Raag Desh: A Unique Patriotic Saga

For some strange reason, Hindi film industry had ignored Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army (INA)’s fight for freedom. Barring a biopic on Bose by Shyam Benegal and some references here and there in films like Rangoon, the INA was a forgotten chapter until Tigmanshu Dhulia brought it out from some deep trenches of history. It was not easy to bring the historic Red Fort Trials on the celluloid with the complexities involving the trial at that time but Dhulia stands up to the challenge and presents us a memorable film which will be remembered in the times to come.

As we had studied in our history books, the INA trials popularly known as the Red Fort trial of the joint court martial of three INA officers namely Colonel Prem Sahgal, Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, Major General Shah Nawaz Khan. The three had been officers in the British Indian Army and were taken as prisoners of war in Malaya, Singapore and Burma. The movie taking a non-linear approach presents itself as a war movie as well as a court room drama.

Recently some Indian newspapers criticized Christopher Nolan’s war epic ‘Dunkirk’ for overlooking the contribution of Indian soldiers who had fought alongside British in World War 2. While watching ‘Raag Desh’, we understand why it was overlooked. Indian troops were always dispensable for the British and after Japan’s victory in Malaya, a considerable number of Indian troops were handed over to them as prisoners of war. There was already rapid discontentment among the Indian troops about the step-motherly treatment meted out to them by the British regarding everything from food, pay and rank. As one character in the movie says, after being handed over to the Japanese, the tie between the Indians and British just snapped.

The strength of the film is its meticulous detailing and authenticity. The period detailing is marvelous and the movie is successful in taking the audience back to the 1940’s. Also, multiple languages like English, Japanese, Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali along with Hindi has been used as per the requirement of the characters giving the film a rare authentic feel. The movie is a result of some painstaking research and the effort is evident in every frame.

Dhulia asks some very important questions in the movie. He shows us the predicament of the INA soldiers about killing their countrymen and brothers. He also tells that despite the patriotism, it is not easy for a soldier to continue when food, supplies and ammunition is exhausted. The soldiers here are not cardboard patriots but flesh and blood people. So, many of them think before joining the INA and later when they are offered the chance to leave INA, they do so without regret. Also, very interesting is the treatment meted out to the INA prisoners of war by the Indian soldiers of the British Indian soldiers. The INA soldiers were not looked upon as freedom fighters but paid mercenaries of the Japanese who killed their own brothers.

Raag Desh shows us that the politics in those days was not very different from what it is today. Akali Dal tries to cash in on the sentiment by offering legal help for the Sikh soldier Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon while Muslim league does the same for Shah Nawaz Khan. However, both Dhillon and Khan reject the offer as the case is fought under the defense committee set up by Congress.

Dhulia also casts a glance on the British indifference towards India in a small but impactful scene. When, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is informed about the death of millions of Indians in the notorious famine, he asks, ‘ Is Gandhi dead yet?’

The movie is bolstered by some wonderful performance by a very talented ensemble. Among the three leads, Amit Sadh is the best as the hot-headed Sikh Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon. He has a brilliant show down with a British officer which is one of the highlights of the film. Kunal Kapoor lends the film gravitas with his restrained portrayal of Shah Nawaz Khan. Mohit Marwah, who is doing his second film, shows good command over his role. There is also a very gracefully handled romantic track between him and Captain Lakshmi Sehgal played by the talented Mrudula Murali. Murali, a well known face in Malayalam cinema excels in her short role though her accent sometimes serves as a distraction.

We get some terrific performance from the supporting cast as well. Kenneth Desai, is brilliant as the lawyer Bhula Bhai Desai and his monologue in the climax is some of the few seeti-taali moments from the film. Kanwaljit Singh as Prem Sehgal’s father, Rajesh Khera as Nehru and Zakir Hussain as a Bengali INA officer leaves an impact in small roles.

Two actors who come up as scene stealer are Vijay Varma and Kenny Basumatary. Varma, who had come up with such a chilling portrayal in Pink is in his elements in Raag Desh as the journalist Jamal Kidwai who tries to bring out the truth about INA when British had clamped censorship on the press. Varma plays the journalist with the right amount of restlessness and goofiness and watch for his scene with the Muslim league supporters. He has a brilliant screen presence which is made to effective use in the film.

Sorry Sachin Khedekar, but after watching Raag Desh, we will have to say that Kenny Basumatary is the best Subhas Chandra Bose we have seen on Indian screen. Not just because of his uncanny resemblance to Bose, Basumatary brings such warmth in his portrayal that the screen just radiates in the few scenes he features in. Watch out for his expression when he is weighed against gold. There is another beautiful scene when he refuses to take money of a old lady saying her blessings will be enough and the lady replies, ‘ Sirf ameeron ke paison se azaadi laoge beta?’

Rishi Punjabi’s camera work is exquisite finding the right balance between shooting the gory war scenes and the court scenes. The movie doesn’t have much space for music though Rana Mazumdar does a good job with both the background score and the modern version of Kadam Kadam Badhaye Jaa. The latter is used throughout the film and brings goosebumps whenever it is played. Only grouse against the movie is its editing. Had the editing been better, the film would have much more engaging.

One thing must be remembered that this film which has been commissioned by the Rajya Sabha TV is made to inform us about an overlooked and forgotten chapter of our history. The movie might not be very entertaining for some, but that was never the purpose of the makers. I have been engaged and moved by the film and have come out from the theatre more knowledgeable about this incident. The importance of the event can be gauged from the fact that even former British Prime Minister Clement Attlee cited the INA activities of Netaji, which weakened the Indian Army – the foundation of the British Empire in India as the most important factor that guided the British decision to relinquish the Raj in India.

Most importantly, this movie reminds us once again in these troubled times that as a nation we can prosper only when we stay united. The message is driven home with the line ‘Hamare sar pe hamara mazhab nahin likha hona chahiye, warna Hindustan banne se pehle hi toot jayega’ and who better than Netaji to mouth them.

 

 

 

 

Dunkirk: A War Movie Unlike Any Other War Movie

Like every other genre, war movies have their own clichés. From the camaraderie among soldiers to photos of wives or girlfriends peeping from the wallet to shamed soldier redeeming himself to rousing speech by a general or any other officer from the top echelon….these are some very basic trait being found in almost all war movies.

