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Saiyaara review: Emotional rollercoaster about selfless love

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Over the last several years, mainstream Hindi cinema has been guilty of showing more than half or at least half of the film in the trailer itself. When the promo of Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara and the video of its title song came out, it gave a feeling about the film being in the Kabir Singh zone about a frustrated lover living a toxic life.

However, as it turns out, the film is nothing like that. It’s hugely different from its trailer. In fact, it’s one of the rare mainstream Hindi film to completely hide its main plot.

Saiyaara is based in today’s era in Mumbai. It revolves around a hot-headed and arrogant struggling singer and musician Krish Kapoor (Ahaan Panday), who is a part of a music group. He once roughs up the editor of a digital publication for mentioning only one person’s name from their band in their review of their album despite he being the lead singer. During this time, he comes across Vaani Batra (Aneet Padda), as aspiring journalist who was there for a job interview.

Vaani also possesses the skills of writing lyrics. Krish comes across her diary and is impressed by her poetry. She becomes a part of his musical journey and they both slowly fall in love. However, the road ahead of them isn’t as easy-going as their love for each other.

Saiyaara

There have been countless films about a guy and a girl unexpectedly meeting and falling in love, not only in India but world over. But Saiyaara adds a lot of freshness to this part. The most challenging initial part for any romantic film is to convincingly show both the characters falling in love with each other. The film does that resoundingly well. Along with the direction and music, the movie is also blessed with a fast-moving and convincing writing by Sankalp Sadanah and Rohan Shankar.

Saiyaara becomes emotional once the story goes into the sad zone but doesn’t make you depressed because of its exploration of a medical condition. The makers have clearly taken creative liberties while exploring it. But you don’t mind this much as by this time, the film has had you emotionally gripped to its story and the characters. The medical condition also provides mystery and thrill elements.

Saiyaara is a rare Hindi film of today’s times where every song falls in the impressive category. Plus, all the songs by Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami take the story forward and are not added just like that. The title song deserves special mention as it is a character in itself. You can’t help but applaud when it arrives in the film at the right moment. The writers have also handled the climax in a creative and moving manner.   

The two newcomers successfully carry the film on their shoulders. Ahaan Panday makes a terrific debut as a short-tempered musician who softens up later. He handles the transformation part convincingly. There is some rawness though in scenes where he has to scream. Aneet Padda, who plays a lead character for the first time, is nowhere behind. She handles the development of her character later on skillfully and comes up with a phenomenal act.

Alam Khan, Varun Badola, Geeta Agarwal, Rajesh Kumar and the rest of the supporting actors provide good support.

Everything, however, isn’t hunky dory in Saiyaara. The film’s main conflict reminds you of a movie starring Ajay Devgn and Kajol. There are quite a few questionable aspects related to the illness being explored and the turn in the tale in the second half. The character of Mahesh Iyer (Shaan Grover), who should have been serious, actually becomes unintentionally hilarious.

But Saiyaara has enough going for itself to be a rollercoaster ride about selfless love, something that has been sorely missing from our movies. And the reprised version of the title song in the end becomes the icing on the cake.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Mohit Suri

Producers: Yash Raj Films

Writers: Sankalp Sadanah and Rohan Shankar

Cast: Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda, Alam Khan, Varun Badola, Shaan Grover

Music: Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami  

Also read: Sitaare Zameen Par review

Sitaare Zameen Par review: Yet another entertaining and moving saga by Aamir Khan

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Since more than a decade, one has seen a large number of sports movies being made in mainstream Hindi cinema. So much so that it has now become exhausting. Filmmaker RS Prasanna and Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par, thankfully, doesn’t appear as just another sports film from the industry.

Sitaare Zameen Par is the official Hindi remake of the Spanish film Campeones (English title: Champions). The story is based in Delhi and it revolves around the assistant coach of Delhi’s basketball team, Gulshan Arora (Aamir Khan). He is an arrogant, brash and a hot-headed guy. His nature once gets him into trouble when he hits his senior coach Paswan (Deepraj Rana) in a fit of rage. Hence, he gets suspended from his job.

