Shandaar | Early Critic Reviews

Shandaar, which releases tomorrow for public view has some mixed early critic reviews! Directed by Vikas Bahl, it’s first of a kind destination wedding movie which stars Shahid and Alia in Lead roles! It also marks the debut of Sanah Kapoor, daughter of Pankaj Kapur!

Let’s have a look at the reviews:

Deepanjana Pal of Firstpost said: “By the time Shaandaar draws to its close, you can’t help but wonder just how much of the heavy-lifting in Queen was done by Kangana Ranaut.”

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express said: “The only one who leaves an impression in this crowded-yet-slack film is Sanah Kapur, the real-life half-sister of Shahid, who plays a bride being used as part of a ‘deal’ between two business families.”

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV said: “Shaandaar is a fun film that is infused with great charm, which in turn is enhanced by director Bahl’s panache for a light touch, an attribute that was on full show in Queen. While it does not live up to its title as a package, it fulfils much of the expectations that the audience might have from a film produced jointly by Karan Johar on the one hand and Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap on the other.”

Moumita Bhattacharjee of BollywoodLife.com said: “Shahid is unbelievably hot! Although his entry scene is similar to Shah Rukh Khan in Jab Tak Hai Jaan with the exception of the backdrop and of course the actor, Shahid will leave you smitten. Things are pretty fluffy still without any major conflict happening apart from a passing mention of the wedding being a deal to bail out Pankaj Kapur’s family business. And since it’s broached so negligently, the audience will easily forget it.”

Akshay Kaushal of IBNLive said: “Caution: You won’t be able to take your eyes off #ShahidKapoor. He is a debonair. #Shaandaar. There are some amazingly witty sequences in #Shaandaar that tickles your funny bone. The tyrant mummyji played by #SushmaSeth in #Shaandaar will become your favourite character as you step out after watching the movie.”

Pallavi Patra of Zee Digital said: “#Shaandaar opens with a touch of animation. Shahid Kapoor makes a stylish entry. Shaandaar Alia looks ravishing too. #Shaandaar. There are some funny scenes in #Shaandaar.”

Bollyarena in the review said: “Shahid kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s adorable chemistry is the major highlight of this romantic comedy. In the film they chatted with each other in just a normal manner and yet their simple conversations are beautifully captured.”

[Source]

The Trailer:

Yash Raj Film’s TITLI

Titli has seen many dawns at various film festivals and stands rave among all the commercial releases we have recently seen! Starring Ranvir Shorey, Amit Sial, Shashank Arora, Lalit Behl and Shivani, the film is co produced by Dibaker Banarjee and Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films!

The directional venture of Kanu Behl has  excelled and been honoured at several prestigious international film festivals since its completion, including the2014 Cannes Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro International, Zurich Film Festival, Filmfest Hamburg, BFI London Film Festival &Chicago International Film Festival among several others. Kanu holds the fame of acting as assistant directors in critically acclaimed Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and LSD along with Banarjee. The trailer released on 29th September.

Plot

[In the badlands of Delhi’s dystopic underbelly, Titli, the youngest member of a violent car-jacking brotherhood plots a desperate bid to escape the ‘family’ business. His struggle to do so is countered at each stage by his indignant brothers, who finally try marrying him off to ‘settle’ him. Titli, finds an unlikely ally in his new wife, caught though she is in her own web of warped reality and dysfunctional dreams. They form a strange, beneficial partnership, only to confront their inability to escape the bindings of their family roots. But, is escape the same as freedom?] – Wikipedia

The movie is scheduled for commercial release on 30th October.

Jazbaa Movie Review

Jazbaa screams out loud but fails to leave an expected impact. A storyline which could have had a tighter screenplay hardly impresses due to a weaker second half which even though has twists and turns; are far stretched and don’t surprise.

A health freak mother (Special thanks to Shilpa Shetty’s Yoga DVD), occupying the first 5 minutes of screen time like Sooraj Pancholi of Hero; a suspended cop.. pardon me… A suspended drunken cop who has bag full of dialogues; an unused victim’s mother and few plot characters who inspite of rave talent get hidden under Abhishek Bacchan’s wife’s comeback screen space. Yes, Jr. Bachchan is credited for something – Don’t know what!

