Vishboy Reviews

Shershaah (2021)

Commendable Tribute To An Indian Army Legend

[8/10 · 17 August 2021]

Kargil War in 1999 was the first "televised" war that Indians experienced. Tales of valour and sacrifice against impossible odds were broadcasted every day to millions of people across the country. When the conflict ended in late July 1999, the towering peaks of Kargil and surrounding areas were immortalised with legends who continue to inspire today.

One such legend is Capt. Vikram Batra of 13 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles who was awarded India's highest military decoration- Param Vir Chakra. While an earlier movie in 2003 (LOC: Kargil) had paid tributes to his ultimate sacrifice within a broader script about the Kargil war, SHERSHAAH is a movie made exclusively on the late Captain's daredevilry during which he led one of the most difficult mountain warfare operations in Indian history. His codename during the battle was Shershaah.

What adds credibility to the narration is the late Captain's family involvement and also inputs and anecdotes of his life through his twin brother- Vishal Batra. The movie is very well made and touches on many aspects of the legend's life. This without doubt is Sidharth Malhotra's finest performance and will go a long way in resurrecting his career. In the second half of the movie and especially in the war scenes, he fits into the role of Capt. Vikram Batra amazingly well.

The highlight of the movie is of course the execution of the battle sequences that will make the viewers understand the magnitude of the Kargil War and the next to impossible odds the Indian Army was faced with. The ending sequence of the movie will stay with the viewers for a long long time as it is so moving- captures the essence of the biopic perfectly and a great tribute indeed.

As for the rest of the cast, Kiara Advani performs well in the role of the Captain's love interest. Shiv Pandit as Vikram Batra's colleague and friend- Capt. Sanjeev Jamwal is good. Also, Nikitin Dheer as Maj. Ajay Singh Jasrotia and. Shataf Figar as the commanding officer- Lt. Col YK Joshi are commendable.

Overall, a very well made movie and a great tribute to one of the legends of the Indian Army. Like Capt. Vikram Batra who immortalised a cola slogan, I hope the viewers too have the feeling of "Yeh Dil Maange More" when the movie ends. Jai Hind!

Baaghi 3 (2020)

An Assault On Your Brain!

[2/10 · 8 March 2020]

"Baaghi 3", simply put, is one of the most idiotic movies ever made. It is a "Video Game" masquerading as a movie and trust me, even a good video game will have more level of difficulty for the principal character. How on earth can a production house, director and well established actors like Tiger Shroff, Riteish Deshmukh and Shraddha Kapoor subject the audiences to this piece of trash is beyond belief!! Wouldn't the crew and cast laugh when watching a preview of this absurdity? In case anyone is still interested about the plot- Tiger Shroff is a one man Army who travels to Syria (which is filmed in Serbia by the way) to rescue his brother (Riteish Drshmukh). Think of the most unimaginable fight sequences and you will see them in the movie. The movie is so bad, it will remind some viewers of the pathetic action movies of Mithun Da from the 90's. "Baaghi 3" is just a glorified version of one of those trash house movies. Save yourself the torture and the headache. "Baaghi 3" has created a benchmark for bad movies and I hope it is never crossed!

Ad Astra (2019)

A Space Odyssey Lost Within The Conflicts Of The Human Mind

[6/10 · 20 September 2019]

Space, Time and Universe are frontiers that us gravity bound humans on Earth find truly fascinating because most of us will never be able to take a journey into the vast Cosmos. And hence the huge appetite and curiosity for big budget and well made Space themed movies as they attempt to transcend our imaginations on celluloid through the best Scientific knowledge of present day.

Ad Astra, directed by James Gray and starring Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones depicts a near future where humans have been able to colonise the Inner Solar System (Including Moon and Mars) and space travel has become considerably faster and less daunting.Tommy Lee Jones plays the character of Clifford McBride- a pioneer of Space Com agency who headed the LIMA project in search for signs of intelligent life in our Solar System and beyond. Brad Pitt plays the son-Roy McBride who grew up thinking that his father was killed during the LIMA mission. However, when the Solar System and Earth start getting struck with mysterious power surges of unknown origin which are threatening the future of human life, the origin of these surges need to be investigated and Space Com agency wants Roy McBride to establish communication with the LIMA project as they believe his father might be alive.

