rahulvaidya055 Reviews

Razakar: The Silent Genocide of Hyderabad (2024)

Suppressed truth

[10/10 · 1 May 2024]

It goes without saying that this movie is a must watch for Hindus. If you thought The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story were eye opening movies that sent shivers down your spine, this movie will rock your conscience to the core. This movie showcases truth about a time in recent Indian history that has not been taught in any school to anyone.

The brutality of Razakars has been shown in a way never seen before on screen. Each scene of this unknown truth hits you like a freight train. This movie has been shot brilliantly and it perfectly captures what men, women and children of Telangana went through. To be able to fight back and stand upto ruthless oppression shows great amount of courage of the people of that time and this movie is a testament to their bravery.

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (2024)

This movie falls flat

[2/10 · 12 April 2024]

I was really hoping for this movie to be good based on the trailer. A great trailer, well cut, with well done sequences and a bit of comedy with loads of action. But when you watch the movie, the trailer turns out to be fools gold. Supposedly cool one liners are unimpressive and badly delivered by Tiger. For AK, it now seems like a 9-5 job to churn out as many movies as he can. He looks uninterested and has given a clumsy performance.

The only right casting in this action movie is Prithviraj. He tried to hold it together on the behalf of everyone throughout the movie. The story is illogical and the mindless action tries to cover up the bad performances by the leading ladies of the movie. It looked like their faces were stunned before starting the shoot everyday. Action in the movie lacks conviction and a fairy tale plot is the undoing of the movie. The second star in the rating is for Prithviraj.

Swatantra Veer Savarkar (2024)

Veer Savarkar - a lion that roared

[10/10 · 23 March 2024]

1857 revolution. One book. One man's belief and determination to bring that revolution in the hearts and minds of every Indian of his time. This is the best biopic that has come out of the Indian film industry. It's accuracy, facts and story telling will keep you hooked for the entire duration of the movie.

Randeep hooda has given the best performance of his career till now and has fully immersed himself into the life of Veer Savarkar. As the movie progresses, you will see the successes and the pitfalls of Veer Savarkar's life and how he was deeply connected to various important figures fighting for independence of India. This movie also unmasks some historical facts that people have been forced to believe for a long time. Watch this movie to learn what you have to unlearn about the fight for India's Independence and why it has been always labelled as a struggle.

Bastar: The Naxal Story (2024)

Truth written in red

[10/10 · 19 March 2024]

An absolute must watch film for the today's youth. It's a gut wrenching display of an ugly, violent agenda at work, smack dab in the middle of the country. Whether arts, media or educational institutions, this movie shows the depth of the rot, having been infested with their people and ideology.

Some parts of the movie are hard to watch. But they must be shown in its entirety to showcase the hardships citizens of such areas face on a daily basis. Their lives have been stolen by a cabal of maniacal people with a rabid ideology. The lead actress has again given a stellar performance, with a script worthy of her talent. This movie is dedicated to all the soldiers who have been fighting this war and have helped keep the country safe.

The Iron Claw (2023)

Zac Efron shines bright

[9/10 · 16 March 2024]

Wrestling has always been a big sport in many parts of the world . This movie takes you to the heart of entertainment wrestling in USA. The wrestlers spend a lot of time to perfect their moves and this movie showcases the dark reality behind the fanfare of the world of wrestling. It puts forth a new side of the wrestling world in front of its audience. The Von Erich family's commitment to wrestling is shown beautifully in the movie.

At the heart of the movie lies the brilliance of Zac Efron and his acting skills. Some of the scenes with zac efron will most definitely surprise you. This is a breakout role for him i.e. He has broken out of the mould in which he was cast after the High Musical series. He is a good actor and should focus on roles like this film has to offer to bring out his talent.

Article 370 (2024)

Article 370 - Riveting Experience

[10/10 · 16 March 2024]

A thriller in which you know what's going to happen but you are sitting at the edge of your seat. Much like Argo. Yami gautam dhar is a terrific actress and deserves scripts befitting her amazing talent. She effortlessly emotes pain, struggle, fierceness and much more in this amazing movie.

