Priya Sathe

How do you conceive a decent story idea, get a production house like Dharma to back it, convince Madhuri Dixit, Sumit Raghavan, Renuka Shahane, Vandana Gupte, Pradeep Velankar, Shubha Khote, Ila Bhate and Dilip Prabhavalkar to become a part of it and make a painfully below average movie? Watch "Bucket List" and you have an answer. Madhuri Dixit's marathi debut is a damp squib. Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar (Yes, that's the director's name!) who has also co-written the screenplay never gets out of the "English Vinglish" hangover. The characters are all flawed. Almost all of them. Madhuri Dixit plays Madhura Sane, an upper middle class woman who neither knows what a bucket list means nor knows how to use the internet! Her husband played by Sumit Raghavan dangles somewhere between being a loving, supportive husband and a male chauvinist. I guess, the director had a tough time deciding what he should be. Their daughter is.. how do I put this.. a combination of oversmart, rude and plain dumb. The in-laws and the parents are "typical". The grand mother in law is hip to a fault. The emotions are forced and so is the humor. The dialogues are either bland or so bad that they're laughable. At one point Madhura's husband asks her where he is placed on her bucket list and she says.. well you're my bucket!! I could picture KJo drowning in that same bucket after watching that scene! Production value is obviously good with Dharma in the mix, music is strictly forgettable, the choreography is strange, editing is non existent and the background score is 'inspired'. The central draw of the film is, of course, Madhuri. She looks much older than her screen age of 41, has a major diction problem (I wondered why!) and has very rarely shown her acting skills in the 2 hours 10 minutes running time. If the movie is on your wish list, maybe you should chuck it off. If you insist on watching, go with a huge group of friends and have fun. You'll still need popcorn for entertainment and some caffeine to keep you awake.

What does a decent family go through when they discover that their son was a terrorist? What do they do when their loyalty towards their own country is questioned, when their friends suddenly become judgemental about them, and their life is torn apart? How do they go about claiming their lost honour? Anubhav Sihna's "Mulk" portrays the trials and tribulations of one such family. Mulk boasts of a stellar cast. Rishi Kapoor 'becomes' Murad Ali Mohammed, the patriarch whose every expression speaks much more than the dialogues he mouths. Manoj Pahwa is absolutely outstanding as his younger brother Bilal and Tapasee Pannu gets the meaty role of Aarti, their Hindu daughter in law who defends them in court. There is a strong supporting cast as well. Neena Gupta, Rajat Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, Kumud Mishra, Prachee Shah and Prateik Babbar have important parts to play. I wish Neena Gupta had more to do and Ashutosh Rana could stop over acting. Rajat Kapoor as Danish Javed, a prejudiced ATS cheif and Kumud Mishra as the judge who sits over the court proceedings underplay their roles, as usual. The film is gripping from the very first scene. It is sort of divided into two separate parts. The first half is swift and establishes the story and the characters. The second half is spent in showing the courtroom drama and is not as effective as the first because there is a lot of dialoguebaazi and the realness gets a bit depleted due to the theatrics. The ever moving camera captures the essence of Varanasi with every sight and sound that defines this holy city. The background score drills a hole through your heart. The production design is excellent. Khudara sung by Vishal Dadlani reminded me of Maula Mere from Chak De. Dialogues are well written and convincingly drive home the sentiment of the film. The director, dialogue writer has succeeded in making a mainstream movie about a very sensitive issue. Some parts might make the viewers a bit uncomfortable, compelling them to ask themselves questions that have no easy answers. Watch Mulk to see how you answer those difficult questions!

"This is not a love story but a story about love" is what the trailer of "October" tells you. Well, it is more than a story about love. It is a story of compassion, empathy, emotions, selflessness, hope and goodness. Shoojit Sircar brings us a beautiful ballad that is a sheer pleasure to watch and experience. This is what cinema should be all about. Sure, the pace is extremely laboured and the plot is simple but the way it plays out on screen is superb. Juhi Chaturvedi's screenplay is brilliant. Each and every dialogue is so real that you almost feel like everything you're watching is actually happening. When the characters in the movie are not talking, the silence speaks. You get involved in lives of the people you're watching for the two odd hours of running time. There are no judgements made about who's wrong or right and a lot is left for you to interpret. This is a welcome change given that we're so used to watching unnecessarily verbose films where you're fed opinions. Cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhayay paints each scene like a painting in motion. Be it the foggy, dewey mornings in New Delhi or the beautiful mountains in Kulu. Most of the movie is shot inside an actual hotel or a hospital which lends it an authentic look. Full marks to the sound recording in both these places. Background score by Shantanu Moitra is on point and is sure to stay with you for a while. Varun Dhawan delivers a terrific performance (he doesn't quite get the Delhi accent right) as an impulsive immature young man who transforms into a responsible young man. Apart from him each and every character in the movie, be it his friends, his supervisor, the hospital nurse, or the doctor, is well defined and has an important role to play. Banita Sandhu makes an unusual bolywood debut using her eyes to emote. Geetanjali Rao who plays her mother is effortless and natural. If you've ever gone through the pain of seeing a loved one in an ICU, this story will touch your heart. I could go on and on about what I liked in this film because there is so much to say. Don't even bother to watch this songless film if you're looking for entertainment because you'll definitely be disappointed. If you want to appreciate the craft of story telling and filmmaking and you have a heart where it is supposed to belong, don't miss it.

