Piku and Margarita With A Straw: A collective review of sorts

"It reminded me of my relationship with my father" said our bachelorette Bengali professor for whom Piku, the movie was relatable at all levels. Creative people go berserk. It is the quintessential aspect that makes them creative. This subtle nuance is visible in Architect Piku's (Deepika Padukone) behaviour and her entire character sketch (her limits of patience, her fears and how they relate to her attitude) reveals itself gradually as the taxi progresses. It is almost like watching an artist make a figurine. You can stand there for hours and keep appreciating every stroke being smudged on the canvas.In that similar fashion, you keep appreciating Piku while it lasts, but it won't stay with you for long like the hangover Margarita With A Straw gives you.

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Nautanki Sala: What royal waste of time, money and Mr. Khuranna!

Okay, when was the last time I saw  a badly crafted movie? Ah yes, Ek thi Dayan. But it wasn't bad enough to break this writing hiatus of mine on aS and bitch talk about a movie which, in contrast to the sky high pre release  expectations fell on its face onscreen.

That said, I would definitely praise Ayushmann Khuranna for the single handed steer he has given to the otherwise sad movie. He's clearly an actor class apart, and deserves better movies.

Bottomline? The movie's a drag. Reason?

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Kai Po Che: Beyond the 3 Mistakes

Bundled with the frames of crude Ahmdawaad and set in the 2000s, Kai Po Che sensitively touches the political scene of Godhra riots, yet trying to be “fair” enough to cross the boundaries of the censor board and the kesariya and green flagged “institutions”. The film is one of the best cinematic adaptations of an Indian novel done by an Indian filmmaker, in the boundaries of course. For those who have already read Bhagat’s “The Three Mistakes of my Life”, it should be a motion picture of every word written in the book (except the climax which makes it better than the novel), as if it was written to be adapted into the screenplay by default. The small sports shop set against the backdrop of the mammoth temple in the film impeccably concretized the picture that I had drawn while reading it.

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A search for the hidden Barfi in us

What can I say about a movie that has a rating of 9 on IMDB, is the official Indian entry to Oscars, is directed by Anurag Basu and boasts of Priyanka-Ranbir in the cast that you haven’t come across already in the newspapers, 3 weeks after its release?

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Gangs of Wasseypur II: The Rampant Romance of Dubious Shadows and Brutal Bloodshed

Two shadows sit on a raised platform on a moony night under the shady sky of Wasseypur. One of them is too complex to be comprehended in their clam talks. In the beautifully blue frame filled with grey smoke of ganja that he had been smoking right from the beginning of the film, you see nothing happening. The tension grows, the soft background music begins to loud the conflict because you know he was there to kill. In the same frame, beautifully blue and grey, he quietly pulls out a knife, attacks and continues cutting the other shadow into pieces brutally until you sweat.

Oh yes! “Teri keh ke loonga!”

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…and The Dark Knight Rises in the End

You must fear death.

Lovers of Nolan and fans of Batman will, at once, appreciate the beauty of this fair statement which makes Bruce Wayne the Batman of Gotham in this finale of the Batman series. Nolan’s way to translate the past into the present is yet another example of cinematic excellence without juxtaposition of conceptual characters from the film’s prior two parts.

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O Womaniya explained (Meaning, Music and Singers behind the gem)

Gangs of Wasseypur changed many things. One among them was the way songs are written, recorded and sung in the mainstream Bollywood. While we got to listen to many weird gems in Gangs of Wasseypur I (including Hunter and Bhaiyaa -The Musahar of Sundarpur), There was this song which registered itself as an altogether different anthem, by the sheer tune, words and music of it.

O Womaniya.

While we keep waiting eagerly for the release of Gangs of Wasseypur II, I can’t resist myself from digging deep into the way this bubbly song has been written and sung. It incidentally is the first song review at aS.

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A Cocktail of Orthodox Ideologies!

Mix a Parwati bhabhi, a Pallavi and a nagging mother in law as good as Savita bahu with a topping of son Mihir Viraani and you would shake a perfect Cocktail! Raising a toast, I wonder what the director would have called it, had the scriptwriter added an immortal Baa to the worthless drama! A Mock Tale? No seriously, I was taken back to the Ekta era of never ending soap operas, scene after scene, as the film refused to progress at all! The only good thing about the film is Dimple Kapadia  who continues to take your breath away with her flawless acting.

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Avengers. IMAX 3D Dubai. Shit just got Real!

And before I begin, let me give a humble advice to all. If you want to try the IMAX 3D experience, choose superhero movies. Or better choose superheroes’ movie.

Or best, choose The Avengers.

I have seen quite a lot of 3D movies before, and more often than not, have returned home either with a ringing headache or a thoroughly unsatisfied experience, thanks to the blurry flimsy 3D glasses that apologize for having sat on your nose.

But this movie in IMAX 3D, as Captain America says for Loki, “grows on you.”

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Agneepath 2012: A fitting remake with Sporadic Sparkles.

Remakes, they are strange. People have sky-high expectations and nostalgia ruling their minds all the time, while they are busy judging the new flick against the old classic.
You can not copy the original. Neither can you miss the essence. Especially when the legendary original one itself has been inspired by a movie as raw and as brilliant as Scarface and features Amitabh Bachchan introducing himself as one Vijay Deenanath Chauhan.

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