Dunkirk shows that it is very much possible to make a war movie minus all its familiar trappings. It is a challenging task surely and who better than the finest filmmaker of our generation- Christopher Nolan to take up the challenge. Most of the great filmmakers have tried to make a war film at least once in their career. Nolan, after playing with the mind of the audience with his science fiction and super hero sagas, reaches for the heart in this movie.

Not just forsaking all the clichés from the genre, Nolan presents an immersive movie experience unlike any other. He places the audience right in the middle of all the action and it is relentless right from the brilliant opening scene when a rank and file soldier Tommy (played by a wonderful Ffion Whitehead in his debut) picks up a pamphlet on the streets of Dunkirk which tells him in big bold letters, ‘WE SURROUND YOU.’ That scene really set the tempo for the entire film and though the pace sags in certain places, as an audience you never feel out of the movie.

Despite being a war movie, there is no heavy duty combat sequence and presence of blood and gore is almost negligible. Another remarkable feature of the movie is that it keeps the enemy invisible. In the entire film, not a single German soldier has been shown though we feel their presence all the time through the continuous bombardment on the beaches of Dunkirk. What we see is the terror on the faces of thousands of unnamed allied soldiers huddled on the deck of a ship and hoping to reach home. They are not soldiers of superhuman ability but a bunch of young 20 something kids who were sent to the war with minimal preparation and thrown in face of certain death.

The characters feel real because of their action. Here, two young soldiers carry a wounded colleague on a stretcher only with the hope that this will give them a place in the homeward bound ship or a French private is ordered to get down from the ship as it gets overloaded. The characters are anything but politically correct. They have no back stories to make you sympathize for them. They have lot of flaws but still you root for them because they are flesh and blood people. Like you and me.

Along with Nolan, two other heroes of the movie are cinematographer Hoyte Von Hoytema and composer Hans Zimmer. Much of the immersive mood of the movie is built up due to Hoytema’s terrific camera work. The music of Zimmer has always been an important cog in the film making machinery of Nolan. Here, however, he outdoes himself with an electrifying background score brimming with tension which complements the claustrophobic environment of the film very well.

Normally, war movies go on forever, be it ‘The Longest Day’ or ‘Saving Private Ryan.’ However, Dunkirk breaks a cliché here as well keeping the running time at just 106 minutes, thanks to its editor Lee Smith. The film is also chillingly authentic with the use of boats that had actually participated in the evacuation and also fighter planes from that era.

Lastly, Nolan extracts the best from his cast comprising of unknown debutants to big stars like Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance. Veteran Irish actor Sir Keneth Branagh plays naval commander Bolton who won’t leave the deck before the last of the Allies is evacuated from the beach. The character gets some of the best lines in the movie and Branagh comes up with a brilliant performance juggling between theatrics and restraint. Both Rylance and Hardy underplay their part. Rylance play a mariner Dawson who sets out to rescue the soldiers along with his son Peter. A tragedy happens on the boat which leads to some absolutely poignant moments and in these scenes, Rylance shows his caliber as an artist, speaking through his silence.

Nolan uses Hardy in the same manner as he used him in ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’ In this movie also, his face is covered for almost the entire movie barring two scenes. Hardy, who plays Farrier, a Royal Air Force Pilot however, is perhaps the most heroic character in the movie, befitting his stardom. We try to gauge what is going on behind those eyes with steely resolve as his Spitfire hovers over the sea trying to save his countrymen standing below. There is Nolan favourite Cilian Murphy playing a British soldier who is saved by Dawson’s ferry and singer Harry Styles who made his acting debut as the very nervous private Alex.

While this movie shows how 2,00, 000 soldiers were evacuated from Dunkirk, there were 40,000 unfortunate blokes who couldn’t escape and later became prisoners of war. Maybe another movie should be made for these forgotten heroes…but that’s for another day.

Dunkirk is one of the most important films in today’s time. At a time when the number of hate-mongers advocating for war on facebook and twitter are increasing every day, this movie once again shows us the futility of war. It tells us that despite all the chest-thumping and jingoism, the reality on the battle field is always something else. It tells us how hard it is to shoot down an enemy fighter plane and how easily boats can sink when bombed or torpedoed.

It also tells that whatever might be the outcome of the war, there is nothing sweeter than a four letter word for a soldier- HOME.

 

Dangal Review

Irrespective of how the Hindi film industry performs in a calendar year, they generally end the year with a bang. This is because Aamir Khan chooses to release his movies at the end of the year. This year is no exception and while we saw many good movies this year, Nitesh Tiwari’s Dangal which is based on the real life story of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters Geeta and Babita takes the cake. Sports biopics are the flavor of the season and we saw quite a few of those this year including Neeraj Pandey’s clinical M S Dhoni. However, Dangal is in a complete different league altogether and stake strong claims to be the best sports film made in India ever.

Dangal tells the incredible story of Haryana wrestler Phogat, a national champion who couldn’t realize his dream of winning gold for his country due to monetary reasons and hopes that his son will fulfill his dream. When all his four children turn out to be daughters, his dream seems shattered. But a brawl in the neighbourhood shows him the spark inside his daughters and his dream is ignited again. He realizes that gold is gold, whether it is won by a boy or a girl. So, hence starts an epic journey of blood, sweat and tears on the akhada which gave India two ace wrestlers in the form of Geeta and Babita Phogat who won gold for the country in the Commonwealth Games.

More than the content, the beauty of Dangal lies in its execution. Nitesh Tiwari builds his characters with so much warmth that the Phogat household comes alive on the big screen. Laughing and crying along with them, the audience doesn’t even mind a runtime of almost three hours. The wrestling scenes in the film are breathtaking thanks to Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, the coach of Indian wrestling team who trained the girls. The success of a sports movie lies in turning the movie theatre into a stadium even though the audience is aware about the obvious result. So, in the rousing finale of this movie also, we see the entire cinema hall cheering for Geeta Phogat in the Commonwealth Games finals like they had done for the Champaner villagers in Lagaan or Indian Women’s Hockey Team in Chak De India.

Despite its serious theme, the film breezes along with liberal doses of entertainment. Humour in the film is almost consistent often coming at the expense of Mahavir’s nephew Omkar, who is also the narrator in the movie. Without being preachy, the film scores for driving home the notion of gender equality with utmost ease. The film’s another selling point is its rawness. Sethu Sriram’s camera captures the rustic setting of the film brilliantly and you almost end up getting the smell of the soil. Despite not wearing its patriotism on its sleeve, this film scores well on that count also. The national anthem is played once in the film and when that moment comes, you are sure to get goosebumps.

