Golkeri – Awesome Foursome

Jignesh Vasavada

4 (.5 for Mansi)

Life ends one Saturday evening and toils through the entire Sunday before coming to a full circle in the evening. Yes, 24 hours of love, life and relationship is a delightful Golkeri.

Now here is the fear. Good movies just don’t get the right promotions and thus there is a fear of them missing out. Golkeri producers, guys, please go all out, you have a good product. Many a movie, earlier, has messed up with poor no promotion.

What is!

Well, this is a sweet gargle-your-way-to-a guy’s-heart love story (read Gujarati re-make of the Marathi Muramba) of a boy Sahil (Malhar) & girl Harshita (Mansi) which begins with a Break off (not Up) and traverses through Divorce (there is a difference here) and then ending with a Patch up (yeah the same thing).

Yeah yeah, once you settle into the movie you know how it is going to end, but the beauty of the story is in the way it folds, unfolds, re-folds and finally packs up. Honestly, I was waiting to see the climax hoping it would be a taxi-wala-taking-police-wala-helping-aircraft-stopping or simply running with the train ending. But the climax is truly a nice anti-climax.

Here Sahil and Harshita are aided by Sahil’s affable parents played by Sachin Khedekar and Vandana Pathak. The story, screenplay is a delightful journey of values, love, upbringing, generations and the bond called love. Good Movie.

All that is Wow

All four lead actors, simply rock.

Mansi Parekh, take a bow. What a performance. Brilliant portrayal of a stand-up comic going off and on, all the while alternating between being a girl-friend, would-be bahu and a girl. She really connects and takes the movie to an altogether new level.

Vandana Pathak, a veteran, who just keeps getting better and better. She is literally the life of the movie.

Malhar Thakar, yes, not the star Malhar, but the actor Malhar who has been emerging with movies, breaking his stereotype since Sharto Laagu excels in a great portrayal of a scared genius in love. His classical punchy style lends the much needed humour and life to the narrative. He infuses the pace and helps keep the interest alive.

Sachin Khedekar (also acted in the Marathi original), in a brilliant light portrayal of a loving, understanding and evolving father steals hearts. He too binds the narrative and is crucial in some situations where the story needs the push.

DoP, Vikas Joshi paired with the Art Director keeps the film clean and fresh. Despite very limited location you are captivated by the way the scenes have been captured.

Dialogues, by Viral Shah also add the delta in the movie’s Gujaratikaran. Most, other language re-makes miss the mark in this department. Viral has kept it real and Gujarati.

All that is Saav

Background Music alternated between being jarring, loud and sometimes forced. This department could have done with mellowing down.

The Story, while was a huge challenge, could have done with a bit of trimming and appeared to slow the pace at times.

Some scenes really looked like they were an after-thought and the green screen was visible.

Low focus on marketing would really cause a scare for an otherwise good product.

Do not miss moments

Read this more than once. Manan, aapno comedy factory waalo, hosts daaru parties where girls come home late night, drunk. Why didn’t I know of this earlier? Why did I have to learn this from a movie?

The four-seater-scooter is a nice side kick which has a maruti car’s key-chain!!

So, our hero kick-starts his bike with a slight stubble, travels few kms the stubble grows thick and then becomes light again at the end of the journey.

Looks like there is a lot of money in the spectacle shop, simply going by their bungalow.

Jenga, the game, mends relationships, yes, it is true.
Giving out Golkeri bottles, what a great PR victory!

Blatant favoritism by the producer ensures that his wife is always wearing a helmet and the hero is not :))

 

The Verdict

Oh, please go and watch it with your entire family. It is a nice delightful fun foursome ride of relationship and love. You might even end up thanking god for not making you a gold-medalist or a ranker.

Luv ni Love Storys – 1B3HK Story

One boy vs three girls and you thought he had all the luck? Well, grass is always green on the green screen, while reality is completely non-filmy.

Jignesh Vasavada

2.75 stars (.75 for the Look)

 

I have been checking every grammar site on whether it should be stories or story, nowhere it says storys...but what the heck, my grammar teacher isn’t coming to watch a Gujarati movie, so we grant the creator the creative licence as we focus on the Love Stories (I got this right).

Our Hero:

Luv, a cute kid who refused to give kheer to his father is packed off to a Boarding school and grows up to become Pratik Gandhi who can play golf like he plays cricket. Initially he plays a guessing game with the viewers teasing us to guess his profession (love guru, negotiator, hair-stylist, rich man’s son and chef). Finally, he settles down for one profession. His entire family knows all aspects of love. Luv falls in love far more easily than she can say Jalapeño (with a pronounced H). The entire movie revolves around his falling and failing in love (remember bachna ae haseeno, well don’t). And yes, there is a strong hidden political leaning with Luv’s surname. 

Love Interest 1:

A super hot, super beautiful Mishti (Shraddha Dangar) who gives all the right signals of love and while the viewer and kids in his family know everything, Luv just does not get it. All the slow-mo scenes here are really nice and effective.

 Love Interest 2:

A cute, bubbly, Sonam (Vyoma Nandi) who is so beautiful that the entire society notices her, but our man doesn’t. Who misses a hot neighbour? She too is completely into Luv, but not so much into him and yet he is into her. Confused? Well so were we. Did someone refer to the Kaula Lumpur Police Department?

