A Sparkling Solitaire My Review Ankhon Dekhi

Director : Rajat Kapoor

Starring :  Sanjay Mishra, Rajat Kapoor, Seema Pahwa, Namit Das, Maya Sarao, Manu Rishi, Brijender                    Kala

Dear Bauji,

Thank you for letting me in your life. I have always seen you around me. A soul in search of the true meaning of life. A little crazy, a lot stubborn, eccentric and with the heart of a child. Once something strikes you, you follow it unflinchingly, never caring what the world thinks. Or for that matter your wife, brother, kids, extended family and friends. Whether they call it Male Menopause or Bawlapan.

So when your over enthusiastic extended family member told you about your daughter's affair, you like any other concerned father went with the men to beat some sense into him. After meeting Ajju, who was nothing like the ruffian and roadside Romeo he was made out to be, you could not sleep that night. You had an epiphany and decided to only believe in things you have experienced yourself. You will not accept anything without having experienced it's existence, its truth. When you called Prasad just a delicious mithai, the Pundit ji was very upset. But your god was truth now. Even if meant wetting your pants in the zoo.

You live in Old Delhi, where family are neighbors and neighbors are family. Where terraces are joined together, as close as friendships lasting life times. Your house is warm and inviting, where a pateela of chai is on the stove the whole day... as slowly your friends start believing in your theories and see you as an excellent life code to abide by. They come and mill about, hanging on to every word you say or.... not say.

As you set yourself on the path of self discovery, I was with you... every step of the way. From leaving your job to standing on the road holding a placard, which reminded me of a gentle soul standing on a busy Mumbai crossing in Juhu. I wave at him as I pass him, and the smile he gives me in return is beautiful. Your love for your daughter is so endearing, I cried as it made me think of my father. I wanted to hug you when you decided to bow down and visit your brother... I wanted to hug your wife when she gets exasperated at you, and begs god to forgive you.

You made me think, contemplate, take a step back.

Life. How many times we meet ours, say hello to ourselves and tell ourselves our own truths. But when we do, everything becomes crystal clear, doubts removed and freedom found.

Thank You for standing up, breaking down, holding on and finally letting go. We need more of you.

With love.

So there, I said it. Ankhon Dekhi is brilliance in all departments. From writing (Rajat Kapoor) to acting. Sanjay Mishra is Bau ji. He delivers his finest. Seema Pahwa is perfect and they are made for each other, Cinematography by Rafey Mehmood (Remember Haasil?), Production Design, background score. Absolutely pitch perfect.

Rajat Kapoor,  you have delivered a sparkling solitaire, you have also acted in it and must say I was totally convinced that in your earlier life you were an oily haired, a bit stiff upper lipped C.A. As a director this is your best so far. Keep telling us stories...

The supporting cast is such a joy, Brijender Kala, Manu Rishi and Namit Das are super and so is Maya Sarao, what a refreshing new face on the horizon.

Ankhon Dekhi makes you want to go back home, and have a cup of chai with your parents and indulge them.... trust me, they do know better.

GO WATCH NOW!!!

My Verdict  4/5 

Hip Hip HappyRani My Review Queen

Director Vikas Bahl

Starring  Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, Lisa Haydon, Bokyo Mish, Jeffrey Ho, Canadea Lopez Marco, Joseph Guitobh, Vinay Singh

How many times have you wished you could just leave everything behind and go some place where no one knows you, and you don't know anyone. Finding peace, finding yourself... no baggage at the end of the trip.

Happiness is so strange, the more we chase it, the further it runs. And then suddenly, when we least expect it, we find it. We all have our share of heartbreak, and our own coping mechanisms. Copious amounts of alcohol do help, so do friends, and music. When nothing works, just a good cry does.

I remember going away to Mcleodganj alone, when life was throwing some xxl lemons at me. That trip remains my most memorable one. Meeting some amazing people, drinking chai in the middle of a dried up river and hanging out with friends I had made there, talking about everything under the sun. I came back with some new resolves and though not entirely a new person, but definitely a happier one.

