Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013)

[a cliche ridden movie]

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013)

IMDB- 6.9

RJG Rating- 35

4 friends take a trip to Manali ,where each learn about each other.

Starring- Deepika Padukone,Ranbir Kapoor,Aditya Roy Kapoor,Kalki Koechlin

Director- Ayan Mukherjee

Ranbir goes over the top playing a sort of casanova character.His character is pretty uneven and mainly its the scripts fault.Deepika Padukone plays a sort of different character for once.But again it isnt anything worthwhile.Kalki plays her usual type of role ,shes good at it.Aditya Roy does a good job too.

The story is downright cliched.Theres no other word for this type movie.From the start itself its cheesy.Theres a deep lack of creativity in the story.You can predict stuff miles away.Character development is poor.The story is written solely to support Ranbir's character.Changes in Deepika's characters happen overnight.The only part which was worth watching was the flashback scenes of Kabir and his family.

Direction by Ayan is a major letdown.His earlier work Wake Up Sid was fresh and featured one of Ranbir's best work.But with YJHD ,he resorts to the ideas that were tried out by almost every romantic movie in Bollywood.YJHD is a watered down version Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.On top of it the melodrama makes certain scenes unbearable.

Songs are injected into the movie for no reason.The soundtrack used is not even fitting for the movie.Throughout the first half ,music from various cartoons are used.Why its done ,is unintelligible.It lowers the standards the movie is trying to convey.On the bright side ,the songs were good.

Overall YJHD has nothing new to offer ,except some over used jokes and melodrama.

Acting- 2/5

Story- 1/5

Direction- 1.5/5

Romance- 2.5/5

Drama- 3/5

Barfi! (2012)

[a sweet first half and a sour second half]

Barfi! (2012)
IMDB- 8.6
RJG Rating- 50

A love story of a deaf & mute man nick named Barfi.

Starring- Ranbir Kapoor,Priyanka Chopra,Ileana
Director- Anurag Basu

In the acting department ,Barfi is solid.Ranbir as the lead character, Barfi, gives a wonderful performance.His role powers the movie along.Ileana gives a sweet role too.But the person who matches up with Ranbir's antics onscreen is Priyanka, as the autistic Jhilmil.She gives a delightful performance.

In the story area ,Barfi brings something new to Indian movies.The first half is filled with charming stories and events.Its a bit mixed up but the movie unfolds nicely.Barfi ,powered by Ranbir,does its best to stay away from most cliches.But all efforts crash with the start of the second half.The story goes for a cheesy ride and makes way for all the usual Bollywood twists.On top of that ,the story becomes a bit confusing as the director fails to juggle the non-linear plot.Although its sorted out later ,it was a misfired experimentation to make the story seem more unique.

But the biggest flaw in the story can be spotted by true movie addicts.Many of the charming scenes and sequences have been ripped off directly from many Hollywood silent comedy classics.Now that i think of it ,Barfi is nothing but a huge compilation of Chaplin,Keaton etc work, mixed with a poor romantic story.

Direction by Anurag was excellent.But the fact that almost 60% of the movie is direct rips from Hollywoods silent classics diminishes Barfi's quality.Although he has managed to bring something new to Bollywood ,he could have atleast made some of the comedy scenes by himself rather than copying everything scene for scene.The first half was light hearted and charming,but as i previously mentioned his attempts falter in the second half.He throws out the entire comedy out the window ,and brings in too much melodrama in the second.

While the comedy was presented nicely ,the romance was undeveloped.Barfi's (Ranbir) chemistry with Meera(Illiyana) was perfect but how he suddenly develops deep relations with Jhilmil (Priyanka) was not explained much.
The music was beautiful and really uplifted the movie from start to finish.Cinematography was just excellent and really blends the beauty of the locations into the movie.

Overall ,Barfi is a good watch for the acting performances and for a change from the usual dump of hindi movies.But do not expect much from the story.

Acting- 4.5/5
Story- 2/5
Direction- 2.5/5
Comedy- 3.5/5
Romance- 3/5

Rockstar (2011)

Rockstar (2011) 

IMDB-7.4
RJG rating-55


Jordan, an aspiring musician, wants to get his heart broken to be a true rockstar..

Starring-Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri
Director-Imtiaz Ali

Rockstar was one of the most awaited movies of 2011,but on its release it failed to live up to its hype...

The main problem (among the many) is the wasted female lead...Nargis Fakhri single handedly ruins the movie..She has made one of the worst debuts for a female artist..
But luckily Ranbir comes to the rescue ,and barely saves the movie with his acting...

Story is another weak point of the movie..Its uneven and unbelievable at times..What kind of logic did Imitiaz use for the plot?..
Music by AR Rahman is surprisingly disappointing..Other than the Sadda Haq song,the rest are below average, and it drags the movie a bit..
Direction is average too..Known for his light hearted movies,Imitiaz's attempt to make a serious love story fails..The movie also confuses the audience by the skips the movie makes to past and present,but due to the lack of interest in the movie itself,most wont mind this at all..If not for Ranbeer,the movie would have fall flat on its face with its story and wasted performance of Nargis..
Not a must watch..But fans of Ranbir will enjoy the movie...


Acting-3/5
Direction-2.5/5
Story-2/5
Drama-4/5
Romance-1.5/5