Sixteen

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?)

quick review:

The definition of fun has changed. I wonder if we will every catch up.

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Director: Raj Singh Chaudhary , Raj Purohit
Cast: Izabelle Leite, Mehak Manwani, Wamiqa Gabbi
Running time: 140 minutes
Genres: Family, Romance
More Movie Info

Sixteen tries to be cool and the effort shows. The labour that such an effort requires shows through every department of the film and not in a good way. It's a film where everyone is trying their best, but unfortunately their best is only mediocre.

Sixteen gives itself an air of importance. A sense that it is making some very crucial points. But it does so in such a disconnected manner, as if trying to symbolise the disconnect that the characters have towards most things around them. This doesn't allow you to feel with or for them. Maybe some sixteen year olds will identify with some of the characters, but I am not sure anyone is going to find more than a half-way affection.

The first put-off is the dialogue delivery of all actors, except for maybe Zakir Hussain. The three lead ladies have a drawl that is annoying at first and then it becomes drab. It doesn't help that the dubbing is completely off. There is this a drunk scene with Wamiqa Gabbi who plays Tanisha where she shows some scope of doing something other than the regular drawl but that's too little to shake off the lazy way in which the lines are said.

The sad bit is that there is potential. Some of the story lines, especially that between Tanisha and the paying guest (Keith Sequeira), had enough material to make for a film by itself. But, the writers had the burden of keeping the other stories going and the editors do a shabbier job of sticking them together. Sequences are literally stuck together.

There are other times when the conversation has potential to get deep, introspective and interesting despite the awful dialogue delivery but it fizzles out.

Anyway, I am not sure it'd have helped the broad stroke that every single sixteen year old is a weird shade of cool. I know a bunch of 15-16 year olds. They are confident, arrogant even. They don't value money as much as we did when we were that age. But, I doubt that they are as out there as the kids shown in Sixteen.

Of course, I don't deny that teenagers do tend to have a casual attitude towards everything around them, but that can't be true of all them. Where are these represented in Sixteen? And if the film is not about those kids, then why have all characters that are pretty much the same, give or take. Then again, maybe all of real-life teenagers have another side that we as adults don't know about, just like the parents in this film.

- meeta, a part of the audience

15 reviewers(?) - 7 yays 5 so-so 3 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

Thumbs up, by Anna Vetticad, annavetticadgoes2themovies : ... In an industry where a gap of 20 years between heroes and heroines is routine, and a film is not considered an older-man-younger-woman romance until the hero is 45 years older (like Bachchan with Jiah Khan in Nishabd), it’s amusing to hear a 16-year-old girl tell a 32-year-old man that she wants to know his age to be sure he’s not a paedophile. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...A couple of tracks are harmonious ['Chad Gayi' is foot-tapping], but a spate of songs in the post-interval portions specifically deviate your attention from the story. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Johnson Thomas, Free Press Journal : ...The narrative manages to resolve the tricky issues it raises with a sensitivity and caring that is rarely seen even with films like Udaan and Bubble Gum coming before it.... full review

Thumbs up, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ... surprise you at every reel. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Shubhra Gupta, indian express : ...is slight, but stays fresh and honest for the most part... full review

Thumbs up, by Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV : ...Sixteen is a rare rites-of-passage drama that does not treat its characters as cardboard cut-outs incapable of being individuals with minds of their own. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Roshmila Bhattacharya, Star Blockbuster : ...Sixteen, like the age it reflects, is not without its flaws, but still a must-see for all those between 16 and 60.... full review

So-So, by Tushar Joshi, DNA : ...With better trimming and a tighter screenplay, Sixteen could have risen above the ordinary. Watch it if you want to get nostalgic about those college campus days.... full review

So-So, by Shakti Shetty, MiD DAY : ...Despite its hapless editing and a circus of miscasts, the admirable part is it doesn't thrust an all-weather remedy to handling hormones effectively... full review

So-So, by Jaidev Hemmady, Movie Talkies : ...The film does have its moments no doubt, but it is bound to appeal to only a certain age group...... full review

So-So, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...Audacious but messed-up!... full review

So-So, by Renuka Vyavahare, Times of India : ...It focuses on the dilemmas of the rich kids, thus catering to urbane youth.... full review

Thumbs down, by Aakash Barvalia, MoviezADDA : ...Music is fairly good, and matches the genre and its storyline. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Karan Anshuman, Mumbai Mirror : ...Perhaps Sixteen tries to appease to one audience too many.... full review

Thumbs down, by Paloma Sharma, Rediff : ...Why Mehak Manwani insists on being a nasal zombie is still a mystery that people might not be too eager to solve. ... full review

Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.

1 readers - 1 yays 0 so-so 0 nays

Yay! Thumbs Up, by suman banerjee : well its the biggest surprise IF YOU SEE THE MOVIE WITHOUT KNOWING A THING XCEPT A GENERAL concept

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Parental Guidance:

  • Violence: A little beating up.
  • Language: Bastard and Bitch are used liberally. A few abusive words other than that.
  • Nudity & Sexual content: A lot of talk about casual sex and viginity. etc. A couple of very short making out scenes.
  • Concept: The age of sixteen and the manner in which this generation is dealing with it.
  • General Look and Feel: Jaded.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction:
Story:
Lead Actors:
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Dialogues:
Screenplay:
Music Director:
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Comments (2)

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suman banerjee

this is a bad review of a brave honest film, i dont agree on the dialouge delivery part..sadly without knowing u've mentioned nd if u know what a dialouge is nd still wrote it..its very sad, poor review.

suman banerjee has given this movie a Yay! Thumbs Up(well its the biggest surprise IF YOU SEE THE MOVIE WITHOUT KNOWING A THING XCEPT A GENERAL concept). suman banerjee has posted 1 comments and has rated 1 movies. See suman banerjee's page for more details.
meetu

@suman like we say around here - to each his own.

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