In last few years we are almost habituated to see a Salman Khan blockbuster on the occasion of Eid and this year is also not an exception. This time we have "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" as Salman Bhaijaan's gift to his fans on this Eid. But if you are expecting yet another commercial entertainer from the superstar then you are wrong , this time it is quite different from all recent Salman hits. Here you wont find any forced action sequences where hero will rip off his shirt and flex his muscles. Here you wont find any Item number. Here you wont find any one liners for ceetis and taalis from front benchers. But still you will enjoy the film as you will get a heart touching story that will connect with your emotions, you will get some brilliant performances, you will get a message to help human being beyond of any religion or borders.
The story begins with little Shahida(Harshali Malhotra), a 6 years old Pakistani mute girl ,
who gets lost from her mother in India while returning to her country from Nizamuddin Dargah in India. Her destiny brings her to Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi (Salman Khan) , a die hard Bajrangabali Bhakt from Delhi. Pawan is a very kind hearted person, who never lies or takes any wrong way. When he comes to know about Shahida's helpless condition he decides to bring her to her parents even without knowing her original name, religion and residence. Pawan has his own problems as he is struggling to make a future to settle down with his school teacher girlfriend Rasika (Kareena Kapoor Khan) , but after meeting with the baby whom Pawan named as Munni, their first priority becomes Munni. It took some time for Pawan and Rasika to know the truth of Munni, that
she is from Pakistan. Once Pawan comes to know that, he decides to send Munni to Pakistan first using some official and unofficial way but once he fails he decides to take Munni to Pakistan on his own. From here starts his journey in Pakistan where he meets lots of people some good, some bad , and ultimately he succeeds to in his mission. On his mission he meets Chand Nawaz (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) a struggling journalist from Pakistan , who helps him in his mission and also helps him to come back to India.
From the very first reel we are pretty much clear where the story is heading but still the
screenplay penned by Kabir Khan, Parveez Shaikh and V. Vijayendra Prasad , makes it an engaging watch. Though the first half is a bit slow specially because of the irrelevant romantic track of Pawan and Rasika, but still it has some really funny moments; the way Pawan and Rasika finds Munni's interest about Chicken over vegetarian food or her interest for Mosque over temple. This sensitive issues has been handled quite well in a light hearted manner. The main story picks up in the second half when Pawan lands in Pakistan and Chand joins him. From this point their journey is really worth watching the way these three persons bonds with each other will make you laugh and cry with them. Towards the climax it turns out to too much melodramatic but by that time you are already in love with Pawan , Munni and Chand so it will bring tears to your eyes. The climax scene delivers a wonderful message of brotherhood between two countries very well.
As a director Kabir Khan has done a wonderful job. He has delivered a wonderful message without compromising the entertainment values. His direction shows how well he can blend commercial masala with realism. It is no doubt his best work as a director.
It is definitely one of the best film from Salman Khan as an actor. He has played a different
role after a long time. He has executed the character of innocent , Hanuman bhakt Pawan, quite well. Every time he tells the story of how he came to Pakistan will surely make you laugh. Also during the climax he will make you teary eyed. After a long time he has been presented not as a star rather as an actor.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui who comes in the movie around after 100 minutes will win your heart from the very first scene where he tries to recreate a famous YouTube video about a Pakistani reporter who is trying to present a news at a railway platform but getting interrupted every time from the passerby's. Once again he has proved that he is a complete natural actor who can make you laugh and cry without doing any kind of over acting. Watch out him in the sequence where he is narrating the story of Bajrangi Bhaijaan on Youtube , it will surely bring lumps in your throat.
Kareena Kapoor Khan now a days appears in just small roles and item songs in big budget movies. She is doing the same in this movie too. She has a very small role as Rasika , Pawan's love interest. But still in her small screen time she has impressed with her expressive eyes and proved that she is still capable of handling better roles.
But in spite of the presence of all senior heavy weight actors little Harshali Malhotra is the show steal-er as the cute Munni aka Shahida. She has a charming innocent face which makes you fall in love with her from the first scene itself but as the story progresses you will realize what a good performer she is. As per her character she has no dialogues throughout the whole movie and she has to enact her part only through her expressions which is very challenging for even grown ups but this little wonder has done that so easily.
Among the rest of the cast it can be said all has done a good supporting jobs including some good cameos from Rajesh Sharma and Om Puri in the second half. Special mention should be given for Meher Vij who has made her presence felt in just two three scenes as Shahida's mother.
Among the technical team it can be said the cinematography by Aseem Mishra is very eye catchy , he has shot the valleys of Kashmir superbly. The editing could have been done a bit better and the length could have been reduced by some 10-15 minutes especially in the first half. The production design by Acropolis is very good.
After a long time Pritam has made a comeback as a composer. His songs are good and the "Selfi" song and "Bhar De Jholi" are already popular. The rest of the songs has been used quite well in the background and goes well with the story on screen.