Love Interest 3:

Amongst the most sorted, gorgeous and intelligent of the three, Preeti (Deeksha Joshi) flirts with a yes, no, yes, no, yes, no to the extent that she even has a T-shirt to that effect (just in case the audience does not get it). Confuses Luv, his friend, family, Golawala, balloonwala and the audience equally.

All that is Wow

Well, the film gets its look so so right.

Good Locations, good Art Direction and above average camera work by Suraj Kurade sets the tone of the movie.

The music by Parth Bharat Thakkar is good, soulful and in most cases takes the story forward. Ghoome Ghoome is a rocking number sure to hit the Top Charts.

Acting, all four have done a great job. Each of them excels in their individual roles. All in all, it makes the movie very watchable.

Dialogues and some situations were truly funny. The cast carried it well.

Hardik Sangani too rocks in the friends role.

All that is Saav

What is with the story? It just vanishes in thin air. Towards the end one feels completely lost and just wants the film to end.

Casting. While Pratik can make any role look like a cakwalk, he seemed just misfit for the role. A chocolaty, cute and dreamy boy (remember Ranbir) could have been more appropriate for the role. Did he look a tad bit uncomfortable in the lover/playboy/Casanova image. I thought so.

Logic, in most places seems misplaced. The story becomes predictable and slow. Situations are questionable. You want to run away with a girl but have not thought of what next. The entire third sequence of love is all over the place and stretched.

Pretty predictable ending.

And please don’t miss moments:

So, when you are heartbroken, you can waste water.

Men are like Golas...and...hello...this was a family watch...

You say Undhiyu and serve Pulao.

2023 is when the movie starts and yet 2019 they are checking FB timelines????

Teacher goes in and walks out for balloons and the bell rings and kids get the balloons. I want to study in this school (for the teacher, though).

The video has just begun playing and the characters end the same (wait for it).

The Verdict:

Should one watch this movie, of course yes. It is as glamorous as they can get. Besides lessons in love, prem, ishq and what not, you will surely fall in love with the cast.

x

Kem Chho – Maybe Majama

Jignesh Vasavada 2.75 Stars Universal saga of a married man trapped with a gorgeous kathiawadi wife, nagging parents, wayward brother and an underpaid job in this beautiful world.

 

It is one of those times in my life as a movie reviewer (as opposed to a critic) that I am bemused (not confused). People next to me, around me were all laughing away to glory while I was chuckling once in a while and scratching most of the time.

That is the effect Kem Chho has on you as a movie. And Mind you, there was more male laughter than female laughter. No marks for guessing why.

Taking a break from the routine let me try and present the rights and the wrongs.

All that is Right

The premise of the movie is perfect. Happy to note that filmmakers are now experimenting with slice of Gujarati life concepts in films too. It is a positive change.

Promoted as a saga of a married man, Kem Chho got its Target group right. They know, like all Bollywood does, connect to the heart of a married man, he will spend any amount of money to watch his own plight projected on the large screen.

Next is the star cast. Tushar looks like a poor, tall, bechara married man (with a slight paunch). He has done an above average job and could have done better if the role and story had been defined more.  Kinjal Rajpriya rocks in the look and the dialogue department. She has been the girl to watch in recent times. Right from Shu Thayu, Kinjal has shown that she is capable of not only acting well but adapting to characters and presenting herself very effectively. Watch out for her too.

Chetan Dahiya, the natural humorist always scores effortlessly. His presence brings life on the screen. Ditto with Jay ‘Palty’ Panda.

Rest all, fit into their respective places decently.  

Dialogues, some punchy and some funny, overall, this department scores well too. Sorryavansham joke was a killer. 

Songs are nice and hummable. They sound good to listen to and may hit a chart or two.

The hoardings, publicity, outreach and the timing is all in the right place. You cannot afford to miss any of this.

All that is NOT Right

Why the subtitles, baba? The dialogue and subtitles were all over the place.

Where is the story? Why so many sub-plots? Why digress from the married man’s gatha to force the audience to pakdo their matha? Story is loose and at most points appears to be dragging. There are just too many subplots which could have been done without. Somehow we keep losing the focus from the dreary life of the hero and heroine and get dragged into unwanted storylines. Too many loose ends are not tied too.

Connected to this is the pace and duration. This film could very well have been 20-30 mins crisper and would have communicated the same message well.

The viewer feels stupid at some very illogical twists.

Why would an insurance guy go to a 80 year ill man to sell a policy?

So, your wife is talking about divorce and you simply jump out to meet an ex-flame?

Your son/husband/brother has locked himself in a room to commit suicide and all you do it just keep banging the door???? Really?

You want to supplement your family income and you only make one feeble attempt at selling?

Your father has been a violent person for all your 20+ years of life and just two dialogues make him forget everything and turn into a good man?

Come on, please. I am confident the writer and filmmaker is much more intelligent to commit such mistakes.

Still, I suggest, go out and watch this once, especially if you are a married man. You never know what scene, dialogue or event you may connect with.

No, I promise you, no married man cried at the end of Kem Chho (still wonder why this name!)

Pics Courtesy Movie Promotions