Movie Review: Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

Image Courtesy: premratandhanpayoboxofficecollections.org/

The Story Frame:

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo is a story of a Royal family and it's sibling rivalry. It also showcases how a commoner becomes a medium to bring the royal family back to peace and harmony. Amidst the royal family melodrama there are sparks of romance and mistaken identities and its aftermath too. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo is all and all Salman Khan film with a strong Barjatya flavour. It marks the return of Salman Khan- Sooraj Barjatya jodi on the silver screen after 16 years.

Cast: Salman Khan (Rajkumar Yuvraj Singh & Prem Dilwale), Sonam Kappor (Rajkumari Mythili), Anupam Kher (Deewan Sahab), Niel Nitin Mukesh (Rajkumar Ajay Singh), Swara Bhaskar (Rajkumari Chandrika), Aashika Bhatia (Rajkumari Radhika), Deepak Dobriyal (Kanahaiya & Nadaan Mazoori), Sanjay Misra (Choubey Chacha), Sameer Dharmadhikari (Maharaj), Armann Kohli (Chirag)

Genre: Romance Drama

Direction: Sooraj R Barjatya

Produced by: Ajith Kumar Barjatya, Kamal Kumar Barjatya, Rajkumar Barjatya

Production Company: Rajshri Productions

Distributor: Fox Star Studios

Screenplay by: Sooraj R Barjatya

Story: Sooraj R Barjatya

Cinematographer: V Manikandan

Music: Sanjoy Chowdhury, Himesh Reshammiya

Film Editing by: Sanjay Sankala

Theatre Release: 12th November, 2015

Language: Hindi

Duration: 174 minutes

Image Courtesy: http://dilwaleboxofficecollections.co.in

Reviewer's Thumb Mark

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo lives up to the promise as a family entertainer in all its grandeur for those who are a Salman Khan-Sooraj Barjatya kind of movie fan who can actually afford with ease to overlook the big black hole but for those who look for brains and entertainment it turns out to be a damp squib.

The movie begins with the entry of Prem Dilwale the stage artist who is quite popular among the locals in Ayodhya as the star performer in the Dilwale Ki Ramleela play. Before we could actually get over the hangover of Salman being a Bajrangi bakht in Bajrangi Bhaijan, he dons the cap this time as a Ram-Sita bakht spouting lessons on moral values.

Dilwale is love-smitten with the generous princess Mythili of Devgarh who is devoted in social causes distributing freebies and relief goodies to calamity-affected victims under the aegis of her NGO - Uphaar Foundation. Dilwale sets forth with his friend Kanhaiya (Deepak Dobriyal) who also dabbles as Sita in the Dilwale ki Ramleela play to handover the fund he has painstakingly collected to the princess personally in Delhi and that's when he comes to know from Jyoti (an Uphaar foundation volunteer) that she is going to be present in Pritampur for the royal coronation ceremony of Prince Vijay Singh, who also happens to be her fiancée. Reaching Pritampur, Dilwale and Kanhaiya  finds themselves entwined in the drama of a royal conspiracy and deceit which they find it hard to untwine.

The movie shifts its focus on Yuvraj Vijay Singh (Salman Khan in double role), his trusted family loyalist Dewan Saab (Anupam Kher) who is also the royal secret keeper. Yuvraj Vijay Singh is in the midst of approving the schedules and arrangements of his Raj Tilak and he is unaware that he is falling prey to a grave conspiracy to annihilate him and stop his coronation by his own dear and trusted people.

The royal family melodrama unfolds soon when the audience is taken through a brief history of the erstwhile Maharaja and his mistresses, their children, how they used to happily live together and an incident that changes the family bonding and harmony. Well, the half brother Rajkumar Ajay Singh (Niel Nitin Mukesh) and the other two half sisters  Rajkumari Chandrika (Swara Bhaskar) and Rajkumari Radhika (Aashika Bhatia) born from another mistress  are loggerheads with Rajkumar Vijay Singh for no good reasons which the filmmakers repeatedly fail to establish the logic apart from a trivial incident that shatters the peace of the palace. Trivial because the erstwhile king is shown all throughout the movie in flashbacks as a caring husband and a loving father who made a Palace of Mirrors (Seesh Mahal) for the children to keep their  childhood memories  alive. He is also quoted by Yuvraj Vijay Singh that his father use to tell him after his mother's demise that " Vijay, never feel that you are alone in your life, you have Ajay's Mother and Chandrika and Radhika's mother to take care of you. The character of Maharaj is positioned as a generous, lovable and mature king and therefore, it is hard to believe that he would have left his mistresses and his children born out of them to lurch in the dark.

