The lunchbox: Movie Review

"The Lunchbox" is one of those movies that you come across once in a while. When you're done with the movie you will rest back on your seat, take a deep breath and smile. You will get on with your life but the characters and the story will remain etched in your mind. 

Needless to say that every aspect of this movie works well right from the story, dialogues, sound (love the sound mixing....so amazingly detailed), performances, camera, direction...I can go on and on.

Irrfan Khan is brilliant as Fernandes, what amazed me was the freshness he brought to the screen while playing an old *about to retire* man. His performance both physical and vocal (The letter portions) was rare and worth noticing.

Nimrat Kaur was dangerously believable. 5 mins into the movie I started thinking that I know this woman, she used to live in mumbai, the same apartment complex as mine. She portrays the typical middle-class house so damn well!! She is beautiful in her simplicity. Nawaz is slowly emerging as the finest actors India has to offer, he takes a character and lives it on the screen. 

You know, the thing that I love the most about his acting style is the characterisctics that he adopts while playing any character. The little nuances that make each human different from another. He adopts the little details so well that I feel like he could take any character and play it with the same believable integrity. Whether its Sheikh from Lunchbox or Don from Don.

Finally Ritesh Batra has written and directed one of the finest films of the decade. The amount of detail he gave to each aspect, whether the characters in the story or the city or the dabbawallas, was beautiful. I absolutely loved the fact that each character of his movie was so well fleshed out, the Aunty, Sheikh, the mother, the husband. Each character had an intruiging story of his own and that was amazing to me(something to learn for every writer).

Watch Lunchbox if you havent already. All this controversy surrounding it is stupid. An academy award is not the deciding factor for how great a film is. Yes I agree this movie would've gotten India noticed but Im also equally certain that a movie this good will not go unnoticed in the international market. And thats what matters the most!

Gravity: Movie Review

Gravity....
I'm not sure how I should word this but i shall make an attempt . Alfonso Cuaron, the maker ( HP3 & Children of men) I knew was good at his craft but after Gravity I definitively believe he is an amazing storyteller. He literally took a common nightmare and turned it into an artistically told story about the will to live. 
This movie is about three characters and their fight for survival in empty space. Just two actors and some voices but incase you're wondering the third character is the dark, vast and empty SPACE. George Clooney plays the much needed comic relief aptly but Sandra Bullock stole the scene for me partly coz her character is beautiful and partly coz she is so believable! I agree others could play her character well too but I think she was just perfect.
The effects are breathtaking and the visuals, worth watching on the big screen.
The story has some cliches but they work well. Although the highlight for me was the style Alonso uses to tell his story. He creates the emotions through his frames kinda like Stanley Kubrick. And I'm a huge fan of that. I loved the fact that he makes you feel claustrophobic through the shots only coz it makes every emotion so much more believable.
If you're a fan of commercial experimental cinema you have to watch this one in the theatre. I say that coz if you're looking for some popcorn sci-fi flick this might not be for you!
Please share your views.

Rush: Movie Review

I saw Ron Howard's RUSH this weekend and I swear to God when I left the theatre I was ready to jump in to a F-1 car and drive off. But unfortunately I couldn't find one. So I did the next best thing....jumped into my Honda Accord and almost got a speeding ticket!
Ok I might be exaggerating a little there 
The film is an experience you shouldn't miss while its still in the Theaters. The movie is so thrilling that you dont for a second take your eyes off the screen. The story is amazing, its so tough to believe that rivalry like this could exist between two talented drivers. Im not a Chris Hemsworth fan but he did well.. although Daniel Brühl just completely stole the scene with his performance of racer Niki Lauda. He is so confident and natural that you are left wanting more at the end of the movie. I will be shocked and angry if he doesnt receive an Academy Award nomination for this. Ron Howard is once again BRILLIANT. He has a knack for making characters seem so believable yet so out of this world that you cant help but be awestruck...Whether its Frost/Nixon or Apollo 13 or a A Beautiful Mind. When I think about it, what's really interesting were the character graphs of the two main protagonists, they were extremely similar at their core concept to Frost/Nixon's. Hatred to Rivalry to Mutual Respect. Which I like coz in the process you see a spectrum of amazing performances.
Last but far from the least, the cinematography is worth an Academy Award. This is how you shoot and use Slow Motion shots. There were moments I had my mouth open in awe only because the shots were so breathtaking!
Watch this one! Even if you dont like the movie Im sure you'll find something that amazes you!

Trance Movie Review

So I just saw Danny Boyle's Trance and it was a total Mind****. Like my friend Mustafa said "It's like sticking your head in to a blender, pouring gasoline on it and then turning it on!" HaHa I completely agree. A lot of people do not like such movies and like watching movies that follow at least somewhat of a linear narrative but Im not gonna lie I love watching such movies. So much more to derive. I like the other kind too but sometimes (More often than not) I feel like such movies, provide the much needed mental exercise that also influences me somehow.
Trance did just this for me. Amazing!!! Simply Amazing cinematography. Every frame is better than the other. There isn't a lot of panoramic shots so if you feel claustrophobic easily you might wanna stay away from this one. Each frame has just amazing lighting. In fact the lights tell you a story of their own. The editing too is worth deciphering and tells a story of its own (obviously parallel to the movies').
At the end watch the movie to enjoy a good entertaining mental exercise. Its like inception but about hypnosis so a double whammy for me. HaHa.
Watch it, enjoy it and let me know what you think.

