Starring:Morgan Freeman, Marc Rufallo,Woody Harrelson, Daniel Radcliff, Michael Caine
Directed by: John M Chu
Movie Review: Once in a while an all-pervasive silliness grips great actors.Hence Marlon Brandon, considered by many to be the greatest actor ever born , did The Island Of Dr Moreau in the twilight of his career.
One hopes the very skilled actor Morgan Freeman is far from the twilight zone of his career. If he continues doing the Now You See Me series, we may not bear to see him for too long. Stricken with a supreme and ceaseless silliness Now You See Me 2, the sequel to the inexplicably successful 2013 film which cracked the universal code of collective idiocy,is just as unbearably gratuitous as the first film.And then some more.
Freeman plays a disgruntled magician monitoring the moves of the plot’s core team with a solemnity that defies all the laws of gravity. Another Stalwart Michael Caine shows up in this tawdry mish-mash as a vendetta-seeking tycoon while Daniel Radcliffe that affable chap who iconized himself as Harry Potter, plays Caine’s son.
Caine flaring his nostrils to show a savage indignation and Radcliffe trying hard to get a grip over his slippery role, reminded me of Amrish Puri and Shakti Kapoor in the Bollywood potboilers of the 1980s, except that they were more fun to watch.
The sequel to the magicians’ guide to how to make fool of audiences while laughing all the way to the bank,recklessly exchanges opportunities to explore the age-old relationship between the art of magic and the realm of the rationale for utterly inane and juvenile episodes of opulent adventurism peppered with dialogues that seem to have been coined to show how stiff uni-dimensional characters may sound when they are not provided a broad enough canvas to extend their heroism into a palate of believable bravura.
Everyone is trying to oneup without knowing what the stakes are.
It’s truly dismaying to see great actors like Morgan Freeman and Mark Ruffalo(the latter, still fresh in our minds as the fearless investigative reporter in Spotlight) squander away their habitual equipoise to display what can at best be called the fatuous heroism of the boys-will-be-boys variety.
The plot creates unwarranted tangles within caper-esque wangles designed to dazzle the senses with optical illusions as replacement for true grit and sincere skill. Director John M Chu is a master-conjurer. In his earlier directorial escapades such as the Step Up series Chu has shown us how visual velocity can cover up for a lack of directorial density. The formula doesn’t work here. The presentation is tawdry and tinselled. Parts of the proceedings ,with the core cast performing designer-virtuosity on stage, look like Farah Khan’s Happy New Year.
And that is not an encouraging sign at all. The plot thickens and congeals with every twist and turn. The very talented Woody Harrelson shows up in a double role, one of them wearing a ludicrous wig that seems to fit not Harrelson’s head but the mind-space that this feather-brained adventure story occupies with preening self-confidence.
Do yourself a favour. Stay away from this film even if you don’t get tickets for Udta Punjab.Now You See Me 2makes Happy New Year look inviting.And that’s scary.

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Why On Earth Is Sushmita Sen Smoking A Cigar In Aarya’s First Look?

Season 3 of Aarya is being shot as you read this, and naturally Sushmita Sen is super-kicked about it, so kicked that she has put out a video where she is seen in the best Lady Boss version of herself.
Alarmingly, she is seen puffing away at a cigar, to complete her Badass Lady Boss image.
There was a time when women smoking cigarettes in Hindi cinema signaled vampishness. If a female actor was shown smoking it meant she had evil designs over the hero, and life in general.
Sushmita being Sushmita, a cigarette won’t do. A cigar it is, to go with her formidable image. The last Bollywood actor I saw smoking a cigar on screen was Premnath in the 1970s. Back then so many people didn’t die of cancer by smoking.
These are different far more dangerous and deadly times.
Sushmita is an iconic actor.She needs to be more careful about the image she projects . Smoking a cigar doesn’t enhance a woman’s(or a man’s) muscle power. Nor does it make her look cool.
About shooting for the third season of Aarya Sushmita says, “Aarya is synonymous with my name. I have lived as Aarya for two whole seasons and the love received by the audiences has only encouraged me to do more. Walking on the sets of Aarya Season 3 makes me feel at home and gives me a sense of empowerment. I’m grateful to the entire team at Disney+ Hotstar, Ram Madhvani Films and Endemol Shine India for the vision of creating Aarya and taking it to newer heights with every season.”
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Shah Rukh, Deepika, John Will Meet The Media On Monday At 4 pm(But There’s A Catch)

Pathaan has effectually discredited the efficacy of media interactions to promote a film. The film’s lead actors Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham did not conduct any press or portal interviews to promote the film.
And yet Pathaan is a blockbuster.
This weekend the Pathaan producer Aditya Chopra of Yash Raj Films took a call on behalf of the Pathaan team to do one media meet at the Taj Land’s End in Mumbai on Monday January 30 at 4 pm.
The three principal actors and director Siddharth Malhotra will address the media.
But here’s the catch: the media will not be allowed to ask any questions. There will be no Q& A s or one-on-one interactions.This basically means that the Pathaan team will have an opportunity to say what it wants to the media. But the media will have no say.
Make what you will of this one-way traffic.
A source close to Yash Raj informs me that this is the pattern regarding the media that Yash Raj will follow for future releases: no press meets no promotional engagements.
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Fake Projects of Pathaan Director Being Planted In Media

Siddharth Anand Denies Considering Any Project With Deepak Mukut
A word of caution to those marketing and publicity wizkids who think it’s okay to plant fake stories on (fake) projects with the Pathaan director.
It is not.
Such baseless announcements are meant only to raise the equity of the producers with whom Siddharth Anand’s name is linked. One such producer whose name has cropped up after the spectacular success of Pathaan is Deepak Mukut.
There were reports everywhere that Siddharth Anand’s next would be with Mukut.
Turned out to be a false rumour.
A source in the know informs, “Siddharth now has to complete Fighter starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone for Yash Raj.Then he is committed to direct the sequel to War 2 for Yash Raj films. They will then start work on the next film in the Pathaan franchise. There is no scope or room for any outside projects for Siddharth Anand. So every announcement that you read of a new film to be directed by Siddharth Anand for an outside producer is likely to be a hundred percent fake.”
When I asked Siddharth Anand about the supposed project with producer Deepak Mukut he promptly replied, “NOT AT ALL.”
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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.
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