Archives for August 2023

Dream Girl 2 review: This film also has one Sakina falling for a Sardar

August 25, 2023 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

Filmmaker Raaj Shaandilyaa’s Dream Girl 2 is the sequel to his 2019 hit and hilarious comedy Dream Girl. But this isn’t an exact sequel of the 2019 movie. It revolves around the same protagonist and the people around him in the same city of Mathura but follows a completely different story. The other common factor between both the films is that the protagonist is forced to impersonate a woman.

Dream Girl 2 is based in Mathura of today’s times. Karamveer aka Karam (Ayushmann Khurrana) is an unemployed young man who just loiters around with his best friend Smiley (Manjot Singh). His father Jagjit (Annu Kapoor) isn’t bothered about his son though. Karam is in love with the rich Pari (Ananya Panday). But her father (Manoj Joshi) is shocked to know the poor condition of Karam and his father.

Worse, Karam also loses his ancestral home because of debts and loans. He is desperate to get out of the financial mess and marry Pari. He comes across an opportunity of impersonating a woman in a dance bar run by Sona Bhai (Vijay Raaz) in order to earn quick bucks. After some hesitation he agrees and starts earning well by impersonating a woman named Pooja.

But his happiness doesn’t last long after he decides to help Smiley get married to his girlfriend Sakina, daughter of the rich Abu Saleem (Paresh Rawal). This creates massive confusion due to which Karan is forced to tell one lie after another. Characters like Abu’s son Shahrukh (Abhishek Banerjee) and Smiley’s aunt Jumani (Seema Pahwa) create more trouble for Karam.

The biggest strong point of Dream Girl 2 is Raaj Shaandilyaa’s dialogue writing. Like the first film, the sequel too is full of witty one liners at regular intervals. The best jokes are the ones based on the contemporary happenings both in Bollywood and the nation. The best one is the idea of a girl named Sakina falling for a Sardar, which is an indirect hint at the Gadar franchise. In fact, there’s another joke on the same film and the song ‘Main Nikla Gaddi Leke’ also makes its presence in one scene.

But when dialogue is the biggest strong point, it isn’t good news for the film and that’s exactly the case with Dream Girl 2. The film starts off well but the plot becomes way too complicated and convoluted. The writing goes overboard when it comes to creating confusion and used too many characters. This becomes a forceful antic in inducing humor. On the other hand, the first Dream Girl, although also a crazy comedy, had a much simpler plot and it used simple situations to create humor.

Dream Girl 2 is also guilty of making fun of the serious issue of depression and its treatment. In one scene a character also says that only rich people suffer from depression.

After the dialogues, the next positive point here are the performances. Ayushmann Khurrana once again shows the right comic timing and energy needed for such a Govinda-like character. He is also impressive as Pooja. The same goodness is carried forward by Annu Kapoor. Paresh Rawal, the new addition in the cast, is thoroughly fine. Abhishek Banerjee plays a character he hasn’t played before with perfection.

Also read: Gadar 2 review – A treat only for Sunny Deol fans

Manjot Singh, Vijay Raaz, Seema Pahwa, Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi and Ranjan Raj (as Tiger Pandey) too chip in with the right support. Ananya Panday fares better than expected but her character doesn’t have much to do. Veteran actor Asrani only has a cameo.

Overall: Dream Girl 2 is only about the dialogues and performances. The film falls shorter than its predecessor.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Director: Raaj Shaandilyaa

Producers: Balaji Motion Pictures

Writers: Raaj Shaandilyaa and Naresh Kathooria

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Ananya Panday, Annu Kapoor, Manjot Singh, Paresh Rawal, Vijay Raaz, Seema Pahwa, Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi, Asrani, Ranjan Raj

Gadar 2 review: A treat only for Sunny Deol fans despite his absence for a good amount of time

August 12, 2023 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Bollywood hasn’t had a good relationship with sequels. There have been plenty of films whose second part hasn’t turned out to be good, leave alone as good as its predecessor. But Gadar 2, which is the second part of the historic blockbuster Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, is that rare sequel that, although not as fine as the first film, provides a high dose of excitement, but only for die-hard fans of Sunny Deol and the franchise.

Gadar 2 continues the story after Tara Singh (Sunny Deol), his wife Sakeena (Ameesha Patel) and their son (Utkarsha Sharma) start living in India after making peace with Sakeena’s father Ashraf Ali (Amrish Puri) at the end of first part. However, after allowing his son-in-law Tara to go scot free with his daughter to India, Ashraf Ali faces wrath from Pakistani officials and is hanged to death.

The story is then jumps 17 years later in 1971 when Tara, Sakeena and Jeete are living a peaceful and happy life at a town near the border of Pakistan. The year sees tensions between India and Pakistan and it is a given that the two countries would soon engage in war. It is the war-like situation that separates Jeete from Tara and Sakeena. Tara, who still has the same courage and strength, is hell-bent on stepping onto the other side of the border to rescue his son.

The film also features the evil Pakistani Major General Hamid Iqbal (Manish Wadhwa), who can never forget how his country got humiliated by Tara Singh. He dreams of taking revenge from Tara by killing him mercilessly.

