Pirates of Silicon Valley

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Pirates of Silicon Valley is an original 1999 TNT American drama film, directed by Martyn Burke and starring Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates. Spanning the years 1971–1997 and based on Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine's book Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer, it explores the impact of the rivalry between Jobs (Apple Computer) and Gates (Microsoft) on the development of the personal computer.

Steve Jobs (Noah Wyle) is speaking with director Ridley Scott (J. G. Hertzler), about the creation of the 1984 commercial for Apple Computer, which introduced the first Macintosh. Jobs is trying to convey his idea that "We're creating a completely new consciousness." Scott is more concerned with the technical aspects of the commercial.

Next in 1997 with Jobs, returning to Apple, and announcing a new deal with Microsoft at the 1997 Macworld Expo. His partner, Steve Wozniak or "Woz" (Joey Slotnick), is introduced as one of the two central narrators of the story. Wozniak notes to the audience the resemblance between "Big Brother" and the image of Bill Gates (Anthony Hall) on the screen behind Jobs during this announcement. Asking how they "got from there to here," the film turns to flashbacks of his youth with Jobs, prior to the forming of Apple.

The earliest flashback is in 1971 and takes place on the U.C. Berkeley campus during the period of the student anti-war movements. Teenagers Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are shown caught on the campus during a riot between students and police. They flee and after finding safety, Jobs states to Wozniak, "Those guys think they're revolutionaries. They're not revolutionaries, we are." Wozniak then comments that "Steve was never like you or me. He always saw things differently. Even when I was in Berkeley, I would see something and just see kilobytes or circuit boards while he'd see karma or the meaning of the universe."

Using a similar structure, the film next turns to a young Bill Gates at Harvard University, in the early 1970s, with classmate Steve Ballmer (John DiMaggio), and Gates’ high school friend Paul Allen (Josh Hopkins). As with Wozniak in the earlier segment, Ballmer narrates Gates' story, particularly the moment when Gates discovers the existence of Ed Roberts' (Gailard Sartain) MITS Altair (causing him to drop out of Harvard). Gates' and Allen's early work with MITS is juxtaposed against the involvement of Jobs and Wozniak with the Homebrew Computer Club. Jobs and Woz develop Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs' family home, with the help of Daniel (Marcus Giamatti) and Elizabeth (Melissa McBride). Eventually Mike Markkula (Jeffrey Nordling) invests in the company which allows it to expand and move forward. In 1977, Jobs, Woz, and Markkula demo the Apple II at the West Coast Computer Faire. This event is followed by the development of the IBM-PC with the help of Gates and Microsoft in 1981.

The film also follows Jobs' relationship with his high school girlfriend and early Apple employee, "Arlene" (a pseudonym for Chrisann Brennan, portrayed by Gema Zamprogna), and the difficulties he had acknowledging the birth and existence of their daughter, Lisa. Around the time his daughter was born, Jobs unveiled his next computer, which he named, The Lisa. The Lisa was then followed in 1984 by the Macintosh, a computer inspired by the Xerox Alto. The main body of the film finally concludes with a 30th birthday toast in 1985 to Steve Jobs shortly before he was fired by CEO John Sculley (Allan Royal) from Apple Computer.

The film ends in 1997, with 42 year old Jobs' return to Apple (after its acquisition of NeXT Computer) and with his announcement at the MacWorld Expo of an alliance between Apple and Microsoft. It also indicates that Jobs is now married, has children, and has reconciled with Lisa.

Cast

Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs

Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates

Joey Slotnick as Steve Wozniak

John DiMaggio as Steve Ballmer

Josh Hopkins as Paul Allen

Gailard Sartain as Ed Roberts

Jeffrey Nordling as Mike Markkula

Allan Royal as John Sculley

J. G. Hertzler as Ridley Scott

Gema Zamprogna as "Arlene" (a pseudonym for Chrisann Brennan)

Brooke Radding as Lisa Brennan-Jobs

Marcus Giamatti as Daniel Kottke

Melissa McBride as Elizabeth Holmes

Critical response

Pirates of Silicon Valley received an 89% rating from Rotten Tomatoes (8 positive and 1 negative reviews). Ray Richmond of Variety states that it is "a brilliant piece of filmmaking" and "a wildly entertaining geek tragedy with the stylistic feel of true art." John Leonard of New York Magazine, refers to Pirates of Silicon Valley as "a hoot." Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette argues that the film is "a fascinating drama filled with Shakespearean twists and betrayals as viewers come to know the geniuses who transformed not only the way we communicate, but the way we live." Brian J. Dillard of AllMovie argues that "thanks to inspired casting and strong writing, this well-oiled TV biopic managed to transform the unglamorous genesis of the personal-computer industry into solid entertainment precisely at the moment when dot-com mania was sweeping the nation." Mike Lipton of People, found the film to be "engagingly irreverent" and "a real-life Revenge of the Nerds  stands cheekily on its own

