R... Rajkumar Movie Review

Read the Exclusive R... Rajkumar Movie Review by Smita.

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Star-Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonu Sood

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Director: Prabhu Dheva

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Producer: Sunil A Lulla, Viki Rajani

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Duration: 2 hrs 27 mins

R Rajkmar is stuck in a time warp. It has some village goons fighting to get monopoly over the opium market in not only their ilaaka but the poori duniya. Then they have henchmen who get into innumerable stupid fights and bash each other up at the tiniest provocation. Then there is heroine who can beat up eve teasers but simpers coyly when she gets disgustingly called Lollypop by her aashiqui. She sings a song where she calls him badmash , awaara etc a la Asha Parekh and finally a hero who falls in love at first sight, owns the heroine and will come back from the dead to even the score. Sigh, cry, why???

The only good line in the whole movie is where Sonakshi tells Shahid “tum to mere height ke bhi nahi ho” and he says”tumhara vajan dekha hai kya? Main adjust kar raha hoon tum bhi kar lo”. If this can make me happy then you know how bad the rest is. The only good part of the movie is the rather comical choreography especially in the ‘sari ke fall se’ song, where a guy randomly enters the frame and runs out. Maybe that’s what Prabhudeva should stick to doing.

Shahid does a good job of the dancing but that’s about it. I don’t know why he chooses these absurd roles that make him act like an idiot. There are a couple of close ups when he is angry and there is so much intensity in him that you feel sorry that he wastes himself in this kind of rubbish. Sonakshi is in one of her leaner phases in this movie or the ghagra and the square ‘Sponge Bob’ cut of her salwars manages to hide a lot.

This movie might appeal to the lowest of the low intelligences. There was one such person in the row ahead of me laughing like a hyena at every inane joke and every sexist, demeaning, humiliating comment aimed at women. I love Prabhu Deva as a choreographer and a dancer but if this is how he views women and treats them then I really cannot separate the dancer from the man.

I cannot even tell you to leave your brains behind and watch it. Even if you do, at some deep subliminal level, in your gut, you will reject it. I think if shown to a comatose person he will wake up in disgust (ah! that could actually be a scene in this movie!) Am disgusted. For both of us. Stay at home and thank me for doing you this favour.

Overall Review Verdict: Terrible movie stuck in a time warp. Don't even think about watching it.
Ratings: 1/5

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Bullett Raja Movie Review

Read the Exclusive Bullett Raja Movie Review by Subhash K Jha, IANS.

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Star-Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Vidyut Jamwal, Jimmy Sheirgill

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Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia

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Producer: Rahul Mittra, Nitin Tej Ahuja, Tigmanshu Dhulia

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Duration: 2 hrs 18 mins

From Raj Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar in Sangam to Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan in Sholay, filmy friendships have flourished with formulaic fervor in our films.

It takes guts to turn the conventional formulaic cinema about male bonding and revenge into a tightly wound intelligently scripted and judiciously executed drama of political subterfuge in Uttar Pradesh, a favourite haunt for Tigmanshu Dhulia's cinema, here turned into a hotbed of intrigue and drama.

Bullett Raja is woven around characters who aren't particular about the company or the morals that they keep. Politicians and entrepreneurs hobnob with criminals and criminals end up becoming heroes of the masses just because democracy in India gives us little to choose from.

Saif Ali Khan's Raja Misra is a scummy sort of Robin Hood in Lucknow whom we meet initially as he escapes with his life from goons in screeching cars by gatecrashing into a wedding. There he meets Rudra (Jimmy Shergill). Then begins a kind of affable bonding between the two men, and it goes beyond the precincts of the maudlin friendships we've seen in our films so far.

Saif and Jimmy, brilliant actors both, bring a kind of brusque but unbreakable friendship between them, a bonding that you know only death can break. And it does.

Dhulia, in his most mass-oriented cinematic outing to date, brings a lot of Jai-Veeru's Sholay bonding into play. The two actors do the rest. They gamely sink their teeth into the morass of Indian politics, giving a stirring dignity to inherently unsavory episodes from the murky politics of Uttar Pradesh.

Dhulia's skills as a raconteur of remarkable aptitudes was most evident in Paan Singh Tomar. Here, he attempts something even more daring. He merges mythological and historical allusions into current politics and he weds heroism and hooliganism without causing any discernible damage to his work's aesthetics.

Saif's character, a mix of goon and boon, gun and grins doesn't tire of reminding his adversaries of his Brahminical roots. He also has a strange penchant for quoting from the scriptures at the most inopportune moments.

