After showcasing three short stories together in a one film in "Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy" director Sandip Ray and Production house Shree Venkatesh Films are back with another combination of short stories but this time neither the stories are interconnected by any story teller nor they have anything common.
There are lots of short stories in Bengali literature while choosing only four from them is very difficult job so Sandip Ray has to do a tough job to select four stories considering the fact which story can be told in cinematic way within a limited time. A perfect short story should have characters who can make place in the audiences heart within a limited time and the story should have an impact on the audiences mind but Sandip Ray has failed to choose such perfect short stories. Apart from the first story "Batashwarer Abadan" all other stories have some problems.
Coming to the stories one by one, "Batashwarer Abodan" is a very nice story written by Parashuram. Its a story about an author and the impact of the fictional characters created by the author on the readers. The story has been presented very well without taking much time all the characters have been developed smartly.
The second one is "Dui Bandhu" written by Satyajit Ray. It is a story of two friends who meet each other after 25 years. Though the concept is very nice and the twist at the end is good but the idea that two friends can not communicate with teach other in 25 years looks unconvincing in today's world. When the story was written it might sound justified but for present time some additional changes were required in the screenplay to show some valid reason for the two friends separation for 25 years.
The third story is "Kagtarua" again written by Satyajit Ray. The story is of just one line and there are only two leading characters still the story has
been stretched unnecessarily just to give it almost equal screen time which was not required at all. Considering the supernatural elements of the story, it would have been better fit in "Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy".
The last story is "Pareekhha" written by Sharadindu Bandopadhyay. It is romantic story revolving around a couple who are about to get married.The story has no content at all , it looks like just a formal meeting of two people who are about to get married. Maybe the story was interesting on papers but it adds nothing on screen. The only saving grace of the story is the recreation of black and white era. Though considering that all other stories have been transformed to today's time its an unknown fact why only this story's period has not been changed.Probably the filmmakers were aware that it is the weakest story among the all so they have given it a better visual treatment to make it look better.
As a director Sandip Ray is just okay. He should have been careful about selecting stories as well as some actors too. Though he should be given credit for developing his characters very well in the short time span in the first three stories.
Among the actors Paran Bandopadhyay is too good as the author Bateshwar in the first story. Saswata Chatterjee is the only actor who has acted in two stories and in both the stories he is brilliant. Specially in the third story "Kagtarua", his expressions are very real as the scared person. Piyush Ganguly is a very talented actor and he has proved it once again in the second story "Dui Bandhu". Abir Chatterjee looks handsome as the hero of black and
white era in the last story "Pareekhha", his acting is good too. Rajatava Dutta has very little
role but his character has a surprise element but it needs to be said he is totally a miscast in the role. He does not look good enough physically to portray the character. Among the ladies Sreelekha Mitra is absolutely brilliant as the over the top loud actress in the story "Bateshwarer Abadan". Sudeepta Chakraborty has provided good support as Piyush Ganguli's wife in the story "Dui Bandhu". It is Koyel who has got the best role among the actresses in the story "Pareekhha" but she failed to deliver. She looks good with the periodic look of black and white era but her acting needs much improvement. It looks that she is doing the same loud acting what she does in her commercial entertainers. Actually she is a miscast in this role but when she is the wife of the co-producer what can be said.
Among the technical team , the man who should get credit first is Sirsha Ray who has done very good job with his camera in all four stories. He has given a different look and feel to each story and his work in the last one to recreate the black and white era is superb. The production design and sound design is good too. The editing is good in the first two stories but in the last two stories it could have been better. Specially the third story "Kagtarua" could have been edited more tightly.There are no songs in the movie but the background score has been used quite well.
Overall "Chaar" is a movie where the stories are not too good to win your heart but there are a bunch of good actors who have done good job. So you can give it a try to get a chance to witness some good acting.
"Ramdhanu" is a simply told story with simple characters with whom we can identify. The director duo Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee have bring another interesting and unique subject of our day to day life which is admission of a kid in a good school.
The story is an adaptation of Suchitra Bhattacharya's novel "Ramdhanu Rang". It traces the emotions of parents who are trying to get their child admitted to the best possible school. How much pressure they have to go through for their children. Laltu Datta (Shiboprasad Mukherjee) and Mitali Datta (Gargi Roychowdhury) have played a middle class couple who wants to admit their child Gogol (Akashneel Mitra) to a well reputed English medium school. For this they are ready to take help from anyone from political leaders to police officer to the uniform supplier of the school to the fourth grade staff of the school. They are even ready to pay bribe if required. When all these do not work they take up the challenge to groom themselves by joining a parent grooming course for parents to clear the admission interview for the parents in the schools. Finally they understand that more focus should be given on better education than better school.
The story idea is truly unconventional though it is a very familiar aspect of our regular life but no filmmaker has thought it as film subject so far.So the credit should be given to the director duo for choosing such an unconventional story idea.
