Jai Shree Ram.

Watching  ‘Singham again’ was like seeing a modern day Ramayan story, with loads of stars, full of action helmed by Ajay Devgn as modern day Ram. And we see Kareena kapoor ( who plays the wife of Ajay Devgn in the film) associated with cultural ministry as modern day Sita. She presents a programme in Delhi, on the occasion of dushera presenting Ramayana.   

So, as we see the episode of Sita being kidnapped by Ravana, we see Kareena Kapoor also kidnapped by modern day Raavan played by Arjun Kapoor.  The film’s starcast  comprising of  galaxy of action stars like lady Singham- Deepika Ranveer Singh, Tiger Shroff, Daya Shetty ,Akshay kumar and energetic Ranveer Singh seem to be inspired by different characters of ‘Ramayana’ to help Ajay Devgn in his mission to rescue Kareena Kapoor. We also see fleeting glimpse of Salman khan as chulbul Pandey and Jackie Shroff, as head of terrorist group.

Action loaded with many cars being smashed, as we often see in Rohit Shetty’s films, the film entertains besides those action filled stunts performed by every lead character.

Very good performance by Ajay Devgn but Ranveer Singh impresses the most with his every entry in the film. Performances of all other Artistes are fine.  Thankfully, no songs except Singham music. Crisp editing, superb cinematography and fast moving screenplay till end, makes the film captivating. Dialogues are well written. All Important scenes in the film are well connected with the happennings in ‘Ramayana’.   But still, ‘Singham’ Part One was excellant. All that this movie preaches is ‘good triumphs over evil’. Can be seen by entire family together.

Rating ( ***1/2 )

By: M.S. Krishnan

Film making is a creative process. It is such an effective media to create an impact about an important issue in our society, through a gripping screenplay, so as to keep the audience engaged. As a producer, renowned actor Late Satish Kaushik has done it through his recently released film ‘Kaagaz-2’. However, due to his untimely demise, almost coinciding with his film’s release; he missed the positive response to his film from the audience.

Produced by Satish Kaushik Entertainments & Venus Worldwide Entertainment, Written and directed by V.K.Prakash, this film is a remake of Prakash’s 2015 Malayalam film ‘Nirnayakam’. ‘Kaagaz-2’ presents the struggles of a common man, whose right to life is infringed upon by the protests and rallies organised by a Political leader; which is very common in our country.

Today, in our country, the politically motivated protests by different sections of society take the regular commuters on the road for granted, while blocking the roads and traffic and therefore, this film is a must see film for all those affected citizens of India, to know their rights, in such situations.  

This 119 mins long film highlights Article 15 of the constitution of India , which permits the right to live, and prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or birthplace. In the film, A young daughter of Sushil Rastogi, a common man from a district place in Northern India tops in UPSC exams and is all set to become an IAS officer. Unfortunately, she meets with an accident at home due to a fall. When, she is being taken to hospital in neighbour’s car, the car gets stranded in a traffic jam, with no place to move forward and backward, due to rasta roko by a Political party leade,r who addresses a rally at an important road junction. Helpless father pleads to in charge police officer for help; but he is unable to provide help. On late admission to hospital, the daughter is declared dead. The doctor says that late admission caused the death due to internal brain haemorrhage.

The disturbed father then takes the help of renowned lawyer Raj Singh, who fights his case making the Political leader, state administration officer , Police administration officer responsible for the girl’s death. He convinces the Judge how the Political leader is responsible by blocking the traffic, how accountable is a district officer, who grants the permission and how the Police in charge on duty, failed to help the victim. Simply by diverting the traffic is no solution. There should be accountability, in case of any emergency situation arising, due to such traffic jams. In the climax of the film, the Judge delivers a convincing judgement, holding all those accountable for girl’s accidental death due to delay in admission to the hospital.

The subject dealt in this film is an eye opener and the artistes in this film especially Late Satish Kaushik, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar , Neena Gupta and supporting artistes have given their best through their respective performances. It is a must see film for all. Don’t miss it. Now, released on OTT Amazon Prime.

