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

MOVIE REVIEW: BADRINATH KI DULHANIA

Mini-review: Despite a prosaic climax, Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya turns out to be a hugely entertaining film and succeeds, to a good extent, in putting across an important message.

‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’, the film which Shashank Khaitan made his debut as a writer and a director with, was one of the biggest surprises of the year for me. The film which was supposed to pay homage to ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’, seemed to be a regular rom-com with no novelty to boast of. I watched the film and was pleasantly surprised to kind of elation it left me with. Sure, the film had a routine plot but it was the treatment that made all the difference. The relatable characters, a crisp screenplay and some really smart dialogues came together to form a highly entertaining film. Three years later, the lead pair of the film is back together in the director’s new film ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya’, the second film in the Dulhaniya franchise. 

Badrinath Bansal/Badri (Varun Dhawan) is a happy-go-lucky who whiles away his time in the small town of Jhansi with his best friend Somdev (Sahil Vaid) doing nothing substantial. Badri’s father is a man who strongly believes in patriarchy and believes women are supposed to be nothing but housewives. Badri has seen his elder brother (Yash Sinha) being forced to severe his ties with a girl he loved and forced to marry a girl of his father’s choice. Badri meets Vaidehi (Alia Bhatt) at a wedding, falls in love with her and decides she is the one he will get married to. Vaidehi, a strong minded and independent woman, does not show any interest in Badri, whose most prominent educational qualification is to finish tenth standard. Badri does not give up on his attempts to win over Vaidehi’s heart and sends Somdev, who runs a matrimonial website, to talk to her parents. While Vaidehi does not agree to get married to Badri, she seeks his help to find a suitable match for her elder sister Kritika (Sukhmani Lamba). Badri helps her out and hopes that in due course of time, he will be able to make her agree to get married to him.

The film is set in small-town India and gives one a good glimpse of the orthodox cultural sensibilities existing in these places. The film talks about patriarchy, gender quality and a host of related issues without forcing any of them in the plot. These elements are neatly woven into a largely engaging film that, on the surface level, is a romantic drama. Though the film has been promoted as a love story and the Badri-Vaidehi love story does take centre stage here, the film is a lot more than that. Very filmmakers portray small towns as authentically as Shashank Khaitan does here. The accent, the milieu, the ethos of small towns is brought out fabulously in the film. Humour plays a key part in the film (especially in the first half); one finds oneself laughing and smiling at numerous junctures in the film which dole out witty, amusing dialogues and some genuinely hilarious moments arising organically from certain situations. The first half is a laugh riot with some nice, emotional moments put in at the appropriate places. In the second half, both the landscape and the tone of the film changes. Humour takes a backseat and one is treated to some heart-warming moments between the lead pair. Yes, the second half could have been pacier but the film manages to maintain a firm grip on your attention as it marches towards the climax.

It is unfortunate for a film that turns out to be entertaining for most of its part, to have a climax that is a little underwhelming. The film makes a solid case for gender quality and talks about other atrocities committed in India but the ending, to some extent, dilutes the impact of the message. Shashank Khaitan settles for a convenient ending for the film which, one assumes, he thought would be lapped up by the conservative audience. If you strongly believe in the message the film tries to put across, you might not be troubled by the way the film ends but you would not heartily approve of it either. The film speaks against the dowry system, talks about empowering women but why is it insensitive towards men?  There is a sequence involving Varun Dhawan being groped by a bunch of gay men. After Alia and her friends rescue him, they burst into a laugh realizing what had happened. A man being subjected to sexual abuse/violence is not funny. 

Though Alia Bhatt plays a free-spirited, career driven young woman and Varun portrays the role of a character who starts off as being an aimless fellow who believes men to be superior than woman owing to his patriarchal upbringing, it is Badri who stays with you as the character completes a full circle from being a mildly chauvinistic character to being someone who realizes women are no less than men and how the society treats him is wrong. Varun Dhawan gets into the ski of his character and makes you forget about the urbane characters he had played in his earlier films. Alia struggles with the U.P accent at times but delivers a strong performance nevertheless. Though some of her character’s actions and behaviour are in sharp contrast to the upright person she is being portrayed, you do not ponder over it too much as she plays the role with a lot of conviction. Sahil Vaid, who played Humpty’s friend Poplu in the first instalment, gets a meatier and better etched out role this time and he plays t exceedingly well. Gaurav Pandey, who played another one of his friends, gets a smaller but impactful role. Sukhmani Lamba has a very strong screen presence and leaves a mark as Kritika. Apaarshakti Khurrana is terrific in his cameo as Bhushan Patnaik. Yash Sinha and Shweta Basu Prasad, who play Badri’s brother and sister-in-law respectively, get some good moments to shine as actors.