 A person like Yuvraj Vijay Singh who is seen approving every minute details of his coronation ceremony and who is also advised by hardcore loyal Dewan Sahab is unaware about the Estate CEO Chirag (Armaan Kohli) withholding the funds released to his half brother Yuvraj Ajay Singh so as to create rift among them is an irony. The half brothers are also shown involved in fencing as a recreational sport with no animosity with each other, rather they are found taking care of each other, this makes the viewers fail to figure out the storyline.  

The movie also falters terribly in portraying the relationship with Rajkumari Mythili and Rajkumar Vijay Singh. There is a scene where Mythili tells Prem Dilwale presuming him to be Rajkumar Vijay Singh that they are engaged to each other since five months and they have hardly spoken to each other five times and that they still don't know anything about one another. But then contrary to this dialogue the viewers find Rajkumari Mythili reminding Rajkumar Vijay Singh about all those encounters they had in the near past, like appearing for him in a short dress which he likes, arranging a special barbeque in the erstwhile king's garden, sharing with him how he would look more handsome without a moustache, how they end up quarrelling and so on.

Sanjay Misra as Choubey Chacha who manages all props and accessories for the Dilwale Ki Ramleela play is not given ample screen time to showcase his versatility and therefore the filmmakers deprived the audience to relish his talent. It is the same in the case of Deepak Dobriyal as Kanahaiya and Nadaan Mazoori. Deepak Dobriyal who enthused the audience to the hilt in Tanu Weds Manu 2, struggles hard to keep the audience in good humour not because he is not talented but majorly because his presence is dwarfed by two Salmans.

Neil Nitin Mukesh as Yuvraj Ajay Singh acts well as an emotionally and financially insecure and jealous half brother who connives with estate CEO Chirag (Armann Kohli). Armann Kohli in his comeback as a villain makes his presence felt and has fairly done a good job. Swara Bhaskar (Rajkumari Chandrika) the talented actress has done justice to her role, but it would have been great if she had more to act and perform. Aashika Bhatia is an add on with nothing remarkable to do. God knows why the filmmaker wanted one more half sister to showcase the family melodrama.

Anupam Kher as the loyal Dewan Saab and the royal secret keeper is commendable. He acts with ease and is successful in generating a few laughable moments with Prem Dilwale. But at the same time Prem Dilwale coming up with funny nicknames  for Dewan Sahab like - bapu, immature bapu, virgin bapu, mature bapu and finally telling Dewan Saab 'aap pichle janam mai koi sant honge" is something that goes overboard.

Salman Khan as Yuvraj Vijay Singh Moochwale (Moustache) and Salman Khan as Prem Dilwale as Moochmunde (clean shaven) are a treat but then the story and its flaws takes the joy away too quickly. Falling from a cliff and treated in one of the secret chambers of the royal palace with full medical amenities by two expert doctors, Yuvraj lie immobile, with bandages on head, shoulders chest, and arms. But what is surprising and ridiculous is we find our Yuvraj chained and shaking the whole Sheesh Mahal with his mighty chained arms venting his anger. He is also found with an arm- to-arm combat as well as fencing with his half brother Ajay Singh and thrashing him red and blue. Our powerful Yuvraj is also seen repeating the history by saving his half-brother from falling into the deep waters that surround the Sheesh Mahal by holding him by his arms. Now, what we need to understand is, all these karnamas are done by an accident victim who has been medically diagnosed with possible 'Brain Concussion and Brain Edema' by the royal medical experts four days back. Amidst all these terrible climax scenes we have our Prem Dilwale 'the divine', lecturing and tutoring on values, ethics and morals to the two half-brothers who are fuming with anger and revenge. But then it's a Salman Khan-Sooraj Barjatya film after 16 years of gap, therefore, just chill, chill, just chill with the innumerable songs that you will lose count off.

In short, if you want to learn and watch 'Bhaiyon mai maafi kaisi maangi jaati hi aur behanon ko kaise manaya jaate hi, aur diwali ke do din baad bhaiya dooj kaise manaya jata hi tho please throng the cinema halls which is near you without any delay because the coffers are already overflowing and it cannot be complete without your offerings. So Enjoy...Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 2.75/5

Movie Review: Titli

Image Courtesy: http://cdn.koimoi.com/

The Story Frame:

The debutant filmmaker Kanu Behl's movie Titli was featured in more than a dozen international film festivals including at Cannes Film Festival in 2014 (Un Certain Regard). The movie is co-produced by Dibaker Banerjee and Aditya Chopra. Titli has some super talented actors in it like Ranvir Shorey, Amit Sial, Shashank Arora, Lalit Behl and Shivani Raghuvanshi. Kanu Behl is also known as the one who co-wrote and assisted Dibakar Banerjee in Love Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD) 2010.

