Imagine you are riding an unruly <g data-gr-id="41">mare</g> who trots tossing you about, and then after nearly two <g data-gr-id="44">hour</g> fifteen minutes of a tumultuous and awful ride, reaches you at your destination, safe and sound.
That is exactly what you would experience while watching Director Nikhil Advani’s “Katti Batti”.
On the face of it, “Katti Batti” is supposed to be a rom-com between a die-hard romantic and a commitment-phobic girl, at least that’s what the trailers promised. But what you get is a potpourri of emotional trajectories offered in a non-linear, confusing and obscure manner.
Narrated from Madhav Kabra (Imran Khan) aka Maddy’s point of view, the narration begins with an inexplicable, found footage technique revealing his live-in relationship with Payal Malhotra (Kangana Ranaut). And then we are suddenly thrown into the emergency ward of a hospital where the doctors and Maddy’s friends are trying to revive him after his alleged suicide attempt.
After Maddy is successfully revived, we learn that his drinking Phenyl was an accident. And what follows is Maddy’s pursuit to convince his ladylove to be friends with him once again. Their on-and-off relationship has now hit rock bottom after 5 years of living together.
Kangana and Imran make a lovely, volatile pair. Their on-screen chemistry is palpable.
On the performance front, the film is Imran Khan’s canvas. His is the only character that is well etched. With his look recollecting the charm of <g data-gr-id="49">Dilton</g> from Archie’s comics, Imran is honest, charming and expressively convincing. You like him when he woos his girlfriend, admire him when he sticks to his guns and hate him when he is boorish and callous.
On the other hand, Kangana Ranaut as Payal Malhotra who comes from a broken family, is an extension of the various roles you have seen Kangana perform in her earlier films.
Of the supporting cast, Vivan Bhatena is wasted in a bland role as Payal’s ex-boyfriend, Ricky Ahuja. And Manavsi Mamgai as Devika, Maddy’s colleague is passable. But the two characters who really stand out with realistic performances are Maddy’s sister Koyel and his friend Vinay.
And with the director’s sense of infusing humour, the rest of the supporting cast like Varghese Bhai the estate agent, Mr. Ramalingam - Maddy’s south Indian boss, the <g data-gr-id="43">paan chewing</g> security guard at Payal’s house in Delhi and the salesman at Maddy’s school friend Tina’s shop, are forced caricatures.
The script written by director Nikhil Advani and Anshul Singhal has a convoluted screenplay riddled with forced humour and glaring plot holes which include underdeveloped characterisations.
BLACK MASS
Director: Scott Cooper
Cast & Crew: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Jesse Plemons, Dakota Johnson, Juno Temple, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll
Black Mass tells the story of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, a violent criminal from South Boston who later turned into an informant for the FBI. But behind this deal, was his own selfish motive. He wanted to eradicate the Italian Mafia stepping on his turf. But what happened next changed a lot of things. And that is what this film captures.