Monthly Archives: December 2023

Film Reviews

Film Review: Dunki (2023)

STORY

Dunki is about a group of friends who decide to move to London through illegal immigration technique which is called “Dunki” in Punjabi. This is the first collaboration of Rajkumar Hirani and Shah Rukh Khan.

REVIEW

I liked the idea about making a film on the ‘Donkey Flight’ method. But unfortunately, Raju’s comical aesthetics have lost the quality as well as the writing. Dunki has a library of plot-holes. There were many comic scenes that could have created a laugh riot but collapsed due to ordinary use of humor.

From start until the end, there is no directional impact in the screenplay. Absolutely senseless! Just look at those 9 minutes of IELTS exam scenes. Five visibly awful duffers trying to pass the speaking test with more than half of the time speaking in the native language.

The classroom scenes were mockery. The dramatizing and comedy were not even half funny if I consider it some Z-grade parody of “Zaban Sambhal Ke“, forget about “Mind Your Language“. The courtroom scene of Hardy addressing and begging to let him stay also was a brain fart. When will Bollywood realize that the judges of the foreign country do not sympathetically and sentimentally listen to the Hindi addresses of the accused? And why was the bridegroom running away from Hardy by climbing the chairs?

THREE IDIOTS AGAIN?

I felt if Raju was revising his 3 Idiots script the whole time. A few scenes had the same vibe. Just for example, Hardy’s race interrupts due to Manu’s call just like Farhan interrupts the flight by a call. Friends reunite to fly and meet Hardy just like those three idiots travel to meet Rancho. Both films have more than half of the script in the flashbacks. Friends heavily drunk try to break in someone’s home, three idiots also try to break into a house. The very next day, friends in the class are still not sober just like three idiots were. Only one succeeds in the exam and the others feel gutted. Oh wait! one of the friends even committed suicide.

TWENTY MINUTES OF DUNKI

Even action sequences were pointless. How come the shooter allowed Hardy to assist Manu walk inside the tent? In a caravan of Dunki movers, three of them are killed in the encounter. That was one of the defining moments in the film but due to lack of growth in those three characters and terrible dramatizing of the entire sequence, Raju badly missed giving a genuine feel to the film buffs about how a painful tale of immigration meets a heartbreaking conclusion.

Crossing the border by swimming was bizarre. Making a mockery of such intensity by showing how dumb the night watchman is. He neither alert to the border control about his suspicion nor did he stood after switching the light off. And no one inside the water got hit or killed by the round of bullets?

If you realize, this entire immigration that was shot for only twenty minutes of the screen time badly demanded at least half of the film’s length. After all, the film is about Dunki. The value of immigration decreased due to extremely less dramatizing. In fact, the journey was swiftly covered in the songs.

DUNKI DO NUTS

Shah Rukh Khan… Naseeruddin Shah once quoted his teacher and this is one of my favorite lines. “Your talent lies in your choices”. The biggest delusion about the phenomenom of Shah Rukh is that he is King Khan because of his acting. Nope. He is King Khan because he is the greatest superstar since Amitabh Bachchan. And the star power comes from entertaining, not from acting. Both are separate classes. And this is exactly why he chooses entertaining people but not prefer doing character roles in quality films. Dunki is just another example of that side of talent.

In this film, you will realize that Vicky Kaushal was all over Shah Rukh if you take the case of his being drunk on the ceiling and when he humiliates the teacher.

CLOSING REMARKS

Let me be very frank about the film. Dunki is a cinematic disaster. The titanic that will not hit the iceberg because of Shah Rukh Khan. If this garbage was to be carried by Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, or Ranveer Singh, you would see the authentic figures of the box-office results. If I was the producer, I would have offered this project to Shoojit Sircar after my experience with Sardar Udham.

A potential story butchered by terrible direction, screenplay, dialogues, and forced lame comedy. Overall, an outrageous execution.

You know what are the only two pluses that I really liked in the film? One was Vicky Kaushal’s performance and the accurate picturising of the Africans hiding the illegals inside the car.

RATING 2/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Dream Girl 2 (2023)

STORY

A female voice impersonator Karam Singh gets an offer from his best friend Smiley to recover from the financial crisis by getting married as a woman to a man whose sister he is with. The reason for all this trouble is that the girl’s father has set the condition on Smiley to get his son married first before he hands his daughter to him.

REVIEW

Dream Girl 2 is a spiritual sequel of Dream Girl with a few actors from the previous venture showing up.

Like most of Ayushmann Khurrana comedy films, Dream Girl 2 also entertains with rib-tickling comedy in the first half and then the writing suffocates to conclude in the second half resulting in a comedy, that was fittingly working before, beginning to look forced and dragged.

The major plus is the plot followed by the complexity of sub-plots that stayed in the connected roots and exhilarated the viewers. The thread of all exaggerated and nonsense comedy reminded me of both comic flavors of David Dhawan and Priyadarshan films.

Many one liners and several follow-up scenes were impressively funny and that is hugely because Raaj Shaandliyaa directed this. And his CV says that he was behind the immense success of Sony TV’s Comedy Circus and wrote scores of lines for a few comedians including Kapil Sharma.

For me, the funniest scene was when the old man in the family passes away and Smiley & co. jubilantly arrives at their doorsteps for wedding.

CLOSING REMARKS

Dream Girl 2 slipped in the second half with a terrible cringe conclusion but the film must be praised for Ayushmann’s shameless performance and comic writing.

RATING 6/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Jaane Jaan (2023)

STORY

In Kalimpong, Maya kills her husband Ajit in self-defense in her apartment. Her next-door neighbor Naru offers help and gets rid of the body. But Karan, the investigative officer, arrives from Mumbai in quest of Ajit because he is also a policeman.

INTRODUCTION

Jaane Jaan is an official adaptation of the Japanese novel “The Devotion of Suspect X” by Keigo Higashino. And with the involvement of Hyunwoo Thomas Kim‘s South Korean film production company “Kross Pictures“, the official remake is more distinctive because the same company also financed a Chinese film based on the same novel.

REVIEW

Jaane Jaan has a compelling tone of frankly addressing the elephant in the room. The film has a quality start and nicely introduces Maya and Naru. The first twenty minutes easily settles the viewers and grows their characters on us. Then the real game begins when Maya’s psycho husband predictably gets dusted. It is Naru whose character gets more interesting and surely we all viewers, at this moment, begin to take more interest.

The whole proceeding of the screenplay is fitting. There is no wastage of silliness as Bollywood does often. The film in its entirety is servant to dedication and novelty. Thanks to the adaptation that gifts us freshness in to the story. And this is why, Bollywood needs to refine their cringe content and prefer making films based on novels.