However, it is not that the film is without its flaws. Despite its feminist outlook, Mahavir’s character turns out to be dictatorial and someone who forces people to act according to his will. How noble his intentions might be, you are bound to question some of his methods. Also, the character of the coach at the National Sports Academy (NSA) in Patiala is heavily stereotyped.

A huge chunk of the film’s success must be attributed to its casting director Mukesh Chhabra. Chhabra’s impeccable casting lends the movie an unmatched authenticity. As there are no big names in the film barring Aamir Khan, it goes very well with the raw and earthy tone of the movie. Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra are revelations in the role of Geeta and Babita Phogat. Fatima does most of the wrestling in the movie and not for a moment, it will seem that she is not a professional wrestler. In the second half, she has some brilliant scenes with Aamir Khan where she shows her depth as an actor. Sanya on the other hand despite not getting the chance to get into the ring much, dazzles in the emotional scenes. Tiwari has shown the knack of extracting great performances from children in his earlier films like Chillar Party and Bhootnath Returns. In this film also, Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar, who plays the childhood version of Geeta and Babita and the lad who plays their cousin Omkar are fantastic.

After working in television for decades, Sakshi Tanwar gets her big movie break with Dangal. She lends silent support to Aamir’s character in the movie and emotes with her eyes. Aparshakti Khurrana, the brother of Ayushman Khurrana plays the happy-go-lucky cousin of Geeta and Babita with a heart of gold. This actor has a natural flair for comedy and he might become big after this film. Girish Kulkarni, as the coach is the baddie of the film and despite his half baked role, the ace Marathi actor gives a very good performance.

Lastly, what does one say of Aamir Khan? This film gives us the chance of seeing Aamir in his best, reveling in all the four age groups he play in this movie. After seeing his performance, we realize why Aamir took two years to make this movie. His Haryanvi accent is spot on not for a moment he loses track of the character.

Pritam once again establishes why he is the numero uno music director in Mumbai today with another gem of a soundtrack. From the humourous Haanikarak Bapu to the rappy Dhakkad to the goosebump inducing title track sung by Daler Mehndi to the sweet and playful Gilheriyaan and the emotional Naina, the songs are the soul of this film. Kudos must be given to Amitabh Bhattacharya, whose innovative lyrics make sure the songs leave a lasting impact.

Nitesh Tiwari and his team of writers, Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain and Nikhil Mehrotra are the star of this movie as the trick is done by splendid writing. Tiwari shows commendable grasp over human relations and this film will ensure the coming of ages of this very talented director.

Lastly, Dangal was a film we all were waiting for and the wait was worthwhile. This film is going to break box office records in the coming days and it deserves every bit of accolade. Of course, #BoycottDangal is also trending on top in Twitter but that is not going to have much impact on the fate of the film. In this context, would like to borrow a line from the film’s title track, Bhed ki hahakaar ke badle sher ki ek dahaad hai pyare….dangal, dangal (bleating of a thousand ships is silenced by one roar of the lion).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zulfiqar Review

Watching a Bengali movie in the theatres had been a long lasting wish of mine. Generally, very few Bengali movies release in my city and most of them come to the theatres after almost three-four months of its release. So, I was really excited to know that Zulfiqar was coming to Guwahati on the day of its actual release. I have been a huge fan of Srijit Mukherjee’s work since Autograph and I believe that the man has just got better with every film. The fact that he was adapting William Shakespeare’s timeless classics Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra into the underworld setting of Kolkata made this movie irresistible. The trailer of Zulfiqar had also made an impact and the movie, a magnum opus in every sense of the word was showing the promise of becoming an all time masterpiece of Bengali cinema.

There is something unique which has time and gain attracted cine-lovers towards the genre of gangster movies. The guns, the suits, the power struggles, the bonds, the betrayals and, most of all, the unfettered violence have made gangsters and the cinema perfect partners in crime. Behind all the grandeur, aesthetics and culture of Kolkata, there lies another facet of the city- a dark underbelly which has remained more or less unexplored in our cinema. The organized crime scenario of Kolkata was earlier depicted in Ringo’s System. However, kudos should be given to Srijit Mukherjee for showing a completely different side of Kolkata in Zulfiqar.

The movie starts with a detailed lesson on the history of the underworld in the dock areas of Kolkata and its functioning. Though it is useful to know about the setting since there is an obvious lack of knowledge about those ‘unnamed’ places, I felt the lesson lasted a tad too long. Even after the main characters are established, the movie fails to pick up the pace in the first half. The tone is uneven and the lack of continuity is apparent in some scenes. However, to be fair to the director, he had to omit some portions and dialogues of the movie at the last moment following objection from a minority group and that might explain the lack of continuity.

Stuff like caged fights and bike races are staple in Bollywood action movies but it is a novelty in a Bengali movies. Hats off to DOP Soumik Haldar for shooting these scenes brilliantly. We are all aware about the budget constraints faced by regional filmmakers and so it gives immense pleasure to see action scenes in regional movies which are almost on a par with Bollywood. However, barring few scenes, the first half fails to leave the desired impact.

It is post interval, when the movie picks pace and we get to see our chena Srijit. The high point of Julius Caesar- the entire chapter of the assassination of Caesar by Brutus to the ‘Friends, Romans and Countrymen’ speech by Mark Antony in Caesar’s funeral which turns the table is brilliantly done. The movie moves in a breakneck speed after that and culminates in a thrilling albeit shocking climax. There are some minor complaints for the second half also. Like a romantic track interspersed in the narrative in a very crucial moment dilutes the gravity of the movie. Also, some of the chase sequences are half baked where the goons carry guns but don’t shoot for some implausible reason.

