Movie Review #All is Well

Quite Frankly, from the onset, in my mind i was clear that a movie like "All is Well" will never be my kind of watch in a theater - This is a movie which would make sense only as a Home watch. Obviously, the producers want all of their movies to be Great grossers at the theater but off late, the trend seems to be changing, with a lot of the money & profits being recovered via media & satellite rights soold for the movies - So it may actually make sense for makers to design the product catering to the different viewers . When we as a user pay 400 bucks plus an equivalent amount for the snacks & eats, making a dent of about 1k in my pocket, my expectations are much different than when i am watching the movie in the Comfort my Home

Coming back to the Movie, for starters, to me the only watchable aspect of the movie looked to be the Inimitable Rishi Kapoor. I have seen a lot of Abhishek Bachcan duds in the past,& was not too sure of , however , i thought to myself, that AB Jr being what he is,atleast Rishi Kapoor & Supriya Pathak, both cant go wrong & my guess was right.

All is well - is a very sensitive movie about family relationships, about how families may run out of patience with each other, but if the roots are strong, they dont run out of love for each other. A small family based in Kasuali, a Family Bakery business, which just doesnt work, A Rigid & obstinate father played by Rishi Kapoor, who is struggling to make ends meet for him & his family. A Son, who is disgruntled with the situation of the family and to make matters worse, is also a budding musician & knows that his calling is far away from his small hill town & his Fathers Defunct Bakery business. The Family tensions & moments of stress are beautifully showcased without showing the ugliness - The Son leaves the family, fed up of the daily struggles, frustrations with his father & in hope for a better life & better future. But unfortunately, city life doesnt make it easy for him & his dream - having lost contact with his family & still not making it big, a chance phone call from his Dads lawyer, requesting him to come to Kasuali, for signing some Property papers, which would get him a bounty of the ancestral property . On reaching there, reality dawns on him, that his families financial condition has worsened & they are in huge debts...Father & son, keep blaimg each other for the hard times on the family & for not taking due care & responsibility of the family. Supriya Pathak, who plays RKs wife & AB Jrs mother, in the movie, is hown suffering from Alzeimers disease, this also adds to the misery and gravity of the situation. The local goons also presusrise the family to pay off their debts. An attempt to run away from the goons, the funny escape & chase sequence, forms the backdrop of the movie - Also how towards the end of the journey, the father & son, come to empathise with each others situations & the Son eventaully, manages to make things better for the family

A decent performance with Rishi Kapoor, playing an Egoistic, rigid, simpledon Punjabi patrtiarch. Abhishek Bachcahn, actually manages to Impress in this role. Asin, who plays Abhisheks Love interest, comes as a fresh breath of air . Supriya Pathak, in a very restrained performance does justice to the role - The surprise package of this film , was Zeeshan Mohammad Ayub...Who plays "Cheema" the local moneylender goon, who makes life hell for the Family ...Zeeshan ayub, has been seen in movies like Raanjhana, Tanu weds Manu Returns . This movie showcases his comic skills to a great extent - Cheema is a lovable goon...

All is Well - is a Decent watch

Movie Review # Tanu weds Manu returns

Normally bollywood mainstream and commercial mega bumpers should not find mention in this Blog. However the unique and ensemble cast of Tanu weds Manu returns is what forces one to actually make note..Minus Kangana, none of the actors are actually commercial mainstream cinema stars

What I loved about the film in addition to the fact that it's a brilliant movie with great performances, the movie has given a clear characterisation and scope to all other character actors....Most of them are theater actors who have carved a niche for themselves in performance based movies and not the 100 cr club gate crashers ..
let's talk about the characters a bit more in detail

Do you guys remember "Om prakash Sangwan" ..Dattos elder brother, played by theater and Bengali movies established actor, Rajesh Sharma...Om prakash Sangwan had one solid scene in the movie where you come to know the characters plot...why a jaat from jhajhar, leaves his village and ancestral home to support his younger sister dreams of achieving something in sports.....The liberal Jaat brother who's not against inter caste marriage....Sharma, burst on bollywood scene with Khosla ka Ghosla....as Munjaal, assistant to Boman irani..his other notable roles have been in" Special 26", "No one killed Jessica"

Pappi bhaiSahab, as the adorable and lovable friend..The kind of friend in everybody's friend circle who is always unlucky in love..Never stops trying, the frustrated Aashiq,Deepak Dobriyal just steals the show with his childlike innocence, brazen instinct for love, and tongue in cheek humour..Deepak has been performing in delhi theaters for a long time..I can't help but remember some of his brilliant scenes and dialogues from the movie. ......

