Calendar Girls

Review By Kamal K

Great movie. It shows the reality of cinema. I think it did not deserve such low ratings. Guess critics were paid heavily to rate the movie very poor. This movie shows the fate of models, the sad reality. Must watch. Apart from glamour there is the dark side.

The movie begins with five very different woman from Rohtak, Kolkata, Hyderabad, London and Goa, all selected as models for a calendar, setting off for Mauritius for their photo shoot. The calendar here is based on the real life Kingfisher Calendar, with Suhel Seth doing a pretty good job playing industrialist Vijay Mallya. After the titles, we follow the lives of the five girls as they try to make their careers after. Though it's not half as good as Page 3 or Fashion, Calendar Girls has its moments. Director Madhur Bhandarkar is at his best when he does an insider's take on what it takes to succeed in the big bad world of Bollywood. Those parts are genuinely amusing and I found myself laughing out loud at times. However, there are parts he gets serious and maudlin and that doesn't work at all. Like the most regressive Hindi film, he would have the Calendar Girl-turned-Escort Girl act all unhappy and remorseful, though her clients are mostly shown to be silly old men who seem to treat her well. With five stories running parallel (and briefly intersecting when one of the girls get married) it's hard to get bored while watching this film. The cast consists almost entirely of unknowns, except for veteran Kiran Kumar, who is excellent in his role as the tycoon, sternly explaining to his daughter in law that unfaithful husbands are part of the grand tradition of corporate India ("parampara"). But in the end, one gets the feeling that Bhandarkar himself didn't take the making of this film too seriously. He plays himself in the film, always a bad sign. The role is substantial, more than just a cameo. Calender Girls borrows heavily from real life (match fixing, right wing protests against Pakistani artists) which works well and gives the whole thing some authenticity.

Calendar Girls review :

Take this staple Bhandarkar fare. A supposedly realistic and sordid tale of five models. One gets embroiled in a sleazy IPL like match-fixing scam. Another one turns in to a high society escort to make her ends meet. Still another one uses social media effectively to get sundry bollywood assignments. Girl no. 4 decides to be trophy wife of a philandering multi multi zillionaire. Last one changes her profession to become a TV anchor covering Page 3 type news. Really after a point, it doesn't matter if these girls happen to be calendar models or fashion ramp walkers or even page 3 regulars...cos they are more or less the same characters from the Madhur Bhandarkar formulaic world of cinema.

Actually, this film could have passed off as a sequel to any of Bhandarkar's previous efforts like 'Page 3' (2005) or 'Fashion' (2008) or even a 'Heroine' (2013)..its just that he chooses not to create any franchise out of them naming his latest film simply 'Calendar Girls'. But get it straight folks. This is basically a case of same old wine in a not so new looking bottle.

Backbiting, sexual exploitation, sleazy deals, career manipulations and adultery are all there. The situations drawn from widely read news items and a negative depiction of anyone and everyone in sight (from corporate honchos to media houses to so called power brokers) might have worked in Bhandarkar's past ('Page 3' in particular was quite insightful) but now these kind of stock plots and stereotype characters only invoke an unwanted deja vu feel. Truly, there's nothing in Calendar Girls that you don't know or haven't seen already.

To add to our woes, there is no Priyanka Chopra or a Konkona Sen Sharma or a Kangana Ranaut to liven up the drama and make us overlook some of the dull aspects (like the tacky production value which is Bhandarkar's regular sin). Here, the five calendar girls are as far from acting talent as Antarctic is from aamchi Mumbai. To give Bhandarkar his due, he tries hard to utilise them to the best extent possible but sadly, the girls fail him.

The supporting cast has Suhel Seth playing a certain (real life) liquor baron. He does a decent job. Rohit Roy as the hot shot photographer is passable. Suchitra Pillai and Mita Vashisht's characters look like leftovers from Bhandarkar's 'Page 3'. Just like the rest of his 'Calendar Girls' does.....

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

Straight away coming to the point, at one end we have film-makers highly inspired from the west who keep borrowing ideas for their new Hindi films on a regular basis. Whereas on the other we have directors highly inspired and in awe of themselves and their own previous works like Ram Gopal Varma and Madhur Bhandarkar who keep churning out exactly similar movies one after the other following a careless attitude.