The best thing about Srijit Mukherjee is that he always tries something new in every movie. While Zulifiqar is not in the same league as Autograph, Baishe Shrabon, Hemlock Society, Chotushkone and Rajkahini, it is still better than most Bengali action movies. Srijit himself said that this is his most mainstream film yet and this is evident from ceetee-taali dialogues like ‘Haath gulo ke Madrassa y pathao Parvez, boddo beyadop’ (Send your hands to Madrassa Parvez, they need manners), ‘Basheer Bhai kabhi galat nahi bolta’ and ‘Mora haathi lakh taka hole, fokla bagh lakh paachek to hobei’ (if the price of a dead elephant is one lakh, then the price of a toothless tiger should be at least 5 lakhs)

The high point of the movie is the performances from the multi-starrer cast. Parambrata, who is one of favourite comes up with an expectedly brilliant performance in this movie also. His janaja speech is the high point of the movie. In the first half, I felt that Dev’s character didn’t have much scope. However, he emerges as the scene stealer in the second half. Dialogues are perhaps the biggest weapon of a mainstream hero and Dev deserves huge applause for his commendable performance despite being robbed of that weapon. This is perhaps his best performance till date, better than even Chander Pahar and Buno Haansh.

At this moment, nobody can play a negative role better than Jisshu Sengupta in Tollygunje. He does justice to his one-dimensional role. Renowned theatre personality Kaushik Sen, who had adapted Shakespeare numerous times on stage, is brilliant as Basheer Khan Brutus. However, 90% of his dialogues are in Hindi and initially it seems a bit odd to hear him mouth these lines in a modulated voice.

Prosenjit, who plays the titular character of Zulfiqar plays his part with panache. However, this performance is not in the same league as his performance in earlier Srijit movies like Baishe Shrabon and Jaatishwar. Among others, Rahul is terrific as the cop Laltu Das. He gets a part with a lot of meat and makes full use of it. Kanchan, is terrific as always in the small role of Chenno Bablu. It is good to see poet Srijato making his debut in the movie. However, among all the big names, the man who takes the cake, according to me is Ankush Hazra, playing the role of Zulfiqar’s nephew Akhtar. The transformation of Ankush from the suave but vulnerable singer to the ruthless and cold-hearted mafia kingpin is seen to be believed.

In the male dominated world of Zulfiqar, the ladies do not have much to do. Nusrat Jahan, playing the seductress Rani Talapatra based on Cleopatra, looks beautiful but her acting fails to leave the desired impact. Kyra Dutt and June Maliah are apt in the handful of scenes they get. Paoli Dam, however, being the brilliant actress she is, leaves a mark in the few scenes as Zulfiqar’s begum Karishma Ahmed.

In this regard, special credit should go to the director again for coming up with such a huge cast and more or less doing justice to most characters in the two and half hour long film. Coming to the music, Anupam Roy is in top form in Zulfiqar. He has never disappointed in a Srijit film and their successful collaboration continues in this movie. Songs like Ami Aajkal Bhalo Achi and Ghawrbaari are typical Anupam melodies which deserved to be heard on the loop. However, for me, the pick of the lot in Qatl-e-Zulfiqar and Ek Purono Masjide. Especially the latter sung by Nachiketa is a terrific composition complemented by some of the most soulful lyrics heard in recent times.

Ultimately, Zulfiqar is a must watch this puja for three reasons. Firstly, it gives the audience a chance to watch some of the biggest and most talented names from the Bengali film industry at the price of one ticket. Secondly, because it gives the Tollygunje industry a chance to say that- till now we might not have a Godfather, Once Upon a Time in America, Scarface or even a Parinda, Satya or Vaastav, but now we can boast of our very own Zulfiqar. Thirdly, in spite of its many flaws, Zulfiqar is an honourable film because….Srijit bhai kabhi galat nahi bolta.

 

 

Rustom Review

Late 1950’s and early 1960’s were considered as one of the best phase ever for the Hindi film industry. Movies would be rich in content backed by strong performances and timeless music. If there was one drawback, it was the lack of physical action in movies. However, absence of fight scenes used to be compensated by the riveting verbal duels that were seen on screen those days. Many films of that period used to have their climax inside a courtroom like Awaara, Kala Pani, Kanoon, Waqt etc.

In those days when court room dramas used to be the norm in Hindi movies, the sensational case of a Parsi naval officer shooting his wife’s lover and then surrendering caught the attention of people. Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati, a commander with the Indian Navy, pumped three bullets into the chest of his friend Prem Ahuja who was having an affair with Nanavati’s wife Sylvia. The commander, being a man of immense integrity immediately surrendered before the police. The case which went to trial in a few days was marked for the humongous public support for Nanavati. This was also the case which led to the abolishment of the jury system in India.

This incident inspired movies like Yeh Raaste Hai Pyar Ke (1963) starring Sunil Dutt and Leela Naidu and Gulzar’s Achanak (1973) starring Vinod Khanna. Now, after so many decades, Tinu Suresh Desai has come up with Rustom  which is based on this incident (though not acknowledged officially).

Rustom Pavri (Akshay Kumar), a decorated officer in the Indian Navy has a picture perfect life with his beautiful wife Cynthia (Ileana D’Cruz). However, his life his shattered when he discovers that his wife is having an affair with his friend Vikram Makhija (Arjan Bajwa). Rustom shoots Vikram and promptly surrender himself before police. The trial which ensues forms the rest of the story.

The problem of Rustom is its inconsistency. It starts slowly, gains momentum after intermission and ends with a rousing finale. It is disappointing to see the movie failing to exploit its interesting premise to the fullest. The screenplay is muddled with unnecessary conspiracy theories which doesn’t make much impact.

The movie touches upon some interesting elements like clash between two communities (Rustom was a Parsi while the victim Makhija was a Sindhi), how media influence public opinion and a 12 Angry Menesque closed door debate between the jury members. The court room scenes are interesting and are able to hold the attention of the viewer. However, on the flip side, a forced attempt to make the audience laugh in some scenes takes away the gravitas of the situation.

Ultimately, the movie rests on the towering shoulders of Akshay Kumar. Here is a leading man in Bollywood who has seldom hit a false note in the last couple of years and in this movie also, he is in the top of his game. His dignified act is easily the best thing about this movie. His performance stands out even more because of the hopeless incompetence of most of his fellow actors.

The leading lady Ileana D’Cruz looks ethereal but comes up with a terribly labored performance. Arjan Bajwa and Esha Gupta, who plays the sister of the former would give tough competition to each other regarding the worst performance in the movie. Even dependable actors like Sachin Khedekar (who plays the prosecution lawyer) and Kumud Mishra (plays a Parsi tabloid editor who mobilizes public support for Rustom) are reduced to caricatures. Pavan Malhotra however comes up with a solid performance as the investigating officer Vincent Lobo and his conversations with Akshay Kumar are some of the best scenes in the movie.