This movie is a tribute to all the Indians who have wanted an integrated India and wanted to know the real history of Kashmir marred with violence and bloodshed for decades. Some of the scenes will definitely give you goosebumps. This is one of the movies where the female lead has been treated right and given enough material to shine on screen.

Main Atal Hoon (2024)

Masterpiece. Masterstroke. Master Movie.

[10/10 · 19 January 2024]

This movie deserves all the attention and respect coming it's way. Stellar acting by Pankaj Tripathi, great screenplay moulded from the life of our former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee makes for an excellent cinematic experience. This movie emphatically displays the importance of perseverance, knowledge, courage and calmness of a great man in poetic (pun intended) fashion.

This movie showcases important events of our country through the lens of important men and women responsible in building this great nation and Atal ji's immense contribution to it. It's important to celebrate great leaders of our country to motivate the people of our country into action. And this movie executes that to perfection.

Ricky Gervais: Armageddon (2023 TV Special)

The domination continues

[10/10 · 14 January 2024]

Ricky gervais has always been smashing in his stand-up comedy performances. And this one is no different at all. In fact, he has upped the ante and taken political correctness and cancel culture head on and smashed them to pieces. He has cancelled the cancel culture in this special.

For just over an hour, you will hear PC being torn apart and blown to bits in a great comedic piece. He came, he joked, he destroyed stupid illogical ideas and then waved goodbye. He is one of the best of all time and that feeling got reaffirmed with every joke in this comedy special. Worth every bit of your time. Cheers!

Mann Pasand (2023 TV Special)

Finally people understand his hackiness

[2/10 · 1 January 2024]

This moment has been bubbling under the surface for a long time now. Its been hiding in plain sight ever since the first stand-up special came out after being viral on social media. That being an emotional hack doesn't translate to good stand up comedy. A viral youtube sensation that has been making a fool out of people instead of making them laugh. Everyone has been made an emotional fool by telling Bollywoodiya storiyan instead of telling jokes to actually make the audience laugh. The trope to emotionally guilt people into cheers and applause for the stand up stands exposed. Apart from a couple of jokes, the unnecessary wait for an applause seems desperate and not worth the viewers time.

Burnt (I) (2015)

Burnt : a great film with an indie feel

[9/10 · 25 December 2023]

This gem of a movie came out in 2015. Quick cuts initially, focused on the story of the movie and not wasting the viewers time to set up the film. For people who like indie films with a setup and purpose this has been living in the shadows for a lot of people who enjoy films. I am biased towards films that have an indie feel to it and have great music playing in the background.

This film is a great watch for viewers who are interested in what goes behind in making fine dining food and showing it as an indie movie. Bradley cooper plays the part of "genius who threw it all away" very well. The "gifted but tormented" trope may have been used by a lot of film makers but a few have been able to justify it. And this film certainly does it with style. This redemption story comes with its set of subtle twists and turns. But it keeps the story centered on the heart of the film. Watch it if you like food, what goes on in making great food and people who strive for perfection in making that food.

Dunki (2023)

Dunki - same wine same bottle again

[3/10 · 21 December 2023]

While watching this movie, I suddenly had an epiphany. That I have seen this movie. Multiple times. There is a fixed pattern that is being followed in the movie that you would have already seen in Munnabhai, Sanju, PK, 3 Idiots. Nothing new has been explored in this movie as it tries to tug on the same kind of emotions and feelings seen in other movies. Even a bit of self deprecating jokes can't make you sit through 2hr40mins and you ll often find yourself fidgeting in your seat feeling bored.

Two stand outs in the movie were Vicky Kaushal and Vikram Kochhar who have done a lot with the little material that has been given to them. Except one particular scene, SRK barely does anything as an actor. Sincerity and heart are lacking in this movie.

Animal (I) (2023)

Animal without teeth

[3/10 · 1 December 2023]

All bark and no bite. That's the point of the movie Animal in 5 words. When you sit down in the theatre to experience the much hyped, one of best movies of 2023 and receive randomized, unnecessary scenes in the name of extravagant cinema, you feel let down and cheated.

