Ashish Sharma

Delhi is flooded, and at the same time many other cities are facing similar issues. Of course, such scenarios happen all around the world. But imagine this: what if the waterlogging in your city invites creatures that don’t belong to your mainland? What if a huge alligator comes and starts hunting people down? You’re already stuck in rising water, looking for rescue, but now you’re attacked by these bloodthirsty creatures. I was watching the flood news this morning. The way people were crossing streets in boats reminded me of a movie that felt like a thrill ride. I’m talking about the 2019 Hollywood film “Crawl.” It’s definitely a popcorn flick. You watch the characters struggling to survive, and you feel the tension. What else do you need in a movie? Well, whenever I hear the word “Florida,” alligators come to mind. Supporting this thought, Crawl is also set in Florida. The police and rescue departments are shown helping people escape from a hurricane-affected area. There’s water everywhere. Haley tries to contact her father but gets no response. Despite restrictions and warnings, she decides to enter the danger zone and check on him. The rest is pure horror and survival — with blood, nail-biting moments, and plenty of suspense. Let me be clear: I didn’t watch this film right before writing the review. I saw it a while ago, and I’m recalling it from memory. What I do remember is that I was never bored. It was fun, and a good Netflix watch. I’m not sure if it’s still streaming there. Now, let’s talk about the misses. A large part of the film relies on CGI alligators due to its budget. It’s not very distracting because the acting and tense moments keep it believable, but in some scenes it’s obvious they’re not real. Whenever you notice that, it breaks immersion. Fortunately, those moments are limited and still digestible. As far as acting is concerned, the movie features only a handful of characters, which fits the survival theme well. Kaya Scodelario plays Haley convincingly. She looks genuinely concerned about her father, and her performance carries the film. Barry Pepper, playing the father, does exactly what the role requires. The action is well choreographed and makes you feel the danger -the blood in the water, the constant wish that the characters survive. The nonstop rain and flooded houses become characters themselves, adding to the sense of unease. The lack of phone signals heightens the isolation and mystery. That said, if you apply too much logic, the story doesn’t hold. Alligators don’t really behave that aggressively, and the realism collapses. But if you can suspend disbelief, it’s a solid one-time watch. Especially if you haven’t seen it yet, you might enjoy it most the first time. I don’t usually rate movies, but if you ask me, I’d say I watched it, enjoyed it, and might even watch it again in the future. What about you? How was your experience with Crawl?

Let's keep this review short and simple. Movie looks cool and badass. The concept and name is of course taken from some French movie. I haven't watched the original forget about it. I like this one. The father son relationship, Delhi Ncr locations and the hand to hand combats with bloody chase. What else you need to enjoy. I mean it's a perfect pop corn flick. DOP has tried multiple shots and some looks just aha beautiful. The camera also works best in combination of well designed action scenes. The music is mood defining. In fact, songs serve the story too. "Badshah aara hai" is a hint for rapper badshah's song and more like comeon. The background music is like 404 volt current that keeps you hooked. Shahid didn't disappoint done his job as usual. I enjoyed. He's a chocolate boy image carrier with lots of guts and gun. I liked his performance. There are other roles of Sikander played by our KD the lawyer, Sanjay Kapoor, Rajeev, Diana everyone has their importance. Screenplay has many little surprises that is basically the best thing about writing. Production design has grand, rich feel as per the story requirements. Fits well. I would even love to watch bloody daddy again if they're planning any sequel. Makers can push the limits. In fact, a badass Shahid has no limits. 😎