While watching Ad Astra, I definitely felt that the movie had the soul of arguably the greatest space movie of all time-2001: A Space Odyssey. However, what hampers the narrative of Ad Astra is that it never unshackles itself from the complexity of the conflicts going through the human mind. Space is fundamental to the movie however it never elevates to the level of 2001 :A Space Odyssey or even Interstellar. Another aspect which pulled the movie down was the typical Hollywood cliche of the super human lead actor- Brad Pitt's character somehow always manages to escape any mishaps while others around him end up dead!

The visuals are amazing and the movie sets itself up in that aspect from the start. The visualisation of Neptune is on another level. In all, a good movie but nowhere in the category of a masterpiece. Brad Pitt's acting is surely Oscar worthy. My takeaway from the movie were that should humans become truly space faring species, we still would carry all our baggage and more and create the same filth to the stars and that no matter what depths of the cosmos we travel to, the conflicts of our mind and the human relationships that we form would always pull us back to Earth.

Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019)

A Great Movie- Be Proud Of Your Nation And The Armed Forces!

[9/10 · 16 January 2019]

This movie is the most realistic one made on the Indian Army and stays away from over the top dialogues, action and any jingoism. Almost all Indians are familiar with the premise of the movie- Indian Army's retaliation to terrorist strikes in Uri in 2016. Even though we know the story of the movie, what sets it apart is the execution and the attention to detail. Finally a movie that shows how terrific Indian Special Forces really are and why they are regarded as some of the best in the world. The younger generation of Indians need to see it to know what our Armed Forces, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) are capable of. Vicky Kaushal fits the role of a Commando perfectly and the surprise package surely is the performance of Mohit Raina. The action, the background score and the performances blows you. This is the kind of movie that can be viewed multiple times in the cinemas. Do not worry about any critics reviews- show the "Josh" and be proud of your nation!

Alien: Covenant (2017)

A good movie in its own right

[7/10 · 11 May 2017]

Reviewing any new movie from a "legendary" franchise like "Alien" is tricky. For fans of the franchise who have seen the 4 Alien movies and the 2 Alien v/s Predator movies and the Prometheus, the "awe" factor diminishes with each subsequent movie. However, for anyone who picked up the series from Prometheus or watching it for the first time, this movie holds extremely well.

First the plot summary: In 2104 the crew of the colony ship Covenant is bound for a remote planet with two thousand colonists and embryos aboard. While en route to their destination, an energy surge from a nearby star damages the ship, killing its captain and waking the crew. As they repair the ship, the crew intercept a radio transmission from a nearby planet and decide to investigate as the transmission is human in origin but the planet is supposedly lifeless.

Alien: Covenant is the continuation of the Prometheus movie (and be mindful that the events of the original Alien movie is still 20 years away). At the end of the Prometheus movie, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and the android David (Michael Fassbender) flew one of the "Engineers'" ship from the moon LV-223 in search of the Engineers' home planet. While what happens to Dr. Shaw is revealed later in the movie, David is now the sole occupant of the Engineers' planet.

The crew of the Covenant face unimaginable horror on the planet in the form of the alien creatures. There is a lot more blood and gore compared to the previous films in the series. Michael Fassbender plays a double role-he is an improved version of the previous android (David) with the Covenant expedition and is named Walter. The interactions between David and Walter are some of the highlights of the movie as it explains a lot of plot lines.

Obviously, Michael Fassbender is the highlight of the movie in both his roles. Apart from that, Katherine Waterston character as Daniels is the only other that creates an impact. Rest of the crew is too monotonous and doesn't connect with the viewer. Production values are of the highest quality and the first 20 minutes or so in the space setting, the movie hits all the right notes in terms of the build up. The Alien planet is depicted well but the eeriness is missing which was done so well in the original Alien movie. The ending provides further scope and hopefully another movie is made that takes it closer to the story of the first Alien movie.

Overall, a fine movie in its own right and for anyone who gets introduced to the franchise for the first time. However, for the "Alien veterans", an average movie.

