Department Movie Review
Direction: Ram Gopal Varma
Production: Ram Gopal Varma Productions, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Uberoi Line Productions
Writer: Nilesh Girkar (Story, Screenplay and Dialogues)
Cast: Amitabh Bachchcan, Sanjay Dutt, Rana Daggubati, Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh, Madhu Shalini, Vijay Raaz, Laxmi Manchu, Deepak Tijori
Music: Dharam Sandeep, Bappi Lahiri, Vikram Nagi
Rating: * ½
Plot: The increasing underworld activities and gang wars forces the Home Minister of Maharashtra to start a secret organization called Department, headed by encounter specialist Mahadev Bhosle (Sanjay Dutt). The aim of the Department is to finish off the underworld members one by one. Bhosle includes suspended encounter specialist Shivnarayan (Rana Daggubati) in his squad.
Shivnarayan and Bhosle share a brother-like bond. But their relationship starts becoming shaky once the gangster-turned-politician Sarjerao Gaikwad (Amitabh Bachchan) enters the scene.
Review: Underworld movies are done to death in Bollywood. Still, if a filmmaker wishes to make a film on the subject, he needs to be doubly sure that the story which he has selected to narrate has something novel. Ram Gopal Varma’s Department not only lacks the novel factor but also suffers from a weak script which also goes haywire in the second half.
Forming of the secret department was supposed to be the main point that takes the story forward. But that hardly happens as the two characters continue to do the same thing which they used to do before it was formed – killing criminals. Some tried and tested encounters between the police and the underworld fail to either amuse or entertain, especially the forced Yerwada encounter.
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Situation is further aggravated by the inclusion of some dance numbers. From these, Nathalia Kaur’s item song turns out to be an exhibition of private parts and her horrible expressions. There was also no need to give too much footage to the dreary conversation between Vijay Raaz, Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh and Madhu Shalini’s characters. But the proceedings do become a bit interesting after the arrival of Amitabh Bachchan, who makes sure the first half ends in a watchable manner.
The post-interval part is peppered with twists and turns. The writer makes a juvenile use of them by including a series of lengthy trigger-happy scenes. Due to this, you desperately wait for something different to happen. However, when it does, you are left confused as you wonder who’s on whose side? After going through such ordeal, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the climax turns out to be an illogical and unconvincing one!
If the script wasn’t enough, the audience also has to deal and adjust themselves to RGV’s over-creative and mostly weird camera angles, which trigger irritation!
As hinted earlier, the songs (Bappa Lahiri, Dharam Sandeep and Vikram Nagi) are forced into the narrative. ‘Thodi Si Jo Pi Lee’ is the only bearable track. The background score is average while the editing needed to be sharper.
Although not very impressive, Amitabh Bachchan manages to put forth a decent act, mostly while showing his comic side. Sanjay Dutt doesn’t rise to the expectations and is strictly average. He is out-performed by Rana Daggubati, who is impressive as an honest cop. Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh does well although he is capable of much more. But the writing is to be blamed for his character not being much powerful.
Mostly over the top, Vijay Raaz turns out to be just average. Madhu Shalini is the surprise package! She is terrific as a lady gang member with lots of attitude. A sure lookout for the future! Anjana Sukhani and Laxmi Manchu provide good support. Deepak Tijori is hardly there!
Overall, Department is a major disappointment. The film has no chance at the box-office!
Department Box-Office Prediction
Direction: Ram Gopal Varma
Production: Ram Gopal Varma Productions, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Uberoi Line Productions
Cast: Amitabh Bachchcan, Sanjay Dutt, Rana Daggubati, Deepak Tijori, Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh, Laxmi Manchu
Music: Dharam Sandeep, Bappi Lahiri, Vikram Nagi
Release Date: May 18, 2012
Star Value: Apart from the biggest superstar of Bollywood Amitabh Bachchan, Department also has Sanjay Dutt. These two names ensure that the star value of the movie is very high. Good performers like Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh and Rana Daggubati also fill in the ranks.
