Rajeev Masand – movies that matter : from bollywood, hollywood and everywhere else

April 29, 2016

Cast: Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor, Sudheer Babu, Sunil Grover, Sanjay Mishra, Shifuji Shaurya Bharadwaj, Sumit Gulati

Director: Sabbir Khan

First introduced to us in the film doing a handstand, but using only his index finger and his thumb to lift the weight of his body, Tiger Shroff demonstrates why he was indispensable when it came to playing the lead in Baaghi. As action films go, director Sabbir Khan’s latest is a relentless punch-‘em-up…that rare kind of movie that refreshingly relies not on guns and explosions, but on good ol’ fashioned hand-to-hand sparring to deliver the thrills.

Tiger, who possesses the flexibility of a gymnast yet routinely loses his shirt to reveal abs of steel, is perfectly cast as Ronnie, a rebellious drifter and martial arts enthusiast who lets his fists fly each time he’s in a bind. The action scenes in Baaghi are some of the best you’ve seen recently, a cocktail of traditional Indian and Asian martial arts that the film’s leading man pulls off with remarkable ease.

It’s the plot of the film – cobbled together from various sources including The Karate Kid and The Raid: Redemption – that could’ve done with more work. Ronnie, who is packed off by his dying father to a kalaripayattu academy in Kerala, meets Sia (Shraddha Kapoor) on the train heading there, and pretty soon they are in love.

Back at the academy, Ronnie is disciplined and rid of his cockiness by a Mr Miyagi-like trainer who polishes his rough edges. But when his guru’s villainous son Raghav (Sudheer Babu) makes a play for Sia, Ronnie sets off to Bangkok and singlehandedly takes on an army of Raghav’s henchmen.

Packed into a frankly overlong 2 hours and 20 minutes, this flimsy plot makes room for way too many song situations squeezed between the impressive pow-wow scenes. Shraddha Kapoor, looking pretty and dancing well, is basically reduced to a damsel-in-distress caricature, aside from a few kicks and punches she’s allowed to deliver herself. Sanjay Mishra shows up as a blind Bangkok cabbie in a comedy track that doesn’t belong here. The film is powered purely by the sheer energy and the tireless spirit of its leading man Tiger Shroff, who’s still raw when it comes to emoting but seizes your attention when he’s flaying his arms and legs about the screen.

I’m going with two-and-a-half out of five for Baaghi. It’s certainly an improvement on Tiger’s debut film Heropanti, but script problems persist.

(This review first aired on CNN News18)

April 22, 2016

Cast: Swara Bhaskar, Ria Shukla, Ratna Pathak Shah, Pankaj Tripathi, Sanjay Suri

Director: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

It would be incorrect to label director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s debut film Nil Battey Sannata as merely a coming-of-age tale. Yet, perhaps many can identify with the character of a rebellious teenager whose mother fervently hopes that her child will clear the tenth standard and scale great heights, even when it’s evident that the kid is not at all academically inclined…and happily so.

This sensitively written and directed film follows Apeksha (Ria Shukla) as she finally grows up, but it’s as much the journey of Chanda (Swara Bhaskar) and the sacrifices she must make so she can realize her dreams of giving Apu a better future.

Chanda is an uneducated domestic help who lives in a basti in Agra, supplementing her income by working in a shoe factory, a pickle shop, and at the dhobi ghaat. All her hopes are pinned on her flighty daughter, who studies at a government school. Apu is a typical backbencher, with an aversion to books. She couldn’t care less about being pulled up and punished, whether for coming late to assembly or for being a poor student. Besides which, it looks clear that Apu will never be able to pass in Maths, her weakest subject.

Chanda is at her wit’s end, trying to straighten out her stubborn child, who announces that she’s happy to become a ‘bai’ like her mother. It’s Chanda’s no-nonsense, yet sympathetic employer (Ratna Pathak Shah) who comes up with the novel idea of the mother going back to school, so she can motivate her daughter to study.

Tiwari injects just the right dose of humor and empathy into Nil Battey Sannata. The film is directed with a light touch, yet realistically – you can see the careful details that have gone into creating the world that the characters inhabit, and the conversations they have. The film subtly addresses prejudices and makes a strong case for educating girls, but does so without preaching. The portions at the school are the most entertaining, thanks in no small part to Pankaj Tripathi, who plays the idiosyncratic school principal and maths teacher, whom the students love to make fun of.  A scene in which Ratna Pathak Shah’s character appeals to him to admit Chanda in the same class as Apu sparkles with humour.

And yet the film that shows such promise in the first half, limps towards a predictable finish. The plot wears thin, and some bits – like Chanda’s chance meeting with the kind local collector (Sanjay Suri) and their repeated encounters – come off as contrived in an otherwise convincing story. Good thing the performances keep you invested in the characters. Ria Shukla, as the feisty yet selfish Apu, has an undeniable screen presence, and succeeds in making you care for her even when she’s at her most petulant.

But at the heart of the film is Swara Bhaskar as Chanda who refuses to give up on her dream and her daughter. Not one note out of place, she grabs your attention, be it in shining hope or in crushing disappointment. Tiwari directs the film as a touching ode to motherhood, even if it does seem to labor the point towards the last half hour.

I’m going with three out of five for Nil Battey Sannata. Translated literally, the phrase means zero divided by anything equals zero. It’s commonly used to imply blankness, or the notion of knowing nothing. Ironic, considering the film leaves you feeling rewarded and just a little bit wiser.

