Movie Review: Bombay Talkies

Movie: Bombay Talkies
Cast: Rani Mukerji, Randeep Hooda, Saqeeb Salim, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vineet Singh

Direction: Karan Johar, Dibakar Bannerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap
Rating: ****

‘Bombay Talkies’ boasts of superb craft; crisp writing, skillful direction and brilliant performances. Four directors, four stories, one film; is there a common thread? Maybe. One of the characters in each of these stories is extremely influenced by some aspect of Bollywood – old Hindi film songs (the street child who is a gifted singer), acting (a talented theatre actor who never really pursued his dream), dancing (a small boy aspires to become a dancer like Sheila) and stardom (Vijay who comes all the way from Allahabad to meet Amitabh Bachchan).

For all of us who are aware of these directors’ previous works, each of them has his or her own USP and they play to their strengths. It’s delightful to see Karan Johar recognize that his core strength is relationships and not mush. KJo steps away from his usually voluptuous colours and glossy sets to tell a very real story about a married couple which stumbles upon the realization that they have actually been living a lie. Each actor Rani Mukerji, Randeep Hooda and Saqib Saleem essay understated performances with flair and sincerity. Randeep’s arrogance conceals a raw vulnerability while Saqib’s brash and presumptuous personality has a certain inherent charm. Rani is subtle and effective. For once it’s admirable how Karan Johar deftly handles his gay characters, successfully steering clear of a stereotypical portrayal. Dibakar Bannerjee’s story about a failed actor who gets a chance opportunity to do a bit role in a Bollywood film is a captivating tale. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s sheer brilliance in the hands of an adept director wipes out disappointing memories of his last film (Aatma). Two remarkable scenes that stand out; first, where Nawaz practices Big B’s famous dialogues before he realizes that his little role hardly has any lines to mouth and second, the last scene where he doesn’t have a single dialogue but his histrionics speak louder than any other line in the whole film. Siddiqui’s face conveys myriad emotions as he runs home to his daughter after his performance.

Ek Thi Daayan : Movie Review and Star Cast

Casting: Emraan Hashmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Huma Qureshi, Kalki Koechlin

Dictireon: Kannan Iyer
Rating: ****


To be honest, I was a bit weary when walking in for ‘Ek Thi Daayan’, another Bollywood horror flick and the director Kannan Iyer among his other noticeable work had co-written RGV’s ‘Daud’. However, what lured me to watch the film was the fact that it boasted of some awesome collaboration; Konkona Sen Sharma playing the female lead, music by Vishal Bharadwaj, lyrics by Gulzar and the original short story had been written by Mukul Sharma (Konkona’s father).

Konkona is back on the big screen after a brief hiatus and she has just got better. She had said in her interview that she had enjoyed playing a dark, twisted character and it is quite obvious. The way her character evolves from the kindly governess, it is like watching each layer peel away to reveal a completely new layer of the talented actress. Konkona is a dusky seductress – gentle and vicious at the same time, essaying an uninhibited performance that is worthy of praise. Sometimes, only her eyes speak, especially in the scene where she is offended by Little Bobo’s outburst, she says nothing but her eyes well up and she walks away, despite your many suspicions, you feel for her.




Source:- Yahoo Movies

Himmatwala - Movie Reviews and Story

Movie: Himmatwala

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tamannaah, Mahesh Manjrekar, Paresh Rawal

Direction: Sajid Khan

Rating: **


Well after watching Himmatwala, it feels that director Sajid Khan could not make up his mind if he would like to create comedy masala or to recreate the gloom of 1980. The film thus hangs in a uncertain balance undecided between the two extremes.

Ravi (Ajay Devgn) is a street fighter who finds that his mother (already lost her husband) and sister are in terrible channel in his native village. He returns to Ramnagar to revenge the death of his father and seek justice for the people of his village. Sher Singh’s (Mahesh Manjrekar) daughter is equally spoiled and walks around the village in very small dresses, brandishing a whip. The spoiled brat soon falls for Himmatwala Ravi and is then swishing around in salwar-kameez plotting her father’s downfall.

The dialogues looks doesn’t have the desired impact, the action sequences look like following almost Rohit Shetty style and the humour falls flat quite often. Even Ajay realizes that his jokes are not that funny and even mentions it more than once in the film.

What works for the film is basically Ajay who seems completely impressed with the flim script. It’s as if his presence is enough to make the film a Rs 100 crore enterprise. Tamannaah looks good and shows enough taintless skin in the ‘Tathaiya Tathaiya’ and ‘Taki Taki’ song, to ensure they will become the most popular songs of the year.





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