Sim M

Look. I am really happy to see the Indian Film Industry pick up subjects on Indian mythology. The VFX is quite good and kudos for the intention to commence a superhero cinemaverse in India. BUT...Brahmastra is hamstrung by problems that plague Bollywood in general. If you take out the glitz and shine, it is, at the end of the day, a cheesy love story. Director lost focus. This had so much potential. 1. The tone of the movie is all over the place. Why can't Indian filmmakers ditch the NEED to inject overdoses of romance and "bollywoodness" everywhere? Is this a cheesy and contrived love story with a superhero background? Or is it an Armageddon superhero story with romantic interest? 2. Isha (Alia) 's participation feels quite contrived. I was hoping an ulterior motive of Isha would justify the frankly ridiculous development of her involvement but no, it was quite unnecessary. 3. A "major superstar" plays a cameo in the opening sequence. Said actor made his cameo minutes all about himself rather than playing a part that gelled well with the overall story. 4. Choice of dialog and irreverent screenplay at times weakens the seriousness of the situation. 5. Shiva (Ranbir)'s motives are nebulous...childhood trauma? Optimistic orphan? New found love? World ending via Brahmastra? No consistency. 6. I'm sorry but Ranbir's casting in this is quite weak. He doesn't look like a "Shiva" or someone becoming a superhero at all. I know he is a co-producer and maybe that's why they didn't cast a more suitable lead. 7. Even Alia, who's been on an acting high on the back of some strong performances of late, painfully struggles to deliver her lines toward the climax when facing off with an antagonist. Maybe this project needed someone well experienced in this genre to guide the actors better. I'd say, wait till the movie comes on OTT. I just hope Part 2 (and Part 3) address some serious shortcomings of Part 1. As I said, lot of potential (so far, wasted).

Very average film. Disappointed. This is what happens when you miscast a very interesting character with a "big name" actor. The only inkling you get that Bob is supposed to be Bengali is when Abhishek Bachchan almost caricatures the delivery "Nomoshkar, Bob Biswas". Apart from there, his accent and body language is an amalgamation of a manchild with southern head movements. The story turns out to be very average and there is no sincere development of any relationships between characters. Forced poignant lines like "Kali da ko pataa tha, mujhe extra Nux Vomica chahiye hoga" make you cringe. Movie culminates in a sad homage (euphemism for copy) of John Wick style executions with a bipolar daughter. Avoid.

All the controversy aside, this movie is not worth your time. At the end of the sadak, what was it about? Was it a message against superstition and Godmen? Was it a tale of family betrayal and greed? Or was it about Sanjay Dutt and his inner demons? Or Mental Health? It felt the movie was 3 movies mashed into one, evident by confusing direction and abrupt pacing. The general feel was a movie shot in 2020 but in spirit, still from the 90's. There was much potential for this to be a convincing movie had the direction been more focussed. *Spoiler*.There is a scene where Alia swears revenge but she passes out and the narrative is yanked away onto Sanjay Dutt. Her BF in the movie (Aditya Roy Kapur) was completely unnecessary. The owl was just random. Too many Race-esque plot twists. I'd rate it 1 star but I'm giving 2 because the initial story looked promising. Well, they say the sadak is more important than the manzil...but in this case, it was neither.

My rating is 3.5/5 but because we need more movies in this genre, I'll go with 4 instead of 3. If you are a fan of Guy Ritchie movies like Snatch and Lock Stock, this Indian Cinema attempt may interest you. Good cast, good humor, good characters. However, the execution was slightly lacking in the sense of pace - especially in the middle segment where a slight loss of momentum and an unnecessary song looted the movie (pun intended) of the tight, fast-paced direction it needs. Vijay Raaz is hilarious, Kunal Khemu is adequate in his role, Ranvir Shorey is convincing and the others gel with the plot. There was a noticeable omission of profanity in the dialogues - which I can understand for reasons for rating - but a film in this genre could have benefited from it. Films like these do not need a stellar plot but thrive on the performances and the ability of the director to juggle all the action-comedy elements towards a good climax. Give it a watch!

