Movie Review: Happy Bhag Jayegi..doesn’t leave you all that happy

Its not so bad that you’ll want to run away from the hall before it reaches its intermission but with its forced humor, over-acted performances and ultimately weak script – there is little in Happy Bhaag Jayegi that leaves you grinning ear to ear.

What starts off as a fresh approach to what may seem as an Indian version of The Runaway Bride, morphs every 20 minutes into something that is hard to connect with or feel a part of. Character development is practically non-existent and while there is definite potential with the setup, there is a marked lack of finesse in the execution – leaving pretty much everything up to the performances.

Unfortunately, the performances disappoint as well. Abhay Deol, otherwise Mr. Dependable, is surprisingly way off key – especially in the first half. Jimmy Shergill has a fairly straight forward character and he does fair justice to it. Happy, played quite sincerely by Diana Penty is supposed to be the hallmark of the show, but try as she does – Diana fails to deliver her lines naturally. She is quite the pretty picture to look at and her expression is mostly right, but the dialogue delivery disappoints, especially as a Punjabi kudi, she just doesn't make the cut. Apart from that there is Faizal Khan who has a barely noticeable role and Momal Sheikh who's role demanded a better actor. Finally, there is Piyush Mishra, who is a pleasure to watch despite the side act. However, saddled with mostly unfunny lines and situations, there is little that he can do beyond a point.

Humor is perhaps the toughest to pull off – so I’d still applaud the attempt to generate some clean humor. This one is totally a family movie with not one scene being ‘kids unfriendly’. The only problem is I don’t know how much even the kids are going to enjoy this one.

The background score makes all the suggestions that something very funny is about to be done or said, but that rarely happens. Instead, it becomes a crutch to hold up what little humor there is in a particular scene. There are digs on the India Pakistan relationship, Pakistan in general and when it reaches a point of making jokes on the Urdu language – the desperation to make you laugh is clear as day.

The songs, while somewhat melodious, don’t help matters much and only lengthen the already tedious proceedings. Thankfully they move in line with the narrative so they don’t slow things as much. Happy Bhag Gayee is a case of great potential, that is completely squandered away. There are other films that have done this kind of stuff and done it far better. Unfortunately, that’s the only thought you come away with after the roughly 2 hours runtime.


That said, I do feel that if movies like ‘Mere Brother ki Dulhan’ and ‘Dolly ki Doli’ were up your alley, you’d probably enjoy this one too. However, if you are hoping for something more, then Happy Bhag Jayegi is not the one to run to.

Movie Review: Jason Bourne…I wouldn’t stand in line for this

The Bourne Ultimatum..even the slightest recollection of the last (and arguably finest) in this legendary trilogy sets the pulse racing and the adrenaline soaring. It was the perfect swan song for Bourne and ended on just the right note. What then is the point of Jason Bourne, the next installment (I disregard Bourne Legacy to have anything to do with this series) to be released? Unfortunately, as you exit the theater roughly two hours later, you still haven’t found any answers.

To adapt from the trademark Moby soundtrack that accompanies the series, the movie doesn’t sink to such depths that one would say ‘it fell apart’ but it does come pretty darn close. The only reason things still manage to stay together is due to the genius at the helm – Paul Greengrass. I’ve said it earlier and I’ll say it again – the man has such a vision for action, its hard not to get sucked in. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that even he gets somewhat exposed in this mish mash of action scenes with the weakest plot of the series and a climax that seems like it is part of the Fast and Furious series, rather than Jason Bourne.

There is nothing horribly wrong with Jason Bourne per se – if you can forgive its weak plot. The shaky camera is there, the tension is somewhat there, Heather is no Pamela Landy but Alicia Vikander gives her everything she’s got – but then its all been done before and done way better. What had your rapt attention in Ultimatum is that the quality of action was lifted to a whole new level. It wasn’t just about bullet holes, bombs and fancy devices – the action had the smarts. You felt as if you are seeing things from the mind of Jason Bourne – the master agent and that was enthralling. This time too, while the attempt is to do that, there are no ‘aha’ moments of shock and disbelief at what Bourne just managed to pull off despite the odds being against him.

If I were to rename this particular installment – I’d call it The Bourne Chronicles  or Jason Bourne – Just another day, because that’s what it feels like. It doesn’t feel like Bourne got tested, the opponents were smart or that Bourne was a whole lot smarter. Maybe if I hadn’t seen Ultimatum, I’d not expect so much – but having witnessed that brilliance, this installment almost seems lazy and contrived.

On a positive note though, the new version of Extreme Ways that plays in the end credits is way more exciting than the previous ones.

