Solo: A Star Wars Story (English) Review

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A little over four decades ago, in 1977, the first film in the epic Star Wars saga (that would extend over years to come) released with the release of A NEW HOPE. Now after nine films in the saga, we see the release of a spin off story line that brings fans in touch with the origins of one of the most loved characters Han Solo. But will this new age space western do justice to the mammoth legend of Han Solo or will it like so many other spin off/ origin satires falter, is the question of the hour.

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY follows the escapades of Han Solo before he became the legend. Starting off from the early days, the film depicts the squalor that Solo came from that was ruled by the tyrannical Lady Proxima and his constant schemes and efforts to pay his way out. Besides this like most of the films in the saga, this one too features a budding love story angle between Solo and Qi’ra. But will the two young romantics find a way out of the hell hole or will they fall prey to the Empire’s growing power is what forms the rest of the film.

Starting off one must bear in mind that the happenings in SOLO are dated before the rebellion came into being. In fact the film goes on to depict the rise of the Empire into a force to reckon with. While at the same time laying the base upon which the legend of Han Solo is built. If that wasn’t enough, through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future co-pilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.

First things first, with director Ron Howard at the helm of the film, one expects nothing less than a visual spectacle. Known for films like APOLLO 13, A BEAUTIFUL MIND and more recently RUSH and INFERNO, Howard brings with him, expectations of a space western film on epic proportions. However, unlike Howard’s previous cinematic outings, SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY offers little scope for sweeping cinematic visuals. Despite this, when given the chance to depict a world that has been ravaged by time, Howard works his magic with aplomb. Going into SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY, viewers are already aware of the fact that it will feature some of the high points of Han’s life that eventually made him the smuggler with a heart of gold, unfortunately this exact premise hampers the entire telling of what could become an epic due to the limited scope to explore unknown avenues, a detail upon which most of the film in the Star Wars franchise that thrived. But despite this, Howard has managed to pull together an enjoyable film that sadly looks like a series of highlight from a character’s life.

Coming to the performances, Alden Ehrenreich is no Harrison Ford, but he does manage to do a commendable job with the role of Han Solo. Joonas Suotamo as the lovable Chewbacca and Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian are sorely underused. Despite having prominent roles in the film, both their characters (though only supporting roles) appear to be greatly under developed and half baked. One wishes that both Chewbacca and Lando were given more meatier chunks to explore the entire depth of their characters. But it is the roles of Woody Harrelson as Beckett and Emilia Clarke as Qi’ra that come across the most dejecting. In fact, both good actors in their own right fall flat with a narrative that focuses on Solo alone. While one wishes that these two were used more to their full potential being a Han Solo film, they are relegated to the shadows serving only as waypoints to take the story forward.

However, the biggest drawback of SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY is the writing and the narrative, with most of the suspense lost, the makers have had to rely heavily on the epic tale of Solo to develop a narrative that does justice to his character. Sadly, this does not suffice. Instead the film comes across as a rather poor attempt at developing a new story line to encash on an epic saga that has neared the end of its money making heydays. Simply put, with an underwhelming story and weak narrative SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY is devoid of that charm and charisma that have over the years endeared the epic of STAR WARS to so many fans.

Even the background score of the film, unlike most Howard directorial seems greatly underused. With a fall back to the now legendary Star Wars theme every now and then, this new venture offers very little to the viewers. But it isn’t all downhill. Though limited, the action and race sequences are well shot and choreographed but one wishes there were more. The CGI too though done well could have been so much better had the story line of the film given room to develop a bit more.

On the whole, SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY leaves you with a somewhat empty feeling. With nothing new to tell in the story and very little scope to deviate from the past, the film becomes just another run of the mill cinematic outings that is developed to cash grab the last bits of money from a fading franchise. At the box office, with the John Abraham starrer Parmanu releasing alongside the film, SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY might just face a hard time raking in the numbers.