Yes some scenes looked pretty artificial to realism like Maya hugging Naru, Maya performing after karaoke, Maya changing her shirt (could have made sense if Karan had noticed some serious injury marks on her back), etc. These were avoidable and there were alternatives to proceed ahead.

Although this novel-based so the story cannot be curved but I was thinking, what if there could have been another angle of watching the entire story from the angle of Karan and then we might have enjoyed further more because then, the element of suspense would have thrilled us. But then the adaptation would have compromised.

TECHNICALITIES

The technicalities of the film deserves the praise. Besides the screenplay, what impressed me the most was fabulous editing. Much of the film’s credibility goes sound if the editing of a mystery thriller aids the screenplay.

Sujoy Ghosh has written the script and directed this film. And this is why Jaane Jaan is so good. He has a habit of bluntly moving a serious story. And he has done that before in Kahaani and Badla.

Shooting in Kalimpong may make the viewers wonder, why Kalimpong? Only the director knows a better answer but I felt such a plot heavily suited a small town or a district where mysterious Maya and her daughter wants to start a new life. And being a Japanese novel, I felt Kalimpong served the right aesthetics. The shots of that smoky place were beautiful.

PERFORMANCES

Jaane Jaan stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Vijay Varma, who are quite different actors from each other. I felt Kareena’s Maya needed more aggression after what she has been through. Vijay’s body language of a detective was skilled. Notice his interrogation scene with Maya in the police station. Jaideep is the winner between them, he impressively built growth of the character. There was sanity as well as insanity. I just felt that his character had such a strong reputation in the district, the director must have dramatized his teaching scene for a minute or two to justify why people of Kalimpong regard him highly.

CLOSING REMARKS

Jaane Jaan is a terrific mystery thriller that grabs a lot of attention due to a strong grip of the script.

RATING 8.5/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Maestro (2023)

STORY & REVIEW

In 1943, a maestro and an actress met at the party. They develop a relationship and get married. As time passes, their personal lives cope with troubles and suffocate in the complexity of their choices.

Starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan as real-life couple Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre, Maestro is a two-hour but timeless journey into their lives. The film doesn’t have a particular plot but a screenplay and the beauty of writing lies in their complicated times. This is a passion project about the world of Leonard and his partnership with Felicia and his passion for music.

Maestro is more driven towards the drama inclining towards Leonard’s love life with Felicia. With the given title, I was expecting the dramatizing about the making of arguably 20th century’s greatest music conductor. So the hopes dashed for not getting to watch more about his musical works for West Side Story and On The Waterfront.

The chemistry of Leonard and Felicia is heartwarming. The writing about their affair is rich, you can feel the growth and that tickle of passion is right there in their exciting moments at the closed theatre, in the park, and on the table.

When the first half settles the audience into their lives, the other half shifts the gear to some eye-catching moments that crafts the relationship drama into excellence. Have a look at their heated argument that runs for four straight minutes in one shot. Cooper and Mulligan opens a theatre there.

And this is followed by Bradley Cooper’s mind-blowing solo act as a conductor for around five or six minutes. He performed it with such perfection and incredible body language of a conductor that I forgot it was Bradley doing a Leonard impression for so many minutes. That act is going to blow everyone’s mind.

In fact, Bradley was phenomenal throughout the film. Breaking his typical norm of his usual acting and shaping into the character with a different accent, mannerism, and behavior. I sense Bradley is a more serious contender to win the Oscar for the Best Actor than Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer.

A major plus above Bradley’s performance is Carey Mulligan equally giving a splendid performance that stamps Maestro to more critical approvals. She is the best other half that completes the film. From the moment the doctor breaks the news, Carey doesn’t stop impressing us. Observe her distress when she attends the visitors. Her hopelessness, agony, and crying is so heartfelt.

To understand the beauty of filmmaking, always observe the film shooting techniques. That is the major game that gathers the praises from the audience. Why Maestro is a supreme quality of filmmaking is due to the selection of camera angles where the screenplay heavily grows on Bradley and Carey.

The one-shot scene is an art, a technique that needs to be carefully implemented. But also, the zooming angles of some important shots like Felicia’s discomfort in attending visitors, the doctor breaking the news, the couples sitting opposite in the park, are some reminders of the classical style of filmmaking.

HISTORICAL ACCURACY

To all who cares about the accuracy in the truthfulness of the film’s storyline, much of the developments in Maestro are highly accurate.

Daughter Jamie asking the rumors about her father’s sexuality is true.

Felicia was aware about Leonard’s bisexuality before marrying him.

Leonard and Felicia did meet for the first time in a party.

As depicted, Leonard took the stage as a substitute conductor from where he rose to prominence.

And the most delightful of all, multiple scenes in the film are shot in Leonard’s actual country house situated in Fairfield, Connecticut.

CLOSING REMARKS

I am not sure if I must call Maestro a masterpiece. Because films like Maestro generally qualifies as masterpiece as some 150-minute slow-burners. Maestro was like that but broke the taboo. In two hours, Maestro proved that one can dramatize such drama with pace in the screenplay and race with time. I am very impressed with Bradley Cooper as a director this time. I sense a faithful virtuosity in doing justice with a story about a legendary musician with sincere ambition.

For me, Maestro is a captivating drama and is recommendable to all who appreciate quality of filmmaking with magnificent performances.

RATING 8.8/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Adipurush (2023)

STORY

Raghava rejects Shurpanakha‘s proposal which infuriates her and attempts to kill Raghava’s wife, Janaki. In retaliation, Lakshmana bleeds her nose with an arrow. Shurpanakha informs her brother Ravana. Ravana kidnaps Janaki which starts an epic war.

INTRODUCTION

Adipurush is a mythological action film based on the Sanskrit epic from ancient India called ‘Ramayana‘. Before I jump towards this cinematic disaster piece, let me give you a few insights about where this story is coming from.

Hinduism is arguably the world’s oldest religion. After four holy books of Vedas, two Sanskrit epics that together forms the Hindu mythological belief and constructs a university of faith are Mahabharata and Ramayana. And Adipurush is based on Ramayana.

A legendary poet Valmiki wrote this epic poem thousands of years ago. The poem covers Rama‘s life, his 14-year exile to the forest with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana. And then Sita’s kidnapping by Ravana that resulted in a war. And last of all, Rama’s return from exile.

Who was Rama? Rama was the prince of Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala. Kosala was one of the 16 realms that existed in the ancient India between 6th and 4th centuries in BCE that were collectively called “Mahajanapadas” which means great footold of people. Rama’s father was Dasharatha, the king of Kosala. He had three wives; Kausalya gave birth to Rama, Kaikeyi to Bharata, and Sumitra to twin sons Lakhsamana and Shatrughna. Bharata is the one who ruled Ayodhya when Rama was exiled.

