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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

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

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Director Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar’s Marathi movie Devmanus is the official remake of directors Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Rajeev Barnwal’s Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta starrer 2022 Hindi movie Vadh (which this reviewer hasn’t seen). The movie is a fine emotional crime drama.

The story takes place in Kopargaon in Maharashtra. Senior citizen couple Keshav (Mahesh Manjrekar) and his wife Laxmi (Renuka Shahane) are staying alone after their son Madhav (Ruturaj Shinde) migrates to the US and gets married over there without their consent.

Keshav is a tuition teacher cum farmer, who somehow managed to gather loan to get Madhav educated in the US. Along with the bank, he also had to take money from the local contractor and an evil goon Dilip (Siddharth Bodke) while mortgaging their ancestral house.

Keshav was hasn’t been able to repay the instalments to Dilip for last four months as Madhav has stopped sending money. Hence, Dilip starts harassing them in worst and derogatory ways. The couple get some help initially from the newly transferred police inspector Deshmukh (Subodh Bhave). One day, Keshav gets involved in a crime, which changes his and Laxmi’s life forever.

Devmanus takes time to get into an exciting and intense mode. The first half is largely about Dilip harassing Keshav and Laxmi. We are not given the backstory of how Keshav had to take loan from a person as horrible as Dilip. He surely must have known about the latter’s reputation. Dilip using Keshav’s house to get intimate with sex workers just because the latter hasn’t been able to pay him for last four months is a bit too much.

However, the film goes onto different level once the crime angle comes in. From here onwards, it becomes a fine mixture of crime and emotions and keeps you completely gripped till the end credits.

The film scores well in the investigation angle, which was very crucial. Care is taken to not make it look clichéd and similar to the various crime stories on TV. The whole Wari angle is nicely included in the narrative and it succeeds in moving you. The guest appearance by Mohan Agashe was smartly done. One expects such crime sagas to end in a particular way. But Devmanus surprises during this part too.

Cinematographer Amey Vasant Chavan has well captured the town. He scores high during the Wari scenes. The background score is simple, which goes with the nature of the film.

This is one of Mahesh Manjrekar’s finest acts. He lives the character of Keshav in every breath and doesn’t let the graph low at any moment. Renuka Shahane also displays her fine talent throughout, at times speaking jus through expressions. Siddharth Bodke is evil personified. You can’t stop hating him, except on a few occasions where he overdoes. \

Subodh Bhave’s character isn’t that of a typical cop investigating crime and he does full justice to it. Abhijeet Khandkekar also scores well while playing another antagonist. Vinod Vanve is likeable as a kind-hearted auto-rickshaw driver. Ruturaj Shinde leaves some impact despite playing a cameo.

Overall: Devmanus is a well-made crime drama that also moves you.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar

Producers: Luv Films

Writers: Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Rajeev Barnwal (original film) and Neha Shitole (adaptation and dialogues)

Cast: Mahesh Manjrekar, Renuka Shahane, Subodh Bhave, Siddharth Bodke, Abhijeet Khandkekar, Ruturaj Shinde

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

Auntypreneur movie review: Supriya Pathak shines in this feel-good drama

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Filmmaker Pratik Rajen Kothari’s Gujarati movie Auntypreneur has an unusual title. A person who carries out business is called entrepreneur. So, when an aunty becomes an entrepreneur, she becomes an ‘Auntypreneur’, as per the movie. What sets the protagonist of the film aside is the necessity angle of her business.

Auntypreneur takes place in today’s times in Malad, Mumbai in Poonam Co-Operative Housing Society. Jaswanti Gangani aka Jasu (Supriya Pathak Kapur) stays with her young tenant Raju (Parikshit Tamaliya) and maid Manda (Margi Desai). Her son Bhavik (Ojas Rawal) has been in Dallas, US, where he is doing very well.

Jasu once imagines her housing society about to be demolished by the municipality in her dream. Unfortunately, her nightmare comes true as the municipality gives an eviction notice to the CHS. It says that their builder hasn’t paid property tax worth Rs. 1.96 crores and has run away outside the country. Hence, if they don’t pay up the amount within four months, their building will be demolished.

Jasu doesn’t know how to raise such a high amount in such low time. This is when Raju advises her to start investing in share market, hope for high returns and pay the property tax to save Poonam CHS. Whether Jasu succeeds in her mission forms the rest of the story.

Auntypreneur has a serious storyline but the mood of the film is kept light-hearted and funny. The good part about this is that it provides feel-good family entertainment (except a few jokes aimed at adults at the start). The screenplay and dialogues ensure that there is no dull moment as Jasu goes about her mission. Once different women from the society start coming on board, the drama becomes interesting, also due to the bitter-sweet nature of relationship between a few characters.