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Bhoomi Review: https://hungama.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/Alexa/Review-English/review_eng_762461.mp3 - Bollywood Hungama

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Post the shocking Nirbhaya gang rape in 2012, a major section of the society has begun to see the problems faced by women more seriously and in a new light. It has also led to Bollywood making multiple films on this subject. PINK, MAATR and MOM dealt with this growing menace in recent times and now Sanjay Dutt choses this hard-hitting topic for his comeback film, BHOOMI. So does this film turn out to be an entertaining one or does it fail, let’s analyse.

Arun (Sanjay Dutt) is a widower based in Agra who has single-handedly raised his daughter Bhoomi (Aditi Rao Hydari). An eligible boy Neeraj (Sidhant Gupta) gets interested in Bhoomi and she too falls for him. Arun is happy with this union. However, Vishal (Puru Chibber) from her neighbourhood loves her too. He asks her out few days before the wedding. An enraged Bhoomi slaps him. Vishal narrates about his ordeal to his cousin, the evil Dhauli (Sharad Kelkar). He instigates him to kidnap Bhoomi and then rape her. Vishal goes ahead and does it. But not just him, as even Dhauli and his henchmen Ghulam (Veer Aryan) rape Bhoomi. Arun’s world comes crashing down when he learns about it. How he hits back and avenges Bhoomi’s rape is what the rest of the film is all about.

The story written by Sandeep Singh has been done to death multiple times in Bollywood and has no novelty. Raaj Shaandiliyaa’s screenplay comes across as clichéd and dated. BHOOMI suffers from two major problems. Firstly, it comes too late in the day. Audiences have already seen KAABIL, MAATR and MOM which were also similar films dealing with rape and revenge. Hence the impact of BHOOMI gets diluted. Secondly, the film takes too long to really get into the revenge drama zone. The narrative is so slow, dragged and boring that nothing happens until the last 20 minutes when Arun finally starts taking revenge.

However Raaj Shaandiliyaa’s dialogues create the necessary impact, though only at few places. Interestingly, the film has dialogues about women empowerment, progressive thoughts, women safety etc, but it shows violence against women through the major part of the runtime.

Omung Kumar’s direction is very weak. He has used all the Bollywood clichés and made the film extremely violent. Everyone is corrupt and the society is full of hypocrites in this story. Three scenes however are very well executed – when Sanjay Dutt gets new shoes for Aditi, the courtroom scene where Dutt gives a hard hitting speech and when Sanjay Dutt informs about the punishment for rape in different countries of the world to one of the victims.

Coming to performances, Sanjay Dutt is brilliant and his emotions look genuine. He looks convincing as a helpless father and also powerful when he takes revenge in the final scenes. The way his eyes do all the talking in the police station scene is seen to be believed. Aditi Rao Hydari is good in her part and her portrayal of a rape survivor is very impactful. You genuinely feel for her in the film. Sharad Kelkar is the best out of all the villains. He looks very convincing. Riddhi Sen (Jeetu) delivers an effective performance and he has a crucial part in the film. Veer Aryan (Ghulam) gets little scope but does fine. Puru Chibber is quite nice as the rapist as well as the helpless target of Arun. Shekhar Suman (Taj) is wasted. Sidhant Gupta does well in his cameo.

Sachin-Jigar’s music is weak and has no scope. ‘Will You Marry Me’, played during opening credits, is the only one that works. ‘Jai Mata Di’ played in the climax enhances impact. The Sunny Leone item song ‘Trippy Trippy’ looks forced and is badly placed. Ismail Darbar’s background score is strong.

Arthur Zurawski’s cinematography is very good. Vanita Omung Kumar’s production design is authentic and rustic. Jayesh Shikharkhane’s editing is disappointing. The 135 minute long film should have been trimmed by 15-20 minutes to create the necessary impact. Javed-Aejaz’s action is too gory and might put off the family audiences.

