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The Ones That Deserved Better in 2022
Why didn’t the audience turn up to see these well-made films?
- Laal Singh Chaddha: Aamir Khan is an actor known to be trusted by the audience. How could his judgement fail him so badly this time? Or was it something else? Maybe the audience doesn’t like remakes? If so, why did they flock to see Drishyam 2 ? Maybe they don’t like Hollywood remakes? It boggles the mind why Laal Singh Chaddha was rejected. Once in a while in this imperfect world we get a near-perfect film about flawed characters trying to stay on the straight and narrow path. Actor-turned-screenwriter Atul Kulkarni’s adaptation of Robert Zemeckis’ 1994 classic Forrest Gump is every bit as charming disarming and enchanting as the original, and then some more.Some characters specially that of the heroine is re-written to suit current times. But the spirit of innocence and faith remain intact. Through the naïve uncorrupted eyes of Laal Singh Chaddha we get a world-view of history as it unfolds from the Partition to the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
- Dhaakad: A fabulous action film with diligently choreographed action scenes Dhaakad relies almost entirely on treatment and execution. And kudos to debut director Razneesh Ghai for making the violence look so dirgefully dynamic; the bloodshed feels like a blizzard of remorse showered on an unrepentant conscience.Gory? Yes! Violent? Of course! We live in a violent world where an eye for an eye is not enough. It’s more like a limb for an eye. Seeing Kangana in the killer mode is reward enough for all the time we’ve had to bear with inept female heroes taking revenge on all mankind for wrongs done.Dhaakad is slyly slick,and remorselessly violent. It sticks to the point. And gets to brass tacks immediately. Kangana playing a spy named Agnee is assigned by her boss(the very capable Saraswat Chatterjee) to extract a human trafficker/drug dealer Rudraveer from his hideout. Dhaakad is a film in a hurry. It moves breathlessly from one fabulously-staged fight to another almost daring us to exhale. There is no time or space for anything but vendetta in Agnee’s ravaged life.While Kangana and Arjun Rampal roar in brilliance as adversaries there are three other stand-out performances by Divya Dutta, Saraswat Chatterjee and the underrated Sharib Hashmi.But the real star of the show after Kangana and Rampal is cinematographer Tetsuo Nagata. Even when the frames ooze blood Nagata makes the film look like poetry in commotion.
- Jersey: This is a film that is not afraid to flirt with broad emotions. It plunges into its protagonist’s life with a fervent gusto,sparing us none of his anguished self-loathing for being a loser, specially in the eyes of his wife and son.The father-son bonding is crucial to the efficacy of this mellow drama. Shahid Kapoor, giving what could arguably rank as his career’s best performance, bonds beautifully with his screen son played by Ronit Kamra. It’s a pleasure beyond measure to see the two of them together. Even when they don’t speak to each other, the father and son are heartbreaking in their mutual devotion.
- Goodbye: In 2022 there were other films on a death in the family like Ram Prasad Ki Tehrvi and Paglaitt. In spirit, Goodbye is closer to the former, though the only similarity between the two films is a sudden death in the family. In Ram Prasad… it was Supriya Pathak coping with the death of her husband and the drama of push and pull of interests that follows.Amitabh Bachchan in Goodbye as Harish Bhalla, the patriarch of the family is a bristling bundle of ire and sarcasm. His abnormal aggression at his loss targets all his children especially the daughter Gayatri(Rashmika Mandanna). Many times as this lengthy film moves from tragedy to acceptance , you will find yourself connecting to the tamasha that ensues after a death in the family. Vikas Bahl is very good at juicing the contradictions and hypocrisy that underline the tragedy. he blemishes in the script(and that includes a long unnecessary moaning monologue by Mr Bachchan about his dead wife’s half-empty bottle of shampoo lying in the bathroom, etc etc) are swept away by the genuinely moving episodes and some validating performances especially by Pavail Gulati,Elli AvrRam, Sunil Grover(as the coolest godman in Hardwar), Ashish Vidyarthi, Divya Seth, Shayank Shukla(as the snivelling cousin getting ritual instructions on the phone), Martin Jishil(as the guy who informs Mandanna of her mother’s death) and of course Mr Bachchan. Neena Gupta plays the corpse with dead seriousness.
- Salaam Venky: Revathi’s Salaam Venky doesn’t give us a choice. We HAVE to like, if not love ,this big-hearted film about a dying son and his tirelessly devoted mother. Apparently based on a true story,the film clasps us in a tight embrace not allowing us to breathe. So overpowering is its commitment to wrenching tears out of us that the narrative frequently becomes melodramatic and maudlin, going as far as to making the mother sing a lullabye on her son’s death bed.Seriously! What can we do except to surrender to director Revathi’s sentimental journey into the heart of a soap opera ,played out with finesse,I might add.No one can fault Salaam Venky for faltering in its commitment to communicating the mother’s grief. Kajol as the strong solidly nurturing Sujata curbs her tendency to shriek and shout. She has played that kind of a hyperventilating mother quite recently in Helicopter Eela. This time she is far more restrained and implosive, thanks to Revathi’s direction which impels the matriarch to bleed in places that cannot be seen.
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Aamir Khan’s Sister Plays Shah Rukh’s Mother In Pathaan