Titli is a story about a world that co-exists with our world which we often dread and that emerges in the deserted dark alleys of Delhi in the middle of the night. The inhabitants of this world that Titli portrays has their own rules, logic and reason for their deeds and they are ok with not being ok. But what if one of the siblings of a dysfunctional family finds himself not to be ok with what is not ok, then?

Titli speaks about three brothers and a manipulative father who meets their ends as small time crooks and how their life spins and bears the consequence of their own creations. Writers Sharat Kataria and Kanu Behl tells us a compelling and a stark realistic story that hovers around patriarchy, intra-family conflict, gender based violence and insensitivity, and the inner urge to set oneself free.

Cast: Ranvir Shorey (Vikram), Amit Sial (Pradeep aka Bawla), Shashank Arora (Titli), Lalit Behl (Father), Shivani Raghuvanshi (Neelu), Prashant Singh (Prince)

Genre: Crime Drama

Direction: Kanu Behl

Produced by: Aditya Chopra & Dibakar Banerjee

Production Company: Yash Raj Films & Dibakar Banerjee Productions Pvt. Ltd.

Distributed by: Westend Films

Written by: Sharat Kataria & Kanu Behl

Cinematographer: Siddharth Diwan

Film Editing by: Namrata Rao

Theatre Release: May 20, 2015 ( Cannes Film Festival), October 30, 2015 (India)

Language: Hindi

Duration: 124 minutes

Image Courtesy: westendfilms.com

Reviewer's Thumb Mark

Titli (Butterfly), in literal terms these insects that has a long thin body and brightly colored wings that flies mostly during the day are beautiful and catch your fancy but this movie is not about being beautiful or colorful. Titli wakes you up from a deep slumber to the harsh realities of the underbelly of Delhi, it talks about the shattered dreams and miseries of those youngsters who feel deprived of the good things of life and how they live their life to get what they want in their own terms by pouncing on any vulnerable victim/s in the dark alleys of Delhi.   

You end up having a love hate relationship with the characters. They scare you by their inhuman act, they make you empathize them by sharing their miseries, and their helplessness in dealing with odds in their life and at the same time repel you by doing those things that you would have never dreamt of to achieve anything you wanted to get in life.

Titli sheds light on a dysfunctional family of small-time crooks consisting of a manipulative father (Lalit Behl) and three sons. The eldest brother Vikram (Ranvir Shorey) has the final word and no one dares to question him not even his father, his second brother Pradeep aka Bawla (Amit Sial) is his confidant and partner in all crimes. However, the youngest sibling Titli (Shashank Arora) is a misfit among these brothers because he nurtures discreetly a dream of owning a parking lot in an upcoming shopping mall and thereby free himself from the clutches of his brothers and his manipulative father. Titli is a reluctant crook and this doesn't go well with seemingly responsible brothers and therefore, as any family they too decide to get him married with this hope that a girl in his life may make him more responsible to the business. Pradeep also convinces Vikram that this will lead to a new member in their gang and would increase the prospect of their business.

Titli the titular character essayed by Shahsank Arora goes through one setback to another, his whole plan to free himself from his ruined present to a better future goes haywire from frame to frame. The relationship of Titli and his wife Neelu (Shivani Raghuvanshi) is a marriage of convenience. Both of them have their plans up on their sleeves. It is quite interesting to watch how they negotiate with each other to ensure how both becomes instrumental to accomplish their dreams. Do they finally materialize their dreams? It's something to watch on screen.

Ranvir Shorey as Vikram, the decision-maker has done a fabulous work but Shahsank Arora has surpassed all of the characters by his act of helplessness, desperateness and his miseries. You experience the harsh side of life through him. Shivani Raghuvanshi is so real that you relate to her very well. Her timidity, her bold and blunt act to achieve what she wants are all awesome. Amit Sial as the peace keeper between brothers, advisor and a person in a pitiable state of distress and unhappiness driven by happenings in his life is well essayed for the role.

                                           

Debutant filmmaker Kanu Behl's Titli is harsh, disturbing but true to its core in storytelling. Titli is not a fun film that may appeal to all, especially not to those who only visit movie halls to escape from the realities of life. There are some sequences that may be disturbing and need viewer discretion. Titli makes you reflect and think after reaching to your comforts of your dwelling and accept that such world and people exists and have you ever experienced or thought about them and their lives.

Finally, whether Titli manages to fly to his dreamland is a question I would like to leave unanswered for the viewers to find. Titli is real, doesn't hide anything, you take it or leave it but for sure you would love it. If you expect me to issue a disclaimer for those who love only Kuch Kuch Hota Hi to please skip this one I won't, rather would like to urge them to take the risk and watch Titli, you never know after watching you may quote the popular brand's tagline 'I'm Loving It" !

