Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movies released in Navi Mumbai’ (Bombay Velvet, Mad Max – Fury Road, Ishqedarriyaan and Bhopal A Prayer for Rain) that was published in Newsband

New movies released in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

Bombay Velvet

Bombay Velvet is an Indian period crime drama film directed and co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, based on historian Gyan Prakash's book Mumbai Fables. It stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Karan Johar in lead roles with Kay Kay Menon, Manish Choudhary, Vivaan Shah and Siddhartha Basu appearing in supporting roles.

The film has an interesting plot. Set in 1960s Bombay, the film tells the story of a boxer, Johnny Balraj (Ranbir Kapoor), and an aspiring jazz singer, Rosie (Anushka Sharma), and how their hopes and dreams collide with their individual realities.

The film is borrowed from Gyan Prakash’s book, Mumbai Fables, which is a look at the city’s recent history. But Bombay Velvet is no historical sermon. It’s a love story, pure and simple. Ranbir Kapoor is Johnny Balraj, a boxer turned mobster. He chats up Rosie, the girl of his dreams, played by an equally attractive Anushka Sharma. Sharma and Kapoor make a great couple – convincingly and deeply in love, even when the girl smashes furniture on the guy. Then there’s Karan Johar as the villainous newspaper baron Khambatta, pulling off an unlikely, uncontrollable snigger when you least expect it, and Satyadeep Mishra as Balraj’s pal, Chimman, who can own the screen with just his stare. They’re all matched by the incredible production design that recreates 1950s’ Bombay. In the second half of Bombay Velvet, there’s a sequence featuring a massively long buildup, with sexy lighting and music, that develops into a dazzling slow motion shot of a vengeful man firing dual guns in slow motion. The walls are peppered with holes, the furniture explodes into pieces — it’s so powerful it seems like he’s spraying the whole world with spitfire. He ends up killing two, inconsequential and faceless people.

While the first half is a homage to films from the 1970s, the second ends up becoming a film from that era: complete with clichéd blackmail based dialogues on film negative rolls, double roles, Madh Island gold biskut maal, damsels in distress, and so on. There is a rival newspaper too, with the editor (Manish Choudhary) are unclear. Then there's some history about the World Trade Center force fed to us.

The film has Ranbir Kapoor as Johnny Balraj, a boxer/street-fighter, Anushka Sharma as Rosie Noronha, a jazz singer, Karan Johar as Kaizad Khambata, a flamboyant, quick-witted, Parsi media mogul with a high-end attitude, Kay Kay Menon as Inspector Kulkarni, a detective, Manish Choudhary as Jimmy Mistry, a newspaper editor, Siddhartha Basu as Romi Patel, Remo Fernandes as a Portuguese man, Satyadeep Misra as Chimman, Balraj's friend, Vivaan Shah as Tony, Noronha's chauffeur, Mukesh Chhabra and Raveena Tandon (cameo).

The film has soundtrack by Amit Trivedi. The lyrics are written by Trivedi's frequent collaborator Amitabh Bhattacharya. The film has songs like "Fifi", "Aam Hindustani", "Mohabbat Buri Bimari (Version 2)", "Mohobbat Buri Bimari (Version 3)", "Kha Kha Ga", "Dhadaam Dhadaam", "Naak Pe Gussa", "Sylvia", "Darbaan", "Shut Up", "Behroopia", "The Bombay Velvet Theme", "Conspiracy", "Tommy Gun" and "Mohobbat Buri Bimari (Version 1)".

Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road is a 2015 Australian post-apocalyptic action film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller, and the fourth film of Miller's Mad Max franchise. The first film of the franchise in 30 years, Fury Road stars Tom Hardy as "Mad" Max Rockatansky, making it also the first Mad Max film not to feature Mel Gibson in the title role. The film also stars Charlize Theron.

In the distant future, after a series of catastrophic worldwide calamities caused the downfall of civilization, Max, a former highway patrolman whose family was killed in the early days of the societal collapse, meets Furiosa, a woman attempting to cross an immense desert. With her are former female captives collectively known as the Five Wives. They are on the run from the tyrannical Fascist leader, King Immortan Joe and his bloodthirsty military force, the War Boys, who rule over a totalitarian desert kingdom called the Wasteland. Joe wants the Wives back because they are fertile enough to breed the next generation of the human race to be remade in Joe's twisted image.

Their only hope of reaching safety is Max and his expansive knowledge of the desert's many dangers. Max initially refuses, but when he is captured and tortured by Joe, his only chance of escape depends on Furiosa and the Wives. With the War Boys in hot pursuit, this unlikely band must fight for their survival.

Ishqedarriyaan

Ishqedarriyaan is a 2015 Bollywood Romantic film directed by V. K. Prakash and produced by Rajesh Banga, starring Mahaakshay Chakraborty, Evelyn Sharma and Mohit Dutta.

Ishqedarriyaan is a story about love, sacrifice, family values and relationships. Rishteydarriyaan means relationships and Ishqedarriyaan signifies the relationship when you fall in love! The movie stars Mahaakshay Chakraborty, Evelyn Sharma and Mohit Dutta. Evelyn Sharma is the lead actress, who will play the character of Luvleen, a teacher by profession who wants to collect donations for her grandfather’s school. Mahaakshay Chakraborty plays Aagam Diwan, a millionaire who loves his profession more than anything else. Mohit Dutta will play Arjun, a passionate singer.

Thus the film has Mahaakshay Chakraborty as Agam Diwan, Evelyn Sharma as Luvleen, Mohit Dutta as Arjun, Kavin Dave as Rahul, Suhasini Mulay as Dadi, Ravi Khemu as Arjun's father and Yatharth Dholakia as Laddu.

The film has music by Jeet Ganguly, Jaidev Kumar and Bilal Saeed. Singers are Arijit Singh, Ankit Tiwari, Mohit Chauhan, Bilal Saeed, Master Saleem and Asses Kaur. Lyrics are by Kumaar, Kausar Munir, Manoj Muntashir and Bilal Saeed. Background Score is by Jaidev Kumar. The film has songs like "Judaa", "Mohabbat Yeh", "Ishqedarriyaan (Title Song)", "Mohabbat Yeh (Reprise version)", "Das Dae" and "Georgia Se Jalandhar".

Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain

Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain is a 2014 historical-drama film set amidst the Bhopal disaster that had occurred in India on 2–3 December 1984. It is directed by Ravi Kumar and features Martin Sheen, Mischa Barton, Kal Penn, Rajpal Yadav, Tannishtha Chatterjee, and Fagun Thakrar in important roles. Benjamin Wallfisch composed the film's music. Kumar got the idea of making a film based on the Bhopal disaster after he read a book based on it.

The world's deadliest industrial disaster occurred in Bhopal in 1984. Dilip (Rajpal Yadav), a rickshaw driver in Bhopal, India, lands himself a job at the Union Carbide plant. It is a chance to prove his worth to his family and pull them out of poverty. The job is tough with long hours; everyone is desperate to hold on to their pay cheque and so Dilip keeps quiet when he notices managers at the plant ignoring safety standards. Dilip’s long time friend, Motwani (Kal Penn), a tabloid journalist knows that Bhopal residents complain of the constant stench in the air and wake up at night choking from the gas. He is on a mission to expose what he believes is a deadly time bomb ticking away in his home town. He feels as if no one will listen but when he meets feisty American journalist, Eva (Mischa Barton), he sees a ray of hope and persuades her to confront Carbide executive Warren Anderson (Martin Sheen).