Varun's Word

Why sing the National Anthem? It’s a song but its not for entertaining the citizens. It’s a celebration of National pride. It’s a song that unifies our hearts and souls. Milkha Singh or the flying Sikh is a National Treasure. He is the nation’s pride. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a celebration of this pride. This movie is not meant for entertainment either. Watch it like you sing the National Anthem. Get inspired!

Farhan Akhtar lives and breathes Milkha! When he cries you wanna cry too. No one else’s sweat can be sweeter than his. when he runs on the tracks you wanna be a part of the crowd, smell the victory. Being Milkha Singh was no easy task. He was the Usain Bolt of 400 m as early as the 1960s! Enacting such a legend is no easy task either. It takes the same discipline and the same will power to portray him onscreen. Farhan Akhtar saw this opportunity to prove his conviction and belief as an actor. And boy does he deliver in style. In my sub-conscious mind I get reminded of Ben Kingsley whenever I think of the Mahatma. I get reminded of NTR whenever I picture Lord Krishna. Farhan Akhtar is the new face of the flying Sikh.

This movie does have quite a lot of cinematic moments. Like the singh’s quest for the India blazer. Like the kid Milkha growing up into Farhan Milkha. Like the emotional scenes with Divya Dutta. And one can agree to a little bit of singing and dancing of punjabi faujis. Watch out for the Bhangra by the coaches after Milkha wins a crucial race.

Well I don’t have anything to say about sonam kapoor here. She was a better fit in Ranjhanaa. Great work on the concluding titles with the pictures of the real Milkha!

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, the country is with you!

— Varun Mannava Gowtham

It’s the time when entire Tollywood does not want to take risks. Only debutant directors are licensed to take risks. Among those who are financing these risks are rare producers who still trust in the magic that telugu movies can create. They say high risks result in high returns in the Financial world. The same logic holds good for Tollywood. GJG is a run-away hit. So much that I had to go back home without tickets for a 11 pm show at In-orbit mall. And on the next night that I got tickets, it was the first row from the screen.

What makes this movie click ?

1. Chemistry between Nithin and Nithya Menon.

2. Clarity in the script written by Harshvardhan.

3. Pawan Kalyan fever and worshipping!

4. Peppy songs.

5. Creative and genuine Comedy.

The plot is slightly complex, which stands as a plus point for the movie and makes it stand out from run of the mill movies. Other than script being King of this movie, we have Nithya Menon whose screen presence, performance, and even the dance moves captures the audiences’ imagination. She sails the movie through smoothly from start to finish. One never gets bored of her expressions and screen presence. It is very rare that a person with a personality like Nithya can demand such attention in an industry that is dominated by Glamour dolls like Tamanna and Illeana.

Nithin does his usual performance. His dialogue delivery is unique, though not the best in industry, but it has worked wonders for him till date in Tollywood. He is usually wooden faced when it comes to expressions, but the energy he exudes on screen is definitely worth applauding.

The entire cast and crew seem to be fans of Power Star Pawan Kalyan fans. Watch out for the creative re-make of the popular Pawan Kalyan song from the movie Tholiprema. Something that the public in the front benches would rejoice about. Nobody’s complaining though!

The songs are Anup Rubens are good and quite catchy too. The item song by Jwala gutta could have been avoided. She looks so reluctant onscreen. You see, the janta here love item songs that are generous. And she can’t shake a leg well too.

If you are looking for 150 minutes of light-hearted love story and yet a cat-mouse chase scenario go watch this movie on the big screen. Thumbs up for this flick for being different from other regular formula movies.

–Varun Mannava Gowtham.

Hum cheez hain badey kaam ki.. Yaaram!

The movie starts with a funny disclaimer in Hindi saying ‘this movie does not promote witch craft nor does it promote the comparison / portrayal of women as Daayan (Witch)’.  The packed theater bursts off into laughter. Then the same disclaimer comes again in English. Crowd bursts into laughter again. That’s the laughter before this intensely thrilling and scary movie begins. This laughter slowly fades off for the next 120 minutes. Ek Thi Daayan does best what Horror movies are supposed to do. It scares the shit out of you!