"You are a Good Question"
"Humaari colony ki do nicker waali ladkiyon ne Humein propose kya tha...par unhe chhod hum tumhaare pass aa gaye"
"Hum 34 saal ke hai is liye ...agar 26 saal ke hotey, to tumhe puchtey bhi nahin "
Or when he goes to get madhavan out from the mental asylum in London and on commenting about the dress & madhavans response to the funny comment, Puppy bhaiSahabs line " arre his humour is running " suggesting that a madhavan looked fit

The scene where Madhavan and his father are discussing about the marriage and divorce issue...is nothing short if cult stuff..Imagine MK raina, an old man with a small pony tail having a drink with his son and asking to manage life with a nagging wife....is one of the coolest father son discussion ever on a matter as grave as divorce and marital issues

Swara bhaskar, another Delhi theater trained artist who plays Payal, Tanus friend is good in her role and does full justice

zeeshan ayub, as the law student who refuses to go out of Tanus house and later her life, is a typical UP bhaiya who goes senti after a girl and then acts as the typical lose and scorned lover.Zeeshan ayub, has been part of movies like "No One Killed Jessica" where he played Manu Sharma & "Raanjhana".

Kanganas stand out scene has been the one where she comes out draped in just a towel to meet the prospective groom for her sister and does a " Namaste" jig to all in her towel....

The Highlight of the film clearly has to be Datto..Datto is a character that has never before been played on silver screen ever before and I am not too sure that can be created ever again..Datto or Kumari Kusum Sangwan, from District Jhajhar, Haryana...who is proud to say "State level atheletes Hun"..While all bollywood movies that have ever been characterised on Characters based on Haryana have been brain hackers for most part...With the often repeated, crude crass, depiction and often reflecting the pathetic quality of characterisation, detailing and layering of characters...All Haryanvi characters have been used as caricatures ...With some words thrown in between.....like " Tanne" "Manne".."re tauu".."key baat sey".....always depicting brainless character sketching


Dattos character is probably the 1st and I hope not the last time, that the character is not larger than the human...All human beings and their emotions of love, care , respect are universal and similar, but it's the communication and sensibilities that are different....Kumari Kusum Sangwan character is one of the most well crafted, brilliantly detailed, and we'll researched characters of a young Haryanvi girls who is bold yet traditional, who is modern yet conservative, who is gutsy yet very touchy.....Brilliant on screen performance....

Kangana.....Datto is your best work to date........

Movie Review #Aankhon Dekhi - Journey of Transition

Aankhon Dekhi

Well, what do i say about a movie, which not many would have even heard the name of. A movie which doesn't boast of any of the usual star power of Bollywood masala movies . A movie , which in case you had a busy weekend, would have been off the theaters by the 2nd week of its release, But nonetheless, "A man has got to do, what a man has got to do"

This Movie is about the life and transition of a very ordinary man called Bauji. Bauji works as a ticketing agent with a small non descript travel agency & lives in the traditional joint family set up with his wife, 1 elder daughter, a good for nothing son, a reticent & shy younger brother & his family(played by the Producer Rajat Kapur) Now for all who dont know who Rajat Kapour is, He has been the harbinger of offbeat cinema in India for a long time - His 1st movie Raghu Romeo. was one of the 1st of its kind, unorganized crowd sourcing funded film. He has also been a veteran theater performer & movie actor, best known for his work as "Rajesh Thadani" in Bheja Fry (now memory cells start jogging, isnt it). He also burst on Indie Bollywood scene with a cameo as Preity Zintas "Mahesh Uncle" in the Cult Movie "Dil Chahta Hai"

Incidentally, Aankhon Dekhi, the money was funded by one of Rajat Kapurs fans based out of Dubai. As there were no producers available for the movie, Kapur had decided to make this into a play, when the Angel appeared

Sanjay Mishra, plays the maverick Bauji, who has a sudden transition & starts questioning the basic tenets of life which have been forcibly hardwired into our system, the set of beliefs, thoughts, value system . How we blindly accept & follow all that has been hardwired into our minds, due to the forcible conditioning, years of bias, prejudice, that beyond a point, we tend to just become bl;ind followers & stop questioning even the basics. Just like we are on the Lifes rat race for survival & financial freedom without ever questioning the purpose, similarly our beliefs, value systems, notions of right & wrong, god, religion, are actually not our own, but years & decades of biased & judgmental conditioning. Bauji, the protagonist, is trying to change & challenge his beliefs without forcing others

The theme is clearly universal, however in Aankhon Dekhi, the interesting part is that the backdrop for this is very unusual . Firstly the transition is seen in a man, who is past his prime & on verge of retirement from work, add to that, the Protagonist is not a personality whose an Influencer, but rather a Laggard from the society is moved into the bandwagon of change.It makes sense to reflect that actually,most revolutions are actually supported, sustained & driven by laggards of the society.Its just that when a "Influencer" of the society joins the movement, it gets the scale worthy of creating revolutions. The movie is depicting that in a way

