somaayabhawana

Regular action masala film

Film: Satyameva Jayte

Date: 15.08.2018

Director/ Writer: Milap Zaveri

Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee, Aisha Sharma, Amruta Khanvilkar, Nora Fatehi, Myrah Dandekar

Music: Sanoj Chowdhury

He knows everything there is to know about his victim and follows them till he is ready to strike. His way of killing them is to burn them alive sometimes in their home, sometimes at their workplace, sometimes making it appear as an accident and sometimes in full public view.

Veer/ John Abraham is a charcoal artiste who paints portraits but his goal in life is to hunt corrupt cops and to punish them.  He does this systematically and always warns the police station of his next move.

Police officer Manoj Bajpaye is on a family vacation and summoned on duty to nab the killer and while he cracks the jigsaw puzzle of his modus operandi he fails to nab the culprit.

First a few clarifications: Satyameva Jayte is not a patriotic film; it is just releasing on the Independence Day and it is a regular mainstream masala film.

What makes it different is that it is cop specific where the hero fights corruption from outside the system!

Writer-director Milap Zaveri serves you plate full of action sequences where human bodies are reduced to coal before the final message can be delivered.

And to make it palatable he adds family drama, a little romance, an item number, a flashback and a twist in the tale.

Satyameva Jayte is for the hard core formula film fans, watch it if you enjoy John Abraham do dare devil stunts or are fans of Manoj Bajpayee.

I rate Satyameva Jayte with 2.5 stars.

Bhawana Somaaya

Film: Gold

 Date: 15.08. 2018

Director: Reema Kagti

Story-Screenplay: Reema Kagti & Rajesh Devraj

Dialogues: Javed Akhtar

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Mouni Roy

Excel produced Gold is the story of an iconic moment in Indian history when Germany and British India played hockey finals at the Berlin Olympics and defeated the Germans in 1936.

The victory is meaningless for the team because they cannot hoist the Indian flag and therefore determined to come back and represent a free India.

But dreams die hard and as the World War II spread discontentment and devastation Tapan Das/ Akshay Kumar supporter of hockey becomes a wastrel and a hustler drowning in alcohol.

His heart beats for hockey however and when he reads about the forthcoming Olympics he wastes no time to prepare his team.

1947 celebrates free India but independence comes bathed in bloodshed and the hockey team is divided into India and Pakistan.

Now Tapan Das has to build a new team all over again and there are too many obstacles and challenges but come Olympics 1948 and the Indian hockey team fights to win yes, but also to overcome the British legacy of slavery of 200 years.

The positives of the film are the characters, the dialogues, the art design and to an extent the music.

The negative is the length and the pace but the climax more than makes up for the fluctuations.

Still the performances are praiseworthy. Vinet Kumar Singh as Imtiaaz, Amit Sadh as Prince Raghubir and Sunny Kaushal as Himmat Singh deliver with precision. Mouni Roy as Akshay’s better half is spunky and sparkling and sexy too, Roy revives memories of vintage Sharmila Tagore.

Akshay Kumar is effortless as the manager cum talent scouter and is given ample opportunities to romance and dance. Gold is one more feather in his long list of socially relevant films.

Director Reema Kagti inspires national pride without being jingoistic; she refrains from overemphasis and does not remotely resort to Pakistan bashing. Through subtle scenes, in the green room and on the playground Kagti makes you teary-eyed without being dramatic.

Gold is a story of a nation, of sports, of team spirit, of conviction and most important, of dreams. Time was when women filmmakers only made films only about women, today their gaze includes the universe which is reflective of how much India has changed.

Gold is a worthy watch for all families on Independence Day.

I rate Gold with 3.5 stars.

Bhawana Somaaya

Mohanlal’s upcoming Malyalam film Odiyan is the most anticipated films in recent times because it is based on the subject of shape shifting which means a situation where men can transform themselves into a different creature. The Odiyan community existed in Kerala before electricity was discovered.  The film’s protagonist Mohanlal will be seen ageing from 30 to 60 and also transforming into different animals.

While the special effects will be done by NY VFXwaala, Ajay Devgn’s VFX Company, Hollywood stunt master Peter Hein has been hired to choreograph the stunts. Directed by VA Shrikumar, the film budget is said to be estimated1000 Crore.

