New Delhi: A bunch of new, mid-sized films are vyng for audiences’ attention in movie theatres this week.
Romantic comedy Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana directed by Ratnaa Sinha, starring Rajkumar Rao and Kriti Kharbanda is a modest family drama, reminiscent of the 90s, says The Times Of India. Sinha addresses various social issues in her overstretched and tad outdated tale but her film is predominantly a romantic drama that seems inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion. However, unlike Austen’s classic that beautifully captures the simmering tension, regret and passion between two former lovers, this one leaves a lot to the imagination. What then keeps you engaged despite the rather implausible plot riddled with misunderstandings is some real good performances, led by the very talented Rao.
Koimoi.com calls the film a stereotypical attempt at tackling issues like dowry and sexism. The first half sails smoothly but you wish the film ended soon courtesy its repetitive narration. Rao, however, delivers a fine performance yet again.
Qarib Qarib Singlle starring Irrfan Khan and Parvathy and directed by Tanuja Chandra is a well-crafted, winsome romantic comedy, says The Indian Express. It’s a road movie-cum-coming-of-age romance, with a bittersweet tang to it, and yet it is peppy, and fun and fresh. While Irrfan’s brand of unkempt, tumble-locked sexiness comes through strongly precisely because he doesn’t try too hard, this film’s beating heart is Parvathy.
A light-hearted traipse through loves lost and lives interrupted, Qarib Qarib Singlle is an elegantly crafted, languidly paced film that puts a delightfully off-kilter, mellow spin on the conventions of the rom-com, says NDTV Movies. Buoyed by two contrasting but highly effective lead performances, the film, despite the obvious pacing issues, weaves a free-wheeling tale around a trip that two lonely hearts undertake after they meet via a dating site and begin a tentative relationship over cups of latte in a Mumbai cafe.
For the Hollywood fans, American comedy A Bad Moms Christmas directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn comes to India this week. The New York Times calls it a pitiful follow-up to last year’s Bad Moms that is even less able to distinguish between crass and comedic. The new arrivals, complete with a single neurosis apiece, infantilize and infuriate their daughters, who vow to “take back Christmas.” This rebellion, staged in raucous montages in a mall and elsewhere, involves getting plastered at the food court, terrorizing Santa with cleavage and assaulting strangers and one another. At the same time, the movie’s presumably normally gifted men are as superfluous to the proceedings as a thesaurus in the writers’ room.
The sequel never quite captures the disarming hilarity of the original, says The Washington Post. The beauty of Bad Moms was that it catered to an audience that Hollywood often leaves behind, and its success only highlighted the viability of women-centric stories. The good news is movie studios are apparently getting the message — except that they’re rushing out uninspired facsimiles. Maybe they should take a lesson from the movie itself: Stressed out moms deserve better.
Animation musical fantasy My Little Pony directed by Jayson Thiessen featuring the voices of Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain and Cathy Weseluck is less a film than a feature-length “very special episode” of the TV hit My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, a kiddie cartoon that’s spent seven seasons insisting that everyone needs a hug, says Variety magazine. Beat by beat, My Little Pony: The Movie is at once clichéd and exceptional. But the challenges, and their solutions, are emotionally wise.
In the south, Tamil action comedy Ippadai Vellum directed by Gaurav Narayanan starring Udhayanidhi Stalin and Manjima Mohan is an implausible but racy film that is engaging in most parts, says indiaglitz.com. After a rather slow build-up, the first half gets down to business soon enough and races to the interval. Naryanan has attempted a thriller with an unconventional cast and meets with success to a certain extent, but the script has more potential than what is on offer.
Tamil action drama Nenjil Thunivirundhal directed by Suseenthiran starring Sundeep Kishan, Mehreen Pirzada and Vikranth has everything that we have come to know from a Suseenthiran film, says The Indian Express. We have a humour track, a romance track, a few songs, and some action, all the elements needed for a commercial film. But the problem with the film is that it doesn’t do much to shake off that sense of familiarity we have.
Several releases this week haven’t inspired any reviews yet. These include Telugu action thriller Detective, Kannada romantic film College Kumara, Malayalam films Hello Dubaikkaran and Chippy, Marathi movies Maza Algaar and Rangeela Rayaba and Gujarati film Love You Yaar.