ckaran80

IMDb member since September 2011
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Reviews

Dhoom:3
(2013)

Cheap, boring piece of crap....
Dhoom - 2004 defined this genre in bollywood where thieves winning at last looked cool and was a simple and well implemented movie. Dhoom 2- 2006 tried to bring glamor in its predecessor along with unwanted love story only to disappoint. And here comes dhoom 3 which totally shatters dhoom the legacy.

First of all, dhoom franchise is supposed to be about stealing passion, whereas this one is all about vengeance, which is different from the first two parts. But, the real problem here lies in its execution. Cheap and borrowed action sequences make a mess of this movie. The story being straightforward, takes 3 hours to unfold thanks to senseless and boring songs at regular intervals. We see short glimpses of suspense but the timing is wrong and suspense sequences are predictable. The central idea of movie is evidently copied from a Hollywood movie(won't name it here).

The major problem here lies in the technicality of the sequences. Most of them simply don't make sense.For example, Aamir riding a bike on a rope, abhishek flying around and killing the goons and use of an auto- rickshaw as a weapon to fight them.I mean really? Morever, Aamir's bike has every facility in it. From pin to plane ( including boat ) you can find every possible stuff in his bike. Common director, grow up. Audience is no longer fool to accept such crap.

Casting Aamir Khan in the lead role here does not make sense. Aamir Khan does a decent job throughout the film, but fails to portray himself as the villain. He may be Mr. Perfectionist but he is not suited for this role at all. Abhishek Bachchan as usual makes fool of himself in the entire movie and Uday Chopra irritates to the fullest. Again, Katrina's role is too short and only serves to the love angle unnecessary forced into the movie. Supporting cast is pathetic.Jackie Shroff's short appearance is commendable.

So, what was the best part of the movie? the interval. Aamir Khan's performance is good but the quality of movie is down-grade and would be a loophole in critically acclaimed career.

Masala movie fans will like it, other will laugh it out.

John Day
(2013)

terrific initially, only to descend later....
JohnDay is a thriller flick starring Naseruddin Shah and Randeep hooda in lead roles, a debut directorial venture for Ahishor Solomon.The story begins with death of Naseruddin's daughter in some estate known as Casablanca and then follows the delineating of the entire plot and the characters involved in it...

JohnDay is yet another attempt by bollywood to make sensible movies following movies like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,Special 26 and Madras Cafe this year.But unfortunately ,the director here has failed to do the same justice to the subject.The first half of the movie is awesome,and will make you think and deduce conclusions but the other half and the climax disappoint you to the earnest...The climax and the conclusion seem to be totally extraneous and abjured from the script...Given that, the movie does have its high ends especially the violent scenes-they are brutally depicted, violence at its very best in bollywood...Also a slight political theme is added which serves well for the sake of the plot...

The Screenplay is totally distorted in the second half where the unfolding of suspense is done quite early.The background score is brilliant sometimes but lacks intensity otherwise.Camera work and editing is good...There is no song in the movie which is highly imperative and conducive to the movie...There are some mind-blowing dialogs throughout the movie...

As far as performance are concerned, Naseruddin Shah does not deliver up to his potential best maybe due to his simple role.Randeep Hooda is the star of the movie,he totally overshadows Naseruddin Shah.He is brutal, intense and not remorseful.Violent scenes are meticulously executed by him.But only drawback of his character he shifts gears at the end.A special mention to Pradeep Rawat for his mind-blowing performance...The rest of the cast does not impress especially Elena Kazan who seems to force her character...

So, coming to the verdict, JohnDay is a movie that will not be be liked by all. People who are fan of sensible and complicated plots and enjoy violent and brutal scenes must definitely watch it. Watch it for brilliant performances especially of Randeep Hooda.Had there been a suspense element in the movie and had the climax be executed perfectly, this movie would do justice to the otherwise brilliant concept and awesome acting...

