MUMBAI; 10th September 2017: Anil Kapoor who has time and again set an exemplary example of reinventing himself despite his superstardom, now steps into the shoes of an aspiring musician in KriArj Entertainment & Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Fanney Khan.

While the star has everyone intrigued with his new look in the film, what very few know is that it took over 50 hours to finalize his salt-pepper look in the film.

Anil Kapoor went all out to get his look just right for Fanney Khan and after several creative discussions with the makers of the film finally zeroed in on the look. The star visited a popular salon in the suburbs for 5 days at a stretch, clocking in over 10 hours each day to work just on his hair.

Since Anil Kapoor had to essay the role of the lovably flawed and rough around the edges Fanney Khan, the star also had to go lean for his look. What’s more is that since he recently suffered from an ankle injury, he had to incorporate alternative forms of workouts into his regular fitness regime and took over 4 weeks to achieve the desired results.

All praise for the superstar says producer Arjun N.Kapoor, ” Anil Kapoor plays a character who celebrates the extraordinary in the ordinary and hence looking the part was extremely crucial. He managed to pull it off beautifully and continues to inspire all of us with his dedication and passion”.

Bhushan Kumar says, “Anil Kapoor is an actor par excellence who gives his 200 percent to any character he portrays. The love and passion he has for films are visible in the time he has invested to get his look right and the dedication he has shown to get the perfect physique.”

Producer: Arjun Rampal, Rutvij Patel

Director: Ashim Ahluwalia

Writer: Ashim Ahluwalia, Arjun Rampal

Music: Sajid–Wajid

Starring: Arjun Rampal, Aishwarya Rajesh, Nishikant Kamat, Farhan Akhtar

Daddy is the story of how a mill shut down in the in Central Mumbai in the 70s destroyed the lives of the daily wagers and their families and among them is Arun Gulab Gawli/ Arjun Rampal. When Arun arrives at the mill to deliver his father’s tiffin and is prohibited, he gets into an altercation with the supervisor and strikes him hard with his tiffin box.

It is the first expression of accumulated frustration festering within Arun and his friends who spend all day playing carom and chatting about neighbors. They desperately need a source of livelihood and are introduced to gambling popularly referred to as matka but short cuts come with a baggage and when one of them is murdered, they decide to take revenge and become serious criminals.

Babu, Rama and Arun discover they are a gang when they are summoned by bhai/ Farhan Akhtar’s trusted aide for a supari. The mission is accomplished but Arun gets arrested and set free the same night on bhai’s behest. The first half tells about Gawli’s growth as a don and the second half of his transforming into a messiah popularly referred to as Daddy.

First thing first, the film endorses it is a true story and maintains name and location of the characters. From Dagdi chawl and Dongri in the 70s to Rajya Sabha in 2000 Daddy travels four decades and presents the changing face of Bombay to Mumbai when vehicles were smaller and roads broader, when phone dials rotated and TV sets came out of a box, when youngsters wore long hair and state police dressed in ink uniforms.

The positives of the film are the detailed production design dotting the crowded gullies and the gang operating from dingy caves. Adding mystery to the plot are the characters, their authentic locations/ costumes, music, language and deliberately dry narrative. Co-written by Ashim and Arjun Rampal Arun Gawli is portrayed without apologies or justification and with all his flaws including his addiction.

The negatives are the excessive violence, the suffocating dim lighting and inaudible, mumbled dialogues. The film appears longer than it is because it is heavy in content without any trappings of comedy or dance. Some films are designed for entertainment, some to deliver the message, Daddy is to acquaint you with the protagonist who is a victim of his circumstances.

In my opinion, there are three reasons for watching Daddy. It stars two remarkable filmmakers, Nishikant Kamath and Farhan Akhtar as a cop and criminal and both do a super job! Arjun Rampal debuts as co-writer and finally post Rock On, Daddy is Arjun Rampal’s best performance of his career.

I rate Daddy with 3 stars.

As the day of his departure gets closer you are not the only one who is sad. The deity is as depressed about leaving you… On the final day after the final aarti the idol is carried around the house to ensure that he blesses every nook and corner, at the door every family member whispers his wish to him and has faith that he will fulfill them the following year.

There is one more aarti at the spot of visarjan after which Ganpati accompanied by his potli of wishes is immersed inside the pond. Here are some of the unforgettable images…. You always feel heavy hearted when you return home after immersing the deity into the sea. His august presence is strongly missed but that is life and Lord Ganpati teaches you that life must go on…

@bhawanasomaaya

Different people have different ways of bringing home the deity. Unlike others I don’t book my Ganpati in advance because I want it to be a surprise. It is said that the deity chooses his host and the way to recognize him is to make eye contact and one out of the many idols will give you a signal that it is Him you have to bring home. The idol talks to you and in the ten days he resides in your home you get familiar with his changing expressions.

I address my Ganpati as Gannu and I’m sure he loves the name. My friends love it and make sure never to miss their date with him. Many of them brought him modaks though I feel he preferred fruits and flowers. Unlike other hosts I monitored his diet and made sure he did not gain weight. Unlike other homes there was no naach gaana at my home, I met Gannu at regular intervals for meals and tea break and rest of the time while I banged on the keyboard and completed my assignments, Gannu wrote destinies of people.

While Ganpati was at home I preserved a wish box beside the idol where everyone could write him a letter and drop it inside the box. On the last day all the wishes wrapped in a potli are immersed with the idol.  In the initial years I would write him a letter every day, gradually the letters decreased because now I had faith that he will fulfill all my wishes anyway.