So assuming you have already seen Madhur's PAGE 3, FASHION and HEROINE, this is the director's 4th film on the same subject portraying it from a different angle, assuming that the viewers have no thinking mind of their own, ready to accept anything and everything coming from a big name served with some attractive, eye- catching toppings. In fact if you include CORPORATE also in the above list then this is Madhur's 5th film on the similar topic and he surely deserves another National Award for this unique & amazing creative urge unarguably.

Moreover, this time the case gets even worse because in CALENDER GIRLS you don't even get to see any of those elegant shots, rich looks, great performances, hard hitting dialogues or the realistic feel Madhur was once known for. Also the film surprisingly appears quite close to a typical B-grade project largely depending upon its sexual content and glamorous appeal with noting great to offer in its script, execution, cinematography, background score or even music or lyrics.

No doubt as a writer-director Madhur tries to put in everything read in the daily newspapers on the screen (as usual), like the rich entrepreneur releasing a famous calendar (pointing towards Vijay Mallya), deep links between heroines-cricketers and bookies, girls from TV and films getting into flesh trade, the lucky ones getting married to rich industrialists (to be their trophy wives), the clever ones bagging big films with their own selfish ways, the opportunists walking into programs like Big Boss and protests planned by various parties against Pakistani artists performing in India. But since the viewers have already seen many similar references in Madhur's last 3-4 films, one doesn't feel like watching anything fresh or thought provoking at all in those 2 tiring hours.

Besides, as a viewer you honestly feel like leaving the theater when the director appears in the film playing a cameo (as himself) and then indicates towards his next project too called AIR HOSTESS, once again talking about the same things so carelessly. To be honest, while watching CALENDER GIRLS, I was really feeling sorry for the girls Kyra, Avani, Ruhi, Akanksha and Satarupa, who must have had great dreams after fetching the reputed project of the well-known Madhur Bhandarkar, only to be ditched by the director by making such a jaded product.

Interestingly CALENDER GIRLS strongly reminded me of a novel titled SAAT SAAL BAADby the renowned Hindi crime-thriller author Surender Mohan Pathak that also revolved around a group of 'Fashion Ramp Girls' and their super-rich mentor introducing them all. In the novel, the girls get invited for a grand party in Goa after seven years of their initial success and then one of them gets murdered in the resort raising fingers at everyone else attending the celebrations including a young lawyer. The climax of the novel truly shocks you, as expected from a great murder mystery and the revelation once again forces you to think about the proceedings right from the start finding the given clues.

I really wish someone had given this novel to Madhur Bhandarkar before making CALENDER GILRS and if only he had made it on this particular plot, the film would have been pleasantly different and a much better, engrossing watch as compared to the current torture.

CALANDER GIRLS - One of the best movies I've seen so far. A story that really touches you from inside

The story starts with five different girls hailing from five different locations who get selected as Calendar Girls. Right from the first scene the story gets interesting and starts attracting the interest of viewers.

As the story continues few of these girls fall victim of situations and people's plotting. It is required to say that all the girls have done a fabulous job and have done full justice to their roles. The acting really seems natural and classy though the girls are debutants for the Bollywood films.

The screenplay is a masterpiece, all the five stories are well woven and connected to each other that you'll be eagerly waiting for the next happenings. You'll never feel bored throughout the story and they will keep you stuck to the seats till the climax.

Avani Modi as Nazneen Malik(Pakistani girl) and Kyra Dutt as Sharen Pinto have done fantabulous acting. In fact Nazneen's character made us emotional and we were forced to cry when she dies in the end. The story completely touches the heart and we feel a sort of emotional bonding with it.

The film contains the reality angles as Match fixing, Escorting, Royal Family secret revelations, Anti Pakistani approach of people etc. which ate very well shown in such small duration of just 2 hours 11 Mins.

Direction is superb as always by Madhur Bhandarkar and the background score is really touchy. The music of film is highly appreciable and each song is well composed according to situations and mood. The best numbers are 'Khwaishein' and 'Awesome Mora Mahiya'.

The climax is very well executed and sums up the drama appropriately.

MY RECOMMENDATION - The movie is a must watch for all sort of adult audience and you'll really feel that the money spent for it is too less as compared to the masterpiece you'll get to watch. Such kinds of movies should be encouraged and required to be made to keep the standard of Bollywood storytelling really high.

My rating 10/10.