Ghayal Once Again

Ghayal Once Again is a 2016 Indian action film directed by Sunny Deol and produced by Dharmendra. The sequel to the 1990 film Ghayal stars Sunny Deol in the lead role. The film was released worldwide on February 5, 2016

The film opens with flashbacks of Ghayal. Angry young Ajay Mehra shoots and kills Balwant Rai (who had murdered Ajay's brother) and surrenders himself to upright cop Joe DSouza. Ajay is sentenced to prison. Upon his release he begins a new career as a reporter for an independent newspaper. He doubles as a vigilante who assists the police with their hard-to-prosecute cases (including cases where the accused are prominent and influential members of society).

One such case involves small town reporter Renu who was drugged and raped by her boss, the media baron Rajguru. Renu killed herself and Rajguru's men quashed the matter and implicated her innocent boyfriend. Ajay swings into action and abducts Rajguru and forcibly obtains a DNA swab. Rajguru is arrested. Ajay is a hero, a sensation. (It is revealed that Ajay still suffers panic and anxiety attacks from his painful memories of his past. His girlfriend Riya, a psychiatrist, helps him with his problems.) Joe DSouza has retired and is a social activist. Ajay often collaborates with him and helps him out.

Joe DSouza is killed in a traffic accident near Nanded. Young blogger Zoya Saigal is shocked to discover that Joe was, in fact, shot dead. She had accidentally captured the murder on video. Joe was shot by Kabir Raj Bansal, son of the tycoon Raj Bansal. Zoya and her young friends panic and want to take the video to the cops but Anushka's (Zoya's friend) grandfather infers that Raj Bansal had staged the road accident (where 8 other innocent people were killed) and stops them. Bansal is too powerful. It is further revealed that D'Souza had visited Raj Bansal and directly accused him of a land grab. Bansal tried to buy him off, there was an argument, and Kabir Raj Bansal, in a fit of rage, shot D'Souza. The accident was a cover up. Bansal privately realizes that Kabir is still a bratty kid and decides to enrol him into a military school.

On her grandfather's advice Anushka turns the video over to the lawyer Kriplani who quietly returns it to Bansal in order to ensure the children remain safe. But Kriplani's son, Rohan, a friend of Zoya, realizes that his father has given up the video and thus urges Zoya to reach Ajay Mehra. As the children hurry to reach Ajay they are intercepted by Bansal's goons. There is a chase. Ajay saves the children and recovers the video. Riya takes the children to the hospital where they are abducted by Bansal',s men.

It is revealed that Anushka is Ajay's own daughter. Kabir tortures the children until Bansal, tired of his son's tantrums, warns him away. Bansal holds Ajay's daughter and releases the other children. He tells Ajay that his daughter will henceforth stay with Bansal in order to ensure the safety of Kabir. Bansal's mother objects but Bansal, locked in moral conflict, waves her away. Bansal orders the Home Minister to arrest Ajay Mehra.

Ajay overcomes the cops and mounts an attack on the Bansal mansion to rescue his daughter. There is a fierce fight. Ajay rescues his own daughter as well as Bansal's daughter who gets trapped in the debris. Bansal capitulates and is arrested along with his son. The film ends as Ajay and his daughter recover in the hospital surrounded by their friends.

Cast

Sunny Deol as Ajay Mehra

Om Puri as ACP Joe D'Souza

Shivam Patil as Rohan

Rishabh Arora as Varun

Diana Khan as Zoya

Aanchal Munjal as Anushka

Soha Ali Khan as Riya

Narendra Jha as Raj Bansal

Manoj Joshi as Minister

Tisca Chopra Sangeeta

Ruhanika Dhawan Ananya

Sachin Khedekar as Lawyer Kriplani and Rohan's father

Ramesh Deo Anushka's grandfather and Varsha's father

Srijitaa Ghosh as Renu

Nadira Babbar as Raj Bansal's mother

Abhilash Kumar as Kabir Bansal

Zakir Hussain

Meenakshi Seshadri as Varsha (Special Appearance-Flash Back)

