War 2: An epic misfire

Oh dear God, what a disaster this is!  An extremely expensive one at that, whose losses might be borne by a few but the ripples of the crash will go a long way and impact many.

War 2, the 6^th movie of the ambitious YRF Spy Universe is extremely disappointing, an exhausting watch that tests your patience and makes you angry at the sheer waste of money, resources and talent at hand. Infact more than anything else, as a Bollywood (and YRF) loyalist, it made me feel miserable with a range of negative emotions.

Angry at the same old slow-mo shots, action sequences which seem forced and overstretched, and the plot-tropes which were once staple of Abbas-Mastan in a Yashraj film (the ones of I-guessed-your-plan-so-I-changed-mine going around in circles types)

Surprised and shocked that this move with absolutely zero emotional connect or humour or warmth has been made by Ayan Mukherjee who made 2 of my all-time favourite movies (Wake Up Sid, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani).

Worried about the upcoming Christmas release of the Spy universe starring Alia & Sharvari – Alpha. I am really looking forward to it and this giant misfire of a movie will definitely impact the prospects of the next one.

Sad about the diminishing possibilities of the Spy universe soaring high now, first with Tiger 3’s average performance and now this disaster. Definitely not a safe commercial investment at this pace, especially with the budgets that each movie requires.

And finally closure for Brahmastra. Even with its flaws, I had really enjoyed the Part 1: Shiva and was really hoping for Part 2 and 3 to happen. But that’s definitely not happening now – with Ayan’s report card for delivering against big budgets not really looking positive. Hence, its time to bid adieu that dream now. Shivaaaaaaa…

Well, War 2 is really bad. Pathan and Tiger were definitely right when they questioned the ability of younger (well) actors to do what they can. A big reason of Pathaan/Tiger working was also the star’s charisma, which when coupled with some humour, emotions and then garnished with some slick action sequences and plot twists created magic. But here we just have 2 actors doing some show-reels of forcefully choreographed, irresponsible and illogical action sequences throughout the long duration of the movie which tests your patience and you can’t wait for it to end.

I can’t say the same for the YRF Spy Universe though. Here is manifesting that the Alpha women Alia & Sharvari can resurrect it and give it the glory that it aspires for. I am waiting.

Mythology and Bollywood

So going by all the hype on the ‘gram and the zooming box office collections (it has earned 100+ cr. at the Indian box office, highest for any animation movie), I finally saw Mahaavatar Narsimha on the big screens this weekend. It’s a good watch for sure and deserves all the success that it is getting. But more importantly, I felt that it has many lessons and learnings that the makers of Ramayana (and all other upcoming mythological movies) should take a note of.

1. The Gods should be dealt with (only) pure reverence and devotion. It may sound primitive, but the movie should convey that sense of bhakti and passion towards the Gods, and nothing else. No attempts should be made to make them look ‘cool’ or suit the modern sensibilities or cater to new age audience. The approach should essentially remain same as that of the Ramayan/Jai Shree Krishna and other TV shows of the past.

2. The visual depiction of Gods and all other characters should be as close as possible to what we have been seeing them in our temples, serials and no reimagination needs to be done. The image of Lord Vishnu shown in this movie seems exactly like those in our calendars or idols.

3.The language used by characters should be, unapologetically old school and Shuddh Hindi. Again, no attempt needed to modernize the mythology.

4.The designs of worlds, places, situations and characters should be close to the popular narrative with minimal creative liberties taken. It has been proven time and again that as far as our Gods are concerned, we do not appreciate imaginations and deviations from what we have accepted.

5.The background music and songs remain very important – but again no need to modernize or go techno or fusion – pure Indian sensibilities with mild classical music thrown here and there but not so much as to alienate the common audience, should work.

6.Lastly and arguably, while VFX is important, it may not be the most important thing. If all the above are taken care of, and the scenes do not look dark, yellowish or fake (ref. Adipurush) it should not come in the way of movie becoming a success, just like Mahavatar Narasimha.

But as we know, “होइहि सोई जो राम रचि राखा” All one can do is dream, and try. 😊

Superheroes & Bollywood

Superheroes and Bollywood!

