Midhun Ben Thomas (Dilseben)

Thugs of Hindostan2018

It was a rather sedate Saturday with hardly much to do & I couldn't have chosen a better day to watch "Thugs of Hindostan" which I was eagerly looking forward to. Though I never read reviews prior to watching any movie, a couple of my friends did mention that they werent impressed with TOH. I have to admit that it did dampen my spirits, but I was still optimistic after all Aamir rarely falters in choosing a worthy script. Withe the Super Sunday matches just a couple of hours away, will TOH prove to be a sumptous appetizer for it or will I have the same experience as my buddies??? The story unfolds in the late 18th century when the East India Company were slowly & steadily establishing themselves as rulers of India. Led by the ruthless British officer Clive (Lloyd Owen), their latest target was Raunakpur which was ruled by Mirza Sikander Baig (Ronit Roy). As the brave & proud king refused to bow before the company, his whole family was brutally murdered by Clive's men. However, Princess Safira (Fatima Sana Shaikh) was rescued by their General, Khudabaksh (Big B). As time passed by, Khudabaksh, Safira & his band of soldiers proved to be a constant headache for the British. With all their efforts to imprison Khudabaksh proving to be futile, they hatch a plot to infiltrate the former's group. They entrust the task upon the cunning Firangi Mallah (Aamir Khan) in exchange for wealth. So will Firangi nail Khudabaksh or will the latter succeed in making Firangi into a worth human being??? The last time that Vijay Krishna Acharya had called the shots was for "Dhoom 3" which was close to half a decade back. Though it set the box office on fire, it didnt quite match upto the usual standards of an Aamir movie. So I was really surprised when Aamir decided to join hands with Vijay yet again, but when Big B was also roped in; it proved to be a casting coup that had everyone excited. Unfortunately that was the only thing that Vijay managed to do enthrall the audience with as his script & screenplay was mediocre. Apart from the fact that the characters & template of the movie looked heavily inspired from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series such as Firangi/Jack Sparrow, Khudabaksh/Barbossa etc, the story just didnt have anything worthwhile that would have made it unique. On the technical side, the film definitely looked grand & kudos to Manush Nandan for the stunning visuals. Even the action sequences were pretty impressive while John Stewart did a praise worthy job with the BGM especially the one used for Firangi while there was another score which seemed like inspired from "Avengers: Infinity War". The same cant be said for Ritesh Soni whose editing was far from ideal while Ajay-Atul's music was average. Despite the pedestrian script, I felt Aamir did a fine job as the duplicitous Firangi who goes all out with his whacky mannerisms which is endearing for most parts. Big B had a rather stiff character to portray but he did utmost justice to it though it wasnt a challenging role for a person of his caliber. As for the rest, Lloyd Owen was ok, Fatima Sheikh wasnt quite upto the mark, Katrina didnt have much to do apart from groove while Mohammed Ayyub was wasted. Verdict: After a record breaking initial of more than 50 C, it has since then been on a steady slide which was understandable after all the movie was well short of expectations. This was one of those rare movies where Aamir's judgement of the script had faltered & a classic movie from two of the finest actors in Bollywood was denied to the audience. Hopefully we will get to see them paired up again in a much better movie. But until then, it's better not to be bothered by this mundane flick!!! Rating: 1.75/5 Regards...Ben

