The post DARAAR – GIRIJA OAK & ALPESH DIXIT’S LATEST RELEASE first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Director: Sattwik Mohanty

Cast: Sumeet Vyas , Nidhi Singh , Jatin Sarna , Monica Chaudhary, Taniya Kalra, Kunj Anand, Shekhar Choudhary, Rachit Bahal, Sumit Singh, Madhurima Roy, Sanjay Batra, and Rayne Vermaa

Ratings:

Recent release of AltBalaji and ZEE5, titled, Dark 7 White is based on Dark White by Shweta Brijpuria. It is a crime thriller highlighting the dark side of politics.

The story of the series is about unveiling a murder mystery of the youngest CM of Rajasthan. Yudhveer Singh Rathore (Sumeet Vyas), belongs to a royal family in Jaipur. He had very well understood that this era was not for Kings to rule, but the Politicians. After winning the college elections, he was all set to become the youngest CM. However, this was not succeeded as he was murdered just before the event took place. It was doubted that his friends were allegedly involved for the planned murder as every friend could have their own motives to take away his life. There comes ACP Abhimanyu Singh (Jatin Sarna), who investigates into the murder.
What makes the story intriguing is the twist and turns that occur during the investigation process and interrogation of each friend in order to find the culprit.

However, the 10 episodes series could have been cut short to 8 episodes and made it more keen and sharper. It definitely cannot be labelled as a family series and is not suitable for kids below 18 as it has extreme use of abusive language and abrupt scenes. Editing and screenplay were not up to the notch. Though, Director’s narration supports the story well.

Other than the murder mystery, what makes the series worth watching is the marvellous and outstanding acting of Sumeet Vyas and Jatin Sarna.
The character of Sumeet Vyas as Yudhveer Singh Rathore, is so well portrayed and the look given to him just takes the interesto quotient of the series a notch higher.
Jatin Sarna with his A level acting skills would definitely impress his fans as he perfectly adapts the character of an inspector.

Cinespeaks Verdict: This political crime thriller with perfect blend of murder mystery with apt direction is definitely a one time watch.

Cinespeaks gives 3 stars.

The post REVIEW: DARK 7 WHITE: A POLITICAL MURDER MYSTERY first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Director: Akshay Choubey

Cast: Angad Bedi, Sandeepa Dhar, Sikandar Kher

Ratings:

Recent release of AltBalaji and ZEE5, Mum Bhai, is a Crime, Drama and a Thriller you would want to watch this weekend.

The story of this crime series begins with the life of Bhaskar Shetty (Angad Bedi), a top encounter specialist, who wanted to rule the city and could go till any extent to make that happen. Young Bhaskar comes to Mumbai from Mangalore, where in Rama Shetty (Sikandar Kher), a small-time criminal, mentors him. With Rama’s aid, Bhaskar gets job of a janitor in a restaurant. However, unlike Rama, Bhaskar grows up to join Mumbai Police force.

Angad Bedi has brilliantly portrayed the character of Bhaskar Shetty as well as an Anti Terrorism Squad Officer and will definitely succeed in impressing his fans with his strong acting and action.
Sikandar Kher as Rama Shetty has also aced his role by exhibiting the rough side of a gangster who shoots anyone without having any second thoughts and the soft side as Bhaskar’s Rama Anna, who always supports and makes Bhaskar street-smart.
Sandeepa Dhar as Vaishnavi has given the direction to story in its own way.

However, the action sequences and gang-war scenes have lacked in bringing and giving the much needed thrill impacts on the audience. The screenplay did not reach the notch that was expected from a crime-thrilling series. Though Bhaskar and Rama chemistry does make it a one time watch.

Cinespeaks Verdict: This 12 episodes series of approximately 20 minutes each, is worth a watch if you are seeking to enjoy a crime thriller.

Cinespeaks gives 3 stars

The post REVIEW: MUM BHAI: UNLEASH THE POLICE-GANGSTER CHEMISTRY first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Director: Abhishek Sharma

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Diljit Dosanjh, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Annu Kapoor, Vijay Raaz, Seema Pahwa, Manoj Pahwa, Neha Pendse, Abhishek Banerjee, Supriya Pilgaonakar, Neeraj Sood, Rohan Shankar

Ratings:

After a long-term lockdown, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari is one of the most entertaining and comedy films. It is a family movie, with no vulgarity or nudity and a movie with a clean concept.

