MUSIC REVIEW: NOOR

Mini-review: The breezy, hummable soundtrack adds yet another feather in Amaal Mallik’s hat. 

‘Noor’, based on Saba Imtiaz’s novel ‘Karachi, You Are Killing Me’, and featuring Sonakshi in the titular role of a goofy, young journalist, is not expected to be a musical per se. But, the fact that it is produced by a music company and has Amaal Mallik, one of the most promising young composers on the block, at the helm of the soundtrack, one expects the album to have at least a bunch of interesting tunes to offer.

Manoj Muntashir’s descriptive lyrics, Amaal Mallik’s free-flowing tune and Armaan Malik’s spirited rendition do a good job at bringing alive the lively character of  'Noor', played by Sonakshi Sinha and giving the listener a basic understanding of what the character is like. The title track of films featuring a female lead/titular character is often sung by a female vocalist but here Armaan pitches in as the singer, giving one an outsider’s view of Noor Roy Choudhary’s world.  

Following the trend of remixing cult Hindi songs and using them in films being made today, T-Series opts for “Gulaabi Aankhein” (‘The Train’, 1970) which has been repackaged and given the title “Gulabi 2.0”. Before the hook line arrives at 0:52 minutes into the song, one does not even realize that it is a remixed version of the classic R D Burman composed number. “Gulaabi Aankhein” had a bouncy feel to it but it was essentially a romantic track. Here, Amaal has recreated it as a club number which sounds fine but the hook line and the rest of the song does not really blend in seamlessly. The other version “Gulabi Redux”, sans Amaal’s vocals, sounds almost the same.

Though “Jise Kehte Pyaar Hain” is essentially a romantic track, it has the bouncy appeal of the first two songs on the album. Sukriti Kakar’s zesty rendition ups the likeability of the track by a couple of notches. The simple and hummable lyrics (Kumaar) compliment the youthful, vibrant energy of the song. Amaal Mallik does not go overboard with the arrangements and gives the track a nice layer of electronic base. 

After all the fun and happiness, arrives “Hai Zaroori”, a slow paced track which gets its pensiveness from Amaal’s simple and soulful tune. Kumaar’s lyrics and Prakriti Kakar’s earnest singing contribute equally well towards the sombre quality of the song. “Hai Zaroori” also has a nice, old-world charm to it which is most prominent in the part in which you hear Prakriti sing “Koi chori chori chupke se chupke se rona hai zaroori…”.  The way the phrase is tuned reminded me of “Chalte Chalte Yun Hi Koi Mil Gaya Tha” (‘Pakeezah’). 

Though ‘Noor’ is devoid of songs that could turn out to be chartbusters, each and every track on the album is good enough to keep you engaged as a listener. While the repackaged version of ‘Gulabi Aankhen’ might get mixed reactions, the rest of the songs should become more relatable and simultaneously, more popular when one sees the film. 

Rating: 3/5

MOVIE REVIEW: PHILLAURI

Mini-review: Despite some uneven writing, strong performances and a uplifting climax help the film score. 

When one sees the promos of Phillauri, one is not sure as to which genre the film belongs to. It has one of its principal characters playing the role of a ghost and the trailer indicated the film to have a blend of romance and comedy. Anushka Sharma and brother Karnesh Sharma, who co-founded the production company Clean Slate Films have shown a penchant for offbeat films. NH10, the duo’s maiden production venture was quite different from the regular fare and one expects Phillauri to have a unique story in the offing. Phillauri has been directed by debutante Anshai Lal and written by Anvita Dutt, who has films like Queen and Shaandaar to her credit as a writer.

Kanan (Suraj Sharma), a 26 year old Canada based musician, comes back to India to get married to his childhood sweetheart Anu (Mehreen Pirzada). After reaching India, Kanan is informed of the fact that he is a ‘maanglik’ (an astrological combination considered to be inauspicious) and he needs to get married to a tree before tying the knot with Anu. Getting married to the tree and then chopping it off, the astrologer suggests, would help Kanan get rid of the bad omen attached to him. Unwillingly, he gives in to the pressure put in by everyone around him and gets married to the tree. The same night, Kanan is woken up from his slumber by Shashi (Anushka Sharma), a woman who died 98 years ago and has now turned into a ghost. Shashi informs him that he did not get married to the tree but to her. After going through the initial shock of encountering a ghost, Kanan and Anu sit down and listen to Shashi’s story as she recounts her relationship with Roop Lal (Diljit Dosanjh) and what led to her untimely death. 

Even in the 21^st  century, India is still grappling with age old customs or outdated ideas that, ideally, should have no relevance in today’s modern world. The film touches upon one such custom here but does not address it beyond a point. One does not blame the writer as probably, that was not the intent either. As the film is primarily a romance which explores the dynamics of the relationship shared by the two couples, one would have liked to see the write put some more emphasis on it. Shashi and Roop Lal’s  story takes some time to grow on you. And, the conflict between Kanan and Anu, a modern day couple, is never really brought to the fore. Phillauri advocates the fact that love is eternal. That is does rather well courtesy an emotionally charged climax that puts across the message rather well. However, that does not discount the fact the film suffers from uneven writing and has a plethora of scenes that serve no purpose. The second half moves at a sluggish pace and too much time is devoted to building up the characters. It is the second half where the film, despite some predictable turns, gets you really interested. The best is reserved for the last what with the film throwing up a hugely rousing climax which could make you reach for a tissue to wipe your tears with. 

Anushka Sharma lends an understated humour to her character of a ghost and brings out the finer nuances of the well-read Shashi who is a part of a patriarchal society equally well. Diljit Dosanjh also strikes a fine balance between making Roop Lal come across as a sinewy and vulnerable person at the same time. Though saddled with a a fairly underwritten character, Suraj Sharma delivers a highly effective performance. Mehreen Pirzada looks pretty and plays her part of a docile, would-be-bride with elan. Manav Vij is terrific as Shashi’s overbearing but loving brother. 

Anshai Lal manages to make a very fine distinction between the two starkly different worlds the film moves back and forth between. The control he has over emotions is incredible. The writing (Anvita Dutt) is sketchy and falters in the initial portions of the film but the climax makes up for a lot of shortcomings in the script. The music (Shaswat Sachdeva and Jasleen Royal) is in sync with the film but barring a couple of tracks, the soundtrack does not really linger in your mind. The background score (Sameer Uddin) is better. VFX has been used extensively in the film and the film, undoubtedly, has got some of the best visual effects one has seen in a Hindi film recently. 

Phillauri rests on an interesting premise that could have made for a much more engaging film with a tighter screenplay. The subliminal climax is a treat for people who, like this writer, cry at the drop of a hat. 

MOVIE REVIEW: MACHINE

Mini-review: Abbas-Mustan’s logic defying thriller is a farrago of plots from their far more superior films

The Hindi film industry has been churning out thrillers ever since it came into being. However, the number of films (and the ones that succeed) continues to remain low. When one thinks of directors who have carved a career out of making thrillers, Abbas-Mustan’s name immediately comes to one’s mind. Though the director duo has tried out other genres as well (‘Chori Chori Chupke Chupke’, ‘Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon’), the major part of their filmography consists of thrillers. Barring a few misses, most of their films have managed to do well at the box-office. While their last film was the successful comedy ‘Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon’, they are back to making a film belonging to a genre they are synonymous with. ‘Machine’, their latest offering, introduces Abbas Burmawalla’s son Mustafa.

Sarah Thapar (Kiara Advani) comes from a well-to-do family and believes in helping out those in need.  She studies in Woodstock College, Himachal Pradesh and donates a large amount of money to a school based in the same city. A minor accident leads to Sarah bumping into Ransh (Mustafa Burmawallah), who has just moved into the city and has taken admission in the same college which Sarah studies in. Sarah gradually falls in love with Ransh but does not know if he feels the same for her. Aditya (Eshan Shankar), whom Sarah considers to be her best friend, is in love with her and is waiting for the right moment to propose to her. 