D-Day Movie Review

Just saw D-Day (Have been busy the past two months so I'm still catchin up) and absolutely loved it. It had everything going for it an excellent narrative, good performances (except Arjun Rampal as stone faced as ever), emotionally charged script, slick cinematography/editing/action and a strong lasting impression. Honestly going into the film I did not expect Nikhil Advani to pull off this concept especially after Patiala House and Chandini Chowk, but he redeemed himself with this one. The writing was water tight (the research showed) and I was constantly hooked. You know the movie is well made when you dont want it to end (at least thats how I feel whie watching a good movie) and D-Day made me feel so. Indian Film industry has moved a longggg way ahead in its content but whats still upsetting is that movies like these still dont do all that well while on the other Chennai Express a ridiculously annoying *Brain Cell killing Serial Killer of a movie* turns out to be the most successful of the year.
I saw CE a while back but never felt like writing about it coz 1.) I had other things to do and 2.) It would've been a waste of my time to write it and your time to read it (You might feel the same about this review too but what the hell this is my status update after all).
It all boils down to a confusing discussion is it the filmmakers or is it the audience? Do we need to re-think the content we are feeding the audience or does the audience need to support stronger content? *I guess both*. Because lets face it Indian audiences or for that matter any audience wants good content and although good content is subjective where do we draw the line between *This is a Brainless entertainer that the audience wants* and *We are just gonna make money off the audience who cant tell the difference between good marketing/bad movie and poor marketing/good movie*.
Coming back to the subject D-Day was a good entertaining movie. Maybe a victim of poor marketing?

Lootera Movie Review

Just watched Lootera and I'm not gonna lie... I expected more.....I liked the first half but then it just lost its grip on me.....the second half pretty much had content worth 20 mins rolled into a 1 hr 10 mins long sequence packed with some *leading to nowhere* Drama.... I loved the way Motwane developed some characters in the first half... like Sonakshi's, her father's or even Ranveer's friend... but I felt that he completely lost them in the second half (especially Sonakshi)...not once did I feel any strong emotions for Ranveer's character.... I feel like thats a bad thing especially when he is the main protagonist....Oh and also Ranveer needs to stop talking to himself...he has the most ridiculous dialogue delivery ever....its like whenever his character is sad...or angry....or happy...or being romantic... Ranveer starts mumbling his dialogues under his breath like a kid talking to his imaginary friend...also I get that a movie should be a cinematic experience but what I dont understand is Motwane's overuse of distracting CGI...Its as if the entire second half was shot in front of a green screen....As I write this review Im realizing why I was so unhappy with the movie...most importantly I think the story and its characters....the writing in general... lacked the layers that Motwane as a writer displayed with Udaan...maybe its just me but Lootera could've been a lot more had it not been looted off its possibilities... 

Bhaag Millkha Bhaag Movie Review

So I just saw Bhaag Milkha Bhaag...and honestly I am totally confused and conflicted.....its one of those movies that I want to like and be inspired by and no matter what be biased towards because its about a great man who brought great pride to India....but unfortunately by doing so I will only be lying to myself....I mean yes Milkha Singh is a great man and has a great story to tell....but unfortunately I did not think that the movie did justice to that...for all you guys who liked the movie and think Im just a hater....let me explain myself here...Mainly there were three things that I did not like about the movie...ONE...I get that he is an amazing personality and fought through some tough times to achieve his goals but as I watch the movie I cant help feel (what I consider) is the over dramatization of certain aspects....I mean yes its a movie...it needs to be dramatic ...and I dont have a problem with that. I have a problem with how over the top some of it felt (over the top only because I was relating it to real life with some extraordinary circumstances)....I never thought I would say this... but Guru was a biopic too and although I am not a huge fan of the movie I appreciate (now more than ever) the realism that Mani Ratnam tried to keep in the movie....i think it made the movie even more inspiring ...(I mean no real hero is all white ..there is always some grey in there)...TWO...What was up with the screenplay dude....it was jumping around like a kangaroo with no real structure....Interestingly I think Rakeysh OP M is one of the few directors in bollywood who can handle a non-linear narrative (case in point RDB)...I love non-linear narratives but only when it all makes sense even if it does so in a really convoluted manner....R O M jumps around one decade to another so abruptly that by the end of it I dont feel truly connected with Milkha at any of his different ages...comparing it to RDB I thought RDB was so beautifully scripted that at no point was the change in timeline distracting...in fact it felt so much more smoother and continuos.....THREE...I felt like with this film R O M for the first time experimented with slow motion HD shots...wow I felt like if you just sped up the slow mos...the movie would've ended 15 minutes earlier...dont get me wrong...some of the takings were beautiful but the fact that most of it was repetitive and random was what irritated me...for example...Sonam and Farhan's love story had three important aspects...Sonam, Farhan and a bucket of water...ever 2 minutes (in a 20 minute long story) there was a random slow mo shot of water splashing in a bucket or out of a bucket or out of a tap or on the ground... WAIT WHAT?? :| .....On the other hand...I loved Farhan...it was a brilliant attempt...he physically and mentally transformed himself into Milkha Singh...some time back I had seen an interview of Milkha Singh...he had peculiar walk...I loved the way Farhan imbibed that into his portrayal and kept it constant throughout the movie...Pawan Malhotra absolutely brilliant as usual...Prakash Raj was playing a different character for once and did so with ease...Yograj Singh (although rough around the edges)...seemed the right choice as the coach...Sonam did well in her cameo...s barely had one or two dialogues but no one's complaining ..she looked pretty but I thats what R OP M wanted from her character...at the end of the day...for those of you who dont wanna read the whole review (and I understand)...my first thought after watching the movie was that...I wish they had made a documentary for History channel or something and brought in more realism...than make a movie about a truly great personality but loose the realism just because a movie needs over dramatization....Just a thought...