Badhaai Ho2018

It's been an eventful week with the Sabarimala issue & MeToo campaign creating waves across the nation. Bollywood has been at the centre of the MeToo campaign with Nana Patekar, Alok Nath, Vikas Bahl etc. being accused of having made sexual advancements towards their colleagues. But even as this issue is burning on, we had a couple of movies that had hit the screens this weekend. One of them happened to be Amit Ravindernath's "Badhaai Ho" which had quite an interesting trailer due to which I decided to check it out. Hope it wont be as mediocre as "Helicopter Eela". Nakul (Ayushmann Khurrana) works in a MNC & dates his colleague, Renee (Saniya Malhotra). He hailed from a middle class Delhi family where his father, Jeetender Kaushik (Gajraj Rao) worked in the Railways while his mother, Priyamvada (Neena Gupta) was a typical housewife who took care of her rather irritating mother in law (Surekha Sikri). Things moved along uneventfully in the household until Priyamvada becomes pregnant which her sons disapproved of as it made many of their friends & relatives to mock them. It even rocked Nakul's relationship with Renee & how he as well as his family comes to terms with the arrival of the new member forms the crux of the movie. After the forgetful "Tevar" that released in 2015, Amit Sharma is back this time with a story rooted in reality which is portrayed with a dash of humour. The major strength of the movie is the manner in which the situations are treated with sensitivity & realism and kudos for the script goes to Shanatanu Srivastava , Akshat Ghildial and Jyoti Kapoor. Amit deserves praise for having done justice to the script as it doesnt bore the audience even for a brief moment. On the technical side, Sanu Varghese's visuals were impressive while Tanishk Bagchi's music & Abhishek Arora's BGM was fine. Though Ayushmann might not be in the league of Rajkummar Rao, I have always been impressed with his choice of movies as he makes an earnest effort to dabble with various genres. More often than not, he invariably comes out in flying colours just like how he has done here & "Andhadhun" a fortnight back. It's been a while since we have seen Neena Gupta in a meaty role & she was brilliant as Priyamvada as her expressions more than effectively conveyed the emotions without having to use words. Gajraj Rao was fantastic along with Surekha Sikhri, who could have easily gone overboard but handled with elan. As for the rest of the cast, Saniya Malhotra continues to impress with each performance while Sheeba Chaddha was classy as usual. Verdict: It has all the ingredients that will make it endearing to the audience. In all probability, it should be a winner at the box office. Though we have had movies like "Pavithram" etc., this is an interesting movie in it own way. In short, definitely give it a try!!! Rating: 3.5/5 Regards...Ben

Andhadhun2018

With Team India having demolished the Windies inside three days in the first Test at Rajkot, it pretty much meant that there was hardly anything else to watch over the weekend. That's when I happened to come across a couple of articles that spoke highly of "Andhadhun". Since it was directed by the brilliant Sriram Raghavan & had Tabu as one of the protagonists. I was more than eager to watch it. Akash (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a talented 'blind' pianist who aspired to make it big in the music world. Despite numerous efforts, he wasn't able to earn a break & it was at this juncture that he meets Sophie (Radhika Apte) who offers him a job at her father's club. His performance at the club earns him numerous fans one of them happens to be yesteryear Bollywood star, Pramod Sinha (Anil Dhawan), who invites him over to his apartment for a private concert as an anniversary gift for his wife, Simi (Tabu). But little did Akash realise that this honour would turn out to be a nightmare & change his life forever. Based on the French short film "L'Accordeur" (The Piano Tuner) in 2010 by Oliver Treiner, this flick belongs to the black comedy thriller genre that keeps us hooked until the very last scene. Sriram's credentials as a film-maker needs no introduction with movies like "Ek Hasina Thi", "Johnny Gaddaar" etc to his credit. He has also penned this engaging script in the company of Arijit Biswas, Pooja Surti & Yogesh Chandekar and it has got the various elements like murder, betrayal, double crossing, sex etc with a liberal sprinkling of wry humour. Just as in his previous movies, all characters have shades of grey & they are morally flawed. The unusual sequences which is a signature of Sriram can be observed right from the first shot (& be sure to watch it keenly) while his love for the past like Chitrahaar, Sholay, Scream etc., is all showcased here. Though the tempo slacks off towards the early part of the second half, it slowly regains its punch later on & finishes with a bang. Apart from the script, the technical aspects have also contributed significantly in enhancing the viewer's experience. Key among them was Amit Trivedi's music & BGM which was impressive with 'Wo Ladki' rendered by Arijit Singh being my personal favourite. Equally praise worthy work was observed from K U Mohanan's smartly lighted frames & Pooja Surti's well thought out editing. In the performance part, Ayushmann was fantastic & continues to improve with each movie. It was imperative that he was in form as he was up against Tabu who always gives a thumping performance & this was a meaty role that gave her more adequate scope to rock. As for the rest of the cast, Radhika Apte didnt have much screen space while Zakir Hussain , Anil Dhawan, Manav Vij did their parts aptly. Verdict: With a cracking script, skillful direction & excellent performances; it should be a winner at the boxoffice, However, more often than not intelligent movies like these fail to garner the adequate number of footfalls. Anywaz it deserves to be watched & if you are a fan of thrillers, then dont think twice. In short, dont miss it!!! Rating: 3.5/5 Regards...Ben

