Grandiose (adj): impressive or magnificent in appearance or style, esp. pretentiously so...

Hola! 

With this post, I'd like to confess something. It's 100% true, so try not to laugh. 

I believe all of the following things are real: Santa Claus, mermaids, goblins, witches, wizards, Hogwarts (and everyone in it), aliens, angels, archangels, fairies, Peter Pan, Mary Magdalene, existence of multiple universes/ galaxies, the Hatter, Absolem, Wonderland basically, and  Ganpati Bappa among many other things. But I do not, oh, wait... do NOT believe that what happens at St. Teresa school shown in Karan Johar's Student of the year could be true in any of  galaxies that exist.. 

Clearly, I just saw Student of the year and trust me, since the 11th minute of the movie I had been waiting to get back home and write a review on it. So here it goes! 

What story? 

The title of the movie makes the story one of the most obvious ones and no, there will be no surprises waiting for you (if you still haven't seen it). Two boys, Rohan and Abhimanyu, fight over a championship award, both love the same girl, Shanaya, she's confused about them both, ta-da ta-da d-dah... 

If you're the kind of person who likes to watch movies that make sense and have a story, don't go for this one. It does NOT make sense and the story sucks. The whole setup is ridiculously unbelievable. The school which is supposed to be in ___ (I seriously don't know where exactly), looks better than any private school in the US. 

Oh, and the amount of skin-show in this movie is 'woahhhh'. I am now aware of all the veins and nerves that run through the bodies of Siddharth Malhotra annd Varun Dhawan. At one point, my bestie who was watching it with me commented, 'Yaar, kabhi toh (shirt) button bandh kar lo.' For the record, we are both very normal, if you know what I mean. 

Oh, KJo! 

I do like Karan Johar movies and mindless comedies, and I LOVED K3G. But this one didn't hit me on any level. The humor didn't make me laugh (like K3G did), neither did it make me cry (like K3G did). The dialogues, the screenplay was just okay. Some things were very cliche, for instance, the way the Dean's (Rishi Kapoor) homosexual tendencies were shown. 

However, the newcomers have done a pretty decent job with their acting skills, especially Siddharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan. They were confident, stylish and sure as hell good-lookers!

Review abhi baaqi hai, mere dost... 

Not all was bad with the movie. I am going to give you three reasons why you should watch this movie. If they appeal to you, then go. The three reasons are:

1. Clothes

The clothes in this movie are fab! I wonder why none of the fashion bloggers have blogged about it. This fashion should be noticed. The clothes and shoes worn by the star cast is of course amazing, but what really caught my attention was Rishi Kapoor's style. It was brilliant! Kudos, to whoever designed the look for him. It paves way for classy style for the above 50 age group. 

Rishi Kapoor has worn great checkered shirts, unconventional ties and unusual (for a male) brooches. The brooches were really the best of them all. 

2. Music

The music is fun, and although there are EIGHT darn songs in the movie, which was too much to bear, would all find a ear to sound good to. 

3. Visually appealing 

The movie was a visual treat, but that's a given when the screen reads 'Karan Johar film' anywhere. It's grandiose, a world of its own. If you are looking for entertainment, well you will get some from SOTY. 

So well, there you go. Fashion, wee bit of entertainment and 'time pass' are definitely the things SOTY gives. I'd say, go watch it for the clothes, but ensure you leave your logic back at home. Oh, and catch a cheap show. My wallet's still tingling with such a loss of 300 bucks. With that much  money, I could have had the cheapest coffee at Starbucks. Ha. 

Au revoir,
Miss Bee.

I tweet on:  https://twitter.com/#!/DevikaBharadwaj
Facebook Fanpage:  http://www.facebook.com/shoestopper
Website: http://www.shoestopper.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/devikabharadwaj

Then she returned fifteen years later...

Hola!

I've been MIA, but trust MBA and exams to do that to a being as insignificant as me. I can't say how the darned exams were, but I can tell you how they ended. Well, I must say. I saw English Vinglish, so yes, time for a review!

The plot surrounds pretty much around the story that Shashi (played by heavily cosmetic surger-ied Sridevi), your average house-wife who cannot speak English, isn't given respect by her husband and teenage daughter who make fun of her lack of English-speaking abilities, and is ruled heavily by the requirements of her duties as a home-maker. 

Then as luck would have it, she goes to New York to help her elder sister with her daughter's wedding preparations where she comes across an advertisement that says 'learn English in 4 weeks'. Having some extra dough that she earned from her laddoo making home business. She signs up for it, and baaam... life changes. 

At the classes, she meets different people from different backgrounds (very Zabaan Sambhal Ke-ish). One (very cute) French chef, Laurent, is consumed by her simplicity and beauty and well, I'll leave the rest for you to watch. 

What's endearing about the movie is it's simplicity. Shashi's simplicity. Gauri Shinde wrote a beautiful character, but Sridevi brought it to life. I was never a fan of Sridevi... ever. However, I don't think any other actress could have done this role as well as her. When she cried, you feel like crying; when she's excited, it shows on your face... 

Although, I couldn't help but cringe a bit at close-up shots, because you could see right through her cosmetic surgeries gone wrong. *ouch* (though the bloody beautiful sarees by Sabyasachi made up for anything not-so-pretty things in the movie)

The script seems very real. Some scenes almost make you cry. Her struggle to order a cup of coffee, her daughter's embarrassment to introduce her to her school friends and teachers, her husband's lack of respect for her in public and very many such scenes that leave you feeling so sorry for her that you want to get up and slap her husband and daughter, and hug her through the screen. 

Final word: 
My verdict is a 4 and  a half stars for good acting, good direction, a very real script and good portrayal of emotions. The music supports the script well too. Go watch it and take your family along. Especially your mum. It may leave her positively inspired, and it'd be worth it.


Au revoir,
Miss Bee.

I tweet on:  https://twitter.com/#!/DevikaBharadwaj
Facebook Fanpage:  http://www.facebook.com/shoestopper
Website: http://www.shoestopper.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/devikabharadwaj