One can guess the climax in films of this genre. Auntypreneur arrives at that in an interesting and somewhat nail-biting manner.

Supriya Pathak Kapur is the soul of the film. She is there in almost every scene and she makes per presence count through a flawless and lovable act. Parikshit Tamaliya, the only male in the team, also comes up with a fine act. Yukti Randeria succeeds in playing a modern girl of today’s era. Ojas Rawal makes his character count despite limited screen time.

Coming to the rest of Jasu’s team, Brinda Trivedi, Vaibhavi Bhatt, Kaushambi Bhatt, Margi Desai and Heena Jaikishan also chip in with good acts. Archan Trivedi as the building’s chairman Chaman Kaka is decent.

The cinematography (Vaishakh Manoharan), background score (Mihir Makwana), editing (Harsh Anandani) and the production design (Chirayu Bodas) go with the simple nature of the film.

Auntypreneur also comes with its share of negative points. The whole issue of your housing society being in danger of being demolished in four months should send the society members in panic. It should actually give you sleepless nights. But it doesn’t have such an effect on the members, except Jasu that too not in totality. It is, especially, surprising to see the male members of the society unperturbed by the situation.

Also, Jasu’s son Bhavik is shown to be super wealthy in the US. Hence, he alone could have paid a large share of the Rs. 1.96 crores, if not the entire amount. There is also a change of heart of one character that happens abruptly.

Overall: Auntypreneur is a feel-good family entertainer that should appeal to its target audience of family crowds.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Pratik Rajen Kothari

Producers: Deepali Mhaiskar, Aryan Mhaiskar, Abhishek Jain and Amit Desai

Writers: Shreya Sheth, Shreya Jitan Singh and Abhinav Vaidya

Cast: Supriya Pathak Kapur, Parikshit Tamaliya, Ojas Rawal, Brinda Trivedi, Vaibhavi Bhatt, Kaushambi Bhatt, Margi Desai, Heena Jaikishan

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

Phule review: Pratik Gandhi excels in this decent period drama

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Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitri Phule were a social reformer couple who worked for the causes like eradication of caste discrimination, women education, widow remarriage, etc. Filmmmaker Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s Phule is a biopic on their lives and struggles.

Jyotirao is married off to Savitri when they were kids, as per the traditions and customs of that era. They both belonged to the (so-called) lower caste. Jyotirao starts educating his wife from an early age as he strongly believed that it’s important for women to be educated.

The movie starts off in 1848 when Jyotirao (Pratik Gandhi) and Savitri (Patralekhaa) are already grown-ups and working towards education of girls from their neighbourhood in Pune (then Poona). The two face strong opposition from the (so-called) upper caste people of that time.

Jyotirao’s father (Vinay Pathak) and his elder brother Raja Ram Phule (Sushil Pandey) are also strongly against the couple’s revolutionary activities, which also includes eradication of caste discrimination and encouraging widows to remarry. But Vishnupant Thatte (Adit Redij) goes out of his way to help Jyotirao and Savitri in their mission to educate girls by providing theme space to run a school despite being from the upper caste.

However, after knowing about the couple’s teaching activity, Vinayak Deshpande (Joy Sengupta) and other upper caste members vandalize their school and physically attack Jyotirao. In order to not be a problem for his family, Jyotirao and Savitri shift to the former’s old friend Usman Sheikh’s (Jayesh More) place. Usman has educated his sister Fatima (Akshaya Gurav), who stays with him. Jyotirao opens a school over there. But these aren’t the end of the problems for the couple.

Phule starts off in an abrupt manner when the plague situation of Pune is portrayed. The use of shaky camera while portraying this tragedy also turns out to be a bother. But the film comes on track once the revolutionary activities of the Phule couple begin.  

This half boldly shows the atrocities committed by the upper castes on Jyotirao and Savitri. The response of both of them makes us root for them. One is also touched to see the strong bond between the Phule couple and the Sheikh siblings. This aspect speaks a lot without speaking much, considering the times we are living in.

Phule, however, suffers in the second half. The screenplay is bereft of smoothness with one incident following other without proper flow. The narrative also becomes a lot episodic during this half. This largely affects the impact that one expects from a film based on such a revolutionary couple. The last few moments, thankfully, are a saving grace due to the emotional impact.

The film successfully recreates the bygone era through Santosh Phutane’s deft production design. The cinematography, editing and background score fall in the decent category.