Satyagraha
(2013)

Satyagraha dosen't do justice....
Great star-cast, electrifying promos and a intense topic of corruption...all this leads you look at this movie with high expectations, but the fact is that satyagraha fails to do any kind of justice to the audience.Satyagraha is about the protest against corruption initiated by a group of people and is loosely based on Anna Hazare's movement against corruption...

The title Satyagraha in itself enough to explain the magnanimosity of the movie, but that is where it fails to enhance.Given the idea of corruption, the writers and directors should have capitalized on the concept,instead they just managed to make it as cliché and banal as they possibly could...

The movie, at no point whatsoever is even close in touching your emotions.Rather, emphasis is given on personal relations between the characters which you feel as if you are watching some daily serial.The plot has many loopholes...the movie begins on a high note and then goes literally nowhere from there onwards and after the movie you feel like what was the point of this all anyways? In view of the current scenario in India, movie based on corruption should try to raise anger among the viewers just like movies like nayak did...but as for Satyagraha-thumbs down...

Script is disgusting, screenplay is going nowhere, background score is average, songs are childish and the dialogs are too old-school and unenergetic.

As far as performances are concerned,Ajay Devgn and Amitabh Bachchan are not up to their best,Arjun Rampal is wasted, Kareena Kapoor is good in the first half and Amrita Rao is good,only Manoj Vajpai manages to impress as always...

+points - intense topic and Manoj Vajpai's performance -points - 1. lack of neat execution

2. poor direction

3. pathetic dialogs

4. poor climax

Disgusting narration - 1. Ajay Devgn starts a revolution simply...as if its a piece of cake. 2. Excessive use of twitter and face-book. 3. There has to be a romantic angle between Ajay and Kareena, no matter whatever they do. 4. The protagonists are themselves unaware of their actual motives.

In short, Satyagraha is a movie which gives you high expectation in the first 15-20 minutes and then just betrays you till the very end...

Madras Cafe
(2013)

As good as blood diamond and green zone...
Madras Cafe is a political thriller which although claimed fictional, is inspired by real events. Its tells the conspiracy behind the assassination of ex-prime minister of India and the War situation in Baffna region of Sri Lanka...The movie is fast paced and is so intriguing and well-crafted that it can be easily this years best...

With zero publicity stunts, Madras Cafe director Shoojit Sircar tries to go out of conventions and comes up with this masterpiece...Political thrillers are ones which people in bollywood rarely attempt, and Shoojit does it bravely...Right from the start, the plot involves you in such a way that it is hard to come out of it.The pace of the movie, entangled characters,series of events, unveiling of conspiracies and then finally the climax- all are up to mark and hence make this movie a spectacle to watch...

The Screenplay is fabulous- it divides the movie in two parts efficiently. First, the war conditions in Baffna and then the assassination plot.In between shocking plots are revealed and it covers a vast script in its runtime.The reason why i compare this with Hollywood masterpieces like blood diamond and green zone is not because of the similarity, but due to the fact that Madras Cafe maintains the originality of facts while imbibing the fast paced and thrilling plot.

John Abraham plays the lead role and this could be his best performance after dhoom, and does total justice to his role.Nargis Fakhri is the surprise package and shows that she can be versatile...The supporting cast is totally naive but they give their very best...

The only drawback or error you can say is relatively average editing.Its cliché and too short for many scenes...

But as a whole, Madras Cafe is a sinister, evil political thriller which is supported by intense acting and direction and the plot is simply ravishing.Its a sign that bollywood has started making sensible movies on a large scale.

Madras Cafe is not for crowd who like Chennai Express,Rowdy Rathore or Dabang, but it for those who acknowledge movies like A Wednesday, Shanghai and Rang De Basanti. This one wouldn't be watched on a large scale, won't gross in hundreds of crores,will not receive flurry of awards...but for me its simply one the best that bollywood has ever produced...

Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!
(2013)

superb, but only for a few moments....
Once upon a time in mumbai dobara is a much anticipated sequel to 2010 movie Once upon a time in mumbai...Akshay Kumar carries forward the role of Shoaib,the underworld don and the movie depicts his love story and the characters circumspecting it...

Despite being sequel to Once upon a time in mumbai, which was a pure gangster flick, this movie has a completely romantic feel and hence you will be disappointed if you enter the theater with an expectation of this being like the previous one...

To begin with story and screenplay are the most crucial factor in any movie...and this movie does not live up-to that factor sincerely.But given so, it begins on a high note and ends on a high note as well...The climax just makes you overlook the lack of substance in the middle...The love story is as redundant as it can get with nothing new...In short, the opening and ending of the movie compensate the sluggish middle part...

As far as acting goes, Akshay Kumar as Don looks good but at times his accent doesn't go with the character he is playing, but eventually his performance is good and he looks brutal in some scenes.Imran Khan fails to impress and again is not suitable for this kind of role, while Sonakshi Sinha looks decent.The supporting cast is just not good enough...

What makes this movie worth watching is the dialogs, especially by Akshay Kumar and incredible background score...its one of the best in years in bollywood...

This movie would have been much better had it been a mixture of love story and crime, apart from just being personal...Nevertheless, good narration, dialogs, Akshay's acting and unbelievable background music makes your money count and can be watched once...

Raanjhanaa
(2013)

rarely decent love story...
Raanjhanaa is a love story set amidst holy city of benaras.To my surprise, the story was executed brilliantly...it has a new taste altogether.It has some comedy scenes, heart touching drama and an intelligent political transition in the second half.

Apart from only the love story, vital issues like Indian political system, typical Delhi youth and sadhu-sant based fraud have been touched lightly...

What makes this film a decent one is Dhanush's acting. He's as good as perfect and leaves a huge impression...Can be considered as year's best so far in bollywood...Sonam Kapoor is average while Abhay Deol impresses in his cameo...The rest of the cast is good...

Watch out for - Dhanush's superb performance, Exciting story and good climax.

Go Goa Gone
(2013)

Decent experimentation.....but its comedy stealing the show again...
Go Goa Gone is Bollywood's first zombie movie and the experiment has turned out to be a fair one.With that said, there are many loopholes with the zombie concept but is completely overshadowed by comic performances...

This being the first zombie movie, the makers have done a decent one and they do not try to exaggerate the 'zombie' concept.As a viewer, you really enjoy this different trend in bollywood movies.The script is good and nicely executed.The characters are well managed and zombie costumes are decent.But its the comedy nature of the movie which makes an otherwise okayish movie better.

As far as the cast is concerned, Saif Ali Khan does justice to his unique character,Vir Das is awesome ,Puja Gupta and Anand Tiwary are average, on the other hand its is Kunal Khemu who steals the show with his brilliant comic performance.

Negatives - Silly concept of 'drug use and turn into zombie', Building of the climax scene.

Watch out for - Comedy and perfect one liners,Great music, background score.

Standout performer - Kunal Khemu...his best up to date

Verdict - There may be flaws related to zombie concept, but watch it as a comedy movie especially for Kunal Khemu.

Shootout at Wadala
(2013)

Great script wasted....
Shootout at Wadala is a true story based crime flick directed by Sanjay Gupta.To begin with, if you are expecting this movie to be as good as Shootout at Lokhandwala,then you are absolutely wrong...Unlike its predecessor, SAW fails to provide the underworld impact.

The Story is nice and the plot is ravishing but its execution is poor.The intervention of different characters and different plots is not up to the mark. More than a crime sequences, the movie revolves more around John's and Kangana's love story and to make matters worse there are 3 item songs irrelevantly forced into the film as a crowd-attracting formality.

The positives? Well the script is fantastic, screenplay is good and dialogues are sensible.As far as acting is concerned, John Abraham didn't perform up-to his potential, looked weak as a gangster, Anil Kapoor was decent and so were Manoj Bajpai and Sonu Sood. Kangana Ranaut was pathetic and her role was absolutely not essential.Tushar Kapoor was the only Standout performer with really good acting.

