, the end. You can physically feel the blood flecking the screen. The awed silence in the theatre had to be heard to be believed. Go watch it for that sequence alone.

Natrang Film Review

Natrang is the story of a wrestler played by Atul Kulkarni who becomes a nachya (effete character) in a tamasha troupe. But the actual enactment as a nachya in the actual tamasha is a blink-and-miss appearance, one of which is repeated. It’s not very clear why the idea of playing both male and nachya role does not occur to the nachya earlier since he is a reluctant nachya anyway. (Review continues below the film poster)

As for the lavani dances, the less said the better. The opening dance itself is a huge letdown. The music overwhelms the lyrics. There’s not a line of song that stays in mind. The really outstanding part of the film Natrang is Kishore Kadam as the manager and friend of the nachya. Atul Kulkarni’s enactment focuses more on the externals, the mannerisms. All in all, a over-hyped film.

Athithi Tum Kab Jaoge Film Review

Athithi Tum Kab Jaoge is a take on the concept of Athithi Devo Bhava, the guest as God. An unexpected guest with different cultural mores lands up in an urban home of a couple, their son and the quintessential bai – house help. The mayhem that ensues is a laugh riot. Ajay Devgan as the husband is outstanding even putting Paresh Rawal playing the guest in the shade with his comic timing and expressions. Konkona Sharma is good but her scenes with the son are a strained perf0rmance lacking warmth in sharp contrast to Ajay Devgan’s easy camaraderie with his son.

The scene stealer is the songs in the film including an aarti to the tune of the raunchy Bidi Jalaye le from Omkara and a re-rendition of the golden classic Suhana Raat Dhal Chuki. No details -It will spoil the fun!

Lovely production values and great performances by the supporting cast and superb dialogue makes the film a full on entertainer.

Harishchandrachi Factory Film Review

Harishchandrachi Factory is a charming take on the pioneer of Indian cinema Dadasaheb Phalke. Instead of presenting a hagiography of Phalke as the grand pioneer, director Paresh Mokashi has chosen to depict Phalke as a good humoured chap with a passion for the moving image, as Phalke borrows heavily from Charlie Chaplin and Dilip Prabhavalkar school of acting. Vibhavri Deshpande as his wife gives able support. (Review continues below the film poster)

What stands out in the film Harishchandrachi Factory is the screenplay which manages in a mere 76 minutes to span the journey of a man chasing a dream of making India’s first silent film Raja Harischandra and how he pulls it off overcoming economic constraints and social censure. The scenes of children play acting and the manner in which the male actor playing Harishchandra’s queen and the first clip of a growing plant are some of the outstanding scenes. The best is saved for the last: Phalke playing with a toy named after him is a master stroke.

All in all a film that warms the cockles of your heart and reminds you of why cinema in India is a national obsession. We owe it to Phalke.

(As and when Harishchandrachi Factory comes out on DVD, you must certainly buy it!)

My Name is Khan Film Review

If you are a fan of Shahrukh Khan, you will definitely be surprised by this review! This review of My Name is Khan does not extol Shahrukh Khan as has been done in most of the reviews. On the other hand, it gives a different insight into the film My Name is Khan. Sure, Shahrukh Khan was good, but there were two others in the cast of My Name is Khan who stole the thunder from the Khan.

Read the review below the film poster to find out who did that ....

My Name is Khan should have been named My Name is Wahab because hands down sheer luminous acting comes from – no, not Shahrukh Khan & not Kajol - but Zarina Wahab as Rizwan’s mother. It is her scenes that give much needed heft to a movie that is maudlin and sentimental. Another gem of an actress is Sonya Jehan as Rizwan’s sister-in-law.

Of course, there is sparkling chemistry between Rizwan and Mandira. But this is restricted in the “moments” in the first-half. After that Rizwan’s constant stream of babble, though part of the character’s Asperger’s Syndrome, becomes tedious in the extreme. The diary sequences tend to drag the picture down into voice overs. Kajol oscillates between extra-chirpy to screaming banshee. There is no nuance, no graph. Her scenes with the son are terribly enacted. Badly written as well, in an otherwise well written screenplay by Shibani Bhatija.

The film tends to drag mainly because the focus shifts from the Rizwan Mandira story to Rizwan, Rizwan and more Rizwan. It would have been more interesting to see Rizwan fight for justice for Mandira’s son but instead we get a tour of USA - courtesy Rizwan - and a half-baked struggle of Mandira to go it alone.

The film falters towards the end because a story that started with a simple ordinary man attempts to become extraordinary. What is extraordinary is the subject and that should have sufficed. It could have been a gem of a movie like Harishchandrachi Factory. My Name is Khan attempts too large a canvas so it remains just a beautiful film that warms the cockles of the heart but doesn’t leave you asking for more.