 another highlight that deserves a mention (and some applause too). Every actor fits their respective character like a glove. Even the ensemble cast. Jim Sarbh shines bright, as he essays the role of a very complex Malik Kafur with utmost ease. Aditi Rao Hydari looks ethereal as Mallik-i-Jahan Mehrunissa, and delivers a fine performance. Raza Murad is perfect as Jalaluddin Khilji, while the actor essaying Raghav Chetan is also very good.
Speaking of lead protagonists, there is no doubt that Padukone shines as Rani Padmavati. Her on screen presence is very powerful. As Padmavati, Padukone is graceful, fierce and exemplary. She smiles with a teary eye, while the next moment, she is seen empowering the women of her empire with a lot of grit. Only an effortless actor of her calibre can show such excellent range within a span of 150 minutes. Her emotions are so strong that they are bound to leave you teary eyed. Her performance is proof that she has immersed herself, heart and soul, into this character. The grace, dignity and honesty with which Padukone has essayed this character reflects in her act, making the audience that the queen has indeed descended on earth again.
Wild, frenzied, manipulative and edgy; Singh's performance as the megalomaniac Turko - Afghan Sultanate ruler is phenomenal. Every time he makes an appearance on screen, he creates furore. It's like a storm that cannot stopped and continues to rage. The actor breathes life into Khilji's dark, lustful, mysterious and fanatic personality. He displays myriad emotions throughout the film, ranging from rage, excitement, lust to scheming, aggressive among others. The efforts that have gone behind the changes in his physicality have paid off! His spine chilling expressions in some scenes can leave any individual petrified. Singh is a supremely talented actor, who is known submit to his director's vision and give his all to the character. Well, we don't think anyone could have pulled off this menacing Khilji the way he did. This can easily be labelled as Singh's best performance since his debut in 2010.
Like always, we reserve the best for the last! If Padukone and Singh's respective performances leave you in awe, it is Kapoor's impeccable act that wins, right from his first appearance in the pristine woods of Singhal. He is sure to rule your heart with his flawless, understated and remarkable act. As the valiant Maharawal Ratan Singh, the actor owns the screen every time he makes an appearance. He doesn't need to shout or scream to make a mark, as his effortless expressions say it all. Kapoor comfortably steps into the shoes of a Rajput king, with the perfect personality and displays unparalleled poise and elegance. Throughout the film, Kapoor's body language and nuances are perfect, making the audience believe that they are indeed watching a Rajputana King walk around Chittor, beaming with pride.
Its amazing how we have seen the actor transform from a drug addict music artist to a proud soldier and now, a brave King in a span of just three films. Kapoor is royalty personified, with the right attitude and style. His dialogue delivery is outstanding, as he maintains a range of expressions and modulates throughout the film, while maintaining the dignified tone! The intensity with which he has essayed the role of Ratan Singh is commendable. One of his personal best and clearly, one of the finest performances we have seen in recent times (he is making it a habit now, and a good one at that). Definitely a memorable one, that shall be remembered for a long, long time!
As captain of this magnificent ship, Bhansali deserves a strong round of applause. Add to that, tons of deserving praises. Padmaavat is a brilliantly crafted, well executed film that presents the rich Rajputana history, heritage and culture in all its glory. With its sheer magnitude, opulence and grandeur; the magic of Bhansali is sprinkled all over. This epic tale of courage couldn't have been presented in a more beautiful way. The climax is one of the best, with a fantastic face off and some marvellous moments, that will leave you with goosebumps all over. In the years to come, millennials like us will proudly look back and refer to Padmaavat as the 'Magnum Opus' of our times. As a cinephile and ardent lover of well crafted films, I urge you - please do not miss this magnificent, cinematic experience for anything. Go, witness the magic unfold. Controversies and unnecessary misjudgements be damned!
I am booking my tickets for yet another show this weekend. After all, some experiences are totally worth it!!
Verdict: Highly recommended!! Do yourself a favour and watch this stunning poetry in motion. Easily, one of 2018's biggest blockbusters! The film deserves 200 / 100, if there was a way.If M has to go back to Japan, then so do her two sons, and we don’t know where she would live now. There is no home to stay at, not really. She has a couple of sisters, but you know that Japanese houses are like walk-in closets over here. Staying more than a week would be a burden to all concernend. Most likely, I would end up having to support two domiciles if this indeed is our only option.
Plot: A disfigured ex-model (Lowe) locks herself in her flat, away from the world. Her life is torn apart when a career criminal (Bennett) breaks into her home and takes her hostage.
Confine is nowhere nearly as smart as it thinks it is.
The trick with these cheap Independent thrillers is that the lack of budget, action set-pieces and star power means that they need to have a hook in the story to make watching it seem worthwhile. The premise is sharp enough to promise this. We are given a pretty straightforward hostage situation, but the hostage is agoraphobic after a car accident disfigured her, meaning that even if she breaks out of her restraints, she is still essentially trapped in her own house. This is referenced well, when she freaks out over her OCD patterns being disrupted and one of her escape plans being ruined, because she needs to ask her hostage-taker to pass her a paper bag, due to a hyperventilation attack. We don’t mind the fact that we have seen this type of movie hundreds of times before, because that is a fresh enough dynamic to get us through the opening act of the film. Sadly, once the movie settles, we are in desperate need of some clever story developments to get us through the rest of the running time and that is where Confine struggles to keep our attention. About halfway through, we have figured out where every character’s loyalties truly lie and we end up just waiting for the finale, twiddling our thumbs. There is a twist thrown in near the end, but it is forced, makes little sense and almost seems like a mandatory effort of making a hostage thriller. The story starts out nice enough, but it just doesn’t have the strength to make it to the finishing line.
The main problem is the director not being as good as he thinks he is. The atmosphere isn’t strong enough to get us in the right frame of mind to enjoy this thriller. Take the beginning: the career criminal breaks into this house and is hiding from her partners in crime. She doesn’t realise that the model, Pippa, is still in the house, so the first twenty minutes consist of a cat and mouse game, where Pippa hides from this stranger. The tension should have had our hearts beating like frantic. I wanted to be squirming on the edge of my seat. However, it just feels like another story development. The soundtrack doesn’t try to inspire excitement. The editing should have been faster. Being so early on in the film, this lack of directional prowess bodes poorly for the rest of the film. There are other beats that do not work. The dialogue is really unnatural, which is a shame, because the three leads are actually fairly good at what they do, but they are stuck with clunky lines that reel off factoids about the characters rather than get us in the mood to watch a clever British thriller. No matter what direction this story takes, it just isn’t quite good enough.
 With these B Movies, I almost wish that I was watching something with a giant crocodile mutant, because at least, when I sit down, I am in the frame of mind to handle the incredible idiocy of the script and story. With small thrillers like Confine, I half expect to be amazed at the slick speed delivered by a low budget, wondering why this film never got so much traction (it really isn’t too popular – half of the Google Images for this thing are from a review written by THE IPC). The stupidest, and easiest to mock, moment is where the career criminal breaks into this house in the first place, directly after a montage where the lead character assured the audience that it was locked up as tight as possible. I assume she broke in, but this was breezed over so easily that you roll your eyes at this direct contradiction in the story. But there are bigger mistakes in this movie than this. I really liked Eliza Bennett’s villain here. She was feisty, ambitious and a bad-ass until the end, even if she seemed to be given the