Ever since Pathaan released on Wednesday, audiences have been curious to know who is the woman who plays Shah Rukh Khan’s adoptive mother in Afghanistan. The stately lady with royal looks is none other than the late producer Tahir Hussain’s daughter and Aamir Khan’s elder sister Nikhat Khan.
Nikhat has been closely associated with the film industry and has helped her father in the production of his films like Dulha Bikta Hai and Tum Mere Ho.
Nikhat has acted earlier in the Akshay Kumar starrer Mission Mangal , Ajay Devgan’s Tanhaji and in Sandh Ki Aankh(as a Maharani).
For Pathaan, it was Shah Rukh Khan who suggested Nikhat Khan should play his foster-mother in Afghanistan who names him ‘Pathaan’. It proved to be an inspired piece of casting, as audience have loved Nikhat Khan’s cameo.
It is heartwarming that all three Khan superstars are associated with Pathaan in one way or the other.
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Anurag Kashyap’s New Film Is About Love Jihad

Love Jihad, whatever that means, is the theme of Anurag Kashyap’s new film Almost Pyaar With D J Mohabbat.
Debutant Karan Mehta plays a Muslim boy in an intense relationship with Alaya F who plays a Hindu girl.Kashyap has spared the audience none of the ugliness that such a relationship generates among social-media bouncers, the self-styled guardian of morality .
In the hardhitting powerful and pertinent film a bigot is heard commenting snidely, “These people first talk about Mohabbat. Then they talk about Mohammed.”
Happily and surprisingly, the Central Board Of Film Certification gave the film a ‘UA’ certificate with no cuts: a rare non-‘A’ film of Kashyap.
So far Kashyap and his team have kept the Love Jihad part of the plot out of all media interaction.
But the cat is now out of the bag.
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Samantha Ruth Prabhu to Star Alongside Varun Dhawan in Prime Video’s Indian Original Series , Samantha Speaks

Samantha Ruth Prabhu will be starring alongside Varun Dhawan in the Indian installment of the Citadel universe, the global-event series from Prime Video and the Russo Brothers’ AGBO. The untitled Citadel series based out of India is being helmed by renowned creator duo Raj & DK (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK), who are the showrunners and directors.
The local installment is written by Sita R. Menon, along with Raj & DK. The streaming service also confirmed that the production is currently underway in Mumbai. After this, the unit will head to North India and then onwards to international locales like Serbia and South Africa.
Richard Madden (Bodyguard) and Priyanka Chopra Jonas will star in the first-to-launch series within the Citadel universe, which comes from the Russo Brothers’ AGBO along with David Weil (Hunters) and is set to premiere in 2023. Alongside Madden and Chopra Jonas, the first-to-launch Citadel series will also feature Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games saga). Additional local-language Citadel productions are also in the works, including an Italian Original series starring Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing).
Speaking on her participation in The Citadel franchise for the first time,Samantha says, “When Prime Video and Raj & DK approached me with this project, I decided to take it up in a heartbeat! After working with this team on The Family Man, it is homecoming for me.The Citadel universe, the interconnected storylines between the productions across the globe, and most importantly, the script of the Indian installment really excited me.”
Samantha says she is looking forward to working with Varun Dhawan . “I am thrilled to be a part of this brilliant universe conceptualised by the Russo Brothers. I am also looking forward to be working with Varun for the first time, on this project. He is someone who is full of life and cheer when you’re around him.”
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Bollywood’s Achche Din Have Come

All you doomsday prophets, the booms-day profits are here. Pathaan has opened the floodgates again for Bollywood’s bumper bonanza at the boxoffice.And now there is only the achche din ahead for Hindi cinema.
In the next two months there are three sureshot blockbusters coming up, beginning with Shehzada. An astute devilishly impish adaptation of Allu Arjun’s 2020 Telugu blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.The super-popular Kartik Aaryan gives his own spin to the character. This performance will take Kartik to the next level of stardom. Kartik’s version of Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is radically different from its Telugu version. Shehzada takes the core idea of the Telugu original and turns it into a something completely different. Kartik’s co-star in Shehzada is Kriti Sanon with whom he earlier shared superhit space in Lukka Chuppi.
Then there is Luv Ranjan’s ravishing rom-com Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. The director’s male viewpoint on the chaos of love relationships crests to a comic high in his latest. Ranjan for the first time, collaborates with Ranbir Kapoor for the first time collaborates with Shraddha Kapoor who badly needs a hit.This film should do the trick. The winsome lead pair tries to do one another in a game of Luv This is Luv Ranjan’s Hum…Aapke Hain Con. Ranjan has in the past used the romcom space to entertain his audience to the hilt, he says this time the stakes are different. It is not something we’ve seen before.
Finally it is Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. Karan Johar’s first directorial in six years(not counting the one segment each in Ghost Stories and Lust Stories). This time he has assembled a dream star-cast of Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Ranveer Singh and the boxoffice darling(s) Alia Bhatt. But trust me, this one is not about assembling stars into a complacent plot. The writing in this zany Romeo & Juliet is so crisp and engrossing, the experience is likely to be the visual version of a multi-flavour icrecream cone. Colour, choler and karma collide in this tragic-comic love story . Let the box office dhamaka begin from the house of Dharma.
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