Let me be Frank. I liked Dabang- It was fresh, had great songs, a decent storyline, clearly defined characters and above all Salman was in full form and did a wonderful job as Chulbul Pandey AKA RobinHood Pandey. The direction was tight and editing was good. So after the tremendous response Dabang garnered, the cash cow was ripe for milking and sure enough Dabang 2 was launched and now released on 21 Dec 2012 - The apocalypse date.
Was the film's release on the day of Apocalypse a cataclysmic event. Absolutely not! The movie started off with a bang, (Chulbul has been transferred to Kanpur, so he has relocated lock, stock, barrel with his father, brother and wife and wants to do great things), with a kidnapping scene and chulbul in his trademark style, single-handedly bludgeons the kidnappers and rescues the kid. In trademark Dabang style and with unabashed simplicity asks the kids dad to give the ransom money for his welfare and police welfare fund..
So much for that scene. The movie rolls on and we are introduced to the baddies du jour. Prakash Raj as Baccha bhaiyya (local goon and aspiring politician) and his two brothers have spread their reign of terror in Kanpur and loot and kill at will. Chulbul has given them an open challenge that they will regret that he ever got transferred to Kanpur. A series of incidents are shown, which highlight the goons activities and how Chulbul Checkmates them. Bachha is restrained and does not want to make outright war with him, but is forced to after a particular incident.
Chulbul's senior officer, the SP is a pisa loving cop with a belly bigger than the globe. Sonakshi as his wife is suitably demure and give enough come hither looks. She is dressed in absolutely skimpy backless blouses and some gorgeous sarees. Arbaaz as Makkhi is extremely subdued and is portrayed as an extremely stupid guy. Mahi gill as Makkhi's wife Nirmala is completely wasted. Vinod Khanna is Ok in parts. It is Salman's show all along. Songs are atrocius (including the Fevicol Song).
The only thing worth mentioning is the action. Crisp and defying laws of gravity wherein humans bounce like rubber balls and nothing can happen to Chulbul. He is superman. The fight sequences are well shot nevertheless and are the highlight of the movie.
Summing up : Watch it only, and only if you are a Salman Khan Fan, otherwise it is a waste of time.
After the slew of hi-profile releases last month (and supposedly hi brow and classy), here comes an offering which is a study in contrast. Akshay "Khiladi" Kumar is alive, kicking and in every frame of the movie (but strangely enough you dont feel overwhelmed !!).
At the start, we are given a visual demo of how punjab police have outsourced their job to curtail smuggling to one "Bhattar Singh" or 72 Singh as seen on his name tally. I mean, if one guy can do the job ( smash into a smugglers den, beat up about 100 goons and re-appropriate the spoils amongst themselves and then some for the villagers and the government) then why waste time and effort of atleast 20, pot-bellied and pan-slobbering police men!!!!!!!
Anyway, we are informed that 72 Singh is actually a goon, robinhood and a demi-god , all rolled into one. This khiladi is a non-starter when it comes to wooing the opposite sex. He and his family are desperately trying to find a good match for him, but no dad is willing to give him his daughters hand because of his reputation. Now, it seems that the same problem was faced by his dad and chacha. His dad's mother is an African lady called Mandela Kaur!! , his mother is a canadian and his Chachi is a Chinese!!!!! And boy, their offspring look indian.. !!! Genetics... what a bummer!!! as to their names, Dad is Sattar Singh, Chacha is Ek Hattar Singh, Khiladi is Bahattar Singh, 73 Singh (I cant recollect the hindi name for 73) was lost in a mela (thankfully, not the Kumbh one!!), 74 Singh is his chacha's son (the chinese babes kid)..and now I am lost..???
To cut a long story short, we move to mumbai where Mithun as the dreaded Don TTT (Tatya Tukaram Tendulkar) has a maniacal sister Indu (Asin - Looking absolutely gorgeous and shapely - Lipo or workout.. I am not sure), who drives of prospective goons oops... grooms by her dare driving skills, because she is in love with a Hare Brained, criminal with a Hyderabadi accent called Azad, who is Jail Prone (see the movie to understand this term!!).
The third element is a wedding planner, Himmesh bhai, whose father is the owner and has completed some 450+ marriages and is looking for completing 500. But-- Himmesh, with this goofy behaviour is jinxed and says the wrong things at the wrong time and instead of getting married, the marriages are called off... So he is kicked out and wants to prove a point to his dad that he can also get people married. Therein lies the story... of how Himmesh, tries to marry off 72 Singh with Indu and thereof..
The story is whacky and non-sensical but the director makes no bones about it. The direction is like Rohit Shetty meets Crouching Tiger and Moon Acrobatics.. I mean, flying cars, flying people, punches that send people into orbit and cars that keep blowing off.. there is enough excitement to whet your appetite. Believe me, this film is for the masses and please see it for the sheer incredulity of events that the director want you to see.
Music by Himmesh Bhai is as nasal as it can get, but watching his voice resonate through akshay is hilarious. The songs are tedious and continuing with the trend this year(Almost all hindi movies had awful sound tracks!!!).
Verdict - To be honest- there was never a dull moment on screen and your belief systems were being stretched every second. Asin was wasted in this movie (but she looked gorgeous, and I dont know why she wants to do these movies, she looks too sophisticated !!!). Raj Babbar and Mithun - the old warhorses prove that they still have it... Himmesh is believable and cute and I guess has now found his space.. :). Akshay is really good and holds the movie together.. very entertaining - Overall-
RATING - **1/2 ( and ***1/2 only for Akshay).
Warning - Watch it with no pre-conceived notions..!!!!!!
Aamir Khan has set the bar very high. All movies starring him in the past few years have done extremely well - Critically as well as Commercially. I guess the law of averages has to catch up some day and Talaash is that average for Aamir.
