Chhorii

It is a beautiful coincidence that Kartik Aaryan and Nushrat Barucha began their careers together with Pyaar Ka Puchnama (2011). A decade later they both try to break out of their comfort zone and do a different film.

Although they did a film called Akash vaani (2013) on a serious subject of marital rape that went completely unnoticed.

Nushrat Barucha emotes well. In a few scenes where she is required to show her acting chops, she does well. The movie has a great message. It gets eerie and is seriously scary in the second half. The make up and special effects department have done well. The scene around the well towards the end sent a shiver down my spine. The final confrontation between Nushrat and the ghost is really scary too. The movie is predictable. There is a lot of foreshadowing before the actual events take place and hence you can easily predict what may have transpired.

Mita Vashisht is the star performer. She gets the dialect and accent right. She plays the shades of the character beautifully . A loving mom and a menacing woman both form her layered character. Rajesh Jais has always been a dependable character actor. I was surprised to see the casting of Saurabh Goyal as the husband. He does well. I had seen him in a few episodes of Crime Patrol and he looks the part and plays it well. I had guessed the twist in the storyline about his character but I am sure many wouldn’t be able to predict. Chhorii has a premise similar to Kaali Khuhi, but Chhorii is definitely scarier and more fast paced compared to the Netflix movie with a similar theme of female infanticide.

Dhamaka (2021)

Bang!!!! The premise of Dhamaka is very good. The makers do not waste any time and you are immediately invested in the plight of Arjun Pathak Ji. The events that unfold keep you glued to the edge of your seat. Kartik Aaryan surprised me with his serious performance.

His face and the way he says “Main Jo Bhi Kahunga , Sach Kahunga” resonated with me. I went through this face during SSR Investigation and various other times when media claimed to be reporting real news but all they were spreading was lies.

His line packs a punch and the climax gets really over the top but bollywood and over the top climaxes have always been there.

Mrunal Thakur delivers in a small but feisty role. The scene stealer for me is the voice of Soham Majumdar who plays the antagonist. He speaks beautifully and creates terror with his voice. The voice acting is impeccable. Amruta Subhash is always brilliant and we should really get to see her more in movies. She has a one dimensional role of a greedy for TRP, TV Producer but she nails it .

Dhamaka may be a little over the top but we can enjoy the Bollywood cliches and tropes. Kartik Aaryan gets a new lease of life with this one. I hope he doesn’t go back to the Sonu’s of the Titu’s and their sweeties or punchnamas. Although I enjoy him in that avatar too but he has already done too much of that now.

It is entertaining and hence I give it 3 stars out of 5

Satya, Jay and Milap Zhaveri’s Jingoism

Satyameva Jayate 2

Starring : John Abraham, John Abraham 2, John Abraham 3 and Divya Khosla Kumar 1.

Directed by Milap Zhaveri.

Indians turn patriotic on 15th August and 26th January every year. Loudspeakers blare to the music of hits from Manoj Kumar’s filmography. “Jab Zero diya mere Bharat ne” or “Mere Desh ki Dharti Sona Ugle.” I have been a fan of patriotic movies. I have watched Border (1996) in packed theatres but what Satyameva Jayate 2 promotes is not patriotism.

It is Jingoism that is hurled at you in shrieking voices. It contains a sentiment that if someone is doing something wrong, you need to turn into a vigilante and brutally assault and kill the deshdrohi. Now, this can be easily misconstrued considering the atmosphere of today’s India. Patriotism is misunderstood. I may not scream Jai Hind from rooftops but I may still love my country. I may not be prepared to punish / kill or send someone to a neighbouring country based on their political beliefs and I am certainly not a politician’s bhakt.

Milap Zhaveri, the director of this movie has offered lots of these kind of cringe worthy movies like Mastizaade , Marjawan and Satyameva Jayate. He lives in a parallel universe and thinks that these movies were superhits. He dedicates his films to Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra. The kind of movies they made were at least entertaining.

The dialogues of this movie have gone beyond Race 3. John Abraham says silly rhyming lines like “Ma Ke Kokh se to kya Baap ke Top se bhi janam lene se darega”.

Such shitty lines that your ears will burn. John has been cast in three roles and he gives the same hammy performance in all the roles.

Divya Khosla Kumar, the head honcho of T-Series looks robotic and kudos to her for having the same expression throughout the movie. She does not have the acting chops and instead of looking stoic, looks funny to me.

The Plot is bizarre and the action scenes are unbearable. Yes, John has a great chiseled body and the female audience would love to gaze at that. But how will they bear this two hour cringefest where everyone keeps giving Deshbhakti ka Bashan. John rips off an engine from a car with his bare hands and goes on to lift and throw a Motorcycle with the rider still seated on it. He also manages to stop and pull down a helicopter with his bare hands. Captain America will blush at this scene.

I would give it Zero stars but I would still recommend you watch it with these exceptions and enjoy the unintentional humor.