Tamasha

Director: Imtiaz Ali
Actors: Ranbir Kapoor, Piyush Mishra, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3 / 5

Movie trailer suggests a fun loving cliche love story but how can we forget it's Imtiaz Ali. It's a completely different plate in which the movie is served. Attempt is to mould a complex story into something understandable and yet present the theme that's intended. Confused ? That's exactly what you would be while watching the movie. It has a very slow but an interesting start. Slowness is maintained way too long till the interval. Although it gives a feeling that second half has a potential and should be good. Then the anticipation starts, that the movie will hit the right chords and luckily it does. Somewhere inside you something has been targeted. It's just that you have to stick patiently with the movie and it'll not disappoint you for sure.

Ranbir delivers a good performance but nothing beyond the expectations. Deepika is very average, her role itself is very average. Decent performance by other side actors but Piyush Mishra delivers a fantastic artistic performance in just 10 minutes of his role. His dialogues seals the movie theme with perfection.

Now this movie is a one man director army. Same Imtiaz style but the effort is so striking and noticeable. Whatever has been made, Imtiaz class is reflected all over. His writing abilities and thought process is amazing. Out of rating three, two goes just for Imtiaz.

There's an awesome use of background score by the director. Thanks to the great A R Rehman for awesome tunes that steadies the movie and sticks the viewer throughout. Matargashti is awesome and blends as a perfect song for this movie that you'll be humming for hours after seeing the movie.

Overall, a director's class that needs patience. It'll surely hit some chord, somewhere inside you.

Pyaar ka Punchnama 2

Director: Luv Ranjan
Actors: Omkar Kapoor, Kartik Aryan, Sunny, Nushrat, Sonali, Ishita

Rating: 3 / 5

Everyone is aware of the movie flavor as first part saw a good success among youth. Although my first reaction towards the first part wasn't that good, it was always great to relish few awesome moments that the movie had. Fortunately, the case was different for this one. Movie is consistently enjoyable and specially the first half leaves a good commanding impact. It has great starting dialogues that never fades. It consistently gives amazing moments at-least for the first half although second half also works according to the theme. Script writing is apt, specially the epic dialogue by Kartik Aryan that repeats again. Double sized dialogue this time and trust me, triple mazaa. Film reduces its sheen in the second half but for this theme, they have made a good cut.

Surprisingly acting shines throughout. New actors have nailed the timings and screen presence in the movie. Girls haven't left any mark but all the boys were just amazing. Omkar Kapoor out of all deserves a special mention here. His performance throughout was perfect.

Luv Ranjan who has considerably improved from his last two ventures, does a good job here. He has appropriately directed the movie and has taken good care of cinematography.

Music by Hitesh Sonik is a turn off this time but that doesn't affect the movie at all.

Overall, great acting, good script and certainly double the mazaa from the earlier one.

Talvar

Director: Meghna Gulzar
Actors: Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Konkana Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Most moving part of the movie is when you realize that whatever you know has been shown in the first ten minutes only. That's how it's justifiable that it was so important to bring this story to everyone. A lot of hard work has been done for showing the fine grains of this plot. Around 50% of the movie is what no one is aware of and that's how all false perceptions were developed in these years. I'm sure the perspective towards this case and its family will completely change after this. Known fact about weak policing has been showcased in a very good way. Although we have great police officers but they constitute very few and are present only in the top level. Sympathy to girl and his family will again rise in the minds. Now the best part comes when all these details are shown in a beautiful cinematic way. Perfect kudos to the storywriter and producer Vishal Bharadwaj for putting great efforts in bringing this forward wonderfully.

Meghna Gulzar is back after many years and she showed that the trusted potential in her was not incorrect. Rising above all, this was the ultimate directorial venture. Nothing rises above the effort that is seen in her work. Although a lot of credit share also goes to the veteran editor Sreekar Prasad. Their partnership did the real wonders in this flick.

Acting of all the actors were above average where no one really blasted the screen. Irrfan was certainly better than all as he portrayed his usual amazing skills.

