Pankh - Review

Pankh starring Bipasha Basu and debutante Maradona Rebello along with an experienced star cast of Mahesh Manjrekar and Lillette Dubey boasts of not being a run-of-the-mill potboiler's by any chance and promises to take edgy cinemas to a new level. Without dragging too much let me break the suspense right away, director Sudipto Chattopadhyay's Pankh is a disaster in its true sense. Parents forcing their lofty ambitions on their kids are nothing novel. What could have been novel is the way of approach and portrayal. Sudipto messes up big time in both the script and its direction.

Jerry (Maradona) who attained stardom as a child artist playing Baby Kusum turns a homosexual due to the confusing childhood he led. Despite his father's undying protest, his ambitious mother doesn't seem to speak of ending the child's misery. Due to his sexual identity crisis, he grows up unloved, lonely and friendless. Slowly he begins to befriend his pet turtles and an imaginary friend Nandini (Bipasha). What happens to the turbulence in his mind and his relationship with his mother forms the rest of the story.

Pankh, long in the making, is heavy on its message and bizarre in its theme with pretension of profundity. It lacks a cohesive, decent and gripping tale that keeps you hooked on the screen. Most of what the script has to say seems senseless and fictitious. It's extremely dark theme and some disturbing moments although is imaginary, makes it hard to digest and sit through. And when the script fails to create the necessary impact, the overwhelming shots are introduced with different hues, tones and colors. Lighter moments to relax are few and far as the film deals with many confusing sub-themes like - too many biblical references, the oedipal complex, a delusional superhero, the homosexuality and the abusiveness. Packed with abusive scene and nudity, the films climax is no different and is a complete shocker. Not for the light-hearted.

Bipasha Basu's super glam avatar's seems to make no sense what-so-ever. Besides she hams in her performance big time. From her dialogue delivery to her expressions, Bips doesn't get t right. First timer actor Maradona Rebello appears to have given it his best however isn't consistent in his performance. Lillette Dubey is unintentionally hilarious and way too over the top. Mahesh Manjrekar is okay.

To sum up, Pankh do not have any entertainment value and it could not be completely passed as an art film. Works in bits but not for the faint hearted.

Courtesy: nowrunning.com

Sadiyaan : Review

We rarely make desi movies these days. Palatial mansions, swanky cars, designer outfits, the latest handsets and gizmos have replaced large kothis, traditional outfits, ghoda-gaadis and makke di roti aur sarson ka saag. True to its name, Sadiyaan takes you to a different era, when the warmth of relations mattered the most, when blood was thicker than water, when promises were meant to be honoured.

Buzz up!Sadiyaan is set in the 1970s, but travels to the partition days. Raj Kanwar tackles a unique theme this time - of two mothers. The first is the biological mother, who gets separated from her child during the partition. The second raises the child like her own, when she crosses to India after partition. The basic premise is wonderful and you can draw parallels with Hindu mythology.


Sadiyaan is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the love story, which falls on the predictable, mundane stuff, with the Hindu-Muslim angle thrown in. But Raj Kanwar reserves the best for the second part, when the two women meet and the story takes rapid turns. But, let's face it, Sadiyaan is not everyone's idea of entertainment, since the 'multiplex junta' doesn't patronise desi cinema anymore, unlike the single screen audience that adores this kind of cinema.

So what's the final verdict? Watch it if you like desi melodrama of yore, which comes alive with Sadiyaan.

Sadiyaan is a period drama based on an incident which happened during the partition. It's the story of two mothers, a Hindu played by Rekha and a Muslim mother played by Hema Malini.

In the chaos and confusion during partition in 1947, Benazir [Hema Malini] leaves behind her child in the mansion she lived in, before moving to Lahore. The child is rescued by Amrit [Rekha] and Rajveer [Rishi Kapoor], who try hard to locate the parents of the child, but in vain. They decide to raise the child themselves.

Ishaan [Luv Sinha] falls in love with Chandni [Ferena Wazeir], who lives in the same city [Amritsar]. However, Chandni's parents oppose the match, since Ishaan is a Hindu. Amrit and Rajveer decide to reveal the truth to Ishaan and also to Chandni's parents.

Two commonalities in Raj Kanwar movies… One, he has always stressed on drama in his movies and Sadiyaan is no exception. Two, the maker has often worked with newcomers [SRK in Deewana, Aarya Babbar and Amrita Rao in Ab Ke Baras and Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra in Andaaz] and now, it's Shatrughan Sinha's son Luv Sinha in Sadiyaan.

Sadiyaan has two stories running concurrently - the love story [Luv, Ferena] and the story of two mothers [Rekha, Hema Malini]. While the love story is hardly exciting since it relies on the tried-and-tested stuff, the Indo-Pak angle in the mothers' story makes this part extremely watchable.

The best moments are reserved for the second hour, with the penultimate moments proving the mainstay of the enterprise. However, as mentioned earlier, desi themes aren't too popular these days, except in the hinterland. Hence, a film like Sadiyaan has its limitations to cut across to a universal audience. Another drawback is that a love story should be embellished with lilting music and unfortunately, Adnan Sami's music is a letdown.

