Category - Bollywood

[mks_button size=”medium” title=”Average Rating of All ‘Love Games’ Review – 1.7 stars” style=”rounded” bg_color=”#1e73be” txt_color=”#FFFFFF” icon=”” icon_type=””] Love Games Review by Bollywood Hungama Rating: While Vikram Bhatt has given us some fine films, we cannot expect anything less from this filmmaker when it comes to this genre of erotica. He masters it and Love Games reinstates the same. The film has ample love making scenes shot aesthetically. The plot, like other Bhatt films, explores the deep, dark and dangerous sides of humans with several twists and turns and handling them comes naturally to the director. A special mention to a scene shot at the hospital, wherein Alisha rushes to attend a serious patient. While the actors in the scene play their parts with conviction, the scene also portrays how a hospital handles the chaos with authenticity. Though the story moves with a good flow overall, there are several dips in the plotline. In fact, certain portions look a tad bit stretched, especially in the second half. It should have been a Ramona film all the way. Considering the way this good girl gone bad character should wow the audience, the Citylights girl Patralekha fails to match up to the pedestal of this Priyanka Chopra-meets-Rosamund Pike (from Gone Girl) sort of character. May be it is her debut film’s demure girl image or may be it wasn’t the character for her, but Patralekha’s act as Ramona could be termed as a ‘casting woe’. On the other hand, Gaurav Arora does a decent job of playing the depressed and helpless character of Sam Saxena, who resists to abide by Ramona’s mean and cruel ways. Tara Alisha Berry, however, has surprised her with her good performance as a doctor. While she debuted in Mastram, this actress has come a long way we believe. Her confidence as a doctor is impressive. Blue eyed boy of television Hiten Tejwani, who charmed the audiences with his perfect son avatar in serials, has by far given us one of his most disappointing performances. Other characters help in taking the movie forward. Love Games Review by Sarita A Tanwar on DNA India Rating: It’s sad to see a director like Vikram Bhatt succumbing to subjects like these, which are now becoming a T-Series trademark. Making an erotic thriller is one thing; making an unreasonable B-grade flavoured flick quite another. The last 20 minutes of the film are phenomenally tacky; you stay glued to your seats only to find out how worse can it get. Love Games Review by Rohit Vats on Hindustan Times Rating: Love Games introduces us to cocaine snorting and friends with benefits within minute before providing a peep into the lonely lives of its protagonists, but then it becomes murkier. Ramona’s obsession takes the center-stage and Sam gets pushed to play a victim, but the film loses the shock value in the process. It’s not something we haven’t witnessed before. Once the surprise factor dies down, we’re left with only fast paced action, but disappointment greets us right there because Love Games is a lift-up from many similar films. Words hold no meaning after a while. Come on, we have been there, heard that. Newcomer Gaurav Arora looks confident and has shown some potential, but it’s very difficult for anybody to stand out in a film meant to explore the uncontrollable sexual urge of its heroine. Patralekha is the highlight of Love Games. She did a good job in Hansal Mehta’s Citylights, but this role demanded a certain kind of language and body movement from her. She tries her best to hold everything together, but she is all alone in her pursuit. Love Games Review by Saibal Chatterjee on NDTVMovies Rating: As for the acting, the less said the better. The obviously promising Patralekhaa, saddled with a dodgy accent, tries far too hard to do justice to the role of the amoral femme fatale. The effort shows. Tara Alisha Berry is pretty much in the same boat. No matter what she does, there can be no rising above this insipid screenplay. Debutant Gaurav Arora, despite reasonable screen presence, makes a complete hash of trying to balance the boyish with the bad-ass. Love Games is a Vishesh Films offering. So it does not lack surface gloss. But it simply isn’t enough to hide its lack of depth. Best avoided. Review by Namrata Thakker on Rediff Rating: Overall, the film tries to offer something new and it does to an extent. But if you have watched Cruel Intentions, Love Games will not appeal to you. The first half of the film is all about love games, sexual boredom and intimate scenes. The story takes off in the second half but it misses the mark because of its predictable story, cliched dialogues and all-too-easy screenplay. Patralekha plays her character well, in a wicked, twisted way. But there are times when her dialogue delivery is a bit off. She does look sexy. Gaurav also does well but there are times when he goes a little overboard. Tara Alisha Berry is good but she doesn’t have much screen time. Hiten Tejwani has a few bold scenes with Patralekha but he looks very unconformable. His character hardly adds anything to the story. It would have been better if his character was explored more. Review by Shubhra