Tag Archives: Dabangg

Captain Marvel (2019)

Written by Yogeswaran Ganapathy @moviemanyogi

My Ratings: 2.75/5

Captain Marvel Review: A debut hero movie with same MCU formula but with intense final moments which sets up an intriguing future for MCU.

The Basic Plot: The story of an USA pilot Carol Denvers who becomes Captain Marvel.

The opening moments of Captain Marvel give us a look into the latest addition of the Marvel Cinematic universe … Hala which is the home planet of the Kree force. These sequences give you a strong vibe of Asgard in Thor (2011) and Wakanda in Black Panther (2018) . There we have Brie Larson present as a fierce Kree warrior under the team headed by Jude Law. Is she holding more than what meets the eye ??? That forms the rest of the story.

Brie Larson gives a memorable performance as Captain Marvel. I must say that the hate she received for the trailer of the film is totally unjustified and she has made a decent debut as a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic universe.

Samuel L. Jackson steals the show as Nick Fury in the 90’s. He adds a cool swag to the role and easily connects with the audience., specially the scenes he has with Brie Larson are really enjoyable.

The digital de-aging of Nick fury is pretty inconsistent though. It is revealing in some scenes and fabulous in others. 

Ben Mendelsohn and Annette Bening give a justified performance in their given scope.

The direction and screenplay in the film is pretty formulaic . Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck follow the same Marvel debut hero formula with only a few standout moments. The setting of the era of 1990’s could have been exploited more to make the audience have a better connect. And unfortunately the push of women empowerment is shown in a cliched way. We need to understand that women empowerment need not be born ONLY by trying to prove that men are wrong! 

The story is pretty dull. We have a main character, a mentor, a power discovery …. you get it right.

The Marvel problem of antagonist/villians (barring Thanos and Loki) still persists in its 21st film . These characters just come and go along the screen with most performances being pretty forgettable.

The first hour of the movie is bland. It’s a mix of Thor, Black Panther and nothing amusing . The second half brings out the acting range of Brie Larson effectively. The core of the movie lies in the last 15 minutes and solely because it has a great tie in to the Marvel cinematic universe. These moments greatly set up the Marvel universe for the next few movies!!

Many people would argue that captain Marvel is the most overpowered character in the MCU as of now. But in this movie, her powered state is felt to be OVER-powered due to the pretty weak antagonists who fight against her. It is like a Bollywood fight fest between Salman Khan and low level goons in Dabangg! Captain Marvel is rarely shown to be vulnerable which is a huge drawback.

Iron man is a classic example of showing this vulnerability. The character was hurled towards death , was highly vulnerable and then he defied all odds to come out all guns blazing. That made us root for the character. This particular aspect was clearly missing in Captain Marvel.

We really have to appreciate the marketing team of Marvel and the sheer brilliance of the head of MCU Kevin Feige. They have attracted audience to watch a movie pretty well knowing that they are here for the last few moments. The last 10 minutes and especially the mid-credits scene is why most of the people actually came to see the movie. And it’s by far the best Marvel mid- credits scene ever!

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LHxvxdRnYc

Poster courtesy: www.imdb.com


Best of Bollywood police officers fighting against corruption (10+1list)

Best of Bollywood police officers fighting against corruption

written by Souranath Banerjee

Best of Bollywood police officers fighting against corruption: The police officers in notorious crime world of Bollywood are rarely taken seriously!

Either they are shown as the corrupt sadistic nuisance with no honor, conscience or sense of duty (generally villain’s sidekicks who will be bashed up by the hero towards the end of the film). Or else they are fabricated into these caricatured super heroes who can singlehandedly beat up an entire town of bad guys (the likes of DabanggSingham and Rowdy Rathore).

In the history of Bollywood only a few handful films portray a cop in the right perspective; someone who has dignity, honesty, the will to fight against corruption and most importantly a common man with no superhuman powers.

And here’s some of Best of Bollywood police officers fighting against corruption, a list that celebrates all those real life brave Indian police officers who respects their uniform and we respect them.

Let’s hear the sirens!

10. Sehar (2005)

Film clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uzJPW7qqxE

Sehar-posterAn uncorrupted cop, Ajay Kumar (Arshad Warsi) when transferred to Uttar Pradesh, clashes with the brutal mafia don Gajraj Singh (Sushant Singh).

Ajay Kumar leads a team of daring officers who took up the mission to stop organized crimes in Lucknow.

Directed by Kabeer Kaushik, the film is a dramatic take based on the real lives of gangster Shiv Prakash Shukla and gallant SSP Arun Kumar. Also watch Pankaj Kapur in a unique role as Prof. Tiwari. 

9. Yeshwant (1997)

Film clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yPO2EA_YEE

Yeshwant-posterMaverick, tough and committed Inspector Yeshwant Lohar (Nana Patekar) is the man to watch out for in this film.

Directed by Anil Mattoo, this is a cop who struggles in-between his professional and personal lives; a man who is too straightforward and undiluted for surviving our current work system.

