Category - Bollywood

Irada has not only opened very poorly at the box office, but has received below-average reviews too. [mks_button size=”medium” title=”Average Rating of All ‘Irada ‘ Review – 2 stars” style=”rounded” bg_color=”#1e73be” txt_color=”#FFFFFF” icon=”” icon_type=””] Irada Review by Shalini Langer on Indian Express Rating: There has been very little good news coming out of Punjab, films wise. And Irada is no exception, but rather than drugs, it deals with the cancerous contamination of Punjab’s groundwater and fields. That is a film crying to be made, but instead of the characters, Irada gives us caricatures. Irada Review by Meena Iyer on The Times Of India Rating: Irada has its heart in the right place. Having picked up a subject that talks of environmental hazards, debutant director Aparnaa Singh’s conscientious streak shows. Her film that is being marketed as an eco-thriller (whatever!) draws inspiration from Hollywood thriller Erin Brockovich (2000).However, unlike the Hollywood film that managed to raise a red flag warning us of how pharmaceutical companies are playing with innocent lives, Irada barely scratches the surface. The film’s attempt to educate the audience on the perils of chemical contamination, reverse boring and groundwater pollution that is a harsh reality around urban townships is half-baked. Irada Review by Prasanna D Zore on Rediff Rating: Blame it on the director for Irada’s sloppy editing, the film fails to hold your undivided attention. The scenes and the plot are so loosely woven that the only saving grace of the film — of course, apart from the two fine actors — is its duration. Irada, then, is a film that could have been a superb take on how the political-industrial-corporate (in no particular order) nexus is destroying and poisoning the world’s food chain systemically even as it ruins young lives and shatters the dreams of their loved ones. Review by Saibal Chattarjee on NDTVMovies Rating: It is easy to empathize with their crusade, but the film does not generate enough suspense and tension to make their investigation an edge-of-the-seat affair. Nor does the film shock the socks off the audience despite trotting out disturbing details about the sheer enormity of the problem that the “wheat bowl” of India faces today. Review by Manisha Lakhe on Nowrunning Rating: Perhaps had they stuck to telling about groundwater contamination story like Erin Brockovich this movie may have meant something. But with factory blasts being made on the home compute by someone who did not finish their photoshop class, this film ends up being a waste of time. Review by Vishal Verma on Glamsham Rating: The movie even has a dark tone where we see Arshad Warsi in a ‘cancer train’ where patients are getting wooed by insurance agents. A brilliantly shot scene but doesn’t gel with the film even after having the mention of the disease in its story. What a pity. And that’s not all, Divya Dutta as the corrupt Chief Minister in that cracker of a scene in front of the mirror portraying her whimsicality is a gem but after that there is nothing to support that awesome moment. The bonding between Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi is also enjoyable but the director fails in possessing the skill to weave this individual goodness into a fine film and that’s makes it meandering. Review by Mohar Basu on Mid-Day India Rating: It’s an overcrowded plot with facile characters, and lacks both the required energy and depth of the subject. There are too many parallel narratives and Singh’s limited directorial skills aren’t enough to handle the snags. She spends the entire first hour creating the milieu and setting pace. It is horridly unbearable to sit through a bunch of unrelated scenes, appearing one after the other, that fail to stir an impact. The characters have a tendency of being overtly verbose (what’s with the shayari codes, man?). The documentary style of storytelling (diagrams, et al) isn’t exactly captivating. The drama of the climax and feeble final shot is, perhaps, the last straw. Review by Rohit Vats on Hindustan Times Rating: It comes down to the actors to stop it from crumbling. Here, Singh enjoys assistance from stellar performers like Shah, Warsi, Kelkar and Dutta. Warsi reminds us of his 2005 Sehar. He doesn’t go overboard and underplays a sharp cop, a rarity in Hindi films. Shah displays a wide range which he has perfected over the years, and Dutta looks ruthless and ambitious as the corrupt CM. In between, Kelkar also throws in some punches. Review by Aarti Iyengar on Bollywood Life Rating: The film is clearly a leaf taken out of a Crime Patrol episode. It will remind you of the Bhopal Gas tragedy but you won’t be able to sympathise with anyone. Despite such a strong star cast, the film’s script seems like a lazy work. There is absolutely no suspense or intrigue element in the film. After having watched several crime shows myself, I would say that it’s a film you can’t enjoy, unless you keep your hopes low. There’s no attempt to make the script look new and interesting. I would say the same about the direction as well. The flow that one usually expects in a film is something you wouldn’t find here. The first half is crisp but without a proper flow. In