Happy New Year (I) (2014)

Decent movie but go with "right" expectations!

[6/10 · 25 October 2014]

As another Farah Khan/Shah Rukh Khan blockbuster comes out, as usual it tends to polarizes the audiences. But my opinion is that each director has a speciality and after having watched this movie, nothing surprised me. It was exactly what I expected based on Farah Khan's track record and also 'enough' was out in the promos for me to be prepared for as to what exactly I was walking into. A heist story based around a music competition. Shah Rukh Khan leads a bunch of no-hopers into this and how they juggle between the dance competition and the diamond heist forms the crux of the story. As Farah Khan movies usually span out, it moves along the expected lines of funny moments, decent song sequences and over the top finale! The music is good. Obviously "India Waale" song is the chartbuster of the movie but my pick would be Deepika's introduction in "Lovely Ho Gayi". She has danced admirably and looked million bucks. Acting from everyone is fine. Overall, a decent family entertainer and just exactly the kind of movie Farah Khan makes. So, enjoy and get entertained. And stop whinging about why this movie doesn't stimulate your grey matter (look for other options for that but please don't walk into this movie looking for exactly that). It delivers what it promised! But I must add that perhaps it is time again for Shah Rukh Khan to take some "risks" for his future projects.

Mission Istaanbul: Darr Ke Aagey Jeet Hai! (2008)

Utter crap!

[3/10 · 7 August 2008]

After "Shootout At Lokhandwala", I was expecting another decent outing from the director Apoorva Lakia. Also, that the movie was shot in Istaanbul made me eager as I hadn't seen any other Indian movie that I can recall which had been shot so extensively in Turkey.

But like it often happens I was disappointed for judging a book (in this case movie) by its cover. A movie on a serious issue like terrorism cannot, just cannot start off with 2 songs in the first 15-20 minutes. That for me killed it. Then some stunts that looked more like an advertisement for a Cola company, made you wonder if actors like Zayed have any future in Bollywood. Even Viveik was way over the top. Shriya Saran has been wasted. The only saving grace is the bad guy-Niketan Dheer. He has to be the smartest villain ever seen in an Indian movie.I was actually rooting for the bad guy!!! Avoid this movie about an Indian Journalist (played by Zayed) getting a job in a Turkish news channel (al-Johara) which is a direct mouthpiece or world's most wanted terrorists. And then how Zayed gets entangled in a web of lies and conspiracies.

Dus Kahaniyaan (2007)

The Ten Short Stories!

[5/10 · 10 December 2007]

"Dus Kahaniyaan" comes from the stable of Sanjay Gupta's production house-WHITE FEATHER FILMS. In the past they have come out with "Musafir", "Kaante", "Zinda" & "Shootout At Lokhandwala". Two things that one can be certain of in the movies from this production house are Sanjay Dutt and lots and lots of style! In "Dus Kahaniyaan" you find both, but in parts! "Dus Kahaniyaan" can be described best as like a book of short stories covering different genres or spectrum. It has , like the title says, 10 stories. Each one of them is a separate story and therefore what makes this movie different from the likes of "Darna Mana Hai" etc. is that the stories are not connected by any common thread! Each story exists in a different world, completely independent of each other just like the different stories in a book.

Now, coming to the important part-are the stories good enough to grip you? Well, personally I feel that there are at least 4 stories that are a notch above the other 6. That's my personal opinion though some viewers might take a liking to a few of the other stories as well. The best of the lot are (not necessarily in that order): MATRIMONY-Features Mandira Bedi, Arbaaz Khan and Sudhanshu Pandey. It's about marriage and infidelity. Good acting from all three and the twist in the tale is awesome-my favourite of the ten stories! RICE PLATE-Shabana Azmi and Naseruddin Shah. You expect the best from them and are not disappointed. The story is about religious belief's-two contrasting views! A subtext of communal harmony.

ZAHIR-Another story with a twist! Features Manoj Bajpai and Dia Mirza. Good narration though acting was just about passable! It's about a writer (Manoj Bajpai) who has failed in love but see a ray of hope (yet again) in Dia Mirza. But is She ready? Has an underlying social message too! POORNAMASI-A tale of honour. Revolves around a mother-daughter played by Amrita Singh and Minnisha Lamba respectively. A decent story (that's the least you can expect from it's writer-Meghna Gulzar).

