Mary Kom

Directed by: Omung Kumar

Starring: Priyanka Chopra, Darshan Kumaar, Sunil Thapa

Released: 2014

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing – experience

Before I even start with the film itself, I think I need to explain one thing: I hate boxing. I do not consider it a sport of civilized people, for it lacks what I am looking for in a sport event – team spirit or an individual stepping over one´s limits. The sole purpose of box is to simply beat the shit out of the other and you cannot tell me otherwise. That much said I have nothing but respect for Mary Kom as a woman who had to go through struggles which would weary out majority of other people (including me). In that aspect her life story is immensely inspirational and should be told. Just perhaps not the way this particular film does it.

Even without not being intimately familiar with the life of Mary Kom, all its twists and turns, I dare say it was dramatic enough to be an intriguing picture, however the filmmakers felt the need to ad lots and lots of filmi clichés, which they hoped would enhance the major points of the narrative, unfortunately they reach an absolutely opposite effect. They strike out of nowhere and leave one slightly baffled or dubious, they seem too improbable and made-up – basically they do not go with the rest of the film. The most prominent among these are scenes which show Mary in sort of mystical, mental contact with her father and later one of her baby sons, which directly influences her ability to fight. While common in fictional films, I cannot help but wonder if this bit was necessary in a biopic. The songs, too, were not needed and only diluted the story. The “villain” shares the over the top sheer nastiness reminding one of all those negative roles by Prakash Raj, and again, lacks the believable factor.

The film belongs to Priyanka Chopra. It is not her best ever performance and I still think she was a miscast. It was ironic seeing her accusing the match jury of racism, when her casting itself could be called racist. I am not saying I am a great know-it-all on the issue, but I still recall the reasoning of the makers, who stated they knowingly cast Priyanka because a new, Manipuri actress, would not be bankable. What was the intention then? To tell a story of a Manipuri woman who beat every obstacle INCLUDING negative, dismissive attitude so many have against people who look like her, or to make a bankable film? Because they did not manage to have both. I am aware Mary Kom herself was satisfied with the movie, but I do not believe her consent was the best thing to have happened to her community, which so rarely gets the deserved attention and representation in media. This was an opportunity which nobody took. That much said, Priyanka deserves heaps of credit for her incredible dedication. One can see she put her heart and soul into the role, not fearing the physical demands. I suppose much like I respect Mary but disagree with boxing I also respect Priyanka but disagree with her being the protagonist. I salute their work and dedication – and success.

Looking back the at “big” biopic of the last year, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Mary Kom fails to leave a mark. Where Bhaag Milkha managed to deal with the athlete´s haunted conscience, his inner struggle and issues, while at the same time being a good sports film, Mary Kom is a good sports-film, but the backstory is really just... a backstory. Why did Mary picked up that glove in the beginning? Why did she love box but disliked athletics? How did she feel when she started a family? We do get to see most of what happened, but hardly any of the scenes really touches the inner conflicts which must have plagued Mary once. And since the main protagonist is left without more complex feelings (as a film character, I am not saying the REAL Mary Kom does not have complex feelings!), you cannot expect more from other characters either. In case of Onler, Mary Kom´s husband, that made me almost sad. (if he is in real life the half man he was shown to be on screen, he is everything a woman could ever want!).

Mary Kom the film is not as magnificent as its subject, but it could be treated as a good way of getting some really basic knowledge on her. Decent, but less than what it could have been and deserved to have become.

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Krrish franchise

Koi... Mil Gaya

Directed by: Rakesh Roshan

Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Rekha

Released: 2003

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

First of three movie that now create a franchise, Koi Mil Gaya is a shameless rip off of extremely popular E.T., in more ways than one. Is anyone surprised that even music is lifted from other films? I was really annoyed when I recognized two of my favourite soundtracks – the Neverending story and yes, they even DARED to touch the Lord of the Rings – and I assure you I am not mistaken as I know that music by heart. Koi Mil Gaya is a film for kids (even though adults can enjoy it as well), and as such it manages to hit the mark. However even as a film for kids it is not too spectacular, especially not in the special effect department. The little blue creeper Jadoo has nothing on likeability of E.T., and looks just way too puppet-ish for anyone to think he is real for a second. The film is worth watching for Hrithik Roshan, who delivers his possibly best performance ever. The level of vulnerability, innocence and sincere emotions he projects is amazing, and that too in a role which is a far cry from macho heroes Bollywood thrives on. His pairing with Preity Zinta is cute, and the actress looks just lovely. Rekha, of course, is one of the most natural actresses ever. I love her in just about anything and everything, so this was no exception. Out of all three films this one has the biggest heart.

