Saroj Ka Rishta #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews Film: #SarojKaRishta Rating: * * Runtime: 106 mins Cast: #SupriyaPathak #GauravPandey #KumudMishra #SanahKapoor #RandeepRai #AlokPathak #SachinKathuria Director: #AbhishekSaxena #Studio7 #TarangFilms #KapoorFilms #AENAProductions

An unsatisfactory attempt at Comedy, Drama, Romance, set in Ghaziabad (UP ka Darwaza) where Gaali and Thappad come at you without announcement, this film about a plus size woman Saroj ( Umar 26 Kamar 36) trapping her (one-sided) childhood sweetheart into falling for her alter-ego, ticks all the wrong boxes. Yet another humorless small-town wedding drama that fails to gather roses on its way to happily ever after. It’s a good thing that Bollywood has begun to recognize and value the plus size heroine but having them involved in such meaningless, faltu, drama doesn’t augur well. The narrative falls flat under the weight of its own contradictions. Scamming a prospective bridegroom is shown as a virtue here – all in the name of glorifying the plus size heroine and her stubborn personality. The film is not only in bad taste but also doesn’t provide either humor or elevating drama.

Jahaan Chaar Yaar #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews Film: #JahaanChaarYaar Rating: * * Runtime: 124 mins Starring: #MeherVij #ShikhaTalsania #SwaraBhaskar #PoojaChopra #GirishKulkarni #ManishChaudhary Director: #KamalPandey #VinodBachchan #SoundaryaProductions #PenMarudhar #JungleeMusic #ButterflyCommunications

This one is more drudgery than Comedy. Four oppressed housewives, erstwhile friends, concoct an escape holiday that turns sour. They wanna break free but that temporary freedom comes at a price. Frankly, the way things turn here, you wouldn’t want to know what happens next. The dialogue is off-putting, performances lack heft and the scenario doesn’t quite have sense or logic to support it. It’s really not funny by any yardstick.

Matto Ki Saikil #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews Film: #MattoKiSaikil Rating:* * * Runtime: 95 min Cast: #PrakashJha #AnitaChaudhary #AarohiSharma #IdikaRay #DimpyMishra #CPSharma #AayanMadar Director: #MGani Screenplay/Dialogue : #PulkitPhilip DOP: #ChandanKohli Editor: #KameshKarna #ParullGossainPR #PJPFilms Music: #WayneSharpe #ShivdevaFilms #SudhirbhaiMishra

A slice-of-life tale of woe, this film headlined by award-winning Director Prakash Jha in his very first major acting role, has the grit and realism to be affective. About a casual daily wage labourer and his relationship with his trusted, faithful bicycle, the narrative shadows his struggle for dignity and livelihood in the face of acute indifference from the powers that be. The script may be a bit threadbare but a truly heartfelt lived-in performance by Prakash Jha (who also looks the part beautifully) elevates the film above the commonplace.

Khalli Balli #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews Film: #KhalliBalli Rating: * Runtime: 116 mins Cast: #Madhoo #Dharmendra #RajnieshDuggal #KainatArora #RajpalYadav #VijayRaaj #YasmeenMishra #Asrani #EktaJain #YogeshLakhani. Producer: #KamalKishorMishra . Writer/Director: #ManojSharma #HimanshuJhunjhunwala #DwaparPromoters

A tacky, badly presented paranormal possession story, this film has really bad acting, cheap production values, juvenile scripting and dialogues and totally inept direction (more interested in upping the sleaze quotient rather than constructing a plausible narrative). The star cast may sound impressive but the resultant is not.

Middle Class Love #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews Film: #MiddleClassLove Runtime: Ratimng: * * ½ Cast: #PritKamani #EishaSingh #KavyaThapar #ManojPahwa Director: #RatnaaSinha #AnubhavSinha #ZeeStudios #PearlMedia #Ebrahim

This amiable triangular, young adult love story, strikes up likability with an immensely gifted star cast ( Prit Kamani puts up a splendid, agile, nimble footed, highly expressive show and he gets great support from the two female actors and the rest of the cast). Unfortunately the vibrantly alive and enjoyable pre-interval half deteriorates into a maudlin and weepy experience, post that - Thus killing all the fun and taking the mickey out of what could have been a genuine popcorn entertainer. Ratnaa Sinha proves that she has what it takes to become a successful mainstream Bollywood film Director– if only she would have employed the good sense of getting an uninterested expert to whet the script or doctor it!

Brahmastra Part One Shiva #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews Film: #Brahmastra #PartOneShiva Runtime: 158 mins Genre: Superhero Fantasy Rating: * * * Cast: #RanbirKapoor #AliaBhatt #Nagarjuna #MouniRoy #AmitabhBachchan #DimpleKapadia #ShahRukhKhan Director: #AyanMukherjee #UniversalCommunicationsPR #WaltDisneyStudiosMotionPictures #KaranJohar Cinematography: #SudeepChatterjee #PankajKumar #VManikandan #PatrickDuroux #VikashNowlakha

A fairly engrossing and enjoyable superhero fantasy with a load full of thrills and action, this film may not be a fun every-minute spectacle but on the overall estimate, it does a fair job. The romance between Ranbir/Shiva and Alia/ Esha is palpable and the writers don’t have to do the hard work here because the audience is already invested in their love story. The myth-building about an Astraverse with X men like specialized skill sets is strong and the action does get the adrenaline gushing quite frequently. It’s the crummy, pithy dialogues and the not-so-great VFX (which lacks clarity and distinctiveness) that fall short. Considering the budget is approximately 450 crores, this doesn’t say much for the talents behind the VFX creation. The charming Ranbir and ‘darling’ Alia look good together and that lends validity to their instantaneous onscreen romance. Amitabh Bachchan’s booming voice and presence lend the narrative a strong pitch while Shah Rukh Khan’s lengthy opening cameo in which he is literally paying homage to #RaOne and Nagarjuna’s brief role opens up the film to a wider audience base. Mouni Roy’s ace villainy is also quite credible. I won’t speculate on whether this film will recover its costs but I will certainly recommend it for a one-time watch. The young Ayan Mukherjee must be given due credit for conceptualizing such a humungous venture and getting #Dharmatic on board. This is a first even if it’s not the best it could have been!