Ranveer is a class apart. The more we see him over the years, the more we realise how exponentially he's grown. Juxtaposed with his pulpy soft man-ness, is Boman Irani's toxic masculinity, which the actor brings to life effortlessly. You hate him and that is his achievement. Ratna Pathak Shah as Jayesh's mother is perfectly strong yet helpless at the same time. Yet the cutest takeaway is Puneeth Isaar, the heavy built textbook man who swears off violence, bends his towering figure to say 'soorry' in an accent, and ends his sentences with 'pleej'. Will Jayeshbhai Jordaar pull off a KGF or at the very least a Kashmir Files in terms of box office collection? No chance. But these are films that will touch the heart. This feel-good feeling we're walking out of the theatre with is currency enough.
That it would blow over was perhaps not intended, and precisely what leaves us disappointed as we walk out of the theatre. It is a film about war and valour, both of which require less sloganeering and more fighting. If you aren't put to sleep by the dialogue-baazi and manage to stay awake for the scanty fight scenes to appear, you will be put off by the terrible CGI waiting to greet you there. To think that this is a YRF production! In Samrat Prithviraj, Sonu Sood plays the putative bard. It is ironic that despite emerging as the mass messiah off screen, Bollywood still brings in Sonu to sing songs of the real heroic hero on screen — Akshay Kumar.
Abhishek Sharma's Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari is the perfect family entertainer for the season. Actually, it could have been. If not let down by certain actors. In a film that boasts of a stellar ensemble cast - as well as lead cast - that's just mangal ki dasha. No, the film doesn't disappoint. Just makes you go tch every now and then.
