2013 | - Page 2

Aashiqui 2 | Movie Review

Aashiqui-2

Is it worth your time and money??: If you are into romantic movies with sad endings, then Aashiqui 2 is for you. Mohit Suri does a good job with a script written by Shagufta Rafiqui, but the plot could have been way better. The character of the protagonist was not well established in the beginning of the film. It’s a very short film, and they had all the time to give some base to Aditya’s character. Nevertheless, the first half of the film is good, with the latter half kinda becoming a bore after a point. On acting front, Aditya Roy Kapoor does a decent job, but he still needs to improve on his acting skills. Shraddha Kapoor looked gorgeous and performed well. The rest of the cast was alright. The definite plus point of the movie is its music. The soulful numbers are also well picturized. Overall, it’s a decent film, but definitely had the potential to be much better.

Acting: 7.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 7/10
Technical Aspects: 8.5/10

Verdict: 7.5/10

Santosh Dhaba | Restaurant Review

Place: Santosh Dhaba
Location: Hotel Jaya International lane, Abids
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with cousins)

Met my cousin sisters after a long time, and wanted to take them to Blue Diamond for dinner. But for some reason, Blue Diamond was closed on this day, and so decided to go hog at my other favorite, Santosh Dhaba. After struggling to park the car on this narrow lane forever, I was ready to gulp down some good Indian food. Of all the Santosh Dhabas in town (there are three – Abids, one near Paradise and Santosh Banjara), this one has the best ambiance for it looks more like a restaurant than a dhaba. It is brightly lit, and the seating is quite comfortable.

My cousin asked for Veg-65 for starters, while I ordered Santosh Special – Kofta curry and a couple of Stuffed Kulchas for main course. These guys are known for their super fast service, and food was served in no time.

The Veg-65 tasted more like Veg. Schezuan, but the balls were a little too hard. The quantity served was pretty good though.

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The main course was served in the next 5 minutes. The Special Kofta came in a tomato based thick gravy with cashew nuts. There were a couple of Kofta balls, which were very well cooked. Overall, it was finger licking good, and I actually ended up licking my plate towards the end. The stuffed Kulcha, with tons of cashews, were excellent. These guys, by far, serve the best Kulchas in town.

Overall, a yummy meal. We weren’t really hungry, so ordered minimal food, and it was still sumptuous. The service was good, and the bill came up to a decent 322 bucks for 3 people. If you have a craving for some good Indian food, and haven’t been here already, I would definitely recommend this place. Go hog!!

Food: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 322/-

Verdict: 9/10

Ohri’s Banjara | Restaurant Review

Place: Ohri’s Banjara
Location: Road No. 12, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Indian/Continental
Meal: Dinner (with a friend)

Dropped in at Ohri’s Banjara for dinner the other day with a friend, and it turned out to be a dinner full of surprises. We first walked into Serengeti, but since both of us didn’t have a heavy appetite that evening, decided to munch on something at Eatmor on the ground floor. The place was pretty empty when we walked in around 8:00 PM, but got full as the night progressed.

We wanted to try their Andhra Firecrackers (veg). That apart, I wanted to have something new, so decided to order a portion of Veg. Dumplings. I’ve been craving for good dumplings in the recent past and was looking forward to them. I also ordered for my regular at Ohri’s, the Big Chill.

The Big Chill was served first, in about 10 minutes. As expected, the drink was very good – chocolaty, with a hint of coffee flavor, and loads of cookies and cream.

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The Andhra Firecrackers were served next. I usually love this dish of theirs, but on this day, the paneer was stale, and therefore, they didn’t taste good. They infact were soggy and uneatable after a point.

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The big surprise though was when the Veg. Dumplings arrived. Traditionally, dumplings are cooked balls of dough, either based out of flour, potatoes or bread (more on dumplings can be found here). But the ones they served looked very different, so I called the waiter and made sure that he got the right order. Though he concurred, the things they served us are usually called Cutlets, which by the way, used to be very good at the erstwhile Havmor (Ohri’s Basheerbagh). I was in no mood to argue with him and decided to dig in. They tasted alright, but were a little spicy, and a couple of them were a little undercooked. My want of having dumplings down the drain!

