Hey, “Thank God” there’s “Ram Setu”

Diwali Bumper Dhamaka at the Cinemas!! Is Thank God and Ram Setu worth it?

Thank God and Ram Setu have both locked horns for the first major Diwali release post Covid. Will the audience be happy with the gifts given by Bollywood, the audience reaction and box office report will tell that story.

Thank God is a comedy caper starring Siddharth Malhotra, Rakul Preet and Ajay Devgn as ChitraGupt the accountant of karmas as per Hindu ancient text.

Siddharth Malhitra can be seen in a film after a long time and the audience sure is excited to have him back. The film is directed by Indra Kumar who has given hits like Beta and Dil from the ‘90s. Does he deliver in the OTT era? He does have the Masti and Dhamaal franchise of films to his credit as well but truly ‘90s is where he aced it as a director.

Thank God courted controversy ever since its trailer came out and even a court case was filed against it for hurting religious sentiments. The depiction of Chandragupta in the modern film version was not appreciated by the Kayastha community.

The film has received mixed reviews and qualifies probably as a time-pass flick.

It is not quite set or fit to entertain the audience of today. The plot is quite simplistic and has an immoral real estate agent played by Siddharth malhotra with some cheesy comedy.

Ajay Devgn as Chitra Gupta goes into Singham mode at times while trying to take account of Siddharth malhotra’s character’s deeds.

Noora Fatehi and Rakul Preet are the typical damsels of Bollywood put in there for pure cosmetic appeal. And yes the “Manike Hathe ” song also seems forced as a good marketing strategy. And Noora has got audiences salivating with hits and likes in millions online.

Rakul Preet plays Siddharth’s wife, a cop by profession but there is no depth to the character. So Rakul does the best she can with the role.

The film is stuck in another decade much like its director. With all due respect to Indra Kumar sir, maybe this is not his decade and it’s time to look at other aspects of filmmaking.

The film might face further controversy as it again questions some Hindu practices.

Siddharth impresses in some light hearted scenes but where the scene demands more from him he falls flat. If only he could deliver all his films like he did in the underrated ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’.

The afterlife story adapted from Norwegian film Sorte Kugker, is not as deep in its Bollywood avatar as the famous Norwegian wood.

Consume without using any logic for some old school ‘90s no brainer style Cinema.

Coming to the other film, Ram Setu is an action thriller revolving around the truth behind Ram Setu or Adam’s bridge with Akshay Kumar as the protagonist.

He plays an atheist, archeologist named Aryan Kulshetra who is on a mission to find out if the Ram Setu Bridge is manmade or natural?

This mission is commissioned by a businessman who wants to build a new sea route across it and must have the bridge broken in order to do that.

Aryan has the tumultuous task of finding out the truth. This leads to a thrilling adventurous journey that puts Akshay Kumar and team into an Indiana Jones style filmscape.

The film’s female stars, much like the other release don’t have much to do.

Nusrat Barucha and Jacqueline Fernanades give ham performances and are not pleasing to consume on the screen.

Satyadev on the other hand, as the antagonist shines and even Akshay has done quite a good job in his journey of being the rational scientist who keeps chasing the truth against time and bad intentions to becoming a believer.

The soundtrack of the movie, especially the Ram Ram track had already become popular before the film’s release. The soundtrack is well done though its usage and placement at some places could have been better, adding more depth to a film with such a deep subject.

Watch out for some great cinematography, especially in the underwater scenes.

The film was shot in just 45 days and a subject like this should not have been made in a hurry. It is a onetime fun adventurous ride and if you ignore the ham performances and CGI/VFX and underwhelming editing in some parts then you will probably not be disappointed.

The film has left the audience spellbound in many ways with some good twists and turns especially in the second half. The climax even saw a standing ovation in the theatres.

Khiladi Kumar could have made a masterpiece and not just a hit in the making if it had been given more time. Ram Setu has potential and it’s definitely worth a watch.