So when Ravana kidnaps Sita to his Lanka, Rama and Lakshmana are informed about this shocking incident by Jatayu, the vulture, who tried to rescue Sita. Rama and Lakshmana seeks help from Sugriva and Bajrang Bali to raise an army against Ravana and liberate his wife from the captivity.

So readers, I have given you a lot of insight. I have shared you some bullet points of the story. So why is Adipurush a box-office disaster? Why the Indian viewers of Hindu faith have taken this film as a blasphemy? What went wrong? Almost everything.

REVIEW

See, I have read the bullet events that occurred in Ramayana and Mahabharata. And I think that Hindu mythology really gives us some interesting stories. Back in the 1990s, I happened to watch a few scenes from Ramanand Sagar‘s Ramayana that, if I am not wrong, used to be telecasted on Doordarshan. Whatever was happening in the show looked to be weird to me in those times. In my mid-teen, I was not a film critic but a typical Shah Rukh Khan fan. So, my opinion in the childhood matters the least or close to none.

But in 2023, with elite level of CGI and many technologies to ponder our unsettling surprises, I can easily envision that if Valmiki’s epic poem is given justice by its true loyalist, both Ramayana and Mahabharata will be shot with the aesthetics of a combined universes of James Cameron‘s Avatar and Peter Jackson‘s The Lord of The Rings.

But in 2023, the general audience especially of the Hindu faith are tortured to watch three hours of Adipurush which is in all sorts, outrageous and quite insulting to Hinduism. Most surprisingly, a film on Hinduism has severely messed up when Narendra Modi is the prime minister of India.

AGONIZING THE VIEWERS

Adipurush begins with a disclaimer that mentally instils the ‘Hindu’ audience to expect a volcano erupt from the presentation. It clearly states that ‘certain elements, characters, and events may have been interpreted or modified to suit the screen adaptation’. Later on, it also informs that they may have include dramatizations and fictional additions. I have always believed that if the film is based on a true story, just depict in its true nature with the highest level accuracy as possible. Because if you don’t, the film carries no purpose at all. And Adipurush is based on Hindu mythology that has become a religion to more than a billion people on the planet. So altering the story or trying to install the whole story in different aesthetics will do no good.

CASTING AND TERRIBLE PORTRAYALS

One of the massive issues with the film is an extremely enormous production budget which is ₹500–700 crore. With that budget, the film ridicules the audience with one of the worst visual effects ever paranoid. Also, with that budget, the casting and their costumes and make-ups don’t fit at all. One of the highest-paid actors in India, Prabhas, played the titular role of Rama. But more than Rama, he looked like Karna of Mahabharata. Plus, Rama sporting a moustache looked pretty odd because I think this has never happened before. Not even in animated films.

Beautiful Kriti Sanon plays Sita but by her attire, I assume she is reimagined as Sita in a modern setup. But Adipurush’s Sita also suffers from cheesy dialogues that corrupts the portrayal further. Imagine one of Sita’s responses to Ravana in Ashok Vatika is ”Ye kesa prem hay, Ravana? Mujhe koi aisi cheez do jo kuch din chale.” (What love is this, Ravana? Give me something that lasts for days).

Two more castings raised the eyebrows. One was Saif Ali Khan as Ravana and Devdatta Nage as Bajrang Bali. I dont have knowledge from what family did Ravana belong to but Adipurush’s Ravana, with his spiky hairstyle and Muslim beard, definitely comes from the house of Targaryen who instead of riding a dragon rides a gargoyle-like bat. Ravana’s original ride was called Pushpaka Vimana which was a flying chariot. So I am unsure what caused to change the ride whereas Pushpak Vimana was shown for a few seconds when Hauman flies to Sita. And then the bizarre alignment of Ravana’s heads in such an outrageous CGI. The ten heads of Ravana, if I am not wrong, always appears in one horizontal parallel. This is the first time, I see a 5×5 dramatizing of Ravana’s heads.

The portrayal of Hanuman is a joke. Neither the right actor was picked nor the physique was muscular enough to hand him over the mace. Plus, the dialogues he uttered were garbage. I felt that Devdatta was trying to be a silly Hanuman. But in any case, the makers surely had a lot of muscular choices for Hanuman. Overall, the casting on that massive budget needs an inquiry. Vatsal Sheth? Sonal Chauhan?

ZERO AESTHETICS

Adipurush doesn’t have a soul for magnificence in visual artistry or storytelling. I feel director Om Raut was being extremely lazy in giving a better look at this ancient world. A viewer cannot watch and say if the aesthetics are inspired. Almost every creativity in Adipurush will remind you of something and make you convince that the makers copied. Ravana Targaryen’s Westeros has striking resemblance with Marvel‘s Asgard. The legend is that Ravana’s Lanka was made of gold. Adipurush’s Lanka is made of coal. Almost everything is coal black. Bollywood has a tendency to dark the tone in the film when the world of the antagonist has to be portrayed as hell. But there is a level. Adipurush’s Lanka is more than elite level.

Not only that but Ravana Targaryen has an army of Orcs borrowed straight from Tolkien or perhaps Peter Jackson. There are a few sequences of Ravana Targaryen riding on his bat that will remind you the flights of the Witchking of Angmar.

Ravana’s son is one of the worst characterizations in the film. Those who have watched Vatsal Sheth giving a B-grade performance of Ravana’s son but doesn’t understand his value. Let me inform you what Indrajit meant in Ramayana. My research says that this guy nearly destroyed the race of vanara when he killed 670 million Vanaras in a single day. Vanara is the race of ape-people from where Hanuman belongs. They were created by Brahma to help Rama defeat Ravana.

Another legend is that Indrajit defeated both Rama and Lakshmana not once but twice in Ramayana. Plus, no warrior possessed all the three Trimurti astras other than Indrajit. Om Raut destroyed this character by making him the Lankan speedster Indrajit Allen aka The Flash. If I am not wrong, there is no mention of Indrajit being a speedster.

The vanara king Sugriva is a shameless replica of Caesar from the Planet of the Apes trilogy. Not only that, the dramatizing of the vanaras will precisely remind you of the Bandar Log from The Jungle Book. The jaw-dropping throat slitting scene is brutal false as that never occurred in Ramayana.

There is a sequence where Rama, Lakshmana, and a few vanaras are surrounded by the army of Orcs just like before the start of the Battle of Black Gate in The Lord of the Rings. And then comes a shot of the heroes warming up for the fight exactly like the first assembling of The Avengers.

