Author: Madhuri Prabhu
Madhuri Prabhu
Madhuri Prabhu is a post-graduate degree holder in Electronic Media (Department of Journalism & Communication, Mumbai University) and the brain behind Cutting Shots. She began her journey in showbiz with an internship under a TV producer and worked on a couple of daily soaps. Post her brief stint as an executive producer and assistant casting director for a YouTube channel, Hindi Kavita, Madhuri hopped into the world of entertainment journalism.
Bellamkonda Sreenivas’ Hindi debut, Chatrapathi is a film stuck in a time warp. Cast: Bellamkonda Sreenivas, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Sharad Kelkar, Bhagyashree, Karan Singh Chhabra, Freddy Daruwala, Sahil Vaid Director: VV Vinayak Writers: V Vijayendra Prasad, Mayur Puri (dialogues) “In VV Vinayak’s Chatrapathi, Shiva (Bellamkonda Sreenivas) tries to comfort his grievously injured friend and says, “Main toh aa gaya hoon.” Hearing this, the latter in his final dying moments, feebly quips, “Lekin main toh jaa rahoon hain.” This is supposed to be a tragic scene where the hero has received a ‘severe’ blow. However, you end up giggling at the amusing…
Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Karthi are the three pillars of Mani Ratnam’s dazzling Ponniyin Selvan 2. Cast: Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Prakash Raj, Vikram Prabhu Director: Mani Ratnam Writers: Mani Ratnam, Kumaravel, Jayamohan (dialogues) (based on Kalki Krishnamorthy’s novel, ‘Ponniyin Selvan’) Upon Aditha Karikalan’s (Vikram) arrival at Kadamboor palace, when Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) steps out to welcome him, the former greets her with questions like ‘How are you?’ and ‘Are you well?’ On the other hand, the first image that flashes in Nandini’s mind is that of her and Aditha enjoying…
Salman Khan-Pooja Hegde’s latest Eid release, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan has all the gloss but no ‘jaan’. Cast: Salman Khan, Pooja Hegde, Venkatesh Daggubati, Bhumika Chawla, Shehnaaz Gill, Raghav Juyal, Siddharth Nigam, Palak Tiwari, Jassie Gill, Jagapathi Babu, Vijender Singh Director: Farhad Samji Writers: Farhad Samji, Sparsh Khetarpal, Tasha Bhambra “Jab shareer, dil aur dimaag mujhse kehta hai bas bhai, no more, toh main kehta hoon bring it on,” says Salman Khan to one of the baddies in his latest Eid release, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ka Jaan. Wait, is this one of the reasons why the Bollywood superstar…
Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani starring Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen completes eight years today. Eight years ago, the charming Aditya and the enigmatic Tara zoomed their way into our hearts; courtesy Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani. Set in Mumbai, the breezy romance told the tale of two youngsters in a live-in relationship and what happens when they come across old-fashioned love and marriage. Besides the eye-pleasing visuals captured by PC Sreeram, the frothy love story also left us spellbound with some memorable songs that were perfectly woven into the narrative. One such track in the film is ‘Mental Manadhil’ picturized on…
Did you know this interesting trivia about Manmohan Desai’s 1977 blockbuster film, Amar Akbar Anthony? “Anhoni ko honi kar de honi ko anahoni, Ek jagah jab jama hon teenon amar akbar anthony.” More than four decades later, Manmohan Desai’s Amar Akbar Anthony still continues to make us laugh and even shed a tear or two! With an ambitious star cast headlined by Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Zeenat Aman, Neetu Kapoor and Shabana Azmi, the film revolves around three brothers who are separated in childhood and raised in different faiths. Speaking about the 1977 film, who can forget the…
Director Gunasekhar’s mythology for the millennials is a grand spectacle backed by an exquisite Samantha. Cast: Samantha, Dev Mohan, Sachin Khedekar, Mohan Babu, Kabir Bedi, Madhoo, Gautami, Kabir Duhan Singh, Allu Arha Director: Gunasekhar Writers: Gunasekhar, Sai Madhav Burra (dialogues), Naresh Namdev (Hindi dialogues) When a distressed Shakuntala (Samantha) expresses her fear of losing the love of her life after being abandoned by her parents as a baby, King Dushyant (Dev Mohan) tries to pacify her way and says, “Tum prem se vanchit nahi ho sakti Shakuntala, tum toh prem ki moorat ho.” Well, Dushyant’s words did ring true as even…
Actor Gashmeer Mahajani, in an exclusive tête-à-tête with Cutting Shots, talks about taking up broken characters, his learnings as an actor from Kamal Haasan and Fahadh Faasil and more. It’s a busy Saturday afternoon when I ring up Gashmeer Mahajani. “I have my small boy with me on the sets today,” he tells me and breaks into a laugh. The excitement in his voice is palpable. In the background, I can hear little Vyom’s animated chatter while his daddy dearest caters to him. It reminded me of the time when in the midst of one of our interviews with Shah…
Aditya Roy Kapur-Mrunal Thakur’s thriller lacks deft direction and ends up as a lukewarm spin on the double role trope. Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Mrunal Thakur, Ronit Roy, Vedika Pinto, Deepak Kalra Director: Vardhan Ketkar Writers: Original Story by Magizh Thirumeni, Screenplay by Aseem Arora “Kabhi kabhi lagta hain kuch jyaada overambitious toh nahin ho gayi,” says Janhvi (Vedika Pinto) to her beau Arjun (Aditya Roy Kapur) in a scene in Gumraah. Likewise, this Vardhan Ketkar directorial tries to make itself look like a clever thriller but achieves the desired result only in specks. What’s Yay: A few plot twists…
N.S Ponkumar’s period film, 16 August 1947 starring Gautham Karthik and Revathy, gets buried under a heap of erratic writing and melodramatic execution inspite of having a promising idea. Cast: Gautham Karthik, Revathy, Pugazh, Richard Ashton, Jason Sha, Bose Venkat Director: N.S Ponkumar Writer: N.S Ponkumar “To forget the pain, it’s not necessary to give them rest. It’s enough if we inflict more pain,” Robert, a barbaric British general tells his worker after lashing one of his injured slaves with a spiky whip. In another instance, he punishes a few villagers by putting them on a sawtooth column. Director N.S…
Despite some interesting ingredients on his platter, Pawan Kirpalani falls to cook an edge-of-the seat whodunit thriller in his latest directorial featuring Sara Ali Khan, Vikrant Massey and Chitrangda Singh. Cast: Sara Ali Khan, Vikrant Massey, Chitrangda Singh, Akshay Oberoi Director: Pawan Kirpalani Writers: Neha Sharma, Pawan Kirpalani Streaming Platform: Disney+ Hotstar In one of the scenes in Pawan Kirpalani’s Gaslight, Meesha (Sara Ali Khan) is seen scribbling circles on a few papers in her room. Her visual depiction is exactly how this whodunit thriller moves and soon, your patience wears thin. What’s Yay: Good concept What’s Nay: Meandering screenplay, banal twists Story Years…