Krrish

Directed by: Rakesh Roshan

Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Rekha

Released: 2006

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Papa Roshan has decided to boost his son´s career a bit more, again with something new and unusual (and inspired) and what better (read: easier) way to do that than creating a sequel to a successful movie? And so Krrish was born, Preity Zinta killed off and Priyanka Chopra brought on board – as not really worthy a replacement (though she looked stunning, she was just kinda annoying silly gal in this). Yet again, the film needs to be watched through children´s eyes and the romantic track needed to be shorter. Performances are fine, but both Hrithik and Priyanka are owned by their older co-stars – apart from Rekha we also meet the very awesome Naseeruddin Shah as the main villain. Unfortunately somewhere down the line one was grieving that loveable, childish, simple Rohit from Koi Mil Gaya was replaced by his „son“, brooding Jesus-on-steroids Krishna. That said Hrithik has a perfect image to be a superhero. For adult people and teenagers Krrish doesn´t really work as a film of particular interest, for children it is almost perfect. I personally, though with long pauses in between, quite enjoyed it.

Krrish 3

Directed by: Rakesh Roshan

Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Vivek Oberoi, Kangana Ranaut

Released: 2013

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Last (at least for now) instalment of the franchise has raised many eyebrows with its title. Krrish „3“? Did we miss Krrish „2“? Then again numbers do not seem a strong point of Papa Roshan, as we could see during the BO collections aftermath. I was not kind to the idea of the movie, given the previous one was nothing earth-shattering, and the promos very lackluster, the songs just pathetic, reminding one of an outdated 90s films. And after the release I was very put off by all the boasting from various people, mostly Vivek Oberoi, about their own greatness (you do NOT compare yourself to Mogambo and have me nodding in agreement). So I was very sceptical about this venture when I hit the play button and very surprised to find out.... Krrish 3 is a good film. Miles ahead of its predecessor (though sentimental me still prefers Koi Mil Gaya), it has a good enough story to keep you interested and the pace is good throughout. There are moments that are just not needed and overdone (because saving an old grumpy man would simply not play on our heart-strings like saving a cute baby), some of the action scenes are just weird (I kept singing Cause baby you make me tongue-tieeeeed, tongue tiiied...... in my head through the weirdest one – and btw how unhygienic it all was!) and AGAIN, ironically, the special effects look average. What I couldn´t grasp was the fact nobody, including Kangana´s character, realized Krishna is Krrish. The dude is not acting super secretive while in his costume – he sits down with everyone and chats (and apparently has a box of spare bracelets to give out for free) after all. The dude has green eyes and six fingers and nobody suspects anything? Not even when they are capable of making his statue and have his IDENTICAL father reveal it? Sorry, I am not buying that.

Vivek Oberoi as Kaal is impressive – at least up until the moment he decides to wear a seriously embarrassing armour, and so is Kangana Ranaut as a mutant. I suppose when she is forced to be subtle, she can really be great. Her change of heart was not too well explored, but it was sufficient still. Priyanka is better than the last time, but she really is „just there“. The role was not demanding at all. Coming to Hrithik Roshan, this time we do not have to make a choice between Rohit and Krrishna as we get them both. And Hrithik delivers as both – this time actually a lil more as Krrishna. Not a Best Actor award winning performance, but solid enough to be regarded as one of the better ones this year.

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God Tussi Great Ho

Directed by: Rumi Jaffrey

Starring: Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sohail Khan

Released: 2008

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

God Tussi Great Ho. And forgiving also. Otherwise You would have struck down the makers of this film with ten plagues of Egypt. There is no justification whatsoever, no excuse great enough, for the existence of this movie. A blunt remake of Hollywood film „Bruce Almighty“ is even more appalling than the stupid, but still enjoyable in bits, original with whacky Jim Carrey in the role of an ambitious, but unlucky TV journalist. Indian version gives us Salman Khan in his stead.

