Highs are high and the lows are covered

Don’t go deep into the series of events and ignore the loosely bound fast paced second half, you shall find the right blend of patriotism, performance and a hard gripping seat edge thriller in the form of Airlift. Directed by Raja Krishnan Menon, Airlift has its highs in the form of power packed performances by Akshay Kumar with other leads and lows in the form of hassled evacuation which should rather have been the plotted crux of this celluloid drama.

Yes, it wasn’t Ranjit Katyal (Played by Akshay Kumar here) only who stood alone to fight against the odds. However, the heart of the movie lies and pops out clearly in the form of storytelling. Beginning with Saddam Hussain’s invasion in Kuwait and killing all locales, one man rises from amongst the Indians fighting against his inner conflicts to help evacuate 1,70,000 stranded fellow countrymen with assistance from some unsung heroes. That’s the storyline.

The beauty lies in the art of direction by Menon who presents a confident first half with few minute questions being answered in a comparatively faster second half which covers all its flaws in the last few minutes. He however does a flamboyant job in portraying the entire operation giving the right amount of doze for required characters.

Akshay Kumar as Ranjit Katyal carries the movie on his shoulders with a power packed, splendid and mind blowing performance. He has his own charm and occupies the celluloid aptly. Nimrat Kaur as Amrita Katyal is flawless in her share of screen. She, in fact over shadows Akshay Kumar in a couple of scenes. Feryna Wezheir cries the right dose of emotions and Lena Kumar too does her job well. Worth mentioning are the performances of Inaamulhaq (Major Khalaf Bin Zayd) and Purab Kohli (Ibrahim Durrani) where former amuses with a funny Arabic accent in a well performed pivotal role and the later with his screened innocence in a nuanced characterization. Prakash Belawadi (as George Kutty) in an annoying character gives the right dose of lessons.

Writing & Editing by the director and a few folks deserve a mention for summarizing the 59 days long fight in a nutshell to reach the audience.

Music by Armaan Malik and Ankit Tiwari is good. While few songs fit the momentum, a couple break it.

I would give it a 3 / 5 plus an extra half for out of the box performances. Had the editing been non crisper, Airlift would have lifted the audience high and roaring.

 

Top 10 Bollywood Spy Films

Indian James Bond genre films have amused the moolah in an unusual manner. Suspenseful background music and unexpected turnaround of events base the crux of Indian spy thrillers. Our own Byomkesh Bakshi too is the source of spine-chilling chases we see in Bollywood.

We elected 10 out of the vast array of those.

 

10# Agent Vinod (2012)

Directed by Sriram Raghavan, Agent Vinod portrays conspiracy theories; namely Black Flag and New World Order. The action packed spy thriller received mixed reviews for tight screenplay and loose romantic moments.

9# 16 December (2002)

The white collar crimes which drain our nation of foreign exchange is adjoined to funding International terrorism. Often told Hollywood drama is presented in Indian context in a gripping manner. Directed by Mani Shankar the movie is action packed and some marvelous performances by the leads.

8# The Great Gambler (1979)

The story about how an inspector runs behind his look alike where the later is a great gambler but former is a far below perfection by overcoming his personal mix up. Shakti Samanta’s portrayal of the lead actor’s double role adds spice to a well written script.

7# The Hero: Love Story Of A Spy (2003)

The Bollywood spy thriller is about a RAW agent who is on a mission to stop terrorist activities across the border. Directed by Anil Sharma, the movie has some lavish sets and was a huge success becoming the 3^rd highest grossing film of the year.

6# Jewel Thief (1967)

The thorough muddling of identities of lookalike people – an inspector and a jewel thief is amazingly portrayed by Vijay Anand. The bond look alike ladies add spice to the captivating low of events.

5# Farz (1967)

Directed by Ravikanth Nagaich, Farz was a surprise hit. The basic crux is around Gopal (Agent 116) of the Indian Secret Service who investigates the murder of fellow agent who has few photographic evidences of terrorist activities by some foreign leader.

4# Aankhen (1968)

The pioneer in Indian spy film, Ramanand Sagar directed Aankhen has an ensemble cast to fantasize the script. The plot revolves around terrorism in Assam and how few concerned people take over the mastermind.

3# Johny Mera Naam (1970)

The blockbuster is regarded as a Dev Anand classic. Directed by Vijay Anand, Johny Mera Naam marks the journey of a spy to find a criminal by arresting himself. The movie has a gripping screenplay and some great performances to associate with.

2# D-Day (2013)

Acclaimed with highly positive reviews, D-Day directed by Nikhil Advani is a spellbinding, transfixing and taut thriller. The astounding finale makes it a ‘Not To Miss Thriller’. Loosely based on India’s most wanted Dawood Ibrahim, the wish-fulfilment drama is watchable for the lead performances.

1# Madras Café (2013)

The Indian Intelligence agent travels to a war effected coastal island in order to break the resolute rebel gang with the help of a journalist. Directed by Shoojit Sarcar, the espionage thriller showcases the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during the Indian intervention in Srilankan Civil war.

Top Gangster Movies of All Time

Gangs’ rivalry, some insane shootout, guns and bullets – Few sure shot plots of a Bollywood Gangster drama. Want to add spice to it? Mix some romance and the dish is topped to be served. Bollywood has given us some serious action celluloid portrayals in Gangster based movies – Few based on real instances while other fictitious.

We sliced a portion for you…

 

7# Shootout at Lokhandwaala (2007)

Based on the real life battle between Mumbai police and gangsters, the 1991 Lokhandwaala Complex Shootout is well directed by Apporva Lakhia. With numerous awards in its Kitty, Shootout at Lokhandwaala received some hard reviews and faced ban threats from the Sikh community. Stressing on psychological insights, the script is spellbinding and adds value to the narrative.

6# Agneepath (2012)

Remake of the 1990 drama of the same name, Karan Malhotra directed action drama is a story of vengeance, a tale of revenge; reprisal of a young boy whose father is killed before his eyes and he comes back after 15 years against Kaancha (Sanjay Dutt). The sub plot of Vijay’s (Hrithik Roshan) relation with his family and a short love story spices the power packed performances of lead and supporting cast.

5# Vaastav (1999)

Loosely based on the life of Chota Raajan, Mahesh Manjarekar’s movie showcases the hard realities in Mumbai underworld. Often regarded as a Cult Film, it marks one of the finest performance by Sanjay Dutt till date. The commercial milieu is a hard hitting sequence of events. The movie received many awards and was highly appreciated by critics.

4# Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010)

The period gangster film revolves around a gangster’s rising to power in 1970s, a young hooligan wishing to overpower him and a police officer caught in the middle. Milan Luthria’s directional venture is loosely based on the life of Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim. The near perfect movie presents the real intensity and explosion of the 70s while the music and sets build the right mood.

3#Company (2002)

Company is underworld’s sedate, aristocratic and sedate society life. Ram Gopal Varma’s crime thriller is again loosely based on D-Company run by Dawood Ibrahim. The fictitious array of events brings the rise of young gangster displaying the brutality in urban violence. The parallel cinema has authentic Mumbai lingo and is brilliantly overshadowed with the performance of leads and excellent narrative.

2# Satya (1998)

Marked as one of the best gangster films of all time, Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya is the story of a youngster with aspirations getting stuck in Mumbai underworld. A solid screenplay, great performances and fine camerawork nails as one of the must see Bollywood movies.

1# Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012)

Both Part I and II are collectively a milestone in crime and gangster centered drama. Directed by Anurag Kashyap, the movie has numerous engaging and unique plots revolving around the main plot of revenge. Revenge of an expulsed man which spans for three generations. Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chaddha, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Piyush Mishra, Huma Qureshi and many more have showcased their brilliance in respective roles. Traditional Indian Folk songs heavily inspire the music and add unadulterated flavor to the epic drama, epic with a capital E.

Top 8 Animated Films Of Bollywood

The Indian animation industry envelops both 2D and 3D format movies with visual effects for films. Beginning from “Ek Anek Aur Ekta”, a short animation story and moving to “Roadside Romeo”, the first 3D animation movie of Bollywood; Bollywood animation industry has produced some really good flicks.

And we picked 8 for you.

 

8# Delhi Safari (2012)

A herd of animals plan a trip to Delhi parliament raising questions on destruction of their abode. Directed and written by Nikhil Advani, the animation drama is a meaningful cinema and portrays an important issue.

7# Ramayana: The Epic (2010)

The most popular Indian saga revolves around Lord Rama, prince of Ayodhaya who is dark, handsome, an epitome of virtues and the greatest warrior. He fights the idealistic battle of good over evil demonstrating the heroism. Directed by Chetan Desai, Ramayana: The Epic is narrated by Bollywood’s known personalities.

6# Maruti Mera Dosst (2009)

Directed by Manikkya Raju, Maruti Mera Dosst is the story of a friendship between a young woman with Rambhakt Bhagwan Hanuman. The lady narrates his encounter with Hanuman in Dholpur near Agra. The animation drama has some unusual moments and narrates the saga in an idolizing manner.

5# Krishna Aur Kans (2012)

India’s debut stereoscopic animated movie. ‘Krishan Aur Kans’ is a blend of drama and action. The film chronicles Shri Krishna’s initial years – beginning from his birth as nemesis of tyrannical uncle. Released in Hindi, English, Telugu and Tamil, Vikram Veturu Flash animation shall turn you nostalgic.

4# Dashavtar (2008)

Produced under the banner of Phoebus Media by Vimal Shah, Dashavtar is directed by Bhavik Thakore. The movie revolves around the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The religious significance of movie marks how good conquers evil with eventual mankind evolution.

3# Arjun: The Warrior Prince (2012)

The tale of the greatest warrior and how he overcomes his inner self to become the legendary archer is Arjun: The Warrior Prince. The animated action film is directed by Arnab Chaudhari and is extremely engaging.

2# Hanuman (2005)

The animation by Kakarakaya Pulsu was a box office hit. It depicts the life of Lord Hanuman. Narrated by Mukesh Khanna, the animation feature portrays how Hanuman was born and was blessed with divine powers, intelligence and strength. The movie does rise with incredible background music and complete justice to its theme.

1# Return Of Hanuman (2007)

Released in 2007, Return Of Hanuman allegedly shares no link with Hanuman (2005). The adventure of almighty Hanuman is aptly directed by Anurag Kashyap. The children film showcases the issue of Global Warming.

 

Fitoor Official Trailer

Fitoor is an upcoming Indian romantic drama film directed by Abhishek Kapoor and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Abhishek Kapoor based on Charles Dickens‘ novel Great Expectations. It stars Tabu, Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur in leading roles. Principal photography of the film began in Kashmir in November 2014. The film is scheduled for release on 12 February 2016. [Wikipedia]

 

Here’s the official trailer:

 

What say guys?