This is a film about the scummy people who govern our country from the fringes. They are the kind of characters who either end up rich or dead. We can only curse them under our breath. And yet the spoken language of the characters remains liberated from overt profanities. The same goes for the characters themselves, so lowly and yet redeemed by unexpected bouts of humour and even compassion.

The way Saif's Raja Misra meets Sonakshi's sketchily-written character and the manner in which the script allows him to warm up to her without wasting time is a marvel of scriptural balance. Indeed, Dhulia in his most nakedly commercial outing, catches the routine friends-on-a-rampage plot by its lapels and goes for the kill with splendid skill.

This is a fearless film. It is not afraid to celebrate the much dreaded and abused traditional filmy formula. And then, Dhulia takes his audacity from city to city in Uttar Pradesh. The jagged but constantly coherent plot takes the very conventional characters (good-bad heroes, bad-bad villains, a damsel in distress and lots of decadent politicians) on a bumpy journey across the politics of the cow-belt where there are no sacred cows. Only brazen wolves.

The film's reckless momentum is sustained and controlled by Dhulia's technicians who hit the right notes while taking a route that hardly affords safe options. Dangerously careening towards an anarchic world, Bullett Raja swerves away from catastrophe underlining the plot and succeeds spectacularly in creating a world where rampage is the rule.

The soundrack is remarkably authentic, and I don't mean the awful songs. Our cinema, even the most mature variety, still adheres to the radio-play style of dialogue delivery where only one character speaks at one time. Tigmanshu Dhulia allows the words to spill out of his characters as and how they appear natural.

Saif's in full command of the spoken and unspoken language. Here's an actor who can bring gravitas to his character without weighing it down in self-importance. Saif has great support from the ever-reliable Jimmy Shergill. Their bonding is remarkable, and sometimes wickedly over-the-top.

Dhulia's treatment of violence in the hinterland is sharp and constantly tongue-in-cheek. Midway through the mayhem he brings in Vidyut Jammwal (described picturesquely as Chambal Ka Chowkidar) to bring our scummy hero Raja Misra under control.

Do Jammwal's dexterous kicks succeed in stemming the mayhem? Boy, oh boy, do they! Bullett Raja is a subverted comic book adventure. Dhulia goes masala with a bang. And what a bang-bang!

Guns, girls (yes, even an item song by Mahie Gill where she insists she doesn't want to be touched when all her movements suggest quite the opposite), grime and glory come together in a layered tale of corruption, politics and kinetic camaraderie.

The songs brakes the pace. But then you really can't have a formula film without the song breaks.

Overall Review Verdict: It takes a politically savvy storyteller of Dhulia's skills to convert the lowest ebb of our politics into an occasion of high drama.
Ratings: 4/5

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Gori Tere Pyaar Mein Movie Review - Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor

Read the Exclusive Gori Tere Pyaar Mein Movie Review by Nikhil Arora.

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Star-Cast: Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Nizhalgal Ravi, Sujata Kumar

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Director: Punit Malhotra

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Producer: Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar

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Duration: 2 hours 24 mins

The plot of Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is ridiculous even for a romantic comedy. This is something I felt during the first half of the film. After the second half, there is nothing left to call ridiculous or even a romantic comedy. I have enjoyed Dharma’s romantic comedies in the past, especially Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012) and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013). I was even amused by Punit Malhotra’s first film – I Hate Luv Storys (2010). I admire both Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan. The genre, the actors, the songs, the production value - everything is in place, in fact it is so much in place that there is nothing left for a script.

The first half of the film is fun and entertaining. There are many moments, which don’t make sense, and the script seems to have been given no attention but there is something likable about it. It is goofy and the actors have good chemistry. Imran and Kareena look great together (again), but I was more interested in Imran and Shraddha Kapoor’s sub-plot. I won’t go into it because it contains spoilers. I hope they are cast in a film together and with a good director.

If there is any actress today who knows how to be a Bollywood actress, it is Kareena Kapoor. I love watching her make average scenes look interesting. She can overact and make it look like she could do it on command. This kind of praise is meant for another review of a better film but in a film like this one you realize its importance. I think they were trying to make her into a memorable character like Geet from Jab We Met (2007) but didn’t go the distance. She plays an “NGO types” and pretty much nails it.

