Piyush Maheshwari

*Movie: Tiger 3* *Rating: 1 out of 5 (2 for the effort of making it)* If u are a true Sallu Bhai fan, pls don't read this review. Stop now and you will not feel like punching me in the face. If you are a Sallu Bhai fan - pls go and watch it to cheer for your Botox infused, photoshopped curated, CGI driven Super Star ❗ Now for the actual review..... After the success of Pathan and Jawaan earlier this year, nothing surprises me any more. So if this movie collects 500-600 cr over the course of its box office lifecycle, I will not be astonished. Politics and Bollywood are the only two professions where there is no retirement age or end of life age. It's been a jolly ride for Salman Khan for the last 30-40 years in the industry but he does not know when and how to stop or change over to a character role. This is the toughest age for a Super Star in India as evident during the Bachhan fading years (Toofan, Jaadugar, etc) where the public demanded he move to character roles and play his age. Guess when will that happen with the Khans. The story is the same as before, first half of the illogical build up, second half of mindless and non sensical, over the top action.....India RAW agent who WFH (works from home) in Austria, calls his master's in Delhi whenever he feels like, lives a fancy life with his wife and kid with USD per diem paid by Govt of India. He gets sucked into a ploy by another ex ISI agent who has a score to settle with none other than Sallu Bhai and Pak Govt. You obviously can guess the end from a mile away. ....locations remains the same (Austria, Turkey, Russia, London, etc)...YRF Movies seem to buy packages with the Travel and Film Promotion Departments of these 5 countries for 5-10 movies together at a discounted rate. Emraan Hashmi plays the antagonist to perfection and does not behave like a combination of Mogambo (Mr India) and Dr Dang (Karma) just because he is a Pakistani villian. Looks like there is a reservation system when it comes to who will.play Salman Khan's boss in RAW 😃....it's "reserved" for a S Indian - earlier it was Girish Karnad and now it's Gauthami. Background score the Tiger theme....with new addition for the entry and exit of the villian...nothing to talk about. The two songs are passable....would not have changed anything even if they were eliminated. Only good thing is that Arijit Singh has patched up with Salman Khan in real.life after 10 years for the romantic number. So Arijit Singh will be singing Romantic numbers for Sallu Bhai @ 58 going forward. Action sequences are the same....everything blowing up, Ak 47s, Howitzers, shoulder held missile launchers, car chase across St Petersburg and Turkey, and bike chases across mountains, bridges with super deep ravines blowing up and Sallu Bhai hanging by a thread, helicopter jump sequence and Sallu Bhai catching edge of Helicopter with one hand and flying away safe, hanging from ropes and shooting, gymnastic and aerial yoga shooting, pilates shooting, etc etc etc. You name it and it's there. SRK sequence is for 5 mins with gravity and logic defying stunts (like the above) with the customary SRK humour. Pls wait for end credits for a special sequence. Overall, watch it if .and only if you are a Botox infused, photo shopped Sallu Bhai fan

Finally got time to watch Monica, O My Darling on Netflix. A twisted, curvy, quirky murder mystery from Vasan Bala. The protege tries to emulate the master (Sriram Raghavan - Andhadhun fame) from who he learnt the art of film making. As all Sriram Raghavan and Vasan Bala movies are - this movie is all set in Pune. Rajkumar Rao and Huma Qureshi steal the show with small gigs by Radhika Apte, Sikander Kher,etc. A film that starts as corporate greed but ends in a totally diff level.....has some unbelievable moments which is not expected from Vasan Bala who is a more meticulous movie maker. Huma plays the vampish character with all oomph and Rajkumar Rao plays the innocent victim card to the hilt. Dialogue baazi, one liners, situational humor is all ever present., Specially between Radhika Apte and Rajkumar Rao. Each and every frame of the movie is a live location, not a movie set which is a special quality of these film makers. Just when u think the movie is over, it takes a curveball effect and takes you in a new different direction. Music and background score are good .....the title song stays in ur mind. Good Weekend time pass watch for the entire family. Language is a little crass as grown ups talk but in today's OTT world, very common.

