CITYLIGHTS - Movie Review

There are many films that have been made on the theme which glorifies the evil of Mumbai, which brings to light the cruelest this city can ever be to an individual, which scraps out various insights about the struggle to survive in a city where People are the drugs. They are so many around you that it may make you feel claustrophobic and yet isolated at the same time! Such is Mumbai! Such is life here.

And adding a layer or two of emotions to this already boiling with emotions kind of a theme, Citylights does not do much in terms of storytelling as compared to the performances it showcases per se!

Routine is not always monotonous or mundane! Presenting or projecting it in a correct manner can make routine feel like a one-time phenomenon. Citylights picks up a routine topic of survival against odds and goes on to weave a cloth that is drenched in the colours of tragedy and grief with a slight shade of hope creeping in through the borders of the cloth. It is the the predictable-ness of the proceedings that takes a toll on the story telling. 

The screenplay gets stuck at places which makes a scene seem elongated for no reason or rhyme. Character Graph and character development seems spot on and stupendously planned for Rajkumar Rao but the same cannot be said about his wife. This unevenness at times creates doubts regarding the behaviour of a particular character.

Yes they say that clichés are clichés because they are true but clichés about Mumbai, which there seem to be plenty in this Hansal Mehta flick seem to irritate more often than not! When in need of money and if you happen to a woman, being a Bar dancer is the only freaking job available to you! Isn't it?

There are certain scenes which have a brilliant impact and convey a lot in terms of emotions. Deepak's wife being forced out of her home and the closing scene of the film are sheer marvels! Such scenes make cinema worth watching!

When it comes to performances, Rajkumar Rao is unabashedly and brutally real! From the dialect to the emotions, from the vulnerability to the helplessness, Rao shines in his role and gives a towering performance. An extremely well crafted performance. It is for him that Citylights can be watched. He is an amazing talent with an extremely rare gift of emoting through his eyes! The National Award last year was very well deserved indeed.

Pratilekha who plays the role of the wife of Rajkumar Rao too pitches an extremely honest effort which is let down hugely by the uneven character sketch drawn for her. 

The supporting cast acts as per required. Manav Kaul does an excellent job as Rajkumar's colleague.

The music by Jeet Ganguli is below average and talented singers like Arijit Singh and Neeti Mohan are wasted in an album which is filled with tracks that are repetitive and unimaginative.

Hansal Mehta has been competent with the direction but the overall impact of the film gets lost in a screenplay which has too much to offer but too less to convey. Yes the director has been honest with his effort but Citylights, like Hansal's much appreciated SHAHID, is a bit overrated according to me!

Citylights has nothing new to offer to the viewers. Despite being an attempt to make realistic cinema, Citylights offers an extremely dramatic outlook to the already theatrical life of Mumbai. 

Dreams should have wings but the wings of a sparrow can never achieve the heights attained by those of an eagle! Dreams also deserve a reality check!

This possibly summarizes the message that Hansal Mehta tries to convey through his film which could have been an excellent film had it been edited properly, curtailed in clichés it tries to prove true and tried to offer something which wasn't seen before on celluloid in a film based on the extremities of MUMBAI!

Citylights is watchable simply for the performances and the simple message that this film tries to convey. 

**2.5STARS**

QUEEN - Movie Review

I fail to recollect the last time I saw a film which was so correctly made. Right from the screenplay and editing to the performances, everything feels just right. Nothing underplays and nothing goes overboard. 

Alright then, the story and the essence of the film are in sync with the new wave in Bollywood which has started to focus more on women centric issues but the treatment of Queen is what separates it from the others. Unlike the more recent and over dramatized Highway, Queen is starkly low on the dramatic content and plays out emotions in such a realistic manner that at times it seems like watching parallel cinema, but hello!! This is where Queen scores big. It is very much mainstream in its approach and yet is astoundingly grounded in the reality of its script. 

