Reviews

I couldn't bear to watch even 10 minutes of this show. None were prepared or talented enough to pull this off. But there are learnings in everything. This show made it utterly evident that Kannan, Kenny, Kaneez and Abish are not funny or witty people in real life. But their practiced standup shows do so well! It gives hope to people with poor/average skills - practice (and probably a LOT OF editing) can get you places.

This is my first ever review on IMDb.

After watching Revolver Rani ("RR"), I can be sure Sai Kabir (writer, director) had been looking for a producer like Tigmanshu Dhulia for a while. This is a work straight from the heart and feels like it too!

The story of Revolver Rani, Alka Singh (Kangana Ranaut) takes place in India's dacoit heartland Chambal, where law has seldom held up. All characters have enough reason to be in the movie. Performances are up to the mark. The dialect spoken by the actors seems authentic. Starting with Kangana - she has played one of the most audacious female leads in Hindi cinema and has come away with flying colors. Vir Das plays the meatiest role of his Bollywood career in aspiring film star Rohan. His character adds most twists to the plot than anything else and thus is a very important one. Piyush Mishra has played many memorable roles by now and his role as Alka's mama in RR as well his contribution to the writing department will not go unnoticed. His character even writes speeches for politicians in the film, which is a tribute to his writing ability, as it was with Mishra's poetry scenes in Gulaal. The other baddies draw your resentment as required.

The music does wonders for each scene - it heightens the drama, transforms wee Kangana into stupendous Alka, draws laughs from scenes with dark characters and many more. Usha Uthup's voice seems to be only female voice bold and deep enough to tell Revolver Rani's story, like it does in the opening credits. The opening credits animated scene (similar to that of Bullett Raja) is so cool, that my wallpaper is now stolen from it. In fact, I have found in Dhulia-produced Revolver Rani what I went looking for in Dhulia-directed Bullett Raja.

This is the kind of story which deserves more than one film as its characters can actually do so much more than they did in RR. My suggestion is - make a sequel, no, a series... and print some Revolver Rani graphic novels too while you are at it! That is, if those bad guys let the much cussed-at Alka live in RR.

They had to break some day. Those rope of morality, sanctimony and congeniality which had tied down so many of India's almost-awesome films have been cut open and the authentic urban Indian (who does hurl a few abuses here and there every day due to the misfortune happening to him) is now free thanks to Aamir Khan and Abhinay Deo. Still, Delhi Belly is fine filmmaking mostly due to the makers' unabashed vision and the decision to let no stone unturned in making this comedy.

To start off, Ram Sampath's mind-blowing music in the promos is what brought the first batch of audience to this movie and it has some really wacky numbers (Bhaag DK Bose, Nakkadwale Disco and Bedardi Raja to name a few). On the actors' front, Vir Das portrays his pitiable character perfectly. Imran is in a dream role and this could be his best act ever if he continues to do movies like the ones before he did Delhi Belly. Kunal Roy Kapoor's problems with gastric motions (after which the movie is named) bring down the house more than once. But it's Vijay Raaz to whom most of the misfortune happens and he, therefore reacts like a truly enraged gangster would and gives us a lesson or on how swear words are meant to be really pronounced. Purna Jagganath is the find of the film and could be Bollywood's first really non-traditional looking heroine. But still, am I the only one who found her cute?

Once Mr DK Bose (the story) begins to 'bhaag' (run) in the beginning, it hardly stops even after the end. Such is the flow of the movie that even when you're laughing your ass off to any one of your preferred situational jokes, you hardly miss the link to the next scene because the story is simple enough to be a 96 minute movie. Great storytelling by Abhinay Deo. As a bonus we're treated to a never-before item number by Aamir Khan in the end, along with some food for our ingenuity-hungry mind throughout the film.

Like all of Aamir Khan's house productions, Delhi Belly is an important film in Indian cinema history because the success of this film will directly measure the immeasurable: how much have our minds really adapted to the next generation mentality. And what all comedy filmmakers should learn from Delhi Belly is that Indians have brains not just while doing math but while watching movies too.

Shagird is the movie every fan of Ab Tak Chhappan has been waiting for. Nana Patekar reprises his encounter specialist cop act, this time in darker shades for director Tigmanshu Dhulia and again carries the film on his veteran shoulders. It finally portrays Dhulia's potential which was being promised to us for long and delivers a thrilling chor-police movie, though not as memorable as Ab Tak Chhappan perhaps.

From the beginning we find out that the film is a no-nonsense gripping thriller with the emphasis on storytelling rather than traditional Bollywood entertainment. There isn't much on the songs front, but there are enough twists to make even the experienced fan interested as the story never gets too predictable.

Youngster Mohit Ahlawat has been given a golden opportunity to shine alongside Nana and almost makes the most of it. Zakir Hussain is outstanding as the corrupt minister and this could be his best performance yet. Shagird also stars maverick new-age director Anurag Kashyap in his longest role as an actor yet. But again, none of them would even be noticed if it wasn't for the charismatic Nana (who has recently given majestic restrained performances in Raajneeti and Ab Tak Chhappan and another one here in Shagird) as the no-conscience police officer Hanumant Singh who is like a demi-god in the Delhi Police, known for his bravery in the field against the criminals. But what lies beneath is what the young shagird, meaning understudy, Mohit Kumar (Mohit Ahlawat) finds out quickly. Does he have enough courage and grit to stand by his morals? Find out. Watch Shagird if you're Nana's fan or if you want to become one.

This film won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar and a Golden Globe for best picture. Now many would argue that better films were written/made in 2010. But let's consider this movie on its own.

It has budding stars in Eisenberg and Garfield, who'll be taking up the mantle of the non-traditional hero in the future and The Social Network will be a big reason why. Timberlake made me take notice too. The music (Best Original Score) is a big reason why people enjoyed this movie and its not hard to see why Trent Reznor is so popular among those who care.

Now as the audience, the only things that got me interested in the movie before seeing it, was Facebook and the masterful David Fincher. Like in most of his films, he wants us to open our eyes to stuff we wouldn't usually even think of (Se7en, Fight Club). Before watching The Social Network, we know we love Facebook and we just want to know more about its creator, Mark Zuckerberg. And we find out stuff we wouldn't know otherwise about Mark, his girlfriend, his best friend Eduardo and others his Facebook venture touched. We are thoroughly entertained and pass this news to our friends, mostly through Facebook.

But in the end, we're compelled to ask ourselves a doubt (unlike in Se7en or Fight Club): "Was Mark really an a**hole?"