Movie Review : Premgeet

Imagine Romeo as a small town love seeking boy. Juliet is a blunt-mouthed girl with full of  passion for life. Just when we opined, Shakespeare's ode to love in the time of clan wars had been dog-tired as a formula in cinema, Premgeet sets out to restructure the basics.

That could be a stamp of a USP actually, if it was tapped a little right way. With some more effort on script, Sudarshan Thapa's new film would have actually rewritten the history of love story the same way Yug Dekhi Yug Samma and Mero Euta Saathi Chha did for their respective generations. Similar to these films, Premgeet tries mapping a new graph for romance without moving any inches away from every cliche` in the book. And yet again, you can not deny the fact that Premgeet is one of the best romantic tragedies that has come in years.

Prem (Pradeep Khadka) and Geet (Pooja Sharma), young members of two opposing families, fall in love with one another. Due to their families' differences, the parents become sworn enemies and Prem and Geet’s romantic dalliance simply doesn’t fit into the grand scheme of things. How Prem, and Geet, fall in love and become the hunted, with one, big shocking twist is the story of Premgeet. I don't want to reveal the plot, but there are some consciously made-up situations, which lead them to part ways and get together.

Pradeep is the soul and driving element of the film. He looks cool and lovable and it’s impossible to not like him. With Pradeep, this film marks the sudden coming of a bright, super star who has come into his own so early in his acting career. Pradeep’s complemented to a large extent by Pooja Sharma, who tries to give her teeth into Geet, but seems too self-conscious to really make the part her own.

But better than its actors are the film’s direction, cinematography and music. Sudarshan Thapa brings a huge canvas of a film with a subtle direction. His directorial vision shines well with fantastically choreographed scenes of young innocent love and romance. The background score (Alish) & the song choreography (Reenasha Bantawa Rai) of the film, too, are of top notch. But it’s the music (Arjun Pokharel) that largely benefits the movie – the song Ma yesto geet is the anthem of the film and its spirit.

Before culminating, I must say, this is a terrific Nepali adaptation of Romeo And Juliet. But if you’ve ever loved someone unconditionally, then deeper in the heart of its story Premgeet is a saga of love being more important than life and death. I'm going with 2.5 stars out of 5. Extra five for director Sudarshan Thapa , for getting back to where he best fits for - romance.
 If you are planing to catch this film, you better stuff yourself with some tissues. It's too emotional a film. Go,watch this. Recommended!!

Kabaddi Kabaddi -Review

You don’t need a big story to make it profound. Sometimes, what seems like a wafer thin on the cover actually turns much deeper than anticipated. Ram Gurung’s Kabaddi Kabaddi is a worthy follow-up to his notoriously successful Kabaddi (2014). What seems like a full on comedy movie about love-lost-and-regain actually turns out to be a calendar to routine village life. The situations offered in the film aren’t just limited to the sketchy love saga of its protagonists. This is actually how real life pans out in matters of the heart and heat. For me, by far, this is the most brilliant piece of cinema that has come in the year 2015.

The setting is again in that small village of Naurikot, Mustang. And this time, we are introduced to Bum Kaji (Saugat Malla), a close competition to Kaji (Daya Hang Rai), over his love interest Maiya (Risma Gurung). It’s in this single film that we get to see many thing spinning in that one single reel –

love, politics, & some sub plots of Beekay (Bijay Baral) & Chhantyal (Buddhiman Tamang).



It’s the characters in the film,who keep you invested in the narrative. The most complex of them is the leading man Kaji. Likewise in Kabaddi, here again, his only worthwhile ambition is to woo & control his dream girl Maiya. He doesn’t want to play the best man role in his family. Nor does he aspire to become powerful. He merely wants the world to know that he’s not heartless and he’s not useless. Even though that description seems like the most clichéd character in cinema, you have to see Dayahang Rai’s portrayal to believe in how wonderfully flawed Kaji is as a person. A complete contrast to this guy is his rival Bom Kaji. He’s naughty, brash, outspoken and he can break into a dance at the first whiz of a whistle. When they come together, everything becomes magic, & to witness this, you need to see the film.

Seasoned actors like Maotse Gurung, Pushkar Gurung, Aruna Karki , Pashupati Rai, Buddhiman Tamang and Bijaya Baral chip in with the best of their talent. But the two persons who really live their characters with branded authenticity are Saugat Malla & Dayahang Rai. Their unusual comic timings, the body language, the sense of frustration is all there. Their performance is perfectly controlled and proficiently nuanced. If Saugat Malla evokes laughter even in the odd of hours, Dayahang Rai wrenches your heart.

Everything about this film works: the more than good looking camera work; the uplifting song sequences set amidst the beautiful landscape of Mustang; the sparkling moments of comedy & tragedy complemented well by the tender and endearing editing – all departments are well handled.