Don't get me wrong. Its a good film, but not an excellent one. It has an interesting story line, but not an unique one. In fact, I found some shades of The Sixth Sense in the movie. It has been cleverly interspersed with other characters, but I guess, the basic theme remains the same. As it is purported to be a suspense thriller, I will not give out the plot and be a party pooper but here are the bare essentials:-
Aamir Khan is an honest cop - Surjan Singh Shekhawat A.K.A as Suri by his wife and friends. Rani is his wife. The movie starts off with an accident of a superstar - Armaan Kapoor, witnessed by three persons. All of them say the same thing - The road was empty, the car swerved and went into the water. End Result - Armaan Kapoor is dead. The media goes off on a frenzy, the cops are clue less and so is the audience - till then atleast.The plot begins to unravel when a constable tells Suri that this the the third accident on that road and both cases were closed as there was no rational explanation for them. This gets Suri thinking. What follows is a story wherein, demons of Suri and Rani's past (their son died in a boat accident while they were on a picnic ), interspersed with the dark underbelly of prostitution, greed, murder, betrayal, faith and burning human desire to escape the filth that one is drawn into.
The characters are well defined - Sashi - the sleazy pimp, blackmailer, Sanjay Kejriwal - the actors best friend turned partner in crime, Nawazuddin as Temur- the cripple sidekick (a big change from his role in Kahani), Shernaz Patel as the Psychic who can talk to spirits and of course - Kareena Kapoor as Rosy, the call girl. Unfortunately, though everyone has given a competent performance, not a single performance stands out. Aamir is suitably shown as the honest cop turned insomniac turned believer in supernatural events.
The movie, unfortunately has no lighter moments to dispel the gloom. In that regard, the screen play and direction are top class - Its we, who are jaded and seen too many movies of this type, who find nothing new or great in the movie.
Three idiots may have crossed 100 crores or more, but I think this movie may struggle to achieve that figure. There is nothing wrong, but somehow the movie as a whole does not touch you or make you crave to know the ending, because you can figure it out for yourself immediately after the interval..so much for suspense.
Overall I would rate the movie
Rating -- **1/2
But acting - ***
Go watch it if you have nothing better to do on a sunday .. else you can safely miss it..
JTHJ being the last movie by Yash Chopra, expectations were
high. The guru of loved had churned out major hits over the years and this movie
was his swansong. It’s always good to leave on a high, butdid making this movie help his reputation?
Read on.
The Characters
Samar – Shah Rukh Khan -A village bumpkin turned waiter
turned Army Major. The character seems to be inspired from the movie “The Hurt
Locker” and tries to portray Shah Rukh as the ultimate lover AKA Raj, but
however, fails to bring back the same intensity and magic of his previous
movies. He looks jaded, with a “Been There, Done That” look. There is no real
chemistry between him and Katrina. His chemistry with Anoushka is slightly
better, but lacks conviction.. Overall, his acting is competent but lacks soul.
Meera – Katrina Kaif – A Richie rich gal, who has her life
planned out viz. Wants to marry a “Gora” not a “Desi” and keeps making these
deals with Lord Jesus in a church and pretty much plays the brat who can’t
refuse her dad. She looks pretty, her dresses are really chic and trendy,
giving her a different look- but the problem—she does not touch your heart with
her acting.. A Barbie Doll
Akira - Anoushka- She is an adrenaline junkie who is
commitment phobic. A topper in everything she does and for a girl who dumps
guys before they can dump her, she is shown to fall head over heels in love
with Samar, but is not very convincing. Plus side- Her figure is now lean and
mean, with washboard abs and looks absolutely fit.
The Story
The story is simple but narrated in a long maudlin way.
Samar leaves his village in Punjab because he does not want to join the army,
as is the tradition in his family. So he does odd jobs in London (Snow Cleaner,
Waiter and a street Musician ). He is noticed by Meera during one of the long
interminable songs that dot the movie, and runs into her during her engagement.
He notice she does not look too happy (how obvious!!!) and therein starts the
sequence of their romance. He teaches her how to sing a Punjabi song and she
teaches him how to speak like an Englishman – And love blossoms : Except Meera
has promised Jesus that she won’t cross her friendship boundary with Samar, but
hormones can’t be kept in check and obviously they mate… and Samar meets with
an accident. She rationalises that its Jesus’s way of telling her to lay off
this guy and that’s what she does. He is heartbroken and goes on to become an
Army Major in a Bomb Squad, defying Jesus to kill him but defusing bombs
without any protective gear. He is given the epithet “The man who cannot die”.
Enter Akira. She dives into a cold lake at Leh (same place
as the Three Idiots scene) to win a bet but is about to drown. Obviously, the
major is there and he saves her and in the process covers her with his jacket.
This jacket contains his diary with his life story and Anoushka, the tart or
tigress, is hooked. She joins the bomb disposal unit to make a documentary and
love blossoms. Except there is a twist where a Yo-Yo starts between Meera and
Akira.I could go on and on, but the
story is too long and you would be spared the agony If I let on the secret. So go
and watch to know the entire story.
The screen plays too long but still does not manage to
create a connect between the characters and the audience. The songs are a
distraction and if they would have done away with them, the movie would have
been better. This must rank as Rehman’s most mediocre work to date. Utter
Boredom!!!
The picturesque locales of Leh, Kashmir and England are photographed
beautifully. The storytelling is logical
but gets bogged down and three hours is just to long. I counted 10 yawns and my
little daughter pestering me to go home after the interval. The romantic
scenes, I believe were shot by Aditya Chopra and therefore, I guess, the
disconnect shows.
I am a big fan of Yash Chopra and I love his movies, but Chopraji,
you could’ve done better and left us with a more endearing memory. Sadly, that
was not to be so. The movie, being released may do well due to the expectations
and the hype, but this one can’t be endured once, leave alone, watching it a second
time. Go if you have loads of time to kill and are a hopeless romantic.
Considering all the brouhaha about the role that erupted a few years back, primarily by Kareena over not being considered for the role and then fighting for it , one expected that the movie would be something that would shake us out of our comfort zone.. however, the truth is different.