On the whole, BHOOMI comes across as a decent entertainer with power packed performance by Sanjay Dutt. At the box office, it will have to compete with other releases for its share of footfalls.

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Judwaa 2 Review - Bollywood Hungama

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The tastes of the audiences have evolved quite a lot since the last few years but still, most of the viewers don’t mind an illogical but entertaining masala comic caper. JUDWAA 2 is one such film that is unabashedly catering to ‘leave-your-brains-behind’ sort of cinema. So does it manage to raise laughs or fails in its endeavour, lets analyse.

JUDWAA 2 deals with the fun adventures of twin brothers separated at birth. Rajiv Malhotra (Sachin Khedekar) meets the evil Charles (Zakir Hussain) in the flight and helps the authorities in getting him arrested. At the same time, Rajiv’s wife Ankita (Prachee Shah Paandya) gives birth to twins. Charles gets arrested in the hospital where Ankita had her delivery and he runs away with one of the twins. Rajiv and Ankita presume that child to be dead due to certain circumstances and they move to London with their other son. This son, Prem (Varun Dhawan), grows up as a shy and docile person who can be easily bullied. His brother Raja (Varun Dhawan) grows up in Mumbai’s Versova and is the opposite of Prem – he is outgoing, brash and bullying him is next to impossible. However, Raja falls in trouble when he fights with Alex (Vivan Bhatena) and injures him badly. Alex is incidentally the son of Charles and is also quite villainous. Raja and his sidekick Nandu (Rajpal Yadav) escape to London as a result. In the flight, he meets Alishka (Jacqueline Fernandez) and both fall for each other. Prem on the other hand starts dating Samaira (Taapsee Pannu) who learns music from him. But strange things start happening to both Prem and Raja as soon as the latter lands in London. The twins suffer from a peculiar problem – if one feels pain, the other shall also experience the same feeling and both even replicate each other’s actions, depending on distance. Both go through a series of hilarious incidents as a result. What happens next and how the madness unfolds is what the rest of the film is all about.

JUDWAA 2 is a reboot of the original JUDWAA and those who have seen the original would know what to expect. However, the makers have tweaked certain portions and moreover, setting up the story in London has given the film a fresh and grand touch. The initial portions involving the twins getting separated and how Raja gets saved from the oncoming train is well executed. The entry of Raja is whistle worthy and his antics add to the fun. The entry of Samaira and Alishka also take the film to a new level. However, the film gets a bit sexist and some of the scenes like the butt slapping sequences and Prem forcefully kissing Samaira might be seen as crass by a certain section of audiences. Also, Prem even smooching his to be mother in law (Upasna Singh) comes across as a funny sequence but again, it will evoked mixed and even extreme reactions. On the positive side – the film has some hilarious scenes as well that bring the house down. The sequence with Pappu Passport (Johnny Lever), Raja creating a scene at the London airport, Prem’s various meetings with Dr Lulla (Ali Asgar), the bathtub sequence etc., are very funny. Raja using his modus operandi of narrating a sad story followed by his phone ringing is devoid of logic but makes for a fun watch despite getting repetitive. But there are also few scenes that don’t work. Post-interval, it becomes tedious to see Prem and Raja being held up as a result of mistaken identity. But thankfully, the climax is where the film picks up.

The film’s story is a no-brainer but works for the intended audience. Yunus Sajawal’s screenplay is effective and entertaining. But it could have been better and a lot more imaginative in certain places, especially in the second half. Farhad-Sajid’s dialogues are one of the highpoints. The duo is known for playing with words very well and has taken several films to great heights. JUDWAA 2 is no exception.

David Dhawan’s direction is simple and uncomplicated despite handling a plot related to mistaken identities. However, at some places, he lets the somewhat flawed script take over and doesn’t do much with his direction to salvage the situation. Also, the original JUDWAA was much better and at places, even slightly more logical. But JUDWAA 2 is an all-out illogical fare and at places, it falters. Moreover, there are too many characters and it’s bewildering to see the way he has handled the characters of Charles and Inspector Dhillon (Pavan Raj Malhotra) towards the end.