Movie Review

Till the film keeps moving briskly—the chase scenes are effective, if stretched—you stay with it. And then the ludicrous plot with all those hanging threads kicks in, and prevents us from getting what we’ve come to this film for : to see Sunny D. do his thing the way only he can. Sunny the actor is still a lethal weapon and can blow his opponent all the way across the room. Sunny the director should just get out his way. - 

Ghayal Once Again is a film that actually has potential but wanes out. Modelled on the Jason Bourne series, there is the thrill quotient in the action – two long chase sequences are worth watching. A lot of screaming and torture happens too, but we’re hooked somehow. And that’s the only good part.

Everytime Sunny Deol becomes silent for more than two seconds, we know what to expect. And he obliges by screaming on top of his lungs. Meanwhile, foreigners keep getting busted and beaten.

Fortunately, Ghayal Once Again wraps in about two hours and does away with all that was wrong in the first one -- songs, comedy -- to focus on elaborate chase sequences involving the kids in a mall conspicuous by unconcerned shoppers and invisible security or a reliably invincible Deol and a Frank Martin clone over a LaCie hard drive. Nice bit of detailing there. Only the rugged, shockproof model could survive the ensuing destruction and daredevilry.

Neerja 2016

Neerja is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language biographical thriller film written by Saiwyn Quadras, and directed by Ram Madhvani starring Sonam Kapoor, Shabana Azmi and Shekhar Ravjiani. The film was produced by Atul Kasbekar under the banner of Fox Star Studios. The film revolves around the Libya backed Abu Nidal Organization's hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan on 5 September 1986. The film is shown from the point of view of the flight's head purser Neerja Bhanot who thwarted the hijack attempt by preventing the plane from taking off, and saved the lives of 359 passengers and crew on board.

The film released worldwide on February 19, 2016 to critical acclaim.

The film opens with Neerja Bhanot (Sonam Kapoor), 22 years old, arriving (late) for a house party. She's loved by everyone, the life of every party. Later that evening her mother (Shabana Azmi) expresses concern once again about Neerja's job as a flight attendant and suggests Neerja return to her old job of modeling. Neerja likes her job and is driven to the airport by her boyfriend Jaideep (Shekhar Ravjiani). (Her mother is not totally thrilled about this either.) Neerja's colleagues love Jaideep, he adores her and gives her an advance birthday present.

Neerja reflects on her brief and unhappy arranged marriage. Her former husband was a professional in Doha, Qatar. He constantly harangued and abused Neerja over dowry. (It is revealed that Neerja's family had made it clear there would be no dowry, but the husband had expected something anyway.) He also abused Neerja as she could not cook or clean. She eventually returned home to honor a modeling contract. He sent back a humiliating letter attacking her parents about dowry, her lack of domestic skills and suggesting that she had better bring something (money) back or not come back at all. She broke off with him and landed a highly competitive job with Pan Am.

As Neerja boards Pan Am 73 (Sep 5, 1986) it is revealed that a terrorist group has planned to hijack the plane in Karachi. The plane takes off from Mumbai and lands in Karachi where the terrorists board the plane disguised as security officers escorting a Libyan diplomat. They reveal themselves and hijack the plane. Neerja quickly alerts the cockpit and the American pilots escape through the overhead hatch and run into the terminal. (The plane cannot be flown.)

When an Indian American inadvertently reveals himself (to be an American) the terrorists grab him and shoot him dead before the Pakistani negotiators. The terrorists try to locate the radio engineer among the passengers but Neerja bravely signals him to remain quiet. Later the terrorists ask the flight attendants to collect the passports so as to locate the Americans and hold them hostage. Neerja and her colleagues collect the passports but skilfully avoid any American passports by kicking them under the seats or down the trash chutes. Soon the terrorists locate a British citizen and use him for negotiations.

The Pakistan negotiators inadvertently reveal the name of the radio engineer (a Pakistani); he is now located and roughly brought into the cockpit to start the radio and begin the negotiations. The Pakistanis stall for time. The terrorist leader chastises the other, younger, terrorist who has begun roughing up the passengers and molesting the attendants (including Neerja). Angered by his public embarrassment the younger terrorist storms into the cockpit and shoots the radio engineer and, in full defiance of his leader, screams wild threats over the radio. The terrorists are confused; the leader only wants to complete the mission but the younger man is now only serving his own rage. Pakistani air control is still negotiating but they are slowly losing control and time and the terrorists are getting agitated by the minute.

