Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Priyanka Chopra
Directed by Seth Gordon
Rating: *** ½(3 and a half stars)
The vicious reviews in the foreign press are hard to digest. Really, what do you expect Baywatch to be? Gone With The Wind-Surf?
No seriously, isn’t self-mockery the only way a 40-year old franchise can survive with its head above the ocean water? Baywatch has a swanky sexy swing to its gait even now. You just need to get into the swing of things.
Do not, repeat DO NOT, get judgemental about its amplified level of asininity, or the hammy bimbo-meets-beefcake performances. Just go with the aqueous flow and you are bound to turn the tides of the tripe to your own advantage.
The characters are all beachside prototypes…you know, heroic in a very cheesy way.
There is a rescue sequence in mid-ocean where a boat catches fire.One by one the lifeguards run into the water at high-speed, the slow-mo credo temporarily abandoned. The valour is strictly of thedimestore variety. And the dialogues that Mitch(Dwayne Johnson) mouths would put Chinese cookies to shame.
A lot of the phallic/flatulence/ fornication gags have been wiped out by the Indian censor board. But you really can’t the cheesiness out ofBaywatch. It’s like taking the cheese out of the burger.
The cheesiest of the lot—and hence the most enjoyable character—is Matt Brody an Olympian swimmer who has fallen on hard days but continues to be pompous and selfobsessed to the point of seeming a parody of Ayn Rand’s Howard Rourke in bulgy trousers with biceps to match.
The sporting Zac Efron plays this characters with lipsmackingrelish.His over-the-top portrayal jells well with the mood of amped-up sea slickness that this film specializes in.Efron even musters the temerity to look at the breasts of a female lifeguard he has just crushed over.When she points out his crass behaviour he says it’s compliment.
Don’t look for political correctness in Baywatch. The actors just ham for no better reason than to nail the Baywatch spirit to the nearest lamp post and watch the neighbourhood dog pee on it.
And now for our own Priyanka Chopra. Such a massive disappointment. Such a betrayal of trust, having told us over and over again that she plays the arch villain, it’s more like the ouch villain. She’s barely seen on screen for a few minutes. And when she does appear she hams her lines trying to appear evil.
Priyanka Chopra is the intentional comic relief of a film that needs no such relief. If you insist on laughter , try the nerdy Ronnie(Jon Bass) who gets his heart lodged in his colleague’s vagina and his penis lodged in a beach chair.
Baywatch never opts for ennui as a decent alternative to smutty entertainment.It lets out a welter of off-colour humour in scenes that have been written to spotlight Dwayne ‘Rock’ Johnson’s dexterity with dumbness. You can’t afford to miss his, and this film’s gumption/.

Exclusive Premium Content
Pink Director’s Next Featuring Yami As A Crime Reporter To Stream From February 16

Anniruddha Roy Chowdhury whose Pink featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu was one of the most important films of 2016, is all set to release his next Hindi film.
Entitled Lost, Anniruddha’s film , based on true events, will see Yami Gautam Dhar(that’s what the actress calls herself after her marriage) as a crime journalist. LOST is an emotional social thriller that represents a higher quest, a search for lost values of empathy and integrity.
Inspired by true events, Lost is a story of a bright young woman crime reporter in her relentless search for the truth behind the sudden disappearance of a young theatre activist.

Lost
Says Aniruddha “The shoot of LOST has been an incredible journey. I have been eager for the release of our hard-worked venture. The film is a realistic highlight of media in a social context and I am sure that it will give the audience a compelling watch. I am curious about its release and see the responses it shall get. I hope they will welcome it with open hearts.”
Yami Gautam Dhar who plays the lead of the crime reporter says, “I can’t be happier and more proud of the film’s selection for the opening night at CSAFF. I feel like its one that the people will connect to and will be the one that you cannot miss, especially in the current age and time. I have loved playing this role because it was such a special experience, it allowed me to explore so many layers of emotions as an actor and the entire team has worked really hard on it. I genuinely cannot wait for the film’s release, especially to see the reactions of the audience to it.”
The crime investigation drama boasts a stellar cast. Along with Yami, the film will feature Pankaj Kapur, Rahul Khanna, and an ensemble of younger talent, including Neil Bhoopalam, Pia Bajpai, and Tushar Pandey, in pivotal roles.
Exclusive Premium Content
Jamuna Had A Love-Hate Relationship With Bollywood

