Bollyreviewsnow Cine Awards 2015

Welcome to Bollyreviewsnow Cine Awards 2015! First of all heartfelt thanks to all of you who are reading this post and have loved Bollyreviewsnow. Wherever we are, its only and only because of all of you! Year 2015 witnessed ~204 movies getting released in Bollywood (including dubbed), out of which we had only 5 Super Hits or Blockbusters. But, we really don’t care about how many of them crossed Rs 100 Cr mark. Rather, we’ll be recognizing those performances which touched your hearts. We’ll salute to those artists who made you laugh…who made you cry…who made you applaud...who made you glued to your seats or made you give a standing ovation. Without further ado, here we go: 

1. Best Actress in a Supporting Role

a. Tanvi Azmi - Bajirao Mastani 

b. Tabu – Drishyam 
c. Shefali Shah – Dil Dhadakne Do 
d. Priyanka Chopra - Bajirao Mastani (WINNER) 

Tanvi Azmi as Maa Saheb was extremely intimidating it was good to see her in such a different avatar. Tabu as a shrewd Inspector General was above average. Shefali Shah as the super elite, classy mother did a fine job. Her role had scope to show varied emotions, which she could have played better.

Priyanka Chopra - Best Actress in a
Supporting Role (Bajirao Mastani)

Priyanka Chopra as Kashibai looked authentic marathi mulgi. Expressions of Priyanka completely stood out - Be it dancing on Pinga, taunt in her tone in her conversation with Bajirao, hatred in her conversation with Mastani and dichotomy in her decisions between what is good for Kashibai Vs what is morally right as Peshwain? Congrats, Priyanka for winning the Best Actress award in a supporting role. 

2. Best Actor in a Supporting Role

a. Deepak Dobriyal - Tanu Weds Manu Returns

b. Sanjay Mishra – Masaan / Dum Laga Ke Haishaa
c. Nawazuddin Siddiqui – Bajrangi Bhaijaan
d. Nawazuddin Siddiqui – Badlapur (WINNER) 

Deepak Dobriyal has a wonderful comic timing and he gagged us all in TWMR. Sanjay Mishra is a learned actor and was impressive in his limited role of a helpless father in Masaan and Dum Laga ke Haishaa. In Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Nawaz was brought in towards 2nd half which have him limited screen time but he infused energy into the film at right time. 

Nawazuddin Siddiqui - Best Actor in
a Supporting Role (Badlapur)

But, acting prowess of Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Badlapur was class apart. I loved the shrewdness of Nawaz when he talked to Inspector (Kumud Mishra) or his passion of a love struck Romeo during his scenes with Huma Qureshi. He has done such roles of poor-guy-getting-beaten-up umpteenth times and have mastered it by now. Congrats, Nawaz for winning the Best Actor award in a supporting role for Badlapur. 

3. Best Actress in a Leading Role

a. Anushka Sharma - NH10

b. Deepika Padukone - Bajirao Mastani
c. Radhika Apte – Maanjhi / Hunterrr
d. Bhumi Pednekar – Dum Laga Ke Haisha (BEST DEBUT)
e. Kangana Ranaut - Tanu Weds Manu Returns (WINNER)

Anushka Sharma was impressive in her intense, strong character with admirable conviction in NH10. Deepika Padukone for once was fantastic in Bajirao Mastani, be it her sword fighting, skillful kathak dance, anger on her face when she is slaying enemies and her fearless face when she counters arguments of her ill-wishers. Radhika Apte effortlessly transitions from a practical modern women in Hunterr to an innocent village damsel in Maanjhi. 

If there is one thing Dum Laga Ke Haishaa would be ever remembered for, then it would be for lead actress Bhumi Pednekar. No amount of words can describe the brilliance of this actress. She is impressive in all the areas be it her expressions, dialogue delivery or immersing herself in the role. 

Kangana Ranaut -Best Actress in a 
leading Role(Tanu Weds Manu Returns)

Kangana Ranaut left me spellbound with the character of Kusum "Datto" in Tanu Weds Manu Returns. There is a stark contrast between 2 characters yet Kangana graciously exhibited both roles with panache. Be it the look, haryanvi accent or mannerism of characters, Kangana left no stone unturned. It was indeed a tough choice to choose between Kangana and Bhumi. We at Bollyreviewsnow award Bhumi Pednekar as the Best debut actress award and Kangana Ranaut as the Best Actress in a leading role. 

