Madaari [2016]

Director - Nishikant Kamat
Language - Hindi
Run Time - 2 hours, 13 minutes
Genre - Drama/Thriller
Starring - Irrfan Khan and Jimmy Shergill

Irrfan Khan's films, although off-beat, hardly ever disappoint. Such is not the case with Madaari. I had high expectations from the film, the trailer promised a movie somewhere on the lines of  'A Wednesday'. But sadly, the movie delves too much into the 'message' and thus, the plot suffers. Irrfan's acting, top notch as always, is the only thing that carried the movie forward. The movie overall turns out be quite dull affair rather than the thriller that was promised.

Irrfan Khan plays the Madaari, aka Nirmal, a common man and lone father who takes life as it comes. Until, tragedy strikes, and he decides to take matters in his own hands. Skip to kidnapping the son of the home minister of the country. Can he change the system?

The build-up that one expects from the movie is missing, so is the mystery which should be surrounding a thriller. It stretched 30-45 longer than it should have. The flashbacks as well as the songs were quite irritating and unnecessary additions to the plot.

Irrfan Khan and Jimmy Shergill are provide the silver lining in the movie, and yes, the climax to an instant. But how much can two brilliant actors do, without a good script that should be bringing them together? Irrfan Khan stirs the audience's emotions with his portrayal of a father who has lost the only source of happiness in his life - the son and is hellbent on revenge. Vishesh Bansal as Rohan, the kidnapped kid is quite irritating, and not a character I would have liked to see in such a serious film. The director tries to makeup for the serious overtone with Rohan's character, but that adds more poison to the film.

The idea was right, but the execution was miserable.

One should avoid this movie.

My Rating - 5.8/10 (Only because of Irrfan and Jimmy)

Udta Punjab [2016]

Language - Hindi/Punjabi
Director - Abhishek Chaubey
Run Time - 2 hours, 30 minutes
Genre - Drama
Starring - Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareen Kapoor and Diljit Dosanjh

After a lot of controversies and political mud-slinging, the Bombay High Court finally cleared the film which was one of the most awaited films of 2016. And the hype was worth the wait.

The film is dark and intense and some might even use the word 'heavy', but it is a wonderfully made film covering a real topic which is widely ignored in the state as well as the country. As the film portrays (and the title too), Punjab is the drug capital of India, with more than 70% of the youth addicted. Abhishek Chabeu has successfully made an entertaining movie, while delivering a crucial message, a feat that is rarely achieved.

Udta Punjab is a dark and grim adventure that follows the story of 4 people whose fate have become intertwined in the dark web of the drug trade and abuse in Punjab. Shahid Kapoor plays Tommy Singh, the reel version of our very own 'Yo Yo HoneySingh', who sings and preaches about heroin, coke and cock. Alia Bhatt is a laborer from Bihar, who in her desperation to escape poverty, falls into another trap. Diljit Dosanjh is a corrupt cop, who does not give a second look at the drug problems in the state until it hits own home and lastly, we have Kareena Kapoor playing Dr Preet Sahni, a doctor who runs a rehab clinic. Where does each end up?

What makes the movie interesting is the personality change we see in all our characters as the plot progresses, each realizing the effects of their actions. And the acting of Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor is truly magnificent, mark my words, both shall receive lots of awards for their respective roles. I believe Kareena had quite a weak character, and that is one place where the film lacks.

What works for the movie apart from the serious tone, we have some chase sequences, and also have some moments of laughter which take the serious tone for a while. Also, certain scenes are so powerful, like the time went Shahid is taken to jail, or when Alia's craving for drugs starts.

The music is electrifying and keeps one 'amped-up' throughout. Kudos to Amit Trivedi.

Abhishek Chaubey, a director who has shown his talent in Ishqiya, has certainly escalated his levels. It is commendable how he manages to converge different characters and plotlines into a single story, something which Guy Ritchie has managed to excel in (Snatch, RocknRolla). But the first half of the movie was much-much more interesting that the second half, as it seemed like the movie was going towards the documentary route.

Nevertheless, this is not a movie one should miss out on.

My Rating - 8.6/10

Raman Raghav 2.0 [2016]

Language - Hindi
Director - Anurag Kashyap
Run Time - 2 hours, 7 minutes
Genre - Drama/Thriller
Starring - Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vicky Kaushal

Raman Raghav is a groundbreaking film, for it explores the mind of a serial killer, which has hardly been covered by Bollywood, and yet never so brilliantly. Yes, the film is intense and gory and violent and people with soft hearts should probably avoid it, but that is where the Kashyap strikes the right chord, as such a gruesome portrayal of a serial killer has never been seen on the silver screen (Bollywood only).

Both our protagonists are interesting characters and the chemistry between them works out really well. Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays Ramanna, a serial killer who is trying to emulate the famed 60's killer Raman Raghav. On the other hand, we have Vicky Kaushal playing ACP Raghavan who is drug addict apart from being manipulative human being. Both are on the hunt for each other, as we get to enjoy a wonderful game of cat and mouse.

Nawazuddin is a proven actor now, as he has demonstrated he can play a wide variety of roles quite convincingly. I think he might be the best actor in Bollywood right now. His scary performance is what keeps the audience enthralled throughout the movie. Vicky Kaushal is just his third film is also quite good. The chemistry between the characters, as Raman tries to find his Raghav is top notch, with each complimenting the other.

The cinematography was brilliant, with certain shots having been so perfectly executed. I'd also like to specially mention the opening credits scene, which was so amazing laid out.

The biggest negative has to be the music. The background score was loud, as well as appalling, sometimes hurting the entire scene. And also, the font used everywhere in the film was so pathetic, it seemed like it was picked up from one the old 'Microsoft Word' fonts and tinkered around here and there.

The concept of having the story split into various acts was also refreshing, and thus, the plot deviation didn't seem all that haphazard. The adrenaline kept pumping all throughout the movie. What could have been such a cliched ending was avoided, and therein lies the credit to Mr. Kashyap.

Lastly, I would again like to give some praise to the man who made this movie, and is the best director in Bollywood - Anurag Kashyap, a man of genius intellect. All his films have been so revolutionary. Be it a Black Friday or a No Smoking, Dev D, Gangs of Wasseypur, or Ugly, he has delivered time and again, and changed our way of thinking about the human nature. We hardly recognize the demons that live among us.

If you don't mind a somewhat intense and gory film, this is not to be missed out on.

My Rating - 8/10