Gulshan is also having problems with his wife and former actress Suneeta (Genelia Deshmukh). Frustrated with his life, he gets heavily drunk and bangs his car with a police vehicle. He is arrested and brought in court. As he has had a clean record, the judge orders him to coach a basketball team consisting of players suffering from Down’s Syndrome and Autism. Gulshan doesn’t think much about the players and used words like ‘pagal’ for them. His first day with them turns out to be a nightmare.

Sitaare Zameen Par has a lovely first half with equal doses of funny and moving sequences. The portrayal of Gulshan’s character is a job well done. He is a bad mannered guy but the humour quotient in him will never let you hate him. In fact, he always makes you laugh.

Sitaare Zameen Par

Once, the basketball team members arrive on the scene, the film goes onto another level. They have been portrayed in a mature and intelligent manner. They either make you laugh or move you. The scene just before the interval point is the best moment of the film.  

The biggest challenge here was to transform the character of Gulshan. The film does this successfully by making it gradual.

However, the second half doesn’t match up to the goodness of the first half. Post-interval, the film doesn’t have much of a story to tell before the team heads to the last match. The scenes that fill the gap do entertain you but you expect more conflict and drama, which doesn’t happen. There is one conflict moment but it gets solved soon. The final moment of the match is thrilling but it’s right out of a sports film released pre-Pandemic. The visuals used are also exactly the same.

There is also a questionable aspect in terms of the tournament the Sitaare team plays. They enter the semi-finals by being the fourth team on the points table. This means that they would have lost at least 2-3 matches in the league stage but they are never shown losing a single match.

Thankfully, the ending moments make up for the minuses to some extent and you leave the cinema hall with a good amount of satisfaction.

As far as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is concerned, it doesn’t feature a single impressive song. This is quite needed in a film of this nature. The film is fine in terms of the technicalities.

Despite Sitaare Zameen Par being a film about a sports tournament, Aamir’s personal story takes the front seat. The actor makes the character of Gulshan Arora believable and, more importantly, goes through the transformation convincingly. But during some close up shots, he appears to be trying hard and ends up reminding you of his character in PK (2014). Genelia Deshmukh gets scope later on and she makes good use of the opportunity.

Gurpal Singh, as Kartar Singh who looks after the team, provides a lovely performance. He matches up to Aamir during their confrontational scenes. Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari, as Aamir’s mother, is hilarious. Brijendra Kala once again scores. His characterization itself will make you laugh. Aamir’s sister Nikhat Khan Hegde is likeable in a cameo.

The actors who are part of team Sitaare provide applaud-worthy acts. These include, Ashish Pendse (Sunil), Simran Mangeshkar (Golu Khan), Aayush Bhansali (Lotus), Naman Misra (Hargovind), Gopikrishnan K Verma (Guddu), Rishi Shahani (Sharma ji), Aroush Datta (Satbir), Rishabh Jain (Raju), Samvit Desai (Kareem Qureshi) and Vedant Sharma (Bantu).

Overall: Sitaare Zameen Par might not be one of Aamir Khan’s best movies. But it certainly moves you and gives a message about the acceptance of specially abled children in a profound manner.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: RS Prasanna

Producers: Aamir Khan Productions

Writers: Divy Nidhi Sharma (adapted screenplay and dialogues)

Cast: Aamir Khan, Genelia Deshmukh, Gurpal Singh, Ashish Pendse, Simran Mangeshkar, Aayush Bhansali, Naman Misra, Gopikrishnan K Verma, Rishi Shahani, Aroush Datta, Rishabh Jain, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari, Brijendra Kala

Also Read: Criminal Justice (Season 4): A Family Matter review: Interesting murder mystery plus courtroom drama

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs in the world as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/

Sitaare Zameen Par Box Office Prediction: Will Aamir Khan avoid a hattrick of flops?

