In this interview with Rajeev Masand, recorded in Seoul, Hollywood star Hugh Jackman reveals why he feels close to the character of Wolverine, who he’s played as many as seven times on screen. The actor describes his relationship with Wolverine’s trademark claws, and recounts his meeting with Shah Rukh Khan in India two years ago.
(This interview first aired on CNN-IBN)
July 26, 2013
Cast: Prateik Babbar, Amyra Dastur, Ravi Kissen, Prashant Narayanan, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Neena Gupta, Vineet Kumar Singh, Makrand Deshpande
Director: Manish Tiwary
Issaq, directed by Manish Tiwary has texture, some interesting characters, and a premise ripe with potential. Yet all that is squandered away in this rather literal adaptation of Romeo and Juliet because of an incoherent screenplay and sloppy editing.
Tiwary sets the film in Benares, where the Kashyaps and the Mishras have a long-standing feud, presumably over common business interests. Their enmity routinely spills onto the streets when members of either camp encounter the other. Curses are exchanged, blood is spilled, and so it continues.
When Rahul (Prateik Babbar), the young son of the Mishra family patriarch, and Bachchi Kashyap (newcomer Amyra Dastur), the daughter of his father’s sworn rival, inevitably fall in love, her hot-headed uncle Teetas (Ravi Kissen) almost pops a blood vessel, and becomes determined to thwart their romance permanently.
Rooted in a milieu the director is evidently familiar with, Issaq nevertheless proves a hard slog because the language is often indecipherable. Unlike Gangs of Wasseypur and Omkara, to which it owes much by way of inspiration, the dialogues here are frequently contrived, particularly some of the exchanges between Prateik and Amyra that are peppered with (intentional) mispronunciations of English words.
As many as three editors are credited with piecing together this film, and yet there are chunks of vital information that appear to have been lopped off carelessly. Significant characters – like a minister who attempts to broker peace between the two warring factions, and a Naxal leader (Prashant Narayanan) who exploits their rivalry – get little screen time to justify their presence in the script. On the other hand, an intriguing subplot about a central character and his affair with a married woman never feels adequately explored.
There’s a tender, playful tone to the romance between Prateik and Amyra’s characters, and the pair shares a warm chemistry. But both actors lack the chops to carry off the more serious scenes in the film. Prateik, in particular, has a charming presence, and the camera clearly loves him. But he struggles – and fails spectacularly – in creating a wholesome, believable character. Meanwhile, dependable actors like Ravi Kissen and Neena Gupta ham through their scenes, while Rajeshri Sachdev gets a few moments to shine.
At nearly two hours and thirty minutes, Issaq is a plodding bore of a film that inspires neither empathy for its romantic leads, nor enough contempt for those who drove them to their tragic end. It’s an exhausting and predictable exercise in futility.
I’m going with one-and-a-half out of five for Issaq. Shakespeare won’t be thrilled. And neither will you.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
July 26, 2013
Cast: Tusshar Kapoor, Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak, Ravi Kissen, Dolly Ahluwalia, Brijendra Kala, Vishakha Singh, Hussan Saad
Director: Shashant A Shah
Fine actors can make poor films just a little bit easier to endure. Nowhere is that more evident than in a film like Bajatey Raho. This comedy, directed by Challo Dilli’s Shashant Shah has a harebrained plot with so many holes, you could shoot footballs through them. But the film’s brisk pace and its terrific ensemble cast are exactly the ointment required to help with the pain.
Mummyji (Vicky Donor’s Dolly Ahluwalia) assembles a team of allies to avenge the death of her bank manager husband who was wrongly framed in a fraud masterminded by his corrupt boss Sabharwal (Ravi Kissen). Her son Sukhi (Tusshar Kapoor), his friend Ballu (Ranvir Shorey), Sukhi’s girlfriend Manpreet (Vishakha Singh), and a close family friend Mintoo (Vinay Pathak) assist her in coming up with a series of scenarios to rob Sabharwal, so they can repay the very people he swindled using her husband. They resort to everything from sting operations and false raids, to romantic enticements and elaborate cons in their grand plan to serve comeuppance to their offender.