@bhawanasomaaya

Date: 01. 09. 2017

Director: RS Prasanna 

Producer: Aanand L Rai, Krishika Lulla

Writer: Prasanna/ story, Hitesh Kewalya/ screenplay

Cast: Ayushman Khurana, Bhumi Pednekar, Seema Pahwa

Ratings: 2.5 stars

Who would have imagined that a day will come when Indian cinema will make a film about erectile dysfunction? A remake of 2013 Tamil film Kalyana Samayal Sadham, Shubh Mangal Savdhan is a big leap in entertainment history.

The film opens to our hero Mudit Sharma/ Ayushman Khurana standing on the road staring at Sugandha/ Bhumi Pednekar. He has been doing it for many days but not mustered courage as yet to talk to her. She is eagerly waiting for romance to blossom but he squashes her dream by sending an official online proposal to her parents.

He is qualified, so is she and the parents agree to an engagement after brief introductions by both families over Skype.

The families decide on a destination wedding in Haridwar and as the parents get busy with preparations, the bride and the groom decide to check each other out more intimately but unfortunately nothing happens! The hero is since then forever sulking and when confronted by his fiancé exclaims, ‘It is a Gents problem, you will not understand’.

In the next few days, everyone assembled for the wedding is discussing the hero’s very personal Gents Problem and waiting for a solution!

The positives of the film are the bold subject and the wise message that patience can cure all perils. The negatives are the storytelling where despite lovable characters and some hilarious moments, the film fails to engage you.

Credit ought to be given to the film for defying stereotypes. Shubh Mangal Savdhan reflects a changing mindset of society not just in technology but also family and man woman equations.

After playing the ill adjusted couple in Dum Laga Ke Haisha the lead pair is more than compatible this time picnicking in Delhi gardens or discussing Gents problem on the house terrace.

As Sugandha, Pednekar is vivacious and Khurrana proves he is ready for any kind of role.

Watch Shubh Mangal Savdhan for the ever dependable Seema Pahwa and the super spirited Bhoomi Pednekar.

I rate Shubh Mangal Savdhan with 2.5 stars.

Date: 01 September 2017

Director: Milan Lutharia

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D’Cruz, Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta, Sanjai Mishra and Vidyut Jammwal

Ratings: 1.5 stars 

Set in the emergency era of 1975 Baadshaho follows a group of Rajasthani thugs who loot the gold confiscated from Rani Geetanjali during the Emergency and transport it to Delhi.

A two year leap, bombing of a palace in Jaipur and the arrest of Rani Geetanjali now confined to a dark cell, we are introduced to super hero  Bhawani/ Ajay Devgn who is unaffected by any calamity in the world including gas bombs and is, therefore, the perfect candidate to safeguard the queen..

If army officer Viddyut Jammwal is entrusted with stealing the gold recovered from Geetanjali’s palace and safely transports it to Delhi, Ajay Devgan is appointed to make sure that gold never reaches Delhi.

The positives of the film are the compelling action sequences from Ajay Devgan and Vidyut Jamwal and the intrigue surrounding the assembled wealth. The negatives, unfortunately, outweigh the positives. Baadshaho has poor writing/ editing, blaring music resulting in an insipid viewing.

It’s difficult to believe that a filmmaker who gave us Kachche Dhaage in 1999 and Once Upon A Time in Mumbai in 2010 can serve us Badshao in 2017.  A filmmaker of Milan Lutharia caliber must know that firing guns, bare chest bodies, raunchy numbers don’t make movies.

Movies call for a story and the sincerest performances in this case Sanjay Mishra and Emran Hashmi cannot replace content in a film.

I rate Baadshaho with 1.5 stars.

I still remember the winter of 1993 when I was shopping medicines for my ailing mother. The street was buzzing with Ganpati bappa morya and on an impulse, I said if my mother survives the dark night, if I don’t take her to the hospital again, I will celebrate this festival as long as I can.

My mother was not confident of my undertaking this massive responsibility and advised I experiment with the existing idols at home for a few years before making commitments to the elephant God. So for the next few years, I allotted a specific to a specific space and worshiped him with regular puja morning and night for 10 days after which my driver, Pramod, a veteran with Ganesh God would immerse the idol into the sea.

By 1999 I had exhausted all the idols at home and immersed them into the sea and in 2000 my mother passed away in her sleep. In the same year, I was returning home from work late evening when I found a man selling Ganesha idols on the road. Without thinking I stopped the car and picked a small idol.  My mother had gone but God had arrived home to bless me and has been coming ever since.

The years 2002 to 2007 are a blur. Every year on the eve of the festival I brought him home the previous night and like all growing children, he was always an inch taller than the previous year. He ate what I served him and went to bed when I was tired. Before leaving to work I offered him his pen and paper and I assume he loved his privacy and silence as much as I loved mine. In the evening we shared our day and load of work. I discovered he valued his privacy as much as I did. The neighbors got wind of my association with him only when I bid him farewell. Some of them came ahead for a closer look, asked questions, while others stepped aside and just stared at him. He has that aura. People always stand and stare when he passes by!

It is a special day for the family and they begin preparations for her arrival days in advance. They cook her favorite food and buy her favorite clothes. The home is dressed like a bride because the daughter is special and will stay with her parents only for a day.

Gauri has visitors all day because everyone is curious to know how she is and whether she is happy at her in-laws home.

Today, Gauri will leave for her home and everyone will be very sad.

Her parents will be desolate because they will have to wait another year for their daughter to pay them a visit and son Ganpati will be heartbroken to part with his mother.

It is said that if you watch a Gauri idol closely you will find her weeping on her way home. In the villages, all the women gather and cry together when they bid farewell to Gauri mata.

There is another story why Gauri has to depart before Ganesha. She will be waiting in the sea her arms outstretched for her son.

We think we immerse Ganesha into the sea, but that is far from true. Ganesha’s mother collects her baby in her arms before he can drown and carries him to their abode in the heaven.

What a delightful story and quite believable that too.