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Aamir Khan is making a comeback to the big screen with director RS Prasanna’s Sitaare Zameen Par, which is a spiritual sequel to his iconic 2007 hit Taare Zameen Par. The film is very vital for him as his last two outings Thugs Of Hindostan (2018) and Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) didn’t succeed at the box office. He would be hoping to avoid a hattrick of flops. The film stars Genelia Deshmukh as Aamir’s wife.

Trailer and Promotional Material Reception: The trailer of Sitaare Zameen Par has met with a positive response. The idea of a flawed man being ordered to coach a team of 10 players suffering from Down’s Syndrome seems to have touched the audience. At the same time, the trailer is full of funny moments, which is a major plus point. The songs haven’t had the same effect but the response to the trailer has made up for it.

Sitaare Zameen Par poster

Buzz: Going by the promotional material, the buzz for Sitaare Zameen Par is quite high. There has been a positive word-of-mouth for the same. Plus, Aamir’s creative promotional tactics too have kept the film and him in the news. But as the film doesn’t fall in an out-and-out commercial zone, the buzz hasn’t hit the roof.

Box Office Prediction: The positive buzz will ensure that Sitaare Zameen Par will have a good opening. However, the film is not a masala entertainer. It’s sensible and caters more to the thinking audience. In other words, it doesn’t have a mass appeal that the desi audience from the heartland always looks for in the film. It suits more for the multiplex audience.

Hence, the opening for Sitaare Zameen Par will be somewhere in the range of Rs. 15 to 20 crores. There are still four days to go for the release of the film on June 20. If the buzz skyrockets by then, it can go beyond. But more importantly, it’s purely a content driven film and a lot will depend on its final product. If the film’s content receives thumbs up from the audience, it will perform very well in the rest of the weekend and the period thereafter.

But even if that happens, one can’t expect the film to end on Rs. 300 to 400 crores, like Aamir’s other successful films in the last decade and a half, purely because of its genre.

Also Read: Criminal Justice (Season 4): A Family Matter review: Interesting murder mystery plus courtroom drama

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs in the world as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/

Jarann review: Finely crafted psychological cum supernatural thriller

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Writer and director Rushikesh Gupte made his feature film debut with the Marathi film Dil Dimaag Aur Batti, which was a spoof of the formulaic commercial Hindi films of the yesteryears. But his next release titled Jarann (his second movie Hazaar Vela Sholay Pahilela Manus hasn’t released yet) falls in the diametrically opposite genre of a psychological cum supernatural thriller.

Jarann revolves around Radha (Amruta Subhash), who stays with her daughter Saie (Avanee Joshi) in a bungalow in a city in Maharashtra. Her husband Shekhar (Vikram Gaikwad) is abroad for work since a year. Radha and Saie once visit the former’s family’s wada (ancestral house) in a village in the state. The house is about to be sold, so this is Radha’s last chance to visit it and enjoy a get together with her parents and relatives.

Radha’s parents had once rented out a room in the house to a black magic practitioner Ganguti (Anita Date). The room where she lived is kept vacant as it still gives an eerie feeling. Soon after Radha visits the house, an incident happens with her and her behavior starts changing.

Jarann sucks you into the world of Radha right at the onset. The film starts off as a black magic supernatural drama but you soon realize that psychology plays a role too. The balance between supernatural elements and psychology is maintained throughout. A past incident featuring Ganguti, which is elaborated later, stands out. The twist revealed at the interval point is interesting and it makes you eager to know what happens next.

For a large duration, the film is not as much story related as it is about Radha’s journey and what all she goes through. But the main triumph of the film lies in the pre-climax and the climatic portions. Just when you think that the film is heading a certain way, the narrative throws in not one but two unpredictable twists. The twists are not just for the heck of it. They not only fit into the story but also provide a kick.

Jarann scores high in the technical department too. The film wouldn’t have been a finely crafted dramatic thriller without Milind Jog’s camerawork, Abhijit Deshpande’s editing and AV Prafullachandra’s background music.

