Review: Tendulkar Out

November 18, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Director: Swapneel Jaykar

Producers: Sudha Productions and Zee Talkies

Writer: Yogesh Vinayak Joshi

Cast: Santosh Juvekar, Sayaji Shinde, Vijay Maurya, Aniket Vishwasrao, Sai Tamhankar, Neelam Shirke, Atul Parchure

Music: Amar Mohile

Rating: * *

(Review taken from the website Halti Chitre.)

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Three men, Nayar (Santosh Juvekar), Abbas (Vijay Maurya) and Lefty (Aniket Vishwasrao) have taken up the task of finishing off Sunil Tendulkar (Sayaji Shinde), maker of B-grade films. He always makes films with his favorite actress and concubine Velvet Manisha (Sai Tamhankar). On the other hand, Tendulkar’s wife (Neelam Shirke) also has an extra-marital relationship with Dhanu (Atul Parchure). Will the trio succeed?

Review: As expected, Swapneel Jaykar’s Tendulkar Out has nothing to do with the cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, despite the title and the fact that the film released on the day the Master Blaster played the very last innings of his career. But the real reason for the film not working is a poor story or rather, hardly a story. It is only due to some hilarity here and there that you manage to sit through it.

The film does start on a promising note though. As the trio goes about trying to execute their task, you are treated to some genuinely funny moments. The running cricket commentary to describe the situation of the trio works very well indeed and becomes the biggest plus point of the film.

But you soon realize that the story isn’t going anywhere. You anxiously wait for something to happen but it just doesn’t until the last few moments. Although the final culmination is somewhat interesting, it doesn’t amuse you since the journey towards the climax hasn’t been a pleasant one. Apart from some silly moments, a big reason for this is the sub-plot about Tendulkar’s wife and Dhanu. Barring one rib-tickling moment, it doesn’t offer much. Also, the way they have tried to induce humor through Tendulkar’s wife’s labor pain appears a bit sadistic.

The film also suffers from being historically inaccurate. The entire movie centers around the 2003 World Cup match between India v/s Pakistan. However, the characters are seen using smart phones of today’s times. This is not all. They have shown the aforementioned match going right down to the wire. But in reality, India had won very easily.

The songs (Amar Mohile) are forgetful while the technical aspects (cinematography, background score and editing) fall in the above-average category.

Talking about the performances, Santosh Juvekar underplays his character well and succeeds in expressing anger, tension and frustration. It’s good to see him after long. Vijay Maurya too plays his character well while Aniket Vishwasrao isn’t bad. Sayaji Shinde fits the bill but we have seen him do such things many times before.

A good performer like Sai Tamhankar is wasted. Neelam Shirke and Atul Parchure are decent but, as mentioned before, their sub-plot doesn’t work.

Overall, Tendulkar Out is let down due to the writing. It looks like the makers, like many others, are trying to cash in on the retirement of the great cricketer. The film stands no chance at the box office.

Sachin’s Farewell Speech!

November 16, 2013 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

Even for the greatest writer ever, it would be impossible to describe Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell speech in words. All I can say is that it was something even non-cricket lovers would want to see again and again. There is a motivating message not only for budding cricketers but also for people from all professions. In fact, it can even be labeled as a crash course in humility. Thank You SACHIN!

So here goes the video of one of the greatest speeches in the history of mankind :-

Video credit: Star Sports Channel on YouTube

Picture Source: Refernews.com

Sachin’s Last Inning: Why so emotional?

November 15, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

Sachin Tendulkar walking back to the pavilion to a rousing applause from his home crowd after playing his last ever innings of 74 runs will surely be one of cricket’s most memorable moments, if not the most memorable. For me, that scene is on par with India’s World Cup triumph at the same venue – Wankhede Stadium. It was an emotional moment not only for Indian cricket lovers but for cricket fans all over the world as they won’t be seeing their earthly God bat again.

However, as surprising as it may sound, I am feeling uneasy after reading the whole lot of over-emotional comments on social media after the Master Blaster got out. Although I too am an ever-worshipping fan of Sachin, I think we are going overboard by emotions. Let’s face it – he had to retire one day. The poor lad has been playing for 24 long years. How much more do you expect from him? He is a human being after all, although we prefer to address him as God.

Instead of the emotional atyachar, we should thank God (real one) for our timing on earth. We have got a chance to witness his entire celebrated career of 24 years. In other words, we have received lessons of inspiration in the most enjoyable manner. I don’t mean inspiration only for budding cricketers but for people from all walks of life; such has been the magnanimity of Sachin!