The other 6 stories that I haven't mentioned didn't really grip me! There's SEX ON THE BEACH (Dino Moreo, Tareena Patel) that has some good visuals, sound effects and tilts towards the spooks but just doesn't do it. GOOBARE (Nana Patekar, Rohit Roy, Hansika Mansandani) is predictable and so is the one that has Aftab Shivdasani and Neha Uberoi! RISE AND FALL involving Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty is confusing (due to the way it's narrated) and is only high on style. STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT (Neha Dhupia, Mahesh Manjrekar) is below average too. And the weakest is HIGH ON THE HIGHWAY (Jimmy Shergill).

The advantage for the viewer when you are watching a movie like this is that the movie literally moves on! If you don't like a story, it wouldn't tax you for long-that's the best part. Some stories, like I said, could have been better. Sometimes, like in their earlier movies, the stress is put too much on Style and Gloss rather than the fundamental part-the script. The point is then missed! So an overall rating of 5.5/10. 4 for the four good stories and 1.5 for genuine innovation-something different. A sequel-why not. Can get 6 or 7 right next time!

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (2007)

This GOAL doesn't hit the top corner!

[6/10 · 26 November 2007]

Let's start with the most important question-Is this a bollywood version of GOAL (2005) starting Kuno Becker? Well, it's definitely a no. And now to the other important question-is it as gripping as its Hollywood counterpart-the answer again is no! But that doesn't mean that DHAN DANA DHAN GOAL isn't watchable. It's an average movie with some interesting sequences.

Set in London (and in particular the South Asian hub Southall), the story revolves around a bankrupt football club-SOUTHALL FC which is struggling to keep itself afloat. It has no sponsors and no money and hasn't won a match in nearly two decades!!! None of its players are professionals but a bunch of full-time dads, butcher shop owner, garage owners etc. It is completely made up of expatriate Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Adding to their woes is a greedy commentator cum businessman, played by Dilip Tahil, who wants to grab the ground of the football club to build a shopping mall and theme park. To sum it up the club is in dire straits and the only way of survival is to win their League Championship and get the prize of 3 Million Pounds!!! Really a tough ask for Southall FC.

Thus the story revolves around the resurrection of the football club through a former player of its-played by Boman Irani. This time he takes the mantle of the coach after living in wilderness for 22 years!! Arshad Warsi and John Abraham are the key players of the club around which the team revolves.Bipasha plays the team's doctor.

The main problem with this movie, in my opinion, is that it tries to pack a lot in those reels and that stretches it rather close to 3 hours. That wasn't required. The basic premises is right but the execution isn't. Some sequences are good-like the one that involves Boman Irani trying to convince John Abraham to play for Southall FC. The final match is another sequence that stays with you. I am not too convinced with the racism angle involving John Abraham. And especially, in today's time when an iconic club of England-Arsenal doesn't have one English player in its starting line-up!!! The picturisation is good. The locales of England are something that we bollywood fans have grown use to. But the sequence involving the home ground of Manchester United will please a lot of serious soccer fans! All the performances in the movie are good. John's soccer skills are very very fine! Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani are good too. Bipasha is just there-nothing spectacular on her part! Overall 6/10. Not Too exciting!!

Saawariya (2007)

A Visual Treat!

[8/10 · 25 November 2007]

A lot has been written and said about Saawariya. Majority of the critics and reviews have dismissed this movie! Well, I for one, almost gave it a miss (as it is I am not a huge fan of Mr.Bansali). But I saw the movie yesterday, and whoa-I was pleasantly surprised!!! It has to be, in my opinion, one of the most visually appealing movie of all time. I mean, right from the reel one, the movie speaks volumes about its grandeur. It is true delight on the visual senses.

So why have the critics darned it? Well, I think you have to view "Saawariya" in its own context. Comaprisons just cannot be made. It's like a book of fairy-tales. each page in the book is rich in illustrations and drawings. Just holding the book sometimes can take you in a world of dreams. This movie is precisely like that and has to be viewed in that context. The music adds to its flow-it is the part of the package.

