Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! - My View Point

"Detective" and that too before a name like Byomkesh Bakshi, which transports me to my childhood; being a diehard fan of the television adaptation who can still give CID a run for their life and money..Expectations..Expectations and more Expectations! The name itself shouts loudly 'Whodunit'?

Its far from your average Bollywood outing (read commercial potboilers) and far more detailed than our Indian Sherlock Holmes adaptation - Samraat & Co. Each and every scene is crafted like a genius working on a canvas backed by a brilliant background music and soundtrack. People looking for shock element with every passing frame and an edge of the seat thriller will satisfy their appetite but only to an extent and many would claim to solve the mystery even before our Bakshy Babu smells it. Right from the start the plot sucks you in and you can sense something big, something more than just a murder mystery where Sushant Singh plays the part quite convincingly.

The plot could have been more crisp, the length could have been cut short by 30 minutes, the pace could have been faster..And yes..We can point out few more flaws but it’s far from it..it still deserves a watch for the masterful filmmaking experience. Its seldom Bollywood churns out such cinema which stays with you for quite some time even after you leave the cinema hall..Mission Accomplished!

Mr.X Music Review

RATING: ★ ★ ★ 
Vishesh Films and Emraan Hashmi; add to that the two "Most Wanted" artists of the music industry at present Ankit Tiwari and Arijit Singh..One expects some melodious high quality numbers from the soundtrack of Mr.X which boasts of 5 original and 1 reprise versions. 

"Tu Jo Hai" (composed and sung by Ankit Tiwari) sits comfortably somewhere between Ankit's very own 'Dil Darbadar' (P.K) and 'Tu Hai Ki Nai' (Roy). As usual it starts of an unplugged note with Ankit's auto tuned vocals, wonder why such a powerful voice with such a great scale (consider the alaaps portions of 'Sun Raha Hai Na Tu') needs to be auto tuned! Both the interludes have some nice guitar riffs and surprisingly the sad-romantic lyrics by Mohnish Raza comes as the high point of this number which otherwise offers nothing much new on the musical front. Neverthless it’s going to be a HIT and is here to Top the Charts for some weeks to come.

Jeet Ganguly comes up with the title song "Mr.X", a situational theme number that defines the character of Emraan Hashmi and has a certain anxious zing attached to it where Mili Nair is splendid with her high pitched renditions and hang on...we also have Mr.Mahesh Bhatt making his singing debut for the hook line which irritates at first few hears but settles down eventually. Lyrics by Rashmi Singh are pretty average, overall a functional number that should work well alongside the narration. 

Ankit Tiwari returns back with "Saad Shukrana" another melodious number that starts off in his typical template style from where he left the first song 'Tu Jo Hai' but it suddenly shifts gear after one minute as one hear slow rock strums in the first interlude which leads up to two beautiful paragraphs written by Manoj Shukla that makes this one a clear winner although the overall feel of this one still lands in the same comfort zone of the musician.

"Alif Se"; a fast pulsating techno number composed by Ankit Tiwari and written by Abhendra Kumar Upadhyay, this may surprise many listeners who associates only romantic/sad numbers with the composers name, mostly those who haven’t heard 'Tequila Wakila' from Samraat & Co. The interludes here, especially from 1:12 to 1: 30, somehow does a 'Kamli' (Dhoom 3) and are quite similar with the arrangements used in that song, coming to the vocals, one can again hear the auto tuned effect being used for both Neeti Mohan and Ankit Tiwari but somehow it does justice to the song and synchronises well due to its techno feel, its time the guy stops auto tuning his lazy styled vocals in romantic numbers that limits the creativity of his voice. Overall, the composition sounds fresh and breaks the shackles for Ankit Tiwari, though the fate of the song now depends upon how it’s being picturised and used in the movie.

The best of the lot "Teri Khushboo" by Jeet Ganguly ends the soundtrack on an eccentric note. One gets a déjà at the very onset (prelude) with the Guitar and Piano arrangements being fairly similar to 'Tu Hi Haqeeqat' (Tum Mile) until Arijit Singh joins in and transports the listeners into an aura of his own beautifully woven around some agonising lyrics that makes one feel the pain. Jeet Ganguly uses minimum arrangements and the focus is mostly on the lyrics and the renditions. This one is a pre-climax material and defines a crucial emotional moment in the movie. Like all other previous compositions of Jeet Ganguly and Arijit Singh, this one is here to rule the charts but will take some time to grow...Gorgeous!

