February, 2015 |

Temper | Movie Review

Temper

After a disastrous Rabhasa, NTR needed something special for his career to stay alive. And thankfully for him, Temper keeps the ship sailing for a little longer.

Vakkantham Vamsi, who has scripted some duds for NTR in the past (Ashok and Oosaravelli) tries to convey a message through Temper. Puri narrates this story of a corrupt police office in his trademark style, and one can’t miss the similarities to Pokiri and Businessman. The entire first half is stylish, and though not believable, is watchable. The second half forms the crux where the transformation happens. This half happens to be more engaging than the first half, however, the screenplay seemed shabby and rushed through (I hear climax was cut short by 30%, that might be the reason). A little more care on characterization front would have worked wonders.

NTR has put in his heart and soul into the movie and it shows on-screen. His performance in the second half is very good. His dance moves also deserve a special mention. Kajal looks glamorous in her glam-doll role. Prakash Raj is at his best. The surprise package turns out to be Posani, who performs well in a meaty role.

Music by Anoop Rubens is alright. It’s nice to see him finally move away from Manam tunes. Background score by Mani Sharma is pretty good. Cinematography by Shyam K Naidu is spotless. Editing by S R Sekhar is good for the movie never seemed boring, but it also seemed like there were too many cuts made, which kinda ruined the screenplay.

Is it worth your time and money??: I think it is. Plus points are NTR, direction in parts, and length. On the downside, the screenplay in the latter half could have been better. Give it a watch.

Worth mention: NTR’s dance moves.

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 7.5/10
Technical Aspects: 8/10

Verdict: 7.5/10

Wich Please | Restaurant Review

Place: Wich Please
Location: Next to Domino’s, Gachibowli
Cuisine: Fast food
Meal: Snack

Wanting to explore, decided to visit this town near Hyderabad, a town which came into existence only in last few years, a town I know nothing about: Gachibowli. Once in the town, I looked for a place I can hog at on Zomato, and zeroed in on the second highest rated place, Wich Please. This joint happens to be a small stall next to Domino’s store. I observed that the place had no stools or chairs around for people to sit on while eating. It might be a small kiosk, but that’s something you’d expect as a bare minimum.

Anyway, after some thinking, decided to have the Special Mayo Wich. The description read: finely diced veggies in mayonnaise and cheese. Sound yummy right?

And I observed the guy make the ‘wich’. On a loaf of Spencer’s bread, he put some coleslaw, and sprinkled some masala powder. Next, he took one more slice, added more coleslaw and placed it on the first loaf. He then covered it with another slice, and started toasting it. A little surprised, I asked him where the cheese was and I was told it’s mixed in the mixture. Where??

I had expected something extraordinarily good, but to my utter disappointment, I was served a triple deck coleslaw toast. Hoping that it would taste good, I took my first bite standing on the main road, and my feeling was ‘what the heck is this!’. The coleslaw was cold, and tasted really weird. When I told the guy that the stuffing was cold, his reply was ‘Is it? How can that be?’. The bread wasn’t toasted properly either and barely had any butter. And forget the cheese.

For a place with a tagline ‘why you eat no sandwich!’, it served one of the saddest sandwiches I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve just tasted one of their many offerings, but that’s given me an insight on what’s in store. Obviously I wouldn’t have any more of their sandwiches.

I can’t believe that I actually went searching for this place! And I can’t believe I shelled out 80 bucks for some coleslaw between slices of bread!

Food: 6/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: N/A
Meal for 1: Rs. 80/-

Verdict: 5/10

Bikanerwala | Restaurant Review

Place: Bikanerwala
Location: Road No. 1, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner

Me and a friend dropped into Bikanerwala wanting to have a light meal. Instead of walking up to the restaurant on the first floor, we decided to order at the food-court. I’ve never enjoyed the ambiance in the food-court section here, for it’s always crowded, and therefore, loud. My friend ordered Dahi Puri, while I opted for the North Indian Thali.

