Cast: Gul Panag, Purab Kohli, Siddharth Makkar, Jeneva Talwar and Tillotama Shome
Director: Alankrita Shrivastava
Producer: Prakash Jha
Rating: **1/2
It doesn't matter if you are turning 30 or not to love or hate Gul Panag starrer 'Turning 30'. It features many a situation that are perfectly relatable for an urban single woman who is approaching 30 or is well in her 30s. But at the same time, it is also an inconsistent film, reason – too many clichés and stereotypes making you laugh unintentionally at the wrong places.
Staying alone in Mumbai, Naina (Gul Panag) is a creative head of an ad agency and has a boyfriend, Rishabh (Siddharth Makkar) whom she intends to marry. On the face of her 30th birthday, Rishabh dumps her for rich girl, Yamini (Ira Dubey). He wants to marry Yamini to stabilise his business in times of the on-going recession. At the same time, office politics is also taking a toll on Naina. She just can't take Rishabh out of her mind and keeps trying to get him back with no success. Completely shattered, Naina does manage to bring the lost smile in her life thanks to her close friends Rukhsana (Jeneva) and Malini (Tillotama Shome). Her college sweetheart Jai (Purab) makes a re-entry in her life as well. She enters into a physical relationship with Jai who intends to marry her.
But Naina keeps treating it like a passing phase till the time Rishabh comes back. In the meanwhile, Naina becomes a victim of yet another office political game and she throws in her resignation. With problems multiplied in both, her personal and professional life, Naina is facing all the bad things about turning 30. Tackling all her inner and outer fears, how she manages to get her life back on track, forms the rest part of the film.
Debutante director Alankrita Shrivastava's direction is fair considering it is just her first film. There is a fair amount of sex involved but she has handled it with maturity. She has also extracted good performances from her actors. The truth or dare sequence where Malini declares her sexual preference is handled well. However, the characters converse mostly in English which is fine but what irritates most times is that some lines are just too clichéd and induce unintentional laughter. The pacing too is extremely inconsistent. Though it's just a two hour film, it appears longer than it is. After the interval point the film doesn't move ahead much and keeps going in circles about Naina's confusion. Also, why the stereotype of showing a modern girl as a regular smoker and drinker, and open about sex? Why show an advertising company male bosses being gay? While at times you do empathise with Naina, certain situations and dialogues mouthed by her make her appear purely selfish.
Gul Panag effortlessly manages in getting all the predicaments of a single, dumped woman right. She never looked so hot in any of her films before. Siddharth Makkar manages to impress. Purab Kohli's role doesn't demand much beyond being charming which he does quite well. Tillotama Shome best remembered for her role of a housemaid in Mira Nair's 'Monsoon Wedding' makes a good comeback playing Gul's lesbian friend. Jeneva Talwar gives adequate support.
Siddharth – Suhas' music goes well with the changing moods of the character. Akshay Singh's cinematography is good. Santosh Mandal's editing could have been better and kept the movie shorter.
Bollywood comes out with very few chick flicks. While this Prakash Jha production is definitely one, it doesn't offer any novel experience. But you do keep thinking that it definitely had the potential to.
By Abhijit Mhamunkar / Sanskriti Media & Entertainment
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Director: Alankrita Shrivastava
Producer: Prakash Jha
Rating: **1/2
It doesn't matter if you are turning 30 or not to love or hate Gul Panag starrer 'Turning 30'. It features many a situation that are perfectly relatable for an urban single woman who is approaching 30 or is well in her 30s. But at the same time, it is also an inconsistent film, reason – too many clichés and stereotypes making you laugh unintentionally at the wrong places.
Staying alone in Mumbai, Naina (Gul Panag) is a creative head of an ad agency and has a boyfriend, Rishabh (Siddharth Makkar) whom she intends to marry. On the face of her 30th birthday, Rishabh dumps her for rich girl, Yamini (Ira Dubey). He wants to marry Yamini to stabilise his business in times of the on-going recession. At the same time, office politics is also taking a toll on Naina. She just can't take Rishabh out of her mind and keeps trying to get him back with no success. Completely shattered, Naina does manage to bring the lost smile in her life thanks to her close friends Rukhsana (Jeneva) and Malini (Tillotama Shome). Her college sweetheart Jai (Purab) makes a re-entry in her life as well. She enters into a physical relationship with Jai who intends to marry her.But Naina keeps treating it like a passing phase till the time Rishabh comes back. In the meanwhile, Naina becomes a victim of yet another office political game and she throws in her resignation. With problems multiplied in both, her personal and professional life, Naina is facing all the bad things about turning 30. Tackling all her inner and outer fears, how she manages to get her life back on track, forms the rest part of the film.
Debutante director Alankrita Shrivastava's direction is fair considering it is just her first film. There is a fair amount of sex involved but she has handled it with maturity. She has also extracted good performances from her actors. The truth or dare sequence where Malini declares her sexual preference is handled well. However, the characters converse mostly in English which is fine but what irritates most times is that some lines are just too clichéd and induce unintentional laughter. The pacing too is extremely inconsistent. Though it's just a two hour film, it appears longer than it is. After the interval point the film doesn't move ahead much and keeps going in circles about Naina's confusion. Also, why the stereotype of showing a modern girl as a regular smoker and drinker, and open about sex? Why show an advertising company male bosses being gay? While at times you do empathise with Naina, certain situations and dialogues mouthed by her make her appear purely selfish.
Gul Panag effortlessly manages in getting all the predicaments of a single, dumped woman right. She never looked so hot in any of her films before. Siddharth Makkar manages to impress. Purab Kohli's role doesn't demand much beyond being charming which he does quite well. Tillotama Shome best remembered for her role of a housemaid in Mira Nair's 'Monsoon Wedding' makes a good comeback playing Gul's lesbian friend. Jeneva Talwar gives adequate support.
Siddharth – Suhas' music goes well with the changing moods of the character. Akshay Singh's cinematography is good. Santosh Mandal's editing could have been better and kept the movie shorter.
Bollywood comes out with very few chick flicks. While this Prakash Jha production is definitely one, it doesn't offer any novel experience. But you do keep thinking that it definitely had the potential to.
By Abhijit Mhamunkar / Sanskriti Media & Entertainment