Palak Muchhal replaces Arijit for "Teri Khushboo-Female" where her voice strikes a chord instantly and her voice as usual reminds me of Shreya Ghoshal and is really hard to differentiate the vocals of these two hugely talented artists. The song here is almost the same as the previous one, although a bit change in the lyrics would have provided variety and freshness, still it makes up for a good version that emerges as a winner.

"Mr.X" is a usual Bhatt Camp soundtrack with some melodious numbers, an energetic track and then a sad heart wrenching number and probably that is what one expects from the soundtrack of Vishesh Films. 'Tu Jo Hai' despite being criticised is hard to keep away and will become popular neverthless where 'Teri Khushboo' is undoubtedly 'THE SONG' of the soundtrack and will grow with time.

Badlapur: My take on the Movie!

There is Nana Patekar..There is Irffan Khan and then there is Nawazuddin Siddiqui!

Sriram Raghavan last outing 'Agent Vinod' was quite a disappointment..Badlapur makes up for that, Big time. It's more of a psychological thriller with some real brutal, cruel moments that have the power to break down the emotional quotient of each and everyone in the audience. Right from the first frame with a single shot scene of the bank robbery and further proceedings, this very scene reminds that this was the same director who beautifully did the single shot song 'Raabta' from Agent Vinod, the only good thing about the movie!

The most important aspect for me was the brilliant detailed characterisation, from Raghu ( Varun Dhawan ), Laik ( Nawazuddin Siddiqui ) to the detective Ashwini Kalsekar ( special mention to her intro scene with Dhawan at her home) to the policeman Kumud Mishra to all the 4 ladies ( Huma Qureshi, Yami Gautam, Divya Dutta and Radhika Apte ), each one is well defined and leaves a strong impact to the films narrative, it also helps from the audience perspective to understand their behaviour. Varun as Raghu makes one feel the pain and anger where Siddiqui takes away the cherry and stuns with each and every scene with his dark humour..what is interesting here is the fact that both Raghu and Laik are given the same screen space and the director makes the audience evoke same feelings for both the characters when the movie inch towards the unexpected climax, which almost removes the line of Black and White..The Hero and the Villain..Brilliant!

My most favourite scene of all scenes of Siddiqui is the one when he is caught with a girl in her home and he acts as a Delivery Boy of a food joint in seconds or when he taunts a prisoner repeatedly..what a spontaneous and natural actor he is with a down to earth style of his own.

Although the movie gets a bit stretched towards the second half but the climax makes up for it with a strong message regarding revenge and violence..Worth your every penny!

Roy: My point of View !

So first of all, the debutant director Vikramjit Singh deserves an applaud for trying out something new, something out of the box, something very unusual considering the pot boilers Masala 'Tevars' we are shown with no 'Jackson' and lots of action..But...but...he puts a very big foot wrong in promoting the movie as a commercially viable massy affair with some chartbuster songs, seriously what was the need of adding a curiosity and raising the expectation of a normal audience to be served a nail biting thriller with  a suspense element munching the caramel ( my fav flavour) popcorn? Why not make it clear in Bold Underlined that it’s not for the masses and caters to a very niche segment of audience and that too who are mostly related to film making, take for instance the movie 'Dhobi Ghaat'.

There is a lot of newness creative element in the film, especially the way the storytelling moves forward till the intermission with some good background score. The idea of 'Reel' meets 'Real' works and in some portions it somewhat gives a déjà of the movie Shabd. Rampal does well with his cigarette and hat and typewriter and ohh yes with his fabulous voice and body language also, Ranbir just sleepwalks every scene expressionless and makes one think 'Tu Hai Ki Nahi', Jacqueline only adds to the glamour quotient. 

In one scene, Rampal is told by Jacqueline that writers personality is judged by their work and that’s what the movie is all about, a Director whose real life events transforms into his Reel life and he realises this very fact at the very end when Ranbir tells him that both the stories should end the same way..But...but...what happened post interval, like the character of Kabir (Rampal), Vikramjit got out of ideas and thoughts that he added numerous pauses and drama that wasnt required at all, its like the plot was only written till interval and got streched, it would have been gorgeous if he would have edited it 40 minutes short with less of drama and more of Art.

Still, Roy deserves a watch for its First Half alone and the superhit soundtrack, the second half is sure to give a headache and will bore you enough to pull your hair and your partner's and their partner's. The audience in the theatre gave sarcasm full of clap when the movie ended and said what a fabulous movie, not their fault!

Happy New Year Music Review

Rating: ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Vishal Shekhar (Music Director), Farah Khan (Director) and Shahrukh Khan...the combination has always worked and had produced some blockbuster music, case in point, "Main Hoon Na" and "Om Shanti Om", as a result "Happy New Year" comes with loads and loads of expectations as one expects some out and out Masala commercial numbers, moreover when the heist premise is weaved around a 'World Dance Competition'. A huge track list of eleven compositions including two reprise/remix versions, a Mashup, one instrumental and seven originals raises the bar even more, whether the expectations are met or not..Read on!

Contrary to the Desi name.. "India Waale" is dominated by techno arrangements. It's a perfect pre-climax material and is "THE" dance number of the movie with some apt lyrics that would make much more sense in the movie. For the vocals, a massive combination of Vishal Dadlani, K.K, Shankar Mahadevan and Neeti Mohan makes sure that the overall outcome is super awesome, although the composition offers nothing new but it would be a Hit neverthless. Moving on.."India Waale-Electronic" makes no sense for its inclusion in the soundtrack and lacks innovation and acts as a mere filler as everything else remains exactly the same with some added western arrangements.

Up next.."Manwa Laage" bears the V-S melodious-soulful stamp all over it and is Desi-Romantic to the core. Shreya Ghoshal's honey dipped vocals melts your heart and then there is Arijit Singh who creates an irresistible aura of his own alongside Irshad Kamil's dreamy lyrics that beautifully defines the state of mind of two people who are about to fall in love with each other. A special mention to the folk-ish chorus part from 3.00 to 3.14 and the continuous use of Dhols throughout the song, overall this is easily the best composition of the soundtrack and is here to stay in the top 10 list for quite some time to come.

The first thirty seconds with the super energetic chorus part 'Radhe Radhe Bolo Jai Kanhaiya Lal Ki' makes one curious and excited for "Satakli" that would be an obvious choice for Rohit Shetty's 'Singham -3'. The hook line becomes annoying and repetitive after a certain point and even an artist like Sukhwinder Singh has nothing much to do here. As of now, this seems an introductory song for Abhishek Bachchan and may look good on screen, as an audio, it deserves a SKIP!

Composed by Dr.Zeus.."Lovely" is what Deepika Padukone has been waiting for past so many years, an introductory song for the character of Mohini in the movie, make no mistake, it will shatter all the previous records of 'Munni', 'Sheila' and 'Chikini Chameli' and will create a havoc in single screens. The arrangements are innovative and a mix bag which starts off with Arabic, some Hip-Hop, some rap portions, some Punjabi Dhols and on top of that the seductive, tempting voice of Kanika Kapoor ( 'Baby Doll' fame ) supported magnificently by Ravindra Upadhyay, Miraya Varma and Fateh..ahhh..Delicious! Dr.Zeus "Kamlee" with the same set of singers minus the Arabic feel plus some Punjabi folk theme/lyrics in both the anatara's, it's always interesting to hear some quite good variations in reprise versions like this. Pretty good move..Chartbuster!

A Mashup of three songs "World Dance Medley" starts off with Neeti Mohan, a short sad slow version of Manwa Laage, what is interesting though is the monologue by Shahrukh Khan followed by an innovative take on 'India Waale' which ignites the patriotism in one's heart and sounds even better than the original one.

Up next "Nonsense Ki Night" is made for a dance sequence in the movie and is a fun take on English with some nonsense lyrics, one needs to listen carefully to realize that the whole song is a translation of various Hindi Idioms to English, quite creative. Mika Singh is at his usual best, expect some mad funny picturisation. 

"Dance Like a Chammiya" is very reminiscent of composers very own 'Sheila Ki Jawaani' considering the overall treatment especially the second interlude with Vishal Dadlani's rap with lots of Dhols. It's the usual item number element where Sunidhi Chauhan yet again makes us believe that she is born for such genre and does full justice to this addictive number, the lyrics are clichéd but yet again the picturisation may bring laurels for this one. Wait for the video.

Punjabi Techno-Hip-Hop arrangements at the very onset sets the mood for "Sharabi"; which is  more inclined towards pop genre but we are slowly accepting this trend in Bollywood soundtracks which started with 'Cocktail' two years ago. Manj Musik sings this one in his trademark high pitched style supported well by Nindy Kaur for the short rap but Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani hardly makes their presence felt as far as vocals are concerned. The lyrics caters well to the Honey-Singh-Generation weaved around drinking and party, as a result it's going to be a hit in the discotheques and a favourite amongst  the party lovers this new year!

Pretentious Electric Guitar strums starts off John Stewart's "The Heist - Instrumental" which is would be played in the background during the heist, honestly, the marvellous guitar riffs and keyboard reminded me off the background score of Ocean's series..Need I say more? Go hear this and give yourself an eargasm!

To conclude, "Happy New Year" caters to the masses and is very situational with some compositions that would work well alongside the narration of the movie. Not the usual V-S soundtrack that one would expect 'the beautiful 'Manwa Laage'. Neverthless 'Lovely' and 'Dance Like Chammiya' will gather lots of whistling and hooting, 'Sharabi'  would be heard in full bass volume in cars with extra woofers and 'India Waale' would become a huge hit with more than month when the movie hits the silver screen. 

The Writer/Blogger is Editor/Music Critic @www.planetbollywood.com

Bang Bang Music Review

Rating: ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Vishal-Shekhar and youth-friendly-vibrant romantic/dance numbers are synonymous to each other and they have justified it time and again from the past one and a half decade. 2014 has been a quiet year so far with only ‘Hasee Toh Phasee' to their name which won hearts and accolades with some soulful numbers..Siddharth Raj Anand (Director) has always been consistent with V-S for all his directorial ventures and their combination has resulted in some chartbuster numbers.."Bang Bang" rides high on expectations with Hrithik Roshan-Katrina Kaif in the lead pair that has created a certain buzz around it, with four originals and one trademark Shekhar Ravjiani reprise version, let's go for a ride!

Techno arrangements with the trademark V-S "thump" add to that some dazzling screen presence of Hrithik.."Tu Meri" is insanely catchy with Vishal Dadlani's vociferous vocals and some ordinary lyrics. The composition embarks a lot of power but ends too soon and keeps one wanting for more, the choreography is sparkling and adds a lot of mass appeal to the composition. One word- Chartbuster!

The vocals of Ash King is like a breath of fresh air where now-a-days almost every soulful number has Arijit Singh written over it.."Meherbaan" is the highlight of the soundtrack and is addictive right from the first note and shifts gears during the five minutes of its duration. Shilpa Rao starts off smoothly but it's Ash King with his elegant charming voice that takes the composition to an altogether different stature, add to that Shekhar's Punjabi tadka from 1.09 to 1.27 and Anvita Dutt Guptan (lyricist) poetic fairy tale imagination..Mesmerising! Remember 'Bin Tere - Reprise' from 'I Hate Luv Storys' back in 2010 where Shekhar Ravjiani swept the listeners off their feet.."Meherbaan Reprise" rephrase the same feeling and cast a spell on the listeners, what with some extraordinary acoustic guitar arrangements (Sanjoy Das and Keba Jeremiah) and magical vocals of Shekhar who brings in his own style which makes it very different from the original number..Keep this one of Repeat Mode! Gorgeous.

Up next "Uff" gives a déjà-vu feeling of many V-S previous compositions and sounds more of a rehash version, the amazing part here is the female vocalist Harshdeep Kaur, best known for her Sufi renditions who sounds amazingly beautiful and adds a certain element of cuteness in the composition, Benny Dayal is usual with his short part. There is a mix of Western and Desi arrangements with some guitar, harmonium, keyboards, piano and many more, notice the drums part towards the end. The lyric by Anvita Dutt are innovative, matches the frequency of today's generation and connects instantly. It's nothing what we haven't heard from the stable of V-S before but still it has the potential to grow post the movie release.

The retro-disco arrangements at the very onset develops curiosity and adds a certain zing to the title track "Bang Bang" which has in it to become a rage once the video is unleashed with the charismatic 'Michael Jackson' aka Hrithik Roshan, one will get to know why I referred Michael Jackson here once the video is online. Benny Dayal voice is tailor made for such genre and Neeti Mohan surprises with her low-techno notes though the song completely belongs to Benny, the hook line 'Bang Bang' is addictive and the extended last minute sees some classy arrangements; make no mistake this is going to be one crazy eye catchy dance number. Boom!

"Bang Bang" lives up to the expectations and delivers what V-S are known for, although we are offered nothing much new in terms of melodies and arrangements, still all the compositions have a satisfactory outcome. 'Meherbaan' stands out and is the one to enjoy a certain shelf life, both the versions. Go..Grab a copy right away!

The writer/blogger is editor@www.planetbollywood.com