Change Your Image
![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjQ4MTY5NzU2M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDc5NTgwMTI@._V1_SY100_SX100_.jpg)
sumitasrani14
Reviews
The Lunchbox (2013)
The lunchbox is one such rare film that makes u feel proud of Indian cinema
Today, when the technology has become so advance that has made communication so easy that people use "Whatsapp" even to call a friend who is sitting in the room next to their room, The lunchbox relies on the age old formula of communication through letters, and it does it so effectively that you don't complaint why the two main characters don't exchange phone numbers or why they don't use any other media to communicate.
The movie looked simple from the promos, I was surprised by the hype that it has created around it, it won few awards in the film festivals and was a strong contender for Oscars nomination, all these things compelled me to watch The Lunchbox, and I must say that I happened to witness one of the most satisfying and marvelous piece of cinema ever.
Illa(Nirmat Kaur) is a neglected housewife who tries different recipes to catch her husband's attention and to get the love that has lost from her life, Illa takes the help from her aunty( Bharti achreker, heard but never seen) who lives in the flat just above hers, one fine day, as luck would have it , the dabawalas who are known for their flawless and super efficient deliveries, mistakenly deliver the Lunchbox made by Illa to the desk of an old man Saajan Fernandes( Irrfan) who is on the verge of retirement he eats the lunch and sends the lunchbox back. When Illa gets to know that the Lunchbox is eaten by someone else, she puts a note in the lunchbox the next day, Fernandes replies back and then starts the journey of exchanging letters, sharing thoughts and dreams.
There is another character without whom the movie would not be as brilliant as it is, and that is Shaikh(Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a trainee who is there to take the position of Fernandes after his retirement, Whenever shaikh is on screen, you are bound to laugh, we have never seen Nawazuddin in a role which demands him to make people laugh ,and the actor does it with aplomb, not for a single moment u can say that this is the same actor who has done such an intense roles in the past.
But the two main characters takes it all, Irrfan has always been considered as a great actor, but this time he has achieved new heights, This is the finest performance from any actor in a long time, irrfan compels you to believe that he is one of the finest actors we have in our country, notice him when he smokes, standing alone in his balcony, he doesn't speak a single word but his eyes says it all, Take a bow sir!!! you have made a new fan. Nirmat Kaur on the other hand is a revelation, it is really hard to believe that this is her first film, she doesn't get a single expression wrong, a rare actress who can actually act.
No words are enough to praise the writer-director Ritesh batra, in his maiden direction venture, Ritesh has shown a great amount of maturity in his work. Mumbai is shot and described so beautifully that made the city a character in the film, every detail is captured beautifully. Though some will find the ending a bit abrupt, but that's how it is, realistic and different, there couldn't be a better end for the script.
The lunchbox is one such rare film that makes u feel proud of Indian cinema. One should see and appreciate such brilliant piece of work to encourage film makers to give us more films like this , else we would be tortured with more Dabanggs and Bodyguards.
Must Watch!
Besharam (2013)
The word Pathetic has a new meaning all together
An year ago, one could only think of Khans as the Superstars of bollywood, but then suddenly a young, charming as well as talented actor came and changed the equation. Ranbeer Kapoor has always been my favorite, reason being his sense of choosing the scripts. He has always taken nice scripts right from 'Wake up sid' , ' Rocketsingh', 'Rajneeti', 'Rockstar' and my all time favourite "Barfi', but as they say heavy paychecks can make the most talented people do the cheapest things one can imagine. Directed by Abhinav Kashyap who has previously directed 'Dabangg', 'Besharam' is nothing but one more masala flick which lowers the standard of bollywood.
Babli (Ranbeer Kapoor), is a thief who steals cars and sell them to earn money, and like our bollywood heroes, he is the man with a golden heart who gives all the money to the orphanage he lives in. He meets Taara(Pallavi Sharda) a middle class girl who lives with her mother, and falls in love with her. By mistake, Babli steals Tara's car and when she get to know this, Babli promises her that he will bring the car back and leave all the illegal things that he does.