Badrinath Ki Dulhania has the earthiness and realism of Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, which explains it being the second installment in the franchise. But, overall, it boasts of a much different plot and most importantly, it is a better film than the first one. 

Rating:  3.5/5

MUSIC REVIEW: PHILLAURI

Music: Shashwat Sachdev and Jasleen Royal

Lyrics: Anvita Dutt, Shellee, Aditya Sharma and Neeraj Rajawat

Label: T-Series

Tracks: 8

Singers: Romi, Pawni Pandey, Diljit Dosanjh, Shehnaz Akhtar, Vivek Hariharan, Mika Singh and Jasleen Royal

Starring: Anushka Sharma, Diljit Dosanjh, Suraj Sharma and Mehreen Pirzada

Producer: Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma and Fox Star Studios

Director: Anshai Lal

Released On: March 6, 2017

In a nutshell: Shashwat Sachdev makes a promising debut in a film driven by Punjabi folk inspired tracks

Rating: 3/5

Clean Slate Films’(a film production company founded by Anushka Sharma and brother Karnesh) first production NH10 had a rousing album which, apart from staying true to the theme of the film, offered the listeners songs which could be enjoyed as standalone audio tracks. The NH10 album featured several new composers and the music of Phillauri, Clean Slate’s latest production, has been scored by a new composer called Shashwat Sachdev. There are two songs by Jasleen Royal who has a couple of films to her credit as a music director, not much is known about Sachdev. Since one of the lead characters (Diljit Dosanjh) plays the role of a musician, one expects music to play an important role in the narrative of the film.

The album gives one a glimpse of Punjabi folk music with the very first song on the album titled “Dum Dum”. The track has been rendered by newcomer Romy who sounds a lot like Javed Basheer (“Ye Tune Kya Kiya” – Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara”, “O Rangrez” – Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”). More than the standard tune, it is the overall feel of the song that keeps you invested in it. There are two more versions (“Dum Dum Punjabi Version” and “Dum Dum Reprise”) of the song. These two versions shine more than the original simply because Shellee writes some spectacular poetry for each of the two tracks; much better than the ordinary lyrics Anvita Dutt comes up with for the original.

The Punjabi flavour is induced in a more contemporary track called “What’s Up”, composed and co-sung by Jasleen Royal. Lyricist Aditya Sharma smartly puts in the phrase ‘What’s up’ amidst Punjabi verses in this robust, colourful number should be played in several functions in Punjab this year. The track is led by Mika who, as always, brings in tremendous amount of energy with his voice. Jasleen, who has shown limited range as a composer (with some surprises like “Nachde Ne Saare”, Baar Baar Dekho) does quite well here.

While one fails to fathom as to why the promotional track is called “Naughty Billo”, Shashwat Sachdev brings in the right amount of spunk in the song which is inspired from a popular Punjabi folk track. Despite uninspired lyrics and a half-baked attempt by Anushka Sharma to rap, the song turns out to be quite catchy and should serve its purpose of working as a marketing tool for the film.

One finally gets to hear “Sahiba”, the track a very tiny portion of which one had got to hear in the trailer. The folksy number has a similar aural structure to “Dum Dum” but has a much more evolved tune to boast of. Pawni Pandey, who recently lent her voice to “Laila Main Laila” (Raees), shows a very different side to her as she sings this mellow number with Romy. The lilting melody has an uplifting tune which reaches its pinnacle whenever Romy sings “Sahiba, Sahiba, chal wahaan jahaan Mirza”. 

Despite being an upbeat track “Bajake Tumba” has a certain amount of warmth to it, accentuated by Romy’s heartfelt singing. The rustic number has a character interacting with the crowd surrounding him and the dialogue-like verses has been set to tune appropriately by Shashwat Sachdev. The song has a situational feel to it but it manages to keep you hooked. The arrangements, including the use of some mickey orchestrated horns, do not let the track become monotonous. 