Now to the performances: Sonam Kapoor has an angelic screen presence and her acting too is good for her debut movie. Ranbir Kapoor is a powerhouse of talent and a great screen presence too. For their first movie, the lead pair creates lots of magic! Salman Khan is barely there. Rani Mukherjee who plays a prostitute is awesome-I nearly fell in love with this prostitute!!! The movie does have some rough edges. At least a couple of sequences (including the ending) are way too abrupt! It's like the chef forgot to garnish his dish. All in all "Saawariya" is a movie that I think justifies my 8/10 rating. It is so visually appealing that one literally cannot take the eyes off! And it's not too taxing on the brains too-just a simple love story set in a far-far away land, narrated with flow and music, though at the end of it you might question the essence of Sonam's character. That to me was very baffling! Go for it!

Dil Dosti Etc (2007)

Clearly A Case Of A Half-Full Glass!

[4/10 · 10 October 2007]

Modern Day India, Young characters, Delhi University, plenty of crude satires-it might have wanted to be somewhere along the shades of "Rang De Basanti", but this movie very much sits on a half-baked plot throughout. The intentions of the director are clear-to connect with the youth but what lets him down is a below-average screenplay. Imad Shah (who plays Apoorva) is one rich and confused guy who wants to know the simplicities as well as the complexities of life through love. And his idea is to bed as many women as he can to understand what love's all about! Day time he's flirting with a school girl (Ishita Sharma) and come night, he finds comfort with a prostitute (Smriti Mishra). All this in the quest to find and define life and love and its finer points. On the other hand, Shreyas Talpade (who plays Sanjay Mishra) is a student politician who has his middle class Bihari values intact. While actively campaigning in the University, he meets Nikita Anand-a rich and ambitious girl. The basic flaw with the movie is that it has plenty of 'neither here nor there' kinds of moments, leading to a plot that never really becomes engrossing. It shows student politics but the deepness of it is clearly missing like that we saw in "Haasil". The friendship and bonding between Shreyas and Imad doesn't look too convincing, basically everything runs out of steam before it actually wants to grip you.

So what you come across is a collage of moments-from University politics to socialite parties, from estranged parents and their confused kid to down-market prostitutes and their view of life. The climax is good (the best part of the movie) but by that time I am sure, one as a viewer wouldn't be too thrilled.

Coming to the Performances, well Shreyas gets my vote hands-down! He really gives a real feel to his character. The problem with Imad is that he plays a character which people would assume him to play in every movie-it just matches his very very understated on-screen personality!! He might just get stereotyped now in a few more meaningless college flicks. He plays his character well but then, one would expect him to be just like that in real life too!!!!! The girls are OK, Ishita Sharma is a treat to eyes in her school girl look. All in all, not a very good product from the stable of Prakash Jha. Watch it if you just want to feel what one call the DU atmosphere!!

Naqaab (2007)

Last 30 Minutes Saves It!

[6/10 · 1 August 2007]

'Naqaab' which comes from the stable of the director duo Abbas-Mustan is a watchable movie! One wouldn't come out of the theater cursing it or ruing the wasted money!!! The first half of the movie is below par but I have given it a rating of 6 because the last 30 minutes really takes the graph of the movie to a new level. The first half seems a half-baked plot where all the three leading protagonists (Akshaye Khanna, Bobby Deol and the new Urvashi Sharma) are trying to create a love-triangle/drama of sorts. The character sketch in the first half not up to the mark and I can see a lot of viewers losing patience at the intermission mark. But boy, the movies does take a good turn in the second half. Though the movie is a rip off from a Hollywood flick (I would not name it though), it would come as a good enough thriller for Bollywood fans. Acting is not the strong point of the movie, Akshaye is strictly O.K. and Bobby Deol needs to get back to form really quickly. For her first movie, Urvashi is fine (and she is a quite a treat on the eyes). Another good thing is that song interruption is minimum in the movie (just 3 songs and one is kind of introduction). So all in all an average movie! Watch it just for sizzling Urvashi and the last 30 minutes.

