Happy Ending - 1st half is a good comedy, 2nd half is a bore

Happy Ending starts off as a light hearted entertainer with some good comedy. However, it becomes a drag as it enters the second half and is a yawn thereafter. Combination of Ranvir Shorey, Saif, Kalki and Govinda works well to add spice in the first half. The romance between Saif and Ileana in the second half is a big bore. The movie would have done well sticking to one genre - either being a good comedy or being a mushy mushy romance.

Govinda looks much better than in Kill Dil.. Saif looks good in both avatars - his original self and his long haired inner consciousness. Ileana looks sexy, but doesn't look half as good as a writer. Music is average and fits the context.

Worth a watch if you are bored. Two and a half stars to the movie.

Kill Dil is terribly boring

The concept of two gangster friends in Kill Dil has been done to death in many movies in the recent past - Bullet Raja, Desi Kattey and Gunday are the movies, which come to my mind. That makes the movie a drag at the very start. The story itself lacks spine and one switches off right at the beginning.

Govinda is still in the 90s mode and one can't figure out whether he is enacting a serious role as a villain or intentionally bringing comedy into his character. Either ways, he is making a fool out of himself. Ranveer looks boyish in his new looks minus his long hair, beard and moustache and this doesn't suit his tough boy image. His looks brings back memories of his role in Ladies versus Ricky Bahl. Parineeti looks fat in this movie. Indian attire in Daawat-e-Ishq suits her and she doesn't look half as good in her Western attire. The only actor, who lends some credibility to his role is Ali Zafar, playing the role of Tutu (Dev's co-gangster).

The saving grace is the music - the movie has some awesome tracks by Arijit Singh, Adnan Sami, Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam and Sidharth Mahadevan.

One and a half stars to the movie. Watch it just for the music.

The Shaukeens is pathetic

Three old men from Delhi (shaukeens) - set off on a trip to Mauritius to fulfill their desires and land up at Ahana's (Lisa Haydon) house. What follows is a stupid non-sensical sequence of events that will make you bang your head again and again.

Indeed there are some really funny moments in the film - some of the unique fashion collections of Ahana and the way she gifts it to Akshay Kumar, the sequences involving Akshay and the Bengali director, the start of the movie wherein the oldies announce to their families that they are headed to Bangkok and the scene showing one of the oldies in his purple underwear as he did not bring his swim suit to Mauritius

Music in the movie is very disturbing and pops up whenever you don't want it to. Lisa Haydon looks sexy in the movie, but there is nothing to mention on her acting skills.

Two stars to this movie. Watch this only if you don't have anything better to do.

Rang Rasiya is a very engaging biopic of Raja Ravi Varma

The third biopic to be released after Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Mary Kom, this one - the story of a artist from Kilimanoor in Kerala, Raja Ravi Varma, beautifully captured by Ketan Mehta.

A treat to watch his story, as most of us are unaware of his background. Many of us are unaware that the pictures of the various Hindu gods that don our prayer rooms, he very faces that come to our minds, the picturization of our epics Ramayana and Mahabharata was the creative output of Raja Ravi Varma. And this lands him in trouble as the self assumed Godmen engulf him into a legal battle over denigration of Hindu culture and try to curb artistic freedom of expression.

The film also delves into his personal life right from his childhood, how he got the title of "Raja", how his relation with his wife gets complicated in his pursuit of his artistic passion, his contribution to breaking religious barriers of caste, his indulgence into Indian culture basis his commitment to the Maharaja of Vadodara and how it leads him to give a face to the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Not to forget, the film also captures his contribution to motion pictures in India by facilitating Dadasaheb Phalke to pursue his passion.

Sugandha (Nandana Sen) is his inspiration and the face of the various paintings including those of Goddess Saraswati and Goddess Lakshmi. Ravi Varma's complex relationship with Sugandha has also been captured well in the film.  Things turn worse when Ravi Varma makes his paintings commercial by setting up a printing press in partnership with a businessman (Paresh Rawal). The vandalization of the printing press by the goons of the Godmen and the ensuing legal battle, which also entangles Sugandha forms the rest of the story.

Randeep Hooda has put his heart into the role and it clearly shows in his performances. He is ideal in his portrayal of Raja Ravi Varma in a 19th century world. Nandana Sen has also done a great job in the movie, has an equally important role as Randeep.

A must watch. Four and a half stars to the movie.

ROAR is a unique visual experience

ROAR is a must watch for its amazing picturization of the topography of Sunderbans - the dense forests, the muddy river Ganga flowing as a canal through the forests, boat moving through the canal, the marshes, tigers swimming in the canal, alligators, jungle snakes and flying snakes.

There are many nerve wracking moments in the movie - the scene where a newly wed groom has his body covered with honeybees and the bride has to put her hands through the bees to take the garland from the groom, the scene where you see hundreds of forest snakes creeping out of nowhere (and even flying) and killing a person, the scene where you see a well built muscleman fighting two tigers, the scene wherein a tiger swims out of a canal and attacks a boat. The impact is such that even an avid traveller would start thinking twice before setting off on the next trip to Sunderbans.

All in all - the cast is new and their acting is raw, but the visual effects combined with effective filming of the topography makes the movie comparable with any great Hollywood movie.

An amazing movie and a must watch. Four stars to the movie.

Concept of Super Nani is outdated

Super Nani is a story of a hard working housewife (Rekha), who takes complete care of her family,but doesn't get back the same amount of respect in return. How she is treated with disrespect by her children, her daughter-in-law and even by her own husband (Randhir) forms the crux of the movie. Then comes a saviour - her grandson (Sharman) and he helps revive her career.

The movie is extremely preachy and the concept is very reminiscent of Baghban with an emotional touch. But the novelty factor that Baghban enjoyed almost a decade back no longer exists. The concept is dated.

From the title, one would expect a comedy movie, but there is barely any comedy apart from Sharman Joshi's idiotic Hindi accent and Anupam Kher's short cameos.

One and a half stars to the movie. Avoid.

Happy New Year is not that bad as an entertainer

One walks into the movie expecting it to be a commercial flick, which would lack a story and be very predictable. However, Happy New Year fares better than the conventional. Although the story line is weak and it is still a no-brainer, the plot keeps you engrossed.

The first 50 minutes introduces you to the various characters in the movie. This is followed by a musical drama during the middle hour and 20 minutes, wherein you will find a song popping up every 5-10 minutes. The last 40-45 minutes is the plot of the movie and this is the portion, which keeps you on the edge of your seats.

The comedy in the movie is introduced through the characters, whether it is the dialogues of Charlie (SRK), the absurd English accent of a very Marathi Mohini (Deepika Padukone) or partly deaf Jagmohan (Sonu Sood), who won't tolerate a word against his mom or a street side alcoholic Nandu (Abhishek Bachchan), who can vomit anywhere, or a man, who can develop fits for exactly 30 seconds (Boman Irani) and a young lad (Vivaan Shah), whose looks itself is funny. Although all this seems very force fitted, the comedy is not all that bad and they manage to carry through,

SRK looks old in the movie while Deepika carries forward her stereotypical "dumb blonde" persona. Sonu Sood's transition from a serious actor to a comical role looks stupid, Abhishek Bachchan is a talent wasted in this movie - he does well whatever little role he had to offer. Boman is as usual at his best with his acting and dialogues. Vivaan Shah barely has any role in the movie.

Three stars to the movie.