Basically, a one man show for Nana Patekar and a must watch for his superb energetic performance.

8. Gangaajal (2003)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf5mD-Q05_8

Gangaajal-posterSP Amit Kumar (Ajay Devgn) is given the charge of Tezpur police station in Bihar, where law and order is known by the name of a corrupted politician Sadhu Yadav (Mohan Joshi).

But of course the situation changes by the time our strict and honest SP is done with the notorious Yadav gang.

As with most of Prakash Jha‘s films, this one too tries to restore our faith in law, constitution, and democracy by the end of the film.

7. Mardaani (2014)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04E-jHtWrDA

Mardaani-posterA girl goes missing and eventually senior inspector of the criminal branch Mumbai, Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani Mukerji) takes up the case.

Soon she is confronted by the child trafficking mafia kingpin Walt (Tahir Raj Bhasin) who wants her to stop the investigation.

Directed by Pradeep Sarkar, this lady cop drama is one of the pretty realistic sketch of a devoted cop trying to accomplish her duty at any cost.

6. Sarfarosh (1999)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlULorEPMig

Sarfarosh-posterA personal tragedy makes Ajay Singh Rathod (Aamir Khan) to join the police force to fight against terrorism.

And soon famous Pakistan-based Ghazal singer Gulfam Hassan (Naseeruddin Shah) becomes a suspect of Ajay’s hunt for terrorists.

Directed by John Mathew Matthan, this one is a fine crime drama that is portrayed in a very realistic manner, a thriller at its best.  

5. Khakee (2004)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuo5cq2QBcg

Khakee-posterDirected by Rajkumar Santoshi, this is the story of DCP Anant Shrivastav (Amitabh Bachchan), who is responsible to escort a terrorist Iqbal Ansari (Atul Kulkarni) from Chandangarh to Mumbai.

Though determined to accomplish his mission, he faces tremendous resistance from the terrorist leader Yashwant Angre (Ajay Devgn).

Along with Akshay KumarAishwarya Rai Bachchan and Tusshar Kapoor this one is a cool police drama to consider.

4. Ab Tak Chhappan (2004)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tKzKJko34A

Ab-Tak-Chhappan-posterWith Inspector Sadhu Agashe Nana Patekar is back as the encounter specialist, who believes that its better to eliminate the rouges of our society than taking them into custody.

Directed by Shimit Amin, this is one gritty tale of how the volatile equation between the police and the underworld is maintained.

Probably Nana Patekar’s best performance till date.

3. Shool (1999)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqU4vpL-0LA

shool-posterInspector Samar Pratap Singh (Manoj Bajpayee) is transferred to Motihari, in the Indian state of Bihar along with his wife (Raveena Tandon) and kid.

And there, the officer’s honesty and diligence is tested against the local MLA Bachoo Yadav (Sayaji Shinde).

Directed by Eeshwar Nivas, outstanding performances and the film also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

2. Zanjeer (1973)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfvbZsPsBZU

Zanjeer-posterBollywood has never seen such an honest cop story told with such conviction before the release of this super hit film.

The film that made Amitabh Bachchan a super star and gave him the iconic screen name ‘Vijay’!

Along with Jaya BhaduriAjit and Pran, and directed by Prakash Mehra, this film established the well known ‘angry young man’ image!

  1. Ardh Satya (1983)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EesInevxpAs

Ardh-satya-posterWhen talking about a lone honest police officer fighting against the odds of the system, this is the first film that comes to my mind!

A newly appointed Sub-Inspector Anant Velankar (Om Puri) wants to make the world a better place but soon finds out the reality of how our system works.

Directed by Govind Nihalani, along with Smita PatilAmrish Puri and Sadashiv Amrapurkar, this is a film that perfectly depicts an honest cop’s humiliation and frustration as he is sucked into the whirlpool of corruption.

and now, (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most innovative one. A must watch).

+1. Black Friday (2004)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR1mkPQI9z0

Black-friday-posterThe film (though it’s not exactly a story based on an honest cop’s struggle) shows the thorough investigation process that followed the 1993 serial Bombay bomb blasts.

Directed by Anurag Kashyap, one of his earlier films and of course the most controversial one.

A superb thriller and Kay Kay Menon as DCP Rakesh Maria is an absolute delight to watch.

Poster curtsey: en.wikipedia.orgwww.imdb.com, www.koimoi.com/www.filmiclub.com.

Talvar (2015)

Talwar review.

written by Souranath Banerjee

A superbly well researched fictional representation.

My Ratings: 4.1/5.

The Noida double murder case (Noida, Uttar Pradesh) also known as the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case was all over the papers in 2008 (exact date of the tragedy 15-16 May).

14-year-old Aarushi Talwar was found dead (her throat slit) and the maid servant Hemraj was the prime suspect (since he was missing).

One day later, Hemraj’s partially decomposed body (throat slit) was discovered on the terrace of the Talwar’s residence. 