## A Teen Supe with Desi connection ## Marvel is focusing in their worldwide market. From Black Panther to Shang Chi, we have seen studio approach so far. Now Marvel debuted in Pakistani avatar, but many people can ask why Pakistan not India. Yes, that’s true India has a huge market as compare to Pakistan. India actually ranks 7th in terms of MCU box office collection. Despite it all, MCU selected Pakistan to promote MCU because India is already an established market. We have seen the Indian connection in many MCU movies then finally an Indian superhero in Eternals. We will dig it out further first let’s talk about the first episode of MS Marvel. After finishing episode 1 I called my Pakistani friend.. Episode One : A Good , Sweet , fresh Start # Who is kamala Khan? Kamala Khan is a Pakistani origin teen girl lives in US with her family. I can relate with her the way she dreams about superheroes & super powers. She is a super-duper fan of Captain Marvel. She’s always dreamy about her avenger stuff. On the other hand her very typical Pakistani family want her to focus on studies , to stay away from late night parties , boys , and… desies can perfectly get what I mean. Then she decides to participate in some avenger fan festival against her parents will then....watch it and find out. Basically it was the premises of the story. Interesting isn’t it? # Brown Culture Experiment I love these kinds of experiments as an Indian. There’s so much that I can relate. Globally brown people are everywhere, from your service call centers to the Nasa projects. Putting South Asians in this superhero equation makes it more balanced and realistic. # A good Family Drama Maybe some of you won’t like it, but I do. The Khan family is very sweet, problem creating but emotional. Hahaha I can literally feel the essence of Indo-Pak culture when Kamala’s Mother packs food for Bruno. When her father dresses himself as hulk just want to protect his daughter. I know it’s called over protectiveness but it’s love in Indian culture (Pakistani). # Character Portrayal & Acting Every character has given enough space to shine. We can see a beautiful parents & daughter angle. Mohan Kapoor as father did a good job and mother played by Zenobia Shroff is so sweet. I also liked the brother with little screen presence works. Bruno & Kamala both are going to deliver our hopes. # Color grading and style The moving graffiti and color grading all are resulting in very cool screen presentation. No doubt the target audience for Ms marvel are teens. But marvel fans like us are going to watch it no matter what. By the way it is different from regular marvel but let’s try it. I also loved the Hindi (Urdu) rap at last. # The Origin of Superhero? The story of becoming super girl is so traditional. Guess what ? You get an antique piece to wear and then somehow you learn it posses some supernatural powers. Again about the source of power it has nothing new to offer. Not an extra ordinary start but fine. # Is it really Pakistani? Answer goes parallelly in both Yes & No. The Music , the nani’s bangle , even the accent everything is so Indian. Distinction between Indian & Pakistani culture lies in very thin lines. For me it is hard as differentiating between Chinese and Japanese script because both looks same to me. After finishing episode 1 I called my Pakistani friend asked about the same. She told me that Pakistani audience has the same reaction that MS Marvel is not that Pakistani. Well I believe India & Pakistan are two parts of the same heart lost in multiverse.

Review-: Batla House "Inke sirf do hi dushman hai.Har baat par inki kom ki himayat karne wale aur inki kom ki hifazat karne wale" this dialogue is the soul of movie Batla House. 13 September 2008,Delhi won't forget this date when five serial blasts rocked the city.In which 30 people were killed and at least 100 injured.After a week Delhi Police's special cell did an encounter against the Indian Mujahdeen's terrorists in Jamia Nagar's Batla House.DP inspector Mohan Chand Sharma was martyred in that incident. Instead of thanking them they were accused.Operation Batla House was declared a fake encounter. Hypocrite Islam supporters,TRP seeking media,several politcal parties and organizations like National Ulama council,Jamia's students even the ruling govt.(INC) accused Delhi Police and forgot the sacrifice of Inspector Mohan Chandra. ACP (now DCP) Sanjay Kumar Yadav (John Abraham) is an honest, committed and brave officer of Delhi police.He was the incharge of batla house operation which was accused as fake encounter.He is suffering from trauma and his marriage is on the verge of failing.But his priority is to prove his team's martyr Inspector Kishan Kumar Verma (Ravi Kishen).Sanjay wanted to arrest the Absconding terrorist (kranti Kumar Jha).The real challenge starts when Sanjay goes court to prove that arrestee who is considered a student. John Abraham did what he is known for. Again as an actor and as a producer he surprised his audience with heart winning story and performance. Mrunal essayed a news anchor and John's better half. She looks pretty and fit in emotional scenes. Rajesh Sharma showed his regular charm. Nora Fatehi did something more than a song but more can't be said about her role. Director Nikhil Advani has mostly failed in showing a strong supporting cast. No character brings an impact except lead of John. Ram Dev fame actor Kranti Jha's character could be explained with some extra minutes. However, Ravi Kishan portrayed martyr which sounds vital, but in movie it doesn't come out that way. On the otherhands many real characters' names have changed even the martyr inspector Chandra was named as Kishan which actually not disappoints because it is a widely acceptable practice in movies based on real incidents. Action sequences were well filmed. Picturization of the flat where encounter happened and local shoot of Nizampur brings a real touch on screen. The last 10 mins court drama wins hearts with well written dialogues. Writer Ritesh Shah is praise worthy for writing a research driven script. The songs like Humko Rula Diya and Saki-Saki have already leading the music charts. Bathla house starts with a promising note, dodders and then balances at last. Batla house is not just a tell of police and highest gallantry awards winner ACP. It's a tale of truth against fake narratives. Rating-: 4.1/5 A Review by-: Ashish Sharma