Imran Khan is an actor who I admire for reasons which could easily be taken for why he isn’t considered a good actor. I don’t exactly think he can act well but there are few actors in our industry who can do deadpan humor well. In romantic comedies like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008) and Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, you can see how he fits the characters like a glove and gives humor to situations which would fall flat otherwise. It is also extremely difficult to do “regular guy” roles. Every actor wants to be a star these days and make his presence felt. It is continually refreshing to see an actor who isn’t trying too hard and just exists on screen. You feel like you know him or could even be his friend. To me, that is not something as casual as it seems. In this film, he plays a rich brat and does not make it look stereotypical.

The music of the film is enjoyable. I love Dhat Teri Ki and Tooh. There is slapstick song set in a village called Moto Ghotalo which is amusingly choreographed with the villagers in the background getting their groove on. This is where I was confused as to what the film was aiming for. The tone is inconsistent. Sometimes, it wants to be silly and sometimes goes overboard with its filmyness. Other times, the humor is completely different ranging from dry to dumb.

The producer, Karan Johar, had calculated a modest hit on paper. Just like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, we have the same producer, good music and a typical template for a romantic comedy. There were claims that Ayan Mukerji was not the reason why that film clicked but Karan Johar managed to salvage it. This is where you can clearly see how wrong that would be. Sure, a producer tinkers with a film but a director shoots it with a certain intention. The core of that film was always in place. If Karan Johar had a magic wand, he could have waved it all over this one (Do not look for puns there).

This film is a case of a directing miscalculation. The screenplay takes a nose dive after a point but a director can make it watchable if he recognizes the pulse of it. When you have an insipid situation after another, you especially don’t make it “look” completely absurd. The story of two rich kids going to live in a village is great but this is what they do there? This? I don’t want to see them go all Swades (2004) on us but at least don’t make it look like a joke. Again, the tone is erratic. Sometimes it becomes farcical and then it goes for the dramatic. Punit Malhotra is clearly too excited with the material and tries to do everything with it.

It’s like a chewing gum. It is pointless apart from killing bad breath. It’s a harmless distraction and after a while you throw it away. There are three options, though. You can either gulp it down, which is advised against. Or you can throw it away, which would be smart. The third is to step on it. It gets stuck to your shoes and then it doesn’t come off. Something harmless becomes obnoxious and stupid. A song about chabaoing chingam is sung in the film, in case you were wondering why I’m elucidating a bizarre analogy.

Don’t expect an Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu and you might enjoy it. I wanted to, considering how much I like the two actors and romantic comedies. They should definitely do more movies. I just hope that it all falls into place.

Overall Review Verdict: Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is partly fun but mostly a ridiculous romantic comedy
Ratings: 2.5/5

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Ram-Leela Movie Review

Read the Exclusive Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela Movie Review By Subhash K. Jha (IANS).

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Star-Cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Gulshan Devaiah, Richa Chadda, Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh

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Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

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Producer: Kishore Lulla, Sanjay Leela Bhansali

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Duration: 2 hours 33 mins

Just when you think you have seen it all, there comes a film that reminds you of how far the cinematic medium has come...And how far it can go in the right hands. Let's face it - Bhansali is Bhansali. The visual imagery in all his earlier films - from Khamoshi: The Musical to Guzaarish is comparable with the best art from any field of aesthetics.

In terms of its free-flowing, unmeasured and operatic opulence, Ram-Leela (with or without the censorial prefix), comes closest to the giddy high-pitched and yet miraculously controlled tempo and tenor of Bhansali's Devdas. That too was a steeply sensuous cinematic adaptation from a literary source.

"Ram-Leela" goes to William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and comes away with a marvel of a tale of love-at-first-sight. Bhansali tilts his hat to mythology, folkore and the culture of community clashes with a blend of spontaneity and brilliance.

What Bhansali does to Shakespeare's tumultuous saga of sudden love between scions of two warring families, is beyond the imagination of all other living filmmakers of this country.

The rigorous reworking of the Shakespearean classic required a certain sense of recklessness. Earlier this year, we saw some of the same creative recklessness in two other Bollywood adaptations of "Romeo and Juliet" - namely Aanand L. Rai's Raanjhanaa and Manish Tiwary's Issaq.

But in "Ram-Leela", every image and frame tells a story.

Bhansali's Romeo and Juliet are unabashedly sexual in their body and verbal language. None of that traditional coyness and hesitation that characterises traditional courtship when Ram and Leela discuss one another's vital statistics. He runs a porn video parlour. She comes from a family of gun-wielding criminals helmed by a steely matriarch (Supriya Pathak, brilliant). He comments on her '136 inch' chest, she talks about his, er, trigger. They are in love and they know lust is an integral component of their relationship.

No two lovers derived from a classic romance have celebrated their mutual sexual desires so frankly and fearlessly.