Sure, there's a lot of action, violence, gore, anger that people may not have seen before in a state side movie. But if it doesn't relate to the story, the characters of the movie and most importantly the emotions of the film, it feels like you have been cheated out of 3hrs 21mins of your precious time and money. So behold, something you dont understand, you dont like and yet, you will spend money on it. Sad and shameful. The only saving grace of the movie is Bobby deol.

Thank You for Coming (2023)

Run for your life

[2/10 · 6 October 2023]

This movie was named Veere di bedding after the grand success of the Nolanesque masterpiece Veere di wedding. But the moviemakers wanted to try something different and completely new with this film. So they changed it to Thank You For Coming (huge sly to the censor board. Also, no Thank You For Smoking title was harmed during the making of this movie) and added world class jokes and even better acting by internet content creator sensations.

You will feel like a zombie while watching this film because throughout the movie, you would be looking for "brains". But unfortunately you ll starve as it has none. If you don't like your money, time, energy and your mind, please watch it.

The Vaccine War (2023)

The War That Bharat Won

[10/10 · 29 September 2023]

The Vaccine War is a movie that doesn't have a hero or a heroine. But it certainly has a villain. An unknown, invisible villain. And the superheroes standing in the way to defeat this pandemic villain are our scientists, researchers, engineers, doctors, frontline health workers and many more who risked and sacrificed a lot for our nation.

This is a story dedicated to all the people who, when needed, performed at their best. And exposes the media who were at their worst. The biased media who cant differentiate between criticising the government and bad mouthing their own country and their own people internationally for immoral and personal financial gains.

This movie promotes the genius minds of our country who stood up to the challenge when no one else would.

Lust Stories 2 (2023)

Subpar sequel 's'anthology

[3/10 · 2 July 2023]

This sequel (or should it be called a sequel since the first one was a mix of stories based on a similar broader subject i.e. Anthology) by 4 different directors again gets a big thumbs down. Apart from that one story, for which an extra star has been given to this 'anthology series' (you can very well guess to whom that star belongs), every other story just doesn't work on the subject matter. A lacklustre series of stories (apart from one of them) takes a strong theme and turns it boring. And some 'same old useless' screenplay tropes makes it a 'seen that, now what' show and makes you think that you could have spent this time on useful self development instead of this cringe fest.

Zarna Garg: One in a Billion (2023)

Zarna, thoda toh funny karna

[1/10 · 21 May 2023]

I watched this comedy special after reading "good things" about it on the interwebz. But my mistake was that I believed the "good things" that I read. It's the same stereotypical hogwash that has been rehashed again and again and again in different specials from Asian comedians. The only difference is that the content has been tailored for an Indian audience. For an hour that I spent on watching this generic rehashed content, I was still optimistic and waited for "jokes" and I did laugh at a couple of them. The rest of the time I was looking at the screen with a straight face and sometimes with an expression that screamed loudly "Where funny?".

Air (I) (2023)

His Airness Indeed

[9/10 · 17 May 2023]

Everything associated with the MJ brand is legendary. To properly capture the story of one of the most marketable and memorable brand in the world i.e. Air Jordan, a great screenplay full of believable dialogues was needed. And this movie is perfect on that front. Matt Damon has delivered one of the best monologues of all time in cinematic history. It's quite special to convert a mundane event, which is the meeting between a sports company and an athlete into an amazing movie where you feel all the "what if" questions going through your mind. This movie perfectly encapsulates the feeling of how a calculated risk, for both MJ and Nike, can turn into something incredible. People have a chance to be great by being associated with greatness and Air Jordan is the result of that association.

The Kerala Story (2023)

A wake up call

[10/10 · 12 May 2023]

This movie is for all those people who live in their bubble and think everyone and everything is good in the world. This movie is an eye opener for all apologists who think only one side needs to believe any truth that is fed to them. The shock factor in this movie was absolutely necessary and it brought out the pain of thousands of women who have been brainwashed to go through the conversion hell and is still happening in different parts of the country, not just Kerala. The entire process of how Hindu and Christian women are targeted and then systematically made to hate their own religion and beliefs, so that they can be converted, is shown without any censorship. This movie also portrays how important it is for parents to teach their kids about the right things before it's too late.

The Menu (2022)

Dark comedy at its best

[9/10 · 20 November 2022]

I had not seen the trailer of this movie (something I don't do generally before booking tickets; it is a unique experience that I now recommend people to try out atleast once to be pleasantly surprised) and I only knew that this movie is a comedy. I just saw the name of Ralph Fiennes and remembered his comedy style in Grand Budapest Hotel (another great comedy) and booked the tickets. This movie is a fresh breath of air in the comedy genre and has a brilliant take on the never ending consumer culture and the narcissistic human tendency to crap on everything and everyone around them. With a tight runtime and beautifully put storyline, it's a great watch and keeps you engaged throughout the course of the movie. The ending of the movie is thoroughly satisfying and wraps up the movie like a nice meal.

Sahebs Who Never Left - Part 1: The Origins (2022)

Decolonize your mind. Thanks Prachyam

[10/10 · 17 November 2022]

This review has to begin with thanking the entire team of Prachyam for producing this exeptional piece of work. Both, the content and the presentation, are absolutely amazing. Disseminating such important information abouts Bharat's history is quite crucial in decolonizing the minds of Bhartiye youth of today. Fake and demoralizing narratives created about Bharat are going to get shattered by such films. And the first part of the entire series looks like a glorious beginning to counter the self-loathing and disdain driven into the minds of the people of Bharat from a young age about their own culture and history. Looking forward to the rest of series with a lot of enthusiasm.

Jahaan Chaar Yaar (2022)

Protect yourself

[1/10 · 20 September 2022]

This movie shouldn't have released in theatres or OTT or anywhere else. The trailer in itself was torturous enough and that should have been the end of this movie also. This is what you get when you try to recreate Veere di wedding feels without the budget. No story, no plot, full of clichés, bad innuendos and unnecessary drama disguised as comedy. Everytime Bollywood tries to recreate DCH, ZNMD magic for women, they fall flat on their faces. They have the right intent on making women centric movies but fall short on the execution. The music is as bad as the movie. There is nothing you can take away from this movie except the realization that you ll never get back 2hrs of your life again because of this movie.

Beast (I) (2022)

Stupidity of man and ferocity of lion

[9/10 · 3 September 2022]

This movie perfectly depicts the ignorance of humans when it comes to dealing with situations that have wild animals especially apex predators. The overconfidence of the characters of human beings in this film is shown as "what not to do" when you are out in nature. If you don't respect animals in the wild, they will tear you apart limb from limb. What's portrayed in this movie would actually help you analyze your own chances of survival in the wild if you actions are not smart, conservative and conscious of your surroundings. Watch this movie and learn what not to do if a situation like this presents itself to you.

Raksha Bandhan (I) (2022)

Deleted my number 3 rated review. Adding it again - Akshay is on a mission

[1/10 · 13 August 2022]

Akshay seems to be a mission to produce the maximum number of bad movies in a year. There's nothing new in the movie and the same story that's been told a hundred different times is repeated again here. It's just bad, single expression acting wrapped in a poor story. Bollywood keeps on repeating the same mistakes and produces the same melodramatic content year after year. And it expects the audience to pay and watch such a bad mess of a film. They need to realise the value of original content and good stories.

Darlings (I) (2022)

Absolute rubbish

[1/10 · 8 August 2022]

This movie makes a mockery of one of the most serious issues of domestic violence plaguing our country, irrespective of gender. And it laughably tries to pass off feminism and womanhood as women preying and abusing men in a relationship. It's an absolute disgrace that so many people think it's a film worth watching when such a serious issue, often stigmatized and talked about in hush hush manner, in our society, is being portrayed as whimsical and source of comedic relief. Pitiful and shameful.

Shamshera (2022)

Bad copy of different English and Hindi films

[1/10 · 22 July 2022]

The plot and storyline are not captivating at all. The action scenes look like they have been lifted from different films and just added together without making any sense. Ranbir has lost his on screen persona and charm that he once had. Bollywood has a problem with giving women better roles and lines. Vaani is just there in the film as a beautiful prop in the movie. A big studio that has a lot of money and then they produce such poor content and expect people to pay inflated ticket prices. This doesn't look like a period action film at all but some kind of joke made by the movie makers on their audience.