Shuddh Desi Romance : To commit or not to commit..!!

 Struggling in a domain somewhere in between Love, Commitment and Matrimony, writer Jaideep Sahani gives us a refreshingly real middle-class India where marriage needn't be the prime ambition for young Indian girls,where women can move on with their heads high,live independently,raise their voice and carry on with life despite having been ditched at the altar by a confused Romeo.

Jaideep Sahani, known for his penchant for small town India, pens down a love story with stark realism without making it overdose with desi melodrama, instead, he flamboyantly indulges his desi characters in pre marital sex, girls smoking and drinking in public and couple living together posing as siblings!

Sushant Singh Rajput as Raghu Ram perfectly represents a segment of today's youth whose passions and confusions mirrors their phobia for commitment and the actor essays the part with a cute nervousness, at times stupid, charming demeanour. Parineeti Chopra (at times, reminds me so much of the earlier days of Rani Mukherji) is as always, effortless with her no nonsense attitude and Vaani Kapoor is good. The actor's take on their quirky behaviour works because it’s outrageous and funny. Also,as if in a Woody Allen movie, they sit across the camera and explain to the audience why they behaved so. Few scenes which are worth mentioning are : a) the first awkward kiss between Raghu and Gayatri on a moving bus b) the couple living together posing as siblings c) Sexual attraction is often the prime key to a couple's equation these days, and the film doesn't shy away from it d) the conversation between Gayatri and Tara in the bus. Also interestingly, slowly and steadily Yash Raj films getting rid of its designer bursts, swiss Alps, elaborate wedding dramas and hopefully..SRK (soon)!!

The Conjuring : Typical horror fare that scares you nevertheless!

It's a a must watch flick for every horror genre lovers.Go get scared out of your wits while passing through the 3 demonic stages of infestation, oppression and possession!

After a long time, a horror film that meticulously succeeded at the box office grossing over $220,166,000 worldwide (as of Aug 25,2013) and still going strong!

The film works majorly because it doesn't stick to the conventional mumbo jumbo scheme or hi tech gizmos. Also, instead of some sad looking priest, kooks or weirdos,we get two dedicated professionals,Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga (superb act!) whose expertise in the paranormal make them popular speakers on the local college circuit, conductors of paranormal seminars/conferences and subjects of occasional newspaper articles. They also make haunted-house calls and keep a relic room of “possessed” objects they’ve removed from malevolent situations. A very well crafted (with good performances) haunted house thriller where the long eerie tracking shots,the dramatic silences,behind the door spookiness, creaking of the doors, the hide-and-clap sequences and the sudden scares are really impressive, though similar on the lines of The Amityville horror and The exorcist, it charms and shocks you nevertheless!

22 Female Kottayam : Good attempt but lacks finesse..!!

 Love stories with brutal endings.Almost similar to Sriram Raghavan's 'Ek Haseena thi' and Sidney Sheldon's 'If tomorow comes' in its narrative and treatment, the film actually strikes a much wider chord because of the love story that emerges with a beautiful pace eventually turning out to be quite lethal and shocking! Also, instead of making it too much of an 'action revenge saga', the narrative blends in with the brazen reality. The ending is actually more impactful and the twist in the climax would get lots of eyebrows raised. So instead of the protagonist killing the antagonist, the victim (being deceived, cheated and raped by a maniac being hired by a pimp of a boyfriend) leaves the deceiver with his genital organs surgically removed by her (Oh yes! she's a nurse!). The jail sequences doesn't make much of an impact and looks pale in comparison to Matondkar's 'Ek haseena thi' stints. Actress Reema Kallingal is just ok! She lacks the confidence to carry off a role like this,while the best comes out of actor Fahaad Faasil,portraying a complex character with such ease and fine precision, bringing out perfectly the dramatic transformation from a handsome lover boy to a cruel villain.