For the main course, my friend ordered Chole Batura, while I ordered for something called Mushroom and Herbs. It took time for the order to be served, but since we were in no hurry, didn’t bother much about it. The Chole Batura was served first, and it tasted pretty good. My friend was happy with it.

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The second surprise was when the Mushroom and Herbs was served. What I thought would be a main course in fact turned out to be a thick soup. It was creamy, with loads of mushrooms, but had loads of Dill which wasn’t very fresh. This made it inedible in a way (or atleast, I found it inedible). The garlic bread served along also turned out to be very soggy. It was a big disappointment, and I actually stopped eating mid way through.

To finish things off, my friend wanted to order a Bull’s Eye, and so we did.

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It took forever for the dessert to be served. When we dug in, we realized that the brownie was not fresh and it was really difficult to cut through it. We informed this to the waiter, and he replaced the dessert for us. But again, it was no better, and so we decided to gulp it the way it was. Other than the ice-cream with chocolate sauce, there was nothing good about it.

Overall, a mediocre meal. Except for the Chole Batura, and may be the so-called dumplings/cutlets, everything else tasted poor. To add to this, the bill came to a whopping 1300, thanks to 300 bucks of taxes and service charges. Other than the ambiance and maybe the service, there was nothing worthwhile about our visit, barring the couple of surprises. I don’t think I’ll be going back to this place for a long time, not even for my beloved Big Chill.

Food: 5/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 1300/-

Verdict: 6/10

Peperoncino | Restaurant Review

Place: Pepperoncini
Location: Fourth Floor, Building Opp. Ratnadeep, Road No. 12, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Italian
Meal: Lunch

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I decided to go hog at Viva Italia. But the scorching sun made me think over it for I wanted to go sit at an air-conditioned place. Read about this new place called Peperoncino on Zomato, and decided to give it a try. I dropped in a little after 2:00 PM, and the restaurant was empty (literally). The place looked decent, with well done interiors, a glass kitchen on one side, and a nice aerial view on the other (unfortunately of the slums).

Their menu looked pretty decent, and everything was priced more or less reasonably (for a restaurant of this size in this location). I ordered for ‘Funghi Ripieni’ (fried mushrooms stuffed with cheese and herbs) followed by a ‘Calabrese’ pizza (pepper sauce, mozzarella, onions, mushrooms, garlic and olives).

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Thanks to the glass kitchen, I could see the chefs make everything from scratch. In about 10 minutes, the starters were ready and served. First off, I was a little disappointed with the quantity (It’s maybe because I’ve got used to huge portions of everything in the recent past). Anyways, the stuffed mushrooms tasted pretty alright, but were very oily. The Tomato chutney served along tasted pretty good. On the whole, a decent start, but I honestly was expecting something better.

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The pizza was served right after I was done with the starters. It looked good, with loads of veggies on it but tasted average. Though the crust was crunchy and well-baked, the pizza was too dry and lacked flavor. Tons of oregano made it taste better. It was supposed to be a little spicy because of the pepper sauce, but I didn’t find it spicy, for probably it was unevenly smeared across the base. I asked for extra cheese, but the pizza barely had any cheese on it as well. It was a decent pizza, but not on my list of favorites.

I had read that their desserts are pretty good, so decided to give them a try. I asked the waiter to help me pick the best, and he suggested Tiramisu, followed by Cioccolato Fondente (chocolate cake with molten chocolate in the center). I opted for the latter, and I was told that it would take a while for the cake to be baked.

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After about 15 minutes, the molten chocolate cake was served. For some reason, though it wasn’t mentioned, I expected it to be served with vanilla ice cream. It was good, but again, not satisfying. There was nothing special or ‘wow’ about it; it was just decent, and that’s what disappointed me.

