Bollywood roundup 2014



As another 52 weeks pass waiting for a movie to release us from the mundane and shape escapist ideas , ponder over life, relate to societal problems or just dream of finding perfect love , I need to say this is the year that my Bollywood craze is at its weakest ebb... I have actually watched fewer first day 3rd shows than any other year .. I don't feel that anticipation on Friday , is it me or Bollywood's lack of creativity only time with tell...


Let me start with movies that I savoured in 2014 in no particular order . My criteria for savouring includes riveting  performances , scenes you can recollect and linger on after the movie has ended , craft - cinematography , editing and of course Bollywood elements like music etc . There are ony 4 that cross the mark .. Rest are just page and weekend fillers ..

1. Highway -- marking a spectacular return to form , Imtiaz Ali the guy who redefined the breezy romance that starts when the girl runs away from home gave a well layered movie .. Having an innocent looking heroine in Alia Bhatt  and the rock steady Randeep Honda , this movie managed to imprint the himachal tourism version of the Stockholm syndrome with a few memorable scenes - Randeep hooda breaking down when Alia cooks for him , his helper matching beats with Alia and of course Rahman in his elements with Mahi Ve.. 

2. Haider -- ambitious , audacious, adventurous Vishal Bharadwaj completes a magnum opus where snowy scenes meet cold hearts and daggers enriched with masterful performances by Tabu,Kay Kay and Shahid kapoor. A bold controversial attempt especially the dramatic surges ..

3. PK - yes it was not as good as 3 idiots or funny as the munnabhai series, but Hirani makes am intelligent  plot come alive riding heavily on the facial dexterity of it's leading man Aamir Khan who makes the most of a titular script.. Engaging if you believe that the alien can be so naive that he had a brain transplant to land on earth... But an alien speaking bhojpuri is creative genius panva khaike..
It's tough to make this type of movie without being preachy but the screenplay moves in an unhurried way delivering punches and moments of reflection ...
Anushka plays herself with some extra poignant cuteness and Boman Irani showing his trishul spiked ass keep the story alive 

4. Queen - although it's not big screen fare ( maybe because I see it on TV so many times), kangana shows why she can hold a plot playing a small town halwai daughter .. Watch her clutch her handbag in Paris, the hungama ho Gaya song and just playing coy when being courted .. Vikas Bahl masters a screenplay with subtle nudges , great support cast to helm a joy ride

After no.4 , everything else is in the half way range 

5. Shaadi ke side effects - a good sequel to the almost wicked pyar ke side effects embellished by stable performers Farhan and Vidya.. Although the director went too light in the second half , it seemed he almost wandered with Farhan ( the character ) not knowing where to take the movie .. 

6. Dedh ishqiya - overly self involved , too much gulzar leaving Urdu scar, an ittar dashed romance again held together by performers - Naseer in prime form as a poetic lover and Huma qureshi almost dislodging the diva Madhuri with her plucknowy tehzeeb... Arshad warsi was koohl ...

7. Hawaa Hawai is the small film entry.. Cute movie of a chai wala kid learning roller skates on the streets of bandra. Sweet... City lights was good but it was a story seen before . The other small movie that was hilarious is Filmistaan ..a film crazy guy held captive in Pakistan delivers the goods ..

8. Happy Ending - I know this movie won't be on anyone else's charts but for me this movie is the unhappy end of the cool Saif playing himself ... The fourth Khan taught me what's being cool in the 2000s , salaam namaste being that epic movie ... But when you have the pair of salaam namaste in a brief scene where  the girl ( Preity) is married and the boy ( Saif) is still loafing around and he asks about the tattoo they had together in college , this movie has some rare sparks... It's poking fun at Saif and also the oldies in the movie industry but it's also about refusal to grow by the Tolia laao types ( Hum Tum another Saif classic) .. strictly for Saif fans...and watch out for govinda's comic timing... Raj and DK's first full commercial attempt is soapy but hey they made India's best NRI movie ( colors) , best anti- Delhi movie (99) and the zombie movie in Goa .. 

9. Apart from the above , I thought Ek Villain had something going for it , mesmerizing music ( Arijit Singh scores another winner after Aashiqui 2) with galiyan , shraddha kapoor's infectious energy and somewhat subdued Riteish playing a Marathi in local trains .. Maybe it was Goa , maybe mohit suri still can deliver a gangster style movie well...

10... 2 States can also pass muster as entertainment due to some fresh pairing ,  some good situations and Amrita Singh and Revathy playing the Punju and Tam with aplomb and ease respectively .. However it was difficult to digest Alia as a tamilian and the very superficial sugary Karan Johar production and direction style... The most pleased guy would be Chetan Bhagat in this movie .. I never thought in my college life that Bollywood will film a dance sequence on IIMA ... 

11.. Of all the mindless  action flicks , I thought Singham returns was the best of the lot... Ajay Devgns smashing walk to the beat of Singham, the genuine portrayal of police family ( the guy who dies) and again it is set in Mumbai and cars somersault off bandra worli sea links.. 

12. Kick had some good action sequences , a terrific nawazuddin siddiqui ( especially the thook lagake gino scene ) and Jacqueline Fernandez managed to look like a real person with her glasses.. Rest was forgettable ..

In terms of debuts , Kriti Sanon's Patli Kamar in Heropanti is a benchmark and also the acrobatic skills of Tiger Shroff  when he is not showing his pink lips did make a mark.. Actually Heropanti is not so bad in its somewhat swift screenplay ... And dialogues like Heropanti sab ko aati nahi aur meri jaati nahi..

The biggest disappointments include Bang Bang.. How could you get this wrong , you can't churao knight and day and make Hrithik pull of a secret agent? And you can rob Kohinoor like stealing halwa ? It's like Chaminda vaas not hitting Chetan Sharma for sixes.. 

Happy new year takes the cake in sab pe kharcha Kiya lekin story per nahi... Farha Khan seems to be running out of ideas and now there's more main hoon naa in the dialogues then in spirit..  The reason Main Hoon Na worked was that 2 layered story worked like a dream, the military sub plot , the college romance and the family uniting .. Again OSO worked well as a spoof plus revenge drama and the romance seemed genuine ... Here nothing seems genuine the intent to rob to save an old family reputation , the comedy in learning dancing nor the tension needed in a heist.

Expected something more from Shaad Ali's kill dil but it was a damp squib and didn't manage to see Holiday or Mary kom.. 

The other 2 movies I have to mention are ' MainTera hero ' where an energetic Varun Dhawan combines Govinda and Salman to keep the Dhawan legacy alive .. Anupam Kher and Saurabh Shukla combining as a gangster - sidekick was the icing on the cake ... And it's Entertainment had some of the best rhyming dialogues I had heard in a long time in its first 40 mins( the movie ends when the dog makes his entry) ...Sajid Farhad should stick to dialogue writing like the Golmaal series ... 

See you at the movies in 2015 !! 






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