Some Movie reviews

Over the past couple of weeks, we saw a few Hindi movies – some of them were excellent and some not so good. Here is the list:

15 Park Avenue *** (Review)

Coming from Aparna Sen, the director of Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, I had expected this movie to be another edge of your seat gripping drama. Instead, this is a movie which delves into the psyche of a human being, harping on the differences between reality and delusion. Konkona Sen Sharma, plays the role of a person suffering from schizophrenia and the situation gets worse when her fiance dumps her and leaves her. It is a good story but it is a little heavy though – the ending is also a little open-ended and open to interpretations.

Shikhar *** (Review)

Coming from John Mattan, the director of Sarfarosh, I was expecting another thriller because the story and the trailers gave the impression that the movie was similar to Wall Street (Michael Douglas). But actually the movie is quite different. Ajay Devgan plays the role of a businessman real estate developer (capitalist view) who will stop at nothing to get a plot of land to build his “dream city”. Initially, Shahid Kapoor, who plays the role of the son of a socialist father, falls for this dream and then realizes his folly and in the end outsmarts Devgan. The movie has its moments but it is not in the same league as Sarfarosh.

Rang De Basanti ***** (Review)

One of the best films that I have ever seen. This Aamir Khan starrer, brilliantly directed by Rakesh Mehra (Aks), tells the tale of 5 college guys who believe that nothing can happen for the good of India but a series of incidents and events lead them to perform acts of heroism and patriotism. A magnificient movie which definitely the youth of India will identify – it is very inspirational. A MUST-SEE !!!

Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara **** (Review)

Exerpt from the review:

===
What is Alzheimer’s? Dementia? Schizophrenia? Scientific definitions offered are plenty, but the root cause of this sickness is much more deep-rooted than it appears. That’s what makes Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara such a superbly multilayered presentation.

Director Jahnu Barua shows us various facets of the tragedy. He explores the fear and uncertainty that a victim of this disease goes through. At the same time, he doesn’t ignore the trauma and helplessness of a daughter fighting a losing battle or the cowardly attitude of the young brother who doesn’t want to take responsibility and wants to send his father to a mental institution. The filmmaker shows a family dealing with an unusual situation without being judgemental about any of its characters.
===

In short – this is a wonderful film, although a bit slow-paced. Anupam Kher is just brilliant – reminds you of the Saraansh days and Urmila Mataondkar is also splendid.

Ek Ajnabi ** (Review)

A complete remake of the Denzel Washington starrer, “Man on Fire”, this Apoorva Lakhia (Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost) starrer is a complete waste. The first half has its interesting moments with Big B showing his acting prowess in a subdued role of a driver/body-guard for a girl belonging to an Indian family in Thailand. Just when you begin to think that the movie is going to gather pace in the 2nd half, the director actually loses grip on it and it meanders off with unnecessary fights and arguments. In the end, you leave with a bad taste in your mouth. It could have been much better than what was shown.

Hope the reviews are useful. Leave a note with your comments or suggestions and whether you had any other view points about any of the movies.

Cheers,
Thyaga

Finance Blog

A friend of mine, Hoimonti recently started a Blog about FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) Finance. This has tons of stuff about personal finance and hopefully, will help us all to retire early:). Anyway, here is the link to the Blog.

Cheers,

Thyaga