Anurag Kashyup has been the flag-bearer of the Indi Cine revolution in Bollywood, where stories are more important than stars. He is a trendsetter and he has taken multiple risks. Every film of his is embroiled in controversy, either by design or by chance. So when he announced the “near 100 Crore” Bombay Velvet, I felt it was a big gamble that the producers had taken. Going by his track record, it could either be a classic hit or a classic misfire! He has the tendency to go overboard, do many things at one time and over-direct a film. But then he has also directed Gangs of Wasseypur…

So how is Bombay Velvet? The promotions were centered around the sizzling Chemistry between the protagonists – Ranbir and Anushka. So let’s start with the Chemistry and then we will move on to the other subjects!

Chemistry – B: That they were comfortable with each other comes through, but unfortunately their relationship isn’t well developed. In the haste of saying too much, Kashyap doesn’t develop characters and relationships. The screenplay in the opening 5-10 minutes of the film is ridiculous. Yes, he wants to show how the landscape of Mumbai was changing, but the childhood scenes, the jump to adulthood don’t make sense. They do nothing for the characters. Even the romance is hurried. You don’t get a chance to connect with them, feel their love. The characters go through a lot of emotions, but unfortunately you don’t.

Social Sciences – A+: As expected, Kashyap excels in Geography and History. The art design, the costumes, the look is spot on. You get a glimpse of Bombay in the prohibition era. The cinematography is excellent and the film does teleport you back to the 60s!

Art and Craft – B: Purely in terms of storytelling, AK fails this time. His ambitions of making an epic is the major problem. If he had envisioned this as a 2 hour film, it could have been a memorable film. The writing ranges from the excellent to the ridiculous. As I said earlier, the characters aren’t built properly. KJo, an ambitious man, picks up a roadside nobody to do some dirty work and you can’t understand why? Why doesn’t he simply pick up a professional killer? Why risk it with an amateur? While Kjo pulls off the scenes well, his character is extremely vague (like many other characters). Kashyap does well in the Art of storytelling, but he fails in the craft of it!

Music – A: Amit Trivedi aces the test. Be it the amazing background score or the Jazzified tracks, he does make the experience richer. He fulfils Anurag’s ambition of having Tarantinoish, background score laced action sequences/montages with aplomb. The only problem could be the overdose of Jazz. There isn’t much variety on offer, which makes the music monotonous. Loved Dhadam Dhadam and Mohabbat Buri Bimaari!

Mathematics - C: Do things add up? Well, Kashyap seems to have gone overboard while directing this film. It was written and shot like an epic and then, it seems, on the edit table they decided to make it '2 and half hour' film instead of a '3 and half hour' one! Hence the pacing and the flow seems extremely choppy. You jump from scene to scene, montage to montage, song to song. The movie lacks “THEHERAAO”, build up and you see it like a sequence of events amounting to something. But finally, things don’t add up. The impact is lost in the overdose. Even the motivations of characters aren’t clear. Everything seems very convenient, predictable. Why does Ranbir’s sidekick become his sidekick? Why does he decide to go against him and why does he flip back to Ranbir’s side in the end? Just doesn’t make sense.

Overall - B: Forget the making, forget everything, the problem lies in the movie’s inability to connect with its audience. So, should you watch it? Well, it is not as bad as they are making it to be. If 'Gabbar is Back' can make 100 Crores, then this deserves atleast 200! Go watch it and make up your own mind. Atleast watch it for Ranbir, Anushka, KJo and the ensemble cast’s sincere effort. 

Some say that the internet is trying to kill the film, but why will it? Yes, he is AK – Arvind Kejriwal of the film making world, but that doesn’t mean the Modi aka Rohit Shetty Sangh or the Rahul Gandhi aka RGV brigade is out to bring him down! Kashyap has been the darling of the critics and the intelligent audience for years now. His problem was connecting with the masses. I think he should reflect on the film and see why he hasn’t connected with the people he generally connects with. Over ambition, Over Zealous Direction and an over bearing feeling of it wanting to be a Noir Classic (Wannabe) ultimately kills Bombay Velvet. Sadly, Jazzba hai Jaan nahi...