The performances of the lead pair excel and rise above the script when things aren’t going great. Pratik Gandhi skillfully gets into the skin of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and recreates the late figure in a flawless way. Patralekhaa also rises to the occasion with a strong and mature performance as Savitri Phule. Jayesh More and Akshaya Gurav shine as Usman and Fatima.

Amit Behal and Joy Sengupta, as antagonists, are decent. The latter gets repetitive later. Vinay Pathak is a surprise in such a role and he does well. Alexx O’Nell, Ellie and Sara, who play British characters, succeed in leaving behind an impact. Darsheel Safary is wasted in a role that has nothing much to do. Sushil Pandey is average. He too doesn’t get much lines.

Overall: Phule is a decent period drama that has its moments and a fine performance by Pratik Gandhi.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Ananth Narayan Mahadevan

Producers: Dancing Shiva Films and Kingsmen Productions

Writers: Ananth Narayan Mahadevan and Muazzam Beg

Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Patralekhaa, Jayesh More, Akshaya Gurav, Vinay Pathak, Amit Behal

Also read: Puratawn (Bengali movie) review: Sharmila Tagore provides an acting masterclass in this meditative drama

Puratawn review: Sharmila Tagore provides an acting masterclass in this meditative drama

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Memory loss or issues with memory is an unusual problem. More than the person suffering from the same, it affects those around him or her. This is the base of writer and director Suman Ghosh’s Bengali film Puratawn (English title: The Ancient).

The movie revolves around Ritika (Ritupatna Sengupta), a woman working in the corporate sector in a high position. Her marriage with Rajeev (Indraneil Sengupta), a passionate photographer, is going through turbulence. She, along with Rajeev, visits her ancestral home in a small town in West Bengal where her mother Mrs Sen (Sharmila Tagore) lives, to celebrate the latter’s 80th birthday in a grand manner.

But there is also another reason for Ritika’s visit. She and Rajeev wish to reveal to her that their marriage is going nowhere. However, after arriving at the ancestral house, Ritika is pained to know that her mother is facing memory issues. Now, she is more hesitant to tell her about her troubled marriage as she doesn’t know how she would take it.

The aforementioned story is revealed to the audience in the initial portions itself. It doesn’t take long for you to figure out that Puratawn is not so much about story development. It is more about making the viewer feel as a silent spectator as the three characters go about their lives, conversations and challenges.

Puratawn Bengali movie

In other words, the film is more about the treatment. It moves in a gentle manner as it sucks you into its world, which is the ancestral home. In fact, the home is a character in itself as the narrative hardly goes out of it. But special care is taken to ensure that the proceedings never get dreary, leave alone boring. The lives of the three characters and their issues constantly make you feel for them.

The dialogues are like every day conversations but they are also deep enough to move you. The film has various moments which remind you of people from the advanced age from your life. Ghosh has also brilliantly used the flashback technique. The scene where Ritika hesitatingly tries entering Rajeev’s room and the scene cutting to the flashback moment when she entered his room once without hesitation stands out.

Puratawn is also film where, along with the direction, the cinematography (Ravi Kiran Ayyagari), background score and music (Alokananda Dasgupta) and the editing (Aditya Vikram Sengupta) play a major role in creating a meditative atmosphere that is continuously endearing. Production Designer Tanmoy Chakraborty deserves full marks for recreating a bygone era, through major and minor items inside the mansion.

As per the nature of the film, it doesn’t have a conventional climax. But the ending moments do justice to the rest of the content and succeed in moving you.

Puratawn has less number of characters and all of them rise to the occasion. Sharmila Tagore provides an acting masterclass, to say the least. She gets into the skin of an aging lady facing memory issues in a thoroughly effortless manner. The scenes where her memory starts playing with her deserve special mention.

Rituparna Sengupta brings forth the confusion and helplessness of a daughter going through a lot in a fine manner. Indraneil Sepgupta also succeeds in downplaying the emotions of a character who is also going through a turmoil. Brishti Roy, in the role of a house help, also shines. Ekavali turns out to be memorable despite playing a cameo of a doctor.

On the flipside, for some reason, the characters look exactly the same even in flashback scenes that are supposed to have happened years ago. The track of Ritika’s Naxalite uncle doesn’t fit into this genre.  

Overall: Puratawn is a deeply moving and meditative journey about a golden past, uncertain future and a present that’s somewhere in between.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Suman Ghosh

Producer: Rituparna Sengupta

Writer: Suman Ghosh

Cast: Rituparna Sengupta, Sharmila Tagore, Indraneil Sengupta, Brishti Roy, Ekavali

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