fact, the scenes have been put together just so they’re able to introduce the characters and explain their background. The plot is so convenient that you’ll guess the story within the first half an hour. Its surprising that such fine actors chose to be a part of this film which lacks originality in all forms! I wouldn’t recommend the movie to anyone who expects suspense, intrigue factor or even interesting plotline. The songs are unnecessary and the dialogues are way too dramatic! Review by Kunal Guha on Mumbai Mirror Rating: Despite a scattered script, Naseeruddin Shah extends some dignity to this film with his signature matter-of-fact manner of channeling intensity. Rumana Molla, in her brief role, demonstrates her potential as an actor and does well in the emotionally charged scenes. Arshad Warsi seems to have lost his edge. His natural flair with comedy seems less spontaneous and barely effective. Sagarika Ghatge is compelling, even while the lines written for her keep her from delivering on her potential. Irada is ambitious and includes motivational shayaris which conceal riddles, a government servant who won’t be compromised and a present day Bhagat Singh who also sacrifices himself for the nation. But while we’re enlightened about how environmental damage can negatively impact our health, sitting through this one can also be hazardous to your mental wellbeing. Review by IANS on Sify Rating: While the intention of the film is clear, the plot and the screenplay lack depth. The narrative is amateurishly mounted making the entire attempt futile. The tackling of the investigation seems very superficial, packed with hollow, rhetoric dialogues. Also the constant allusion to Ajay Devgan’s Singham, makes the entire script seem tacky. It loses its seriousness, as it seems to caters to the front benchers. The genre fluctuates from an investigative thriller to a comedy with natural ease throwing the emotional quotient out of the window. Irada Review by Indiaglitz Rating: Director Aparnaa Singh comes up with a hard-hitting and powerful subject which would have made wonders if this movie was presented in the form of docu-drama or with an impactful screenplay. Failing to which the whole motive behind the movie is lost. The bad editing ruins it further more making the scenes look disjointed and abrupt at many places. Naseeruddin Shah is good, but nothing great. We have seen him portraying such roles for more than a dozen times. Arshad Warsi is great in his part and it’s good to see him doing such meaningful roles after a long time. Sagrika Ghatge is highly wasted. Sharad Kelkar and Rajesh Sharma lend good support. Divya Dutta is best of the lot. Review by Jaidev Hemmady on Movietalkies Rating: The characters are caricaturish, the screenplay is loose, the editing is sloppy and the story hasn’t been handled with the treatment it deserves. Even the scene involving the ‘cancer train’, which ideally should have been bone-chilling, fails to make an impact because the rest of the film is so below average. Review by Bryan Durham on DNA India Rating: Naseer, as always, is? ?a joy to watch. Warsi as the cop is quite engaging. But it is Divya Dutta, who has your attention as the scenery-chewing CM-you-don’t-want-to-cross. Kelkar as one of the bigshots at the pharma firm is efficient, too. Films like these, with better subjects, need to get made. Singh has made a good step in the right direction. But is it enough? Sadly, it isn’t. The writing immediately betrays Singh’s flaws. You’re not immediately invested in the lives of the characters on screen. Review by Arnab Banerjee on Deccan Chronicle Rating: Irada, thus, in a certain light, attempts to experimentally answer the question, what does it mean to be a whistleblower? And how does one depict such a huge threat to mankind that results in greed and manmade tragedies befalling human beings? Warsi seems to be enjoying himself thoroughly as we find one of the greater threads coursing through the tale that changes the expectation of the audience. It’s Kelkar’s typical Bambaiyya tone — more in the way his role has been written — that strikes a false note. There’s little else to drive a bit of box office, not much heft, or mellow treatment and control. Review by Meeta on Wogma Rating: Fortunately, we have performers who rarely let us down. Even, Rajesh Sharma who is usually made to ham and go over-the-top, delivers a relatively controlled performance. The film’s digs at Bollywood’s over-romanticisation of all things Punjab and all things idealistic too. But, then again it submits to the formula – a one-man stand against the system – that’s the only solution we can seem to think of, even as we speak of issues that exist in real-life. But, I guess, there are no better ideas out there and this one seems to sell. Anyway, the one reason to look this one up is to get a peep into the eco-terrorism supposedly rampant in Punjab and hope against hope that it is only in Punjab. Best Rated Films in 2017 Jolly LLB 2 – 3.2 stars Kaabil – 3.2 stars Haraamkhor – 3 stars Raees – 2.9 stars Ok Jaanu – 2.5 stars Kung-Fu Yoga – 1.9 stars Coffee With D – 1.5 stars

Rana Daggubati brought Baahubali to Karan Johar who then helped make it a pan-India movie. So when they bring the same...