Rating: 6/10
If you think otherwise, would love to know your thoughts - Do comment.
If you agree. LIKE maaro naa!!!

So, Mr.Sanjay Gupta is back after 5 years with his second Shootout and you thank God for those 5 years - after you watch this film! 


Shootout at Wadala is the perfect example of exploitative B Grade cinema, that purely focuses on Vulgarity, Crass Dialogues and Gore in the name of entertainment. There are masters like Roberto Rodriguez and Tarantino who can make even Exploitative Cinema look aesthetic, but throbbing prods like Sanjay Gupta can make even a Nun look like a whore.

So what is S.A.W – about? Well, you know it’s the story of the rise and fall of a gangster named Manya Surve in Mumbai. Based on one chapter of the book Dongri to Dubai, it is 2 and half hours of Mind-Hump which you can barely tolerate.

And it won’t be surprising to know that it was written by some horny nerd with the help of an algorithm.

1)     Start
2)   Add - Bunch of Cheap Dialogues, Crass Language and Constipated faces with impactful music in the background.
3)     Remove – Clothes of Heroine or any other Pretty looking chick around.
4)     Add – Item number with heaving bosoms, plunging cleavages, and a bunch of drunk idiots gyrating around them singing songs that have lyrics written for the Clinically Brain-dead.
5)      Remove – Clothes of Heroine and Hero.
6)     Add – Steamy, wild kisses and humping under the covers, that has no use nor consequence to the storyline.
7)     Add – More Crass Dialogue with a gory action sequence.
8)   Add – a Mindless Conversation with an overly Hirsute Cop and a disturbingly bulky but clean-shaven Gangster!
9)     If <Not the End> Go back to 2)
10) Else <End Credits>
11) Stop … Oh god! Please Stop!!!

Now, if the Story algorithm wasn’t bad enough, you have some pretty bad acting at display. Every one is going over the top, except the likes of Bajpai and Sonu Sood. Anil Kapoor keeps barking one tardy line after the other.
Sample this “Police ke Revolver main itna loha hota hai ki agar Thok diya toh tujhe kabhi Iron ki kami nahi hogi!!”  or “Aaj mujhe pataa chalaa Vardi ka colour Khakhi kyon hota hai. Kyonki koi bhi Hagg ke chalaa jaaye, toh pataa naa chale!”

Do one exercise, sit for 5 minutes and try writing such a dialogue. I am sure you will come up with atleast 5. Example - “Sanjay Gupta ke bheje main itna GOBAR hai, ki sochta bhi hai toh GANDH aati hai!”. The dialogue writer wouldn’t have taken anything more than a drunken hour over the shitpot.

And the film goes on and on for an intolerable 155 Minutes! Watching it is truly an exercise in futility – except if you are looking for a headache. Truly man, iss film ne mere Dimaag ki thok di.

Rating: 2/10 - (for some brilliant acting by Sunny Leone!! :P )

This is actually 1 film, made at a leisurely pace, satisfying all whims of a director and his audience, cut into 2. Ideally, it should be analysed as a whole, but because it was released as 2 films, I am writing a review just on this film. You already know, what I thought about film no 1(Click to read). Here goes what I think of no 2.

Gangs of Wasseypur is an epic in terms of its vision, execution and ambition. Years, decades pass and the revenge saga goes on and on and on. Though there is a definite end to the film, the premise has an indefinite loop. And, the genius director proves that he has a voice unlike any in this industry, albeit goes a little overboard.

To pull off a 5 + hours epic without any note-able star power and making it a cult success is not a joke. There is no mediocrity in the making. From the littlest of characters to the nuances in the set design, Kashyap gets everything spot on. A mere character actor “Nawazuddin” of yore, looks like a Mega Star on screen, with complete control of the proceedings.