Rating ( ****)

A total commitment to the subject is very important for a film maker. And Randeep Hooda has succeeded in doing so, through his directorial debut film ‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’.  This film is a biopic on the brave freedom fighter of India- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who played an important role in India’s freedom struggle. Randeep has not only played the title role of the brave freedom fighter effectively, but has also impressed as a writer & director of this film .

The aim of the film maker is very clear. He has shown the real struggle of Veer Savarkar during India’s Independence movement. In every scene we see the injustice upon him and other young freedom fighters, we realise their love and sacrifice for the country and at the same time the conviction of Ranveer Hooda in presenting such emotion filled scenes.

The film reveals many facts from the Indian history, which were not known to all of us. For that Randeep Hooda and his research team should get due credit. Generally, Biopics of renowned personalities are counted in the category of documentaries. But Randeep Hooda has given a perfect look of a feature film filled with emotions and strategies to counter the injustice, which impresses the audience. No wonder the audience watch this film with total involvement for almost three hours.

In this film we find Veer Savarkar’s interactions with other legendary freedom fighters and his ideology which invites the attention at every important situation in this film. The most important scenes in Cellular Jail have been shot with perfection.  Performances of the artistes and above all their selection for the respective characters is simply superb. Randeep Hooda in particular, has poured his heart and soul in making this memorable film. This was possible only because the image of Savarkar is imbibed in his heart. It is a perfect tribute from him through this film to the legendary freedom fighter.  Technically, it is a well made film with perfection in set/ costume design, sound desion and background music. All in all, it is a must watch film for all those who love their country.  

Rating ( ****1/2)   

Known for his action packed entertaining films, Rohit Shetty has already established himself as a successful film maker in Hindi Film industry. Now, with his latest creation through seven episode web series ‘Indian Police Force’ he has made his entry with a bang on OTT platform. He has chosen the most important subject of countering terrorism, with a timely message to all.

‘Indian Police Force’ not only presents the challenges faced by Indian Police Force and their dedication to their duty to keep our nation safe; but also shows their emotions and disturbances faced by them in their personal life. At the same time, this series shows how some anti social elements provoke the victims suffered during riots to join their force, to turn towards terrorist activities.

The series has many renowned artistes like Suresh Oberoi, Siddharth Malhotra, Shilpa Shetty, Mukesh Rishi, Shweta Tiwari, Sharad Kelkar in lad roles. At the same time Rohit has given good scope to some talented artistes like Mrinal Kulkarni, Vaidehi Parshurami, Mayaank Taandon, Suchitra Bandekar and Sharvari Lohakare in prominent roles. Among them, Vaidehi has invited a lot of attention, with her brililliant performance. Vaidehi is not new to Hindi films, as we saw her in Rohit Shetty’s film ‘Simba’ playing a small role of the character -Aakruti Dave. But, in this series Rohit has offered her the best suited role of Nafeesa, which is in continuity and has plenty of scope to exploit her potential.  In fact, all the artistes in this web series have given their cent percent, through their notable performances.

The appealing screenplay holds you to your seats from beginning till end. Action scenes and special effects match international standard and the locations selected for all the important scenes give a realistic look to every situation. The dialogues are well written and the background music is remarkable. Obviously, for creation of every scene there has been a lot of hard work by the entire team under the captaincy of the creator Rohit Shetty, who deserves full marks. 

Certainly, a worth watch series, barring very few scenes, where rough language has been used, while dealing with the criminals. Action film lovers would certainly enjoy watching this action filled web series series, which is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Rating : ( ****)

Released on Disney+ Hotstar ‘The Freelancer’ web series presented by Neeraj Pandey’s Friday Storytellers and directed by Bhav Dhulia is based on Shirish Thorat’s book ‘A Ticket To Syria’. A realistic tale of a fearless ex-cop Avinash Kamath (Mohit Raina) who has been forced to quit his job, due to political interference in his day to day duty. He soon turns a mercenary, who is hired by international agencies. He takes tips from senior security expert Arif Khan (Anupam Kher). Avinash is on a mission to rescue his friend and ex-cop Inayat Khan’s ( Sushant Singh) daughter Alia (Kashmira Pardeshi), who has been cheated by her newly married husband, only to move along with his well to do business family from Malaysia, to an unknown destination, instead of earlier planned trip to Dubai.

