Review of Latest Hindi Movies: December 2011

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Sunny Leone Rocks Big Boss and India

From the time it was announced that Sunny Leone would be entering Big Boss, intense curiosity gripped the Nation. Who is this Sunny Leone? What makes her a candidate for this show? I must say, in this season of Big Boss, by managing to get Sunny to agree to do Big Boss, it has been a masterstroke. This intense curiosity has generated an interesting statistic - Sunny Leone has overtaken Katrina Kaif and Aishwariya Rai as the most searched celebrity(See this video Sunny is India's most searched celebrity. hmm..The punju gal from Canada has now ARRIVED !

I am not a big fan of Big Boss and this years edition didnt seem exciting when they started off with some 11 women and one male (and that to Shakti Kapoor looking ridiculous with Blonde hair and some weird looking goggles...). That he was the first to leave was no surprise followed by the other weird inmates- As far as shock value went - Kaput , Nada... But then came the announcement- Sunny Leone to enter Big Boss and that piqued my interest. I started watching the show..ahem...!! just to see the group dynamics and from the point of view of pyscology...!!! (her being the cutest in the house at present has no bearing on my decision...:) )

I had vaguely heard about Sunny a couple of years ago and had heard about what she did for a living. To add to the mystique, I had recently seen a movie called "The Experiment" (based on throwing some people together and divided into two sets , one set would be the prisoners and the other Policemen.All had to follow certain rules and they had to stay in a confined space as they were being watched and a study was being conducted on them). Therefore, for such a random variable like Sunny ( porn star - details available at this excellent article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_Leone ) to be inserted amongst three males (Amar, Akash and Siddharth) and some Six  women (Pooja Bedi, Pooja Mishra, Juhi, Shonali, Shraddha and Mahek ) would definitely lead to some interesting behaviour and reactions (i.e. if they knew what she did ).

Well, it turned out most of them didnt know who she was and what she did. She very smartly told everyone that she had a production house in Canada making films. Her behaviour was very guarded (expectedly so as this was akin to being placed among chimpanzees in a forest), and her broken Hindi added to her allure. I must say, at present she is a smart cookie. She has integrated herself very well with the inmates, joined the group which is in ascendancy and seems to be controlling the house. Though she has not had a run in with siddharth, she cant stand him (obvious body language), is definitely attracted to Sky (AKA Akash), has become very close to Juhi (Juhi is the grand momma of the house after Pooja Bedi'd departure (Which I think was a pity as she was on track to winning it and I admire her for knowing what her priorities are), just about tolerates Pooja Mishra, is a little uncomfortable around Amar (especially after Amar's wife told him about Shonali's feelings on some comments he had made), was getting close to Pooja Bedi before she left and was ok-ok with Mahek.

At present, in the house, she seems to be the most popular inmate in the house.   Some of the inmates know about Sunny's past and the biggest deal of it all - Mahesh Bhatt offering Sunny a role in his upcoming movie to which she has agreed to (The look on Shonali's face was priceless as she was not given the role in Jism after being promised the same, the other women - Mahek and Shraddha were also burning with envy). She seems to have garnered the big bucks and the attention. But to be honest, I think she does not need the money (She is a smart lady, with lots of cash). She is doing what other Desi's are doing abroad - trying to cash into the Indian growth story and get a change of scenery.

Sunny, with her background, experience is far ahead of the game as compared to the other inmates. She has a better understanding of Human Psychology and her experience has been so varied and vast that none in the house can match up to that. Will she win or not? If I was a betting man, I would say Sunny, Akash and Juhi would be the last three in the house..after that, God Knows :)

Pappu cant dance sala Review

Name - Pappu cant dance sala
Actors- Vinay Pathak, Neha Dhupia
Director - Saurabh Shukla

Every person would like to hedge his bets and diversify into different things that can become a cash cow or atleast give him more options to earn in life. By directing Pappu--- , Saurabh Shukla is trying to become a director so when acting jobs dry up..he can direct..Does he have a future..well. I'd say Maybe-Maybe not..based on his present movie - Pappu Cant Dance Sala.

Methinks its autobiographical - the travails of a new entrant to Mumbai in trying to eke out a living..this movie probably is a reflection of the directors struggles (vastly exaggerated, but in some ways close). Did he have the good(or bad luck) to have a babe illegally occupy his apartment in real life..I dont think so..but hey this is a movie and anything is possible!!! His string of bad luck is  so BAD, it reminds me of a dialogue from the moview RASCALS - "Jab aadmi ki kismat kharab hoti hai, to agar woh Unnth(camel) pe bhi baitha ho, kutta use kat le ga". So there it goes..and that sets the tone for the movie.

