Arjun Kapoor

Bollywood Movie Previews – Fall 2014

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Let’s be honest…the Bollywood film industry gave us a pretty boring summer 2014. There were very few decent films or blockbuster releases. Not to worry though…there are a handful of potential “hits” with big name actors coming out in the next few months. Here is a glimpse!

Film: Mary Kom
Genre: Drama
Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Minakkshi Kalitaa
Director: Omung Kumar
Production: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Release date: September 5th, 2014

“Mary Kom”, is based on the true story about the Indian Boxer and Olympic Bronze medalist Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom. Priyanka Chopra plays Mary Kom in this much-awaited Sanjay Leela Bhansali production. The movie depicts Mary Kom’s struggles of life and her journey in pursuit of her passion: boxing. “Mary Kom” Trailer!

 

Film: Finding Fanny
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia, with Ranveer Singh in cameo role.
Director: Homi Adajania
Production: Maddock Films/Fox Star Studios
Release date: September 12th, 2014

Now this looks like an entertaining one – an off-beat light-hearted comedy story about five oddballs who set out to Goa to find Stefanie Fernandes (Fanny). Throughout their journey, they discover love and friendship in one another. This is an English short-film you don’t want to miss! The director, Homi Adajania, is well known for his films “Cocktail” and “Being Cyrus.” “Finding Fanny” Trailer

 

Film: Happy New Year (HNY)
Genre: Action-Comedy
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachan, Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah, Sonu Sood, Sarah-Jane Dias and Jackie Shroff. Possible cameo appearance: Prabhu Deva and Malaika Arora Khan
Director: Farah Khan
Producer: Gauri Khan Production: Red Chilles Entertainment Pvt.
Release date: October 23, 2014

Get ready for this “masala” film with a stellar cast, releasing Diwali 2014! Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone return as co-stars once again after their blockbusters “Chennai Express” and “Om Shanti Om”. Judging from the trailer, this seems to be a story about con-artists and bank robberies (quite the common theme). With Farah Khan as the director, we can expect some much-needed Bollywood ‘naach-gaana’ flare!
“Happy New Year” Trailer

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‘Gunday’ Movie Review

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Released: February 14th, 2014
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar

Please note: there are NO spoilers in this review.

Gunday is this year’s masala-packed film with a 1970’s Bollywood flare.  Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, and Priyanka Chopra keep you entertained just enough to last you through this fairly lengthy movie. Although it can be saved for a DVD night at home, Gunday might be worth a watch if you’re fan of throwback Hindi movies.

In summary, Gunday, is about two orphan childhood friends, Bikram and Bala, who are stranded during the Bangladesh Liberation War and end up in Calcutta seeking a new life. They eventually find their fortune as “gundays” of the city’s coal industry. They are chased by police (Irrfan Khan) and fall in love with the cabaret dancer (Priyanka Chopra).

The positives:

1. The soundtrack by Sohail Sen is a highlight of this film (see my “Music Review” in a previous post).

2. Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor have clearly worked very hard to build their sculpted, hairless, and oil-chested bodies for this film – let’s give them the credit they deserve!

3. Priyanka Chopra’s item number, “Asalaam-E-Ishqum,” is a hit! She definitely looks smoking hot in this film.

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The negatives:

1. The action scenes are painfully in extreme-Matrix slow motion. I understand they are trying to create an old-school Hindi movie theme, but even movies back in the day had better action shots! You will get sick of seeing Bikram and Bala running at snail’s pace with their every sweaty hair strand swishing in your face.

2. The dialogues are quite poor. There is one awful line by Irrfan Khan that summarizes just how creative the writers got with this script… “Newton Baba ne kaha hai ki every action has an equal and opposite re-action.”  Seriously?!

3. The movie was too long…there were at least five different scenes that I thought were going to be the ending, including the intermission.

On the whole, Gunday is a light-hearted film to watch with some friends at home.

Acting: 3/5 (Ranveer & Arjun get most of the credit here)
Story: 3/5
Costumes: 2.5/5
Choreography: 3/5
Sets/Filming Location: 3/5
Action Scenes: 1/5
Songs: 4/5
Eye Candy: 4/5
Length of Movie: 1/5

Rating: PG-13

Overall: ** 1/2 (2.5/5) or 5/10

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