Manoj Bajpayee, Diljit Dosanjh, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Annu Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa and the entire cast in whole has performed marvellously. The character played by Diljit Dosanjh’s friend, Sukhi, in the film has also marked an outstanding position. Vijay Raaz’s even though did not share the screen for a longer duration, made a cameo and yet his role was up to the mark that would definitely leave the audience laughing their heart out.

The film exhibits a set up of 1995, Madhu Mangal Rane (Manoj Bajpayee) who plays the character of a wedding detective, who checks the background of grooms and informs the bride’s family in case he finds any defect in the groom. This thread continues when Suraj Singh Dhillon (Diljit Dosanjh) comes as his next target. Suraj had always been a noble man, but however, getting under the influence of his dear friend, he decides to be the typical “bad boy” of Bollywood. It is that one time when Rane catches him off-guard due to which Dhillon his left without a bride. As the thread goes along, Dhillon being frustrated finally decides to get hold of the one due to whom his marriage was being declared off every single time. It was when Dhillon robbing a house, he got to know that it was Rane due to whom his marriage life had not yet taken off. In the process, he crosses path with Fatima Sana Shaikh, where their eyes collide which further leads to a love story between them.

However, just like the other typical Bollywood films, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari also has a usual comic movie ending with as of DDLJ. The film did not justify the comic talent of Annu Kapoor. On the other hand, Diljit Dosanjh even though had quite a many comic scene, he was not able to completely embrace it. Seema Pahwa was also not presented in completely appealing manner and with not much strong dialogues. The potential of the cast was not completely justified in the film.

The music, song and dance elements of the film were set to the point keeping in mind the old times. However, the item song in the film is entertaining and worth appreciating Screenplay and direction of this film is up to the mark.

Cinespeaks Verdict: An entertaining comedy film with a great star cast, appealing screenplay and direction with some perfect blend of music is definitely a one time watch with family.

Cinespeaks gives 3.5 stars

The post REVIEW: SURAJ PE MANGAL BHARI: A JOYFUL COMIC GETAWAY first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Director: Apoorva Lakhia

Cast: Saqib Saleem, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Iqbal Khan, Waluscha De Sousa, Rajesh Tailang, Ankur Bhatia

Ratings:

One of the leading sites, Voot, has released a series titled, “Crackdown” on 23rd September 2020. It is an action crime thriller, assembled with the most apt cast required as per the roles.

The plot of the series revolves around RAW’s special ops team led by Riyaz Pathan (Saqib Saleem), an officer of the Indian security agency, under the senior officer Ashwini Rao ( Rajesh Tailang). The team goes under multiple missions with the help of Divya Shirodkar (Shriya Pilgaonkar), to crack through these cases and eventually solve the mission.

The mission gets quite arduous as a dispute goes along in the RAW itself, between Riyaz Pathan (Saqib Saleem) and Zorawar Karla (Iqbal Khan), who yearns to take the position of Ashwini Rao as the senior officer. However, this dispute seems to get resolved eventually in order to accomplish a larger conspiracy. The Indian security agency was threatened by Tariq (Ankur Bhatia), a Pakistani cop, to either save their agents or citizens of the country. Garima Kalra (Waluscha D’Souza) is seen as Iqbal Khan’s wife in the series.

Saqib Saleem as Riyaz Pathan, has given a praise worthy power-packed performance by adapting himself into a RAW officer, but is also seen having a soft side to his personality and happens to confound whether serving the mission is worth the life of an innocent civilian. He is seen giving his audience an action-packed sequence in the series.
Rajesh Tailang as Ashwini Rao, is not only seen playing the character of a Senior officer, but also a father who is tangled between his work and family life. He very well seeps into his role and gives us a quite mature acting.
Shriya Pilgaonkar as Divya Shirodkar has definitely given her best into the character and is also seen giving us some action sequences in the series.
Iqbal Khan as Zorawar Karla is eventhough portrayed as a so-called villain initially, manages to win the heart of his fans with his brilliant acting.
Ankur Bhatia as Tariq pulls out the character of a cop with such an ease and gives complete justification to the role of a Pakistani.
Waluscha D’Souza’s role as Garima Kalra has shared less screen initially in the series, but however takes a great turn by the end.

