'Jazbaa' runs the risk of falling into a overcooked and loud thriller

Aishwarya Rai's comeback movie 'Jazbaa', which is an official remake of a 2007 South Korean crime thriller film 'Seven Days', comes across as loud and slightly melodramatic as far as the first look is concerned. The trailer shows that the film has a yellow and brown Tint, which gives it a slightly different look but the way junior Mrs Bachchan is shown teary-eyed and all panicky, it remains to be seen if it can actually touch the emotional chord of the audience.  

I have full faith on the Korean film as it has won multiple nominations and awards at Grand Bell Awards, Blue Dragon Film Awards and Korean Film Awards in 2008 but how well Sanjay Gupta will rework the script and screenplay and importantly implement it remains a questions.

Gupta has films such as the shootout movies, Kaante, Musafir and Zinda to his credentials and if he can keep the script tight without making it loud or turning Aishwarya into a super mom, the film may go on to be a hit. Of course, needless to say, Irrfan is a big positive. Hope Gupta's 'jazbaa' is reflected on the screen on October 9th. I personally have low expectations but I want the movie to prove me wrong.

From Bomkesh Bakshi to Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!!!

Many Many summers ago, I remember giving my lessons to my mother to earn a meeting with a dhoti-kurta clad man who called himself Byomkesh Bakshi. He came on Tv, solving difficult and complicated cases with his wit and intelligence. He seemed to be a simple man with a nice and warm personality. In no time, we became his biggest fans and he the hero of our childhood fantasy. Though a lot of it we hardly understood then, we still fantasied to be a detective.

But then we grew up and got busy with our lives. Lost in the hustle and bustle of life, intertwined with the complications which has slipped into our own lives we somehow had forgotten that dhoti-clad man. Sometimes when Rajat Kapoor popped up in the screen, he reminded us of Bomkesh. We saw Mr Kapoor in many shades after that but nothing could replace the dhoti-kurta clad man.

Even in this commotion of life, Bomkesh Bakshi sometimes peeped at us through some websites or newspaper articles or jumped into our discussions with friends.

So when Detective Byomkesh Bakshy was set to be made into a hindi bollywood movie I had doubts but when I heard it was Dibakar Banerjee, who would be at the helm, i wanted to give him a shot. Someone, who has directed four completely different films on four different subjects and treatment, he was definitely worth a shot.

When Sushant Rajput was cast as Byomkesh, my heart sank. A 2 and a half old film actor for such a celebrated character? I again had doubts and once again I placed my faith on Banerjee. I am glad that Banerjee didn't disappoint me.

He completely reinvented Bomkesh Bakshi without compromising on its soul. He made him a little grey, he made him a part of the mystery which he was trying to solve. Rajput brought a cookiness, innocence and intrepidness to the character. He was nothing like the dhoti-kurta clad man of my childhood fantasy but still he made me to stay with him, always apprehensive to trust him completely, but eventually accepting him as a new-age young Bomkesh, who probably would be more relatable to the kids of this generation and has the potential to grow into a fantasy of the new age India.

Banerjee has stamped his authority on the screenplay and the way he has created a Kolkata of 1940s, getting down to the last details, and shot it so beautifully through a tram journey at the start of the film, its simply commendable. The trash metal background score, the colour and texture of the film gives it a touch of a stylish and edgy political thriller.

But despite the films numerous positives, still there would be people, both bengalies and non-bengalies, who might stay away from the theaters for their own contrasting reasons. So to them, I would like to say: Bongs don't go looking for Bongness as you won't find one and non-bongs don't rule out the film because it might have bongness. You need to trust Banerjee here and see it just as another political crime thriller and you might just like it.

Go with an open mind, give this 'Detective Byomkesh' a chance and if you

are following closely, you will surely go on amazing ride. I had my ride. For

now, I am staying with this Byomkesh!!!

