Heroine Feels like Plain soda

Making a statement like "watch the story behind stardom unfold" really ratchets up the viewers expectations even before they go for the movie and this can definitely go two ways as far as the fate of the movie is concerned.

As the movie starts Madur Bhandarkar(MB) seems to be obviously confused about how to narrate the movie as he keeps shuttling between a journalist(the audience is not told who she is and what she is actually doing) talking about Mahi Arora(Kareena Kapoor) and at times continuing the movie without her narration. Neither does he delve on Mahi Arora's inspiration behind becoming a film star and how good she is as an actress. This makes her characterisation very weak to begin with and doesn't help matters in the latter half of the movie when things are left to the imagination of the viewers. At 2 hours and 40 minutes the movie feels too long and could have been wrapped up sooner without confusing the audience even more about Mahi's motivations in her life and her long term goals.

Whatever said and done credit must be given in some areas as it is well cast and packed with a powerful performance from Kareena Kapoor. Ranvir Shorey excels as an eccentric parallel movie director and Divya Dutta gives a solid account of herself as a PR representative. Arjun Rampal and Randeep Hooda also do their parts with required conviction. The screenplay and dialogues are also quite juicy and keeps you engaged at most times except during the last half an hour.

All in all Heroine is one of those movies which leaves you feeling like you had a bottle of plain soda when the credits start rolling at the end of the movie, lots of fizz that hits you but no discernable flavour. MB tries to weave in too many contemporary media stories into the movie and in the end fails to send out any singular message. The movie succeeds in parts but as a whole its meets the fate of one of those boxers who dominate all the rounds till the second last one only to get knocked out in the last round.





 

John Carter(3d) - Martian Mediocrity

When one goes to see the preview of a Disney blockbuster centered around a character who has been around for quite a while it is expected to spawn a major franchise or die a painful death. Unfortunately for this movie the latter seems to be the ominous fate awaiting it.

The movie starts with an introduction to Barsoom(alternate name for Mars) and its populace. A screenplay which slowly reveals the state of things rather than a in your face lecture would have been definitely more apt for a 12+ rated movie like John Carter(JC). After the introduction  John Carter(Taylor Kitsch) is shown trying to evade stalkers on earth and arranges for his will to be made on an emergency basis. Later he is declared as deceased upon which the sole heir of his properties Edgar Rice Burroughs(Daryl Sabara), his nephew arrives. He is handed over his uncle's diary as per JC's instruction in the will.  Edgar starts to read his uncle's diary and so begin the adventures of John Carter.

John Carter accidently reaches Barsoom(Mars) during one of his cave exploring ventures and is on a journey of discovery. The movie slows down at this point and out glare the inadequacies of the movie. There is a clear lack of imagination on the part of the fimmakers as they opt for cheesy dialogues and mundane screenplay. A major letdown for the movie is the wooden acting of Lynn Collins (Dejah Thoris). She displays in oodles of screen time that she was a very poor choice for the role as she is not able to create any chemistry with Taylor Kitsch. 

Things thankfully move faster in the second half and so the ineffectual drama is sidelined by CG and JC's jumping antics.  The filmmakers should have developed a better script with the available source material for the character. With uneven pace, poor acting and dialogues and an unimaginative screenplay what could have been an epic ends up as an also ran!

Agneepath - Production Design Spectacle

The above image was chosen from all the available images for this movie simply because even though Hritik Roshan (Vijay) as the protagonist is stupendous the other actors seen in the poster Priyanka Chopra, Rishi kapoor and Sanjay Dutt also put their indelible stamp on the movie with their sublime performances. I have only a faint memory of watching the original Big B starrer Agneepath and am so in no position to make any comparisons.

The movie starts on a humdrum note in the sleepy salt cultivating village of Mandwa and the screenplay takes its own time to show the life of young vijay(Arish Bhiwandiwala) in the village and the strong bond between young Vijay and his father who is the headmaster of the village school. Arish Bhiwandiwala excels in portraying Vijays childhood and things get more interesting and intense from the moment young Vijay arrives in Mumbai with his pregnant mother(Zarina Wahab) after losing his father to Kancha Cheema's(Sanjay Dutt) treachery in Mandwa. Young Vijay decides that power is what he needs to get back at Kancha Cheema and decides to side with rival gang leader Rauf Lala(Rishi Kapoor).

Things fast forward by 15 years and Vijay Deenanath Chauhan( now Hritik Roshan) is described by Commissioner of Police( Amrish Puri) as the key person in Rauf Lala's gang who has some other goal in his life as he gives away all his earnings to the needy. The rest of the movie is about how Vijay reaches Kancha Cheema and has enough enough emotional charge and depth in the script to keep you engaged. Karan Johar's shadow direction is evident from the melodrama.

Production design is the main highlight of the movie and makes the visual experience ultra savoury with surreal set pieces which complement and support the cinematography. Kancha Cheema's den and the place with the Banyan tree will remain embedded in your memory for years to come.

The letdowns of the movie are the last half an hour and Katrina Kaif's item number. An out and out skin show Katrina's item number totally lacks the oomph factor of her earlier outings and totally fails to titillate. Her costumes are neither ethnic nor contemporary chic and totally get lost in the dead zone between them.
Now why a scheming Mumbai gang lord like Vijay decides to come alone to Mandwa and take on Kancha Cheema and all his henchmen is beyond me. I definitely was also wrong if i thought that medical miracles( don't want to give it all away) in Bollywood movies were a thing of the past. Considering the revival of the indomitable larger than life heroes in Bollywood in the last two years this movie should be a winner.

Underworld Awakening(3D)- Acrobatic but Uneven

I have seen the previous three installments in the franchise and was expecting an improvement from the previous installment (Rise of the Lycans). The main reason for my optimism was the return of Kate Beckinsale to the franchise (she didn't feature in "Rise of the Lycans").

The movie starts just like the first two installments( "Underworld" and "Underworld:Evolution") i.e with a quick recap/introduction. What surpises you is that just when you expect the movie to slow down after the quick recap, it does not but continues with a quick and uninspiring flash forward replete with action sequences(nothing you haven't seen before) in 3D. The movie continues with its breakneck speed bombarding you with once action sequence after another. At this point i must admit that some of the 3D visuals were impressive even though Kate Beckinsale's (Selene the death dealer) acrobatics had started to become tiresome.And just when you start to wonder whether the movie has any credible storyline or plot the proceedings slow down(thanks to god almighty). You find that your iota of expectation is getting crushed as more and more predictable fare is dished out. Now, which nincompoop wouldn't have predicted that there are still some lycans around and the protagonists Selene and Michael have a child(revealed in the trailer) now. In the last half hour of the movie there is a twist in the plot which i feel salvages its credibility to a large extent. But I shudder to think about this installment of Underworld had it not been made in 3D.