Movie Reviews

LAKSHYAM CAST & CREW 1 of 2 Production: Joy Thomas , Sakthikulangara, Teji Manalel Cast: Biju Menon, Indrajith Sukumaran, Sshivada Direction: Anzar Khan Screenplay: Anzar Khan, Jeethu Joseph Story: Jeethu Joseph Music: Anil Johnson Background score: Anil Johnson Cinematography: Sinu Sidharth Dialogues: Anzar Khan Biju Menon is slowly and steadily carving out a space for him in Malayalam cinema by doing a variety of roles in recent times. This time he has joined hands with the highly talented actor Indrajith in a thriller written by the Drishyam director Jeethu Joseph. Lakshyam, directed by debutant Anzar Khan tells the story of two convicts, Vimal and Musthafa. Vimal is a rich businessman charged with murder while Musthafa is a petty thief. They escape into the woods when the police jeep transporting them from Peerimedu to Ernakulam gets overturned in an accident. Their struggle to avoid getting caught and the mysteries that unveil during the process form the crux of the movie...

The 2016 Tamil release Irudhi Suttru has now been remade in Telugu as Guru. Pretty much all the actors from the original have been retained except for the hero Madhavan. Irudhi Suttru was a heart-warming tale about women boxing. The film did not break any grounds; it was a typical well-made commercial film glanced every essential element that was needed to satisfy the audience. So now that the same team is reproducing the film, we expect them to recreate the magic in the original. Have they done it successfully? Guru is a simple tale about a boxing coach who takes on an unruly young woman who sells fish, as his new student. How he grooms her from nothing to a boxing superstar is all Guru about. Looks like a familiar tale, especially with similar sports film being made in the recent times. But where Guru scores is in the emotional part. There was a warm chemistry between the coach and the student that was well translated on the screen. The initial half has few fresh scenes differ...

Veeram might not have one of the best storylines, but it was a movie that targeted a set of audience and was made to satisfy them. One of the main reasons the flick clicked was majorly because of Ajith Kumar’s screen presence. Pawan Kalyan is someone who has his own style of acting and mass factor and without an iota of doubt, you could say that Powerstar would do complete justice to a script such as this, even without seeing his performance. That is the consistency of the actor over the years. Having said that, let’s see how well the film as a whole has worked? A hot-tempered guy (Pawan Kalyan) with 4 younger brothers, who falls in love with a soft, kind-hearted girl (Shruti Haasan). But to gain the love of the woman, he should never again resort to violence but that’s not going to be easy especially when the girl’s family is in danger. Does he manage to tackle the baddie at the same time not letting his love life fall berserk? This is the story of Katamarayudu. The core theme of...

Om Namo Venkatesaya is a devotional musical film that talks about the life journey of Hathiram Bhavaji. He is a devotee of Lord Venkateswara and lived his entire life preaching what he believed. Nagarjuna plays Hathiram's role. The film adds up to the list of his devotional films such as Annamayya, Ramadasu and Shridi Sai. Before we talk in detail about the movie and the pros and cons of it, we are making it clear that it is not a commercial film that goes by the grammar of usual Telugu film. It caters to a set of devotional fans and the family audience who are devotees of Lord Venkateswara. Nagarjuna delivers another solid heartwarming performance. His emotions look real. He is the backbone of this biopic, and if not for him, the film might not have conveyed what the director intended to. Anushka makes use of the screen time given to her. Though there is nothing special about her role, she does what was expected. Saurabh Raj Jain portrays the role of Lord Venkateswara and he ha...

What is it about? Sarkar or Subhash Nagre (Amitabh Bachchan) who is people's favorite and holds complete support from the common man is hated by the opposition and business tycoon because he cannot get him into their hands for all wrong moves. Amitabh Bachchan's loyalty is hated by politicians, business tycoons, industrialists and other real estate people who  come together to kill him. In Sarkar 3,  Amitabh's grandson Shivaji (Amit Sadh) also has equal importance who at one point of the film becomes the main character. What makes up the film? Sarkar 3 is a revenge battle with different people having different reasons to take over Sarkar and to kill him for his evilness towards them. Interestingly, his grandson also has a grudge to betray him for his father's death. The plot goes through the suspense of finding who could have killed each of the characters in the screenplay with creating doubt in the viewer's mind. Finally, it takes through a perfect cl...

