Padmavat (Movie Rating:7.5/10)

Padmavat (Movie Rating:7.5/10)

Despite knowledge of the doom at end, you won't decathect from Ratan, nor Padmaavati. Such is their portrayal...pure and principled. 

SLB unfortunately toys with history and presents AllauddinKhlji with maximum screen time and almost apotheosis of his madman complex. Sound score allocated to AllauddinKhlji dance scenes is more powerful than that for the hero-Padmaavati. Seems deliberate. 

 Ratan played by ShahidKapoor is understated, sauve yet given short shrift. Shades of Pankaj Kapoor in his dialogues is the only part the director has allowed to overshadow AllauddinKhlji. 

DeepikaPadukone, pretty and royal, has the second highest screentime; followed by the slave of AllauddinKhlji, demonstrating their gay relationship. 

Ranvir excels in his maniacal theatre performances. Did the contract specify his maximum screentime... Obvious 

Sets are bit unreal, CGI could be better. Screenplay is terrific. AditiRaoHyadari, has a small memorable performance. Her eyes 👀 ablaze.

The denouement, we've known from childhood lore, is surreal and leaves you with a heavy heart. 

It's a long movie, entertaining, powerful... SLB took the escape route of 'its fiction '... 

Watch it,  You must 

Ittefaq (Movie Rating:8/10)

Ittefaq (Movie Rating:8.0/10)

Akshaye Khanna does a Hercule(an) Poirot with Sid - Sonakshi in this potboiler of murders, deceit and storytelling. 

Crisp wry humour and wit on point dialogues leave you latched onto every word of this powerplay. 

Captured beautifully is the lack of empathy of police, shabby handling of crime scene, all on a funny bone and a masterful performance by Akshaye Khanna. 

The end leaves you wishing for more... My surmise, it's catered for a sequel... Already 

Geostorm (Movie Rating :6.5/10)

Geostorm (Movie Rating :6.5/10)

Climafiction, US Presidency, United Nations, Father-Daughter, Siblings and Mother Nature,  all backed into a 3D dough.... and a meaty loaf of sci-fi treatise. 

The story motif may be a repeat, nevertheless the gravity of global warming and chilling, alike is palpable. 

Gerald Butler, as the protagonist is remarkable. 

Sterling Jerins, as his on screen daughter emotes immaculately... Delightfully. 

Worth every penny of yours. Downside is the story is yet predictable. 

Rukh (Movie Rating:5.0/10)

Rukh (Movie Rating:5.0/10)

Dull 105 minutes of nothing really happening. The story is weak,  dialogues mediocre and screenplay is pathetic. Cinematography has zero score in here. One would expect Manoj B to be much better. Smita Tambe as the distraught wife-mother is akin to a lost ghost. 

Gourav, the boy can't act or emote..his personality is zilch. 

The social message of money laundering and it's domino effect is the saving grace. 

If you've NOTHING left to be done,  then  go for this movie 

Golmaal 4 (Movie Rating:6.5/10)

Golmaal 4 (Movie Rating:6.5/10)

Hilarious 131 minutes (out of 151)...the end is strrrrrreched. Ajay Devgn as the Good Goonda is childlike and vulnerable in love and darkness. His cronies are as usual gold dust, albeit with a dusty role, except Arshad Warsi, who still keeps you entertained. Tabu carries her age rawther well and looks an ageless beauty.

Its Parineeti Chopra who captures the frame, screen and holds your nerve ends with her cherubic visage and drop dead gorgeous smile. Her role isn't meaty,  he demeanor though as a ghost is Ducky. The leitmotif of the plot is ghosts and human reactions to them. 

Dialogues and slapstick comedy is fun, except the last - overstretched denouement. Still worth a watch anytime you want to feel light hearted.

Secret Superstar (Movie Rating:5.5/10)

Secret Superstar (Movie Rating:5.5/10)

Damp squib 140 minutes with a cheesy take on Opportunities for 'girls' ... Zaira Wasim may know how to emote well in front of the camera - yet shes not ready for a lead role. Her dialogues are repetitive (Hamming like SRK) with a below average music-lyrics score (which supposedly is the linchpin of the plot). Aamir as Ego-Star is weird (cant find a more suitable depiction). The Muslim male depiction is  probably the only close-to-reality aspect of the move. Its not entertainment you're up to watch..its a specter of tension you're waiting to get over and step out of the movie hall...

Victoria & Abdul (Movie Rating: 7.0/10)

Victoria & Abdul (Movie Rating: 7.0/10)

Notwithstanding the historical revisionism attempt by the movie makers, the art embedded within is marvelous. Stitching together Taj Mahal-PeacockThrone - Buckingham Palace and the sworn enemies of Crusades as best friends does merit applause. Correctness to the T, where Dame Judi Dench as Queen Victoria pens on a journal marked with VRI (Victoria Regina Imperatrix for the uninitiated), and the oh so Scottish kilts, tap dances, and everything the British Monarchy stands for...from the House of Tudor. Abdul played by Ali Fazal, has a limited 2 dimensional role, albeit interesting portrayal of his 'Munshi' isms ... 

If you are the brown sahib kind, you'll love the Queens' English, the crisp Tudor impact & a sprinkling of  Shahenshah of Romance - ShahJehan woven into.

Now for the critique...Bertie ( King Edward VII) shown as an arse, was in actual history a King loved by the Brits. The portrayal of Victoria as unlinked to the macabre of the British Empire is simply unbelievable - an attempt to whitewash history. Is the funding for this movie the final  revenge of Dodi Al-Fayd? 

Despite all that, its a good watch, but not if you're the Dilli-ki-Barfi types...