Gosh, these two are Romeo and Juliet on steroids! And this is as good a place as any to tell you that no other two actors could have done to Bhansali's Romeo/Ram and Juliet/Leela what Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone have done. They don't play the two characters. The couple owns their characters.

In his quest for the most visually invigorating shots, Bhansali is here assisted amply by his cinematographer Ravi Varman. Varman uses the camera like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan uses the Sarod. It's an instrument to converse with divinity. Wasiq Khan's art work too unfurls a spiralling tapestry of kaleidoscopic colours that find a place in the hectic frames without jostling or crowding the canvas.

Of the innumerable imperishable images that emerge from the film's tumultuous tale of overnight passion, elopement, estrangement and reunion, I'd single out two. The first shows Barkha Bisht as Ranveer Singh's widowed sister-in-law running away from a gang of attackers. As she runs through the rugged hinterland, her brass vessel tumbles down-slope with her.

The sequence, caught in a desperately dying light, is probably the most vivid image of impending doom I've seen in any recent film.

The other unforgettable image features Deepika Padukone, her hand bloodied after an injury, lying on the wet ground in a streak of blood. It reminded me of Aishwarya Rai's slashed wrist creating a pond of blood with her hand in Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

Fire and blood are never far away from Bhansali's vision. Though there is plenty of bloodied images in "Ram-Leela", the fire this time rages in the eyes of the characters.

The film's visual poetry is so eloquent that you wonder at times if the filmmaker is a closet-painter. A closet-musician, Bhansali certainly is. His self-composed songs assisted by Monty Sharma's evocative background score, perfectly capture the film's impetuous mood.

The actors do the rest. Every performer surrenders to the tempestuous saga. While Supriya Pathak leads the supporting cast with a stellar performance, Richa Chadda, Abhimanyu Singh, Gulshan Devaiah and Sharad Kelkar are the portrait of pitch-perfect emoting.

As for the Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone pair, I finally know what on-screen chemistry means. Their frankly erotic togetherness is comparable with Raj Kapoor and Nargis in "Awara".

Overall Review Verdict: "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" is the most vital romantic musical in the last five years. To experience it is to serenade the divine. To miss it would be a crime.
Ratings: 5/5

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Satya 2 Movie Review

Read the Exclusive Satya 2 Movie Review (IANS)

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Star-Cast: Punit Singh Ratn, Anaika Soti, Mahesh Thakur

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Director: Ram Gopal Varma

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Producer: M. Sumanth Kumar Reddy, Dr. Arun Kumar Sharma

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Duration: 2 hrs 33 mins

Spot the difference. It's the same in all apparent details. Mumbai's underworld caught in a compromising position by Ram Gopal Varma (RGV)'s camera prying into the mutilated lives of characters looking so scruffy and aggressive, you wish they would leave aside the bloodbath and just take a 'bloody' bath.

Yup, this is ostensibly a very familiar RGV territory. But hang on. There is something very different going on here. Strikingly rich and articulate in production design, "Satya 2" is a startling original take on the evolution, collapse and restoration of Mumbai's underworld in ways that question the economical paradigm of a nation on the brink of damnation.

Yes, we are talking about our country where crime and corruption grow in direct proportion to the apathy of the powers that be. Given the incredible leap in atrocities against the 'un-empowered'(to coin an anti-capitalistic phrase) where does the poorest of the poor go when his daughter gets gang-raped, his wife dies of adulterated medicine and his father cannot get his Rs.500 pension without paying a bribe?

Stop right here. RGV's film shows a devilish daring. It takes the underworld into confidence to build an anti-corruption empire that would feed the fed up by paralyzing the super privileged.

It's a startling premise, and one that RGV is not able to work out into any tenable blueprint of socio-political reform. But the very fact that he is able to suggest a solution, no matter how implausible, to the current climate of desperate de-escalation of morality, is reason enough to applaud this flawed but riveting drama of the doomed and the dangerous.

Beware of the hopeless. They have nothing to lose except their despair. This is the propelling premise of RGV's neo-Satya's plot. The narration is most of the time taut and tactile as we follow the new millennium Satya's journey from a village in Rajasthan to the vortex of gangsterism in Mumbai. Ironically, the police, sturdily represented in the film, don't seem any different in its activities from the underworld.

RGV gives the saga of gangsterism a new spin creating for the underworld genre of cinema an entirely new formula and folklore of survival. Gone are those crazy camera angles in RGV's recent films that left us dizzy and disoriented.