Some 17 hours later the plane loses auxiliary power and the lights go out. Despite Neerja and the other attendants trying to explain this as a normal airplane reaction, the terrorists believe the power was cut by the Pakistan armed forces who will soon storm the plane. They now begin indiscriminately shooting passengers. At great peril to her own life Neerja opens the rear door and deploys the chute and begins directing passengers down the chute. Neerja could have escaped by herself but she chose to put the passengers first. In the end she is shot and killed by the terrorists as she tries to shield young children from the gunfire. The film ends with a tributary message to Neerja who was eventually recognized with bravery awards by India, Pakistan, USA, and other countries.

Cast

Sonam Kapoor as Neerja Bhanot

Shabana Azmi as Rama Bhanot

Shekhar Ravjiani as Jaideep

Yogendra Tiku as Harish Bhanot

Sadh Orhan as Saad Mallik

Abrar Zahoor as Zayd Safarini

Jim Sarbh as Khalil

Ali Baldiwala as Mansoor

Vikrant Singta as Fahad

Kavi Shastri as Naresh

Bobby Arora as Sardar Family Friend

Rehan Shaikh as passenger

Edward Sonnenblick as Capt. Jack Snipes

Arnold Malek as Capt. Harrison James

Waqar Khan as Co-Pilot Richard Bertrand

Critical response

Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4/5 stars and said, "as a movie watching experience, 'Neerja' is flawless. There's not a single false note." Writing for the Hindustan Times, Anupama Chopra also awarded the film 4/5 stars saying, "Neerja is a truly inspiring story that will grip you from the first frame till the last," and calling it Sonam Kapoor's best performance. Rajeev Masand gave the film a 3.5/5 rating and said that 'Neerja' is "a well-intentioned, heartfelt film that pays tribute to a real hero." Sarita Tanwar from Daily News and Analysis gave the film 4/5 stars and said, "Neerja is quite easily the finest film in recent times (on par with 'Talvar') based on a true story. She also said that cinematographer Mitesh Mirchandani ensures that 'Neerja' is "one of the best shot films in recent times." Raja Sen from Rediff.com gave the film 4/5 stars as well and called it "an absolute must-watch," and adding that "Sonam Kapoor is exceptional as Neerja Bhanot."Subhash K. Jha from SKJ Bollywood News gave the film 4.5/5 stars and called it "A Brilliant Tribute To The Braveheart And To Rajesh Khanna

Neerja is a milestone in Sonam Kapoor’s career. Not just because it’s a good film, but because she carries it entirely on her shoulder. She looks earnest, scared, benevolent and bold, all at the same time. You should see her in the scene where a terrorist frisks her: She aces it with a panache seldom seen in mainstream Hindi films. Shabana Azmi is very impressive as Neerja’s mother, her grip over emotional scenes are quite visible. The other person who deserves applause is Yogendra Tiku who plays Neerja’s father. The emotions reflect so swiftly on his face that you can see your dear ones there.

Jai Gangaajal 2016

Jai Gangaajal (English:Hail The Ganges) is a 2016 Indian Hindi action drama film, directed by Prakash Jha. It is a sequel of the 2003 crime film Gangaajal, and stars Priyanka Chopra in the lead role with Jha appearing in a supporting role. The film also features Manav Kaul, Rahul Bhat and Queen Harish. The film was released worldwide on March 4, 2016. The Government of Madhya Pradesh declared Jai Gangaajal as tax-free status on 9 March 2016.

Bablu Pandey the MLA of Bankipur district and his brother Dablu Pandey(ninad kamat) run a jungle raaj in their town of Lakhisarai. They are grabbing land for a power plant whose financiers are backing their party politically. The home minister of the party appoints SP Abha Mathur(Priyanka Chopra) as the SP expecting her to be soft on criminals and supportive of her mentor who is the home minister. But she goes all out against the criminal brothers. Her subordinates get encouraged by her brave acts against corruption and slowly are bringing the jungle raaj to an end. Bhola Nath Singh aka B.N. Singh(Prakash Jha) is a corrupt circle inspector who has helped the brothers for a long time and using legal loopholes and other corrupt ways to keep them out of harms way in return for financial and political support.