Some of the lesser players in the movie catch attention though like Usha Nadkarni, playing the maid of Rustom nails one important scene she gets. Child actor Naman Jain who played the lead in Zoya Akhtar’s segment in Bombay Talkies also comes up with a good performance as a newspaper vendor.

Rustom’s music which has been composed by four composers- Ankit Tiwari, Jeet Ganguly, Raghav Sachav and Arko Pravo Mukherjee. Tere Sang Yaara composed by Arka is the best track in the movie while Rustom Vahi and Tay Hai are also nice. The movie also scores for Santosh Thundiyil’s cinematography which captures the mood of the movie very well.

Ultimately, Rustom is a good effort in delivering an engaging court-room drama after a long time. However, you can’t help but wonder what wonders a better director could have done with this material. If there is one reason to watch Rustom, it would be for the one and only Akshay Kumar, who is currently in the form of his life.

 

 

 

FAN REVIEW

At some point of our live, we might have been a fan of someone…..that person might be a matinee idol, a sporting hero, a singer or maybe even our neighbourhood dada or didi who gets 85 % in their board exam or plays guitar in the local band. Our object of adulation means the world to us and what happens when that person on whom we are doting doesn’t reciprocate our feelings exactly in the manner we had expected them to? This interesting question forms the premise of Maneesh Sharma’s fourth directorial venture Fan.

Fan has been one of the most awaited movies of 2016 for two reasons. Firstly, legions of fans of Shahrukh Khan across the globe were waiting for the resurgence of the actor in him who had been lost in the last few years trying to top the moollah raking race and this film, where he is seen in a double role after a long time promised to bring him back. Secondly,  though psychotic fans and their obsession is something top movie stars in India will be very well able to relate, this as a concept, has not been much touched upon in this country, which gave this film an edge in terms of the novelty factor.

Fan tells the story of Gaurav Chandna, a simple twenty-five year old guy from a middle class locality in Delhi, who owns a cyber-café and lives with his parents. However, his entire life revolves around superstar Aryan Khanna, who had started out from the lanes of Delhi many years back and made it big in tinsel town Mumbai. Gaurav, decides to travel all the way to Mumbai to meet his idol on the occasion of his birthday and gift him the trophy which he had won by mimicking Khanna in the SuperFan contest held in his locality. However, things go horribly wrong for Gaurav in Mumbai and when Aryan refuses to acknowledge him as his fan, he decides to become his biggest enemy and destroy his stardom.

Director Maneesh Sharma has made the character of Gaurav Chandna with lot of care. Though his out of the world affection for Aryan Khanna might seem implausible at times, there are ample examples from real life when fans have done crazy stuff for their idols. When Rajnikanth had to undergo dialysis few years back, one of his fans tried to commit suicide so that he can donate his kidney to the Thalaivaa. American singer-actor Jared Leto on one occasion had received a severed human ear with a note ‘Are You Listening’ from an attention seeking fan.

Gaurav Chandna is someone who is devoted to Aryan Khanna that he has lost reason of his own existence. So, when he is hurt by Khanna, he feels that his sole reason to live has ended. Trust me; this is a film which won’t be a pleasant watch for many superstars of the industry. Not only because this will let some cat out of the bag in the industry but will also give them nightmares like what will happen if a Gaurav really enters their lives?

Till now, Maneesh Sharma has made light hearted rom-coms set in middle class localities and he deserves a pat on his back for choosing such a dark subject. The film starts slowly but becomes engaging after Gaurav reaches Mumbai. The sequence when Gaurav see Aryan Khanna for the first time is phenomenal. The scene where Gaurav is chased by cops in a seedy Mumbai hotel is terrific and so is the first interaction between the fan and the star inside the police station.

Maneesh tries to keep things grounded for most part, but in the second half, things are too improbable.  Also, though it is a brave initiative on the part of Yash Raj to make a songless SRK film, the Jabra song should have featured in the film, since it has become such a rage in the internet and would have lightened the mood of the film somewhat. Also, considering that it is a songless film, it should have been tad shorter. Though Namrata Rao’s editing is crisp, some scenes are overlong like the chase sequences in Dubrovnik in Croatia and the climax filmed in Delhi streets and so they fail to leave the desired impact.

Habib Faisal does a great job with the screenplay and Sharat Katariya’s dialogues bring out the Dilli flavor very well. The VFX by Red Chillies VFX team and action by Sea Young is top notch and hiring Academy Award winning make-up artist Greg Cannom pays off as he really makes Shahrukh Khan look twenty five years younger.

Coming to the performances, Shahrukh Khan is back with a bang. After delivering one dud after another in the past few years in the name of ensuring box office success, he finally takes a gamble and accomplishes the challenge in style. He delivers both performances with so much gusto that not for a single moment; one will get the feeling that they are watching the same actor enact both parts. When it comes to portraying crazy stalkers on screen, nobody can possibly beat Shahrukh in Bollywood and here also he just owns the character. However, his years of experience come into play in the second role where he is able to make Aryan Khanna, a normal human being, detached from his superstar trappings. The character is rather flat but Khan makes it alive.

The supporting cast doesn’t have much to do here but they are good. After No One Killed Jessica, Queen and Neerja, Yogendra Tiku gives another solid performance as the typical middle class father in Delhi. Deepika Amin, who was seen in Raanjhanaa and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya is very good as Gaurav’s mother. The ladies don’t have much to do but Shriya Pilgaonkar as Gaurav’s neighbourhood crush and Sayani Gupta as Aryan’s secretary leaves a mark.

Fan ultimately is a somewhat flawed but nevertheless a plucky piece of filmmaking. It is indeed worth a watch for its unconventional take on a novel subject. And most importantly, it is worth a watch to celebrate the return to form for one of the biggest superstars and a bit underrated actor of our time. A friend who had accompanied me to the theaters commented after the show ended that Shahrukh deserves the Best Actor Award in the popular categories next year. And unlike me, he is not a Jabra fan of King Khan.

 

Spotlight Review

Few days back, I was speaking to my aunt in Kolkata over phone and she highly recommended me the movie ‘Spotlight’, this year’s Academy Award Winner for the best picture. The reason for her recommendation was not just it was a great movie or it won the Oscars but because she felt that it was a must watch for any journalist, no matter if the guy is a cub or a pro. So, thanks to the editorial team of the Eclectic Northeast who arranged a screening of the movie at the ongoing Oscar Week going on at the Anuradha Cineplex which has brought the best of Hollywood in Guwahati, I finally gratified myself by watching ‘Spotlight’, which very deserving was crowned the Best Picture this year.