Overall "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" is a movie which worth a watch by whole family. It gives you entertainment as well as good message about human bonding. There are loop holes but that can be overlooked.Watch it else you will miss one of the best films of recent times.
For Bengali movies the second quarter of 2015 was not so good , it has very few successful films in comparison to the large number of flops. Mostly the hardcore commercial films failed to attract audiences. Only the month of may was quite good in this quarter.
Lets have a month-wise recap of the second quarter.
April
The month of April began with Abhijit Guha and Sudeshna Roy directed comedy "Bitnoon".
It was a comedy about extra marital affairs ,featuring very dependable actors like Rittwick
Chakraborty and Gargi Roychoudhury. But the story and screenplay were not so funny to create any magic at the ticket windows.
The next big release of this month was from Venkatesh films , "Amanush 2". This Soham and Payel starer was released on the auspicious occasion of Poila Boishakh. The film was obviously a South Indian remake but its treatment was quite different from regular commercial mainstream films as a result it could not match the expectation from the audiences. Although people appreciated Soham Chakraborty's performance but finally it was a flop.
Overall this month was not a good one for the Bengali Film industry.
MAY
The month of May started with two Big releases Srijit Mukherjee's "Nirbaak" and Shiboprasad-Nadita's "Belasheshe". Both the movies had created good pre-release buzz mostly because of the successful past record of the directors.
"Nirbaak" , directed by Srijit Mukherjee was the most experimental film from the director so far. It was about four love stories connected together with a common theme of silence. The film got a good opening because of the expectations but after watching it, audience had mixed reaction. Some people liked the experimental step taken by the director while others were disappointed from this. On the final run though film got good response from critics but at the box office it did not performed well specially comparing to the previous success record of the director. The performances by Anjan Dutta, Ritwick Chakraborty , Jishu Sengupta and Susmita Sen were appreciated very much.
"Belasheshe" was yet another gem from the director duo Shiboprasad Mukherjee and
Nandita Roy. Just like their previous films there was no big stars rather the story was the main hero of the film. The story was an unconventional tale about the bonding of post marital relationship. It was a mix of humor and emotion that touched the heart of critics and audiences. In the lead role Soumitra Chatterjee and Swatilekha Sengupta did a wonderful job. In the supporting cast Kharaj Mukherjee and Rituparna Sengupta were quite impressive.
Overall the positive feedback worked really well for the film and it became a winner at the box office. It is still running in theaters completing successful 75 days.
The third release of this month was yet another winner, it was Suman Ghosh directed "Kadambori" featuring very talented Konkona Sensharma in the Title role. This movie was a period piece based on the controversial relationship between Rabindranath Tagore and his sister-in-law Kadambori Devi. The movie was quite authentic in its presentation and the performance by Konkona was too good. All these worked for this film and it became successful at the box office.
There was a commercial entertainer from venkatesh films "Jamai 420". It was a multi starer comedy which was released during the occasion of Jamai Shahsthi. It did quite an average business at the box office.
The last release of this month was Mainak Bhaumick's "Family Album" featuring Swastika Mukherjee and Paoli dam in the lead roles. It was dealing with the bold subject of lesbian relationship but neither the content nor the bold presentation did any wonder for the movie and it failed to impress the audiences.
June
The month of June was very bad for the industry. Not a single movie did fare business
at the box office.
Considering the commercial point of view only big release was "Roga Hoar Sahaj Upay"featuring Parambrato Chatterjee and Sen sisters Riya and Raima. But this movie failed badly at the box office.
Only film that got good response at least from the critics and festivals that was "Asha Jaoar Majhe" featuring very talented Ritwick Chakraborty and Basabdutta Chatterjee. This film won several awards in different categories at different International film festivals.
But unfortunately this film did not got a proper commercial release and could not became a box office winner.
Best Films of Q2 2015
- Kadambori
- Nirbaak
- Belasheshe
- Asha Jaoar Majhe
Best Directors of Q2 2015
- Suman Ghosh - Kadambori
- Srijit Mukherjee - Nirbaak
- Shiboprasad Mukherjee , Nandita Roy - Belasheshe
- Aditya Vikram Sengupta - Asha Jaoar Majhe
Top Performers of Q2 2015:
Actors:
- Soumitra Chatterjee - Belasheshe
- Ritwick Chakraborty -Asha Jaoar Majhe
- Ritwick Chakraborty - Nirbaak
- Anjan Dutta - Nirbaak
- Kharaj Mukherjee - Belasheshe
Actresses:
- Susmita Sen - Nirbaak
- Konkona Sensharma - Kadambari
- Swatilekha Sengupta - Belasheshe
- Basabdutta Chatterjee - Asha Jaoar Majhe
- Rituparna Sengupta - Belasheshe