As the brothers feel cornered, Dablu out of desperation makes the mistake of kidnapping an orphaned teenage girl and her younger brother who refuses to give away the land. During the kidnapping Dablu rapes and kills the girl and hangs her from a tree showing this as a suicide as her father had committed suicide too under pressure of selling the land. B.N. Singh comes to his senses after seeing this brutal crime and tries to arrest Dablu Pandey which starts a riot in the town inducing the younger brother of the murdered girl to use his belt throttle Dablus neck and killing him, seeing which the common people gather around some more goons and corrupt Sarpanch and kill them and hang them on the tree claiming it to be suicide and this also starts a chain reaction where corrupt people are killed in similar manner elsewhere. Abha is frustrated unable to control these illegal killings and tries to control it. B.N. Singh gets injured when ganged upon and attacked. But in a final show down Bablu Pandey also dies and closes the circle of political corruption.

Cast

Priyanka Chopra as SP Abha Mathur IPS

Prakash Jha as Bhola Nath Singh aka B.N. Singh

Manav Kaul as MLA Babloo Pandey

Murli Sharma as Munna Mardani

Pranay Narayan as Ratnakar

Rahul Bhat as Pawan Raghav

Kiran Karmarkar as Ramakant Chowdhary

Ninad Kamat as W. Pandey

Vega Tamotia as Sunita

Ayush Mahesh Khedekar as Nagesh

Jagat Singh as Amreek Tiwari

Tanmaay Ranjan as Sujeet

Mikhail Yawalkar as SP Naveen Chandra

Queen Harish as Dancer in drag

Vipin singh as IG

Ankush Bali as Motipehalwan

Review

Rajeev Masand gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5, mentioning it as a predictable police drama filled with the usual stereotypes but added that Priyanka Chopra and Prakash Jha's performances engaging. Shubhra Gupta from The Indian Express gave only 1.5 stars, writing "Priyanka Chopra's too-sophisticated unmade-up-make-up is very distracting, even in her few convincing moments. And the film goes on for far too long, even when we know how all of it will end." However,she was all praise for Prakash Jha's full-fledged role. Srijana Mitra Das from The Times of India gave the film 3.5 stars. She praised the dialogues,editing and story, writing,"It weaves together crucial contemporary threads – land mafias, corrupt netas, broker-cops, broken farmers-with Jha's enduring concern about vigilante justice." She applauded Priyanka Chopra's performance, writing, "Priyanka Chopra shines as 'Madam Sir' Abha Mathur, whose lightning slaps and lathi charges have you applauding. This is a polished, restrained Priyanka, who barely smiles but conveys the ethics and empathy of the law." She commended Rahul Bhat's cameo and the dynamics between BN and Dablu but was disappointed with Manav Kaul's performance in particular. Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times gave 2.5 stars, writing, "Jai Gangaajal is just another attempt at making a blockbuster, but it lacks the depth of Gangaajal and Apharan. Still, there's enough for the audience to keep whistling and clapping." According to him,Prakash Jha is restrained in dialogue delivery and really effective in emotional scenes. He wrote that the storyline doesn't offer anything that haven't seen before but it has tear-inducing moments with explosive dialogues. Bollywood Hungama gave 3 stars out of 5, mentioning the screenplay engaging, cinematography decent, editing praiseworthy, dialogues excellent. As for the performances, Priyanka Chopra delivers a superlative performance, be it her perfect and impeccable timing or her intimidating screen persona and presence but Prakash Jha pushes himself a bit too hard to get the nuances and the finer points of his character. Writing for NDTV, Saibal Chatterjee gave 2.5 stars, saying, "Despite the topical themes it tackles and all the supercharged action that unfolds on the screen, Jai Gangaajal never really kicks into top gear

When it comes to directing of films belonging to the 'political thriller' genre, Prakash Jha has been very good at it. JAI GANGAAJAL only acts as yet another testimony to the same. While the story establishes itself in the engaging first half, the second half revolves around the confrontation between Priyanka Chopra and corrupt villains. In the second half, the camera is not on Priyanka Chopra, but on Prakash Jha, which totally takes focus away from the central character. Despite all the odds, Prakash Jha manages somehow to keep the viewers on the hooks with his engaging narrative.

The storyline of Jai Gangaajal doesn’t offer anything that you haven’t seen before. This holds true even if you have watched only Prakash Jha’s films. But, it has tear-inducing moments and Priyanka Chopra ensures they keep coming at regular intervals. Once again, the dark underbelly of the Hindi heart land has been explored with explosive dialogues and superficial sensibilities.

