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On the shelf
GULAAB GANG CAST: MADHURI DIXIT, JUHI CHAWLA, TANNISHTHA CHATTERJEE, PRIYANKA BOSE DIRECTION: SOUMIK SEN GENRE: DRAMA, SOCIAL CRITIC’S RATING:
SAHARRSH
NAZAQAT
G
ulaab Gang is definitely inspired by the life of Sampat Pal, the lady who found the Gulabi Gang and is still running it. Right from the name to the premises of the story, it obviously has its foundations somewhere in the life of Sampat Pal. Gulaab Gang as a movie, works and fails at many levels. The biggest positive of the movie is Juhi Chawla playing the ruthless politician Sumitra Devi. She plays the evil role with such eeriness and convincing skills that it is scary, literally. With her steely eyes, ruthless tone and the most apathetic attitude towards anybody and everybody, Sumitra Devi perfectly embodies today’s Indian politician. Standing in her way to receive a hefty bribe via a collector is Rajjo (Madhuri Dixit). The collector and the politician are looking for a big pay day before they grant the village electricity and the villagers turn to Rajjo. She runs an ashram for women, the dress code for which is pink. She has a knack of solving things her way if the Gandhian way fails, which is often the case. She tries reasoning with the collector, but fails and this is when she plans a confrontation and the movie goes horribly wrong. Sudden, unnecessary song sequences can be called the biggest weak point of this movie. They are awkwardly squeezed in and they contribute nothing to the plot. When Rajjo finally clashes with Sumitra Devi, you expect nothing short of lightning in view of two very strong personalities coming face to face. Sadly, each of the confrontation scenes fizz out even before they begin. The movie loses both plot and steam midway and results in a very lackluster, predictable and disappointing climax.
(FICTION) AUTHOR: SASHA H SINGHAL PUBLISHER: HALF BAKED BEANS PAGES: 204 PRICE: `125
SANKALPITA SINGH
S
asha H Singh a l ’s Nazaqat, is a scandalizing and scintillating story of evil, greed, lust, money and power. The book revolves around a girl named Nazaqat. She is extremely beautiful and always gets what she wants. Money, power, men; you name it and they are all at her feet. One truth about Nazaqat, her profession is prostitution. Naazani Singh Shekhawat is a lonely girl from Dehradun, who after having lived a life of anonymity and desolation, finally finds herself in Delhi. She meets ambitious and opportunist, Sharat in Delhi and she soon becomes Nazaqat from Naazani. Fast forward many years, Naazani is older now, but more mature and somewhere within her, Nazaqat is now dead. What more? She has been recently accused of murdering her close friend Biplab. Sometime ago, she had also filed a petition to completely legalize prostitution in India. As a result, she is constantly making headlines too. Now she needs someone to immortalize her, someone who can narrate her story to the world. She finds that someone in Mathews, a struggling writer who many years ago had interviewed her. So what will Mathews discover? Why did Nazaqat become who she did and what was her motive in doing so? Where is she now? Who killed Biplab and why? You will discover all this and much more in this provocative tale of high paced drama and emotions, as Nazaqat opens herself in a ten night series of rendezvous with Mathews. The book is written beautifully with the characters, the drama and the action woven so intricately yet so vividly. The suspense continues till the end, and I am sure that while reading the climax you will definitely feel, “I did not see that coming”. The language used is rich and the author managed to create an aura around Nazaqat that will captivate and seduce a reader right till the end. Though the book is very good, there is definitely scope for improvement in terms of plot. Overall it is a good read.
WHEN YOU BECAME MY LIFE
Kudos to Juhi Chawla, who proved her mettle yet again. This is a role which would have gotten her an academy nomination, had she been in Hollywood. Rest assured this will go unnoticed by the entire jury clan,
since this is not a commercial movie, but she still has a good chance of winning a national award for this. As for the director, shameful act of ignoring someone like Sampat Pal, this is nothing short of piracy for me.
BANGAARU KODI PETTA
Lacks the drama
CAST: NAVDEEP, SWATHI REDDY, SANTOSH, RAM-LAXMAN DIRECTION: RAJ PIPPALLA GENRE: CRIME, COMEDY CRITIC’S RATING:
RAJA SATISH
T
he title Bangaaru Kodi Petta just stays as an allegory to unlimited human wants and how greed creeps in when you need, or don’t need money. The film struggles to find its genre and thus it falls short of being a crime film or a comedy. On top of it, director Raj Pippalla tried to give it a tinge of world cinema by collating set pieces from many films. The film starts in a true Vantage Point style with some doses of non-linear narration. There is a problem and three characters who seem to be strangers cross paths, then the film flings back in time to tell their stories and what brought them together. Bhanu (Swathi) loses her job as she is averse to her boss’ sexual innuendos. To come out of her debts, she hatches a robbery plan with her colleague and admirer Vamshi (Navdeep). In another story, a long feud between two brothers
Reel Review
Kangana is back and how!
