Kajol plays Eela with full honesty and her energy is contagious
Helicopter Eela is the story of an obsessive mom played by Kajol who can’t spend a minute without her son Vivaan. The first half of the film establishes Eela’s obsession with her son and why her life revolves around him.
We go back in time and revisit the ’90s when Eela aspired to be a playback singer. For those who grew up listening to the ’90s music, there are some cool throwback moments to the pop music scene with cool cameos by Baba Sehgal, Shaan, Ila Arun and Anu Malik.
Eela dreams to be a singer but a twist in the narrative takes her journey somewhere else. Her husband Arun makes a decision that changes the destiny for her and Vivaan.
In the present day scenario, Eela has joined the same college as her son to pursue her studies. Kajol is as effervescent and bubbly as ever. Her energy is definitely contagious and she plays Eela with full honesty. The film needs to pick up pace and add some drama to make the second half more entertaining.
The Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra film is cliched and charmless
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Namaste England movie cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Aditya Seal
Namaste England movie director: Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Namaste England movie rating: One star
In 2007, Shah had come up with Namastey London, in which Akshay Kumar got to tell a bunch of Brits how great India really is, and how wise Katrina’s Jaaz aka Jasmeet was to prefer a large-hearted ‘desi munda’ over a stupid ‘gora’.
This week, Shah’s new film, Namaste England attempts at telling exactly the same story, with a different set of actors. The former was passable, with Kaif trying her paces, and Kumar taking baby steps in creating his best-selling persona–the full-fledged Mr Bharat he has now turned into.
This re-tooling is drowned in stale banter in what passes for Bollywood’s idea of rural Punjab. We meet Jasmeet ( Chopra) and her ‘bauji’ and ‘veerji’ who watch strictly over her. No, she can’t work. No, she can’t romance. Except she does both, because she has Param (Kapoor), her ‘gabru jawan’ whose sole aim in life is to support his Jasmeet’s single-minded ambition, which is to get a ‘residency’ in the UK.
Both try different routes to get there, and a better film could have made something of the heartbreak and challenges people face when leaving their country for another.
But Namaste England is not that film. It is just plain awful, in which the ‘desis’ who live in the UK are poor misguided souls, and the real ‘desis’, especially those from good ‘ol Punjab, will rescue the world. One is a man-about-town (Seal) who wants a pind-ki-kudi as pretend-biwi to make his old-fashioned grandpa happy; the other is a hottie who falls for the bluff, good-guy Param, and I will spare you the asinine things they have to say and do.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen something so clichéd and charmless.
Director Amit Ravindernath Sharma’s Badhaai Ho deserves unstinted kudos. It not only dares to tackle a tricky theme, it does so with laudable finesse. This film is a worthy addition to the raft of adventurous, sure-handed genre-benders that the Mumbai movie industry has been delivering of late in a welcome rush.
Badhaai Ho is a far cry from Sharma’s debut film, Tevar, which was all fire and brimstone, a small-town love-and-vengeance concoction that allowed itself to fall prey to excess. In sharp contrast, restraint is the key in his sophomore effort. From the first outing to the second, he has clearly come a long way. Badhaai Ho is a sweet little gem informed with gentle wit and infectious warmth. The slice-of-life storytelling, which is appreciably enhanced by solid performances from a wonderful cast, is marked by control and sensitivity.
The screenplay by Akshat Ghildial (who is also the dialogue writer) is shorn of clichés – an attribute that lends the film a veneer of freshness. It lasts all the way until the very end and helps it tide over the more difficult elements in the plot. With the actors on song, Badhaai Ho has a smooth, even feel that makes it an easy watch.
This is a family drama with a difference whose appeal stems from the confident and steady manner in which it unfolds. Badhaai Ho is relatable despite the fact that it deals with a situation that isn’t all that common, in real life or in cinema. Sharma knows his craft and demonstrates an acute sense of proportion, especially when he is dealing with the dramatic moments that spur the tale forward.
Set in Delhi, Badhaai Ho revolves around a pregnancy that causes a major stir in a middle-class family and the neighbourhood in which it lives. The would-be mother isn’t some unwed girl, but a fifty-something mother of two grown-up boys, Priyamvada (Neena Gupta). The news is greeted with disbelief and disdain.
Priyamvada’s husband, Jitender Kaushik (Gajraj Rao), is a travelling ticket examiner is assailed by conflicting emotions. He toys with the idea of an abortion, but leaves the decision to his wife. She puts her foot down and opts to take the risk of bearing another child. Her elder son, Nakul (Ayushmann Khurrana), who has a corporate job, is in a tizzy when he figures out what is ‘wrong’ with his mom.
The Kaushik family, which includes a younger son (Shardul Rana) and a grandmother (Surekha Sikri), lives in a modest railway colony where news of any domestic development spreads fast and wide. But Nakul manages to hide the fact that his mother is pregnant from his girlfriend and colleague Renee (Sanya Malhotra). But, inevitably, his success is short-lived.
