I never thought I will ever like a Salman Khan action movie. The over the top action sequences, the shirt buttons popping out as the hero flexes his muscles, the one punch 10 men down scenes and a whole lot of South Indian movie inspired action is what Salman Khan's usual action flicks are layered with. But Tiger Zinda Hai is an exception.

Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif nail it in Tiger Zinda Hai

Tiger Zinda Hai is different from all other Salman action movies

Tiger Zinda Hai has no over the top action sequences and no illogical punches, everything is in its place as it should be. Unlike other movies where Salman Khan's heroines get to only dance , be merry and be an object of affection, Tiger Zinda Hai gives the female lead a real character to enact which kicks ass as good as Tiger does.

Katrina Kaif steals the second half 

Katrina Kaif's character Zoya is a full fledged character, she doesn't start dancing mid way or mouth pyaar se dar lagta hai dialogues. Instead she saves her husband Tiger in situations where he reaches a dead end, she is the saviour and not the one waiting to be saved and that's the best part about Tiger Zinda Hai.

The story is very well written and performances are justified 

On the story front, the movie is far superior to any of Salman's previous action flick. There is reasoning and explanation for every twist and every action and things don't start happening because the hero wants to show off his muscle. The screenplay is crisp and keep you engaged with a new hook point being planted at every 15 minutes. The first half is good but the second half steals the show completely. Katrina Kaif's action sequence reminds you of Angelina Jolie's action sequence from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Salt and is beyond excellence. She definitely should do more action flicks. When a story like this which has less characters which have fully developed character graphs is made, it is important that every character has something noteworthy to offer. Every character in the movie has been developed beautifully and that makes them connect to the audiences without any hassle. The script has no songs apart from the romantic number which is too embedded in a non disturbing manner so the pace is maintained throughout the film. The dialogues are noot heavy and use day to day conversational words which makes the movie way more better than other action flicks.

The surprise element of the movie is Paresh Rawal's character and one has to watch the movie to enjoy his performance. It was great to watch him after a long time. His timing is impeccable.

The villain is as good as the hero 

The only thing they could have done away with was mentioning the name of the movie through dialogues, at times it took away the seriousness of the scene. The supporting cast is superlative and overall the film is an amazing entertainer. The look and feel of Syria is so well shot that you forget that you are watching a Hindi movie. Sajjad Delafrooz's performance as the commander in chief of the terrorist organization is so real that it is scary, his eyes portray more emotions than his words do. 

Image source : i.vimeocdn.com

Reality television has become a darling of Indian television lately. Be it Bigg Boss, Super Dancer, Jhalakk Dikh La Ja or many others in the league, they all garner high TRPs irrespective of competetion with cricket matches & news channels.

So what makes reality television click? Why do people switch in to watch strangers compete and win? Well the answer is simple. Reality television taps into the most basic of human emotion i.e curiosity and support, more than the daily soaps do. The daily soaps evoke an emotion of love and support for the female lead whom the viewers hoot for. But why only the female lead?  Because as research suggests , majority of the viewers of Indian television are women so women centric content dominates the medium unlike web where the majority viewership consists of men.

Bigg Boss and other reality shows continue to top TRP charts

More exciting than the daily soaps

While the daily soaps try to keep up the curiosity levels high, they more or less are predictable. Reality TV shows on the other hand are not predictable at all, anyone can be eliminated at any time and that's what makes the whole viewing experience exciting. And it might sound idiotic but people like to get emotional and listen to other people's hardships and that is the reason that majority of the contestants in the reality shows have dark backgrounds. It has been psychologically proved that humans feel better when they listen to dark backgrounds and struggle stories as it makes them feel relieved and happy about their own standing, this happens subconsciously.

Unpredictable personalities chosen to increase the interest levels

The other major reason of reality shows working so well is that the contestants have varied personalities and these characters make the watch worthwhile. Apart from being talented, one major quality required to be selected in any of the reality show is being different than the crowd and being entertaining. This is exactly why you must have seen contestants who are average on the talent front not being eliminated just for the fact that their antics bring in high TRPs and vice versa. In case of dailies the characters become predictable and the show falls flat after 30 - 40 episodes max.

Lastly shows like Bigg Boss work because people want to see celebrities, however big or small they are, stripped down of their stardom. People like to see their favorite television lead washing clothes and making food because that makes them feel that these stars are real and gives them a look into their lives outside the screen.

So what's your favorite reality show ?

Bajirao Mastani and Devdas had faced trouble as well

Deepika Padukone's "Padmavati" seems to be in trouble

"Ghoomar" made way for new problems

History and cast, a deadly mix for the movie "Padmavati"

"Vidya Balan" as a brand stands for meaningful, simple and close to heart emotional yet entertaining performer. "Tumhari Sulu" has all of it, be it humor or be it simple life moments showcased beautifully on screen, the movie really succeeds in connecting the audience to the unpretentious Sulochana's life story.

