This week there are four releases and out of which the one that most struck me was Neerja starring Sonam Kapoor in the title role directed by Ad Guru Ram Madhvani. Based on the real life story of Neerja Bhanot, an air-hostess, who lost her life saving many others in 1986 during the unforgettable PanAm hijacking.

The story – Neerja (Sonam) is a successful model and a purser at PanAm airlines. She is also a die-hard Rajesh Khanna fan and is doted by her parents (Shabana Azmi and Yogendra Tiku). She also has a loving boyfriend in Jaideep (Shekhar Ravjiani). Life is all set for Neerja until the day she boards the PanAm flight bound for New York as the head purser. The flight gets hijacked in Karachi by terrorists backed by Libya based Palestinian terrorist group Abu Nidal. Neerja warns the pilots who follow the protocol and abandon the cockpit. With no one to fly the plane to Cyprus (where the terrorists want to go) the terrorists take the passengers as ransom and demand for pilots. They start killing passengers one after another to show the Airport authorities that they definitely mean business. In all this mayhem, Neerja musters courage and tries to calm the passengers down however, the end as everyone knows is not very sweet.

First thing first, Ram Madhvani does a very brave attempt by adapting a real life situation to screen. He has got the screenplay in place and so does the characters. From the main lead to the character artists everyone are aptly cast. There is no breather in this tightly made thriller. One can feel the tense situation when the terrorists board the plane. The background music is quite riveting and gells well with the plot.

Sonam Kapoor delivers one of her finest performances till date. Shabana Azmi does a wonderful job as Neerja’s mother. New find Yogendra Tiku who plays Neerja’s father shows lot of promise.

The music by Vishal Khurrana is not out of place and mixes well with the theme of the movie. The editing is tight and you will be hooked to your seat till the end.

On the whole, a very good movie that should be watched by everyone.

My Verdict: ****

 

After getting Sumeet ‘Miku’ Vyas on Chai With Shai how can we ignore his pretty, vivacious, quirky, funny partner-in-crime Nidhi ‘Tanya’ Singh? So here I present you the most loved and celebrated actress in the whole web-series world – Nidhi Singh. We chatted dime to a dozen over the customary chai and this time we preferred biscuits over pakodas. Here are some excerpts from our conversation.

Welcome on Chai With Shai (raising my tea cup) Nidhi (smiles)
The pleasure is all mine (giggles and raises her tea cup)

So, Permanent Roommates 2 has started with a BANG, what can the audience expect this time round?
I liked the way you said BANG!!! (Giggles) Okay to answer your question (pauses) hmm… a whole lot of MADNESS mixed with realism (smiles).

How did your tinseltown journey begin?
I came to Mumbai for my graduation in mass media. Right after I worked as a Film Executive for J.Walter Thompson, Mumbai – they were the biggest and the best then, and to my surprise the advertising world fascinated me so much that I stuck around for 2 and a half years. Soon enough I was dying to explore the possibility of being an actor hence, I quit and started freelancing as an assistant director for ads to understand ‘how things worked’ better, that went on for almost another 2 years. I finally decided to stop playing safe and took the plunge. Also, I had gone through a horrible heartbreak around that time that ripped my ego apart so I think that helped (pouts and then bursts out laughing).

Quite an AMAZING story I must say PHEW!!! (shaking my head)
Hain Na! (both burst out laughing)

How did you land your first acting assignment? 
I started of with theatre….

…like almost every budding actor
Whatever (rolling her eyes), so that was post a few readings but the first job that paid me (very little) came out of nowhere after a couple of zillion unsuccessful auditions.

How has Permanent Roommates changed your life?
People talk to me differently now… ‘Good different’ (stressing).

How has been your association with TVF so far?
They are like family. I’ll call one of them if say, I was in trouble at 3 am. But all that aside they are extremely professional, courageous and sincere and I love that the most about everyone there. So the association has been great i’d say.

Tell us some interesting or funny things that happened during the making of your web-series Permanent Roommates?
There’s non stop laughter on set. Everyone there has a story to tell and I have a problem of breaking into a giggle fit at the drop of a hat so sometimes keeping a straight face and saying my lines as Tanya feels like a task (starts giggling). We just shot something that was just too funny and I was only watching it from the monitor  – THANK GOD! I had to actually hold my breath to stop myself from laughing and spoiling that take.

Three similarities between your character Tanya in Permanent Roommates and you in real life?
– honesty
– standing up for herself and people she loves.
– I really believe that “if you love me, you’ll let me sleep” (winks)

Nice… (shaking my head). Three similarities that you see in Sumeet and Mikesh from Permanent Roommates?
I don’t know about three because I don’t really see so many but let’s see (pauses and thinks for a moment) Sumeet too like Mikesh is quite chilled out and sorted in life. Also… He tells great stories. He’s a really fun narrator like Mikesh (smiles).

What are your future assignments?
Can’t talk about anything yet.

Where do you see the web series industry expanding in the next 5 years? 
It is here to stay foresure and it’s a great medium because there’s absolute democracy there. If your story or product is good, it’ll work.. Simple. People aren’t taking it lightly anymore which is great. I hope there are web movies soon. That’ll be interesting.

