Reviews - July

Some lines on all the new movies I saw last month..



Minions :

The movie starts with a very funny sequence showing minions are in search of a new villain whom they would serve for, but irony is that whenever they find them, they themselves do something unintentionally stupid to lose/kill them.  The celebrations these minions have when they find a new villain, or the trauma they go through when they can’t find any is also hilarious. Three Minions, Kevin, Bob and Stuart go on a journey to New York where they finally find their new master they would serve for, the super villain Scarlet (voiceover by Sandra Bullock) and this is where the film becomes very inconsistent. The scenes involving Minions are very lovable, but same isn’t the case regarding the Scarlet plot that comes out very ordinary. The movie is still pretty entertaining, and has a repeat value thanks to the super cute minions whose way to emote makes you love them a lot. But, had they worked better on the villain part, this would had been a great movie.

Verdict : 2.5/5


Bajrangi Bhaijaan :

I was highly skeptical from the promos, that Kabir Khan might had compromised and made a routine masala movie to please Sallu bhai fans. ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, Kabir’s last with Salman was a pretty good movie that I had liked. But after watching Bajrangi Bhaijaan, I can say Kabir once again made Salman look great, and do something different than his usual action + comedy. Some or rather most of the credit should also go to the writer Vijayendra Prasad, who is father of SS Rajamouli (Bahubali director). Think of it, there’s only one typical Salman action sequence in the entire movie, which is only place where Kabir tried to please sallu fans more, with a heavy slow motion drama.

1st half mostly belongs to Munni(Harshaali Malhotra), her cute expression and way of saying ‘yes’. Kabir Khan also gets Pavan (Salman Khan) - Rasika (Kareena Kapoor) romantic sub-plot done quickly and quite convincingly too. The ‘5 rs’ exchange scene in bus was quite funny, and also when every time Pavan sees a monkey and stops to acknowledge it. If there’s something that bores you in 1st half then its the un-necessary ‘kuk ru ku’ song.

2nd half belongs to Chand (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a Pakistani reporter inspired from a real life reporter. Nawazuddin gets the nuances so perfect, and his way of calling Pavan ‘begum’ was hilarious when he has to get into a burqa while avoiding Pakistani police. Also, when he tells him ‘ki tum toh bol doge, hamara naam pavan hai, hum bajrangbali ke bhakt hai, delhi se aaye hai, taaron ke neeche se aaye hai’, and when he has to pretend against a fake father-in-law. Nawaz gives plenty of enjoyable moments not just with laughs, but with sentiments like when he tries to help Pavan making his story get to some news channel, but all of them deny and his dialogue ‘nafrat aasani se bik jaati hai, mohabbat nahi’. And then the video he creates showing his love for Pavan and Munni, making it go viral on internet.

What doesn’t work however is the climax (not the end scene, the one before that) which is very manipulative. But the end scene is superb, something that could easily make your eyes moist or even make you cry (not the cynics).

In a way you could connect character of Pavan to Salman’s real life.. how he likes to speak truth and gets himself in trouble. Salman gives a very pleasing performance in this movie, the emotional bond he has with Munni and the friendship with a Pakistani reporter. Even his slow motion entry song is well placed and is likeable. Just like his last movie with Kabir, here also his shirtless scenes comes in a blink and miss 3 second scene, which is actually a police interrogation one, so its not forced.

Some comparisons can be drawn with a very good old movie of Rishi Kapoor’s Henna, in which Rishi is helped by a Pakistani girl to reach back to his own country.

One small rant though, they should had cheated properly while showing cricket matches. The movie starts with a cricket match when Shahida/Munni isnt born yet. And then at Pavan’s place, we see Munni watching the same old match live again. Uff!

Nevertheless, Salman-Kabir duo once again gives us a very good movie to enjoy.

Verdict : 3.5/5


Bahubali

When I saw the trailer, I was like what the hell is wrong with people, why they going ga ga over it. Even thought of not watching the movie, but then with all the praise, gave it a go and boy what a big regret it would had been if i had skipped this movie. Now I am addicted to it, seen it numerous times.  Its a visual treat, with spectacular story-telling and a background score that adds emotional layer to the screenplay.