Overall, an average meal. Food, ambiance and service were all decent. However, my want of going and enjoying a meal at a cool place was foiled for the place was burning hot, and I was sweating all through out. Since the place was empty, one air-conditioner was turned on only when I walked in. Midway through, when I complained that it was too hot, they turned another one on. The place was huge, and I was their only customer, but you don’t try to save on your electricity while the customer is sweating do you? The place has the potential to be huge, but it needs to work for it. And being empty on a Sunday afternoon doesn’t speak much either.

Give it a shot, but don’t expect too much. Probably my high expectations thwarted my experience. I’d suggest dinner, cos then you might enjoy the view.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 7/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 650/-

Verdict: 7/10

Greeku Veerudu | Movie Review

Greeku-Veerudu

I am clueless on where to begin, for Greeku Veerudu was that bad a movie. It’s a story we’ve seen in many a films – a rich spoiled playboy (read Nagarjuna uncle) comes to India from New York (shot using green screen and graphics) to understand the importance of family and love. Now one can argue – how bad that could that be?? According to me, this one defines bad. The script is the same old-fashioned one which probably worked 10 years ago, with K. Vishwanath playing the same old grandfather role, saying no to love marriage initially, but later realizing his mistake, the aunties and their loser husbands, one bad guy with a loser son, and uncountable number of side characters. Dasarth has lost it, understandable, but what seemed more strange is why would others (read producer and actors) make a film with the same old formula, that too with an older Nagarjuna.

Talking about Nag, I did like his looks to an extent in the ads, but he looks really old in the film. The only place he looked good was in “Greekuveeruda” song, where in he has a different get up. On acting front, he is the saving grace of the film. Nayanathara looked glamorous, thank god for that. Brahmanandam has the routine bakra character, while the rest of the cast are put in just for the heck of it.

On technical and production front, the film is a disaster. Music is mediocre, but the background score is painful. Thaman needs to learn how to score for such bad movies. Editing by Marthand Venkatesh is sloppy, just like the screenplay. But what surprises me the most is the cinematography (Ani Bandari). Most of the film had graphics using static background – New York, airport scenes, outdoor scenes in India, climax shot in a village — all graphics. And the graphics were so bad that I felt like I was watching a second grade movie. I’m glad that they shot few scenes at least in real locations.

Overall, it’s a boring and dull film you’ve seen many a times – only thing different is an older hero. They claim it’s a family entertainer; forget entertainer, but in a way it shows how better off your family is compared to the dumbass one in the movie. Unless you are a diehard Nag fan, stay away please!!

Is it worth your time and money??: No, please skip it!

Acting: 6.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 2/10
Technical Aspects: 3/10

Verdict: 3.5/10

PS: Am glad Naga Chaitanya didn’t do the film. I (and almost everyone who watched the film) would have been dead by now if it were him as Greeku Veerudu!!

Swamy Ra Ra | Movie Review

Swamy Ra Ra

Written and directed by Sudheer Varma, Swamy Ra Ra is an average flick. The story is a potpourri of a couple of Hindi flicks, which are in turn inspired by a few Hollywood classics. Caper films have a very thin story line, and it is very important for the director to make sure that every character is connected while maintaining the pace of the film. Though he was able to do the latter to an extent, Varma introduced too many characters which made it all look patchy after a point. A faster screenplay would have been appropriate. The film started off well, but the unnecessary romance track, and a weak second half are its negatives.

Acting by Nikhil, Swathi, and rest of the cast is decent. Music by Sunny is good, but he should have avoided copying the title track straight off from the Hindi flick they borrowed the story line from (Shor in the City). Editing by Kartika Srinivas is alright, while cinematography by Richard Prasad deserves a special mention. However, the number of slow motion shots should have been much less for their effect was lost after a point.

Acting: 8/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 6/10
Technical Aspects: 8/10
Is it worth your time and money??: Swamy Ra Ra is a decent effort in making a Telugu caper film.

