Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / 2016 / Archives for December 2016

Archives for December 2016

New notes: Several discrepancies emerge in RBI, government figures

by

new-notes-india

New Delhi: Several new and large discrepancies have emerged in the stated positions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government on the printing and distribution of new currencies following the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes on November 8.

These discrepancies include a highly unlikely surge in the supply of high-denomination notes in two days. They also show substantial divergence in figures given by the central banker and those given by the government in Parliament. And finally there’s an unexplained hiatus in the supply of notes for 11 days.

Either Parliament has been misled, or claims about the supply by the RBI are flawed.

Let’s look at the figures in chronological order:

On November 28, the RBI issued a press release saying that the public had withdrawn Rs 2.16 lakh crore in new notes from accounts or ATMs till November 27. As RBI chose not to give any break-up of this amount, it is fair to assume that some of this was in lower denomination notes of Rs 100 or less.

However, according to a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Finance, Arjun Ram Meghwal, categorically stated that, by November 29, a total of 1,608 million pieces (160.8 crore) of Rs 2,000 denomination and 156 million (15.6 crore) pieces of Rs 500 had been supplied — a total of 1,764 million pieces (or 1.76 billion) amounting to a little over Rs 3.29 lakh crore. The minister’s reply came on December 6.

There are two significant points to note here:

One, that the government’s number implies that the currency disbursal had shot up by over Rs 1.13 lakh crore in just two days. This, when the RBI had supplied Rs 2.16 lakh crore in 17 days till then — at an average of only Rs 12,700 crore a day.

Moreover, Meghwal’s number pertained only to high denomination notes, whereas the RBI number was a mix of all denominations. In other words, the discrepancy between the two sets of numbers would have been even higher if the minister’s reply in Parliament had included the smaller denomination currency notes disbursed till November 29.

Now things begin to get even more curiouser.

On the day the monetary policy was announced (December 7), the RBI revealed a new set of disbursal figures. The Deputy Governor of RBI, R. Gandhi, said a total of Rs 4 lakh crore had been disbursed as of the previous day.

Of this amount, Rs 1.06 lakh crore was in smaller denomination currency notes, according to Gandhi, while the rest — Rs 2.94 lakh crore — implicitly, was by way of high-denomination notes.

This figure of Rs 2.94 lakh crore, which was announced seven days after the date of disbursal given in Parliament reply, is substantially less than the amount of Rs 3.29 lakh crore mentioned in the minister’s written statement about supply till November 29.

Yet again, on December 12, Gandhi, while speaking to reporters, said that a total of 1.7 billion notes of higher denomination of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 had been issued to the public till December 10.

That means, a full 11 days after Meghwal’s reply that 1.76 billion high-value notes had been disbursed by November 29, the RBI was stating that the notes given out had been less or at best the same — if one assumes that he was giving a rounded-off figure of 1.7 billion.

(IANS)

Russia joins probe into envoy assassination in Ankara

by

Andrey Karlov was speaking at a photo exhibition in the capital when he was gunned down by a Turkish off-duty policeman.

The assailant is seen in this photo at the rear on the left [Burhan Ozbilici/AP]

The assailant is seen in this photo at the rear on the left [Burhan Ozbilici/AP]

by Al Jazeera

Turkish authorities detained six people after the assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey as Moscow dispatched more than a dozen investigators to join the probe into the killing.

Ambassador Andrey Karlov, 62, died from gunshot wounds after a 22-year-old off-duty Turkish policeman shot him in the back as he gave a speech at an Ankara art gallery on Monday night.

“The group will act in Turkey within the framework of the investigation into the murder,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

“Eighteen people will work in the group,” said Peskov, adding Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to the move in a phone call.

Karlov was several minutes into a speech at an embassy-sponsored photography exhibition when a man who stood directly behind him in a dark suit shot the diplomat in the back from close range multiple times.

Shouting angrily while pacing around the body in front of a shocked crowd, the assailant – identified as Mevlut Mert Altintas – said all those responsible for what has happened in Syria and Aleppo would be held accountable. “We die in Aleppo, you die here,” he screamed.

Police later killed the gunman in a firefight that lasted 15 minutes.

An unprecedented three-way meeting between the foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia, and Iran in Moscow over the Syria crisis began on Tuesday where the Russian foreign minister said “no quarter should be given to terrorists in Syria” after the murder of the envoy.

Earlier Putin declared “we have to know who directed the hand of the killer”.

The state-run Anadolu agency said the attacker’s mother, father, sister and two other relatives were held in the western province of Aydin, while his flatmate in Ankara was also detained.

After the initial shot, the attacker approached Karlov as he lay on the ground and shot him at least one more time at close range, according to an AP photographer at the scene.

He also smashed several of the framed photos on exhibition, but later let the stunned guests out of the venue.

The spectacle of Karlov’s assassination by a member of the Turkish security forces at a photography exhibition meant to highlight Russian culture reinforced the sense of unease over the region’s conflict and complex web of alliances and relationships.

“On behalf of my country and my people I once again extend my condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the friendly Russian people,” said Erdogan.

Putin promised a response to the assassination.

“The crime that has been committed is undoubtedly a provocation aimed at derailing the ties between Russia and Turkey, as well as the peace process in Syria,” said Putin from Moscow. “There is only one possible response to this – the strengthening of the fight against terror, and the bandits will feel it themselves.”

Relations between Russia and Turkey were badly strained by the downing of a Russian warplane at the Syrian border in November 2015, but Turkey’s apology earlier this year helped to overcome the rift.

‘Don’t forget Aleppo’

The assailant highlighted the situation in Aleppo after he shot the ambassador in the back.

“Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria,” the attacker said.

“Whoever took part in this cruelty will pay the price, one by one … Only death will take me from here,” the man said while holding a pistol.

He then continued in Arabic, saying: “We are the descendants of those who supported the Prophet Muhammad, for jihad.”

15,000 from Myanmar flee fighting to China

by

Heavy fighting has led thousands to escape across the border in the northern states of Kachin and Shan.

REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun-

REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun-

by Al Jazeera

As many as 15,000 people have fled across Myanmar’s border into China in the past month as fighting between the army and armed ethnic groups intensifies, the UN says.

Aid access to people affected by conflict in the northern states of Kachin and Shan “is getting worse, not better”, Pierre Peron, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Myanmar, said by email.

The OCHA said in an update on Monday that, as well as the estimated 15,000 new refugees, another 2,400 people have been displaced internally in the northern part of Shan state since November 20, when a coalition of four rebel armies attacked military and police outposts.

Dozens have also drowned trying to cross the river that separates Myanmar from Malaysia. The government of Myanmar has already banned its citizens from working in Malaysia.

Weeks of clashes and the new displacements have damaged Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s hopes of securing peace in the long-running conflicts in the mountainous border areas, a goal she has made her administration’s top priority.

Observers fear that Suu Kyi’s fledgling civilian administration is unable to rein in the army, which retains political power and is free from civilian oversight.

Critics have accused her of turning a blind eye to the plight of Rohingya ethnic minority, who have faced discrimination from the authorities for decades.

Echoing a November 30 UN statement, Amnesty International on Sunday said abuse of the ethnic minorities based mostly in western Rakhine state might “amount to crimes against humanity”.

“Humanitarian access to conflict areas in Kachin and Shan states is currently worse than at any point in the past few years,” Peron said.

“This has seriously affected the ability of humanitarian organisations to provide life-saving aid to tens of thousands of [internally displaced] and other conflict-affected people.”

The army said it would step up operations in Shan state following the November 20 attacks.

A Myanmar police official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to reporters, told Reuters news agency that government forces had clashed with armed groups in northern Shan at least 170 times in the past month.

In a separate offensive to the north, government forces took control of a strategic hill close to the Kachin Independence Army’s headquarters at Laiza on the Chinese border on Saturday, according to state media.

