by Joginder Tuteja
After Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, another big film to come straight on OTT this year is Toofan. After watching the movie that premiered on Amazon Prime, a common feeling is that it was a big-screen watch. After all, the kind of action that is seen in the boxing ring is the kind that is best enjoyed in the most optimal audio and visual set up.
Despite running for less than three hours, the film turns out to be a truly entertaining watch. Yes, it has predictable elements, especially the ones inside the ring. This is also expected as there is a special graph that occurs in a player’s rise, fall and then rise. Furthermore, unlike cricket, footfall or other major sports that have longer play periods, boxing lasts only a few minutes, making it nearly impossible to plug in any surprise, unconventional or unexpected moment.
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This is where Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and writer Anjum Rajabali (writer of another film with a major element of boxing, Ghulam) do well in bringing some unexpected elements out of the ring. The dharma angle, the love story, the intolerance, the reason behind the suspension from boxing and then a major turn of events in the second half ensure that despite knowing how the storm ended, there are still many moments in the film that no one can come see
What could have been taken care of though was the way the middle of the second half unfolded, especially after the first half. Lots of dull moments and unnecessary songs (none of which grab your attention) take about 20-30 minutes in this part of the film, which gets a bit impatient. However, the pre-climax and then the sequence leading to the climax are good, so the film manages to get into the fold again. Also, Farhan Akhtar impressed big time as an actor as well as a boxer, Toofan works well.
coming soon
It is soon going to be the season of comedy, are there two movies related to this genre coming on the same day. While 14 Phere will premiere on ZEE5, Hungama 2 is set to release on Disney+ Hotstar. Both films were originally designed for theatrical release. While 14 Phere was always meant to release around this time of the year, Hungama 2 has been around for a year and after a long wait for theaters to reopen, it is now finding an OTT release for itself.
First of all let’s talk about 14 rounds. Vikrant Massey and Kriti Kharbanda are the lead pair in the film. Vikrant was actually recently seen in Haseen Dilruba, where he had an intense role to play. However, he will be seen in a light-hearted avatar in 14 Phere. He has already shown his funny side in Ginny Weds Sunny but there he needed to go on top. In 14 Phere, it is more of a ‘hero type’ role for him. As far as Kriti Kharbanda is concerned, she has the art of bringing sunshine to the screen when she comes on screen. The same is expected from him in 14 rounds too.
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Hungama 2 comes from Priyadarshan’s house and after 8 years of Rangrej he is back to make a Hindi film. There was a time when he used to churn out films regularly (he has over 75 films as a director) but in the last 8-10 years, he has slowed down a bit. Now she is back with Hungama 2 and while her regular Paresh Rawal is taking center stage in a film, Shilpa Shetty is also returning to the big screen after 14 years. For the younger couple, there are Meezaan Jaffrey and Parantiha.
From the look of things, Hungama 2 turns out to be a family comedy and will take the audience back to the beginning of the new millennium when many such films were churned out. In fact Priyadarshan was the producer of many such films. [Hungama, Hulchul, Chup Chup Ke, Garam Masala] And viewers can expect to settle for less with Hungama 2.
release dates
14 Phere – ZEE5 – 23 July
Hungama 2 – Disney+Hotstar – July 23
(Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic, and loves to talk and write about anything related to films. Views are personal)
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