Beauty and the Beast: dazzling and nostalgic

Beauty and the Beast: dazzling and nostalgic

right from the start, when the Beast as a human (played by Dan Stevens) – in his massive white wig and make-up – is partying with his courtiers. But there’s one track both, kids and adults are bound to enjoy. Be our guest, performed by the film’s personified objects in a part-Broadway-part-burlesque style, is almost psychedelic but a definite thrill.

Beauty and the Beast

• Director: Bill Condon
• Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson.
• Runtime: 129 minutes

Emma Watson as Belle the bookworm yearning for a life of adventure is perfect. And the Beast’s transformation from monster to man never really jars. The big waltz performance with the two though, underwhelmed. Especially when Belle, human in all her glory, didn’t quite match a CGI motion captured Beast dancing by her side. It’s one of the few shortcomings of the film, where special effects don’t seamlessly blend with the live action portions. It’s most apparent when the focus shifts onto the household objects. Even big names Ian McKellen (Cogsworth), Emma Thompson (Mrs Potts) and Ewan McGregor (Lumière) can’t quite humanise the objects they play. Then there’s Gaston (Luke Evans), an arrogant former soldier turned hunter, who deftly evokes the ill-feeling his character deserves. His sidekick and subordinate in crime is Lefou (played by Josh Gad) who will be long remembered after the film is over. And as for all the brouhaha about Disney’s first gay character, I’d have expected the film to be a lot more scandalous.

There’s been a fair amount of hype surrounding the film ever since teasers were first released in late 2015. Even if you haven’t seen the animated original, the 2017 remake will leave you reminiscing about childhood. That nostalgia and buoyant feeling is alone worth watching Beauty and the Beast

Baahubali 2 trailer: Faster, higher, stronger

The much-awaited trailer is finally out and it doesn’t feel like two years have passed since the first part of SS Rajamouli’s epic film took Indian viewers by storm. 

If Baahubali: The Beginning was impressive, The Conclusion seems to be packed with even grander stuff. There’s the final face-off between Mahendra Baahubali (Prabhas) and his uncle, Bhallala Deva (Rana Dagubbati retaining his savageness), the obligatory flashback to Amarendra Baahubali’s past as Mahismati’s king and his amour with Devasena (Anushka Shetty), a bit more of Queen Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan), mammoth elephant statues holding up bridges and yes, a war within the kingdom. M.M. Keeravani’s rock-treatment to the soundtrack seems to raise the intended effect by several notches. 

“As long as you are by my side, a man who can kill me hasn’t even been born, uncle,” says a weary, injured Amarendra to Kattappa (Sathyaraj). We already know what happens next. As to the question of why Kattappa killed Baahubali, we have to wait until April 28.

Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva: Bald and the beautiful

In one of Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva’s many painful scenes, ACP Siva (‘Makkal Superstar’ Raghava Lawrence) storms the house of corrupt politician GK (Ashutosh Rana) and starts a shooting blitzkrieg. He exhausts all the bullets in his revolver, a machine gun and a sniper rifle. The camera pans to show us the damage and not one person is hurt. Instead, the bullet holes on a faraway wall form the State Emblem of India.

If subtlety were a place, then someone’s given Raghava Lawrence a travel ban. In a dialogue that follows, he looks at one of GK’s henchmen and asks, ‘Ivlo nadandapramum logic kekraye nee (even after all this, are you asking me for logic)?” It’s as though the question is directed at us. Not just the audience, but critics too.

The problem really isn’t with the mass hero film it, unabashedly, sets out to be. It’s with how the film struggles to check a few boxes on the tiny to-do-list that make a good mass film. A great hero entry, a good punch dialogue, an effective villain….sadly, Motta Shiva Ketta Siva has none of these.

A mass hero though? That’s the one thing this film has going for it. For many, Lawrence is nothing but a carbon copy of Rajinkanth and his mannerisms. But there’s a distinct style in the way he performs, even in the simplest of scenes. Just see how well he carries off a police belt with jeans, and you can see why producers pumped money into this star vehicle.

But can the hero’s charisma alone save a two-and-half-hour film? Not really. ACP Shiva, never really comes across as a real, vulnerable person. He’s invincible and this alienates our concerns for the characters. So imagine a stretch that brings about Shiva’s transformation....a mute girl who is like a sister to him, is murdered, and this triggers his shift from a corrupt cop to an honest one. But we learn so little about the girl that it doesn’t matter if her murder is avenged.

Throw in a couple of super-offensive rape jokes into this mix and this masala is just too strong for your taste.

Genre: Action

Director: Sai Ramani

Cast: Raghava Lawrence, Sathyaraj, Nikki Galrani

Storyline: A corrupt cop mends his ways after a friend’s murder

Bottomline: Mindless masala

PHILLAURI: SURAJ SHARMA ON HIS BOLLYWOOD DEBUT AND SPOOKY TALES

After getting a big break with Ang Lee's Life of Pi, Suraj Sharma is ready for his big Bollywood debut. The Life of Pi actor will be seen next in Phillauri that also stars Anushka Sharma and Diljit Dosanjh in key roles. Suraj, who is still studying filmmaking in New York, told Mirror, "I definitely believe in supernatural. There are strange occurrences sometimes and it's a part and parcel of life. You don't know the world, truly."