  

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 4/5

Movie Review: The Walk

Image Courtesy: http://i1.wp.com/

The Story Frame:

'The Walk' is the jaw-dropping true story of French high-wire artist Phillippe Petit's daring act of walking between the two then-not-quite-finished Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in 1974. The film pulls the audience into Petit's passion, dream, fear, failure, moments of success, anxiety so craftily that it becomes experiential in the glory of Imax and 3D.

Petit calls his act an artistic coup supported by a bunch of friends who believes in his talent and conviction. What happens in the course of his artistic coup and what awaits him and his co-conspirators due to this illegal act is interesting to watch.

Robert Zemeckis, the director has done a remarkable work in setting this crazy dare-devil act in motion. The film was dedicated to the victims of September 11 attacks in 2001.

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levit (Philippe Petit), Charlotte Le Bon (Annie Allix), Ben Kingsley (Papa      Rudy), Clement Sibomy (Jean-Pierre), Cesar Domboy (Jeff), Ben Schwartz (Albert), Benedict Samuel (David), Steve Valentine (Barry Greenhouse

Genre: Biographical Drama

Direction: Robert Zemeckis

Produced By: Tom Rothman, Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke

Production Company: TriStar Productions, Image Movers, LStar Capital

Written by: Robert Zemeckis, Phillippe Petit, Christopher Browne

Based On: 'To Reach the Clouds' by Philippe Petit

Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski

Music By: Alan Silvestri

Distributed By: TriStar Pictures

World Theatrical Release: 9th October, 2015

Language: English, French

Duration: 123 minutes

Country: USA

Image Courtesy: cdn1.vox-cdn.com

Reviewer's Thumb Mark

Robert Zemeckis has made 'The Walk' extremely spectacular that it become so palatable for the viewers to savour every thrilling moment frame by frame with the dare-devil Philippe Petit on the tight-rope balancing on it mapping the void between the twin towers.

Philippe Petit's  story is legendary by now and no actual film footage of the real act exists. 'The Walk' gives us an opportunity to be right up there with Petit and see down the whole New York become a beautiful miniature painting.

On the morning of August 7, 1947 the New Yorkers saw a man walk in mid air on a tight rope harnessed carefully around the edges of the twin towers and secured around wooden bulwarks on either side. He walks a distance of 110 ft not once but repeatedly as if he was not done with his joy of his feat and that too at a height of 1776 ft above ground. When he walks he walks and when he does his act the viewers are there on the edge of their seat with their heart in their mouth, eyes wide open, biting their nails not knowing what awaits next for Philippe Petit and for them as viewers. Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb Mount Everest, rightly said, "It is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves".

Joseph Gordan-Levit has slipped into the skin of Petit with so ease that he becomes admirable, inspirational, and a true hero on screen. He is  remarkable in emoting all those feelings a high-wire walker of Philippe's stature goes through.

Ben Kingsley as Papa Rudy Omankowsky Philippe's mentor is superb. His astuteness in seeing something in the seed (Philippe) makes him a genius and sets the path for the world to witness a great high-wire artist bewitched by his artistic coup. Papa Rudy's experience and knowledge clubbed with Philippe's grit and conviction sets the tone of the film.

Petit's girlfriend Annie Allix (Charlotte Le Bon) and the other co-conspirators along with Petit go through ambiguities,  hurdles, last moment betrayals, execution failures and what not to deal with the existing system and brilliantly execute their illegal act. Their act as a team proves once again to human kind that the alchemy of collaboration can do wonders to one's own and the world's destiny.

There are some beautiful moments that makes you want to freeze them viz: when Petit assures Annie that he never encroaches the space of another artist, their romance and their camaraderie; Petit's first encounter with Papa Rudy in the circus tent, their respect for each other;  the D day and the night of risk they undertake as a team to execute the plan on the twin towers; and finally the repeated walk between the twin towers by Philippe keeps your heart beating loud and makes you keep your fingers crossed when you look down along with Petit to find New Yorkers cheering him down on the street.

In short, The Walk has everything that can keep you glued to your street and also to walkout of the theatre inspired to experiment some of your wild dreams. It also conveys that we are either born to realize our own dreams  or to be instrumental to make others realize their dream. So look within and hear your voice and decide which role you are ready to play. The Walk is for those who have a dream and also to those who are still trying to figure out what their dream is. So go and watch.

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 4/5

Movie Review: Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2

Image Courtesy: http://wowdelhi.com/

The Story Frame:

Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 is a sequel to the 2011 hit movie with the same name. This movie directed by Luv Ranjan hovers around three love-struck Delhi-NCR boys and the consequences and complications they face in their journey of love.