## An (ek) Undulating Journey To North-East ## 'One's peace is another's chaos'. This dialogue from Anek really stands out for my review. I know movie is really appreciated by a number of audience, but let me clearly state my opinions are kinda mixed about Ayushmaan starer. Dividing the discussion in pluses and minuses below. + Theme & Topic Anek is courageous in its theme based on north east India’s alienation and topic revolves around the political gimmicks & violent ways to capture the power. Without revealing too much the very foundation of terror organisation shown in movie is knitted effectively. - Screenplay Choosing theme and topic is a different thing, but on the other hands converting it into an engaging screenplay is really a tough task. It is where movie lacks the essential strength. I found no cliffhanger moments. The tension is surreal but the projection ends up in a dull/loose script. Sorry to say but writing department loses points here. + Dialogues Dialogues work. The characters’ conversation is well written and conveys the mood of the film. Some of my favourites – *Toh Hindi decide karti hai ki kaun north se hai aur kaun south se ? * One's peace is another's chaos * Main Teri fight ke liye cheer nahi kar sakta, tu meri fight ke liye cheer nahi kar sakti, hum sab aisi hi tragedy me rehte hai - Sub Plots There are many sub plots around the main event , first the Ayushmaan’s character then his girlfriend’s journey and her father’s ideology. Also the Tiger Sangha , the Johnson group & local people , the Indian Government etc. From starting to end movie tries to focus on multiple aspects which actually resulted in undercooked fun. First of all you lose the lead where story wants to focus , the lead character is missing in half of the film , romance is undeveloped , and many of the characters like J.d chakaravaty’s had nothing to do. + Acting Yes, I said lead character is missing , but it wasn’t about his acting. Mr. Khurana has delivered a good effort as Joshua. He is well known for his experiments with roles , he nailed it. On the other hands Manoj Pahwa got a great role to show how versatile he is. He just played the person he was supposed to. Other actors also have done a good job. - Music In Bollywood movies music is intrinsic part of the story. Background music adds a feel to the overall film , but absence of a catchy song brings it down. I loved a regional song , but I don’t even remember the lyrics. It was my views about Anek. Like my review to let me know if you agree on any of the above points. Keep watching keep exploring !

An Experimental Good Watch Two bandits are sitting at fire and warming their hands.A Naga Sadhu comes and begs fire to lite cannabis.He puffs the smoke.He takes ash below the fire and smears on his face.Before the bandits understood anything Naga throws his shawl and attacked on them.The fierce warrior looks like naga stopped after killing the entire group of 14 dacoits.He carries the body of their leader to the thakur of village in order to claim the reward declared on his head.The naga sitting on the horse says" Lamba Jana hai,Inaam do toh chalu (I have to go far.Reward me an- d let me go)."This dailogue signs a long journey. A naga with long hair,beard,ash all over the face and wearing a colonial Jacket (used to wear by English army) is riding on horse.This kind of concept in bollywood never seen before.A blood thursty naga known as Gosain (Saif Ali Khan) away from his group and akhada is on a mission.A mission of revenge from his foe Rehmat Khan (Manav Viz) who's the army major of mugals.According to Gosain he choosed a different way,so his salvation would also different (only by revenge).He meets many people throughout his revenge journey including a tracker or detective (Deepak Dabriyal) who's smelling sense is not less than his two dogs Sukhiram and Dukhiram. Interestingly the premise of story is all set almost 3 era back and 25 years later of Buxer war in 1764.The Marathas,Mugals and East India company are fighting to rule India. Saif essayed hard looks of a naga passionately who's almost on killing spree.Saif Ali Khan is one of the underrated actor of bollywood,but who has watched his characters in movies such as Kalakhandi,Bazaar can't ignore him in Laal Kaptaan.Deepak Dabriyal comes with some light moments with his funny English accent "how do do".However,he didn't try to joke directly.It's situational writing.The group of thugs known as Pindaris (some supporting actors) also makes us laugh. Manav Viz as Rehmant khan is gripping.A rogue commander escaping with treasure and troops.Zoya khan played Rehmat 's coccubine who can fight with anyone for his infant.Zoya has prowess in Rajasthani dialect. Don't ask me about Sonakshi if you have watched 3 trailers of movie. What is pleasing? People are searching similarity between the looks of Jack Sparrow and Saif as Gosain,but the roles are totally different.Saif hardly smiles in movie where in Caribbean series' Jack is funny too.The thing which please most about Laal Kaptaan is the deep research done on locations,dialogues,costumes and concept. The concept is fresh and Locations are unexplored.The historical account is engaging.While watching this adventure you find yourself in midst of 18th century. The dialogues are best till date with philosophical meanings.Sudeep Sharma has written conversations and narration which points out one thing that "Death is evitable and our karma decides it". The screen play is thrilling written by director Navdeep himself.Story has penned by Deepak and Navdeep together. What went wrong ? Screen play is bit stretched.This revenge saga takes almost 150 mins to reveal the secret.Navdeep Singh add some unnecessary scenes which could edit. Laal Kaptaan's philosophy is fully based on revenge and circle of karma.But director put some un-developed patriotic parts which ends before starting and audience feel more to see.Some more things could be developed to connect the Gosain to viewers. The repeating flashbacks make climax predicatable. On the part of cinematography I was expecting some great aerial shots,slow moving sword fightings and blood stans coming out on clothes.But again cinematography is just average with some close ups. When you feel realistic about film Some things lose sense for instance a character of a lady astrologist cum witch named Laal Pari.Movie suddenly turns into Harry Potter when movie depicts her echoed voice. Read full review on Instagram @Samrat0145