In the beginning, two universes collide when Adipurush’s Rama fights against Harry Potter‘s Dementors. Whatever those creatures were, had no part in Ramayana.

WTF IS YOUR MESSAGE???

The laziness of filmmakers is so plentiful that the most controversial dialogue of the film ‘Jali Tere Baap Ki‘ which itself is so subpar to listen is taken from a spiritual motivational speaker, Amogh Lila Prabhu. He uttered Hanuman’s entire dialogue in one of his addresses with using the word ‘Ravana’ instead of baap.

Can you imagine the sages, deities, or the most respectful figures of some mythology or faith, to whom millions or billions of people dedicate their lives or respect to its zenith, speak such cringe, low-level, or pedestrian dialogues? And in all honesty, it is not funny for people of any faith. Imagine a Christian or Jewish film being highly disrespectful and inaccurate. As a Muslim, I will not tolerate if a film is based from the times of Muhammad and instead of depicting the true soul of the story, make the joke out of it.

Om Raut wrote and directed Adipurush, Manoj Muntashir wrote the dialogues. They shamelessly defended against all the criticism. Ramayana is such an incredible story and its live-action adaptation deserved a very careful planning to transform it into a live-action. There must be inquiry about the film’s production cost because with almost zero creativity and cheap editing resulting into one of the worst VFX results from an assumed ₹500-crore budget film questions the authenticity of truth. This film is no way more than ₹50 crore at all. Perhaps, a half of this budget is Prabhas’ pay for the film.

CLOSING REMARKS

Adipurush lacks the emotional value that would show the cultural and religious significance of the Hinduism. It just doesn’t remind you of the core or some essence in which Ramayana is valued to the hearts of the viewers but a three-hour Western portfolio and re-imagination of the ancient India unsuccessfully and unfaithfully resetting that war between good and evil.

Without watching any Ramayana or related show, I can blindly tell you that Adipurush is the last thing to remember for a Hindu content and unfortunately an unforgettable project for the wrongest possible reasons. If Om Raut and Manoj Muntashir are alive, that is only because they are Hindus. There is no excuse of this insult.

Those who want to try Adipurush, at your own risk. I wasted my three hours on the film and three days working on this content as a blogger and vlogger because this is my work. But you, let me save your 173 minutes and recommend you watching a 7-minute bhajan from Swades called ‘Pal Pal Hai Bhaari‘. That has music, poetry, essence of Ram, and Sita’s devotion.

Adipurush is a cinematic disaster which is lost in translation of the scripture that is sacred to the billions.

RATING 1/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Animal (2023)

STORY

Vijay has temper issues and is obsessed about protecting his family from any threats and mistreatment. He loves his father a lot. His father is Balbir, a business magnate who runs a steel factory. One day, Balbir gets shot under mysterious circumstances. Filled with fury, Vijay decides to reunite his family, find the culprit, and kill him.

REVIEW

Currently, one of the five highest grossing films of 2023 with over ₹700 crore crossed within two weeks, Animal is obviously a super-hit. But is it that good? Not even close. This film is 3 hours and 15 minutes long and is considered one of the longest Indian films ever made. How so? In all honesty, I don’t know. Only the director Sandeep Reddy Vanga can explain you that. From what I see, coming from someone who believes that the film can be completed generally in 90 minutes, is not a script that is passionately trying to justify the overstretching of a simple plot but a suicide letter of the art of writing.

See the plot is simple and not really inspiring because we have watched this before countless times. A father who is a businessman and his son who is a typical example of a rich upbringing. The ancestors started the steel business and quarreled. And the enmity led to the death in the family that caused lifetime revenges in the bloodline. Any director with this story can conclude the film in not more than 90-100 minutes, or max 120 minutes. In fact, the director must have thought of a limited series and developed interest instead of stretching a simple plot.

Animal is extremely unrealistic with larger-than-life action sequences and for the sake of entertainment glamorizes a rich spoiled brat and his anger issues. Every character connected to him directly and indirectly loves him, loves to obey him.

Writing errors and stupidity has no limits. Vijay openly declares in front of media that he will kill the one who shoot his father and there is no media uproar. How is that normal? How on earth the news doesn’t alarm the national security that a son of India’s richest businessman is openly threatening to kill.

Geeta breaking her engagement for Vijay was so underdeveloped writing. It didn’t make any sense.

How was the boy not stopped from rushing in the factory searching for papa?

The hotel attack on Vijay and his cousins was so bizarre and brutally unreal especially when Vijay beats the entire skull gang on the same floor alone with an injured leg and his cousins are singing for him. There was no charisma but instead, it was funny.

The one who supervised the attack admits that he doesn’t know Vijay’s name but later, Vijay reminds that he wanted to know his name and tells him his name before killing him. The question is, how come Vijay knew that he wanted to know his name? Vijay was occupied in the arms deal.

MISOGYNY ISSUE

Speaking of misogyny issue of the film that has recently ignited in the social media is a political whining. See, my issue is not women beating in the film. Balbir silencing his wife, the marks on Zoya’s neck, Abrar slapping his wife, Vijay asking Zoya to lick his boot. That all has been happening for centuries and husbands often do the honors of dishonoring women. So that is true picture finally depicted on the silver screen. I refuse to belief that the vulgar promotion of misogyny is encouraged. Not at all. People need to understand that the film doesn’t portray Vijay as a messiah or a prophet. But people also need to see a good side of Vijay when he didn’t stand for his sister getting bullied when they were in college. He didn’t appreciate his brother-in-law going physical with his sister in the party. If the public is complaining that the film is glamorizing misogyny then the film isn’t glamorizing only misogyny but all the bad things like violence, blood shedding, and killing.

Must women-beating be dramatized more often in the films? Well, it depends on the script. Completely okay with what you want to dramatize in your story. If the story demands that part of violence, this should not be objection and no one must get offended by it.

THE OTHER SIDE

Although, Bobby Deol‘s Abrar will be considered one of the most intriguing entries in the film for some time because of that Iranian folk song, Jamal Jamaloo. Maybe that entry covers the reputation of the character but I felt that Abrar’s short appearance is a misfiring. Sandeep wasted a lot of potentials in the film to focus primarily on Vijay and heavily underwrote Abrar.

The whole antagonism of Abrar and his world was stupidly underbaked that deserved to be on level with Vijay’s. Why? Because that family attacked Balbir, planned to kill Vijay, then sent Zoya for a major killing plan. Introducing Abrar after two hours was plain injustice.

So the whole rivalry between Vijay and Abrar deserved half a film but stood for only 20 minutes because the director made the entire film on Vijay and his madness which was not what the plot demanded. Also, silencing Bobby Deol’s character was cruel as people love to listen to Bobby’s dialogues.