However, eventhough the series felt a little stretched in between, it has 8 episodes which will leave you with an urge to see the next one by the end of each episode and this continues till the last episode which leaves you on a cliffhanger.

Cinespeaks Verdict: Crackdown is an action crime thriller, which is definitely a one time watch. Brilliantly directed by Apoorva Lakhia, the perfect blend of cast, action sequence and a little suspense is what you’ll get to see in the series.

Cinespeaks gives 3 stars

By Dhruvi Soni

The post REVIEW: CRACKDOWN: AT WHAT EXTENT CAN YOU GO TO PROTECT YOUR NATION first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Director: Ken Ghosh

Cast: Kunal khemu, Chunky Pandey, Bidita Bag, Ram Kapoor, Asha Negi, Nidhi Singh, Indraneil Sengupta, Raghav Juyal, Asheema Vadaan

Ratings:

Zee5 released yet another season of the crime-thriller series Abhay, titled Abhay 2. Directed by Ken Ghosh and produced by B.P. Singh under Fiction Factory Productions.

Abhay’s first season was quite a perfect blend of intriguing narratives. It showcased combined tale of many authentic incidents. Murders that were abberant were represented in the series. It displayed the cases that exhibited the extent till which a murderer can go.

Adjoining the previous bit, Abhay’s second season has been released that has narrative of a similar pattern, which means it constitutes the tales of psycho killers.

Kunal khemu as Abhay Pratap Singh, is yet again being seen portraying the role of a cop, who has been assigned with cases that are strenuous to solve. Kunal khemu has once again with no second thoughts, has proved audiences that he is a versatile actor indeed. His extremely brilliant, mature, serious and focused performance shows the art he has been constituted with. He has aced the role of a cop and leaves no space for any negative markings.

Attempts of a pyscho who is in search of children with brilliant brain, in order to increase his conscience, is seen in the series. Chunky Pandey‘s role as Harsh, a pyscho killer is yet a remarkable one. He has time and again proved his efficiency by adding life into his respective character, which would keep you glued to your screen.

Pushing the story ahead is seen Bidita Bag as Saloni in the series, playing the character of a Call Girl. Unlike the accustomed psycho killers having a past of dreadful experiences that motivates them to become what they have; there is no such motive for her to modify herself into the psycho behaviour as such. Battling with the customary incidents, she seemed to adapt the pyscho behaviour.
Bidita Bag has performed her role with such precision that it makes the character seem more natural. It is not an easy task to portray the role of a Call Girl, but Bidita Bag has beautifully framed herself into one along with displaying the role of a psycho with equall efforts.

Eventually the series brings in the third psycho, portrayed by none other than Ram Kapoor. His evil laughter will no doubt send chills down your spine. A complete psychopath who will surely surprise viewers every moment with his sheer unpredictability. His character is definitely going to take your excitement quotient a notch higher with his impactful and impeccable performance in the series.

Asha Negi as Sonam, is seen in the role of an investigative journalist, who aids Abhay in solving mysterious cases. She definitely impresses the audience by putting in all her hard work to showcase her avatar as a reporter.

The script and screenplay of this series are worth appreciating as it is has no senseless content and remains up to the point which makes it engaging.

Cinespeaks Verdict: Abhay 2 is a crime-thriller that contains narratives of pyscho killers and keeps the expected suspense quotient up to the mark. It’s script, cast and screenplay makes it a successfully engaging series.

Cinespeaks gives 4 stars

By Dhruvi Soni

The post REVIEW: ABHAY 2: A SUSPENSE PSYCHOTIC CRIME-THRILLER first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Director: Shailender Vyas

Cast: Abhay Deol, Ritika Anand, Pankaj Kapur, Piyush Mishra, Rajesh Sharma

Ratings:

SonyLIV has released a magnificent web series, titled, JL 50 on 4 September 2020. Directed and written by Shailender Vyas, this short series exhibits the concept of Time Travel, which therefore makes it one of the most fascinating and intriguing sci-fi series.