Gupta on Indian Express Rating: Bolly plots are bust. The Bhatts’ long-standing promise of giving us fully adult men and women bursting with carnal desires and twisted motives used to be backed by storylines. This one gives up quickly. All sorts of things crop up—blood, bodies, guns, murder, and dollops of confusion wrapped in eye-popping improbability. Missing the point you are? Bunging in a kiss we are. Uh oh. Conclusion? Some of the smooching looks professional, about the only thing that does. As for the rest, bye bye, two hours, which will never come back. Review by Mohar Basu on The Times Of India Rating: “Roses are red, violets are blue…Sex can be messy, love can be too…” On this note, begins this amateurish film. Vikram Bhatt’s Love Games tries to be a tempestuous tale about temptations. But his bright concept is far from being well-fleshed out. There were a bunch of interesting ideas which never intertwine with the narrative. Review by Urmimala Banerjee on Bollywood Life Rating: Though it has some bold quotient, Love Games is quite traditional at heart. Every character has a justification about why they behave in that manner. Patralekha’s acting, a tight screenplay and editing are the highlights. Those who just want to pass time for a couple of hours won’t be disappointed with this one. Review by Rohit Bhatnagar on Deccan Chronicle Rating: It would be unfair if I say it is an unseen tale of sex, mystery and betrayal but somewhere down the line, director Vikram Bhatt manages to sail through with his typical midas touch. The screenplay keeps you glued till the climax. Nevertheless, ‘Love Games’ is a typical Bhatt camp film where women and mystery play a pivotal role. Debutant Gaurav Arora is refreshing. He has immense potential to pull of a solo hero ‘Bhatt’ film with his balanced facial expressions, chiselled body and a boy next-door image but he needs to spruce up his dialogue delivery skills a tad bit. Beautiful Tara Alisha Berry is so convincing that you empathies with her when she cries. With every new film, she is surely getting better. Post her d-glam debut in ‘Citylights’, Patralekhaa tries to don a sex and drug addict in which she shines but not too bright. Her cruel laugh, steamy lip locks are to look for, however I still feel that Patralekhaa was not the right fit for such fierce role. Review by Kriti Tulsiani on IBNLive Rating: There are so many comparisons in the film that will make you go ‘yuck, yuck, yuck’ and not because they’re planned sexual innuendos but because they make no sense whatsoever. Such as, love being compared to scuba diving or a bull’s reaction to red fabric being equaled to blackmailing and so on. It seems Bhatt’s signature plot is pretty much a staple for him now. While it might have worked for him in ‘Murder’, it surely fails to do wonders this time and end up making you laugh with disbelief that what you just saw was actually shown. Review by Shaheen Parkar on Mid-Day India Rating: Considering that making films autobiographical is a speciality of the Bhatts, Vikram has drawn inferences from people around. Sam’s character owns an in-flight catering business — one of Vikram’s former lover’s exes was in the same business. But that’s where it ends as the director takes recourse to sketching typical characters who have come from broken homes and abusive relationships. That is the only reason they are playing the game. Though the film has good production values, by the end of the first half, you can easily predict what is going to unfold on screen. Wonders don’t cease to surface in the second half. What the film lacks is the thrills and spills in the game. Review by Kunal Guha on Mumbai Mirror Rating: A downer here: in this mirage of ‘highs’ (many characters are on a staple of mountains of Colombian talc) is Patralekha, who shone in the 2014 indie hit CityLights. In Love Games, her ability to juxtapose a frozen face of manic bewilderment and outbursts of hearty guffaws is enough to suggest that the lights have long gone out. For newcomers, Gaurav Arora and Tara Alisha Berry, this may not be the launch vehicle they hoped for. That said, both reveal glimmers of promise and deserve a second chance. From the banner that championed the cause of smut and bore the flag for mediocre madness on the big screen, this one is curiously different. And perhaps unintentionally, writer, director and lyricist Vikram Bhatt has lent a surrealistic edge to B-graders with this wonder. Love Games is a bad trip, but it’s a trip. Review by Sonia Chopra on Sify Rating: Director Vikram Bhatt puts in steamy lip-locks in the film, perhaps the film’s sole selling point. But why does an erotic thriller have to be such a mess with over-the-top characters, implausible developments, sketchy execution (a small push leads the car to leap off the cliff and into the air) and a finale that is as outrageous as it is predictable. Love Games Review by Indiaglitz Rating: The middle portions drag to the fullest with repetitive scenes and some unwanted tracks. The moment the novelty factor is established the screenplay goes on a stagnating point.The makers could have elaborated more on the novelty factor of the film, rather than focusing more on the age old love story.The back story of Gaurav fails to get established due to which you fail to connect with his character.. There should have been more detailing in characters of Gaurav, Patralekha and even Tara Alisha Berry.The directorshould have played more with the adult theme and add some thrills in the film. The second half of the film drags to the fullest due to its bland story line which has been shown in many films.Gaurav Arora has good screen presence but, fails to carry the film on his shoulder, solely. Rukhsar was totally misfit as an over glamorous psychologist. HitenTejwani was wasted. Review by Manisha Lakhe on Nowrunning Rating: There is death, and destruction of a premise that could have been a wonderful thriller if only the whole movie had been handled with a little more finesse. If you can forgive the awful open mouthed kissing scenes and not laugh at the so-called ‘rough’ lovemaking, the movie does have some merit. It just becomes too twisted too glibly. And the logic just dies. Review by IANS on Zeenews Rating: The biggest drawback of the film is its writing. The script is far-fetched and unrealistic. The characters are flawed, especially those of Ramona and Alisha. Being the protagonists, Ramona and Alisha’s characters are two-dimensional and their graphs are not fully developed. The dialogues too are unintentionally funny and are packed with some interestingly novel similes and metaphors. It is amusing to hear Ramona tell Sam: “You are like a fire brigade, you only come during an emergency.” The songs are typical pub numbers and they go with the flow of the narration. Overall, the film has sleek production values and, though frothy, it is a decent adult film. Best Rated Films in 2016 Neerja – 4 stars Airlift – 3.7 stars Kapoor & Sons – 3.7 stars Aligarh – 3.6 stars Zubaan – 2.6 stars Saala Khadoos – 2.6 stars Ki & Ka – 2.5 stars Bollywood Diaries – 2.5 stars Ghayal Once Again – 2.4 stars Tere Bin Laden Dead Or Alive – 2.3 stars Jai Gangaajal – 2.3 stars Fitoor – 2.3 stars Rocky Handsome – 2.1 stars LoveShhuda – 2 stars Teraa Surroor – 1.7 stars Sanam Re – 1.6 stars Sanam Teri Kasam – 1.6 stars Ishq Forever – 1.4 stars

[mks_button size=”medium” title=”Average Rating of All ‘The Jungle Book’ Review – 3.8 stars” style=”rounded” bg_color=”#1e73be” txt_color=”#FFFFFF” icon=”” icon_type=””] The Jungle Book Review by Bollywood Hungama Rating: One would expect a sweet fun filled adventure, especially with Disney remaking everyone’s favourite childhood story. But THE JUNGLE BOOK is far from it. In fact the film that combines live action with impeccable CGI animation is quite literally a visual masterpiece. Faverau does a brilliant job of interweaving the gags that we remember from the TV show and the darkness that hides within the lines of the book. This coupled with spot on voiceovers and life like animation takes the audience on a roller coaster ride while following the adventures of Mowgli. Neel Sethi, the 12 year old who was chosen for the part of Mowgli after auditioning over 2000 kids, fits the role perfectly. Not once does he underplay or over emote in any sequence, given the fact that the lad most probably shot major parts of the film against a green screen, a feat that even the most experienced actors might find hard to pull off. The Jungle Book Review by Shalini Langer on Indian Express Rating: This is The Jungle Book reinvented for 2016 by a director who knows just how to mix the heavy blows with the light touch. It’s a little more reminiscent of the jungle and the book than the 1967 Disney classic, a lot, lot darker, and yet, ultimately as exuberant, with a surprisingly strong and novel message at the heart of it, in a story that already didn’t lack for them. The Jungle Book Review by Reagan Gavin Rasquinha on The Times Of India Rating: If you go to the cinema to watch a movie that will draw you into a fantasy world of wonder, Favreau’s retelling of this story – which so many of us remember from childhood – manages to weave that magic. We all know how the story plays out. With the panther Bagheera’s (Kingsley) help, Mowgli (Sethi) tries to stay away from Shere Khan. He also encounters the devious python Kaa (Johansson), a super-sized orangutan with a soul-singer’s baritone named King Louie (Walken) desperate to obtain the ‘red flower'( which is fire) and of course, Baloo the grizzly bear (Murray). These are the key characters, but you’ll also be delighted to discover a few new entrants along the way as well. It all builds on the charm of the 1967 film, which by itself is a must watch for any child. The Jungle Book Review by Aseem Chhabra on Rediff Rating: The film is realistic looking so it is very believable that we are somewhere in a jungle in India and not in a studio in California. The plot of the film is more or less the same as that of the animated work, with a minor change to the ending. The Jungle Book Review by Jyoti Sharma Bawa on Hindustan Times Rating: Just like the animals, the director turns jungle into a place of fear and, yet, home. From a burst of sunlight and colour in its happy moments, it seamlessly turns into a mist-filled horror with predators lurking at every corner when the mood takes it. Every little detail in this film is rendered with such precision and love that though dangerous, it has enough joie de vivre to carry you along. Review by Saibal Chatterjee on NDTVMovies Rating: The Jungle Book is a classic genre film that harnesses the inherent strengths of the source material to rustle up a captivating drama that is both epic and intimate. Is it scary, as Pahlaj Nihalani would have us believe? Not the least bit, if one discounts a scene in which Shere Khan lunges at Mowgli. For sure, there isn’t a dull moment in The Jungle Book. Review by Ananya Bhattacharya on India Today Rating: At less than two hours, editor Mark Livolsi has tried to keep the film crisp, but he hasn’t been able to eliminate the drops in pace, especially in the first half. The narrative picks up steam post interval. The encounters with Shere Khan and their anticipation keep one hooked to the screen. John Debney’s versions of the songs from the 1967 Jungle Book blend into the story seamlessly. Bare Necessities, I Wanna Be Like You and Trust In Me are all reminiscent of their respective originals. Review by Kunal Guha on Mumbai Mirror Rating: Among the voice-overs, Nana Patekar packs the precise amount of grunt in his dialogues to intimidate and Om Puri’s crackling vocal chords lend him the ability to assume a stern yet amiable uncle image. But the popular favourite will be Irrfan Khan as the lovable, lazy lump of a bear, Baloo. Even his whines and worries score high on cute quotient. Jasleen Singh offers an excited and enthusiastic Mowgli and Shefali Shah as his wolf mother, Raksha Ma, furnishes much concern, care and affection. Priyanka Chopra as the slithering sultry voice of Kaa does little to make the python seem any more sinister and getting Bugs Bhargava Krishna to make a mawali don of King Louie backfires, as it strips the mighty monkey of authority and caricatures him. At a time when works of Blyton, Keene and Kipling fail to interest children — who’d rather swipe away mindlessly on their tablets — this one is a pleasant reminder of what worked once. While the original story has little mystery and would even seem like a lame fantasy today, this adaptation, thanks to its visual bravado, makes it a contemporary classic. Review by Manisha Lakhe on Nowrunning Rating: The story still has the power to make you smile as well as cry and little Neel Sethi as Mowgli will charm you once again. This new Disney is all grown up and very, very welcome. Review by Jaidev Hemmady on Movietalkies Rating: The Jungle Book is not just about special effects and technical wizardry. Jon Favreau deserves a pat on his back for infusing the film with scenes that provoke strong emotions. The scenes where Mowgli and his wolf-mother Raksha part ways is sure to bring a lump to your throat while Mowgli’s wolf brother Grey, who pines for his human sibling will make you want to reach out and hug the little tyke. Shere Khan’s hatred for Mowgli is the stuff of nightmares while the final David versus Goliath battle between Mowgli and Khan is simply breath-taking. In conclusion, Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book is a treat for viewers of all ages! Review by Sreeju Sudhakaran on Bollywood Life Rating: Now for the acting part. If any Oscar jury is reading this, it’s my humble request to nominate Neel Sethi in the acting category. The kid’s performance is mind-blowing! It’s not easy to act with nothing but reference points and green screens, but Neel’s performance is what makes everything so believable.Not only is the kid cute, his performance can even give takkar to acting legends. Even the rest of the voice cast, including an affable Bill Murray and a hypnotic Scarlett Johansson is so spot on. Special mention must be given to Idris Elba and Christopher Walken’s casting (they so remind us of their characters in Beasts of No Nations and True Romance respectively). However, forget the top class visual effects…forget the brilliant motion capture technology used here…the real hero of the film is the director Jon Favreau. The man who is the reason why Marvel Cinematic Universe exists in the first place (He directed Iron Man 1 and 2), has taken so much painstaking efforts to bring your childhood back to you. And when I say childhood, I mean not the Shinchan and Pokemon one, but the era before that – the ’90s one! More than the kids, it’s the parents who will enjoy this movie more. And we have to thank Jon Favreau for making us relive our childhood. Review by Raghav Jaitly on Zeenews Rating: Director Jon Favreau has successfully managed to portray animal emotions and make the audience connect with them. Mowgli’s internal battle to find identity among foreign species will keep you looking for answers. Also, the movie reflects how humans are potentially capable of destroying natural habitat of animals. This is one of the major reasons why the wolfpack wants Mowgli to be raised as one of them and not the humans. ‘The Jungle Book’ is a visual masterpiece that will entice the audiences of all groups. If you are looking for a break from the modern film culture, then don’t waste a moment and grab tickets immediately! Review by Samrat Choudhury on Deccan Chronicle Rating: The film is very well produced. The effects are spectacular and the performances are good. It is entirely worth watching, but its implicit politics is as troubling as Kipling’s was. Favreau’s version is a story of man versus beast, and perhaps even of man versus nature. It is a story where apes want desperately to become humans – an old colonial way of laughing at natives who want to become sahibs. It is a place where razing people’s home to the ground to win the fight is collateral damage that someone else can fix. It is, in other words, a recognizably real story that perpetuates the colonial and Orientalist worldviews in an unbroken tradition through the centuries from Kipling to Disney to now. Review by Bryan Durham on DNA India Rating: The good thing about Neel Sethi as jungle boy/man-cub Mowgli is an endearing smile and a face filled with wonderment. For all we know, he must’ve worked only with green screens, making him the only actor we see, the animals are mostly CGI, using the latest photorealistic animation techniques and motion capture technology. It speaks volumes of the boy’s maturity and acting skill in the face of ‘tricks’ that serve to create the illusion of reality. And that’s where we imagine Jon Favreau’s experience comes handy. Not only does he ensure that Neel doesn’t go over-the-top with expressions or articulation. And that’s a blessing. Most child actors sacrifice innocence in emotions for a more worked-on performance. Review by Johnson Thomas on Mid-Day India Rating: Favreau’s treatment eschews kid friendly conventions and stays clear of sweetened ingratiation. The attempt is to make the coming-of-age experience as grittily thematic, realistic and conscionable as possible. The photo-realism is breathtakingly original and the CGI rendering of the animal fold is exceptionally credible. The drama and treatment may border on conventional but the animal renditions are definitely not. Cinematographer Bill Pope and the VFX team led by Robert Legato and Adam Valdez integrate real time sequences with animation so brilliantly that it’s difficult to pinpoint the differences. It’s seamless, proportionate and way above anything that has come before. A must-see for all – irrespective of species, age or gender! Review by Rajeev Masand on IBNLive Rating: How do you remake a film that has meant so much to so many people? Good thing director Jon Favreau has the answer. In refashioning Disney’s seminal hit in live action, using the latest computer effects and a whole ensemble of Hollywood A-listers to provide voice-work, Favreau creates an entirely immersive world and a visually stunning film that brings something new to an old story. The Jungle Book Review by Indiaglitz Rating: In the process, the film considers the literal problems that mankind can leave upon nature, the true meaning of family and the journey of self-discovery that all children must eventually realize and start upon, all put together with breath taking visuals and insight that’s never too sentimental or obvious. Newcomer Sethi, in his first feature appearance, is as instrumental as the movie’s artistic and technical achievements, considering the fact that he’s still a kid put into test with so much of motion capture around. Review by Subhash K Jha on Bollyspice Rating: The magic of this adaptation is that the animals who appear more humane than human beings, never look down at mankind as sub-human species the way they did in Kipling’s novel. Lurking somewhere in the folds of this enrapturing tale of jungle etiquette are unspoken homilies on the complex relationship between Man and Beast, beautifully and fluently bridged by director Jon Favreau as he sets out to create a world that yokes Man and Nature in a clasp so captivating it makes you gasp. Don’t wait. Just go out this weekend with the kids and re-live one of the most cherished children’s stories told from an adult perspective and yet miraculously maintaining an artless innocence that makes this film entirely winsome experience. And so what if Priyanka doesn’t sing in the Hind version. The film is suffused in the music of the soul. Review by meeta on Wogma Rating: The film flows along smoothly from one scene to another. But, in some of the fast-paced chase sequences, a few edits – a fall from one rock to another; a swing from one branch to another – are rather badly done. Yes, yes, they are few and far between; and they pass by too quickly to leave a mark. The Jungle Book enthralls with its technical expertise and with its story-telling too. One of those films that takes you back to your childhood and becomes a lovely memory for today’s children. Neerja – 4 stars Airlift – 3.7 stars Kapoor & Sons – 3.7 stars Aligarh – 3.6 stars Zubaan – 2.6 stars Saala Khadoos – 2.6 stars Ki & Ka – 2.5 stars Bollywood Diaries – 2.5 stars Ghayal Once Again – 2.4 stars Tere Bin Laden Dead Or Alive – 2.3 stars Jai Gangaajal – 2.3 stars Fitoor – 2.3 stars Rocky Handsome – 2.1 stars LoveShhuda – 2 stars Teraa Surroor – 1.7 stars Sanam Re – 1.6 stars Sanam Teri Kasam – 1.6 stars Ishq Forever – 1.4 stars