After showing some promise with “What’s Up”, Jasleen Royal is back to churning the kind of tracks that have forced one to brand her as a composer with limited range. “Din Shagna Da” has some interesting lyrics by Neeraj Rajawat, the orchestral arrangements are nice but the tune fails to ignite any interest in you. Jasleen’s voice also works against the track which needed a singer possessing a more mature, full-throated voice. 

Phillauri brings a promising composer to the fore and serves up with a mix of melodious and peppy Punjabi numbers that one would like to hear for some time. The film moves back and forth between two eras and one can distinguish which song belongs to which time period. Producers Anushka and Karnesh Sharma seem to have a good ear for music what with the music of each of the two films produced by them so far has turned out to be good.

MOVIE REVIEW: COMMANDO 2 THE BLACK MONEY TRAIL

In a nutshell: Scale and ambition cannot make up for a langurous screenplay.

The Dileep Ghosh directed Commando (2013), that marked Vidyut Jammwal’s debut as a leading man, did not have a great plot to boast of but watching the film turned out to be a fairly entertaining experience because of some brilliantly choreographed and performed action sequences and several clapworthy dialogues. Almost four years later, the producer and the actor are back with a sequel. The sequel has been directed by Deven Bhojani a renowned actor who also has several television show (‘Sarabhai VS. Sarabhai’, ‘Pukar’) to his credit as a director. Despite ‘Commando’ turning out to be a sleeper hit, one did not see or hear much of Jammwal.  He did a cameo in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s ‘Bullet Raja’, played the antagonist in a Tamil film and was one of the two leading men in the stuck-in-the-cans ‘Yaara’. While his fans might have missed seeing the actor on the screen, the good thing is that he has not been over-exposed and there is a curiosity to see the kind of action he pulls off and the performance he delivers this time.

Karanvir Singh Dogra (Vidyut Jammwal) is a commando who, now, is a part of a special cell of the crime fighting unit of the Indian Government. Karan is determined to nab Vicky Chadda (Vansh Bhardwaj), a man who has helped the rich in the country launder their black money to foreign countries.  Karan is aware of several top Government officials and other powerful people’s involvement with Vicky. He makes sure that he is one of the few officers, who as a team, are sent to bring Vicky to India. After reaching Malaysia, they meet a wheelchair bound Vicky and his wife Maria (Esha Gupta). Vicky tells the team that he has been falsely accused of laundering black money out of the country. 

The plot of the film has no connection to its predecessor. It is a standalone film in which Vidyut is again donning the avatar of a commando. In fact, even though he plays a commando in both the films there is no resemblance in the two characters. The hero of this film comes across as much more expressive, and slick than the first part. Here, the character is etched out better. The action is as good, if not better than the first part. However, unlike the first part, which had a decent storyline and the action sequences seemed to be emerging out of the plot, the action, in this film, seemed to be forced at several times. The main culprit is the screenplay which tries to incorporate too many elements in it without justifying most of them. The film boasts of several twists and turns which exhaust you after a while.  A film can have one or a thousand twists in store for the viewers but each and every surprising turn in the story should be justified properly. Most of the twists in the screenplay, especially the ones in the second half, seem silly. 

Black money has always been a topic of discussion in the country and with the demonetisation policy implemented recently, the film could have made a strong impression because of its topical subject. But, the script is filled with glaring loopholes that are hard to ignore. It piques your interest at several points but the plot simmers down eventually. Commando had a simple story which complimented the action sequences and kept one engrossed in the film. This film had too many convolutions that the script did not ask for. The writers (Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair) seem to have done a fair amount of research on the subject but the screenplay has too many implausible events that are impossible to ignore. Director Deven Bhojani lends scale and some weight to the average screenplay with his skilful direction. Despite the languorous plot, the film has the slickness one associates with action thrillers. The background score (Prasad Sathe) is strictly functional; the ‘Commando Commando’ chants are very annoying. 

Vidyut Jammwal, as expected, is great with action sequences but he also delivers as an actor. There are several scenes in the film which require him to demonstrate his skills as an actor and he does not disappoint. Adah Sharma’s over-the-top Hyderabadi accent gets on your nerves at times but she is endearing as a performer. Esha Gupta gets a meaty role to play and she sinks her teeth into it. Freddy Daruwala does well as ACP Bakhtawar.  Shefali Shah leaves a mark in a brief role. 

Commando 2 has been mounted on a bigger scale and is more ambitious than its predecessor but suffers from a tortuous plot that pretends to be smarter than it really is.  

Rating: 2.5/5