Friday Treats: John Day, Horror De, Sex De....,

This is the most unabashed week at the movies. We have a thriller John Day, a horror film called—believe it or not-- Horror Story and a comedy Grand Masti that could comfortably have been called a Sex Movie. No Friday in recent times has been so direct and to-the-point about its intentions . The era of bull-shitting audiences is over. Filmmakers can’t fool audiences into coming for their films by advertising imaginary USPs. The week’s thriller John Day casts the very accomplished Naseeruddin Shah in the lead, along with Randeep Hooda who seems to have found his bearings as a noire-ish actor in the last one year. Though most cineastes regard Naseer as the most accomplished actor of the post-Balraj Sahni generation not too many producers would cast him as the principal lead. Producer Anjum Rizvi who earlier cast Naseer in the lead in the very well-received A Wednesday feels John Day is that kind of a film which needs actors not stars. “It’s a film about anxiety, desperation, escape and no easy exits.It tightens its plot around the characters and involves audiences in a cat-and-mouse game.” There are other very accomplished actors in the film including Shernaz Patel, Sharad Saxena, Makarand Deshpande, Bharat Dabholkar and Ananth Mahdevan. So the least we expect from John Day is a film which provides its characters with a correct measure of motivation. John Day casts a half-Ukranian, half-German actress Elena Kazan opposite Randeep Hooda. But they don’t sing and do other things we expect filmy couples to. Says the director Abhishor Solomon , “John Day doesn’t try to draw a line between good and evil. It blurs the line of morality.Within every man and woman there is a dangerous beast hidden from public view. Circumstances force that ugly beast to come out in the open.” Solomon says revenge propels his film’s plot. “But it is not a routine revenge drama. John Day is an extreme film which addresses the themes of revenge and violence in a violent way. It doesn’t shy away from the harsh truth. It makes a unique statement on vendetta. I read somewhere, ‘When you set out on the path of revenge you dig two graves, one of the enemy and one for yourself.’ My film shows us how ruinous revenge can be.” There are no songs in Horror Story either. There are no stars, only a bunch of enthusiastic newcomers Karan Kundra, Ravish Desai, Hasan Zaidi and Nishant Malkhani. Never heard of them? That’s okay. They might be where Sushant Singh Rajput and Ayushmann Khurrana reached in no time at all.. Producer Vikram Bhatt describes it as the most frightening Hindi film ever. Bhatt who is a perennial shiver giver having carved such spook fests as Raaz , Haunted and Shaapit says, “Horror Story is my most direct horror film. It is a relentless terror spree. The first of its kind in India.It’s a one-night story. No songs, no romance. Full on horror only for horror fans.” Grand Masti too targets itself at a particular kind of audience. Those who saw Masti from the same team 9 years ago would know what to expect. The innuendo-content from the first film has been multiplied ten times over in Grand Masti . Producer Ashok Thakeria and director Indra Kumar have been teaming up for potboilers since 1985 when they made Mohabbat. The duo is no stranger to comedy . Ishq, Dhamaal and Double Dhamaal are among their laugh riots. Grand Masti is this veteran producer-director’s tribute to the raunchy spirit. If you are squeamish about smutty jokes then stay away from this one. Just as if horror gives you sleepless nights you are advised to keep away from Horror Story. And if you think Naseeruddin Shah is not an actor you can spend two hours with, then you are most welcome to catch Chennai Express one more time instead of watching what looks like en engaging thriller called John Day.