Dangal Review

Dangal was one of the most awaited movies of 2016 and it turns out to be one of the best movies to have been released in Bollywood this year.

Dangal is inspired by the true story of India's first woman wrestler who won a gold medal for India in international competitions at the Indian Commonwealth Games in 2010. But this us not just her story, but also her father, Mahavir Singh Phogat's, story who trained his daughters to wrestle. The movie is just awesome as it tells the tale of all the hardships that they faced in their journey and most of the times in a humorous way. But do not think that the movie is humorous. The humour is used very effectively in the movie and helps in easing out the serious narrative. The movie runs at a fast pace and you cannot find any boring moments in the movie. The equation between the father and daughters has been shown very well and this is something which keeps you glued to the plot. However the best part of the movie are the wrestling sequences which have been choreographed and filmed so well that you get Goosebumps during those sequences, especially during the last 3 wrestling sequences. Credit should be given to the team for achieving this. The movie has turned out to be better than expected.

The entire cast of the movie has done spectacular job in bringing the characters to life. Amir Khan as always is very good and totally gives the feel of a wrestler and a father harbouring a dream. Sakshi Tanvar as Mahavir Singh Phogat's wife also lends credibility to the movie with a controlled performance. Fatima Sana Shaikh as Geeta Phogat has acted well and is superb in the wrestling scenes. Sanya Malhotra as Babita Phogat is also good, though she has a smaller role. The real stars of the movie are however the younger actors, Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar who have played younger Geeta and Babita respectively. At this young age they have done an incredible job in not only acting but also in wrestling scenes.

This is Nitesh Tiwari's third movie as a director. His first movie as a director, Chillar Party, is really good and he had extracted good performances from the kids. No wonder he has done the same with the two young girls in this movie. Overall, his direction is superb, especially in the wrestling scenes. He is certainly one of the better directors we have.

The music of the movie really fits well into the narrative. The cinematography is great as it captures all the wrestling moves without confusing the audience. the dialogues are also well written. Overall this movie is spectacular in all the departments.

Everyone should watch this movie - be it with friends or family, to experience the euphoria of India winning the gold medal.

Rating - 4 / 5

Befikre

Befikre is the fourth movie directed by Aditya Chopra in his career spanning more than 2 decades. When Aditya Chopra directs a movie, the expectations are always high as he directs one movie in 5 - 6 years. Also with him being the director of the longest running movie in Indian Cinema, expectations reach epic proportions. With the weight of these expectations what we get is perhaps the worst movie he has directed till date and maybe even including the future.

The problem with the movie is that it never gets the audience's attention in the way that it needs. With a poor first half where nothing seems to be happening the movie seems to be losing the plot. The technique of taking the story forward through current day scenes and flashbacks is good, but the weak plot does not help it. The second half does have some good moments but there are hardly 2 or 3 of them in the movie and the director already seems to have lost the plot by then. The dance sequence towards the end is perhaps the best scene of the movie. The movie needed more scenes with similar intensity throughout for it to engage the audience.

Ranveer Singh seems to be hamming through the movie, though at times he has acted well. Vaani Kapoor is better than Ranveer but nothing to remember about her acting, though she looks stunning throughout the movie. With just 2 main characters there is hardly anything left for anyone else, but the actors playing Vaani Kapoor's parents leave a mark.

Aditya Chopra is a very good director and an even better dialogue writer. But this movie fails him as a screenwriter and thus his direction and dialogues do not matter. However the direction is also not upto the mark as the scenes seem to lack imagination. Some dialogues in the second half are good but you do not remember them after coming out of the theatres. Aditya Chopra seems to have lost his magical touch with this movie.

The best part about the movie are its songs and the choreography. With Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor being fantastic dancers the songs are wonderful to watch.

Overall the movie is not great as one expects it to be. With the movie's theme the family audience has stayed away and youngsters are finding the story ridiculous. Go watch this only if you are an Aditya Chopra movie fan.

Rating - 2.5 / 5

Arrival Review

I for one being an ardent believer in existence of aliens and that they are already visiting earth, was the reason I was eagerly waiting for this movie. So I was super excited to watch this movie.