The story starts with Kareena , Mahi, being thrown out a car and she walking into a police station, with a dazed look, cigarette in hand and washed up make up.. this scene definitely did not tug at my heart strings. To be honest, the movie meandered onto such a confused path that writing this review is a real task.. therefore I shall cut to the chase and go to the heart of it...
Kareena as Mahi, an upcoming star, has fallen in love with another star actor - Arjun Rampal as Angad. Predictably, Angad is married with a child and has started divorce proceedings. Mahi is hooked...line and sinker and for that is willing to go to any lengths. Angad, cant handle this and they finally (how obvious !!!) break up. She is devasted and turns to a PR Rep(played pretty well by Divya Dutta), who as a spin doctor, gets her endorsements, openings etc.. which give her the visibility to get considered for a movie. In the meanwhile she gets hooked with Randeep Hooda - Vice Captain Indian cricket team, who is the rakhee brother of an Upcoming Actor Abbas's wife - Abbas.. To cut a long story short, she gets the movie with Abbas, spurns his advances, he takes revenge by cutting her role to a minimun and she is devasted. She turns to a moody art film director (Well played by Ranvir Sheorey) who is going to make a movie on a prostitute to show case her acting skills .. Blah blah ...she has a moment with another actress in the film (Shahana Goswami), the film is shelved and she is again back to her self destructive ways.
She acts in a small film Annie, which does not have enough money for promotion. She turns to Divya Dutta who tells her, that nothing can be done and only a controversey can make her film a hit. Mahi then shows her a sex clip shot by her with arjun rampal. The clip is uploaded, and the resulting controversey makes her film a big hit and she gets what she wants...
The story is not over and I will not let the viewer off the hook.. Please go and see the movie.. you will know what a bad , confused movie looks like and when a star is getting too big for his/her boots, what can happen - nothing short of a black hole.
I expected a better movie from Madhur Bhandarkar, but I guess he wanted to sc*** kareena's film career and his own in the bargain. Boring, predictable and utter rot are some of the adjectives that can be used to describe the movie. Watch it if you suffer from Insomnia or are a Masochist.
There are movies with a story to tell and stories that cry to be made into movies, but rarely one comes across a movie that effortlessly transcends these boundaries and comes across as the only way to tell a story. Barfi! is all that and a lot more.
Set in the hills of Darjeeling, Barfi! is all about a boy (Ranbir Kapoor), who is born deaf and dumb but is not hampered by it. In fact, he makes it out to be a virtue. There is no sympathy asked and none given. He is one of the boys, in with a chance with the girls and what more can one say.
The story is deceptively simple, but the screenplay, direction and cinematography transport it to another dimension of emotional complexity. The viewer is transported into the simple pleasures that bring happiness to us. The basic emotions of greed, love, lust, envy are all there.
Barfi! is a love triangle wherein, a deaf and dumb Ranbir (Barfi!) manages to win the love of a gorgeous Ileana D'Cruz (Shruti ) with his carefree ways and the undying devotion and love of Priyanka (who plays an autistic/retard) with his selfless devotion and caring nature.
The characters are well defined and crisp. Ileana as the young, impressionable, fashionable about to get engaged girl is heartachingly beautiful. The cinematographer - Ravi Varman has caputured her with such admiration that her every nuance, expression and gesture conveys emotion with such sincerity that one cant help falling in love with her and empathising with her when she is too late to......
.
Priyanka is convincing and absolutely brilliant. This role is such a departure from her usual roles that its is a joy to watch her. Her expressions convey love, lust, longing, envy with such ease that one can be forgiven for believing that she is born that way.. Her look when she sees Illeana's graceful back in Kolkata and her efforts to recreate the same is so subtle but yet so defining a woman that it hits you. Her obvious defensive reaction to Illeana is so natural, the trait of possessiveness comes across loud and clear.. I may be a retard but I am a woman too.....
And what do I say about Ranbir!1 Simply brilliant. He emotes with such ease, that one is left astounded at what this young man can do. He is UP THERE and is well on his way to becoming a legend.
Ashish Vidyathi as Jhilmil's dad is competent but doesnt have much to do. Saurabh shukla is effective as the overweight and harrassed cop, Rita Ganguly as Illean's mum is suitably competent and quietly scheming. The rest of the cast ably support the lead characters.
The director, Anurag Basu's recitation of this story is fluid and carefree. His technique of running a paralllel story line (past and present together) keeps you hooked. The cinematography is vivid and the use of lighting is absolutely spot on.Another nice touch are the travelling musicians who maintain a certain soulful atmosphere throughout the movie.
Go and watch the movie for its old world charm , its lack of pretentiousness, fluid storytelling and some brilliant performances by its lead characters. The only flaw is the ending, which could've been handled better as it just dragged on a little bit. However, I can forgive that and so will you...
Straight off the bat- I am a big fan of Kya Super Kool hai Hum. I thought it was crazy and fun, and very well made. It gave a different meaning to the phrase "Double Entendre". For someone who loves movies like the "Matrix" and "The Dark Knight".. it was a sea change .. and keeping that in mind I went to see "Kya Super Kool hai hum" ( I also kept all logical reasoning aside - a primary requisite to enjoy the movie) and ...welll.... read on..
First things first - The double entendre is alive and kick with a few takes on various serials ..like when Simran( Neha) is taking about guys she refers to the serial "Bade Achhe Lagte Hain"..go Figure.. However, the movie is a series of double meaning phrases that we have heard over the past few years...yeah..Super Kool Should have cum...oops come a few years back.. :)
The characters -
Neha Sharma (pretty with big beautiful eyes) as Simran, a call center employee with rich parents, Sarah Jane Dias as Anu, a model
Riteish as a wannabe DJ Sid with a stud dog
Tusshar , as Adi, a wannabe actor, stalking Rohit Shetty
Chunky Pandey as Baba 3G
Anupam Kher as Francis Marlo - Anu's crazy and gullible dad
Rohit shetty - Special appearance
The story is a mix of "Kismat Konnection, Vicky Donor, and Dostana" all rolled into one. Incidents like Carol Gracias wardrobe malfunction are also featured into the story. Adi and DJ Sid are stugglers trying to make their mark in the world. Adi as an actor.. who is forced to do teleshopping ad s till he gets the big break and Sid, trying to be a DJ but somehow manages to bungle up the party... Adi goes to a Tarot Card reader , Sunita Menon to get an insight into what the future hold for him. Sh tells him that a girl is about to come into his life, her name beginiing with "S", who shall change his fortunes. Sure enough..after meeting Simran in a bus, he gets a call that he has been shortlisted for a movie called "chinghum"....
DJ Sid survives on his dog's sexploits.... His dog is called Sakru (pug) and is a donor...(yeah..like Vicky), who is in great demand for breeding... and Sid gets paid handsomely... what a life.
Well...to cut a long story short, Sid meets Anu while he is playing as a stand-in DJ at a fashion show and is responsible for her wardrobe malfunction. She gets even with him by sending him up as a stand-in escort to a roomful of bored housewives into S&M. Adi, in the meantime proposes to Simran, who gets scared and tells him that she is a Lesbian... However, the young lover is not satisfied so he and sid go to Goa. Here, sid meets Anu's dad who has been convinced by Baba 3 G that his mother (Rosemary Marlo... Duh!!!) has taken rebirth in the form of a pug.. that allows him and his 5 disciples to free load on francis Marlo... what follows is a tiresome comedy comprising of stale gay jokes and cliched Double meaning dialogues.
VERDICT
Well, go and watch it if you are not current with Double Meaning dialogues and havent watched some of the hindi movies mentioned above, other wise you can safely give it a miss....
Ferrari -- throws up images of a Red Prancing horse, the high pitched scream of a 800 Hp formula one car, whizzing through Monza and of course of excellence in engineering and design - A reminder that technologically superior products can also be beautiful while giving ultimate performance (Apple iPad, iPhone..case in point)...lest I digress further, let me get on with the review.
The movie starts up in true Vinod Chopra style.. setting the mood for the character - in this case Sharman Joshi - a Parsi single dad, bringing up his son, riding a scooter alongwith his son, inadvertently breaks a traffic light. Now being an upright RTO clerk and wanting to set the correct example for his son, and finding no traffic havaldar in sight, he looks for one, and ensures that he is challaned and pays a fine. Now, this seems far-fetched and not exactly in the nature of normal humans...but drives the point home.
By then we have been introduced to Rustom - Sharman Joshi, Ritwik Sahore and Kayo, Boman Irani as Deboo- Sharman's father and a disgruntled old man, The Honest Police inspector - who does not shy away from impounding wrongly parked foreign cars, the traffic constable - a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar and who wants to avoid controversy by NOT picking up foreign cars as they may belong to politicians or industrialist and he may be pulled up for the actually doing his job, Kayo's cricket coach and of course the Over the Top, Punjabi Wedding Planner -
The story is based around Kayo- a talented budding cricketer, who belongs to a middle class family. Rustom finds it difficult to provide for Kayo's cricketing gear but somehow manages. However, one day an oppotunity comes knocking at their door - A coaching camp to Lords, London, for which Kayo will definitely be selected, however, the cost is Rs One and Half Lac, which is the deal breaker for the financially strapped Rustom. A Lac and Half, a disgruntled Grandad (Bade papa), an unscrupulous friend of grand papa- Dharmadhikari-played by Paresh Rawal , all threaten to destroy this boys dream.
Opportunity knocks and how. There is money to be made but there is a rider, A Ferrari is needed for a Corporator's sons wedding and the wedding planners best bet is Rustom. How everything falls in place is something that you must watch for yourself but there are some key takeaways from this movie:-
(a) Under the right conditions, if given a chance, Everyone is capable of crime - even the most honest among us.
(b) However, when the honest commit a crime, the element of guilt is too much and they cant live with it.. so they definitely try to make it up...
Overall, the movie scores for its simplicity and some genuine acting skills. Characterisation is good, however some of them like the coach suffer, as there isnt enough time or emphasis given to them in the script. Sharman as Rustom is very Likeable and does an excellent job.. Ritwik, the mac Donalds find, is good, however, the honours once again go to Boman irani, as the irascible old Parsi Gentleman, he is in his element. Rest all have done a competent job... The movie lacks energy and Vidya Balan's item number could'nt do much to increase it.. However, the pace is brisk and the kids will definitely love it...
A must watch with children and a May watch if you are on your own...
Evolution is a fact of life....and Shanghai is an evolution in darwanian terms..Would love to watch some more movies like these... No patronising, no moral lectures...says it just the way it is.... A brilliant strategic Chess game , where the moves have already been decided before the game has started..!!!
The movie is set in Bharatpur or some mofussil town, where the ruling party wants to set up an IBP- India Business Park. Now, as with all development, some one has to pay the price, and obviously, It has to be the poor tribals who have to be displaced from their land (how obvious).
The characters are well etched.. Abhay Deol as the Collector - A tamilian..reserved, quiet and crafty, Kalki as the idealistic crusader, whose dad is an army general accused in a land scam, Emraan- as Jogi, the sleazy photographer's assistant, always on the look out for new business,
Farookh sheikh as the flexible and compliant Principal Secretary, Supriya Pathak as the Cold Blooded CM and a host of characters to complete the plot...
Enter the dragon...Dr Ahemadi (Prasenjit Banerjee) ..in a la Medha Patkar mode.. kurta and all, who comes to tell the poor tribals to fight for their right. He is Kalki's teacher and more. Kalki is forewarned to tell Ahemadi not to come as his life is under threat, but that is brished off by ahemadi. However, the threat was real and Ahemadi is mowed down by a truck in front of all his supporters and detractors.
The spider's web starts to un ravel with the CM ordering an enquiry and makes Abhay Deol the headmaster. The cover up game starts with the police and the deeper our collector goes, the dirtier it gets. The criminals display no fear of the law , which is frightening as it holds out no hope for the common man, Emraan is uncharateristically cast, with a past and a debatable future. Kalki is the only weak link. The ending is ironic and cynical... no answers..just reality and thats the way it is...