Overall, a directorial treat where great efforts have been put to portray the fine grains of this plot.

Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon

Director: Abbas Mastan
Actors: Kapil Sharma, Kunal Roy Kapur, Elli Avram

Rating: 2.5 / 5

The film gives a jibe of a stupid comedy and it certainly is. But there's a difference. It has a stupid story but a decent comedy. Plot is utterly foolish but the focus here is only on comedy punches. It has many good humor lines that somehow supersede the foolishness. Biggest flaw here is that lot of times it was tried to create a serious environment. That was a blunder and went horrible with the movie flow. Worse part is that these things are bound to end in a sentimental way. That was the case here as well that brought the film down. Interestingly it ended again with very good humor and again I'll not take anything away from the scriptwriter as far as the comedy punches are concerned.

Kapil Sharma played his character very well and did a decent job. Rising above all was Kunal Roy Kapur who nailed his full screen presence. He was perfect throughout and never left his character. Other actors including four girls were ok and fortunately no one was bad.

Abbas Mastan doing this kind of movie was a surprise. They were very clear what they were making and their motive of showing only comedy was visible. I'll suggest them to put some sense and story in future if they really want to continue this genre.

Music was one of the biggest hurdles and turn off here.

Overall, a good comic flick with focus only on humor and nothing else.

Katti Batti

Director: Nikhil Advani
Actors: Kangana Ranaut, Imran Khan

Rating: 2 / 5

Excitement was all spread when movie was promoted using Kangana's flavor. An intended romantic comedy that falls on most of the stairs and never able to climb. It has an average start where all characters just manage to hold you. Unfortunately comedy was tried in most scenes but laughing on even the best joke was hard. Although a slight good part was that you'll not cry at the worst joke. The big problem was the second half where it was unnecessary stretched towards the end without any fun. Head-scratching moment comes when you just think it's done and a twist in the tale merely to ensure happy ending extends it for another 20 minutes.

Kangana's screen presence is one of the few bearable things that make you sit throughout the length of the movie. She gave whatever she can deliver. It's just that the script and director didn't have anything for her. Imran was as usual irritating and incapable of pulling anything off. Other characters are not even worth mentioning although they delivered an average performance.

Nikhil Advani once again shows that his priority is not the content but the looks of the whole movie setup. He again failed to concentrate on the better part of the directorial responsibilities.

Music was below average and not mind scorching.

Overall, a bad cliché script that wastes Kangana's charm.

Welcome Back

Director: Anees Bazmee
Actors: Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia, Shruti Hasan, Naseeruddin Shah, Shiney Ahuja

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Earlier Welcome that didn't get very well with me initially, over the time it rose up to entertain with good amount of funny moments that it had. That made some expectations and excitement for this sequel. Movie starts with almost the same theme as earlier but never feels repetitive. A good amount of hard work is done by the dialogue writer to ensure good funny bones with same ingredients as before. You'll get a feeling that you are being served a different drink in the same bottle. Although the drink tastes same but fortunately it tastes good. It has many good punches but no bad ones. Sometimes the rhythm becomes less funny but still gives a good time pass.
Worst part was the ending. Very religiously they stuck to the earlier theme of having a bad ending as well. If ending would have been shortened and improvised upon, smiles would have been wider.

Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor and Paresh Rawal once again picked the whole movie on their shoulders. All three characters had some good dialogues that they made awesome by their amazing dialogue deliveries. John was not much in his character and Shruti was very bad. Others are not worth mentioning.

After sting of bad movies for so many years, Anees Bazmee came up with something better this time. Hard work was seen but still he needs to pull up his socks to get things right.

Music was very poor and didn't get along with anything in the movie. First part had many good song sequences.

Overall, a good comedy sting with good dialogues by good actors.