When Vijay (Rajkummar Rao) calls Rani/Queen (Kangana) to a coffee shop a day before their wedding, to tell her he can not marry her... her whole world comes crashing down. A world which is inhabited by most Indian middle class girls. Finding the boy of their vermillion colored dreams, marriage and then settling down. Rani locks herself up in her room while her whole family is in mourning. As the morning breaks, the Tentwallahs take down the shamianas and throw the heart shaped Vijay Weds Rani board in truck. So much for the big fat Indian weddings. What would happen now to this innocent, heartbroken Dilli di kudi... "I want to go on my Honeymoon!" She announces to her dad. From here begins her journey to a new world, in more ways than one.

Rani's solo honeymoon trip takes her to Paris and Amsterdam. A Rajouri Garden, Delhi's protected girl, who always moves with her younger brother, who gets shocked seeing a girl smoke, who quivers with anticipation at the mere thought of her first night, who has never been kissed....

From the first frame to the last slate on the credit roll, Queen keeps you warm in a hug, happy in her smile, sniffling in her sadness... rarely a movie comes out of Bollywood which creates enduring female characters who you want to make friends with, for life.

But it is not just about her. It's about us, women... "Hamare wahan na ladkiyon ko sab mana hai, dakaar lena bhi..." "Daddy aap mana karoge toh nahi jaaoongi" It talks of how we are controlled subtly from the day we are born... We take it as love, care and protection. And we do not realise the true meaning of freedom till we don't take a risk with our life...

Kangana Ranaut, take a bow. She is Rani. Her performance is so real... you forget you are watching a film. Her best film till date. Uninhibited, sincere, totally surrendering herself to the role.

Rajkummar Yadav is always a pleasure to watch. Nuanced here too, from cleaning up the table of Mehndi flakes nonchalantly after he tells Rani he can not marry her, to pataoing her earlier in the film.

The supporting cast, specially her room-mates in Amsterdam and ooooh the delicious Italian Chef is pitch perfect. I wanted to wave at them and request for a bunk bed in their room. Coming to delicious Lisa Hayden. You surprise me gurl! Hot, with a French accent that makes every word a seduction, she has come a long way from Rascals.

Power to Vikas Bahl for giving me such a delightful film. And fondly remembering Bobby Singh, the cinematographer who passed away tragically at such a young age and has shot most of the film. He captures Dilli's robustness and Amsterdam's De Wallen with aplomb. Anvita Dutt's dialogues are terrific, additional dialogues are credited to Kangana Ranaut.

The music by Amit Trivedi... Hungaama ho gaya truly.

I can go on and on about Queen. So much to love, laugh and rejoice about. From Eiffel tower chasing Rani to the sex shop in Amsterdam... to her letting go as she dances on a bar top...

Go buy your ticket!

My Verdict 3.5/5

Revolver Rani Official Trailer

Fist Queen and and Now Revolver Rani. Kangana Ranaut on a roll. I am enjoying this breakout phase of her.

Watch and have fun!

Coupling My Review Shaadi Ke Side Effects

Director   Saket Chaudhary

Starring   Vidya Balan, Farhan Akhtar, Rati Agnihotri, Ram Kapoor, Ila Arun,  Vir Das

Saket’s debut film “Pyaar Ke Side Effects” was a fun ride, and the casting coup of Rahul Bose with Mallika Sherawat paid off.

After seven years, he returns with a sequel, with a different cast.  Shaadi Ke Side Effects.  A casting coup of a different kind, Farhan Akhtar, the suave metrosexual with the curvaceous  and talented  Vidya Balan.  The promos promised an interesting treatment of a stale premise.  A happy young couple very much in love and what changes when they get married and have a baby.

The first hour of the film is likeable, giving enough moments where you laugh and chuckle at the situations being faced by the husband Sid (Farhan) and wife Trisha (Vidya).  The dialogues are fun and the film flows well.

Farhan is perfect as Sid,  he looks and plays the part well. Vidya is back after  Ghanchakkar,  looking good and giving a solid performance. Both share a good onscreen chemistry and look like a real couple who has spent years together.

The story is predictable, but the situations and the dialogues (Arshad Syed) make it a fun watch.  Seeing a paranoid new mother and a reluctant father trying to keep themselves from almost killing each other over the right side of a towel makes you sympathize alternately between Sid and Trisha. As Sid finds an escape from the pressures of his life with help from his brother in law (Ram Kapoor), he realizes that life cannot be escaped from.

