Padmavati Trailer Review

The much-awaited trailer of Padmavati is here and the first word that came to my mind when I saw the trailer was ‘Kadak’.

After Ram Leela and Bajirao Mastani, Sanjay Leela Bhansali really needed a bigger canvas to show this story, and he did not miss out on that. The grandness of the royal stories continues with the larger than life fort and battle scenes. Bhansali has mastered the art of weaving stories with regional music that transcends you to the era and the land of his characters and this trailer offers exactly the same.

The opening scene of of Ratan Singh and Padmavati, with their story nurturing with the soft music, rippled by the tension of the Sufiyana beats with Khilji’s entry, leave you wanting for more.

While we all know the story of three protagonists, but it is Bhansali’s lens and sense of storytelling adds to the glamour of this tale. Shahid as Ratan Singh shows the same panache and pride that Ranveer had essayed in Bajirao Mastani and Deepika as the doting and dutiful Padmavati completes the Raja-Rani story. The following dialogues by Shahid, scenes with Deepika and the war scenes, are classic Bhansali, almost like a Rajput version of Bajirao Mastani.  Just as you feel that there could not be a more powerful screen presence, Ranveer steals the screen, mind, and power game with his despicable portrayal of Khilji.

Ranveer, who despite being the villain, ends up being the hero of the trailer, and probably will be what you take away when you walk out of the movie hall. The self-loving, self-obsessed, selfish narcissism that Ranveer portrays in the movie gives you goose bumps. From the trailer, it is obvious that he will turn out to be one of the epic antagonists that we love to hate, like ‘The Joker’ in ‘The Dark Knight’. If the movie is as good as the trailer, this would be Ranveer’s best performance till date.

The glimpse of intense scenes of three, coupled with powerful dialogues and background score make the movie worth all the wait.

Basis the trailer, I think that this period drama by Sanjay Leela Bhansali will get a 4/5 rating. Baki, picture abhi baki hai!!

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Baahubali: The Conclusion Trailer Review

The record breaking trailer of Baahubali: The Conclusion is here. Trending at #1 position, this video is everything that we expected, except it still does not reveal that ‘Katappa ne Baahubali ko kyun maara’

In the country dominated by Bollywood and Hindi cinema, Baahubali: The Beginning came and took 100 Cr club movies head on, to become the highest grossing Indian movie in India (third highest Indian movie globally). With the intriguing conclusion teaser and the suspense of ‘Mahendra Baahubali murder case’, the fans were impatiently waiting for The Conclusion to come.

Prabhas’ introduction as Amrendra Baahubali will leave the viewers as awe-struck as the crowd shown in the scene. The blood stained marks that characters leave in the starting shots clearly depict that The Conclusion colour this ‘khoon ka badla’ story.

The background score adds to the spine chilling impact created by the sequence. The spirit of revenge in the score looks inspired by a Sunny Deol movie – wonder if the voice in the background is actually his dialogue from Damini or Gadar-Ek Prem Katha.

As the quick flip recap of the first movie goes through, you already have goose bumps. The editing team has ensured that we get on an emotional roller coaster with the sequence of hope – elation – romance – action – deceit – revenge, each more engrossing that the other.

From the world of high pitched drama, you are suddenly transformed into the beautifully shot romantic teasers from the story of Baahubali and Devasena, and then as they are moving towards the management of the kingdom, and associated struggles, comes a splash of ice-cold water with the dialogue – ‘Jab tak tum mere sath ho mujhe maarne wala paida nahi hua mama’, almost as if it is straight from a Shakespearan novel.

If you thought that the landscapes of The Beginning were mesmerising, the landscapes and aerial shots shown or rather created in The Conclusion are breath taking, especially the one with the elephant and water fall. Can’t believe someone could actually think and create an imagery like this!

The fight sequences coupled with the VFX effects have enhanced the grandeur of not only this movie but of also how Indian cinema is perceived. Each sequence is so well crafted, it seems to be coming out of a Michelangelo painting. This formula movie goes on to redefine the perception of both Indian cinema and regional cinema.

While major portions of the movie are VFXified, the actors playing the key characters – Prabhas, Rana, Anushka, Ramya and Sathyaraj deliver perfection in each frame, exemplifying the impact of each scene. The teaser of the climax – the ultimate fight between Prabhas and Rana adds to the intensity of the drama.

Basis the trailer, I think that this epic drama by S. S. Rajamouli will get a 4/5 rating.

Phillauri Trailer Review

Quirky-entertaining-passionate, these are the quick associations that you will build with the newly launched trailer of Phillauri.