Overall its an avoidable movie and not really recommendable.

The Attacks of 26/11
(2013)

Speechless....RGV take a bow......
Years passed since the terrible attacks of 26/11 that horrified Mumbai and killed hundreds of innocent people....many documentaries made, explanations given but finally Ram Gopal Verma brings 'The attacks of 26/11' and he undoubtedly brings back in our minds all the tragic events of the fateful day...

'The attacks of 26/11' focuses the beginning of the attack and the terrorists involved in it as portrayed by one man - The Joint Police Commissioner played by Nana Patekar.The film begins with invasion of terrorists through the sea and since then every attack on various places are shown, which easily unnerve any Indian watching the film. The firing is brutal,bloodshed even more terrifying as real life incident, forcing you to hate terrorism even more.The rescue mission of Taj is not shown which i believe is due to the script being more Kasab oriented.

The script is perfectly written, the background score takes this movie to another level, the direction is absolutely perfect(no silly camera cuts) and the climax makes this movie a masterpiece.

As far as acting is concerned, its Nana Patekar on one side and others on other.Nana Patekar proves why he is the best.Debutant Sanjeev Jaiswal impresses as Kasab.

This movie is not only a tribute to all those innocent victims on that fateful night, but also reveals the flawful and irresponsible security system of our country, leaving its people helpless against terrorism.

Kai po che!
(2013)

The young starcast pulls it through....
Kai Po Che is on screen adaption of Chetan Bhagat's '3 mistakes of my life'....and i have to admit that despite having read the novel, this movie leaves the same impact as if reading the book....or perhaps even more than that...

The direction has been amazingly superb along with the screenplay.....the background score is simply outstanding and influences the entire movie...but its the actors who steal the show completely...Almost all the parts in the book have been covered except the Australian one and wasn't needed either..The simplicity of the script is what makes it superfluous...The combination of real life incidents with the lives of the main characters is portrayed perfectly...The most astounding feature of this story is how different aspects of society - cricket, politics and religion intervene to some conclusions...

The cast is new, but director Abhishek Kapoor manages to pull out something really extraordinary from them...Debutant Sushant Singh Rajput is the show-stealer with an award-winning performance , nicely supported by others...Raj Kumar Yadav plays his role to perfection...

This movie is classic tale of friendship,cricket,politics and its impact on the lives of 3 friends...The movie is flawless in its every part barring the climax which is far too sudden. The climax is totally different from the novel and better than the novel as well...Thumbs up for KAI PO CHE and its brilliant cast and direction...

Special Chabbis
(2013)

Great acting makes special 26 more special...
Special 26 is a heist movie based on real life incidents of 1987...I considered watching this movie because of the director of A Wedesday..NEERAJ PANDEY..and he didn't fail to deliver...Heist movies in bollywood are generally filled with crap like glamor,show-off and pulling off practically impossible stuff...and thats where special 26 stands above all....Great direction, incredible acting, perfect screenplay and a great script made this normal heist-kind off plot into the very best of its kind that bollywood has never seen....

This fake CBI based concept is perfectly executed and what makes it standout is really good acting.AKSHAY KUMAR( who i consider bollywood's best)has finally found a good movie to do and he does it to perfection.But its ANUPAM KHER and MANOJ BAJPAI who steal the show with their perfect portrayal of difficult-to-play roles...the supporting cast does a fabulous job...except KAJAL AGARWAL...there was really no need for her character in the movie...

Special 26 will keep you at the edge of your seat throughout 2.30 hours and an incredible climax will make you appreciate the movie...Except for AKSHAY-KAJAL segments, which were really not needed in the movie, Special 26 is perfect in every department and regardless of the business it does at the box office(I really don't give a damn about that),this movie is one of the all time greats in bollywood for me...