Humey kam pe rakh lo Kabhi.. Yaaram!

The plot revolves around Bobo the baffler (Emraan Hashmi) and his childhood in the first half of the movie. It narrates how Bobo, who is a magician by profession, goes through hallucinations that his step-mom Diana (Konkana sen) is a witch. He keeps referring to his book on magic and witch-craft to prove his points but no one really understands, including his Father or his Psychiatrist. 20 years later it starts coming back all again during his magic shows. His girlfriend Tamara (Huma Qureshi) also comes to know about this. Will Bobo be able to prove his point to his loved ones or will he succumb to his hallucinations is what the second half is all about

Suraj se pehle jagayenge .. Aur akhbaar ke saari surkhiyaan hum gungunayenge..!

The writers Vishal Bhardwaj and Mukul Sharma have done their homework well. You see in movies like these, script is the first star. Rest all stars are secondary. The logic is intact and it never goes out of control. The director Kannan Iyer makes sure the ship sails through thin ice successfully. Although the ending could have been more energetic and powerful, no one is complaining. Having seen a new horror-genre in ages, the bollywood audience is more than happy to acknowledge the efforts.

pesh karenge garam chai pe… koi khabar aayi  na pasand toh end badal denge.. !

Konkana Sen Sharma sizzles as the dark witch, potentially capturing the audiences under her spell of natural portrayal for such a difficult character. Special effects do come to her rescue at times. Huma Qureshi is the hefty glamor doll and pulls off a neat performance. She is quite over weight on screen. Kalki Koechlin does what she does best. Fitting into a role as if tailor made for her.

This is the first time I was eagerly waiting for a movie where Emraan Hashmi is the lead character. Trust me, anybody could have portrayed this role but the fact that Emraan bagged it means that its going to do him good. Or maybe like he says in the movie he is good because “he does not make noise while sleeping, he does not fart and he is a tiger in bed”. Nothing much to complain about his performance. He has done a clean role.

Vishal Bhardwaj’s music has always been catchy. However his song Yaaram combined with Gulzar’s simple yet magical lyrics, I must say, is definitely addictive. The song is also shot spectacularly in the movie.

Go watch a new genre in the theaters and then go home and sleep. Don’t try this at home!

— Varun Mannava Gowtham

It’s a boon and a bane to be a successful director in Tollywood. Its like opening a school. Every big star in Tollywood wants to join this school, be part of the shooting, give the audience test and come out with 90% marks. Each time the same questions are asked in the exam, and each time the answers written are the same. Just that the Lead actors are different. The character artists and comedians are the same. Its a pity that the audiences want such movies only.

Type 1 : The Sreenu Vaitla Template

a. Much of the first half of the movie is dominated by “Boy falling in love” scenes. There cant be a love failure or a sad ending to a love story at all! Right from Venky till Ready.. from Ravi Teja to Mahesh Babu, everyone follows the same rule.

b. One of the protagonists’ parents is alive. But either the protagonist himself does not know this or the parent does not know if he / she is alive. Or maybe the parents think that their son is not alive. Ha!

c. The protagonist HAS to wear the police uniform at least once and only once in the entire movie. Happened in Venky, Dhee, Dookudu, Badshah (only exception being King  and I haven’t watched Namo Venkatesa)

d. At a specific time, there needs to be an item song. (immediately after the interval?). Ok this can be discounted because the entire movie industry is so specific about item songs.

e. At a specific time there needs to be a wedding scene and confusion in that wedding. e.g. boy does not know if he will end up marrying the bride or not. e.g. Ready, Dhee, Badhsah

f. There needs to be one duet in Switzerland, with firangs wearing desi costumes and doing desi moves. e.g. Dookudu & Badshah.

g. Of late, Thaman has also found a template of songs that would fit in these movies.

You would have watched Dookudu and Pokiri. Close your eyes and imagine Jr. NTR in the place of Mahesh Babu and voila, you have the Badshah movie. Do you still need a review for Badshah? I wonder if Sreenu Vaitla can ever make a murder mystery movie or a horror movie ?

–Varun Mannava Gowtham