This 4 episodes series which is an action packed thriller, also shows how such mercinaries are used by big international agencies for their personal gain on ‘give and take’ business.   Mohit Raina is a perfect choice for the role of Avinash Kamat and he is well supported  by versatile actor Anupam kher and promising Kashmira Pardeshi,  who have major roles in this series, which unfortunately concludes at the most crucial time in the 4^th episode.So, you have to wait for Part 2.  ‘The Freelancer’ is a perfect family drama which has avoided  using too much of rough abusive language and sex scenes , generally observed in a typical web series formula.  Instead, the focus is more on the operation methods of such freelancers and their well planned rescue operations.

Certainly, a gripping series which holds you to the screen from start to finish.

Rating : ****

A versatile and an exemplary actor that he is, Anupam Kher has portrayed variety of characters authoritatively on screen, to receive appreciation from film lovers scattered all over the world. His latest film ‘Shiv Shastri Balboa’ finds him in the title role. The film  is now available on Amazon Prime . Written and directed by Ajayan Venugopalan this film presents Anupam Kher in the role of Shiv Shastri a retired Bank officer, who is a great fan of ‘Rocky’ movies.

When Shiv Shastri moves to USA to join his son’s family at their request, he comes across starnge experiences in the beginning, especially when he goes out alone . In this film, former child actor Jugal Hansraj plays Shiv Shastri’s son Rahul who is seen more than happy to welcome his father to USA. Even Shiv Shastri is looked after well by Rahul and his wife.

Soon, Shiv Shastri comes across a middle aged woman Elsa( Neena Gupta) . Elsa (Neena Gupta) originally from Hyderabad is working as a housekeeper with an Indian family living there.  There is lot of free time for both of them to exchange pleasantries, which offer good entertainment to the viewers.  Shiv Shastri, otherwise a happy man, decides to help Elsa from the problems faced by her and goes on an unexpected road trip with her, only to reinvent himself.

The humour filled sequences are well executed by the director in the screenplay and the dialogues are well written. The entry of a singer and Petrol pump owner Sinmohan Singh ( Sharib Hashmi) is very timely in the film, when both Shiv Shastri and Elsa are in a big trouble. The performances of these three important characters are simply superb, with Anupam Kher inviting all the attention with his gifted acting skills and excellent body language from beginning till the end of the film. Neena Gupta has used her Hyderabadi Hindi accent very well in this film.

The film has been shot at some beautiful locations in USA by cinematographer Joshua Ausley with background music provided by Alokananda Dasgupta. Perfect editing work by Praveen Prabhakar makes this film more presentable. Certainly a worth watch film for all age groups.

Rating (***1/2)

Friday released film ‘One Friday Night’ on Jio Cinema, presents two renowned artistes of Bollywood during 90s Milind Soman and Raveena Tandon alongwith well Known theatre, television and film actress Vidhi Chitalia. The film centres around Ram( Milind Soman) , an affluent man who finds himself entangled in an affair with Niru(Vidhi Chitalia) , a young woman almost half his age.

The secret dates in a hidden love between Ram and Niru takes an unforeseen turn, when an unfortunate freak accident at a deserted place, leaves Ram severely injured in an unconscious condition; requiring immediate medical attention . With no other options available, Niru is forced to make a crucial decision  to reach out to Ram’s unsuspecting wife, Lata( Raveena Tendon) who is a reputed Gynaecologist .

Presented by Jio Studios, produced by Jyoti Deshpande and Manish Trehan, this film directed by Manish Gupta has twists and turns at appropriate places in the screenplay, to keep the viewers engaged from beginning till end. What is interesting is the interaction among these three important characters and the perfection of the director to take care of every important happening in this plot, be it Lata forgetting her phone at home before rushing to the accident spot or later disconnecting the CC cameras after her returning home.All the sequences are properly executed, to remove all the poosible doubts from the minds of the viewers.