Drishyam

Director: Nishikant Kamat
Actors: Kamlesh Sawant, Ajay Devgan, Tabu, Shriya Saran

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Movie develops well from the start and has few coincidences. But they are used perfectly throughout. Crux of the movie is its script that is almost developed flawlessly. Even when you think that script has shown every thing, it extracts few more awesome spices from within and presents it's brilliance. Cinematography shines from the start and consistently wonders all through. First half shows good thrilling intensity that makes the viewers want more from the second half. Fortunately, the second part shows much more than expected. Ending of a movie of such kind is very important and that was only scaring me at the end. But it was done very diligently and suited well. As per as the remake phenomenon is there (movie is remade from Malayalam Drishyam), I would love to see these kinds of remakes instead of silly commercial ones.

Both Tabu and Ajay Devgan were spot on in their part. Although main focus was completely on the theme and not on the stars at all but it was very important to play these characters well. Rising above all was Kamlesh Sawant (Inspector Gaitonde) who nailed the performance that was supposedly the most important role and character in the movie. We have seen him before in few good short roles but this was a comparatively bigger responsibility in which he succeeded. Few other characters were good and fit well with the flow.

Nishikant Kamat is well known to direct good high intense movies and he used his skill perfectly in this venture. He did full direction justice required for this remake. Certainly he puts a good amount of appreciable effort.

It reminds me of a similar 2010 movie gem 'Right Ya Wrong' which many people are not aware of. Not inspired of-course but both these movies are definitely a must watch.

Overall, an astonishing script supported with great cinematography and direction.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Director: Kabir Khan
Actors: Salman Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kareena Kapoor

Rating: 3 / 5

Movie gave a right impression right from the word go. From starting, the cinematography and the movie flow was very soothing and never went out of stream. It's really hard to believe that Salman's movie will be based on content. Hence it takes time for a viewer and consistent effort from director to believe it. Fortunately, this movie does all. Kept its movie theme intact and didn't fall into the trap of silly commercialization. Although crowd still goes mad when Sallu enters or shows his style. The movie had its limitations such as over extension of the story towards the end of second half, despite it maintained a decent pace.
Many scenes were over-engineered but the sentiments were always preserved in a correct way. It showed a good angle of Indo Pak love relationship without any foolish sentiments. 

Everyone delivered an average acting performance with Salman and Nawazuddin slightly above the rest. There were few good Pakistani scenes involving Nawaz in which he nailed most of it. Neither Salman showed his standard stupidity nor the movie tried to structure like that.

Quite experienced with Hindu-Muslim and Indo-Pak relationships, Kabir Khan made a good use of it. Direction was consistently good and effort was noticeable. He made sure movie doesn't loose its plot and becomes lovable.

Music was avoidable and anyways made no impact either ways.

Overall, movie with good sentiments that never looses its plot.

ABCD 2

Director: Remo
Actors: Shradhha Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Lauren Gottileb, Prabhudeva

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Whatever appraises this movie deserves, it's only because of dance. It comes up again with breath taking dances that mesmerizes totally. Apart from that, story this time trails behind what was there in first part. A below average script that struggles to buck up throughout. Effort was not put to build the content, rather was done to inculcate the dance performances somehow. This led to inconsistencies and sync up issues. Although dance, the heart of the movie was preserved that brought a decent go to movie watch.

All actors were average and repetitive. Nothing beyond the basic attempt.

Remo did a true heart job that is appreciable. That's only accepted from him and he delivers best what he can.

Music was also below average.

Overall, great dances but nothing else.

PS: Sorry for the delay, was in cycling expedition in Bhutan :)

Hamari Adhuri Kahani

Director: Mohit Suri
Actors: Rajkummar Rao, Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi

Rating: 2 / 5

Title and the first look clearly suggested that the movie will be full of emotional drama. Barring few minutes, unfortunately this was true and sadly it was just Ashiqui 2 changing clothes. It had a good inaugural strong effect which disappears too soon once the movie enters the crying phase. The movie is relatively slow and the content quickly loses its sheen. Filled with lame romance, just somehow it manages not to irritate you.