 The first shot of the trailer with Suraj Sharma’s ROFL situation, and the reactions that follow are priceless and set the comic tone of the trailer and I guess the movie as well.. The modern man compelled to follow the mumbo-jumbo tradition of marrying a tree because of his Manglik dosh, makes for a very interesting story that most of us, so-called new age kids, will associate with. Suraj is again playing a man stuck in a difficult situation like Life of Pie, but instead of the tiger, here there is Anushka’s ghost leering on the top. The opening scene between the two will definitely make the audience go rolling on the floor with laughter. Against Suraj who is displaying range of emotions, Mehreen Pirzada shown in contrast as the innocent girl, who does not even realize what is happening around her, also captures the character very well.

  

Comedy with the serious face has been Anushka’s forte from her Band Baaja Baarat days and her funny ghost in this movie, with dialogues like ‘Main paidayishi bhootni hoon’, spin the tale that follows between Sooraj and her in a refreshingly hilarious laugh riot.  The background score in the first half which is a fusion of Disney magic, Punjabi beats and shaadi ka band brilliantly sets the plot of the intermingled stories.

And just when you think it is a quirky ghost story, the backdrop changes to the ghost’s background with the celestial voice of her Phillauri – Diljit Dosanjh. The voice and the song ‘Sahebaa’ keeps resonating in your head even after the trailer is over. Diljit Dosanjh’s entry just makes your forget that this is supposed to be a ‘Once upon a time’ story and transforms you to the world of Sahiba-Mirza, Heer-Ranjha tales, adding Shashi-Phillauri in the eternal-love-but-did-not-end-together list. Diljit Sosanjh with his gorgeous Sardarji looks and smoky voice does complete justice to the role of Phillauri.

This is Anshai Lal’s first movie, but the trailer portrays the work of a very mature architect. Overall, the trailer looks is very entertaining and the story looks fresh. It actually puts a face to eternal, old love tales and answers what really happens when there is no “lives together happily ever after”. The music is expected to be a mix bag of loud modern Punjabi beats and rustic eternal love songs. The background score stimulates the moods and emotions brilliantly. Along with the songs, the photography and color scheme demonstrates the modern relationships in the face and the old time stories in a very dream sequence, spinning the tales in the heads. Dialogues are well crafted and don’t seem to have been overdone to keep the comic tone of the movie. The icing on the cake is the last dialogue of the trailer.

All three of the lead actors – Sooraj, Anushka and Diljit are brilliant actors, and appear stunning in their performances in this trailer as well. This odd casting and the eccentric storyline will hopefully create a new wave of cinema.

Basis the trailer, I can say that this Anushka Sharma production will get a 3.5/5 rating.

Raees Trailer Review

The trailer of the movie that Indian movie lovers have been waiting for, for more than a year, is here. Presenting SRK in and Raees.

The trailer is as impactful as the teaser which was showcased last year on Eid. SRK is the King of dialogue delivery, attitude and action, and this trailer shows it all. The opening of the trailer draws the perfect frame with the background of the character and summarizes the movie within the first few seconds with SRK’s voice over coupled with an amazing 80s era based background score. This followed by Nawazuddin Siddique (as ACP Majmudar) leaving you wondering if he will pull off another Kahaani.

The scene with the bottles getting roved over has been shot brilliantly and probably that’s why it is here in the trailer. It gives the essence of the movie, symbolically representing Majmudar’s power gripping over Raees gradually.

The director has brilliantly used SRK’s style coupled with the regional dialect and whistle-inducing dialogues. The backdrop of Gujarat woven with the dialect, the costumes, the dances and the landscapes set the tone of the movie. The chemistry between Nawazuddin and SRK looks more powerful than SRK and Mahira Khan, but that has always been true for all movies which have powerful actors as both the hero and anti-hero.

What really works well for the movie set up is the background music. Ram Sampath has proven in the past that he can deliver any genre with ease and here he has almost re-created an 80s masala Bollywood style in its true essence. Let’s see if the same reflects in other tracks as well. The key track to look out for will be Laila Oh Laila starring Sunny Leone. While the music push you to the past, the cinematography keeps you gripped to the current time, probably to ensure that you don’t feel like you are watching one of your classic oldies again.

What looks like the next best feature of the movie is the action. The glimpse of the action sequences in the trailer do take you back to Don and Don 2 days and this one surely looks like it will surpass the sequences of those movies.

Some key performance which were not so visible in the trailer but are worth looking out for are Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub (of No One Killed Jessica & Raanjhanaa fame) and Atul Kulkarni (of Rang De Basanti fame).

