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As a kid when he is locked up for picking pockets, the orphan Sanghram Bhalerao aka Simmba sees the perks of being a cop. It’s not about maintaining law and order that attracts him to the job. He’s rather blown away at the potential of how much a cop can make underhand. Simmba eventually grows up to be a bent police officer who likes to scoop up fat ‘commissions’, acting as a middleman for both criminals and their victims. This corrupt cop played by Ranveer Singh is the protagonist in Rohit Shetty’s latest ‘Singham’ spin-off ‘Simmba’. Under Shetty’s pure masala aesthetics and ear-splitting back­ground score, we see cars float in mid-air and the hero lift off a dozen men in one take. When the film doesn’t take itself seriously, Singh’s natural energy makes us buy his anti-heroic qualities. It’s when the film shifts gear to give a sermon on a sensitive issue like ‘rape’ and slaps us with a populist stance that the film feels unbearably childish and narrow-minded.

 Who should watch it?

‘Simmba’ is designed as a crowd-pleasing masala film and packs in equal doses of action and comedy to fans of wholesome masala action films like ‘Singham’ and ‘Dabbang’. But it has a problematic social message that may upset many.

After we’re introduced to Simmba, the plot wastes no time to kick in. Simmba is transferred to a police station in Goa where a local kingpin Ranade (Sonu Sood) and his brothers dominate orga­nized crime. Simmba is quick to impress Ranade and enlists himself on Ranade’s pay-list, much to the dislike of Simmba’s junior officer, the honest head constable Mohile (Ashutosh Rana). In the meantime, Simmba also falls for Sagun (Sara Ali Khan), a girl running a catering business outside Simmba’s police station and whose deceased father used to be a daring cop.

In the film’s lighter moments early on, Ranveer Singh abandons all inhibitions and delivers an over-the-top Simmba, reminiscent of old-school Govinda and Salman Khan’s Chulbul Pandey from ‘Dab­bang’. He keeps things cool and funny with a flawed character like Simmba, although we can pretty well predict the transformative journey his character is going to take. But a rape sequence is then ill placed as Simmba’s coming-of-age moment. For once, Shetty and his screenwriters milk this moment for shock value and deliver patriarchal vigilante justice to a deep-rooted patriarchal problem. Women of this film remain in the periphery, while the men take things in their own hands to combat violence—with the help of violence.

Sara Ali Khan, who was impres­sive in her debut film ‘Kedarnath’, is used only for cosmetic purpos­es in this faux-feminist film. She makes random appearances during the film’s songs and turns into a wallflower among a parade of sup­porting characters.

‘Simmba’ doesn’t dig too much to make its flawed protagonist examine himself or to go through a personal crisis to come out with a changed heart. He rather changes suddenly without any personal growth or greater understanding of the world around him. And the plan of action he chooses is noth­ing short of the immature Simmba we meet at the film’s start.

Rohit Shetty is unmatched in orchestrating high-end action sequences but he still comes off raw in handling dramatic scenes with nuances. Shetty likes to make his point through heavy dialogue and takes a swing at challenging social problems with ultra-manliness and heroism. This has resulted in giving us ‘Simmba’ that breaks no new ground but solidifies stereotypical populist treatment of a sensitive issue that required more artistic and dramatic probing.

Movie: Simmba

Genre: Action

CAST: Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Ashutosh Rana, Sonu Sood

DIRECTION: Rohit Shetty

‘Zero’ is a tall tale about a short man. This man is played by Bolly­wood’s evergreen romantic hero Shahrukh Khan, who digitally shrinks to become the four feet tall Bauua Singh, a self-centered and motor-mouthed 38-year-old bachelor from a small town in Meerut, India. It isn’t the first time we’ve seen Khan shed out his arms-wide-open lover boy persona. We’ve watched him play a video-game character turned superhero (Ra.One) and an obsessed fan of a Bol­lywood superstar (Fan). Here too he pushes through a physically challenging role with some help from his Red Chillies VFX team. But take away the scale of the film’s production and its visual effects, and ‘Zero’ is a very problematic film that hops from one genre to another and takes giant leaps of faith. The result? An unsta­ble film that impresses, con­fuses and frustrates in equal proportions.

