5. Raees
This too had a very entertaining first half, which left you at the edge of your seat. Memorable dialogues, good songs, brilliant acting from SRK and Nawazuddin, made the movie, especially the first half, a very compelling watch. The cat and mouse chase between Raees and Majumdar is gripping and the way Raees outwits him is ingenious to say the least. But the second half? We have seen many movies where the brilliance of the first half is completely undone by a lousy second half. This is the scenario here. After Raees is married and is settled, the movie loses its charm and suddenly becomes a weak drama whereas it was a gripping action-thriller before. Though this is a class apart from the other nonsense SRK has done in the last 3 years(and he has acted really well), the movie was disappointing in terms of the second half which was poorly written and failed to draw our attention.
4. Sarkar 3
What high hopes I had from this film!Though RGV has been a complete mess in the last few years, gangsters and crime is his forte and his previous work like Satya, Company and Sarkar are testimony to that. We all thought:maybe this is the movie which will lead to the reversal of RGV’s fortunes. The trailer looked promising too. But when it released, my heart sank. This movie was an utter mess. Not even Amitabh’s presence could save this ship from sinking. The first two parts of this trilogy were so riveting. This unnecessary third has ruined the work of its predecessors. The movie is almost like a joke. The plot is predictable and the script is terribly written. This maybe the end of the road for one of the finest directors we have ever had.
3. Tubelight
This movie has a rating of 4.1 on IMDb. Though when it comes to Salman Khan movies I ignore the ratings because his movies are ridiculously entertaining. I did the same for Tubelight, and was proved wrong because this movie deserves the rating of 4.1. The last time Kabir Khan and Salman worked, they weaved magic with one of the most heart-warming stories of all times ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ and before that the taut thriller ‘Ek Tha Tiger’. However this movie is a colossal disappointment on all levels. The movie is taken from Hollywood film Little Boy, which was no great film either. Sohail Khan is a pathetic actor and Salman too was quite uncomfortable in his attempt to play a Forrest Gump-like character. The movie is a snooze fest and though it tugs at your heart strings with its noble story, it becomes very melodramatic.
2. Rangoon
Vishal Bharadwaj’s magnum opus set in the World War 2 era was touted to be the Casablanca of Bollywood. People had already started predicting the awards it would win and so on.However, when the movie released it opened to really negative reviews. Though the movie wasn’t bad as such, it certainly didn’t hold a candle to any of Bharadwaj’s previous works. It was really slow-paced and despite the grandeur, failed to attract a large audience. It was a box office disaster and obviously the producers lost immense amount of money. Though all the 3 leads gave a decent performance, they were given a weak script with none of the charm or poignancy that Vishal Bharadwaj films always have.
1. Jab Harry Met Sejal
HOW! How did this movie turn out be such a disappointment? It had two superstars at the helm, one of the finest directors of modern times, Imtiaz Ali, a peppy soundtrack and some ravishing locales. I am still shocked as to how this movie failed. When the trailer and songs released, the movie was touted to be the potential blockbuster of the year which would take Bollywood out of the rut which it was going through. But when the movie released and I read the initial reviews, my heart sank. Not another damp squib! But I still thought I would enjoy it despite the reviews. I was wrong. The movie was dull. It was a snooze fest. There were just random scenes which were just put together into a movie. There were no moments or scenes which left you in awe. Though Shah Rukh was intense and Anushka pulled off her Gujarati accent decently, the movie clearly lacked any direction. The movie is on the border between mediocre and terrible, which is something I never thought I would have to say about an Imtiaz Ali film. Ali’s previous movie Tamasha opened to polarized reviews, but I loved the film. This movie deserved to have opened to unanimously negative reviews. Sheer disappointment.
