Movie Review CALENDAR GIRLS Has Nothing New To Offer Despite Some Good Performances
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Friday, 25th September 11:40 AM IST
CALENDAR GIRLS Has Nothing New To Offer Despite Some Good Performances
Pluses: All debutantes especially Kyra and Akansha deliver impressive performances, very well shot, decent writing Minuses:
climax is letdown, poor songs, direction style is stale, uneven editing
Critic Rating: 2.5/5
Business Rating: 1/5
Verdict:
Watch it if you missed earlier work of Madhur Bhandarkar
Detailed Analysis: Madhur Bhandarkar has given some hits yet critically acclaimed films in last 10 years or so i.e. 'Page 3', 'Chandani Bar', 'Fashion' before disappointing 'Heroine'. And now he is back with another women centric film with five debutantes.
Rishi Kapoor plays a Mr Bhalla, who runs a bakery in a hill station called Kasol. He is never seen to be baking anything. All he does is to yell and shout at his wife, and sonny boy Inder (played by Supriya Pathak and Abhishek Bachchan, respectively). Why? That’s a mystery. Ms Pathak is to be found in an ‘ashram’, looking vacantly about. Abhishek switches locations from a Bangkok poolside with bikinied babes to the winding roads of Kasol, where he encounters college-mate Nimmi (Asin, colourless) who has feelings for him. Why anyone would have a tender spot for someone as indifferent as Inder is an even bigger mystery. Up pops a long-haired goon called Cheema who’s only job is to twirl a gun, and threaten people. Why the talented Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub took on this thankless part is a … yes, you got that. It’s a puzzle. Plot? Non-existent. The jokes? Screamingly unfunny. Rishi Kapoor doing ‘su-su’, singing ‘aiyi-aiyi-aiyi’? Groan. When will grown men wanting to urinate stop becoming an acceptable gag in Bollywood? Can someone solve this? It’s always good to see Supriya Pathak, but when will someone come up with a substantial part for her? - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/all-is-well-movie-review-abhishek-bachchan-asin/#sthash.7CQEWPe9.dpufRishi Kapoor plays a Mr Bhalla, who runs a bakery in a hill station called Kasol. He is never seen to be baking anything. All he does is to yell and shout at his wife, and sonny boy Inder (played by Supriya Pathak and Abhishek Bachchan, respectively). Why? That’s a mystery. Ms Pathak is to be found in an ‘ashram’, looking vacantly about. Abhishek switches locations from a Bangkok poolside with bikinied babes to the winding roads of Kasol, where he encounters college-mate Nimmi (Asin, colourless) who has feelings for him. Why anyone would have a tender spot for someone as indifferent as Inder is an even bigger mystery. Up pops a long-haired goon called Cheema who’s only job is to twirl a gun, and threaten people. Why the talented Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub took on this thankless part is a … yes, you got that. It’s a puzzle. Plot? Non-existent. The jokes? Screamingly unfunny. Rishi Kapoor doing ‘su-su’, singing ‘aiyi-aiyi-aiyi’? Groan. When will grown men wanting to urinate stop becoming an acceptable gag in Bollywood? Can someone solve this? It’s always good to see Supriya Pathak, but when will someone come up with a substantial part for her? - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/all-is-well-movie-review-abhishek-bachchan-asin/#sthash.7CQEWPe9.dpufFilm has nothing new to offer in terms of narrative but story takes you deep down in the lives of models and calendar girls. The film starts off with the introduction of Nandita Menon from Hyderabad (Akanksha Puri), Nazneen Malik from Lahore (Avani Modi), Sharon Pinto from Goa (Kyra Dutt), Mayuri Chauhan from Rohtak (Ruhi Singh) and Paromita Ghosh from Kolkata (Satarupa Pyne). Fighting all the odds, these five girls become the chosen ones for the flamboyant industrialist Kumar (Suhel Seth)'s 'passion' project of the annual 'calendar girls'. These five girls are greeted with all the paparazzi and media attention on the night of the calendar launch. It is this big night which they all have been waiting for. The next morning brings all these five girls inroads to a new life full of opportunities. Paromita Ghosh accidentally meets up with her long lost (overambitious) boyfriend Pinaki (Keith Sequeira) in a social function in Mumbai. Unaware of his motives, she continues to love him unconditionally. So much so that, at his behest, she becomes the honey-trap to do match fixing with cricketers for the cash-rich cricket league matches. Things soon go downhill for her when the cops corner her. On the other hand, because of the anti-Pakistan movement in Mumbai, the Pakistani model Nazneen Malik is forced to return the signing amount that she had taken from a leading filmmaker for her debut film. Left with no option now, she lands up being a high-society escort, courtesy 'broker' Ananya (Mita Vasishth). Thirdly, the effervescent Sharon Pinto, who gets signed up by a leading talent management agency gets to hear some fictitious and unsavory stories about her from the agency owner Aniruddh Shroff (Rushad Rana). The self-respecting woman that is, Sharon slaps Aniruddh in his own office before all the employees... only to be slapped back with a 'ban' from advertising world. An accidental meeting with a leading journalist at a bookstore lands her a job as a TV show anchor. Meanwhile, Nandita Menon quits her glam job even before it takes off, only to get married to Harsh, the scion of the wealthy Narang family. Lastly, Mayuri Chauhan uses not just her networking skills, but also her social networking skills to become a successful Bollywood actress. In this process, while on one hand she doesn't mind doing a film with wealthy producer's son purely for the sake of money, on the other hand, she leaves no stone unturned when it comes to hobnobbing with the filmmakers who matter (in this film, its Madhur Bhandarkar in a cameo). Will Nazneen Malik ever be able to get out of her escort business, does the 'model' Sharon Pinto become a successful TV host, does Nandita Menon ever find true love from her husband Harsh, does Mayuri Chauhan and her impeccable PR skills make her a successful actress and does Paromita Ghosh manage to get out of the cricket scam and what ultimately happens to all the five 'calendar girls' is what forms the story of the film. Performance wise Kyra Dutt is very good, Akansha Puri is equally good and so are the other debutantes Avani, Ruhi and Satapura. Rohit Roy and Suhel Seth are strictly average. Film has decent screenplay but overall story is cliche plus ineffective dialogues are big minus. Film has uneven editing. Music by Amaal Malik is average. Cinematography is very good and production design is perfect.
Director Madhur Bhandarkar again falters due to stale style of narrative and he seems to be stuck with 'Fashion'. Though he succeeds in extracting performances from newcomers. Film released today and it will get average to poor reviews but it will struggle to score decent numbers over weekend due to no face value and competition at box office.
Go for this one if high pitch octane drama in Madhur Bhandarkar style is your type of film! | |