Veteran Telugu actress Jamuna who passed away on Friday, shared an uneasy relationship with the Hindi film industry.She did eleven Hindi films including the iconic Milan in 1967 where Jamuna agreed to play the second lead, or the supporting role if you will, to Nutan.
Jamuna as Gauri was the Other Woman who craved for the hero Sunil Dutt’s attention whereas he had eyes and devotion only for Nutan. In later years Aruna Irani played a similar role in Caravan.
In Milan Jamuna was not keen to do a supporting role. Producer L V Prasad tempted her with three chartbusting songs. Besides, Jamuna had played the same role in Mooga Manasulu, the Telugu original of Milan. But it was the songs composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal which convinced Jamuna to take up the second lead in Milan.
While Nutan had no solo songs in Milan, she did have the chartbuster duet Sawan ka mahina . Jamuna on the other hand, had two splendid Lata Mangeshkar solos: Tohey saawariya naahin khabariya and the magnificent Ghazal Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin.Not only these, Jamuna also had a hit duet with Mukesh based on her character Gauri: Bol Gauri bol tera kaun piya.
But then, fate intervened. After the film released one of Jamuna’s solos, the poignant and memorable Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin was snipped out of the film.
Here is what happened: the Ghazal , one of Lataji’s all-time greats, was very much a part of Milan when it released on 17 March 1967. But then it was seen to hamper the flow of the film and edited out. The beautiful song occurred right after intermission. Producer Prasad, a shrewd filmmaker, got to know that audiences prolonged their loo breaks as there was a song after the break. Hence the sacrifice of a seriously sonorous melody.
Jamuna hardly did Hindi films after Milan. Her last Bollywood appearance was in Raj Kumar Kohli’s Raj Tilak where she was lost in a multistarrer as the royal queen.
Exclusive Premium Content
Karan Johar Moves Alia Song From Switzerland To Kashmir

The romantic duet in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani which was to be shot in Switzerland and which was delayed due to the film’s leading lady Alia Bhatt’s motherhood, is now being relocated to Kashmir.
Purely out of the love for new mom Alia.
Says a source in the know, “Karan loves Alia like his own daughter. He would do anything for her. He postponed the release of Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani as the love duet could not be shot before Alia’s maternity leave. Karan had decided to shoot the song in Switzerland after Alia’s maternity love. But now he has relocated the song to Kashmir as Alia doesn’t want to leave her baby girl behind for long stretches.”
And as Karan Johar argued, snow is snow. How does it matter whether it is Switzerland or Kashmir?
This song would be Karan Johar’s tribute to his idol Yash Chopra. Alia would be dressed in chiffon sarees while Ranveer, for a change, would be seen in formals.
Exclusive Premium Content
Bobby Deol’s Switchover To Villainous Roles

After Prakash Jha’s webseries Ashram where Bobby played a sleazy godman, and Love Hostel where he was a ruthless assassin, he is playing the villain to Ranbir Kapoor in Sandeep Vanga’s Animal.
Bobby says it is not conscious career decision to play negative characters but a conscious decision to play interesting characters. “ I don’t look at characters as positive or negative.When I watch films there is always one character that stays with you. I want to play that character.”
Prakash Jha’s Ashram proved a gamechanger for Bobby. He admits finding challenging roles is tough. “I am trying. I am doing Sandeep Vanga’s Animal with Ranbir Kapoor , Parineeti Chopra. Then I am doing the family film Apne 2 which I am very excited about.”
In an earlier interview with this writer Bobby spoke about his long absence from screen before Prakash Jha’s Ashram. “My fans would ask why I wasn’t being seen on the screen.And I couldn’t tell them it was because I wasn’t getting good roles. But my fans stood by me. They gave me the strength to keep looking for the right roles. Thankfully I found the roles I liked. My new films have given me some new fans. I am thankful I am still here. Yeah , I am in a good space right now.”
-
Exclusive Premium Content4 days ago
Pathaan Is A Slick Spin On SRK’s Stardom
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Has Mahesh Bhatt Undergone Heart Surgery? Bhatt Clarifies
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
What Happened To Hera Pheri 3?
-
Exclusive Premium Content6 days ago
Would Gautam Tinnanuri’s Film Save Vijay Deverakonda’s Career?
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
On To The Oscar, RRR Team To Focus On Naatu Naatu
-
Exclusive Premium Content5 days ago
Chhatriwali So Earnest Yet So Awful
-
Exclusive Premium Content6 days ago
Hema Malini On Working With Ramesh Sippy
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Mission Majnu: Crossborder Rom-Kaum
-
Exclusive Premium Content5 days ago
India Shines bright at the Oscars
-
Exclusive Premium Content5 days ago
No Leading Lady For Akshay Kumar In C Sankaran Nair Bio-pic
-
Exclusive Premium Content3 days ago
5 Most Relevant Patriotic Songs
-
Exclusive Premium Content3 days ago
“Professionally, What A Year It Has Been For Me,” Raveena Tandon On Her Padma Shri
-
Exclusive Premium Content3 days ago
Pathaan Collects 55 crore nett in India On Day 1
-
Bollywood News3 days ago
Undekhi A Dark Compelling Thriller Set In The Heartland
-
Exclusive Premium Content4 days ago
Will Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan Break All His Previous Records?
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
To Avoid Questions On Nepotism, Raj Santoshi Keeps His Daughter Out Of Media interactions
-
Exclusive Premium Content3 days ago
Salman-Shah Rukh’s Hilarious Take On The Khan Hegemony
-
Bollywood News3 days ago
Phil Ivey’s Net Worth (Updated 2021)
-
Topics3 days ago
Movierulz 2021: Download Movies for Free
-
Bollywood News3 days ago
Stephanie Beacham’s Net Worth (Updated 2021)