But apart from inspiration, the reason why Sachin stands out from the rest is his humble, down-to-earth nature. How many of us would retain their humbleness even after receiving such Godly status? Very few! This lesson of humanity is another message that Sachin has indirectly given us always. This is Being Human in actual sense!

Lastly, thank you Sachin for showing us an ideal example of a perfect human being!

(To see the memorable farewell speech by SACHIN, click HERE.)

Sachin walking back to the pavilion after playing the last innings of his career

Here’s a poem I had written for Sachin on his birthday in 2011:

Unki Karamaton Ne Kiya Jawan

Jab se paon sambhale humne zameen par,
Unhone paon jamaye khel ke maidan par,
Chalne lage hum duniya samajne,
Ve chalne lage apni takdeer banane,

Hue bade to museebaten badhi,
Unhe bhi tikaon ki badhaen nadi,
Bhagwan dilate humen museebaton se chhutkara,
Unhone tikaon ko balle se de mara

Apekshaon ke boj se jab hum thak jate,
Un par ladi sau karod apekshaon ko dekhte,
Ve jab dete apekshaon ko hathiyar mein badal,
Prerna lekar hum karte us par amal

Hue hum jawan unke vikas ke samantar,
Rahega is baat ka garv humen jeevanbhar,
Usi garv se dete hai aapko varshganth pe salam,
Vishvabhar mein ooncha rahen sadaiva aapka naam

Sachin’s 200 test ticket fiasco not surprising!

November 12, 2013 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

There is shock and outrage among the Common Man over the non-availability of tickets for Sachin Tendulkar’s 200^th test match. But although I am eager to watch Sachin’s last match, I am not at all surprised by the turn of events, forget being shocked. This is simply because of the terrible history of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).

This is not the first time that the Common Man has been deprived of watching a cricket match in the stadium. For as long as I know, the MCA has always been favoring affiliated clubs and, of course, the so-called VIPs and VVIPs whenever there has been an important match held at the Wankhede Stadium.

Picture Source: Indianexpress.com

So, to me, it doesn’t come as a surprise whatsoever to see them do the same thing during the most important match ever in India; maybe on par with the World Cup Final. Just imagine – out of 50 or 60 thousand tickets, they kept just 4500 tickets for common public. However, even such tiny numbers of tickets were not sold to the public. The excuses given about law and order problem due to the sale of large number of tickets on stands and other issues are plain laughable!

Due to such excuses, they decided to sell those 4500 tickets online but how many did they actually sell? I had predicted beforehand that even the online sale of tickets is just a sham so I didn’t even try. The website owners said the site crashed as too many people logged in. And when the site finally opened, all tickets were already sold. Then the website walas created fake Twitter IDs for praising their site for their work in selling the tickets. You can’t fool as all the time!

In this way, the MCA has indirectly announced that such matches are only for the rich and elite class comprising super rich businessmen and Bollywood celebrities. The Common Man, who has solely helped in taking cricket and Sachin to such enormous heights, has no right to bid farewell to the legend! They have shown that for them, we cricket lovers forming the masses can be treated like dogs because they very well know next time, when there will be an important match at the Wankhede, we all will queue up again!

It also doesn’t come as a surprise to see such high level of black-marketing of tickets. In fact, such corrupt activities take place before each and every important match just below the nose of MCA authorities. What does this mean? Please read between the lines.

So the question remains – what can we do in such a terrible situation? One option is to dissolve not only the MCA but the entire Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The other is to stop buying tickets not only in black but also in normal rates and refuse to go even if you get them from any of the affiliated clubs. Empty stands will open their eyes! I am well aware that both these possibilities sound almost impossible. But there doesn’t seem to be any other option.

Campa Cola Issue: Common Man about to be strangled!

November 12, 2013 by Keyur Seta 6 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

I am shocked with disbelief at the happenings outside Mumbai’s Campa Cola Compound in Worli. Hundreds of families have been staying in it for around 25 years. They bought their houses from their hard earned money. Plus, they have been paying regular taxes all these years. But now Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is all set to demolish their houses just because of a shoddy crime committed by the builder and the politicians.

Picture Source: Mid Day

Just try to imagine this – The builder plays a game of crook with the politicians to earn huge sums of money by constructing three illegal floors in the buildings. Oblivious to this fact, a number of families buy flats on these floors. They keep paying taxes for 25 years with the BMC having no clue about the scam.

