Lucknow Central

Like anyone who has watched the trailer of Lucknow Central, I was also expecting something on the lines of The Shawshank Redemption / The Great Escape with a little bit of The Sound of Music (remember the escape after the concert) mixed into it, instead what I found was completely different. While the film does have a lead character that is falsely accused of murder, a mean jailer, a well thought out escape plan and music, this is nothing like those other films. This film is more about dreaming big, and never giving up.

The film opens with Kishen (Farhan Akhtar), a happy small town guy who has dreams of making it big as a singer. However life takes a turn for the worst when he is falsely accused of murder and is sentenced to life in prison. But Kishen, who is innocent doesn’t loose hope, until the victim’s family demands a death sentence, which results in Kishen being transferred to Lucknow Central to await trail. Just when all feels lost, hope comes in the form of Gayatri Kashyap (Diana Penty), an NGO worker who is forced to form a Band of Prisoners at Lucknow Central, for a band competition to be held in the infamous prison on Independence Day. How Kishen forms his band, plans their escape, and how the music influences the bandmates and the inmates in general, forms the rest of the film.

The USP of the film is its engaging script, and brilliant performances by the lead characters Farhaan Akhtar, Deepak Dobriyal, Diana Penty, Gippy Grewal, Ronit Roy, Rajesh Sharma, and Inaamulhaq. While Farhaan the director is great, I have to admit, I love Farhaan the actor more. His selection of movies, and performances in almost all his films are incredible, and Lucknow Central is no different. His portrayal of Kishen, an artist and fighter in every sense of the word, is a joy to watch. The way he keeps telling the NGO to keep smiling while he is the one with a bleak future is really heart touching. Another actor I really admire from this cast is Deepak Dobriyal. The first time I noticed Deepak was in Omkara, and I have looked forward to his performances ever since. In Lucknow Central, Deepak steals the show as Victor, the sidekick to the prison gang leader, who helps Kishen form his band.

While I wouldn’t call Lucknow Central flawless, the film definitely shines thanks to some great writing, acting and music. Unlike other prison films that are mostly dark and depressing, Lucknow Central is a very positive film, that teaches you to dream big and always look at the brighter side of life.

Victoria & Abdul

Honestly, I had never heard of Abdul Karim or his friendship with Queen Victoria until I watched the trailer of this film. Intrigued by this secret friendship, I was more than eager to watch the film, and I did so promptly the week it released.

A fascinating tale about the Queen Empress and her servant turned Munshi, Victoria and Abdul does start off very promisingly, thanks to the extremely talented Judi Dench as an aging Queen Victoria and Ali Fazal as Munshi Abdul Karim. However with a not so impressive script, there is only so much Dame Dench could do to save the film. While it was easy to connect with Victoria, thanks to the countless books and movies made on the Queen Empress, it was hard to connect with the Munshi’s character, of whom very little is known. The fact that the writers did not bother to spend much time to establish his character or the true relation between the Queen and her Munshi, makes Victoria & Abdul a bland watch.

Shubh Mangal Saavdhan

I never thought that I would ever cry for a scene in a film in which a girl clumsily tries to seduce a guy by mimicking a cheesy scene from an adult film, but then, I never thought I would ever watch a mainstream Bollywood film on erectile dysfunction as well. A remake of a Tamil film, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan is about two very-much-in-love newly engaged couple and their struggle when they find out that the groom-to-be suffers from erectile dysfunction, just days before their wedding. It is not easy to make a wholesome entertainer when dealing with such a sensitive topic. But thanks to some brilliant writing, this very touchy subject is handled in the most entertaining way, without ever becoming preachy or crass.

Mudit (Ayushmann Kurrana) is a shy guy who is in love with the fiesty Suganda (Bhumi Pednekar). Too shy to propose, he sends her family an online proposal instead. Suganda who always wanted to fall in love, decides to change this arranged marriage into an arranged-love marriage. While falling in love and getting engaged is easy, the path to marriage is not. Having discovered that he has a problem, Mudit wants to call off the wedding, while Suganda wants to hold on to the love they have for each other. The way Mudit and Suganda try to deal with the issue, is both hilarious and heartwarming. Thanks to Ayushmann and Bhumi’s awesome chemistry and brilliant acting, you can feel the love, anguish and vulnerability of the characters throughout the film. Equally impressive is Seema Pahwa (who is slowly becoming my favorite onscreen mom) as Suganda’s mom. Her birds and the bees talk to Suganda using the “Alibaba and the forty thieves” analogy is beyond hilarious. Shubh Mangal Saavdhan is a beautiful film with enough laugh out loud moments to keep you entertained throughout.

