Mardaani (Aug 2014) - 4/10

Khoob ladi mardaani woh to Jhansi wali RANI thi! That sums up the plot of Pradeep Sarkar’s latest release, where Rani Mukherjee plays a tough cop and unravels a high-profile organized human trafficking racket. The movie is an absolute disappointment, with Rani’s acting being the only saving grace.  The director’s idea to create a macho lady cop image falls flat added by a boring story-line. The movie does not have any good punch lines (except few ludicrous dialogues like Yeh India hai Madam, Tu under 19 ka 12^th player hai, etc), action sequence (except few slapping and IPC Act recitals), art direction (display of semi-nude children fails to create an intended disturbing image), suspense/ thriller trail (only the last 5 minutes of movie explains the so-called master planning by Rani to turn herself into a one woman squad and obliterate the entire racket, arresting the kingpin all by herself!). An exception would be the middleman (a rich car showroom owner) who throws in some good acting along with Rani, and absence of any inappropriate song/ dance sequences, which makes the movie bearable.

A lot was expected from Pradeep Sarkar and his crew if we go by the trailers and post-production, however Mardaani failed to deliver a wholesome woman-centric entertainment unlike this year’s successful movies with woman protagonist like Queen, Highway, Revolver Rani, etc.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (August 2014) - 8/ 10

The Grand Budapest Hotel can be considered one of the best works of Wes Anderson. The story is about the adventures of a legendary concierge, Mr Gustave (played by Ralph Fiennes) at a very famous hotel during the times of WWI and WWII. Zero, the lobby boy (played by Tony Revolori) joins the hotel and earns himself a trusted friendship of Gustave. This would seem like a typical bollywood movie filled with love, violence, action, suspense, drama and so on. Gustave befriends a very rich old woman who suddenly dies bequeathing a very precious painting to Gustave. This leaves the old women's son Dmitri furious and longing for revenge, and ultimately leading to implicate Gustave for the old woman’s murder. Gustave with his loyal lobby boy and the lobby boy’s girlfriend (a pretty baker girl) escapes prison to get justice for himself. Gustave's quest for justice is shot in suspense-cum-funny sequences and finally the "boy with apple" painting hangs happily ever after as GB's most treasured possession.

The movie is shot on a narrative theme with a flash back style. The movie could have been edited better with few scenes getting elongated (like the initial part when narrator meets a young writer). Also, art direction at few places renders the movie a bit childlike (like the closing scene). All said, this comedy drama is a must watch this season and my prediction says it should be nominated for Academy under Best Movie (if the releases till date can be extrapolated!).

Lucy (August 2014) - 6/10

Lucy, directed by Luc Besson (critically acclaimed for directing La Femme Nikita and Leon – The Professional), has not been very highly praised internationally but apparently turns out to be a good entertainer, especially given the dry spell at bollywood since last 3-4 months. The story is about a young girl Lucy who accidentally becomes part of a dark drug deal in Taipei. She is then put on a high-power trial drug by cutting her stomach wide open; the drug has ability to increase human’s brain usage capability significantly. An average human uses 10% of its brain but with the help of this drug, humans can use almost 100% of its brains. Lucy is transformed into a super-power warrior followed by a series of merciless encounters with her captors. Medical conditions makes Lucy fixated to the drug-use and eventually her brain usage starts increasing from 10% to 100% over a week’s time.

This 89 minutes runtime movie is fast paced and filled with action, suspense and science fiction. Many of us would disagree with the movie's science fiction/ backdrop if we go by textbook, but then this is a work of fiction and not science.