[mks_button size=”medium” title=”Average Rating of All ‘The Ghazi Attack ‘ Review – 2.9 stars” style=”rounded” bg_color=”#1e73be” txt_color=”#FFFFFF” icon=”” icon_type=””] The Ghazi Attack Review by Indicine Rating: The Ghazi Attack mostly delivers on its promises. It is a solid, suspenseful, taut thriller that stays true to the story without going overboard on its jingoism. It isn’t perfect, there are certain plot points which are unnecessarily added and certain characters aren’t etched out well. But having said that, The Ghazi Attack should be watched because of the unique experience it provides. It is doubtful another submarine movie with such high production standards will release in Bollywood anytime soon. So as long as it is there in theatres, it deserves to be watched. The Ghazi Attack Review by Bollywood Hungama Rating: Despite THE GHAZI ATTACK being Sankalp Reddy’s debut film as a director, he shows immense promise and potential as a filmmaker. The way in which he has shot the film is extremely intriguing and engaging. He has, in true sense of the word, created an edge of the seat thriller war movie in the form of THE GHAZI ATTACK. The film’s first half not only establishes the film’s central characters, but also sets the technical know-how of how the Navy operates. It is however the film’s second half from where the story takes off. Brownie points to Sankalp for keeping the film’s narrative simple and to the point. As a filmmaker, Sankalp has ensured that there is never a dull moment in the film. Certain moments in the film when Pakistani Navy attacks the Indian submarine or when the Rana gives an inspirational speech to his crew are hair-raising and show the true talent of the director. There are also certain instances where the director could’ve made the moments more dramatic. Also, he misses out explaining certain crucial twists in the story like when Rana goes to rescue Tapsee and the time is running out, Tapsee’s relation with the small girl and the communication system breaking on S21. However, overall, he does a fine job of narrating a challenging story. The Ghazi Attack Review by Renuka Vyavahare on The Times Of India Rating: While the visuals and special effects lack finesse, the film compensates for it with its riveting story. The second half keeps you on the edge of your seat as the submarines go head-to-head, firing torpedoes while dodging and defending themselves. Despite the hitches, this underwater thriller is worth a watch. It leaves you in awe of the soldiers, who lay their lives for their country. The Ghazi Attack Review by Shalini Langer on Indian Express Rating: Clearly, some amount of effort has gone into understanding the makings of a submarine, running of a ship, and even firing of torpedoes and laying of landmines at sea. The film doesn’t cut corners on under-water shots of ships damaged, leaking, hissing and sputtering, even though the first shot of Singh and Arjun first venturing into the unknown is Titanically fake. You know how a film that strategically deploys – literally – the National Anthem, Saare Jahan Se Achcha and even the Tricolour will end. But for a while, The Ghazi Attack shows us glimpses of a crisis-at-sea film it could have been, even with unshaved, unfit Navy men who sweat at the possibility of going food-less for a day. The Ghazi Attack Review by Gautaman Bhaskaran on Hindustan Times Rating: Quite interestingly, Daggubati too is wonderfully restrained – a complete changeover from the kind of parts he has been playing so far. In addition, we also have an excellent performance from Atul Kulkarni, who as the executive officer, Devraj, on board the submarine has the trying task of keeping peace between a brash and ready-to-torpedo-the Pakistani submarine (Ghazi) Singh and, Varma, the man told by his bosses to ensure that the Indian captain does not provoke a war. Shot splendidly inside what looks like a real submarine, Ghazi has been mounted with a fair degree of authenticity and scripted quite impressively. Admittedly, the film may not be comparable to some of Hollywood’s unforgettable war classics, like Von Ryan’s Express and Battle of the Bulge – just to name two. But given the kind of handicaps Indian cinema faces in terms of budget and special effects, Ghazi is remarkable in the way it presents some of the most tense moments when the Indian submarine hits a landmine planted by the Pakistani vessel. Review by Prasanna D Zore on Rediff Rating: The Ghazi Attack is a riveting telling of a war story and absence of any unwanted distraction is only justified, though one is literally at sea trying to make sense of Tapsee Pannu’s — yes she is a East Pakistani refugee onboard a merchant vessel that is sunk by the