Kalank

“Kalank Is Indeed A Visual Spectacle That Lacks The Soul”

Banner: Fox Star Studio, Dharma Productions & Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment

Producer: Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala & Apoorva Mehta

Director: Abhishek Varman

Star Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Maadhuri Dixit, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sonakshi Sinha, Kunal Khemu, Kiara Advani, Hiten Tejwani, Kirti Sanon, Pavail Gulat & Achint Kaur

Music: Pritam, Sanchit & Ankit Balhara

At one time, the multi-starrers were indeed in vogue but of late, such films barely come out of Bollywood. A few franchises like Golmaal & Housefull have kept this tradition alive. Even Dhamaal can be counted here & its recent installment Total Dhamaal was one of the biggest multi-starrers in a long time as Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor & Madhuri Dixit got added to the star cast. Kalank goes one step ahead as it stars 6 actors, all of whom are big & prominent names in their own right.

The scripted Scenario of Kalank is the story of lovers not destined to be together. The year is 1945. Satya Chaudhry (Sonakshi Sinha), wife of Dev Chaudhary (Aditya Roy Kapur) is diagnosed with cancer & she is told that she has just a year or maximum 2 years to live. Realizing that Dev Chaudhary will be shattered after her demise, she decides to find a 2^ndwife for him. Her search takes her to Rajputana, Rajasthan where Roop (Alia Bhatt) resides. The families of Roop & Satya Chaudhary go back a long way. Roop at 1^st rejects Satya Chaudhary’s offer but upon knowing her medical condition, she agrees. However, she has a condition, that Dev Chaudhary will have to marry her at 1^st & only then she’ll move into the house of the Chaudhry’s. Satya Chaudhary, Dev Chaudhary & Dev Chaudhary’s father Balraj Chaudhary (Sanjay Dutt) agree. So Dev Chaudhary & Roop get married & Dev Chaudhary makes it clear to Roop that this will be a marriage of convenience only. After marriage, Roop moves to Husnabad near Lahore where the Chaudhary’s reside. At 1^st Roop feels lonely but then she gets curious by the voice of Bahaar Begum (Madhuri Dixit). She decides to learn music under her tutelage. Satya Chaudhary & others at 1^st are aghast on hearing this decision since Bahaar Begum runs a brothel & that too in the infamous part of the city called Heera Mandi. But Roop protests & then the Chaudhary’s give in. Bahaar Begum meanwhile is impressed by Roop & decides to teach her singing. At Heera Mandi, Roop bumps into the flirtatious Zafar (Varun Dhawan). Both of them get attracted to each other. Zafar is a blacksmith & works for Abdul (Kunal Kemmu) who has a communal mindset. He’s also against Dev Chaudhary’s newspaper named Daily Times that promotes the idea of 1 nation theory, rejects the notion of Partition & recommends industrialization even at the cost of job loss of the blacksmiths. Bahaar Begum senses that Roop is getting attracted to Zafar & she gets horrified. After all, she knows that Zafar has ulterior motives behind romancing Roop & it can lead to the disastrous consequences. What happens next forms the rest of the crux of the film.

Shibani Bathija’s story is poor & silly and totally rests on a wafer thin plot. Except for Roop & Zafar’s track, all other parts of the story are not well fleshed out & are full of loopholes. Abhishek Varman’s screenplay doesn’t do much to salvage the situation either. Instead of wrapping up the scenes quickly, he lets them go on & on. And again, he doesn’t do much to hide the glaring glitches. Hussain Dalal’s dialogues are quite good at places. But in some scenes, it’s too filmy & might even induce unintentional laughter.

Abhishek Varman’s direction is not at all up to the mark. He was quite in control in his directorial debut, 2 States which was released in the year 2014. But in case of Kalank, he makes a mess. Anyways he couldn’t have done much when the script itself is flawed. The only plusses are that the climax is engaging & he is able to handle the visual grandeur of the film very well.

Kalank has a surprising commencement since the trademark & the famous title card of Dharma Productions is not displayed in its usual style! The 3 production houses associated with the film are quickly mentioned & the film begins. Again, here the principle cast is depicted quite smartly, without showing their faces. This might make everyone believe that one is about to see a film laced with a superlative script & execution. In no time, it becomes evident that it’s not going to be the case. The biggest problem with the film is that most of the developments are not convincing. In the beginning itself, audience will be bewildered as to why Satya Chaudhary went to Rajputana of all the places to search for a bride. Roop in fact reminds Satya Chaudhary that her family had helped her own family at one point but no details are ever given. It is also quite laughable that Zafar had never seen the face of Dev Chaudhary ever despite the fact that he had so much poison against the Chaudhary’s & also that Dev Chaudhary is a prominent figure of the town. The entire track of the blacksmith’s revolting against the industrialization process & also for a separate nation also seems superficial. Why was Abdul so insecure about what gets published in Dev Chaudhary’s newspaper? Agreed that Dev Chaudhary’s daily newspaper must be having a wide readership. But it can’t be the only newspaper in circulation? He could have taken the help of other newspapers to spread his agenda. The film moreover is too long & some scenes could have been done away with. The bull fight sequence, for instance, serves no purpose & was just added to appeal to the masses. On the positive side, a few sequences are well directed. The intermission point, though predictable, makes for a nice watch. The sequence of Bahaar Begum, Balraj Chaudhary & Zafar in the 2^nd half is quite dramatic. Also, the climax & the madness at the railway station will keep the viewers engrossed.

Pritam’s music could have been much better. “Ghar More Pardesiya” leaves impact followed by “Tabaah Ho Gaye”. The title track is relegated to the background. “First Class” is catchy & “Rajvaadi Odhni” is okay, but they come almost back to back. “Aira Gaira” is forcefully added. Sanchit Balhara & Ankit Balhara’s background score is dramatic & adds to the effect.

Binod Pradhan’s cinematography is captivating & has the big screen appeal. Amrita Mahal Nakai’s production design is surreal & though it might remind one of Sanjay Leela Bhansali films, it is praiseworthy. The Heera Mandi set & especially the brothel of Bahaar Begum is stunning. Manish Malhotra & Maxima Basu Golani’s costumes are appealing but don’t seem authentic in terms of the era & the economic condition of some characters. Sham Kaushal’s action is fine & not too violent. Remo Dsouza, Bosco-Caesar & Saroj Khan’s choreography is praise worthy. Fluiidmask Studios & NY VFXWaala’s VFX is good overall but quite bad at certain places, especially in the bull fight sequence. Shweta Venkat Mathew’s editing is very disappointing as the film is quite lengthy at 168 minutes.

Performance wise it is indeed Varun Dhawan & Alia Bhatt who save the film from becoming an ultimate disaster. Varun Dhawan is as always at his best & gives his 100% to the role. He also contributes to the laughter quotient. In the climax however, he is terrific. Alia Bhatt also puts her best foot forward & just like Varun Dhawan, even she is let down by the poor writing. She arguably has the maximum screen time out of all the 6 actors & makes great use of it. Aditya Roy Kapur seems monotonous but this is how his character is. His dialogue delivery is quite good & in the scene with Varun Dhawan, he does quite well. Sonakshi Sinha is sincere but her role will remind one of her act in the 2^nd half of Lootera which was released in the year 2013. Madhuri Dixit looks stunning & gives a decent performance. Sanjay Dutt, credited as special appearance, is okay. Kunal Kemmu as Abdul plays the villainous role with panache. Achint Kaur as Saroj, Hiten Tejwani as Ahmed & Pavail Gulati as Aditya; the journalist interviewing Roop are fine. Kiara Advani is royally wasted. Kriti Sanon looks glamorous in the item song.

On the whole, Kalank is a visual spectacle that lacks soul & falters big time on account of its writing, length as well as music.

At the box office turnstiles, the film will suffer due to negative word of mouth publicity & therefore the collections will drop after the initial euphoria subsides. Period!!!!!

Ex-Child Actor Of The Small Screen Arena Bhavesh Balchandani Celebrates His 18^th Birthday

Terrace lounge, upbeat music & celebrity crowd set the mood for Ex-Child Actor of the small screen arena namely Bhavesh Balchandani’s 18^th Birthday Party. The child actor who rose to fame from his role in TV series like Ek Veer Ki Ardaas Veera celebrated his birthday with a Gothic theme based party with family & friends at Trumpet Sky Lounge. Stars like Siddharth Nigam of Alladin – Naam Toh Suna Hoga fame, Jannat Zubair, Digangana Suryavanshi, Saloni Daini, Bhavin Bhanushali, Reem Shaikh, Arishfa Khan, Harshita Ojha, Ekta Jain & Avneet Kaur were amongst the many other telly celebs to attend the party. The stars in Gothic attire elevated the ambience as they dance to the tune of the devilish Bollywood tunes. On his 18^th birthday, Bhavesh Balchandan’s parents wished him all the success & love & also advised the mischievous birthday boy to inculcate the habit of sleeping in time & getting up early. When Tiktok Star Jannat Zubair was asked about the one bad habit she would want Bhavesh Balchandani to quit, without skipping a beat Jannat Zubair said, “I want to change his laughter when he laughs, he sounds like a car engine struggling to start. And yes, he should definitely stop biting his nails.”  Amidst the eventful night Bhavesh Balchandani shared how excited he is to vote for the ongoing Loksabha elections & take on the responsibilities that come with adulthood, he humorously added, “I watch Spiderman so I know with great power comes great responsibility.” The party was supported by Chand Seth of SOS Nightlife & Aditya Kumar of Telly Chaska.

By: Faizan Rizwan

Inputs By: Shaheen Raaj

Some Bollywood Celebs Can’t Vote For The Lok Sabha Elections 2019

Some of the Bollywood celebs like Akshay Kumar, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone & 4 other celebs won’t be able to vote in the ongoing Loksabha elections 2019!

The voting season is here & the month-long schedule of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 has begun. It commenced on 11^th Apr, 2019 & will conclude on 19^th May, 2019.

Every Indian citizen will be casting their vote for the party which they think will serve the country better. As always, B-town celebs will abide by their responsibility & vote for the right candidate too.

However, there are a handful of celebrities who won’t be able to cast their vote and we know the reason why. From Akshay Kumar, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif to Sunny Leone, Imran Khan & Jacqueline Fernandez, these Bollywood stars will not be able to vote in the ongoing elections & the reasons for that are:-

Well! This may come as a surprise to you but the fact is that Akshay Kumar is not eligible to vote during elections in India, mainly because, Kiladi Kumar was born in Punjab & brought up in Delhi. Still, wonder what is the reason? Well, Khiladi Kumar holds a Canadian passport & that is exactly why he hasn’t been voting for many years.

Deepika Padukone is one of the top actresses of Bollywood & her acting skills are unmatched. While we are aware of almost everything about this beauty, her birthplace is not known to many. The Padmaavat actress was born in Denmark & holds a Danish passport. Although she is brought up in Bengaluru, Deepika Padukone can’t vote in the Indian General Elections 2019.

Alia Bhatt’s mother, Soni Razdan, hails from Britain. Hence, the actress herself is a British citizen & holds the same passport. Ultimately, that means that the Raazi actress is not liable to vote in the forthcoming elections.

Katrina Kaif is an English citizen & it is a known fact. The actress has been in the industry for over a decade but she is not eligible to vote as Katrina Kaif still has a UK passport.

Sunny Leone alias Karenjit Kaur holds a Canadian passport & although she has her roots in India, the actress cannot vote.

Jacqueline Fernandez’s mother belongs to Malaysia while her father is a Sri Lankan citizen. The actress was born in Bahrain & well, these are reasons enough for her not being eligible to vote in the elections in India.

Aamir Khan’s nephew & and actor, Imran Khan, made his Bollywood debut with Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. He was born & brought up in the United States Of America & moved to India only after his parents’ separation. So he too is not eligible for voting in the ongoing elections of Loksabha.

New Delhi, Apr 10 : Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday banned the release of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s biopic ‘PM Narendra Modi’, which was scheduled to hit screens all over the country on Thursday.

The Commission’s order to stall the release came a day ahead of the scheduled release of the film, starring Vivek Oberoi in the title role as Mr Modi.

“Any biopic material in the nature of biography/ hagiography sub-serving the purposes of any political party or any individual entity connect to it, which is intended to, or which has the potential to disturb the level playing field during the elections, should not be displayed in electronic media, including the cinematograph during the operation of Model Code of Conduct,” the Commission said in its 7-page order.

In its order, the Commission also said, that any poster of publicity material concerning any certified content, which either depicts candidates (including prospective) for the furtherance (or purported further) of electoral prospects, directly or indirectly, shall not be put to display in the electronic media in the area where MCC is in operation.

Opposition parties including Congress have been demanding the postponement of the release of the film as they feel its release during the election time violate the MCC.

After Censor Issue Blackboard V/S Whiteboard Will Finally Release On 12^thApr 2019

The movie Blackboard v/s Whiteboard is finally releasing on 12^th Apr, 2019. The release of the film had to be pushed because of censorship issues. The film is based on how in modern times education too has fallen prey to commercialization & is now considered as a business opportunity. 

Not only the cities but even small towns & villages are engulfed in the evil malpractices. There are a few idealistic teachers who are trying to educate more & more children so that to have a better India tomorrow. The film throws light on this gory picture of commercialization of education. 

The film’s release date was stuck due to censor issues. The film was shown to Censor in New Delhi. On reaching out to the film actor Raghubir Yadav for the release date change of the film he quoted “Releasing a Film is more difficult than making. Due to delays in censor certificate the release date got changed. But it all worth the wait as we got U certificate for the film in which we showcase how education has fallen prey to commercialization with a little bit of humor added to the film.”. 

The film producers Nupur Shrivastava, Gireesh Tiwary & Ashutosh Singh Ratan also shared their thoughts on release date change of the film. Nupur said “Due to delay in Censor Certificate we couldn’t able to release our film on it’s the previous release date. But now everything is fine. We are ready to release it on 12^th Apr, 2019.” 

Ashutosh Singh Ratan quoted “After defeating all challenges finally we are coming with our film Blackboard vs Whiteboard, on 12^th  April 2019. It’s a pleasant moment for us.” & Gireesh Tiwary said “Its all worth the wait as we got U certificate for the film. We are ready to rock on cinema screen on 12th Apr, 2019.”

Directed by Tarun Bisht & produced by Nupur Shrivastava, Gireesh Tiwary & Ashutosh Singh Ratan the movie Blackboard Vs Whiteboard stars Raghubir Yadav, Dharmendra Singh, Alismita Goswami, Ashok Samarth, Akhilendra Mishra & Pankaj Jha in lead roles. The film is made under the banner of Milestone Creations & Ratan Shree Entertainment. Zee Music Company has released the music of the film.

After Censor Issue Blackboard V/S Whiteboard Will Finally Release On 12^thApr 2019

The movie Blackboard v/s Whiteboard is finally releasing on 12^th Apr, 2019. The release of the film had to be pushed because of censorship issues. The film is based on how in modern times education too has fallen prey to commercialization & is now considered as a business opportunity. 

Not only the cities but even small towns & villages are engulfed in the evil malpractices. There are a few idealistic teachers who are trying to educate more & more children so that to have a better India tomorrow. The film throws light on this gory picture of commercialization of education. 

The film’s release date was stuck due to censor issues. The film was shown to Censor in New Delhi. On reaching out to the film actor Raghubir Yadav for the release date change of the film he quoted “Releasing a Film is more difficult than making. Due to delays in censor certificate the release date got changed. But it all worth the wait as we got U certificate for the film in which we showcase how education has fallen prey to commercialization with a little bit of humor added to the film.”. 

The film producers Nupur Shrivastava, Gireesh Tiwary & Ashutosh Singh Ratan also shared their thoughts on release date change of the film. Nupur said “Due to delay in Censor Certificate we couldn’t able to release our film on it’s the previous release date. But now everything is fine. We are ready to release it on 12^th Apr, 2019.” 

Ashutosh Singh Ratan quoted “After defeating all challenges finally we are coming with our film Blackboard vs Whiteboard, on 12^th  April 2019. It’s a pleasant moment for us.” & Gireesh Tiwary said “Its all worth the wait as we got U certificate for the film. We are ready to rock on cinema screen on 12th Apr, 2019.”

Directed by Tarun Bisht & produced by Nupur Shrivastava, Gireesh Tiwary & Ashutosh Singh Ratan the movie Blackboard Vs Whiteboard stars Raghubir Yadav, Dharmendra Singh, Alismita Goswami, Ashok Samarth, Akhilendra Mishra & Pankaj Jha in lead roles. The film is made under the banner of Milestone Creations & Ratan Shree Entertainment. Zee Music Company has released the music of the film.

‘Five Feet Apart’ Release Postponed

The movie Five Feet Apart release is now postponed & it will now release in India on 12^th Apr, 2019. “Post the success of the film in the US released last week, we are very happy to release Five Feet Apart in India on 12^th Apr, 2019″ said Formula Hollywood Movies distributor, Raj Jain.

Stella Grant (Haley Lu Richardson) is every bit a seventeen-year-old: she’s attached to her laptop & loves her best friends. But unlike most teenagers, she spends much of her time living in a hospital as a cystic fibrosis patient. Her life is full of routines, boundaries & self-control, all of which is put to the test when she meets an impossibly charming fellow CF patient named Will Newman (Cole Sprouse). 

There’s an instant flirtation, though restrictions dictate that they must maintain a safe distance between them. As their connection intensifies, so does the temptation to throw the rules out the window & embrace that attraction. Further complicating matters is Will Newsman’s potentially dangerous rebellion against his ongoing medical treatment. Stella Grant gradually inspires Will Newman to live life to the fullest, but can she ultimately save the person she loves when even a single touch is off limits?

The movie stars Cole Sprouse, Haley Lu Richardson & Claire Forlani. The other credits are directed by Justin Baldoni & produced by CBS Films 

Showman Subhash Ghai Launches ‘Clean Ganga’ With A Song   

After making a short documentary titled Kumbh – The Power Bank which was highly appreciated by the Chief Mminister of Uttar Pradesh in the bygone year of 2018, the Showman Subhash Ghai had got an invitation by Sanskar Bharti as guest of honor to participate at their event at kumbh in Feb, 2019 at Prayagraj.

So Sobhash Ghai during his visit at Kumbh the idea of making a music video on River Gamga struck him. Since many years now Ganges has been under severe pollution & a lot has been spoken about the fact that whether River Ganga is still pure or no.

So when Subhash Ghai thought to conceptualize a music video revolving around River Ganga & its cleanliness issue, then he personally discussed the issue with the directorate of Namami Gange project initiated by PM Narendra Modi. Then he penned down the lyrics, namely “Ghar ghar Ganga jab bhi aaye – Maili ho kar laut na jaye” This also inspired the students of his whistlingwoods music school to compose the score on the lyrics. Within a very short span of time they completed the music in their School’s music studio.

The song was composed by the music students Antara Vaidya & Vaishnavi Sriram with Abhishek Bonthu as programmer. Then Vaishnavi & other students gave the vocals. It was a very proud moment for them when their music video was presented in front of a very large crowd at the Kumbh in the current year of 2019. Although Subhash Ghai had written the full song on clean Ganga the video displays only a mukhra of the song.

The shooting of Clean Ganga is currently on & it is being produced under the banner of Mukta Digital Studios Mumbai, The other details are being worked out. 

Bollywood Celebs Receive Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Nobel Awards

Just recently Bollywood Celebs like Anup Jalota, Sneha Ullal, Jasleen Matharu, Johny Lever, Rahul Roy, Nikita Rawal, Vikrant Anand and others received the prestigious Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Nobel Awards. Sunny Shah, Founder of International Human Rights Council had organized the 4^th edition of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nobel Awards 2019 at Sea Princess Hotel, Juhu where he invited lawyers, doctors, ministers, Income Tax department, sports person, architectures, actors from film & TV industry, fashion, & even and journalist from print media & electronic media. Padamshri Anup Jalota,  Rahul Roy, Johny Lever, Singer Madhushree, Arun Bakshi, Big Boss Fame Jasleen Matharu, Vikrant Anand, Vaishnavi, Nikita Rawal, Ekta Jain, Sunil Pal , Yogesh Lakhani of Bright Outdoor & others came to receive the award. Amit Tyagi from Aajtak received the award for the “Best TV Show” Saas Bahu Aur Betiyan, Iqbal Parvez got the “Best Reporter” of ND TV India, Abhishek Sharma received the “Best Entertainment head” of India News, Sudhanshu Kumar received the ‘Best Digital Company”.