Cast: Kartik Aaryan (Gogo), Omkar Kapoor (Thakur), Sunny Singh (Chauka), Nusrat Bharucha (Chiku/Ruchika), Sonnalli Seygall (Supriya), Ishita Raj (Kusum), Manvir (Sunny)

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Direction: Luv Ranjan

Produced by: Abhishek Pathak

Written by: Rahul Mody, Tarun Jain & Luv Ranjan

Cinematographer: Sudhir K Choudhary

Music: Toshi Sabri, Hitesh Sonik, Luv Ranjan & Clinton Cerejo

Film Editing by: Akiv Ali

Theatre Release: 16th October, 2015

Language: Hindi

Duration: 136 minutes

Reviewer's Thumb Mark

PKP2 (Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2) is definitely going to earn the ire of the female community for showing women in poor light as not so trustworthy lovers. PKP2 is released as a sequel to 2011 hit Rom Com film Pyaar Ka Punchnama.

PKP2 is brutally hilarious and has a very unpleasant, misogynist outlook towards women's approach on love, relationships, marriage and life. They are portrayed as manipulative, self-centered, gold-diggers and spineless. The story and its plot has close resemblance to its prequel and therefore, for people who has seen the first one the film is predictable. Like in the prequel the three heroes are flat mates and best buddies in the world. They slog in their workplace and party hard. They love booze, girls and party. And amongst the three Thakur  (Omkar Kapoor) earns a fat pay package.

The story is about these three Delhi boys (Gogo, Thakur, Chauka) and three beautiful girls (Chiku, Supriya, Kusum) and how they meet and then what happens after the initial excitement dies. They meet and fall in love with each other at different places - one in a party, second in a wedding, and the third in his gym. 

The movie definitely generate some laughable moments but then the girl bashing and the dialogues and the puns becomes repetitive. The much talked about monologue by Gogo (Kartik Aryan) is too long and fizzles out soon.

The movie fails to portray a balance outlook towards male and female approach on love rather it forges ahead and gives a generic statement on how bad women are in terms of love and men so innocent and trustworthy in love. May be Luv Ranjan and his team at the fag end of the movie may have felt guilty for the whole female bashing and so they suddenly deicide to make their heroes say that only Mommy loves unconditionally.

The female actors are all shopaholics, tantrum queens, pushy, fashionable and also party animals. Chiku (Nusrut Bharucha) comes from a rich and affluent family stays alone in a swanky flat and she expects her boyfriend to understand her even when she plays the agony aunt to one of her best friends and ends up sharing her bed with him.  

Kusum (Ishita Raj)is a girl believes in equal rights and for her sharing the expenses equally is one of the values she holds high and is non-negotiable. But as someone has said it is easy to choose values in life but people often fail to practice and that's what is with kusum too. She ends up owing more than eight lakhs to her all understanding and mature boyfriend.

The third beautiful lass Supriya (Sonnalli Seygall) keeps her boyfriend on tenterhooks guessing whether she will marry him or not. She is busy in love but doesn't have voice at home and makes her boyfriend end up doing her household chores from buying provisions to buying a printer for his would-be-father-in-law.

Pyaar Ka Punchnamma is one-sided and God knows what happened to Luv Ranjan to hate women. Well, that's his film and his take on love and women. If you want to hear how female bashing is done uninhibited go and watch. And if you want to give the film-makers a piece of your mind for their bias towards women, still go and watch and write and speak against them through your comments, review, views on the social media.

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 2.5/5

Movie Review: Talwar

Image Courtesy: wikimedia.org

The Story Frame:

Talwar is based on the infamous 2008 double murder mystery case of Arushi, a 14-year-old DPS girl in Noida and Hemraj, the domestic help in her house. The film revolves around three contradictory versions of the investigating teams and hovers more over the innocence of the parents allegedly involved in the murder. The story becomes a medium to revisit the most sensationalized case of the nation and also one which rocked and questioned the conscience of parents of the nation.

The film was screened in Toronto International Film Festival on 14th of September, 2015. The film is written by the versatile filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj and the director of the movie is Meghna Gulzar. The film is produced by Junglee Pictures a division of The Times of India Group.

Cast: Irrfan Khan (CDI Officer Ashwin Kumar), Konkana Sen Sharma (Nutan Tandon - Mother of Shruti Tandon), Neeraj Kabi (Ramesh - father of Shruti Tandon), Sohum Shah (ACP Vedant Mishra - Second-in-command of Ashwin), Tabu (Reema - Ashwin's Wife), Gajraj Rao (Inspector Daniram), Prakash Belawadi (Swamy - Boss of Ashwin), Sumit Gulati (Kanhaiya), Atul Kumar (Paul - The new CDI Officer), Shishir Sharma (JK Dixit - The new Boss of Ashwin who replaces Swamy)