Movie Review-: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Some teenagers,a haunted house,an evil book and the really happening stories coming out of the book.This concept is not so much new. Something can be said about the recent Hollywood release "The Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark".We have already explored this kind of stories from various movies and books.Infact, this film is also based on a book of the same name.Let's read a small synopsis. A group of teenagers consist Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti),Tomy (Austin Abrams),Roman Morales (Michael Garza),Auggie (Gabriel Rush) and Ruth Steinberg (Natalie) encounter a haunted house on halloween night.Stella found a mysterious book and kept that.The stories of book start to turn in reality and resultant in deaths and monsters.Remain follows how Stella and her friends struggle with these problems. Actually it was not Stella,It is audience those struggle to find scary moments in Scary stories.It is the problem with book turned movies.Story in the dark series' readers can understand that it was quite better in text.This seems a fail attempt inspired by hit Goosebump series. André Øvredal tried some of the well known ways to give us horror,but those give much headache.In just 108 minutes' running time we get bored.We do not feel attached to any character.Even Zoe Margaret as Stella gave a good performance,but somewhere her role is unexplained. Director Andre' started a kinship between Roman and Stella,but it lost in chaos. Some good things can be said about this horror flick.The body part assembling scene of monster is amazing.Background score is average.Climax serves sudden pace and ends at emotional settlement. Dark scenes present cinematic approach. Overall,These horror stories were more good in anthology collection.For those who are planning to watch their favorite book in theaters it would average for them.The most terrible thing would be buying ticket for it.Watch if you averse of risk. Rating-: 2/5 A Review By -: Ashish Sharma

Review-: India's Most Wanted This weekend three major movies are hitting the box office.The first is PM Narendra Modi which is releasing after the bane of EC.This has taken a hype through controversies.On the other hands Will Smith starrer holllywood adventure Alladin is the hot topic among film analysists.Apart from these two movies Raj kumar Gupta's India's Most Wanted has released.Arjun Kapoor Starrer is tell of our undercover heroes which never get credits. Special cells and secret agencies are under pressure after a recent bomb attack in India.Our secret departments want to capture the master mind behind this attack.who has thrilled India many times with his bad intensions.All agencies has confirmed that Yusuf (Sudev Nair) is hiding in Pakistan or Dubai.Opposite these tip offs young Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Prabhat (Arjun Kapoor) gets some unclear inputs in Nepal about Yusuf.Prabhat (Arjun kapoor) asks his senior Rajesh Sharma (Rajesh Singh) to operate a mission to arrest India's most wanted,but Delhi has refused to fund this mission.Prabhat goes against permissions and organised an unofficial self funded mission.He and his team enters in Nepal without weapons and political support.Here Pakistan's secret agency ISI is planning a trap for Prabhat.Then,seemingly impossible mission starts without firing a single bullet. Movie is inspired by true events.This was the story of IB officer Prabhat who captured Yasin Bhatkal renamed as Yusuf in film.Yasin Bhatkal was the founder of Indian Mujahideen.Movie throws light on the working circumstances and death near experiences of intelligence officers.Movie pinches on our system's malfuncton.Director Raj Kumar Gupta has kept the film very close to the truth. The less dramatisation of story,no female lead opposite Kapoor and simple climax upset the audience.Music in such a crime thriller always kill the speed here music is only background aspect.Song vande mataram gives comfort to ears.Writer has interpreted the terrorism mindset and tried to answer what jihad means for terro- rists.Feeling of patriotism is nicely served. Arjun Kapoor worked on UP-Bihar dialect and looks sincere patriot,but audience unable to fully engage with him.He used almost the same face in every scene.Kapoor could do better with trials and expressions of his role.Rajesh appeared in his familiar style.Despite the title role Sudeep Nair doesn't fit in his role.Infact,he get only few minutes on screen.Actor as informer leaves the effect.Cinematography of Nepal has beautifully captured.Last 22 minutes of film gives a nail bitting suspense. Overwhelming,film has good plot with realistic & non-glamours story,but less than expectations.Makers sung the unsung heroes of nation. Rating-: 3/5 A Review By-: Ashish Sharma

