Radhe Shyam

Radhe Shyam

(the title refers to Krishna and his consort Radha) 

2022

2/5 stars

Aditya (played by Prabhas) is a palmist with incredible powers of prediction; he knows the date of his own death, as well as the fact that he is destined to never know love. He meets Prerana (Pooja Hegde) in Rome and tells her honestly that he wants to spend his time there with her, but in a "flirtation-ship" not a relationship.  After at first rejecting the proposal, she falls for his charm and they begin to date, becoming more and more emotionally involved. Aditya realizes that they met in spite of fate, and that to be together the two must defeat their destinies and forge new ones. 

(Sachin Khedekar, Jayaram, and Bhagyashree also feature.)

The visual quality of this romantic drama is outstanding, with a dreamy feel, gorgeous locations, and effective atmosphere. The music is average and below.  The plot seems so promising, but it unfortunately has little life or credibility. The lackluster story combined with Hegde's colorless performance and the zero chemistry between the two leads creates a bland two hours.   I hesitate to call it a dud because the beautiful cinematography almost makes it worth watching, but overall it's dull enough that even the swoon-worthy scenes with Prabhas couldn't make this movie more than below average.

Prabhas

Summer Viewing

I changed my routine this summer, so I've not been watching as many movies, and most of what I have watched have been repeats.  Here are the new ones I have seen:

Good Newwz  2019  2/5 stars  Akshay Kumar, usually quite talented and funny, couldn't salvage this movie with it's unappealing "humor", stale acting, and lack of resolution.  It didn't live up to the hype, and frankly, I felt like I wasted my time.

Banarasi Babu ("The Gentleman from Banaras") 1997 3/5 stars  Govinda and Ramya Krishnan had good chemistry, and, both talented actors, gave good performances.  The plot was mostly good, though a bit racy and did get too silly at times.  Veteran supporting actor Shakti Kapoor's role and performance was off-putting, a definite detriment to the movie. The music was average, with "San Sanana Sai" being the exception.  Overall, it was fun to watch once, but not particularly memorable.

Aunty No. 1  1998  3/5 stars   This Govinda - Raveena Tandon classic has an extremely convoluted plot, is often too silly, and wraps up unrealistically.  However, the principals have good chemistry and that, along with a talented veteran supporting cast and a few good songs, makes it mostly enjoyable overall.

Kick (2009)

Kick
2009
2/5 stars

The complicated plot is interesting and engaging, with some nice twists. Unfortunately, the principal actor  (Ravi Teji) is particularly unappealing. His lack of charisma combined with an unconvincing performance as the hero, topped off with the twenty year age gap between him and the leading lady (Ileana D'Cruz) being distastefully apparent, make the movie nearly unwatchable. I would recommend skipping this version, and watching the 2014 Bollywood remake instead.

Bhagam Bhag

Bhagam Bhag
(translates as "running around")
2006
2/5 stars


Champak Chaturvedi (Paresh Rawal) is the director of a theater group whose heroine (Tanushree Dutta) attracts a British businessman into hiring them for a London show.  His two male leads, Bunty (Akshay Kumar) and Babla (Govinda), are both vying for the attention of said heroine and annoy her enough that she quits, leaving Champak in a lurch.  While in London, Bunty and Babla search for a replacement, leading to a mix-up with a drug ring, trouble with the police, a murder, and involvement with an amnesiac, suicidal actress, Munni (Lara Dutta).

With three superb comedians in the lead, and an excellent supporting cast, this suspense-comedy had such promise, but did not deliver.  There was little-to-no chemistry between any of the main actors, particularly between Akshay Kumar and Govinda, so most of the humor simply fell flat, or the situations were so silly that they just were not funny.  The thriller element  was good, but simply was not strong enough to override the rest of the movie. The songs were average or below, with one being particularly off-putting.  Overall, Bhagham Bhag was such a disappointment.

Thugs of Hindostan

Thugs of Hindostan

2018
2/5 stars

Set in 1795,  Azaad (Amitabh Bachchan) and his ward Zafira (Fatima Sana Shaikh), lead a group of resistance fighters trying to free an Indian kingdom from the British East India Company's rule. The British commander John Clive (Lloyd Owen) sends a small-time confidence trickster, Firangi Mallah (Aamir Khan), to infiltrate the band and betray them.  (Katrina Kaif also stars, as dancer Suraiyya)

The film has a great premise, and the first thirty minutes were quite good; sadly, the next 134 minutes were not.  Instead of being exciting, funny, and enjoyable as shown in the trailer,  it was mostly deadly dull.  The "surprise" changes of allegiance became increasingly predictable and annoying.  The action scenes are too long, as were the (average and below) musical numbers.  Kaif's first number was embarrassingly ridiculous and not worthy of either her talent or dignity.  Her performance, and that of Shaikh, were stiff and not natural.  Owen made an exceptional villain, however.  Bachchan and Khan gave strong performances, but that was not enough to redeem the entire movie.  I would suggest watching the trailer, as it has all the good parts, and skipping the movie entirely.