Except for the love-track of Shiva/Bahubali (Prabhas) - Avantika (Tamannah) and the item song Manohari, there’s not a single moment in movie where I lost interest.  And yes, unintentional comedy when Shiva dances after lifting and placing the shivling near waterfall.

I just love the scene when Shiva promises Avantika that he would go and bring Dev Sena (Anushka Shetty) back. And the scene that follows it. Director SS Rajamouli knows how to make a scene  dramatic perfectly (and not over-dramatic), something I associate with Nolan a lot.

Its first time I have seen Rana do a negative role (he’s done only supporting positive roles in hindi movies), and how well it suited him, the first scene of his just confirms that he would nail this role. Infact Prabhas at places faltered when it came to the flashback sequence of Katappa (Satyaraj)

VFX work done is brilliant, makes most of the film looks very real. Be it the opening title of ‘Bahubali’ or the amazing war sequence at the end that keeps you to the edge of your seat.  Also some eye pleasing visuals whether computer generated or by the cinematographer, you feel like being there.

And ofcourse the question, why Katappa killed Bahubali, the answer coming in the 2nd part early next year. Cant wait for it.

Bahubali is easily one of most entertaining masala movies I have seen at such a large scale, that makes sense most of the time and even works in the most cliched moments like the one where Dev Sena continously says ‘mera beta aayaga’ reminding of Karan Arjun. Would had given it a full 5 if the love story and item song weren’t part of movie.

Verdict : 4/5 


Drishyam 

The director Nishikant Kamat strikes back after a very average last movie ‘Force’. You need to be very patient though, as the starting 20-25 mins are used up to build the scenes which would hold a major importance in the main plot that comes in 2nd half. Music could had been better though, specially when its Vishal Bharadwaj as the composer, only carbon copy was likeable but then Kamat uses just two of them in narration.

We get the idea of how a 4th class fail Vijay (Ajay Devgan) who is now a cable operator, has a deep passion of watching movies and learn a lot from it, as seen in a scene where he helps two people get justice.

2nd half is absolutely gripping, the tussle between Tabu and Ajay, both trying to outdo each other at being smart, one through building lies perfectly and the other trying to find the truth in any possible way. And then the two main twists, first one is predictable, but the other one not so. Tabu is terrific as always, but its Ajay who steals the show for me. Kamlesh Sawant is brilliant as a bad cop.

Over-use of 4th class fail dialogues should had been avoided.

Drishyam keeps you to the edge of your seat for major part of 2nd half, with a plot that has no loopholes.

Verdict : 3.5/5 

Movie Analysis : Guddu Rangeela

Directed by Subhash Kapoor
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4684028/

Subhash Kapoor’s weakest movie, writing falters with too many sub-plots.

A movie on Khap Panchayat that also shows the tragic Manoj and Babli real life honor killing incident, and with last films like ‘Phas Gaye Re Obama’ and ‘Jolly LLB’, you expect another winner from Subhash Kapoor. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen!

Two cousin brothers Guddu (Amit Sadh) and Rangeela (Arshad Warsi)  are orchestra singers as well as informants for the local gangs. Guddu wants to become a gangster but Rangeela doesn’t want a dangerous life. In one of the gang act they get caught and the inspector is willing to let them go free if they give him 10 lakhs. An opportunity comes to them,  their friend Ashfaq (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) offers them to kidnap a girl named Baby (Aditi Rao Hydari). But Guddu and Rangeela are un-aware of the motives Ashfaq and Baby have, and how Billu (Ronit Roy) is linked with all of them forms the main part of rest of the story.


Guddu Rangeela tries to do too many things, its a comedy between two characters Guddu-Rangeela ala Ishqiya style with Baby getting involved too later, also it tries to give a social message regarding the dreadful honor killings, and there is a revenge of dead wife/dead sister with culprit being Billu. The movie takes these 3 sub-plots altogether and ends up serving nothing at all.