What Kashyap excels in is Character Development, mixing comedy with pulp and action sequences. He seems to be completely inspired by the Tarantino style of film-making, where the dialogues are brisk and the violence is electric. Even the use of background score/songs to elevate any sequence is  an inspired delight. Sneha Khanwalkar infuses life into the scenes with her delightfully raw and slice of life music.

The first half of the 2nd film is excellent, but things seem to drag on and on in the second. The convoluted tale of crossing, double crossing and double double crossing tests your patience. It seems like a rudderless ride, but you know it’s intentional. And that’s my problem with the film. Just as you start getting frustrated, the heroin sings “Frustiyaayo nahi mooraaaaaaa”!!!

Kashyap goes into over-indulgence, concentrating on set-pieces rather than the entire product. It’s like a kid is given with magical powers and he doesn’t know when to stop using it. I think Kashyap was having too much fun with the talent at hand, and used to sleep wondering what I could do next.

Anyways, though there is a problem with the length, he makes up for it in style.  The movie is definitely worth a watch, only if you have the stomach for some serious pulp. It’s also a masterclass in acting by all the main characters. So go watch it. But as I said earlier – do not expect a classic. It remains an epic quiet literally. Film keh ke leti toh theek tha… yeh bin kahe bhi le leti hai…

Rating : 6.5 / 10 ( Overall)

Mr.Kashyup is a true revolutionary. He fought the system and made his mark. He has always been regarded as the new maestro of cult film making. But there is a big problem in his film making – over indulgence and romanticising his own craft. And that is where GOW suffers… despite the overall brilliance of each and every individual associated with this project.

 To tell you the truth, I have always looked up to Anurag. Though Paanch didn’t impress me much, he ripped it with Black Friday… Dev D was good but then there have been average stuff like No Smoking and Girl in Yellow Boots. According to me, he was at his best in the first half of the gritty Gulaal and that made me his true fan. Gangs of Wasseypur, brings out that brilliance in parts, but just goes on and on and on and still never ends.

This film unfolds like an epic. Starting from the pre-independence era, it tells us the tale of the people of Wasseypur/ Dhanbad – now in Ranchi. The cinematography is spectacular and the storytelling is stellar. Quickly you are introduced with the gangs of Wasseypur and the divide between two sects of Muslims living in that area. The story then shifts to Dhanbad and the coal mafia comes into the picture. As you digest these facts, a revenge drama unfolds with a dash of womanizing and a whole lot of blood.

As I said earlier, the film mostly rides on the brilliance of each and every cast and crew member. The actors do a spot on job, from the briefest cameo to the lead roles. The background score and music score by Sneha Khanwalkar is amazing and suits the film like Ham suits SRK! The dialogues are great, so is the styling, the action choreography, the photography. But even though everyone is hitting a six, you shift in your seat.

The problem is you don’t know where the film is heading. It builds up to being this revenge tale, but never really snowballs into something big. Small skirmishes keep happening, but the tide turns, a few years are knocked off the calendar and again the story delves into trivialities of life. Kashyup takes his time, moves into subplots, dives into mundane pappi jhappi’s and strays away from the plot. The protagonist, in the 4th act of the film forgets that he is driven by revenge and starts selling fish! And this just stretches the film. Some might say it was to reflect life’s mundane nature, but was captured way better and with the correct balance by Tigmanshu in “Pan Singh Tomar”. Anurag just goes over board.

And you come out with this mixed feeling because you know this could have been great. Anurag spoils the excellent individual brilliance of everyone with his romanticism and I am not too excited to see what will happen next. If this were a 3 hour tightly bound film, I think it would have been an epic ( figuratively). Right now, it’s just an epic literally – running over decades, but not creating too much of an impact.

Rating: 6 / 10 ( Damn --- It's sad, coz the acting is so awesome)

With multiplexes not throwing up too many options this weekend, I decided to go for what I assumed to be the best bet. Shabri, a gangsta film from the RGV camp, does give it a bit of credibility.