FATHER & SON

One of the major plusses is the father-son chemistry between Anil Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor. Notice when father observes his palm when he is sleeping or when Vijay meets Balbir after 8 years. Their whole last sequence of Vijay imitating Balbir was a terrific insider about how a child feels lonely over father’s cold responses and steps into insanity. The feelings get hurt with such upbringing.

PERFORMANCES

Most of the performances were usual as expected. In action films, there is less burden of doing something extraordinary but depends on the given scene or a character. Now take a look at Rashmika Mandanna. She did nothing special until she had to burst on Vijay when he confessed.

I think that kid Ahmad Ibn Umar who played young Ranbir is for playing very intelligent kids. First Laal Singh Chaddha and now this.

The biggest plus of the film is without a doubt the animal Ranbir Kapoor. A mental and physical commandment at the character can be watched in many scenes like his speech in the factory, and all his heated arguments with Balbir and Geeta. His performance was more sentimental when he was with Anil in father-son sequences perhaps because of the passing of his father Rishi Kapoor. It was during this very period when he signed this film. So the gashes were fresh. So came the performance.

I have just started checking Bollywood films of 2023 but I feel this has to be one of the best performances of the year.

MUSIC

The soundtracks need to be praised for being innovative. I think Papa Meri Jaan was the best soundtrack in both versions of the child and Sonu Nigam. It builds a lot of sentimental vibes for children who love their father a lot. The tune is moving. And then both Vijay and Abrar had superb entries. A. R. Rahman‘s Roja tracks were beautifully renditioned. And the Iranian folk song played on Bobby’s entry was out of the box. A beautiful and simple tune that allures the listeners.

CLOSING REMARKS

Animal deserved better writing and must have leveled both the families to ignite the rivalry. Focusing on Ranbir’s Vijay ignores most of the promising aspects of the film. If you want action sequences to blow your mind, watch it. But Animal is a special treat for all Ranbir Kapoor fans and those who appreciate quality acting.

RATING 4/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Oppenheimer (2023)

STORY

During World War II, US Army general Leslie Groves offered physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to become the director of the Manhattan Project. Although Oppenheimer accepted and despite leading to a successful mission, his legacy and reputation were at stake when in 1954, during the McCarthy era, he was accused of being a Communist and a Soviet spy.

INTRODUCTION

Oppenheimer is based on J. Robert Oppenheimer’s biography “American Prometheus” written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. A special thanks to actor Robert Pattinson who gifted Christopher Nolan a book of Oppenheimer’s speeches. These materials inspired him to direct Oppenheimer.

This three-hour epic biodrama mostly focuses on the 1954 Oppenheimer Security Hearing, his role in the Manhattan Project, the accusations against him, and his sporadic affair with Jean Tatlock.

REVIEW

Oppenheimer, in its entirety, drives you to understand Oppenheimer that perhaps, a big perhaps, he was obsessed in creating a bomb that the Nazis cannot or do not. Being a Jew and observing the Jewish consequences of the war, his immense hatred for Adolf Hitler gave General Groves an idea to hand the world-changing project to a Jew.

The building of Oppenheimer’s character grows smoothly with the screenplay and intensifies in the middle of the story. You can feel yourself in his shoes and feel the heat that sweats him after getting stuck in the ugliest mashup of quantum mechanics, communism, world war, and sex. Nolan smartly executed these four outrageous bombings of Oppenheimer’s personal pie graph and showed us that before America was preparing the new world for which no one was ready, Oppenheimer was already bombed. The film successfully dramatizes the complexity of Oppenheimer’s life.

This film is not a usual path of gathering around and get the candies of the offered. Oppenheimer is a blend of science and politics that is brilliantly transformed in a cinematic format. The film is talkative but fruit for a wise. I do not believe that the viewers will have ever taken keen interest before in advanced physics such as ‘Quantum Mechanics’ as much as in this film. A three-hour non-action historical drama based on a physicist with more than half of the film dramatizing trial and hearing with a worldwide grossing of almost three commas definitely indicates that physics has found its cinematic voice with much excellence in almost every technical aspect.

Observe that most of the scenes of the film that has Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss is in black and white format. This can be a metaphor of dramatizing the culprit colorless. What is your opinion about keeping a lot of scenes black and white? Share your opinions below.

TECHNICALITIES

Most of the aspects look Oscar-promising. Jennifer Lame‘s editing was visibly challenging as the film adopted a nonlinear narrative. Observe all the interrogation scenes with Oppenheimer and the table conference with Strauss. Nolan recreated the town of Los Alamos, just like Oppenheimer asked Groves to build a town for creating the bomb in secrecy. So for the entire setup, the production designing of Ruth De Jong deserves the credit.

The background score of Ludwig Göransson not really bought me but I will praise his effort to somehow go in through the story and compose some interesting pieces on it. The winning piece of all compositions was that entire tense-building score when the bomb is about to explode, and when attorney Roger Robb pressing Oppenheimer goes very intense. I think without the score, those two scenes may not have fried the viewers.

Once again, Nolan used no CGI in the film at all. The Trinity test was also not real, I mean he didn’t really detonate an atomic bomb but magnesium, gasoline, propane, and aluminum powder were used to recreate the blast. Nolan is so adhere to realism, I feel if he ever makes an animated film based on animals, he may invite the animals to voice over the characters.

Speaking of explosion scene, I think that entire shot of waiting for the explosion was superbly orchestrated that took around five minutes. Oppenheimer addressing the rally and imagining the consequences. Notice the excitement in the rally turning into mourning.

Nolan’s films are known for many great qualities, one of the many that always impresses me are fast exchange of dialogues and many of those lines are hard-hitting and blunt. Always reminds me of Aaron Sorkin‘s style of dialogues exchange. This film also leaves no equation of disapproval. During the process of recruiting for the Manhattan project, Oppenheimer meets one of the listed to whom he pushes that they need us. His reply? “Until they don’t”. OUCH!!! That is the first head-shot to Oppenheimer in this dirty game.

CAST

There are so many well-known actors. To fit them in a 3-hour film needs a powerful screenplay. Otherwise, there is 99% chance for such assembling of actors to be considered ‘dragged’. Oppenheimer, with all that incredible casting, sent a bullet message that the casting was to fill the gap where the script demanded. It is the smart continuity of the screenplay that balanced their longer and shorter appearances. Their weight of appearance never mattered. Each of them was important to the story. The one I missed was definitely Nolan’s favorite, Michael Caine who collaborated with Nolan in eight consecutive films.