Remember the terror we felt in NH10 when a brother killed his own sister and sister’s lover. But here, when the Manoj-Babli real life based honor killing scene comes, you feel nothing at all. Subhash actually trims that part a lot, showing a flashback of Rangeela falling in love, getting married, quick encounter with Billu, the escape and then a silly twist to it at the end of movie.

In one of best scenes of movie that is entry scene of Billu, he successfully convinces one of the villagers to kill her daughter who has fallen in love with a different caste guy. Sadly, such powerful scenes are hard to find in rest of the movie. There are two good references in movie, one to a Sholay iconic dialogue and the other on Subhash own movie 'Phas gaye re obama'.

Its the writing that lets Guddu Rangeela down which was the highlight of Subhash Kapoor’s last two movies.

Music is forgettable with only ‘Maata ka Email’ that pleases the ears, infact the song sets the mood up as it comes at opening credits. ‘Sooiyan’ is terribly placed song in narrative, that forcefully tries to build Guddu and Baby romantic angle.


Among the performances, Arshad Warsi gives a good performance but surprisingly the writing doesn’t offer him enough great moments, only one I can think of is when he tells I am hungry and will prefer eating first before dying.

Amit Sadh was my favorite in Kai Po Che, but here he never appeals at all.

Ronit Roy despite being brilliant as Khap Panchayat evil leader in that Haryanvi dialect, gives the deja-vu feel yet again of his performances in Boss, Udaan etc.

Aditi Rao Hydari is decent in her supporting role. Special mention to that inspector who has a very good antakshari sequence, I wish he had more screen-time.

After a impressive performance in D-Day, Sree Swara Dubey is wasted in this movie, including a unintentional funny scene where she out of no-where gives a speech on gang rape, female child death on birth etc.


Guddu Rangeela ends up as Subhash’s weakest movie. It doesn’t work as a comedy movie and isn’t able to give any social message in right way either.


Verdict : 2/5 

Mid-Year Report : 2015

Half the year gone, and how awesome it has been for our Hindi Movies till now. As many as 9 great movies and 4 likable ones. Its Hollywood that hasn’t really given larger dose of good movies which is surprising, maybe they will in rest half of the year.

Bombay Velvet and Hamari Adhuri Kahani have been the major disappointments, and to a certain extent Avengers : Age of Ultron too.


Here’s what I loved most, and what I didn’t…

TOP 3 - HINDI FILMS

1. Badlapur

Brilliant dark thriller by Sriram Raghavan (who disappointed last time with Agent Vinod). Its unpredictable, brutal and insane at times. Nawazuddin is impressive as always, but Varun Dhawan surprises in a new avatar. Some good old movie references used by Sriram in narrative, and very good work by Pooja Ladha Surti in editing department with the unusual but effective fast cuts.


2. NH10

Navdeep Singh so beautifully creates that fear atmosphere right from opening credits. When the road journey begins, you as a audience are more scared for the girl. Infact, the movie serves as a very good horror road journey genre, special applause to the sound design and background score for that. Finally a performance from Anushka Sharma that I loved.


3. Piku

A lovely sweet movie on Father-Daughter relationship that entertains as well as makes you emotional as you think about the question that How much you love your parents even at a age when their habits makes you mad! Special mention to Juhi Chaturvedi for very good dialogue writing. Deepika, Amitabh and Irfan are fantastic in their performances, which aint a surprise. With Piku, Shoojit Sircar completes hat-trick of quality movies.


Other Movies that I loved : Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Tanu Weds Manu Returns.

WORST 3 - HINDI FILMS

1. Roy 

One hell of a boredom this movie was. Director Vikramjit Singh un-necessarily tries to confuse you with the screenplay making it more dull. Arjun Rampal’s performance is likable to some extent. But Roy is second Ranbir Kapoor movie after Anjaana Anjaani that I would not like to remember at all.


2. Hawaizaada 

Ayushmann Khurana tries so hard to imitate Ranbir in this movie, instead of been himself specially that irritating ‘isse shaadi karle’ scene. The plot of 1st plane built by an Indian could easily had been lovable and patriotic too if only it was executed properly. But the boring screenplay that focusses more on love angle doesn’t allow that. Only Mithun gives you some good moments.