The first thing that hit me when I entered the theater, was the quality of the footage. The film certainly looked like it was shot in 1990's and released today. Maybe this was deliberate, but it was a real spoiler.

After a few minutes my eyes adjusted to the hazy, dark tone of the film. And the film started making sense. The setting was grim, the characters well picked and performances measured. Shabri, a no nonsense, hardworking slum girl wants to protect her younger brother from bad influences. But when the police pick him up in a raid by mistake, which leads to his encounter, she loses it and shoots down the inspector responsible. And she does that with ease. With police on her back and also another big gangsta, she sets out on a mission to kill !

Eesha Kopikkar is splendid in her lead role. She looks the part, walks the part, talks the part and delivers the dialogues with panache. Zakir Hussain seems to walk straight out of his role in "Not a Love story" into this movie as the investigating inspector. Others also act with sincerity, but the problem is that the writing loses its strength mid way through the movie. Though the movie starts with a few poignant moments, the script then keeps becoming weaker by the minute. Even the dialogues suffer and logic goes for a toss. Lalith Marathe shows promise in his directorial venture as his screenplay is engaging, but is let down with the weak script.

This film was supposedly in the can for a long time, before RGV finally decided to release it. Good it did see the light of day, purely due to the effort put in. But even though miss Eesha fires on all cylinders, the film largely misfires... 

Rating : 3 / 10

I wont deny it.  Once Upon A Time  is a well made film.  Director Milan Luthria has a knack of making hard hitting films. But he also makes super duds in between. Of all his work, Kachche  Dhaage still remains his most hard hitting film and "Taxi Number  9211"  the most enterprising ! This is a decent come back after the horrific "Hattrick" !

Once Upon A Time in Mumbai is about a  "Gangster" - Ajay Devgan, the new age Robin Hood and how he ruled over Mumbai long ago. And then came the over-ambitious " Wannabe" - Emran Hashmi who brought about Robin Hoods downfall and took over as the more devilish successor. Devgan's philosophy  is "Main woh kaam karta hun jiski kanoon ijaazat nahi deti.. Woh nahi jiska Zameer  ijaazat nahi deta". and Emran's philosophy is getting power at any cost. Then, there is also an ambitious cop - Randeep Hooda, who watches from the sidelines as Wannabe brings about the downfall of the Gangster.

Lets talk about the plus points of this film : Its well directed, its stylish, it has good performances and good dialogues. Devgan is an automatic choice for the role. Emran nd Randeep Hooda get their first shot at doing an A grade  multi-starrer . Devgan is as good as always in a role he can sleep walk through. Emran Hashmi is getting better, but suffers a bit in dialogue delivery. The one who surprises the most is Hooda, and if not for his heavily curtailed role, this would have been his vehicle to fame... Kangana Ranaut looks pretty, but struggles to pull off the sophisticated heroin character.  It also has some hard hitting dialogues and some powerful scenes. Also, a couple of songs in the film are awesome and that helps.

But the film suffers because it's an all too familiar tale. It looks like a poor cousin of "Company". Though the story has promise, the screenplay suffers.  Romance takes away half of the screen time and keeps the screenplay slow. Also, one of the most promising character's - Randeep Hooda, is sidelined. Gangster glorification is accompanied by Police derogation. Also, the story defies logic. Even though he is the KING of Mumbai, Devgan defies logic by selecting a rank new comer, Emran,  to take his place while he takes a sabbatical. Also, just because Devgan is slated to die in the end, Ranaut is conveniently diagnosed with a hole in her heart which limits her life. The film is based in the 70's but the director could have done well, without having the cliches of 70's films !  Also, the writer/director seem to have fallen short of ideas towards the end and have the lamest end possible. You are left with the reaction " Oh! its over !! OK... lets go !" 

A gangster film requires a punch and should have enough drama to keep you occupied - Eg- Satya,  Company, Kaantein and this film lacks both. But once upon a time is still a more than decent film for this time ( of truly over hyped trashy films) ! DVD mile toh dekh lena...

Rating : 5.5 / 10