Varun Dhawan as expected delivers a terrific performance. The actor is in top form and the manner in which he ups the entertainment quotient with his quirks and dance moves is seen to be believed. He reminds one of Salman Khan and Govinda of the 90s and the frenzy they created. In today’s times, Varun Dhawan is the only actor who’s doing such roles on screen and that’s a very big plus for him and for the film as well. Jacqueline Fernandez looks extremely gorgeous and performance-wise, she is fine. Taapsee Pannu however looks a bit out of place. She is not that glamorous and moreover, she seems to be in the PINK mode, talking like her character from that film. Vivan Bhatena looks dashing and does well in a supporting role. Sachin Khedekar and Prachee Shah Paandya are decent. Rajpal Yadav is hilarious and brings the house down in certain scenes. Upasna Singh goes overboard. Ali Asgar also is a bit over the top but it works for his character. Pavan Raj Malhotra has an interesting character but is not utilized well after a point. Anupam Kher is first-rate but Atul Parchure is strictly okay. Manoj Pahwa (Sharafat Ali) fails to raise laughs but Johny Lever is very funny. Rajat Rawail and Farhad (jewellery shop salesman) are okay while Vikas Verma (Rocky) gets no scope. Salman Khan is cool in his cameo. Though the writer should have tried being a little more imaginative for his cameo scene.

The music of the film is good but not great. The songs from original JUDWAA are the ones that work well – ‘Chalti Hai Kya’ and ‘Oonchi Hai Building’. From the new songs, ‘Suno Ganpati Bappa Morya’ works to an extent while ‘Aa To Sahii’ is forgettable. Sandeep Shirodkar’s background score however is very entertaining. The cunning tune used in the scenes of Charles will keep circling in one’s mind for some time for sure.

Ganesh Acharya and Bosco Martis’s choreography is eye-catching and one of the highlights of the film. Ayananka Bose’s cinematography is satisfactory. ANL Arasu’s action is massy and not too gory which works for this kind of a film. Ritesh Soni’s editing is simple and Rajat Poddar’s production design is very grand and rich and gives the film a great look. The costumes are also quite lovely, especially the ones worn by Jacqueline Fernandez and Taapsee Pannu.

On the whole, JUDWAA 2, despite all the goofs, flaws and clichés, comes across as a decent paisa-vasool entertainer. At the box office, it has the potential to keep the cinegoers happy as it is quite massy and audiences have been deprived of quality content since a long time.

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Chef Review - Bollywood Hungama

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There’s a foodie hidden in all of us. Hence, films based on food can work big time with the audiences. In the past, SALAAM NAMASTE, CHEENI KUM and LUV SHUV TEY CHICKEN KHURANA too dealt with food as the subject and impressed the viewers. CHEF, as the title suggests is a ‘food film’ of sorts and what’s more, it also speaks about the challenges faced by parents and children that is a burning and a very relatable topic. So does CHEF impress or does it fail to entertain the audiences, let’s analyse.

CHEF is the story of a father who connects with his son during a fun gastronomical trip across India. Roshan Kalra (Saif Ali Khan) is a chef in New York. He is divorced and his son Armaan (Svar Kamble) stays with his mother Radha Menon (Padmapriya Janakiraman) in Cochin. Due to his work commitments, Roshan finds it difficult to come down to Cochin and spend time with Armaan. Roshan also has a high temper and one day he punches a customer who complains about his cooking. Roshan is fired from his job and he uses this opportunity to come to Cochin. He does the much needed bonding with his son. When the times comes to go back to New York, Roshan is offered an opportunity to run a food truck or rather a ‘food bus’ by Radha’s close friend Biju (Milind Soman). Roshan decides to take the truck from Cochin to Delhi and give the people of his hometown a gastronomical treat. Armaan also joins him along with his protégé Nuzroon (Chandan Roy Sanyal). What happens next forms the rest of the film.