3. Alone 

A typical horror movie by our film-makers that has 1 erotic song, plenty of cliche scares that makes you laugh and twists that questions the plot. Bipasha looks super hot, but I am tired of watching her in horror movies now. Karan  Singh Grover chose wrong movie to make a debut with. Only the piano tune used in the movie is likable. 

Other Movies that didn’t work for me : Gabbar Is Back, Khamoshiyan and Tevar. 

TOP 3 : HINDI ALBUMS 

1.  Badlapur

This album is gonna be hard to beat, even for Rahman. Sachin-Jigar’s best work till date with not a single song that doesn’t appeal. My favs were 'Jee Karda’ by Divya Kumar for the angst and revenge feel it carries, ‘Jeena Jeena’ for the beginning vocals of Atif with very less use of instruments and ‘Judaai’ by Rekha Bharadwaj and Arijit Singh for a very lovely emotional song with lyrics that compliment it without overdoing it.  Also love the beats used in ‘Badla Badla’ and Priya’s rendition of ‘Sone Ka Paani’. 

2. Bombay Velvet 

15 Tracks in the album, last Amit Trivedi album that went over 10 songs was Dev.D which I still love madly. With Bombay Velvet, he once again delivers a great soundtrack based on Jazz (something I aint much familiar with). My personal fav is ‘Behroopia’ sung by Mohit Chauhan and Neeti Mohan, that is more of a regular romantic number but with a Trivedi flavor. Love Shefali Alvares ‘Shut Up’ for the way she sings those funny written lyrics. Neeti Mohan is outstanding in ‘Dhadaam Dhadaam’ which was one of best moment in film. Special mention to how she sings ‘Ka Kha Gha’ with anger in last minute of song. Oh how much did I miss Suman Sridhar, as always impresses in re-done track ‘Fifi’. Among the themes, the Bombay Velvet theme was my favorite, I specially love the slow build up part.


3. Detective Byomkesh Bakshy 

Various composers come together to give a album that has some heavy rock metal songs too, something I had never heard before. ‘Chase in Chinatown’ is my most favorite even though it was hard to understand lyrics initially. Saba Azad in ‘Calcutta Kiss’ is also wonderful creating that jazz feel with full effect, and a track that is very catchy. Sneha Khanwalkar’s composition ‘Bach ke Bakshy’ is superb though I wish there was a separate female version for it. Suryakant Sawhney rendition of ‘Jaanam’ is lovely and it slightly reminds me of old track ‘dilbar mere’ from old movie Satte pe Satta.


Other Albums that I quite loved : NH10, Hamari Adhuri Kahani and Dum Laga Ke Haisha.

TOP 3 : HOLLYWOOD FILMS

1. Inside Out 

A very creative take showing how the emotions Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust works inside our brain. Its not the usual animation movie that tries to please the kids, but it caters to the adult audience much more, a very thoughtful movie with good amount of emotional moments. Sadness was my favorite character, loved her walking style and cute way of talking. Love the dining table scene when Joy and Sadness aren’t around, creating a hilarious situation. And liked the message of ‘you can’t be happy 24/7, and its good to show out your sad feelings at times to feel better’. Inside Out is my favorite animation film I have seen till date.


2. Spy 

Hillarious movie, some great dialogues, performances by Melissa (I just lover her comic timing, her best performance I have seen), Jason Statham (he gives laugh out loud moments despite being a cameo doing stupidest things possible), Rose Bryne (looks hot), Miranda Hart (in that 50 cents scene was superb) and Nargis in a comical brilliant action sequence. Good comedy is created through over the top action scenes, specially that WTF moment when Melissa single handedly fights everyone in the final part of movie. Would love if Spy becomes a franchise, a silly way to look at the way agents handle the profession unlike Bond or Bourne series.


3. It Follows

A very good psychological horror movie that doesn’t use the typical cliches to scare you and has a odd premise which makes this movie a great watch. Also the retro old era kinda of music as background works perfectly with the movie setting. Director David uses the main concept and keeps the scare moments waiting. Just need bit of patience for first 15 mins, and then its a very engaging movie that scares you with the thought of when will that thing arrive and David never gives a hint of how to control it that leads to the desperation moment of teenagers thinking of a weird plan to get rid of curse. Also the open ending was nice to see.. Good performance from the lead Maika Monroe.