Genre: Crime Drama

Direction: Meghna Gulzar

Produced by: Vinet Jain, Vishal Bhardhwaj

Production Company: VB Pictures

Written by: Vishal Bhardhwaj

Cinematographer: Pankaj Kumar

Music: Vishal Bhardhwaj

Film Editing by: A Sreekar Prasad

Distributors : Junglee Pictures

Theatre Release: 2nd October, 2015

Language: Hindi, English (film titled as Guilty)

Duration: 132 minutes

Image Courtesy: imgix.net

Reviewer's Thumb Mark

The CID boss Mr. Swamy (Prakash Belawadi) asks his protégé  Ashwin Kumar (Irrfan Khan) the investigating officer of the Shruti Tandon murder case that have he ever observed the statue of justice? He continues saying that people often look at the blindfolded statue holding the balance scales but miss out the sword it wields. The sword depicts the role of the police force.

Well, here in the Arushi Talwar case the whole case was botched and goofed up by all the investigating team, leaving the nation to speculate and live in suspense. The 2008 double murder case rocked the whole nation and the media, as usual, lapped up the whole story adding more spices and served them to us. The voyeuristic media in the name of seeking justice made all the people directly and indirectly involved in the case go under the media trial mercilessly. To add more spice the first investigating team and the following two CBI investigating teams came up with contradictory versions and claims about the whodunit theory. Finally in 2010, after a string of investigations one after another the CBI appealed for a closure of the case due to lack of evidence against the sole suspect Rajesh Talwar identified by them. However, the court rejected the plea and initiated criminal proceedings against the Talwars and the couple were convicted based on circumstantial evidence. Both are still languishing in jail while their appeal is pending in the Allahabad High Court.

It seems that the movie's screenplay writer - Vishal Bhardwaj- intentionally directs the viewers focus on the possible innocence of the parents involved and thereby giving them a benefit of doubt. The film very craft fully depicts different versions of the investigating teams and the various suspects under the scanner. The movie ends with an emotional happy family video recording done on a camcorder of the deceased to portray that everything was well before the brutal murder. The movie leaves the viewers to decide who deserves justice.

The film is good and is a onetime watch for those who would like to see what they already know on screen. It would be a bit disappointing for those who want to know the mystery and would like to reach the core because the film fails to do so.

Neeraj Kabi and Konkana are not in their element and probably their caliber is not explored to the hilt. Tabu as Reema and her marital discord with Ashwin Kumar (Irrfan) is an unnecessary add on and definitely a distraction. What was the compulsion of the filmmakers to bring such an angle is difficult to decipher. Irrfan Khan as the hard-nosed investigating CID officer plays well in his role in every frame - be it his sharp intelligence, his dark humor, his helplessness with authority - touches the viewers.

The real show stealer is Gajraj Rao as the Paan-chewing inspector Dhaniram. He stands out as an actor by his commendable performance. His lackadaisical attitude gets on your nerves. Sumit Gulati as Kanhaiya (compounder of Dr. Tandon) also has given an impressive performance.

Songs like : Jis din aakash bedaag honga, chehera chaand ka saaf honga and Lagta hi woh zinda hi moves you.

In short Talwar, doesn't offer much and I doubt whether it has been successful in garnering support to change the public opinion about the Talwar couple. A movie from the stable of Vishal Bhardwaj could have been more intense and intriguing.

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 3/5

Movie Review: Diary of an Overly Reactive Middle Aged Teenager

The Story Frame:

Image Courtesy: Timescity.com

'Diary of an Overly Reactive Middle Aged Teenager' is a story of a girl who is not ready to be part of a 9 to 5 job in the corporate world. She feels that she has the potential to be an actor and dares to pursue her dream in Mumbai with some rider attached by her parents. The film holds your interest and attention till the end to know how this Overly Reactive Middle Aged Teenager girl deals with her dream and the happenings around it. This film is directed by Prashant Sehgal and it had been part of the official selection of: Delhi International Film Festival, 2013; Jaipur International Film Festival, 2014; Global Film Festival, NOIDA; Bioscope Global Film Festival, 2014, and River to River Florance Indian Film Festival, 2014.

Cast: Sakshi Oberoi Bahadur

Direction: Prashant Sehgal

Assistant Director: Nandita Anand

Produced by: Prashant Sehgal

Story by: Sakshi Oberoi Bahadur

Music: Taylor Hayward, Kevin Macleod

Film Editing by: Prashant Sehgal

Production Company : Phaltu Phillums

Language: Bilingual (English & Hindi)

Duration: 72 minutes

Reviewer's Thumb Mark

The movie begins with the said quote " The Desire to be Famous is as Old as the Desire to Desire". Prashant Sehgal's movie 'Diary of an Overly Reactive Middle Aged Teenager' aka D.O.O.R.M.A.T. is the story of a teenager who dares to listen to her heart and leaves the comfy environment of her home in Indore to reach Mumbai to pursue her dream to become an actor. The film takes you through her diary - a  priced possession (a laptop - a lovely graduation present by her parents). The laptop is her conscience keeper and it is her diary. She feels, she is lazy to write a diary and therefore, she comes up with a brilliant idea to record a diary.

