A remake of 1995 Govinda and Karisma Kapoor starrer by the same name, Coolie No. 1 is directed by David Dhawan who also directed the original. Starring Varun Dhawan (as Raju Coolie ... Read more
A remake of 1995 Govinda and Karisma Kapoor starrer by the same name, Coolie No. 1 is directed by David Dhawan who also directed the original. Starring Varun Dhawan (as Raju Coolie and Kuwar Raj Pratap Singh) and Sara Ali Khan (Sarah Rozzario) in lead roles, the film is old wine in new bottle with both Varun and Sara adding their own tadka, but it doesn't taste anything like the original. Not to say that original was a cult in any way but for that era, it kind of worked with Govinda's effortless comic timing and wit. Switch to 2020, I'm sorry but such blatant frame-to-frame remakes aren't going to work. It's way too over-the-top for today's audiences and proves that not everything can be recycled. Even the music that has been remixed, it would have been best left untouched. The supporting cast includes Paresh Rawal (Jeffery Rozzario), Jaaved Jaffery (Pandit Jai Kishen), Shikha Talsania (Anjali Rozzario), Sahil Vaid (Deepak) and Rajpal Yadav (Pinto) and other than Rawal, no one brings anything new to the table that's worth mentioning. While Rumi Jaffery's screenplay has no head and tail that's evident from highly misplaced songs and abrupt action sequences that come in out of the blue, it's Farhad Samji's utterly ridiculous and mindless dialogues that are a put-off. If anything is good, it's perhaps the fact that Coolie No.1 doesn't have anything vulgar, no cuss words, no double meaning jokes, so it can be well enjoyed with your family. But mind you, don't put any logic into it because they didn't. The film is now streaming on Amazon Prime Videos. Read more
Ludo is a kind of a film where even the smallest of distraction can make you miss out on the whole turn of events that follow. Directed by Anurag Basu, the film features an ensembl ... Read more
Ludo is a kind of a film where even the smallest of distraction can make you miss out on the whole turn of events that follow. Directed by Anurag Basu, the film features an ensemble cast including Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Rohit Saraf, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Pearle Manney and Pankaj Tripathi. Ludo is a modern age take on the circle of life and death and concept of hell and heaven. High on emotions, it's also a heady mix of comedy, drama, action, revenge, romance and thrill. There are four simultaneous stories going on — a tale of a leaked sex tape days before a marriage; a story of a dejected lover still smitten by his now married ladylove; heart-wrenching story of an imprisoned father who goes through the pain of not being able to see his daughter and lastly, a small-town boy and a girl on the run with a suitcase full of money. These four wildly different stories are linked together by the deeds of an local gangster who's both eccentric and funny. With top-notch performances and flawless storytelling, it's definitely at par with the standard of content that OTT platforms are churning. Read more
A remake of Tamil film Kanchana (2011) directed by Raghava Lawrence, Laxmii stars Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani in the lead roles and is directed by Lawrence himself. Given the kin ... Read more
A remake of Tamil film Kanchana (2011) directed by Raghava Lawrence, Laxmii stars Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani in the lead roles and is directed by Lawrence himself. Given the kind of buzz that the film had been generating, mostly around Akshay's transgender character, Laxmii had set a high benchmark. Was it crossed? Not entirely. Or maybe not as successfully as you would have liked. Asif and Rashmi played by Akshay and Kiara are a married against their family's will, thus setting the ground for an interfaith subplot early on in the story. Asif is out to eradicate the superstitions around ghosts, by offering scientific explanations for supernatural events but later he gives in to one such situation himself when he gets possessed by a spirit of a transgender, who is set to take revenge on all those who wronged her. While Akshay is in full form, Kiara delivers a balanced performance and doesn't go overboard. The supporting cast including Ashwini Kalsekar; Ayesha Raza Mishra; Rajesh Sharma and Manu Rishi Chadha adds a tinge of wit and humor. Stealing the show in a 20-minute cameo is Sharad Kelkar as a trans woman. Music is just about okay but the song and dance numbers Burj Khalifa and Bam Bam Bholle are total paisa vasool. Read more
Picking a trope from the 80s and 90s, Khaali Peeli is proof that stale storytelling doesn't work today. Starring Ishaan Khatter (Blackie) and Ananya Panday (Pooja) in the lead role ... Read more
Picking a trope from the 80s and 90s, Khaali Peeli is proof that stale storytelling doesn't work today. Starring Ishaan Khatter (Blackie) and Ananya Panday (Pooja) in the lead roles, the film is a story of two childhood sweets who have to part ways due to circumstances but they meet again as adults and their story takes a twist. Directed by Maqbool Khan, the film also stars Jaideep Ahlawat as the lead villain Yusuf Chikna. While the film lacks anything concrete to hold onto your attention, it's only some performances that act as the saving grace. Khaali Peeli is now available on Zee Plex. Read more
A sequel to the 1991 cult film Sadak, the latest release Sadak 2 starring Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Jisshu SenGupta, Makrand Deshpande, Gulshan Grover comes acros ... Read more