Tumhari Sulu has Hrishikesh Mukherjee cinema feel to it

Suresh Triveni's direction reminds of the legend Hrishikesh Mukherjee style of cinema i.e simple, homely and lively characters which elevate the entire script. The casting takes the cake in this one as there are limited characters and one wrong move at the casting table could have made this movie an okay watch. Manav Kaul as Ashok Dubey is absolute treat and as natural as an actor can get. Vidya Balan as Sulochana Dubey a housewife who lets no opportunity to do something out of he routine and win is a perfect fit.

Sulu will make you laugh & rejoice

The character Sulu has many layers and that's what makes her believable, because real life people are multi dimensional and have millions of layers of emotions running through them. Sulu as people lovingly call her is happy and content with her life, she is not sobbing about anything. Being a RJ isn't her dream and there's no bullshit of a regressive husband not supporting his wife plot either, that's what makes the script come alive.


The first half will really make you laugh, there are bits of laughter spread throughout the film and none of them feel forced. The funny scenes take you back to your own memories because those very things are either the ones you yourself have done or craved to do, that's a sign of a great film maker and Suresh Triveni succeeds at that.

The music is awesome with Sridevi's "Hawa Hawai" recreated in the most decent manner and "Ban Ja Tu Meri Rani" integrated beautifully in the story line. Cinematic subtle representations like the pigeon flying out of the house and then coming back are noteworthy too as they are beautifully placed in the scenes where required.

While I still feel the climax could have been better explained; being away from the ghisa pita love triangles and action maar dhaad, the movie is a refreshing watch indeed.

8 out of 10 for this one...

While they all are excellent on their own, the gang of super heroes went a little wobbly this time around. Justice League 2017 consisting of Batman, Superman, Flash, Wonderwoman, Aquaman and Cyborg entertains yet disappoints at many levels, so much so that I dozed off for a while just before the interval. Green Lantern is left out from this movie for some strange reason, may be he will be the one thing to look forward too if there's a Justice League 2.

Justice League Review - The Superheroes Unite

Steppenwolf is a unsteady villain

To start with, Steppenwolf is tall, huge and mammoth villain all the super heroes have united to fight. All superhero movie fans know that the one thing that sets super heroes apart from humans is their super power and their control over human emotions. The trend recently has been trying to destroy this very fact, this has lead to belittling of their super powers and their charm as super human beings.

Apart from this, the story line makes the villain powerful and powerless at its whim and fancy. Steppenwolf is wild and evil but the whole alien evasion thing is so done to death that it ended up reminding about movies like Independence Day and the likes.

Superman's comeback doesn't excite

The highlight of the movie was Superman's comeback, but that ended up making Batman look powerless, what is the point of being a superhero if you yourself can't save the world. The whole scene where Batman decides to make Superman come back is so badly written that it makes Batman look  helpless. Wonderwoman on the other hand shines throughout the movie, be it her dialogues or her action, she steals the show every time.

Cyborg looks helpless in his own ways, though his character develops as the movie proceeds. While the CGI is patchy and rushed at some places, overall the CGI is pretty awesomely done. Flash can develop as an amazing character in the future movies and have a struggle of his own if developed in a right way.

Script wise the movie is loosely tied together, Aquaman is almost wasted and could have been introduced in a better way and could have had better depth of character. The invasion sequence is too vaguely written, it doesn't have the punch to scare the audiences that the world is actually coming to an end.

Overall Justice League is not a bad watch, go watch if you are fan of superhero flicks and love good visuals; there's nothing much apart from that.

Well we all have our favorite movies and the ones we hate the most. Being a movie buff I stay away from initial word of mouth and watch the movie myself before judging it, so you will find some obvious ones too here in the list.
Below is a list of 5 (there are many more but I am sticking to the top 5 for now) Bollywood movies I have hated the most.

1. Gajgamini 

3. Fitoor 

4. Players 

5. Sultan

Hello fiction lovers,


Visit the link below and sign up for free to read my first free E book which is a collection of 5 short stories. Don't forget to rate & review.

https://www.juggernaut.in/books/30a5ad56bfe0422a

Okay so the other day I caught up with an Aunty after a long long time and while we were talking about the world and the workload it keeps pushing on to us, there was Ironman beating up the bad guys on TV.

" What is this? I don't understand the kind of movies that are made today" exclaimed the grey haired epitome of innocence 

" Aunty that's Ironman, he has unstoppable power, he had his heart replaced by an reactor" I tried to simplify too much

"Oh, reactor? What is reactor?" Aunty asked trying to show interest in my madness. I on the other hand was surprised that I didn't know what in the hell a reactor exactly was, all I knew about it was it was an awesome looking circle which was illuminated & provided Ironman his life source. As a girl I think knowing & being interested in it is an achievement in itself.