Talvar-Poster2The case attracted extreme level of press attention and public curiosity since it was like a live whodunit film with numerous plot-twists, and steadily being revealed through the daily ruthless media updates.

Soon the police accused Aarushi’s parents Dr. Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar for both the murders openly in the media and termed the murders as a case of honour killings

But then, without much satisfactory results the case got transferred to the CBI.

Finally in 2015, the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case is actually been made into a whodunit film but fortunately it seems that Vishal Bhardwaj (writer) and Meghna Gulzar (director) have done their research very well and the film Talwar reflects a more or less unbiased overview of the tragic case.

A tight script that makes you involved right from the start.

With terrific performances by actors like Irrfan Khan (as CBI investigating officer), Konkona Sen Sharma (as Nupur Talwar), Neeraj Kabi (as Rajesh Talwar) and Gajraj Rao (police officer), Talvar-Posterthe film Talwar narrates such a gripping tale that it’s often difficult for the audience to remember that after all it’s a fictional representation of the dismal crime and its aftermath.

Talwar also reminds us of the uncomfortable reality about the ignorance and inefficiency of the Indian police force (specially in the small towns); probably the same reason why we unconsciously enjoy our Singhams and Dabanggs so much. 

And then the official politics in the CBI like any other bureaucracy; the contamination of evidence, the sudden change in the statements of the witness and the utter lack of motivation to seek the truth.

There is no end of controversies involving this particular case and till date people are fighting for justice or may be against injustice.

As the latest Bollywood trend continues and more films are made on real events/tragedies, we the audience can’t help but convince ourselves time and again that indeed reality can be stranger than fiction!
A film that is definitely worth your time.

Poster curtsey: en.wikipedia.orgwww.livemint.comhttp://indiatoday.intoday.in 

Kick (2014)

Written by Abhikendu Deb Roy

Ratings: 3.7/5

There are actors. There are stars. There are superstars. And then there is Salman Khan.

Every Salman Khan movie sells by the brand power of the superstar himself and Kick is no exception. However this time the film is actually based on a story and a bit of the script does strike a chord with the viewers – for a change.

Sitting in a single screen theatre with a crowd of Salman-worshippers on a Saturday morning show, you get to experience the sheer star power that drives such films like Kick. Salman Khan – his usual enigmatic screen presence, the chiseled body, pumped up muscles, some ceeti-taali dialogues and a whole lot of action. Kick is synonymous with Salman.

Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Kick is also a remake of a Tamil film of the same name like most of the recent films of Salman Khan.

Like every other Khan movie’s heroine, Jacqueline Fernandez has to look beautiful and she does look exquisite. However, she adds nothing to the act.

Randeep Hooda does justice to his role of a police officer with scope of improvement in some scenes. To share screen space with Salman Khan and to grab our attention away from the superstar is almost next to impossible. Now that has been successfully executed by Nawaazuddin Siddiqui. His villainous eyes, his strikingly haunting laughter and his dialogue delivery leave us in awe.

Our very own Mithun Chakraborty is still so young at heart and enthusiastic that you want more of him.

One must never forget an item number in a hardcore commercial film like Kick. Nargis Fakhri appears in one such item song and serves the desired purpose.

Commercial masala films run mainly on the star power. But to have a consistent run at the box office, you need hi-tech action sequences and visual effects. Prime Focus Pvt. Ltd does the job efficiently. Over-the-top, not-so-believable action scenes shot in Poland and Delhi; cinematographer Ayananka Bose must be plauded for capturing some beautiful frames of these two cities.

Surprisingly Kick does have minute traces of, what we call, a story. Additional screenplay has been worked upon by Chetan Bhagat; his second collaboration with Salman Khan after ‘Hello’. Chetan is slowly understanding the pulse of the mass of India for sure.

All the elements of an action drama are present throughout with several usage of Salman’s brand power every now and then. References to “Being Human” and “Pandeyji” (Dabangg déjà-vu, anyone?) are also there which receive the maximum number of hoots.

Several questions on the present day society have evolved from the plot as well. However, one thing that still remains unanswered and pretty much haunts me is that, in a film worth 125 crore rupees, why couldn’t they spend a few more bucks to show blood stains after several glass-window breakage and car accidents?

A conglomeration of music composers – Himesh Reshammiya, Yo Yo Honey Singh and Meet Bros. Anjan do well with their original compositions for a masala movie. Jumme Ki Raat and Yaar Na Mile find a place in our hearts for the beats. Salman has attempted to sing for the first time with “Hangover” and can be given a thumbs-up for that.

Rameshwar S. Bhagat, the editor, could have done away with some sequences and made this 146 minutes long commercial flick more compact. The climax does touch your heart and also reminds you of the real life “Human Being” Salman Khan actually is.

For those who expect a meaningful cinema with Salman’s presence shoudn’t take the risk of watching Kick. For the rest who have faith in Salman and want sheer two and a half hours of hardcore action, comedy, drama, and above all, entertainment can give it a try. You will not be disappointed.

“Knock knock, 300 crores here.”

Film trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-j1nx_HY5o