‘Spotlight’ tells the true story of how Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, (which is the oldest operating newspaper investigative journalist unit in the United States), expose the scandal of widespread sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Churches in Boston and how the Catholic hierarchy led by Cardinal Bernard Law actually put a lid on the entire issue despite being aware of it. Coming up with what can be called as very fine piece of journalism, the Spotlight team had published more than 600 articles on the scandal over the course of 2002 which led to the resignation of the Cardinal and also earned the newspaper the prestigious Pulitzer Award for public service.

The movie strolls off in a leisurely fashion until Marty Baron, the newly appointed editor of the newspaper makes the Spotlight team work on an old story of John Geoghan, a retired priest who had multiple allegations of child abuse against him. Initially, skeptical to take up the story, the Spotlight team soon starts working on it and stumbles upon a more sinister and recurrent pattern of child abuse which has been going on in the Boston churches since years.

The team gets considerable help from people like Mitch Garabedian , a lawyer who fights for the cause of the victims, Phil Saviano, who heads a victim’s rights organization and Richard Sipes who worked at a treatment centre for rehabilitating the accused priests. However, the journalists also find themselves locking horn with the religious and legal system of Boston which makes their job more testing.

The beauty of the movie lies in its understating demeanor which has been maintained throughout the film. The movie speaks about some really disgusting and uncomfortable truths and rather than sensationalizing the matter, it keeps things raw and rooted. The details of the abuse will disturb you but won’t unnerve you. The movie also refrains falling into the typical ‘hero-villain’ trap. The journalists here are just shown as a bunch of people who just did their job and chose to be on the right side of things. The movie is also not an unblemished portrayal of the newspaper. It tells how the paper got leads into this story in the past also but didn’t have the balls to pursue the story then.

Similarly, nobody is really demonized in the movie. In fact, rather than focusing on individual culprits, the movie tells us how an entire community knowingly or unknowingly, becomes accomplice to this transgression.  ‘If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one’ says one character tellingly.

Frankly speaking, I didn’t have much  idea about the movie’s director Tom McCarthy before watching ‘Spotlight’. He had made low key but relevant movies like ‘The Station Agent’ and ‘The Visitor’. However, we can say that it is with ‘Spotlight’ that he has finally come under the spotlight. As I said above, McCarthy’s strength lies in his rootedness. He is someone who definitely knows the art of making even the mundane look interesting. Throughout the film, the reporters do their job in the non-flashiest manner but McCarthy makes sure the attention of the audience doesn’t waver a bit. Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi also lets his camera capture the overall mood in a casual and effective manner. The movie also gets the detailing of the newspaper spot on. The newsroom scenes are so real that one never gets the feel that it’s actually a movie and not a real newspaper office. As a journalist the movie is too much relatable. From the usual camaraderie in the newsroom to the frenetic rush in taking notes to doggedly pursuing a source who can be a ‘goldmine of information’ but prefers to be a ‘pain in the ass’, everything is familiar.

One of my complaints against the movie is that everything here happens quite smoothly and the journalists don’t have to face considerable difficulties in accomplishing their mission, considering the gravity of their investigation. In one scene just before the interval, Spotlight’s star reporter Mike Rezendes is told by a prime source that the Church will soon come hard at him and his colleagues. When Mike asks him how they would do that, the line gets disconnected. Almost instantly, there is a loud thud on the door and I almost start expecting something to happen. However, ultimately nothing happens and this might be attributed to the fact that this is a true story, which hasn’t been tampered by the director.

Also, the reason behind sexual abuse of children in churches growing to such alarming proportions is answered in a rather vague manner. The film speaks about how the celibacy requirement in churches creates a culture of secrecy which tolerates and protects peodophiles, but doesn’t go deep into it.

The strong point of the film is the terrific performances from the ensemble of solid actors like Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Stanley Tucci. Keaton, who is perhaps going through the best phase of his career, comes up with another winning act after ‘Birdman’. He is brilliant as the Spotlight chief Walter ‘Robby’ Robbinson, who rather than just passing the orders and the bucks, believes in being the ‘player-cum-coach’. Mark Ruffalo, arguably the biggest star among the lot plays reporter Mike Rezendes, gets some of the best lines and scenes and as expected, he nails them. His scenes with Stanley Tucci, another favourite of mine are particularly entertaining. Tucci is again terrific as the Armenian lawyer Garabedian who had been fighting a lone legal battle with the church over this since long. He plays a kind of quirky character who didn’t marry as he is too busy. Liev Schreider is very good as the soft spoken editor Marty Baron who knows his business. Sacha Pfeiffer was the lone lady in the group and ‘The Notebook’ actress Rachel McAdams brings the character to life. One of the most poignant scenes in the movie features her with her grandmother who is a devout Catholic and when she gets to read about the scandal in the newspaper.

It is inevitable that ‘Spotlight’ will be compared with Alan J. Paluka’s 1976 classic ‘All the President’s Men’, generally termed as the reference point for movies showcasing the print media. That movie told the story of The Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein investigating and exposing the Watergate scandal which eventually led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon. While ‘All the President’s Men’ had a creepy tone with a mysterious and shadowy entity like Deep Throat feeding information to the reporters in signs and metaphors in underground parking lots, ‘Spotlight’ is more discreet. In the end, rather than comparing these two gems, it can be said that ‘Spotlight’ is the most worthy successor of ‘All the President’s Men’ when it comes to media related movies.

I had read somewhere that the Vatican holds records on the abuse of children by priests dating back to the 4th century. And it is a shame that out of 5000 priests accused of molesting kids in the United States; only 150 have been actually prosecuted. The fact which is more worrying is that such heinous activities is not just limited to the Catholic churches, they happen in every religious hierarchy and till now, more often than not, such incidents are kept under the rags in most countries, including India. So, the real strength of this movie lies in the fact that it tells that there is hope. There is hope for better journalism out there if we can grit our teeth, beat the odds and just hang in there. For a journalist, there is no bigger high than writing a story which can change the lives of people for good. In one scene, Marty Baron says, ‘ This kind of story is why we do this’ and one of my colleague rightly pointed out that ‘This kind of story is why we should do this….even though we are not doing that right now.’