And the acreenplay written by Shiboprasad himself brings life to the story. The moments and characters are very real and the audiences can identify with them. There is a solid dose of light hearted laghter scenes at the same time there is some emotional quotient too. For example the when Laltu Datta gives speech on evening library during the interview is hilarious. Similarly some other scenes involving Laltu's preparation for the interview is quite funny too or the scene where he sends someone else as his kid's father to give the interview. There are two sub plots too one involving Mitalli's foreigner sister in law and another involving Laltu and Mitalli's neighbors an old age lonely couple. These two subplots works very well in favor of the story line to support the importance of better education in any medium compared to better school and English medium.
The only problem with story is that fun and interesting elements are lesser in the second half. The whole plot involving the parent grooming course is new concept but it could have been done in a better way. There was no need to bring parents from each corner of India that too in a very cliched format. Also towards the end the drama goes little over the top which does not go well with the light hearted spirit of rest of the story.
The director duo Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy have done a brilliant job. From choosing a newer concept to make it look and feel like believable, all credit should be given to them. Without becoming too much loud they have succeeded to give the message too without compromising with the entertainment value.
As the leading man Shiboprasad Mukherjee is just too good as medicine shopkeeper Laltu Datta. By his brilliant acting , dialogue delivery and body language he has looked every bit of Laltu Datta perfectly. He has portrayed the under confident but lovable father very well. Watch him in the scenes where he is getting ready for the interview or when he gives an ex-tempo on evening library. He is just too good with his mannerism that he looked like Laltu Datta on screen.
Gargi Roychowdhury is another surprise of this movie. She has played the character Mitalli Datta with perfection. She is never too loud rather she has underplayed her character very well without saying much dialogues.
Lots of thing had been said as Rachana Banerjee's comeback in this movie, but unfortunately she is not much there in the film. Her role starts in second half only and in every scenes she is crowded with almost a dozen of junior artistes who has played the parents in her grooming center. So she does not get enough scope to do anything, whatever chance she has got she is just okay in that.
Among the supporting cast the child actor Akashneel Mitra is very cute and adorable and he has done a very good job. Kharaj Mukherjee is brilliant as the school uniform supplier Mr. Singhania. He has little screen time but he is such a fine actor for him it does not matters how lengthy is his role he can bring our attention in every scene.
Among the technical team it can be said that the production design by Amit Chatterjee is very good and realistic. Same can be said for the costumes by Ruma Sengupta and make up artistes. The cinematographyby Shirsha Ray is good. The dialogues penned by the director duo is very nice and funny. There is no scope for songs and it is good that unnecessary songs have not been forced. Most of the songs comes in background and it goes well with the narration.
Overall "Ramdhanu" is film that will caught your attention from the first scene and you will never get bored. You can enjoy it with your family as well as friends, no matter what is your age you will be feel attached with the subject and characters.
Filmistaan is a movie which celebrates the power of Bollywood, the impact of the 100 year old industry on our day to day life. It shows how the charisma of Bollywood movies can connect the people of two rival countries Hindustan and Pakistan.
The story starts with Sunny Arora (Sharib Hashmi) ,a true Bollywood buff and an aspiring actor who keeps getting rejected at every audition. One day he got a chance to assist an american film crew for a documentary shoot in Rajasthan. But from there he got kidnapped by a group of terrorists as they mistook him as an american film crew member. After realizing their fault the terrorists kept him as a hostage in the house of a villager in Pakistan. While staying in Pakistan as a hostage , gradually Sunny came to know how the common people in Pakistan are attached with Indian Hindi movies. Here he met Aftab (Inamulhaque), a pirated DVD supplier and the owner of the house where Sunny has been kept by the terrorists. Aftab is also die hard Hindi movie fan.
The common attachment for Bollywood helps Sunny and Aftab to be connected in spite of being from two rival countries. Finally what happened with Sunny and did he succeed to escape from Pakistan forms the rest of the story.
The story have a new concept of showing the relationship between India and Pakistan from Bollywood's point of view through the eyes of a Bollywood buff. And this new story has been scripted very well too by the story writer and director Nitin Kakkar. He has put the comic elements very well. Even in the serious situations there is some comic relief. For example the scene where Sunny directs his ransom video himself or the scene where Sunny dubs for the dialogues of "Maine Pyaar Kiyaa" or the auditions for Pakistani remake of "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge".
Apart from the lighter moments there is beautiful touch of emotion too. The bromance between Aftab and Sunny has been developed very well. The scene between the two where Sunny accepts that he is not a good actor is very touchy. In another scene where Sunny talks about his grandfather with the Hakim is also very much emotional.
The only problem with the screenplay is the climax which has been dragged a bit much and also looks incomplete.
The dialogues written by the leading man Sharib Hasmhi are very effective and funny and it goes very well with the story line.
As a debutante director Nitin Kakkar's work is very much promising. The way he has chosen an unconventional subject as his debut venture is commendable. He has taken a bunch of talented actors who are not popular faces but goes very well with the characters. Apart from that while recreating the setup in Pakistan the director's eye for every minute detailing can not be ignored.
