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Movie Review: Katti Batti – Only Katti, No Batti!

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I was still recovering from the torture I suffered from Nikhil Advani‘s last release Hero when I was struck by another bout of suffering with his this week’s Imran Khan-Kangana Ranaut starrer Katti Batti.

Kangana is one actress who is hot in the industry circuits these days after Queen and Tanu Weds Manu Returns. She is also being compared with Aamir Khan for her script sense and that was the only thing that motivated me to go and watch this movie. I have decided to be ‘Katti’ with Nikhil for life after the double dhamakas.

The movie tells the story of Madhav aka Maddy (Imran Khan) and Payal (Kangana), and the on and off relationship with each other. It is love at first sight for Maddy and he keeps on pursuing Payal who is not interested in a serious relationship but ‘timepass’. Somehow the couple get into a live-in relationship, but after a slew of fights and incidents, Payal leaves him, forever, and Maddy is shattered. But, there is a ray of hope for him as he feels somewhere deep inside that Payal can’t be so heartless. And this realisation brings him back to life and he goes Payal-hunting. The rest of the movie is all about him trying to get her number, gatecrashing her marriage and attempts to woo her back.

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The story and screenplay by Anshul Singhal is a big let down and the constant flashbacks is a huge hindrance to the narrative. The dialogues are funny but no movie can run only on the basis of dialogues. Nikhil has proved once again that he is a mediocre director who needs to go back to assisting Karan Johar to learn more tricks about moviemaking. Performances are average especially Imran Khan’s who struggles to act but he couldn’t get it right. I blame the director for the same because even Kangana (a great performer) does an average job in this movie. However, Imran has a lengthier role compared to Kangana who is hardly there in the movie.

Coming to music, it is no great shakes. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy has given better music in Nikhil’s previous movies like Kal Ho Na Ho or Salaam-E-Ishq. The cinematography is first rate and one should applaud Tushar Ray for the same. The movie could have been edited further to make it look crispier because most of the parts in the first half drags a lot.

On the whole, the movie is a rehash of several Hollywood movies which we have seen and is not even worth a dekho.

My Verdict: *

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Movie Review: This ‘Hero’ is a BIG Zero!

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I am a BIG Salman fan but that does not put me away from writing an honest feedback about any film where he is involved in any capacity like in the case of this week’s release – Hero produced by him.

If Bajrangi Bhaijaan gave Salman Khan Films accolades and box office success then I am sorry their new venture is a disappointing fare. With huge expectations I entered the movie theater to see the much hyped remake of Subhash Ghai’s 1983 classic that kick-started the careers of Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri. However, where the yesteryear movie scored high i.e. the script department and direction, the remake loses heavily.

The Nikhil Advani directorial starts with the heroic entry of Sooraj (Sooraj Pancholi) who is a gunda with a golden heart who cannot see any injustice. He beats the henchmen of Changezi (Chetan Hansraj) and then immediately later goes clubbing where he meets Radha (Athiya Shetty) and sparks fly between them after he shows her some of his dance moves.

On the other hand Sooraj’s ‘Baba’ Pasha (Aditya Pancholi) gets imprisoned for killing a journalist by Radha’s Baba (Tigmanshu Dhulia) who is the Inspector General of Police, causing friction between the two senior citizens. IG is adamant of nailing Pasha with hardcore evidences and send him to jail for a longer time. Result? Baba tells his black sheep oops sorry ‘Sooraj’ 😉 to kidnap Radha and keep her hidden safely somewhere away from her family. Immediately Sooraj gets into action by disguising himself as a police-escort and kidnaps Radha.

In the snow-clad mountainous environs, ‘cupid’ plays its own games and strikes his arrow at the youngsters making them fall deliriously in love. In-spite of knowing Sooraj’s reality Radha stands by him. Would Radha’s love reform Sooraj and make him show his back to the world of crime, and his Baba? Would IG be able to nail Pasha forever? What happens to the young ‘Prem Deewane‘ are few questions answered during the course of the movie.

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Performances of both the debutantes are average, although Sooraj shows some promise in the action scenes. Tigmanshu Dhulia is a total misfit (I feel directors should just mind their job which is to direct rather than exploring other avenues – more on this topic, I will save it for another day and another article). Aditya Pancholi still needs some crash course in acting.

Music is a sore point here. If the original had some wonderful songs then the remake has nothing to harp about. I honestly feel that they should have taken the original songs and remixed it (something what they did with the story). The cinematography by Tushar Kanti Ray is good while the action sequences choreographed by Ravi Varma and Dave Judge is wonderful.

Nikhil Advani seems to be quite uncomfortable directing a movie which is not conceptualized by him and it is quite evident. Hero is a huge let down making Nikhil’s previous disasters Salaam-E-Ishq and Patiala House seem classics in front of this remake.

Overall the movie is a below average fare and might not even appeal to hardcore masala movie viewers.

My Verdict: **