[fhdowntheline]

Is it me or is it that some of the reigning male "stars" are beginning to look jaded and "same" in every movie. Starting with SRK, Salman Khan, Akshay, Ajay D, even a relative newcomer like Pankaj Tripathi. I liked Hrithik in Vikram Vedha more than Fighter honestly. His Fighter character could have been anybody in the role. Even Bobby, who is enjoying a second wind, should be careful not to get caught up in "cold menacing" typecast.
In contrast, Crew was mostly fun, part nonsense, but the ladies really lit up the screen. Shorn of her glamour requirements, Kareena has more elan and freedom in her characterization. Tabu is quite seasoned, and Kriti is always a delight to watch. So was Trupti Khamkar in her tough Customs inspector act. Even the guys-Diljit Dosanjh, Rajesh Sharma, Saswata (Bob Biswas!) and Kapil were a refreshing presence.

[DogNDamsel12]

Movie: Chamkila
Rating : 4.5/5
Streaming on : Netflix

First awesomeness is that the movie is a biopic on a so-called "dirty" singer. I love stories that pick up real life stories, and are original.

Second awesomeness, the actors - Diljeet Dosanjh & Parineeti rock the show and how!

Third awesomeness - It is signature Imtiaz Ali and A.R. Rahman. Imtiaz knows how to present the story visually, where the audience can struggle to understand, so he knows how to use graphics in a manner that is engaging for the viewer. Rahman knows how to make everything come alive and yet not compete with the saga of another singer.

It is a tragedy, and the treatment of the subject with appropriate comic timing and keeping together the somberness of it all .... I am blown away!

[ABHI_1512]

Amar Singh Chamkila- Netflix

First disclaimer- big admirer of Imtiaz Ali and his movies right from his debut- Socha Naa Tha. So when this movie was announced, I was eagerly waiting for the movie since it was announced. The movie almost follows a documentary style since the scenes featuring the original Amar Singh were cleverly juxtaposed. The treatment is wonderful there since a similar styled movie was attempted with Sam Bahadur and which was a disaster.

The movie clearly belongs to Diljeet Doshanj and Pareeniti Chopra just pales in comparison. Diljeet just becomes Amar Singh Chamkila and it was like you are seeing only him on screen. It’s another matter that Diljeet has said previously that he is deeply influenced by Amar Singh’s singing anyways. The movie could have been little shorter since some parts look and feel repetitive.

Splendid filmmaking and a top effort by all, superb watch. An attempt was made in the movie to show the singer in a different way and his persona but truth remains that Amar Singh Chamkila was a controversial singer in terms of his writings. He would have been blasted for his lyrics if he was a singer in today’s woke world !

Rating- 4/5

Agree with DogNDamsel12 and her review, highly recommended, just for Diljeet Dosanjh.

[Venkatesh]

Diljit Dosanjh makes waves in the Imtiaz Ali/AR Rahman hit musical drama, Amar Singh Chamkila.

[StepUP!]

Joram on Prime 4/5

Watched this movie for its casting - Manoj Bajpayee, Smita Tambe.
This is dark, numbing movie depicting plight of tribals who are uprooted from their own land in the name of development and have nowhere to go. Who revolt are brutally murdered or stamped with "sympathizer", "Naxalite" tag and put behind bars.

Such movies hit you so hard, make you realize how privileged you are. Living far from reality, oppression. How the system named government or "capitalism" has catastrophically failed for the majority and is nothing but outright tyranny
How the narrative is controlled to make us believe democracy exists.

All actors have done great job. Perhaps no make-up look. Great symbolism in certain scenes.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by StepUP!

Joram on Prime 4/5
Such movies hit you so hard, make you realize how privileged you are. Living far from reality, oppression. How the system named government or "capitalism" has catastrophically failed for the majority and is nothing but outright tyranny
How the narrative is controlled to make us believe democracy exists.

Fully agree with your review but not the rating. I wish I could give ten upon five for this one. We are fortunate to watch Manoj Bajpayee in his full flight, actors like him are very rare. Joram was travelling through the festival circuit for so long that I thought I won’t be able to watch it at all. A true cinematic masterpiece, should be mandatory viewing for all.

[trek]

Lapataa Ladies - Solid 5/5



A wonderful story, well directed and excellent acting by the entire crew.
Please make sure to take your mom, wife, sister, any female companions along, they will love it.
Do not miss this, it's a breath of fresh air in the usually crapy bollywood offerings.

It will most probably be replaced by newer movies this weekend, so make sure to catch it soon.

Madgaon Express - 4/5



A genuine laugh riot
Excellent chemistry between the lead actors and supporting cast.

[sachinayak]

Originally Posted by trek

Madgaon Express - 4/5
...
A genuine laugh riot
Excellent chemistry between the lead actors and supporting cast.

Wanted to post this as well. Saw this a week back and the entire theater was in splits for the entire duration of the movie. In the director's own words this is "Dil Chahta Hai" gone wrong, and boy - it was a fun watch.

Loved it.

