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Paan Singh Tomar Movie Review

Paan Singh Tomar is an Indian Biopic based on the true story of an athlete ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ employed by the Indian Army who went on become a National Steeplechase champion, but later on was forced to become a notorious bandit. Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia who made his debut with ‘Haasil’, a political drama which won him immense critical acclaim, this time he goes a notch above it and delivers his career best work. Irrfan Khan essays the role of Paan Singh Tomar while Mahi Gill plays the role of his wife.

The film is about a man from Chambal village who joins Indian Army but soon is sent to participate in Indian National Games due to his great athletic skills. Though not interested in sports, he joins the sports division to curb his hunger as there were no limits on their diet. Soon he becomes a National Steeplechase champion and wins the gold medal for 7 years in a row. In 1962 and 1965 wars, he was not allowed to go as sportsmen were not allowed to fight in war which makes him frustrated. On the other side, a problem of illegal acquisition of land by Bhanwar Singh, his relative arises .Paan Singh retires from army to settle issues amicably but Bhanwar Singh attacks his family. Paan Singh then goes to the police to seek their help but no one comes to his rescue forcing him to turn into a rebel.

The Film captures the journey of Paan Singh from 1950’s to 1981 till he is shot dead in Police firing. Tigmanshu Dhulia shows his expertise by making a biopic so real and authentic that it makes the audiences marvel at his genius. From the locations in the villages creating an era of 1950’s to the local language and costumes, everything is perfect. A lot of research and detailing has been gone into making this film which clearly shows on screen.  He has also written the script himself which is hard hitting and attention grabbing to say the least. He has shown the major events and occurrences in the life of Paan Singh Tomar in a very interesting yet realistic manner. Never does the drama go overboard in any scene. The dialogues ranges from quirky and witty to emotional and hard hitting and the use of pure authentic ‘Bheehad’ language makes it more compelling and impactful. The Cinematography by Aseem Mishra is eye grabbing gloriously capturing the racing events in the first half and ravines of Chambal in the second half. Editing by Aarti Bajaj is very crisp holding together the entire film in a brilliant way. Background score by Sandeep Chowta is apt enhancing the overall impact.

After delivering outstanding performances in films like ‘Haasil’ and ‘Life in a Metro’, Irrfan takes on a most challenging role and delivers his career best performance. He is so aptly cast in this role that you cannot think of any other actor who could have performed it so perfectly. He is the soul of the movie literally.  Be it his impeccable delivery of quirky one liner or displaying a lifetime of emotions through his eyes, he is bang on and excels in each and every scene.  He races like a true athlete. This performance of his is among the finest performances of Indian Cinema. He truly deserves to win Filmfare and National Awards next year. Mahie Gill as his uneducated but brave wife is incredible and adapts to her character so realistically or should I say ‘rustically’ that it helps to elevate the scenes in which she appears. Her chemistry with Irrfan is electrifying. Brijindra Kala is effective as news reporter and evokes laughter in some scenes. All the other cast does a tremendous job and everyone looks their part.

On the whole, Paan Singh Tomar is a hard hitting and riveting biopic from the maverick filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia which motivates and inspires the audiences to respect athletes and should give a jolt to the Indian Government who should now take special care of them after watching this. This is the most authentic biopic made in Bollywood till date. Highly Recommended!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Kahaani Movie Review

Kahaani is a Bollywood Thriller Film Directed by Sujoy Ghosh who had earlier directed films like Jhankaar Beats, Home Delivery and Aladdin. Barring Jhankaar Beats, the other two have been box-office duds. With this film,he makes his foray into the thriller genre and makes a stunning comeback. Starring Vidya Balan in a role of a pregnant women searching for her missing husband in Kolkata, the film boasts of a great storyline and have been executed brilliantly.