Hype: The hype for Department is low. This is highly surprising considering the big names in the star cast and a well-known director. This can be due to the fact that the promo, which although created a buzz, was unable to create much excitement. Even Nathalia Kaur’s item number didn’t manage to turn too many heads. Due to this, one can say the makers have failed to promote their film properly.
Music: Due to the nature of the film and the type of genre in which Varma believes, there is hardly any scope for music. The remake of Sharabi’s hit number ‘Thodi Si Jo Pee Li Hai’ is somewhat known.
Prediction: Department will get an average to descent response, which is much below expectations. The makers would be hoping that it manages to super impress initially because that’s the only way they can recover their money. If it doesn’t, it will have a very tough time at the box-office.
Dangerous Ishq Box-Office Prediction
Direction: Vikram Bhatt
Production: Reliance Entetrainment, BVG Films, Dar Motion Pictures
Cast: Karisma Kapoor, Rajniesh Duggal, Jimmy Shergill, Divya Dutta, Arya Babbar
Writers: Amin Hajee (Story and Screenplay), Girish Dhamija (Dialogues)
Music: Himesh Reshammiya
Release Date: May 11, 2012
Star Value: Karisma Kapoor is one of the most admired actresses ever in Bollywood. So, if she is making a comeback after a long time, one can say that the star value for that film (Dangerous Ishq) is high. But it is left to be seen whether the audience will be excited enough to go to the theatres to see her.
Hype: The hype for Dangerous Ishq has been decent. It’s surely not as high as one would expect from Karisma’s comeback film. The issue of past-life regression and the prolonged clip from the movie has managed to make it somewhat popular.
Music: Himesh Reshammiya’s music hasn’t created any hype. Not a single track from the movie is known. This is due to the fact that the makers haven’t used the music to popularize the film.
Prediction: Dangerous Ishq doesn’t stand a good chance at the box-office. It will, at the most, get an average or above-average opening. It relies heavily in super-impressing in the initial days. It also faces a tough opposition in the form of Yash Raj Films’ Ishaqzaade.
Ishaqzaade Box-Office Prediction
Direction: Habib Faisal
Production: Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra
Writers: Habib Faisal (Story, Screenplay and Dialogues), Aditya Chopra (Story)
Music: Amit Trivedi
Release Date: May 11, 2012
Star Value: Parineeti Chopra is just one film old but despite that, she is quite well-known due to her confident performance in her debut flick Ladies VS Ricky Bahl. Although Arjun Kapoor is making his debut in Ishaqzaade, the lad has already managed to make heads turn. Hence, we can say Ishaqzaade is quite high on star value despite the inexperienced lead pair.
Hype: The makers have succeeded in generating hype around the film especially amongst the youth. It is Arjun and Parineeti’s bitter-sweet and a kind of wild chemistry that has been the impressive factor from the promos.
Music: Amit Trivedi’s compositions have struck the right chord with the audience. ‘Pareshaan’ has become the most popular track from the album while the title song and ‘Aafaton Ke Parinde’ are well received too.
Prediction: Ishaqzaade will surely get a good opening weekend at the box-office. The business in the days that follow will largely depend on the initial response. All said and done Ishaqzaade looks like a safe bet for Yash Raj Films.
Jannat 2 Box-Office Prediction
Direction: Kunal Deshmukh
Production: Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt for Vishesh Films, Fox Star Studios
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Randeep Hooda, Esha Gupta
Writers: Shagufta Rafique (Story and Screenplay), Sanjay Masoom (Dialogues)
Music: Pritam
Release Date: May 4, 2012
Star Value: Over the years, Emraan Hashmi has become one of the bankable actors of Bollywood. A movie starring him does manage to create curiosity and interest among cinegoers. Due to his presence, we can say Jannat 2 has a decent star value. Esha Gupta, who makes her debut, has already managed to make heads turn, mostly due to her resemblance to Angelina Jolie.
Hype: There has been a decent hype for Jannat 2. However, the excitement isn’t as much as one would expect from a Bhatt-Emraan combo. The promos of the movie have received just an average response.
Music: ‘Tu Hi Mera’ song has managed to popularize the movie. The rest of the tracks haven’t succeeded in creating a buzz.
