One Word Review: ADMIRABLE

Based on the 2016 terrorist attack on Air Force Base in URI, this movie showcases the events which lead to the event and which followed it. Uri: The Surgical Strike depicts all the realtime incidents which happened and how the surgical strike was executed in a realistic manner.

Movie Review on Uri

The story starts with the protagonist Major Vihaan Shergil (Vicky Kaushal) who fights his personal battles as well as leading the Special Forces in Indian Army. He along with his team perform the most dangerous and the most unrealistic war with Pakistan as the after effects of the Uri attack which were being denied by Pakistan.

Coming to the acting, Vicky Kaushal has developed from each and every movie he has acted in. Starting as a skinny lad in Masaan to a best friend in Sanju and now Major Vihaan Shergill, he has really put all his hardwork physically and mentally into it and which is shown throughout the movie. He is flawless throughout the movie and plays his part to perfection. Clearly one of his best performances in his short career span. Paresh Rawal plays his part well and his dialogue delivery and experssions are superb. Mohit Raina gets an interesting character to portray and he justifies it completely. Yami Gautam does a fine job as another Intelligence officer but gets a limited scope. Kirti Kulhari has limited screenspace but portrays it well. She should have been explored a bit more. Aditya Dhar's direction is mindblowing, being a first timer he has done a great job and is one of the directors to look out for in the near future. The combat sequences, ambush, gunfire, fistfights, sniper shots are realistically shot. The camera tactfully follows the soldiers like a shadow. Sound effects are crucial to combat film storytelling, and this war drama uses it effectively for most parts.

Uri - the surgical strike

The movie is intriguing and will make you scream and clap during the warfare scenes. It is a fitting tribute to the Indian Army who day in day out serves the nation and we can in no way repay the sacrifices they do. The movie puts a spotlight on the work which they do thanklessly. Truely URI: The Surgical Strike is 138 minutes of Sheer Brilliance and a MUST WATCH..The start of 2019 for Bollywood is on a HIGH !!!

IMDB- 9.4/10 💪🏼

Reviewed by Mandar Dalvi

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As we come to the end of 2018, a glorious year for Bollywood which saw movies like Raazi, Stree, Badhaai Ho, Andhadhun, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Parmaanu, 102 not out, Mulk, Tumbaad, Bareily ki Barfi, 2.0, Sanju and many more emerging victoriously while movies having major starcast like Race3, Thugs of Hindostan, ZERO failing majorly at the Box Office.

Bollywood Movies 2018

2018 was a year of success where new talents were encouraged and loved by the audience. Actors like Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Vicky Kaushal, Ayushmaan Khurana, Ranbir Kapoor were loved by the audience and equally applauded their work due to their choice of movies and acting skills. These actors were in Bollywood for a long time but these movies gave them recognition and opportunity to portray their skills. Bollywood greats like Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, SRK majorly disappointed with their movies and were rejected by the audience. There were some movies which slipped under the radar like Manto, Soorma, Pari, Hichkki but were loved by the audiences who watched it. Debutants like Sara Ali Khan, Jhanvi kapoor, Ishaan Khatar were also loved by audience and have now generated their own fans. Women oriented movies like Raazi, Veere Di Wedding also came and equally loved by the fans and also dominated at the Box Office. Also this year majorly saw an emergence of web platform like Netflix, Amazon Prime where viewers have to pay and watch movies / web series which are barred from censorship. Sacred Games, Mirzapur, Mowgli, Breathe, Bose are some of the web series which were acclaimed and loved by the audiences. These platforms gave chance to viewers to watch their loved movies at their leisure time at their place and whenever they want. There are more series / movies coming to this platform and will be more loved in the years to come. More and more bollywood actors are going to web platform for the type of work which excites them. Regional movies, post Baahubali are been more loved by the audience. KGF Chapter 1 is such an example where a movie has been appreciated by the movie lovers. Marathi movies like Naal, Cycle, Mumbai Pune Mumbai 3 and many more were been equally loved by the audiences.

