Cast: Ajay Devgn, Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh, Javed Jaffrey, Sanjay Mishra, Sanjay Dutt, Johnny Lever, Esha Gupta, Crystal The Monkey, Aftab Shivdasani, Rajpal Yadav, Boman Irani

Director: Indra Kumar

Story

The story of Total Dhamaal (the third installment of the Dhamaal series,) tells a pretty simple tale. A dying man reveals a secret, a Rs. 50 crores booty he stashed away in a forest in  Janakpur, India. The hope of finding this life changing amount of money sends a group of crazy people literally on a wild goose chase to the remote jungles. The group includes a constantly fighting couple (Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit,) greedy siblings (Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffrey,) local villains (Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Mishra) and a police commissioner (Boman Irani.) The dying man pulls the trigger on the search for a crazy treasure and this leaves us with a serious question. Do they finally find the treasure or is it just another search for the pot of the gold at the end of the rainbow?

Review

Cars ramming into trucks, roaring tigers, a crazy monkey and bridges falling through half way in the movie, Total Dhamaal is one long ride into the unknown. As a director, Indra Kumar has left no stone unturned when it comes to creating a crazy Indian adventure. While the beginning parts of the movie set the scenes for a pretty exciting adventure ride, the beginning gives away most of what is happening.

Despite the plot being slightly weaker than the bridge which falls half way through, the film pulls through because of the impressive star cast. Opening to the highly hyped and pumped up title song which introduces the cast, Total Dhamaal progresses toward a slightly weird turn of events.

However, even though there are certain holes in the script and the story lacks luster, the cast does a brilliant job. Anil Kapoor is his usual comic self. Madhuri Dixit sheds off her charming look for a slightly negative role and the Arshad Warsi – Javed Jaffrey duo, brings their ‘A’ game to the table. Boman Irani plays an extremely convincing cop, with Ajay Devgn playing his character to perfection, like always!

Although the film could have been written better, there are more than a few hilarious moments. With the first two parts of the Dhamaal series being brilliant, this third part falls a few steps short of something really amazing. A comedy of errors, this movie had all the trappings of a truly brilliant adventure, director Indra Kumar just doesn’t hit the nail on the head. Although seemingly drawing influences from movies like It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World and the Hangover Series, this movie could have given us more than just a handful of laughs but fails to deliver what was promised. All in all, Total Dhamaal is a one time watch at best.

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Kesari, the highly talked about Akshay Kumar movie, finally has a trailer to its name. After three back to back teasers enticing and drawing in the audience, the trailer finally gives a complete picture. While the teasers showed us various shades of Akshay’s character in the film, this trailer talks about the intense battle which was the Battle of Saragarhi.

Filled with action, drama and amazing fight sequences, the trailer sees with how much pride the Sikhs are filled, fighting for their rights and their homeland. The just dropped trailer shows the amount of courage 21 Sikh soldiers had to fight against 10,000 Afghan tribesmen. Watch the trailer here!

An incredible true story of valour, sacrifice & bravery – told like never before! #KesariTrailer out now – https://t.co/eDqk8Lts6t@ParineetiChopra @SinghAnurag79 @karanjohar @apoorvamehta18 @SunirKheterpal @DharmaMovies #CapeOfGoodFilms @iAmAzure @ZeeStudios_ #Kesari

— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) February 21, 2019

Everything about this trailer is quite an eye opener. From the music, to the action and to the entire sets, the video takes us through one of the “bravest battles ever fought,” according to the posters and trailers! Akshay Kumar’s perfect portrayal of the leader of the Sikhs and the way he commands the entire force, gives one goosebumps. An untold story about a war which changed the course of Indian history, this trailer leaves one wanting for more.

For the uninitiated, the Battle of Saragarhi took place on the 12th of September, 1897. Ordered by the British, 21 Sikh soldiers were tasked with the job of protecting the forts of Lockhart and Gulistan, on the border of Afghanistan. What history does not tell us is, the soldiers were fighting for their homeland because of the love they had for it and not just because of the orders given to them. The trailer also gives us a look into how proud the soldiers were of being Sikhs. Everything about this movie promises to be a treat like never before!

Directed by Anurag Singh, this movie also stars Parineeti Chopra in the lead role! Kesari: The Untold Story, is all set to hit the screens on the 21st of March this year and we cannot wait! Can you?

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The history of India is rich and colourful, with a host of interesting historical events to its name. When you combine these events with Bollywood, you get to ride on the magical journey of the past with more than a sense of realism. From heinous crimes, to tales of murders and to realising the truth is far more devastating to watch on the big screen than reading about it, these movies have more than shown us the other side of the coin!

1. Bandit Queen

A Shekhar Kapoor directorial, Bandit Queen tells the story of Phoolan Devi, one of the most feared bandit queens in the Indian history. Telling the tale of how Phoolan Devi was married off as a child, this movie talks about what she had to do in order to get over her social circumstances. Abused and molested for most of her childhood, Phoolan Devi lived a troubled life. Her rise to the position of a bandit queen was the show of strength and the fight she put up against patriarchy. Kapoor’s Bandit Queen showed her journey and told us the story of what happens when you are pushed against the wall. Do you succumb to your fate or do you fight back and make a name for yourself? Hard hitting and portrayed to perfection, this story needed to be told, showing us that no matter what is portrayed, there is always more to see than what meets the eye.

2. Black Friday

Anurag Kashyap’s directorial debut, Black Friday was based on the 1993 Mumbai blasts and was rumoured to have been inspired by Hussain Zaidi’s novel of the same name. Opening to scenes of the blasts and talking about the aftermath of the event, this movie received criticism for more than three years before its release. Hard hitting and extremely realistic, this movie focused on Dawood Ibrahim and his family and about what triggered the blasts. When you see a major event being depicted on the silver screen, the harsh realities of the world come as nothing short of a wake up call.

