Barfi(2012) Review

Yes, after a very long time Bollywood has something to offer (not forgetting GOW). From the picturesque cinematography to mellifluous music, to lovely flow of emotions, Barfi is sweet, feel good and honest cinema packed with strong performances that will remain in the hearts of people for a long time.

Barfi (RK) is a deaf-mute, naughty, carefree, and likable lad living with his single father at exquisite town of Darjeeling. He has nothing to do/give except maybe love to people and pain in the ass to Mr. Dutta the Police Inspector of the town. Now one day, as it generally happens, Shruti (Ilena D’Cruz) a bubbly, and charming girl comes to Darjeeling to live her life before getting trapped in conjugal vows. Quite predictably she gets enamoured by our cute boy and the boy reciprocates and even decides to marry her. Girl’s mother says NO, the girl agrees and marries another rich guy. All set, enters Jhilmil (PC), an autistic, and loveable girl belonging to an affluent family. Her parents don’t love her but she is the apple of the eye of her grandparents, that’s a bit hard for me to digest.

After that I don’t even remember what happens, it becomes more like a game of lawn tennis with Barfi being the ball and Jhilmil, Shruti (after ditching the rich guy) being the players. Most importantly I think it doesn’t even matter to the film makers how the story shapes up because no one gives a shit, when the biggest heart-throb of the nation is imitating Charlie Chaplin on the big screen and time and again few good jokes are thrown in, but for me it takes away a lot.

RK has been immaculate, stunning, and looks deeply engrossed in his character throughout the movie. Maybe there is still some room for improvement but will that be asking of too much from an Indian actor? Don’t know. PC, I really loved her, besides few instances of over acting and pretentious dialogues I think she’s has played her character as realistically as one could. Oh sorry, I forgot to talk about Ilena, well she’s is very beautiful and attractively lean. Do I need to say anything else? Being the narrator of the movie she had a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, and her character depicts many qualities like jealousy, selfishness, avarice but somehow I feel not enough redemption has been given to her character which leads to a certain dislike towards her. I don’t think we can blame her for that, maybe the writers.

Enough said Movie is definitely worth a watch, maybe a couple for its music and few unprecedented scenes that are to die for (one’s that made my eyes wet). I think too much content has been superfluously merged in the film, its wide in scope but not enough in depth, and that has been a fundamental challenge with contemporary India cinema. Characters need time to grow, there got to be rhythm that has to be consistent in a movie, a mood that has to be more or less similar throughout. You can’t put comedy, drama, tragedy, musical, terror, mystery everything in a movie if you are not Shakespeare, so please don’t.  Adding more characters and moving them from one city to another won’t solve this problem, only increase the length of it; you got to think more about the human nature. I think it would be better if directors could spend more time in developing a story rather than spending big bucks to shoot in picturesque locations but I am highly sceptical if that’s what an Indian aam aadmi wants.

Rating :  3 / 5 

Bombay Talkies(2013) Review

100 years of Indian Cinema are being celebrated and Bombay Talkies has made me fall in love with Bollywood once again. I agree that period of 1950s-60s is still the golden era of Indian Cinema but I  have full faith that maturity in the film making is coming back and sooner we will see more movies that have depth and will make us think, laugh and cry.

Bombay talkies is a collection of 4 unrelated stories with a common theme of importance of Bollywood in shaping Indian culture. All the directors have taken a very mature and subtle approach and showed that movies are much more than just item numbers and fighting sequences.


Karan Johar's story is about how and why people lie and hide their true identity 'and are very defensive about their secrets. What is normal and what isn't is defined in the society and once you try to break it you will have to face the consequences, even your parents won't excuse you. With themes of homosexuality, metro culture and superficial lives story very aptly pin points the exact feelings of the people who are living repressed lives and inadvertently making other people's lives miserable too.

What I like about Karan's story is how beautifully he has treated the sensitive subject of homosexuality, and the love affair shown albeit one sided is very pure and genuine. The scene where the little girl sings 'Lag ja gale' gave me goosebumps and made me realize why I love watching movies.

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Dibakar Banerjee's story is about the unconquered territories and the unaccomplished goals that one always wanted to achieve but couldn't. Though you can try to move on with your life but these dreams will keep on haunting you. As it was said in an Argentine movie, 'You can change everything about a person, but his passion' this story shows that once you stumble upon your lost passion no matter wherever you are, you will feel a fresh breath of air and an inexplicable force will make you go back to where you belong.