So last night I watched the latest Marvel movie – Fantastic Four: First Steps, and thoroughly enjoyed it, like most of the Marvel movies. Positioned as a re-boot, it works very comfortably as a standalone movie (I had no clue of who/what the Fantastic Fours were) with some (still) brilliant VFX, an interesting story and the good old humour characteristic of Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What it made me wonder was about the future (and present) of the Superhero movies in Bollywood (and other languages)! While the reasons can be analysed and debated, it’s a known fact that it hasn’t been one of the strengths of our industry. However, what is worrying now is with the deep inroads that Hollywood has made in our country, even the hope of India coming up with a homegrown super-hero movie seems dim. A big reason of why Mr. India, or the Krishh films were successful (despite their modest and simplistic stories and effects) was that a large part of the audience was not exposed to the global cinema of this genre which was (and is) ages ahead in terms of both VFX and concept. But in last decade or so, even a tier 3 or 4 town in UP is aware of the Ironman and Captain Americas of the world and the terms like multiverse, alternate reality etc. The yardstick for any local entry into this genre will be these movies – and anything that seems similar to them in concept or execution will face heavy trolling. And let’s face it, with even the Hollywood superhero movies reaching the stage of audience fatigue – it is very hard to create something that hasn’t been already created. While the genre has always been about Good v/s Evil, the Marvels and DCs have gone much beyond and created layers of good vs good, bad v/s bad, internal conflicts, philosophy of superhuman-ness, politics of superheroes and governments, socio-cultural impact of superhero battles, distant galaxies and universes, witchcraft and magic, mythology and machines and every other possible dimension, and all of that garnished with some best in the world VFX and technology.

That brings us back to the question – what can a Krrish 4 or Brahmastra 2/3 (if they ever get made) offer to its audience that can make them the blockbusters that they aspire to be? Let’s face it, a Bhavesh Joshi and Minnal Murali may get appreciation, but they weren’t really what we can call a box-office success. The only ray of hope in this genre, and the answer to the question, can perhaps be found in the sole success in this genre in recent times – Hanuman, from the Telugu industry, which has its universe being created, hopefully to spectacular success. While we may not be able to differentiate our movies in terms of special effects from their Hollywood counterparts, taking the stories from our mythology/culture and creating a world and characters around it may just be the only road to success. Perhaps Brahmastra was a small step in that direction, but given the outcomes were less than favourable for the producers, it didn’t come as a surprise when the director Ayan Mukherji moved on to War 2, and then possibly to Dhoom 4.

Well, as we have always known, our heroes don’t really need a cape or super-powers to fly.

Bollywood Romances, July 2025

With the release of Saiyaraa just hours away, the excitement and craze for it is palpable. With its chartbuster songs; the intense chemistry of its leading (debutante) actors; the popularity of Ahaan Panday from his now viral insta videos; the cool and youthful packaging of the movie courtesy Mohit Suri & Yashraj films, the movie seems to be set for a grand success.

But before that, this July of 2025 has been a golden period for Bollywood romance, as we have back-to-back love stories out on the screens, with each competing with each other with only one clear winner – the audience.

July opened with the very soulful, poignant and romantic– Metro In Dino, which despite its very niche musical style and urbane stories, has been earning praises and audience alike, running strong in its 3rd week. With the characteristic over-indulgent style of Anurag Basu and passionate music of Pritam and team, it is definitely one of those movies which age well and are earn good-repeat value over years and decades.

The next week saw the very thoughtfully and beautifully made ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ on Netflix. Thematically somewhat like Rocky Aur Rani, it had its own take on love emerging victorious through deeply ingrained patriarchy and said a few beautiful things about ‘Barabari wala Pyaar’. In the times when sex comedies masquerading as family comedies earn big bucks on the box-office, this lovely little movie from Dharma Productions, despite some flaws (cultural approximations and exaggerations) made for a great family and/or romantic viewing, with Madhavan at his natural best, and a Fatima Sheikh looking ethereal and breathtaking. (Dharma effect?) Add to it some really melodious songs, a very picturesque Kolkata and Jamshedpur, and you wonder why this movie didn’t make it to the big screen!

The much-awaited debut of Shanaya Kapoor came finally in the very suitably titled – Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan, with Vikrant Massey. The movie had an intriguing premise and story and would have made for a great debut – in the hands of a capable filmmaker. Sadly, what we got here was an overdose of 90s cliches and dramatic sequences which ruined the beautiful concept of the movie. Nonetheless, Shanaya Kapoor shows a lot of promise and deserves kudos for taking up the unconventional role in her vey first movie. She is definitely here to stay.

In another couple of weeks, Dhadak 2 also strikes the silver screen – with the story of Tripti Dimri and Siddhant Chaturvedi’s brave romance amidst the caste barriers in the contemporary India. With right treatment, it could be the next big social romance/tragedy.

Meanwhile as Saiyaraa opens today, it is all set to take the biggest opening for a movie starring newcomers in the history of Bollywood. Just like Madhavan’s character tries to win back his love, it is perhaps Bollywood’s calling to its audience –

Saare jag mein kaise hum phire maare-maare, Laut aane do humko phir se dil mein tumhaare

Raid 2 and the Bollywood Wives/Girlfriends

In my head, this started as review of Raid 2 but seems it is not going to be that. It’s a pretty average movie alright. The first part had worked as it was new to see the Bollywood version of an IT raid. Here however they have just used the I-knew-your-secret-plan-so-I-made-mine formula and cooked up a remake which is not only set in 1989 but also seems to have been made in that year. You may enjoy it if you are a fan of the first one, but I didn’t.

What the movie however made me ponder was on the role of women in Bollywood movies, especially movies that tell stories of men. The trigger to this was one of the first scenes when Amay Patnaik (Ajay Devgn) walks into his house and calls his wife Malini by her name and the lady who turns around is Vaani Kapoor and not Ileana D’cruz who was Malini in the first movie. I had seen the trailer and knew that Vaani is the female lead but hoped that there will be some explanation (death, separation, or even a plastic surgery!) of the change in wife’s face, or maybe she plays a different character. But it was not to be – and they just expected the audience to forget altogether that the wife had a face of her own too. Not surprising, since all she did in the first movie was to get food, smile for him and sing a couple of songs. This reminded me of the similar shock when I had seen Singham 2 and Kareena entered Singham’s world nonchalantly pretending like Kajal Aggarwal whom Singham loved dearly in the first movie didn’t even exist. So, what is it with the replaceability of the female stars?

A key root cause is the forced need to have a typical hero and heroine in the movie and a mandatory romantic angle. I mean, here the story is clearly of an income tax officer and his fight against corrupt villain(s), so what is the need to have an actress portray their girlfriend/wife and throw in some random songs? This might have worked in the 80s and 90s like a formula where to be successful a film needed a few love songs, one comedy track, some action sequence etc. but works no longer. Yes, we want to show our heroes have a family and all relations – it can be done in much more subtle way than putting a famous face and throw in a few songs which do not add any value to the main story.

I understand the need to put in commercial elements that draw audience and increase the prospects of making the movie a success, and the special dance numbers or item songs are a great way of that. And no surprises that often the women in these songs steal the thunder from the so-called leading ladies whose scenes just include getting food for the hero, smiling and agreeing with him or occasionally a token scene of challenging the husband (as it is 2025). In Raid 2 for example, I enjoyed 5 minutes of Tamanna’s dance (Mera Nasha…) much more than those 15-20 minutes of Vaani Kapoor. Another way and reason to force-fit a ‘heroine’ often is for her to act as a catalyst to evoke hero’s wrath as the villain harms (or attempts) her.

That perceived compulsion to have a ‘’love interest’ of the hero (who can help put some songs or act as a bait for villain or both) is what drives the makers to get the young/fresh/trending face in the movie and it doesn’t matter if the character had a difference face earlier. Sadly, most of the audience also doesn’t seem to care much about it. But its high time now that Bollywood should move beyond these 90s trope and have characters – women and men (and others) as they are needed in the story, and within that choose your stars as you want. After all, that’s the least respect we can show to them as professional actors and us as the paying audience.

Living in the Moment

I want to live in the moment,

To contain my thoughts in the cage of time
To catch them in the times current
And stop them from wavering across,
Through the tunnels of past
Latching-on to many an albatross
Conjuring up clouds of creative concerns
Imaginations, and sheer projection of the past
But taking my mind everywhere but there
Where I wish I would be until the last.

I want to live in the moment,

To smile at little nothings
To laugh at the inanities
Without the free flow of thoughts
Towards endless possibilities
Of ends, disruptions distraught
Soaring steadily instead in the warm blue skies
With hopes and happiness abound
And beliefs of everything coming around
With no dementors or the ghosts of past
To freeze my being in another time
Everywhere but in the present, till they last.

I want to live in the moment,

Afloat by an unadulterated feeling of joy
Bereft of any fear or hints of misgiving
Rescued from the vortex of over-thinking,
Freed from the loops of scenarios
Of the What ifs, and of traversing across the multiverses
And discovering the infinite versions of self.
Through the acceptance of the present,
The inevitability of the end,
The mortality of everything that we pretend,
The coming together of my restless mind
Hitherto wandering across multiple timelines of possibilities
With all of them converging into the current

I hope to live in the moment

Stree 2

मेरे महबूब समझिये ज़रा मौके की नज़ाकत , के खरीदी नहीं जा सकती हसीनो की इज़ाज़त…

In the crowd of item numbers where women compare themselves to Tandoori Murgi (to be consumed with alcohol, no less!) the above lines stand out proudly in the song of the year – Aaj ki raat, and that’s just one of the finer nuances of this extremely entertaining blockbuster movie.