3. Firaaq

We know the Godhra riots of 2002 in Gujarat had a life changing impact on major sections of the Indian society. How do we know this? Because of the vast literature written about this very subject. However, when Nandita Das made a movie about this, what we saw quite literally shook us. Telling the story of how ordinary people were affected by the severity of the blasts, Firaaq gave us a clear insight into how many people’s lives were changed by the riots. With an impressive star cast, the movie won not one, but two national awards for its depiction of what happened after the riots.

4. Shahid

Based on Shahid Azmi, a lawyer/activist who was gunned to death for fighting for the rights of Muslim men, Shahid tells a truth not many of us want to accept. A lot of people misunderstood why Shahid Azmi was doing what he did, which was fighting for the Muslim men wrongfully charged as terrorists, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA.) Showing us we as an audience are so natural at jumping to conclusions when someone does the unexpected, this movie told a story which needed to be told.

5. No One Killed Jessica

How many times have you heard of someone being murdered with a room full of witnesses and justice being delivered? Not many, right? This is exactly what happened when the brutal murder of Jessica Lal took several years to solve, despite there being more than enough witnesses. Showing the true powers of the rich and famous, No One Killed Jessica was all about how journalistic integrity brought justice to a family which lost more than it deserved. While the media is often portrayed as a negative industry when it comes to cases like these, the fact that this movie showed the opposite side was quite an eye opener.

Bollywood as an industry has a strong responsibility of telling a story exactly the way it happened. While a few creative liberties can be taken, the end result leaves us filled with wonder and awe. If you think we missed out on any other movies based on true incidents, comment and let us know!

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Kyun Rabba, the first song from Taapsee Pannu’s and Amitabh Bachchan’s highly anticipated film, Badla, is finally out! While the recently released trailer shows us about what the movie is, without really divulging the details, the song gives us a little more insight.

Composed by Amaal Mallik and sung by Armaan Malik, the first song has been shot through the point of view of the character played by Taapsee Pannu. Bringing out an array of emotions and feelings, Kyun Rabba shows how a woman deals with a broken heart and with unrequited love. Listen to the song from Badla here and now!

Dil haste haste roh padaa, dard aansuon mein hai bada…
Watch the first song from #Badla, and let its beautiful lyrics touch your soul#KyunRabba https://t.co/z0RyWHo9IA @SrBachchan @sujoy_g @AmaalMallik @ArmaanMalik22 @kumaarofficial @redchilliesent @iamazure @zeemusiccompany

— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) February 20, 2019

Centering primarily around the character played by Taapsee Pannu, this song is all about accepting that life doesn’t always go the way you want. With different storylines being played out, this song also hints at the fact that Taapsee’s character may be having an extramarital affair. With not a lot of information revealed about this part in the trailer or any of the posters, the twist in the song adds a certain sense of intrigue to the story.

Speaking about the song, composer Amaal Mallik said in a statement, “I like to keep things simple, especially for a song that is set in a thriller like Badla, where the emotions need to be conveyed with complexity. So, I compose a melody first and then place the arrangements for the song. Here, we’ve opted for an alternate rock feel with an Indian soundscape.”

With the song being all things simple and easy, Kyun Rabba doesn’t act like a filler, but instead, pushes the movie forward. Directed by Sujoy Ghosh, Badla brings back Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu after Pink, their first film together. While Taapsee Pannu plays the role of a woman trying to defend herself, Amitabh Bachchan plays the role of her lawyer. Badla is scheduled to hit the screens on the 8th of March this year!

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Photograph, Ritesh Batra’s latest directorial, has been hitting the headlines for all the right reasons! With an impressive cast, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra, Batra tells a beautiful story. Shot through the streets of Mumbai, the recently dropped trailer of Photograph gives one a glimpse of love in a different way altogether.

The two and a half minute long trailer shows how both Rafi (Nawazuddin) and Miloni (Sanya Malhotra) start falling in love with each other in strange circumstances. Desperately trying to avoid marriage, the trailer shows how both Miloni and Rafi live their lives on their own terms. With the first seeds of romance being sown when Rafi takes a mesmerising picture of Miloni in front of the Gateway of India, the rest of the trailer shows an interesting display of emotions. Watch the trailer here!

प्यारी दादी आपकी बहु को लेकर आ रहा हूँ 15 मार्च को…
नज़दीकी सिनमाघरों में।
तब तक उसकी ये झलक देख लीजिये।।
Trailer Out Now #Photograph @riteshbatra @sanyamalhotra07 @AmazonStudios @PhotographAmzn https://t.co/w1GV5i7V8a

— Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) February 18, 2019

Just when Rafi and Miloni start developing a bond, Rafi learns of his grandmother, played by Farrukh Jaffar, not taking her tablets. Why? Rafi is rejecting every girl he sees and the very idea of marriage in itself. Introducing Miloni as his love interest, Rafi opens the doors to a new story entirely. Through the trailer, one sees the bond growing stronger in a way which makes you wonder if the bond is fabricated, or if there is a chance of a true romance developing!

Just like The Lunchbox, Ritesh Batra has once again done wonders and brought two extremely unlikely people together in a beautiful manner. Watching an unusual friendship develop into a stronger relationship is going to be quite a treat to watch. With Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra bringing their A games to the table, Photograph promises to be an engaging movie! Also starring Sachin Khedekar, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Robin Das, Jim Sarbh and Denzil Smith, Photograph is scheduled to hit the screens on the 15th of March this year!

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