Pakistani submarine — presence in this war film. Nevertheless, if you love watching a war movie, that too about a mission that is mired under the weight of being ‘classified’ and under the sea, the truth about which can surface only exploring the depth of the sea bed, then The Ghazi Attack is a must watch film. Review by Karthika Raveendran on Bollywood Life Rating: Right from the lead cast – Rana, Atul, Kay Kay to even the submarine engine drivers, everyone had a role to play but for Taapsee Pannu. Her character was a complete waste, as she was rescued out of nowhere and conveniently happened to be a doctor. She may have just had four dialogues. The story would have been the same with or without her. No difference. While Rana’s persona was impressive, his voice was a major put off. At certain instances, his body language and his voice weren’t in sync. While the story was interesting, certain sequences in the end dampened the impact of the movie. The Pakistani Captain’s plans conveniently went wrong and that fizzled out the victory to an extent. If you want to see an inspiring story into which great effort has been put in to make it as real as possible, The Ghazi Attack is definitely for you. Also, there’s Kay Kay Menon. Review by Jaidev Hemmady on Movietalkies Rating: As for the film itself, like mentioned earlier, it will remind you of Crimson Tide, but having said that, the makers do deserve a pat on their backs for maintaining nail-biting tension throughout the film, especially in the second half during the cat and mouse game between the two warring submarines. The first half of the film is solely dedicated to the clash between Singh and Verma, but that too is entertaining as you wait to see who will prevail. The underwater scenes with the submarines have been executed really well and the scenes within the submarine have been shot effectively enough to make you feel claustrophobic. It is quite evident that a lot of research has gone into the workings of a submarine and Navy protocols, which is quite admirable. As far as war films go, Bollywood has never seen an underwater film before and it sure is a treat to watch it on the big screen. Review by Kunal Guha on Mumbai Mirror Rating: The obvious challenge for director Sankalp Reddy was keeping things unpredictable in a story that has already been told. On that front, Reddy uses the tropes of a war thriller to his advantage and keeps audiences relatively intrigued. The film packs in enough near-collisions, engine failures and torpedo evasions to keep you excited through most of the 125 minutes that make up its runtime. Cumulatively, The Ghazi Attack makes for a history worthy of repeating on the big screen. Review by Rohit Bhatnagar on Deccan Chronicle Rating: Director Sankalp Reddy has surely done his best to bring out the reality of this unexplored war tale. However, the movie begins with a long disclaimer that the film is fictitious and has nothing to do with any war between India and Pakistan. Along with Niranjan Reddy and Gunnam Gangaraju, Sankalp has nicely written the film but the biggest hiccup of the film is its length. The first half of the film is so slow that it becomes a yawn fest until Rann Vijay’s death propels proceedings, acting as a hook-point in the film. The film could easily have done off with a good 15 minutes worth of screen-time, especially in the first half. It picks up pace in the second half which is visually gripping too. Dialogues by Azad Alam are good enough to support a mellow patriotic film. Review by Mayank Shekhar on Mid-Day India Rating: So is Kay Kay in this film. Rana Daggubati and Atul Kulkarni play his deputies. Their Pakistani counterparts (led by actor Rahul Singh) aren’t shown to be dimwits either. While we have no back-story to emotionally connect, or strongly empathise with any of these characters, the fact that the actors make their parts seem so phenomenally believable is a feat in itself. They make up for what’s not there on paper, rendering the movie’s descent into schmaltzy patriotism, on occasion, wholly unnecessary. Review by Saibal Chatterjee on NDTVMovies Rating: On the positive side, The Ghazi Attack offers an unprecedented and detailed peep into the workings of a Navy submarine and its crew although much of what is said and done in the course of two hours and bit could still be gobbledygook for the lay viewer. All that we can figure out amid the high-voltage action and the heroic declamations is that two sets of men in uniform, each as convinced of their nation’s might as the other, are plotting to hit each other where it hurts. Review by Vishal Verma on Glamsham Rating: THE GHAZI ATTACK is a rare phenomenon on Indian screen. We don’t have much war epics and further its shows underwater submarine combats and most important in today’s Bollywood days – this ode to Mother India doesn’t feature the current poster boy of patriotism Akshay Kumar and still its satisfyingly entertaining cinema that rings the right bells on our macho patriotisms meter. Review by Devarsi Ghosh on India Today Rating: The action set-ups are brilliant. The unobtrusive background score is a loyal second-in-command. Above all, the Ghazi Attack’s script-structure is beautiful. The first-half concentrates on the conflict between a hot-headed, trigger-happy but sincere Captain and a calm and composed ‘Company Man’ Lt Commander who has been specifically ordered to keep the Captain in check. The post-interval part witnesses a change in heart and methodology of the Lt.Commander after a tragedy and now the conflict shifts from personal to physical, from intimate to external, between S-21 and Ghazi itself. The Ghazi Attack Review by Indiaglitz Rating: The climax part fails to connect or surpass the high level of expectations set due to the first half of the film. Its a bit hurried and juvenile in comparison to the other parts of the film. The whole track of Taapsee Pannu is unwanted. She plays a role of a doctor who is just shown staring at the injured victims in the finale of the film, where the first aid treatment is given by someone else. The movie ends in a hurried manner due to which one fails to connect to the victory of the mission and also leave a few questions unanswered. The patriotic dialogues in the finale seemed forced. Review by Bryan Durham on DNA India Rating: Performances-wise, it’s Atul Kulkarni (who plays Devraj, Singh’s second-in-command), who makes it believable. Restrained is the word that comes to mind when you bring up Rana’s name. The Telugu star’s last biggie, Baahubali, saw him in an aggressive role. He looks the part. Of course, this is no Crimson Tide and so, while this film has its moments, none come as close to that level of tension despite a decent screenplay that doesn’t really beat around the bush. Director Sankalp shows a confident hand in his debut effort. He makes it apparent how much can be done with a little. Review by Divya Pal on News18 Rating: The film which is largely set in the interiors of the submarine comes across as a failed attempt by director Sankalp Reddy to the underwater genre. While we like the way he has used patriotism, his direction is as unimpressive as his writing. As far as performances are concerned, Rana Daggubati looks impressive, but can’t do much, courtesy poor script. Kay Kay Menon plays his part well. Atul Kulkarni doesn’t have to put extra effort to pull off his role. Taapsee Pannu has nothing to do, except stare as action gets started. Sadly, veteran actor Om Puri’s potential remains under utilised. All in all, “The Ghazi Attack” is utterly disappointing. Review by Manisha Lakhe on Nowrunning Rating: It’s a fictionalized account of a brave unsung Indian submarine that downs the Pakistani super submarine, which is shoddily made, with terrible special effects and worse physics. Completely avoidable. Review by Subhash K Jha on Bollyspice Rating: Once we ignore the glaring generalizations and the broadly sketched definitions of valour and patriotism The Ghazi Attack comes across as a film that means well. The director has a firm command over the underwater escapades, more so than the power-tussle in which the commanding officers are shown to be embroiled. By the time Daggubati gives his big speech on sacrifices that soldiers make so that we civilians can sleep peacefully the narrative has exhausted its ability to hold our attention. The adventures of The Ghazi Attack are intriguing even exciting to begin with. But after a while repeated shots of torpedoes being fired from both sides gets repetitive. Review by IANS on Zeenews Rating: This film is a feeble attempt by director Sankalp Reddy in making an underwater war thriller, with patriotism thrown in for good measure. Although a subject that had potential, this one falls short of expectations. His direction appears to be as amateur as the writing. Even the performances by competent actors cannot salvage the film. Review by Meeta on Wogma Rating: This build-up is thoroughly engaging, even if the end is mighty predictable from the beginning. However, post-interval this gives way to melodrama that you would expect in a typical war film. That is disappointing at first and gets boring soon enough. Then, our beliefs in bravery and a human body’s physical capacity are tested. Best Rated Films in 2017 Jolly LLB 2 – 3.2 stars Kaabil – 3.2 stars Haraamkhor – 3 stars Raees – 2.9 stars Ok Jaanu – 2.5 stars Kung-Fu Yoga – 1.9 stars Coffee With D – 1.5 stars