Seems like Oppenheimer will not only dominate at the coming Oscars in the technicalities but also for the performances. Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer and Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss look pretty clear favorites to actually win the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards. Their nominations look stamped. I will not be surprised if Emily Blunt and Matt Damon also show up in the nominations. Coming fresh building the legendary status of Thomas Shelby, one of the best decisions of Christopher Nolan for the film was selecting the right face for Oppenheimer. Cillian’s facial features are visibly more obstructing. In the transition of the burning struggles to achieve the unforgettable, the weight of pressure of his acting is very dogmatizing. The body language clearly melts once he begins to regret and realize their bigger plans of his brainchild.

And another actor after building the legendary status of Tony Stark, has arrived on stage with his most stunning performance in ages. Notice Robert Downey Jr. going nuts about Oppenheimer after the hearing.

MINUSES

Shocking isn’t it? Well for me, there are minuses in my opinion. There will never be a perfect film so that I ever give 10/10. You know why? Because that will defy nature.

1. Follow-up from the Trinity Test
The continuity from the success of the Trinity test drives towards the consequences to which Oppenheimer mentally suffers and regrets. The trouble is for the viewers spending the remaining last of the three hours in listening to the hearing and interrogation.

2. David Hill’s Findings
One of the Manhattan Project’s scientists David L. Hill played by Rami Malek had an unusual character growth. If I am not wrong, he appeared only thrice. The first two, he was mute and Oppenheimer stopped him from writing and then signing. But then in the last phase of the film, out of nowhere, he showed up in the Strauss’ hearing for the final plot twist and testified against him. So where goes the development of this character? How come he knew all this about Strauss’ dirty game against Oppenheimer? The whole point is missing about what leads him to there?

3. Love, Sex, and Gita
Oppenheimer had a mad affair with Jean Tatlock, that is true. The problem is everything that revolves around the character is either a bad execution or a shocking waste of time. The sex scene where she picks that specific line for Oppenheimer to read her, did she know Sanskrit to pick exactly that line, the loudest one?

There was an outrage in India over this scene because Bhagawad Gita was held by a woman in nudity. Kind of disrespect? In all honesty, the entire scene was unnecessary. If that actually happened, I have no disagreement over this. Because in the book, there is no such mention. But if this never happened, Nolan here wasn’t being artistic in his direction at all, it was plain nonsense. I wanted Oppenheimer to utter those words in Sanskrit as she demanded. I don’t know why didn’t he.

4. Ending
Christopher Nolan is the master of concluding the film. He has moved us with one of the best possible finishers. Oppenheimer doesn’t have a bad ending but not even a WOW ending. Yes, the suspense disclosed about what the two great physicists exchanged. But Nolan must have pushed for a frightening end. In his shoes, I would have pushed the timeline to 1965 on the sets of the NBC News where visibly old and deeply-hurt Oppenheimer regretfully quotes that line from Bhagavad Gita. And with that quote would follow the dramatizing of the atomic bombings on those two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

5. Where are the bombings?
And speaking of bombings. Where are the bombings? I understand the significance of the Manhattan Project but despite the fact that Oppenheimer was not directly involved to the atomic bombings but these are the one of the ugliest chapters of the human race that changed the world forever. This was on the cards and we all were hopeful that the director who crashed the plane in the name of realism in the previous film will show us atomic bombings instead of showing us the explosion of the Trinity test.

HISTORICAL ACCURACIES

FILE – Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission Advisory Council, tells a joint Congressional Atomic Committee that U.S. military establishment to his knowledge had never found it necessary to use exportable type isotopes for the development of new war machines. The hearing continued on charges of mismanagement in AEC. (AP Photo, File)

I was lost when Oppenheimer poisoned an apple but this incident is mentioned in the book. He was near to get expelled before his parents intervened.

Oppenheimer’s theory on black holes’ existence is correct and the news of Poland’s invasion did break the same day.

Oppenheimer did give away his child to his friend but the circumstances were different.

Haakon Chevalier asking Oppenheimer to pass information to George Eltenton was true.

The storm did interfere before the Trinity test.

Oppenheimer’s meeting with President Truman went unpleasant as shown. And Truman, believe it or not, actually called him a crybaby scientist.

Indeed, Klaus Fuchs will always be remembered as the Manhattan Project spy who passed the details to the Soviets.

Mrs Oppenheimer has quite an accurate portrayal. She do was married three times before Oppenheimer. A highly educated but sadly a depressed and an alcoholic woman.

David Hill’s testimony against Strauss was truly the game-changer. He did testify that Strauss had organized the campaign against Oppenheimer as an act of petty vengeance.

CLOSING REMARKS

Christopher Nolan has already completed two trilogies in his legendary career. The Dark Knight Trilogy and the one that still has no official name but I can convincingly call it a time trilogy or in better terms the “Inversion Trilogy” that is Inception, Interstellar, and Tenet. And now looks like Nolan is eager to complete a World War Trilogy. We will see what film will join Dunkirk and Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer emphasizes on the human wants and breaking the walls to exceed that want for which a human spends energy, time, effort, and sometimes life. A ground-breaking goal that looks to lift a dreamer and his/her legacy either becomes a milestone or a curse. Oppenheimer shows the madness of achieving a goal and turning stupid and blind over not realizing that the people who were shouldering around you were the ones who were always ready to break you in pieces since the first day they met you for a reason. The dirty game was played, a particular division of human race was wiped off, and you were just there assuming that you were fighting your own war against the evil.

Everyone who entered into the world war had his/her hands dirty and soul corrupted. We all have considered the winners and losers from all the battles and wars but the ugliest truth is that no one actually wins these fights. Both the opponents fight against each other and the civilians are the one who outnumber the soldiers in casualties unless the soldiers fight on the battlefield.

In short, the egoes of the global powers raise the flags against each other and dominate by killing. And Oppenheimer superbly shows how a scientist is used for their wants and thrown into the mud when the mission is over.

RATING 8.7/10

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TV Reviews

TV Review: Kaala Paani

STORY

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is threatened by the horror of the pandemic when the territory is infected by a mysterious disease. When hell descends and starts to take the lives of the affected, people from all walks of life struggle to survive. Solidarity embarks, families and friends get disjointed by the unwanted incidents. The medical experts and the decision-makers are muddled with such a complicated situation.

Kaala Paani, in these seven episodes, folds the viewers in the mighty scare of the widespread and makes us watch the toughest times of getting stuck in a situation where there is no escape.

REVIEW

This Netflix series brings back the COVID vibes. The entire setting of the screenplay that painfully welcomes disease precisely reminds us of the world we began to experience in 2020. Staring at people coughing in the public place, distancing from the affected ones, spraying on the doors and locks, wearing masks; it is a victory for the show that they settled the viewers with discomfort.