Vikas Sharaf's cinematography captures Mumbai in stunning sepia tones suggesting decadence and rebirth in the same range of vision.

Visually "Satya 2" is RGV's smartest and most eye catching film in years. The shootouts on the streets of Mumbai, which have been done to bludgeoning death in the past, acquire a new life here. The sequence where Satya is shot at in an open cafeteria is specially brilliant in the way the editor cuts to the chase without getting out of breath.

The under-construction buildings, a favourite haunt of filmy gangsters, are shot here with vigorous virility.

So many years after "Satya" spoke a new cinematic language, RGV is back in form displaying the sparks of brilliance that made the first "Satya" a trendsetting experience. No relation to the earlier film except the one of Bhai-giri, "Satya 2" sneaks slyly into Mumbai's dark dangerous sinister and ominous underbelly.

RGV's eye for the migrant's dismantled soul is unerring and powerful.

The performances range from the reined-in to the embarrassingly over the top. In the title role, Puneet Singh Ratn's restrained intensity aids the work's aura of karmic catastrophe.

Overall Review Verdict: "Satya 2" is RGV's smartest and most eye catching film in years
Ratings: 4/5

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Krrish 3 Movie Review

Read the Exclusive Krrish 3 Movie Review by Nikhil Arora

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Star-Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Vivek Oberoi, Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut

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Director: Rakesh Roshan

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Producer: Rakesh Roshan

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Duration: 2 hours 32 mins

How can a superhero film be so uninteresting? Krrish 3 is a big budget yawn. There are moments where the film is entertaining, in a campy way, but they don’t last. I wasn’t impressed with the trailers and the film didn’t turn out to be a surprise either.

The film opens with two ridiculous scenes, which offers multiple moments to cringe. The villain and the heroes are introduced. Kaal (played by Vivek Oberoi) wants “insaanon ka khaatma” and conducts his first deadly experiment. On the other hand, the Krrish family conducts Frankenstein-like experiments to make dead things come back to life. The rest of the film is an extended roll call of imitating Hollywood superhero films. Krrish saves a plane from crashing, similar to Superman Returns (2006).

Soon, X Men-like mutants arrive. Kaal is on a wheelchair and also has telekinetic powers, a cross between Professor Xavier and Magneto. He also has a lair atop a snowcapped mountain borrowed from the Bond villain – Blofeld from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). Kangana Ranaut plays Kaya, who is Mystique without the hot blue bod. Then there is Toad, a douche who steals people’s ice cream scoops (just the scoops, mind you) with his super-long tongue. (I don’t know what the guy’s name was in the film and neither did I want to know.) Kaal’s henchmen/women are called Maanvars. A sign that puking a little in your mouth can be considered, while you are busy cringing.

Then comes the first song, that routine song to mark the brilliant Hrithikian dance moves. Except the song this time is so mind-numbingly bogus that it’s hard to watch him dance while your ears are subjected to pain. For some reason, a black man sings Raghupati Raghav and Priyanka gets to lip sync stuff like “Hola Amigos Sabko Salaam”. By this time, the cringe count had hit the roof.

It’s not like the film moves at a slow pace. It’s just that what is happening on screen is extremely unoriginal and un-involving even when it is watchable. I couldn’t bring myself to care for the story or the characters. The second half begins with a statue of Krrish being unveiled, just like the end of The Dark Knight Rises (2012). After which comes the second song, called God Allah Aur Bhagwan, which would definitely make the gods cringe. I did begin to gain some interest when Kangana Ranaut’s character decided to actually have a character arc. But then came… yes… a song! How can one film contain so many bad songs? There is also a ghastly song on the album where Rajesh Roshan tries to ape the Honey Bunny - Idea jingle. Meanwhile, the background score by Salim Suleiman is trying to imitate Hans Zimmer throughout.

Many plot holes later; we arrive at a twist that anyone could have easily predicted. If I had any interest in the story in the first place, I would have too. Soon enough, lots of destruction takes place like Man of Steel (2013) and we finally get to a climax, which is all sorts of ridiculous. Lastly, there is a pre-credits scene (since post-credits scenes are so passé), which is laughable and silly but also alarming because it signals a sequel.

If there is any actor who should play a superhero in India, it is Hrithik Roshan. Although I felt his talent is not being utilized to the fullest. He aces it as Rohit Mehra but as Krrish, not so much. Priyanka Chopra and Vivek Oberoi are strictly okay. Kangana Ranut surprised me. She looked cool and performed well.

There were some places where I was impressed with the visual effects. Most of the time though, they are substandard; even the buildings look fake. It’s sad that we still don’t have one film with decent VFX.

