Monthly Archives: November 2023

Jhimma 2 Review

Filmmaker Hemant Dhome’s Jhimma (2021) told the story of a group of seven women – played by Sonalee Kulkarni, Suhas Joshi, Sayali Sanjeev, Kshitee Jog, Suchitra Bandekar, Nirmitee Sawant and Mrinmayee Godbole – going on a trip to London through a travel agency run by Kabir (Siddharth Chandekar).

The trip turns out to be a life-changing affair for them with each battling something or the other internally. As they break the shackles, rediscover and heal themselves, as an audience it moves and uplifts you. In terms of the writing and direction, Jhimma scored high despite being on the lengthier side.

The mere announcement of Jhimma 2 meant that the group of ladies would be embarking on another trip organized by Kabir and that’s exactly the case with the sequel. They yet again travel to Britain, but this time it’s the Lake District. Jhimma 2 doesn’t feature Sonalee Kulkarni and Mrinmayee Godbole. We see the inclusion of Rinku Rajguru and Shivani Surve to make it a total of seven.

It is difficult to explain the story of Jhimma 2 because it doesn’t have one. It simply carries on the formula about a group of women going on a foreign trip without their family. The premise and the characters were new in the first film. Hence, it turned out to be interesting to explore one character after another and their backstory. Jhimma 2 simply carries on to do the same, although this time the backstory is not given to all the characters. So, it just turns out to be a repeat exercise. For example, Nirmiti Sawant’s conversation with her politician husband had purpose in the first film. But here it’s just used as a filler. Even the humorous scenes given to her, and other characters, aren’t funny enough.

The narrative does include a few conflict elements but they are episodic and not interesting enough for you to develop concern. For example, the character of Shivani Surve is troubled but you don’t feel much for her because her issues are touched only on the surface. A serious incident during the interval point appears more forced than organic. It also defies logic.

Also Read: Naal Bhag 2 Review: Continues the heartwarming tradition

The strongest point about Jhimma 2 are the performances by all the eight actors. In fact, it is the acting that ensures that you don’t give up on the film, followed by the visuals of the picturesque locations. But you might wonder why the same group of friends visited England yet again. The answer lies in the word ‘subsidy’.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Director: Hemant Dhome

Producers: Chalachitra Mandalee, Jio Studious, Colour Yellow Productions and Crazy Few Films

Writers: Hemant Dhome and Iravati Karnik

Cast: Suhas Joshi, Sayali Sanjeev, Kshitee Jog, Suchitra Bandekar, Nirmitee Sawant, Rinku Rajguru, Shivani Surve and Siddharth Chandekar

Tiger 3 Review (without spoilers)

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Synopsis: After successfully serving his nation in a daring mission in Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger (Salman) is living a simple life with his wife and ISI agent Zoya (Katrina Kaif) and son Junior (Sartaaj Kakkar). But as he is a RAW agent, he can’t enjoy peace for a long time. He is sent on a mission to rescue his fellow agent Gopi (Ranvir Shorey) from a foreign land. Although he rescues Gopi, the latter dies due to severe injuries. Just before dying, Gopi reveals that Pakistan is planning a deadly mission against India and Zoya is hand-in-gloves with them.

The mission is being planned by the ruthless Aatish (Emraan Hashmi). Tiger, who is already disturbed and confused about Zoya’s possible involvement in the evil mission, gets another jolt when Aatish kidnaps Junior and forces Tiger to do what he wants him to.

Review: After watching some high-octane action sequences from a series of films in the Yash Raj Spy Universe, one would keep the same expectations from Tiger 3 on this front. The film passes this test. In fact, the action in some places, mostly in Salman’s entry sequence, is even better and it makes for a thrilling experience, especially when seen in Imax (where this reviewer saw).

Tiger 3 thoroughly rides on such impressive action throughout its duration of 130 minutes. Of course, like the previous films in this universe, one needs to keep logic and reasoning away to enjoy these moments, especially the old troupe of the good guys not stopping a bullet even when hundreds are showered on them through some deadly machine guns.

Apart from action, the film also shines in other technical areas like cinematography and background score. To see various foreign countries and their portrayal is another plus here.

While Tiger 3 is high on technical aspects, the same can’t be said about its content. The film has a complicated storyline (not all is covered in the aforementioned synopsis) which is narrated in a rather confusing way. On top of that, the stakes here aren’t as high as the previous films in this universe. In other words, the mission is such that one doesn’t feel the tension and worry that one did, especially in a film like Pathaan. This ensures that there are a lot of been-there-done-that moments. The film also leaves a major question unanswered related to the mission (which can’t be revealed to avoid spoilers).

Tiger 3 also lags behind when it comes to the villain. While Emraan Hashmi acts well, he is surely not menacing enough to create a fear in you. The same can be said about the other bad guys.