Summing up, a smart political thriller vishwanthan anand would be proud of the moves played by all the characters. To be savoured and enjoyed.
Extremely well directed, written, acted ...... Shanghai is a masterful dark tale narrated by a Masterful story teller, Dibakar (maybe he shall not be called "Debacle" Banerjee any more..:)
Been a busy weekend in order to de-stress, I walked in to see A Hate Story. Did my stress levels go down..hard to say...but the movie turned out nothing like what the reviews of promo's made it to be..
The story is a simple one. Two journalists (Paoli Dam and Nikhil Dwivedi) expose a Cement company of some underhand dealings. The CEO (Siddharth - Gulshan Devaih) is angry (Obviously !!! Duh!!!) and exacts revenge for the same on Paoli..by first Hiring her, Wooing Her and then Firing her. Like the old adage, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, she discovers, to her joy, i guess (as it gave her some ammunition), that she is pregnant with Sids child. So she blackmails him...Big mistake..He gets even by kidnapping and sterilising her.
On the warpath (Traces of Khoon Bhari Maang), she becomes a High Class Call girl and then systematically gets into the pants of the Company's CEO, the politician (Mohan Kapur) who is helping them... to play a dangerous game of spy vs spy between companies, with the sole aim of bringing about Cementec's and the CEO's downfall. She succeeds (Thereby getting across a message--MBA, CA are not required by women to succeed.. )and pays back the CEO in his own coin. However, there is a twist in the tale and the movie dosent end the way you expect it would. For a detailed review of the story- read this review.
Paoli is confident as Kavvya - the journalist, victim and call girl. However, she is not able to evoke pathos on her plight...
Gulshan (Sid) is good as the overawed stammering son, the ruthless CEO and the charming womaniser...
The movie's redeeming feature is its pace which does not slow down and is not encumbered by too many songs. The editing is logical however the screenplay is too simplistic and naive. I really dont think people are that naive now a days atleast... so that goes against the movie. A slighly complicated set of characters would have made the movie a gripping one the watch. However, all said and done.. you can watch the movie and enjoy it..
Rating - **1/2
Agent Vinod or A (gent) Vinod, sounds confusing..well, wait till you watch the movie and then decide. Did the movie live up to its hype, well, read on to make up your mind.
The movie starts in James Bond style, with the desert of death (Afghanistan) being shown in all glory and Agent Vinod being beaten black and blue by the ISI agent 'Morka' or something like that. Vinod wins their confidence by revealing an Indian agent to them and then suddenly all hell breaks loose. Vinod beats up atleast 40 guys (sic), saves the Indian agent and somehow, 'Mujra' girl and escapes from the desert, in true James Bond style (meaning, blows up a few trucks carrying armed men and hey presto...
The narrator then goes on to explain how the break up of the soviet union and their corrupt generals are putting up tactical nuclear warheads for sale to the higest bidder, in this case, the Lashkar... They go on to explain the involvement of a large number of middlemen, russian mafia and so on who are a part of this nexus (the mafia don Abu Khan - Ram Kapoor, The Colonel, Prem Chopra as Kazan, a business tycoon- Metla, Kareen kapoor as Dr Ruby Mendes a.k.a Iram Parveen Bilal, Rajat Kapoor as the ISI Chief, Morka as the Renegade ISI agent and a host of other characters...(which also includes Gulshan Grover). I have run out of breadth.
The story moves from Afghanistan-India- St Petersburg-Morocco(where a large part of the movie has been shot)- Riga- Karachi-Somalia ....phew...and back to India at breakneck speed, with never a dull moment. The story is quite simple - The terrorist have got their hands on a Nuclear bomb, the detonator is in a Omar Khayyam Rubyat and the book is for sale (lot 242) at an auction in Morocco. Vinod's mission is to find ther detonator and the bomb so that it can be neutralised. I shall leave it at that
The screen play is complex and so is the execution of the plot. The story has been worked out in detail, however, the time allotted 2 hrs and 40 mins approx, is not enough to make it understandable and coherent for the masses at large. What comes to the fore is all the action (the car chases, the hand to hand combats..) wherein, Vinod always manages to polish of foes with a ration of 1:20. Like I said earlier, the story is simple but the execution is complex, which actually makes you think about all what happened even after the movie for you to understand it. But one thing is clear-India has to be saved at all costs to avert a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.
The acting is quite so-so. Saif as Agent Vinod does not impress you as much as James Bond did. I think its largely because he tries to keep a wooden, expressionless face throughout trying to portray the tough RAW agent, and somehow does not connect with the audience. His seeming indestructability also makes the action sequence ho-hum. Kareena looks confused about her role and she has no fire (like we are accustomed too from her). The Chemistry between Kareena and Saif is quite insipid and does not evoke any sympathy for her or them. Prem Chopra is menacing at times but loses the plot midway. The host of other baddies are efficient and do their job competently.
All in all, the movie is quite complex to follow. The director had a taut script and he has tried to incorporate all the logical steps in it, but in doing so, he has introduced a large number of characters, too many sub plots and two extremely avoidable songs. The action sequences like the car chase, fights etc are well done. The back ground music score has a nice rock feel and is edgy in the right places. The movie has been made in James Bond style (as we all lap up Bond films anyway) but without the suave edginess of Craig, Pierce and Sean...
All in all - a decent time pass, but keep your wits about or else you shall not understand what happened. I would rate it a 2 1/2 stars as the much awaited film does not live up to the hype and leaves you generally confused and cold.
There are some movies that you want dont want to watch just because...no reason..you may hate it or love it..its a different issue, but you will watch it.. Ek Deewana Tha was one of them..and the other was Paan Singh Tomar. I shall readily admit that I was under intense pressure to watch this movie, so like a good socialble human being I succumbed .. And for the umpteenth time in my life (listening to advice and recommendation from friends is mostlly beneficial ) ... I admit I just loved the movie.