Prediction: Jannat 2 won’t open to a very good response. It relies heavily on the initial reports. Even if it receives an above average response, it will help the producers recover their money as it’s not made on a high budget.
Phalke’s 142nd Anniversary: Overshadowed National Event!
Over the decades, movies have become an integral part of the lives of Indians. People of all ages, gender, religion, caste, language and class have been regularly thronging movie theatres ever since cinema arrived in India 99 years ago. The choice of movies among people might differ but visiting cinema halls and getting amazed, inspired and influenced by movies and its actors has become very common. Therefore, it won’t be an overstatement to say that cinema has become a part of Indian culture.
For making this possible, we all movie buffs should be thankful or even indebted to the Father of Indian Cinema Dhundiraj Govind Phalke aka Dadasaheb Phalke. It was his strong dedication and belief that made cinema possible in India. But when Phalke decided to make India’s first film Raja Harishchandra in 1912, there were many who tried to discourage him. There were some who even considered him a mad man.
Dadasaheb Phalke (Picture courtesy - Wikipedia)
But his dedication and passion was so strong that it had no effect on him. This was also because his wife Saraswati and his two kids too joined him in the mission. So, it won’t be wrong to say that the first Indian movie was made by the whole Phalke family.
After that, he could have easily settled in England and made films for the English. Financiers from London were ready to shell out huge amounts of money to produce his films. But he chose to stay in India so that the film industry develops and flourishes in our country.
It was filmmaker Paresh Mokashi and his team that enlightened the cinegoers about Phalke through his first film Harishchandrachi Factory (2009). Personally speaking, I will always be thankful to Mokashi for giving this hugely needed tribute to the great man. Without going overboard, the filmmaker presented Phalke’s struggle and the subsequent achievement by just using the visual medium.
However, from the huge number of movie buffs, how many are truly aware about Phalke? And from those who know about him, how many are there who truly think about him? I am sure a lot of people from the Indian film industry might not know about him.
I think even the mass media hasn’t given much importance to Phalke in all these 99 years. It wouldn’t cost much to our filmmakers to give tribute to Phalke at the start of their movie. After all, they are able to make movies only because he brought the medium to India. Apart from Harishchandrachi Factory, the only movie I remember doing this was Swarajya (2011).
I would like to give special mention to Fame Nakshatra (Dadar) for honoring Phalke by putting his picture with a garland inside their theatre (See below picture). I haven’t seen any other theatre doing this.
Monday April 30, 2012 marks the 142nd birth anniversary of Phalke. As expected, there is just no excitement or even awareness about it. But that is not going to stop me from rejoicing for the Father of Indian Cinema since it's a day every cinema lover should be proud of!
Watch the 11 minute footage from Raja Harishchandra (1913), the very first film of India!
Nandu Madhav and Vibhawari Deshpande in a still from Harishchandrachi Factory
Picture of Dadasaheb Phalke inside Fame Nakshatra theatre, Dadar.
Tezz Movie Review
Direction: Priyadarshan
Production: Ratan Jain for United 7 Entertainment Ltd
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Boman Irani, Zyed Khan, Sameera Reddy, Kangana Ranaut, Mohanlal
Writers: Robin Bhatt, Aditya Dhar
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Rating: * ½
Plot: Aakash Rana (Ajay Devgn) loses his money and assets for living and working illegally in the UK. As he is deported back to India, he is also estranged from his wife Nikita (Kangana Ranaut). Four years later he returns to the country to avenge the damage done to his life. To do this, he plots a bomb in the London-Glasgow train with the help of ex-colleagues Abid Khan (Zyed Khan) and Megha (Sameera Reddy).
Aakash demands a huge ransom from the UK government in return for the lives of the people in the train. He is pitted against the anti-terror officer Arjun Khanna (Anil Kapoor) and the railway traffic chief (Boman Irani).
Review: Judging by the action thrillers released in last few years, we can say Bollywood has taken giant steps when it comes to stunts, sleek editing and special effects. Examples – Cash (2007), Blue (2009), Prince (2010), Ra.One (2011), Players (2012), Agent Vinod (2012), etc. However, despite these films being superlative in the action department, they all suffered due to some weak writing.