[ghodlur]

Silence 2 The Night Owl bar shootout

Streaming: Zee5

Frankly what's with this naming fad for the movie titles? A good attempt at thriller genre, the plot keeps one engaged with the twists. But Manoj Bajpayee doesnt seem to fit the role of an Investigating officer, his mannerism does not gel with the character. At times he emulates ACP Praduyman of CID series. Plus a lot of cuss words used liberally, hence watching with kids or seniors maybe an issue. Prachi Desai looks too glamorous for a cop. The climax I felt could have been a lot better. The franchisee is set to have a sequel.

Rating: 3.5/5

[ghodlur]

Article 370

Streaming: Netflix

What a hard hitting movie, shows the circumstances around the abrogation of the article 370 in the state of J&K in 2019. Yami Gautam is a fantastic underrated actor in the industry be it action, emotion. I just wish she gets more movies to do in the Bollywood Nepo environment. Priya mani was equally good in the supportive role. Yesteryears actors like Raj Jutshi, Arun Govil, Kiran Karmarkar, Divya seth all supported to their characters. Vaibhav Tatwawadi (Marathi actor) shines in his small but very effective role. I for one liked the movie and would recommend to all if not seen. With a IMDB rating of 8.2 its worth a watch.

Rating: 4.5/5

[GTO]

Originally Posted by trek

Madgaon Express - 4/5

A genuine laugh riot
Excellent chemistry between the lead actors and supporting cast.

Originally Posted by sachinayak

Wanted to post this as well. Saw this a week back and the entire theater was in splits for the entire duration of the movie. In the director's own words this is "Dil Chahta Hai" gone wrong, and boy - it was a fun watch.

Saw your posts yesterday (have a weekly subscription to this thread) & immediately booked tickets at Maison Inox, Jio World Plaza. The movie sure had its moments where we were rolling on the floor in laughter, but some scenes were also a bit boring. I'll give the movie a 3 / 5 rating at best and will suggest waiting for it to hit the streaming options, so BHPians can watch it at home.

More than the movie though, what blew me away was Jio World Plaza. We usually go to "Jio World Drive" and never really visited "Jio World Plaza" which is 2 km down the road. Gosh, the Plaza sure is opulent. Even the valet charge is a stiff Rs 350 for 4 hours, and then 50 bucks each hour or something. Once you enter, all the high-end brands have marked their presence with massive stores = Cartier, Gucci, Louis Vutton, Bottega, Hermes (store was being built), Bulgari, Rolex etc. Samsung has a massive Apple-like store on the 1st floor. The mall is extremely high-end and that extends to Inox Insignia too. The tickets were 1100 bucks each & the recliners were the most comfortable I've ever used. The theatre's sound system was deadly. In the rest rooms, they had wet towels for your face!

Reliance really knows how to do things right. Big respect, we are watching history in the making.

[bblost]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahttNxGnLsQ

On Netflix.

This is the first directorial venture from Varun Grover.

This movie is a very simple story set in the 90's of a young boy who is sent to a coaching center for IIT.

The movie did feel a little slow but when I looked at the time over 75% of the movie was already over. Did not realize how well the screen play and direction had lulled me into just getting lost into this charming tale.

It is not a coming of age movie. It is not even a motivation movie or a ranting one.

It is short story handled with a lot of love and caring.

On a funny note, I actually ended up feeling a lot more close to the father character who is caught in his own world.

Both the parents in this movie are the true stars.

This is not a kid friendly movie. But I would still recommend that young adults over the age of 16 give it a go.

There is no nudity but some of the content is a bit "mature"

[Eddy]

Had the misfortune of watching Dunki on Netflix over the weekend. What an absolute trashy movie. It gives solid competition to Ramgopal Varma ki Aag.

Zero Stars

Every filmmaker is allowed to have a brain fade, I guess. This was Raj Kumar Hirani's.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by bblost

All India Rank On Netflix.

This is the first directorial venture from Varun Grover.

Thanks for posting. We'd been to his show a few months back, where he unveiled the first look/trailer of the film.

I hold Varun Grover in very high regard. He's exceptional in his work, be it political satire, lyrics or screenplay.

Sadly, the movie lets you down. Too many unfinished storylines within the movie (I guess that's in vogue now?) that didn't allow me to really enjoy / get engrossed in the movie.

And yes, the father of the film is such a sweetheart. Terrific acting.

3/5

[MyLife_MyCar]

Originally Posted by bblost

It is not a coming of age movie. It is not even a motivation movie or a ranting one.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Sadly, the movie lets you down. Too many unfinished storylines within the movie

Yes, the storyline is a bit slow, and I didn’t feel anything at the end of the movie. No excitement, no sadness, no anger. In fact I was glad that it’s merely 1.5 hrs movie and ended soon.

I think this movie would have scored some points if it was released a decade ago.
However, in past few years we have had few good tv series showing the struggles of such students - Aspirants, Kota Factory, Sandeep Bhaiya.

Compared to those, All India Rank is just a bland food lacking salt and spice.