Sharib hashmi has done a bit roles in some movies earlier but as a leading man it is his first outing and he is superb. He is funny while doing the mimicries of renowned actors on the same time he can bring tears to your eyes in his emotional scenes. Just watch him in the scene where he is talking about his grand father with a Hakim, his expressions are absolutely brilliant.
The other actor who shines through his character is Inamulhaque as Aftab. His body language to dialogue delivery everything looks perfect which looks like he actually belongs to Pakistan.
Together the two men has shown a brilliant chemistry.
Apart from these two leading actors the other actors who have done good jobs are Kumud Mishra and Gopal Datt as the terrorists Mahmood and Jawaad.
The technical team has done a brilliant job.The production design by Urvi Ashar and Shipra Rawal is very authentic and it helps to recreate the village of Pakistan. The costumes and make up is also very much convincing. The cinematography by Subhrangshu Das is good. The editing by Sachindra Vats is good but there is some scope for improvement.
The music has not much scope here as it is not a conventional romantic story, most of the songs have been used in background and it is just okay.The songs are not popular and neither leaves with you after coming out of theater.
Overall it is truly a different kind if cinema. It is a tribute to the whole Bollywood industry which has entertained us for more than 100 years. Every Bollywood lover will be able to identify with the two leading men. So if you are a fan of Bollywood then go and watch it and pay your tribute to Filmistaan - Jai ho Cinema Ki.
Holiday is action thriller where the story may not be always logical but it will keep you entertaining if you are a fan of hardcore commercial Bollywood movies. It has all the ingredients Action,Emotion,Drama,Romance,Comedy,Song and Dance everything you need in a masala movie.
It is the story of a soldier from Indian Army , Virat Bakshi (Akshay Kumar) who has came to Mumbai to meet his family members on a month long holiday. Soon he gets introduced to a girl Sahibaa(Sonakshi Sinha) for marriage. Just when Virat is enjoying his holiday and new found ladylove he suddenly gets some trace of some terrorist activities by a group of sleeper cells. As the tagline promises a soldier is never off duty so in spite of being on holiday Virat starts investigations on his own with the help of his Sub inspector friend Mukund (Sumeet Raghavan) and soon he founds that there is someone who is operating the sleeper cells. Then starts the mind game between Virat and the Sleeper Cell head (Farhad Daaruwala) to trap each other. Finally how Virat saves India and Indian people from the terror attacks forms the climax of the movie.
The story has lots of loopholes which continuously tries to prove its leading man as an over intelligent army officer. But in spite of that the screenplay has been written so well by the director himself that it keeps the audiences interest level intact. The mind game between the hero and the villan is very engaging and full of surprising twists. The only problem is the length which could have been reduced by cutting at least one or two songs which pop ups from anywhere anytime. The romantic track between Virat and Sahibaa looks forced as it acts as a roadblock to the main subject.The dialogues have punchlines for the hero but for rest of the characters it is just functional.
As a director A.R.Murugadoss has done justice with his concept. He has not made any unnecessary change to his original south indian movie "Thupakki" but still the movie looks convincing as a standalone Hindi movie. He has shown confidence once again in his second Hindi film after "Ghajini". But unlike "Ghajini" this time the romantic angle has not been blended well with the action.
There is no doubt that Akshay Kumar is the main highlight of this action thriller. Akshay Kumar looks good and perfectly fit for the role of a soldier. His stunts are too good and shows his martial art skills very well. He has shown his comic timing too in the lighter moments. He has brilliantly portrayed a street smart intelligence officer.
Just like her other movies Sonakshi Sinha has nothing much to do in this movie too. The only change here is her costumes , this time she has tried to shed her desi girl image by wearing some western outfits. Other than that she is just same with her any other character. She looks good, dances well and her chemistry with her leading man is good.
Among the rest of the cast , Farhad Daruwaala has made a good debut as the main villain , the head of the sleeper cells. He has fit body and good intense look only he need to improve his dialogue delivery. He has good scope in action movies.
Sumeet Raghavan the comic actor from television, has done a good job as Virat's friend Mukund. His comic timing is good.
Among the technical team two fields should be given full credit.First one is the actions which has been designed by Greg Powell and Anl Arasu. There is no doubt that the action sequences are the big USP of the movie.Another technical department which is outstanding is cinematography by N Nataraja Subramanium. He has captured the chase sequences and action sequences very well. The rest of the technical team is just okay.
The music is by Pritam and there are two hit songs "Tu Hi To Hai" and "Shairaana" but the songs have been forced into the story line so it adds nothing extra to the movie, rather sometime it looks boring. The climax song "Ashq Na Ho" has some good lyrics by Irshad Kamil and it adds emotional value for the family audiences.
On a whole Holiday is a good entertaining film. If you are an Akshay Kumar fan or you like action thrillers then you must watch this. Rest of the people can give it a try it is much better than Akshay Kumar's last few films. But if you want a logical story then it is not for you.