Now after 25 years, the BMC somehow get enlightened about the scam. So what do they do? They forcefully try to vacate the innocent residents from their home sweet home. They are not provided with any other option or compensation whatsoever! They are common people like me and you. Where will they go now?

How justifiable is to torture the Common Man for the shoddy crime committed by the builder-politician nexus? Where the hell are we heading? I am not sorry to say that the British Raj was better!

These poor residents are literally begging to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan to intervene and help but the he has no time for them. Of course, he has all the time to attend Sachin Tendulkar’s felicitation!

Picture Source: Ndtv.com

What’s more annoying is how scams worth thousands of crores are being allowed in our country. These criminal politicians are roaming scot free while innocent residents are turned into beggars. Also, we all know the extent of corruption in BMC itself. Despite spending hundreds of crores for better roads and other welfare of Mumbai, hardly any work is done. One doesn’t need to be a genius to realize that this is nothing but shoddy corruption. Why no action against any such terrible crimes? Will law be used or rather misused only to punish innocents in such a terrible manner?

As I write this, the poor residents of Campa Cola Compound are struggling and begging for their homes to be returned to them. At any moment their shelter can be snatched away from them for no fault of theirs!

Now all eyes are on the happenings at Campa Cola. If the Common Man is strangled now, it will be proved that we are living in a lawless land!

Picture Source: Indianexpress.com

Interfaith Dialogue: We have the same flesh & blood!

November 12, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

All over the world, human population is divided on the basis of religion. There are a large number of religions practiced universally and people from each one consider someone from another religion as different from him or her. But if we look at it closely, we realize that we all fall under the category of human beings; that we all have the same flesh and bones; that we all feel happy and sad at the same things. This universal truth was presented at the event Interfaith Dialogue for Modern Era in Mumbai by Ramakrishna Mission and Math, Mumbai. The Interfaith Dialogue was a part of the 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda, whose message was also spread widely at the event.

There was dialogue and interaction by religious heads of various religions –

Christianity by Father Joshua
Zoroastrianism by Lion Yazdi Panthaki
Baha’ism by Dr Mangesh Teli
Buddhism by Prof. Sudhakar Arjun Pawar
Jainism Dr. Bipin Doshi
Islam by Maulana Syed Athar Ali
Sikhism by Mr. Harpal Singh
Judaism by Mr. Ralphy Jhira
Sufism by Mr. Sami Bubere
Hinduism by Swami Atmapriyanandji Maharaj

After listening to each one of them, it wasn’t hard to realize that all religions preach the same message of humanity, oneness, equality and love for all fellow beings.

Some pictures from the event:

Picture Source – DnaIndia.com

Review: Boss

October 18, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Director: Anthony D’Souza

Producer: Ashwin Warde

Writer: Sajid-Farhad

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Ronit Roy, Shiv Pandit, Mithun Chakraborty, Aditi Rao Hydari, Danny Dengzongpa

Genre: Comedy/ Action

Rating: * * * ½

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Shiva (Akshay Kumar) falls out with his father Satyakant (Mithun Chakraborty) following a terrible incident. He is adopted by Big Boss (Danny Denzongpa) after he saves his life. Although Big Boss runs a transport business, he is famous as a hero of the oppressed. When Shiva grows up, he acquires the title Boss (Akshay Kumar) as even he becomes the messiah of the poor.

Fate brings Boss face-to-face with his father and younger brother Shiv (Shiv Pandit). There comes a situation where Boss has to save Shiv from the evil of the corrupt, monstrous cop Ayushman (Ronit Roy).

Review: Hardcore, hero-centric masala entertainers have become a regular feature in Hindi cinema in the post-GHAJINI era. Such films provide high doses of entertainment in various forms to the masses. While some of these films have managed to impress, some have failed. Thankfully, Anthony D’Souza’s Boss falls in the former category due to various entertaining factors, provided you are game to rest the topmost organ of your body.

The biggest factor here is the dialogues by the writer duo Sajid-Farhad, who can add another name in their long list of successful films. The lines are a mixture of PJs, slapstick and crazy humor that provide bucket full of laughter regularly. What’s more impressive is that, like their previous works, they have refrained from surrendering to vulgarity.

The initial moments, however, are not high on entertainment though due to the late entry of Akshay. But that doesn’t hurt much since after his arrival, the film takes you on an enjoyable ride till almost the climax. A combo of crazy situations, jokes and some creative action sequences are on offer. Some of the memorable scenes include:

Akshay’s entry
His scene with Mukesh Tiwari
His first encounter with Shiv
A fight scene in the premises of a temple
An action scene where Ronit’s goons chase Akshay

But there are a few issues that go against the film. The suspense at the end of Akshay’s flashback is unconvincing. The characterization of Ankita’s friend is confusing. Lastly, the finale isn’t as exciting as expected.