What is it about? A brothel run by Vidya Balan (Begum Jaan) along with few other sex workers. Each of these sex workers has a dark story in their past which has led them to choose this profession. The movie speaks how freedom is biased only towards men and not to women in our society. The central theme of the film is the struggle Begum Jaan carries to stay in her palace and not give away to the law who wants to demolish and build an Indo-Pak check post. What makes up the film? Begum Jaan is a remake of Rajkahini, but director Srijit Mukherji has only retained the theme of the story and brought about changes in screenplay and dialogues that are tailor-made for Vidya Balan. Begum Jaan is set soon after India's Independence on the Punjab-Pakistan border. It showcases the problems and after effects of Sir Cyril Radcliffe line which divided the nation into three parts; East Pakistan, West Pakistan, and Hindustan. What doesn't work? Begum Jaan becomes too predictable from ...

NAAM SHABANA CAST & CREW 1 of 2 Production: Neeraj Pandey, Shital Bhatia Cast: Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa, Denzil Smith, Madhurima Tuli, Manoj Bajpayee, Murali Sharma, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Taapsee Pannu, Virendra Saxena Direction: Shivam Nair Screenplay: Neeraj Pandey Story: Neeraj Pandey Music: Meet Bros, Rochak Kohli Background score: Meet Bros, Rochak Kohli Cinematography: Sudheer Palsane Dialogues: Neeraj Pandey Editing: Deepak Seju Singers: Jasmine Sandlas, Meet Bros, Rochak Kohli, Shreya Ghoshal, Sukriti Kakkar, Sunidhi Chauhan Lyrics: Kumaar, Manoj Muntashir What is it about? Naam Shabana is a prequel to the superhit Baby. Ever since Neeraj Pandey announced the movie Naam Shabana, there were huge expectations for the film. Once Taapsee Pannu was officially named the lead of the film, it was expected to be a strong women centric spy-thriller. Taapsee made a cameo in Baby and Naam Shabana is an establishment to showcase her journey from a girl next door to...

What is it about? The plot is about Rajkummar Rao who gets trapped in an apartment without any electricity, food, water and almost nothing to survive at a crucial time where his presence is sought the most, but faith locks him inside his flat in a 20 storey apartment at a posh place in Mumbai, and the worst situation is that there aren't any neighbours in the apartment because of legal restrictions. The things he does to get out of the flat and his approach to break all the shackles to get back to his normal lifestyle are what the film all about. What makes up the film? The scripting of Trapped showed a lot more maturity which otherwise finding in majority of Bollywood films is difficult. Trapped isn't a regular commercial film, it is more of a docu-thriller. This genre has its own niche audiences and Vikramaditya Motwane is targeting them. Well, for other general movie lovers, Trapped will test your patience in the beginning, but after a while it is sure to send shivers ...

What happens when a young boy decides to rise to power right from his childhood and builds his own empire through illegal business? Find out from the review of Raees, the Shah Rukh Khan starrer. Raees features Shah Rukh Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mahira Khan and Atul Kulkarni in pivotal roles. It is directed by Rahul Dholakia and talks about the life of Raees (Shah Rukh Khan), who as a young kid learns about illegal business and shows a steady growth as a street smart illegal stock and liquor dealer as he matures. The film is set in the state of Gujarat and is an action packed ride that would satisfy the SRK fans. Atul Kulkarni plays Shah Rukh’s boss for whom the latter works initially but later breaks off to start his own illegal business which marks the first main event of the film. From there on, there is an introduction of many important characters that includes a police officer played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The rest of the story talks about what happens between these two ma...

Dear Zindagi (Dear life), is about the life of Kaira (Alia Bhatt), her forgettable childhood, her hopeless relationships, the pressure she feels from her stereotypical parents, her passion for cinematography and in short about her life. Alia Bhatt has a meaty role to play. With a character filled with varied emotions that demand a solid performance, she has done a great job playing Kaira, a talented cinematographer struggling to find the break she needs to make it big. Her variations and expressions are commendable. Shah Rukh Khan shows us why he is King Khan. The film has him playing a therapist Jehangir, who helps people out with their problems using his unique ideas. He has a subtle yet strong character that becomes likable by one and all, thanks to the skill he holds. The film is a visual treat and cinematography by Laxman Utekar is mesmerizing. The music is apt and so are the cuts. The strength of the film is the realistic approach it holds right from the first frame. ...

Ajay Devgan is back as a director after his earlier directorial venture U Me Aur Hum. How does this fare turn out to be? Did the movie impress as much as the trailer did? Read more to find out….. Shivaay is a about the struggles of a single man in recovering his daughter. Does he triumph in his attempt? Does he recover his daughter? Shivaay has a lot of action sequences and most of them not only seem over the top but are totally unrealistic. A thousand bullets are shot at Ajay Devgn and not a single one hits him and he still manages to run. Mithoon the music director stands out tall with his work . Be it the songs or the background score he binds us with compositions. He is one of the biggest strengths of the movie. The cinematography looks good enough and is supported by VFX that looks real. The locales appear beautiful, although at a few instances it can be recognized at ease that the backdrop is a set. The art direction is neat.

This year's Bollywood biggie for Diwali is Ae Dil Hai Mushkil directed by Karan Johar starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai and Anushka Sharma in the lead. Sitting down for the movie highly expectant of sizzling performance from the team and a star cameo by Shah Rukh Khan, here's how the film played out:  What is it about? It is pretty much everything the trailer and teaser revealed it to be. A 'there is peace in friendship, pain in love' type of relationship that inevitably turns into something serious. A quick, painful end that follows. And then another chance! But what happens then? That's, of course as expected, is the central theme. But should one give this love story a chance? What makes up the film?  The entire first half is made up of carefully picked elements that narrate realistic chemistry between Ranbir ( Ayan) and Anushka (Alizeh) . And the second half a rather templated selection of elements describing the hook between Ranbi...

We get to see a horror comedy film every month one after another because that is the trend. Though in most cases, we are not offered anything fresh from the earlier films, we still watch them if they are entertaining. This week too, we have a horror comedy flick but this time from the experienced trendsetters of the genre in Tamil cinema. If not for P Vasu's Chandramukhi and Raghava Lawrence's Muni, Kanchana series, this genre wouldn't have been the much celebrated one in the last 3 years. Now 2 masters of horror comedy genre have come together for Sivalinga and let's see how this combination has churned out. Let's start with the positives. A script that holds the suspense element till the end is what majorly makes you watch the film. Secondly, comedian Vadivelu who after a long time gets a role that gives him enough scope to strike. Though it's no way close to his best, Vadivelu does give us some moments to laugh. Raghava Lawrence's role is adequate ...

  It has been a while since we saw Arya on the silver screen. He is back after a gap of more than a year, with Kadamban, which has hit the screens on this Tamil New Year (April 14th). If you had seen the trailer of Kadamban and if you have guessed the plotline of the film, congrats to you. You haven’t gone wrong. The film is all about the battle between a group of villagers in a forest, headed by Arya and a corporate business tycoon. Though the story might not be something new, the treatment and the visual experience, give you a good feel throughout. The director has taken some extra time to establish the characters (people of Kadambavanam). Right after the first song, the film starts to travel on the path of the core plot, and there aren’t many deviations. When the story takes place in a forest backdrop, animals are a must, and the director has wisely used them, wherever required. The climax sequence, involving a herd of elephants, is shot in such a way that it i...

Small is Big! That is how this year has been for Kollywood thus far with some of the small budget films featuring lesser known names from the industry have made it big as far as appreciation and box office collections are concerned. 8 Thottakkal is another promising film one expects to feature in the ‘Small is Big’ league after watching its promotional video extracts. An honest spineless Police Sub Inspector loses his gun loaded with 8 bullets. Who gets the gun and why, what happens next, whose lives are in danger? How a theft case becomes a more serious and intense criminal case is what 8 Thottakkal deals about. Yeah, the story does resemble Akira Kurosawa’s classic old film, Stray Dog. In fact director Sri Ganesh had even mentioned a list of films from where he got inspired to make this film, in the end credits. Nevertheless, this is a new plot to Tamil cinema and it is told in a neat way as well. Debutant hero Vettri plays the spineless cop, someone who joins the P...

How many times have we seen a love story from Mani Ratnam’s stable? He pushes the bar a notch higher whenever he does one, filled with something fresh every single time. Kaatru Veliyidai is the latest entrant to the romantic collection of Mani. So what’s different this time? The characters for sure, the premise and of course the treatment. What makes Mani Ratnam special is that he comes up with some well-designed characters that stay with us long after the film ends. Here again in Kaatru Veliyidai, even after all these years, Mani has two absorbing characters for us to goggle at. At first, you may not understand them, you may, in fact, hate them for a moment but with time we get more involved. Mani Ratnam’s characters are never perfect as they have their share of negatives. Despite their flaws, you would love them and that is how beautifully sketched characters are officer VC (Karthi) and Dr. Leela (Aditi). Karthi looks in his ostentatious best. He plays a fighter pilot, a role...

'Dora', as most of us would recollect is a household name, thanks to the popular cartoon character that is shown taking a journey on its own, meeting various people and doing different things all alone.  How well the title augurs for an actress like Nayanthara is something that I mulled over while watching the movie. Her ability to pull masses and command an opening and her well-curated charisma with carefully hand-picked roles is something that only a few heroines have attained in the past. Dora is another solo experiment by Nayanthara and is slotted in the very popular horror genre.