Shells reportedly landed near a camp for the internally displaced just outside Laiza on Sunday, the OCHA said, citing unconfirmed reports that it could not verify independently.

No casualties were reported but shelters were damaged and about 400 people had to be evacuated, it said.

A Myanmar government spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, at least 30,000 have been internally displaced in Rakhine state, where fighting and crackdowns have been severe since nine border police officers were killed near Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh.

While thousands of Rohingya have found shelter in Bangladesh, the country is now turning away further arrivals of boatloads of fleeing families.

Human Rights Watch has released several sets of satellite images showing that several Rohingya villages in Rakhine state have been burned and destroyed since late October.

Man opens fire on praying Muslims in Switzerland

by

Suspect fired shots at worshippers at Zurich Islamic centre before fleeing scene, leaving victims seriously wounded.

Switzerland, a country of some eight million people, reportedly has around 450,000 Muslims [EPA]

Switzerland, a country of some eight million people, reportedly has around 450,000 Muslims [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

A man burst into a Muslim prayer hall in the Swiss city of Zurich and started shooting, wounding at least three men.

A body found a few hundred metres from the scene was that of the shooter who attacked an Islamic centre, police confirmed on Tuesday.

At around 5:30pm on Monday (16:30 GMT), the unidentified attacker entered the Islamic centre where several worshippers were gathered and began firing, Zurich police said in a statement.

He “fired several shots at the worshippers,” police said. “Three men, aged 30, 35 and 56, were injured, some seriously. The suspect then escaped from the mosque in the direction of Central Station,” it said.

Witnesses described the gunman as a man aged about 30 wearing dark clothes and a dark woollen cap, witnesses said.

Search operation

Police have urged witnesses who were in the area around the time of the shooting to come forward. The motive for the shooting was still unclear.

About a dozen people were inside the prayer hall at the time of the attack, the ATS news agency reported, citing a number of people on site, adding a prayer service had been scheduled for 4:45pm (15:45 GMT).

The worshippers were mainly from North Africa, Somalia and Eritrea, ATS reported.

The body was discovered on the river bank, underneath the bridge, and had been draped with a white sheet.

Zurich police said Tuesday on Twitter that “we are working on the assumption that the dead person who was found is the culprit in the shooting at the Islamic Center in Zurich”.

A number of Swiss mosques, including one near Zurich and the main one in Geneva, have, in recent months, been accused in the media of allowing or encouraging the “radicalisation” of their worshippers, especially the younger members of their congregations.

Switzerland, a country of some eight million people, reportedly has some 450,000 Muslims.

India thrash England to clinch series 4-0

by

test-win-india

Chennai: India on Tuesday clinched the five-match cricket Test rubber 4-0 after thrashing England by an innings and 75 runs in the fifth and final match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here.

Left-arm-spinner Ravindra Jadeja led the Indian bowling with figures of 7/48 as the visitors were bundled out for 207 in the second innings.

Earlier, India scored a mammoth 759/7 declared in their first innings in reply to England’s 477.

(Agencies)

BJP-SAD alliance sweeps Chandigarh MC poll

by

bjp

Chandigarh: The BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal alliance today attained clear majority in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls winning 20 out of the 26 wards.

BJP won in 20 wards, rival Congress 4 and Independent one, an election office spokesman said here.

Prominent among those who won were BJP Mayor Arun Sood, and Congress stalwart Devinder Singh Babla.

The overall polling percentage in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election was 59.54 per cent.

Election to 26 wards of the Municipal Corporation were seen as a litmus test for BJP and Congress post demonetisation.

Total 122 candidates, including 67 Independents, contested the polls.The total number of voters were 5,07,627, including 2,37,374 women voters.

Both Congress and BJP contested all 26 wards, while BSP had also put up candidates in the fray from 17 wards.

The Municipal Corporation has 36 members, of which 26 are elected councillors, nine are nominated councillors and one is an MP (ex-officio member of the House).

In the last House, BJP has 15 councillors, Congress has nine, BSP has one and one is Independent.