A flight, AO 26, gets missing and to investigate into the matter, CBI officer Shantanu Das (Abhay Deol) along with Gaurango (Rajesh Sharma) are tasked to scrutinize the matter. Shantanu gets to know that a flight has been crashed into the woods and reaches at the site of accident, assuming it to be AO 26. To his surprise, the flight that had been crashed was not AO 26, but JL 50 that took off 35 years back and has crashed a week ago. The curiouity of where the flight had been for the past 35 years is what increases the suspense quotient in the series.

Shantanu confound whether it is Time Travel in real or is the scenario being staged to cover any motive in particular. Adding to the bit of mystery in the series, are seen Pankaj Kapur as Professor Das; the other two are the survivors of JL 50 crash, i.e., Ritika Anand, playing the role of Bihu Ghosh, as the pilot of the flight and Piyush Mishra as Professor Mitra, a psycho scientist, who haven’t been aged even a little for the past 35 years. The past of these characters that led them to what they are now, would definitely keep you hooked up to the series.

Abhay Deol has efficiently moulded himself into the role of a CBI officer and would definitely impress his fans by A level acting skills that brings in the much needed seriousness in the series.
Pankaj Kapur‘s role as a professor is such praise worthy. He has brilliantly portrayed himself as a Bengali and his accent was just flawless.
Piyush Mishra yet again is seen bringing out his remarkable acting skills on screen and continues to astonish the audiences with his role by justifying it as always.
Rajesh Sharma with no doubt proves once again that he can ace any role assigned to him and is seen adding the humour factor in the series.
Ritika Anand has very well adapted her role as a pilot and successfully maintains the suspense in the series with her brilliant acting.

Ingeniously written and directed by Shailender Vyas, this series of just 4 episodes, showcases time travel with solemnity and gives a bright insight of the concept.

Cinespeaks Verdict: JL 50 is a suspense thriller web series, that is worth your time. The astonishing conceptualisation of this series is what makes it a magnum opus.

Cinespeaks gives 4.5 stars

By Dhruvi Soni

The post REVIEW: JL 50: DISPLAYING TIME TRAVEL IN REALITY first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Ratings:

Eros Now released a crime-thriller web series, Flesh, directed by Danish Aslam. The plot of the series revolves around the ignominious practice of human trafficking being excercised in the country.

The series displays how two juvenile girls from distinct backgrounds gets caught up in the despicable racket of human trafficking and their endeavour to escape from it.

Reba Gupta (Vidya Malvade) and Shekhar Gupta’s (Yudhister) mairrage was in jeopardy but were however putting up a show to please others at Reeba’s folk’s wedding. It is in that event where their NRI daughter Zoya (Mahima Makwana) of 16 years old, gets into the trap of a young charming boy who later abducts her into this trafficking. The couple reaches out to the police to succour them. Fierce police officer, Radha Nautiyal (Swara Bhasker) aids to solve this case by putting in all her efforts and crossing hurdles that comes in her path.

Swara Bhasker slips into the skin of her role as Radha Nautiyal effortlessly and does proper justice to her character. Even though Swara Bhasker was showcasing herself as a police officer for the very first time, we can definitely say that she has aced it with extreme dedication. Her work in the series was worth tons of appreciations and would definitely amaze the audiences.

Along with Swara Bhasker, another name that has astonished us is Akshay Oberoi. Taj (Akshay Oberoi) has been portrayed as a bisexual adversary with a dark and unpredictable type of character. His performance in the series wouldn’t let you leave your seat as it increases the exhilaration quotient in the series.

Mahima Makwana, Vidya Malvade and Yudhister has very well accepted and adapted their respective roles which could be seen by their marvelous acting that makes the story seem more realistic and intriguing.

Brilliantly directed by Danish Aslam and written by Pooja Ladha Surti, this series has successfully highlighted the human trafficking issue in the society and the consequences that revolves around it. To know how the gallant police officer, Radha Nautiyal solves the case, do watch this masterpiece.

Cinespeaks Verdict: Flesh is a crime-thriller showing the dark reality of the society. The apt blend of cast, script and direction makes it an eye-grabbing series.

