All Engines A Go. My Review Airlift

Director : Raja Menon

Starring : Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur, Kumud Mishra, Inaamulhaq, Prakash Belawadi, Purab Kohli

488 flights, 59 days, 1,70,000 Indians, airlifted from Kuwait as Saddam’s forces took over the desert nation, in the world’s largest evacuation till dat. Airlift is based on the true story of this historical event.

The story that was on its own is an inspiring one, with a strong emotional connect, is re-told with conviction and superbly by Raja Menon. The challenge in making a good thriller, with a race against time telling, based on a story that is already well documented, the outcome known, is immense, and this is where the victory of Airlift lies.

A strong script, some well penned dialogues, humour in the least expected situations, make Airlift a compelling watch. The film never loses focus, the linear telling only adding to the thrill, building up to an almost nail biting finale. All comparisons with Argo dissolve in the background as this emotional and full of twists and turns film unfolds.

The ace being Akshay Kumar. The khiladi shows his acting chops in Airlift. Genuine, vulnerable, strong, letting his eyes perform in many a moments, Akshay is the hero of Airlift in all senses. This is to me his finest performance to date, an actor who has quietly matured, despite doing the “It’s Entertainment” and “Housefull” brand of films, honing his skills in Special 26 and in Baby to an extent, we see a new Akshay, who in his salt and pepper beard and a lithe body becomes Ranjit Katyal. 

A billionaire settled in Kuwait, proud of being a Kuwaiti rather than an Indian. His marriage with Amrita (Nimrat Kaur) is not all hunky dory, but he dotes on his little daughter.  His secure and snob life comes crashing down as Iraqi tanks bombard Kuwait. A man driven by money, decides to leave with his family, but is then faced by the moral dilemma…can he just up and leave his workers and their families behind? How a self-centred businessman changes himself and the fate of the thousands of Indians stuck in a foreign county under siege is the story of Airlift.

The film touches upon the government apathy and the political snafus when faced with a situation like this, the reality of living in a foreign country which you make your home, but where you never belong, as you are always the outsider, in this case being Indians actually helped them survive the Iraqi attack. Airlift has its “Bollywood” moments, patriotism hitting the notes as the Tiranga unfolds in the climax, a song and dance routine in middle of mayhem, but the good bits overshadow the small detours.

Excellent casting of supporting characters, Nimrat is extremely believable and gives a steller performance as Katyal's wife, changing from an entitled and largely bored wife to a woman who stands besides her man and discovers his mettle, Kumud Mishra as the “Babu” is pitch perfect and in such a fine form. Prakash Belawadi has got the irritating, greying, whining Mallu Uncle just right. There was a moment when the entire theatre went “Abbe chup kar” as he complains to Ranjit Katyal about the lack of Discipline in the refugee camp.

Recreating the 90's and an under siege Kuwait was no mean feat which Menon achieved well. Eye for detailing, from the Madhuri superhit in the opening to Katyal fixing a cassette with a pencil, full marks there too. 

Though dogged by forced songs and the miscasting of Inaamulhaq as the Iraqi general in control of Kuwait, Airlift is a film I thoroughly enjoyed. With the audiences becoming more open to real life stories being dramatized, Talvar being the one before this and Neerja coming up next, I "Welcome" this Akshay starrer. 

Special mention, kickass camerawork by Priya Seth and sharp editing by Hemanti Sarkar. The music, well nothing to talk about really.

Go and watch, totally paisa wasool.

My verdict 3/5

Laal Ishq. My review Bajirao Mastani

Director : Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Starring : Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Tanvi Azmi, Mahesh 
Manjrekar



कांटों भरे हैं लेकिन, चाहत के रास्ते
तुम क्या करोगे देखें, उल्फत के वास्ते
उल्फत में ताज़ छूटे, ये भी तुम्हें याद होग
उल्फत में ताज़ बने, ये भी तुम्हें याद होग

One of my favorite love songs, the words resonate even now, and came to mind as I watched Bajirao Mastani...

Love. We know it… or want to know it… it is an all-consuming emotion whose wonder has been written about since words were noted…  No wonder love stories are told over and over again in cinema too… Love that is fulfilled is joyous and that left unfulfilled, tragedy, makes us feel even more, because like love, we all know what pain feels like.

Welcome to the world of Bajirao Mastani. Two warriors, two lovers, who went against all norms of the society they were living in, and made history.

