Screen Test

Newton , India’s entry to the Oscars, is a satirical take on the country’s electoral system. Rajkummar Rao is an upright polling officer who is deployed in a Maoist-infested territory of Chhattisgarh during the Lok Sabha elections, his maiden assignment. His ideals and principles compel him to set up a polling booth in a remote village although there are only 76 citizens who are eligible to exercise their fundamental right. Others around him unfailingly persuade him against entering a dangerous territory, but he sticks to his ground despite the odds. He believes he can change the system and mindsets even though he is told on his face that change does not happen overnight. The less-than-two-hour film makes a fine commentary on the farce surrounding the elections in some parts of the country, in this case Chhattisgarh, where people haven’t even seen an electronic voting machine before. Many are dragged to the voting centre and told about the various symbols belonging to...

To call Simran an attempt just to showcase Kangana Ranaut's acting calibre would be grossly unfair. She, of course, stands tall and elevates the film with an outstanding performance. But Simran is also a fresh, breezy tale about a headstrong woman and her quest to build an identity of her own. What works is the treatment, the relatable characters and most importantly, Kangana. A Gujarati NRI working as a housekeeping staff with a reputed hotel in Atlanta, Kangana wants to buy a house of her own mainly to distance herself from her nagging parents. They want their divorced daughter to remarry, but she is happy with the freedom she enjoys, including the joy of flirting with cute men.  A chance trip takes her to Las Vegas where the 'sin' of gambling that she commits earns her lots of money, enough to buy a house and a lot more, including fancy dresses whose price tags kept her away from them till then. It soon turns into an addiction, but the results are not alway...

Bhumi Pednekar aspires to be the runaway bride like they show in Bollywood movies. But the guy chasing her, Ayushmann Khurrana, does not muster enough courage to approach her. When he finally does, he first runs into a bear and then a peculiar problem, that of performance anxiety. Shubh Mangal Saavdhan is set during an interesting period - between engagement and marriage - during which Bhumi and Ayushmann are trying to discover their love for each other. There's plenty of that, but the lack of intimacy stands out and adds to the pressure. While Bhumi accepts Ayushmann the way he is, he feels guilty at not being able to rise to the occasion. That obviously leads to a strain in their relationship. What complicates matters is when the two families involved get to know of his problem. The film tackles an unusual subject in a hilarious way and offers several laughs with its witty and often more-than-one-meaning dialogues. Despite dealing with a peculiar issue, not once doe...

From Sidharth Malhotra posing in front of a posh mansion that he’s purchased in Miami to Sidharth Malhotra chasing hardened criminals on the streets of Bangkok and Mumbai, A Gentleman: Sundar, Susheel, Risky is all about Sidharth Malhotra whose imperfect past plays havoc in his life. The two Sidharths live contrasting lives and the film pieces together a connection between the two in a rather engaging way. While the former is suave, polite and apologetic, the latter is rugged, macho and guilt-ridden despite working for a ‘Colonel’ who isn’t averse to killing innocent people.  Trouble starts when the ‘bad Malhotra’ decides to leave the ugly world he’s found himself stuck in after getting to know of a hard disk which nails his Colonel’s nefarious activities. A wild goose chase ensues in pursuit of the disk which results in high-octane actions sequences, including Malhotra dangling from the terrace of a skyscraper and making his way into a secured server room in one of the ...

At the end of Bareilly Ki Barfi , you are neither amused nor surprised. Rather you wonder what the movie was all about. It's a film without an underlying theme and with a thin plot.  Kriti Sanon represents everything that a girl shouldn't be in Bareilly, someone who smokes, drinks, stays out till late and is brash and outspoken. Her engagement has been called off twice and her mother cannot wait to see her married. No boy, however, seems to accept her for the way she is. Irritated with such pressure and being judged constantly, she tries to run away and buys a novel at the railway station.  Incidentally, it has passages that exactly depict the person that she is. Impressed that someone can see her as being normal, she tries to find its writer. The hunt takes her to the book's publisher, Ayushmann Khurrana, who has actually written the book, inspired by his girlfriend, after a heartbreak. However, he does not want his name to be associated with it and therefore u...

The bond between parents and children is often hard to describe. It is even more difficult to portray that on screen with the conflicts that come along. Kaccha Limbu manages to do that with great sensitivity because in this case, the middle-class couple played by Ravi Jadhav and Sonali Kulkarni have a mentally challenged child, Manmeet Pem. The residents of a chawl in Girgaum, Jadhav and Kulkarni work at different times – he throughout the night while she during the day – because their special child needs constant attention at home. The challenge gets even more daunting because he’s slowly coming to terms with his physical needs. Between looking after Pem and carrying out their duties to make ends meet, the couple seems to drift apart physically. The lack of privacy in a one room-kitchen house only increases the distance between them. It is in this scenario that Kulkarni finds solace in her boss, played by Sachin Khedekar. He lends her a patient ear, shows his compassi...

At its core, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is about a woman’s fight to have a loo in her marital home in a village near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. However, the movie is more than just that; it is also about breaking stereotypes, challenging cultural and religious beliefs and the right to equality. Director Shree Narayan Singh tackles an unusual subject with aplomb, giving many humorous moments and at the same time compelling the audience to ponder about the reality is several parts of the country and in some cases, also a man’s mind. The movie could have easily been a preachy affair, but the dialogues and screenplay ensure that cinemagoers are spared of a lecture. Despite this, the message is conveyed in all earnestness. Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar fall in love despite their different backgrounds, contrasting viewpoints and age difference. She plays along to win over her orthodox father-in-law, but is aghast when neighbouring women call her for a ‘ Lota party’ the mornin...