As you read this, Stree 2 has crossed the mammoth milestone of INR 500 cr. at the Indian box office and is still going strong. With no competition in sight for at least a month, it is only a wild guess where it would eventually reach, and that’s nothing but heartening for the fans of Bollywood and Indian cinema. An unimaginable scenario a few years back, the 500 crores (nett) club at the domestic box office has now 5 members from Bollywood (Pathaan, Jawaan, Gadar 2, Animal & Stree 2) and 4 from other industries (Baahubali 2, KGF 2, RRR, Kalki 2898 AD). While all these movies are wildly popular and have their own merits (and flaws), Stree 2 definitely stands out proudly in the list!

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞-𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫!

All movies in the prestigious 500 cr. club, except Stree, are unabashedly centred around their men – the characters as well as actors. The Shraddha Kapoor starrer not only has its titular character as a woman, but also quite openly champions the cause of gender equality and takes a clear stand against patriarchy. The fact that this timely message is getting lapped up by the masses across the country is just supercool!

𝐍𝐨 ‘𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫’!

Apart from popular & strong content, what the above movies boasted of was a leading Superstar, a man of masses who had established box-office pull – SRK, Ranbir, Prabhas, NTR Jr, Ram Charan. Stree is an exception from that also, with its biggest star being Shraddha Kapoor, supported by a group of talented actors but no stars. Hence, its success is also a testament to the power of true talent eventually being rewarded!

𝐔𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜!

While it always debatable, most of the other movies in the list at some time and by a lot of people have been accused of subtly (or blatantly in some cases) promoting toxic masculinity / jingoism / violence / obscenity / patriarchy / sexism. Stree 2 has cleverly stayed away from all such accusations with its clearly pro-equality and ‘all-genders-need-to-come-together’ stand!

𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞!

Big boys and big bangs generate big bucks at the box office – this was the belief (backed by data) until Stree came and changed this in style! It is the first movie in the list which is not an action movie with designer fight sequences, does not even have a patriotic theme but is a horror-comedy! Isn’t this a positive sign of evolving tastes and good times ahead for the movies? Definitely, yes!

𝟑-𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡!

Lastly, Stree achieved this glory in a 3-way clash – in a clash that didn’t turn out to be, with dismal performances of Khel Khel Me and Vedaa, both lead by big names.

‘Wo Stree hai, kuch bhi kar sakti hai!’’ – truer words were never said!

Looking back at my past

Looking back at my past

Through a prism of my present

The colors look different, the contours look familiar

The emotions look comforting, in a glorious era

Yearning for it to forever last

Looking back at my past…

A decade or two apart

My two selves stare at each other

And wonder afar, what have you learned

And what did you discard?

What if you had known, of the trials to befall

Of the curveballs of life, and the bubbles to burst

The harsh landings on reality, the never-satiating thirst

Of peace, of calm, of success and have-it-all

Despite knowing, that nothing lasts

Looking back at my past…

Would it have helped to know?

Or worsened it by far

One limited life and a thousand desires

What to pick and choose, what to drop

Or how to put some below and some at par

Linking my yards of happiness to some

And carrying some just as a prop

In this behemoth of desires vast

Looking back at my past…

The seductive illusion of nostalgia

The beauty of sepia tinted faded reality

Or the perception of it?

The lines are blurred

Of what-is and what-if’s

But what lies ahead, asks my current self?

What has gone is cast

What comes is life, to live as self, till it lasts

With every story having its own contours and cast

Looking back at my past…

Mumbai, Monsoon

‘’Chupke se, chupke se, chaand ke chaadar tale..’’

And just in a matter of few seconds, the persistent winds made the cloud give way for the mild drizzle to burst into large shiny droplets of rain. Falling at a breathless pace, as an endless train of drops moving together at high pace, the raindrops seemed fierce in their force, almost running away or towards something. It could as well have been the dust-ridden roads or the parched sands of the seaside and the impatience of the drops would not have been any less than what was here, on the transparent glass of the window of my car with the radio for company and the notes of my own thoughts; sometimes melodious, sometimes cacophonous.

It had been almost a year since I moved here. If I had not felt it myself, I would have scoffed at the statement, but Mumbai and its relationship with rains is indeed special.