New age actors like Kartik Aryan, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Vicky Kaushal, Ayushmaan Khurana, Nawazzuddin Siddiqui are been loved, acclaimed, appreciated by the audience and are eager to watch their new movies which are coming through. 2018 was a breakthrough year for cinema lovers and here's hoping that 2019 will be another breakthrough year for Indian cinema with movies like Uri, Thackrey, DreamGirl, Made in China, Brahmastra and many more upcoming movies to release. So hoping to have a wonderful 2019 movie lovers.

Merry Christmas & Have a Happy New Year 2019..!!!!

Movie/Web series reviewer Mandar Dalvi

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Mirzapur  - Web Series (Amazon Prime Video)

Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's latest web series Mirzapur caught everyone's attention with its trailer and finally, the show went on-air on November 16th. Mirzapur, which is the third Amazon Prime original made in India, after Inside Edge and Breathe, boasts a stellar cast comprising of Pankaj Tripathi, Vikrant Massey, Ali Fazal, Divyendu Sharma, Rasika Duggal, Shweta Tripathi & Shriya Pilgaonkar.

Mirzapur - Amazon Prime Video

The story of Mirzapur is about a local drug lord Kaleen Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi) whose son Munna (Divyendu) is trying too hard to take his place but doesn't have any of the diplomatic or criminal skills. During an incident, Munna is attacked by two local boys Guddu (Ali Fazal) and Bablu (Vikrant Massey) and hires them as his local goons. The series comprising of 9 episodes and each episode will remind you of Gangs of Wasseypur. The series starts on a dark note and ends in a gripping and shocking way.

Web series - Mirzapur

As far as the performances are, Pankaj Tripathi is magnificient and in his home ground. Be it his nuances, mannerism or the way he delivers lines, it's hard to not be in awe of him. He is truely one of the best actors of modern times and is truely the heart of the series. Vikrant Massey is an underrated actor who has again and again proved that he is an awesome actor in movies like Lipstick under my Burkha, Lootera and many more. He does full justice to the role and plays his part superbly well. The main surprise is Divyendu, who has till date played a boy next door but plays a spoilt evil in Mirzapur with perfection. Ali Fazal also surprises on his part where he delivers a great screen presence as an all brawn and no brain. His physical transformation & body language is truely commendable. Shriya Pilgaokar has good screen presence and plays well. Shweta Tripathi has less screen space but portrays her part well. Rasika Duggal has played her part well as a seductress. It's good to see Kulbhushan Kharbanda in a negative role after ages. The background score is amazing and the cinematography is good too. The only downfall of the series is the 1 hr long episodes and the slow pace of the series where Anurag was master of.

Overall, Mirzapur is an engaging watch and captivates you from start to finish. It is truely gripping, captivating and has high shock value. IMDB Rating  of 8.8/10 truely makes the series worth watching

Thugs of Hindostan (TOH)

Ever since the starcast of the movie was announced, I was eager to watch AB Sr. & AK coming together on big screen but sadly it didn't live up to the expectations & from the first day heard all sorts of negative things and comic memes about the movie. So, I went to watch the movie on backdrop of all negative things heard about it and having watched the movie came out of the theatre feeling that the movie has been over bashed by the critics and audience and the movie surely isn't a masterpiece or a blockbuster but not a worst movie too as there are many worse movies than TOH.