Other Movies that I loved : Kingsman The Secret Service and Paddington

Movie Analysis : Inside Out

Directed by Pete Doctor & Ronnie Del Carmen
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/

My most loved animation movie till date, full of fun and emotional moments too. 

Young Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) who is 11 years old has to make a fresh start to a new school, new friends and new home as her Dad (Kyle Maclachlan) gets new job in San Francisco. Riley misses old friends, her old home at Minnesota. Her emotions named Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Fear (Bill Hader) controls her, just like it does to any of us.   These emotions live at Headquarters , the control center inside Riley’s mind that tells what next action Riley will have. Joy tries her level best to keep Riley 24 hrs happy including her dreams. But, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger get their way in as Riley struggles to manage at a new place.

The idea of showing all the emotions working together, one trying to interfere with other and causing problems is very creative and they have executed it brilliantly including the looks of all these emotions!

My personal favorite was ‘Sadness’, she always looked like someone no other emotion was fond of (ain’t surprising) and yet how significant she proves to be in life of Riley. And yea, some fun moments too including when she needs to rest and get over the sadness before she can walk again with Joy. I loved most is what they portray with her character in the final parts of movie, that its okay to be sad and show it, instead of trying to be happy all the time.

Most hilarious moment comes when Joy and Sadness are not at Headquarters, and its upto Anger, Disgust and Fear to manage happy thoughts in Riley’s mind which is Joy’s work. And how badly they struggle. The inside brain of Riley parents while having dinner was super fun. Also, watch how all the emotions of bus driver (in end credits) are Anger. Also, the continuous run of chewing gum commercial that tests the temper of Anger.

The choice of voice-overs were so apt, not a single character sounded boring or unreal. Also, the extent to which they expand the entire idea of looking at emotions inside Riley is applaudable. We see islands named after ‘Friendship’, ‘Goofball’, ‘Hockey’ (as Riley loves it)’, ‘Family’ etc. The islands get stronger when Riley has a happy memory related to them, but they can crash too if something negative happens with Riley.  Then there’s the train of thoughts, a dreamland, bing bong (a imaginary friend), and guess what a team actually writes a script for Riley’s dreams and there is a imaginary boyfriend whose only line is ‘I can die for you Riley’.

Inside Out isn’t just full of fun moments, but it also has some lovely emotional side to it too.  Like when Joy realizes the importance Sadness has in Riley’s life. Or when Anger is about to take control from Joy when Riley’s mother’s polite talk with Riley surprises Anger. And the best one when Riley cries and admits to her parents about her current behavior. Also, they carry out the ‘can’t feel any emotion’ scene so well.


What’s good is that Inside Out isn’t just looking to please kids, but this one will get thumbs up from the adults too. Its my most loved animation movie of all the ones I have seen (yet to watch the ones people call classics in this genre). Its a movie that I can watch again and again!

Do watch the end credits for some inside the brain emotions of other characters other than Riley. Also, watch short ‘Lava’ video that is played before start of movie. The song gets repetitive but the visuals make up for it, humorous as well as touchy. 

Verdict : 4.5/5 

Movie Analysis : Insidious Chapter 3

Directed by Leigh Whannell
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3195644/

Least liked chapter of Insidious series, good performances by Lin Shaye and Stefanie Scott

Insidious is one of my favorite franchise (might be surprising for horror fanatics). I loved first two movies, because of the storytelling. Specially the 1st one where the concept of ‘The Further’ comes into notice 1st time. The unnecessary jump scares were very less, though they did that in 2nd movie which was sad, still it was worth a watch for me as there were plenty of nice twists and scare moments.

