Dilwale Trailer Review

The trailer of the most awaited movie of the year has hit cinema screens, TV shows and Youtube. Here is the trailer of Dilwale.

The initial 20 seconds actually look like a Karan Johar/Yash Chopra movie trailer. Extremely stunning and beautiful backdrop, romantic Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, a musical, mystical melody – the intro is has stills of Sooraj hua Madham against the backdrop of Ishq Wala Love minus the pink tree. After 30 seconds, you see the quintessential Rohit Shetty movie trailer with colors, cars and craziness. The rest of the trailer looks like an editing screw up with two movies intertwined. But let’s not get too hard on Shetty, after all he is giving us the most Bollywoodishly romantic pair of SRK and Kajol. It is obvious that Rohit Shetty is banking majorly on the SRK-Kajol magic. Even the title of the movie is inspired by their biggest blockbuster.

But the movie does not end at the duo. The trailer has everything that you expect from a Rohit Shetty movie – cars, flying cars, diving cars, colorful cars, different sized cars, turning cars, rolling cars, romancing cars and sliding cars. Every frame of Rohit Shetty’s every scene has colors straight out of Photoshop’s Auto-correct feature, creating a visual delight. The SRK – Kajol scenes appear to have been shot against Windows screensavers.  Shetty’s movies always focus equally on the side kicks – who usually end up becoming more famous than the protagonists themselves and this movie has the best line up in terms of talent – Boman Irani, Sanjay (Paaapaan) Mishra, Johnny Lever, Varun (Choocha) Sharma, Mukesh Tiwari and Pankaj Tripathi, hopefully with some new jokes and not a copy paste of his existing movies – a mistake that a lot of directors do with their successful comic characters.

Varun and Kriti have the perfect entry scene, right out of any lesson of Masala Movie 101. They are the new-age romance contrast against the SRK-Kajol’s out-of-dreams swing. The only obvious issue in this trailer is the balance of super emotional SRK scenes and crude Rohit Shetty comedy. All of Shetty’s movies have been on the two extremes – high on comedy – Golmaal series, Bol Bachchan, Chennai Express or high on emotions and seriousness – Singham series, but this looks like an equal mix of comedy, emotional drama, youthful romance, mature love and powerful dialogues. Hopefully unlike the trailer, it will not look like that you are watching two different movies, stitched up together.

The story is an old masala with a new packaging – SRK and Kajol (Meera) were in love, SRK has a dark background – sounds like Aby-Baby’s Hum, may be; then SRK and Kajol moved away may be because of Kabir Bedi and Vinod Khanna, and then Varun (Veer) who is SRK’s brother falls for Kriti (Ishita), who is related to Kajol and the rona-dhona begins.

Before Chennai Express, Rohit Shetty was not expected to have 10/10 in music. Expectations are high now. There are two numbers playing in this trailer – one is a KJo – Yash Chopra kind of romantic song and the other is a Golmaal type funky number. The music may not be Ashiquee-2 but stays in your head. The romantic song grows on you as you keep listening to it again and again. The only thing to be explored is where did Pritam pick these numbers from? ;)

Overall, Rohit Shetty has the perfect formula for a 300 crore movie. If he had an item number by Bhai, this could have been our first 500 crore. Can’t wait to see SRK-Kajol again on-screen!

I can say that this movie will get a 3.5/5 rating. Personally, for an SRK-Kajol-DDLJ-Rohit Shetty-Varun Dhawan obsessed like me, this is a 5/5 J

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo Trailer Review

Prem is back with Sooraj Bharjataya’s new Sanskaric katha ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’.

There is so much love added in this movie that they have ‘Prem’ again in the title itself, hope this does not have the same fate as ‘Main Prem ki deewani hun’ (MPKDH). Wonder what would have been the titles if he had done this in his previous movies – Prem ne pyaar kiya… Hum Prem ke hain koun?... Sab Prem ke sath sath hain… Prem ka vivah… Ek Prem aisa bhi…

We know what to expect in a Sooraj Bharjatya movie – Sanskaari Prem, Sanskaari parivar, Sanskaari celebrations, Sanskaari animals, villains and vamps who become Sanskaari towards the end, Sanskaari Alok Nath and a Sanskaari message. This trailer has all of these, expect Alok Nath but to ensure that the sanskaar quotient does not dip, they have given a double role to Salman Khan – one of whom is not Prem. Well, I am sure they did not want to take have two Prems especially after MPKDH.

The trailer begins with bhakti cum love based lyrics introducing the title of the movie and has glimpses of Salmaan Khan & Swara Bhaskar’s royal family along with the ‘Prem is back’ dialogue in the SRK pose. Now this dialogue gives two-fold message – the original Prem meets with an accident, as part of  some royal conspiracy and he is replaced by a duplicate moustache wala Prem  (they show a carriage accident in the movie in which the original Prem gets hurt or dies) and that Salman bhaijaan is back as Prem, the famous Sooraj Bharjatya character.

The trailer starts with a lot of colorful celebrations of the royal family, which in a typical Sooraj Bharjatya movie could just be a business as usual daily ritual. If Amazon & Flipkart start following Sooraj Bharjatya’s calendar for festivals, they will have Billion day sale everyday. What Sooraj Bharjatya knows very well is how to depict traditionality in an exaggerated form – palaces, outfits, colors, dances all encompass the utopia that he always begins his movies with. The larger than life sets, colorful Rajasthani dresses and eternal happiness of the family dictate this trailer as well. 

Sonam Kapoor is also back with Salman Khan long after her first movie (anyone remembers Sawariya had Sallu bhai as well?) She looks very beautiful as Prem’s love interest, essaying the shy, deeply in love Rajshri heroine. The actors who will be worth looking out for are Swara Bhaskar, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepak Dobriyal – hope their talent has been used well in the movie.

The movie’s script looks very similar to a couple of movies in the past – Rowdy Rathore, Raju Chacha, Kishan Kanhaiya -  so story wise the movie does not seem to offer much and the fate of the movie will just fall back on the performance of the actors. This also is Sooraj Bharjatya’s tryst with action sequences after a long time, let’s see how that unfolds.

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

Tamasha Trailer Review

Imtiaz Ali is back with the successful combo of Ranbir & Deepika to give you Tamasha. Here is the trailer of Tamasha.

Now, before going into the review, just play the trailer of Tamasha again and this time, close your eyes and experience the magic of A. R. Rahman. Once you are back from that divine state, read on for the review.

In a line this movie questions that why should all love stories have the Laila Majnu, Romeo Juliet, Heer Ranjha kind of Tamashas which end up in a lot of real life tamasha, so this movie has a story parallel to an on-going tamasha where the protagonists do some tamasha so that there is no actual romantic tamasha. But it leads to a lot of real life tamasha and the on-going tamasha helps the protagonists cover up their actual tamasha.

Doesn’t matter what the story is, just go and see the movie for A. R. Rahman music.

But if you still want more, then here it is. The trailer starts with Ranbir Kapoor narrating a story about ‘Hero’, who is a very unique and special character – He is an engineer with a JOB.

Now, apna hero does not even stop there, he does something unique, he goes for a trip. Wow! I mean it is not like Dil chahta Hai, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara or Ye Jawani hai Deewani, here the hero goes alone. There he meets the girl – Deepika who is a bindaas, vocal, full of life, and who is abusing a Firang in her opening scene, not at all reminding of Kareena in Jab We Met and Kangana in Queen.

Now, they meet and decide that they will pretend to be someone else and have fun, but they forgot Baba Mohnish Behl’s centuries old, pravachan: Ek ladka aur ladki kabhi dost nahi hote..

So, the girl falls for the guy, eventually, even though they had decided that they won’t and she comes looking for him only to realize that the guy that she is in love with is only a character that Hero was playing. Wow, when does that ever happen?

