May, 2012 | - Page 2

Sandarshini | Restaurant Review

Place: Sandarshini
Location: Masab Tank, towards Banjara Hills Rd. No. 1
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with family)

Dropped in at Sandarshini last week for dinner. I’ve already written about this place back in July (review), and love their North-Indian Thali. As already mentioned, it’s not a hi-fi place, but one with decent ambiance.

I had a Thali for myself, while my brother ordered a South-Indian mini meals. Mom had a plate of chapathi and dad had a Masala Dosa.

The North Indian Thali was as good as the last time. They served the same stuff as the last time – Tomato soup, Paneer Butter Masala, Channa Masala and Mixed Vegetable, Pulao, Rice, Dal, Rasam, Sambar, Curd, Raitha, Gulab Jamoon and Ice-cream. All the subjis were decent, while the dal and rasam were excellent.

The South-Indian meals had the same stuff, minus the subjis, and came along with cabbage curry. It was pretty decent as well.

The Chapathi was nice and soft, and was served with a spicy kurma.

I did mention about their Masala Dosa the last time around. It was served with tons of butter on it, and was crispy and yummy. The sambar served along was very good.

Overall, a good meal. The service was a little off this time around, but otherwise, we had a good time. Give it a shot sometime.

Food: 8/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Service: 6.5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 124/-

Verdict: 8/10

Ishaqzaade | Movie Review

Ishaqzaade

Ishaqzaade is an example of how a film without a proper script can get ruined. Its got some amazing chemistry between the lead pair, but like many other films these days, doesn’t have the script power to give them the boost.

Director Habib Faisal (writer and director – Do Dooni Chaar, screenplay and dialogue – Band Baaja Baaraat) had a promising story line at hand, but unfortunately, he doesn’t convert it into a promising script. Ishaqzaade, though predictable, starts of really well. Kids of the rival Hindu and Muslim families, fighting initially but slowly falling in love. This half of the story (the first half) is very good, pacy, and has some amazing moments. The chemistry between Arjun and Parineeti is perfect, and you have an ideal interval bang. And then starts the trouble cos the latter half goes haywire, and Faisal loses it all. So you have a pretty much boring second half which ends with one of the most ridiculous and clichéd climax ever. Nevertheless, the film is entertaining and every character, though mostly clichéd again, is very well sketched. The dialogues are very well written, and the screenplay is pretty neat. Only if he had come up with a better script, he would have had a definite winner at hand.

On the acting front, Parineeti steals the show. She has a very meaty role and she takes full advantage of it. She is a total firebrand and looks absolutely b-e-a-utiful (I have a new favorite actress). She breathes life even into a dying script. Arjun Kapoor makes a very good debut. He looks very raw, but to his advantage, the character needed that rawness. He still has a long way to go though. The rest of the relatively new cast is pretty good.

On the technical front, music by Amit Trivedi is very good. I am love with the title track and ‘Pareshan’. The background score could have had a little more punch to it. Cinematography by Hemant Chaturvedi is fantastic. Editing by Aarti Bajaj is good. The film barely crosses the two-hour mark. Production values by Yash Raj are, as usual, good.

Overall, an entertaining film. Plus points are good performances and Parineeti. A dull second half and the cliched climax form the other extreme. It’s not a movie you need to run to the theater for, unless you wanna watch the gorgeous/pretty/beautiful Parineeti scorch the screen.

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 5/10
Technical Aspects: 8/10
Is it worth your time and money??: Hmm… That’s a tough one. I guess yes, for its got some awesome performances by Parineeti, and even Arjun. Give it a shot at your leisure.

Verdict: 7/10

Gabbar Singh | Movie Review

Gabbar Singh

After more than a decade, Pawan Kalyan is back!! After delivering one dud after another post Khushi, this is one film you can watch only for PK. I watched it in a single screen, and the effect was mind-blowing. This movie is a treat for PK fans!!

Director Harish Shankar is a guy with talent. I remember watching Shock on the first day. Though it’s on my list of the worst films I’ve watched, his approach to the film was commendable. And now, for his third film, he does what no other director in the recent past could do – he extracts the best out of Pawan Kalyan. Though the film is a remake, firstly, he made sure to change it to suit the Telugu nativity and the hype surrounding PK. He made sure to highlight PK in every single frame of the film, and his characterization is perfect. He also inserted some amazing entertaining moments into the script. The Antakshari episode and Bramhanadam cut out episodes are few the best moments of the film. On the down side, concentrating only on PK made the film lose its pace mid way through. Few minutes before the interval, the interval bang, and the climax are a bore. The screenplay (Ramesh Reddy, Vegesna Satish and Harish Shankar) is a tad bit slow, and ineffective at times. But otherwise, the direction is pretty neat.