Cry Wolf (2005)

Could Have been Better!

[6/10 · 16 July 2007]

Yet another film from the teen horror/thriller genre! But what saves it is some decent acting mainly from Julian Morris (Owen) and Lindy Booth (Dodger).And I thought Bon Jovi as Chris Walker did a fine job (nothing path-breaking but in sync with the plot). Also, the ending comes as a bit of a surprise. The gist of the plot is quite like the "Urban Legend" movies-school students playing a prank and suddenly that lie taking the face of the truth. What I found to be commendable is that unlike some other horror/thriller movies, "Cry Wolf" doesn't just go about killing and slashing the teens! Blood and gore are not the mainstay. The problem is that the movie takes a lot of time to build up and I can see a lot of viewers getting impatient (like me), just wanting the damned thing to happen! On the whole, I would recommend "Cry Wolf" for one viewing.

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)

High On Style-Low On Substance!

[4/10 · 27 June 2007]

Yashraj Productions-this name is synonymous with one of the better and more organised production houses in the Indian Film Industry. For quite a few years now, they have churned out quality products from their stable, the best part being that even if we don't have a Yash Chopra or Aditya Chopra behind the director's seat, the movie doesn't suffer on technical and qualitative aspects. Lately they have also been known for promoting some young talented directors.

"Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" (JBJ) is the third movie coming from Shaad Ali after his previous two-"Saathiya" and "Bunty Or Babli". Naturally, with the kind of brand value that "Yashraj Films" gives to a movie, one expects more than a decent fare with JBJ. To take the hype further, Shaad has assembled a big star-cast (on face value at least) and if a movie has Big B in a special appearance, the expectations of a viewer are multiplied. So the big question is-does JBJ lives up-to the expectation? The answer is NO! Shaad has definitely missed the bus this time, and in today's context it again proves that the Indian viewer has matured and would not expect below-average products, even if it comes from such a big banner. The movie has registered a big drop in collections and good reviews are few and far apart.

Well, the biggest drawback of the movie is the script! After watching the movie, one would come out with an emptiness- that 'bit' is missing that makes you want to go back! No doubt the movie is high on style but it's the script that matters. The concept of two strangers meeting on a railway station (Abishek-Preity) and telling stories about their respective fiancés (Lara Dutta-Bobby Deol) is interesting but the execution is not up to the mark. What you get is a collection of moments, interrupted by the title track all the way. The only time the graph of the movie goes up is when the true identities of Lara and Bobby are revealed! But it lasts for a short time and the movie culminates with a very disappointing climax.

Abishek has delivered a fine performance. The other star cast is strictly OK though one might just get a liking for Lara Dutta in her French Avtaar! The title track is good but interferes too much with the smooth running of the script. Overall a disappointing effort! Maybe a lesson to be learned for "Yashraj House". And what's with writing up stories for Indians living abroad at an alarmingly high rate? Maybe the order of the day is to come up with a simple narrative kind of movie like "Bheja Fry". Sometimes gloss alone doesn't stick too much!

Hostel: Part II (2007)

Hostel 2 is Unsettling!

[7/10 · 26 June 2007]

When Eli Roth came out with "Hostel", the movie was aptly described by a lot of critics as 'Torture-Porn'! 3 guys looking for sex and getting themselves into trouble in a far-away (and not that routine) place was very believable. Hostel 2 follows the same path, it's just that the guys pass on the baton to 3 girls this time. And of course, unlike the guys, these girls venture off to the unknown for pleasures (which probably includes sex for one of the 3 characters), but not just sex! But what makes Hostel 2 work is the the whole dynamics of the "Elite Hunting" organization that Eli Roth showcases. The torture scenes might be a dejavu of SAW 3 or the previous Hostel movie, but it's the concept of the "Elite Hunting" that makes one shudder. The vast reach of the gang, it's working style, the 'contracts' that are signed when bidding are finalised, they make a very disturbing (and should I add a chilling) viewing. Hostel 2 is no landmark cinema but it's a tad above the first installment. Watch it, for it might make you think about the concept of an "Organisation"!