Sachin : A Billion Dreams - My Review

Movie : Sachin : A Billion Dreams
Year : 2017

Pros :
Genuine Biographical Narration
BGM
Brilliant Editing

Cons :
Nil. This is the Story of God himself. How boring can it be ?!

Sachin : A Billion Dreams has finally hit the big screen and this time he scores big with his on-screen innings. The director James Erskine has deftly made this movie which is more of a documentary, with elegance. The plot revolves around how Sachin grew up to become the legend he is today and the movie has lots of important cricket episodes of his life . It focuses on his family as well and the balance between the two makes the movie, an entertaining watch. Cricket lovers are in for a treat while the narration is done mostly by Sachin.
The editing deserves appreciation since it is amazingly well done due to which the movie moves at a good pace and the flow is smooth. BGM by A. R. Rahman is a definite highlight of the movie and it gives us goosebumps at times.
On the whole, Sachin : A Billion Dreams is a well directed Biographical Drama based on the life of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar on and off the cricket field. This one is more of a documentary, but the brilliant editing, BGM and exquisite direction makes this movie, a brilliant one.

Watch it or not ?
Entertainment lovers : This movie will be a treat for cricket fans. For normal audience too, this movie provides ample entertainment, even though it is more of a documentary.
Story Lovers : Yes. Filled with exciting cricket episodes from Sachin's life, this movie is definitely a good watch.

My Rating : 4/5

Hindi Medium : My Review

Pros :
Social Relevance of Plot
Good Performances
Good Narration

Hindi Medium is a social drama which sheds light into the modern society where school admissions are based on social status.
Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar are the leading pair in this movie and they have delivered quality performances as the rich parents who can't speak good english. The plot revolves around the situations they have to survive in order to admit their daughter in Delhi's No.1 school. Deebak Dobriyaal and Amrita Singh play important roles in the film and they have done their roles well.
The script is penned by Zeenat Lakhani and Saket Choudhary and this is a definite highlight of the film. The script discusses a fresh and important social trend which is creating more and more damage to the society. Director Saket Choudhary has done a terrific job and his narration keeps the audience engaged.
Hindi Medium is a good social drama which keeps you engaged with its narration and also imparts an important message to the society. A must watch for good cinema lovers.

Watch it or not?
Entertainment lovers : Definite Yes.
Story Lovers : Big, Big Yes.

My Rating : 4/5

Half Girlfriend : My Review

Movie : Half Girlfriend
Year : 2017

Pros :
Exceptional Songs

Cons :
Average Plot
Horrendous Screenplay
Average Performances
Average Direction
A particular scene where an animated image of Bill Gates is used.

Half Girlfriend is the story of a village guy falling in love with a queen bee at college who defines her relationship with him as that of a "half girlfriend".

The movie is based on Chetan Bhagat's novel of the same name for which Tushar Hiranandani has written a horrible and distasteful screenplay. Mohit Suri's direction is ordinary and the average performances from the cast makes the movie, a painful watch.

Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor couldn't make this movie any better since the movie suffers due to bad writing.
The songs are just great and definitely a huge relief.

On the whole, Half Girlfriend is a half - baked, banal love story with average performances from the cast, worsened by pathetic screenplay and uninspired direction. If not for the exquisite songs, this movie is a total no-no.

Watch it or not?
Entertainment lovers : Not worth it.
Story Lovers : Definitely a huge No.

My Rating : 1/5

Meri Pyaari Bindu : My Review

Pros :
Exceptional Soundtrack 
Good Direction
Ayushmann Khurrana
Good Cinematography
Good Humor

Cons :
Weak Plot
Abrupt Climax

Meri Pyaari Bindu tells the story of Abhimanyu, an aspiring writer, who falls head over heels in love with his childhood friend Bindu, who aspires to be a singer.

Ayushmann Khurrana plays Abhimanyu with panache and he delivers a solid performance. Parineeti Chopra who plays the title character Bindu does a good job but Ayushmann was too good in the movie. The rest of the cast which includes Abish Mathew, Aparajitha Addy etc. are exquisite in their respective roles.

The Story by Suprotim Sengupta is very fragile and this is the only major drawback of the movie, but the screenplay has lots of humor which makes the movie, an entertaining fare. The attempt to make the movie more realistic, gives it an abrupt ending. Akshay Roy does a terrific job in making the weak script look fantastic on screen with his good direction. The narration feels good and his work deserves appreciation.

The movie has a fantastic soundtrack composed by Sachin - Jigar which is a definite highlight of the movie.

The movie looks lovely thanks to brilliant Cinematography by Tushar Kanti Ray.

The movie has entertainment value and is filled with quality humor but the only disappointment is a well written story.
If you are booking tickets for Meri Pyaari Bindu this week, I can assure you that it will be worth watching once.

My Rating : 3.5/5

CIA : My Review

Pros :
Adventure based script
True story dedicated to refugees
Good Cinematography

Cons :
Shallow Screenplay

Comrade in America is an adventure of a guy who transcends American borders illegally to be with his love. The movie showcases Dulquer in a mass avatar and he has a terrific introduction and plenty of fiery dialogues in the movie. Amal Neerad's direction is good but the narration gets dull in the second half since there is no depth in the screenplay by Shibin Francis. Cinematography by Renadives is good and his frames are elegant. Dulquer Salman gives a decent performance as Aji Mathew while debutante Karthika Muralidharan looks good but she hardly gets any screen time. Chandni Sreedharan plays Pallavi, a fellow immigrant who tries to enter America. Siddique delivers a terrific performance as Dulquer's father in the movie.
CIA starts off with Dulquer being active in college politics and then a romantic track takes over after which the movie becomes an adventure in the second half due to an unexpected turn of events. The movie loses the significance of the title with the end of first half since the rest of the movie is an adventure in search of the protagonist's love. This part of the movie becomes a stark contrast from the first half which was more happening with good humor and dialogues.
This movie turns out to be an average fare even though the making looks appealing.
Watch CIA if you are a DQ fan or if you have nothing else to do this weekend.

My Rating : 2.5/5