Krrish is a masked do-gooder. The only good thing I saw him doing in the film is when he saves a child and tells him not to imitate him by trying to fly off of a building. Something that many kids have naively tried in their hope to be like a superhero. This gets completely ruined when he hands him some sort of a Krrish wrist-band. All right then, this superhero also does marketing for his merchandise. One main problem in the Krrish series is that Krrish is not really much of a superhero. He has superhuman strength and he jumps. That’s as far as it goes (or does it?). For some odd reason, he keeps quivering.

What annoys me the most about this whole series is that this superhero is hardly Indian. He is called Krishna but has more in common with foreign superhero mythologies than our own. What is the point? At least Ra.One (2011) tried to have some Indian connection. Give me that film over this, any day. Even the ones who hated that film will agree that it at least had better music.

Superhero films are my weakness and it’s not a difficult task to make me like one. Albeit, this film is mostly forgettable and unnecessary. It is not completely terrible and is certainly watchable but it has very little sense of fun. A superhero film needs to be fun and exciting, if nothing else. Thor: The Dark World releases next week. Rakesh Roshan will probably watch it and decide what he can use in his next film. I wish some of that involves scripting techniques. The target audience of this film are the kids and I won’t be surprised if they love it. The child in me was not exactly satisfied. I did not hate it but I didn’t like it either.

Overall Review Verdict: Krrish 3 is an uninteresting superhero film with little sense of fun
Ratings: 2.5/5

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Mickey Virus Movie Review

Read the Exclusive Mickey Virus Movie Review from IANS.

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Star-Cast: Manish Paul, Eli Avram, Varun Badola, Manish Choudhary

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Director: Saurabh Varma

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Producer: DAR Motion Pictures

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Duration: 2 hours 16 mins

"Mickey Virus" is Bollywood's first full-fledged film on the virtual world. The hero -if we may call Manish Paul's languid lazy vagabondish character that - is a computer hacker, and one who likes to take his time over every punch of the keyboard.

Mercifully, debutant director Saurabh Varma's film moves in a mood defiantly opposite to the hero's indolent indiscretions. Tightly-scripted, cleverly-worded and arrestingly encrypted, "Mickey Virus" drags the hackers' hemisphere into the hectic mode.

I am tempted to use computer jargon to describe the ultra-svelte moves that define the virtual progression of this slickly-executed cyber-drama. Alas, I am not as equipped as our debutant hero and his comp-friendly pals (with names like 'Floppy' and 'Chutney') to throw around electronic jargon.

Even if your familiarity with the virtual world is minimal, "Mickey Virus" makes for enjoyable viewing. It's voguish, vibrant, vital and viral, and yet extremely fastidious about keeping the plot above the temptation of throwing virtual weight around.

First and foremost, this is a well-woven thriller about an average 20-something Delhi dude who falls in love and falls into a cyber-trap and hits his head into a scam that could destroy his life.

To reveal any more of the plot would be akin to giving away the film's USPs. Suffice to say that Varma knows his cinema as closely as he knows his computer. He weaves cinematic elements into a kind of one-night-in-the-life-of ... tale that spins in dizzying motions.

Delhi, that favourite city of many recent, decent and indecent, dramas and thrillers, is again caught in sinister provocative postures. The roads and lanes, Nehru Place or a chowmein outlet, every outdoor location has a story to tell.

Strange, how Manish, switching effortlessly from his cocky on-stage antics on reality shows to a kind of languorous screen appearance that is dangerously close to Ranbir Kapoor's Sid-meets-"Besharam" act, pulls out all stops to make Mickey look real to the point of being your next door neighbour's son, much in the same way as Ayushmann Khurrana.

Only, Manish is goofier, more adventurous in his exploration of adrift urbanite. He is undoubtedly an interesting actor with an unpremeditated screen presence.

Let's put it this way -- if over-instruction obstructs Mickey's dexterity on the computer, then too many rehearsals are sure to spoil Manish's camera-friendliness.

"Mickey Virus" gives the debutant a chance to romance the dark side of youngistan with unselfconscious fluidity. There is also a cutely written romance woven into the hacker's tale. Eli Avram currently locked away in "Bigg Boss" house shows up as a manifestation of ... well, Manish's virtual fantasy named Kungfu Chameli. There is an endearing courtship plan blessedly not over-punctuated by songs. God Forbid! Manish's Mickey probably doesn't even watch Bollywood films!

