Club 60 (2013) - Drama

Another superb heart touching and meaningful movie after a long time (I mean after “The Lunchbox”) from Bollywood. Just couldn’t resist a movie with that kind of casting – Farooq Sheikh, Sarika, Raghubir Yadav, Sharat Saxena, Suhasini Mulay, Zarina Wahab, Tinu Anand, Satish Shah and couple of more guys. As the title suggests – story of 60+ oldies and their struggle, the best part of the movie is the earnest and heartfelt performance by the entire cast, even a couple of songs are rightly placed which take the mood another couple of steps further. Nothing outstanding – it’s pretty predictable affair – I will call it a little slow too for people who like action / thriller / comedy, but for someone who enjoys meaningful movie giving you a good lesson on life – it’s an amazing piece of art. Raghubir Yadav at the helm of things – doing what he does best – play the character a little over the top still makes you feel for his character. Farooq Sheikh and Sarika as Doctor Couple were simply outstanding recovering from their son’s untimely death. Every oldie has his own story to tell which are so life like that you just can’t help but agree. I just didn’t like one character – the guy who plays Income Tax officer – I guess Zakir Hussain would’ve been the apt choice and could have played the role very convincingly still he was able to do well. I am sure a lot of friends will agree and laugh on these Oldies histrionics and we will definitely be doing exactly what they were doing the movie, Amen - to that. I will definitely give it a good three stars for its three stars and one for the handling hence it gets a 4/5 from me and a very high recommendation. This one cannot be missed.

Ram Leela (2013) - Drama

I am unfortunately one of those guys who actually admire people like SLB for their self indulgent movies and subjects that they pick up and give it their own touch (So far). Now with this one I must say he has actually taken a revenge of sorts from his critics and told them that “See I will make a disaster in the name of a movie and yet will hit the jackpot this time (Read 100 crores)” and Bravo! What a movie he has made this time which pleases all and satisfies none, still he has  hit the nail on the head and figures are doing all the talking now.

I absolutely never expect SLB to make a mindless movie where his audience is supposed to leave their brain behind but where the heck does that happens in India? The India that he has showin in this movie? Where they sell guns like toys on road and people shoot each other at drop of a hat?? And Girls like Deepika - daughter of a Don fall in love at first sight that too with a guy like Ranveer and do all that in the very first meeting? WOW. How did we miss those girls in our life? if this has to do anything with reality.

I am sincerely waiting for Narendra Modi (CM of Gujarat and upcoming PM of India) to see this movie and react – he will die of shock I am sure. The only people enjoying this movie will be Guajarati’s I guess with that thick laughable way everyone talks in it. And I haven’t heard of this kindda underworld anywhere - what was their source of Income? Govt Contracts and all? And who was working on them while they were busy making out and shooting each other in spare time? OK I guess I should have loved the Colors, Canvas, Huge sets etc only and music i guess? In that case I should be hooked to Discovery, Nat Geo , VH1 and MTV more. It wasn’t a timepass entertainer as per me, neither a love story, nor a underworld ki kahani, neither it has any message for crowd or was it showing the real society as in time? I don’t know what that was?

Anyways, it turns out to be first confusing movie of one of my favorite Directors which leaves me royally confused. And I am sure it must be putting guys like Quentin Tarantino, Vishal Bhardwaj and Anurag Kashyap to shame – as he has achieved what they could never dream of. I will give it a good 2/5, One for its dialogues and second for interactions between Ranveer / Supriya and Deepika.

Rush (2013) - Thriller

I’ve been following the Formula 1 races for almost a couple of years now and every time during a Live telecast, when the camera view changes from normal camera to the car camera, with the rivals chasing each other at a speed of 320+ KMPH, creates an exhilarating rush of adrenalin inside me. Now imagine a movie on the world famous rivalry of two of the best drivers from early 70’s – James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) – on a 70mm screen with cut throat competition between them to become the best driver in the world. It’s totally amazing watch more than the racing it’s the story which appeals to you big time as both the guys are exactly opposite of each other but the movie is made in such a way that there is no villain. Hunt is a brash young Briton with a tendency to vomit before every race, while the Austrian Niki is a cool, calculating technical genius who relies on precision. We actually started with loving Niki (On Screen) initially and then our loyalty shifted during the course of the movie to James Hunt and one final time it goes back to almost both of them. If you ask me – both were the winners in their own rights. Superb Story followed by aptly cast, damn good background score and some amazing races thrown in. Even the real time Niki Lauda “non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1” was surprisingly pleased with the overall look of the film. He was quoted as saying: "When I saw it the first time I was impressed. There was no Hollywood changes or things changed a little bit Hollywood-like. It is very accurate. And this really surprised me very positively”. If you like thrillers that too based on real life stories – you are going to love this one, even otherwise it’s something which should never be missed by any movie lover. I will definitely give it a good 4/5 with a must watch recommendation.

The Good Road (2013) - Gujrati

Curiosity kills the cat – as it is said – we had to see it after all the controversy of winning the national award in India and being sent as the official entry from India for Oscars. And I must say – it isn’t a bad movie at all – I personally liked it and found it almost at par with “The Lunchbox” if not better. My wife too liked it more than Lunchbox but it definitely isn’t worth sending to Oscars – that’s for sure, it should sink without a trace and if it gets anything more than that – it will be shocking for us. Yes, it will create some buzz at the academy as it again shows the same stuff, child labor, prostitution, sad state of law and order etc. Three simple stories cross each other’s path on a highway – its predictable right from the very start and you can guess everything what is going to happen next still makes up for a simple viewing. Sonali Kulkarni is good as the tense mother of a child missing on the highway, Ajay Gehi as per me was the wrong choice – doesn’t fits the bill – the guy who played the truck driver is way too good than him, although he looks like a real time driver more than an actor, his cleaner too is perfect fit. But the movie belongs to two kids here who are actually lost on the highway and need to reach their destination – how they reach and change lives of couple of people on the way is movie all about. I guess without winning the national award – this would have sunk like any another movie with no trace still its quite a breeze (only 90 Minutes) and can be called a movie worth watching once. I will rate it an average 2.5/5 with no expectations at the Academy.

Prisoners (2013) - Suspense Thriller

I haven’t seen a better suspense thriller in past couple of years which is brutal, violent, engrossing, shocking, gets straight to the point, have so many “Oh Shit – My God” moments and is almost 150 minutes long yet it keeps the audience hooked to the edge of the seats. Although if you have graduated to Alfred Hitchcock / suspense movies of yesteryears – you will definitely be able to pin point couple of things but that’s that – still I totally loved it and hats off to the Director for choosing perfect cast as well. I had no expectations from Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki – superbly played by him – loved the way he blinks. Hugh Jackman is anyways one of my all time favorite actor and could never miss a movie with him in it and this one is simply one of the best he has done in a long long time. The film is about abduction of two young kids and the resulting search to find them. Cops, Detective Loki and and Keller (Jackman) do their own operations to find the culprit – there are couple of sub plots which run throughout and kept us guessing but when they finally meet in the end – it’s too good. Even the background score is haunting – loved the bass part. As a friend highly recommended this one over “Elysium” – I am now glad that I saw it ahead of it although it isn’t for the weak hearted as its definitely going to give everyone some real good chills down the spine. If you like Suspense Thrillers – you are going to love it, do not miss it at any cost. My rating – a damn good 4/5 and a must watch recommendation.