 

 

 

 

 

Airlift Review

 

True incidents can often translate into riveting cinema. However, this is a tenet which has been conveniently ignored by Bollywood filmmakers due to their obsession with formulaic stuff. However, 2016 looks like the year which will be a sort of game-changer for Hindi movies when it comes to dealing with real episodes with lot of interesting movies in the pipeline. And the year couldn’t have seen a better start than Raja Krishna Menon’s Airlift.

Airlift chronicles the events leading to the evacuation of 1, 70,000 Indians stranded in the war zone in Kuwait during the Gulf War. Air Force, Air India and Indian Airlines had continuously run 488 flights to bring back those people who in a sudden twist of fate became refugees when Saddam Hussain’s Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait.

After witnessing the killing of his Malayali driver in the hands of Iraqi soldiers, Ranjit Katyal (Akshay Kumar), a debonair businessman based in Kuwait takes it upon himself to ensure the safety and orchestrate the escape of initially his staff and their families and eventually the entire Indian community in Kuwait, much to the chagrin of his wife Amrita (Nimrat Kaur). He uses his skills as a trader to negotiate with the hostile Iraqi army and communicate with the indifferent Indian government. The rest of the movie tells the story of how he brought this mission to a successful conclusion with the help of Sanjeev Kohli (Kumud Mishra), a bureaucrat in the Ministry of External Affairs.

The film jumps swiftly into action after an unremarkable party song and the narrative moves at a breakneck speed for most part. Menon’s fine eye for detailing gives the film authentic feel of the 90’s. The best thing about Airlift is that it respects the intelligence of the audience. It doesn’t attempt to spoon feed its audience. Menon also avoids falling into the melodramatic and the jingoistic trap, which so many patriotic films are guilty of. There are many definitive crowd-pleasing moment but rather than being forced, they are seamlessly injected into the narrative.

DOP Priya Seth captures the urgency and the tension in the dusty Arabian landscape beautifully with her camera. The film has been shot in Ras al-Khaimah in UAE which brilliantly doubles up as Kuwait. The editing of Hemanti Sarkar is crisp as the duration of the film barely exceeds two hours. The music of Amaal Malik and Ankit Tiwari is average, barring the romantic track ‘Soch Naa Sake’ sung by Arijit Singh is soothing to the ears.

On the flip side, it has to be said that the movie has actually made the evacuation look like the handiwork of just one man, when in reality, there were numerous people who played equally important roles in helping this mission succeed( The film states that the fictional character of Katyal is actually based on two businessmen).Major Khalaf bin Zayd, the Iraqi Army Chief in Kuwait who can be called the main antagonist in the movie is actually more cartoonish than scary. Though Inaamulhaq tries to lend some credibility to the character with some fine acting, he suffers because of a badly written part. It is also quite strange to see a bureaucrat holding the rank of Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs working like a lower rung clerk in a government office.

Coming to the performances, Akshay Kumar just nails the role of Ranjit Katyal. Fear, helplessness, anguish, irritation, rage….Kumar displays a gamut of expression without ever overdoing anything. Among the reigning megastars of Hindi movies, Kumar is doing the best movies in the last five years and Airlift should get a place right at the top of the shelf among his many illustrious performances. Nimrat Kaur, who is seen on the big screen one and half years after The Lunchbox lends solid support to Kumar. She has a great chemistry with Kumar and shows her class in one confrontation scene. The film also helped by an ensemble of solid actors who lend credibility to the proceedings. Prakash Belavadi has become one of my favourites after Talvar and in this film also, he is superb as the selfish and cantankerous old man George Kutty. Kumud Mishra, another fine actor is very well cast in the role of Sanjeev Kohli, the bureaucrat who facilitates the evacuation from Delhi. Purab Kohli, who was almost forgotten after Rock On, gets to play the memorable character of Ibrahim Durrani, an Indian worker searching for his missing wife amidst the chaos and who ultimately helps a Kuwaiti woman who takes refuge in the Indian camp with her child.

Ultimately, Airlift is one of those rare Bollywood films which actually deliver more than expectation. The real success of the film lies not in making people aware about a grossly underreported incident, which should have been a significant moment in the history of post independence, but changing the norm of patriotic movies in Bollywood. Till now, patriotic movies in India have been mainly about showcasing what the hero did for the nation. But on the occasion of India’s 67th Republic Day, Airlift makes us celebrate the reverse, i.e, what the nation did for us.

 

 

Manjhi-The Mountain Man Review

Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte in a scene from Manjhi-The Mountain Man