Thugs of Hindostan

From the director of movies like D3 & Tashan, Vijay Krishna Acharya is a director who has failed to deliver good movies despite of getting great actors. Yet again he fails to give justice to the movie due to his poor direction. Coming to acting, Amitabh Bachchan is an actor par brilliance and excellence. The Star of the Millenium has given his 200% to the movie and performed his part brilliantly. His entry scene will surely give you goosebumps and will remind you of "Khuda Gawah". Such is the aura and charm of the person, he has done every bit from performing stunts, dancing to swordfighting with utmost ease at the age of 76. He is surely the hero of the movie who will be remembered for a long time for his role Khudabaksh. Second is Aamir Khan, who said that he acted in the movie simply because he loved his character. He played his role of Firangi Mallah with very ease and utmost grace. He is truely the Thug of the movie and is very hard to believe which side he is on during the movie. The 2 stalwarts of Bollywood have tried their best to save the sinking ship. The comic elements in the movie are very well played by Aamir and truely supported by Zeeshan Ayyub who portrays his friend in the movie. Fatima Sana Shaikh does well in her role as Zafira. Katrina Kaif as usual is used for glamour purpose and is wasted. She barely has 3-4 dialogues in the movie & is only used for 2 songs. Art direction and cinematography is mind blowing. The songs are bad and except "Vashmalle" nothing excites. The CGI is good not great. The action scenes are also beautifully shot, the efforts done by the actors are clearly visible in the fight scenes.

Thugs of Hindostan

Overall the movie is a one time watch because of Amitabh & Aamir and some different style of movie. This movie is not a copy of Pirates of Caribbean but Vijay Krishna Acharya was majorly inspired by it which resulted to the failure of the movie. A movie which could have been a masterpiece becomes an ordinary movie due to the poor direction and the story. IMDB Rating of 3.6/10 is too harsh for the movie.

Reviewed by Mandar Dalvi

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One word: M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E

Manto, a film by Nandita Das, is a biopic on the Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto who lived during the era of 1940's. A biopic on someone whom we dont know but a person who was known to write about the hard truths of society that no one dared to talk about. He is best known for his stories about the partition of India immediately following independence in 1947. Manto was a Kashmiri and moved to "Bombay" during his 20's. Started as a journalist for film magazine and for radio and also wrote scripts, but none of his movies did well. He then started writing on different subjects which examined very sensitive topics like sex work & religion in a period when India was even more prudish than today.

Manto review

This film depicts his life especially during the late 1940's and post Independence era along with the partition time with five of his most famous and poignant short stories: "Dus Rupay", "100-Watt Bulb", "Khol Do", "Thanda Gosht" and "Toba Tek Singh". It narrates his life through these stories. Director Nandita Das has beautifully crafted these stories into Manto's life and portrayed it. She deserves each and every bit of applause and accolades for the way she has depicted the various events, its contexts in Manto's life through his works. The movie takes you to a journey of the pre and post Independence time and beautifully showcases Bombay & Lahore during those times. Kartik Vijay's cinematography justifies the feel and era of the film. It is painful to watch the film since it covers the reality. The tragedy is that things have not changed much even after seven decades of freedom.

Words are very hard to express the simplicity and gracefully Nawazuddin Siddiqui has portrayed the titular role. He has truely lived Manto and made it his own. While watching him on screen, one will forget the fact that he is Nawaz and will see and feel his pain, anger, trauma as Manto. Rasika Duggal as Safia, Manto's wife is truely commendable in her part and has excelled throughout in the movie. Tahir Raj Bhasin (Mardaani fame) as Shyam, Manto's friend has once again shown the amount of potential he has and delivered a great performance. This movie has a great ensemble cast which comprises of greats like Rishi Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Javed Akhtar who prove their calibre by displaying brilliant acting in limited screenspace. Each and every character played by Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shashank, Rajashri Deshpandey, Ranvir Shory, Divya Dutta, Vinod Nagpal, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Ila Arun, Paresh Rawal, Tilotama Shome, Gurdas Mann, Bhanu Uday has given their best making the movie a beautiful journey in itself.The music strikes the right chord with the heart. The much famous lyrics of Faiz Ahmed Faiz - "Bol Ke Lab Azaad Hain" is beautifully sung by Vidhya Shah and Rashid Khan.

Watch this for brilliant performances, gutsy direction & writing, a never seen before Mumbai and hardships of a man who chose to portray the truth in his style. If you are a true movie lover, who loves to watch movies with great performances and a good story Manto is the movie you will love to go.

Reviewed by Mandar Dalvi

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