The technical department can hold its head high. Daredevil stunts (Anal Arasu) coupled with some smart camerawork provide excitement. The background score complements different situations perfectly. The film scores high even on music due to the title track, ‘Hum Na Chhode’, ‘Har Kisi Ko’ and ‘Party All Night’.

Akshay Kumar once again proves that only he deserves the title of Khiladi. His comic timing is terrific while he is super impressive in those difficult action sequences. His fans are sure to love this act. Ronit Roy is impressive in the role of a ruthless, corrupt cop. Mithun Chakraborty shows the right emotions needed from the character, although he looks uncomfortable sometimes.

Shiv Pandit makes use of the opportunity and provides a decent act. Danny Denzongpa is perfect in the role of Big Boss. Aditi Rao Hydari is not bad. After a long time, Johnny Lever is in good form. Aakash Dhabade is excellent! Rest of the actors like Sanjay Mishra, Parikshit Sahani and Govind Namdeo provide adequate support.

Overall: Boss is a typical massy entertainer. It has a chance at the box office but due to the not-so-great hype, it relies on word-of-mouth.

Shahid Movie Review

October 13, 2013 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Director: Hansal Mehta

Producers: Bohra Bros. Pvt. Ltd and AKFPL Production

Writers: Hansal Mehta, Sameer Gautam Singh and Apurva Asrani

Cast: Raj Kumar Yadav, Prabhleen Sandhu, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub, Baljinder Kaur, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Vipin Sharma, Kay Kay Menon

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Rating: * * * *

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Shahid is a biopic on the life of the deceased lawyer Shahid Azmi. He was murdered in 2010 for defending innocents wrongly framed for terror activities.

The film traces Shahid’s journey from the 1993 Mumbai blasts. The incident has such a devastating impact on the youngster that he joins a terror outfit in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). Fortunately, he realizes his mistake and manages to return home in Mumbai. Further circumstances ensure that he becomes a successful defense lawyer. But his real challenge starts now.

Review: There are good films and there are also very good films. But there are very few ones that make Indian cinema proud. Director Hansal Mehta’s Shahid is one such movie that has all the rights to hold its head high regardless of its fate at the box office.

Picture source – Zeenews.com

The film is a fine example of an impeccable script (Gautam Singh and Mehta), gritty presentation and excellent performances. Result of the aforementioned mixture is sure to yield great results and that is exactly the case with Shahid. It is a good idea to reveal the climax at the start so that the viewer is able to concentrate Shahid’s journey. Although the protagonist’s life story is interesting, it is not an easy task to narrate such a tale, especially with such low budget.

The way diverse events and sub plots are woven together deserve special mention, especially Shahid’s love interest which doesn’t obstruct the proceedings whatsoever. Lastly, the flick throws a number of hard-hitting questions on the deterioration of democracy in today’s times. The only negative point one can find is that the ongoing appears a bit dragged after a point of time in the second half. Plus, the hardcore commercial audience might not appreciate this genre of cinema. However, these are not major flaws.

From the technical department, some crafty camerawork perfectly suits the need of the film. Few single-take shots through a hand held camera are very impressive. Some powerful background score and apt editing too deserve praise.

Some performances become a milestone in every successful actor’s career. Raj Kumar Yadav’s act in Shahid is one such milestone which will take his career to greater heights. His portrayal of different shades of the character can only be described as brilliant! However, despite such an act from the lead actor, Prabhleen Kaur manages to impress via her perfect portrayal as Shahid’s love interest.

After No One Killed Jessica, Jannat 2 and Raanjhanaa, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub is once again super impressive. In the role of Shahid’s mother, Baljinder Kaur suits well. There some wonderful cameos too from Kay Kay Menon, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Vipin Sharma and Shalini Vatsa.

Overall, Shahid is a must watch. Those eager for meaningful cinema should surely support it if they wish to see such genre of films in the future. Positive word-of-mouth is the only hope for the film to make a mark at the box office.