The 3rd Chapter goes to the events that happened before 1st movie i.e before the hauntings in Lambert family. I would had preferred them to continue from the end of 2nd movie where Elise (Lin Shaye) sees a demon that terrifies her. Instead we have a altogether new story about a teenager girl Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) who tries to connect with her dead mother but ends up calling a dangerous supernatural entity known as ‘a demon who can’t breathe with a mask’. Quinn and her father have to opt for physic help from Elise who herself is recovering from tremors she faces every time she goes into ‘The Further’.


Whannell doesn’t really attempt building story, he directly starts with a scene between Elise and Quinn, as Quinn wants her help to connect with her dead mother. What follows thereafter is, the usual scares like door bang, footprints, neighbor giving hint about demon indirectly etc. There are some good horror moments for sure, atleast for those like me who gets scared easily. One scene where Quinn is lying on floor while the demon shuts doors and switches lights off is scary though they end that scene very tamely, but my fav jump scare moment was when Quinn and her father follow the footprints and look down the road from the window, I almost jumped out of my seat.

What turned me off was the relationship between Quinn and her father, aren’t we tired of watching a family member experiencing supernatural power around while the other member ignores it and not believing it, something ‘The Conjuring’ didn’t do and even 1st two parts of Insidious. Also, there is that lack of emotional connect as Quinn’s father is represented poorly with no significant scene.

I like how they introduce characters of Tucker and Specs, who form a team with Elise eventually as you would know from last 2 parts. Also the climax again has a surprise twist, making you leave theatre thinking where the 4th chapter will lead to.

Another aspect I felt was a let down, was when Elise goes into ‘The Further’, they didn’t make it scary enough, like have lots more of demons and not just that lady who is after Elise. Felt it was less spooky then it should had been.

In the end apart from the good scary moments, it was Lin Shaye’s performance that was likable who gets larger role in this part. Also, Stefanie Scott does well despite a script that is not so pleasing.


Insidious Chapter 3 is the least liked movie in this franchise for me, but if you haven’t liked the 1st two, then who knows this one might work for you, not for me though.


Verdict : 2/5 

Spy and Any Body Can Dance 2 - Reviews

Couldn’t get time to write full fledged reviews,  so posting my views on both the films in few lines only.

Spy

Hillarious movie, some great dialogues, performances by Melissa (I just love her comic timing, her best performance I have seen), Jason Statham (he gives laugh out loud moments despite being a cameo, doing stupidest things possible), Rose Bryne (looks hot), Miranda Hart (in that 50 cents scene was superb) and Nargis in a comical brilliant action sequence. Even good comedy is created through over the top action scenes, specially that WTF moment when Melissa single handedly fights everyone in the final part of movie. The person who Aldo was very good too specially that dialect.

Easily one of my favorite movies of this year. Hope this becomes a franchise, won’t mind watching a silly look at the way agents handle this profession unlike Bond/Bourne series.

Verdict : 4/5 



Any Body Can Dance 2 

Much much better than 1st part with right choice of cast who can dance well and act too. Dance pieces are brilliant, Prabhu Deva’s “should I tell him or show him’ as he showcases those dance moves that leaves everyone in the song including us in audience awestruck, only you wish that the song played was also of the same quality. Bezubaan dance is wonderful as it comes at a keypoint, sadly the middle part that includes water scenes lessened the impact. In Las Vegas, the semis Ganpati act is to watch out for, can’t find a fault in it. Also, the comical Charlie Chaplin dance act. The Final act infact on ‘Vande Mataram’ was a bit disappointing as the level was set too high by then, and also the over-dramatic setting doesn’t help.

Remo tries to insert too much of sympathy early on with those overdose of ‘Cheater cheater’, could had focussed just on main characters I felt. Like that scene where Suresh (Varun Dhawan) connects to his mother while being in pain over the accusation of copying choreography. And what the hell was that dialogue ‘your mother died with her ghunghroos on’. Also, the un-wanted love triangle created with Lauren was so silly which includes 2 of her songs, one that introduces her  and other a dreamy sequence, both should had been cut out. And why did Raghav let his friend make the team suffer in the final act, instead of making sure his dream to be part of Final stays and he takes position in that final formation in such a way that it doesn’t make his cough problem to occur, really Silly just to add drama!