Arjun (Salman) is not only poor and unsuccessful, but he also doesn´t get along with his father, his sister is considered ugly, and his gorgeous and popular female colleague Alia has no incling whatsoever he is hopelessly in love with her. This young and healthy man, who has a house, family, 5 meals a day, a job and a potential girlfriend, however considers himself extremely unlucky and stubbornly believes God is against him in every way and plays His dirty games with poor Arjun for His own amusement only. Arjun curses God, calls Him names at every opportunity, and even more so after a new guy appears in the office and soon takes over not only his job but also steals his ideas and potential girlfriend. Now, wouldn´t that make you angry? Damn.

Ironically the best part of his wardrobe in the film.

God finally decides to give Arjun a proper lesson, and hence He has a personal talk with him and gives him all His powers, to make the world better according to his own judgment. Need I say that within days Arjun majorly screws up? And realizes God is right? Who is surprised raise your hand.

As I said before, the original film too was anything but great. But it was reasonably well acted, and most importantly.... it was here first (I dare not call it an original because my experience taught me very few things in the world are actual originals....). There is little to no difference between storyline, except of course Bruce made Jennifer Aniston´s boobs grow, and Arjun, being a nice Indian ladka (sporting shirts that would make Rishi Kapoor´s sweater collection proud) he makes his potential girlfriend a future bride.

How is that song again?

I´m walking on sunshine! Whoooo hoooo!

God Tussi Great Ho is extremely poorly executed. Salman is just pathetic, going through his dark phase between excellence that was Tere Naam and reinventing himself with Dabangg. His brother Sohail is, ironically, better in this (not a great deal considering how horrible everyone was in this film), then again he really isn´t someone you´d want to watch on screen. Priyanka Chopra is breathtakingly gorgeous, yet annoying and unconvincing. Then there is God playing Amitabh Bachchan.... I mean Amitabh Bachchan playing God, but apart from his amazing voice there is little that would make you go wow.

"You did not just say that!"

"I wanna report a Bollywood blasphemy that just occured in this review!"

The most cringe-worthy thing were definitely cheap CGI effects, that looked like a video game from the early 90s. Nothing looked real (or even pretty), and truly all was so artificial I started to doubt the film actually released in 2008. The only bearable bit of the whole film was Laal Chunariya song, which at least took the advantage of Priyanka´s beauty.

A comedy that is not funny is one of the most painful cinematic experiences one can endure. Looking back I can´t believe I actually sat through this movie, which easily ranks among the worst I´ve seen in my life. Spare yourself the pain. It is not worth it, not even if you are a fan of the actors. Unless you want to see God pulling off some bad Bollywood moves.

This is approximatelly how I felt when the film finally ended.

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Barfi

Directed by: Anurag Basu

Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ileana D´Cruz

Released: 2012

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

It was with great fanfare that Barfi was announced as India´s this years entry to Oscars, and it was with almost apologetic and „you know“ smiles it was reported the film did not make it into another round of selection. Upon its release in India Barfi stunned almost every critic and more notably also viewers, and while I definitely am among those genuinely charmed, I am not surprised Barfi was rejected by the Academy (if they even bothered to watch it). It was just too obvious a film like this cannot succeed in this particular competition, and I have to wonder why Kahaani or Paan Singh Tomar were not send to the US instead. They were more „Indian“, more authentic, and most importantly original. Barfi is not a remake of any one film, it tells a story previously unseen, however it practically copied scenes from other movies and then moulded them together for the sake of story telling. A job brilliantly done, and in a way I did not find offending in the least, but still, not something you want the (self-proclaimed) most important film award platform to see as the best what you can do - which in this case would mean "copy others".

Murphy Munna, Jaisa Lala

Copied scenes matter apart (and I myself couldn´t have been bothered less about them, as I have not a single one of those films that were used for inspiration), Barfi is the ultimate feel good film of 2012, and that too with some of the best performances we´ve seen. Ranbir Kapoor has, in a short span of five years, that he is that one thing to watch out for in the future. Extremely versatile and convincing in any role, his own persona always engulfed by the character he plays. It is same with Barfi (Murphy), a deaf young man with an eye for girls and great joy of whatever life brings his way. Sometimes he illegally sells alcohol and is involved in minor crime, which irritates the local police to no end, because Barfi may be short of hearing ability, but is as cunning as a fox and so they can never catch him. 

When Shruti and her family come to Darjeeling (a small town where Barfi lives), it doesn´t take long before she bumps into him, and he immediately (and almost literally) offers her his heart, not caring she is already engaged. Even Shruti finds herself in love after a while, but pressured by her parents, she is ultimately not that brave as to let go of all certainties in her life for Barfi. After the disappointment with Shruti Barfi´s father suffers a heart attack, and penniless son knows that desperate times call for desperate needs. And so he sets out to kidnap an autistic girl Jhilmil from a rich family and demands ransom. Too bad somebody kidnaps her right before him....

