Movie Review: Ugly?50 shades of black!!

In my customary style of using a direct connection to the movie title, to write my review title I was originally considering to title this one as Ugly..doesn't paint a ?pretty? picture. Story and plot wise, it would certainly portray the reality. However, purely from a film making perspective, that would be far from the truth.

In the world of Anurag Kashyap, people are hopeless ? they have already condemned themselves to hell and are living that hell each day. While most film makers try to uplift their audience even when they tell a story with grey characters by providing the protagonist with some hope, courage and opportunity to rise against the odds, Kashyap indulges in his fantasy nightmare that simply gets darker with every passing sequence till finally, you can?t see ? its all black and the darkest shade of it at at that. He gleefully smothers out the last spark of hope that might have been ignited had anyone shown the slightest bit of respite, compassion or even consideration.

Despite not taking a step wrong in the actual movie making - complete with a long conversation between a police in-charge and one of the central characters that displays a grim reality with dark humor, barely present songs that progress, not hinder the narrative and the usual Anurag Kashyap touches with random psychedelic music intact, this particular narrative becomes so soul sucking by the end of it all, that it doesn?t leave a nice feeling. This is especially on display in one hellish scene ? which could as easily have been implied than shown in its truly ?ugly? form

Performances wise, there is hardly a glittering star cast with Ronit Roy being the most recognizable actor of the lot, but true to the Anurag Kashyap brigade of the past, they all come to the party with solid performances. Vineet Singh and Girish Kulkarni do a brilliant job (I wish Girish?s character?s dialogues had subtitles since a lot of them were in Marathi). Rahul Bhat also does justice to his role though his performance is a little wooden in comparison. Tejaswini Kohlapuri and Surveen Chawla both look dull and worn out but then that?s what the script demanded.  Ronit Roy shows a restraint that he earlier showcased only in Udaan though struggles in scenes of high strung emotion.

While it baffled when it was first revealed ? Ugly is a near-perfect title for this movie. The world doesn?t get uglier and murkier than the one that Kashyap showcases, with each character blacker than the other and a situation and progression that is not just unsettling but downright choking and unrelenting ? If that?s not ugly enough, I shudder to think what is. Think before you watch this one, its certainly not for everyone

Movie Review: Badlapur..a dream start but not a great journey

Badlapur could?ve been a landmark movie. The first 15 minutes quite rightly emphasised as critical, certainly showed the potential. Yes, the first 15 minutes are critical and no, you cannot afford to miss them. However, its not so much that you won?t be able to understand what follows if you don?t. While they certainly prop the remainder of the story, a more pressing reason to not miss the first 15 minutes is that they are amongst the most shining moments of the film. I don?t think anybody else, could?ve done better with those scenes, either within Bollywood or outside it

Unfortunately, after that ? everybody seems lost. ?Badlapur is said to have a brilliant plot. I think a key problem is that the plot, as a whole, is anything but brilliant. In parts, it glitters and has its moments but as an overall package ? it seems terribly contrived and doesn?t deliver the goods.

Badlapur is certainly bold ? both literally and figuratively. It?s a big change from a standard revenge saga and for the most part, the change is for the better. It breaks new ground in some aspects but offers some unexpected unsavory scenes as well. This movie is certainly not at all for kids, so make sure its an adults only audience if you end up watching this one

While Varun Dhawan really lifts his game and delivers a fine performance for his limited experience, one wonders if this movie could?ve been a little better if a more veteran actor had taken on this role. While he looks the part, most of the time, his voice lacks the edge it should and his crazed look lacks conviction. Nawazuddin Siddique on the other hand, delivers a convincing performance. That said, a lot of the blame should actually go to the characters themselves ? while a lot of time is spent on them ? its hard to understand them or connect with them ? even towards the end of the movie. A word for Radhika Apte who plays her unique role quite convincingly and makes her presence felt. Huma Qureshi also does justice to her role. Yami Gautam looks pretty as a picture but doesn't get much in the way of dialogues.

Sriram Raghavan is an exciting director. He treads off the beaten path and has a few smart tricks up his sleeve in all his movies. While the first 15 minutes (and maybe a few glimpses post that) stamp his authority, Badlapur sorely misses the tight packaging of an Ek Hasina Thi or a Johnny Gaddaar

While there is only a fleeting reference to trains in the movie, this sums up the experience of  Badlapur - The journey to Badlapur starts smooth as silk, then encounters a few rough spots here and there. The train itself slows down, taking in vast expanses of empty space. Then it enters a few dark tunnels that end up being dead ends. However, because the driver and its passengers are particularly keen on having us on board we still go along for the ride.. If only the ride could?ve been shorter with a great destination in mind, the journey would?ve truly been memorable