Badhaai Ho tells two love stories – one of the elder couple, the other of Nakul and Renee. The strain unleashed by the former tells on the latter: the younger couple are on the verge of splitting up when the class divide between them snowballs into a full-blown confrontation between the man and the girl’s widowed mother (Sheeba Chadda).
Nakul overhears Renee’s mother badmouthing his family when she learns that Mrs Kaushik is expecting a child at an age when she should be concentrating on raising grandchildren. She describes Nakul’s brood as “a circus I wouldn’t buy tickets to” and asserts that “such things don’t happen in families like ours”.
The script skillfully balances the intersecting strands as the two couples negotiate necessarily different sets of problems. Priyamvada and her husband have to reckon with the latter’s temperamental mother, who appears to have no love lost for her daughter-in-law and is shocked out of her wits when the news of the late pregnancy is broken to her.
The two sons are embarrassed no end, and have to face tetchy moments when friends begin to pull their legs. But at no point does Badhaai Ho slip into overt facetiousness – it goes through with its unusual construct with an absolutely straight face, never straying into territory that might be described as corny. That isn’t a mean feat given the delicate crux of a story in which veteran actors are allowed as much play as two romantic leads.
Gajraj Rao, in what is by far his most protracted role in a Hindi film, is consistently convincing, oscillating between elation and embarrassment without missing a single trick. Neena Gupta is outstandingly measured in her interpretation of the woman grappling with the repercussions of an unplanned pregnancy. But perhaps the film’s most impactful performance is delivered by Surekha Sikri as the crabby old woman who never shies away from speaking her mind.
Yes, among the most impressive aspects of Badhaai Ho is the way the director harnesses the rest of the on-screen talent pool and makes every character, even the minor ones, count. In the scene where Ayushmann Khurrana’s character harangues his girlfriend’s mother in her own home, both he and Sheeba Chadda – she does all the talking, she only listens – are in top form, as is the director himself. The set-up is replicated a little later in an apology sequence in which Khurrana is the sole talker and Chadda is the listener.
Sharma extracts equally useful performances from Alka Kaushal (as Mr. Kaushik’s Meerut-based sister, Guddan), Alka Amin (as her elder sis-in-law) and Shardul Rana (as the younger son).
2 COMMENTS
Badhaai Ho is certainly worth a visit to the multiplex.
The world of cinema is no stranger to biopics, especially those that focus on the lives of influential political figures. However, the latest Marathi film, ‘Gadkari,’ attempts to portray Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s journey from a small town near Nagpur to Delhi and falls short of the mark.
A Lackluster Depiction of a Remarkable Journey
Nitin Gadkari’s life story is one of inspiration for the people of Maharashtra. He started as a young activist, rose to become the leader of the student union, took the helm as the national president of the BJP, and finally ascended to the position of a central minister. However, ‘Gadkari’ fails to capture the essence of this extraordinary journey.
A Disappointment for Marathi Cinema
The film’s lack of depth and unimpressive execution leaves viewers questioning its purpose. Merely securing a censor certificate does not make a movie, and calling this work a film based on that alone is a gross overstatement. ‘Gadkari’ is an unfortunate occurrence for Marathi cinema, as it does not do justice to Nitin Gadkari’s remarkable life. Presenting such an uninspiring film about a prominent personality is a letdown for the film’s creators, producers, and directors.
A Missed Opportunity
The fundamental question that lingers is why ‘Gadkari’ was made and why it was presented with such poor execution. Despite abundant information available about Nitin Gadkari, the film fails to deliver a compelling portrayal of his life. Even a documentary could have provided a more engaging experience, but ‘Gadkari’ leaves audiences with limited knowledge about its subject.
Underwhelming Performances and Execution
The film’s character development is lackluster, dialogues lack emotional depth, and the acting is uninspiring. The direction falls short in multiple aspects, at times making it seem like the film was shot on a mobile camera. Such noticeable discrepancies do not escape even the average viewer’s notice.
Little Substance, Bland Presentation
A biopic should not be limited to fancy costumes and makeup; it should also bring to life a compelling narrative and believable character portrayals. ‘Gadkari’ manages to depict Nitin Gadkari’s character somewhat believably, but the rest of the characters lack depth. Additionally, the film’s music fails to inspire, leaving the overall experience unimpressive.
Missing the Mark
While Nitin Gadkari’s contributions to projects like the Mumbai-Pune Expressway are commendable, ‘Gadkari’ does not offer any unique insights into his work. Internet resources provide ample information on this front. The film includes numerous awkward interviews with Nitin Gadkari, which might provide some insights into his work, but they can be found elsewhere as well.
A Biopic That Falls Short
In conclusion, ‘Gadkari’ comes across as nothing more than a school project-like short film. It fails to capture the essence of Nitin Gadkari’s extraordinary journey and ultimately disappoints those who expected a biopic worthy of a prominent political figure like him.
Marathi cinema had an opportunity to celebrate Nitin Gadkari’s life, but ‘Gadkari’ missed the mark, leaving viewers with questions about its purpose and execution.
