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Abhisekh Kapoor’s ‘Kedarnath’ never transcends into the romantic epic it sets out to be, but at the same time, it’s difficult to overlook some of the film’s sub­versive storytelling choices and to shake off the charms of newcom­er Sara Ali Khan and an in-form Sushant Singh Rajput. Even with an inconsistent screenplay, direc­tor Kapoor’s masterful grasp over filmmaking craft doesn’t let in any dull moment. Tucked in the laps of the majestic Himalayas, Kedarnath is an Indian town and a popular pilgrimage for Hindus who throng there in num­bers to visit Lord Shiva’s Kedarnath temple. Here we meet our two central characters: Mandhakini (Sara Ali Khan), the bratty daugh­ter of a local Hindu priest, and Mansoor (Sushant Singh Rajput), a Muslim porter living with his single mother. At first glance, you can’t help but get a strong ‘Sairat’ (or its Hindi remake ‘Dhadak’) vibes from this storyline. And yes, religion/class conflict is at the heart of the romance in ‘Kedarnath’.

Who should watch it?

Sara Ali Khan doesn’t disappoint in her debut. If you liked Abhisekh Kapoor’s ‘Kai Po Che’ that blended friendship, cricket and religion, ‘Kedarnath’ can be taken as a good companion that gives similar treatment to romance, religion and natural calamity.

The first half unspools by bring­ing the two characters closer through cleverly shot montage sequences while also hinting at the dark clouds surrounding them in the form of Gullu (Nishant Dahiya). Gullu is an influential local Hindu leader, who we come to know has called off his pre-planned marriage to Mandhakini’s elder sister and instead taken dibs at Mandhakini to be his new fiancé. Mandhakini and Mansoor’s increasing intimacy is pitted against Gullu’s growing possessiveness towards Mandhak­ini. This in turn fuels a bigger ten­sion between the high-caste Hindu group and its working-class Muslim porter group.

Then, as we approach the third act of the movie, the sky grows darker, the mountains appear unstable and the film promptly shifts genre. From ‘Romeo Juliet’ it turns into a ‘Titanic’ scale disaster movie. As all hell breaks loose, the theme doesn’t hinge on ‘Man versus Man’ anymore, but on ‘Man versus Nature’. (The film is partly based on the devastating Uttara­khand floods of 2013).

‘Kedarnath’ belongs to Sara Ali Khan. In her first film she is not only easy on the eye but finds a delicate lightness and extra poten­cy in her portrayal of Mandha­kini. Likewise Sushant Singh Rajput looks earthy in a physical­ly demanding role. They make for an endearing pair and get you to root for them. The makers may have attempted a grandiosely imagined romance of two star-crossed lovers through popular cinema troupes, but there are touches here and there that give the film a fresh look and feel. Mandhakini is a damsel in distress but she’s also the initiator who woos Mansoor rather than the oth­er way around. And Mansoor is unlike the cocky and street smart small town heroes we’re used to seeing on screen lately. He feels more subdued and sensitive.

Just like how Mansoor’s charac­ter walks uphill carrying pilgrims on his back, the film contains too much, in that it finally starts to crack open. Kapoor tries to make up for the tonal inconsistency by pouring immense effort in design­ing the breathtaking final disaster sequence; still it sticks out as some­thing that belongs to a different movie altogether.

But despite the unstable screenplay, there’s plenty in ‘Kedarnath’ that keeps the journey emotionally thrilling and visually arresting.

Movie: KEDARNATH

Genre: ROMANTIC DRAMA

CAST: Sushant Singh Rajput, Sara Ali Khan, Nishant Dahiya

DIRECTION:Abhisekh Kapoor

The rich imagination of director Shankar and the suaveness of superstar Rajinikanth worked wonders to make 2010’s ‘Robot’ an enjoyable sci-fi flick, even with a preposterous story that gave us a modern-day Frankenstein in Chitti, an android made to serve, but nonetheless turning rogue and becoming the problem itself. Its sequel, ‘2.0’, after being stuck in a post-production hell for some time, is finally here. The previous film’s thematic footing was on the possi­bility of machines taking over the human race. The follow-up adds the angle of technology destroying the natural order. There’s much to admire in ‘2.0’. Shankar crafts a visionary cine­matic design propped up with ludi­crous amount of VFX trickery. His mastery over visuals and action set pieces cast a spell and make your eyes pop. The writing is a major problem though, reeking of older Shankar films like ‘I’, ‘Nayak’ and ‘Indian’. Shankar looks at complex issues of technology and environ­ment through a myopic and sim­plistic social lens. He’s stuck in a grand narrative that instead of posing questions wants to provide all the answers.

We meet genius Indian scientist Vaseegaran (Rajinikanth) and his new android assistant Nila (Amy Jackson) as they try to figure out why all cell phones are flying away from their owners’ hands. There are speculations: This may be some alien force, or a ‘black hole’ has opened up in the space, sucking in all phones. Soon there is a nation-wide frenzy, and the government is forced to declare a state of emer­gency and mobilize the army.

Vaseegaran calls for Home Min­ister (Adil Hussain) to sanction an order to bring back Chitti (also played by Rajinikanth), who has been dismantled and kept at a high-security museum. After much reluctance, Chitti is restored and with his superhero-like powers he’s able to track down a myste­rious supernatural villain Pakshi Rajan (Akshay Kumar), who is hell bent on revenge against telecom multinationals. We are made to wait till the second half, where the origin of the villain is revealed through a tedious back-story.