The Fault in Our Stars (July 2014) - 7/ 10

Based on a 2012 novel by the same name by John Green, The fault in our stars is a romantic splendor sure to make your tear ducts work. This is a story of Hazel Grace (played by  Shailene Woodley), a cancer diagnosed girl breathing with the help of a nose cannula, and her “the world is not a wish-granting factory” experience and moments. Hazel meets an impossibly charming boy next door, Augustus Walters (played by Ansel Elgort) suffering from a prosthetic leg, at a cancer support group and gradually starts liking him. She is moved by a book she reads, An Imperial Affliction, which ends mid-sentence, and she is very animated to know what happens later to the protagonist. Augustus helps her in meeting the author by travelling to Amsterdam (under critical medical condition), but poor Hazel has to return disappointed as the author behaves scornfully with the young couple. The story further continues with Augustus showering magic in Hazel’s life and mesmerizing her, and finally ends on a forlorn note.

Sadly, book readers have not found the movie as delightful as the novel (which is a case with any novel based movie), however the movie stands beautifully as a pure romantic piece in recent times. Set in Indiana, the movie has been neatly shot with delicate art designing and editing. The fault in our stars is about love, pain and memories & is highly recommended for a young adult audience.  

Bobby Jasoos (July 2014) - 5/10

Vidya Balan starrer Bobby Jasoos is an attempted comedy-cum-drama. Set in Hyderabad, Bobby is an aspiring and struggling detective without any education qualification and managing to investigate few love affairs in her neighborhood. She pursues her jasoosi career much to the disapproval of her Muslim family. The story is centered around Bobby getting hired by Khan (Kiran Kumar) to find 3 people based on age, name and birth marks, for which Bobby gets paid heavily. Bobby is helped by 2 amusing companions who keep the comic theme running in the movie. Subsequently, Bobby finds out that she is part of a larger conspiracy plotted by Khan to kidnap the missing people. Bobby gets involved in unearthing Khan's motives, mired with her personal problems of family's disapproval and wedding arrangement.

The movie begins on interesting caricatures where Vidya Balan takes the lead, but gradually the movie becomes a lackluster. Vidya Balan has played her part wonderfully well, however the film is neither thrilling nor comic, and to top it up ends up on a melodramatic note. Shot extensively in Hyderabad, the movie has a very local background-setting. Music is all over the film and in very bad shape. Wish the directorial debut of Samar Shaikh could have been a better piece of work! 

Children of War (May 2014) - 5/10

Children of War is based on the 1971 Bangladesh genocide which highlights the atrocities of Pakistan Army on Bangladeshis. The story is a work of fiction with background setting of real events taking place during the genocide. Various lives are captured in the movie to display the struggle of ordinary people under the Pakistani regime. A young couple getting separated where the husband (Indraneil Sengupta), a journalist is writing on Army's brutal acts and Bangladeshi independence and who refuses to toe the line with army generals. His wife (Raima Sen) is raped and imprisoned in a rape camp. There is another story of a small kid and his sister, the only inhabitants of their village, and the quest of the brother to safely transport his sister to Indian border.

The movie is a half attempt to capture the terrifying events which occurred during Bangladesh independence. Pavan Malhotra, does justice to his role of a Pakistani Colonel along with other cast. I feel Farooque Sheikh's role has been a mis-cast and could have been done by a lesser gentlemanly character. In-spite of being a 168 min movie, there is less attention to detailing and all the references/ acts are cursory in nature. The movie could have been brilliant had it cut short the music and elongated scenes for a fast paced detailed story.

Hawaa Hawaai (May 2014) – 6/10

Directed by Amol Gupte, Hawaa Hawaai is an inspirational movie for children. The story is very basic and deals with the life of a child tea vendor trying to excel in skating and finally makes it with all hardships. Arjun (the protagonist) has a bunch of slum friends who supports him in his endeavor. He has had a troubled life since childhood, as his father dies when he is very young and he is forced into working as a tea vendor. Story develops into an adaption of Eklavya’s life and the dreams of little children and ends with an emotional note. The first half of the film is funny, fast paced and interesting. However, during the second half the story loses its pace, ending with a dramatized race scene which would not interest audience of all ages. Saqib Saleem has done justice to his role just like his previous movies. The background music is neatly done and blends nicely with the emotional moments during the movie. All in all, Hawaa Hawaai is recommended for children during this summer break (given the options in hand). However, adults can stay away and wait for its TV premiere!