The protagonist is a failed theater actor who left acting as he thought that it can't be someone's full-time occupation. He tries to rationalize his decisions in life and why he gave up on his dreams. But the internal battle still remains and the fire of acting is still burning inside him. Though he can't change his past or pursue acting full-time but he can surely act out stories in front of his family and find peace and happiness in it.

Rating : 4 / 5


Zoya Akhtar treats the audience with a brave and heart-warming story. The director has raised questions like what is good? what is right? what is normal? and rightly showed that it is very subjective. As a child we all have some dreams, something that we want to be in life, though nobody understands and we don't care.
Similar is the case of the young boy in the story. His passion for dancing is everything to him, and his parents like most of the parents fail to understand that.
The feel good factor and the beauty of redemption of characters are what that sail through the story. The child actors have really showed maturity and played their parts without being looked as one-dimensional. Overall two thumbs up for the innocence and authenticity of the characters and for the organic plot.

Rating : 3.5 / 5

Anurag Kashyap the proclaimed Quentin Tarantino of India gives a lacklustre performance this time. Though this story being a little light-hearted blends in well with the other 3 stories but overall it's just another story you can care to forget.
The overall plot which seems as a farce is interesting and the actors have played it very well. The twist in the tail is also very unique and gives something for the audience to cheer. Still story doesn't have any punch or enough comical elements, it just juggles between gratuitous use of slangs and slow paced rhythm.

Rating : 2.5 / 5

Bombay talkies is one of the rare experience I have had after watching a Bollywood movie. In my opinion it is the best Hindi movie I have seen in a long time. Coming together 4 best directors of India in itself is an applaudable step, but at the world stage, Indian cinema is still far far behind the rest. The dilemma between creating what audience wants and what you want still remains hovering on Indian cinema, and all we can do is to wait and watch, if someone has the courage to break it.

Chennai Express (2013) Review

I have worked in data-analytics domain for a small part of my life and it seems that the director of the movie has too. This movie is made by a wizardry statistical model (and nothing else) which takes parameters like lead actors, target-market, genre, # of item songs, time of the year, and others and comes up with the best possible solution. Now all the Indian wannabe film-makers are desperately after this model but I think it's code is locked in Mr. Shetty's Grandmother's bedroom in Chattisgarh.

Absolutely nothing, nothing oh yes nothing is new about this movie. Nothing that you haven't seen earlier or heard of. You take a guy (though he's 40 years old virgin) who is a loser and tie him up with a rich brat girl whose dad is a Don, and you start making a soup which is shamelessly full of cliches. Plus you add regular dose of item numbers and romantic preposterous scenes to it. In the end you change the tone of the movie and show that love can make impossible things possible. Sorry Mr. Shetty I sympathize with you that you have never ever heard of movie industries called Hollywood or Foreign cinema. It seems you have watched Cable T.V all your life in your Grandma's house, and you like it, lurrrve it a lot.

Said that, this movie still WORKS. I hate to say it, but it does. And everyone knows why? Oh yes, SRK that's why you SOB. 'Sharukh Khan daal de kisi bhi movie mein jaan' One man show and he takes every burden on his shoulder and handles pretty damn well. He's so likable and stupid and funny that you can't ignore him, you start following him, and get attached to his character. In this journey you know eventually what will happen but you like to enjoy it as it unfolds. Plus the new beautiful bride of Bollywood Deepika dances well to the tune of Tamil songs and speaks Hindi very awkwardly, but you never find it repulsive. The Tamil side Gundas play their meaningless and jobless characters very well, dance like a poorly programmed robot and somehow add to the charm of the movie.

Overall a good Time-pass (maybe better than Gossip with Mallu aunties), and of course sometimes you laugh really hard and then feel ashamed about it. Some people cry in the hall like always and you try to kill yourself, but that isn't possible. South Indian Hindi accent keep on haunting you for a long time, and eventually when you come home, you switch on your T.V, go to HBO and dose off while watching it.