Besharam, is the height of bollywood stereotypism, there is nothing that we haven't seen before,and what makes it worse is the direction. Even though Abhinav Kashyap's first outing 'Dabangg' was not a good film by any means but it was way better then what Besharam is. Dialogs are bad, jokes don't work, songs are boring and too many.
Talking about performances, Ranbeer tried to enter into the Salmaan Zone, but forgot to read the warning "Only for brainless people", though the actor tried very hard to look convincing, but the story and the characterization was so weak that it did not go to the level that we expect from Ranbeer. Pallavi Sharda is a complete misfit, she has had one angry look throughout the movie, even in the romantic scenes. Rishi Kapoor as inspector Chulbul Chautala is as always brilliant, I wonder what made him work on such a pathetic script. Neetu Singh Kapoor is top notch as the cunning wife. Javed Jaffery as the bad guy is very good as well.
'Besharam' is the biggest disappointment of the year so far, it had a mediocre director, a super talented main lead and a wonderful supporting cast but what came out on screen is a senseless, idiotic piece of cinema that we all have witnessed many times before. Do yourself a favor, stay away from this one even if someone gives you a free ticket.
Highway (2014)
Its a beautiful Film with superb performances, Take a bow Mr. Ali and Team !!!
Rarely you come across a movie that is so engaging that you are not able to forget the moments even after coming out of the theater, Directed by my own favorite Imtiaz Ali "Highway" is such a fulfilling experience that you will crave to watch it again once it is finished. First of all let me make it clear that this is not a kind of movie that we expect from Imtiaz Ali, this is dark disturbing and everything that Imtial Ali is not known for, but the one thing that is common is that it is as good as (or better than) all the movies by the super efficient director.
Veera (Alia) , A rich Delhi girl who loves to travel, and feels suffocated inside her house, is about to get married, one fine night she decides to have a ride with her would be husband to the highway, they stop at a Petrol Pump and there Mahabir Bhati( Randeep Hooda) kidnaps her, he gets to know that Veera is the daughter of one of the most powerful persons in the country , but he decides not to release veera as he hates to be slave of powerful people. Mahabir takes Veera to different places so that he can escape from the police, and is the journey we get to know the unpleasant past that Veera and Mahabir have.
Highway is a kind of an experiment that has never been tried in India before, a girl who gets kidnapped and start enjoying it, the kidnapper falls in love with the girls, when we think of all this, it looks childish , but the way the Director has narrated the story and justified the proceedings is commendable. The second half syndrome was always visible in Imtiaz Ali movies, but this time he gets it perfectly right, in fact this is one of the rare movies in which the second half is(slightly) better than the first half. I specially loved the scene where Veera finds the house in the top of the hills, and she laughs and cries at the same time, one more sequence worth mentioning is where Mahabir watches Veera inside the house and realizes that what he has become and cries hardly, Wisely thought and brilliantly executed.
This movie will be remembered for a long time because of the performances, One could never expect Alia bhatt(after her disastrous act in SOTY ) that she can act, but here she has almost outdone the best performances in recent years, she has a certain innocence that is missing now a days, she is super duper efficient in emotional scenes, excellent in comedy scenes, and very comfortable in romantic scenes, this performance should get her all the awards this year, the audience will look forward to what she does next. Randeep Hooda was never this much impressive before, though i have always considered him as a good actor but he is in his top form here, he has surpassed all his previous performances, including OUTIM. Supporting cast is also very efficient, i particularly liked "Aadoo", he brings a lot of fun in this otherwise serious film.
On flip side, the movie is a bit slow, specially in the first half, but they managed to cover it up in the second half. A special mention should be given to the Anil Mehta's Cinematography, which is the best to come out from a bollywood movie since long, the places in India have never looked this beautiful before, brilliantly captured.
I am going with Nine out of Ten for this beautiful peace of cinema, if you are a fan of masala entertainments, be as far as you can from this gem, but if you like 'Anurag Kashyap" zone of film making, this is a must watch for you , go for it.
Recommended!