I will start with the flaws of this movie. This movie is very slow in its narrative and all the events have been shown without the over the top drama that is usually associated with an alien contact movie. That is the only and biggest flaw that I could find with the movie and it prevents it from becoming a great movie. Now coming to what went right for the movie. The thing that works for the movie is the fact that it has been adapted from the short story "Story of You Life". The story's concept has been explained and shown well in the movie. The final reveal of the plot leaves an everlasting impact on the audience and raises the bar of the story. How the movie builds towards the final reveal is something to watch. Another high point of the movie are the scenes of human interactions with the aliens, which have been shown very well. Overall the good points of the movie overpower the movie's flaws.

Amy Adams as linguist Louise Banks has acted well and has been able to show all the characters emotions. Jeremy Renner is ok as he does not have much to do even though he is present throughout the movie. Forest Whitaker as the army Colonel is good.

The director, Denis Villenueve has directed the movie extremely well and even though it is slow in pace, the movie keeps the audience hooked. The way he has built up the scenes is very commendable and this makes for a great movie watching experience.

Overall the movie is great and you need to have patience till the end of the movie to be able to enjoy this movie. All Sci-Fi lovers should go and see this movie.

Rating - 3.5 / 5

Kahaani 2 Review

Kahaani 2 is the sequel to the successful movie Kahaani and brings back the pair of Vidya Balan and Sujoy Ghosh.

While Kahaani was a story of revenge, Kahaani 2 has an entirely different plot. The movie moves with a brisk pace and the interval seems to come all of a sudden when you realise that half of the movie has already gone. The second half of the movie also has a good pace to it and like in Kahaani, this movie too has a twist at the end. But I as an audience was disappointed with the twist as I could see it coming. Sujoy Ghosh should not have named the movie Kahaani 2 and instead should have gone ahead with the name of Durga Rani Singh as he had initially planned. Kahaani 2 is nowhere as good as Kahaani was, but if you at it like a separate movie, then it is certainly good. However the story could have been better.

Vidya Balan has once again given a good performance as is the life of this movie. Arjun Rampal has acted well and one justice to his role of a police officer. Jugal Hansraj was a surprise for me and he has played his part well. All others have given in a good performance.

Sujoy Ghosh has written and directed the movie well in the first half, but he seems to falter in the second half. The twist can be easily seen before it has actually been revealed and the ending is not as great as what one would have imagined it to be. He could have given the movie a better ending.

Overall the movie is good, but fails to meet our expectations. Those who like to see fast paced movies can go and see this movie.

Rating - 3 / 5

Dear Zindagi Review

Dear Zindagi is a movie about discovering a new way to live life - the right way and the movie shows it in an engaging way.

The movie is all about Kaira ( Alia Bhatt) overcoming her fears and discovering ways to live past it. She is helped by Dr. Jehangir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) in her journey. The movie has shown all the problems that the character is going through without hyping it. The first part delves into how Kaira's life goes from good to terrible while the second half shows how she learns to deal with it. Both the halves are entertaining and even though the movie has a lot of messages in the second half, it does not seem preachy. The lightness with which movie has been handled never lets you get heavy with emotions and that works well for the movie.

Alia Bhatt in the role of Kaira looks similar to some of her other characters she has done in the past, but with her brilliant performance you do not seem to complain. She has looked and acted terrifically well in the movie and connects with the audience. Shah Rukh Khan in the second longest role of this movie plays his part of a psychiatrist well and does not go over the top. That is a job done well by both him and the screenwriter (Gauri Shinde) as he does not get the scope to go over the top. Other supporting cast including Kunaal Kapoor and Ali Zafar have played their parts well and with ease. Thus the acting in this movie is easy on the eye and senses.

Gauri Shinde in her second movie has done a fine job as a director. Her handling of this movie is commendable as she does not let the emotional scenes get too heavy without belittling the impact that they have on you - mark of a great director.

The movie's songs are good and gel with the movie's mood. The background score is also very good and gives the movie the moos that it needs. 

Overall the movie is a good watch and everyone who wants to watch a good movie can go catch this movie at the theatres.

Rating - 3.5 / 5