It’s not a wildly inventive premise, and the cons are pulled off a little too conveniently. The climax too is a melodramatic mess that could set off a migraine. And yet it’s hard not to root for the gang when you have such endearing characters. Tusshar Kapoor’s Sukhi is an earnest cable guy who ironically hangs on to his fair business principles even as he’s involved in this revenge plan. Sukhi is assisted by a smart kid nicknamed Kabootar (Hussan Saad), who helps the gang with all their tech requirements. But no one deserves more praise than Brijendra Kala who nails it as Sabharwal’s trusted assistant Bagga, always ready with an SMS joke, bringing both laughs and a lump in your throat with his pitch-perfect performance.
Ranvir Shorey and Vinay Pathak get lesser screen time to do their shtick, yet neither disappoints in limited scenes. It’s Dolly Ahluwalia, however, who steals the film as the feisty Punjabi matriarch, determined to deliver payback. Long after the film loses steam, she remains the best thing on screen.
Bajatey Raho isn’t particularly clever; in fact it reeks of lazy writing. But given the poor standard of recent Bollywood comedies, it’s far from unwatchable. I’m going with two-and-a-half out of five. Alas, it could’ve been so much better.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
July 26, 2013
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Famke Janssen
Director: James Mangold
Early on in The Wolverine, we watch an unshaven, disheveled Logan staked out in the wilderness, somewhere in a snowy part of North America, leading a quiet existence surrounded by nature, and haunted by the loss of his beloved girlfriend Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), whom he previously killed. He appears to have an unspoken understanding with the wild beasts he lives amidst, and contempt for most humans.
Hugh Jackman’s sixth outing as Marvel’s clawed superhero may be a definite improvement on its direct predecessor, 2009’s X-Men: Origins: Wolverine. But it doesn’t have the heft of Bryan Singer’s X2 or the sheer inventiveness of Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class.
His nature-loving credentials firmly established, Logan, aka Wolverine, heads to Japan with a mysterious redhead on the urging of her boss, Yashida, whom Wolverine had rescued from a nuclear bomb during World War II. Now a rich business magnate on his death bed, Yashida offers Wolverine the opportunity to trade his immortality with him, so that our tormented protagonist can find the death he craves.
So far, so good. But The Wolverine, directed by James Mangold, quickly becomes a bland love story between Logan and Yashida’s granddaughter whom he must protect from an assortment of villains. Expectedly, there’s a string of action set-pieces including a night-time ninja attack, a face-off with a samurai warrior, and a particularly thrilling squabble on the roof of a bullet train. The film’s climax, which involves Wolverine in a battle against a giant robot samurai feels silly, but let’s face it – at least it doesn’t feature the wholesale destruction of an entire city, as was the case in every other action blockbuster this year.
To be honest, the Japan-set storyline, and the absence of enough mutants gives this film a feel far removed from the typical X-Men movie. Also it’s considerably darker than most blockbuster films, both in terms of the violence and the mature themes it explores. If you don’t go in expecting the lightness of an X-Men film, chances are you’ll come away entertained.
Jackman himself, who’s played Wolverine more times than any other actor has played any superhero, lets his experience with the character show. He delivers a solid performance that is all flared nostrils and pumped chest, then nicely melts into an emotionally and physically vulnerable wreck when the plot demands. For his compelling performance alone, The Wolverine may be worth a watch.
I’m going with a generous three out of five. Don’t forget to stay in your seat for an exciting post-credits sequence that sets up next year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past that’ll likely give die-hard fans more of the stuff they expect from an X-Men movie…the stuff that’s missing here.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
In this interview with Rajeev Masand, four of Bollywood’s promising young stars – Sushant Singh Rajput, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt – talk about competition and depression, about their inspirations and the insecurities.
(This interview first aired on CNN-IBN)
In this interview with Rajeev Masand, recorded in Cancun (Mexico), White House Down star Channing Tatum talks about performing his own stunts in this action blockbuster, and Jamie Foxx explains why he wasn’t channeling President Obama in his performance as the US Prez. Also, director Roland Emmerich reveals his fascination for putting the White House in peril.
(This interview first aired on CNN-IBN)
July 19, 2013
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Arjun Rampal, Huma Qureshi, Akash Dahiya, Rishi Kapoor, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Sreeswara, Nasser, KK Raina
Director: Nikhil Advani
Although the last photograph of him in public records dates back to over 20 years ago, Dawood Ibrahim remains an endlessly fascinating character, particularly for our filmmakers who never seem to run out of script ideas involving India’s most wanted terrorist. Nikhil Advani’s D-Day is the latest, a promising action thriller constructed around the long-cherished dream of capturing Dawood, the principal accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
The role of Dawood himself, referred to in this film as Iqbal Seth, and nicknamed Goldman, is played creepily by Rishi Kapoor sporting a moustache and rose-tinted shades. We first see him in the film’s terrific opening sequence, arriving for a wedding celebration at a Karachi hotel, where, despite heavy security, an audacious plan to nab him is underway.
The film’s crisp first-half, much of it unfolding in flashback, sets up the drama nicely. The chief of India’s Research & Analysis Wing (or R&AW) has put Operation Goldman into motion, following another blast in India masterminded by the terror monger who is staked out in Pakistan. A covert team of undercover agents Wali (Irrfan Khan), Rudra (Arjun Rampal), Zoya (Huma Qureshi), and Aslam (Akash Dahiya) have been tasked with ferreting out Iqbal as he gets ready to attend his son’s wedding.
Meshing fact with fiction, often sacrificing logic for thrills, the briskly paced script (co-written by Ritesh Shah, Suresh Nair, and Advani) slows down routinely to show us the agents in their downtime with family and lovers, even as they flesh out their grand plan collectively. Rudra takes up with a melancholic prostitute (Shruti Haasan) in a red-light district, while Wali is deeply committed to his young son and wife (played with aching vulnerability by Sreeswara).
D-Day, with all its gritty action, hand-held camerawork and frenetic editing, is still closer in spirit and tone to Ek Tha Tiger and Agent Vinod than Zero Dark Thirty. The film can’t escape typical jingoistic traps, and doesn’t think twice of forsaking realism for filmi heroism. So our undercover heroes get into a public scrap with an ISI agent in broad daylight, and in one spectacularly silly scene, Rudra follows a man who had disfigured his lover’s face and stabs him brutally to death in a garage, evidently unconcerned about raising suspicions.
But if you’re willing to sidestep niggling problems like the rapidly rising body count they leave in their wake, and the apparent ease with which our heroes secure ammo in Pakistan, you’ll note the film’s second half raises some interesting points, including the very real conundrum of secret agents who’re abandoned by their governments in hostile lands after failed operations. There’s also one remarkably filmed song in which Advani takes one of our protagonists through a bloody massacre of a loved one, as if it were happening before his very eyes. It’s portions like these that elevate the film from the ordinary, and much credit must also go to its committed cast.
No praise is enough for the chameleon-like Rishi Kapoor, who adapts himself to the film’s two very different tones, and offers a performance that is menacing and hammy in all the right places. The talented Huma Qureshi is under-utilized here, but plays her part competently. A quick mention also of Chandan Roy Sanyal who is deliciously sadistic as Iqbal’s nephew and right-hand man. But the film is a showcase for its two male leads. Irrfan Khan excellently conveys the quiet desperation of a man torn between family and mission, and Arjun Rampal does some of his best work here as the rebellious agent simmering with pent up anger.
D-Day is far from perfect, but as pulpy Bollywood action films go, it’s very watchable and works its strengths. The film’s ending, controversial and melodramatic to say the least, nevertheless sits comfortably with the wish-fulfilment fantasy that Advani’s milking. I’m going with three out of five. It’s worth a watch; you won’t be bored.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
July 19, 2013
Cast: Aida El-Kashef, Neeraj Kabi, Sohum Shah, Vinay Shukla, Sameer Khurana
Director: Anand Gandhi
Ship of Theseus, written and directed by Anand Gandhi, requires patience, an open mind, and a willingness to think. It’s not enough to merely sit there in your seat and ‘watch’ the film, but to listen attentively to its characters and consider their arguments. If you’re willing to make that investment, you’ll be rewarded with a richly emotional, intellectual, and sensory experience.