Odiyan starring Manju Warrier and Prakash Rai will be released on 11 October 2018 in Malyalam and dubbed in Hindi.

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The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne has awarded Rani with the Best Actress Award for the year for her performance as Naina Mathur, a passionate teacher who deals with Tourette syndrome globally in Hichki.

Hugely popular with sizeable Indian diaspora living in Melbourne, Rani expressed her gratitude to all her fans abroad.

The theme of the IFFM 2018 festival was ‘Inclusion’ and Rani Mukerji is the right candidate for the occasion who has balanced the sensitive with the successful. The jury comprised an eminent panel of Andrew Anastasios, Jill Bilcock, Geoffrey Wright, Nikkhil Advani, Rajeev Masand, Simi Garewal, Sue Maslin all of who unanimously decided to choose Rani Mukerji for the honors.

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The Father starring Naseerudin Shah is Motley’s most successful play is back after a houseful season last year at the NCPA experimental and it’s a first where theatre in India is concerned.  It opened last year with houseful shows in September followed by a month long performance at Prithvi Nov-Dec 2017. Written by Florian Zeller, translated by Cristopher Hampton the story jolts us into the awareness that a very thin line separates the ludicrous from the pathetic.

Wry, moving, hilarious and disturbing in turn Father is a family drama about what happens to the victim and to the care giver. With excellent performances by Shah and his team the play is a must watch for all fathers and sons.

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Shatrughan Sinha and Dharmendra have been friends since 70s, their families are friends and when the kids were younger they often went on holidays together.  On the big screen we have seen them in Dost, Blackmail, Teesri Aankh and after 20 years they are coming together again in Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se!

It is a strange feeling for both of them because their children are now working in films and when Dharmendra asked Shatrughan Sinha to make an appearance he could not refuse. It was an emotional moment for not just both of them but their entire families. Post the shooting Dharmendra revealed that Shatrughan Sinha presides as the judge and he hand his sons were delighted to have an old friend in their home production.

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Sanhita Manch Festival is an initiative by the Being Association which solely strives to create social awareness through theatre. Mumbai is the cultural hub of India that offers opportunities to all who get attracted to theatrical pursuits. Hindi literature might not date back to a very long forgotten era, but post-independence contemporary times have been a witness to its creative rise and development.

In the present scenario, the emerging writers always struggle to get noticed. Being Association aims at bringing new original theatre scripts to the readers and these plays include Harus Marus, a satire where the writer literally creates a mob of rats in search of food comparing it to the human life compelled to choose a life of rat over human life. Pashmina enlightens us on Kasmir by introducing us to Amar and Vibha Saxena, a close to retirement couple looking for a pashmina shawl and the discoveries that follow and finally Abhi Nahi Hoga Mera Antt is inspired from the life of poet Surya Kant Tripathi ‘Nirala’.

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Girl in the City Chapter 3 premiered on 13th July across all Bindass Originals’ platforms, has already crossed the esteemed 10 million views mark on social media – with just a couple of weeks into the show. So what’s special about the show apart from the fact that it is inspirational and why is that everybody finds her and her story so relatable?

Protagonist Meera is no more the ordinary girl but somebody special, the question is how long can she remain special? Will she begin a trend of more  Meera’s to come or will the audience get tired of her struggles and her success and want more to the character and to the story, what do you think?

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Disney’s Christopher Robin brings the timeless charm and nostalgia of A A Milne’s stories and characters to the big screen in an imaginative tale about the joy and purity of youth. A heartwarming live-action adventure, Christopher Robin is directed by Golden Globe nominee Marc Forster and stars Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin; Golden Globe nominee Hayley Atwell as his wife, Evelyn; Bronte Carmichael as his daughter, Madeline; and Emmy winner Mark Gatiss as Giles Winslow, Robin’s boss the film addresses to the child in all of us.

The acclaimed director known for his eclectic range of films—including Finding Neverland, Quantum of Solace and The Kite Runner—grew up loving Disney live-action films and was immediately drawn to the story. It had a sense of magic realism, and he believed it had the potential to become an artistic, emotional, funny and timeless film. “When you are able to make people laugh and cry in the same movie and you are able to tell the story with integrity and ground it in reality and have the magic realism on top of it, it lifts your spirits and connects you with the people you love,” says Forster.

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