Aishwarya Rai (Advocate Anuradha Verma) is a single mother who has the record of winning all criminal cases – She slaps criminals fluently, she wins cases on article numbers, she scolds the judge.. Beloeve me, I felt that in couple of scenes. Her daughter Sanaya (Sara Arjun) is kidnapped and the ransom isn’t cash; it’s rather freedom of Miyaaz Sheikh (Chandan Roy Sanyal) who is convicted for rape and murder of Sia (Priya Banarjee); Shabana Azmi‘s daughter! 4 days is all she has got to study the minute details and help the convict receive bail. In comes Yoohan (Irrfan Khan); a suspended cop and a dear friend of Anuradha Verma who does everything to help her. How she investigates and races against time to win / loose the case against Atul Kulkarni is the remaining plot.

Let’s read about certain aspects now!

Direction by Sanjay Gupta is heavily inspired by 2007 Korean film Seven Days and Gupta should be parallely credited to de-step the movie by several knots. His focus on various characters deviates from the main plot and the sub plots don’t make equal effect. Yes, the scenes between Shabana Azmi and Aishwarya Rai are well directed with emotions taking either sides on various occasions. But with numerous slaps of yellow green shades to fit the mood, you dry run to filter the cause.

Screenplay would have hardly been an effort as it’s borrowed by the Korean flick but the director & Robin Dutt duo spoil the grip they paddled in the first half. The post interval drama is loose at points where the story appealed to deliver much than what was portrayed.

Cinematography in the movie was all about capturing slo-mo shades from various angles. The camera hardly has any locations to capture and thus can’t be blamed for anything wrong that went.

When it comes to acting, Aishwarya Rai is first who should be spoken about. She is fit, firing in her cases, grooving through her eyes and captures the balance between her profession and motherhood pretty aptly but… BUT.. BUT she screams a lot and she screams too often! And when she does it, you would need to relax your eardrums! And yes, she appears to run faster than she actually does. Rai overall chose a good movie to make a comeback but Sanjay Gupta spoiled the entire narrative. Irrfan Khan is unused according to me! As Yoohan, the suspended cop and with the rave potential he has, the caliber he can deliver was limited by focusing entirely on the female lead! But with all the screen presence, he is spendid in his efforts. Shabana Azmi with a very special experience too is unused but is flawless in her part! I mean, no words for the senior lady! Chandan Roy Sanyal is appealing and plays his part absolutely brilliantly. Atul Kulkarni and Jackie Shroff are wasted in their short roles, but they act well as usual. Siddhanth Kapoor is good in his short role. Priya Banarjee, Sara Arjun and Abhimanyu Singh justify their presence in the screen time they were allotted.

The only 2 songs are peaceful to listen.

Crisper editing by Sunil Nayak would have saved 10 more minutes as the movie seemed to be stretched just before interval and a lot in later part of post interval.

Overall, Jazbaa is a failed effort with the superficial style triumphing substance and an overdose of dialogues and melodrama.

A 2.5*/5 from my side!

Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo Trailer

Lavish sets, some melodious music, eye catching cinematography and Prem is back… This is how the Rajshree Production’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo trailer begins with! Presenting to you, the 90s reality which is a hypothesis now!

Har family me problem hoti hai, par vo khush naseeb hain jinki family hoti hai!

Salman Khan & Sooraj Barjatya come together after a span of 16 years to mesmerize you! And this time, Salmaan Khan comes in 2 different avatars! Though the 2:08 mins trailer doesn’t reveal much about the movie, but insiders have apparently been creative in revealing the last fight sequence between Salmaan and his evil brother Neil Nitin Mukesh, Salmaan Khan in a double role, Sooraj barjatiya’s family bonding story and much more!

In an era where we have been witnessing too much of dark dramas, PRDP may come as a refreshing tone and amuse the audiences!

Let’s wait and watch!