(FICTION) AUTHOR: ANSHUL SHARMA PUBLISHER: SRISHTI PUBLICATIONS PAGES: 192 PRICE: `100
SANKALPITA SINGH
T
he book is based in the city of love, rich culture and literary heritage, Agra. And as I hail from the same city, just like the author, this book got me reading with a lot of expectations. The story is based on Neev, a 20-yearold man from Haryana, who after having lost his parents and everything dear, arrives at his friend Aadi’s place in Agra. As a step towards starting life anew, he soon starts working as a lecturer in Gyanlal Girls College, where his friend Aadi also works as an accounts manager. As Neev starts settling into his new job and new home, he finds himself attracted to Aashi who is Aadi’s sister and studies in the same college where Neev currently works. Knowing that getting into a relationship with Aashi would be nothing but a breach of trust, he vows not to fall for Aashi. But twisted are the ways of destiny and love, Neev soon finds himself irrevocably in love with her and they start dating each other, but keep it a secret. On fine day everyone finds out about their relationship and Neev is scowled upon by Aadi’s family. Finally, after the much convincing, as their relationship was just on the verge of being granted acceptance, Aashi falls ill and is found to be suffering from an incurable disease. Life could have been perfect for Neev, but that’s not what fate had in store for him. The story though fresh, is marked by boring conversations and narratives. The language used is very simple and of little literary value. Some plots, I felt were rushed through too quickly to let the readers appreciate their presence. In addition to all this, one major point which disappointed me was the ill use of Agra’s romantic setting in the love story. Needless to say, the book did not live up to my expectations. (These reviews were also published on www.bookgeeks.in)
SUBHASH K JHA
T
here are some films that you simply don’t want to end. And when they do, you want to spring out of your seat and give the darned thing a standing ovation. Queen, directed by Chillar Party co-director, Vikas Bahl is that rarity. Its thematic elegance and narrative wisdom surpasses anything that you might have come to expect from the frothy ebullient trailers. The film begins with another big fat Punjabi wedding and before we know it, the narrative takes wings, much like its protagonist Rani, played by the bornagain Kangana Ranaut. In Queen, Kangana gets her groove back. She is so in-sync with her character that you wonder if the story was written according to the emotions that the actress had stored in her heart. There is stark honesty about Kan-
gana’s portrayal of the Delhi girl who is deserted by her husband-to-be, days before the wedding. The director turns the often-repeated tale of betrayal and self-
realization into an ode to womanhood. Vikas Bahl possesses a keen eye for physical and emotional details. He makes astounding use of a wide spectrum of to-
Same story, bigger canvas SAHARRSH
S
ince the last couple of years, we have seen a windfall of sequels and the 2006 action thriller 300 also finally decided to jump onto the wagon. Noam Murro’s 300 created quite a wave when it first came out, instantly becoming the cult. The story of 300: Rise of an Empire does not begin from the point where the first one ended. What we see on screen is the same story with a bigger canvas and enormous presentation. Rise of an Empire is about the same war that the Spartans fought with valor and their genuine six packs. The hero of the movie is Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton), who is a strategic warrior with a keen eye for war tactics. With his art of deception and flawless strategies, he is able to win a few battles against the Persian army which is attacking the Greeks. The same army, whose one part massacred the Spartans in the first one.
While that battle was lost by the 300 brave souls, Themistokles wins a few on his front. The Persian army commanded by Artemisia (Eva Green) is formidable and ten times the size of the Greeks. They are about to crush the Greeks after their initial losses, but thanks to the political mind of Themistokles, the entire Greece comes together as one army and crushes the Persians to save the day. The slow motion action sequences, the gory spatters of blood everywhere, the mind blowing graphics of two naval fleets clashing with each other is what makes this one so watchable. Just like the last one, the only armor the men wear in this one is their six packs. The only reason to fear the women in the movie, just like the last one, is their power to seduce and their ability to be ruthless. Mind numbing gory details, blood spatters and insane CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery), can’t expect more from an action movie.
in a village throws open avenues to others to make money out of it. There’s a kidnap drama involving a girl and a chicken (the only reference to a hen in the film). The story of a poor, struggling actor completes the lineup. Bangaaru Kodi Petta runs in a hyperlink format connecting the stories of these three principal characters. Swathi has played her part well and tied the movie together with her presence. Navdeep passed the muster, but couldn’t radiate his charisma. Venu checked the buttons of the emotional quotient with his performance as a pizza delivery boy, aiming to make it big in life. The first half is tad slow and craves for pace. The film gets into a power play mode towards the end and results into a predictable climax. Critically-acclaimed director duo Raj and DK find a mention in the creative consultation department, so the intriguing question is, when so many people laid hands on this project, why didn’t it lay golden eggs?
QUEEN CAST: KANGANA RANAUT, RAJKUMMAR RAO, LISA HAYDON DIRECTION: VIKAS BAHL GENRE: DRAMA CRITIC’S RATING: pography from Delhi to Paris to Amsterdam, to give specificity to the protagonist’s obvious weaknesses and inner strengths. Kangana’s face and body-language do the rest. She lives through every moment of Rani’s journey. There is something magical about the way Bahl uses Kangana’s artless vulnerability to express the character’s hurt and desire, sometimes both in the same breath. From Rani’s parents to her Parisian friend Vijayalaxmi to her three male room-mates in Amsterdam, everyone makes a space in your heart forever. The brilliantly transitional screenplay has no jagged edges. Ranaut’s performance holds the film together even as Rajkummar Rao as the selfish fiancé and Lisa Haydon as Rani’s bohemianParisian pal lend added colour to the bewitching canvas. The smallest of the roles are performed with unconditional conviction. So if you miss Queen that would be your loss entirely.
300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE CAST: SULLIVAN STAPLETON, EVA GREEN, RODRIGO SANTORO, LENA HEADEY, CALLAN MULVEY DIRECTION: NOAM MURRO GENRE: ACTION, DRAMA CRITIC’S RATING: