Shaurya

Howdy folks ! This is the second courtroom drama I am writing about.
The first one was FRACTURE :( http://uday-certified.blogspot.com/2016/06/gregory-hoblits-fracture.html ).

The movie begins with a military operation taking place on a rainy night in some small village in Kashmir. A bullet kills a major. A captain fired the gun and it's no accident.

Captain Javed Khan (Deepak Dobriyal) is accused of killing his superior officer Major Virendra Rathore ( Pankaj Tripathi) and he faces court martial. Even though it appears to be an open and shut case due to Captain Javed's silence, it's a sensitive one since the incident took place under the command of Brigadier Rudra Pratap Singh (Kay Kay Menon), a highly decorated and influential officer. Major Akash Kapoor (Javed Jaffery), a sincere person who is serious about his career is assigned as the prosecutor of the case. His friend, Major Siddhant Chaudhary (Rahul Bose), a not-so-serious guy who really doesn't aspire to achieve heights in his career (which he chose due to parental pressure) insists on getting posted with with him so Major Akash gets him appointed as Captain Javed's defense lawyer. Initially he doesn't take his case seriously but after getting himself in a mess by giving an interview to Journalist Kavya Shastri (Minissha Lamba), he starts taking this case seriously. From here the movie picks up pace. Would he be able to defend Captain Javed against all odds? Is captain Javed guilty as accused? Would Brigadier Pratap's power influence the case and vice versa ?



This movie is inspired from 'A Few Good Men', an American legal drama made in 1992. I have seen that movie too but I chose to write about this film because of three main reasons:-

• I am a fan of Kay Kay Menon's dialogue delivery 
• The movie has a backdrop of Kashmir
• Having seen Bollywood all my life, I am used to happy endings :P

 As I have said before, Kay Kay Menon 's dialogue delivery is the soul of the film and as far as I can recollect, he has only four scenes in the film. Rahul Bose's character was a bit irritating in the beginning but he did a good job in showing the conversion from a careless guy too a guy with an aim in mind. Minissha Lamba's character was irritating to me throughout the film but that's no fault of her. Maybe the writers added such characters to balance the serious theme of the movie (and that's where Bollywood needs to work on). Javed Jaffrey did a great job too. Only while writing this post I realised that Captain Javed is none other than Deepak Dobrial, the guy from Tanu Weds Manu. An actor has done a commendable job if he is able to absorb his character completely and being a theatre personality, Deepak Dobrial didn't have a tough time doing so. There is also a poem by Javed Akhtar (my idol) which tells what true shaurya, true valor is all about and it is recited by Shahrukh Khan, who in his own mesmerizing style adds life to the poem. In short, the movie is gonna be a different experience.

Directed by	Samar Khan
Produced by	Haresh Dayani
Written by	Samar Khan Jaydeep Sarkar Aparna Malhotra
Starring	Kay Kay Menon Rahul Bose Minissha Lamba Javed Jaffrey Deepak Dobriyal PankajTripathi

This movie is UDAY-CERTIFIED !!

Makdee

This post is more about getting it out than merely expressing your views about a movie. This post is about the movie which really scared me in my childhood. It haunted my dreams. It made me change the channel . It is the only horror movie which left an impression, a scar on me and the funny thing is that I saw this movie on POGO! You don't expect to see a witch drinking blood on a channel meant for kids!

The movie is about a mischievous girl Chunni and her docile twin Munni who live in a village where superstition is an integral part of the local belief system. There is an old building which is allegedly the home of a 'Chudail', a witch. Anyone who goes into the building doesn't come out or if they do come out, they come out as animals. A goat, a pup or even a hen ! The local police are synonymous to useless. One day things go wrong and Kallu, a butcher goes after Chunni over a mischief caused by Munni due to mistaken identity and in order to escape the butcher and his knife, Chunni runs into the witch's house. Munni tries to get help but people don't believe her due to her past record and having no option, she too goes inside that dreaded building where she comes face to face with the witch. The witch gives Chunni a hen and claims that it's her sister Munni and in order to have her transformed into her original form, she demands a hundred hens. Now Chunni has to live dual lives in order to keep her secret till she can get this witch her hundred hens. Can this careless girl save her sister? Are things the way as they seem?

Shweta Prasad played the double role of Chunni and Munni in her debut film for which she won the Indian National Film Award for Best Child Artist for 2003. The contrast in the twins forms the initial part of the film so it's her performance which keeps the movie going. Makrand Deshpande plays the role of a sadistic butcher. He has a song picturised solely on him and even though it's a tough task to engage the audience for one complete song on your own, he somehow pulls it off. Having said that, the most interesting role of the film is that of Makdee, the witch played by Shabana Azmi. She is one of the most skilled and experienced  actresses in the industry and she makes use of both to scare children as best as she could. This is the thing about Shabana Azmi. Even with her latest role as Neerja Bhanot's mother, I remember she made a lttle girl cry in the theatre with her monologue. The intensity of her performance can't be expressed in words.

The readers should remember that horror films usually don't have a long shelf life due to ever improving technology and transforming society. If the readers don't find the movie scary then they should remember it was made for children in the year 2002. Gulzar's lyrics are up to their usual high standards and he is especially known for his creations for kids. Vishal Bhardwaj did a great job writing and directing the film. I hope the readers get the essence of the film through this post.

Directed by	Vishal Bhardwaj
Produced by	Vishal Bhardwaj
Screenplay by	Vishal Bhardwaj
Story by	Vishal Bhardwaj
Starring	Shabana Azmi  Makrand Deshpande Shweta Prasad
Music by	Vishal Bhardwaj

This movie is UDAY-CERTIFIED !!