There is nothing much to say about PK, but that he is awesome. His antics are pretty good, and he gets into the skin of the character. Enough said. Shruthi Haasan is horrendous as his lady-love though. She is so bloody thin, that it looked as if a piece of cloth was wrapped around a stick. And she can’t act for nuts. Abhimanyu Singh was alright as the antagonist, but no where close to Sonu Sood in the Hindi version. Ali and Bramhanandam are good, but you expect much more from them. Suhasini, Kota, Nagineedu, Ajay are all alright.

On the technical front, music by Devi Sri Prasad is pretty average. Except for a couple of songs, there is nothing new the album has to offer. I thought the background score could have been much better. The dialogues, written by Harish Shankar, are very very good. Cinematography by Jayanan Vincent is decent, nothing great. Editing by Gowtam Raju is way better than his last venture Racha, but still could have been crisp. The film seemed too long, and few scenes could have made the cut. Production values by Parameswara Art Productions are very good.

Overall, a decent film. If Salman Khan made Dabangg the third highest–grossing Bollywood film of all time, thanks to PK, Gabbar Singh has the potential to be the highest-grossing Tollywood film. Its boring at times, and makes you yawn. Nevertheless, its few amazing moments and what fans term as Pawanism make this film work.

Acting: 7.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 7/10
Technical Aspects: 7/10
Is it worth your time and money??: After a couple of disasters, a decent Telugu film. Give it a shot!! It’s way better than any of the other crap playing in town!! 🙂

Verdict: 8/10

Sitara Grand | Restaurant Review

Place: Sitara Grand
Location: KPHB Phase 1, Kukatpally
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with family and friends)

Went to visit family friends in Kukatpally last week with amma and my bro. We decided to head out for dinner, and dropped in at Sitara Grand. For a weekday, the place was packed at 9:30 in the night. It had decent ambiance, but the crowd was overwhelming. It took about 20 minutes for us to find a table (for 5 adults and 2 kids).

The table was still being cleaned when we were directed to it. There were loads of used tissue papers under the table, which we had to ask to be cleaned. Thanks to the capacity crowd, the waiters were running around the place, and it took about 10 minutes before water and menus arrived.

The kids ordered Chilly Chicken and American Chopsuey for themselves. The rest ordered a Paneer Butter Masala and Aloo Gobi with Tandoori Roti. We also ordered a Jeera rice.

The chicken arrived first, but instead of Chilly Chicken, Drumsticks were served. The kids dug into them without realizing this. Later, The Chilly Chicken was served. The Subjis and the Roti were served in reasonable time as well.

The Paneer Butter Masala was very good. For a change, the paneer was fresh and soft. The gravy was creamy and yum.

The Aloo Gobi proved the fact that I need to be trying something other than the regular PBM and Kofta more often. It was very well cooked, spicy and tasty. I loved it better than the PBM.

I was kinda apprehensive about the Jeera Rice, but it turned out to be very good. It had cashew-nuts and in all, was very good.

Overall, a decent meal. Though the service was quite a mess initially, it got better and better as the place emptied. The quantity of food served also was very good. It looked to be the only decent restaurant in KPHB, and it didn’t disappoint. Give it a shot when you’re in this part of the town.

Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 7: Rs. 1300/- (approx)

Verdict: 7.5/10

De Thali | Restaurant Review

Place: De Thali
Location: White House, Next to Life Style, Begumpet
Cuisine: Rajasthani, Gujarati
Meal: Dinner (with bro and cousins)

After visiting De Thali in February, here I was again for dinner on a weekend. As expected, the place was full, and we had to wait for almost 40 minutes to get a table for 5. There was no amiable welcome this time, and we were just directed to our table.

Now here starts the trouble. Once seated, there was no one to attend to us. I kept asking the waiters to serve food and all they were doing was relegating the message to someone else. More than the wait, it was the waiters attitude which got us really pissed. We were really hungry, it was past 10 and this was really annoying. Even the last time around, there were issues with the service, but this kind of lag is unreasonable. Finally, after more than 15 minutes, the empty thalis were placed on the table.

And then, this was listed menu for the day.

We were really excited about the Aam Panna being served. It was being advertised on the Ohri’s facebook page, and all of us were really looking forward to it. Even the Gobi Thepla’s sounded tempting.

