FAN- Movie Review!

                                                                             source:hdwallpaperimages.in

Shahrukh Khan is a true blue super star. Phew, okay then, I think this should keep me safe from all the fans! Hehe ,no, seriously let’s talk about  one of Shahrukh Khan’s eagerly awaited movies of 2016: FAN!

                                                                                                       source-ibtimes.com

The movie has created waves ever since the first teaser was released, after all we were seeing two Shahrukhs, one as himself and one in prosthetics, a good one I must say. In each fan’s life, every little moment which makes one fall in love with a celebrity is but a precursor to the only highlight event there could ever be, every little day is but a build up towards that moment when they will  get a chance to meet their superstar in person. But what happens when the moment materialises? Fan revolves around Gaurav Chandna (Shahrukh Khan), a die-hard fan of Aryan Khanna (Shahrukh Khan again; I did this purposely! :P) , who arranges for a trip to meet his idol on his birthday, but things happen and he is miffed with the person he considered his God. He takes charge in his own hands. And as he says in the movie

Ab tak fan star ke peeche bhaagta tha , Ab star fan ke peeche bhaagega!

One thing must be said about the director Maneesh Pandey, of Band Baaja Baraat fame, he knows the Delhi mannerisms like the back of his hand. The way it has been reflected through the dialogues and body language in Gaurav , his family and friends’ characters is absolutely brilliant. The overall cinematography of the movie is a beautiful blend of the posh world of a celebrity and the unglamourized world a middle class fan. The moving presents itself as a gripping story in the first half, but struggles a bit in the second half with the plot becoming slightly overstretched. Without any prominent background music and the lack of songs overall, the movie becomes a little too intense, seems to assume a length like that of an Ashutosh Gowariker movie.

                                                                                                source: 2hundrednames.tumblr.com

There are certain loopholes, but those are excusable except the one where they call a sweet Sohan halwa when in fact it was Karachi halwa! No, really. The concept is new (it’s not like the Robert De Niro movie of the same name), the approach is fresh and the execution pretty good too. With a little crisp pruning of the plot especially with a thriller like this one, the movie would’ve been even better.

                                                                                                                                               source:ontechbuzz.com

The acting department, or must I say the acting of the actor Shahrukh Khan is absolutely sensational! Reprising a grey rather negative character after so long, his attitude as Aryan Khanna is as believable as Gaurav Chandna’s madness. He has wonderfully portrayed the two characters from entirely different backgrounds. He has helmed the entire film solely by his acting. Supporting actors Yogendra Tikoo and Deepika Amin have done a good job as Gaurav’s parents, while Sayani Gupta is descent too.

Overall, Fan is a movie you should definitely check out! It is a fresh and good concept! As the movie, sadly, doesn’t feature the song even in the end credits, here is Jabra, if you are missing it.

Watch it for:
  1. Shahrukh Khan as Gaurav Chandna      2. The performance Gaurav stages at the beginning  3.A fresh story

Rating:3/5

Aligarh-Movie Review!

Source-picvp.com

Sitting in a dimly lit room, with all the material possessions around him, is a man the dusk of his life. Alone in his room, he has bolted all the locks and closed all the curtains. One hand is holding on to the whiskey while the other is lost in the dance to the voice of comfort on his cassette player.

Aligarh is based on the true story of Marathi Professor S.R.Siras of the Aligarh University. He was suspended from the university on charges of immoral activities, based on the sting video made after forceful entry inside his bedroom by journalists and staff of the college. The immoral activities in question: him making love to a man.

                                     source-bbc.com

Aligarh is much more than a mere documentation of how the shameful and gross injustice that was meted out the man who was three months close to his retirement. Hansal Mehta has made Aligarh with an aim to project the human side of the issue. He skilfully plays down the public angle to capture the personal space. His movie is about recognising the common man amidst the sheer lablelism that people indulge in. As Professor Siras says,” gay word se mujhe problem hai baba, koi meri feeling ko teen aksharon mei kaise samjh sakta hai?”.

                                                    source-zeenews.india.com

Manoj Bajpayee has owned the role of a professor caught up in rough seas. You can feel the ageing man with the droopy shoulders and the delayed, thoughtful replies. He is the agent through whom we meet the regular man, a lonely man. When the petitions start to roll, to help him fight the case, this simple man replies he is not interested in activism. He just wants to live with dignity. The cinematography is laced with scenes of silence with Manoj Bajpayee doing his nothings to highlight the heart-breaking loneliness of this ‘outsider’ who teaches Marathi in an urdu speaking town.