Who should watch it?

If you can buy the outlandishness of the movie and get past the film’s giant logical leaps then you might find ‘Zero’ entertaining.

It isn’t the first time we’ve seen Khan shed out his arms-wide-open lover boy persona

Bauua Singh is introduced as a wayward son of a well-off father (Tigmanshu Dhulia). Bauua spends his time either annoying his belt-wielding father or throwing cash at any­one who flatters him by link­ing him with his Bollywood crush, actress Babita Kumari (Katrina Kaif). Bauua’s search for a matching life partner takes him to Aafiya (Anushka Sharma). There’s a one in a million chance that Aafiya, a scientist suffering from cere­bral palsy (whose research has helped discover water in Mars) will fall for Bauua (whose studies stopped after 10th grade).

But Bauua woos Aafiya with his street-smartness and Aafi­ya finds his antics non-judg­mental and unlike the pity she receives from everyone around. She goes head over heels for Bauua and even fights off her parents who badmouth Bauua for his height and education. And then just Bauua’s dream-girl Babita Kumari crosses his path. He’s so smitten to see her in real life that he aban­dons everything, even Aafiya, to pursue her.

‘Zero’ populates itself with quirky characters that we don’t often see in a mainstream masala film. Aside from Bauua and Aafi­ya who suffer from unique physical conditions, the oth­er major character Babita Kumari is drawn from real life. She’s a spoilt celebri­ty, drinking away her wor­ries to get over a breakup. And Katrina Kaif finds the right mojo to give us a no-holds-barred Babita Kumari. She even over­shadows Anushka Sharma’s inconsistent and overtly dra­matic portrayal of the wheel­chair-bound Aafiya.

When you watch Bauua and all the other main leads of ‘Zero’ in isolation, there is so much to like about them. But when they are pitted together by a plain plot that is not ashamed of its outlandish façade, we as audience lose connection between parts and forget what kind of movie we are watching. Is this a romantic epic? Is this a space explo­ration sci-fi flick?

Director Aanand L Rai and his frequent screenwrit­er Himanshu Sharma fail to deliver a coherent narra­tive. In ‘Zero’ they bank on Shahrukh Khan’s charm to pull off big and highly imag­inative set pieces. And Khan pulls out all stops to give us an earnest Bauua. But the plot’s silliness is too much to handle after the film’s mid­point and Bauua’s change of heart feels unearned and too hasty.

The silly ambition to patch up a rickety storyline with king size budget and high quality VFX work has dwarfed ‘Zero’ into a film that only impresses in parts and disap­points on a massive scale.

Movie: ZERO

Genre: Romantic Comedy

CAST: Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif

DIRECTION: Aanand L Rai

A recent opening on the Milap Road near Sanepa Chowk, Lalitpur, the Chimes Restaurant is already becoming famous for its luscious food and special events. From special jazz nights to live performances by the Kathmandu Strings Ensemble, and Special Seafood Sundays to Saturday/Sunday brunches, Chimes seems to have it all. Chiming with its slogan “Food for the Soul” it opens from breakfast to dinner and has a small but substantial option for desserts, including the Chef Special Cheesecake in different flavors. Upper Sanepa, known for its quiet and calm neighbor­hoods, perfectly suits the minimalist decorations and laidback ambience of Chimes.

 THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Anti Pasti Platter

- Bealim House Chicken

- Grilled Duck

Opening hours: 9am - 10pm

Location: Sanepa, Lalitpur

Cards: Accepted

Meal for 2: Rs 2,000

Reservations: 982-3717878

The collapse of a ten-year-old friendship between Mahesh, a tech entre­preneur (played by Karma) and Anil, a dentist (played by Raymon Das Shrestha), begins when the latter buys an expensive painting. Their mutual buddy Devashish, a DJ who will soon inherit his father’s pashmina busi­ness (played by Kundoon) and who usually does not care about the world, is frus­trated as he finds himself buffeted by the envy, pride and self-centric nature of his two friends.