"Soorma" is the story of ex-captain of the Indian hockey team, Sandeep Singh. He was called 'Flicker Singh' for his exceptional drag flick that not only earned him a place in the team but also gave him the prestigious Arjuna Award. Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh is perfectly cast as Sandeep and shines in his portayal of a carefree dreamer turned determined sportsman. His love interest cum inspiration Harpreet is played by Tapasee Pannu. She has the perfect physique required for the role of a national hockey player and is an absolute delight on screen. Angad Bedi is outstanding as Bikramjeet, Sandeep's older brother. I am surprised that he hasn't been cast in a lead role yet. He definitely has what it takes. Satish Kaushik as the father and Vijay Raaz as his coach Harry leave an unforgettable mark in their supporting roles. In fact, the supporting cast has some of the best scenes and punchlines. The average direction by Shaad Ali is compensated with the strong performances and inspiring storyline. In this story of the indomitable human spirit there is romance, drama, and a midway twist in this tale. Sure, there are the cliches that are common to the sports biopic genre but those are few and far between. The musical score by Shaad Ali loyalists Shankar Ehsaan Loy is apt for the setting. Gulzar's lyrics are beautiful. The title track manages to get your adrenaline pumping and the romantic "Ishq di bajiyaan" sung by Dosanjh is pretty good too. The movie could have been better edited for sure. Also, the pace is uneven and not as crisp as is required for a sports film. The training scenes are well shot but the actual matches leave much to be desired. Dangal has raised the bar so high that it is a little too difficult to get to that level. Full marks to the casting director. The predominantly Punjabi cast doesn't have to make an extra effort to look or sound Punjabi. The locations are also on the mark. This 131 minute movie is definitely worth a watch for the performances and the uplifting tale of Sandeep Singh.

Sketches of various landmarks in Mumbai form the backdrop of the song "बाल हैं सफेद और ख्वाब आसमानी रंग के" as the opening credits show up. You know that you're in for a delightful 101 minutes of watching Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor light up the screen with their performances. Does that happen? It sort of does, although not as much as you'd expect. But then that's not entirely their fault. "102 Not Out" is a movie adaptation of a popular Gujarati play by the same name written by Saumya Joshi. It revolves around the lives of the 102 year young Dattatraya Vakharia played by AB and his son, 75 year old Babulal Vakharia played by RK. The third wheel is Dhiru played by Jimit Trivedi, the delivery boy who helps the narrative progress. AB is not as impressive as he was in Piku, but he is still an absolute pleasure to watch. RK transitions from cranky to assertive effortlessly and almost gets the better, more layered part. Jimit stands up to these two stalwarts with confidence. The message of the film is simple. ज़िंदा हो तब तक मरना नही. Live life in the present moment to its fullest. This is conveyed through various tasks that the father assigns to the son. The son's past unfolds through the movie taking us along but there's not enough meat in the story to get you involved. There are refreshing moments in between but not enough to make the screenplay sparkle. The movie actually looks like a filmed play with only three central characters and most of the story unfolding through dialogues. The house in which most of the movie is shot often looks like a drama stage rather than a movie set. Most of it is predictable and it doesn't strike an emotional chord because the emotions are spoon-fed. Director Umesh Shukla's only merit is casting the lead together because the rest is left to them. The infinite brand endorsements throughout are noticeable and so are the varying accents. The adaptation should have taken the liberty to turn the lead pair into Punjabis. That would have been so much better. Having said that, AB and RK together are a treat to watch on screen. They make this otherwise damp script (which I am sure looked great when it was written) come alive like no one else could have. They're the only reason why this otherwise mediocre movie is almost watchable.

"Dhadak" which means (heart)throb is a soulless coma inducing remake of the marathi hit "Sairaat". The basic plot is similar to Sairaat but the rawness of Sairaat has been polished to a point where it looks glossy but remains undercooked! Sairaat was fresh, Dhadak looks like a stale tale. Director Shashank Khaitan can't seem to decide if he wants to copy the original or adapt it and the confusion clearly shows. Some scenes are ditto but still make little or no effect as compared to the original. The chilling climax has been altered and made ineffective. Too much is added to the original and the end product has become bland and boring. The lead pair make an effort but are not supported by a decent script or good direction. Ishaan Khatter who showed promise in "Beyond the Clouds" is underutilized. Janhavi Kapoor has a notable screen presence but is not impressive overall. She has probably inherited most of Boney Kapoor's genes and not her mother Sridevi's. She is a KJo find though, so I do have hopes from her in the future. The rest of the cast is forgettable. None of them remotely look or sound Rajasthan. The music has been lifted directly from Sairaat by Ajay Atul but the beats and tunes don't work here because the setting is changed. The zing goes out of Zingaat, and Pehli Baar has strange lyrics that are absolutely out of place for whatever happens on screen during the song. However, the background score and the title track are good. The film travels from Udaipur to Kolkata with brief stops in Mumbai and Nagpur. Unfortunately, the cinematographer has failed to capitalize on the beauty of these cities and they look like a cheap picture post card for most part. The cast keeps saying "koni" at the end of every alternate sentence to sound Rajasthani. Nagraj Manjule, who directed Sairaat must be saying "Thaare logon ko picture jami koni"! Don't bother watching it. At all!