Will you advise youngsters to pursue this career?
Any youngster who is sincere and determined must go for it without a doubt.

Now Nidhi we have reached the part in my conversation series where I will throw few questions at you and you have to reply in a word or max a sentence. Not more than that… Okay?
Bring it on baby!!! (smirks)

Acha???
Yup (Giggles)

Okay… So your Permanent Roommate in real life?
My boyfriend hopefully (crosses fingers and looks up)

Sumeet or Mikesh?
Sumeet

Your dream role?
There are so many. For now, Amy from Gone girl & Francesca from The bridges of Madison county.

PR 1 or PR2 the more interesting season?
It’s a continuation so no comparisons can be drawn.

Okay got it… One Night Stands or Committed Relationships?
Honest relationships, however short or long. My ideas about commitment are different.

Nice (smiles) Candle Light Dinners or Long Drives?
Long drives.

Favorite Actor & Actress?
Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep

The most underrated actress as per you?
Calling her underrated would be a disrespect but I wish I could see a lot more of Kalki.

The most overrated actress as per you?
Almost everyone is kind of overrated I feel. We should work more and celebrate people less.

So diplomatic (smiles) The worst dressed actor in the industry?
Oh God! Please stop (Giggles)

Batao… 
Marna hai kya? Pass (animatedly shakes her hand)

Your dream director?
Martin Scorsese, Alejandro Inarritu, Raj Kapoor, David Flincher.

 

Permanent Roommates or Man’s World?
Permanent Roommates

Favorite Author other than me (winks)?
William Shakespeare (smiles)

Unfulfilled dream if any?
Way too many.

Secret Fantasy?
Way too many.

Accha??? Too many??? (smiles)
Haan… Public platform hai nahi bata sakti (giggles)

It was great having you today on CWS Nidhi. You have been the most entertaining guest I have ever had on my show…
Seriously??? (excitedly)

Oops! (biting my tongue) I am in trouble now (winks and laughs)… In fact all were entertaining so far but you have been slightly above the curve
Now you cannot backtrack on your words… (giggles)

Maaf karna everyone it is not my fault, Nidhi has this effect on everyone anyway would you like to give any advice to your fans? 
Yes… To always be true to who you are and what you believe in. It’s very easy to forget yourself nowadays (smiles)

Well said… thank you once again and may you meet with greater success in whatever you do next (shakes hand)
Thank you Shaiju (smiles)

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The second Valentine week is Divya Khosla Kumar directed Sanam Re starring Pulkit Samrat, Yami Gautam and Urvashi Rautela. Coming from a director who made Yaariyan last year, I did not expect great shakes from Sanam Re and my intuition was Bang On!

Sanam Re tells the story of Aakash (Pulkit Samrat) who is a go-getter living in the city with a maniac Boss (Manoj Joshi) left loose on his back. He hails from a small town Tanakpur where he lived with his parents and photographer Grandfather (Rishi Kapoor) who once told him that his true love could be found 500 steps away from his photo shop. And Aakash does find Shruti (Yami Gautam) only to abandon her for a better life in the city.

Years later the ex-lovers come face to face at a Yoga camp in Canada where Aakash to save his job has gone to woo Mrs. Pablo (Urvashi Rautela) a client of his and sparks fly high. Would Aakash and Shruti fall again in love? What happens to Aakash and Mrs. Pablo’s story? This is one hell of a love triangle which one has to sit and watch till the end if one has the patience to do so ;).

If music could make a movie hit then Divya had proved it with Yaariyan and now she returns with a love story full of romantic numbers and breathtakingly beautiful locales with a weak script. The direction is quite okay however, there is no script that she can boast of. The cinematographer (Sameer Arya) has captured some breathtakingly beautiful locales in Canada, Leh and Himachal Pradesh however, the beautiful frames also need a beautiful story to compliment.

Pulkit Samrat and Yami struggle to deliver while Urvashi Rautela as the third angle in this paper thin love story has nothing to do apart from stipping down to her bare minimum in the freezing locales. Rishi Kapoor as usual delivers a powerful performance in whatever small screen time he gets.

Music is the high point and T-series has a winner in their hands thanks to Amaal Malik, Mithoon, Jeet Ganguly and Raju Singh. The dialogues are cringe worthy and sound quite stupid.

On the whole, this Valentine stay away from Sanam Re!

My Verdict: *

 

There have been very few adaptations of Charles Dickens’ novella ‘Great Expectations’ and this week’s release Fitoor is a desi-adaptation by Abhishek Kapoor. The movie stars Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapoor with Tabu playing the role of desi Miss Havisham.

The movie narrates the story of Noor (Aditya Roy Kapur after the character grows up) a thirteen year old Kashmiri boy who belongs to poor upbringings meets and is deeply infatuated with Firdaus (Katrina Kaif after the character grows up) who belongs to a rich elite family in Kashmir. Her mother who is referred to Begum (Tabu) was left heartbroken in her younger age (Aditi Rao Hydari) and is against love especially with the social divide. She splits the teenagers and insults Noor about his social status.