Amruta Subhash carries the film on her shoulders exceedingly well. Playing such a complicated character with whole lot of emotions and moods deserved utmost dedication and that is exactly what she provides. Anita Date succeeds in scaring you as Ganguti. Kishore Kadam provides a mature act as Radha’s psychiatrist. Child actor Avanee Joshi does well. Rest of the supporting actors, however, don’t get too much scope to perform. They chip in with decent acts.

On the flipside, Radha’s work life is shown in one scene. But the audience is not made aware about how her terrible psychological condition affects her profession as that is bound to happen. Also, a lot of the mystery is revealed through dialogue instead of visuals. This stops the film from achieving greater heights. But, as mentioned above, the ending twists, clearly satisfy you.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Rushikesh Gupte

Producers: Amol J Bhagat and Nitin Bhalchandra Kulkarni

Cast: Amruta Subhash, Anita Date, Kishore Kadam, Avanee Joshi, Vikram Gaikwad

Also Read: Criminal Justice (Season 4): A Family Matter review: Interesting murder mystery plus courtroom drama

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs in the world as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/

Housefull 5 Review: The film falls in the same league as Sikandar

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Producer Sajid Nadiadwala’s Housefull series is going a step lower with each film. The first two films were quite good. The third one was average but watchable while the fourth one turned out to be bad and offensive. However, if you felt the franchise couldn’t stoop any lower, the makers throw in a rude surprise in the form of Housefull 5.

This one is not just the worst film of the franchise but also one of the most ridiculous films of the decade. So much so that it falls into the same league as the producer’s last film Sikandar.

Housefull 5 takes place entirely on a cruise in the UK. The seventh richest person of the country Ranjeet Dobriyal (Ranjeet) has thrown a party on the cruise to celebrate his 100th birthday. His staff includes the board of directors of his company, Maya (Chitrangda Singh), Bedi (Dino Morea) and Shiraz (Shreyas Talpade), along with cruise officer Batuk Patel (Johnny Lever) and Aakhri Pasta (Chunky Pandey). Dev, Ranjeet’s son from his second wife, is also present on the cruise.

However, just before the birthday party, Ranjeet passes away. As per his will, his 69-million-dollar fortune is to be handed over to his son from his previous marriage called Jolly. The next day three people – Jalabuddin (Riteish Deshmukh), Jalbhushan (Abhishek A Bachchan) and Julius (Akshay Kumar) – arrive at the cruise with their respective partners claiming to be Jolly. Just then, a murder takes place and the suspicion falls on one of the three Jollys.

Housefull 5 still

Housefull 5 has an interesting premise of a murder mystery where it is believed that one of the three people claiming to be Ranjeet’s son is the culprit. But the story is narrated in a way that makes you give cringe reactions throughout its huge duration of 165 minutes.

The film touted to be a ‘family comedy’ has cheap and crass situations and dialogues thrown in as humour on a regular basis. The whole parrot sequence is enough to put you off. But even if you somehow keep that incident aside (which is difficult), the narrative still doesn’t stop at regularly coming up with some of the most juvenile ways to make the you laugh.

Housefull 5 also has a murder investigation angle. Even by the standards of mainstream Hindi cinema’s most mindless films, it is shocking to see the absolute absurdity of it.

The music is as absurd as the content with ‘Laal Pari’ adding onto the irritation. The technical aspects like cinematography and editing are difficult to describe when your entire concern is to survive through the film.  

A few performances are the only plus points (just about). Akshay Kumar once again succeeds in a comic role. Jackie Shroff and Sanjay Dutt display good chemistry. Nana Patekar also chips in with a mature act (but you wonder what is he doing here). The rest of the actors, which are plenty, are nothing worth mentioning. The female cast is only used for objectification.