CHEF is based on the much-loved Hollywood film by the same name, made by Jon Favreau. But as the trailers have already made it clear, the Hindi version is not a scene-by-scene remake and several changes have been done, probably to suit the Indian audiences. The story penned by Ritesh Shah, Suresh Nair and Raja Krishna Menon is simple and decent. Ritesh Shah, Suresh Nair and Raja Krishna Menon’s screenplay is effective with nice dollops of humour.

CHEF starts on a slow note. Roshan’s two minute long childhood portion is lovely but the New York sequence is very dry. The portions involving Roshan’s outburst in front of the customer and later in the kitchen seem unconvincing. Also, Roshan’s conversation with Vinnie (Sobhita Dhulipala) in his apartment doesn’t really engage. Thankfully, the film picks up when Roshan arrives in India and meets his son and ex-wife. Roshan teasing Armaan over his crush and Roshan-Armaan’s trip to Delhi and Amritsar are well-executed. The Father-son relationship is the highpoint of the movie. Also, Roshan’s jealousy for Biju is funny. The second half is when the road trip begins also puts a smile on your face. CHEF being in the ‘food porn’ zone, several scenes are sure to water your mouth though one expected to see more food visuals in this film.  There are several scenes which happen very conveniently – the manner in which people throng to Roshan’s food bus and the way it becomes famous seem illogical.

Ritesh Shah’s dialogues however are witty and straight out of life. Raja Krishna Menon’s direction is fine and doesn’t do much to elevate the impact. It works in a way as the film remains a simple fare from start to finish but at the same time, one wishes at some places if the film could have made a stronger emotional impact. This is especially true in the climax scene involving Roshan running through the peak-hour traffic.

Saif Ali Khan delivers a marvellous performance and impresses thoroughly with his trademark humour. Even in the emotional and confrontational sequences, he shines. Interestingly, he takes a dig at himself in the film and it’s really funny and unexpected. Svar Kamble is highly impressive and has some crucial scenes. He performs ably and his bonding with Saif looks quite real. Padmapriya Janakiraman looks stunning and delivers a very real and restrained performance. She ensures that she makes an impact in this father-son saga. Chandan Roy Sanyal delivers a very adorable performance but gets limited scope to showcase his acting talent. Milind Soman as always looks great and delivers a competent performance. Dinesh P Nair (Alex, the driver) is hilarious and his looks and character leave a huge mark. Sobhita Dhulipala is wasted. Ram Gopal Bajaj is quite nice in a small role. Raghu Dixit has a nice cameo in the film as well.

Raghu Dixit’s music goes well with the mood of the film. ‘Shugal Laga Le’ is like the anthem of the film. ‘Banjara’ has the exhilarating feel. ‘Tere Mere’ doesn’t make an impact while ‘Darmiyaan’ is very well presented. Raghu Dixit’s background score is foot tapping. Priya Seth’s cinematography is lovely and delectable, especially the food scenes. But even the locales of Kerala and Amritsar are captured beautifully. Also Shiv Kumar Panicker’s editing is satisfactory. Anuradha Shetty’s production design is very nice especially her work on the food bus.

On the whole, CHEF is a feel good cerebral entertainer that charms you with its simplicity. At the box office, it should appeal to the target group of multiplex audience that appreciates discerning cinema. The film has the potential to grow with a good word of mouth.

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Blade Runner 2049 (English) Review

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Over the recent couple of months or rather years, we have been seeing a rise in the number of old classics being remade with the latest technology. But are these recreations worth their while or are they just an eye candy is a pertinent question. This week we see the release of yet another film, BLADE RUNNER 2049, from the days gone by getting new life breathed into it. But will this recreation work at the box office or will it like so many others before it, be lost is the question of the hour.