STRONG SONAKSHI but Missing TADKA of HUMOUR Movie-: Khandaani Safakhana Duration-: 2 hrs 16 mins Direction-: Shilpi Dasgupta Released on -: 2 August Cast-: Sonakshi Sinha,Varun Sharma,Anu Kapoor,Badshah Rating-: 2.5/5 "Duniya ki 17% aabadi hamare desh mein hai aur bhole aise bante hai ki prasad kha ke paida huye ho" this dialogue of last friday release says a lot in itself.Sonakshi Sinha starrer Khandhani Safakhana hits the nerve of Indian society in which people still treat sex as a taboo.We can't utter loudly the word sex in front of elders if we do it means we have a loose character.Sometimes we use code language to say words like sex and condom.This is because of lack of awareness and sex education in our country. Baby Bedi (Sonakshi Sinha) works as a sales representative in a local medical firm.She is the only who hold the burden of his family.She lives with her brother (Varun sharma) who just sleeps and eats for whole day and her mother (Nadira Babbar).Baby's uncle (Rajiv Gupta) wants Baby to marry with a rich man who can pay his loan which Baby's family has been taken since the absence of her father.One day Baby hears the murder of her kin Mama ji (Kulbhusan Karbanda) who had owned a sex clinic known as Khandaani Safakhana.Now,she is the only who claims mama ji's property according to his will,but legal advisor Tangra (Annu Kapoor) asked her to follow one condition to get the property.She has to run his mama ji's Khandaani Safakhana for next 6 months otherwise it would give to Indian-Greek research center. Shilpi Dasgupta choosed a bold and good topic to tell the audience,but movies like Vicky Donor and Shubh Mangal Shavdhan have already set a high bench mark in genre.Starcast is promoting the movie as humour talk about sex,but seriously we struggle to find comic moments.Infact it's emotional rather than laughter.Screen play is very slow.If you take power nap for 5-10 minute while watching you will miss nothing.Movie could be shorter.Location of busy narrow market and old Safakhana makes scenes realistic at some extents.Badshah's song koka is catchy and remains on our tongue,but it's not the part of story yet. Overwhelming in terms of performances it is quite good.Sonakshi Sinha depicts the Babita or Baby Bedi with full effort.It is not wrong to say like her character of Baby she is enough independent to hold the film on her shoulders.Badshah and Priyanshu Johra both debutants got limited scenes.Rapper turned actor Badshah doesn't upset his fans as Gabru Gattack.When he cries we smile.Annu Kapoor played tangra and his punjabi accent English is surreal.Varun sharma didn't give new except his hairstyle.Rajiv Gupta is good as always. Well movie tried to touch many topics like sex education,woman empowerment, non-respective profession of sexologists and what not but with heap of emotional scenes and slow moving story prove it unbaked dish without tadka of humour.Yes makers are no longer shy to narrate this kind of stories,but audience needs some lighter moments too.Especially,when you are promoting your drama as a comedy popcorn flick.But still,Khandaani Safakhana is performance convincing venture with its female hero Sonakshi Sinha.If you are fan of dabbang girl,so don't miss her as Baby Bedi. Share your feedback and rate the movie in comment section.Relevant comments will get chance to feature in Insta story. Instagram-: @samrat0145

Chopsticks makes you laugh,thrill,bore and finally realise the value of a car.Running for over one hour forty minutes,though a out of leak,if you like off beat cinema you can watch chopsticks.Overall, Netflix presented a good popcorn moment which you can enjoy at your home.You must have just Netflix subscription. My Rating- 3 and half stars (out of 5)