I won’t say that its so bad you shouldn’t go for it – it has all the trademark features of a Paul Greengrass offering and that alone makes it worth a visit. But I wouldn’t hold my heartbeat for this one. Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass may be back, but it looks like Jason Bourne is still missing.

Movie Review: Star Trek: Beyond…doesn’t really move the ‘enterprise’ forward

While titled ‘Beyond’ the only unknown frontiers this installment of the beloved franchise really explores are those in terms of physical space. Beyond that, there isn’t really much ‘beyond’ this time around. While Into Darkness, really gave a jumpstart to the whole franchise and primed you up for bigger things to come, Beyond – unlike its name actually just plays it safe rather than sorry. This isn’t really a bad thing – but don’t expect to come out all that exhilarated when you exit the hall roughly two hours later.

There is a line that comes right in the beginning as James T Kirk narrates – Things have become rather episodic – and this is exactly how this installment plays out. It looks and feels more like another adventure for the crew of the starship enterprise as part of a TV series rather than a giant leap forward in terms of the franchise as a whole. The visual effects continue to raise the bar though and you will be treated to some great action – but in terms of content – it’s a been there, done that kind of story.

JJ Abrams thrilled with his vision for the franchise, as evidenced in the origin story and taken to a whole new level with ‘Into Darkness’ . With Beyond, his absence and the presence of Justin Lin (director of The Fast and Furious 3-6) is all too obvious. The action is more gravity defying (which actually suits this franchise better than it did The Fast and the Furious series, being set in space) but it is all too familiar and doesn’t reinvent itself. There is the emotional chord here and there, but it looks more like a temporary coating on the surface, than a genuinely deep set core – not unlike the Fast and the Furious franchise.

Its not bad for a thrill ride, mind you and very much a comfortable watch. Its just that with the high standards set by Into Darkness, one expected the next one to dive even deeper into the franchise and bring new highs. Instead, don’t be surprised if you feel the need to stifle a yawn as you watch the proceedings. Humor, while very much a feature previously, is surprisingly frugal this time around.

What makes matter worse is the laughably shallow antagonist against the intriguing and formidable Khan from Into Darkness. So pitiable is the villain’s characterization that you almost feel sorry for him to be given such little thought and wish he could find a more solid identity for himself as the movie plays out. Much like Bane from Rises, he relies on brawn rather than brain to make an impact..and in much the same way, it doesn’t work.

Acting was never really a key requirement for the franchise, and it is even lesser the case this time around. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto had to show more versatility with the previous installment with their character than they need to this time around. Other members of the cast play their part as well and while they take ownership of what is expected – none of them were never really challenged to begin with.

If I sound disappointed well, its because I am – not so much with what Beyond has to offer, but more with the direction the franchise seems to be taking. The last thing I want is for this to become the Fast and Furious: Space Adventure edition than the intriguing and exciting journey of those explorers of space boldly going where no man has gone before.

The ‘enterprise’ deserves better.

Movie Review: Udta Punjab..flies higher than expected

When I saw the trailer of this one, I was in ecstasy. And then, immediately depressed. Historically, movies that have had a great trailer have scarcely lived up to the expectation. Then, with all the hype and controversy – I became further apprehensive.  Happy to report though, that all those concerns are unfounded – Udta Punjab is quite the watch and possibly the best that 2016 has offered thus far.

I have a feeling that when the honorable Censor Board (said with a heavy dose of sarcasm) decided to weed out some scenes and ordered the 80 odd cuts in the movie, they might have stopped watching after the first half hour. I say this because, during that time, you might yourself believe that this movie hardly sets the right example – it glorifies drugs, bad language and all that’s wrong with Punjab, without apologies. If only they’d been patient enough to watch through to the end – they might have felt differently about this extremely well made movie. Especially when the director has the good sense to show the real face of Punjab – silently weeping out of despair and sheer helplessness, beside all the razzmatazz. If they still couldn’t figure out what the director really wanted to portray – perhaps this isn’t the job for them.

Udta Punjab has a solid build up. The first half hardly does anything in terms of plot development – but it does one thing really well – it sets the stage and builds connect with the 4 lives that you are supposed to care for. That comes in more than handy, with the uneven pacing of the second half and you are willing to allow the drag because you now care about their fate. It also gives a subtle yet powerful commentary on the actual drug problem and is willing to show it in all its ugliness.

A great amount of credit though, goes to the near perfect direction from Abhishek Chaubey, at least in the first half. The director uses some smart tactics – tightly binding one thread to the next, using props from various frames to connect across the 4 lives. Not once do you feel the pace ebbing or there being too many threads. In the second half, while he continues to maintain that trend, too much time gets spent on the individual threads, that makes the pacing uneven and there are times when you wonder even if the director has a fix on things.