The film starts off by setting the premise by depicting a world in 2049 that has been ravaged by humanity. After the development of humanoid artificial intelligence that has begun to become sentient a new generation of human- robot hybrids are developed which follow commands. From them a certain segment is categorized as Blade Runners whose sole purpose is to hunt down and ‘retire’ the older models. The story of BLADE RUNNER follows a young blade runner’s discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard, who’s been missing for thirty years. Will he uncover the truth behind his being or will he become yet another scrapped bot in an endless war is what makes the rest of the film.

Like most post-apocalyptic films, BLADE RUNNER 2049 too relies heavily on visuals that convey the desperate fate humanity finds itself in. However, what works for the film apart from the visuals is a marvellous sound track that coupled together transports the viewer into the world of 2049. Though a bit slow in parts, the director of the film Denis Villeneuve does manage to keep you in your seat with well-timed action sequences. Besides this, Villeneuve also manages to give each character that is introduced, a plausible backstory while at the same time taking the film forward without spending precious minutes on explanations. Interestingly, despite being a bleak science- fiction film, BLADE RUNNER 2049 turns out to be quite unlike other films that have focused on racking up the body count. Instead the film focusses more on the story of the characters while simultaneously margining actions, drama, and emotion together all set against a grim backdrop.

Since the original BLADE RUNNER developed by Ridley Scott was a masterpiece for its time, the biggest question that comes to mind is will Denis Villeneuve, despite his past performance behind the camera in films like SICARIO, be able to pull off Scott’s dystopian world? However, once the film starts, these doubts vanish like the foliage that is all but gone. In fact Villeneuve’s vision of BLADE RUNNER 2049 is startlingly well made. Though, here credit needs to be awarded to the brilliant director of photography Roger Deakins, who has done a stellar job of bringing to life Scott’s vision. However, it wasn’t only Villeneuve and Deakins combination that makes BLADE RUNNER riveting. Adding a thrilling suspense element is the background score developed by the musical genius Hans Zimmer. From the first chord itself, the viewer is unsettled by the score that coupled with the visuals goes a long way in defining the film. Like the title track in WONDER WOMAN and for that matter Zimmer’s previous score for DUNKIRK, the audiences are kept on the edge of their seats.

Coming to the performances, the entire cast seems to have put their best foot forward. Starting with Ryan Gosling, on whose character the entire film revolves, has done a brilliant job of portraying agent ‘K’. His lacklustre expressions towards conventional environments that would elicit a response go a long way in setting the baseline for a character that is expected to be detached and emotionless. From there, Gosling does well as he takes viewers on a journey of discovery as he begins to feel emotions. Similarly, Harrison Ford who has over the years featured on celluloid as iconic characters be it Han Solo or Indiana Jones, has done some of his best work in this film. In fact Ford’s performance as Deckard, in the small yet vital role in BLADE RUNNER 2049, can easily be termed as one of his best. Doing equally good job is the villainous duo of Jared Leto as Neander Wallace, the evil head of a corporation that heads the new world order, and Sylvia Hoeks as Neander’s hit-woman Luv. While Leto doesn’t have much screen time, his presence is felt through Hoeks as she goes about her business executing orders from her superior. Also doing an impressive job is Ana de Armas as Joi, K’s artificial girlfriend. Though her role doesn’t appear to be much, while at the same time reminding viewers of Alicia Vikander in EX MACHINA, she does a great job of grounding agent K and giving him a side that makes him human.

On the whole, while director Denis Villeneuve will certainly be getting a standing ovation for BLADE RUNNER 2049, it must be noted that unlike most others who would have preferred on making a reboot, Villeneuve picks up where the previous film left off with aplomb. Call it a science – fiction or character based film, both of which will still hold true, the film turns out to be an engrossing mix of stellar visuals coupled with a riveting background score that keeps the viewers glued to their seats. However, given the limited release that BLADE RUNNER 2049 gets in India, the film won’t be able to post impressive numbers at the box office.

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