Saawan - The Love Season

Saawan - The Love Season
2006
2/5 stars


Raj (Kapil Jhaveri) and Kajal (Saloni Aswani) meet on vacation in Capetown, and fall in love.  When they return to Mumbai, Kajal is saved from an accident by an unnamed reluctant prophet (Salman Khan), who then predicts her death.

(Johnny Lever also stars, as Raj's friend, Funsukh.)

This film is terrible.  The first half, when Raj and Kajal meet and fall in love, is tedious, banal, poorly written, and just as badly acted.  Even the excellent Lever couldn't save this portion of the film, as his jokes were weak and generally not funny.  The music, while not fully terrible, was certainly not good.

The story becomes much more interesting once Khan's character is introduced.  He portrays the agonized seer well, and if the focus had been on his character, it could have been interesting and emotional.  With the focus elsewhere, though, one good performance from Khan was not enough to make this movie even tolerable.

(Personal note: I finished watching it out of curiosity to see just how awful it would get.)

Race 3

Race 3
2018
2/5 stars


Shamsher Singh (Anil Kapoor), arms dealer, has three children: twins Sanjana (Daisy Shah) and Suraj (Saqib Saleem) , and step-son Sikander (Salman Khan).  The twins begrudge Sikander his share of their mother's fortune, as well as their father's partiality and set out to kill him.

Bobby Deol plays Sikander's friend Yash, and Jacqueline Fernandez plays Jessica, the love interest.

I was set to love this film, based on the great trailer.  Sadly, I was immensely disappointed.  The plot is so convoluted with twists and allegiance changes that it ceases making sense and becomes farcical.  The conversation is stilted and banal.  The music is simply terrible--bad enough that I fast-forwarded through the songs.  Ferdandez and Shah are dressed in the most trashy of clothing.  I'm giving the movie two stars because the film work, action scenes, and special effects were quite good.  Other than that, this movie is one to avoid.  Frankly, I suggest watching the trailer instead; you won't miss a thing.

P.S. This comes from a devoted Salman Khan fan.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha

Dum Laga Ke Haisha
2015
2/5 stars

Prem (Ayushmann Khurrana) is persuaded by his family to marry for financial reasons to an overweight woman he doesn't find attractive. His new wife, Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar ) is an educated woman who tries to make her marriage work, but Prem has no interest in so doing. They are persuaded to take part in the "Dum Lagao" contest, where the husband carries his wife on his back through an obstacle course, in so doing they reconcile.

The premise of this movie is fantastic, but it just doesn't deliver. There is very little character development, less happiness, and an ending that is too sudden and not credible. Khurrana, who is too old for the role, wears a scowl the entire movie and plays his part one- dimensionally. Pednekar, in her first movie, is fantastic, giving depth to Sandhya, portraying believable emotions, and acting nearly flawlessly. Her performance is so good that she nearly saves the movie, but not quite.

Hello Brother

Hello Brother
1999
2/5 stars

Hero (Salman Khan) who works for a courier company owned by Khanna (Shakti Kapoor), is in love with his best friend, Rani (Rani Mukerji). Inspector Vishal (Arbaaz Khan) is investigating the courier company as a drug ring, and also falls in love with Rani. Vishal and Hero become entwined in an unforeseen way, and together they defeat Khanna.

This movie is ridiculous beyond compare, and is so slapstick that is hard to watch at times. Arbaaz Khan plays the straight guy well, but Salman Khan's role is so silly that it's hard to find sympathy for him. Mukerji doesn't appear enough to give a quality performance. The premise (which I won't give away) was truly great, but the presentation of it was truly terrible. Really, the only good part was watching the real- life brothers play opposite each other, and even that couldn't raise this movie to anything beyond mediocre.

Biwi No. 1

Biwi No. 1
(translates as "Wife Number One")
1999
2/5 stars

Prem (Salman Khan) is happily married to Pooja (Karisma Kapoor) until he becomes infatuated with model Rupali (Sushmita Sen). Pooja is devastated when she discovers his infidelity, and then forms a plan to win him back.

Humor is an intensely personal thing, and for me, watching Prem deceive his wife while trying to appease his mistress was not funny. The acting was great, and some of the musical numbers spectacular, but I just didn't enjoy the plot.

Cast also includes Anil Kapoor, Tabu, and Saif Ali Khan.