                                                      source-catchnews.com

Rajkumar Rao is the Good Samaritan of the movie, who is the man who is intent of fulfilling his duty to ask the right questions as a journalist and move beyond to understand the man the Siras was. His chemistry with Manoj Bajpayee is very natural.There is also a good supporting cast but the focus doesn’t move much from the central players.

Where the dialogues by Apurva Asrani are absolutely reflective of the common man’s tongue, the music by Karan Kulkarni both enhances the emotions and give a good support the story. The screenplay is laid is such a way to slowly disclose and bring out the gravity of what had happened that ill-fated day. But although the intent might’ve been to highlight the sad banality of the professor’s life after the incident, I as audience felt a little detached due to the prolonged silent scenes in the movie. The writing lacked the hard impact which one felt right in the gut with a movie like Shahid.

Nonetheless, Aligarh carries a good intention of highlight the ‘human’ amidst the issue.

Watch it for-

1.  The unfair incident 2. Manoj Bajpayee   3. And Rajkumar Rao.

Rating-3.5/5

Will the real journalists please stand up?

A still form the movie Spotlight.
source-youtube.com

Every form of media is significant for it is our connection to information of what is happening in a location or an area. They being our sole connection to the information must make them feel responsible for any news they share.

One may say that with the advent of technology, we have other platforms like Twitter, Facebook etc from where we can get our information. But why these are not considered reliable source for news is the presence of personal opinions and the absence of other point of view. When the media reports an issue, it is important that we keep our prejudices behind and call out any bias. Because, what is actually happening should always trump over what looks best suited to ones’ convenience.

With the prominence of social media, there has been a rise of both pros and cons. Let’s focus on the boon; people are now aware of calling out any bullshit. Media is therefore, rightfully facing the music for their pathetic coverage of various events like Malda , Chennai floods, Assam floods, Deepika Padukone’s objectification ,Pathankot attacks and the latest JNU row. From ignoring critical national events, to TRP oriented ‘breaking news’ to blatantly biased reporting, media is failing at its job.

Recently Ravish Kumar, from NDTV, hosted his entire show with a black screen, condemning the state of reporting today. I’m not interested in defending Mr Kumar or NDTV, and his style may seem dramatic, but remember he never claimed to be the saint. I’m interested in the point he raised, the duty of a journalist.

                                            source-youtube.com ,mahtab alam

Whatever happened to fair reporting, anchors now-a-days are busy pronouncing judgements. It is definitely human to have views, but while at a job, it is crucial for the anchor to leave his personal views for the open-eds and concentrate on questioning and listening answers from their interviewees. The alleged reveal of tampering of the JNU video is deplorable. How can a journalist not proof-check the evidence displayed on the national television? Isn’t that his only job before presenting news?

This is where the recently released Hollywood movie Spotlight (watch it!), directed by Tom McCarthy comes in. Based on the ‘spotlight’ section of investigative reporters from the Boston Globe, the movie showcases the team’s instrumental effort in exposing the ‘systematic abuse of children in the Boston area by the Roman Catholic priests’. An incredible Oscar nominated movie, Spotlight is the example of what truthful reporting can do to the society. They start with a difficult topic with a conjecture of something huge but do not run the news without proper proofs. And they work hard at it.

                                                source-youtube.com,movie clips coming soon

Let’s not be fools in thinking that newspapers must not work for popularity, because it is a business, like any other. It was even shown by the characters in the movie who wanted to be the ‘first’ ones to report, competing with another newspaper, in order to gain the top position with the audience. But be assured, that the reporters collected evidence, background checked the victims, proof checked their sources before publishing their report.

And this is what is ignored by the media today! Without credible arguments what will be the difference between the news channels and social media? News channels do have the means and the reach to affect opinions and they must feel accountable and responsible for it. We have many reporters from our own country like Chitra Subramaniam , P Sainath who have done served their best to journalism. I do not read newspaper or watch news channels to hear opinions by the anchors, social media already does that.

What we expect from our journalists is to deliver factually sound reports and what we as readers can do ,is keep an eye out for any sensationalism and use reason.