There are also visible similarities in how the issue was tackled in English Vinglish but then again the focus there was on the emotional outburst of a character much elder. Here, the issues are much relatable, the anxiety, fear, pain and joy can be felt by the audience of a much younger age. Taking nothing away from English Vinglish, which was masterful story telling in itself, Queen manages to create a strong identity for itself despite there being a product as original and genuine as English Vinglish. 

Within the first few minutes of the film, during the London Thumakda song, the director captures a moment so tender, so heartfelt and emotional that it does away with the inclusion of a dialogue scene. The mother and daughter look at each other and their eyes convey feelings which words cannot. From that moment onwards, you somehow just know that Queen is going to be worth the time! The film is about numerous such moments which will leave an imprint on the hearts of the audiences flocking to see the film despite it being in its 3rd week now. 

The screen play is lucid and the cinematography literally brings the story alive on screen. Right from the Rajauri gardens in Delhi to the red light district in Amsterdam, the camera work stays brilliant. 

Vikas Bahl directs a simplistic tale in a simplistic manner and lets the performances cook up the desired emotions. It is he who is able to extract nuanced performances from every person in the crew and the result is a delightful film. The direction for a large part of time remains extremely engaging but becomes a tad repetitive post the intermission thereby slacking the pace at which the film moves but it does pick up again. And how!

The casting of actors is another area where the casting team pulls off a great job. Actors are perfectly cast and are able to portray relatable characters with relative ease. 

Make way for Kangana folks!! She shines in the role of Rani. Often you can see her improvise in a scene and bring out something extra than what is desired. Her transformation from the simple, shy and timid girl to a confident and bold woman is extremely believable. It is she who pulls off a Vidya Balan here by carrying the entire film on her shoulders. 

She is my personal favourite for the best actress nominations for the award functions later in 2014.

Rajkumar Rao is good like always.

Hardly has music made so much sense to a film. By sense I mean to say that rarely we find songs that are extremely well composed and go along perfectly in sync with what the screenplay demands. Amit Trivedi is the hero who again brings out an album which basks in the glory of its variety and yet remains brutally original. Be it Jugni, O Guzariya, Badra Bahar or Taake Jhaake, each song carries Rani's journey forward. And Kangana enacts out the desired emotions for each of this brilliant compositions. 

Kinaare which concludes the film is by far the best song to come out in 2014. The lyrics by Anvita Dutt, Mohan Kanan's soothing and mesmeric vocals and Trivedi's music create such an atmosphere that it does away with the need to have any sort of verbal exchange. Just the song in the background and its done. Take out this song from the film and the impact surely would have dipped by at least 20%.

Queen is surely a must watch! It is a family entertainer with a message which gets properly conveyed. You'll simply fall in love with Kangana after watching her act in Queen.

A genuine feel good film with its heart in the right place. 

To sum up- HUNGAMA HO GAYA!!

**4STARS**

DHOOM 3 - MOVIE REVIEW

There are stories that induce sleep, actors that don't fit the bill and then there is DHOOM 3. The last big release that 2013 witnessed is also probably the most mediocre release of this year.

So the thief is at it again. And this time the target is THE WESTERN BANK OF CHICAGO whose 4 branches get robbed by the time the film ends. Oh and yes, unlike the other 2 films in the series, you don't get to know how the branches were robbed. Something different right? It is an Aamir Khan film after all!

So the thief is out to take revenge from a bank which could not extend the loan repayment period to a circus group which led to the gaudy looking circus master (Jackie Shroff) commit suicide right in front of his pre-teen child. Why should a bank consider an extension if you cannot repay? What is the point in committing suicide and making your child scandalize so much that he takes revenge for your default in payment? Umm couldn't he have simply moved on and started something else, something small in order to secure his as well as his family's future? Who cares! There wouldn't have been a scope for a back story then!

With repeated robberies, ACP Jai Dixit and his sidekick Ali are called to solve the case! International Agencies be damned! And boy do the 2 super cops have a plan! They'd make the thief rob again!! So after some genuinely good chase sequences and some scenes where a bike transforms into a jet-ski and then into a submarine and then into the bike again (gosh that would've given the bat-mobile sleepless nights), you finally reach the dramatic high point, which, if you've seen The Prestige, would be able to guess pretty easily!

Alright enough of logic bashing. Dhoom series isn't here to make logical sense. It is our own F&F series but there has to be some entertainment element right? Dhoom 1 was a flawed film but had tremendous raw energy. Dhoom 2 was shabby story but was presented in such a stylised manner that it made jaws drop. Dhoom 3 is sadly low on energy and on style. The fact that it focuses on a script and story makes it an even more shabbily made film because of the glaring loopholes in the screenplay!

You will never see a more consistent film than Dhoom 3 if acting is your prime motive to catch a film. Aamir Khan has displayed much flair in portraying the same expression throughout the film. Frankly he never looked the perfect thief.

AND I HAVE 2 GENUINE QUESTIONS.

1.      Was Aamir Khan a clown thief or a magician? They are 2 different characters altogether for God's sake. 

2.     And does a bank close down simply on the grounds that its cash has been robbed, no rather sprinkled all around the bank! How does Aamir rob is the best kept secret and is never revealed.

Intensity was required in this role and Aamir provides it, probably too much. Continuous hamming and amateurishly written dialogues which hardly make sense and I have Never seen Aamir overact so much!

Katrina Kaif too is very consistent with her 5 dialogues and 3 songs kind of an acting regime. 

Abhishek Bachchan is also consistent with appearing only in the Dhoom series and always letting the thief go away despite this time having a SWAT squad at his disposal!! And despite all the years he has been in service, he still remains an ACP! Umm yeah if he keeps on believing what a Circus master tells him without any reference or background check, the ACP title is there to stay.

Uday Chopra.. who cares! It is good to see him crack self deprecatory jokes though!

Vijay Krishna Acharya has dished out another Tashan-isque film, High on budget and scale but low on substance and energy. I wonder how he even passed off a film with such evident loopholes. A total paisa-waste film. You know the bore fest the film was if you find majority of your friends dozing off in a high octane film like Dhoom 3!

So yes, Dhoom 3 is the most spectacular blunder ever made by YRF. No Jhoom Barabar Jhoom was a bigger one!

The only saving grace was the Malang song. Excellently choreographed. But yeah not worth 5 crores of rupees. Dibaker Banerjee makes an entire full length feature film in that much budget!

And by the time this line gets repeated for the 20th time -BANDE HAI HUM USSKE..HUMPE KISKA ZOR..UMMEEDO KE SURAJ..ZZZZZZ ZZZZ

SPECTACULARLY RUBBISH FILM.

** 1.5 STARS**

10 most amazing Bollywood films of 2013

As 2013 draws to a close, we at THE REEL OBSERVER have planned to bring out the best and worst of Bollywood that has been served to the audience.

The first section is going to be focusing on the 10 most amazing films made this year. (Commercial performance of a film has not been used as a criterion in judging the films. So all you superstar fans have a reason to be disappointed :P)

10. GO GOA GONE / WAR CHODD NA YAR

The 10th spot is shared by 2 films that have been the genre openers in Bollywood.

Ever seen a ZOM-COM in Bollywood?? Go Goa Gone was our answer to some amazing Zombie Comedy capers already made in the west.

Filled with superb performances, witty one-liners, slick direction, stupendous editing and a great sound-track Go Goa Gone was a laugh riot. All at the dead man's expense!

Ever seen a WAR-COM in Bollywood? War Chodd Na Yar was one hell of a movie! Portraying comedy out of a patriotic theme is no easy task. Though not at the level of The Dictator, WCNY was extremely effective. If the theme and the set up do not seem funny enough, Mukul Dev Sanjay Mishra and Javed Jaffery will surely have you falling off your seats. This film could have been a genuine commercial success had it been backed by an able distributor and a more effective marketing campaign.

9. DAVID

Bejoy Nambiar's second venture saw accolades coming in from audiences and critics alike. The film seamlessly focused on 3 time zones, 3 separate stories and 3 different characters. Amazingly shot, with performances to die for, David emerged as one of those rare Bollywood films that are high on substance as well as style. Despite being an extremely stylish narrative, David could not be commercially successful as the target audience was a very niche segment.