Congress had made demonetisation a major issue in the polls, with its city unit leaders saying the move was implemented without any “application of mind” and had put the public to “great hardships”.

(PTI)

Thousands evacuated from east Aleppo

by

Thousands of people, including dozens of orphans, leave Aleppo in ongoing evacuation effort from besieged Syrian city.

[Sedat Suna/EPA]

[Sedat Suna/EPA]

by Al Jazeera

Dozens of buses carrying evacuees including orphaned children from the last rebel-held district of Aleppo travelled to opposition-controlled areas outside the city early on Monday, according to Turkish officials and a monitoring group.

Turkey said that about 20,000 people have been evacuated from eastern Aleppo so far, as a fragile ceasefire between rebels and government forces was holding.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that the evacuees from the besieged city were bused to an area under opposition control, in an ongoing effort to get people to safety.

Nearly 50 children who were trapped in an orphanage in east Aleppo were evacuated, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.

“This morning, all 47 children trapped in an orphanage in east Aleppo were evacuated to safety, with some in critical condition from injuries and dehydration,” Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF regional director, said in a statement.

UNICEF and other agencies were also assisting in reunifying other children evacuated in the past few days with their families and giving them medical care and winter clothes, he said.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an estimated 500 people had been evacuated from two villages besieged by rebels in Idlib province on Monday as part of the deal.

SOHR said 10 buses had left the majority Shia towns of Foua and Kefraya carrying evacuees through rebel-held territory towards Aleppo.

The evacuation process in Aleppo got off to a shaky start last week, with agreements collapsing and four people reportedly killed by government-allied forces as they attempted to leave eastern Aleppo.

In the latest disruption on Sunday, gunmen attacked buses sent to take people out of Foua and Kefraya and torched them, killing a bus driver, the Syrian Observatory said.

‘Sleeping in the streets’

Thousands of people remain in eastern Aleppo, many sleeping in the streets in freezing temperatures as they wait to be evacuated.

“Conditions in eastern Aleppo remain extremely dire,” said Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Gaziantep on the Turkey-Syria border.

“In the evenings it can go to -5C. They have access to very little food, fuel, water and medical supplies.”

Most of the evacuees are taken to rebel-held Idlib province or Aleppo countryside.

Turkey has said that they could also be housed in a camp to be built near the Turkish border to the north.

UN monitors

Meanwhile at the United Nations, France and Russia announced agreement on a compromise resolution to deploy UN monitors to eastern Aleppo to ensure safe evacuations and immediate delivery of humanitarian aid.

France’s UN ambassador, Francois Delattre, told reporters the compromise was reached after more than three hours of closed consultations on Sunday and the Security Council would vote on the resolution on Monday.

Russia’s UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, told reporters before consultations that Moscow could not accept the French draft resolution unless it was changed.

He presented council members with a rival text.

After the consultations, Churkin said a “good text” had been formulated.

The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, said the resolution would quickly put more than 100 UN personnel on the ground to monitor evacuations.

“The text contains all the elements for safe, secure, dignified evacuation, for humanitarian access to those who choose to remain in eastern Aleppo” and for protecting civilians, she said.

She said that following the siege in eastern Aleppo, there have been “many, many reports of people being pulled off buses and disappeared, whether into conscription or into torture chambers or killed outright.”

Deploying UN monitors would deter “some of the worst excesses,” she said.

Russia, which has provided military backing to Assad, has vetoed six Security Council resolutions on Syria since the conflict started in 2011.

China joined Russia in vetoing five resolutions.

Aleppo had been divided between government and rebel areas in the nearly six-year war, but a major advance by the Syrian army and its allies began in mid-November following months of intense air strikes.

The offensive forced the opposition fighters out of most of their strongholds within a matter of weeks.