Few years later Noor who had moved to Delhi and becomes a renowned artist comes back to town with his newly acclaimed fame and money. Firdaus is engaged but she still has romantic flings with Noor. After initial friction with Noor, Begum slowly starts realizing her mistake, but still adamant to get Firdaus married to her fiance. Noor’s love for Firdaus bears all the hardships of time and emotions and succeeds in the end.

The story has few alterations done to meet the Indian sensibilities and also to adapt to today’s time. The tempo set by the first half of the movie falters in the second half with multiple characters and stories introduced. The pace is very slow and if you are someone who loves massy movies then you will sit and cringe in your seat. However, for a person who loves to see art in any form whether massy or classy you will love it.

The story, screenplay and dialogues by Abhishek Kapoor and Supratik Sen is okay and it is not their fault as it is very difficult to adapt a book to a movie that too set in a different time, era and demographics. Abhishek Kapoor’s direction compared to his previous movie Kai Po Che is average. He gets confused in the narrative and it can be seen clearly especially in the second half of the movie.

The performances by Aditya Roy Kapoor and Katrina is decent however, Tabu as Begum steals the show. Cameos by Ajay Devgn, Akshay Oberoi, Lara Dutta and Aditi Rao Hydari are good. The music by Amit Trivedi compliments the mood and tone of the movie especially the title song and Pashmina. The cinematography by Anay Goswami is breathtaking and the color palette used by Abhishek for the movie – Red is quite interesting.

On the whole, the movie does not meet the expectations of Aam Junta who was waiting for a repeat after Kai Po Che.

My Verdict: **

It’s been an year of no action and suddenly today we get to see a video announcement of Parineeti Chopra’s new movie titled ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’. The video announcements have become the norm with Yash Raj Films as they were the first to showcase or rather announce Aditya Chopra’s next directorial venture Befikre  starring Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor few months back through a video.

The video announcement of Meri Pyaari Bindu showcases a song sung by Parineeti in her own voice in the background giving a hint of her playing a singer in the Akshay Roy directed movie. Produced by Yash Raj Films and Maneesh Sharma, Meri Pyaari Bindu stars Ayushmaan Khurana opposite Parineeti. Scroll down to watch the video.

 

Many a time people ask me how is it being a creative person, how different I feel being in a relationship and how lucky my partner is to have me around. However, if you ask my partner you would get a whole new dimension to our relationship – making you rethink if you are even remotely contemplating a relationship with one.

I do take pride in being a creative person and do believe that we are the best to be in a relationship with; however, years of self as well as peer observations have made me realize otherwise. Although not a relationship expert, I can still give you few reasons why being in a relationship with an artistic mind is difficult.

Almost every creative mind in the world has somewhat similar behavioral patterns when they are in a relationship. This might be because creative minds are rare and by virtue of their novelty, they never “fit into” the crowd of ordinary beings.

It is observed generally by many that creative people are often very attractive because of their enigmatic personality. They have a charismatic power to attract people towards them using their depth of thought, expression and intelligence. On the way, they also attract bad relationships – the reason being; they are not cut out for regular relationships. Therefore, as I mentioned earlier relationship with a creative person might not be always rosy and is difficult to sustain.

You might like the thought of being in love with a creative genius and make yourself their object of affection. However, it has been witnessed time immortal that creative minds can never sustain an everlasting relationship because of the following character traits;

1) Mood Swings: Most creative people suffer from mood swings. They are whimsical and might oscillate between extreme happiness and depression. Partners are suggested to understand such mood swings to maintain a healthy relationship.

2) Recluse: Mixing with anyone and everyone is ruled out, if your partner is a creative guy. They cannot tolerate mediocrity and would love to hang out with like minded geniuses making them often anti-social or recluse. So if you have friends who do not match your partner’s level of intelligence then do not expect your partner to ‘make friends’ with them, just for the heck.

3) Excessively Intense: Intensity in a relationship is something that a creative person values. They want their partners to be totally involved in the relationship and will not settle for anything less than perfection, leading to numerous relationship issues.

4) Need A Muse: Every artist in the world needs a muse to inspire them during their creative process. Often they look up to their partners to fulfill that void and if you fail to inspire the creativity in them, then your artist partner will get bored and claustrophobic in the relationship, leading to a break-up.

5) Financial Instability: Creative people are free spirited like flowing water, a gypsy by heart. They cannot be bound by the financial worries of the world. They are the most instable lot when it comes to making financial decisions or securing their future. Therefore there is less or zero stability or plans for a future when you are in a relationship with an artist.

6) Loves Freedom: An artist can never be bound to the ordinary rules and regulations of a relationship; they hate to be restricted. If you try to bind them or restrict their freedom, they will go into severe depression; at times leading to violent behavior.

These are few challenges of being in a relationship with a creative person. However, this does not mean that you can never make it work with an artistic person. All you need to have is a creative streak in you apart from patience to understand the uniqueness of an artist.