Directorially, Raj Kanwar handles the dramatic moments with flourish, but the writing, especially the love story, is archaic. Also, what was the need to force comedy in the narrative? Cinematography is alright, but the locations are eye-filling.

Rishi Kapoor, Rekha and Hema Malini are the lifeline of the film. Rishi is top notch. Rekha is amazing, while Hema is perfect. In fact, it's a treat to watch the two actresses share screen space after a really long gap. Luv Sinha needs to polish his acting skills. He's slightly awkward in the first part, but decent in the second half, when the goings-on get emotional. Ferena is a decent actor, but needs to work on her makeup and wardrobe.

Javed Sheikh is appropriate. Deep Dhillon is good. Vivek Shauq is getting typecast. Avtar Gill is perfect.

On the whole, Sadiyaan is an emotional drama narrated in old-fashioned style. If old world charm still excites you, there are chances you may like this one.

Courtesy: OneIndia

The Great Indian Butterfly : Review

Most movies are entertainment-driven, but a few movies, apart from entertaining, also raise pertinent questions that stay in your mind. The Great Indian Butterfly belongs to this group.

People travel miles, cross borders, go on an endless pursuit to attain happiness, peace, love and luck, which would make their journey on this planet memorable. The Great Indian Butterfly talks of a couple on the brink of a failed relationship and who travel from Mumbai to Goa to ‘trace’ the butterfly that would make their lives full of sunshine.


A beautiful thought undoubtedly, but how one wishes director Sarthak Dasgupta would’ve narrated the story concisely, without overstretching it to almost two hours.


The Great Indian Butterfly mirrors a reality. You empathise with the on-screen characters and that’s one of the reasons why this film works. But the flipside is that English-language films cater to a niche audience in India, which means you lose out on a big chunk of audience. Also, in this case, the awareness level of The Great Indian Butterfly is zilch.


Krish [Aamir Bashir] and Meera [Sandhya Mridul], a young couple, go in search of a legendary magical insect — The Great Indian Butterfly. Last seen by an unknown Portuguese explorer, in a remote valley located in Goa, the butterfly possesses a magical aura, granting immense happiness, peace, love and luck to the person who catches it. Will Krish and Meera find the elusive and mystical Butterfly?


Director Sarthak Dasgupta is clearly in a mood to narrate a real story. Hence, the conversation between the lead characters is equally real and also very relatable. The cinematography, while the car is in motion, is appreciable.


But the story stagnates in the second hour. In fact, there’s not much movement in the story and it also starts getting repetitive. Plus, an overdose of songs [not required]. But, thankfully, it picks up towards its finale.


The film is embellished with bona fide performances by Aamir Bashir and Sandhya Mridul. Aamir is a remarkable actor and it’s a pity that we haven’t tapped his acting abilities in our movies. Ditto for Sandhya, who deserves much more than what she’s being offered. Koel Purie is efficient in a small role. Barry John is alright.


On the whole, The Great Indian Butterfly is for lovers of art house cinema mainly. Unfortunately, the awareness of this film is zilch and that would hamper its stay at theatres.

Courtesy: DNAIndia

Clash of The Titans- Review

The plot of this movie begins in ancient Greek times, the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against the gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth.

Buzz up!Leading a daring band of warriors, Perseus sets off on a perilous journey deep into forbidden worlds. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, he will only survive if he can accept his power as a god, defy his fate and create his own destiny.


First things first, a remake of the 1981 original by the same name is much better than the original version. But as a 3-D version, it’s a non-event, the film having been shot normally and twiddled in post to ride the Avatar wave. It’s effective in a few bits (you can almost smell the Kraken's breath), but if you take the glasses off it doesn’t make a lot of difference most of the time.
Two things stand-out. The first is Fiennes’s hugely fun turn as a hunchbacked, raspy-voiced, bitter, twisted Hades who turns up in a fireball and a smoking cloak to wreak a spot of havoc, instill terror, make dire pronouncements and such. The on-screen reunion of Neeson and Fiennes echoes their Schindler’s List dynamic, Zeus being all handsome and kind of noble, and Hades all full-tilt nutso. Also good is fragrant Gemma Arterton’s demi-goddess Io being attached to the travelling band of warriors since she serves as a quite useful Voice of Exposition, explaining all sorts of otherwise baffling stuff. Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator Salvation) sporting a buzz cut and looking more like a US Marine than a Greek seaman fits the part.

When Sam Worthington takes on a giant scorpion, the battle is impressive. The same cannot be said for the other mythological encounters. Many of Leterrier’s monsters look as if they were created for a Wii gaming system and then viewed through a pair of mud-stained sunglasses. The make-believe creatures don’t respond to gravity and clearly look superimposed.
This one is a full-throttle action-adventure, played unapologetically straight. Watch it for fun.

Starring: Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Alexa Davalos and Gemma Arterton

Director: Louis Leterrier

Courtesy: OneIndia