If the script is good, the starcast is in even better form. Everybody, with the exception of Kareena Kapoor Khan, is an absolute perfect fit to their given roles and do more than justice to the characters allotted to them. Surprisingly, Diljit Dosanjh not only manages to hold his own but has great screen presence each time the camera focuses on him, which happens liberally in the first half. Alia Bhatt is a serious talent, who is challenging herself with every film and emerging a shining star with each attempt. She takes on a tough character, complete with a native Bihari accent and pulls it off with aplomb. Shahid Kapoor is in scintillating form – while he may appear over the top initially, its what the script demanded and he pulls it off completely. Even Satish Kaushik in his limited role, manages to get noticed. Kareena is a much better actress than what she does in Udta Punjab – she can’t do the Punjabi accent and looking pretty continues to be high on her priority list – irrespective of the context in the movie.

There are two things that keep this film from scaling even greater heights than it already does – not one song is memorable or worth humming and the background score isn’t all that impressive either. Two, the uneven pacing – it slows down when it should gather speed and quickens the pace, when you least expect it to. The unnecessary love angles don’t help and further slacken the pace.


This is perhaps what keeps it a few notches lower than say, a Kamineyy. Still, this is a very different movie – subtle in some ways, glaringly obvious in others – and it all works, for the most part. Abhishek Chaubey is one to watch out for, the starcast more than delivers, especially Alia and Shahid and Udta Punjab is worth all the hype and more.

Movie Review: Te3n…good for a one-time watch

When the trailer for this one came out – I thought we’d finally have the next ‘Kahaani’. While it spins quite a tale together, Te3n despite the solid starcast of the three stalwarts doesn’t manage to pull it off. That said, it is still fairly engaging – even if its not thrice the fun you’d hope for. Of course, the fact that it’s a complete copy of Montage, a South Korean film, doesn’t earn it any brownie points.

Te3n starts off slow and uneven. While the events themselves can be every bit thrilling and engaging, the director chooses to slow things down. It is only the class act of  a downcast, disillusioned yet determined Amitabh Bachchan that keeps you engaged despite the slow proceedings. To make matters worse, the director chooses this juncture to introduce songs as well as to showcase Kolkata, almost bringing matters to a grinding halt. Mercifully, though the action picks up considerably post the initial lull.

The interval introduces a somewhat interesting twist to the events and while it all looks quite contrived, it keeps you interested nonetheless. What is pivotal to this one, is the climax which, while highly implausible – does seem to be the best way this could’ve ended. In fact, looking back at events, after having witnessed the climax, a lot more sequences get put in perspective. However, the director definitely misses a trick or two to make this startling reveal truly thrilling. This is further spoilt by unnecessary and frustrating flashbacks to what is pretty clear for the audience and less time spent on unraveling the thread that truly binds things together. Also, it misses some critical emotional heft around crimes and motivations. Let’s just stop at that.

As for the acting, Vidya Balan is wasted in an uninspiring avatar – she can do so much more with her capabilities. Nawazuddin Siddiqui has a more interesting character but surprisingly doesn’t emote as much as he could. The real star of the show is of course, Big B who puts in a wonderfully restrained performance.

In the hands of a more capable director, Te3n had a set up that could’ve really got the pulse racing or at least kept you at the edge of your seat. Given the uneven pacing though, you end with a thought that while it’s a decent script, its good for a one-time watch. 

Movie Review: X-Men Apocalypse..spells irredeemable doom for the franchise

The circle of woe is now complete. What started off as a remarkably fresh and invigorating take on a franchise that has had its share of hits and misses, ends in utter catastrophe, and that’s not half due to its doomsday focused storyline. For fans who thought that The Last Stand was bad (personally I felt it was at least fun and coherent), with Apocalypse you’ll hit a new low, that you didn’t even realize was possible.

The warning signs came with Days of Future Past I suppose. An overly complex plot had past, present and future all melded together – but at least the plotline had a defined sense of flow to the proceedings. The way Apocalypse starts you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’d walked into an alternate production of The Mummy and it goes further downhill from thereon. The pacing slows down to a crawl, as the pitiably shallow plotline is put in place.

Mr. Singer has a thing for flying stuff – debris, cars, gravel and sand I suppose. He used it liberally in The Last Stand, Days of the Future Past and its back in all its supposed glory with Apocalypse. None of it works. There is no sense of underlying tension – the action is either thick and fast or non-existent.  There are some moments of humor, that keep you moderately interested but these too don’t last long enough to make an impact. If the build up is bad, the climax is laughably pathetic – leaving you to wonder if there was any time spent in putting together this script at all. The dialogue delivery is so predictable that you'll be completing the characters' dialogues before they've said them, on more than one occasion.