The classic story of Vikram-Betaal told in a Neo noire mode. In the opening credits of the movie, you are told that this movie is based on the concept of Vikram-Betaal. So there is no ambiguity and in the end scene you are asked the question...what would Vikram or Betaal do ? Directors Pushkar & Gayatri have woven a normal chor-police drama into this concept and the end product is the one that will define how chor-police drama's will have to be presented in Bollywood, henceforth. There are more than 100+ chor police movies in Bollywood but some that have become cult - Qurbaani for Feroze Khan and Vinod Khanna style quotient, Shakti for tension between Dilip saab and Big B, Khalnayak for Sanju Baba's acting to name a few. This movie falls in the above category for its story telling, for it's style quotient (Hrithink in a non sexy avatar is also droll worthy) and just two testosterone filled actors slugging it out, playing mind games. Hrithik delivers more than what is expected of him in this Bollywood masala, his swag, his screen presence was enough to get seeti' and taali's every time he entered the screen (the fun of watching first day first show is the seeti's and taali's). The coolness he brings to the character is refreshing. After Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, we are seeing a Hritihik 2.0 who chooses his scripts well, gives 200% to each character he plays and transforms himself for the character. If you liked him in WAR, you will love him in Vikram Vedha. For someone who was told by doctors that he would not be able to do any more fight and dance sequences, pls watch him in VV on what a human can achieve if he puts his mind and focus into it. The Alcoholia dance is just amazing. Reminds you of Big B ka Jumma Chumma but not so hummable. Just felt that Saif has more screen time in the movie. Saif brings in the mature element in the movie with his looks reflecting his age. A bulked up body does not hide it. Plays the role of a cop to the hilt just like Sacred Games. The chemistry between both the style bhai's comes out in their scenes together and some of their dialogue baazi. No over the top acting by both the heroes which makes it a sensible movie. Pushkar & Gayatri - the husband and wife director duo - did not set the movie in Mumbai otherwise with Hrithik it had chances to look similar to Agneepath. They set it in Lucknow but they also need to come out of their S Indian mindset ❗ Some of the action sequences are un-necessary and just there to glorify the hero (like in S Indian movies)...case in point - when Hrithink talks about gang wars, you don't need to show two gangs actually doing a fist fight or when Hrithink saab fires his Ak-47 - a la Rambo style (with shirt on) on empty buildings and from the sun roof of a moving car...not necessary. The other characters actors, only noticeable name is Radhika Apte, have played their part well. The background music is haunting - Ta-na-na-na na ...Ta-na-na-na na ..it's still ringing in my ears even after several hours. One of the best back ground score I have heard in recent times. Dialogues have been written thinking of the UP/ Lucknawi setting but dialect delivery is missing. Overall, a good movie to watch on big screen. You will not get bored and you will love Chor-police genre again. Great acting, good direction and Excellent story. It's fast paced and every min is impactful so take your popcorn with you and take loo breaks only before the show or during interval. You will definitely come back with the background score ringing in your ears.

Dimaag ghar pe chod ke jaana for this movie.... Everyone should watch this movie and relish the masala movie genre....the action, the grandeur, the opulence, the audacity of imagination of cars flying around, the mindless spray of bullets and maybe shoulder fired RPGs, car chases and helicopter drops, the celebration of the Male Action Hero (not many left after SuperMan has turned gay)❗❗❗ Masala movie dekhne ka apna alag hi mazaa hai...... Illogical dialogues (mard ko dard nahi hota), nonsensical love songs ( sarkailo khatiya jaada lage), dumb humor (har powder Nirma nahi hota), gravity defying action scenes.... You know the end result of the movie even before the movie starts but the 2.5 hour journey gives you hope in mankind 😀, it gives you the power to dream , the faith that goodness always prevails, an escape from the routine zindagi ......and after the movie life goes on....till the next movie ❗ 😀😀🙏🙏🙏

Movie Review *DREAM GIRL 2*💋 Move over Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire and/or Kamal Hasan in Chachi 420. There is a new girl in town - Pooja _aka_ Dream Girl 💃 After just providing his voice to Pooja in Dream Girl 1, I think an actor of Ayushman's calibre had an innate desire to act like Pooja and he has excelled at it. More about him later. With an amazing star cast of Paresh Rawal, Anu Kapoor, Vijay Raaz Rajpal Yadav, Seema Pahwa,Manoj Joshi, Ananya Pandey and others, it is a laugh riot from the word go. With this ensemble cast, It feels like an old Priyadarshan movie from the 1990's and early 2000's with crude humor, cheesy one liners and pot-shots at almost every actor from SRK to Sunny Leone except Big B from the film fraternity. After a series of flops, some might say that Ayushman had to get down to front bencher humor to get a hit but then why not. There are no pretenses about this movie so don't expect a social message (except for the last 10 min). Dream Girl 1 is one of the biggest hits of his career and why not capitalise on it just like any other actor would. To transform from Karam (name of male version of Ayushman) to Pooja seems so natural. The effort put in to get the latka's, the jhatka's, the "adaein" and the dance moves to make every man who comes across Pooja to fall for her are so perfect. Pooja is a bar-dancer, a daughter in law and a so called psychiatrist all in one. Everyone actor in the ensemble plays his/her role to perfection. The comic timing of the veterans of comedy - Paresh Rawal, Anu Kapoor, Vijay Raaz and Rajpal Yadav is impeccable. Seema Pahwa in a comedy role as the "Fufi-jaan" is superb. The use of old songs in the background to express the "feelings" of the characters is hilarious. Raaj Shandilya's direction and writing is no holds barred. Everything you can think of in a comedy has been mixed with a great story. It takes off exactly where Dream Girl 1 ended. Can't imagine what fun the crew must have had in making this movie. This is not a "double meaning" type waala movie....every dialogue has only a single meaning 😃 and it is intended that way.... To make you laugh out loud. If you are my yaar... Aaja kar le mujh se pyaar... Agar tujhe nahi aana.... To le chal mujh ko Jamnapaar Imagine Pooja grooving to the above song in a Dance Bar with Sona Bhai _aka_ Gareebo ka Bappi Lahiri (Vijay Raaz)......you get the idea 😉, don't you... Immerse yourself completely and totally in Pooja 😉 for pure crude, crass, no pretenses humour and you will come out laughing. Special note to the producers - Balaji Telefilms - Miss Ekta Kapoor (yes, Saas-Bahu waali) - Can't wait for Dream Girl 3 ❗