Author: sandeepadnani

Sandeep Adnani is the Amazon #1 Bestselling Author of ‘The Codes of the Exiled Rogue’ , ‘The Origin of the Exiled Rogue’ and ‘The Prophecy of the Exiled Rogue’ eBooks. He nurtured this metaphysical and transformational fiction idea for over six years before publishing the first part in July 2019. All three books of ‘The Exiled Rogue Series’, a trilogy about the purpose and meaning of life and beyond, are Amazon #1 Bestsellers in multiple categories. His first book, The Codes of the Exiled Rogue was declared an Award-Winning Finalist in the Fiction: Visionary category of the 2021 International Book Awards. His second book, The Origin of the Exiled Rogue was an Award Winner in the Science Fiction: Alien/Space category of the 2021 American Fiction Awards. It was also an Award-Winning Finalist in the Visionary Fiction category of the 2021 American Fiction Awards. His third book, The Prophecy of the Exiled Rogue was an Award Winning Finalist in the Fiction: Visionary category of the 2021 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest. The omnibus of the trilogy, The Exiled Rogue Series, won the Silver Medal at the Global Book Awards 2022, in the Metaphysical & Visionary Fiction category and Gold Winner at the ABLE Awards in 2024 in the Book Series category. Embarking on new genres, he has seven new stand-alone books in the offing. In 2021, he completed writing a futuristic sci-fi-romance which he is currently querying. The unpublished manuscript was a finalist for the Writing Award in the 2022 Page Turner Awards. He finished writing a mystery novel in 2022 and an Alternate Fiction novella in 2023. He has published three non-fiction novellas in the YOU DECIDE series. He is currently working on an illustrated children's book. He changed careers from the advertising/media industry and is now a mental health counsellor in Melbourne, with bases in Mumbai and Dubai as well.

Ragini MMS 2 (2014)

On By sandeepadnaniLeave a comment

What Ekta Kapoor set out to do, she achieved. The promos promised a frat-house slasher style flick with some scares and sex, we got all that and some humour too.

Picking up from where Ragini MMS left us, we are introduced to ‘Sunny’ playing herself. The Baby doll song being an instant hit, was a smart way to start off the creepy proceedings. AIB cast member Tanmay bhat makes an unrequired cameo, we would have liked some jokes rather than sleaze.

The humour was very effectively provided by Sandhya Mridul and Karan Mehra, both of whom got rewarded by Sunny ;-). Parvin Dabbas tries comedy but annoys and the famous Marathi ‘chutkan / chudail’ back story is finally revealed.

Cheesy, predictable with a few jolts and scares, it was everything it promised to be and nothing more. Sunny Leone can act, so this was a good move for her. Divya Dutta is wasted in a role that didnt need a person of her calibre.

I would have liked more horror, but that genre needs some risk taking and an experimental approach in India, which is unlikely to happen soon.

2/5

August: Osage County (2013)

On By sandeepadnaniLeave a comment

We stand on the peripherals of the Weston family, watching the dysfunction, quietly knowing we will be sucked right in at any moment. When that happens, we are privy not only to their eccentricities and delusions, but to the downright disintegration of human relationships.

The Weston daughters are fighting their own battles, have their own secrets and exercise a certain amount of denial (as we all do) to survive. It’s when their mother, the superlative Meryl Streep, displays her own truths, she upsets a precarious balance barely maintained by her girls. Julia Roberts as the oldest, matches Meryl in every frame. The eyes play table tennis watching one volleying the other. Extended members of the family are struggling with their own failures and shortfalls, projecting them on their fragile loved ones.

Our laughter was laced with nervousness and relief, when the tragedy turned to comedy for brief moments .To say the film is dark would be an understatement. The temperatures are soaring, the mood is stifling, the characters are on edge. Morality, logic and maturity take a back seat, whilst every form of shocking behaviour becomes the ‘normal and mundane’.

3/5

Highway (2014)

On By sandeepadnaniLeave a comment

What can you expect from a young actress who plays a rich spoiled kid in her first film? Her second film also starts off the same way. ‘Poor little rich girl’ wants to get away from her abundant and opulent life. Get away she does, when she is kidnapped.

From gun shot to gun shot, her performance left me flabbergasted. I was more in shock at how well she acted, how she managed to portray a deep, meaningful character, with so many layers, without saying or doing much. A few glimpses into her world and we were drawn to her story and plight in an instant. She had two very powerful, long, emotionally packed scenes, which she knocked out of the park!

Randeep Hooda, donned the character of the scruffy, unkempt captor so well, with a convincing command over the local language. He has one scene which displays his emotionally caged Mahabir, who matches Veera’s echoes of hurt and childhood suppression. She develops the Stockholm Syndrome towards Mahabir and some of his gang, perhaps as a reaction to the lack of unnecessary violence.

Cinematographer Anil Mehta has captured time and tide in sweeping montages, showing Indian landscape and highways as never seen before. The journey seems endless, yet not pointless. Director Imtiaz Ali has gifted the audience a long nurtured story, which takes you on the winding road within, as it does on screen.

A brilliant set of performances with a visual treat which puts you in a reflective state.

3.5/5

Queen (2014)

On By sandeepadnaniLeave a comment

Quite a departure from ‘Chillar Party’ in 2011, Director Vikas Bahl serves us a single honeymoon of a simple girl from ‘Rajori in Delhi’. Rani is an emotional wreck since she was abandoned the day before her wedding and decides to travel abroad for the first time, alone.

The film is rich in so many ways. Tiny nuances, small gestures, the nonchalant manner Rani goes through the many shocking incidents, maintaining her naivety and dignity, touched the hearts of the viewers. Some people are calling it a ‘coming of age’ film, I thought of it more as a revelation and empowering story. Rani went into the big bad world and survived. She didn’t need anyone by her side and she had always done as she was told, but the one time she took a chance, she realised she is capable and can be totally independent.  