SLB’s film is not an exact account of history, in fact far from it. But as the opening Title reads, it is the love story of a warrior.

As expected, the scale, the grandeur, each frame painstakingly perfected, giving you a visual experience that is rare to come by. Opulence and detailing at every level, from the sets to the costumes, to the flawless make-up, Bajirao Mastani is a visual treat.

But what takes it beyond and makes it worth watching ( I saw it for the second time today) are the actors. Even when the story falters, sequences rush or linger longer than required (the climax) the cast carries the film, living each character, making you invested in them, feel what they feel. So this time I want to talk about the trio first.

Ranveer Singh. You got me jaaneman. A convert, that’s what I am after watching his Bajirao. Credit to Mr. Bhansali too. Ranveer has given his best performance to date, the way he has become the warrior Peshwa, Puneri accent in place most of the time, the taut body, the glint in his eyes, the walk, the fighting, the stance… uff…

Priyanka Chopra. Quantico ( Or Qwanakko as her Parrish says) ko bhool jaao, PC ke liye taali bajao. Not a fan, apart from her Barfi! I always found her lacking, but here in most parts, in a role that is bound to evoke sympathy from the audience, PC delivers. And her strongest moments are when she is silent, using her eyes to show the pain, the humiliation of being a wife whose husband has found love in another woman. Her scenes are few, but she stands out in most of them. Look out for her expressions in the curtain burning scene in the film.

Deepika. I love her, and Tamasha made me salute her prowess, but here, either because of the writing, or may be of the way the director visualised his Mastani, she does little more than look absolutely gorgeous. Her eyes forever brimming, her skin lit up from within, a thing of beauty with very limited moments where her acting could shine, even where she had meaty dialogues, her diction defeats. But a pleasure to watch nonetheless. Her beauty, grace and screen presence making her a perfect Mastani. 

Now coming to the storytelling. The forbidden love, the anguished wife, the “other woman”, religion coming in the way of lovers, a warrior princess becoming a putty in the hands of her passion and a wronged wife finding it in her to banish her husband out of her house… even though he can decimate armies single-handedly. The evolving of characters is extremely interesting, even when the unfolding of their lives is predictable. 

My big grouse is that in a love story where you want me to root for a married man, who is a Peshwa, a great warrior,  falling in love with a princess, and a princess’s instant love/obsession/lust with a married Maratha warrior, where she is ready to leave everything behind and follow her heart, very well knowing she will never be accepted by his family or society, I wish there was some more time spent with the two. Yes there are a few moments where we have to buy in to “instant chemistry” but an epic love story, for me could do with some epic moments… Remember Mughal e Azam, and that film is the inspiration for the director in his own words.

Some sequences really stand out, especially the husband wife scenes between Bajirao and Kashibai.

Tanvi Azmi as the mother works, with tonsured head et al, but her track is so predictable, the only breath of fresh air was her scene with Kashi where she points out their limitations as women… The other supporting cast does justice to their roles, you even get Mr. Raza Murad, his baritone still intact.

Mr. Bhansali knows what he wants, and you can see his vision unfold in every frame, yes he likes to indulge, but again to quote the man himself “it is not indulgence, this is how I see things”.  When a few directors exist who can be called auteurs, Bhansali yet again shows why he is prominent in that list.

Go watch the film, if for nothing else then for the sheer visual spectacle, and the women, you would definitely not want to miss how a bathing Bajirao can make you… Wink wink .

My Verdict 3.5/5 

Je Suis Don. My Review. Tamasha

Director : Imtiaz Ali

Starring : Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Piyush Mishra, Jawed Sheikh, Vivek Mushran

Many people are alive, but don't touch the miracle of being alive

Thich Nhat Hanh

Main Don hoon… aur tum..

Main.. Mona Darling…

The thought of being able to be anyone in the world, and break away from your own mundane life…

The thought of throwing caution to the air, reject all the conformity you have been closed in, like a creeper being minded with a stick, deciding which direction it should take.. if given the freedom, may bloom in all directions, wherever it finds space to grow…

Finding that one person who sees the real you… who sees the extraordinary in the ordinary you... 

We keep lying to ourselves, giving consolation prizes in form of material acquisitions… survive in the race. But that isn’t living, that is not what life is.