For a newcomer to shoulder a thriller adeptly there must be some accomplished actors around him for support. Manish gets his namesake Manish Choudhary as a stern placid police officer who needs Mickey's hacking skills to track an international gang. Choudhary is in fine (uni)form. But the very talented Varun Badola as Choudhary's assistant is a scene stealer. Mouthing the film's catchiest lines casually, Varun brings more to his role than what's written for the character. The rest of the supporting cast too gets into the mood of the plot.

Undoubtedly, "Mickey Virus" is Manish's made-to-order vehicle. He casually invites us into his suddenly-troubled world and then persuades us to cringe at the progressive crisis built around Delhi's cyber stratosphere. The uniqueness of the plot works effectively in covering up the loopholes and rather embarrassing coincidences that bridge various dramatic elements in the plot. It does get far-flung. But the leaps are made without fractured bones.

Quirky, colourful, agile and hectic, "Mickey Virus" is a 'virtually' interesting way for Manish and his director to start their respective careers. This is an oddball of a movie that tries to make sense of the senseless whirligig of urban internet-driven lifestyles.

What the 'hack'! Just go out there and have fun.

Overall Review Verdict: Quirky, colourful, agile and hectic, "Mickey Virus" is a 'virtually' interesting
Ratings: 3.5/5

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Shahid Movie Review

Read the Exclusive Shahid Movie Review by Subhash K Jha (IANS).

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Star-Cast: Rajkumar Yadav, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, Baljinder Kaur

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Director: Hansal Mehta

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Producer: Ronnie Screwvala, Anurag Kashyap

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Duration: 2 hrs 10 mins

Stop right here. "Shahid" is the sort of rare raw unnerving journey into a socio-political reality that our cinema needs to undertake regularly but seldom does. Our filmmakers largely veer away from doing films whose redolent realism could ruffle political feathers.

First and foremost, Hansal Mehta's film on the real-life slain lawyer Shahid Azmi is a fearless work.

Fearless and unfettered, Mehta wastes no time in establishing the monstrous marginalization of the Muslim community in a society where terrorism has blurred the majority community's sense of propriety to the extent of unmitigated bigotry.

"Shahid" is an exposition on abject isolation. There is a harrowing sequence of police brutality in the film where the film's Muslim lawyer-hero sits on the hard floor of a police station stark naked shivering as the cop repeatedly accuses Shahid of terror activities. The protagonist's absolute humiliation at that point in the narration hits us where it hurts the most.

Predominantly "Shahid" is about an impatient society anxieties to find scapegoats for the growing violence all around us. In a language that embraces the complexities pertaining to the issue of Islamic isolation, Mehta's film cracks open the code of that unexplored genre of cinema known as the drama of persecution.

In "Shahid", Mehta chronicles the life of lawyer Shahid Azmi with the kind of deft clenched directness that one encounters in the docu-dramas of Costa-Gavras or nearer home, the searching searing cinema of the uprooted and isolated individual that Adoor Gopalkrishnan specialises in.

The silence of the night is punctured by the shrill sound of the phone. Slurred threats are hurled. Taking the abuse on his chin, the crusading lawyer, played with scintillating austerity by Rajkumar Yadav, sits stoically at the centre of the debris of destruction of distrust as he undertakes a jehad to prove the innocence of the arbitrarily accused.

There are some highly poignant electrifying courtroom sequences shot with the languorous devastating dinginess of courtrooms that have killed off all chances of justice for the damned.

What would those wretched TADA undertrials, locked up and left to languish for life, have done without Shahid Azmi to fight for their lives?

Now I ask you, what would Shahid Azmi's character have been like if was not portrayed by the very gifted Rajkumar Yadav?

This brilliant actor, whose forte is underplaying, imbues Shahid's role with the kind of tightly-reined tumult and an unspoken anguish that actors in our cinema seldom get a chance to put forward in the characters they play. Here is a performance that deserves a standing ovation, primarily because it doesn't scream for attention.

In comparison, the other performances appear pale and distant, albeit authentic and thoughtful. Tigmanshu Dhulia is notably powerful in a brief cameo as an eminent lawyer.

Shahid's relationship with the divorcee mother is never satisfactorily rounded up nor assimilated into this courageous man's fight for justice for those who are condemned not only by law but by social stigmatization.

What comes across with forceful impact is the protagonist's yen for justice. This man who has suffered the worst humiliation and suffering in custody won't allow the same shame and pain for those who are wrongfully confined. This man means business. We must hear his story.