30 Minutes is a pure psychological drama gone awry

by

30-minutes-movie

Banner: Spectral India Media Management Pvt Ltd
Producers: Yesudas BC, Braj Sharwari, Pankaj Agrawal, Amarjit Singh Kohli, Manu Singal, Kapil Bansal, Hardeep Singh, Ishaan Singh, Mahesh Sagar & I.D. Chugh
Director: Yesudas. BC
Star Cast: Hiten Paintal, Hrishita Bhatt, Kanwarjit Paintal, Sanjeev Rathore, Hemant Pandey, Rana Jung Bahadur, Mukesh Bhatt,
Shiva et al
Music: Jaspal Moni, Naresh Vikal, Ashok Sharma & Haroon

Debutant director Yesudas BC has tried his hardest to make an interesting film out of an interesting subject in his debut film 30 Minutes but he is bogged down heavily with a shoddy screenplay and too many unwanted songs & dance routine which is certainly not the main requisite for a thriller oriented film like 30 Minutes.

No doubt 30 Minutes is a physiological thriller and it explains the value of time. Anyways the loosely scripted scenario revolves around the continuous torture & violent beatings of a child by his father even for small & unimportant tasks in order to enforce absolute punctuality on him. These childhood experiences of Shashank (Hiten Paintal) by his father (Kanwarjit Paintal) cause a lifelong psychiatric problems in the life of the child as he grows up to adulthood. Now he is a normal person in daily life and is efficiently working in a private firm as a copy writer. Soon enough he starts having a love affair with a girl named Shivangi(Hrishita Bhatt) working in the same office but his life gets into serious troubles on many occasions due to his childhood nightmares. Tired & desperate to get over such frequent problems, he plans a very interesting, thrilling & dangerous game called “30 minutes”.

In his debut directorial effort Yesudas BC has failed to show any directorial sparks. He has neither succeeded in extracting a decent act from his line up of actors nor does he seems to have a perfect command over his behind the scenes technical team barring his musical team comprising of Jaspal Moni, Naresh Vikal, Ashok Sharma & Haroon who have at least succeeded in keeping the proceedings lively with their decent musical score.

Performance wise Hiten Paintal has got a role of his lifetime that too as the main leading man singing songs & dancing around the trees which he executes well, but his acting skills as a psychologically unbalanced man leaves much to be desired and the same can be said about the veteran actor Kanwarjit Paintal. As this time around he is not up to the mark either. While Hrishita Bhatt, even in a double role of a twin sister, fails to impress. The rest of the actors like Sanjeev Rathore, Hemant Pandey, Rana Jung Bahadur, Mukesh Bhatt, Shiva et al just help in carrying the film forward.

Tail Piece: 30 Minutes does try to address the issue of physical violence against kids, but ends up paying a mere lip service. At the Box Office turnstiles 30 Minutes may be appreciated by the multiplex cinegoers as well as the film lovers of the film festival circuit but it is certainly not a common man’s cup of tea.

Movie Review: Befikre

by

befikre

Banner: Yashraj Films
Producer: Aditya Chopra
Director: Aditya Chopra
Star Cast: Ranveer Singh, Vaani Kapoor, Elisa Bachir Bay, Julie Ordon, Arman Ralhan et al
Music Vishal Dadlani – Shekhar Ravjiani & Mickey McCleary

Befikre is an urban youth centric fun entertainer with a new age theme. The scion of Yashraj Films namely director Aditya Chopra is a name in itself to be reckoned with and certainly needs no special introduction. Having made his debut with
Dilwale Dulhaniyaa Le Jaayenge he has displayed his directorial prowess with many super hit films which have been a cause for a joyous celebretion in itself and now Aditya Chopra has returned after almost a decade long hiatus in the directorial arena with his latest albeit most daring & extremely bold offering namely Befikre which happens to be a quintessential take on the Gen X’s bold & beautiful take on their own views of the ups & downs of their bitter sweet love life. So Befikre is a story that celebrates being carefree (befikre) in love.