‘’pehli baar hui ho jaise, aisi baarish aayi hai…’’

The droplets soon became a continuous thread of silver, hurriedly increasing in thickness and started engulfing the surroundings. The tip-tip sound gradually lost itself to the roar of the falling mesh of silver threads and the overflowing pool of silver and dark matter. The car wiper struggled to push away the flowing trail of water. Before it could manage to finish with one, many others were there to push it back. On the side windows, the various trains merged into a stream before losing themselves into the larger spaces. The headlights of the car did try to make way through the hazy maze of water and darkness, but the movement of steering wheel of the car was almost on instinct. I opened the sunroof of the car a bit to soak in some rain, but the force of the drops made me close it as a reflex. They still looked beautiful though, falling on the glass of the roof and spilling over in psychedelic patterns. It seemed that a lot of pent-up waters were being let out freely by the clouds today with not a drop a care about how will they affect others in the world.

The world outside, perhaps knowing the same, couldn’t care less. If the rains were fierce, the world outside was equally unperturbed. The roads were gradually indifferentiable with the rivers or the drains; the potholes were merging with the water; the sea- visible at a distance seemed to show that angst as well but restrained only till the shore. Amidst all this life kept going on, with nothing but slight altercations – raincoats, umbrellas, plastic covers, slippers but not a sign of slowdown or stopping. That was what perhaps defined this very special relationship, the understanding, the metaphor, and synergies.

The enormity of emotions and expressions,

The furore of frustration and finality,

The pent-up pressure of the perennial pace,

All reaching a tipping point and then letting it all out – the storms, the thunders, the waters and the anger, until all of it is consumed by self.

The need of navigating through the necessity, the drive to drive through the diminishing daylights,

The struggle of surviving, sailing through the series of seas,

All of it is what one gets drenched in these rains with.

The crowds, the solitude and magnitude,

The incessant and persistent pace,

During the months of the monsoon, Mumbai becomes one with the rain. My car had somehow reached near my destination as well. The old lady who stays next door waved at me as she completed her daily routine of evening walk post dinner, even if she had to put up the raincoat.

...Ae dil hai mushkil hai Jeena yahan….

Jawaan v/s Baahubali !

‘Jawan crosses Baahubali 2’; ‘Gadar 2 topples Pathaan to become the highest grossing movie of all times’ – these are headlines of some of the major entertainment portals in last 1 week. With the filmmakers & media houses trying their best to grab the attention of audiences, the metrics of box-office collections have off-late been very different, confusing & at times, misleading as well.

The most basic metric is of course the total amount of money earned by the movie across the world in all languages and in all countries where it released. This is known as Worldwide gross. Next would be the total gross amount earned by the movie in India in its original language and in the dubbed versions, if any. However, the gross amount consists of entertainment taxes which do not form a part of the profits, hence the nett collections (after removing taxes) are the ones which are used to assess the profitability of a movie. Apart from these, various movies industries in India (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada etc.) also report their own highest grossers and ranking of the movies. So, which are actually the highest grossing movies as on date?

Dangal, by far remains the highest grossing Indian movie of all times by a huge margin with over INR 2000 cr. earnings worldwide, out of which a significant chunk came from China. It is followed by Baahubali 2 (~1800 cr.), RRR (~1300 cr.), KGF 2 (~1200 cr.), Pathaan (~1050 cr.), Jawaan (~1000 cr.), Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Secret Superstar, PK and Gadar 2 at no. 10 with a WW gross of ~680 cr. Jawaan, at the end of its run will land somewhere close to KGF2.

If we look at the domestic earnings across all Indian movies (Total India gross), then Baahubali 2 leads the charge with a towering ~INR 1400 crores in India alone, followed by KGF 2 (~1000 cr.), RRR (~940 cr.), Jawaan (~670 cr.), Pathaan (~650 cr.), Gadar 2 (~620 cr.), with Dangal being a distant 7^th at ~540 cr.

Lastly, if we look at Bollywood alone in India, i.e., movies originally made in Hindi and including the collections of their dubbed versions as well – then Jawan is leading the charge, having just marched passed ahead Pathaan and Gadar 2, which are followed by PK, Sultan, Bajrangi Bhaijaan etc.

So, no Jawan did not overtake Baahubali 2 – it just earned more than what the Hindi dubbed version of Baahubali earned in the country; and Gadar 2 did not earn more than Pathaan in India – it earned more than the Hindi version of Pathaan, excluding the revenue from its South versions. While the movies collecting big numbers is great for the industry and the consumers (audience), the media reporting of the box-office numbers definitely has scope of being consistent & correct.