French Biriyani

A Danish Sait starrer, so was very keen on this movie which was released only on Amazon Prime Video. A pretty good movie especially due to the 'Hyderabadi Hindi-Kannada' lingo. A comedy of errors. Shivajinagar of Bangalore dramatized in its entirety! A bunch of tales that come together due to mistaken identity which always calls for humorous tale but the direction is good too, especially during the 'smaller scenes' which are not relevant to the main theme of the story but adds spice. Good entertainer. Wouldn't say a laugh riot but still good enough.
Rating: Good

Kedarnath

I remember having read the review of this film and thinking this is not worth watching. But after SSR died recently, I thought the least I can do to mourn is see one of his latest movies - however naive that might sound. But I truly liked him - he seemed to have nice qualities around him, an aura of goodness, if you may. Anyways, this movie turned out to be good actually - much against my initial thought. They have depicted the movie really well - and it is almost like Kai Po Che (which also happened to be SSR's first) where events revolve around a major tragedy, which in this case was 2013 Kedarnath floods. So, the crew has done an excellent job in computer graphics to depict the floods. It is as good as Life of Pi and Titanic. After one sees this movie, one can feel the life in the valleys - and for that, it is well worth a watch. I was shocked that over 50K died and over 70K missing after the floods - that is so sad...Debutant Soha Ali Khan too has done justice to her role of a rebellious daughter of a Hindu priest.
Rating: Good

Dream Girl

One more of AK's. Just like his others - Bala, Shubh Mangal Saavdhaan, Badhaai Ho - this one's too almost of the same genre. Unique theme. Different storyline. With underlying humor. And AK does all the honors by getting it just right. It is almost as if he he gets the scripts made just for him! Just like how I felt how Dr Rajkumar got all those manuscripts which suited just him! Nevertheless, full credit to the story, screenplay, background score, direction too - for they all got this just right. Wholesome entertainer.
Rating: Good

The Heartbreak Kid

Phew - that's one hell of a complicated relationships movie! At the end of it, I saw the banner of the movie being Farrelly Brothers and then I understood the craziness of it all! The same directors as Dumb and Dumber - so what else to expect! This wasn't as funny or comical as that but it just as crazy - and sometimes just plain dumb 'What, really?!' kinda scenes - because it ain't never happen in real life, like sneaking into someone's bedroom in the dead of night without anyone knowing and talking to the wife of someone - but heck, it is a movie, so let the imagination run! Definitely 18+!
Rating: Good

Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha

A very nice Malayalam movie of a naive Christian farmer in a laid-back village in Kerala who has the best of characters and loved by all, but has no clue how to be a husband! Superbly directed, brilliant acting, breath-taking scenery, tightly-woven tale, soulful music. In a nutshell, one great movie not to be missed.
Rating: Good

Helen

Excellently made suspense movie. I guess it is based on real or true events somewhere in abroad. Still, adding an Indian masala to it with romance & rude cops makes it all the more edge-of-seat. But, I had come across this story in one of the whatsapp forwards, so pretty much knew the ending. But the reference to the story in relation to what happens to the Big Ant in the beginning of the movie is very well thought-out. Nice casting, acting & screenplay. Well worth a watch.
Rating: Good
Language: Malayalam

Srinivasa Kalyana (2017)

After being highly impressed with Birbal, I searched for more films from same director MGS and came across this one, a nice rom-com in the purest sense. Shades of Premam. Clean direction, nice acting by one and all, catchy songs, good dialog & a wholesome entertainer in a nutshell. Time well spent.
Rating: Good

Pressure Cooker

A hard-hitting movie about the craze of going to the States, especially in the Telugu land. A thought-provoking movie for those already in US. A sentimental chord of the olden generation who sent their kids abroad. Very neat & well-made. Not much to write about the acting and the cast - pretty mediocre but yet a good job. Direction is simple and so is narration. Locations are very well set. Dialog gets full credit. Songs and music are not that great but the last one is super.
Rating: Good
Language: Telugu

Dolly Ki Doli

Total time-pass. Comical theme of an unstoppable runaway bride, with a twist. Short and sweet, just a little more than 1.5 hrs - which means good editing. Very filmy though - meaning no logic. Like how the folks move from Delhi to Udaipur and within a month the cops are in Udaipur without showing how. Watchable for the theme - and that's about it.
Rating: Average