Jai Gangaajal is just another attempt at making a blockbuster, but it lacks the depth of Gangaajal and Apharan. Still, there’s enough for the audience to keep whistling and clapping. Priyanka Chopra is the new ‘Dabangg’.

Fitoor

Fitoor is an Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Abhishek Kapoor, produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, and written by Kapoor and Supratik Sen based on Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations. The film features Tabu,Aditya Roy Kapur,Mohammed Abrar and Katrina Kaif in leading roles.Filming began in Kashmir in November 2014. The film was released on 12 February 2016. The film grossed Rs 3.61 crore on its opening day, according to film analyst Taran Adarsh.

Noor (Mohammed Abrar) a thirteen year old Kashmiri boy who belongs to poor upbringings meets and is deeply infatuated with Firdaus who belongs to a rich elite family in Kashmir. Her mother who is referred to Begum (Tabu) was left heart broken in her younger age (Aditi Rao Hydari) and is against the love especially with the social divide. She splits the teenagers and insults Noor about his social status. Few years later Noor (Aditya Roy Kapur) who had moved to Delhi and becomes a renowned artist comes back to town with his newly acclaimed fame and money. Firdaus (Katrina Kaif) is engaged but still has romantic flings with Noor. After initial friction with Noor Begum slowly starts realizing her mistake, but is still adamant to get Firdaus married to her fiance, Bilal (Rahul Bhat). Noor's love for Firdaus bears all the hardships of time and emotions and succeeds at the end.

Cast

Aditya Roy Kapur as Noor (Pip)

Mohammed Abrar as young Noor (Pip)

Katrina Kaif as Firdaus (Estella)

Tunisha Sharma as young Firdaus

Tabu as elder Begum Hazrat (Miss Havisham)

Aditi Rao Hydari as young Begum Hazrat

Rahul Bhat as Bilal

Akshay Oberoi as Mufti

Talat Aziz as Salman

Sameer Roy as young Salman

Delbar Arya as Shaukat

Lara Dutta as Leena Becker

Kunaal Khyaan as Aarif

Jason Shah as Aarif's friend

Rayees Mohi-ud-din as Junaid

Khalida Jaan as Rukhsar

Ajaz Rah as Kaleem

Dilnaz Irani as Samira Peerbhoy

Namit as Jagirdar

Kavita Seth as Hazrat's mother

Suchitra Pillai as reporter

Rochelle Rao as auctioneer

Nandini Srikar as singer in "Hone Do Batiyan"

Zeb Bangash as singer in "Hone Do Batiyan"

Govind Namdev

Andy Von Eich

Ajay Devgan (special appearance)

REVIEW: So, Fitoor, based on Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, meets some expectations - but not all. In a Kashmir of moonlit snows, mist-filled houses and golden leaves, Noor (Aditya) falls in love with Firdaus (Katrina), daughter of eccentric Begum Hazrat (Tabu), who lives, covered in diamonds, in a castle of chandeliers and chintz.

Firdaus leaves to study. Noor wins an art scholarship in Delhi - where he meets Firdaus again and time stands still. Firdaus finally warms to Noor. But what happens when Firdaus decides to marry Pakistani politician Bilal instead? Why does Begum push Firdaus, despite knowing Noor's love? And who is Noor's secret patron, making his art a hit?

Fitoor's acting pleases in parts. Tabu shines through moments of malevolent manipulation, snarling 'Kaisa kamzarf waqt aa gaya hai', as she glares balefully at Noor, then smiles sweetly at him. Aditya occasionally conveys a bewildered lover lost in a whimsical world while Katrina looks gorgeous but mostly stays placid. Ajay Devgn has a cameo as a growling jihadi, all bark but no bite, while Rahul Bhat, the most consistent here, impresses as heavy-lidded Bilal.

The film also looks gorgeous - but opulence takes over substance, chinars, minars and lace dominating grip, passion and pace. For a love story, Fitoor lacks heat - you wish there was less hair-styling and more hair-pulling, more rupture and less cheesecake-like smoothness.

This is problematic because Dickens' Great Expectations rises and falls, exploring terrible, tantalising class, social climbing, sharp snobberies, love, hate and shame. Fitoor doesn't dive beyond the surface though, its story's shikara paddling along pretty Kashmir, but never tearing its way to its violent, wailing heart like Haider, its art stuck in a banal Mediterranean restaurant-like world, never conveying the lonely powers of love.