The food was ready soon, and we were busy hogging.

Th thali came with a Paratha, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Paneer Butter Masala, Dal Makhni, Rice, Boondi Raitha and a sweet. On first sight, the quantity looked less, and I was apprehensive if this would fill my tummy. The Mixed Vegetable Curry was perfectly cooked and was one of the best I’ve had. The PBM was creamy and perfect. As expected, the paneer was fresh and melt in my mouth. The dal had too much masala, but was yum. All of them were made with shuddh ghee, and I could taste it in every bite. The parata was also baked in ghee, and so turned out to be super heavy.

The sweet turned out to be excellent.

Overall, an excellent meal. What I thought wouldn’t fill my tummy actually got me stuffed thanks to the ghee used. However, at 300 bucks, I think it’s quite an expensive affair.

PS: Kailash Parbat has similar thali priced lower, with more quantity.

Food: 9/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 300/-

Verdict: 8/10

Kailash Parbat | Restaurant Review

Place: Kailash Parbat
Location: Food-court, Forum Mall, Kukatpalli
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner

After watching a movie at PVR, amma, dad and me walked in to the humongous food-court in the Forum Mall. This place had quite a few options, and I decided to try Kailash Parbat which has been on my wish-list for a while now, while amma and dad ordered Dosas from some Dosa place.

Their menu had lot to offer, and after some thinking, I zeroed in on the Veg Combo Meal, which came with 2 Chapatis, 3 Curries, Dal, Pulav, Buttermilk and Gulab Jamoon.

It took about 15 minutes for my order to get ready. The thali meal was well presented, and had Chole, Paneer curry and Aloo Gobi has the three curries. The Dal tasted yum with subtle flavour, while Chole was spicy and good. The paneer gravy was mild and the paneer was very soft. Aloo Gobi was a little disappointing for the gobi wasn’t fresh. The chapatis were super soft and the pulav was flavourful. The Gulab Jamoon wasn’t too sweet, which is exactly what I wanted.

Overall, a pretty good meal. On the down side, I had to shell out about 270 bucks for this meal. Nevertheless, the meal is fulfilling and tasty, so you might give it a try on your next visit to the mall.

Food: 8.5/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: N/A
Meal for 1: ~ Rs. 270/-

Verdict: 8/10

Shamitabh | Movie Review

shamitabh-poster

Both of R. Balki’s previous films (Cheeni Kum and Paa) have been different, and Shamitabh is no exception. However, this time, it gets too predictable and monotonous.

Shamitabh starts off with Dhanush accepting laurels for the performance in his début film, his speech being in Amitabh’s voice. Then we are told the story detailing a young dumb boy’s love for movies, his journey to Bollywood wanting to be an actor, and how he gets Amitabh’s voice. Balki showcases all of this in an entertaining manner. While the story seemed unrealistic, thanks to witty dialogues and perfect direction, you have a delightful first half. But come second half, the film seems like a bore, the flow goes for a toss, and the climax is clichéd. Wish Balki tried to do something different here (just like the ‘Piddly’ song).

Dhanush puts up an engaging performance as the dumb wannabe actor. His countenances when he makes it large, and his interactions with Bachchan are superb. Akshara has a meaty role and she does a good job. Her dialogue delivery was pretty good. The true star however, is not Amitabh Bachchan, but his voice. Not that Amitabh’s performance was bad, it was in fact splendid, but it’s his voice which adds life to this film.

Music by Ilayaraaja is a another asset to this film. It’s soothing and seemed just perfect. Cinematography by P C Sreeram is neat. Editing by Hemanti Sarkar could have been better; the second half seemed unnecessarily long, and could have done away with some cuts.

Is it worth your time and money??: Though the second half plays spoil sport, Shamitabh deserves a watch for the performances by all three leads.

Worth mention: Amitabh’s voice!

Acting: 9/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 7.5/10
Technical Aspects: 8.5/10

Verdict: 8/10