Drishyam

     A little disappointed after hearing that the guy  who made "Mumbai Meri Jaan" and "Force" has made a remake of a Malyalam Film of the same name, I went to watch this one for the other working departments - Avinash Arun's cinematography, Gulzar's lyrics and Vishal Bharadwaj's Music.

     However, I was not at all skeptical while watching the film, I was excited as always I am for watching any movie and even if I was skeptical, the film would have changed my way of looking at it. The original story of Jeethu Joseph, the writer and the director of the original Malyalam film, Drishyam, which stars Mohanlal, is way too good. Though the film I saw yesterday was Nishikanth Kamat directed Drishyam, made in Hindi, I would still praise Jeethu Joseph who had written the original screenplay for the Malyalam original. It is written very well after a careful and in-depth study of the situations and characters.

     Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgan) is a 4th grade failed orphan, who has made his way by trying out various businesses and has now settled at providing Cable connections in Pondulim Goa. He has a family of two daughters with a significant age difference Anju Salgaonkar (Ishita Dutta - the elder one), Anu Salgaonkar (the younger one) and a wife Nandhani Salgaonkar (Shriya Saran) and it is his hobby of watching one film every night in his office. A very contend family with hand to mouth earning comes across a serious problem leading to an accident that takes place as they defend themselves, which makes the Salgaonkar family take some further courageous steps, that then holds the attention of the local Police, Inspector Gaitonde (Kamlesh Sawant), the Inspector General of Goa, Mrs. Meera Deshmukh (Tabu), her husband (Rajat Kapoor), the religious guru Swami Chinmayanand, the Media, the entire village and the curiosity of the audience.

     Ajay Devgan initially feels disinterested in his role with the dialogues that are slow and are forced to be crispy and light. And even worse is the dialogue delivery of Shriya Saran. Even the first picnic song, Carbon-Copy, is not that great except the symphony part of it.
But as that "accident" takes place, the film takes a solid grip, the actors then become the artists for which they have been casted and every one fits the mould just perfectly. Even the journey song that is just a playback, sung by Rekha Bharadwaj is impactful.

     Principal Photography is very well done. The stylized shots are put at crucial stages in the midst of very simple and traditional way of shooting a film. As the story clenches us and with the rising graph, the high-speed, the zero cuts forms and match cutting shots come to life, giving out an impact of us smiling over the unexpected twists in the story. Avinash Arun is my favourite and he stays on that level. Of course the magic he has brought in shooting Killa is not here, but then Killa was his own directorial venture, he will keep something unique in it for sure.

     Aarif Sheikh's Editing is fine. Fine enough where you do not have anything to complain about. The film stretches up to  long 163 minutes. We do feel the length and the stretch coz of the first half that is very slow. However, the whole first half is just the establishment of the sped up, gripping and impactful second half.

     Ultimately the film is a thriller and it goes closer to the attitude of "A Wednesday" on the lines of what a common man is capable of doing if it comes to doing it for the thing of utmost importance to him. Tabu is very very impressive. As always she just gulps in the character and that reflects on every inch of her body language and expressions. Rajat Kapoor looks Rich and mature. It is one difficult role to play coz he has no defined character, the actor either had to be a director's puppet or design and implement a character for himself. The change in the emotions in his eyes in the 2nd last scene near Vagatore Beach is you know why it is Rajat Kapoor for that role. Shirya Saran looks convincing only when she is scared.

     About the direction, I havent seen how the Malyalam original by Jeetu Joseph is made, or even the rest of the remakes in Tamil, Kannad and Telugu, but this one is a must watch. It is a simple story that raises its graph higher and higher. The conflicts are the ones that keep coming in keeping us on the edge of our seats. The level of curiosity keeps going up. The last scene of Rajat, Tabu and Ajay is the scene which is amazingly written. That can be one of the examples of most appropriate situational dialogues written. Of course the super twist at the end is something that makes you love the film even more.

     The film talks about many other between the lines stuff. Maybe the writers didn't mean to put them but the concept of Karma is what I saw in this film. How situations make their ways so that the circle of Karma completes itself.  Maybe it is not what the writers wanted to give out, but it is there.

However the Hero of the film is The Script. Worth a make in Five different languages.

Verdict - 8.2/10

Bajrangi Bhaijaan

     Don't judge a book by it's cover - Had my decision of watching or not watching this film had been upon the "Selfie Le Re" song that was released initially, I would have missed a very strong and sweet film.

     Salman Khan - Bas naam hi kaafi hai. The morning shows were houseful, the booking box offices are flooded with people. Plus this happens, as every year, during the celebration of the festival of Eid.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan the second collaboration of Salman Khan and Director Kabir Khan after Ek Tha Tiger was very much awaited by the "Bhai ke fans".