Prashant Sehgal: The Filmmaker

D.O.O.R.M.A.T.  is actually a rendezvous you have as a viewer with the main protagonist, Sakshi. You slowly start liking this chirpy, bubbly young teenager for her weird thoughts, dilemmas and her sheer courage to tread the unknown path just because she is so much in love with what she wants to do in life. This 72 minutes film has been shot in such a simple but amazingly beautiful way that you become an integral part of the film because you realize very soon that without you, Sakshi cannot exist and that you cannot pull yourself out of this emotional bonding you have unknowingly developed with her.

Sakshi Oberoi Bahadur, as Sakshi is awesome as an 'Overly Reactive Middle Aged Teenager'. She holds your interest and takes you through her emotional roller-coaster ride in the pursuit of her dream in the city of Mumbai. You feel happy, confused, anxious, tensed, and also romantic along with her. You start experiencing her experience and that makes this movie distinct from some of the movie I have recently watched.

The film drags a bit because of the repetitive nature of the narration of the diary and  Sakshi's marathon in appearing in different dresses (precisely 46 or may be more than that because I lost count in between, in this short sweet 72 minutes film) keeps you guessing what she will appear in next frame. But the bubbly Sakshi makes you overlook the same.

What happens to Sakshi's dreams, who helps her, what does the city of Mumbai offer her, does her optimism towards life help her surge through the challenges she faces. Watch D.O.O.R.M.A.T. you will enjoy being her diary and shall for sure start missing her, like I feel now, once the movie ends.

Taylor Hayward, Kevin Macleod's music is good. In short, Prashant Sehgal, the film maker tells us to pursue our dreams realistically keeping in mind - the pros and the cons. Sakshi as a writer has infused a kind of freshness in storytelling.

Finally, to review a film made by a dear friend like Prashant is equally challenging and a delight.

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 3.5/5

Moview Review: Masaan

The Story Frame:

Image Courtesy: https://d3bdb3yjvgzhua.cloudfront.net

Masaan is the story of four lovers and their challenges they face in materializing their love in the so called conservative society. The modern days's gadgets and technology plays a vital role in expressing their love but it fails to help them sail through the challenges posed by the very society who created these technologies and new conveniences to bond with each other.  Masaan has already earned its accolades in Cannes by winning awards and is on the journey to earn more on its own land India. It has already wooed Bollywood and its veterans by its sheer beautiful portrayal. It has a fabulous and talented star cast and new comers who has given power packed performances. It has raised the bar of cinema one notch higher.

Cast: Richa Chadda (Devi), Vicky Kaushal (Deepak), Sanjay Mishra (Vidyadhar Pathak), Nikhil Sahni, Shweta Tripathi (Shalu), Pankaj Tripathi, Bhagwan Tiwari, Bhupesh Singh, Satyakam Anand

Genre: Romance & Drama

Direction: Neeraj Ghaywan

Produced by: Vikas Bahl, Melita Toscan du Plantier, Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga, Vikramaditya Motwane, Manish Mundra, Marie-Jeanne Pascal, Shaan Vyas

Production Company: Drishyam Films, Macassar Productions, Phantom Films, Sikhya Entertainment

Written by: Neeraj Ghaywan & Varun Grover

Cinematographer: Avinash Arun Dhaware

Production Designer: Ranjit Singh

Costume Designer: Shruti Kapoor

Music: Indian Ocean

Lyrics: Varun Grover

Film Editing by: Nitin Baid

Theatre Release: 24th July, 2015 (Screened at Cannes 19th May 2015)

Language: Hindi

Duration:  109 minutes

Reviewer's Thumb Mark

Image Courtesy: variety.com

 Masaan (crematorium) - Life... Death... everything in between is what Neeraj Ghaywan depicts through the film Masaan. From the blazing pyre to the heavenly abode when the soul free itself from the shackles of human vices of caste discrimination, religious customs, good & bad, rights and wrongs ... maybe it might be hoping to come back to see a world sans all these complexities it has experienced.  Masaan  is a story of two tragic love stories that runs parallel entwining four characters Devi & Piyush, and  Shalu & Deepak.

The film begins with Devi watching a porn clip on her computer and later being caught in a hotel raid red hand with her boyfriend in her quest to quench her curiosity. The raid's after effects haunts Devi and her father, Vidhyadhar Pathak, as a nightmare because of a local police officer who tries to extort money from them to not to drag them into legal complications.   