Varun Dhawan’s performance is very good, these are the roles he owns completely. Shraddha can definitely dance well too just like her singing, sadly her acting is still very dodgy, can’t help to repeat what I always say, its her dialogue delivery that always lets down her performance. In supporting cast, Raghav and his friend were very good, specially their intro dance sequences. Also, you can trust Lauren when it comes to dancing, she is one of the best! And in acting too she did fairly well. Prabhu Deva surprisingly, emoted way better than the 1st part, but then maybe because he wasn’t the central character this time.

Any Body Can Dance 2 isn’t a great movie, but its a very good step forward in the franchise (expecting more to come) after the 1st one, if Remo could just keep the cliches aside, and let it be fully dance based!

Verdict : 3/5 

Movie Analysis : Hamari Adhuri Kahani

Directed by : Mohit Suri
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3483612/

Forgettable Mohit Suri movie, Emraan’s performance and music only saving grace. 

I had loved ‘Ek Villain’, and started to think that Mohit Suri is coming close to that magic he created in ‘Awarapan’, but with ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ he takes a step back and gives one of his most forgettable movies.

Vasudha’s (Vidya Balan) husband  Hari (Rajkumar Rao) goes missing after 1 year of marriage. She stays with her son, and keeps waiting for 5 years. She is a florist by profession, and meets Aarav (Emraan Hashmi) who is a famous business tycoon owning over 100 plus hotels. Aarav falls in love with Vasudha, and she does too after hesitating initially thinking about her husband and all the traditions and norms she lived with. But when Hari returns back, it creates a dilemma for Vasudha. A triangular love story, where Emraan plays the positive hero deeply in love, Vidya a wife that has lived a tortured life (shown only through 2-3 flashbacks, thankfully) and Rajkumar who considers his wife as his property rather than loving her.

Mohit Suri continues the similar narration pattern like he did in ‘Ek Villain’, as he reveals the end right at the beginning of movie so that the entire movie works only in a flashback through a diary.  There are those typical Suri elements visible here - God angle, a romantic repeated catchline/moment (Aarav asking Vasudha for a photo always) and the way lovers meet at the end.

Its the script and terribly heavy dialogues written by Shagufta Rafique that never allows you to connect with the story. At interval, you get a uneasy feeling that tells how badly the movie fails to engage you. Suri tries way hard to manipulate, make you sympathize with Vasudha, feel bad for Aarav when Hari returns. It all appears so made up, nothing comes out natural. Even the love story of Aarav-Vasudha is very unconvincing.

The flashback story of Aarav’s mom is hilarious and so is the Shimla sequence, whoever the lady was who played the role totally hammed. And then there was that police inspector who tries to help Aarav in a sequence by saying a line starting with ‘Kaaynaat’ something, but by then I had already lost interest in how the kahani will remain adhuri!

Cinematography by Vishnu Rao is good,  that gives some eye-catching visuals. Raju Singh’s background score is lovable as always.

Music from Mithoon, Ami Mishra and Jeet Ganguly is fantastic. Almost all songs you could hear non-stop, and will stay with you for years. And they are indeed used very well in the narrative, specially ‘Humnava' my most fav track. Title track gives one of movie’s most emotional moment but spoiled at the end with a cliched visual.

In performances, its Emraan Hashmi who shines the most, he looks wonderfully good and emotes brilliantly through his eyes. I almost felt bad coming out of theatre thinking he would have another bad film to his name despite his own performance being so good.

Vidya Balan only gets one powerful scene, where she bursts out at Hari, coming out of her crying and remaining silent avatar. Her character is so badly written that even she couldn’t pull off a performance to admire. Sad that Vidya Balan has gone missing ever since Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani happened.

RajKumar Rao has lesser role, but his character of a husband treating wife badly has been done many times before, and thereby never interested me. Being a fan of his acting, he still didnt disappoint specially the scene where he is in utter shock and fear when he sees how much Vasudha has changed and transformed from what she used to be once.


Hamari Adhuri Kahani had great music, three very good lead actors and yet it fails to make any mark at all. Except for some good romantic moments, its a movie that should be skipped.


Verdict : 2/5