It is said that true love can really push someone to do the unthinkable, even beyond the limits of his/her capabilities. While Hindi cinema is known for dishing us love stories throughout the year of various shapes and size, Ketan Mehta’s Manjhi-The Mountain Man is a one of a kind love story, the kind which we haven’t seen on Indian celluloid for a very long time. The movie fictionalizes the real life story of Dashrath Manjhi, a lower caste labourer from Gehlour village near Gaya in Bihar, who carved a path through a 360 ft long, 30 ft wide and 25 ft high hillock using only a hammer and chisel.
Truth is often stranger than fiction and the story of Manjhi, who after putting his 22 years of blood and sweat actually managed to reduce the distance between the subdivision of Atri and Wazirganj from 80 km to 10 km, needs generous doses of suspension of disbelief. The fact that Manjhi did this only for his wife Phaguniya Devi, who died after falling from the hill as she couldn’t get timely medical attention as the nearest hospital in Wazirganj could only be reached by taking a much lengthy and treacherous route round the hill, makes this story the stuff of legends.
First and foremost, director and co-screenwriter of the movie Ketan Mehta deserves a huge applause for actually daring to make this movie. Making a movie on a true tale like this can be a thorny task and Mehta who completes a hat-trick of biopics with Manjhi (he earlier made Mangal Pandey and Rang Rasiya, which was based on the life of painter Raja Ravi Verma) manages to accomplish this with aplomb. Mehta brilliantly portrays the love-hate relationship that Manjhi shares with the mountain.
Just focusing on Manjhi’s exploit can make the movie drab and repetitive and so Mehta infuses dollops of high drama to inject life into the narrative. He deftly highlights the number of obstacles which Manjhi faces in his endeavor like the deep rooted caste politics of Bihar, tyranny of zamindars, apathy and ridicule of his own people, natural calamities, hunger, corruption, deception, emergency and even snakebite. However, the film is made a bit clumsy with a recurring flashback of Manjhi’s wife which disturbs the narrative multiple times. Also, the background music of the film left a lot to be desired.
Manjhi’s heroics don’t just end with breaking the hill. He even walks more than 1000 km distance along the railway line from Wazirganj to Delhi to give his petition to the Prime Minister after he is thrown out of the train for not being able to buy the ticket.
Portraying such a character on screen is not just daunting but a herculean task. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, one of the finest actors the country has ever seen, literally lives the character. He makes Dashrath Manjhi alive as a flesh and blood person for the audience. From appearing on the screen first as a 22 year old Manmauji who has just returned to his village after running away in the childhood to a 48 year old elder who has spent almost half his age in breaking a mountain, Nawazuddin is in crackling form in each of his avatar. The actor who had been rejected for his average looks and sustained himself by doing bit roles is today playing a lead in a film which is running to packed houses all over the country is also testimony to the fact that nothing is impossible. In that way, it is actually fitting that Nawazuddin portrayed the role of Dashrath Manjhi.
Radhika Apte, who is perhaps in the best phase of her career, does a terrific job as Phaguniya. She looks beautiful and shares an easy going and beautiful chemistry with Nawzuddin. Fine actors like Tigmanshu Dhulia and Pankaj Tripathi however, has been typecast in typical evil landlord roles, though both of them come up with good performances. It is good to see an actor like Prashant Narayanan back after a long time but even he has been wasted in a thankless part. Long forgotten actress Deepa Sahi, who is also the producer of the movie, however is so good in a cameo as Indira Gandhi, that she can really be considered in the lead role if a filmmaker ever dares to remake Aandhi.
For the people of Assam, it is a nostalgic moment to see the late Ashraful Haque, on the screen for one last time. Haque who plays Dashrath’s father delivered a very natural performance and shows us what a fine actor we have lost. The Assam connection with the movie is further strengthened by Urmila Mahanta, the girl from Sonapur who appears in a cameo as Narayanan’s wife Loki.
Manjhi is the best biopic I have seen from Bollywood in recent times after Paan Singh Tomar. In a time of hopelessness, this movie actually inspires us to break the shackles of negativity and achieve the impossible. It inspires us to go that extra mile for love. And most importantly, it presents before us an actor, who can easily be called the ‘God of Acting’ mesmerize us again with another shaandaar, zindabad and zabardast performance.

The actual road which was built by the government four years after Manjhi’s death in 2007

Jurassic World Review

Twenty two years back, I had accompanied my father to Meghdoot Cinema, a shady single screen theater in Guwahati for watching ‘Jurassic Park’, which was my first brush with the medium of cinema. Since then, I have watched this Steven Spielberg classic countless times and every time I watch it, I derive something new. However, Colin Treverrow’s ‘Jurassic World’, the fourth addition to the franchise, which is presently basking in the glory of being the first movie to rake in more than $ 500 million in the first weekend itself, rather takes us on a long walk down the memory lane. From the very first scene of the film when the original score of John Williams is played in the background, the sense of dejà vu becomes so strong that it becomes almost impossible to separate this movie from the shadows of its highly revered predecessor.
However, it is to the credit of Treverrow that his film can be compared to ‘Jurassic Park’ and not to its less than average sequels. In fact, if we can keep the déjà vu factor aside, this is a highly enjoyable film- a blockbuster in the true sense of the term.
The events in this film takes place twenty two years after the original Jurassic Park in Isla Nublar, Costa Rica was shut down. The park, which is now owned by Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan), the eighth richest man in the world, is now operating as a fully functional dinosaur theme park. To give the paying public more bang for their bucks, the park authorities comes up with a genetically modified dinosaur called the Indominus Rex (a hybrid of several animals including Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor-two creatures responsible for maximum damage in the earlier installments of the franchise).
However, all hell breaks loose when the creature escapes from its enclosure by killing two guards and turns itself into a killing machine which will kill anything that moves. Things are made complicated when Zach and Grey Mitchell, nephews of Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), operation manager of the park are found stranded inside the park with the dinosaur close on their heels. Claire seeks help from ex military man turned Velociraptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), whom she once dated, for locating and saving the kids.
After Masrani’s mercenaries themselves get killed by Igonimus Rex while attempting to kill the beast and Masrani himself is killed in a helicopter crash, Vic Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio) comes up with the seemingly insane decision of using Velociraptors for killing Igonimus Rex and the rest of the film deals with its implications.
As expected, ‘Jurassic World’ turns out to be a visual spectacle with the CGI effects being top notch. Some scenes like the one where Mosasaurus, a giant aquatic beast eats a shark and another where Owen rides a motorcycle alongside Velociraptors are terrific. Cinematography of John Schwartzman is very good as his camera work seamlessly blends with the spectacular VFX.
However, even though the body count in this movie is much higher than the earlier three installments combined, the movie fails to create the desired impact. Much of the action is in-your-face kind of action with no room for subtlety. Remember the scene in ‘Jurassic Park’ when a shaking glass of water was used as an indicator of the arrival of Tyrannosaurus or the scene where a door handle was pushed down suggesting that the highly intelligent raptors can open doors.
Also, the movie generously milks almost all the clichés of this genre like lost kids, estranged family, corporate greed inviting nature’s wrath which is the reason it is never really able to break free from the shackles of the original. Even the overlong climax is heavily inspired from ‘Jurassic Park’.
Like the earlier movies of this franchise, Velociraptors once again steal the limelight from rest of the dinosaurs and some of the best scenes in the film involve them. Once again, they are the cause behind all the mayhem, albeit indirectly this time. However, it is the novel possibility floated by the movie that raptors can be tamed raise the movie above its routine storyline.
Coming to the performances, both Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard does a good job as the protagonists. However, the obligatory romantic track between their characters doesn’t work, thanks to non-existent chemistry between them. Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins are competent as child artists. It is our very own Irrfan Khan who ultimately steals the show with his turn as the eccentric billionaire with a passion for flying.
Nevertheless, ‘Jurassic World’ is unlikely to disappoint anyone. While old timers will get plenty of references to get nostalgic about ‘Jurassic Park’, those not familiar with the original can watch ‘Jurassic World’ to get their dose of adrenaline rush in 3D.