Meenakshi Rao's Bollywood and Hollywood movie reviews

Cast:  Tiger Shroff, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Nidhhi Agerwal Rated:   5.5/10 Legend Michael Jackson would have given his life to get the 16-pack abs that his disciple Tiger Shroff sports in   Munna Michael.   He would also be delighted that Munna’s body complements MJ’s staccato dancing almost too the T, though the signature moonwalk is unduly unsung in the film apparently made to give a lasting tribute to the original star of pop music. So how do you judge a film on Michael Jackson which comes not from Hollywood but from the drama company of Bollywood, is not a biopic, has desi song and dance all mixed up with   Haryanavi goondas, reality shows and also a romantic triangle. It’s a   kichadi   you may not want to relish. But full marks to Tiger Shroff for virtually patenting the genre of a dancing-action sensation. He dances to perfection. He fights like he is dancing to perfection. He romances while dancing to perfection and he lives his M...

Cast : Sridevi, Adnan Siddiqui, Sajal Ali, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Akshaye Khanna Rated:  8.5/10 It is a difficult venture to knit a racy thriller around a rape incident and even more difficult to not belittle the victim’s plight in the process of playing to the gallery by taking the law into your hands. But this “justice-denied” rape and vengeance drama is both sensitive and racy, flitting deftly between action and emotion without letting down either — and never ever, not even once, straying from the rape survivor’s unenviable plight and fight with life from behind drawn curtains, silent sobs, skin scratching midnight showers and constant fear after the incident. And, Sridevi, back after a long gap since making waves as a determined yet gentle housewife in English Vinglish , is the reason why this almost similar rape movie does not plummet down Raveena Tandon’s Maatr way  but holds you on to the edge-of-your-seat till the very end of a 2.5 hour drama. Besides Sri...

Staring:  Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Harshaali Malhotra, Om Puri, Sharat Saxena Rated:  6/10 Here comes aman ki asha, Sallu bhai style. Actually not really, really Sallu style but definitely aman ki asha all the way. And  Bajrangi Bhaijaan  (Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi) just in case you are looking for synonyms for Hanumanji) smiles though this cross-border film on a dream that has lived alongside the depressing reality of India, Pakistan relations. Now, as we all know, our Sallu Bhai has been on a trot with NGO kind of movies. From  Jai Ho to Kick  and now  Bajrangi Bhaijaan  — the beleaguered star has been churning out movies which are away from the chawanni chhaap stamp of success that has Sallu Bhai wringing in the cash registers, as always. But un-Sallu does not really mean a bad film, it only means a different one from Salman Khan. In this one, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and his two-bit role as a Pakistani TV journo is a...