     

     The plot was pretty much revealed in the trailers itself that a six year old Pakistani girl Shahida/Munni (Harshaali Malhotra), who cannot speak, is lost in India, where she finds Pavan Chaturvedi a.k.a Bajrangi bhaiiya (Salman Khan) who, against all the odds, risking his life, by going in Pakistan without any passport and visa, out of love and humanity only to help the girl get back to her parents.  

     Pretty much same in the film but with much more detail and humour.

The writing credits include Vijendra Prasad's original story, who has also put his share in the screenplay along with Parveez Sheikh, Asad Hussain and Kabir Khan. Dialogues are penned  by Kausar Munir..which are impactful. Especially the dialogues that come out of Nawazuddin Siddiqui's character, who plays a reporter.

     Music is both good and bad... the Sufi music at the beginning and at the end is divine (Here they have kept a typical bollywood format of having a powerful song before the climax begins, which I like if the song is that good). The couple of background theme tracks do bring goose bumps and tears. The background score pulls up the movie very well.  The songs are good. A few are add-ons which are not very much required but still, they do not bore you.

     The film has a steady pace in the first half and the graph increases in the second half and it keeps going up till the last frame pauses. Screenplay is somewhat typical but the actors have done an indisputable job to make it look different and surprisingly original.

     Nawazuddin is a diamond that this film industry has found. The 1st half is humourous, it is light and funny and gripping but for the first few minutes of 2nd half you start sliding down the chair, but then an awkward frame cuts in with Nawazuddin holding a microphone, it's a small one shot where the guy starts his batting with a boundary.....and stays Not-Out till the innings end with his strike-rate getting better and better. How can someone be this simple and still be this awesome! This guy is gifted.

     The Cinematography and Editing is pretty decent. Few frames of silhouette do look beautiful. There are not many fight sequences and that is because maybe for a change they were making the film for the story and not to show Salman's Body (Do not get disappointed, you do get to see him shirt-less). Sham Kaushal is my favourite Action Director anyways...the guy has kept it Sallu-style ki maara-maari.

     The best thing other than the film was the response of the audience. The Entry of Salman was filled with whistles and hoots and roars...(I too attempted to whistle with the fingers in my mouth...I succeeded after everyone stopped doing that, and with that everyone started the chaos again.) The hoots and roars on every good thing Salman Does kept going on throughout the show. Harshaali is impossibly cute. She is the epitome of cuteness and I am sure the girls will go awww... also the small kid who plays Kareena Kapoor's brother.

Oh yes!! the Film also stars Karrena Kapoor, who looks quite a Khan now. Doesn't matter I still like her. But yes... You do need to remind yourself that even she is there, coz for the first time, Harshaali is the concept, Salman Khan is the Hero and the sentimental story is the Heroine of this Film.       

     I have been attending the film festivals since last 5 years now. The audience there is supposedly the one who has a knowledge about the language of cinema or have their indulgence in the film industry, after a film the viewers appreciate the film by clapping, or if the film is worth it, by applauding. Never ever I thought that I would shed a few tears while watching a Salman Khan Film. Never ever I thought that I would clap for a Salman Film. And on top of everything, never ever I thought that I would see the whole theater clapping at the end frame of the film at a local cinema-screen.

     Today was a realisation point that not every time to get the claps you need to be technically strong, not every time the viewers need to understand the language of cinema. If your story gives out the right emotions and if you present them in the right manner...people get connected.

Even a film like Yaariyaan, Vivah, and many other Yash-raj, Dharma films were emotional, but then no one clapped for those films, reasons being the way they were narrated was not the correct-most manner. But Bajrangi Bhaijaan has a uniformity in its emotions. The whole film proceeds with a cause and that cause is what makes you connect with the story.
You fall in love with the characters. You feel the sentiments. You get involved.

     If you go to see this film without a skeptical mind you will surely have a very good experience. You will know that this is one of the good films made.

     Verdict - 7.9/10 

S.S. Rajamouli's - Baahubali - The Beginning

     First of all I saw this film for the Guy - S.S. Rajamouli. He is the director of this film. Do you know S.S. Rajamouli? Well, maybe not personally but we are for sure aware of his works. The dubbed films that are shown on SetMax, like - "Hukumat ki Jung", "Aar-paar - the Judgement day" and "Yamraj Ek Faulaad", are his films originally in Telugu. Plus Prabhudeva's Rowdy Rathore and Ajay Devgan's Son of Sardar are the remakes of S.S.'s Telugu films. And the film that won the National Award and the one that too many festivals awarded, invited and screened  - Makkhi (Eega), which was a surprise entertainer, is made by him.

     And then he brings us the Epic - Baahubali. It is a historic period drama and the film is an epical fantasy. But then, what he has given to India is an epic in itself by making such a magnificent and majestically over the top film for today.

     There is no point telling anything about the story coz the story is not completed in 'Baahubali - the beginning', you have to wait till 2016 for it to complete itself.