8. RAM-LEELA

Alright, there were mixed views about this film from the audiences and the critics alike. But one cannot deny the fact that it was one of the most beautiful looking films made this year. The sets, costumes, music, performances, dances, everything had the SLB's stamp of grandeur posted on it. With Deepika growing into a fine performer with every film, Ranveer Singh can now be counted as the next big thing in the industry! The concluding scene of the film still gives me goosebumps when i think about it.

  

7. YEH JAWANI HAI DEEWANI

This film can boast of a unanimous response from the audiences and the critics alike. Everyone liked this film. There wasn't a thing one could possibly not like about YJHD. Well they say in the industry that Ranbir can hardly go wrong. He never does! This film had everything. From being a teenager's fantasy to being a more emotionally matured narrative, YJHD did strike a chord with everyone at some point of time. With Chartbuster songs, sparkling chemistry and some excellent direction made YJHD one of the most successful films of 2013.

6. KAI PO CHE

We have always read poetry, heard people reciting it. But to see poetry in motion is truly a revelation of sorts. This is exactly what KAI PO CHE delivers. A richly detailed, soothingly emotional and a BRO-MANTIC tale of three friends took us on a journey which made us root for every character. The film was based on Chetan Bhagat's best selling novel 3 MISTAKES OF MY LIFE. Kai Po Che was the biggest surprise film this year. 3 relatively new faces, a detailed script and refreshing performances!! One of the finer feel-good-films that I have seen in recent times.

5. MADRAS CAFE

Madras cafe came across as a film which silenced everyone with its sincerity to showcase good cinema. Madras Cafe revisited the period from 1986 to 1991 and showcased probably the darkest phase in the history of our neighbouring nation and its repercussions on our country. Madras Cafe opened up a disturbing chapter in the human history. It also opened up the gates for filmmakers to make films which made sense. It opened up the gates for the filmmakers willing to tell the stories that needed to be told.

Madras Cafe deserved an audience.

The film ended with Tagore's lines (mouthed by John)..Where the head is held high..and the mind is without fear...

Madras cafe was a thoughtful cinematic experience.

4. SHIP OF THESEUS

Words wouldn't suffice the praise that this film deserves. Watch it to believe it. One of the finest indie films that have released this year, both in terms of content and context. Thought provoking cinema at its very best.

3. THE LUNCHBOX

There are certain films which are made to delight the audience. With accolades coming from world over, The Lunchbox was a very fine film, evolving in its own space and probably redefining the clichéd notions that we had in our minds about love. A fascinating narrative pattern, superlative performances and a rare use of imageries made The Lunchbox a film to savour for a long long time.

2. BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG

One simply cannot afford to miss watching Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, purely because it is an essential part of the rarity of athletic glory that we posses, for the sheer hard work that has been put into making this film, for feeling proud about yourself, for not being affected by distractions and being a better human being. No praise is sufficient enough for Farhan Akhtar. Living the role they call it. And he has done precisely that.

Life is never about owning big things. It is about dreaming big and keeping the smaller elements in place; the bigger picture, automatically, will become glorious.

1. LOOTERA

This is one film that made me feel like being in love throughout its runtime. Adapted from the short story The Last Leaf, Lootera was simply a superlative cinematic experience. Sonakshi performed exceptionally well, Ranveer, well he carried the film on his shoulders! Amit Trivedi churned out a brilliant music album, the art direction was out of the world and one thing that I realized once Lootera was aired on T.V, it has tremendous repeat value. Art finally found acceptance in Indian Cinema; though not the kind of thundering success in monetary terms but in terms of the positive vibe that the movie generated.  Vikramaditya Motwane proved that Udaan was no fluke and to me Lootera was the best film made this year.

(There were other films as well that caught our attention..

-Jolly LLb -Special26-Inkaar -B.A Pass-Shahid -D-day)

Feel free to comment about your pick for the 10 most amazing films made in 2013.