So you get the story - Small town guy, meets big town wannabe starlet who is being hounded by a sleazy director (whatever!!!) -- is religious and preaches piety to a girl who isnt too bothered about all that... and somewhere down the line, they fall in love (she finds him endearing!! compared to the sleazy mumbai guys!!! ) and then live happily ever after. To be honest, everyone likes a struggler story where the good guy gets the girl and they live a happy middle class life and all that.. Nothing new, nothing that has been done before and definitely no music that can match up to the original song "Pappu cant Dance Sala" . Watch it if you have nothing better to do...you may like it...I was bored..

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Ladies vs Ricky Bahl - Women Power vs Con Power

Yash Raj Films have decided that making movies on the Punjabi heartland and Bhangra boyz is not a paying affair any more. After Dil bole Hadippa's debacle (Rani mukherji in a cross over role), they decided to go svelte, sexy and suave. Badmash Company was one such con flick that improved the financial status of YRF and now Ladiez oops Ladies vs Ricky Bahl is seems set to do that once again.


 It is said that if It ain't broke, dont fix it and going with that maxim, the Anoushka - Ranveer jodi from Band Baja Baraat has been kept intact. First impressions from the promo's was that this jodi's chemistry is sizzling. Either they are great actors or they are actually very "good friends", I really dont care, 'cause I love they way they look together and behave together...it's fun. Enough banter..Well to get back to the movie...


 This movie is all about "Dont Get Mad- Get Even" and "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned or cheated", but in true filmy style, the guy had to have the last laugh...sigh..!!! Anyways, if I tell you the story, you wont enjoy the movie so let me give you the gist and leave you to see the rest.
The Screenplay
Well defined characters always make a movie interesting. Be it the Delhi Bimbo (brilliantly played by Parineeti Chopra aka Dimple in the movie) who stays in a lavish Model Town house and has a property tycoon father (Similar to Boman Irani in Khosla Ka Ghosla), the corporate B****h, again convincingly portrayed by Deepanita) and the simple muslim widow from lucknow ( Aditi Sharma  ) , all are convincingly etched out and make for believable characters. The "Conman's" character is clearly defined and so is anoushka's(as the Saucy Salesgirl turned "conwoman" (Shades of Kangana in Rascal are evident). The storyline never flags till about the last 15 minutes or so. There are gaps in the story (like how does he choose his victims, prepare for them - shades of Catch Me if you can or Dhoom II) , but I guess you can assume that a conman will prepar so there is no point in wasting screentime on that.  Otherwise, pretty decent storyline with decent con jobs (only theVictims were made out to be too gullible).

Editing
 The editing is taut and the pace of the movie is fast and scenes rarely seem out of place. Good job there..

Music
The background score is a mix of trance and pop, in keeping with the location - goa. Only the title song being shown in the promos is catchy, otherwise all other songs are so-so. Salim-Suleiman dont really make the cut with this score. It could have been better..duh  ...obviously!!!!

Direction and Acting
The direction is good and focused and full marks to the director Maneeh Sharma for etching out well defined lead characters. Dimple, Naina and Sara are all superb, Ranveer is competent and did a great job as the Conman. Anoushka's acting was sparkly and I felt a little too loud...but she handled the "Conwoman's" role with aplomb. Overall, all characters did a pretty decent job. I felt the victims were portrayed a little too gullible (I mean, does anyone hand over a Crore to buy a painting without getting it verified by an Art Expert) or does anyone pay 10 lacs in cash for an advance order for clothes to a relative unknown is a bit farfetched but it works for the movie. However, my personal favourite character was the Delhi gal- Dimple- Simply adorable .

Overall Rating. 
 Good guys finish last!!!! The fact that Dimple still had feelings for the Conman even after being swindled and Anoushka falling in love with the conman (Bakri aur kasai ke beech mein ishq ho gaya), indicate that to be a ladies man you need to be edgy. Seedha Sadha guys stand no chance.  However, the way the girls team up to take the conman to task and how he responds is quite interesting. I would rate the movie a 7 out of 10. A decent timepass watch over the weekend. Go for Dimple and her endearing " delhiness"  and for the sizzling chemistry between Anoushka and Ranveer and enjoy.!!!!!