Cinespeaks gives 4 stars

By Dhruvi Soni

The post REVIEW: FLESH: A HUNT INTO THE DARK REALITY OF THE SOCIETY first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Director: Raj Krishna

Cast: Nik Kash, Ross Turner, Pooja Batra, Javed Jaffrey (The voice)

Ratings:

Padmavyuha is film based on story which tells about an atheist person who in the contrary was a professor of religious studies. The story revolves around phone calls received by the professor which leaves him perplex and thereby leading him along with a detective, to solve arcane theory associated with Hinduism. The journey brings out his inner conscious which makes him a devotee of religion and God.

The professor, Nik Kash, did proper justice to his role by initially justifying his atheist side which later transformed to a believer. The detective, Ross Turner, has managed to create his intellectual yet mysterious character in the film. Not only the seen, but even the heard, Javed Jaffrey has beautifully brought out his character even without making an appearance.

The film was well written and directed by Raj Krishna. Every small or little details were heeded which made it vivacious. The screenplay was yet intriguing with beautiful editting done by Kevin Lee Loader and great efforts put by the DOP, Benjamin Casias behind the camera making this a magnum opus.

Cinespeaks Verdict: Padmavyuha is a mysterious, thriller short film that promotes and comprehends the notion that Hinduism is not just a religion, but a way of life which is backed by the force of Faith.

Cinespeaks gives 3.5 stars

By Dhruvi Soni

The post REVIEW: PADMAVYUHA: A MYSTERIOUS THRILLER THAT WOULD CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE TOWARDS HINDUISM first appeared on Cine Speaks.

Cast: Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi, Manav Vij, Vineet Kumar Singh, Ayesha Raza Mishra

Director: Sharan Sharma

Ratings:

Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is a biopic of an Indian Air Force pilot, Gunjan Saxena, the first Indian female pilot in combat. It shows her ambitions of becoming a pilot right from her childhood days. Janhvi Kapoor plays the lead role of Gunjan Saxena and Pankaj Tripathi is her father. Her father is few of those people who really support her goals of becoming a pilot someday.

Entering training for becoming a pilot was not easy for Gunjan. She was constantly made realized that this is not a place for a woman but her spirit stood high. Whenever she felt she couldn’t go ahead, her father’s wise words encouraged her and helped her to fly to her goals and heights, literally!

The movie shows gender based bias in a profession like Indian Air Force. People constantly try to bring her down. She is struck with criticism and disapproval of her seniors and batchmates. But Manav Vij is the one who stands with her throughout the training and helps her. Even her brother, Major Anshuman Saxena, played by Angad Bedi, doesn’t support her much despite being a part of the Indian Army. Even though their bond is precious, the reason he gives to her and their father is that it is not safe for her and this is coming out of the soft corner.

Battling all the hurdles coming her way, Gunjan finally makes it into IAF in 1994 and becomes the only Indian female pilot to be a part the 1999 Kargil War. She flies into the war to help hurt Army men and the casualties. The most important thing to take away from this is how you she believes in herself and does not let anything get in the way of her goals and tasks. Gunjan Saxena did set an example for a lot of women around the world that it was time to shun down the sexism coming your way.

The film is produced by Karan Johar under his home banner Dharma Productions and directed by Sharan Sharma. The direction of the film fits great with the storyline and the dialogues are very strong and inspiring when they come from Pankaj Tripathi.

Performance wise, Janhvi Kapoor has given her best. We see her as a simple, elegant yet strong woman in this film. The most precious thing in the movie is Gunjan’s tight relationship with her father. His support means the world to her. Pankaj Tripathi has done a magnificent job in this role. Angad Bedi has also portrayed his character of Gunjan’s brother and a Major, very skillfully. Ayesha Raza Mishra plays Gunjan’s mother. The feeling of proud and happiness when they see Gunjan’s recruiting ceremony can be seen through their sparkling eyes and wide smiles! Manav Vij and Vineet Kumar Singh, her superior, play two ends of the spectrum when it comes to supporting Gunjan but on reel, they have given outstanding performances.

Cinespeaks Verdict: Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl will guarantee give you goosebumps on multiple occasions. Be prepared to feel emotional and inspired after watching the movie! The cast of the movie was one of the best aspect of this film.

Cinespeaks give 4 stars.

BY RUJUTA THETE

The post REVIEW: Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl: An inspiring biopic which will make you teary eyed and give you goosebumps for sure! first appeared on Cine Speaks.