4. Best Actor in a Leading Role

a. Amitabh Bachchan – Piku / Shamitabh

b. Ranbir Kapoor – Tamasha
c. Gulshan Devaiah - Hunterrr
d. Ranveer Singh - Bajirao Mastani
e. Nawazuddin Siddiqui – Manjhi (WINNER) 

Off late Amitji’s roles have been very subdued and I have been missing that persona of Amitabh Bachchan which exuded confidence and who could carry off his arrogance with a poise. I was thrilled to see that angry young man in Shamitabh. In Piku, Amitji played the role of an extremely irritating father. As anyone would have expected, he played this role to perfection with a constipated look and eyeballs bulging out of sockets. 

Ranbir Kapoor handled his highly ambiguous characterization very well in Tamasha. Alas, his role was highly confusing for which I won't blame the actor. Gulshan Devaiah was truly amazing as the Mandar Vasu in Hunterrr. You'll see his different shades as "Confident Vaasu" as well as "Nervous Fiancee". 

Confidence oozing out of every pore of his body, demeanor of a Peshwa leader, stern face of a warrior, authentic marathi accent and deft wrists holding his sword. I almost got goosebumps witnessing brilliance of Ranveer Singh in the Bajirao Mastani. He didn't act like a Peshwa, he became a Peshwa for Bajirao Mastani. 

Nawazuddin Siddiqui - Best Actor ina leading Role (Manjhi)

I have always appreciated work of Nawazuddin Siddiqui but Manjhi was the first time that he has left me awestruck. By far, one of the best work done by him till date. From a romantic fun loving guy to an adamant gutsy old man. What variation, what emotions! Kudos to Nawaz for such stupendous performance and Congrats for winning the Best Actor award in a leading role. 

5. Best Director

a. Ketan Mehta – Manjhi

b. Shoojit Sircar – Piku
c. Dibakar Banerjee – Detective Byomkesh Bakshy
d. R Balki – Shamitabh
e. Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Bajirao Mastani (WINNER) 

Manjhi could have easily veered into the territory of boring documentaries. It required the vision and expertise of an able director like Ketan Mehta to tell that compelling story infused with emotions and laced with the petals of romance. Shoojit Sircar kept the mood of Piku subtle without any dramatically overwhelming melodrama. Detective Byomkesh Bakshy had a very gripping but complex story which is the highlight of this film. I am glad that this movie was in able hands of very skilled Dibakar Banerjee. Shamitabh was a brave attempt by Director R Balki to present a fresh concept to Bollywood audience who have gone habitual to rotten ideas. Salute to Balki for such a brilliant direction, script and screenplay. 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Best Director 

         (Bajirao Mastani)

Bajirao Mastani was a cherished project of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who left no leaf unturned to make it a grand success. SLB was not only the producer and director but also composed the music for this film. He didn't shy away from making his actors cry and curse until he got what he wanted from them. Congratulations, Sanjay Leela Bhansali for winning the Best Director Award for 2015. 

6. Best Film

a. Badlapur
b. Hunterrr
c. Dum Laga Ke Haisha
d. Bajirao Mastani
e. Manjhi (WINNER)

Revenge is a dish best serve cold. Plot of Badlapur was based on this statement, which was made famous by Don Corleone in Godfather. All the characters had a darker side and audience empathized with as well as hated every character as the film progressed. 

If there was a movie which made me laugh in a long time, it was Hunterrr. A bold attempt by Phantom Films, known to make offbeat cinema with a growing cult following. Dum Laga ke Haisha reminded us of clean family movies made by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. It was a light and realistic film minus all the melodrama, tears and melancholy. Bajirao Mastani was a historic romantic colorful saga which invoked multitude of emotions as each crease of story unfolded to offer something different. A great film made with fantastic Costumes, set designs, locations cinematography and visual appeal. 

Manjhi - Best Film(2015)          

Bahut Bada Hai Tu. Bahut Akad Hai Tohra Mein. Dekh Kaise Ukadte Hain Akad Teri. There couldn't be a better tribute to Dashrath Manjhi and showcasing the saga of his unflinching arduous mammoth dream than the film Maanjhi. Though, it is sad that it took so long for his "madness" to get recognized. I can bet that if this was not a real story, no one would have even dared to pen a fictional script like this. We Congratulate Maanjhi for winning the award of Best Film for 2015. 

Hope you liked our choices and appreciate unbiased and unpaid Bollyreviewsnow Cine awards. It is always our endeavor to recognize meaningful and quality cinema, which would be remembered in history of Bollywood. Thanks for staying with us!