You get style - including six-pack Noor painting shirtless (explains why artists score more - can you imagine writers taking their tops off to work?) - but little depth. To play with a great quote, oh what a tangled web we weave, when we learn to retrieve - in this case, retrieving a classic indeed caused a tangle, albeit one of Pashmina dhaagas.

Vidhaata 1982

Vidhaata is a 1982 Bollywood movie directed by Subhash Ghai and produced by Gulshan Rai's company Trimurti Films. It stars Dilip Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and Padmini Kolhapure in lead roles, and, Shammi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Amrish Puri, Madan Puri, Suresh Oberoi and Sarika in supporting roles. The film was remade in Kannada as Pithamaha starring Ravichandran, Rajesh, Udayakumar, Vijayalakshmi Singh and was also remade in Tamil as Vamsa Vilakku with Sivaji Ganesan and Prabhu

Synopsis

Shamsher Singh (Dilip Kumar), his son Pratap Singh (Suresh Oberoi), and daughter-in-law lead a happy life in an Indian village. Shamsher works as an engine driver with his friend Gurbaksh Singh (Shammi Kapoor). Pratap is appointed as the new inspector-in-charge of the village but is killed brutally by Jagawar Chaudhary (Amrish Puri), a notorious local smuggler, after Pratap refuses to help Jagawar in his illegal activities. Seeing his son dead, Shamsher Singh is enraged and he kills some of Jagawar's goons whom he had seen throwing his son's dead body in the forest. When he is about to inquire from one of Jagawar's men about the person behind his son's murder, he is stopped by the police and is asked to surrender; Shamsher somehow manages to escape. His daughter-in-law dies while giving birth to Kunal Singh (Sanjay Dutt).

Shamsher takes his grandson Kunal and leaves his village to hide from the police. In the hope of making quick money, to secure his grandson's future, Shamsher starts working for Sir Mizya (Shreeram Lagoo), a powerful underworld don, and takes on a new identity as Sir Shobraj. Over the course of time, he becomes a wealthy and powerful smuggler and the chairman of the Mizya Group.

Meanwhile, Kunal grows up under the strict supervision of Shamsher's loyal employee Abu Baba (Sanjeev Kumar). He falls in love with Durga (Padmini Kolhapure), a beautiful slum girl and the daughter of one of Shamsher's old employee Ganpat. However, things take an ugly turn when Shamsher Singh disagrees to let Kunal marry Durga because of her being from a poor background; he instead warns Durga's mother (Sudha Shivpuri) to leave the city with her daughter or else face serious consequences.

Although Durga is unwilling to leave at first, she later agrees to sacrifice her love and leaves with her mother in a ship to Goa where Shamsher's men try to rape her. Abu Baba comes to their rescue and saves them but is killed by Shamsher's men with the help of Jagawar, who has become a powerful smuggler of Goa. Kunal is devastated after seeing Abu Baba's dead body and promises to take revenge. His investigations into Abu Baba's death eventually lead to the true identity of his grandfather and about his father's killers.

Directed by Subhash Ghai

Produced by Gulshan Rai

Starring

Dilip Kumar .... Shamsher Singh / Shobraj

Shammi Kapoor .... Gurbaksh Singh (Shamsher's Friend)

Sanjeev Kumar .... Abu Baba

Sanjay Dutt .... Kunal Singh (Shamsher's Grandson)

Padmini Kolhapure .... Durga

Amrish Puri .... Jagawar Chaudhary

Madan Puri .... K.K Singh (Khushaal Singh) (Shamsher's Associate)

Tom Alter .... Sir David

Sarika .... Neelima

Suresh Oberoi .... Inspector Pratap Singh (Shamsher's Son)

Shreeram Lagoo .... Sir Mizya (Chairman of Mizya Group)

Jagdeep .... Peter John D'costa

Sudha Shivpuri .... Durga's Mother

Music by Kalyanji-Anandji

Distributed by Trimurti Films

Release dates 3  December 1982

Country         India

Language Hindi

Awards and nominations

1983 Filmfare Awards - Won

Best Supporting Actor - Shammi Kapoor

1983 Filmfare Awards - Nominated

Best Supporting Actor - Sanjeev Kumar

Reviews

Shamsher and Gurubaksh are Engine Drivers and are best friends in spite of holding opposite beliefs. One day, whilst facing the worst agonies of life Shamsher writes his own Destiny, thereby creating an empire of wealth for his only grandson Kunal. This he does by striking boldly out into the world of shadows and ill gotten treasures. Shamsher sends Kunal away to grow up in hardship and poverty under the guidance of Abu Baba who brings up the boy with the good values of life. Now Kunal, a ruggedly handsome young man is brought back to the estate of grandfather. Yet Kunal is not happy at this; he chooses instead to live amongst the poor, and here he falls in love with a poor girl, Durga. This becomes a point of conflict between Shamsher and Abu Baba, and eventually Abu Baba leaves the house. Kunal is hurt by the turn of events. With Abu Baba's death, Kunal for the first time glimpses the realities. Kunal now begins to investigate this cruel shadow world. Watch his fight in Vidhaata

