Movie Review: Kai Po Che…blown away!!

 

There’s no better way to say it – just book your tickets right away. It is rare that one gets treated to a movie of such quality and Kai Po Che is a winner all the way through. Across the comfortable 120 minutes you get to watch this piece of high quality cinema you are bound to experience a range of emotions, not all of them cheerful (and maybe even that lump in the throat sensation), yet when you emerge from the hall satisfaction is writ large all over your face – that’s the kind of impact this movie makes

Based on a rather mediocre novel by Chetan Bhagat, Kai Po Che lifts the story to new heights and the kite soars much farther than your expectations. A great deal of credit for this must go to the director – Abhishek Kapoor. Stunningly crafted, the pace of the movie never slackens and some scenes have that stamp of directorial class about them.

While one initially gets the feeling that character development was weak, such thoughts are quickly dismissed as the director loosens the string and allows the kite the freedom to chart its own journey. The plot simply flows as does your concern for the main characters, their friendship and well-being. Subtle scenes and the absence of any music/ sound deliver a far more shattering impact than most movies which rely on tumultuous background score to make their point. Certain scenes/ plot developments are tweaked just that bit, which catapult them to a new level than the ordinary predictable stuff. Abhishek Kapoor announced himself with Rock On and with this even more refined offering he will definitely be one to watch out for

To add to the kudos, despite mostly being in debut roles, the star cast put in a commendable performance. Sushant Singh Rajput showed great screen presence for a debutante and the others, Raj Kumar Yadav and Amit Sadh also played their role very well. Amrita Puri as the love interest wasn’t as impressive but to be fair, her character didn’t give him much room to perform. There isn’t too much of the song and dance routine as well and the little there is moves in-step with the plot

Simply put, Kai Po Che is beautifully crafted and watching a movie like this can never count as a ‘mistake in your life’ so go book your tickets right away

Movie Review: Zero Dark Thirty..is dull and dreary for the most part

Zero Dark Thirty is a pretty average watch – and I can say even this only after a largely redeeming second half that somewhat lifts the movie after its dull and rather extended opening sequences in the first half.
The Greatest Manhunt in history (the tagline with which this movie is advertised) keeps you completely detached and disconnected to its proceedings for the most part, especially in the first half. At no point does one feel part of the chase, feel the frustration of failure, feel the delight in small victories…none of that. Zero Dark Thirty is just too busy keeping a serious face throughout its runtime and as audience, you just don’t feel the connect

Instead you have to sit through painfully long and extended interrogation sessions, replays of actual events that shook the world even post 9/11 and the scramble and hunt also comes through only in parts. Half the time you are actually wondering what new lead is being followed and why the hell is it taking so long for them to get on with the show. Clearly, connecting with and engaging the audience is not on agenda for this movie.

To give credit, there are some scenes that are done well and would have some shock value – so when you’ve almost given up and the eyelids are beginning to droop, the movie will jolt you back into full attention. That and the much better connected second half and well presented (though not really thrilling) climax somewhat redeem the movie, but only just

Despite its poor writing and unnecessarily extended scenes, the movie could have been saved by an A-level starcast who could’ve breathed some life into this high potential but ultimately lifeless script. However, there is little respite there as well, with Jessica Chastain playing the lead character and while she does a decent job, she is still unable to lift the movie overall. Nobody else in the star-cast really stood out to even be of mention

Thus, as I begin the weekend on a rather dull note the verdict is this - with an agonizing runtime of 157 minutes and its dull and lifeless script, Zero Dark Thirty is really not worth a visit to the hall. Hopefully, someone will think of making a better version of this chronicle.

Movie Review: Special 26..is a pretty special watch

 

If you are one of those rare but extremely lucky ones who has not even seen the trailers of this much hyped offering by Neeraj Pandey, you are in for quite a treat – just book your tickets immediately (you could even choose to stop reading this review right here). However, if you are one of the many who have seen the trailer and know the whole ‘real is fake’ drama the movie revolves around – then the first hour of this two and a half hour heist offering will probably look very familiar. But don’t fret, there’s plenty of fun to be had and you are still bound to come out with a big smile on your face

A Wednesday, Neeraj Pandey’s first, was stellar – a tightly packaged, well paced thriller with quite a thrill as you neared the climax. There were no unnecessary songs or scenes and the entire focus was on plot narration and letting the script itself be the winner. Special 26, though, is not as flawless – in fact, it falls prey to the stereotypical Bollywood act and has an unnecessary love angle with 3 songs for company. Moreover, the pacing tends to slow down unnecessarily on multiple occasions. Thankfully, though, by the end of it all Pandey more than redeems himself and you distinctly get the feeling that he’s quite managed to pull it off again, despite those hiccups

Heist movies aren’t the best genre that Bollywood has, to offer. Most of the recent ones tend to have the plot clearly lifted from successful Hollywood movies - the Oceans series, Italian Job, Usual Suspects etc come to mind. With Special 26 though, Pandey comes up with a high class act with its own original script and thrills to be had. In fact, this is one of these rare movies where even if you’ve managed to guess it the entire way through, you'll still revel in the discovery and enjoy the movie just as much. While its tempting – I won’t reveal more…

For a movie set in the 1980s there is incredible attention to detail – right from the cars, attire to even the initial casting being reminiscent of those days. Camerawork is snazzy and effective with high quality wide angle shots and equally effective close up scenes. Background score is liberally used and adds to the pacing and tension in certain scenes

Performances are top notch as well with the veteran Anupam Kher leading from the front, despite Akshay Kumar playing the main character. His versatility is clearly on display and he plays his character with great aplomb. Manoj Bajpai puts in his usual dependable performance as does Jimmy Shergill while Kajal Agarwal has too little role to be of notice

So the verdict is this – while it may not be as picture perfect as his debut, as far as heist movies go, Neeraj Pandey delivers a pretty ‘special’ offering – don’t miss it