There was an initial burst of amazing screen presence by Rajkummar Rao and Vidya Balan that immediately faded away when Emraan's character entered. Although I'm a fan of Emraan Hashmi but the movie was good whenever he wasn't there. It was Rajkummar Rao who nailed it in his small role. His part was different from the emotional saga and he played brilliantly. I would have loved to see a story revolving around Rajkummar and Vidya with their strong roles that was certainly possible. Vidya definitely didn't suit in this role. She was just reminding me of Ashiqui 2's Shradhha Kapoor.

Mohit Suri is just trying to reap benefits with his same old formula. He definitely needs to buck up and start putting efforts to show something meaningful in a different way.

Music was below average and brought nothing to benefit the movie.

Overall, lame romantic story where only few Rajkummar Rao's minutes entertained.

Dil Dhadakne Do

Director: Zoya Akhtar
Actors: Dog, Shefali Shah, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Anushka Sharma

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Despite of boasting a great star-cast, I didn't find the trailer very impressive. Had the feeling that the movie might not have much to offer but was optimistic because of the brand that it was offering. Although the production quality is good, but somehow it gives a feeling of a TV series. May be the way it is directed gives that impression. Sadly, movie's story also follows the same route. It's a full on drama that so many times gave me a feeling that I'm watching a Saas Bahu saga on my idiot box. Moreover the story was slow and didn't have good content. There were few interesting dialogs but nowhere near to pick the movie up. Still it had few lovely occasions that brought the amazing feel of Zindagi na Milegi Dobara. Another good part was that it had a nice cheerful ending that also proved that the title was apt.

Among all the big leads, it was Shefali Shah rising above everyone. She had many emotional variations to offer which she acted brilliantly. All other actors were above average and did their best according to the script. Not to forget the amazing dialogs and acting by the dog. I know it's the scriptwriter and director who should be appreciated for this.

After an amazing stint with Zindagi na milegi dobara, Zoya Akhtar didn't put much effort in this. She took things for granted and expected that people will like the same movie aura again and again. Instead, this turned out to be a bad outing.

Shankar Mahadevan also went the same way as Zoya and delivered just an average music.

Overall, a full on drama movie that should be released in the form of TV Series.

Welcome 2 Karachi

Director: Ashish R Mohan
Actors: Arshad Warsi, Jackie Bhagnani, Lauren Gottlieb

Rating: 2 / 5

Teasers of this movie remind us of many Taliban related movies that have been tried to make hilarious earlier. Few of these have really succeeded despite many of them have failed. I had little expectations that this could succeed but unfortunately from starting itself it didn't show any signs of sense. Foolishness, if crafted well could do wonders but mostly it irritates and that's exactly the case here. Film kicks off a little when the duo reach Karachi. It has few good moments, sadly only few moments. Although it does not kill you because consistently it was able to bring itself to an average level.

Jackie is one actor who is on the lines of Uday Chopra but not as much irritating. He did a fair job. Arshad was good. He tried a lot and brought the movie to bearable levels. Lauren was okay with less dialogs but an unnecessary dance number was included at the wrong time just to showcase her skills.

Direction was a letdown by second time director Ashish Mohan who comes from another foolish attempt Khiladi 786. He has assisted many comedy movies but needs more hard work to get comic things right.

Overall, an attempted foolishness that was not good.

Tanu weds Manu returns

Director: Aanand Rai
Actors: Kangana Ranaut, Madhavan, Deepak Dobriyal

Rating: 4 / 5

Tanu Weds Manu first part was good but not anywhere close to something great. Surprisingly this one has broken all the shackles and certainly will be counted in one of the most hilarious dramatic comedy. From the start only it builds itself to progress to an awesome humorous environment. We have seen many comedy attempts on married people's life but I'll say this was the best I remember. Absolutely wonderful direction and script line. I'll give full marks to writer Himanshu Sharma who after Tanu weds Manu made a great attempt on a drama comedy script in Ranjhana. But he went miles ahead in this one, as each and every dialogue of first half was perfect. Second half was little bit slow than the first half but I can't take anything away from the movie.