Machine borrows some important plot points from ‘Baazigar’ and ‘Khiladi’, two of Abbas-Mustan’s most successful films. Let alone these two films, it is not a patch on some of the lesser known films made by the duo. Though some of the twists and turns in the film do take you by surprise initially, the writer (Sanjeev Kaul) fails to back it up with good reasoning. (Spoiler ahead) Unlike Baazigar, where the character played by Shah Rukh Khan had some strong motivation behind what he does, here Mustafa’s character comes across as a featherbrained person. How could you show a character committing some heinous crimes without a solid driving factor? We do get to know the motivation behind Ransh’s actions but it is far from being believable (spoiler ends). The first half sporadically offers some engaging moments and ends on an interesting cliff-hanger but post that, the film goes downhill and culminates in a climax that is outrageous, to say the least. 

After leaving a strong impression, despite having a limited screen time, in her last film ‘M.S Dhoni: The Untold Story’, Kiara Advani gets a substantial role to play in this film. She looks gorgeous and delivers a powerful performance. Mustafa hams in a few scenes but does fairly well as a first-timer. He might not have a great screen presence but he has talent which can be honed further before he faces the camera again. Ronit Roy is saddled with a poorly written part that leaves the actor no scope to give a good account of himself. Eshan Shankar looks awkward initially but his performance grows on you gradually. It is a delight to watch Johny Lever in a film after a hiatus. 

Abbas-Mustan are known to make sleek looking thrillers, so it is disappointing to see them coming up with a film that has the look and feel of a film from the early 2000s. Yes, their last film, despite being fairly entertaining, had a slightly dated look to it but just four years back, they had made ‘Race 2’ which was a stylish and engrossing film by all means. ‘Machine’ is one of the weakest Abbas-Mustan films but let’s not give up on them. They have consistently delivered entertaining films and one hopes they bounce back with their next. 

Rating: 1.5/5

MOVIE REVIEW: TRAPPED

Mini-review: An engaging survival drama that could have left a more lasting impact with clever writing. 

There have been several English films that showed the protagonist/s stuck in a difficult place with no resources and trying to get out of it. When I saw the trailer of Vikramaditya Motwane’s, images from Danny Boyle’s ‘127 Hours’ started floating in my mind. Both the films are set in completely different milieus but ‘127 Hours’, just like ‘Trapped’, traced the struggles of the protagonist as he tried to escape from a place he was stuck in and the film had the beats of a thriller. Of course, with the kind of sensibilities Motwane’s first two films had, one expects the director to come up with something original and fresh. 

Shaurya (Rajkummar Rao), a young executive working for a travel agency, is in love with Noorie (Geetanjali Thapa), a colleague but is only able to muster enough courage to talk to her on phone. Noorie reciprocates Shaurya’s feelings but makes it clear to him that they will have to part ways in two months as her parents have already fixed her marriage which will be taking place after two months. Shaurya urges Noorie not to get married to the man her marriage has been fixed with and give their relationship a chance. He promises her that he will arrange for a new house here they can move in together. After meeting several brokers, Shaurya gets a spacious apartment in a vacant building. Shaurya moves in to the apartment immediately and looks forward to meeting Noorie’s family and talking to them about getting married to her. The next day, a turn of events lead towards Shaurya being locked inside his house. The phone’s battery is dead, there is not a single soul residing in the building and electricity and water runs out pretty soon.

Being locked up inside an apartment in a buzzing city is not a scenario you would imagine somebody to be in. But, director Vikramaditya Motwane and writers (Amit Joshi and Hardik Mehta) pull off the narrative so convincingly, you buy into all that unfolds in front of your eyes. Even if the scenes seemed to have come across as far-fetched to someone reading out them on a paper, most of it makes sense when one sees them in the context of the film. Most of it, did I say? Yes, that is because there are some scenes/sequences where you feel the makers have taken too much of creative liberties. Even though nobody lives in the high-rising building the film is set in, it is surrounded, on all its corners, by shops, houses, buildings, roads etc. So, the fact that he hangs his clothes on the balcony and sets them (and some furniture) on fire at night and nobody takes notice is a little difficult to swallow. When a lady comes to the building after seeing a placard thrown by Shaurya on her building asking for help, she does not pay any heed to the watchman when he says that there is not a single soul residing in the building. She walks up the stairs and just when she is about to reach Shaurya’s apartment, retracts back. She comes down and throws away the blood stained placard carelessly. One wonders why she would change he mind at the last minute after walking all the way down to the building all alone. 