 

Nani and his legion of fans

Nani, who is described as an Everest when it comes to acting, by director Hanu Raghavpudi, is without a doubt an actor extraordinaire’. With impeccable performances and back to back hits, Nani is on a roll, earning the respect of friends and foe alike. He is not just the boy next door anymore, but a bundle of talent that still hasn’t been fully explored. Like a director once said, while we are not sure what the future holds for Nani, we can be certain that he will create wonders. While this is something we are all witnessing unfold in front of our eyes, there is a certain change happening behind the scenes that I was fortunate enough to witness during my recent trip to India.

As always I went to India this summer to visit my family. I landed in Vizag the week “Ninnu Kori” released. Since I wanted to watch the film, I made sure I had advance booking for me and my family. My niece, a high-schooler, was super excited because she is the only one in her entire school, who was going to watch the film in the first weekend of its release (the film was sold out). She told me that her entire classroom, including her teachers were big fans of Nani. She also told me that almost her entire school were fans of Nani. I felt that was a bit of a stretch, until I met one of her fellow schoolmates who was very excited to talk to me about Nani and his films. He reiterated what my niece had told me about their school and how everyone loves Nani. I later realised that this was the case with almost all the kids of this generation. This reminded me of something Nani once said in an interview, “I don’t know how big my audience is right now, but thanks to all my little fans of Eega, in the future I know I will have a very big audience”. Well Nani I have to tell you, that future is not far behind.

 

Anando Brahma – A gem in horror comedies

Of late I am really loving the direction our Telugu films are going. I have watched the most number of Telugu films in a theater this year, and almost all of them have been very good in their own way. Though horror films are not my cup of tea, I knew I had to watch Anando Brahma, after hearing the rave reviews its been receiving, the keyword being horror comedy.  If it is a comedy, how scary could it be?

While I realised that horror comedy is still a horror film, I am glad I watched Anando Brahma, because it is a true gem of a movie. To say that I  was not scared at all would be a lie. Thanks to the crazy visual and sound effects, there were quite a few times that I almost jumped out of my seat. But the movie is not all about fear. It has more than its fair share of humor, making it a full on entertainer and a true horror comedy.

Anando Brahma is a simple story about four men in dire need of money who agree to stay in a haunted mansion for a few days, and the family of ghosts who have no intention of sharing their house with the humans. While the story may be simple, the direction by Raghav and brilliant performances by Tapsee, Kishore, Srinivas, Shankar, Ramesh and Rajeev, elevates the film to a whole new level. This beautifully written and executed film will have you either laughing your hearts out or on the edge of your seats for its entire duration. Anando Brahma is definitely one of the funniest and finest films to have released in recent times.

 

Bareilly Ki Barfi – A Laugh Riot

It is tricky being a girl, especially in India. When you are born, your birth is celebrated like as if the Goddess of Wealth herself is born in the household. You are literally raised like a little princess. There is no way you could do anything wrong. So we all grow up feeling like the queen of the world. Then we grow up and it is time to get married. All of sudden everything we do is wrong. We are constantly corrected on how to talk, walk, eat, sleep, dress, etc. We are so lost that we don’t really know who we are any more. We feel like a misfit. This is our protagonist Bitti (Kriti Sanon), who is raised a free-spirit and now that it is time for her to get married is expected to change her ways. Unable to change herself and to save her parents from constant agony, Bitti decides to runaway from home. At the station she discovers a book about a girl who is exactly like her. Desperate to meet the man who understands her so well, she seeks the help of the publisher, Chirag Dubey (Ayushman Khurana) to track down the author, Pritam Vidrohi (Rajkummar Rao). Based on Nicolas Barreau’s The Ingredients of Love, Bareilly Ki Barfi (BKB) is a light breezy romantic comedy filled with many laugh out loud moments thanks to its crisp screenplay, hilarious dialogues, and brilliant performances by the entire cast.

BKB is perhaps Kriti Sanon’s best performance till date. She does a great job as the small town girl who loves living life to the fullest and on her own terms. Scenes between her and her parents Pankaj Tripathi and Seema Pahwa are hilarious. Equally impressive is Ayushman Khurana as the publisher  / closet author who loves Bitti but cannot tell her the truth. It is hard not to feel a little emotional in the last scene when he finally confesses his love. But the person who steals the show is without a doubt Rajkummar Rao, with his hilarious portrayal of Pritam Vidrohi. His transformation from the meek saree salesman to the “rangbaaz” author is a joy to watch. He is so good, that people in the theater were actually clapping while laughing their hearts out, every time he appeared on screen.

So if you are looking for a feel good comedy to watch this week, do try BKB. You will not be disappointed.