Ironman - The Indian Explanation (Image source: Flickr, chris Doornbos avengers-iron-man)

"It's like his power, just like we have main switches, Ironman has arc reactor; he will die if we remove his arc reactor. It's all science fiction aunty, isme kuch bhi ho sakta hai" I tried my best this time to sound intellectual.

"Oh means ye apne Shaktimaan jaisa hai jo kuch bhi kar leta tha and duniya ko pata nai tha ki Gangadhar ki Shaktimaan hai. Yeh Sci Fi hua na, Dinosaurs bhi hote haina and they have so much of action. Ironman mein bhi Dinosaurs hai kya? Does he fight Dinosaurs? In our times action meant Dharmendra, simpler times you see. Aajkal ki real life mein bhi complications itne badh gaye hai toh filmon mein bhi badhenge hi, simple cheezon ka zamana gaya" Aunty exclaimed with a tinge of sadness.

"Aur ye Ironman ki shaadi hogayi hai?" Aunty asked while forgetting the sadness she had just felt.

The song Ye duniya ye duniya pittal di, Baby Doll mein sone di started playing in my head in a loop.

" No no no Ironman mein Dinosaurs nahi hai, woh alag movies hai aunty sab Dinosaurs usme hote hai. And he isn't married, his sole aim is to safeguard his nation & this planet, usko pyaar ke liye waqt hi nahi hai aunty." I almost fainted thinking about Dinosaur & Ironman in one movie.

" Oh accha accha, waise bhi apne Salman ki bhi kahaan huyi hai, Salman bhi ban sakta hai means Ironman. Also Ironman is like our PM Modi, desh ka bhala karne ke liye unhone bhi toh kitne balidaan diye hai. I think we should call this Ironman here & make him our Military ka ambassador jaise Amitji the Gujarat ke...Aur Dinosaurs aur Ironman saath mein kyu nahi aate ek movie mein, Ironman darta hai dinosaurs se? "

Aunty was now sipping on the tea & Ironman was still fighting the villains in the movie, I was just thankful that it was Ironman the movie & not Avengers, imagine my plight in explaining Hulk.

"No aunty woh apni movies mein jaise Shahrukh Salman aur Amir teeno ek movie mein nahi aate waise hi Dinosaurs aur Ironman ek movie mein nahi aate.... And actually Bollywood movies are still simple, just the plots have moved to multimillionare characters, aam admi ki kahaani koi nahi banata like Hrishikesh Mukherjee used to make. Sci Fi is Hollywood's rozi roti, just like musicals & love stories are ours."

And while I was trying to explain & make sense out of all that I knew, the Captain America trailer started playing on TV; it was the next movie. Aunty looked at me, I looked at her and before I could say anything she said,
"Ye lo, Ironman ka bhai bhi agaya, Captain America; maine toh bola hi tha military ke liye perfect hai ye log"
The tea session ended with me realizing that you can't explain everything you like & that Sci Fi as a genre becomes a comedy once you try to explain it to someone.

Life really comes full circle and how. Was cleaning my house a bit today and I came across an old photograph, a class photo from my school days. There I noticed this girl and I couldn’t control my smile. I have seen this girl many times post successfully retiring from school and believe me, every time I saw her I remembered an incident which made me chuckle a bit. Nothing out of the world, poor soul had slept during one of the lectures and the teacher had lost her cool. But to me it was startling to witness someone sleeping right in the middle of a lecture, that too in school because I for one was horrified to even blink my eyes in a lecture; well that proves how strict the teacher was. With saliva parading out from one side of her mouth, she proceeded to the washroom, washed her face and got back to the lecture; embarrassed & more uninterested. Back then I just didn’t understand how could someone freaking sleep in a lecture when someone’s speaking in a high pitch voice, now I totally get it.

The sleepy days (Image source: www.msichenhausen.de)

While I have had a laugh on this for forever, I also have to confess that I too slept during a lecture; the only difference being NOT in school and that I was never caught. 

I slept during one of my post graduation lectures & I still remember how good it felt ;) . In my defense it was more of a screening than a lecture where we were being shown Casablanca to get an insight into script writing but in spite of trying hard to concentrate on the damn thing I just fell asleep, some movies do that to me. That day I could feel what that poor soul my school must have felt like on being caught sleeping in class, I totally understood her boredom. Time makes you change your perspective, the audience always has a different perspective than the artist & they both understand each other’s perspective only when their places are swapped.

Different things bore us, to each his own just like everything else. The things someone else finds interesting might bore us and vice versa which proves that the things are all the same; we attach our interest or disinterest to them & make them into something else all together. 

Bye, sleepy now ; )