Sui Dhaaga2018

A couple of weeks back, I happened to come across an interesting video where quite a few popular stars like Shahrukh, Akshay etc. were asked to thread a needle. That's when I realized that it was for the promotion of Sharat Katariya's "Sui Daaga" which had Varun Dhawan & Anushka Sharma as the lead pair. Since the trailer showed both in completely different avatars, it aroused my curiosity & I decided to check it out. Hopefully it didn't dampen my spirits after the high of Mani Ratnam's CCV. Based in a small town, the film takes us into the life of Mauji (Varun Dhawan) who worked at a retail sewing machine shop. Apart from his work, his bosses were particularly interested in his ability to entertain them with his antics. Though he knew that his bosses belittled him, he looked at it as an opportunity to remain in their good books since he needed the job to support his family. Incidentally, they belonged to the artisan clan, but since it wasn't sufficient to support the household, his father (Raghubir Yadav) opted for the job of a peon & was adamant that his sons also didn't pursue their traditional profession. Things moved along uneventfully, until Mauji's wife Mamta (Anushka Sharma) instills in him the urge to earn self-respect & the confidence to set up his own tailoring establishment. How they both support each other & realize their dreams forms the crux of the movie. This is the third venture of Sharat Katariya with his previous being "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" which was kinda entertaining. Apart from direction, he had taken on the responsibility of writing the script as well & has given us an endearing story that works for more parts. The only portion where he went overboard was the climax where it was not in sync with reality be it the fashion show sequence & the wardrobes that he had created for it. As far as the technical aspect goes, Andrea Guerra's BGM added more impact to many of the scenes and reminded me of Hollywood underdog movies. Among the younger Bollywood actors, Varun Dhawan will surely rank as one among the few to look out for in the future since he does many of the genres reasonably well. As Mauji, he has given an earnest performance while Anushka Sharma who has been choosing roles carefully for quite a while has done appraise worthy job as well. As for the rest of the cast, Raghubir Yadav, Yamini Das etc have done their parts aptly. Verdict: As expected, it has performed quite well at the box office with the families warming onto it. There is no doubt that it has an endearing tale that makes us root for the underdog despite the climax being rather outlandish. In short, give it a try!!! Rating: 2.75/5 Regards…Ben

Batti Gul Meter Chalu2018

It was one of the most exciting weekends in recent times courtesy of the high-profile matches which were on offer. This included Tiger Wood's 80th PGA tour title, Team India's emphatic win over the Paks & Federer led Team Europe's successful defense of the Laver Cup. There were a couple of movies as well that I got to check out apart from the games & one of them happened to be Shree Narayan's "Batti Gul Meter Chalu". Since his previous putting was Akki's "Toilet: Ek Prem Katha", I was particularly interested to watch it after all this also seemed to be rooted in reality. SK (Shahid Kapoor), Nauti (Shraddha Kapoor) & Tripathi (Divyendu Sharma) were childhood friends who stuck to each other through thick & thin. Among the three, SK was a sly lawyer who was always on the lookout for some quick bucks which he acquired through the blackmail of potential law offenders. Nauti was a fashion designer while Tripathi who was the meekest among the three ventured into business & opened a small-scale printing company. However, with constant power shortages in the region; it wasn't easy to meet the demands of the customers & to make it worse, the electricity board also slapped him with outrageous bills for illogical reasons. Hoping to resolve the matter, he took it up with the ombudsman but to no avail. In the meantime, the friendship between the trio also crumbled due to the affair between Nauti & Tripathi which SK found it difficult to accept. Even though Tripathi turned towards SK for his legal support, the latter's frosty behavior kinda made it evident that he wasn't keen to help him out. So how was Tripathi going to get out of this mess before he loses his entire livelihood??? With a host of praise worthy movies to his credit, Shree Narayan has earned himself a respectable name as an editor & hopes to achieve the same as a director as well. This happens to be his third venture & just like "TEPK", he has opted for a social issue like the lack of electricity & the cut-throat attitude of the electricity boards. He takes a considerable amount of time to set the stage & by the time, he does come to the core issue it doesn't hit you as forcefully as one would expect. Apart from a couple of scattered chuckles, the court scenes don't make us sit up & take notice, the blame for which also lies on Vipul Rawal's rather average script which had the potential but fizzes out with barely a whimper. None of the technical aspects quite caught my eyes & hence doesn't deserve a mention. Despite the rather uninspiring making, I felt all the three main artists has done a reasonably good job with Shahid being the pick among the lot. He has given an earnest performance with his humour & energy while quite a few like Sudhir Pandey, Farida Jalal & Sushmita Mukherjee who are proven artists are wasted. Verdict: With not much of a competition, the producers would have hoped that the movie will recreate the magic of "TEPK". But with a rather uninspiring & bland script, it failed to impress the audience. In short, a rude shock to Shree who would have hoped that the people would back him after his previous praise worthy outing!!! Rating: 1.75/5 Regards…Ben