What Raj Kumar Gupta can learn from 'Ghanchakkar'

From the high of 'No one killed Jessica', Raj Kumar Gupta hit a low with his 'Ghanchakkar'. Well, it did decent business in the weekend but the expectations (because of the publicity) was so high that it left audience confused and their hopes crushed. 

First things first, Ghanchakkar is not the worst film of 2013. It is much better than the matrix-inspired, logic defying action films which has nothing apart from a big star. It's comedy is subtle and much better than the slap-stick homophobic comedy movies which are released nowadays in the name of cinema. But then, Ghanchakkar missing the train because it somehow fails to tell a story. Audience are left waiting for a thrilling finale where all ends would be tied but what they get is a shocking revelation and a new character, who was no where in the scene for the first 20 minutes of the film. So can't blame the audience for feeling cheated but then I have felt worse sitting in a hall and for me it was just plain 'okay'. 

Raj Kumar Gupta might crib for his film got bad review and ratings, which impacted its success. But instead of crying over split milk he should try to understand why audience didn't like the movie, where did he go wrong. 

First, a film cannot win the heart of the audience (especially whom he is targetting) without a story. 
Second, if you want to make a movie with four characters, you got to write their story well, give the audience something to feel or connect to them.

Third, don't underestimate the intelligence of the audience, who have grown up watching thrillers -- films, books and TV series -- much before they learnt walking. So if you want to create confusion in the mind of the audience, make sure they are not able to guess the twists and turns or else you will hear yawns in place of gasps in theaters.

Fourth, a pair which has done well in one film, may not do well in another but still if you want to cash in on their chemistry then you have to give the audience something which is fresh. Vidhya Balan needed to put on weight for a reason in 'Dirty Picture' but in Ghanchakkar to play a nagging Punjabi wife with a heavy accent, she need not be a fat ass with an obsession for style.

Fifth, Never introduce a new character in the end if you can't justify it.

Things which you could have done right

First, you could have given the characters shades of grey. The characters were one-dimensional. I didn't understand why Emraan was sulking and angry right from the start and stays a ghanchakkar till the end. Probably, he himself could have turned out to be the master mind or probably, Vidya, though did good with her over the top clothes and "Haaaaaa" punjabi accent, could have turned up as the vamp if you could have justified it, made her role a little more meaty. Mr Gupta, the robbery scene was spot on especially due to the masks and secondly, the music was also apt for the film. 

Well, for someone who knows the difficulty in making a film, I might not have got bored but if you want a much wider audience and appreciation, its better you pick up your socks before making another film because you are one of the most promising filmmakers and but your transition into a master filmmaker will depend on how you can better tell a story. I for one, will be waiting for your next release and hope that you enthrall us the way you did with 'No one killed Jessica'.

Shagird is an usual hotchpotch of the nexus between police, politician and gangsters where one feeds on the other, befriends and betrays at the blink of an eye and the line between good and bad, right and wrong and even the antagonist and protagonist keep blurring all the time. Although, the context, texture, language of the film has been used many times in films such as Ab Tak Chhappan, the USP of the film is once again Nana Pathekar and the sharp twists and turns in the plot give the movie a pace which is quite edge-of-the-seat.

It is a tale of two cops -- one experienced and the other a newbie -- and their manipulation of the system to outdo one another for different reasons. The story is scripted in such a way that after a point of time it becomes difficult to understand who is exploiting whom. Though police officers accepting bribes and working for politicians have been done to death in bollywood and hollywood alike, the film scores in the way it shows how the system is at times mutual and also the other way round. The first half ends on a interesting twist but the second half somehow fails to raise to the suspense created by the first half.

Nana as Hanumant Singh is the soul of the film but Mohit Alawat as Mohit is not quite up for the role. At no point of time, it seemed that the new cop will be able to outwit his senior pro and also the reason behind his turning rogue is quite weak. Anurag Kashyap is just okay while the rest of the crew chips in well.

All in all, Shagird is a fast-paced thriller which will keep the audience hooked but not awe-inspiring. So, it is definitely worth a watch but not a must-watch.