Barfi is told in multiple flashbacks, flawlessly put together. There is an attempt to tell the story in a rather documentary way, and that too works beautifully combined with more common narrative. Music is very different from what we are used to in Bollywood films, it actually has a very French feel to it (didn´t someone say it was inspired by Amelie soundtrack? Needless to say I´ve not seen Amelie.). The film overall not only feels wonderful, but looks wonderful as well. The hill station of Darjeeling, the crowded but somewhat cozy streets of Kolkata, camera work does all places justice, and captures some truly beautiful details. 

Above all Barfi is brilliantly acted. Ranbir, as already mentioned, is a complete natural, and both his leading ladies hold their own against him as well. Ileana, the best newcomer to Bollywood this year for sure, makes Shruti very elegant, gentle girl, very relatable for many. She would like to chase her dreams, and is not exactly forbidden to do so, but society norms are always there to remind her that she should just sit down and be happy with what she already has. 

Priyanka Chopra, very much like Ranbir, is probably the most versatile and daring actress in Bollywood right now. With Jhilmil she more than made up for the disappointment which was Teri Meri Kahaani. There was no shortage of great female performances this year, but I believe Priyanka takes the cake. Vidya Balan was nothing but excellent and Sridevi too was pure delight, there was also Kareena who impressed me, and of course Deepika was the best surprise of 2012. However none of them had a role as challenging as Priyanka. She became somebody she has absolutely nothing of in real life.

To portray a person with disability of any kind is always risky. There are too many examples and possibilities of where to go wrong and make such a character nothing more than either a caricature or a pitiful thing that needs to be cried over, but Jhilmil, in spite of being several autistic, is neither. She is innocent, but not pitiful, she is „different“, yet definitely not someone who cannot make a place for themselves in the society. She is capable of utter devotion, that does not come from her being dependent on a person. The girl makes her own decisions. Just like Barfi, who is deaf, autistic Jhilmil does not feel discriminated by being born a bit different. It is a bit uncertain for me to pinpoint which of the ladies was actually the main female lead, because Ileana dominates completely in the first hour, but from then on Jhilmil mostly takes over.

The story may seem naive in a way, and perhaps is, but it is also heart-warming and extremely endearing. The only complaint I have is the make up artist, who couldn´t make a believable „old“ make up for Priyanka and Ileana, and instead they came off looking as if they haven´t washed in weeks. But really, other than that, I loved Barfi. It made me happy. Something no other film this year really managed to do.

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What's Your Raashee?

Directed by: Ashutosh Gowariker

Starring: Priyanka Chopra

Released: 2009

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

I did not expect much of it and thanks to that I did not find it as bad as some people say. In fact it suited quite well to my mood and I calmly had dinner, corrected few papers for my mum who is a teacher, fed our lambs and did my manicure - all while watching the film. At the same time the fact it fitted my mood does not mean it is a good movie. It is dull, really, and drags terribly – after all it has almost 3,5 hours, that are not exactly thrilling or action-packed, neither do they bring out much of an emotion. So we have an obviously useless member in a family, who not only is good for nothing, but actually makes huge debts for which he could go to prison - so let´s all sacrifice ourselves so we can ensure his well-being. What??? That guy should have just gone in jail. But then again.... there would be no film if he did.

The thing indeed worth watching though is Priyanka Chopra, who does exceedingly well and pulls of one of the most unique stunts ever – she enacts 12 different characters, one of each „rashee“, and truth to be told, she is not repetitive in the least! I definitely could see the differences between all 12 characters she had to deal with, and she really used everything from expressions, manner of walk, signature gestures to manner of speech to full advantage. Sadly everything around her is dull and the dullest of all is the lead actor, who looks nice and dances nice, but completely lacks X-factor. That his character is completely one dimensional nice guy without much of a personality does not help. 

The main excuse for 3,5 hours is as follows: The hero, promised by his grandfather he would get loads of money on his wedding day, sets out to find himself a bride. Not because he would be wealth-hungry, but because, as already mentioned, his useless and stupid brother made huge debts and family is willing to do anything to get him out of trouble (I wouldn´t.) Poor hero thus decides to leave everything and starts searching the right woman under a guidance of a match-maker. But because there are too many girls and too little time, so he decides to meet only 12 girls, one representative of each zodiac sign – because obviously ALL people born in the same rashee are the SAME. And in the end he chooses one. Yes. That is all there is to the plot.