The promos of Priyadarshan’s Tezz suggested that the film wouldn’t fall in the above mentioned list. But promos can be misleading and that’s exactly the case with Tezz. Therefore, it easily falls in the list for the same reason – poor script, which is also unintentionally hilarious during several scenes and dialogues.
The biggest problem with Tezz lies in its basic plot which defies logic. Why would the audience sympathize with someone who has been living illegally in a country and when punished for it, plots a bomb in a train to take revenge? Due to this, there is almost no emotional connect with the audience right at the onset.
What follows is a series of negotiation and action scenes (till the end of the movie) that hardly create an impact. In fact, after a point of time you barely feel the thrill by the repetitive chase sequences. All these instances will also remind you of various Hollywood movies; mostly Speed (1994) and The Taking Of Pelham 123 (2009). Although the first half turns out to be unsatisfying, you still feel like giving the movie a second chance after intermission.
However, the same negotiation and action is continued in the pre-interval portions as well. And as the story unfolds further in this part, a good number of scenes and dialogues inadvertently tickle your funny bone. Try to fathom this line where a character tries to explain the reason behind naming her son Aakash – Aakash mein ek kaash hai ki kaash tum yahan hote.
Later on, as the climax nears, you realize the film is stretched although the overall length is under two hours. It is difficult to believe how an experienced producer like Ratan Jain agreed to finance such a script!
There is just no scope for music (Sajid-Wajid). All songs are just thrown in unnecessarily but none more than Mallika Sherawat’s item number ‘Laila’.
Areas like action (R P Yadav) and cinematography (Thiru S. Appun) are the biggest plus points. Sandeep Chowta’s background score, however, forcefully tries to create thrill with some unnecessarily loud noises.
From the actors, Anil Kapoor stands out with a mature act. Boman Irani is another actor who impresses with a powerful act. The writing doesn’t give Ajay Devgn much scope to showcase his acting skills. Most of the times, he just has to be on the phone in order to negotiate and give threats to the railway officials and the anti-terror squad. Zyed Khan’s limited acting skills are seen here too while Sameera Reddy is average.
It is quite clear that a fine performer like Mohanlal opted to act in the film only due to his good relations with Priyadarshan. Not only is he a mismatch in the role of a London cop, but also his character is ill-defined. A scene where he clings on to a moving train is one of the various funny (pun intended) sequences. Kangana Ranaut disappoints too. The way she screams in her typical harsh voice in the pre-climax makes you wince!
Overall, Tezz falls flat due to a large number of minuses and hardly any plusses. At the box-office, it will have the same fate as Ajay-Priyadarshan’s first film together Aakrosh (2010), although the latter was a fine product.
Vicky Donor Review
Direction: Shoojit Sircar
Production: Rampage Motion Pictures Ltd, Rising Sun Films Pvt Ltd, JA Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Eros Entertainment
Cast: Ayushman Khurana, Annu Kapoor, Yami Gautam
Writer: Juhi Chaturvedi (Story, Screenplay and Dialogues)
Music: Akshay-Ajay
Rating: * * * ½
Plot: Vicky (Ayushman Khurana) is an unemployed youth who is under pressure to start earning. On the other hand, Dr Chaddha (Anu Kapoor), a fertility expert, is having a terrible time as none of his patients are able to conceive. One fine day, Chaddha’s eyes fall on Vicky. He gets a feeling that Vicky is the right person to become a sperm donor in his clinic. After strictly refusing Chaddha’s offer a number of times, Vicky finally agrees.
Due to this, Chaddha’s business suddenly zooms up while Vicky starts making a lot of money. In between, Vicky comes across a banker Ashima Roy (Yami Gautam) and falls for her. But will he ever be able to reveal his profession to her?
Review: What will be your reaction when a person reveals that he is a sperm donor? As the profession is hardly known in India, chances are you will consider him shameless or immoral. However, your opinion on sperm donors will change drastically and, in fact, you will also start respecting them after watching Soojit Sircar’s Vicky Donor, a tale which, although not a classic, will surely touch your heart.