The story is a rather simple one (and forgotten as it has never been a part of our educational curriculum). Paan Singh Tomar (PST as I shall call him), belongs to a smemall village in Modena district of UP (near chambal). He joins the army after Independence and just loves to eat.. he is rather rudely told by one of the Mess Havaldars that if he wants to hog, become a sportsman, so PST goes and tells his Div O that he wants to become a sportsman. The DO, in jest gives him a pack of Ice Cream and tells him that if he can deliver this to a majors house, before it melts, he can become one..So PST does it..in less than 4 mins..
He then does well in the local 5000 mtrs race and to his CO's shock informs him that his uncle is a "Baaghi" (an euphemism for a dacoit). He tells him that in Chambal, no one becomes a dacoit for pleasure and therefore, they are known as Baaghi's. The tete a tete continues and the CO feels that PST is a complete misfit and has a lot of latent anger..His DO gives a suggestion of sending him to sports school to hone his talents and channelise his energy.
At the sports school, he tells his coach (Maj Randhawa) that he has come here so that he can eat well.. and in the very first 5000 mtrs race, trumps his son-in-law. The coach is worried and requests PST to take up another race, which at first he vehemently disagrees, but when the coach tells him that his daughters happiness is at stake..he understands the situation and agrees to run the Steeple chase.
The story goes on about how he makes a national record, looses in the asian games just because he was forced to wear spikes.. and then finally at the age of 30+ goes and wins a gold medal at the International Defense meet ...a competition in which he was allowed to participate as compensation for not sending him to fight in the 1965 war inspite of his age..
After his retirement, the hard facts of life hit him and when he realises that his land has been usurped by his cousin, he goes from pillar to post to retrieve it, tries all legal means but the final humiliation comes when the local policeman tells him that his medal and army background have no value, and throws his medal and papers away.. he decides enough is enough and has todo something. In the meanwhile, incensed by PST going to the police, his cousin attacks his home, bludgeons his mom to death (luckily his wife and kids run away). PST then takes the law into his own hands and becomes a Baaghi. The irony is that his son joins the army and he has to become a dacoit.
So as a dacoit, he has to kidnap people to get money for firearms and all that, which he does, with the sole aim of killing his cousins and avenging his mothers death and sons beating. He achieves his aim, takes revenge and thereafter does not know what to do. His fame has spread far and wide and even police approach him to take revenge on their enemies. He realises that there is no return to his earlier life.
The movie is a sad reminder of how we treat our sportsmen, of how the very people supposed to protect us become our tormentors, leaving no recourse for justice. It clearly depicts the tough life in our villages, the internal politics, the wheels within wheels within wheels. The entire story is narrated by PST, to a journalist.
The movie is superbly shot, the chambal ravines look desolate and inhospitable . Irrfan as PST is there in almost every frame (its his movie through and through) and he is simply brilliant. Mahie Gill as PST's wife is endearing (though she does not have much of a role, as a matter of fact, no one else has). Effortless acting and some superb direction, screenplay and editing make it one of the best movies in the past few years. The locations are authentic, the diction is local ... Just go an watch it..it gives Bandit Queen a run for its money..
Sitting at home on a lazy Saturday afternoon, flipping channels, the catchy rythm and melody of Wake Up Sid (the song) suddenly got me out of my stupor and I started watching the movie - for the fifth time and against all odds (Daughters wanted Doraemon and the better half wanted to see Charlie's Angels...)
I know the movie is old, but I guess something about the way the entire movie has been made...its just right!!! what else can I say. Let me start from the music... All songs capture the mood at that point of the movie absolutely brilliantly..Like Wake Up Sid at the beginning just takes you along the mad partying, easy going life, free of worries of the main protagonists and Ek Tara (when konkona realises that she actually loves Sid) sets the mood so beautifully that you wish that it was you she was falling in love with !!!!
The characters are so well defined. Anupam kher- as the proud self made dad who wants the best for his only son, Supriya Pathak as the doting, uneducated mum, His friends Rishi , Laxmi and the whole gang, Rahul Khanna as the eccentric Jazz loving Editor and of course Konkona..the migrant aspiring writer, whom we all want to fall in love with Ranbir, which she first denies and then realises - simply brilliant
The pace of the movie is superb.. it flows - right from his partying days, his failure, meeting konkona, getting kicked out of home, moving in with konkona, the adjustments made by both, jealousy kicking in, his photograph getting selected - seem so real...especially his chat with his dad where he expresses his shock at his dad not calling him home once he left in a huff, it all seems so real, so endearing..
Ranbir was superb.. Konkona - brilliant (especially when he is leaving her house to go back to his home- her tantrums are absolutely feminine- unpredictable.. because she does not want to admit to him that she is in love) and the rest of the cast admirably supports them...
A must watch (if there is someone who has not seen it !!!)..
There are Rom-Coms and then there is Ek main aur Ekk Tu. Having heard that the storyof this rom-com was similar to "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" and Kareena's character was similar to Geet's character in "Jab we Met". However, it was a pleasant surprise to see that though some parts of the story have been inspired by them, but overall, the film holds its own.
The movie starts with Imran classifying the types of children, The smart ones who make a show of obeying their parents, the average obedient ones who obey their parents and the rebels who care a damm. Rahul Kapoor (Imran) is a good looking, "Perfectly Average" guy, whose entire life has been planned by his parents to perfection. His Father (Boman Irani - Effortlessly portrays the ambitious father for whom winning a silver means that you lost the gold!!!!! ), wants him to become and architect, get experience and then join the family business. So he is constantly goaded by his father to do his best while his mother (Ratna Pathak- looking suitably the Socilaite like in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai), gives him tips on his dressing and hairstyle. They both are not averse to fixing him up with their associates daughter's so that business can mix with pleasure - union of businesses...and ofcourse a marriage of convenience...