Manmarziyaan2018

Just a week back, I was profusely praising Anurag Kashyap for his brilliant performance in "Imaikka Nodigal" & the maestro was back this week in his director's apparel for "Manmarziyaan". From the trailer, it was kinda evident that it's quite unlike what Anurag has worked with in the past & that in itself excited me further. Interestingly, the movie featured Abhishek Bachchan who is back after a two-year break ("to re-energise" as per what he said; hmm, so it wasn't due to lack of movies???). Anywaz his success rate as a solo hero has been patchy, pretty much like Sri Lanka's abysmal record since Sanga & Mahela retired. So, will his movie follow the fate of the Lankans in the Asia Cup??? Rumi (Taapsee Pannu) is an attractive, bold & free-spirited Punjabi kudi who was madly in love with the equally crazy & bindaas Vicky Sandhu (Vicky Kaushal). The latter was a DJ who aspired for a successful music career though he didn't seem to work hard for it, while Rumi oversaw her family's sports goods store. Their affair was known to everyone in the locality & her family after having caught them goofing around started searching alliances for her. However, Rumi's adamancy forces them to offer some time to her, so that Vicky could seek his folks' permission to ask her hand in marriage. But with Vicky being apprehensive of commitment, Rumi decided to tie the knot with Robbie Bhattia (Abhishek Bachchan), a UK based banker that her family had chosen for her. The question was whether Rumi & Vicky could forget everything & get on with their new lives or will Robbie be handed out a raw deal??? Nowadays, we hardly come across directors who works in more than two projects in a single year & interestingly, "Manmarziyaan" happened to be Anurag's third directorial venture this year after "Mukkabaaz" & "Lust Stories". Unlike his previous movies, this hasn't been scripted by him as it was by Kanika Dhillon who had earlier written the screenplay for "Ra One" & "Size Zero" (Telugu/Tamil). It might sound odd, but I felt like this was the 2018 version of "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" with carnal instincts being more prominent. Despite having a running time of 155 minutes, it still manages to keep us engaged for large portions especially in the first half. Apart from Anurag's decent direction & Sylvester Fonseca's visuals, there are two major reasons which makes this movie work & those are the cast as well as Amit Trivedi's excellent music. The latter has undoubtedly produced the best soundtrack among all the movies that has released this year. Ever since "Pink" released a couple of years back, Taapsee has consistently impressed with her choice of scripts & praise worthy performances. She was brilliant as the vivacious Rumi & should be in pole position to claim a couple of awards for the best actress. Equally impressive was Vicky Kaushal who floored me yet again after "Sanju" & has been consistently churning out good performances. Last but not the least, Abhishek has done a fine job as well with his ability to convey emotions convincingly through expressions. The rest of the cast have all also done their parts aptly. Verdict: As per the latest box offices, the film made credible collections over the opening weekend making it the biggest in Anurag's career (who usually barely make it beyond 10 C). I don't think it will make much of an impact on the single screens & will have to depend on multiplexes for the revenue. However, it's worth a watch & I would suggest that you guys should give it a try!!! Rating: 2.75/5 Regards…Ben