Kaala Paani’s writing grows in the nerves because the show runs several stories, dig in the lives of the main characters, and give us a deeper look in the complexity of human relations, their getting distanced, expressing their fear of losing someone or themselves.

The emotion code will break the viewers when they watch Kaddu struck with epilepsy, when Chiru is in state of shock receiving his mother’s ashes, when Dr. Ritu’s father is slapped in front of her, when Santosh listens to his wife’s hiccup and starts crying.

In fact, Santosh is the most heartbreaking character of the show. A husband who lost his wife, a father who lost his son, traveled with pain in quest of his daughter. Vikas Kumar has boiled his Santosh character with severe desperation. His slipping in to the hole settled our mind that he will have to overcome fear and somehow escape. And boy! what a physical performance that was. All his crying scenes were jaw-droppers.

Besides, the other standout performer was Sukant Goel as Chiru. Watch him when he offers himself to Dr. Shashi for the test and when he reacts over his mother’s demise.

Some parts of writing are very interesting. The panic in the festival was intense, so was the car almost crashing Kaddu. When water became a concern, notice the governor dropping only few drops of water on his toothpaste.

The show must be praised for its technical productions. If the series is based and shot in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, surely the camera work is one of the preferred focus. And we happen to watch some amazing shots throughout the show by Ewan Mulligan & co. Rachita Arora‘s background score, Dev Rao Jadhav‘s editing, and Biswapati Sarkar‘s writing are a few names to mention that they are responsible in the making of an excellent series.

And an Indian film or a TV show meeting a technical finishing with excellence rarely happens. But now I get to know that the show is renewed for the second season. And I cannot stop myself from admitting that I am a little impatient about the show’s return.

CLOSING REMARKS

Kaala Paani has a deeper message about the human evolution and survival. The entire defense of the governor on his action against the Oraka tribe is thought-provoking. Something inside us tell you that the failure in survival has put halt to many races and civilizations. To shape the world in the better direction or for a sustainable future, the old world has to collapse and disappear. Whether the wind of fortune takes them away or the poison of ego and hatred writes off their history. Only the strongest survives by defeating and killing the weaker. Kaala Paani just showed us the picture we do not want to see at all.

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MovieTalks

The Dark Knaik’s 9th FilmFair Awards 2022

INTRODUCTION

I welcome all of you to my 9th edition of Bollywood’s Best for a calendar year. An effort I have been making for my own version of Filmfare since 2014.

The reason for blogging this particular material for the past eight years is because I and surely most of you have understood for a long time that the most prestigious award which is Filmfare has lost its credibility for some decades. The deserving people most of the time do not even get nominated or if they do, they do not win. Many potential films are least considered or perhaps not at all for Filmfare. Why? A few bullet reasons can be a failure at the box office, or a not-so-well-known cast leading to a lack of interest despite having a potential story.

So, with such yearly disappointments, I got annoyed and felt I had had enough of this nonsense. And someone has to take the initiative. I do not claim that I am the first to start my own Filmfare but it has now become a part of my nature to honor and recognize with the highest possible accuracy in my decisions every year.

I promise and guarantee that my picks will not sound reward but an award. My decisions will not be biased but simply on my judgment scale. Many of my finalized nominations and winners are about to surprise you like every year.

From 2014 until 2021, click any report below you would like to visit.

2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019 2020 2021 

And since I have become a vlogger, a content creator, and a YouTuber, I am happy to inform all my readers that for the first time in 9 years, my annual report is transformed into a vlog. If you want to watch instead of reading, click below.

 

And I will no longer call my annual reports “My Bollywood’s Best of” whatever year. From this 9th edition, I am renaming it “The Dark Knaik’s FilmFair Awards”.

Note: “The Dark Knaik” is my avatar and the name of my YouTube channel. Subscribe to my channel here: https://youtube.com/@thedarkknaik

HOW FILMFAIR AWARDS ARE SHAPED?

Like every year, I present my nominations and winners for each category by dividing all the categories into three major sections.

The first is the ‘Musical Section’ that will have 6 categories.

Then the next is the ‘Technical Section’ that will consist of 12 categories.

And the last one is the ‘Major Section’ which will have 6 categories.

So, there will be 24 winners from 24 categories. And each category will have a maximum of 5 nominations.

Also, I will rank all the nominations of all the categories.

HOW WAS MY EXPERIENCE FOR 2022’S BOLLYWOOD?

I was generally disappointed after watching around 45 films from 2022. Bollywood had not much to offer, to be honest. There were several good stories but most of those failed due to bad execution. And then Bollywood’s mainstream aesthetics do not change. Unstoppable uninspiring musical scores, mentioning Salman Khan, needless songs, forced humor, unknown extras or unrelated characters knowing the dance steps in all the songs, stereotypical portrayals of hazuris and janabis, concluding the film on a terrible note, and many more.

THE DARK KNAIK’S 9TH FILMFAIR AWARDS

Readers!

The wait is over…

Allow me to honor Bollywood’s artistic and technical excellence in 2022.

MUSICAL SECTION

BEST BACKGROUND SCORE

CLINTON CEREJO (COBALT BLUE)

2nd. Kabeer Kathpalia (Gehraiyaan)

3rd. Tanuj Tiku (Laal Singh Chaddha)

 

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

GANESH ACHARYA – DANCE KA BHOOT (BRAHMĀSTRA)

2nd. Bosco–Caesar – Rangi Saari (JugJugg Jeeyo)

3rd. Kruti Mahesh – Dholida (Gangubai Kathiawadi)

 

BEST MALE PLAYBACK SINGER

SHAHID MALLIYA – NIRBHAU NIRVAIR (QALA)

2nd. Arijit Singh – Deva Deva (Brahmāstra)

3rd. Arijit Singh – Kesariya (Brahmāstra)

4th. Shadaab Faridi – Tur Kalleyan (Laal Singh Chaddha)

5th. Kanishk Seth – Rangi Saari (JugJugg Jeeyo)

 

BEST FEMALE PLAYBACK SINGER

KAVITA SETH – RANGI SAARI (JUGJUGG JEEYO)

2nd. Sireesha Bhagavatula – Phero Na Najariya (Qala)

3rd. Lothika Jha – Doobey (Gehraiyaan)

 

BEST SONG & LYRICS

KESARIYA – PRITAM, AMITABH BHATTACHARYA, ARIJIT SINGH (BRAHMĀSTRA)

2nd. Ghodey Pe Sawaar – Amit Trivedi, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Sireesha Bhagavatula (Qala)

3rd. Rangi Saari – Kanishk Seth, Kavita Seth (JugJugg Jeeyo)

4th. Aadhi Kahani – Vishal Mishra, Raj Shekhar, Jubin Nautiyal (Nazar Andaaz)