Well, as always well laid plans are always are meant to go astray and so the same happens here (if it didnt the movie would be mind numbingly boring). Rahul loses his job on christmas eve, goes to a pyschologist, bumps into Rihanna Braganza (Kareena Kapoor playing the Sober form of Geet- Was it the LA Effect???), who mistakes him for something else and then starts the story. ......
Rahul - the straitjacketed inexperienced guy, prim and propah, Rihanna - the older, carefree and obviously experienced gal get together, have a blast in Vegas and then get married- just like that. What happens thereafter is predictable to an extent, but is protrayed sensibly and does not go over the top (with tears that could put Ganges to shame and force you to wipe your eyes). Their budding friendship and its subsequent ramifications are interesting and .... oh..let me not spill the beans...go and watch it.
Overall, the movie had the KJO touch, with songs merging very well with the story ( my favourite is Auntyji), some excellent understated acting by Imran Khan and a mature, but bubbly performance by Kareena. For the first time, this rom-com does it differently and that makes it worth a watch...
Everyonce a while, comes along a movie that has a lot of promise, but somehow does not live up to it.. However, all said and done, this movie's screen play (a satire on the times we live in) starts off on a promising note and like a tired long distance runner... gives up in the end.
The movie is has three plots running side by side and all converge towards the end. Akshaye Khanna (Bharat) is a boring cashier, married to a jealous Shriya Saran (Nisha- A school teacher). They both stay with his father - Satish Kaushik, in Bhopal. The movie starts off with a wandering sadhu (who wanders every week to their house to collect oil and is obliged by the lady of the house). As Bharat keeps grumbling about the cost of oil, the sadhu makes a prophecy that Bharat is about enter one of his darkest phases in his life and is going to be beset by several Misfortunes. The only way to deflect the impending crisis that "Shani Dev" has to be appeased....
The first track is that Bharat is a amateur Ramlila actor (playing Hanuman), the second track is that he has given shelter (as a paying guest) to Mugdha Godse (his bosses niece) and cannot tell her to go as he would get transferred to a village and the third track is that he refuses to give a room in his house to the residing MLA's volunteers. So I guess you would have got the plot.....
Just because he refused to give the room to the MLA (insipid performance by the MLA Tripathi and his brother) and his father giving the room to his opponent Mohanlal (Singapore returned NRI wanting to do good), the MLA's brother ropes in the police to harass Bharat. Annu Kapur as the constable and a host of other characters (the portly pan stained pan vendor - the witness, a thief, a government lawyer, the SHO, all hatch a plot to harass him over trivial issue (Supposedly a fan stolen from their house which they have to identify in court) and ends up costing him Rs 31000/- in chai paani, bribes and the works. (This entire portion of the movie is"Inspired" by Office-Office and is really tiresome after sometime.
There are enough instances for Nisha to suspect that something is brewing between Mugdha and Bharat( the lipstick mark on his cheeks when she thanks him, the midnight rendezvous at the refrigerator ....) and she leaves home because of that. After that Shani dev takes over and Bharat and his dad are convinced that the FAN (which turns out that it wasnt theirs after all) is the cause of all worry. The MLA's bro who is playing Ram in the Ramleela, is getting jealous of all accolades that Bharat is getting and is tryng to sabotage him. Bharat's pop wants him to ditch the FAN but every attempt by Bharat to ditch it (throwing it in the lake, leaving it in the bus, ditch etc) all fail and it comes back to him.
In the finale, Bharat gets his bag with the fan mixed up with another bag which has RDX and the terrorists are trying to get it, and finally during Ramleela, dressed as Hanuman, unknowingly is able ditch the bag in the pond and then blah ..blah..he gets arrested , his dad has to grease many people to get his son off..
The movie reinforces the belief that if you are straight, you are going to get kicked and how. If you want your work to be done, u need to be pragmatic. All politicians are goondas and chors and there is nothing one can do about it!!!!! The feeble attempt at showing some aggression at the end does little to salvage the movie.
Veena Malik's Channo song is decent, and she looks hot...but by that time you are so bored that even she fails to enthuse you.....
Concluding, The movie is a bore, cliched and not very original or inspiring. The satire is there but is tiresome as it is stretched to the limit. A definite Office - Office rip off.... Redeeming factors - Shriya looks really good..but does not get much chance to show off her talent, Akshaye is consistent and good , Annu kapoor is irritating and thats it. Mugdha looks tired and uniterested in a pathetic role, satish kaushik is wasted, the MLA and his bro are terrible (seems like a Dabangg rip off) and the list goes on.......... (I almost slept off writing this review...)
Karan Johar is spreading his wings and wants to remake old hindi movies that fired his imagination. He wanted to remake AGNEEPATH (Amitabh Bacchan) to remind people that that movie was a classic- a precursor to the underworld movies of today. The good versus Evil and the classic revenge story that consumes lives. Now I havent seen the original AGNEEPATH and therefore cannot compare it with the original, however, my impressions are far from
Dinanath Chauhan is a crusader, a teacher, who is out to educate villagers of Mandwa (an island off the coast of Maharashtra, close to Mumbai). He preaches to his son that violence cannot solve problems and strength is of no use if not used properly and at the right time. The key is to get strength and use it when needed to solve your problems. This "Chanakya neeti" is drilled into the young Vijay. His growing clout is not liked by the erstwhile king/landlord of Mandwa). Enter Kancha Cheena ( Sanjay dutt, looking scary..), who promises the villages some quick money, sets a trap for the Masterji and gets a mob to lynch him. The king, now rides a tiger who he cannot control and needless to say, the drug trade follows and the villagers realise that all their quick riches were ephemeral and now they are slaves....so much for a quick buck.....
