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.