The makers have released two versions of the film with two different killers and named them Housefull 5A and Housefull 5B (I saw the former). But frankly, even before the interval, I lost all interest in knowing the identity of the culprit. So, there is no question of me watching the other version to know who the other killer is because that would result in my murder and there will be no mystery around it.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Director: Tarun Mansukhani

Producers: Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment

Writers: Sajid Nadiadwala, Tarun Mansukhani and Farhad Samji

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Fardeen Khan, Chitrangda Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt, Johnny Lever

Also Read: Criminal Justice (Season 4): A Family Matter review: Interesting murder mystery plus courtroom drama

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs in the world as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/

Housefull 5 Box Office Prediction

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Filmmaker Tushar Hiranandani’s multi-starrer comic caper Housefull 5 is all set to release in theatres on June 6. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala’s Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, the movie stars Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Jacqueliene Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri, Sonam Bajwa, Nana Patekar, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff and many others. The film is expected to be the first big box office grosser of the year.

Housefull 5 is a franchise film, which is an advantage. This also makes it a brand name. That will work in favour of the film. Plus, all four previous movies in the franchise have been successful.

Trailer Reception: The trailer of Housefull 5 has spread far and wide. It is full of entertaining moments for the masses. The makers have given more than a hint that this one will have something happening all the time. But at the same time, a section of the audience hasn’t liked it. The adult aspects about wife-swapping and some sexual humour might not go well with the family audience.

Buzz: Going by the trailer reception, the buzz for Housefull 5 is strong. Despite the fact that the promo hasn’t received unanimously positive response, the fact remains that the film has been noticed clearly. What has also added onto the buzz is the out-of-the-box strategy of having two different climaxes with two different killers. Plus, the film with one version will be released in some theatres while other cinema halls will see a different version. This is something never heard before in any cinema.

Box Office Prediction: Going by all these factors, Housefull 5’s opening number at the box office will be around Rs. 20 crores. The first weekend will be healthy for the film. If the content gets a positive or even a decent response, its lifetime box office collections will be around Rs. 200 crores to 250 crores. If the response is bad, it might wind up around Rs. 150 crores or below.

Also Read: Criminal Justice (Season 4): A Family Matter review: Interesting murder mystery plus courtroom drama

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs in the world as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/

Criminal Justice (Season 4): A Family Matter review: Interesting murder mystery plus courtroom drama

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JioHotstar’s Criminal Justice series, which is adapted from BBC Studio’s British series of the same name, revolves around lawyer Madhav Mishra (Pankaj Tripathi) and the cases he takes upon, which are considered impossible to crack. Criminal Justice: A Family Matter, the fourth season in the series, revolves around another case taken by him.

But by now, Madhav has established himself as a force to reckon with. The law circles are now pretty much taking him seriously. He is joined by his brother-in-law Deep (Aatm Prakash Mishra), Shivani Mathur (Barkha Singh) and his wife Ratna (Khushboo Atre).

This time, it’s the story of well-known surgeon Dr Raj Nagpal (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub), who has separated from his wife and lawyer Anju (Surveen Chawla) but they haven’t divorced. She lives just next door because she wants to be there for their daughter Ira (Khushi Bhardwaj), who is suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome. Raj has hired a full time nurse Roshni (Asha Negi) to take special care of Ira. After some time, Raj and Roshni become close and fall in love. Anju is fine with it while Ira considers Roshni as her best friend.

During Ira’s birthday party, Raj and Roshni get involved in a fight. This results in Roshni leaving the house in anger. The following morning, Kamala (Amruta Sant), the house help, enters Nagpals’ residence and is shocked too to see a dead blood-soaked Roshni lying in Raj’s arms. The police consider Raj to be the culprit and arrest him.

Anju approaches Madhav and requests him to fight Raj’s case as she believes he is innocent. Madhav agrees and enters a difficult maze yet again.

The biggest plus point in this season is that the screenplay, on most of the occasions, is fast paced, which makes for an absorbing watch. The events are women in a smooth manner and keep you interested in knowing what would happen next. However, issues crop in the last three of the eight episodes that prove to be lengthy.