Bauj aka Sanjay Mishra, looks like no star, behaves like no Aristocrat, Talks like no Orator, meets not to impress, stays in the Old rustic house of Daryaganj or Billi Maraan, in Delhi, Drinks Tea in the Steel Tumbler, sticks to basics & undergoes a natural transition -Most of us have encountered Rebel in us in early teens or youth, when we want to challenge or question everything, thats only 1 part of the evolution- Thinsk about those who probably go through this transition at a late stage in life, Midlife crisis, Transition. evolution, whatever you call, there comes in ;life a tipping point for everyone - The Movie just brilliantly & in a very delicate manner captures that tipping point & does a brilliant job of adding some humor in it

Sanjay Mishra as Bauji, delivers one of the best performances on this subject. Seema Pahwa as the nagging wife, plays her part to perfection, so does Rajat Kapur,as the silent & irritated brother

Watch this Movie & find the Rebel within & Come to peace.....

Movie Review #Dil Dhadakne Do - Anil Kapoor all the way

Watched Dil Dhadakne Do last night....Zoya Akhtar does what she is best at doing..exploring the complex web of human relationships, interdependence,expectations from self and others, although this time the backdrop is a high flying cruise jetting uber rich mehra family of south Delhi and the impact the societal pressures have on them and their relationship with each other and their lived ones..the key message is love is not enough for relationships...people need space, respect and their own individuality and more so kids...very relevant for parents of all ages...had this been so easy for parents to do(self included)Ms Akhtar would not have embarked on this mission and created this movie to harp in this subject.....Relationships need more than love and care..good to remember but tough to implement....

Anil kapoor....you are brilliant man..as the Good old Punjabi ruthless MCP business tycoon who doesn't mind using his "oye puttar" lines for getting work done... I think this is Kapoors best performance at least in the last decade if his Bollywood / Hollywood dabbling...we have all respected his work...but this movie clearly has Anil kapoor phase 2 coming of age....seems he finally moved on to the ageing actor bracket gracefully...well done Anil kapoor.....his best work in a long long time ...movie makers have missed using your talent for the right roles

Ranveer Singh is in a fresh new look...does a great job of playing the good natured,ever helping, spoilt and confused brat with a good heart.He manages to hold his own in this impressive star cast bringing a certain freshness to the often repeated role of the rich spoilt and confused brat.Singh manages to get a certain likability about him which is quite endearing

Priyanka in a restrained role. As a woman torn between a dominating father, a lost and insecure mother, a nagging mom in law(zareena wahaab), a cold husband (Rahul Bose) and a confused brother, Priyanka does full justice and more to her part..very restrained and controlled performance by her. I have not seen Mary Kom yet but would rate this as Priyankas top performance along with the likes of her roles in Fashion, Barfi & her career defining role in "Andaaz"

Shefali shah as the socialite trophy wife who is filled with insecurity and complexes does a pretty decent job.Shefali is a powerhouse of talent & needs roles like these & many more to do full justice to her immense skills as a natural performer

Farhan Akhtar and Anushka Sharma, as live interests of the Mehra siblings, Priyanka & Ranveer, have been wasted in the movie and one wonders what was the relevance of their characters..

The supporting actor characterization has been done to the T...overall a good entertaining movie which the modern families of today should go and see...

See it for Anil kapoor in his Mr Mehra Avataar....... you will fall in love with him once again..."Prem Kumar Patialaa waala of "WOH 7 DIN" to Mr Mehra of "DDD", Kapoor rocks

Movie Review # Khosla Ka Ghosla: "Aap party ho ya broker"

If there is one movie you want to watch for the love of Delhi and it's Punjabiyat, the Property dealer & broker way of functioning it's got to be Khosla ka Ghosla.One of the very few movies which have such a great repeat watch value..Khosla ka Ghosla, in my mind, is one of the better movies ever made on delhi, in delhi and by a delhite

Kamal Kishore Khosla aka KK Khosla, buys a plot of land in South delhi, using his entire retirement and PF corpus..The family stays in a small house where all members manage to rub shoulders literally for lack of space..Anupam kher as the proverbial good old, shy, self respecting and loving father, with a useless elder son, played by Ranvir shorey, who just loves to wander and wither his time away in glory and Comforts of his home..A younger son, played by Parveen dabbas, who is coping with rigamorales of a grinding corporate life and is perpetually irritated with everything including his name, ChiraunjiLal khosla One can still feel the reels of laughter when the Travel agent Asif Iqbal, played by the super talented VInay Pathak, mockingly inquires about his unusual name and ends up in splits pronouncing the funny name .....ChiraunjiLal Khosla


