2019 draws to an end with a Good Newwz…

Unorthodox-heartwarming-hilarious, is how you would sum up the latest offering from Dharma Productions, Good Newwz is a breath of fresh air amidst some truly disappointing releases in recent time and indeed brings 2019 to an end in a good note. A fresh plot, witty dialogues and some flawless performances by the ensemble cast makes Good Newwz a must match for the holiday seasons. The plot revolves around a set of couples with the same surnames (Batras), eager to conceive and finally opting for invitro fertilization, which ends up in a horrible mix-up of sperms leading to each wife being impregnated with the wrong sperm, what follows is a hysterical and gratifying journey of these couples and how they manage and deal with the mixed up pregnancies. Debutant director/writer Raj Mehta has beautifully woven an intricate masterpiece which envelopes various sensitive issues of the society such as modern-day infertility, miscarriages, abortion and the elegant journey of a woman from pregnancy to childbirth. With almost no bad aspects, here are the good aspects of the movie:

Akshay Kumar has proven time and again that he is an all-out performer, his 4^th release of the year and last release of the decade only attests to the fact. Akshay is the heart and soul of the movie, with his relentless comic timing and versatile acting chops, Akshay never skipped a bit, be it in a comedy scene or a hardcore emotional one. Kareena Kapoor Khan seemed flawless in her portrayal of the ambitious Deepti Batra, ferociously eager to conceive, and going lengths for the same, effortlessly put forth her journey to motherhood and shined particularly in the emotional bits of the movie. The 2^nd set of Batras, namely the loud-mouthed Honey Batra and the bubli Monika Batra from Chandigarh, played almost quintessentially by Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani have done equal justice to their roles. Veteran actors Adil Hussain and Tisca Chopra as the owners of the successful Invitro fertilization clinic have put forth commendable performances as well. The actual stars of the movie however are the dialogues and screenplay, the movie is studded with hilariously witty dialogues that are sure to tickle the funny bones of every viewers.

Final verdict: The ignorance of modern man towards the simple-basic articles of life draws him ever so close to insanity, that something as magnificent as child-birth is being excluded and cases of feticide are soaring every minute. The movie takes a modern route and a hilarious one to educate the masses of the basic roots of humanity. The average Indian movie buff deserves such unconventional projects from fresh narrators as Raj Mehta and any such future endeavors. Good Newwz is a must watch for any avid movie goer for the festive seasons, the exuberant narrative not once seems a drag in the long 134 mins running hours. To top everything is the infectious chemistry amongst the ensemble cast with multiple momentous sequences that will either make you chuckle or shed tears, in a nut-shell Good Newwz is the sort of closure Bollywood deserved for the past decade and keeps us exhilarated, for more such gems in the coming decade.

Stars: 4/5

The tipsy Kabir Singh threatens to become Shahid Kapoor’s biggest solo hit, is it really that good?? Let’s find out…

Kabir singh immediately hijacked the spotlight when writer-director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, announced the official remake of his hugely successful Telegu movie Arjun Reddy (2017) in Hindi starring Shahid Kapoor opposite Kiara Advani. Being an official remake of his own movie, the whole movie is practically a reshoot of the old one with a new title and fresh star cast. But Kabir Singh is more than an official remake, well at least for the greater masses of viewers who were unaware of the gem that Arjun Reddy was, until the Hindi remake was announced on April 2018. The plot wheels around the ‘pro-an-tagonist’, Kabir Rajdheer Singh (Shahid Kapoor), a brilliant surgeon and his journey of self-destruction and rebound after his girlfriend Preeti (Kiara Advani) is forced to marry someone else. The lack of imagination or creativity in the storyline, however is thoroughly compensated by the director’s vision of depiction which makes the movie a delight. But vision alone is not enough to recue Kabir Singh from some prospective blemishes its burdened with. So, these are what I liked and disliked about Kabir Singh.

The Good: Shahid Kapoor; is utterly impeccable as the fiery-flamboyant-foul mouthed and fiercely passionate house surgeon Kabir Singh, giving a career defining performance, which proves the man has enough mettle to lead any commercial venture, and is here to stay. A direct comparison is vital in this case, however with Vijay Deverakonda who has brilliantly portrayed Arjun Reddy and Shahid is no less lucid in playing this intense role. The supporting cast; in spite of Shahid’s relentlessly volatile recital, manage to hold their own with engaging performances from the leading lady Kiara Advani (preeti) and Soham Majumdar as Kabir’s only companion through every thick and thin. The music; has aided the narrative in all possible ways, with soulful tracks from Sachet-Parampara (Bekhayali) along with Mithoon and Amaal Malik. The narrative; plays its own magic in the movie as the director’s illustration of this suicidal love story, the viewers remain anchored to their seats abridged with Kabir and his vulnerable state. The viewers are repeatedly confronted with waves of emotions, be it anger, hatred, passion or love, which makes the unusually long running of 2hrs 55mins pretty bearable.

The Bad: Surely, there are two schools of response to the movie, first one praising it as an intense-passionate love story, and another one that will condemn it to be over the top and downright misogynistic and patriarchal. Women empowerment takes hard blows in specific sequences and the lead seems rude and dis respectful towards his lady in multiple occasions. And finally, in spite of all the statutory warnings, I believe a significant fragment of the Indian audience not prepared for on screen drug and alcohol abuse, specially the youth. Therefore, at times it appears that the movie is somehow promoting toxic behavior, however that’s not the case. Keeping in mind the director’s fair intensions in presenting an intense love story, I urge viewers to watch the movie and share their reactions in the comment section below.

Final verdict: 3.5/5