In fact by the end of it I was very confused as to which will turn out to be the real Ranbir Kapoor and if all this boy meet girl story is actually just a plot that he is working on. Hmm.. well.. Rockstar? Anyway, let’s wait for the Tamasha to unfold on November 27, in theatres and hopefully everyone will not ask Imtiaz Ali Finally - Why always the same story?

What I really liked about the trailer was obviously the A. R. Rahman music, you get glimpses of three songs in the trailer itself, and the French island of Corsica. I am sure after this movie, this will be the next checked in destination for all Indians. Imtiaz Ali knows the art of capturing the best face of any city and from the trailer, it seems like he has delivered it again. I am 99% sure that EU has secretly made a pact with Imtiaz Ali and Zoya Akhtar to promote their countries.

Another aspect which left a lasting impact on me after the trailer was how they have used light to show the characters and situations in the movie, especially in the sad scenes and picturization of the stage drama scenes, which did not remind me at all of Love Aaj Kal.

Basis the trailer, I can say that this movie will get a 3 or 3.5/5 rating and A. R. Rahman’s music will get a 5/5.

Talvar Trailer Review

I am a little late in reviewing the trailer of this movie, but I just could not leave it. 

The most intelligent thing about the movie is the title, ‘Talvar’ – it connotes the surname of Arushi (God bless her soul), on whose murder the entire story is based and as seen in the trailer, it related to the sword which indicates punishment. All those who have been following the story would know that anyone (guilty or not) related to the story has already faced the brunt of the sword through the public and media trials that have happened.

Leaving the reality away, Vishal Bhardwaj has always played with dark topics and this time it is couples with Meghna Gulzar, who knows that art of handling controversial stories with maturity. They both have one common thread – Gulzar’s blessing and this combination has the capability to produce brilliance. Now coming to the trailer, the story build up has been done beautifully starting with the crux of the story – Shruti’s murder. The opening scene tears you apart showing the plight of the parents whose daughter has died, against the hard reality.

 The movie navigation that follows with the police investigation, corners you to believe the story that parents have a hand in it and that they are hiding something. Then comes Irrfan Khan who tosses the other angle challenging the theories so far. If someone had not caught the twist, the change is also summarized in the trailer itself. In fact the movie makers have chosen the background score to subtly depict what their view is. In the initial phase when the police is investigating, the music depicts thrill, tension, mystery, whereas post Irrfan Khan the music suddenly changes to melody depicting justice, then when Irrfan Khan is challenged the music again changes to depict struggle and at the end it moves to a subtle self-believing song ‘Insaaf’ that coupled with the dialogues shows that Irrfan Khan is fighting for the right cause and may be able to get justice. In fact the last song reminded me of the song ‘Dua’ from No One Killed Jessica.

What overall this trailer depicts is what the movie will also have to offer - there will be different perspectives put out and from the trailer it looks like the movie is expected to bend towards the parents perspective. What has been really done well in the trailer is that they have stuck to the real events (at least that is what it looks like), and that they have not unnecessarily sensationalized it. This could be one of the best thrillers seen lately after Kahaani. Vishal Bhardwaj knows the art of writing good movies and even in this case the screenplay appears to be thought through and well written, and the dialogues will definitely become a vogue.

Meghna Gulzar and Honey Trehan have done a brilliant job with casting of the ensemble, especially the protagonists – Irrfan is his powerful self - fighting for justice, Konkana does not even have to speak to express herself and from the trailers, it appears that the powerhouse of this movie would be Neeraj Kabi, who is playing Rajesh Tandon. 

Basis the trailer, I can say that this movie will get a 4/5 rating.

MSG 2 Trailer Review

This is not Faking News. The Messenger is back with MSG 2, this is the season of sequels. 

I saw the trailer and while MSG left me in awe, MSG 2 made my heart skip a beat.

Yes it skipped a beat. I was knocked unconscious for days and spent weeks in rehab.

Saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is back as the actor, director, writer, lyricist, editor and the Superhero machoman with MSG 2 with the movie that will make Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and the whole Avengers family hide in shame.