Basis the teaser, I can say that this movie will get a 3.5 or 3/5 rating.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Teaser Review

My favourite director, Karan Johar, is back at direction with what looks like a roller coaster of love and passion with “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” which will take us through a tale of One-sided love, deep friendship and heartbreak. Watch the teaser here:

The teaser is an old school style, similar to the way Yash Chopra used to release his trailers – a key song of the movie playing with a web of emotional romantic scenes spun to show the flow of story. The broad line approach may not be unique but the presentation is no old-school. It is fresh, intense, engrossing, captivating and stunningly beautiful with a depth added by the soulful voice of Arijit Singh.

After the director’s credits, the teaser starts with Ranbir on mike (Rockstar anyone?) and then some fun scenes with Anushka, which looks straight out of Jab Tak Hain Jaan. And when you feel what is new that this movie has to offer then comes the highlight of the teaser is the beautiful Aishwarya Rai, who maintains her title of being the most beautiful woman in the world. The teaser has been designed exquisitely with the intermingling of scenes with Aishwarya & Anushka drawing out the parallels between two relationships, one which is all about intense, serious intimacy and second is fun, friendship bordering on love with a tadka of Fawad “SuperHot” Khan. The movie has brilliant cast and they look ready to stun the audience.

The ascend of emotions is beautifully done with the first clip being a non-emotional Ranbir singing, then fun moments with Anushka, the touch of romance with Aishwarya’s introduction, then build of romance with both the women, the emotional drama with Fawad as the anchor, the intimacy with Aishwarya, little drama with the history and then boom – the last line about one sided love. For me biggest impact  – the almost into tears – the nerve wrecking moment was the ‘Ek tarfa pyaar..’ dialogue which I am sure will give sleepless nights to people reminding them of their one sided love stories. The pain in the dialog is almost like Sahil Ludhyanvi’s lines in Kabhi Kabhi:

Kabhi raste mein mil jao to, katrakar guzar jaana
Hame iss tarah se takna jaise pehchaana nahi tumne,
Hamara zikra jab aaye to yun anjaan baan jaana
ke jaise naam sunkar bhi hame jaana nahi tumne

With his movies, Karan also seems to have matured moving from college romance to mature emotions. He makes sure that this movie his cast also looks matured with bearded Ranbir & Fawad looking elder. Ranbir did sport a similar look in Rockstar and Ye Jawani Hai Diwani, which won him many accolades and gives him the serious guy effect. Fawad on the other hand has look mid-way between his Khoobsurat and Kapoor & Sons look, giving him a more contemporary yet casual look.  Anushka also seems to have added weight to get closer to Aish’s age and there is a transition shown from JTHJ like chirpiness to RNBDJ agony. There are scenes with younger looking Ranbir which probably are introduced to give a background to his and Anushka’s relationship. Aishwarya is the blue eyed beauty of the story, who looks younger than her actual age and wins your heart with that every look. The fun part will be the dynamics between the four of them and to see if Karan treats them in the strained and bubbling fashion like Silsila or boiling and bursting like Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna.

Like in all Karan Johar movies, the movies is expected to be the fourth big pillar of the money after direction, story & cast. Though there is only one song to testimony, but the music sounds promising with Pritam touching the souls with the title song. Hope to definitely hear a fun-weird lyrics based song, an Arabic/Folky song with Anushka & Ranbir, a slow romantic duet based number and a heart wrenching slow sad song (if the director follows the traditional approach).

Dharma production is going big even with the marketing of this one with front page advertisements across dailies, a big viral and social media campaign, digital advertisement placements and star promotions. I expect a series of viral videos to also come in some time, not just the making videos, but web series. The teaser got launched today and is already getting closer to 2M views. 

Basis the teaser, I can say that this movie will get a 4 or 3.5/5 rating. Can’t wait for Diwali and for SRK’s cameo in the movie!!

MS Dhoni: The Untold Story trailer review

No other movie trailer has given me goose bumps like this movie. In the country where only Bollywood and cricket sell, ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’ is the movie that all have been waiting for. The trailer is now out.

Mahi – India’s favourite, who helped India lift the World Cup one more time, the most popular, multi-record holding Captain of India was always a subject of attention for the junta, not only for his cricket but also for his background and his looks, and this is portrayed brilliantly in the trailer. The journey of a Ranchi born ticket collector in Kharagpur, getting Rs. 1500 as stipend, to one of the highest paid athletes in the world, against the odds of his background and then being questioned once he succeeds, is what quintessential Masala Bollywood movies are made of.