5th. Aadmi Bhutiya Hai – Shantanu Moitra, Rahgir (Sherdil)

 

BEST MUSIC

AMIT TRIVEDI (QALA)

2nd. Pritam (Laal Singh Chaddha)

3rd. Kabeer Kathpalia, Savera Mehta (Gehraiyaan)

4th. Pritam (Brahmāstra)

5th. Achint Thakkar (Monica, O My Darling)

TECHNICAL SECTION

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

SHEETAL IQBAL SHARMA (GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI)

 

2nd. Veera Kapur EE (Qala)

3rd. Priyanka Agarwal (Thar)

4th. Darshan Jalan & Neelanchal Ghosh (RK/RKay)

 

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS

DNEG & REDEFINE (BRAHMĀSTRA)

 

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

PREETISHEEL SINGH D’SOUZA (GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI)

2nd. Seema Mane, Rihead Ronni Jr. (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2)

3rd. Serina Tixiera (Thar)

4th. Nusrat Abbas Rizvi, Kajol Kanther (Cobalt Blue)

 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

MEENAL AGARWAL (QALA)

2nd. Subrata Chakraborty, Amit Ray (Gangubai Kathiawadi)

3rd. Amrita Mahal Kahai (Brahmāstra)

4th. Wasiq Khan (Thar)

5th. Sanjeev Khandekar, Vaishali Narkar (Cobalt Blue)

 

BEST SOUND DESIGN

KAAMOD L KHARDE (ANEK)

2nd. Bishwadeep Dipak Chatterjee (Brahmāstra)

3rd. Baylon Fonseca (Drishyam 2)

4th. Bishwadeep Dipak Chatterjee (Runway 34)

5th. Anthony B Jayaruban (Jalsa)

 

BEST EDITING

NITESH BHATIA (GEHRAIYAAN)

2nd. Sumeet Kotian (A Thursday)

3rd. Sandeep Francis (Drishyam 2)

4th. Aarti Bajaj (Thar)

5th. Dharmendra Sharma (Runway 34)

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

TIYASH SEN (SHERDIL)

2nd. Kaushal Shah (Gehraiyaan)

3rd. Sudeep Chatterjee (Gangubai Kathiawadi)

4th. Vincenzo Condorelli (Cobalt Blue)

5th. Ravi Varman (Salaam Venky)

 

BEST ACTION

SALAAM ANSARI (THAR)

2nd. Stefan Ritcher, Riyaz & Habib (Anek)

3rd. Vikram Dahiya (A Thursday)

4th. Dan Bradley, Diyan Hristov, Parvez Shaikh (Brahmāstra)

 

BEST STORY

R. BALKI (CHUP: REVENGE OF THE ARTIST)

2nd. Rajat Kapoor (RK/RKay)

3rd. Anirudh Iyer (An Action Hero)

4th. Prajwal Chandrashekhar, Suresh Triveni (Jalsa)

5th. Sunil Gandhi (Uunchai)

 

BEST SCREENPLAY

RAJ SINGH CHAUDHARY (THAR)

 

2nd. Ayesha DeVitre, Sumit Roy, Yash Sahai (Gehraiyaan)

3rd. Aamil Keeyan Khan, Abhishek Pathak (Drishyam 2)

 

BEST DIALOGUES

RAJAT KAPOOR (RK/RKAY)

2nd. Kanika Dhillon, Himanshu Sharma (Raksha Bandhan)

3rd. Srijit Mukherji, Sudeep Nigam, Atul Kumar Rai (Sherdil)

4th. Yash Sahai, Wajid Shaikh (Gehraiyaan)

5th. Vijay Maurya (A Thursday)

 

BEST SCENE

NIKO WITNESSING ARRESTS AND FIRE IN VILLAGE IN ONE-SHOT SCENE (ANEK)

 

2nd. Pushkar trying to eat a biscuit during a lamenting poetry from a distance (The Kashmir Files)

3rd. Alisha speaking about life and relations with her father (Gehraiyaan)

4th. Rookie Gangu’s first day at work on the door (Gangubai Kathiawadi)

MAJOR SECTION

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

ANUPAM KHER (THE KASHMIR FILES)

2nd. Shrikant Yadav (Jalsa)

3rd. Sanjay Dutt (Toolsidas Junior)

4th. Atul Kulkarni (A Thursday)

5th. Vijay Varma (Darlings)

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

SHEFALI SHAH (JALSA)

2nd. Mona Singh (Laal Singh Chaddha)

3rd. Sheeba Chaddha (Doctor G)

4th. Sayani Gupta (Sherdil)

5th. Simone Singh (Maja Ma)

 

BEST ACTOR

KUMUD MISHRA (NAZAR ANDAAZ)

2nd. Siddhant Chaturvedi (Gehraiyaan)

3rd. Akshay Kumar (Raksha Bandhan)

4th. Kartik Aaryan (Freddy)

5th. Pankaj Tripathi (Sherdil)

 

BEST ACTRESS

DEEPIKA PADUKONE (GEHRAIYAAN)

2nd. Alia Bhatt (Gangubai Kathiawadi)

3rd. Vidya Balan (Jalsa)

4th. Tabu (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2)

5th. Madhuri Dixit (Maja Ma)

 

BEST DIRECTOR

RAJ SINGH CHAUDHARY (THAR)

2nd. Sachin Kundalkar (Cobalt Blue)

3rd. Shakun Batra (Gehraiyaan)

4th. Suresh Triveni (Jalsa)

5th. Abhishek Pathak (Drishyam 2)

 

BEST FILM

DRISHYAM 2

2nd. Thar

3rd. Gehraiyaan

4th. Jalsa

5th. Cobalt Blue

TABLE OF MULTIPLE WINS & NOMINATIONS

MULTIPLE WINS & NOMINATIONS
WINS NOMS FILMS
3 9 Brahmāstra
3 8 Thar
3 6 Qala
2 12 Gehraiyaan
2 7 Gangubai Kathiawadi
2 3 Anek
1 7 Jalsa
1 6 Cobalt Blue
1 5 Sherdil
1 5 Drishyam 2
1 4 JugJugg Jeeyo
1 3 RK/Rkay
1 2 Nazar Andaaz
1 2 The Kashmir Files
1 1 Chup
4 Laal Singh Chaddha
4 A Thursday
2 Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2
2 Runway 34
2 Raksha Bandhan
2 Maja Ma
1 Monica, O My Darling
1 Salaam Venky
1 An Action Hero
1 Uunchai
1 Doctor G
1 Toolsidas Junior
1 Darlings
1 Freddy

Thank you for reading my annual Bollywood honors report. I will return with a new report next year. Share your opinion below.

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