Fan review

Rating: 2.5/5

Not being a SRK fan and having considered his past three movies to be torturous, I was really weary about watching Fan. The trailer did look promising but I wasn't so sure about spending my valuable 2 hours time on it. After a long thought, I decided to give it a try. 

                       

Fan, as the word itself suggests, is about the life of Gaurav, a diehard fan of Aryan Khanna. He spends every moment of his life thinking of Aryan. He acts like him, speaks like him, talks like him, walks like him- he calls himself Junior Aryan Khanna. His life's foremost aim is to meet his idol and spend few minutes with him. He wants to show his mad love for him and also show the trophy which he had won acting like him. Unable to get a chance to meet his star, he opts for crooked means, innocent according to him, and finally gets his opportunity to meet Aryan. Aryan displays his displeasure over his fan's antics and asks him to live his own life and let him live his. Gaurav feels cheated and decides to prove to his star how important his fan is, and as a fan how he can destroy his life. 

Fan is Shahrukh Khan's movie. After a long time he has got a character, a challenging character where he can showcase his acting ability. There are no mindless comedy or dream song sequences. It's sheer acting and Shahrukh pulls it out fantastically. He brilliantly creates the character Gaurav and makes the views feel sympathetic towards him in the first half. In the second half, he effortlessly transfers the viewer's allegiance towards Aryan, the helpless actor who finds himself on the wrong end because of his crazy fan. At one point, it actually dawned on me that it was the same person enacting two characters. Such was the impact Shahrukh created with his body language and dialogue delivery. 

As much as the movie is watchable because of Shahrukh, the narrative falls very badly in the second half. Though the instances woven to show Gaurav taking revenge on Shahrukh is interesting, it is stretched beyond limit. The chase sequences gets very tiring. Nearly 30 min of the second half gets wasted on Shahrukh's characters running after each other. Somewhere, I found the climax not particularly correct. 

Surprisingly, there are no song sequences but the background score is done very well. Editing is good enough especially in the stunt sequences. Photography is good as well. VFX plays its part very well. 

The supporting cast has very little role to play. It's Shahrukh all the way. 

If you are a Shahrukh Khan fan, this movie might top the list. For others, this movie would be surprisingly engaging. 

Inspector George Gently review

Rating:5/5

It’s been more than 6 months since I had begun watching this incredible show. I had been wishing to review this show for a very long time, but I couldn’t just stop watching it. I just couldn’t get enough of the show to give it a break to sit down to review it. I almost felt if I review the show, that’s more like putting an end to watching it. But finally I have made up my mind to review it, not that I am going to stop watching it.

                       

Inspector George Gently, from the outside, is like any other cop drama on television. Every episode revolves around a case with the detective duos striving to find the killer. The show has its up and downs, and twists and turns, with various characters performed by guests stars. The personal lives of the lead characters are touched, with predominantly them not having a very happy life. Yet, this show stands out clearly and magnificently from the rest.

The significant plus point of the show is the era it is set in. 1960s. The makers of the show has beautifully pictured the show to reflect on the 60s, right from the costumes, the cars, the buildings, the roads and definitely the culture and development of those times. At a point, I felt wondered how the police of then solved the cases. With no technology especially mobile phones, the detectives then went about to all the places, took down notes, and investigated the cases using one and only their brains. They had to go through mountains of paperwork to find one small detail whereas now, a punch to a key can list down all the details needed about a person. Things like this awed me and the meticulous detailing given to the props in the scenes- kudos to the team which worked on putting the show together to this marvelous extent.                                 

The show revolves around the two leads- George Gently, an aged experienced officer who stands for honesty and fights against corruption leading to him not being a very popular person in the police circle. John Bachchus- his sergeant and side kick who believes in shortcuts to success. He is witty and charming, could be arrogant and insulting too. His antics irritate George but also bring a lot of light into his life. George, who was at the verge of leaving the service after his wife’s murder decides to stay back and nurture his young and potential sergeant from swaying into the wrong path.

                       

Martin Shaw and Lee Ingleby play their roles brilliantly. They bring the characters to life and we could reason with both the characters’ actions. Gradually, we also feel the bond developing between both the characters- a father and son bond which both never acknowledges openly but their care and concern for each other is very heart warming. George always tries to help John with his personal life without the other’s knowledge, be it talking to John’s divorced wife to let him see his daughter more often or bring John and his father closer. And John- he always stands beside George during all his problems and trusts him unconditionally, be it when George was framed for corruption or when he gets diagnosed with illness. Yet, the banter that goes between both these characters adds a lot of fun and entertainment.

Every episode has a message to learn and also gives a glimpse of how the world was back in the 60s and how things have changed for the better and the worse. Editing and photography adds a lot to the show’s quality and the music transports us back to the era splendidly.

Each episode runs for around 90 minutes which could be considered slow considering the episodes are only 45 min nowadays. But the story unravels slowly bringing every supporting character into perspective, letting the viewers solve the case along with the detectives.

This show would definitely make it to my top 10 shows and is one of those few shows which I never get bored watching again and again. 

Ki and Ka Review

Rating: 3/5

An ambitious guy with his wife becoming his support system on his journey to attain great heights and at the end thanking his wife in front of everyone is the usual story which we have heard and seen. Behind every successful man is a woman. Ki and Ka tries to project just the opposite and to an extent has been fairly successful.

                                           

Arjun Kapoor is Kabir aka Ka. His ambition in life is to become like his mother, an artist, a creator of home. He dislikes the corporate race and believes a house wife is as important as any other profession and strives to be one of them. Kareena Kapoor is Kia. Her ambition in life is to run the race so fast and climb the career ladder until she reaches the top. When both meet, they decide they are perfect for each other and hence get married in spite of the inverse age difference.

Balki has chosen a perfect seed for the film and waters it very well. The scenes are hilarious and sometimes too direct yet it never sways away from realism. The humor added when Kabir plays the perfect "wife" brings a giggle yet makes the viewers think that though it might be not possible for such a scenario, it's not completely impossible too. Just the mindset of the man makes the difference.

Most part of the movie delves on how it's not wrong for man to sit at home and run the house while the Lady goes out for work. Only if the man believes they are above woman and feels inferior, the relationship goes down the drain. Ki and Ka have a great relationship which puts all others and public in awe eventually leading to Ka hogging the limelight for his different approach. What follows is the usual jealously and ego fights, which thankfully isn't stretched.

Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan plays cameos and light up the scenes.

Balki has always been a person who offers a cinema which flows in a straight line with no dramatic twists and turns and it was no surprise that Ki and Ka followed the same pattern. Arjun and Kareena Kapoor does justice to their roles. The technical department does a fair job and nothing extraordinary.

Ki and Ka is a refreshing and engaging watch. It doesn't offer much work for your mind. You can sit back and relax with nothing to worry about.