The way Shaurya struggles to get out of the building is believable. You can empathize with his pain and his desperation which leads him towards drinking his urine to quench his thirst. A length of 105 minutes is fair for a film of this genre. Even then, the film seems a little log and you tend to lose interest at times because it the plot is mostly predictable. The film has an interesting premise that should have benefitted from more clever writing. A couple of minutes before Shaurya manages to escape, you feel exhausted and just want a resolution.

The film rests on Rajkummar Rao’s shoulders and he delivers a standout performance. The actor reportedly survived on a diet of black coffee and carrots to look the part. All the effort he had put in reflects in his performance. His performance is one of the factors that keep you hooked to the film even when things get a little drably. Geetanjali Thapa leaves a lasting impression as Noorie. The few scenes she gets to perform, towards the beginning and end of the film, are suffice to show her mettle as an actor. Yogendra Vikram Singh, as the broker who helps Shaurya find the apartment, is good. 

Trapped is an engaging survival drama that has Rajkummar Rao’s performance as one of its aces. With the kind of idea Vikramaditya Motwane and his team of writers had, the film could have been far more interesting than it eventually turns out to be.

Rating: 3/5

MUSIC REVIEW: NAAM SHABANA

Despite being a song-less film, ‘Baby’ (2015) had a fairly good album consisting of four tracks.  ‘Naam Shabana’, a prequel to the aforementioned film, traces the journey of Shabana Khan (Taapsee Pannu) as circumstances force her to take up joining a crime fighting unit. Rochak Kohli, who started off as a co-composer with Ayushmann Khurrana on some of his earlier hit songs, has been steadily making a name for himself as a composer. Barring one song (“Baby Besharam”) by Meet Bros, the entire album is credited to Kohli. The songs have been written by prominent lyricists like Manoj Muntashir and Kumaar. With such well-known names at the helm of affairs and four original tracks at one’s disposal, one expects the album to carry a couple of tuneful numbers.

“Rozana”  is the kind of saccharine sweet, traditional Hindi film song that you would expect an Amaal Mallik or an Ankit Tiwari to compose for T-Series’ music bank. The song which conveys Shabana’s feelings for a man she is, presumably, in a relationship with, has a very likeable tune riding on a wave of some lovely verses written by Manoj Muntashir. A song like this should work as a calming or relief factor in this intense thriller. Shreya Ghoshal, whose voice one hears after a very long time, sounds fresh as ever.

After hearing the first song on the album in Shreya Ghoshal’s voice, it is a pleasure to see another stalwart lending her voice to a track. Sunidhi Chauhan lends her expertise to “Zinda” and along with Manoj Muntashir’s engaging wordplay, helps in lifting the song from its restrictive situational appeal. On paying close attention to the lyrics, and from the way the song sounds, one assumes it will probably arrive in the film at a time when Shabana realises her true calling in life. Unlike “Rozana”, this one would probably grow on you when you see the film.

Rochak Kohli borrows the hookline from Bappi Lahiri’s “Zooby Zooby” (‘Dance Dance’) and props it up with an appropriately heavy techno sound in “Zubi Zubi”, making it sound better than the original. While the hook lines similar to the original, the rest of the song boasts of an original tune which complements the immensely catchy hook. Sukriti Kakar sings the song with the right amount of spunk and Rochak lends good support as a backing vocalist. “Zubi Zubi should serve its purpose of spicing up the buzz for the film before it hits the theatres.

Jasmine Sandler’s voice and the way “Baby Besharam” starts off, one is instantly reminded of “Yaar Na Miley” (‘Kick’). As one finish listening to the track, one realises it is not a patch on the latter, which, itself, was a middling composition. Jasmine’s spirited rendition fails to compensate for a dated tune by Meet Bros and some lazy writing by Kumaar. One wonders if T-Series pulled this song out of an old music library which Meet Bros had delivered years back. 

Rochak Kohli gives a good account of him as a composer; all three of his compositions are listenable with two of them being chartbuster material. Meet Bros’ sole contribution to the album is nothing to write home about. Keeping in mind the genre of the film, one must give it to the makers and the record label for putting together a soundtrack that boasts of a couple of potential hit numbers that could serve as good marketing tools for the film. 

Rating: 3/5