psbanerjee Reviews

Mismatched (2020– )

YouTubers should just stick to YouTube!

[22 November 2020]

Hopeless and disappointing. Neither writing nor direction was anything worth a mention and worse of all the dumb YouTubers trying to be actors. Don't waste your time on this one.

Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015)

A decent story, let down by silly gaffes due to silly gaffes and weak first half

[12 June 2015]

What works:

1. The core story - though on the surface, it seems to be a cliché around love, sacrifice and longing, it has it's soul in the right place.

2. Great performances by Vidya Balan and Rajkumar Rao.

Where it fails:

1. Fist half is too weak. Too many intertwined sub-plots and connected stories take long to setup the premise.

2. Lack of attention to obvious details: Majority of the story is in flashback, set 21 years back from today, which means it's set in 1994. Yet you get to see Samsung mobiles with front facing cameras, characters taking and sharing selfies, and worst of the lot, mobile internet and lightening fast internet in the midst of a jungle which can send a video file through in 5 secs!

Overall, a lost opportunity to create a good evergreen movie due to silly mistakes and gaps in script-writing....

Dil Dhadakne Do (2015)

Below average, monotonous and flawed

[5 June 2015]

The good things:

• Visuals of Mediterranean cities, cruise, sea etc - Some good performances by Anil Kapoor, Shefali, Anushka and Priyanka

What didn't work:

• Story: When you make a film about the riches, the only to way to make it resonate with the not-so-riches is by showing primal, human limitations or challenges or problems. Not by highlighting the problems which are a function of them being rich at the first place - threat to status in the society, priority to money making over family etc. We have enough of our own problems to deal with, thank you!

• Lackluster screenplay: Narrating a film like this from a dog's point of view makes it look silly from the word go. Pushing in a song in the second half when you should be having the audience gripped in attention. Less than convincing character arcs.

• Too many characters: Adding more characters just for the sake of it does not compensate for a lame script. It just puts pressure on the audience to keep a track of who's who and how they even relate to the main story.

All in all, it looks and feels like a film made by the riches for the riches, with no clue about the real problems of the world. If you have money to throw, go with family. If you have just got a bonus, go as a couple. If you are not so well off, wait for it to hit the TV screen, and watch alone, with headphones on.

Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015)

Just what the doctor ordered!

[22 May 2015]

.....after you have been mentally slaughtered on an over-hyped film like Bombay Velvet the week before, TWMR is a breath of fresh air.

Excellent script, great direction and wonderful performances make this a must-watch romantic-comedy.

The attention to detail in character design, setup and dialects is worth mentioning.

Even if you haven't watched the prequel, it stands on it's own right and leaves you with a feel good happy feel.

It slightly loses it's grip somewhere close to the climax, but that aside, it's brilliant.

Go and enjoy!

Bombay Velvet (2015)

Pleasure to watch, but does not resonate.

[15 May 2015]

What works:

• The immaculate detailing in recreating the 1960s Mumbai - Few bright moments - Ranbir Kapoor as Johny Balraj - Kay Kay Menon

What could have been better:

• There's nothing new in the story or the script. Umpteen times you get

the feeling 'I have seen this before'. - Trying to create the magic of Godfather, but failing to do so - Karan Johar (better stick to production and direction!)

What fails miserably: - More attention to the 'velvet' than to the soul of the story!