Vidhaata is a good generation movie which towards the end just grows more and more gripping. The story is strong and free from trash, and it should be interesting not just for Sanjay fans, because in his second film after Rocky (I’m not counting in Reshma Aur Shera) Sanjay in no way plays the lead but just one among many, and his experienced co-stars Dilip Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Amrish Puri and fabulous Shammi Kapoor with their concentrated presence are showing to the newcomer that he still had some limits to hurdle. 

Wazir Movie 2016

Wazir is a 2016 Indian action thriller film directed by Bejoy Nambiar and written by Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and is produced by Chopra. It stars Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar, Aditi Rao Hydari, Neil Nitin Mukesh in lead roles alongside , Manav Kaul and John Abraham in supporting roles.

The film tells the story of two unusual friends—a paralysed chess grandmaster and a grief stricken ATS officer—brought together by a peculiar twist of fate as part of a wider conspiracy that has cast a dark shadow over their lives. The game of Chess is a recurring metaphor and forms the backbone of the story. The first shot was taken on 28 September 2014 in Mumbai. The trailer of the film was released on 18 November 2015, and the film was released worldwide on 8 January 2016.

Bollywood has begun the year on a thrilling note with the first big release Wazir promising a power-packed ride. With writers Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and flaunting actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar and Manav Kaul, expectations are high from the thriller revenge saga. Does it deliver?

The film narrates the story of a cop (Farhan), a disabled man (Amitabh) and the unusual circumstances that lead to a friendship between the two.

Wazir opens on a disengaging note - a slow, romantic song (Tere Bin) plays in the background as the love story of Danish (Farhan) and Ruhana (Aditi) comes to the fore. By the time the song ends, a tragic turn of events leaves the couple grieving and depressed. The movie then traces Pandit Omkarnath Dhar (Amitabh), his entry in Danish’s life and their friendship.

Cast

Amitabh Bachchan as Pandit Omkarnath Dhar

Farhan Akhtar as Danish Ali

Aditi Rao Hydari as Ruhana Ali

Neil Nitin Mukesh as Wazir

John Abraham as S. P.

Manav Kaul as Izaad Qureshi

Anjum Sharma as Sartaj

Mazel Vyas

STORY: Danish is chasing Wazir, an assassin linked to politician Qureshi who's threatening elderly chess master Pandit Dhar - in this game of life and death, who's playing whom as a pawn?

REVIEW: So, Wazir is a smart movie - which could have been way smarter. Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer Daanish Ali (Farhan) loses his daughter while chasing terrorists. His anguished wife Roohana (Aditi) blames Daanish, who's about to kill himself in guilt-laden grief. Suddenly, he meets wheelchair-bound Pandit Omkar Nath Dhar (Amitabh), who teaches Daanish about chess, life, love - and revenge. Panditji's own tragic tale leads Daanish to investigate Welfare Minister Qureishi (Manav) - and then chase him furiously when brutal assassin Wazir (Neil) attacks Pandit Dhar.

There are many good things about ‘Wazir’. First off, this is a film that’s backed by writing. Look, look, a plot. Hallelujah. Such a relief after so many plotless wonders masquerading as movies. Next, it brings back the actor in Amitabh Bachchan. And third, it respects our time, keeping things ticking at just over a neat 1.5 hours. ‘Wazir’ is about the coming together of two wounded men, very different in age and temperament, for a mutual purpose. Danish Ali (Farhan Akhtar) is recovering, with excruciating slowness, from a deeply personal tragedy; his wife Ruhana (Aditi Rao Hydari) is suffering too, in her own solitary corner. He meets up with the wheelchair-bound Pandit Omkarnath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan), and gets sucked into the latter’s world, which is full of light and darkness, the contradictions arising from a painful past loss, and a present trying to come to terms with it.