Gadar 2 starts with a bang. The serious and light-hearted sequences provide plenty of nostalgia for the fans. The return of songs ‘Udja Kale Kawa’ and ‘Man Nikla Gaddi Leke’ become the icing on the cake, especially if you are watching the film at a single screen theatre.

However, after a point of time, the audience is in for an unpleasant surprise. Sunny’s character suddenly vanishes and Utkarsh’s Jeete takes center stage. In fact, one starts feeling that he is the main protagonist as he is also given not one but two songs, thanks to his forceful love angle with Muskaan (Simrat Kaur). This, obviously, didn’t go well with the crowd I saw the film with. There were constant angry comments. One person also shouted, “Main yahan Sunny Deol ko dekhne aaya hoon.”

Thankfully, the second half makes up for it as it has plenty of heroic sequences featuring Sunny. This also means that there is a list of opportunities for the single screen crowd and his fans to go berserk. Of course, like the first part, one needs to keep logic aside (which includes accepting the unnecessary and idiotic inclusion of Simrat Kaur’s character in the ending moments), to enjoy such masala entertainers. This also means making the villains behave silly at times. The same was the case in the first Gadar as well. If you are prepared to do this again, you are in for a treat, especially in the overwhelming climax.

The action sequences, obviously, are the film’s USP and, barring a few, they succeed in providing an adrenaline rush. The camerawork and background score also fall in the positives.

It is remarkable to see Sunny Deol carry out such action even after becoming a senior citizen. Needless to say, he is the heart and soul of the film and he carries it on his strong shoulders (including the dhaai kilo ka haath) with lots of power. Utkarsh Sharma shows some improvement from his forgetful debut Genius (2018), which was also directed by his father Anil Sharma.

It is vital for the character of villain to shine in such films. Manish Wadhwa is impressive in the first half but is later reduced to a typical villain we see in such films. Nevertheless, he succeeds in making you hate his character. Ameesha Patel, who doesn’t have a lengthy role this time owing to the story, is average. The same can be said for the debutant Simrat Kaur.

Overall: Gadar 2 is enjoyable only for the fans of Sunny Deol and the franchise. It has taken a tremendous opening at the box office in the rage of Rs. 40 crores and the collections would stay high till August 15. After that, it depends how much the audience has accepted the film. The makers provide a clear hint of Gadar 3, the third part of the franchise.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Anil Sharma

Producers: Zee Studios and Anil Sharma Productions

Writer: Shaktimaan

Cast: Sunny Deol, Utkarsh Sharma, Ameesha Patel, Manish Wadhwa, Simrat Kaur

Also read: When SRK did a Panchayat 33 years ago

Why Karan Johar’s RISK with Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani needs to be appreciated

August 3, 2023 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

The trailer of Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani, which released on July 28, gave an idea that the film is a romantic comedy with a lot of impetus given to humour.

It showed how Rocky (Ranveer Singh) and Rani (Alia Bhatt) meet under unusual circumstances and slowly fall in love. But as their respective families are poles apart, their marriage appears difficult. Hence, they come up with a unique idea – Rocky will live with Rani’s family for three months and Rani with Rocky’s. The promo showed glimpses of the hilarious events born out of the unusual idea brought about by the couple.

However, the real story of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani starts post-interval. It is in this period that we get to know that the film shows the mirror to the society by portraying various evils like patriarchy, toxic masculinity, fat-shaming, ageism when it comes to love among senior citizens (through Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi’s character), subjugation of women in the name of ‘family honour’ and ‘tradition’, etc.

Without giving away much about the plot, what stands out the most in this part is the sub-plot of the character Chandon Chatterjee, played brilliantly by Tota Roy Chowdhury, who is made to feel ashamed for being a kathak dancer despite being a man. The whole ‘Dola Re Dola’ dance sequence is not only the highlight of the film but also musically revolutionary.

The track about Kshitee Jog’s character and her musical dreams also plays a major role in taking the film over the winning line. Special mention should be given to the small ‘Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai’ sequence. Similarly, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is filled with a number of such progressive moments. Yes, a few dialogues are preachy but when the film falls into the mainstream zone and it smartly weaves a number of social messages seamlessly in a love story, I don’t find any room for complain.

The film also made me think that Karan Johar has taken a big risk with the subject matter of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. He is one of the most prolific filmmakers in Bollywood and runs one of the biggest production houses. Hence, he has all the resources like access to big stars and a huge budget. He could have easily made a more commercially safe film and earned a huge number at the box office.

It is obvious that Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani caters towards the urban crowd because of the social evils it portrays. This is also seen from the fact that it is earning a bigger amount from the urban centres. If Karan had opted for a more commercially viable film aimed at the masses, he could have made more profit. Yet, he decided to go ahead with a gently hard-hitting film aimed more towards the urban crowd, even if it meant not putting the box office on fire.

And let’s face it, there are plenty of Indians who would not only disagree with the progressive stand of the film but would also laugh at them. Apart from taking the financial risk, he didn’t care about this breed of people as well.

Hence, I feel he deserves to be appreciated.

Also read: Kennedy review: Anurag Kashyap’s political cum crime drama is impressive