So Befikre is a story about a couple’s ups & downs and their ultimate realization of love. The scripted scenario of Befikre kick starts with a stereotyped break up scene between Dharam (Ranveer Singh) & Shyra (Vaani Kapoor) which ends up with Dharam calling Shyra a “slut”, which hurts her the most. This is followed by a flashback of events which mirrors their yesterday and connects it with their today. The flashback sees a young & carefree Dharam landing up in Paris at the behest of his friend, who gives him a job of a stand – up comedian in his night club. On one of the party – hopping spree, Dharam meets a tour guide Shyra, a French girl of Indian origin. A couple of casual encounters later, the strong minded Dharam & Shyra decide to have a live in relationship, vowing not to say “stupid” things like “I love you”, because it will put an end to their carefree lives. Even when they break up with each other, they even land up celebrating that as well. All is well till the time a smart & well educated Anya (Armaan Ralhan) enters Shyra’s life. After a few meetings & party hopping with Shyra, Anya proposes marriage to her. When Dharam gets to know about Shyra’s marriage, he shocks Shyra by announcing his marriage to a French girl named Christine. What happens after that, are a series of events that changes everyone’s equation with each other.

Director Aditya Chopra has perhaps moved out of his comfort zone and made a very interesting film as usual and that apart he has not left any stone unturned to make Befikre as entertaining as possible barring the smooch fest which the lively Gen X will surely lap it up like nobody’s business but it surely won’t go down well with the so called over the hills age group but who cares. As I saw the film 1st time as a hardcore critic but even I enjoyed seeing it the 2nd time with the multiplex cine goers and found the patrons of my age too, just letting their hair down and totally enjoying the proceedings on the Big Screen with a totally Carefree (Befikre) attitude. The only dark cloud in the otherwise silver, or is it gold lining, was that Befikre is a pure adaptation of a French film named Love Me If You Dare and please don’t bother for the literal Hindi translation of the French title. Just go and soak yourself in the funfilled movie Befikre. As once in a while one should leave one’s indianess behind and become carefree (Befikre). Besides a special well – deserved brownie point goes to director Aditya Chopra for making a film for today’s youth which can also be appreciated even by the traditional, and not the totally orthodox indians who are still stuck with their so called indian sensitivity. Besides once again full marks to director Aditya Chopra for extracting brilliant work both from his core team of technicians as well as the entire cast comprising of Indian as well as imported foriegn actors. All of whom who have made Befikre a coming – of – age, fast paced, entertaining film and one which has more to it than just the kisses, the dares & the frivolous one – night stands as the characterisations in the film are strong and the dares forms the highpoint of the film. A special mention must also be made of the soundtracks like “Nashe Di”, “Ude Dil Befikre” and French number Je t’aime” which are already a rage all over. That apart the film’s background score by Mikey McCleary helps the film’s proceedings in a big way. While the film’s cinematography by Kaname Onoyama is outstanding. The way in which he has shot the entire locales of Paris including the famous Eiffel Tower are extremely superlative & top – notch. In other words, Befikre even appears like a blatant promotional exercise of French Tourism. And last but not the least is the film’s editing by Namrata Rao which indeed is crisp & bang -on.

Performance wise It is an out & out Ranveer Singh film all the way from “The Start” till “The End”. The film rides majorly on his sturdy shoulders, who has time & again, reinvented himself with every passing film. In one word he is “Outstanding” and deserves a standing ovation especially for his perfect comic timing, energy & freshness that he brings to the screen which in turn is extremely infectious. Even his nano second – “brief” nude scene shows his most carefree (Befikra) attitude and one which was earlier pulled off by King Khan in Maya Memsaab & Nitin Mukesh in a Madhur Bhandarkar film. Next in line is Vaani Kapoor who exhibits her screen presence in Befikre with picture perfect élan & style. The on – screen chemistry between Ranveer Singh & Vaani Kapoor is excellently brilliant. And of course Armaan Ralhan, Julie Ordon as Christine & Elisa Bachir Bay as Nathalie are one more welcome addition to the rooster of Bollywood actors & actresses. Rest of the characters in the film are good in their own way and thereby help to carry the film forward.