The promos of Vicky Donor suggested that the film is a humorous account on sperm donation. But, apart from that, it is a mature and realistic take on a person who becomes a sperm donor with an important element of a love story. Juhi Chaturvedi (story, screenplay and dialogues) deserves lots of applause for carrying out this task while giving humour a high place in the narration through some intelligently witty dialogues.
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The kind of topic had lots of scope for the writer and director to go overboard especially in the choice of humour but fortunately that doesn’t happen here. Even in the jokes related to sperms and sperm donors, every care is taken to keep any kind of cheapness and vulgarity away.
The flawlessness does take a backseat in some portions of the second half where the emotional part seems extended. However, then comes the superlative and moving climax that deserves plenty of applause. In fact, the message given in the end is path-breaking as far as India is concerned.
From Akshay-Ajay’s compositions, ‘Rum Whisky’ and ‘Paani Da Rang’ manage to stay with you, although a couple of songs (although they are shortened) in the second half weren’t needed. Kamaljeet Negi’s cinematography suits the nature of the film and so does the background score.
Ayushman Khurana makes a superlative debut as he does the very difficult task of carrying the film on his shoulders in his very first film with ease. He shows his talent in both comic as well as serious scenes. A sure a lookout for the future. With another lovable act, Anu Kapoor once again proves why he is one of the best actors in India. His comic timing is terrific.
Yami Gautam, who also makes her debut, gives a confident performance too and looks gorgeous. Kamlesh Gill and Dolly Ahluwalia provide good humour in the role of nagging saas and bahu. In supporting roles, Jayant Das and Bhupesh Kumar do well.
Overall, Vicky Donor gives a daring message while providing good quality entertainment. The film will be the surprise of the season at the box-office.
Tezz Box-Office Prediction
Direction: Priyadarshan
Production: Ratan Jain for United 7 Entertainment Ltd
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Zyed Khan, Sameera Reddy, Boman Irani, Mohanlal, Paresh Rawal
Writers: Robin Bhatt, Aditya Dhar
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Release Date: April 27, 2012
Star Value: With Ajay Devgn and Anil Kapoor playing pivotal roles, you can say Tezz is quite high on star value. Apart from these actors, there are also experienced veterans like Boman Irani, Paresh Rawal and Mohanlal, along with known names like Kangana Ranaut and Sameera Reddy.
Hype: Despite such big names and a well-known and successful director, Tezz has failed to create any hype or buzz. According to me, this could be because the promos of the movie are quite similar to the various action movies that have released in the recent past. The makers have also failed to publicize their movie.
Music: Lack of an interesting or a hit track is another reason for the film failing to create hype. The title song, the romantic number ‘Tere Bina’ and even Mallika Sherawat’s item song ‘Laila’ haven’t become popular.
Prediction: Tezz will at the most get an average opening at the box-office. This is quite surprising considering the star cast and the image of the director. It’s made at a budget of Rs 40 crore. It will be very tough for it to surpass that amount and make profit. Its only chance lies if it turns out to be a super-impressive product. If it doesn’t, it will have the same fate as Ajay-Priyadarshan’s first film together Aakrosh (2010), which was also an action flick.
Hate Story Box-Office Prediction
Direction: Vivek Agnihotri
Production: BVG Films
Cast: Paoli Dam, Gulshan Devaiya, Nikhil Dwivedi, Mohan Kapoor
Music: Harshit Saxena
Release Date: April 20, 2012
Star Value: There aren’t big names in Hate Story although Paoli Dam is very much popular in the eastern region of India due to her bold acts in Bengali films.
Hype: The promos of Hate Story have managed to raise eyebrows due to the bold scenes and dialogues. Such high level of boldness is rarely seen before in Bollywood. However, the hype that one would associate with this film is missing despite the fact that the boldest Bengali actress is making her Hindi film debut.
Music: Songs of Hate Story have failed to become popular. There is not a single song that has managed to catch viewers’ attention from the promos and radio broadcast.
Prediction: At the most, Hate Story will get an average opening. It not only needs to impress initially, but, after that, will also require positive word-of-mouth if it has to succeed at the box-office.