While the story sells itself but portrayal of great story on the screen is as important as the story itself and this looks like a movie which will not disappoint. Sushant Singh Rajput looks every bit of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in all frames of the trailer. Though they could have done away with the VFX when they showed the school boy Dhoni with Sushant’s face.

Bollywood loves biopics but many of them fail as the focus on the portrayal of the story supersedes the desire to create the effect that the story deserves. There is big bang drama created by this story, drawn by the award winning director of A Wednesday, Special 26 & Baby – Neeraj Pandey. Neeraj knows that art of showing biopics frozen in their time frame and aesthetics, and this is no different. The multi-shades of Mahi’s journey and the aspects of his life – school days, struggle with family, initial cricket days, Indian cricket team days, are all shown not only with the dimension of time period but also with the complexity of the change in the person that comes when someone grows in life and career.

The background narrative, which is provided by the intertwining of obstacles or opinions of people in Dhoni’s life and the counter responses, helps in building up the milestones along with the protagonist’s perspective. One of the most impactful scenes, apart from the cricket shots, are those that depict his Railway days with the multi-angular influence from his employees, father, sister, mother and the juggle in his own mind.

While Neeraj Pandey experiments with his protagonist, his second line of actors is usually the same – Anupam Kher and Rajesh Sharma, two of the most brilliant actors of today’s times. Bhumika Chawla is also seen after a long time taking a centre stage as Dhoni’s sister.

As in all Neeraj Pandey’s movies, we can expect this movie to have a tight story build up, which is also very obvious from the trailer, most appropriate depiction of a biopic, accuracy of art designs, strong background score, and a strong lines of performances.

If Sushant pulls this off then this could change his course of career placing him in the league of Ranbir Kapoor & Ranveer Singh.

Basis the trailer, I can say that this movie will get a 4.5/5 rating.

Fan Trailer Review

Love, passion, obsession…Darr taught me the three degrees of difference in these words and Fan just re-emphasized that.

Watch the trailer of the most awaited movie of the year.

We all knew what this is about, but I just realized, after watching the trailer, that this is not what I was expecting it to be. This is a psychological journey of a fan that shows his love transform into obsession, nothing short of the brilliance and the intensity that won SRK’s fans’ hearts in Darr.

The logo of the movie has been an apt depiction of movie’s theme with pictures of SRK’s fans. The trailer beginning is something we have already seen in the teaser, introducing Gaurav, Aryan Khanna’s self proclaimed biggest fan. The starting dialogue is a narrative that many fans would relate to and feel for their idols, where they feel the connection with the mirror image of the favorite stars in their heads and hearts.

SRK as his own 20 year fan steals the heart with his rustic personality and unflinching, uncorrupted love for his idol – Aryan Khanna. Shahrukh Khan has transformed into this character with great finesse. You cannot identify the star SRK in this boy next door. Not just his looks but even his body language, dance and dialogue delivery have been perfectly crafted to match up Gaurav’s character.

The journey that Gaurav undertakes has been beautifully shown in the movie, wherein Gaurav’s world is around the star and he himself tries to portray his favorite star, to the extent of even taking all the humiliation for him. He lives in his world ruled by Aryan Khanna, bordering at the fine line of devotion turning into obsession.

The scene where Gaurav sees Aryan for the first time, with the spark in his eyes, itself shows the journey of the fan’s transformation from love to obsession and is expected to take the movie to darker shades.

The one scene to look out for in the movie will be the dialogue between Aryan Khanna and Gaurav and the high voltage drama of rage that will follow post that.

The buildup of the fan’s rage on being dismissed by his idol, who is almost shown as his demi-God and the outrage that follows has been depicted well in the trailer with the  tussle between the two, intermingled with how Gaurav is transforming himself into his idol to get his attention, complimented by the background score.

The most powerful line which stuck with me was ‘Main hun to tu hai’, which is the crux of every celebrity-fan relationship debate. True that a celebrity is no celebrity without his fans, but it does not justify the craziness of some fans, which is seen very commonly in India in Bollywood and Cricket.

The marketing build up to the trailer was executed very intelligently with the teasers, followed by stories of real fans and the versions of Fan anthem song ‘Jabra’ in different languages to touch the Fan’s hearts.

This definitely will be an award winning movie for SRK and a treat for every ardent Shahrukh Khan fan. IF the movie is as impressive as the trailer, this could be one of SRK’s best performance in Bollywood. Basis the trailer, I think this will be a 4/5 rating kind of movie, though Picture Abhi Baki Hai!