 The Indian super hero is finally here… sorry Shaktiman! He is even better as he fights evil, has a powerful name, has secular values, wears flamboyant costumes has the sexiest shoulder hair (how about that Anil Kapoor?) and is self sacrificing. 

The video brilliantly showcases everything that the movie has to offer,  everything that you want in any movie – action, drama, powerful dialogues, rocking item numbers, lions, buffaloes,  tribals, pretty girls dressed as fairies, car chases, elephants, hockey, tennis, karate, air balloon, disco light costume, flying people, and this is just the trailer. What more can you ask for? (The movie is rumoured to have sequences of real dinosaurs which were brought to life by dear Babaji, and rare footage of Mr. Manmohan Singh talking, CANT WAIT TO SEE THIS AWESOME MOVIE!!)

The action sequences shown in the trailers are more stunning than Indiana Jones, Matrix, 300, Terminator series and Bahubali put together. The stunts in the movie have been so beautifully designed, especially all the flying scenes, that even Rajnikant will be awestruck. The character in the movie is as versatile as the man himself. He is not just an action hero-cum-babaji-cum-sportsman, he is also a ‘Royal rock star’. The rockstar stage performance is so electrifying that will surely give Farhan Akhtar and Ranbir Singh a run for their money. The movie probably has the best VFX seen since Jaani Dushman, I am not sure if these are VFX or Saint ji’s magic.

(Sources have confirmed that all flying sequences were real. No ropes or safety equipments were used because Babaji can fly for real and has more than 10000 flying hours to his credit. Bookings will soon open at Makemytrip.com. Use coupon code BBJKT for 20% discount.)

The best part of the trailer is all the messages that Saintji preaches in his heavy impactful voice.

(George Lucas is considering redubbing Darth Vader's voice with Babaji's in all Star Wars movies)

With MSG, babaji has shown alternate career paths to the kids who would now aspire to leave their studies and pursue Sainthood as a career. 

(Detailed course prospectus available at Shiksha.com/babajikacourse)

All in all, the trailer was mind blowing, mind boggling, mind juggling, mind mingling. This movie will be so powerful that I can’t even predict a rating.

PS: The movie is based on true events!

Pyaar ka Punchnaama 2

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Pyaar ka Punchnaama(PKP) 2 trailer is here.

You can watch it here.

You should also look at the trailer of PKP (original) trailer. I am sure many of you would not have even noticed it when it came. But everything you see in PKP 2 will definitely be compared to PKP.

The best part of the trailer is the opening scene, sans the gaalis, which a nice take on the Manushye ke phephde wala ‘no smoking’ advertisement. Next time, wish someone takes up Mukesh ki kahaani as well. Anyways coming back to PKP2, from the trailer, it is obvious that it is about the same theme as the PKP – the root of all problems is girls. There are again three pairs, a lot of head banging situations, a lot of abuses, some women and relationship bashing jokes on shuffle and a monologue on guys’ plight. Even the flow seems to be same – they meet the girls, go on a holiday, and then the reality unfolds. I think after his last movie ‘Akash Vani’ the director realized that he should stick with a formula that has worked in the past. Where they have probably gone wrong is in taking the situation away from reality and their target audience. While PKP had normal looking boys with almost realistic problems, here there some studs, even our sweet and naïve Rajjo aka Rajat aka Kathik Aryan, with exaggerated situations.  Some jokes are very silly like the joke about ‘Pink – Pink’, ‘I love you I love you’ dance and ‘nailpolish’ joke. I mean seriously, who does all that! Also the engineers’ joke was very lame, they should not forget that majority of their audience will be engineers or prospective engineers, at least have an intelligent one. But their other jokes do give you a good laugh - my favorite is the Harpic one.