I must give the film the credit for excusing Priyanka´s face on all the girls without much pain. Suspicious, but not completely dismissable explanation by an old grandpa, that once you´re set up to find your life-partner, you see them all in one light/with one face, actually didn´t seem that bad... And Priyanka indeed doens´t make you sorry that she is that one face. She looks lovely in all the avatars and captures both huge and gentle nuances that define her characters very well. Be it self-conscious Anjali, mystical (and kinda horny) Bhavna, hot-tempered exhibitionist Mallika, modern feminist Rajni or traditional and romantic (and kinda off-her head) Chandrika (my favourite!), they all are believable and credit goes solely to Priyanka.

What´s Your Raashee is really a film bellow par. It got me thinking though, that as a 12 episode TV series it actually could have been great.

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Teri Meri Kahaani

Directed by: Kunal Kohli

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Prachi Desai

Released: 2012

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

I was expecting a fluffy and cute film but it turned out to be quite lame. Surprisingly enough it was not about reincarnation, which was the impression I got from the promos, but perhaps that would have made more sense in the end.

One by one, and for whatever reason not chronologically, we are presented three love stories that have one thing in common – they happen in a span of mere minutes. First it´s the Mumbai of the 60s, where in a big film studio an aspiring musician falls for a film star (whom he doesn´t know, even though he seeks job in films and she gets her own Filmfare cover from time to time. Huh.) However at the same time he acts way too familiar with a common girl who thinks he´s in love with her. And boom – she happens to be the filmstar´s best friend. This storyline, though weak in terms of script (and everything else), was watchable. Priyanka (looking gorgeous, no arguments there) had nothing much to do in a whole film, but Shahid as Govind, though unsuccessfully trying to recreate the Raj Kapoor magic, was more or less agreeable both as a character and as a performer at this point (it gets worse later). The sets creating scenery were too obviously painted to be taken seriously – or was that intentional to bring out the vibe of the era?

Second story moves forward in time to our present where Facebook and Twitter are a part of everyday life. A young college student breaks up with his girl, but two hours later falls in love with another. After much SMS messages they are full of true pyaar, which includes sending each other photos of their burgers etc etc, but the ex-girlfriend (who by the way initiated the break-up) decides she is jealous and makes public some unflattering pictures of the guy, to which he answers with posting her pictures. His new love doesn´t understand fun apparently and leaves him. Boo hoo. Let´s put a hood on and have some smart talks about how women are like alcohol. This storyline was hand down the worst. Not only neither of them looked the age they pretended to be, but all the messaging actually made them seem like 13 years olds. Especially the whole photo war between Krrish and Meera (WHO keeps photos like that in their phone anyway???). Super lame.

I was rather looking forward to the 1910s (oh the time when to sing in prison was illegal) bit, but it let me down. Lahore at that time was apparently full of horny girls waiting only for Shahid to rid them of their virginity. I am no expert on Indian culture, but from what I´ve seen and heard, looting a girl like that often leads to the guy being beaten up and worse, yet this guy is ruining every girl in sight and he walks freely in the city, without any father being distressed. And of course the girl who gets his heart is the one who doesn´t let him into her bed as soon as she sees him. Pure pyaar yet again. But alas her father is not inclined to marry his daughter off to a notorious womanizer who recently is in prison, and instead he weds her to a decent man he approves of. Bastard, nah? The „mass crowd“ scenes in this were anything but a „mass crowd“. It got better as it progressed, but the first impression really took its toll.

But if you have not understood already, all the stories are about TRUE PYAAR. And what Bollywood taught us? That PURE PYAAR always wins. And so you can be sure that confused filmstars will hop onto that train, that university students acting like prepubescent children will update their Facebook status, and that the director will conveniently and quietly kill off the girl´s decent husband so the womanizer can marry her instead.

Finally the question is – why? I did not understand the need for three different stories, that obviously had no connection between them. Did Kunal Kohli get three similar scripts and couldn´t decide so he rolled them all into one? That seems the most probable version to me.

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Agneepath

Directed by: Karan Malhotra

Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Om Puri

Released: 2012

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Agneepath is definitely one of the best films to come out of Bollywood in the past several years. To have a reference point I watched the original first, and I can without a second thought say that this is, together with Don, the best remake I´ve seen.