Vishwaroopam
(2013)

Perfect script , great acting but just not enough.....
I agreed to watch this movie only because of its IMDb rating which was 9.7 initially.But its not worth that.Being said that, don't take it wrongly.The script and the issue of this movie is totally out of the bollywood convention....and its almost perfect execution is a cherry on the cake....

After the initial half hour,the movie takes a huge turn as the real plot is revealed.The scenes shot in Afghanistan and on the taliban life are the noteworthy factors making this movie unique.The editing and screenplay have been perfectly executed.But at times some scenes look unreal(for example, the forces being openly fired upon by the terrorists) and especially the climax scene is poorly executed...where the FBI just are helpless whereas the heroine does the plan execution...it seems sluggish...As far as the acting is concerned, Kamal Hasan is as usual at his best,good performances by Pooja Kumar and others but RAHUL BOSE as a terrorist was a huge disappointment, he's a good actor but the character he played didn't suit him...The movie would have looked much better if the role of Omar would be played in a more commanding way..

The final verdict- There are some holes at some places, but the movie is worth watching.It clearly distinguishes itself from other bollywood movies...and a big thumbs up for Kamal Hasan for direction...

Race 2
(2013)

same as RACE......
5 years ago , Abbas-Mustan directed Race set a new level in the thriller genre as far as bollywood is concerned....RACE-2 is no different...

As a sequel to RACE i expected this movie to be highly suspenseful, twistful and action packed....which it indeed was.....but what it failed to do was distinguish itself from its prequel...the same kind of storyline, same twists, same type of characters and same scenes were cloned throughout the entire movie... the climax scene was very poorly and sadly executed....

If u've watched RACE, you can easily predict certain part of the sequences and it makes you feel no different....But unlike RACE, apart from only planning and plotting, some action sequences have also been included and to my surprise, they have been executed to perfection....Along with action, cinematography and background score have been the most unique features of RACE-2...

As far as the cast is concerned,there are average performances by JOHN, DEEPIKA and others, but its SAIF who steals all the way...JOHN would have done a far better in a negative role...but fails to impress much...

Finally RACE-2 has all the contents to make it a good thriller film with unexpected twists, but it would have been much much better if the script would have different from its prequel....

Table No.21
(2013)

no star-cast.....but excellent
Any normal Indian movie watcher would not opt for this movie because this is not a dabanng nor it is a rowdy rathore....but the matter of fact is this movie does make sense and has a adorable message in the end...

To begin with, in the first hour you think this movie's concept to be an entertaining thriller one, for eg: luck. The concept is similar to sach ka saamna in which the couple on a vacation need to answer correctly all the questions in order to win a considerable amount of price money...Then begins a journey of thrill, betrayal and a game of life and death through hilarious series of tasks followed one after the other...

As far as acting is concerned, Rajeev and Tena have done a descent job , but we miss the typical Paresh Rawal in the movie...

The entire joyride i.e. the game named as table no.21 is just a bit lame and would have been made much better and more interesting...Just as you think that its a boring movie, comes the climax ....which according to me rubs off all the defects of the movie....The climax ( would not reveal the suspense) steals the show and ends up revealing and passing a strong message. At the end, we realize that the entire game-show has some meaning it...

I know that this movie wouldn't do great on the box office.....for for me that doesn't matter and I recommend you to watch this movie in theaters......for me its 7/10....

Drive
(2011)

Pathetic and boring..
Pathetic...

Its the worst movie Hollywood I have ever seen...The storyline is a normal heist-gone-wrong idea, but the script has nothing to offer. Its damn boring and every time you expect something different , the movie disappoints to entertain....If you consider acting , then Ryan Gosling did a fantastic job supported by all others. The film is based on a single concept of hiding and running...its fails to provide the dynamic aspect to the movie...its a slow , emotionless and lack of content movie....The climax wasn't as interesting as it should be in these kind of movies.....It should have been made with some twists and turns at the end ...overall the film disappoints and even a one-time watch is not recommended...

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