But when it came to the meal, they were out of most of the stuff. Both the sweets were exhausted. We were instead served Kurbani Ka Meetha (at an authentic Rajasthani restaurant) and, I believe, Sooji ka Halwa. On the roti front, only Phulkas were available, no Thepla, no Jawari roti. The special dish was replaced with Masala Bhel. But the best was when Aam Ka Panna was replaced with Jaljeera water. Beat that!!

The standard seemed to have fallen on the taste front as well. The Paneer was hard like rubber, and both the Corn tikki and Dhokla were very very dry. Thankfully, the Dabka Kadi and Bhendi were excellent. Even then, they need to pull up their socks!!

Overall, a disappointing experience. I was, in fact all of us were really looking forward to a great meal, but it wasn’t to be. The waiting got us annoyed, and then the lack of items listed on the menu was irritating. It’s been a little more than 4 months since this place opened, and already this is the state. Ohri’s group, are you listening??

Food: 7/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 5: Rs. 995/-

Verdict: 6/10

Sizzling Joe | Restaurant Review

Place: Sizzling Joe
Location: Food Court, GVK One, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Continental
Meal: Dinner

After watching Hugo with a couple of friends at Inox, we walked into the food court at GVK One for a quick meal. Having heard and read about Sizzling Joe, I wanted to give it a try. I wasn’t expecting anything great for one of my friend had a horrible experience with them recently. I should have listened to him and stayed way from it. Alas!!

Since there were only three vegetarian sizzler to choose from, it was an easy choice. I picked the Corn Cheese Shaslik sizzler, which was supposed to be soft cottage cheese and corn balls, fried and skewered with onion and capsicum, served on rice loaded with sour garlic sauce. I asked the guy at the counter if I could get it without the capsicum, and he tells me there is no capsicum in this sizzler. Hmmm… The 175 bucks sizzler got billed for Rs. 200 including taxes. Awesome!!

We sat at one of the tables waiting for our food. One of my friend had ordered a Fusilli Pasta in Pesto sauce from these guys, which was served first.

First off, for 150 bucks, the quantity seemed very less. Next, it tasted more like Alfredo sauce than Pesto. And then, it was served cold. My friend thought it was alright, and ate it without complaining.

And then came my sizzler. Again, the quantity seemed very less. The French Fries were soggy, and they were barely any vegetables on the plate. Forget capsicum, there were no onions as well. I started off with the rice on top, covered with the mentioned sour garlic sauce which barely had any taste and was bland. The rice was under-cooked too. And then, to my horror, I see a sharp something sticking out in the rice.

The Cottage Cheese and Corn balls were placed under the rice skewered into two long, sharp toothpicks. There was no way I could get it out of the plate without getting my hands dirty. The balls tasted alright, and the rice tasted better with them, but overall, the experience was horrible. The sizzler was the worst I’ve had so far.

Overall, a horrendous meal. If it were another day, I would have complained about the sizzler to the management, but having enjoyed an awesome movie, I was in no mood to do so tonight. The guy at the counter too seemed like a loser, for he was swearing at someone else while I was placing my order. For the price, the quantity seemed minimal, and the taste was pathetic. It’s one of the worst restaurant experiences.

Stay away!!

Food: 3/10
Service: 4/10
Ambiance: NA
Meal for 1: Rs. 200/-

Verdict: 3/10

My other friend had a South Indian Special Thali from the Gongura counter.

It looked good, and apparently even tasted good. I’m sure it was way better than a Sizzling Joe sizzler!!

Hugo | Movie Review

When was the last time you watched a film which made a difference to your life? When was the last time a movie made you question your purpose in this world?? Well, Hugo makes you do all that. It is one of the best films I’ve watched in my life. I loved it more than the Oscar-winning The Artist.

Though I’ve watched only a handful of his films yet, I love Martin Scorsese for his type of film making. He, without doubt, is one of the finest film makers in Hollywood. But Hugo is not a typical Scorsese film, for it aint got a dark side to it, there are no screenplay gimmicks, and no freeze frames. This one is an honest film with heart. It’s an adventure with which almost everyone can connect, where Scorsese tells the story of a twelve-year-old Hugo Cabret in the most affectionate way. Based on Brian Selznick’s novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the film is shot splendidly. Though the pace tends to get slow at times, it has these beautiful moments which make it an amazing film. Be it the budding romance between the Station Inspector Gustave and Lisette, or the one between Monsieur Frick and Madame Emile, or the moments created when Rene Tabard tells Mama Jeanne how beautiful she is, all are brilliantly shot. The direction is superb, and so is the screenplay by John Logan. Scorsese ends this masterpiece as an homage to cinema and the pioneers of film. He deserves a tribute himself, period.

Every character in the movie is finely crafted. Asa Butterfield wins your heart with his awesome performance as Hugo Cabret. His portrayal as the kid who is curious to fix broken things while longing to solve the mystery associated with the automaton is absolutely brilliant. Ben Kingsley’s performance as the pioneering French filmmaker Georges Melies is beautiful. He portrays the emotions to perfection. Chloë Grace Moretz is lively as Isabelle. The chemistry between her and Hugo is entrancing. Every other actor is perfect in their respective roles. It is, I believe, one of the best ensemble cast in a film in recent times.

On the technical front, Hugo is a magnum opus (5 Oscars prove it: Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing). Music by Howard Shore might not be that great, but the sound mixing was awesome. Cinematography by Robert Richardson was without doubt the finest work I’ve seen so far. The breathtaking opening shot of Paris, zooming into the railway station, moving in between the passengers on the platform and finally swooping up into the clock chambers setting onto Hugo is by far the best shot I’ve seen in any form of world cinema. Magnificent!! Editing by Thelma Schoonmaker is the only privative (I am inspired by Isabelle) of the entire film. A little over two hours, the film seemed long, and had some, I wouldn’t call them dull, but slow moments which could have easily made the cut. Art Direction by Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo is splendid. The 3D effects are fluid and flawless.

Overall, Hugo is an epic masterpiece expertly crafted by one of the finest directors of our time. It might be a little too long, but the heart wrenching tale of the twelve-year-old hooks you to your seat and makes you a part his adventure. It’s a film with a message, one which tells you that you have a purpose in this world, one which tells you never to stop chasing your dreams. I am inspired, and hope you will be too. Go watch it!!

Acting: 9.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 9/10
Technical Aspects: 9/10
Is it worth your time and money??: Absolutely!! It’s a must watch for every film buff!!

Verdict: 9/10

Vicky Donor | Movie Review

So finally, after 2 weeks, here I was watching Vicky Donor. Having heard so many good things about the film, I was quite apprehensive on whether I would actually like it for I was going in with huge expectations. 10 minutes through, and it looked like I was in for a disaster. But then, it got better and better, and there was no looking back. It’s an awesome movie.

Director Shoojit Sircar brings onto screen a beautiful, lighthearted rom-com, set against the backdrop of sperm donation. In a country where the concept of sperm donation is still considered a taboo, and in a film industry where there are more double meaning dialogues than simple ones, he comes up with this brilliant masterpiece, throwing light on the tabooed subject without stooping low. He handled the subject in a very sensitive way, while making sure to insert some subtle comedy into the film. The direction is very good and he was able to generate best performances from the relatively new cast. Though it tends to get cheesy at times, Sircar comes up with some beautiful moments – mother and grand mother episodes, the wedding episode – brilliantly picturized. The dialogues by Juhi Chaturvedi are very well written, and help set the mood for the film. They have this typical Delhi flavor to them. The screenplay, also by Juhi, was very good.

I’ve never liked Ayushmann so much, until now that is. He couldn’t have asked for a better debut. He is fun to watch on-screen and it never seemed like was trying too hard either. His Punjabi accent and comic timing are his best assets. Yami Gautam is perfect as his love interest. She so got into the role, that I actually thought she was a Bong. She’s got a beautiful smile. Kamlesh Gill and Dolly Ahluwalia are the best saas-bahu pair I’ve seen in a long time. Their chemistry is extraordinary, especially in the drinking episode. Jayanti Das is very good as Ashima’s father. The scene where he talks about sex with Ashima is hilarious. The hands-down winner in the acting department though is Annu Kapoor. Be it his comic timing, or sensibility in serious episodes, he is an absolute delight to watch. There is no Vicky Donor without Dr. Chaddha, period!!

On the technical front, the movie is flawless. Music and background score is decent, and never too loud. Cinematography by Kamaljeet Negi is simple, yet perfect. Editing by Shekhar Prajapati is crispy. It’s a perfect debut for John Abraham as a producer. I only wish he didn’t flaunt himself in the end title credits.

Overall, a lovely movie with some impeccable direction and acting. The fact that a tabooed subject with sex as its background is able to run packed houses without being derogative in any sense shows how good this film actually is. It’s one film you might enjoy with your family as well. The second best film of the year for me (after Kahaani).

Acting: 9/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 8.5/10
Technical Aspects: 9/10
Is it worth your time and money??: Yes, don’t miss it!

Verdict: 9/10