Imtiaz talks about this and more in Tamasha. And I could relate to all of it…

The story of Ved and Tara, becomes the backdrop as you may find yourself looking to the film to give  answers… and in the end you might realize, you already knew the answer… but like so many of us.. found it much more convenient to avoid looking on the inside, and face the truth.. that yes, mediocrity stems from conforming, and happiness is a state of mind.. and not a job.

Two strangers, a chance meeting in the fairy tale beautiful Corsica. The boy tells the girl, let me not introduce my real self, that is boring… and why should I, when here… I can be anyone I want to… The game intrigues the girl and she agrees too… We see two people, who have their own reasons to find happiness in an alternate reality, escape… but after a few days of living in a bubble, reality knocks and the girl goes back to India… not before breaking their own wow to not “cross the line”.

They had promised each other they would never meet again in “real” life. But the girl has already fallen in love with the boy.

Four years pass as Heer Toh Badi Sad hai plays… And they meet again.. not by chance, but by the girl’s design.. and the Don of her dreams turns out to be an ordinary guy, he is no Don, he is sweet… boring.. a creature of routine. She tries hard to scrape off the layers that hide the man she fell in love with...

And what follows is a journey of Ved… desperately seeking Don… 

Imtiaz has woven a complex film in Tamasha.

For example the childhood flashes of Ved… where he is the happiest when listening to stories told by an old grandpa figure, who charges for his tales, often mixing them up.. and the director underlines how all love stories are the same… but also questions do they need to be? The story within the story, shown with some inspired mise en scène, where Ram wears a sweater as he leaves to hunt for the deer…and Sanyukta walks through the church aisle…

The imagery is beautiful, yet it is a child’s imagination, replete with impossibles… as dreams mostly are.. but for young ved they are real.. more real and relatable than the expectations of his father, son of a partition family… who feels financial security is paramount, as they had lost everything when they left Pakistan.

I also loved the use of the chapters with individual titles format, consistent with “we all have a story to tell” motif.

From what can be simply taken as a film about the self-actualization of the protagonist Ved, Tamasha to me was much more than that. It brings forth the angst which lot of my friends caught in the 9-5 culture discuss, who would rather be trekking the Himalayas or going for a bike ride to Goa, but don’t. We can… that is the message of Tamasha. In 3 Idiots the Engineering vs Dreams has been tackled, yes… But I like the way Imtiaz has created Ved.

If I have any grouse with the film is that I wish I knew Tara better. But she to me is just the catalyst… And within that role, she comes out as a strong woman, yet weak when it comes to what her heart wants. She can walk out on the man who she finds to be a shadow of the person she was in love, yet come back and accept she can not be without him... 

As the film delves deeper into the psyche of Ved, you feel his pain, and root for him to break free of his shackles, man up even.. 

There is a Ranbir monologue in the climax of the film,  that stirred me so much…and reminded me of the quote… "We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing"

The froth of Corsica, the golden hues, the crystal waters of the Mediterranean make you relax and feel you are free as a bird, on an adventure, and is a perfect foil for what follows, I could see why Imtiaz has deliberately kept the pace slow, nothing much happening... giving you time to actually unwind.. before the drabness of mundane life hits the characters and you...  

The tie wearing, routine bound Ved who is a volcano at the edge of eruption, when stoked gently by Tara, he truly loses it… and though at times the anger may seem sudden, if you are with Ved’s psyche, it is understandable.

As Melvin said in As Good As It Gets, “You want me to be a better man”, in Tara Ved finds someone who finally pushes him to break out of his shackles.

Heartbreak leading to achieving your true potential is something Imitiaz has used in his earlier films too.. Rockstar, JWM. Here he also uses a Rickshaw driver… whose story touches a chord in Ved, and he makes a big decision in his life.

Coming to the crackling pair of Ranbir and Deepika, they both left me dazzled with their performances. Ranbir is truly one of the best actors of his time. He is almost flawless as he creates two distinct people.. Don in Corsica and the Product Manager Ved. Deepika.. aah.. a diamond that keeps shining brighter as each performance unfolds. Their chemistry fires the screen, it is a must watch just to see these two share screen space.

The film is filled with memorable moments between Ved and Tara… and some really funny lines… The scene between Ranbir and Vivek Mushran really stood out. 

The cinematography by S. Ravi Varman is top notch, wouldn't have expected anything less. The music is not the best of Imti-ARR-Kamil combo. But Heer and Agar Tum Sath ho really worked for me. 

