Sunday, September 18, 2016

Pink -- Movie Review

Two movies at the theater in the same month.. am I dreaming? Well, it happened. A friend at office came up with the plan and off we went. I thought it was a 1 hour movie but it was longer as most Hindi movies are.

The movie begins very well-You see 3 gals (Meenal, Falak, and Andrea) in a taxi, returning home from a party or some event, late at night. The mood is very tense, the girls are worried, and a bit terrified. The scene shifts to another vehicle, a car, 2 guys are worrying about one of the guys who seems badly hurt and bleeding. The hurt guy is more angry than hurt. Slowly, the events unfold and there is no misstep anywhere. The first half goes as expected - rather, as if a real incident was taking place n that was a relief.
Amitabh with his mask

Amitabh's introduction was actually funny thanks to his anti-pollution mask and various eccentricities. When you observe him watching Meenal at the park, you wonder if he is the villain for an insane moment. The movie introduces a number of stereotypes: independent working women, north eastern women, the neighbor who can easily think the worst about you, the policeman who asks Meenal to think before filing a case at the station, etc etc. None of them struck a false note.

Image Courtesy: http://www.hitmoviedialogues.in/2016/08/watch-pink-movie-official-trailer.html

The second half was a bit slow though it had a number of punches to throw. It was a courtroom saga
Andrea, Meenal, and Falak
that made several note-worthy points but felt a bit slow. Somehow I felt that the verdict could swing either way. While the points were note-worthy, I did not think legally they could have won the battle. But, again maybe that is how it works sometimes. A point that raised a lot of claps was about a woman's choice to say No. A very valid point but legally how could it be proved?

Image Courtesy:  http://hamaraphotos.com/bollywood/scoops/have-been-a-victim-of-eve-teasing-taapsee-pannu.html

Meenal
Most of the scenes were totally believable: When Meenal is threatened over phone, she retaliates in anger but then runs home after looking all around, terrified; When Falak's boyfriend asks her why she went with others and adds that Meenal would do this but why did you?; When the lawyer asks Meenal why does she live with 3 other girls instead of staying at her parent's place (When her parents live in the same city) and tries to insinuate that she was probably a sex-worker;When the men say that girls from good families do not drink or go with somebody whom they just met, and so many other gems.  

Image Courtesy: http://www.trendinfo.in/pink-movie-box-office-collection-7056.html

A serious movie but a good one. The movie ends with showing us what really happened that night which was one of the best parts of the movie. Liked it for some of the points made. Good to watch once.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Happy Bhaag Jayegi -- Movie Review

After a long time, managed to catch a movie at the theater. After Kuku came into my life, it has been
Daman Singh Bagga dancing
impossible for me to catch a movie in the theater and so I try not to miss any opportunity when it does come my way. The managers go on a trip to the US for two weeks, every year, and most folks enjoy the short break that that brings but this year we went for a movie. Felt like a school or college kid bunking school or college (Not that I did it - I had a miss goody-two-shoes reputation).

Happy Arriving in Amritsar at Bilal's house
I had read some of the reviews and was not expecting much from the movie but it was nice.

Beautiful Diana Penty, dependable Jimmy Shergil, Handsome Abhay Deol (you always want to see more of him), a charming Ali Fazal, Piyush Sharma as the comic element, a lovely Momal Sheikh looking very snooty but vulnerable, and a simple love story with India-Pakistan as the backdrop. It could have been amazing but not so. Dropping the section
Wah Wah because the movie did not have any Wah Wah moments. It was a light and fluffy experience.

Image Courtesy: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/happy-bhag-jayegi-movie-review-abhay-deol-diana-penty-star-rating-2984719/

Wah

  • Momal Sheikh initial hysterical reaction made me cringe but her snooty, aristocratic expressions and her vulnerability was nicely captured using subtle looks and simple scenes. A small role, but she was impressive.
  • Jimmy as the guy who is left at the altar was genuinely funny as Daman Singh Bagga, the main villain.  
  • Abhay, who is a joy irrespective of his role, was adequate. 
  • Ali Fazal, as the boy friend, Guddu, had a charming simplicity that lent a nice touch.  
Bah
  • Happy's character is not well fleshed out. Why do all the men fall for her? Diana seems too sophisticated to be a typical punjabi kudi. Its a stretch to imagine her making aloo parathas for her boyfriend. I can imagine Kangana adding the necessary zing to the same character.
  • Kanwaljeet's performance was a bit over-the-top. He is a very good actor and deserves a decent role.
Zoya walking up to Bilal's car
The performances were not fantastic, the movie was just ok but you wanted very much to like them and were hoping something will come up that will make you laugh - but no. The producer of the film is Anand L Rai, who directed Tanu weds Manu - you can see the numerous similarities in the movie and while Kangana was superb, Diana is just about ok.

Catch it at home on a lazy weekend and you won't mind it. For a change, after seeing intense movies or movies that make me sad, this felt ok.