From Race 3 onwards, Salman Khan hasn’t been in good form. He has had issues with his performances and energy levels in his films of last few years. He is much better in this film, also because the role of Tiger suits him. His screen presence works wonders. One wouldn’t expect much from Katrina Kaif after seeing her, over the years. She scores high only on action sequences. Simran, the actress who played Pakistan’s Prime Minister, provides a mature act. Revathy is also likeable as the RAW chief.

Tiger 3 reaches its highest point during the cameos of Shah Rukh Khan as Pathaan and Hrithik Roshan as Kabir. The former has a longer screen time and his chemistry with Salman is once again exciting. The rest of the film, unfortunately, doesn’t reach this level.

Overall: Tiger 3 turns out to be a one-time watch action extravaganza. At the box office, it has enough masala to be a hit. But it needs to be seen if it turns out to be a blockbuster.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Director: Maneesh Sharma

Producers: Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films

Writers: Aditya Chopra (story), Shridhar Raghavan (screenplay) and Anckur Chaudhry (dialogues)

Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi, Revathy

Naal Bhag 2 Review: Continues the heartwarming tradition

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Cinematographer Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti’s directorial debut Naal (2018) turned out to be one of the finest Marathi films of this era. It is always tricky to create a sequel to a film that is so iconic. It wouldn’t be a smart idea to expect Naal Bhag 2 to be as great as the 2018 movie because such movies happen rarely. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t expect it to take you on yet another heartwarming and emotional ride.

Naal told the story of the kid Chaitu (Shrinivas Pokale), who stays with his aunt Sumi (Devika Daftardar) and uncle Shankar (Nagraj Popatrao Manjule), thinking them to be his real parents. The kid was adopted by the two due to certain circumstances. Chaitu, one day, gets to know about his real mother Parvati (Deepti Devi) and becomes eager to be with her. Circumstances bring Parvati to Chaitu’s house but she forcefully hides her emotions after seeing Chaitu and ignores him. The film ends with Chaitu making peace with his stepmother and stepfather. (Read the review of Naal HERE)

Naal Bhag 2 takes place a few years later when Chaitu and family visit his real parents’ Parvati and Ajinath (Jitendra Joshi) house for holidays and to tackle one issue. Chaitu meets Parvati’s children Chimi (Treesha Thosar) and her specially-abled brother Mani (Bhargav Jagtap), who are actually his real siblings. Chaitu gets bowled over by Chimi’s cuteness and is overjoyed to know that he has such an adorable sister. Chimi, however, doesn’t reciprocate his feelings as she is too close to Mani. It becomes a mission for Chaitu to win his little sister’s love.

Naal Bhag 2 gets you transformed into its world – the picturesque village filled with natural beauty. You are thoroughly reminded of Yakkanti the cinematographer along with the filmmaker. The content goes hand-in-hand with the location as the story moves organically like a gentle stream. You get instantly captivated by Chaitu’s struggle and start rooting for him. The makers are fortunate to have got the same kid for the sequel. He continues from where he left in the first film but gives a mature performance this time as a grown up Chaitu. He holds the film on his gentle shoulders, which was the need of the hour.

Along with Chaitu’s struggle, the movie also features the conflict between the grown up siblings as they are involved in a land dispute. The juxtaposition of these tracks speak a lot without speaking much and it culminates in a heartwarming way. But that’s not all as the final moment turns out to be applaud-worthy.

Also read: Baaplyok (Marathi movie) review: A sweet journey about a bittersweet relation

These points also overshadow some minuses. Elaborating on them, Chaitu’s fondness for his real mother is not seen much here. Although he has made peace with Sumi, there is hardly any notable reaction when he sees Parvati for the first time after years. The pace somewhere drops for some time in the second half and the film could have ended a little before 130 minutes. There is also a lot of repetition of information on the sub-plot about land dispute.

The film belongs as much to the little girl child actor Treesha Thosar as much as to Srinivas Pokale. She is adorable from the word go and plays a major role in you rooting for Chaitu. Bhargav Jagtap, in the highly challenging role of the specially-abled Mani, also puts his best foot forward. The grown up artistes – Deepti Devi, Nagraj Manjule, Jitendra Joshi, Devika Daftardar and others – are fully reliable.

Overall: Naal Bhag 2 is yet another heartwarming journey from Sudhar Reddy Yakkanti that deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti

Producers: Zee Studios and Aatpat

Writers: Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti (story and screenplay) and Nagraj Popatrao Manjule (dialogues)

Cast: Shrinivas Pokale, Treesha Thosar, Bhargav Jagtap, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule, Deepti Devi, Jitendra Joshi, Devika Daftardar