(This review first aired on CNN News18)

April 15, 2016

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Amin, Yogendra Tiku, Sayani Gupta, Waluscha DSouza, Shriya Pilgaonkar

Director: Maneesh Sharma

Fan, directed by Band Baaja Baraat’s Maneesh Sharma is constructed around an intriguing premise. Shah Rukh Khan plays a mega movie-star named Aryan Khanna, and also an obsessed fan of the star named Gaurav Chandna.

Gaurav, who hails from Delhi’s decidedly middle-class Indra Vihar neighborhood, spends his every waking moment worshipping at the altar of his idol. His walls are plastered with Aryan’s pictures, his parents indulge his obsession with the star, and his homage to the actor’s dance numbers wins him the top prize at the colony’s local talent contest each year.

Meanwhile Aryan, who is evidently modeled after Shah Rukh himself, was also once a middle-class Delhi boy whose meteoric rise in Bollywood is the stuff of dreams. Aryan lives larger-than-life in a sprawling home overlooking the sea, and he routinely shows up on his balcony to wave to the thousands of fans that have gathered for a glimpse of him below. These clips in fact, are real-life footage of Shah Rukh’s own interactions with his fans.

In playing both the superstar and the creepy lookalike fan who stalks him, Shah Rukh bravely goes for broke, unafraid to visit some pretty dark places. It’s a refreshing change from the actor’s recent films, which barely required him to break a sweat while playing to the gallery in roles that appear to have been created solely for the purpose of furthering his ‘wholesome hero’ image.

Having said that, it’s necessary to point out that Fan isn’t without its problems. There are moments in the film that defy logic and require complete suspension of disbelief. Like a scene in which Gaurav, who has made the trip to Mumbai to meet his idol, ends up doing something foolish in the hope of pleasing Aryan.

That incident and its repercussion leaves Gaurav bitter towards his hero, and determined to exact revenge. At this point, his resemblance to Aryan – which was barely noticed or commented on by anyone – becomes a key tool in his payback strategy. He manages to fool everyone from fans, to the London police, to Aryan’s own wife, on the strength of this plot contrivance.

There are other bits that jar as well. Why would a major movie star chase an offender through Delhi’s traffic clogged streets when he could put his men on the job? Questions like these pop up routinely through the second half, threatening to derail the film.

It’s Shah Rukh’s committed performance, however, that keeps you invested in the narrative and the characters. Gaurav, whose resemblance to Aryan is the stuff of computer trickery and prosthetics, may be the more fascinating of the two leading men, not least because Shah Rukh plays him as a curious mix of pathetic and creepy. But it’s Aryan, which is the trickier role for the actor to pull off, given that it’s basically a version of himself. I think it’s incredibly brave of Shah Rukh to play the superstar as conceited and stubborn, and as someone unwilling to take any responsibility for the situation. The role cuts dangerously close to the bone; Aryan Khanna is unapologetic about dancing at weddings for cash.

As I left the cinema having watched the film, I found myself conflicted about my feelings. There is so much to admire here, but it’s evident the filmmakers think they’ve made a smarter film than they actually have. Still, Fan works for the most part. And anyone who – like me – had grown tired and disappointed with Shah Rukh’s unwillingness to step out of his comfort zone will have reason to be a fan again. I’m going with three out of five.

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)

April 01, 2016

Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Swaroop Sampat, Rajit Kapur

Dir: R Balki

In Ki & Ka, directed by R Balki, Kareena Kapoor plays Kia, a successful marketing manager at an FMCG company who is unapologetic about being focused on her career. Arjun Kapoor is Kabir, an MBA grad and the son of a rich builder, who has no interest in becoming one of those corporate drones. They meet on a flight (in a scenario so contrived it made me cringe), and after a few dates, they decide to get married.

Watching the film, you’d be forgiven for thinking its makers were the first people in the world to invent the idea of a stay-at-home husband. Kabir, who is devoted to the memory of his housewife mother, insists that a homemaker is an artist, and aspires to be one himself. Evidently Balki is utterly and completely in awe of his own ‘great idea’. Doused in a vat of self-importance, the film practically screams out at you to notice how cool and progressive it is…which, as we know, are two entirely different things.

Nevertheless Ki & Ka coasts along smoothly as the couple becomes comfortable in what we’re repeatedly reminded are reversed roles. As Kia continues to climb the corporate ladder and provide for them financially, Kabir devotes himself to housework, cooking and cleaning and sprucing up their home, which they share with Kia’s mother (Swaroop Sampat). His taste in design, however, is questionable given that he redecorates the flat to resemble a railway museum, complete with a miniature train that ferries breakfast from the kitchen to the living room table.

Like the case with each of Balki’s previous films (Cheeni Kum, Paa, Shamitabh), the script of Ki & Ka derails in its second half when it becomes clear that there’s little to the plot besides that interesting central conceit. There is no real conflict in the couple’s lifestyle choices so Balki manufactures multiple obstacles to keep the characters on their toes, and to keep you invested in them.

But the film’s second half feels especially labored and reinforces many stereotypes. Way too much product placement, the slackening pace of the screenplay, and the contrived nature of the drama quickly reduce the film to a slog. The only bright spot here is a lovely two-scene cameo by Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, who ponder on how things might have turned out had Mrs B not given up her career to be a homemaker.

Ki & Ka arrives with a curious premise, but Balki fails to flesh it out into an engaging film. I was especially pleased to see Kareena Kapoor sink her teeth into a solid role after what seems like an eternity. Arjun Kapoor deserves credit for taking a role that few male stars would, but both actors are let down by the inert writing.

I’m going with a generous two out of five for Ki & Ka. It feels longer than its two hours running time, and you won’t be able to shake off the feeling that it delivers very little in the end.

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)