Lagna Pahave Karun (Marathi Movie) Review

October 12, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Director: Ajay Naik

Producers: Solariz International and Sprint Art Creations

Writers: Kshitij Patwardhan and Sameer Vidwans

Cast: Umesh Kamat, Mukta Barve, Sidharth Chandekar, Tejashri Pradhan, Swati Chitnis

Music: Ajay Naik

Genre: Romance

Rating: * * * ½

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Nishant Barve (Umesh Kamat), who works in the U.S, returns home in Pune on a short break to marry a girl chosen by his mother through a marriage bureau headed by a lady (Swati Chitnis) strictly believing in horoscopes. While on leave, Nishant loses his job in the US. The news exposes the true face of his to-be wife and he breaks up with her. Nishant, who always was a disbeliever in horoscopes and other such things, insults the head of marriage bureau and rubbishes off her profession.

He comes across a stranger Aditi (Mukta Barve) who slowly becomes a friend. Aditi is eager to start a unique marriage bureau. Impressed by Aditi’s determination, Nishant agrees to be her partner in the venture. Everything goes smooth for Aditi and Nishant, who also start developing feelings for each other. Their bureau also tastes its first success through the marriage of Rahul (Siddharth Chandekar) and Anandi (Tejashree Pradhan). But the business partners face a big hurdle in the form of the head of the rival marriage bureau, whom Nishant had insulted.

Review: Most of the modern day Hindi film love stories cannot be enjoyed by the entire family due to various obvious reasons. But that is not the case with Marathi cinema these days. No doubt, films like Shree Partner, Premachi Goshta and Time Please were new age romantic films but they also maintained a fine balance between modernism and traditions. This legacy of appealing yet clean love stories is continued with debutant Ajay Naik’s Lagna Pahave Karun.

The film surely has the boy-meets-girl saga but like all intelligent love stories, it doesn’t appear filmy and has a good flow and realistic touch to it. A mixture of wit and emotions in the dialogues keep you engrossed throughout.

But what truly sets this love story aside is the background of marriage bureau and the rivalry born out of it. This topic is hardly explored before. On a personal note, my hatred towards marriage bureaus has diminished after witnessing the working of the one explored here.

But the closing moments stop the film from being truly exceptional. Although the climax is heartwarming, it could have been presented in a better way. But what is more questionable is not including a triumphant scene between Nishant and the owner of rival bureau, for which there was every scope. This would have surely generated applause. Nevertheless, these points don’t reduce your overall satisfaction much.

Naik’s soulful compositions are placed well and suit the need of the film. The camerawork is impressive and so is the background score. The editing should also be lauded for keeping the length of the film inside two hours.

Like every love story, performances play a key role here too. Umesh Kamat once again gets every emotion right and provides a lovable act. Mukta Barve too deserves similar praise for her impressive performance. Siddharth Chandekar and Tejashree Pradhan play a troubled couple aptly. Swati Chitnis succeeds in providing the antagonistic effect very well. The rest of the supporting cast fits the bill.

Overall: Lagna Pahave Karun is yet another mature love story of the year.

Sachin retirement: Memories never retire!

October 10, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

So the news the world never wished to hear is out. The God of cricket Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has finally announced retirement from international cricket. Of course, the news is not surprising whatsoever even to a single cricket fan, yet it has hit everyone like a bolt simply because of Sachin’s priceless value. Some are literally into tears!

However, as strange as it may sound, in the midst of the emotional turmoil, I might be in the minority for not being sad, shattered or whatever. This might even label me as anti-Sachin or a Sachin hater, but believe me, I am not. My close friends would know that I have worshipped him as much as you people (you can read my poem on him by clicking HERE). It might sound rude but I think we should all accept the truth.

The law of nature is that everything has to end one day. None can escape this law including Sachin’s career. Every player has to end his career at some point or the other. Let’s be practical – Sachin had to retire one day, no matter how much we hoped against it. Also let’s face it – he is facing a lot of trouble with his technique and timing since recent times. And come on, he has been playing international cricket since 24 long years! How much more do you expect from him?

The number of great and proud memories provided by the Master Blaster is uncountable. It won’t be an overstatement to term them as priceless treasure. So instead of crying over his retirement, let’s be positive and cherish the priceless treasure. Our wailing will make things difficult for Sachin himself. By the way, one thing I can assure everyone is that the great man would continue to do his bit for cricket or other sports. Despite retiring, you will keep hearing good things about him for sure!

Sachin’s emotional strength was proved during the 1999 World Cup where he played against Kenya just after he lost his father. So being true Sachin fans, we can’t afford to be weak. In case, if we do, just revisit his numerous innings available on YouTube. After all, memories never retire!

Picture source: Cricinfo.com