Dream Girl 2, Trailer launch: Meet Ayushwomann, the body behind the voice Meeting Dream Girl 2 was not easy. In fact, it was 3 times as difficult as one would have imagined. First hurdle was the location hunt, as the invitation just said Meta Office, BKC. BKC is a huge settlement, and it took us (me and my friend Prasad Sovani, who had come down from Pune) a while to locate the venue, though we still managed to arrive on time. Secondly, we had to wait about 45 minutes to get identity badges a...

Doctor G, review: A 124-minute operation, performed by a novice G in the title could stand for ‘jee’, a suffix denoting respect, or for gynæcology. Neither is moniker material, so why title your film Doctor G? Because the protagonist is a male student of medicine and has his heart set on orthopædic studies and practice, but no seats are available in that branch of study and the only option is gynæcology. Pray, why the reluctance to study gynæcology? B...

Chandigrah Kare Aashiqui, Review: Engendered species A film that takes a taboo subject head-on, but takes its own time to get there, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is handicapped by its own title. Running on three, or rather, three-and-a-half parallel tracks, the film has nothing to justify Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, except that it is set in the north Indian city of Chandigarh. Its lead pair turns in largely convincing performances, and when it comes to using language that is brazen and bold, to it ...

Bala, Review: Haireditory and dark humour Two films in rapid succession about hair loss are about as rare as a new lock of hair sprouting on a bald pate. Whereas Ujda Chaman had the relatively unknown Sunny Singh Nijjar and Maanvi Gagroo playing the lead roles, Bala has National Award winning (shared) actor Ayushmann Khurrana, and by now well established actresses Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam. Time has come when insider jokes, vulgar dialogue, mimicry and stand-up comedy are expected from K...

Dream Girl, Review: Lady Boy’s multiple nightmares Can one accuse film-makers of misleading audiences by describing their films as anything but what they really are? Dream Girl, dubbed ‘family entertainer by its makers,’ panders to below the belt viewers and frustrated loners, under the garb of showcasing the lead actor’s mimicking talent, and providing a telephonic helpline to lonely hearts. It is a series of stand-up comic jokes, with one-liners, puns and double ente...

Article 15, Review: Beatings, gang-rapes, murder and other factual fiction Part III, Fundamental Rights, Rights to Equity, Article 15, of the Indian Constitution, declares that, ‘The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.’ It further proclaims that citizens too shall not discriminate against each other on these bases, and specifies the areas with regard to which there cannot be any discriminati...

Badhaai Ho, Review: No age to have a baby What if you discover that your mother is pregnant when you are 25 and in a steady relationship? Should you be happy? Sad? Feel outraged? Would you become the butt of jokes day in and day out? How would you deal with the development? Such is the off-beat premise of Badhaai Ho (Congratulations). [This review has been delayed for so many days due to serious issues with my computer, but the film, which was seen 10 days ago, deserves to be reviewed, and we...