The show has an interesting premise. The idea of Raj and his wife Anju not being divorced, yet the former having another relationship with the nurse (Roshni) takes you by surprise. But the newness is seen only in the initial episodes and later on, the show becomes yet another murder mystery, which, although engrossing, follows the same theme as the first three seasons. Thankfully, the final twist turns out to be a savior as it not only takes you by surprise but also touches you.

The camerawork and background score go with the simple nature of the show. The editing is sharp.

The performances are also one of the biggest plus points. Pankaj Tripathi once again shines as Madhav Mishra. He finely balances seriousness and witty humour. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub succeeds in displaying his talent. He is remarkable in scenes where his expressions do all the talking. Surveen Chawla also puts her best foot forward and provides a mature act. Asha Negi is perfectly cast in the role of Roshni and she also delivers.

Khushi Bhardwaj takes away the cake with a brilliant act as a teenager suffering from Asperger’s syndrome. Shweta Basu Prasad yet again scores as a sharp opposition lawyer. Mita Vashisht lives the character of a veteran and intelligent lawyer. From the rest of the permanent cast, Khushboo Atre, Barkha Singh, Aatm Prakash Mishra, Kalyanee Mulay and Ajeet Singh Palawat continue their good work. Atre gets more exposure this time and she makes good use of it.

Overall: Criminal Justice: A Family Matter is an interesting murder mystery plus courtroom drama but the show is now becoming repetitive with four seasons following a similar pattern.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Rohan Sippy

Producers: Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India

Writers: Harman Wadala, Rahul Ved Prakash, Varsha Ramachandran, Riya Poojary, Sandeep Hain, Sameer Mishra and Anurag Pandey

Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Surveen Chawla, Asha Negi, Khushi Bhardwaj, Shweta Basu Prasad

Also read: Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning Review: The finale of the franchise is saved by the 2nd half

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs in the world as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/

Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning Review: The finale of the franchise is saved by the 2nd half

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If there was one film that had an enormous amount of pressure to turn out to be impressive it was director Christopher McQuarrie’s Tom Cruise starrer Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning. It’s the last film from the globally admired and successful franchise and hence, fans from all across the world were counting on it to be good.

The film is the continuation of the previous one from the series Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning. At the end of it, secret agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) gets hold of the special key from Gabriel (Esai Morales) from the Orient Express. The key holds the key (pun intended) to control the Entity, which has started negatively affecting the world. Meanwhile, the US President Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett) asks Ethan to help the government in controlling the Entity. She doesn’t want him to destroy the Entity as she believes it can destroy cyberspace.

At the same time, Luther (Ving Rhames), Ethan’s associate, has created a ‘poison pill’ that can destroy the Entity. However, it gets stolen. Ethan and Luther, along with their rest of the team – Benji (Simon Pegg), Grace (Heyley Atwell) and Paris (Pom Klementieff) – have their task cut out in order to save the entire human race.

Mission Impossible -

The film starts on a thrilling note but it soon gets onto the bland path. The proceedings are not boring but not exciting either. One does root for Ethan and his team in their monumental task but the lack of action and thrill continue to affect you. On top of that, there is a severe over-use of dialogue with the characters speaking way too much, which, at times, creates confusion. This comes across as surprising because all previous Mission Impossible films have had an action oriented, if not action-packed, build up in the first half.

Thankfully, Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning is saved in the second half where things start getting more serious. This part is more dependent on the two action pieces – the underground water sequence and the plane stunt.

The former is a one-of-its-kind and keeps you fully impressed with the way it has been executed and performed. The airplane fight and survival sequence is when the film truly comes alive. It keeps you at the edge-of-your-seat, especially if you are watching it in IMAX (like this reviewer did). The nail-biting moment at the end followed by what can be called a moving farewell ensures that you go out of the cinema hall with a degree of satisfaction, more so if you are fan of MI series.

As one expects from a film of such an international franchise, the technical department rises to the occasion.

The movie, like the rest of the series, revolves around Tom Cruise and he once again doesn’t disappoint as Ethan Hunt. He is likeable in the emotional moments and tremendous during the exhilarating stunts, especially the airplane one. To see him carry out such antics despite being a senior citizen makes it all the more special.

Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg and Pom Klementieff do well as Ethan’s teammates. Esai Morales is effective as the bad guy. Angela Bassett leaves behind a mark as the US President.

Overall: Mission Impossible – Final Reckoning works more because of the second half. It turns out to be a good farewell for a series that has impressed action lovers worldwide for close to 30 years.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Producers: Paramount Pictures, Skydance and TC Productions

Writers: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen

Cast: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Simon Pegg, Pom Klementieff, Angela Bassett

Also read: Ata Thambaycha Naay! review: This heartwarming tale restores your faith in humanity

Ata Thambaycha Naay! review: This heartwarming tale restores your faith in humanity  

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Mumbaikars are often seen complaining about the BMC (Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Corporation) when it comes to running the city. While these criticisms might be valid, it is their poor workers who are always at the receiving end since they become the face of BMC at ground level. Debutant filmmaker Shivraj Waichal’s Ata Thambaycha Naay! is a much deserved tribute to them and their painstaking efforts to keep the city functioning.  

But the movie goes much beyond displaying their difficult lives. It is based on a true and heartwarming incident in the lives of a few BMC workers in 2016, although the film features fictitious characters and their sub-stories.

The Assistant Municipal Commissioner Uday Shirurkar (Ashutosh Gowariker) of BMC decides to get a group of its Class IV workers complete their 10th standard. They had to drop out of school due to some reason of the other. Shirurkar not only decides to provide them education free of cost at a night school but, on top of that, promises to pay them a remuneration for the same along with a chance of salary hike.

These workers include the aged Sakharam (Bharat Jadhav), Maruti (Siddharth Jadhav), Apsara (Kiran Khoje), Jayshree (Prajakta Hanamghar) and others. The responsibility of teaching them is handed over to Nilesh aka Nilu sir (Om Bhutkar). The workers, however, are hesitant to study during this stage of their lives.

Ata Thambaycha Naay Marathi movie

Ata Thambaycha Naay! is a rare film where from the first scene itself you realize that it has been created with a lot of heart, be it any department. You, somehow, start trusting the film and the film, in return, never breaks that trust. The movie has a lot of Rajkumar Hirani-ness to it, although it is not similar even remotely to any of his films. The comparison is only soul wise.

You start rooting for the characters, not just in their new endeavor but also in their day-to-day challenges. The film makes you feel for what all they go through, especially, while cleaning drains. Although the narrative keeps the fun element alive through some smart humour, it doesn’t take away from the seriousness of the issues. To maintain this balance is the biggest triumph of the film.

The film is also blessed with a screenplay that smartly mixes the characters’ (including the teacher) latest challenge with their personal lives through sub-plots. The marriage angle between the teacher and a young girl (Parna Pethe) is simple yet appealing.

The performances rise as high as the content. Bharat Jadhav shows his experience while playing a complex character who is going through a lot internally. Om Bhutkar is remarkable as a passionate teacher who considers satisfaction over money. Siddharth Jadhav once again succeeds in displaying seriousness and humour. Ashutosh Gowariker gives a realistic act while playing the real character of Uday Shirurkar.

Kiran Khoje, Prajakta Hanamghar, Pravin Dalimbkar, Parna Pethe and Shrikant Yadav’s contribution as supporting actors is also noteworthy. The veteran Rohini Hattangadi leaves an impact despite playing a cameo.

There are no major negative points here. A tragic incident during an important moment could have been avoided or, at least, toned down, as the film had already won us over by then. It also somewhere doesn’t gel with the light tone of the film. But the heartwarming ending moments don’t let you think much about this point.