This plot of land is forcibly grabbed by a powerful Land mafia, Kishen Khurana played to perfection by Boman Irani...Man, you need to wink your eyes to believe that the guy who is so convincingly playing the role of a "Punjabi broker of delhi" is actually a south Mumbai bred, Parsi Bawa, whose only understanding of Punjabi would be "balle balle"..The mannerism, the Jai mata di chanting, A staunch Vaishno devi bhakti, Fingers covered in gold rings, Use of The Nokia Communicator, the bright shirts, the paunch, crotch scratching (a habit so peculiar to Delhi Punjabi trader community)

 The characterisation is just perfect..what follows is a laugh riot, with the family trying different ways and means of getting their plot back and this forms the backdrop of the story

Brilliant characterisation, some memorable characters and dialogues....Naveen Niscahl,  as the chief of theatre group who helps the Khosla family does a brilliant job of playing the si.pmeton artist whoa happy smoking a beedi

The Dialogue which Naveen Nischol asks the broker. .."Aap party hain ya broker" or Boman Irani drunken scene with Navin Nischol and his assistant...."Very decent" ... " I appreciate" while praising Nischol assistant, who deals with Kishen Khurana,  with a tough hand are still fresh and memorable

The movie also had actors is smaller but interstices roles thanks to a great characterisation...Munjaal who is the side kick of Kishen Khurana

Nischol in a great cameo after ages, Vinay Pathak,  Boman Irani, gave stellar performances with author backed roles..If you are a movie buff and have not had the good fortune of watching this cult movie, get lucky and watch it wherever you can...

Movie Review # China Gate : The Magnum opus that wasn't to be

Almost 18 years ago was released a movie which dared to Dream Big without the Big names of Bollywood. Rajkumar Santoshi, the man who gave us mega bumper movies like Day mini,  Ghayal,  Ghatak.He is also the guy who gave us the greatest cult comedy movie of bollywood "Andaz Apna Apna"..China Gate was Santoshis labour of love, his magnum opus of sorts.The movie boasted of one of the "biggest line up of actors" and  "not the greatest star cast"...The finest actors and performers of Hindi cinema and some of Santoshi favourite and regular actors were part of this powerful film..The movie unfortunately didn't do too well at the box office, thus reinforcing one of the great lessons of that time, that you need stars to get audience to theaters

A movie about court martial led ex army men who find a mission to redeem their lost honour, pride and self respect..The mission  is to protect the residents of a village called Devdurgh from the clutches of a menacing and mean Dacoit called Jageera....

Before understanding who played Jageera let's see who all were these army men ..Most of these bollywood actors have been theater biggies and harbingers of parallel cinema movement in bollywood for years together


The Great "Om Puri" who plays the team lead
Naseerudin Shah plays Sarfaraaz,  a toughie
Late Amrish Puri Sahaab, playing Colonel kidhar kant puri, a perpetually irritated, frustrated,  large hearted , Punjabi , angry old man with a heart filled with biases, insecurities but a warm person

Danny Denzongonpa as the Tough Man, Major Gurung, who suffer a from a terminal illness and like a true soldier, his mission is to die with his boots on

The Veteran, Kulbushan Kharbanda, another of Santoshis favourites, playing a man hounded by his family

Tinu Anand as Captain Beejoy

Viju khote,  Jagdeep in important roles..The movie also had the bollywood siren of late 1990s, Mamta kulkarni, in perhaps her most author backed and de glamorised role ever

The Theater legend, Girish kannad, playing a small part in the movie as the forest officer whose daughter is played by Mamta kulkarni, who wishes to avenge her fathers death and fulfill his mission of helping the villagers overcome the menace and wrath of Jageera

Paresh Rawal also plays a very interesting cameo of Inspector Barut, who is a corrupt officer and makes life hell for the ex armymen in the village.His role comes as a much needed and we'll timed comic relief in the movie

And with so many powerful performers on board, you have a young debutant playing the powerful role of the menacing "Jageera", named Mukesh Tiwari...While many may not even know or remember Mukesh tiwari, personally for me,his was one of the most powerful performances in the history of dacoit themed  movies in bollywood...At one time in 1970s to 1980s, movies based on Dacoit and their exploits were the flavour of bollywood, fresh in the wake of Sholays mega success

Mukesh tiwari, held his own, in front of seasoned theater veterans and gave a career defining performance ..Unfortunately the movie did not fare too well at the box office and Tiwari was striving to find a foothold , till Golmaal series happened and he went on to become the Famous character called "Vasuli Bhai".China Gate was also Santoshis tribute to the great Japanese film maker Akio Morita

China Gate was one of the boldest attempts in Hindi Cinema to go ahead and create a big movie without the Big star cast and wanted to depend only on the abilities of its more than able actors..In terms of story it may be a often repeated and done to death storyline of a dacoit and some saviors attempt to catch hold of him, where China Gate differed was in terms of its treatment of each character, the screenplay, the fact that aged and worn out men were trying one last time to redeem their lost glory and the underlying message that you don't need uniform to serve the country

One of my favourite movies of all times