The film is from the husband’s point of view and they have used the voice-over of Sid to underline it.

The supporting cast is aptly cast, with Rati playing Vidya’s mother and Vir Das in a funny appearance as a struggling actor who has done only one ad in years of an obscure product “Panchmola” but is dedicated to his dreams. The surprise cameo is that of Ila Arun who is always a pleasure to watch.

As the film tries to delve into the travails of a married couple, the responsibilities that come crashing down on the husband and how a carefree romantic couple changes into a bickering pair… the married people will find a lot of things to relate to. The part where Sid also gets "Pregnant" is hilarious and such fun to watch. There are many other moments where very real dilemmas of an urban marriage are presented in an interesting manner.

Sadly, towards the last 45 minutes of the film, the situations start becoming contrived, the film loses focus and despite an attempt to add a twist and jerk, one has started shifting in the seat and looking at the watch.  What also doesn’t help are the forced songs in the film. Despite a good over-all narrative, you wish it would end soon. The repetitive actions of Sid in the second half hamper the pace.

But over all, the director is in control and despite the latter dragging part, he has done a good job.

In a nutshell, go for Farhan and Vidya’s natural performances, laugh while seeing a bit of yourself as you choose sides!  Oh and some ladies sitting in the row ahead of mine called up their husbands in the intermission to tell them they loved them!

My Verdict  2.5/5

Ye Manzilein hain Kaunsi... My Review Highway

Director Imtiaz Ali

Starring  Randeep Hooda, Alia Bhatt

So how do you fall in love, what is the definition of attraction, how do you put a vibe in words... if you are familiar with these conundrums, Highway will not give you answers, but will definitely give you food for thought.

Highway is the story of Veera (Alia Bhatt) an Uber rich, young and somewhat rebellious daughter of a Delhi Industrialist. She is abducted 4 days before her marriage from the Delhi Haryana Highway. The kidnapper is Mahabir (Randeep Hooda) who runs his gang of goons running extortion rackets. He is a killer, brooding and rough. As they travel through Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, they are on their internal journey too, which is beyond that of an abductor and abductee.

The film tries to explore at a languid pace the connection that is forged between Veera and Mahabir, improbable in the real world, but in the director's world, two broken pieces can try and make a whole.

Veera tastes real freedom while being captive, and Mahabir is captivated by the vivaciousness and innocence of Veera while controlling her life in this journey. As the film progresses, the hows and whys will melt as the characters prod you to open yourself to the "Now".

Alia is well cast, she has managed to erase the memory of superfluous Shanaya of SOTY with one broad stroke in Highway. A clean scrubbed look and a Body Language coach had a large role to play in this, also credited in the film. Her exuberance at the most unimaginable junctures of the film does not irritate you, her Veera is "like that only".

Randeep Hooda looks convincing with his scruff look and intense eyes. He delivers a solid performance, rarely missing the mark. Infact he is one actor who is becoming better and better with each film.

The film is not without flaws, but when it refreshes you, makes you part of the experience, I am not complaining. I will not be bothered by "this could have been done like that". That is the director's prerogative. Imtiaz chooses to not answer questions in black and white. Is it love between Veera and Mahabir? How is a girl seeing her captor as an object of affection and sympathy? etc. You can draw your own interpretation.

There are only two things which I found niggling me. A) The flashbacks of both Veera and Mahabir, which were not only unnecessary, looked patchy and out of place. B) The suddenness of Veera's recounting her troubled childhood to Mahabir. It comes too abruptly and feels manipulative.

As they travel together through the north, you get lost in the beauty of locales, captured stunningly by Anil Mehta. Rahman's music enthralls as Patakha Guddi plays and Sooha Saha Sa gets you misty eyed. Special mention for the stellar casting done by Mukesh Chhabra.

I enjoyed the ride. And the Himachal part of the film, I wanted it to never end. It reminded me of these lines of the famous song. "Ajeeb dastan hai ye, kahan shuru kahan khatam, Ye Manzilein hain kaunsi... Na wo samajh sake na hum..."

So here's to the traveller in us!

My Verdict  3/5