The actor narrated an incident that happened with him recently. "I went for my friend's reception in Allahabad. I was chatting with my friends, when suddenly my friend's brother called us out to show something unbelievable. There was this door and the lock was swinging side ways in one momentum. Trust me, there was no wind or breeze either to have caused that. It was weird and I was trying to find out the scientific reason behind that. In a fraction of a moment, we heard a girl scream on the third floor. As we went up and asked her what had happened, she showed us something that was extremely scary. It so happened that in the bathroom, the mirror and the sink cracked in just in one single line. It was damn scary," he said.

The spooky element fits in perfectly well with the theme of Phillauri, where Anushka palys a ghot, albeit, a friendly one. Speaking about his experience of working with Anushka, Suraj said, "Anushka is a great performer. She is super fun. But on sets, she is completely in her character. She doesn't waste time. I was absolutely in sync working with her. It was always a learning process." Suraj added, "His character Kanan was forced to marry a tree unwittingly and that's how he came across Shashi, played by Anushka Sharma. Shashi shows that the old world is not different from the new one. She made him find the true meaning of love."

Asked him about the difference he finds in the West and here in India, Suraj said, "There are similarities and differences. We are at par in many levels with others. We have better colour and music. But, they are extremely planned and systematic. That's good. However, when there are some minor disturbances, their ability to come up with a plan B or C is slow. But here we know how to fix things immediately if things don't go as planned. We are big jugaadus and that's the biggest difference."

While every newcomer wishes to work with bigwigs of Bollywood, Suraj is no different. Suraj said, "Amongst the Khans, I think I would love to work with Aamir Khan. I think he makes very sensible and important films. Other than that, I would love to work with Nawazuddin Siddique and Naseerudin Shah. I would also want to work with Alia Bhatt, she is a powerhouse performer."

Suraj who is a part of both Indian and western cinema proudly claims that India is doing extremely well at the global platform. From Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, to name a few, India is known by these faces on a global scale. Suraj concluded saying, "Oh god! Sunny Pawar is so cool. I love that kid."

BAAHUBALI 2 - THE CONCLUSION: PRABHAS AND RANA DAGGUBATI GIVE A SNEAK PEEK OF AN EPIC BATTLE

Looks like finally the riddle will finally be solved- why did Katappa kill Baahubali? In the much awaited trailer of Bahubaali 2 that extends over two minutes, S S Rajamouli teased Baahubali fans with an epic battle which is yet to come. The makers released the trailer today and it will leave many spell bound. Baahubali: The Beginning was released in 2015 and after a hiatus of two years the second part will be released this year.

While the makers had already created buzz with the motion posters earlier, the sneak peek of the film shows that from Prabhas and Rana Daggubati's high octane action sequences to the VFX, everything looks like a notch higher than the first part.
The highlight of the trailer was Baahubali's dialogue to Katappa, "Tumhare hote hue, mujhe maarne waala paida nahi hua, mama", just enough to peak the curiosity of the audience. However, it's not clear in the trailer as to why Katappa killed Baahubali?

Baahubali is not all about war and battle. There's a strong love story blossoming as well and the makers have shown it in a very aesthetical way.

The film that stars Rana Daggubati, Prabhas, Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah Bhatia releases on April 28 this year simultaneously in four languages. 

Shell wants to build renewable energy portfolio in India

Firm says it has good opportunity in synergy with renewables

Royal Dutch Shell is looking at opportunities in India to build its renewable energy portfolio, especially in light of the country’s renewable energy targets to be achieved over the next decade, according to Mark Gainsborough, executive vice- president, New Energies, Royal Dutch Shell.

“India has a very ambitious target for the growth of the renewable sector,” Mr. Gainsborough told The Hindu during a clean energy forum organised by Shell during its ‘Make the Future Singapore’ event.

“I think India is a really important market for renewables in the future. There is a huge opportunity there. There is a lot of coal being burnt there, which is a challenge and we are interested in looking at opportunities in India.”

“We already have a presence in the oil and gas business and potentially there is a good opportunity for us in the synergy with renewables,” Mr.Gainsborough added.

“It is one of the biggest growth markets in terms of growth in demand in power. So anybody who is interested in power will be interested in India,” he said.

Storage technology

One of the key issues with renewable energy, Mr.Gainsborough added, was that storage technology is currently not up to the mark.

“Batteries have a long way to go. To be cost effective storage there needs to be a lot of work,” he said. “The lithium ion batteries we use are good for only very short duration storage. And what you need is much longer storage.”

Speaking at the forum, John Abbott, downstream director and executive committee member, Royal Dutch Shell, spoke about the critical role gas will play in India’s energy mix in the coming years.

“Gas will play a very important role in helping India reach its aim of achieving 40% of its energy from renewables and clean sources by 2040,” Mr.Abbott said. “And biofuels will be key to the transport sector. Gas is cleaner during burning than coal and is the perfect partner for renewables. It is flexible and abundant.”

Mr Abbott said Shell planned to reduce its carbon emissions at its retail outlets by 50%, although he did not specify a timeframe for this.