Above all, the performances of these three artistes are superb. Raveena in particular has really worked very hard to present the dilemma faced by a wife, after knowing the truth about her husband’s affair and her reaction thereon. And the director has very cleverly exhibited her skills being an experienced actress. Certainly, a worth watch film.   

Rating ( ***1/2)  

A particular character best suited to him, played by an actor in the film, makes him feel more comfortable to give his best. And Manoj Bajpayee has been lucky enough to receive such characters from film makers, who very much know the potential of this talented actor. In the latest released film ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’, Manoj Bajpayee once again finds a tailor made role to suit his requirement as a lead actor. Actually, this film is almost like a biopic on well Known high court attorney P.C.Solanki from Jodhpur, who successfully used the POSCO legislation to prosecute a celebrity godman in our country, while fighting the most challenging battle in the court.

‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’is a gripping courtroom drama inspired by true events. It presents before the audience a five-year-long stand-alone battle between this regular session court lawyer P.C. Solanki, who stands for the truth and his journey to bring justice to the girls who were wronged by a so called godman.

What is good about this film is that instead of glamorizing the victim, more attention has been paid on the process of Justice, where it has been clearly shown how the defence tries to find loopholes by engaging the topmost defence lawyers to get bail for the offender. His final argument in the court is worth listening to, where he has given an example of the character and wrong doing by Ravana in Ramayan. In short, all such wrong doings have been exposed in this film.

Director Apoorv Singh Karki has handled this sensitive subject with utmost care through film’s gripping screenplay from beginning till end. Lead actor Manoj Bajpayee has given a brilliant performance through his character of court lawyer P.C.Solanki. Certainly a worth watch film.

Produced by Zee Studios along with Bhanushali Studios, this film can be viewed on Zee 5 OTT platform.

Rating ( ****1/2)

Renowned actress Radhika Apte who has made her presence felt in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi,Telugu, Bengali and English language films since past 15 years, has now impressed through her latest released Hindi film ‘Mrs. Undercover’ in title role. The film is available on Zee 5 OTT platform.

A versatile actress that she is, Radhika has grabbed all the attention through her central character of Durga, a simple Bengali housewife, who is in fact a special undercover agent, called back on the job after a gap of ten years. She takes up this assignment to take on a terrifying psycho killer, while maintaining her parallel life of a housewife.

Director Anushree Mehta has very skilfully used the character of Durga in this action packed thriller to make it also entertaining in the screenplay. Whether it was Durga’s interaction with her mother in law, her husband or her new Boss, Radhika has lived up to the expectations of her director in every scene of this film.

Sumeet Vyas has done well while portraying the psycho killer, but Rajesh Sharma was more impressive as Rangeela, the team leader of Special force. Other artistes have also supported well. Abhimanyu Sharma’s decent cinematography, Kshitij Tarey’s suitable music and Sandeep Kurup’s perfect editing work are the other plus points of this film.  

All in all, it is a worth watch film for all.  

Rating (****) 

We have seen many films and web series on the backdrop of anti Indian organisations trying to destabilize our country. And our brave army and police officers with the help of our equally courageous officers of National intestigation agencies have foiled the deeds of such destructive people. The theme of latest released web series ‘Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke’  on OTT platform, is no different from this, but the treatment given to the subject by National award winning director Srijit Mukherji makes a big difference.

This interesting action thriller web series stars Regina Cassandra, Mita Vashisht, Barun Sobti, Sumeet Vyas, and Chandan Roy in lead roles. And all of them have given their best through their realistic performances. Besides the performances of these artistes, the screenplay of this series keeps you engrossed from beginning till end. The commitment of duty bound NIA team shown in this series is noteworthy and the dialogues are significant in every important scene. Perfect Editing work, good sound design, superb visual effects and suitable background music are other plus points of this series.

Certainly a worth watch series.

( Rating : ****)