The film follows three separate stories that raise pertinent questions about identity, death, and morality. In the first, we’re introduced to Aliya (Aida El-Kashef), a blind photographer who uses intuition to capture brilliant black-and-white images. A cornea transplant restores her vision, but she fears she may have lost her inspiration. In the second and most affecting story, we meet Maitreya (Neeraj Kabi), a Jain monk and staunch animal-rights activist, who is diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and must consider a transplant. On discovering that the medication that could save his life might have been tested on animals, he refuses treatment. The third story is centered on Naveen (Sohum Shah), a stockbroker and the recent recipient of a donated kidney. He becomes obsessed with bringing justice to a poor man he meets, whose kidney was illegally stolen during an appendix surgery.
These three strands interconnect satisfyingly in a moving climax, and tie in neatly with the overarching philosophical idea thrown up by the film’s title: Does a ship, whose every part has been replaced piece by piece, remain the same ship in the end? Gandhi applies this paradox skillfully to the human body, asking if a person who has had an organ transplant is still the same person he previously was.
Giving us a nice lived-in feel of each of their worlds, Gandhi takes us inside the minds of our three protagonists, showing us what they stand for, and how they’ve changed over the course of the journey they undertake during the film. Each of our protagonists engages in intelligent, thought-provoking arguments, and it’s hard not to come away deeply affected by some of the issues raised. The verbal sparring between the monk and a young lawyer-in-training is particularly engaging, and full of insightful gems worth considering.
Languidly paced and lushly filmed, Ship of Theseus is just as rich cinematically, and benefits from terrific performances by each of the protagonists, particularly Kabi whose physical transformation as the ailing monk is a sight to behold. Gandhi gives us a fine supporting cast too, that occasionally infuses humor in a film that otherwise stings from its brutal honesty.
I’m going with four and a half out of five for Ship of Theseus. It stimulates the one organ that popular Hindi cinema consistently ignores – the brain! Give it a chance and prepare to be dazzled.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
July 19, 2013
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Richard Jenkins
Director: Roland Emmerich
Even the corniest action blockbusters must possess a smidgen of logic, or credible characters, in order for you to be invested in its thrills. White House Down is the second movie this year – after the Gerard Butler starrer Olympus Has Fallen – in which a band of terrorists invades the most secure address in Washington to capture the US President. In both films, it’s left to an unlikely hero to save the day. But where Olympus succeeded in creating some nice tension occasionally, and delivered visceral action scenes, White House Down fails to offer even the kind of dumb entertainment you’ve come to expect from Independence Day director Roland Emmerich.
Just minutes after establishing the rigorous security measures at the White House, we watch as a bunch of suspicious looking blue-collar types stroll into the building barely hiding a cartload of weapons. When the shit hits the fan, it’s a good thing low-rung cop John Cale (Channing Tatum) happens to be in the premises with his precocious daughter. Before you can say Die Hard, Cale’s ditched his shirt for a sleeveless white vest, and he’s helping the President (Jamie Foxx) stay out of the reach of the bad guys.
Cursed with everything from a ridiculous plot and clunky performances to underwhelming action scenes, there’s virtually nothing to recommend here. The chemistry between Tatum and Foxx inspires an occasional chuckle, but fine actors like James Woods, Richard Jenkins and Maggie Gyllenhaal are entirely wasted in this drivel.
The film is too long by at least 20 minutes, the screenplay predictable every step of the way, and the politics so naïve you’ll want to laugh. I’m going with one and a half out of five for White House Down. It’s a waste of time and money…both on the part of those who made it, and those who watch it.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
In this excerpt of The Bollywood Roundtable, four young promising actors – Sushant Singh Rajput, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt – share their views on failure, and their fall-back plans.
The entire episode of The Breakout Stars airs this weekend on CNN-IBN. On Saturday (July 20) at 12 noon, 8pm and on Sunday (July 21) at 1.30pm and 10pm.
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