Imtiaz Ali yet again proves he is one of the strongest individualistic voices of Hindi cinema. Take a bow. 

GO WATCH!! 

My Verdict : 3.5/5 

Talvar "Of Truth, Lies and Red Tape" My Review

Director : Meghna Gulzar

Starring : Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen, Neeraj Kabi, Soham Shah, Tabu, Atul Kumar, Gajraj Rao 

The Aarushi- Hemraj case, splashed across the media, being fed a pack of lies by the police, then investigating the case, and later the CBI coming in and revealing the criminal botch up that was done by the UP police handling the twin murder of Aarushi and Hemraj. We have all cracked our heads and gone through various emotions as rumors peddled as facts were served to us. Justice has been denied if an innocent has been punished, Justice is also not served when the guilty are let out scot free.

Whatever may be the truth, we would never know, as there is no clear evidence of what really happened on that horrific night in the house of Talwars, known doctors in Noida, rich and respected. Their 14 year old daughter found brutally murdered in her room, and later the prime suspect as per the police, their servant Hemaraj, his body was also discovered, murdered in an identical manner. A mystery that could have been solved if the Police had done due diligence, instead of the mockery they made out of it. Even the CBI could not do much apart from submit a report that they don’t have enough evidence to prove the Talwars guilty. But the special CBI court has sentenced them to life imprisonment and currently they have appealed in the Allahabad high court.

Coming to the film, Talvar just about veils the fact that it is the same case, by changing character names, and organisation names, CBI is CDI in the film. The title itself is similar phonetically to Talwar.

It is not an easy film to watch, as you cannot watch it like just another thriller, whodunit. Everyone who knows about the brutal killings, which is pretty much “everyone”, cannot watch it dispassionately. 

The first 30 minutes of the film are a bit tedious, the writing unsure, but then it gains momentum and by the time you are back after interval, it is compelling, disturbing, all involving and leaves you extremely uncomfortable, questioning your own beliefs, no matter which side you have leaned all this while. The fine writing even manages to infuse humor in the going ons, specially in Gajraj Rao’s scenes,  even when one of the scenes is a bit outlandish… also the dark dark humor that unfolds in the internal CBI meetings… Bravo. The world our house help inhabits, the migrants staying in poor conditions, yet enjoying their off time drinking, watching shows in their mother tongue.. and their eyes straying to the young daughter.. and harbouring lust.. things which we normally don’t see in a film, is shown unflinchingly.. making you squirm in your seats.  The Narco test segments sent a chill down my spine. The film is raw and rough, no frills and no breathers.. and it is this assured treatment that makes it a must watch.

If “Court” had left you frustrated, this will leave you enraged, disturbed, empty and exposed. Scary how easily can the law enforcers, crime solvers, can turn a crime scene into a free for all, contaminate evidence and botch up an investigation of such a heinous crime.

The point the film makes vehemently is it is better to let 10 guilty go than to punish the innocent. Alas one would never really know. Though the film leans towards the Talwars as being innocent, it does allow the other point of view to be presented rather strongly.

A stellar cast of Irrfan, Konkona, Neeraj Kabi, Tabu, Sohum Shah, Atul kumar and Gajraj Rao infuse scary realism to the film. Irrfan as the CDI officer Ashwin Kumar delivers yet another ace performance, playing a video game as he interrogates, humming mera kuchh saaman as his trial separation starts with his wife, played by Tabu,  a small but impactful role. It is such an inspired performance by Irrfan, helped by some great dialogues, as he succeeds in making an officer investigating brutal murders a flesh and blood character, letting us in his ordinary world and ordinary live, going about their business in the most routine way. 

Neeraj and Konkona underplay and win. Full marks to Honey Trehan for picking each actor with precision, and the ensemble works superbly. I would also like to mention A. Sreekar Prasad's absolutely brilliant editing. With a film that involves so many threads and still is just above 2 hours, it is  commendable the way it has been put together. 

Meghna Gulzar finally has a good film under her belt. Some of the scenes are going to stay with me for a long time to come.

My Verdict 3/5

Gulaabo Official Song video Shaandaar

Here it is, Gulaabo!! Really looking forward to Shaandaar. Vikas Bahl's next after the much celebrated Queen. Alia and Shahid make a cute pair.
Amit Trivedi does a good job with this energetic number. Vishal Dadlani and Anusha Mani on the vocals. I Like!!!