Tail Piece: Befikre is an urban youth centric fun entertainer with a new age theme which will find more patronage with the youth. At the Box – Office turnstiles it will be loved & appreciated by the target audiences especially in Multiplexes while the single theatres especially in the interiors maybe slightly shaky.

Movie Review: Wajah Tum Ho

by

Wajah Tum Ho is a perfectly made and entertaining whodunit thriller movie both for the class as well as the mass audiences.

wajah-tum-ho

Banner: T – Series Films
Producers: Bhushan Kumar & Krishan Kumar
Director: Vishal Pandya
Star Cast: Sharman Joshi, Rajneesh Duggal, Sana Khan, Gurmeet Choudhary, Deepen Gandhi, Sherlyn Chopra, Prarthana Behere, Himmanshoo Malhotra, Zarine Khan et al
Music: Mithoon, Abhijit Vaghani & Meet Bros

Director Vishal Pandya had shown his moderate directorial prowess with his 1st 2 outings in the Hate Story franchise produced by none other than the T – Series’ most reliable banner and now in his 3rd outing Wajah Tum Ho, director Vishal Pandya has surpassed his own directorial skills. Congrats!

Wajah Tum Ho is a film that mirrors the battle between money & power vis a vis love & emotions. The scripted scenario of Wajah Tum Ho kick starts with the gruesome murder of a corrupt cop ACP Ramesh Sarnaik. Besides murdering him mercilessly, the entire “episode” of the murder gets telecasted on GTN (Global Times Network), whose CEO happens to be the highly influential Rahul Oberoi (Rajneesh Duggal). As a part of the proceedings, a sincere Inspector Kabir Deshmukh (Sharman Joshi) enters the scene as the Investigating Officer, who spares no space for doubts in the case. Because the entire murder was telecasted live on GTN channel, Kabir suspects it to be a handiwork of Rahul in his thirst of TRP’s for his channel. On the other hand, Rahul Oberoi’s case gets represented by his extremely able legal head Sia (Sana Khan). Sia happens to be in love with lawyer Ranveer Bajaj (Gurmeet Choudhary), who also happens to be Kabir’s helping hand in the complicated case. After all the hitches, glitches & twists, just when Inspector Kabir thinks that he has been able to crack the murder case, 2 more people gets murdered in the similar fashion as ACP Sarnaik. Despite the best of “legal brains” on the job, the case simply refuses to get solved. Day after day, the case gets further complicated.

Full marks to Vishal Pandya for giving such a perfect recipe of a whodunit thriller for one & all. And of course a special mention also goes to the T – Series giant Bhushan Kumar & his brother Kishan Kumar for backing such interesting & exciting projects, of course barring its extra dose of the Oomph factor in other words the overdose of the skin show. But all said and done full complement also goes to Vishal Pandya & Sammeer Arora for their taut screenplay, Rashmi Garg for lucid dialogues barring a few cheesy & corny lines, Mithoon, Abhijit Vaghani & Meet Bros for their foot tappingly excellent musical score, Prakash Kutty for his eye pleasing cinematography & above all Manish More for crisp & brisk editing.

Performance wise as usual Sharman Joshi in one word is “excellent”. While Sana Khan, the beautiful & confident actress has delivered a very “poised & dignified” performance. On the other hand Rajnish Duggal delivers a very “restrained” performance. And last but not the least Gurmeet Choudhary delivers a very “decent and a more prominent act” as a lover boy and his on – screen chemistry with Sana Khan is something that needs to be seen in order to be believed. In the end one can only say that the other cast members like Deepen Gandhi, Sherlyn Chopra, Prarthana Behere, Himmanshoo Malhotra, Zarine Khan et al have also done an “appropriate job” in taking the film forward.

Tail Piece: Wajah Tum Ho is a perfectly made and entertaining whodunit thriller movie both for the class as well as the mass audiences. In fact Wajah Tum Ho is a decent whodunit thriller with a good amount of suspense, oomph, masala & entertainment value in ample doses.

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives