Badlapur : Movie Review

Critic’s Rating: 4/5

Avg Readers’ Rating: 3.9/5

CAST:Varun Dhawan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Huma Qureshi, Divya Dutta, Radhika Apte, Yami Gautam, Kumud Mishra, Vinay Pathak

DIRECTION:Sriram Raghavan

GENRE:Crime

DURATION:2 hours 5 minutes

Watch Trailer :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KEoZanqlOE

STORY: Raghu’s (Varun Dhawan) indefectible life is devastated, when a robbery episode kills his wife and son. The culprit Liak (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) refuses to let out the truth and is imprisoned for 20 years. Refusing to move on, Raghu harbours in him the tryst for truth. Can he avenge the deaths of people who meant the world to him? And, is being devoured by the feeling of revenge as gratifying as his volcanic rage had promised?REVIEW: Badlapur is a gobsmacking movie that suffuses on screen – a deftly written story, spectacular performances and an intelligently layered screenplay. What works best here is the film’s unpredictability. From the minute it begins, you’re latched to your seat with your heart throbbing in your mouth and your throat frequently choking up. For the sheer impact the movie conjures up, writer-director Sriram Raghavan deserves a bow!

Mixing grit and suspense in the right measure, Sriram allows his film to take the risky path in keeping you invested, ably playing his motley bunch of characters. While the layers smoothly unfold in this vendetta affair, Raghavan’s clarity of vision keeps the narrative seamless. The wicked humour sprinkled abruptly in the sequences draws one further into this movie. The excessive gore might be considered superfluous but is vital for the impact it has.The driving force here are the actors who evolve the story. Varun’s measured acting and sincere eyes draw empathy. With each scene, the intense hues he brings to Raghu, unravel. Nawaz is superlative as Liak, bringing a sinful streak of twisted comedy, teaming it with unabashed swagger. The ladies deliver adequately, but it’s Huma Qureshi who brings more to her role than what it holds.Though the film’s second hour meanders and is a tad long, the compelling climax and memorable scenes, like the one where Liak reveals the truth that Raghu had desperately been seeking, trivializes these flaws. Added to it, Sachin-Jigar’s haunting music adds a piercing quality.

Brisk and absorbing, concluding differently than expected, Badlapur is an inspired film that dangerously attempts to change the landscape of the thriller genre in Bollywood.

In-depth Analysis

Our overall critic’s rating is not an average of the sub scores below.

Direction  3.5/5

Story  4/5

Music  4/5

Action  3.5/5

TRIVIA
1 Badlapur is Varun Dhawan’s smallest budget film. It is made on a budget of just Rs 25 crore. Before this, Varun Dhawan was a part of only big banner films like – Student of the Year, Main Tera Hero, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania.

2 CBFC objected to the use of two abusive words in the film. The ‘F’ word had then been changed to ‘hell’ and was muted the second time.3 Badlapur is Varun Dhawan’s first non- comedy film

Badlapur: Five reasons to watch the film

Varun Dhawan is one of the most adored actors from the new lot and his fan following is huge. Known for his romantic films like Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Main Tera Hero and the successful movie Student of the Year, he has charmed his way into Bollywood, often being called the chocolate boy of B-town. But seems like this young gun who is also touted as the next Salman Khan of the Hindi film industry, has decided to cast off that image and do something dark, edgy and gripping in Badlapur. The official teaser has already won Varun rave reviews and we list five reasons why this film is a must watch.

01 A thriller film: Badlapur comes from the director of Agent Vinod, Ek Hasina Thi andJohnny Gaddar. Sriram Raghavan is known for his edgy characters and gripping scripts, so helming this Varun Dhawan-starrer will make for an interesting watch, especially since the genre is a thriller. Going by the film’s teaser which was launched recently, Badlapurpromises to have some killer dialogues and action sequences. Varun plays a character called Raghu in the film who seems to be a family man until things turn around and that’s when his new side is revealed. At the trailer launch of his film, the director spoke aboutBadlapur saying, “In the early part of the film, something happens, and one should not miss it. I want to stress that don’t miss the beginning and don’t miss the end of the film.”

02 Unique cast: For the first time, Varun Dhawan will pair up with actress Yami Gautam. Yami, who was seen in Vicky Donor, will play Varun’s onscreen wife. That apart, Huma Qureshi is said to be playing the part of a prostitute in the film. Joining them will be Divya Dutta, Vinay Pathak and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Varun will also be seen kissing Divya Dutta in Badlapur. Talking about the same, he said in a press conference, “I was very comfortable kissing Divya. Why not? Look at her. She is so sexy.” While Divya, Nawazuddin and Vinay Pathak are seasoned actors known for their movies, Varun and Yami are relatively new and this interesting mix of actors will be a treat to watch, come February 2015.

03 Varun in a new avatar: Move over student, the murderer is here! Varun Dhawan will play an edgy and dark character with shades of grey in Badlapur. Shedding all his inhibitions, the actor said in an interview to IANS, “I suffered a lot while doing this film. I can’t say that I enjoyed doing the film.” According to a report on bollywoodhungama.com, the actor will have three different looks in the film spanning different generations. For the first time, Varun will play a father in the film and his onscreen wife will be played by Yami Gautam. Varun will reportedly play a 40-year-old in Sriram Raghavan’s thriller. Talking to bollywoodlife.com, the actor spoke about how challenging this film was for him. “It drained me. I had slipped into depression as after a point it no longer felt like I was acting in a film. The experience was that terrifying. Sriram really made me suffer. Even when the camera was off, he was shooting me. It was a reality check of a different kind because till then I had been leading a rather insulated life, both in real life and reel,” he said.

04 Varun Dhawan and Sriram Raghavan team up for the first time: Director Sriram Raghavan has worked with actors like Neil Nitin Mukesh and Saif Ali Khan, but this is the first time he will be working with Varun, and he seems to have taken out the best in him. After commercially viable films like Student of the Year, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Main Tera Hero, Varun will step out of his comfort zone to do something so challenging. Produced by Maddock Films and Eros International, Badlapur seems to have the right amount of action. Talking about Sriram, producer Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films says, “He is one of the purest filmmakers I know and also the craziest. Badlapur is unadulterated Raghavan. He has found the perfect accomplice to depict this madness in Varun Dhawan in a never before seen role.” The film is said to highlight the conflict between good and evil.

05 Music: The successful music director duo of Sachin-Jigar have had several hits to their credit including ‘Char Baj Gaye’, ‘Thank God Its Friday’, ‘D Se Dance’, ‘Lucky Tu Lucky Me’ and ‘Daingad Daingad’ to name a few. Sriram’s movies are known for their music too, which suits the thriller genre, be it Johnny Gaddar, Ek Hasina Thi or Agent Vinod. AndBadlapur should be no exception. In fact, actress Huma Qureshi has a special song in the film. As per a report on bollywoodtrade.com, the song will be reminiscent of the 90s and Huma is said to be watching Urmila Matondkar and Raveena Tandon songs for the same. In fact, this special number has reportedly been inspired by songs like ‘Rangeela Re’ and ‘Ek Do Teen’. How Sachin and Jigar adapt to Badlapur‘s theme will be worth a listen!

Roy : Movie review

Movie Review Courtesy : Yahoo Movies Review: Roy By Rummana Ahmed

Cast: Arjun Rampal, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ranbir Kapoor, Rajit Kapoor, Anupam Kher
Direction: Vikramjit Singh

Rating: **

I never thought that I would say this about a Ranbir Kapoor film, but Roy is an excruciatingly boring film. Nothing, absolutely nothing, seems to break the monotony of the narrative.
There is no thrill in this romantic thriller. Yes, there is romance but this is an insipid and predictable love story. The emotions, the separation and the redemption remain superfluous entities, never really weaving a compelling tale.
Our filmmaker (Arjun Rampal) wants to tell the fascinating story of a thief (Ranbir Kapoor), who has intrigued him since childhood. His chance encounter with another director, Ayesha Amin (Jacqueline Fernandez), inspires him to craft the much-awaited sequel for his mysterious protagonist. The only thing is the brooding, pensive thief sounds interesting on paper but the character just doesn’t seem to translate into a suave swindler on screen.

Vikramjit Singh has evidently dwelled too much on the mood setting – the bluish-greys in most scenes, the close-ups, the measured pace – they are all good but where is the story? The hook? The peg?
The parallel stories of the thief and the author don’t coalesce naturally. We see no layers peel away. We are playing with the hues to probably make a point about how all or most individuals have shades of grey and you cannot compartmentalize people as black or white. But here, they are not. In fact, you realize that all the characters in this film are pretty unidimensional and their story is completely linear.
There is just too much foreplay in this film. Arjun, Ranbir and Jacqueline are saddled with a flimsy script. It’s good that we have pretty faces to look at because we spend way too much time on them – their silhouettes, their moods, their monologues.
I am a little worried for Ranbir Kapoor – his last success at the Box Office was Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (May, 2013). His Beshram (October, 2013) was a disaster and after more than a year Roy is another colossal disappointment.

Watch it if you want to, but Roy was just too pretentious for my choice.

Here is the promo for the movie

5 Reasons To Watch Ranbir Kapoor’s Roy

The moment that we all were waiting for is right here, people! The much anticipated and awaited film Roy finally has hit the screens today, on February 13. In Roy Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Jacqueline Fernandez will be sharing screen space with each other for the very first time. Well, that’s not the only reason why Roy is a must-watch. Here’s Five Reasons Why You Should Watch Roy.

1. Ranbir Kapoor’s Mysterious Avatar We have seen the actor in the sweet loverboy avatar so many times that when we hear Ranbir‘s name, an adorable image comes inside our head instantly.In Vikramjit Singh‘s Roy, we will see Ranbir Kapoor in a whole new different avatar. But what really excites us is the mystery that surrounds his character in the film.

2. Jacqueline Fernandez’ Double Role Debut With Roy, actress Jacqueline will be making her Double-Role debut in Bollywood. We will see Jacqueline in two totally different avatars, isn’t that just amazing? Who would want to miss beautiful actress play two different roles in just one film? Roy is a treat!

3. Different Story Of Different Characters Every single character in the film holds an aura of mystery in itself. Be it Ranbir‘s character or Arjun Rampal‘s, the makers of the film succeeded in keeping the secrets of their characters under wraps. The curiosity to know more about Arjun, Ranbir and Jacqueline‘s roles, make Roy a film not to miss at any cost.

4. Romantic Film With Thriller Bollywood is full of romantic films with a touch of comedy but its romantic thriller that actually grabs audiences’ attention and makes them go “WOAH”! A film with drama, romance and thriller is a total entertainment package.

5. Soul Touching Music Ask yourself, weren’t you grooving to the beats of ‘Sooraj Dooba Hain’ and zoning out to the lyrics of ‘Tu Hai Ki Nahi’? Guilty, right? The moment the songs from film Roy came out, it was on replay day and night. The music is soul touching and we absolutely love it! Enough reason to watch Roy, don’t you agree?