It's not every day we get to see a film that hits you hard with its humour and sentiment so effortlessly. For this alone, Ram Gurung, the director & writer of the film deserves a standing ovation. I’m going with three & a half out of five for Kabaddi Kabddi. Carry hanky for your eyes if you are soft-hearted. This one bounces between laughter and tears.

Resham Filili :Review

                                          Boredom Filili-es

 

There are times when films ride high on hypes. And there are times when we invest our time and money on such hollow hypes. And to begin with, Resham Filili is one fine example of such hype & hollowness. More than a quarter of this film is filled with toilet humor and hence incomprehensible if you’re not easy types dealing such trauma. The rest is a stew of inane humor, lazy stereotypes, and way-too-loud acting from all the leading actors.

Vinay Shrestha, who i think is a passed out acting student of Kishor Namit Kapoor’s acting school, spends a chunk of this film trying to act his role correctly. Could he possibly be overworking himself to compensate for the film’s tired writing? Because it’s clear from Resham Filili that Pranab Joshi has launched an elaborate reels with a plot so thin, it could give a thin toilet paper a run for its money.

That plot involves Vinay’s character, Resham boarding the dreamy Qatar plane, intending to roam off there & to make some money too, so that he could have his sister married. But plan fails. Cheated by the manpower agent, he encounters Hariya (Kameshwor Chaurasiya), who's just left his village back only to fulfill his dream of working in films as a hero. Together they rent a Delhi Belly looking room, get trapped in don Dorje's world. And what follows next is a series of absurd in the name of comedy. To endure this indulgence, you have to be a die-hard Nepali film fan.

Kameshwor Chaurasiya, meanwhile, stays firmly in character throughout. His heavily Terai accented Hariya delivers some genuine laughs, particularly during one terrific scene in which he narrates his back story with a boka (goat). Three years after debuting in same film with Vinay Shrestha (Highway), he displays comic chops to rival his.

As for Menuka Pradhan goes, she has nothing meaty to boast about. Even her pairing with Vinay doesn’t get much scope to ignite romantic chemistry. Karma Shakya is totally wasted.

Music is the sole winner of this otherwise stale film. Hats off to you Kali Prasad Baskota for this flawless attempt. But yes, music alone can't survive a bad film. The multiplex audience will not be happy for all those hype, but cheating.

Just two out of five for Resham Filili. Somebody has wisely said that some films are hard to make sense of & others are just nonsense. Resham Filili, directed by Pranab Joshi, ticks both boxes. What not to say? It's a big boredom of a film. And i'm still to overcome.

No point to return.

If I had a medical box with me, for every time I laughed during Hostel Returns, I’d have definitely chewed up an aspirin I so badly longed for at the end of this two-and-a-five-minute cringe-fest. The problem with this film isn’t that it’s so relentlessly unwatchable, but that it’s just not very watchable. And that’s a shame, because leading men Najir Husen Abhay Baral and Sushil Sitoula have a winning chemistry and sharp comic timing…now if only they were pushed to a film where story concerns a bit more.

The film is written and directed by Suraj Bhushal (Co-written : Santosh Lamsal), which is a sequel to 2013’s mega entertainer Hostel, here the motive for this sequel seems to have been – “let’s just go with the jokes”. In the process, the story & its structure have been completely sacrificed. The plot (if there is any!) doesn’t hold up either. You have the talented cute-Madhesi lover ,a gym-gifted mannequin, two sexually sadistic Idiots, a two-timing girl friend, a war-driven senior gang fighters, and an old-fashioned hostel warden. To my dismay, most of them, however, have almost no scope to make a lasting impression, hence Diya Maskey & Nirmal Sharma occupy the screen for no major reasons.

Now if we look the film purely by the standards of a comic-drama, it still doesn’t compare with Hostel or any other films established in this genre. If Hostel was naughty and suggestive, and far wittier than Hostel Returns, which in comparison is uncomfortably explicit. The film, however, is tricky & offers a handful of clever lines that inspire genuine laughs. Unfortunately these are only a few shining moments in what is otherwise a crass, unfinished film.

Of the casts, Najir Husen dives courageously into his role, leaving everyone speechless by his performance. If anyone benefits the film, it’s only him . Abhay Baral & Sushil Sitoula shine amongst many. Sudam C.K & Pradip Choudhary are commendable. Swastima Khadka has nothing much to offer, but she is better than Sashi Shrestha. And if you forget Swopnil Sharma & his musical genius, then it’s a sin. But hell is done with his songs except for the beautifully choreographed ‘Musukka hasne’..

Boring isn’t a word you’d normally associate with a Sunil Rawal’s productions, but Hostel Returns seriously mocks your patience. I’m going with one-and-a-half out of five for Hostel Returns.