A sequel to the 1991 cult film Sadak, the latest release Sadak 2 starring Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Jisshu SenGupta, Makrand Deshpande, Gulshan Grover comes across as a half-hearted attempt that lacks the charm and nostalgia of the '90s. Directed by Mahesh Bhatt, who returned to direction after 20 years, the film has a lot of potholes be it story, screenplay or even direction. The story is about Alia's Aarya and Aditya's Vishal going to Mount Kailash with Ravi Kishore played by Dutt as their taxi driver. While Aarya is on a mission to bust the racket of fake godmen, she puts her own life in danger and before she realises who's on her side and who's not, she finds a saviour and a guardian angel in Ravi. Next 2 hours 13 mins is about how this road trip turns out to be a revelation for both Aarya and Vishal and how Ravi gets the closure he's seeking after he has lost the love of his life, Pooja. Sadak 2 is a wasted opportunity where even the best of lineup in terms of actors and director couldn't save a sinking ship. However, one thing is sure that the raging nepotism debate has nothing to do with the film being good or bad. Read more
Starring Janhvi Kapoor in the titular role, this biographical film, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is inspired by the life of Indian Air Force pilot, Gunjan Saxena — the first Indi ... Read more
Starring Janhvi Kapoor in the titular role, this biographical film, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is inspired by the life of Indian Air Force pilot, Gunjan Saxena — the first Indian female air-force pilot in combat, and the first and only woman to be part of the Kargil War in 1999. Directed by Sharan Sharma, the film stars Pankaj Tripathi and Angad Bedi in supporting roles as Gunjan's father and brother respectively. The films shows Gunjan's journey of realizing her dream of becoming a pilot and upon reaching the IAF flying base, how she beats patriarchal mindset, deals with gender bias, proves her physical strength and tales a test at every step. The music of the film is quite a package and there's a song for every situation. Even as the film looks a bit rushed at times, there's rarely a dull moment in this inspiring tale. Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl will stream on Netflix starting August 12. Read more
With Vidya Balan in the titular role, Shakuntala Devi is a biographical comedy-drama based on the life of world-famous mathematician, also known as Human-Computer. Written and dire ... Read more
With Vidya Balan in the titular role, Shakuntala Devi is a biographical comedy-drama based on the life of world-famous mathematician, also known as Human-Computer. Written and directed by Anu Menon, the film also stars Sanya Malhotra in a pivotal role with Jisshu Sen Gupta and Amit Sadh in supporting parts. The film is high on emotions and comes across as a mother-daughter tale in most parts. With the message that 'Why be normal when you can be amazing?', the film shows Shakuntala's balancing act between maths and motherhood. Does she finally win over her relations sacrificing her love for maths or does she give up everything for her personal ambitions — it all unfolds with a pinch of humour. The film is now streaming on Amazon Prime Videos. Read more
Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship doesn’t tinker with Bollywood’s funda for a horror film —horrifying make-up, loud background score and a few well-timed jump scares. There’s a ghos ... Read more
Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship doesn’t tinker with Bollywood’s funda for a horror film —horrifying make-up, loud background score and a few well-timed jump scares. There’s a ghost; a creepy doll, and an old professor who chants mantras to shoo away the ghosts and the hero, Vicky Kaushal, with full-on josh trying to solve the mystery of the haunted ship. Writer-director Bhanu Pratap Singh hasn’t made Bhoot outrageously funny but it crack you up at times, though unintentionally. Based on a true incident, the film opens with a huge vessel, Sea Bird, docking itself at Mumbai’s Juhu beach with no one on board. Prithvi played by Vicky is struggling to come to terms with a personal loss. He becomes obsessed with this vessel and is determined to find out the truth. Will he be able to uncover the mysteries? Will he come out alive? Read more
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan talks about a serious subject but gives it a lighter treatment. Touted to be a quirky take on same-sex love, the film traces the journey and struggle of ... Read more
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan talks about a serious subject but gives it a lighter treatment. Touted to be a quirky take on same-sex love, the film traces the journey and struggle of a gay couple — Aman Tripathi and Kartik Singh played by Jitendra Kumar and Ayushmann Khurrana respectively. The film takes on homophobia, and not homosexuality. It showcases the reluctance of the family to embrace their son’s sexuality and instead, be in denial. Aman and Kartik are a happy gay couple living together in Delhi. Back in Allahabad, Aman’s parents are oblivious to his sexual preference and are trying to set him up with Kusum played by Pankhuri Awasthy. It’s during a train journey for a wedding that Tripathi family gets to know of Aman and Kartik’s relationship. Rest of the film is about them convincing the family, breaking stereotypes and working towards a ‘happy ending’ they feel they deserve. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is an important film about an important subject conveyed in the simplest way. It’s absolutely a family entertainer. Read more