The song in the background – ‘Dil ab yaaron ka’ is funky, let’s see what other notes unfold. I hope they have something to live up to ‘Ban gaya kutta’ or ‘Ishq na kariyo’. The chemistry between the boys is obviously better, and they carry a more mature look than their predecessors. Among the ladies, Nushrat ‘Babu’ Barucha, is like a twelve year old teenager, and looks like Ishita Sharma, Liquid’s girlfriend in PKP, has been the character Neha aka Babu that Nushrat played in PKP. Sonalli Sehgall, Chaudhary’s give-me-space girlfriend in PKP, looks way better and seems to have a better role carved out than PKP. Overall I think Omkaar Kapoor (the bearded guy) and Sonalli Sehgall will stand out in the ensemble. What had really worked for PKP was that most people went with no expectations and had a good laugh, while in case of PKP 2, most of the audience will expect PKP and may get disappointed. And of course, everyone will miss ‘Liquid’. 

Overall, the trailer is a 3/5, though Picture abhi baki hai!

Bajirao Mastani Teaser Trailer Review

Image source: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/revealed-first-poster-of-ranveer-singh-deepika-padukones-royal-saga-bajirao-mastani/

This is one movie that I have been waiting for years, and have been tracking the change in the star cast, but finally it is here. So here is what I think about it from the teaser trailer which got released on July 17^th.

There are three things that you look forward to in a Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie – intense story, larger than life sets and ecstatic music, and Bajirao Mastani teaser trailer dictates that we will get all three. The opening scene of the trailer actually gave me a feeler of Ashutosh Govarikar’s ‘Jodha Akbar’. The three key actors look true to their characters in the movie. The introduction of the characters carries one common emotion – preparation for war, so there are definitely going to be some larger than life ‘Mahabharat’ kind of war scenes. The intensity on Ranveer’s face in the opening scene and the scenes that follow dictates that the movie will be about his struggle with enemies, followers, family and love. Among the female characters, Mastani, played by Deepika, and Kashibai, played by Priyanka, are two very opposite personalities influencing Bajirao’s life. Though the obvious difference is that Mastani is a brave woman, who wants to fight on the battlefield, and while Kashibai seems to be a more traditional and homely woman, Priyanka’s opening scene shows that Kashibai is no less courageous. She might be seen fighting battles in the courtroom or in her personal life.

 The following scenes of the trailer showcase the traits of Peshwa Bajirao I - skilled and fearless warrior and a very popular leader ruling a huge region. The scene where he steps up on shields of his soldiers to reach to an elephant’s height is unbelievably amazing and probably will be the highlight of the war scene. The mirroring of Bajirao’s and Mastani’s action’s scenes shows the essence of the story.

Coming to the sets, the huge fields, forts and court rooms clearly shout out that you should definitely see this movie in a theatre if you want the full period movie impact. Like all Sanjay Leela movies, the color red has been used in a lot of scenes, to show love, blood and happiness.

The background score has been mingled brilliantly with the scenes. The intensity with which the music tempo rises in the trailer, clearly defines how the editor also wants the tension of the viewer and interest to go up. The beats mixed with folky tunes to mix the celebrations with the war scenes keeps you hooked till the end.

Overall, basis the trailer, the movie is expected to be around four themes – the strength of Bajirao Peshwa, the fearless bravery of Mastani, the dedication to her husband of Kashibai, and celebration and devotion of the people. The last line by Bajirao about his love for Mastani indicates that a good part of the movie will be around the controversy related to their relationship and the disapproval of his people. What I am looking forward to is that this could be the next ‘Jodha Akbar’ or ‘Lagaan’, and an award winning movie for Ranveer Singh. Sanjay Leela Bhansali knows the art of bringing out the best of an actor – Manisha Koirala in Khamoshi, Salman Khan and Aishwarya in HDDCS, Shahrukh Khan in Devdas, Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee in Black, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh in Ram Leela, and by the teaser, this definitely looks like an award winning performance from Ranveer Singh, and even Priyanka looks like she will deliver an impact similar to what Karishma Kapoor did in Dil To Pagal Hai. This will be a 4/5 rating kind of movie. Can’t wait for it to the Multiplex screens!