Rating : 1.5 / 5

Lunchbox (2013) Review

Lot of expectations you have when people (read: India's critically acclaimed directors/producers) are dejected for a movie not being selected as the official Indian entry for the Oscars. So much for the hype, I went to watch this movie even when I had very few monies in my pocket. And I was... not disappointed.

Mr. Fernandez, an old grieving man since death of his wife is about to retire from his job. A housewife, Ila is lonely and feeling worthless due to utter negligence of her husband. She hopes to win her husband's love by cooking the best food she can. And the famous Mumbai's Dabbawallas acting as an accidental messenger between the two. The Dabbawallas commit a rare error and the 'dabba' that Ila cooked for her husband after umpteen consultations from the wise old aunty living upstairs lands on the desk of Mr Fernandez. Fernandez eats up everything and thus begins the journey of the conversations. Strangers exchange letters discussing their everyday troubles, regrets, dreams and hopes via the dabbas. Finally, both have someone they can talk to.

Though the plot is quite unconventional, loveable and interesting, I think it's not fully developed. It's a good idea not to show everything, and leave a lot for the viewers to understand. The feeling and connection between the protagonists is a bit difficult to feel, and it's left simmering beneath the surface. Talking about the central idea of the movie 'Can you love someone whom you have never met?' is shown to be true in a convincing manner. On multiple levels, the strangers have the strong urge to meet each other, they wait eagerly to read the next letter and even plan on running away together. The relationship between the two has the charm and innocence as that of first love. If this is not love then I don't know what is. The conversations between the two reveal a lot about how love is much more about internal intimate connect and doesn't care about the external coverings at all.  For the viewers there is a bit of disconnect in evoking the same feelings (as that of protagnists) that the strangers should meet for once at least, that's bit subjective too.

Irrfan khan is one of the most gifted actors, and he has again shown his immense talent without talking much. The new comer Nimrat kaur is the star of the movie for me, the brilliant and naturalistic manner in which she has portrayed the character gives a clear feeling how a common Indian housewife feels. The side character played by Nawazzudin has done a tremendous job, fitting really well in the canvas of the movie, acting as a hardworking average guy with big dreams. Lillete dubey does a cameo and does it very well.

Lunchbox is one of the best movies of this year and there is no doubt about it. It's heartwarming to see Indian mainstream film makers coming up with brave concepts and talented actors are pulling them off. This is the direction I would like Indian cinema to go in, and we as viewers have only two words to say... 'Good Luck'.

Rating : 3.5 / 5

Pink (2016) Review

The trailer of the movie got me interested. The way they jumbled up the events, really puzzled me and made me see this movie. Movie itself was rather straightforward.

The plot involves an ordeal of 3 independent modern age, working girls getting accused in a case of assault with wealthy, influential and thus egoistic boys. Crowd gives it judgement based on their age-old mentality and girls are shamed. Finally Mr. AB(a retired lawyer) takes the job of saving his and the girls' honor in his hands.

Amitabh Bacchan gives a solid performance in the role of a slowly degenerating lawyer. His dialogue delivery is strong with small bits of intelligence(though that is expected out of a lawyer). He single-handedly keeps the audience feel that something important is being shown and they should pay attention.

The premise of the movie for me is lacking in strength. Also how the courtroom case unfolds rarely gives it a tense feeling of case being the balance and makes us think about the next move of lawyers. The arguments by both (girls' and boys') sides are very flat and very predictable. The sharp edge is clearly missing. The courtroom movies have always been very engaging and thought provoking, but not this one.

I must admit the role of the protagonist girl was a very challenging one, and very important at the same time. It couldn't have been overlooked cause the whole movie stands on it. There clearly the movie lacks depth. Taapsee Paanu comes flat with rare moments of poignancy. This role could have easily given to someone more artistic for the lack of a better word.

Other two girls show signs of talent but again appear like caricatures. I liked the work of Kirti Kulhari , she has given a lot of energy to it. But again disappointed by lack of depth and soul shown by her.

Still I think this movie has a lot of positives, specially the message it wants to convey. There are lot of men out there who treat women badly and label them  just by what they wear and what they do. The movie tries to break those stereotypes by stereo-typing men which is an easy way-out. I think given the current wave of feminism(and pseudo-feminism) this movie will open lot of discussions and also encourage the movie-makers to start making cinema for the here and the now. It's a brave attempt and many more movies like this are about to come .

Rating : 2.5 / 5