Based on an award-win­ning play by Yasmina Reza, and directed by Sabine Lehmann, ‘Art’ highlights the destructive nature of our negative emotions and how even an age-old friendship can fray when they go untethered.

The characters, their suppressed emotions and the events leading up to the opening of the play are introduced through humor­ous monologues. One can espy mutual bitterness of the characters towards each other through their restless­ness and the allusions they make. Mahesh’s envy of Anil is so strong that at times it becomes laughable. Devash­ish’s frustrated attempts to ease the tension between Mahesh and Anil also create some hilarious moments.

The experience is further enhanced by the musicals reiterating the events and the excellent soundtrack of Aman Karna and Prince Nepali which blends tunes of sarangis, guitars and electronic music. Kun­doon introduces his char­acter Devashish through a contemporary and catchy rap. Director Sabine Leh­mann and set director Lud­milla Hungerhuber make a brief appearance in the musical and proclaim the arrival of dark moments between the friends. Despite all the negativity the musi­cal packs in, it still evokes smiles and even laughter from the audience.

Further, moments of slap­stick keep the audience pre­pared for the exhilarating or devastating moments that are about to unfold. The ele­vating anger and the silly actions of the characters are accompanied by short sarangi notes. The repetitive, energetic electronic music played when the stage is being prepared between acts makes time flow slowly, thus giving us a perception that no time passed at all. The music also serves to heighten the tension.

The set is also colorful, and flooded with bright lights. Devashish’s messy room reflects his lack of care for life while Anil’s room sug­gests his grandiose personal­ity. The dresses of the char­acters are also revelatory. Anil is decked out in a white suit while Mahesh is draped in a black one, clearly show­ing the disharmony between the two characters. Devash­ish, in his role of a mediator who seeks to lower tension between his two friends, is dressed in a black and white t-shirt, showing that he is completely neutral.

The play suggests that we better learn to keep our emo­tions in check if we are not to let them destroy our lives. And it is worth watching. The show starts at 7:15 every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (from Dec 14 to 23). The final run will be from Dec 27-29. The venue is Hotel Vajra, Bijeswari, Swayambhu, and reservations can be made by calling 01-4271545.

Most of the world’s problems arise when emotions overtake us

APEX CHAT with Sabine Lehmann, Director, Studio 7 - Naga Theater

What inspired you to direct this play?

I like the works of Yas­mina Reza because they are quite straightforward in terms of human emotions. Her works vividly portray human behaviors and how negative emotions manifest and destroy everything. But her plays are not com­pletely dark as the char­acters always reconcile in the end and the entire pro­cess is filled with humor. Apart from my love of the source material, I also like working with Karma, Kun­doon and Raymon, as they understand and cooperate with each other. I wanted to challenge them to per­form a play like this where the portrayal of the human emotions needs to be pitch-perfect.

What is your favorite part of the play?

There are many parts that I like but the favorite part is probably the reali­zation and reconciliation phase, when the characters realize how their negative emotions will gradually destroy everything if let loose. It is then that they confront the fact that it takes a lot of time to change their feelings towards each other. Since they have insulted each other mercilessly and in an evil way, reconciliation seems impossible. But something dramatic happens and set­tles the tension between the two friends. It is this moment that makes this play a rollercoaster ride.

Was there any message you wanted to convey through this play?

Most of the world’s prob­lems arise when emotions overtake us. This explains why political systems fail, why rapes continue, why the society is getting sub­missive, why countries declare war and why men get into a mess. If we know how to deal with negative emotions, we get closer to solving those issues. It is okay for people to pursue wealth, power and rec­ognition but they should not forget the essentials. The first step towards such a healthy pursuit is to recognize the negative impulses within us. Kar­ma’s character starts this in the play when he says to Raymon’s character that they were happy with each other when they were not acting independently with regards to their taste.

Considering that you do not share the cultural background of your audience how do you ensure that the underly­ing message resonates?

I did not think that was the problem as human emotions are common across all cultures. You can recognize them and relate to the actions performed under their influence. Any­body will be able to grasp instances in the play where negative emotions are slowly gripping the minds of the characters. They will have no problem recogniz­ing them and getting what happens in the play.