The story begins with software engineer Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan), a seven months pregnant woman arriving in Kolkata from London, days before the Durga Puja. She is in search for her software engineer husband, Arnab Bagchi, who came to Kolkata with an assignment but suddenly gone missing. As she starts searching for her husband with help from the rookie cop Satyaki/Rana (Parambrata Chatterjee), she soon realizes that it wouldn't be easy. Arnab Bagchi just vanished in thin air, without any trace. To the city, her husband never existed. With extreme reserves of determination and resolve, Vidya Bagchi starts her own search through a cobweb of mysteries. 

The strongest point of this film is it’s story which is written by Sujoy Ghosh and Advaita Kala which is so intelligent and comprehensive that it makes the audiences sit up and admire the talent behind it.

The Screenplay by Sujoy Ghosh, Suresh Nair and Nikhil Vyas  is arresting and captivating as it doesn’t allows the viewer to take a breath. From the first scene to the last, the audience remains glued to the seats and the high suspense quotient makes it an edge of the seat thriller. But at the core, it is more than just a thriller as it deals beautifully with human emotions.  Cinematography by Setu is splendid as he captures the bylanes of Kolkata so realistically that it makes the film look all the more authentic. The crowded streets and the famous Durga Pooja Festival are all beautifully captured. Kolkata never looked so sexy. Editing by Namrata Rao is water tight binding the viewers for two hours. The Pace of the film is uniform throughout giving little bit clues in between leading to a spellbinding climax. I don’t remember when it was the last time when I was so thrilled and amazed by the climax of any movie.

Direction by Sujoy Ghosh is excellent and flawless. The film is for the intelligent and thinking audience and all credit goes to him. He doesn’t let go off even for a moment and has taken care of even the minutest detail. He is a master storyteller and shows his craft in this film which is his best work . Music by Vishal –Shekhar is awesome and provides a flavor of Kolkata. Although in the movie,there are only two songs ‘Aami Shotti Bolchi’ and ‘Ekla Chalo Re’, the soundtrack contains 3 more songs and all of them are soulful. Background Score by Clinton Cerejo is exceptional and heightens the impact of the tense moments and also increases the chill factor.

Now coming to the performances, Vidya Balan is the lifeline of the film. She sparkles the screen throughout and plays the role of a pregnant women with such perfection which no other actress can match. Her interactions with police inspector Rana/Satyuki played by Parambrata Chatterjee are excellent. The expressions of grief, eagerness and despair are well reflected through her performance. She emotes more from her eyes and her dialogue delivery is impeccable. Expect another National Award for the talented actress. Parambrata Chatterjee as Rana is a natural and restrained.  His character evokes sympathy from the audiences. Bob Biswas played by Saswata Chatterjee is chilling and interesting. His Character evokes dark humour. Nawazuddin Shah as Khan, a ruthless IB Officer is apt and does a fine job. All the other supporting cast have done a good job.

Kahaani is a perfect example of a thriller with an emotional layer with a brilliant story, skilful direction, awesome performances, haunting music and a nail biting climax. The film is flawless in all respects and is a landmark film in Bollywood. A Masterpiece!

Rating:5 Stars

Bollywood Rules Awards 2012

Best Film: Don 2

Best Director: Farhan Akhtar for Don 2


Best Actor: Ranbir Kapoor for Rockstar And Shahrukh Khan for Don 2

Best Actress: Vidya Balan for The Dirty Picture

Best Actor (Critics): Rajeev Khandelwal for Soundtrack

Best Actress (Critics): Priyanka Chopra for 7 Khoon Maaf

Best Film (Critics): Rockstar

Best Director (Critics): Imitiaz Ali for Rockstar   

Best Story: Imitiaz Ali for Rockstar

Best Screenplay: Rajat Aroraa for The Dirty Picture


Best Cinematography: Nicola Pecorini and V. Manikandan for Ra One

Best Editing: Aarti Bajaj for Rockstar


Best Dialogues: Rajat Aroraa for The Dirty Picture

Best Choreography: Ganesh Hegde for Chammak Challo(Ra One)

Best Supporting Actor: Farhan Akhtar for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara


Best Supporting Actress: Rani Mukherjee for No One Killed Jessica


Best Music: A R Rahman for Rockstar


Best Lyricist: Irshad Kamil for Nadaan Parinday(Rockstar)


Best Singer(Male): Mohit Chauhan for Tum Ho(Rockstar)


Best Singer(Female): Nandini Shrikar for Bhare Naina(Ra One)


Best Background Music:Shankar Ehsaan Loy for Don 2


Best Action: Spiro Raazatos and Abdy Gill for Ra One


Best Art Direction: Mithva Krishen for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara


Best Sound Design: Resul Pookutty for Ra One


Best Costume Design: Moiz Kapadia and Niharika Khan for The Dirty Picture


Best Visual Effects: Red Chillies Vfx for Ra One

Why This Kolaveri Di

Rockstar Movie Review

Rockstar is a Hindi Musical Film starring Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Faakhri in lead roles. Directed by the new age” Yash Chopra” – Imitiaz Ali , who had earlier given us beautiful love stories in the form of Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal, yet again presents us a soulful story of love and life of a Rockstar’ Janardan Jakkhad’ aka ‘Jordan’. This is by far Imitiaz’s best work as a director and a storyteller. He delves deep into the psyche of his lead characters that it’s hard to believe that it’s only a film. Its actually more than a film, its an experience , and a soulful one. The film also stars Shammi Kapoor, Aditi Rao Hydari, Moufid Aziz, Piyush Mishra, Shernaz Patel and Kumud Mishra, with the former making his last silver screen appearance in this film.

It’s a story of a middle class boy Janardan who hails from a Jatt family and studies in a Delhi college. How he falls in love to gain emotions that will help him in his singing career and hoe he transforms into a Rockstar with a rude attitude forms the crux of the story. Wriiten by Imitiaz itself, it shows the ups and downs in the life of Jordan the Rockstar and how he understands the deepness of love. The director has approached a new style of non linear storytelling which is quite novel enhancing its impact. Some may find it difficult to grasp but once you get hold of it, you will be amazed by its impact. Infact, it’s the strength of the movie. There are many light moments in the first half which provides adequate entertainment making the proceedings a bit lighter.

Music by the maestro A R Rahman is the soul and the lifeline of the film. The songs are so well interspersed in the narrative like a water flowing along the mountains. Mohit Chauhan who is the voice of the Rockstar  displays immense versatility and excels in every song. Picturization of the songs especially Kun Faaya Kun, Sadda  Haq, Nadaan Parinday and Hawaa Hawaa are beautiful  showing the beauty of the characters and the environment. Credit for this goes to the cinematographer Anil Mehta who spells magic with his camera. This is one of his best works. Editing by Aarti Bajaj is stylish and appeals to the yonger generation.  Background score by A R Rahman is stupendous heightening the impact of dramatic scenes.

Now talking about performances, Ranbir kapoor is a scene stealer and the backbone of this movie. To say that this is his finest performance would be an understatement. Ranbir breathes life into the character of Janardan and his transformation to Jordan is exemplary. Watch out for him when he first proposes the heroine and when he rebukes the media. He is excellent in comic scenes as well as high octane emotional scenes. He displays his versatility in this role which for him was a lifetime opportunity. After Srk, Aamir and Hrithik, Ranbir is the most versatile and brilliant actor which he had proved way back in Wake Up Sid. But with Rockstar, he goes a step further delivering the best performance of this year leaving behind Srk and Hrithik. Right from his expressions to his body language and mannerisms to his dialogue delivery and lip sync of the songs, he is flawless. Without Ranbir Kapoor , Rockstar would not have been what it is- a masterpiece. 

Nargis Faakhri as Heer debuts in this movie. She plays the love of Ranbir. She makes a confident debut showing her comic flair in lighter moments. But she seems to overact a bit in emotional scenes which are covered to an extent by her incandescent beauty. Nevertheless, as a debutant she makes an impact and can work harder on her acting skills to perform better next time.  Shammi Kapoor, the original rockstar is seen in a special appearance as a classical shehnai artist sparkles the screen with his enigmatic presence whenever he appears on screen. This is his last performance in a movie and a memorable one. Watching Ranbir and Shammi Kapoor in one frame is itself worth the price of a ticket. Aditi Rao Hydari as a news reporter does well in a small role while Kumud Mishra as Ranbir’s manager stands out in a brief but important role. The rest of the supporting cast does a fine job.

Rockstar is a movie which is rarely made in Bollywood. With Great performances, soulful music, artistic direction, it is the best musical film Bollywood has ever produced. Hats off to Imtiaz Ali, Ranbir Kapoor , A R Rahman and Mohit Chauhan for providing us a memorable film which is like a poetry in motion.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Ra One Movie Review

Ra One is a Sci-Fi movie starring Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Armaan Verma,Shahana Goswami and Tom Wu. Directed by Anubhav Sinha who have earlier directed films like Tum Bin, Dus and Cash,it is produced under the banner of Srk's Red Chillies Entertainment. It is the costliest indian film and the most promoted also so the expectations are tremendous. Also Shahrukh Khan's involvement in the project as an actor and producer makes it even more anticipated. So does the hype surrounded by it justified? Yes, if you have an apetite for different cinema in terms of it's execution and if you love the sci-fi genre.

The story written by Anubhav Sinha is novel and the basic premise of of the movie which is based on the battle between G One and Ra One, the lead characters is interesting . It's a story of a loving and simple father who loves his son and to impress him and make him happy, invents a unique game where the villain is more powerful than the hero. But what if the game that was meant to be played starts playing with your life. This line itself sums up the story of the movie. The first half of the film is flawless which shows the relationship of the nerdy south indian father Shekhar Subramanium with his punjabi wife and his son. The process of the devolopment of game is also shown in the first half which is very impressive. There are many light moments showing the goofiness of Shekhar and overtness of his wife Sonia. Then there are some chilling moments when Ra One comes out of the game and searches for Prateek. The Second half however dips at some places but is lightened up by G One's antics and out of this world Vfx. Yes, Vfx of this film surpasses that of robot and raises the bar for indian cinema.It is on par with Hollywood blockbusters like Spiderman, Superman, X-Men,etc.

Now coming to the performances, its Srk all the way. Hats off to this man for backing such a huge project with such conviction and achieves his goal. His performance as a nerdy South Indian  who is as innocent as a child is pitch perfect and gains sympathy from the viewers which is an achievement and as G One , he shows his versatility as it is complete opposite from the character of Shekhar. He comes from the virtual world and hence has limited emotions which are wonderfully displayed by Shahrukh. The daredevil stunts which he himself has performed are done to perfection. Kareena Kapoor as his punjabi wife Sonia delivers yet another powerful performance. She is delightful in the song Chammak Challo and shows her comic flair in light moments. She also displayed maturity in emotional sequences.Armaan Verma as Shekhar's son Prateek gives a cute and confident debut performance. Arjun Rampal though in a brief role delivers a commendable performance. His voice modulation is good and gives a chilling feeling to the audiences. Shahana Goswami as Shekhar's colleague is apt while Tom Wu, also a colleague is amazing in his short role.

Technically, the film is a masterpiece as it boasts of high octane action scenes laden with top class special effects surpassing previous indian attempts in this genre. Cinematography by Nicola Pecorini and V Manikandan is breathtakingly magnificent creating a powerful impact in action scenes and beautifully capturing the dance moves in songs like 'Criminal' and 'Chammak Challo'.Editing by Sanjay Sharma and Martin Walsh is crisp and arresting. Special mention to the Music composers Vishal-Shekar who have created a whole new sound for Ra One. All the songs as well as the background score is of high quality and Sound design by Oscar Winner Resul Pookutty is the best in Bollywood.

The film is a visual delight with great performances by the lead actors and crisp editing with high-end visual effects. It's a must watch for Srk fans and for all of you who want their cinema to be different and magnificent. The efforts of the whole team of Ra One must be lauded as they have made a film which takes the technology in Indian Cinema to greater heights. It will be loved by those who have their Hart in right place.

Rating: 4.5 Stars