Tag: paris

Movie Review – Queen

Posted on by anshubhojnagarwala

In her latest released Queen, Kangana Ranaut has proved once again that you needn’t belong to a filmy clan or have a Godfather to be a good successful actor. All you need are good acting skills and a heart at the right place. And the results are mindblowing.

movie review - Queen

Queen starts with a wedding sequence in a typical loud Punjabi family. It is the mehendi occasion of Rani (Kangana Ranaut) where the entire family from the uber cool granny to young overweight brother shake a leg. But in the next scene, the fiancé Vijay (Rajkummar Rao) breaks the engagement. A heartbroken Rani flies to Paris (the city of her dreams) and Amsterdam (the city of her fiancé’s dreams) on a solo honeymoon. And from there starts her journey to self-discovery.

Rani is a nice simple girl who hasn’t travelled before finds herself in a few precarious situations but with the help of a half desi-half French friend she learns a few lessons of life that she could have never done staying in the folds of her family. In her next destination to Amsterdam, she finds herself sharing a youth hostel with three men. Awkward at first for her, she soon adapts herself and makes friends with them. In the heat of the moment, she even locks lips with a ‘cute’ Italian. Mamma mia! In her journey, every day she deals with new situations and meets new people, but she never once loses the goodness of her heart or the faith in people. The high-handed fiancé comes back to her apologizing but does Rani take him back?

It’s an out and out Kangana Ranaut film. From the first scene to the last, she keeps you riveted to your seat. Power-packed dialogues delivered in a simple manner and her no-pretence acting will capture your heart. The shenanigans of her once drunken night or her shyness in a room full of strange men will make you reach out to her and hug her. The dialogues are funny and will keep you in splits. The songs are beautiful especially ‘London Thumakda’ will make you break into a jig. All the actors be it the spunky granny, the lively and promiscuous Vijayalakshmi (Lisa Haydon), the spineless fiancé or the three friends in Amsterdam have done a fabulous work. But it’s the flawless script that takes the cake. If Kangana is the Queen, then script is the King. Vikas Bahl, the director of Chillar Party fame, should get a standing ovation for making a fresh, simple and meaningful film.

My Verdict: If you have nothing else to do this weekend, then go watch this movie. Even if you have something to do this weekend, still go watch this movie. Such a film comes once in years. Don’t miss it!

Hail the Queen!

Midnight in Paris

Posted on by anshubhojnagarwala

Star Cast: Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, the list is almost endless.

Midnight in ParisA middle-aged American couple visits Paris for business, their young daughter Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her fiancé, Hollywood screenwriter turned novelist, Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) also tag along to visit this romantic city. Gil is absolutely smitten by Paris, its gardens, boulevards, cobbled streets full of history, flea markets, historical monuments, small chapels and huge churches. He loves to walk the streets of this magical city, be it in sunshine or rain. His fiancée is not much impressed by the city and is at a loss to understand what has suddenly taken over her man. Meanwhile, she meets some old friends, one of whom she had a huge crush on. While Inez parties with her long time friend, Gil chooses to wander along the streets of Paris imagining this city in the ‘20s. On one such night, Gil, in a drunken stupor forgets the directions to his hotel and as he sits by a boulevard waiting for some help, a group of party-goers in a vintage car asks him to accompany them. It’s a magical party with history-turning stalwarts of bygone era, Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter, the Fitzgeralds, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Matisse, Salvador Dali, Man Ray, T. S Eliot, Paul Gauguin to name a few. He meets Picasso’s lovely mistress, Adrianna, and instantly falls in love with her.

The next morning when Gil wakes up in his hotel bed, he marvels at the recollection of night before. He wonders whether it was a reality or had he just been in a wonderful dream. So that night, he decides to wait again by the boulevard. Lo and behold, sharp at midnight, the vintage car appears and takes him to the magical era of the ‘20s. He again meets his friends and Adrianna. While Gil keeps the reality of his nocturnal visits a secret from his fiancée, Inez on the other hand is quite happy to be in the charming company of her male friend. In the end, Gil realizes that though the present is unsatisfying life cannot be lived in fantasy alone. He bids adieu to his love, Adrianna. In real life, he decides to break up with his fiancée to stay back and finish his novel in this enchanting city.

This romantic comedy is witty and fun. The viewers are transported into the magical history and the belle-époque. Though I am not a Woody Allen fan, I was charmed by this film. This has to be Woody Allen’s best movie by far.

“That’s what the present is. It’s a little unsatisfying because life is unsatisfying.”

A must watch.