The son (Vijay Dinanath Chauhan) his mom leave the village, come to mumbai and enter the red light area where the ladies are plying their trade. His mother gets labour pains and young Vijay, runs to get help. A lady with daughter Kaali (Priyanka Chopra) helps his mum to give birth and the people of the basti adopt them. Enters Rauf Lala (Rishi Kapoor- looking every bit the underworld gangster) and a horrific scene where he is auctioning young girls ..... Fast forward, young Vijay sees rauf Lala commit a murder and realises that he needs his strength to get back at Kancha...and so he does not squeal on him to the police Gaitonde (Om Puri in a confused role) kills a police man who is molesting Kaali's mon to achieve that and becomes his right hand man. Here the movie loses the plot....
Fast Forward 15 years and Vijay is hitman, disowned by his mom, has acquired a girl friend kaali (Priyanka Chopra- looking gorgeous and suitably in love), is now an informer for Gaitonde and is slowly moving up the ladder at Rauf Lala's. Kancha Cheena has made Mandwa into a fortress (akin to a columbian drug lord) and has enslaved the villagers. Thereafter the movie labours towards its most obvious conclusion --
The Verdict
The movie has a dark feel around it, mirroring the mood. Sanjay Dutt is scary as Kancha and looks powerful and baaaaad !!! Hrithik as Vijay, is excellent and thankfully is not made to dance at the drop of a hat. He has given it all... Priyanka is gorgeous and completely underutilised as Vijay's love interest. She has got a raw deal..In fact, no one would have missed her if the role wasnt there. Rishi Kapoor is amazingly convincing as the Don Rauf lala..(he is a natural villian). Om Puri looks confused.. The screen play is patchy, the story telling is disjointed and stretches one's imagination especially towards the end.. The songs are a distraction and could've have been dispensed with...however, Gun-Guna is hummable, Chikni Chameli is disastrous (Katrina has no grace and the song is terribly picturised) and the rest are forgettable.The story deviates quite a bit from the original. You can read the story of the Original Agneepath to compare, if you wish.
I would rate it 2/10 and watch it only if you must and PLEASE KEEP CHILDREN AWAY.
Its not often, that in the recent past, a movie comes along, with no item number, no herione and with 4 main stream actors who are known for their off beat roles. With an intriguiging title like Chaalis Chaurasi or 4084 (Reminds one of TAXI 9211-follow the link to watch the complete movie ), I was left wondering what it could be about. The posters did indicate that there were some vehicles involved and I thought the movie would be centered around the same. Was I sadly mistaken - well yes, to some extent..
The movie is primarily centered around 4 men, One a disgraced English professor Mr Puri - Naseerudin Shah (who killed his wife inadvertently when they had a showdown over his affair with another teacher and then served a jail sentence for the same, and now is presently teaching English cum Driver to a rich business man), A wannabe singer, Atul Kulkrarni aka Bobby- who had to give up his dreams to become a pimp (a rather successful one, a drug dealer - Ravi Kishen- who tells us not to lecture him on selling drugs and not buy it if not interested) and finally Kay Kay Menon - as Albert Pinto, a retro car loving thief... These four men have one thing in common- to get out of their present rut and retire for life - But no clue on how to go about it.
So then Puri (or 'Sir" as he is known), comes up with an extremely simple plan, which can get them enough money, split 4 ways, to retire for life. They make their plans as the movie goes along, running into various obstacles (or twists in the plot largely due to their fondness for liquor and bar girls). If and only if they can pull off this 20 crore heist will they be able to realise their dreams. What stands in their way is a corrupt crime branch officer, a renegade gangster (tony bisleri) and a host of other quirky characters. The significance of the number 4084 is known only towards the end...which is a good thing.!!!
Why should you watch it? Well, four fine actors, a reasonably strong storyline with lots of twist and turns, good editing and screenplay, good dialogues and the evergreen hit Hawa Hawa.
Why you should'nt ? Some tiresome songs and background music, the almost comical ending, which is a little stupid and stretches the sensibilities.
Most hindi movies which have been "inspired" by hollywood movies, dont acknowlege the fact and well...dont do so well. Here is one movie that has been publicised as an official remake of "The Italian Job" and to be honest: Abbas-Mastan have done a pretty decent job.
The movie is a classic hollywood style story with a villian (Vinod Khanna as Dada) trying to turn for the better because of his daughter (Sonam), A master thief (Abhishek Bachan) who wants do a big job and retire, his girlfriend(Bipasha) whom he meets every six months to do a robbery and then part ways. (Sonam (Naina) is, as they would have you believe a Masters in Computer Science (and can type with manicured long nails!!!! amazing) who is co-opted into undertaking a big heist (Gold worth 10,000 crores). The job is similar to the one in The Italian Job. Steal gold when it is in transit with multiple variables (Decoy trucks, unbreakable locks, hundreds of security men, secret passwords blah, blah, blah ...) Basically the message is that its an almost impossible job to pull off.. but the team comprising of Abhishek, Sonam, Bipasha, A explosive expert called "Behera" (Sikander Kher), a failed actor and successful makeup artist (Omi Vaidya), A master illusionist (Bobby Deol) and a computer hacker (NN Mukesh as "Spider") pull off the seemingly impossible job with military precision in Murmansk.
The twist in the tale is that some members of their team dont want to share to loot and double cross them. The second half is full of one upmanship and betrayals that would make John Le Carre proud. The basic story now is to recover the stolen gold from the double crossers (here the Italian Job style robbery is almost played out to perfection).
Abbas-Mastan are known for their action flicks and they dont disappoint. The movie is fast paced, with only song (below par) providing some distraction (not needed). The stunts are excellent (the train robbery is superbly shot), acting is good in parts(Abhishek is competent but looks detached sometimes, NN Mukesh is believable as a baddie- he is a natural), Bipasha is hot..but not a very believable thief. Sonam is just not believable as a hacker and Johnny Lever as a car dealer and mechanic is just so-so and not very funny. Direction is good and the pace of the film is fast...redeeming points. However, something's lacking- The thrill is not there. Maybe we have become too blaise or cynical.
Bottom line - Players is a decent flick and makes for a decent watch as the first film of the year. Abhishek deserves a hit and I hope for his sake this film is.....:). I would rate is 3 out of 5. (I have chosen the standard rating to maintain consistency :) )
