MOVIE REVIEW

SATYANWESHI

Director: Rituparno Ghosh
Writers: Saradindu Bandopaddhyay, Rituparno Ghosh
Casts: Sujoy Ghosh, Anindya Chatterjee, Arpita Pal
Length: 120 minutes
Strength: Cinematography
Weakness: Acting, Screenplay
Showbiz Rating: 2.5/5

Plot: Bound by his father's conditions of succession, the prince of Balabantpur is compelled to marry Alaka, an aspiring actress. A year and half into the marriage, Harinath, the young palace librarian disappears without any trace. This mystery occasions the arrival of the sleuth Byomkesh and his author friend Ajit to Balwantpur. In course of their stay, they unfold many secrets involving the residents of the palace and about the topography of Balwantpur.
Review: The movie kicks off with a great promise to engage viewers with another mystery thriller of Byomkesh Bakshi. The first scene is a masterful way of hooking viewers deep into the storyline. As the film progresses, it fails to live up to what it promised in the first few sequences. The film suffers from poor screenplay to commit to any action. Byomkesh is not James Bond-esque action sleuth, yet a little action would've made it more enticing to watch. Almost the entire movie is shot in one location. Sujoy Ghosh will fail to convince many as Byomkesh. After all, it was his first appearance as an actor. Even his sidekick, Ajit is too shy to make any impact. Cinematography compensates for much of other 
weaknesses of the film. Shot in picturesque landscapes, throughout the movie, the screen felt mysterious and often scary. Aveek Mukhopadhyay has worked in most of Rituporno's films and he shines on this one. Music by Debajoyti Mishra works perfectly to a detective story. At times, the pace of the movie feels too slow and drab. Comparing to other Byomkesh films and considering it to be Rituparno Ghosh's last work, it probably carries a huge expectation that it fails to deliver. It is not a great detective movie and yet not a bad one; it is somewhere in the middle.

Reviewed by: Zia Nazmul Islam

***

Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns 

Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia
Writer: Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kamal Pandey
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Jimmy Sheirgill, Soha Ali Khan, Mahie Gill, Raj Babbar
Length: 142 minutes
Strength: Narration, script and dialogue
Weakness: Music
Showbiz Rating: 3/5
Plot: The movie is a sequel to 2011's critical and box office hit “Shaheb Biwi Aur Gansgter”.  It carries off from where the last movie left us, in UP, India. Saheb (Jimmy Shergil) now crippled and wheelchair bound is more vengeful and hungry to regain his rightful throne. The Biwi (Mahie Gill) is now an alcoholic politician ambling her way with fixed pocket money. Saheb wants to regain his honour and his forgotten glory days.
Review: Tigmanshu Dhulia is a proven director in the realms of Bollywood cinema and he delivers yet another drama packed sequence to carry on from the first installment.  The movie has all the same elements that ensured the success of the predecessor; it had a very riveting story line and a slow narration to build it up for the final act. The climax of the movie was a letdown. Tigmanshu could not deliver the big impact he had in the first movie.
Jimmy Shergil as Aditya Pratap Singh reminded us again of his vast diversity as an actor and how Bollywood has not done justice to his acting skills. Saheb became even more vile and vengeful as a cripple than he previously was. A true master of the chess piece.
The new character of this movie Indarjeet Singh (Irrfan Khan) is the new Gangster; he comes from royal lineage and has ulterior motives to destroy the Saheb. Irrfan had a real aura and a subtle mean streak about him; which was needed to match Saheb's vileness, as they were pecked against each other. Irrfan delivers another well composed performance.
The other new character Ranjana (Soha Ali Khan) is the helpless puppet in this play of power and money. She is seen betrayed and loved by the very men she least expected. Soha outperformed the other leading lady in the movie (Mahie Gill); she was poised and delivered a powerful performance.

Reviewed by: Adnan Ahmed

***

Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Writers: Bob Fisher, Steve Faber
Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter
Length: 110 minutes
Strength: Good acting
Weakness: Incredibly clichéd and predictable storyline
Showbiz Rating: 2/5 

Plot: David Burke (Jason Sudeikis) is a low-profiled pot dealer, a single man living on his own. He gets into a fight with a trio of gutter punks who steal his stash and his cash, leaving him in major debt to his supplier. He then decides to head down to Mexico to smuggle some drugs across the border. To do so, he hires a fake family comprising next door neighbour/stripper Rose (Jennifer Aniston), homeless kid Casey (Emma Roberts) and neighbouring teenager, naive Kenny (Will Poulter) to get through customs.
Review: "We're the Millers" has its good moments with Jason Sudeiki and Jennifer Aniston as the lead. With infectious humour and a couple of racist jokes, the film is able to amuse the audience. However, ten minutes into the movie and one should be able to predict what's coming next; the film goes through a similar plot line as several others before. Aniston is excellent; Sudekis is oddly loveable despite his horrible character, and soon enough eclectic family bonds are made through shared hatred, communal sarcasm and some dangerous yet completely crazy action sequences. Despite this, the film certainly has the laugh out loud moments that make it a good watch.

Reviewed by: Khan Nahida Moushumi