Twitter: twitter.com/bollyreviewsnow

Facebook: facebook.com/bollyreviewsnow

Bajirao Mastani - Movie Review

Ratings: 3.5/5 

One charismatic Peshwa leader of Maratha Empire, who has won every battle fought against enemies but is challenged to handle internal battles of family and society. One dauntless warrior, who has put everything on stake to unite with love of her life. One elegant Peshwa queen who is caught in the conflict between morality and jealousy. There is an on going war being fought between draconian societal laws, self proclaimed religious fanatic leaders, scheming politicians, backstabbing family members, responsibility towards family and nation and all of them against Shrimant Bajirao Ballal Bhat. 

Historic romantic colorful saga of Sanjay Leela Bhansali takes you on a joyride invoking multitude of emotions as each crease of story unfolds to offer something different. Bajirao Mastani was a cherished project of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who left no leaf unturned to make it a grand success. He is not only the producer and director but also composed the music for this film. He didn't shy away from making his actors cry and curse until he got what he wanted from them. [More trivia on this in comments section]

For the role of Peshwa Bajirao, I can say with great degree of confidence that no in Bollywood could have played it better than Ranveer Singh. Confidence oozing out of every pore of his body, demeanor of a Peshwa leader, stern face of a warrior, authentic marathi accent and deft wrists holding his sword. I almost got goosebumps witnessing brilliance of Ranveer Singh in the film. He didn't act like a Peshwa, he became a Peshwa for Bajirao Mastani. Your eyes won't believe that he is the same person who gave abysmal performance 6 months back in Dil Dhadakne Do. 

Deepika Padukone for once was fantastic in this film. Be it her acrobatics doing sword fighting , skillful kathak dance on "Mohe Rang Do Laal", anger on her face when she is slaying enemies and her fearless face when she counters arguments of her ill wishers. She looks drop dead gorgeous in Deewani Mastani song. Priyanka Chopra looks authentic marathi mulgi. Especially when you see Priyanka and Deepika dancing next to each other in Pinga, expressions of Priyanka completely stand out. Tanvi Azmi as Maa Saheb is extremely intimidating and her role is quite similar to Ila Arun's in Jodha Akbar. 

One main drawback of the film is extremely slow plot post interval. 80% of the plot is over by interval, rest 20% of the plot keeps going round and round.. then stretch and stretch. May be Kekta Kapoor dropped in to Bajirao Mastani sets in interval and told SLB - "Dude story is far from out, I can make 500 episodes of Kaahaanii Mastannyy Kayy from rest of the film. Wham, here goes all fact paced gripping story and starts Saas-Bahu-Souten family drama. 

Music of the film is above average but for God's sake there are 10 songs in the film which makes it a drag. Many times you just keep your fingers crossed that God.. they are coming together in a group.. one of the queen looks cheerful, please.. no song now.. no song now.. tananana..Ati man sukh payo ri, Albelaaaa sajan aaayooo reee :D Having said that you should definitely look out for Deewani Mastani title track and Malhari song picturized on Ranveer. What dance moves.. Energetic war cry celebrating the victory. Lovely steps by Ranveer Singh.

Costumes, set designs, locations cinematography and visual appeal. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is the benchmark for it in Bollywood. Sets of palace durbar hall, Aaina Mahal, Shaniwarwada, costume of mastani are nothing less than even Hollywood standards. 

Verdict: Definitely a great watch in theater for its grandeur, splendid performance by Ranveer singh and a beautiful romantic love story.

Trivia: 

1. Bajirao Mastani is not only a historic film of 1700s but there is a history associated with it in Bollywood too! It was one of the deeply cherished project of Sanjay Leela Bhansali since 2003. He casted then famous love birds Salman and Aishwarya as Bajirao and Mastani. Alas, there was a rift and those 2 parted ways never to see each other eye to eye. Various actors considered for Bajirao included Salman Khan, SRK, Ajay Devgn, Hrithik Roshan and thankfully finally Ranveer Singh :), Dimple Kapadia,Shabana Azmi and Supriya Pathak were also considered for the role of Radhabai Bajirao's mother, which finally went to Tanvi Azmi.

2. SLB made actors learn Kalaripayattu for sword fighting scenes. Pandit Birju Maharaj was roped in to train Deepika in Kathak. Ranveer was trained to learn horse riding. Both Ranveer and Priyanka were trained in Marathi dialect spoken at the time of Peshwas. Deepika mentioned in one the interviews that she actually cried hard during one of the Kathak dance steps but SLB refused to budge! 

*************************Careful Spoiler alert ahead. Read at your own risk****************

3. Ending shown in the film is very tragic but reality wasn't so bad. Mastani was under house arrest when Bajirao went for the battle but she wasn't chained like a prisoner. That was just SLB being filmi :) Mastani was with Kashibai and Maa Saheb to perform final rites of Peshwa Bajirao. However, she committed suicide soon after her love was gone forever. 

4. Film doesn't show what happens to son of Mastani and Peshwa, Shamsher Bahadur. Whether he was killed or left orphan? Well, Kashibai adopted him as her own and he was was bestowed upon a portion of his father’s dominion of Banda and Kalpi. He became a great warrior and fought 3rd battle of Panipat against Afghans and died in that at the age of 27.

Twitter: twitter.com/bollyreviewsnow

Facebook: facebook.com/bollyreviewsnow

Dilwale - Movie Review

Ratings: 2/5

Dilwale is not just another masala recipe of a 300Cr film by Rohit Shetty but it is a full fledged combo deal. Along with 154 min of non stop torture, you also get bucket full of cliches, barrage of coincidences, frequent leaps of faith (making mockery of physics laws) and Salmonella infested rotten Johnny lever.

Plot of this film was conceptualized in 1990. But before Rohit Shetty could construct a building (film) on this plot, municipality had put a stay order on it in public interest. At least 10-20 films got made on this plot including Angry young man's Hum and Thalaivar's Baasha. But, it didn't dissuade dauntless Rohit Shetty. He was super confident of dishing out this piece of crap and yet make 300Cr-500Cr with blessings of King Khan.

Story of the film travels faster than the light and defies Einstein's theory of relativity. At 8:00 pm hero and heroine meets, At 8:05 they go on a date, At 8:10 they are madly in love with each other. Glad we have censor board in India, else God knows what all they would have done in 150 minutes :D

SRK plays a larger than life character (as usual), who works double shift to remain competitive. In morning shift, he gives competition to DC (Dilip Chabbria) by metamorphosing Maruti 800 into BMW by tightening some screws. In night shift, he dresses up like Darth Vader (from Star Wars) and takes badla from all those who have hurt his alter ego. Andheri raaton mein.. soonsaan galiyo par!!! That so much Shehanshah (King Khan after all). Having said that, his acting is quite restrained and you won't see his usual melodramatic emotional outburst.

Kajol is in a love-hate relationship with SRK. Which side of the bed she has woken up from decides today is the love day or hate day. This love-hate relation keeps flipping for SRK and Kajol without any explainable logic. You can almost hear Rohit Shetty screaming on mike: Love - Hate - Hate - Love - Love - Hate - Love - Hate! Poor actors, what all they have to go through. For Varun Dhawan, Dilwale was one of his worst picks. Neither, he gets to show any killer dance moves nor there was any challenging role for him.

Rohit Shetty casted Kriti Sanon while he was shopping for veggies in Sabji Mandi.

Rohit: "Madam, lead actress chahiye. Kya Baav Diya ?"

Kriti: " Rs 60 lakhs"

Rohit:"60 lakhs mein 3 feet ki 2 legs. 10 lakhs/feet for each leg is not a bad deal. Done!"

Johnny the dirty lever learnt his Hindi from Meenalochani of Chennai Express. Coz, I haven't seen anyone speaking Hindi in that accent in Kerala or for that matter anywhere in South India. His jokes are older than AK Hangal and staler than last year's Diwali sweets. Boman Irani, Sanjay Mishra, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinod Khanna are all unbearable. Mind you, it needs a mastermind to waste such a breed of talented actors.

Music by Preetam is average and songs aren't impressive except Gerua. Gerua is one phenomenal song which is not only picturized aesthetically, but is melodious and catchy and vocals of Arijit Singh is outstanding. Action sequences look more like morning stretching exercises,effortless and doesn't cause even a crease of hero's clothes. For some reason, in every Bollywood movie after every fight, Varun Dhawan bleeds from right corner of his lips and King Khan always has blood on his right temple. May be something to do with sweet spot!

One example of leap of faith: There are 2 rival gangs in the film. Both gangs have super strong intelligence team who know every deal of rival gang - which deal, when,where.. everything! Except they don't know family members of rival gangs supremo. What!!! Ravan mar gaya aur Sita kaun thi??

Statuary Warning: This film is made only for those with IQ less than 80. Please get your IQ level checked with MENSA before watching this film. Any frustration arising out of mockery made to your intelligence is not director's responsibility. Nor it is liable to any legal action with punitive damages.

Verdict: Instead of buying tickets of this film, invest that money in your savings back account. Even at 4% interest rate, you'll get higher return! 

Twitter: twitter.com/bollyreviewsnow

Facebook: facebook.com/bollyreviewsnow