Poor execution. The only thing good about this film is Bobby Deol's portrayal of his character. I was taken aback to note the 1h 38 min runtime. That's short by even Hollywood standards for this genre. For a noir, layered, Bollywood movie - that was ambitious...that resulted in a rushed, disjointed, "meh" product. 50% into its runtime, you still don't know what the movie is about or where it is going. The events seem disjointed and the pacing is off. There is no gripping, edge-of-seat flow needed in a movie with a tight runtime. The climax seemed rushed and there was no time given to properly develop the events. Class of '83 had potential. The director should have made this into a 3-part mini series and taken his time.

Very, very disappointed. This show ends up highlighting everything that is wrong with the Indian arranged marriage culture. The case of Akshay. He literally said he wanted someone who would stay at home and do chores. His mom bribed a beautiful, educated and ambitious woman with jewelry and said "she belongs to us now." Is this what you want to portray? We need to abolish the paradigm of marriage being a family decision rather than that of the actual people getting married. Why is it a game of "compromise and adjustment?" Matchmaking is good for people who do not have the time or confidence to find their own partners. Not to perpetuate a regressive practice and discourage people from being independent, equal partners. If you view this show as a look into what goes on in this toxic scene, it's educational.

The premise was interesting. Could have been a smart comedy movie but it felt like a letdown. Sure, there are moments but the comedy felt stretched and injected without purpose at times. The middle of the movie felt flat with no real progression. They were about 2-3 characters too many (like the grand daughter's school friend felt completely unnecessary). The casting did not seem cohesive. The critical plot pivots felt rushed. Like when Dadi comes out of her coma after 30 years and her eventual epiphany. Big revelations are digested too easily. Suddenly, the film drags to a close with Dadi making a social commentary (just felt incoherent in light of everything). And why is there no medical concern for her? It felt the plot positioning of her gaining consciousness after 30 years was more of a background circumstance for other plot points rather than being the focus itself.

Malang is a decent Netflix weekend watch which somewhat becomes unconvincing as the second half rolls. The action is engaging but the love & revenge elements seem weak. It's more of a lesson to the youth against bad decision making if you're responsible enough to recognize the negative social messages the movie glorifies. What's absurd is the random plotline of erectile disfuncton and even more absurd is how it is seemingly, the root cause to all the "malang. A necessary ingredient for a compelling revenge story is for the viewer to be able to buy the deep emotional connection between the star-crossed lovers. But no. I am not convinced that two lost souls on a vice bucket list in Goa fall deeply in love over a few days of delinquency. And why would a happy daughter from an apparently loving family seek a rebellious escape? Why does she speak English with a thick Desi accent if she grew up abroad? (Bollywood will never address this issue it seems). This is positioned as a commerical action film (given the masala-physics fight choreography). The glorification of drug usage and delinquency (breaking and entering) to "live life to the fullest" sends an irresponsible message. This is not a noir or a gritty drama where drug usage adds do the authenticity of the film. The other minor detail that I couldn't look past is how they shamelessly portrayed Mauritius as Goa. Again, I understand artistic freedom but this is just misleading. Anil Kapoor adds some gravitas to the mélange of bipolar acting, random motivations and disconnected performances. The film had potential. But like drug usage, got mislead.

First of, hard to find a review for this film that doesn't sound pretentious or subscribe to only a subculture of viewers. I don't care for confusing phrases like "genre film" or what happened in 70's or 80's to inspire this film. Just tell me how this movie is to someone browsimg for a good watch. Anyway, this movie, in it's essence is really good. Has a nice mix of suspense, black humor and logic. So good to see both protagonists and antagonists use their brains in the story. Why have I given it a 3/5? I felt the dialog and characters were overly understated. I hate having to Strain my senses to understand what is being said. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate an underplayed role but there comes a point where it just becomes too annoying. Almost driving you nuts. I felt the initial screenplay was too intricate and unnecessarily complicated. This movie won't appeal to everyone. If you like checking out indie violent thrillers, this is a good one (except the annoying dialog delivery).

These days, most films either favor strict realism or become wishful. The Lift Boy is a simple story that finds that nice balance for cinema, driving the feelings home with unpretentious storytelling. The simplicity evokes the right emotional tones and gives you space to understand the characters. It was a touching and emotionally moving experience. A coming-of-age story of an engineering student whose life gets the impetus through a serendipitous event, it's not one you will forget once the credits roll.