Richa Chadda as Devi has given a compelling performance in a deglamourized role. She brings in a kind of originality in the depiction of the character by her body language and dialogue, which shows her tremendous caliber as an actress. Richa Chadda's Masaan shall definitely be remembered and referred as one of her milestones in her acting career. Devi is unapologetic, rebellious, freedom loving, calm and shows immense resilience and courage to sail through the storm in her life to make her mark in this conservative and moralistic society. Devi symbolizes all girls across the country who struggles for freedom and for their silent but bold fight against the so called watchdogs of the society and religion.

Sanjay Misra, as Vidhyadhar Pathak  touches your heart by playing the role of a helpless father who succumbs to the exploitation of a shrewd police officer. His vulnerability and susceptibility as a protective and loving father is so well portrayed that the audience is full of awe for this remarkable actor. A man who once was a Sanskrit professor lives with his daughter and makes a living in his old age as a pundit selling materials for religious rituals and engaging himself as a translator of books for some local publishers. His bonding with his protege 'Jonta' (Nikhil Sahni) a small boy on the ghats who helps him to bring customers to his shop is fabulous. Vidhyadhar and Jonta has some beautiful laughable moments as well as  scenes where you watch them with moist eyes. I would restrain myself to reveal those moments for you to watch on screen.

Sanjay Misra is on a high and draws a large number of fan following. I remember meeting him at Delhi in the 6th Jagran Film Festival during the screening of Masaan, where while answering to a query on what is the secret of his power packed performances?, he said that he is 'alive' (Main Zinda Hun) and that makes him perform. After seeing Masaan, I feel it is so true what he said, he can bring life to any character he portrays to the extent that the character stays with you even after the movie ends. Vidhyadhar Pathak is one such character. Sanjay Misra is on the path of being revered and adored as one of the finest actors the world cinema is experiencing.

Vicky Kaushal as Deepak in the second story wins your heart by his charm. He is the new find of Bollywood who is going to make many hearts beat for him. His debut promises that he is an actor who is here to stay for long. Deepak's innocence and at the same time his identity as a lower caste Dom boy make you smile, laugh and cry with him. There are certain moments of innocence depicted so effortlessly by Vicky like : when he tells his lady love, Shaalu, " Abh tho hum friend hi na" and when he says " Abh yeh Nida Fasli kaun hi?"  It is beautiful to see Deepak drawing courage and support from his bunch of friends who are partners in all his love adventures and creativity he does to express his love to Shaalu but it is also quite evident that they too are caught up with the reality of their society and fear it; they tell him that Shaalu is an upper caste girl, therefore, "Jyaada Senti venti nahi hona" (Beware, do not be too sentimental). Deepak's effort to break free from the shackles of his traditional family profession of burning dead bodies on the ghats of Benaras and become an engineer is inspiring and at the same time his getting haunted by the reality of being a lower caste which is a barrier to his love is heartrending to watch.

Shaalu Gupta's role is donned by the lovely and beautiful Swetha Tripathi. Her love for poetries of Dushyant Kumar, Ghalib, Nida Fazli, Bashir Badr, Akbar Allahabadi and her pristine love for Deepak makes you fall in love with her. Swetha brings in a kind of freshness to the lovebirds portrayed in Bollywood these days. There are some awesome scenes where you simply admire her for her acting like when she tells Deepak' "Tum Bahuth Buddoo Ho" and when she looks up to see the red balloon float above the market fair. When you want more of these two lovers you go through a jolt which leaves you speechless. Swetha Tripathi as Shaalu stays with you even when you leave the theater with her beautiful lines on screen - " Tu Kisi Rail Si Guzarti Hi, Main Kisi Pool Sa Thartaratha Hun..."  

What happens to Masaan's two love stories that are run parallely in the end, is something you need to find in a nearby theatre. Neeraj Ghaywan deserves all the accolades he is receiving for his fantastic movie. Masaan has already added a few feather on its cap at 68th Cannes International Film Festival 2015 - International Federation of Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI) and Prix de I'Avenir 'Most Promising Newcomer' Award for Neeraj Ghaywan in the Un Certain Regard section.

Varun Grover's lyrics clubbed with Indian Ocean's music soothes and touches your heart. It works as the soul of the movie. Avinash Arun Dhaware's cinematography is fabulous and eye catching. It is commendable, impressive and gives us a new feel of the ghats.

In the end, for me Masaan's Cannes' edition was more appealing because there were certain scenes that added more value to the whole plot which is missing in the Indian edition, well Neeraj may have his own reasons and compulsions to edit them. But still it is definitely a must watch.

How I wish that Masaan could have also explored with the possibility of  materializing one of the love story so that it could have directly challenged the so called conservative society.

Watch Masaan and I am sure you will carry a balloon way back to your home and shall set it free before you enter it to watch your love to see it.

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 3.5/5