Overall: Ata Thambaycha Naay! is a heartwarming reminder that the world isn’t as bad as we might consider it to be.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Shivraj Waichal

Producers: Chalk and Cheese Films, Film Jazz and Zee Studios

Writers: Shivraj Waichal, Omkar Gokhale, Arvind Jagtap and Dharam Valia

Cast: Bharat Jadhav, Ashutosh Gowariker, Om Bhutkar, Siddharth Jadhav, Kiran Khoje, Prajakta Hanamghar

Also Read: Devmanus review: This drama is a fine mixture of crime and emotions

Raid 2 review: Sequel to an interesting crime drama is a one-time watch

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The bug of sequels hit mainstream Hindi cinema over a decade ago and it has remained till now and there is no reason why it would disappear in the near future. The latest to join the bandwagon is filmmaker Raj Kumar Gupta’s Raid 2, a sequel to its interesting and well-made Raid (2018). Although there has been a long list of sequels, most of them have not been able to justify their existence. Raid 2, thankfully, isn’t one of them.

The corrupt minister Rameshwar Singh aka Tauji (Saurabh Shukla) is sentenced to jail after being exposed of corruption by the honest Income Tax Commissioner Amay Patnaik (Ajay Devgn) at the end of the first film. Raid 2 starts seven years later in 1989. By this time, Patnaik has faced numerous transfers for troubling the powerful. He is now posted in a town in Rajasthan where he exposes the royal Raja Kunwar (Govind Namdeo).

This ensures that Patnaik gets transferred to a city called Bhoj. But this time, the reason for his transfer is also asking for a bribe of Rs. 2 crores. Once, he lands in the new place with his family, he realizes that the local politician Manohar Dhankar aka Dada Bhai (Riteish Deshmukh) is ruling Bhoj and the masses over there literally worship him for the kind deeds he does for the poor and needy. Dada Bhai, on the other hand, worships his mother (Supriya Pathak Kapur), who also loves him no ends.

But after doing his own investigation, Patnaik realizes that Dada Bhai is only pretending to be a messiah of the masses and is, in fact, thoroughly corrupt. Patnaik gets proof of this and gets his senior (Rajat Kapoor) to issue a search warrant against Dada Bhai. However, once Patnaik and his team reach Dada Bhai’s residence and other properties, they don’t find any illegal money or wealth. What will he do now?  

What works the most in the favour of Raid 2 is that, although this film is also about an honest IT Commissioner wanting to expose a corrupt figure, the story is much different from the first part. The character of Dada Bhai and the scenario of his kingdom and his deep love for his mother makes for an interesting villain and premise. The screenplay also ensures no dull moment as it keeps you gripped, except during one song.

Ritesh Deshmukh’s casting also plays an important role and so does his performance. He makes a complex character of Dada Bhai alive and provides one of his finest acts. Ajay Devgn is the backbone of the film as the protagonist. He continues from where he left in the first film and is always on point. His act is especially noteworthy when things aren’t going his way.

Amit Sial is a surprise package. This actor has been giving quality acts in web shows for years. It is heartening to see him score very high in a theatrical venture. Supriya Pathak Kapur gives a moving act as the villain’s mother. Shruti Pandey is another talent to watch out for as Patnaik’s subordinate. Rajat Kapoor is, as always, reliable. Saurabh Shukla and Govind Namdeo score as antagonists. Yashpal Sharma and Brijendra Kala are memorable despite limited screen time. Vaani Kapoor doesn’t have much to do.

But Raid 2 doesn’t rise as much as Raid. The predecessor had a number of thrilling and exciting moments. The second part is not devoid of interesting incidents but it doesn’t provide the kind of kick one expects after watching the first film. Also, this being a sequel of a film where the hero wins, the proceedings in the end don’t take you by surprise. Plus, the angle of Patnaik asking for a bribe leaves behind questions unanswered.

Overall: Raid 2 is a one-time watch anti-corruption saga with fine performances. At the box office, the film will score well till Sunday, after which it will mostly face some struggle.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Raj Kumar Gupta

Producers: T Series and Panorama Studios

Writers: Ritesh Shah, Raj Kumar Gupta, Jaideep Yadav and Karan Vyas

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh, Vaani Kapoor, Supriya Pathak Kapur, Amit Sial, Rajat Kapoor

Also read: Phule review: Pratik Gandhi excels in this decent period drama