If Kangana is the heroine of the film, the writing is the hero. To have the audience laugh at her sadness, the many situations she lands herself in and of course the many ‘adult’ encounters she faces without even realising, is how well it was written, and acted. The travel was all well and good, I wondered how they would end the film. It was done so beautifully, where all she says is one word, and that’s it. I feared a monologue or sermon, but it fit with the rest of the film so well, and was a gem of a scene. A clever association with a melody like ‘hungama’, has rewired our memories to picture Kangana in it, with a totally new meaning.

Queen will rule your hearts and the box office, and deservedly so, for such good content and acting should reach every viewer.

3.5/5

300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

On By sandeepadnaniLeave a comment

Taking off from where ‘300’ left us in 2006, the Greek empire needs to unite to face the Persian attack. While they negotiate unity on land, they fight a battle on the Aegean Sea. The generals leading both armies and the Persian King have interesting back stories which have been shown in vivid concise detail.

Short and action packed, this film is all about naval attack strategy and war tactics. It was visually rich in 3D, without being jarring to the senses. The bloodshed was toned down in dark colours, which made it a little easier to digest.

Setting a clear stage for a third part, the film is fast paced and full of drama without going over the top. There were some eye opening dialogues and one scene that was ‘edited’, a war attack of a different kind.

An entertaining sequel which was true to the original, by director Noam Murro.

3/5

Gulaab Gang (2014)

On By sandeepadnaniLeave a comment

Debutante director Soumik Sen took on a huge task to show women’s struggles in villages and vigilantes who protect them. It was a casting coup, with Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla coming together on the screen for the first time. The subject is tricky and not a sure fire hit with the audience and it bears a striking resemblance to the Gulaabi gang lead by Sampat Pal Devi. A court order which put a stay on the release which was lifted on Thursday, confused viewers and really hurt Friday numbers.

The film shows us an anarchy of power, where women have strength but don’t seem to train for it. They sing and dance as merrily as they mete out justice. They weave saris, string baskets, teach the alphabet and are every bit the alpha male, who comes away unscathed from a fight scene.

Madhuri serves us several shades, a handful of which we haven’t seen before. She is powerful, yet soft, strong yet emotional, a total contrast to what she should have been shown as, to believably play Rajjo. Juhi on the other hand, is a consistent negative character. She serves us with shocking lines and crude actions in her trademark sickly sweet style and is a revelation. She clearly stole the show.

Overall the film is peppered with predictable events and some un-required dances. How they dole out punishment is fun to watch. Released at an appropriate time, it just may meet with an audience who appreciates it in parts.

Happy Women’s Day!

2.5/5

Shaadi ke side effects (2014)

On By sandeepadnaniLeave a comment

Sid and Trisha, played naturally by Farhan and Vidya, tell us a story not told often or well, for the Indian audience. A lot of aspects are touched upon in this film, how married couples can keep their intimate lives fresh, what changes after having a child, what women and men go through, independently and together, when they become parents.

These and many other nuances of relationships and how they evolve is shown very well on screen, with the right amount of humour and drama. It is only in the end that it becomes a little melodramatic, but they steer out of that zone quickly. How such a film would end is tricky and a very fitting conclusion prevails, where there is equality of the sexes and a twist to think about.

Director Saket Chaudhary, who made ‘Pyar ke side effects’ is back with a fun sequel in this ‘shaadi’ counterpart. Watch to be lightly entertained and come out with a balanced view of life after marriage and kids.

3/5

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

On By sandeepadnaniLeave a comment

When both actors win the Academy Awards for their roles in a film, it becomes an automatic viewing choice. The film though, seems like a slice of what it could have been, incomplete without the performances of the two strong characters.

Mathew McConaughey has pushed his physical limits to embody his role, which was his biggest ‘prop’ or ‘asset’ for this character. His attitude, body language and most importantly his transformation whilst holding on to his deeply wounded masculinity, was his trump card. Jared Leto on the other hand, was a revelation with his soft voice, comfortably feminine demeanour and was not threatened by his co-actor’s brutish ways.

Director Jean-Marc Vallee serves us a portion of history, making valid commentary on the dismal state of the USA health and FDA system, even today. The way people with AIDS were ostracised and groups within them were treated with great prejudice, has evolved with the quality of drugs, a battle started by such clubs back in the 80s. 

The film has moments just like the patients it shows us, blacking out in parts, slowing down with dementia and speeding up as a reaction to a drug. That may have been deliberate or just a result of depicting something so stark, but it didn’t work. The only thing that worked was the authenticity of the age and the performances, which have got their due.

2.5/5

Non-Stop (2014)

On By sandeepadnaniLeave a comment

Aeroplane hijacks have been depicted several times on screen, but here it was not meant to be one. The motive was different and so were the methods of communication. What director Jaume Collet-Serra has been most effective at, is creating an atmosphere of doubt. Everyone is a suspect and no one can be viewed as innocent. This film was fast, tense, with varying levels of drama, mystery and fear, which translated into a great movie watch.

Liam Neeson brings a sincere quality to every performance and this is no exception. He is a delight to watch as he fights his inner demons and does his duty as an air marshal. Julianne Moore ably supports him and confuses us, her expressions walk the blurred line where we trust her sometimes, at others we don’t.

The ‘whothehellisdoingit’ game sees the light just as the audience is exhausted from guessing. At one point I turned to the person next to me and said, ‘It’s you isn’t it? Just admit it!’, that’s how frustratingly clever the build up is.

Watch for non-stop thrills.

3.5/5