Simran- Ran Away from Logic!

                                                     

This movie clearly proves that an actor/ actress cannot alone carry a film and this one lacks in bringing any value to the audience . The movie has no clue about which audience it is trying to appeal- clearly not ONLY Hindi Speaking (No Subtitles for the English dialogues), not for Indians (there is no introduction/ background on terms like social security and mortgage unique to US nationals)  not for NRI's either- they would never want to be more judged for the protagonist is actually a negative character- a thief. Was this movie about feminism? was it about mental illness? was this based on a smart heist ? I really cant tell!. . The Producer perhaps paid all his money only on one Actor's fee or on shooting offshore, every other actor in this Movie is a Blur, they come and go.

The plot is based on a real life story of a Gujarati NRI divorcee who is a thief robbing banks to pay off the goons who she borrowed money to gamble and eventually lost it all, including her savings for an apartment. The character of Praful Patel (Kangana Ranaut) comes across as so pathetic as she is just such a loser through it all . The movie begins with showing how Praful Patel has worked her 7 years off at a Hotels Housekeeping Department to buy an apartment in Atlanta, so that she can move out of her Parent's home and especially away from a Fathers' sarcastic Banter. Suddenly this hardworking character is shown to turn into gambling and then stealing from Banks, with zero connection to her previously shown avatar. It is as if she just happens to accidentally steal for the first time,  but in the most ingenious way. The story and screenplay both are so loose that if I were Apurava Asrani, I would happily let Kangana take all the credit for it (recent controversy- click here ) , as there is no excuse for this type screenplay and writing

The supporting cast was weak and not given any opportunity to showcase their talent. Their accents, including Kangana's were less researched and not that perfect. If they could actually have met a few Gujus around Jersey city (NJ) or some other such Guju Populated and mid-income level areas in the US, than fighting over the script writing credits, they all could have done better. Is Hansal Mehta  (Director) a Gujarati? I hope not. The biggest blunder he could have ever made was to have directed a scene where Praful's father is cooking Tamata- mercha nu shaak (a tomato and chili side/ Subzi) with carrots?? and with a  new technique perhaps, where he is throwing carrots into the cooking pot as he cuts and peels them!. Didn't Hansal Mehta start off his career with directing a cookery show- Khana Khazana? could'nt he have made the scene more interesting to watch?, surely no marks for not working on details!

This movie is a No Comparison to Queen, there is nothing uplifting or refreshing  about it. If this is what you had expected, like I did , Please stay home. Was there a message in the movie, yes it had some weird message I think , and the message goes like if girls do not get married as per parents' wishes they will end up in the jail . I am going to make sure my Parent's do not watch this movie for sure ;) and I wonder what their takeaway from this weird kitchadi will be. I was waiting for the movie to take a logical course or something Wow to happen after every scene, my hopes kept me on the seat and much less anything else

Shubh Mangal Saavdhan!!- Attention Please!

Source: IMDb.com

After watching Bareilly ki Barfi, I was wondering if Ayushmann Khurrana should have a release in the same genre just weeks apart, but this has really surprised me that he has done extremely well in both without seeming trite and boring. It is perhaps a mighty coincidence that Bhumi Pednekar and Seema Pahwa too have 2 movies (Toilet Ek Prem Katha, Bareilly ki Barfi respectively)running parallely  in almost the same genres and doing reasonably well. The one thing that really prompted me to go watch the movie was the fact that it was the remake of a Tamil movie Kalyana Samil Sadham, and that too remade by the same director R S Prasanna. Hats off to the bold and experiential subject of the film and the overall sweet "moral of the story" that it leaves you with. Not to mention the incredible performances by the lead actors and the well chosen support cast and the well- thought-out hindi adaptation

The story is a romantic comedy,  about  Mudit and Suganda both engineers who are engaged and to be married. It is just before the wedding that Mudit discovers he suffers from erectile dysfunction (called gents problem in the entire movie, so hereon) and  the story is a comic take on how he, his friends, fiancé and in-laws are all trying to help him out of his gents" problem

An amazing supporting cast and I am in Love with our new onscreen hit Mom Seema Pahwa, way to go! she has as much of an impression on you as much as the leading actors of the film or may be more. Bhumi has already discovered herself and understands her strengths as an actress. She can really play the girl next door and also keep it really REAL. She is got both the Delhi accent and the Body language perfect for this role. The screenplay has been well adapted for the Hindi / Bollywood Audiences and this is really important when you are working on a subject which may have variant impacts/ meaning to different cultures.

The actor, I am trying to find is Mr.X (I couldn't find his name online anywhere!! Please help here on the comments) who plays Suganda's father has also done an outstanding job alongside Brijendra Kala who plays her Uncle. They are beyond adorable besides just comic

I am very happy and extremely proud of the directors that are bred in the south, and have written about my admiration of for Mr. Maniratnam & Balki before . Now R.S. Prasanna joins my list of favorites . There was another movie recently called OK Jaanu, that was a remake of OK Kanmani , which was again an amazing Tamil movie, but it just didn't hit it with the audience, perhaps because of a different director and weak screenplay adaptation. 

I am little unhappy and I will tell you why, I may sound rhetoric and preachy in the next few lines but I really have to say this-  I saw Children below 13, some even 3 or 4 years old in the movie theatre and it did disturb me that as Parents who are multiplex audiences (educated!!) would bring their kids to a movie with this subject, irrespective of the censor boards decision. I do agree that it was all about the "gents' problem (No one uses the actual words)" and very subtly put too but do you really want to take away  innocence from the Children this soon. So please do watch this movie but leave your Children at home. At a burning fever,  but for the love of movies, this one is the soothing, healing and a "feel good movie" that I needed to watch for sure. Go and Enjoy!