Of course, he pays with his life. Whether it's Romeo or Shahid, all heroes must come to a suitably sticky end. That's what you get for trying to be a hero. Sometimes while you try to be larger than life, life creeps up on you to make its own outrageous claims.

"Shahid" is a crucial document of our troubled times. It builds an incredibly gripping case-study of persecution and vindication. The treatment of the topical subject is never ponderous or polemical. Mehta has set out to convert the slain lawyer's valorous tale into an authentic exposition on the residue of retribution.

But what to do, if the end-result is so darned gripping?

"Shahid" is a must-see film with an absolutely impeccable subtext that can be read as an urgent warning against the politics of isolation practiced by many political parties.

Be warned. You might be voting for violence.

Overall Review Verdict: "Shahid" is a must-see film
Ratings: 4/5

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Boss Movie Review

Read the Exclusive Boss Movie Review by Nikhil Arora

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Star-Cast: Akshay Kumar, Aditi Rao Hydari, Mithun Chakraborty, Ronit Roy

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Director: Anthony D'Souza

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Producer: Ashwin Varde

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Duration: 2 hours 22 mins

When I watched Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobaara I said sometimes when you step out of the theater, you can tell that a film will flop. Now, I would say sometimes you can also tell a film will be a hit. Boss will definitely work at the box office. Chalo hit toh hai but kya film fit hai? While the makers would say who cares! Certain section of the audience does and it would come as a surprise that the film is indeed entertaining and not besharamly repulsive. It is funny and sufficiently likeable.

Okay let me stop and tell you what I loved the most about this film. Akshay Kumar on whose shoulders the success of this film rests; who is publicized as the only hero in the film without a female lead; who should apparently be in every frame of the film, is NOT in every frame of the film. In fact, the star makes an appearance half an hour into the film. Yes, we see him after 30 minutes! Why, you ask? The other characters and the story is being set up. Yes, that can happen in a masala film. Watching this, in a film that could have easily not done so, won me over. Kumar also gets to make a typical movie star entry. Haven’t seen those done well in a while (outside of Salman Khan). The opening credits say Akshay Kumar “In & As” Boss. Haven’t seen that in a while as well. While I was busy spotting the 90s Bollywood touches (Danny Denzongpa for starters), a flashback comes smack in the middle of the film. Surprisingly, it works too.

Boss, apart from being a comedy, is a solid father-son melodrama like Agneepath with violence everywhere. There is also a scene with a teenager being attacked viciously. Although, due to Akshay Kumar’s presence there is some comedy to make things light. The comedy is perfectly low-brow that does not have wit in its checklist but belly laughs. For example, there is a human rocking chair and cheerleaders in lehenga. There is also a catchphrase “Apne ko kya hai, apne ko toh sirf paani nikalna hai” which I confess, made me laugh every single time. Except once, which was surprisingly heartfelt and came out of nowhere.

Akshay Kumar owns the film. He combines the comic timing he had in Singh is Kinng (2008) with the masala outpour of Rowdy Rathore (2012). While, he is certainly why the film ticks, there is no denying that the supporting actors lend a big hand. Mithun Chakraborty, Danny Denzongpa, Shiv Pandit and Aditi Rao Hydari are all competent. Ronit Roy plays the villain – Ayushman Khurana. Most cop films these days show the cops as heroic do-gooders while the goons are the bad guys. Here, this notion is reversed. With the help of the Joker theme from The Dark Knight and obviously Roy’s acting skills, the villain is not a caricature. Well he sort of is, but not a caricature we have been seeing over and over again. The only actor I wish was utilized better is Johnny Lever.

There are two remixes - Har Kisi Ko Nahi Milta and Apdi Pode, both could have been better. The two songs I find myself listening to a lot are the title track and Party All Night. Party All Night is perhaps the most fun song you will dance to all year. I am a fan of Honey Singh’s music and this, my humble mitron, is the real deal. (There is a tiny moment where Mr. Singh is warming his hands with the invisible heat generated from the hotness of a lady. That’s right.)

As you can see I have expressed surprise a lot during this review. Well, the surprise is not out of cringing. I was mainly surprised at a commercial film catering to the masses but not being a substandard product. It is a product, still, but carefully assembled and not haphazardly thrown together. The film is not great but it works. The reason why it works is because it remains consistent. It keeps providing the goods at regular intervals and rarely goes overboard making sure it stays away from being unwatchable. It could have benefited with a better ending but Boss is never boring and mostly enjoyable. Going by the state of a million masala film imitators today, I say that’s not a bad thing at all.

Overall Review Verdict: Boss is an enjoyable film
Ratings: 3/5

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