     Characters - Baahubali (Prabhas), Bhallala (Rana Daggubati), Devasena (Anushka Shetty), Avanthika (Tamannah Bhatiya) and Kattappa (Satyaraj) with Bijjaladeva (Naseer) are made with a lot of passion and drama in them.

     The whole film has extensive level of Drama and actors have dramatised it even more.

     The cinematography by Senthil Kumar is mature. Music by M.M. Keeravani is very good... few pieces are extremely good. Production Design by Sabu Cyril is top notch. And the 100-200 people who worked on the VFX have my standing ovation.

The screenplay is well crafted but the rest of the things are just happening just like that.

'Anything can happen' is what you have to keep in mind before entering the theaters - However, HOW 'S.S. Rajamouli' has directed that ANYTHING in this film is what you have to see this film for. That is the best part.

     The Hero of the film is Hero. He has everything a man would want to have and a woman would always dream of. He is the perfect person, with perfect etiquettes (well it's like some 100-200 A.D, so whatever would be marked as 'etiquettes', the hero has them all). The Villain is the Villain, he is ruthless and heartless and somewhere more benefited and powerful than the Hero. Well that's all.

And yeah there is a Heroine who fights a couple of people and has a couple of songs to dance and show some skin.

Now...

The VFX...
     The Grandeur of the kingdom is exceptionally amazing. You will forget everything, the Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Troy... everything! I am sure it will be a little tough to believe that it is an Indian film that we are watching.

Yes, an avalanche scene, lacks somewhere but then... that's just the 3% of VFX in all. As the film proceeds you will be awed and surprised and...might feel like it is actually there.

The ACTION...

     That is what you watch a South Indian film for. Amazing action sequences designed and executed. The plan, the surprise attacks, the display of strengths and the bravery and the strategies to attack and defend, everything is a feast to watch.

Just take your Eyes, Ears and Your feeling of JOY with you to watch this film. Leave back your brains, your mind and your logic.

Verdict -
With my brains - 4/10
Without my brains - 7.5/10.

I recommend you to consider the 2nd verdict.

And yes - Stay tuned for more "S.S. Yallattikar's" reviews of upcoming awaited movies.       

Terminator Genisys

     In 1984, when the T-800 or The Guardian came inside a house crushing the door asking for Sarah Connor, everyone was thrilled with that. When in 1991, Arnold Schwarzenegger returned with his black leather jacket, a Harley-Davidson and the superb shot gun being loaded and fired with one arm, it was something out-standing for the world. And the reason behind this was only one  - James Cameron.

     Two more Terminator films that came following it, were not as impactful as the first two. Though the fourth one, did made the box office flow as it had Jonathan Nolan as one of the writers and Christian Bale starring in it, yet it couldn't keep the mark of the initial two.

     Terminator Genisys is the fifth and it is not the end. There is more to come.

Here, the film plays in three time spaces starting with 2029, going back to 1987 and jumping to 2017, to avoid the roots of that what's going to happen in 2029.

T-800 i.e. The Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is the man you have to go to see this film for. Though he plays a better version of the T-800, he is quite HIM. Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) is another reason to watch this film. Then for some visual effects and finally so that you do not have to be amongst the people who did not see a Terminator film.

     It felt as if the story has some questions to answer but ultimately it doesn't. Good thing is that they do not create too many questions. The screenplay is scattered, too much of time traveling confusion. That's what they have did - they have tried too hard to convince us the chronology of time-line and finally ended up confusing us and probably even themselves. Even the actors had no clue of what's happening. The Khaleesi held the weapon when she was told by the director Alan Taylor, who had directed a few episodes of the Game Of Thrones' 1st and 2nd seasons, without knowing why she is really doing that.

The smile that Arnold gives as the T-800 is priceless. It is good to see Hans Zimmer's name in the Executive Music Supervisor.

     Jason Clarke as John Connor is very good except he gives us a very bad feeling in his screen presence. Well, he is supposed to do that so, good for him.

     The VFX has everything in this film, all the effort of the film was put in completing the Vfx and to make everything look real, which, in some parts, has failed. But the rest is very well done with the total budget of $ 155 million.

     Technicians have done their job well. Watching the film is a bumpy ride of the mountains -  when you are slow, you are too slow, when you are fast you are too fast.
And when there is logic there is too much of logic, science and jargons used or otherwise they have taken too much of liberty.

     The people doing this project have put in lots of efforts, but they should have kept in mind the value of what this franchise was, in the past, and should have written something worthy its respect.

     They have also tried to bring in some Iron-man style humour, but they have failed there too.

     The two things that worked very well here are Emilia's beauty and Arnold's smile.

     Verdict - 5/10

     

    The point where they have a satirical part where they subtly & cinematically state that 'smart-phones & tabs are the coming destructions', was when I thought the film has some meaning, but then, Arnold came in with a Gun and.......

....never mind!