Shankar has so much unpacking to do in a single movie that the bur­den falls on the audience’s head. Chitti’s projection as a superhero, the villain’s flight for vigilante jus­tice and the social commentary sprinkled everywhere are played in a cacophonic disharmony of cine­matic excess. There isn’t a particu­lar likable quality in Rajinikanth’s portrayal of the bland Vaseegaran.

Of all the scientists you may have come across in films, Vaseegaran sounds the wackiest and veers close to being a hack theorist. His arguments and explanations are pure pseudoscience. The charm of Chitti is also lost somewhere this time. (I also admit that demanding more than a one-note performance from a ‘robot’ is somewhat unreal­istic from my side). Kumar makes a powerful presence as the film’s antagonist but his character isn’t fully realized and gets lost between playing a hopeless activist and a ruthless vigilante on a killing spree.

As a spectacle of grand design, it will be hard for any Indian film in the coming days to match ‘2.0’. But director Shankar lets this spec­tacle overtake storytelling. He’s so involved in painting his frames in VFX canvas that he is detached from his characters and plotting, which needed more polishing. The film’s mesmerizing look doesn’t spill over into its screenplay to give us an involving experience.

 Who should watch it?

All the hype surrounding ‘2.0’ has turned it into an event movie. It’s then most likely to work for admirers of Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar, but not for viewers wanting an edgier sci-fi narrative with complex characters.

Movie: 2.0

Genre: SCI-FI

CAST: Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Adil Hussain

DIRECTION: Shankar

The Royal Saino Restaurant and Bar at Durbar­marg is one of the oldest establishments in the area that has stood the test of time and the change in preferences of the customers. Royal Saino is run by a business family with more than three decades of history in hospitality and the restaurant itself is a part of the glorious history of Durbar Marg, one of the poshest locations in Kathmandu. Royal Saino is a multi-cuisine restaurant offering everything from Continental to Chinese, Indian to Nepali food. It is also famous for its “Belle Mo:Mos” which have quite a reputation among locals and for­eigners alike. Check out Royal Saino’s Trip Advisor page and you’ll find people swearing by its food on the reviews section. Consistency in food through all these years and quality in service along with its multiple seating arrangements help Royal Saino maintain its legacy and thrive at a time when dozens of restaurants are opening and closing every year in and around Durbarmarg.

THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Royal Saino Special Roasted Duck

- Mo:Mo Platter

- Sizzler

Opening hours: 10 am - 10 pm

Location: Durbarmarg, Ktm

Cards: Accepted

Meal for 2: Rs 1500

Reservations: 01-4230890

‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’, the much anticipated fol­low-up to 2012’s ‘Wreck-It Ralph’, brings back the pleasure of watching Wreck-it Ralph (voiced by John C Reilly), the arcade game villain with monstrous hands but a kind soul, and his pint sized side-kick Vanellope (voiced by Sarah Silverman), a motor race game driver. Their first adventure happened within the world of video games, as Ralph, fed up with his sorry existence as an unlikable villain, ventured to get himself a ‘medal’ that would earn him a hero-like respect. The second adventure propels Ralph and Vanellope in a strange new world of ‘the Inter­net’. Compared to the somewhat niche circle of video games, the Internet provides an extravagant otherworldly appeal, and fishes for hilarity out of relevant materi­als associated with our daily web consumption.

It all starts when the arcade, where Ralph and Vanellope exist with other fellow video game char­acters, installs a WIFI router. Ralph is pretty used to his routine video game life but Vanellope is bored to death racing the same levels of Sugar Rush over and over again. As chance would have it, their nor­malcy is threatened one day and to make things go back to normal, they get themselves into a fish-out-of-water situation by diving into the sea of unknown that is the Internet.

The director duo of Phil John­ston and Rich Moore are highly creative in bringing Internet to life. They distill the complexity of building a landscape of virtual reality by giving it humanistic char­acter strokes. They give feelings to pop-ups, search engines and viruses—and touch trickier terri­tory like the ‘dark web’ with a light hearted treatment. The screenplay mashes up many genres but comes out clean as a well thought out character journey for both Ralph and Vanellope. Ralph Breaks the Internet is in equal parts a road movie, a fish-out-of-water movie and a buddy movie.

Apart from the main cast, some new characters that impress are Yesss (voiced by Taraji P Hen­son), the head algorithm of a viral video content sharing site called BuzzTube, and Shank (voiced by Gal Gadot), a player in a rac­ing game called Slaughter Race. Yesss catapults Ralph’s internet popularity by turning him into memes and making him do reac­tion videos. And Shank takes over as Vanellope’s new BFF, putting her friendship with Ralph in jeopardy.

The plot may have been designed to throw our central characters in a wild goose chase but the thematic fabric of Ralph Breaks the Internet focuses on the dynamics of their friendship. In the classic animated film style, the movie is aptly able to sell the idea that relationships change over time and sometimes the best thing to do is not to latch on to things you love the most but to let them go.

This film is lush, bright and mostly nostalgic, and right up along the likes of ‘The Incredi­bles’ and ‘Inside Out’ in delivering emotional punches. It is on-the-nose with all the in-house Disney jokes but it gets away by treating these sequences as self-parody instead of self-promotion. The feel good nature and the ease with which the characters evoke empathy make it a family enter­tainer that shouldn’t be missed at any cost

 Who should watch it?

‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ guarantees a fun time for parents and kids alike. You don’t need to know anything about the first movie to enjoy this second movie in the Wreck-it Ralph universe. It’s the kind of animated flick that hits home its moral message without being sugary or overtly simplistic.

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

GENRE: Animation

CAST: John C Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Taraji P Henson

DIRECTION: Rich Moore, Phil Johnston