Verdict: 6.5/10

Iron Man 3 | Movie Review

Iron Man

After disappointing with Iron Man 2, this one is a much better film. It doesn’t do better than The Avengers, but still is a decent film nevertheless. The story and screenplay could have been better though, for it has a number of loopholes. Direction by Shane Black is pretty neat, while the screenplay, co written by Black and Drew Pearce, seemed patchy and out of sorts at times. Things like a ten-year old kid help fix Mark 42 (suit) were quite startling, for its premise wasn’t established, and the antagonist leaving behind Tony Stark tied to a bedpost with two guards was plain stupid.

On acting front, Robert Downey, Jr. is at his usual best, while Gwyneth Paltrow, though good, looked really old. The franchise needs a new Potts in my opinion. Guy Pearce is very good in the negative role, while Rebecca Hall is decent. Ben Kingsley has a brief role, and is effective.

On technical front, music by Brian Tyler is pretty neat, and editing by Jeffrey Ford and Peter Elliot is alright, while cinematography by John Toll is very good. The long shots were well picturized, and the 3D effects on such shots were good.

Acting: 8/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 7.5/10
Technical Aspects: 8.5/10
Is it worth your time and money??: Yes indeed. Walk in without any expectations and you might enjoy the film.

Verdict: 8/10

Oblivion | Movie Review

From the early rushes and trailers, it looked like one of those sci-fi films you’ve already watched. In fact, it reminded me of Tom Cruise’s War of the Worlds, which I didn’t like so much. Oblivion, thankfully, turned out to be different. Co-written and directed by Joseph Kosinski, it is a decent watch. Direction was good, while the screenplay was a little slow. Few scenes just seemed to drag the film down. A faster narrative would have helped it better.

Tom Cruise does well in the lead role, and managed to carry the entire movie on his shoulders. Olga Kurylenkoi and Andrea Riseborough are pretty good, while Morgan Freeman was alright in his brief role. On technical front, the cinematography by Claudio Miranda was of top-notch quality, with the graphics and sound effects being excellent.

Acting: 8/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 7.5/10
Technical Aspects: 9/10
Is it worth your time and money??: Oblivion is an entertaining watch.

Verdict: 8/10

A Good Day To Die Hard | Movie Review

It looks like Hollywood is now taking inspiration from Bollywood and making films which make no absolute sense. A Good Day To Die Hard is one movie with absolutely no story, and all the action scenes are stitched together to make a movie. And these action sequences too make no sense. Direction by John Moore is mediocre while the screenplay by Skip Woods is pathetic (It’s the worst I’ve seen in a Hollywood movie till date).

Bruce Willis looks old, but still does a commendable job, while Jai Courtney struggles to act. The cinematography is alright, but the action sequences are so fast that you can’t make any sense out of them, thanks to some bad editing. The graphics could have been better, and the entire film looked grainy on a regular screen (I wonder how they plan to release it on Imax with such quality). Overall, it a bad film, so stay away from it!!

Is it worth your time and money??: No!! If you’ve watched and enjoyed Die Hard movies, then a bigger NO!! This movie is a disgrace to the franchise, it’s that bad.

Acting: 5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 3/10
Technical Aspects: 5/10

Verdict: 4/10

Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola | Movie Review

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Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola is a fun movie, but is unnecessarily long which makes you yawn over and over again. Vishal Bhardwaj tried to put in a lot of content into the movie, and in the process lost track. The movie starts off well, and there are certain epic episodes. But overall, dragging and long redundant shots are more in number when compared to the good ones. Screenplay is weak and could have been better.

On acting front, Imran Khan is alright as Mandola. The shabby look suits him. Anushka is super hot as Bijlee. The oomph factor is all there. But the clear winner is Pankaj Kapoor for he was brilliant in every shot and lit up the screen on fire. Shabana Azmi was equally good.

Editing could have been way better. The 148 minute movie would have been much effective it were cut short to somewhere around 120. Cinematography by Kartik Vijay is decent, while music by Vishal Bhardwaj could have been better.

Is it worth your time and money??: Depends. While the main intention of the film gets lost, you can still watch it for the humour and Pankaj Kapoor (and appreciate Anushka’s hotness!!).

Acting: 8/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 6.5/10
Technical Aspects: 7/10

Verdict: 7/10