vineettyagirikki

Fan is a movie reminiscence of the Shah Rukh Khan the actor we lost to SRK the superstar. Fan is an ode to the initial acting talent of SRK we saw in Baazigar, Darr and Anjaam. Fan begins with introducing us to the beloved Gaurav Chandana, the West Delhi residence who is in love with Aryan (SRK Playing himself) since childhood. With the twist in tale that Gaurav looks similar to Aryan, For Gaurav Aryan is everything. He takes a special journey to meet with his beloved superstar only to find that he is not the only one in the list. Things get interesting when Gaurav feels betrayed and determined to teach a lesson to his God. The movie introduces some interesting aspects in terms of what it means to be a superstar and what it means to be a Fan. Gaurav is kind of an Anti-hero who is made to be loved, scared, loathed and disgusted by the director in various parts of the movie. Credit goes to SRK for his portrayal of Gaurav. He gets the mannerisms, body language, dialogues right. The initial scenes of Gaurav feels kind of over played but by the end of the movie, SRK gets Gaurav right. In fact in one of the subtle scenes in the movie, SRK acts a bit like Gaurav while speaking to a Police inspector. If it was intentional than well done SRK. Kudos goes to the director for keeping the movie songs free. He deserves 0.5 star extra for that. The movie is a thriller but seems kind of stretched over a period 140 minutes. The ending is melodramatic which puts me off but the director desperately tries to make us love Gaurav even though he is kind of annoying. Overall the effort is decent and SRK deserves some credit for Gaurav. He is certainly in contention for the 2016 filmfare but to be honest who cares. Please Watch Fan for if you want to remember when SRK used to act and not just play himself every time. It deserves 7.5 star from my side. If only the movie was edited a lot better and SRK showed some restrain with Gaurav it could have been his memorable performance. Alas it is not a Chak De or Pardes but it is SRK telling everyone he is still the king of acting.

Tamasha continues with the narrative of Imtiaz Ali's earlier works: To live life to the fullest and break from conventions of society. Although the movie falters in bits and parts, the one thing working for this movie is the emotional depth of two characters portrayed exceptionally well by the leading cast, Ranbir and Deepika. Ved and Tara meet in the beautiful and exquisite locales of Corsica,France in a chance encounter which is typical of Bollywood romantic flicks. However soon after meeting they form a pact to not tell each other their identities and just live life to the fullest. Once the trip is over the stage is shifted 4 years after by which Tara is convinced to find Ved. She finds Ved in Delhi but quickly understands that Corsica was a dream and the reality is different. Post interval the movie takes you on a journey of internal turmoil faced by Ved and Tara which ultimately leads to a climax which is heartbroken but refreshing.

The central theme of the movie is similar to Imtiaz Ali's earlier work. How a journey changes the life and perspective of an individual. However this time around he tries to give an ode to his theatrical days in a way that the editing,cast, sound, dialogues and presentation feels like scenes from a play. Music by Rahman is fantastic and brings the emotional depth that such kind of a movie needs. In one of the powerful scenes, Tara is trying to convince Ved not to leave and the performances by the actors in that sequence are genuine, effortless and emotionally draining. Piyush mishra gives a guest appearance and brings the craftsmanship of his skills to the character as well. One thing that works for Tamasha is the powerful performance by Deepika in the first half which is one of her great works after Ram-Leela. Ranbir on the other hand does his best but somehow feels lacking the connect with the viewer. In some sequences Ranbir of Tamasha feels like Ranbir of Rockstar which is a pity but it is not so much that would convince you not to watch this movie. The biggest drawback of Tamasha is that the character buildups start of well but do not get to completion which ultimately leads to a feeling of too little too less. Absence of Deepika from most of the second part feels like a wasted opportunity as her character was built up well in the first half. The climax, although fresh, felt a bit stitched up quickly

Overall Tamasha is emotionally draining and by the end of the movie you may start questioning some of the aspects of your life as well. This is what kept me invested in the movie and overall it is a good effort from Imtiaz. The movie is trying to give a powerful message about individuals and the structure of society which would resonate well with the Multiplex going population in Metros. For this i am giving Tamasha 3 out of 5 stars with 0.5 stars added for Rehman and Deepika's performance. Tamasha will not entertain you but it will prod you to look inside and feel what the characters are feeling.