I'll give credit to Himanshu-Aanand partnership who gave life to actors once again. First of all for each character, amazing actors were selected. Moreover all these characters performed to the fullest and amalgamated perfectly into the movie theme. Kangana Ranaut was perfect yet again in both the roles and carried the character wonderfully till the end. Madhavan did an amazing job once again but the show stealer was Deepak Dobriyal. He got enough screen space and he absolutely nailed every single frame of his.

Scriptwise Ranjhana was ok despite Aanand's direction was likable. This time he rose above everything and brought a beautiful piece of cinema that had all elements of stunning movie making.

Music wise I didn't even realize when it came and went. Just mesmerized in the movie throughout.

Overall, an amazing dramatic comedy script writing and marvelous acting by all characters.

Bombay Velvet

Director: Anurag Kashyap
Actors: Satyadeep Misra, Ranbir Kapoor, Karan Johar, Anushka Sharma

Rating: 2 / 5

From frame one movie gives a feel that it's made Anurag Kashyap style, but Anurag is much more than that. Unfortunately the 'much more' part was not visible in this retro flick. Despite the time was not wasted in useless things, it was neither invested in sensible things. Started with a cliché retro pattern that has been seen several times, it continued to make viewers ponder on what new is intended. First half puts a question that where the story is heading and what's its motive. Sadly, the second half did not have answer to that. Few comic moments that emerged from serious situations were good. Song sequences were full of weird lyrics although they were momentary, again a typical Anurag pattern.

Equipped with all amazing actors, surprisingly the best to emerge was Satyadeep Misra who played Ranbir's friend. He had enough screen time and he used it excellently to blend perfectly with his role and movie's theme. Ranbir had variety of moments under his belt and he almost mastered all. Anushka was below average whereas Karan Johar did well considering his first acting effort.

Movie was directed well but definitely not up-to the mark. I'm a huge fan of Anurag Kashyap but this was certainly disappointing considering the expectations. Yet he was again successful in building good interesting characters and one awesome side character that always scores.

Music was loud and didn't give a very good feel despite it had unique flavors.

Overall, a cliche retro flick built Anurag style where story had absolutely nothing.

Piku

Director: Shoojit Sircar
Actors: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan

Rating: 3.5 / 5

First thing that came into my mind was Paa since I've known this movie. Everywhere there were some comparisons made regarding the plot and Amitabh's acting. But somewhere it was known that from a different director, this should be different. Fortunately it was distinct in all possible good ways. Plot was very simple, but at the same time it was intelligent. There were no pieces left in maneuvering the movie and each part was brilliantly taken care of. Certainly very nicely and cutely executed story. There were nice dialogues, enriching movie flow but after the first half, only thing that bothered was the motive behind the movie. In the end it was found out that there was not much motive but the journey itself was the crux of the movie. On top of it, the ending was icing on the cake that was certainly delicious.

Amitabh Bachchan. Ohh I'm sorry, SIR AMITABH BACHCHAN. I know it doesn't matter but when Sir will be used in maggy reviews, it will refer to only this amazing actor. Sir's acting yet again made me fell in love with him. The way the character was caught and the way each and every dialogue and movement was performed was remarkable. Sir took the meaning of "Giving life to character" to a different level. To a level that only by seeing the character's clothes, you can imagine sir and the whole story of the movie. Not to forget Irrfan and Deepika who amazingly supported throughout. Irrfan had his share of amazing performance and unquestionably was bang on all through.

Shoojit yet again proved that he can deliver different, strong and entertaining movies every time. After Vicky Donor, expectations will always be high from him and he has stood out proudly this time. I'll give him full credit of making the overall movie fascinating. Certainly one of the best directed movie in recent times.

Background score was not used much but was very charming whenever used.

Overall, a wonderfully directed amazing journey of a man where the Man kills it yet again.