The star cast tries its best to prop up a weak script. Fassbender and MacAvoy reprise roles that were made memorable by First Class but the beautifully complex relationship they share is given little screentime.  All the ‘past’ X Men make an appearance and new faces like Sophie Turner (better known as Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones fame) Evan Peters and Tye Sheridan set up the characters of Jean Grey, Quicksilver and Scott Summers. There’s even a decent surprise that lasts a few moments but all of this is not enough to give Apocalypse an identity of its own. 

In fact, there is enough evidence, that the movie is so weak that it needs to prop itself against flashes from its singular gem, First Class, every now and then. Somebody had remarked that 20 minutes of the movie are really great. I have a feeling they referred to the numerous flashbacks we see of First Class when they made that statement. Apocalypse, of its own, has not a single worthy moment. There are two ‘Ahas’ to be had, if you will, but they will pass you in such a cataclysm of other banality, that even they wouldn’t stand out as much. There is absolutely nothing about Apocalypse that I can recommend.

I had alluded in my previous post, to the fact that if this franchise is to have any hope at all, Matthew Vaughn needs to be back in the driver seat. Well, Apocalypse with Singer at the helm, extinguishes any hope of resurrecting the glory days of X-Men that First Class gave any glimmer of. I can only wonder where this franchise is headed next since there’s ample evidence, complete with a painstakingly late end-credits scene that confirms that this is far from the end of the saga – if anything, its only set up now for more installments. One can only hope, that some more thought goes into the next one that would inevitably follow. For now though I think its about time we said RIP to the legacy of First Class. What a pity...

Movie Review: Captain America Civil War...not just petty in-fighting

Civil War is not your average extension to a franchise that worked wonders with its origin movie and seemed to take a nosedive with its hurried sequel. Oh wait..we are not talking about the Avengers..this is supposed to be Captain America..right?...Right??

Whatever you call it finally, Civil War is the new direction for this universe. Marvel is treading dangerous new ground and I'd applaud the effort. Its not just about superheroes taking potshots at each other and coming together to overcome a formidable enemy. Nor is it the struggle to find the next big thing the Avengers can assemble for again, to save the universe.

Don't go expecting another Avengers - its not. In some ways, its something more and in many others, it falls really short as well. In parts, Civil War is a more mature and refined Marvel with a director duo who knows how to set up their action pieces and a philosophical premise with equal panache. On the other hand, they spend much time in conversations and build up - so much so that it affects the pacing of what is otherwise a very good movie. Hats off to the franchise to at least address the central premise of the film, something another recent superhero movie made an absolute meal of (am looking at you Mr. Snyder). The name Civil War is not just to pique interest - it represents a clash of ideology that needs to be and is well explored through the course of the film. To be fair though, while the movie stays true to its theme and the 'Civil War' as well as the reasons for it seem to fit, it would fall apart if you questioned it beyond a point.

While termed as 'Civil War' the scale is anything but local. Over the course of its run time you'll traverse on a global scale at a pace that could give Phileas Fogg a run for his money. So much so, that you reach a point, where you'd wish they could all just stay in one place and fight it out - whatever the outcome. What continues to work to Marvel's advantage though - is their focus on keeping things fun and light, despite the heaviness that surrounds its theme. Tom Holland and Paul Rudd and their characters are a big part of this.

As for the performances, pretty much the entire cast are in good form. Scarlett Johansson probably finds her best raison d'etre with this one, if you'd been wondering what she was doing still hanging on to this franchise. Iron Man is in a very different avatar than you'd expect him to be and while Robert Downey Jr. does justice again, he is not as much the life of the party that he's been so far. Chris Evans is doing more and more with Cap and as a close friend of Iron Man, its finally beginning to work. There are a score of superheroes who make an appearance and while its a difficult act to maneuver, not one of them feels out of place. Especially, their coming together in any of the action pieces, are a treat to watch. Full credit to the directors for that.

The climax is what you'd find the most controversial - some would argue that its much too tame after the excitement at the airport. We would like nothing more than the airport set piece like fun n games to continue in Avengers'esque fashion - but Marvel clearly shows more perspective with where they are taking the story.

Civil War is easily the strongest film of the Captain America franchise though that's not saying much. Compared to Avengers, it does feel a much closer parallel to the splendid origin film which is a wonderful compliment.  With a little more action, better pacing and an explosive climax, it would've been close to the ideal stand alone movie. However, that would've not done as much for the franchise. To adapt a line from one of my favorite movies - Civil War is the movie this franchise deserves, but not necessarily the one we need right now. All said and done, I am excited about where the Marvel universe moves next and that is proof that Civil War delivers.