The original, as impressive as the one man show by Amitabh Bachchan was and as endearing Mithunda was, did not really leave much impact in my mind, and although it is revered as a classic by many, it is not a movie I would watch again from my own choice. As far as I know it gained its cult status by handling in an interesting an innovative manner of revenge more than anything else. The new Agneepath takes all the best out of the old one, moulds it with more action, more thrill, more glamour and produces a cinematic piece full of passion and emotions. Agneepath has a mysterious kind of wild beauty, and that even during the scenes that (as far as content is the matter) are actually nail-biting and even disgusting. It concentrates less on the underworld plotting and more on the persona of Vijay, there is less of motherly scolding and rejection but that doesn´t mean it´s less painful. The love track, although still secondary, is better understood than in the original, where it somehow happened out of nowhere (the old Bollywood-way), while in the new one it has a background and reason. 

Hrithik as Vijay is perfect (and so is Arish Bhiwandiwala as a young Vijay, one of the best child performances since Ayesha Kapoor in Black). I am not talking only about his stellar performance, but about his overall look, his presentation - and age! He was exactly what Vijay should have been. His natural interaction with all the characters seemed completely effortless from his silent love for Kaali, protectiveness of his sister to disdain he felt for Lala and finally the utter hatred for Kancha, all was there, mixed together and always painfully real. His eyes speak without words, but his dialogue delivery, especially the poem recital uttered in pain in the moments of bitter victory, is wonderful. 

 

His brilliance is only rivaled by Rishi Kapoor, who conquered a new base. From teenage lover boy to Lala, Rishi proves he is no less than the more appreciated names like Amitabh Bachchan or Dharmendra. I dare to go as far as to call his villanious act iconic. Sanjay Dutt, of course, gives also a very impressive performance, but is given a raw deal and his screaming scene at the beginning does not leave the desired impact. Special mention to Om Puri, who never fails. After seeing the original film I was somehow wary because from the start it was heralded the new adaptation will not have one of the chief characters – Krishnan Iyer, played by Mithun Chakraborthy. I could not really imagine how that could be done as he had quite a prominent role that held importance in all the lines of the story, but the script of new Agneepath surprised. Krishnan was definitely not an ungrateful and meaningless character, but I never felt his absence in the new film. That also leaves Mithun Chakraborthy the only actor from the previous cast who remains unsurpassed.

The highly impressive villains.

Priyanka Chopra as Kaali looks beautiful, but she is one actress you know can act the pants off of almost everyone, and so one is bound to feel disappointed at the lack of screen time she gets as well as lack of character development. She is lovely, of course, but anyone at all could have done the role. Both Vijay´s mother and sister are actually characters with more impact on both his life and the viewer, in spite of also being sidelined. The last notable female appearing in the film was of course Katrina Kaif as Chikni Chameli, but oh my! Whatever looked good in the promos looked completely out of place in the movie. The editing with special fading effects made it seem like the film switched to MTV for a while. Not even Katrina´s dancing was good. I recall how I was impressed by the promos early this year, but after seeing the whole thing I must say Katrina can move, but that was not a dancing. The blame should be put mostly to the choreographer of course, but Katrina doesn´t ad anything positive to the whole thing either. Her expression doesn´t change throughout, and if you notice she hardly ever does two different moves in one take. The shot is always cut when it should come to a change. Chikni Chameli so became my least favourite part of the movie and definitely one of its rare weaknesses. The best song - and dance - must be for me Gun Gun Guna. Also the wedding song right before the interval was excellent, it helped to build the tension and thrill wonderfully.

The visual part of the movie ads to its beauty. It´s wildly colourful, but not sugary or over the top. The play of colours and shadows are used brilliantly to portray the difference between the hell that is Mandwa and a peaceful place it used to be. The symbolism finds its place (we all like it, don´t we) when Vijay literally steps into Lala´s shoes, when a tree Kanha uses for executions witheres seemingly without reason and more.

People call the old Agneepath a classic, but to me personally this label doesn´t really fit. I guess it is one of those cases when a movie needs to be viewed in the frame of its own era. To me it was a fine film with fine performances, but way too many loopholes, subplots, and let´s face it but Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay was a miscast. I still recommend to watch it first, so you can truly appreciate the new Agneepath. It really impressed me more than I even expected (and my expectation were indeed very high).

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