Jashnn Movie Review (2009)

The most awaited musical movie from Vishesh Camp after Raaz -The Mystery Continues is Jashnn. People eagerly waited because the movie has debut soundtrack of relatively new composers, Sharib-Toshi who gave big hit “Maahi” from Razz- The Mystery. The movie ‘Jashnn’ is starring Adhyayan Suman as a struggling rock-star singer.

Jashnn Movie details

Language: Hindi
Genre: Musical
Release Date: July 17,2009
Producer: Mukesh Bhatt
Director: Raksha Mistry, Hasnain S Hyderabadwala
Music Director: Sharib, Toshi
Lyricist: Kumaar
Cinematographer: Arun Verma
Cast: Adhyayan Suman, Shahana Goswami, Anjana Sukhani, Humayun Saeed

Official site: http://www.jashnn.com/

Jashnn Movie story Line

Movie starts with 20 year old Akash (Adhyayan Suman) who is struggling musician and lives on his singular dream of stardom. Three band members share his vision as well as his tribulations and are supporting him in his quest for fame and success.

Later Akash’s troubles are compounded by a turbulent home environment. His strength comes alive in the climactic scene where nothing can move the man he has become. But suddenly his all dreams melt as he forgets and forgives all a picture of tranquility.

A beautiful girl Sara (Anjana Sukhani) brings a hope for Akash and in-between Akash fall in love with her. Sara supports Akash in his struggles and keeping his faith alive. Her family members apposed to her relationship with Akash as she belongs to very rich family. For further story you have to see this movie.

“Jashnn” Movie song list

• Main Chala
• Aisa Karle
• Aaya Re
• Nazrein Karam
• Dard-E-Tanhai
• Tere Bin
• Dard-E-Tanhai - Kilogram Mix
• Main Chala – Unplugged
• Nazrein Karam - Kilogram Mi

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Short Kut - The Con is On - Movie Review

Till quite some time back, remaking a successful film was considered a safe bet. In fact, the most reliable, foolproof way at hitting paydirt. But let's not forget, not all stories have the potential to strike gold.

SHORT KUT, a remake of the Malayalam film UDAYANANU THANAM, written by Anees Bazmee and directed by Neeraj Vora, arrives a bit too late. Actually, it should've hit the screens a couple of years ago. That's because it abounds and relies completely on clichés and which, in turn, makes you break into a big yawn.

Write your own movie review of Short Kut - The Con Is On
Sad, since the basic story of SHORT KUT had the potential to keep your attention arrested. It even starts off well, but runs out of breath soon after. In fact, the graph of the film only goes down as reel after reel unfolds.

Seriously, you want to ask something vital to Anees Bazmee and Neeraj Vora, who have penned, even directed laughathons successfully: What kind of cinema is this? Did Bazmee and Vora lose interest while writing this one? Or did they decide to take the viewer for granted?

In short, SHORT KUT is meant to be a comedy, but is actually a tragedy for the viewers.

Set in Bollywood, SHORT KUT - THE CON IS ON tells the story of two strugglers, one who makes it big as a superstar [Raju - Arshad Warsi] after stealing a script and the other whose struggle as a director [Shekhar - Akshaye Khanna] continues after his script gets stolen.

There's a twist in the tale when reigning actress Mansi's [Amrita Rao] romantic involvement with Shekhar gets culminated into marriage. To add to the chaos, destiny again brings Raju and Shekhar face to face, when Shekhar is set to direct his first film with Raju. What follows now is a clash of egos.

As mentioned at the very outset, SHORT KUT could've turned out to be an insider's view on the film industry. The two aspirants, their struggles, the hardships that they face to get their first break... SHORT KUT could've explored all that and more beautifully. In fact, a few moments do try to capture that at the very start.

But the moment the romantic track sets in, things go for a toss. The plot, suddenly, makes you feel you're watching a diluted version of ABHIMAAN [Amitabh, Jaya]. Then, suddenly, another unexciting track surfaces -- of the superstar throwing his weight on the sets. The film starts losing grip.

The post-interval portions are simply unbearable. You expect things to brighten up, but the writing is so pathetic and the climax so childish and absurd that you're shocked. Looks like the writers must've gone on a vacation and entrusted the responsibility of writing the climax to some amateur types who has zilch knowledge of screen writing. It's the worst climax undoubtedly!

Director Neeraj Vora gets its wrong completely. The writing as also the execution are archaic and outdated. Mr. Vora, which era do you belong to? As for cinematography, the DoP tries hard to make the bad product look enticing. Musically, nothing to hum about.

Akshaye Khanna puts up a sincere act, but what can the best of actors do when saddled with shoddy scripts? Arshad gets better lines, also gets a role that the masses would take to instantaneously, but he's getting typecast. Amrita Rao exposes her anatomy freely. Chunky Pandey manages to make you smile at places. Ali Asgar looks fake. Haider Ali is alright. Siddharth Randeria is theatrical.

On the whole, SHORT KUT - THE CON IS ON is a poor show all the way. A major disappointment.

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Kambakkht Ishq - Movie Review

Bizarre has a new meaning and it's called KAMBAKKHT ISHQ.

Of late, Akshay Kumar has earned the reputation of making you laugh in film after film. You expect KAMBAKKHT ISHQ, his new outing, to transport you to ha-ha-land, given the smart-n-chic promos of the film.

KAMBAKKHT ISHQ belongs to the same family of films which have wooed the masses, such as MUJHSE SHAADI KAROGI, WELCOME, SINGH IS KINNG and GOLMAAL RETURNS. The prime motive is to entertain you for the next 2 hours, logic be damned.

Yet, KAMBAKKHT ISHQ is different because it depicts the battle of the sexes, a theme that's rarely depicted on the Hindi screen. The lingo is poles apart, so is the attitude. In fact, this is a modern take on relationships, with the two hours divided between laughter and emotions, frivolous and reality.

Let's get this straight. KAMBAKKHT ISHQ works in most parts thanks to the kind of star power and energy that the two actors pack in -- Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor. It would've been difficult to hold the film from falling apart had the two actors not been competent enough to carry off their respective parts. Also, the presence of Hollywood stars -- Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards -- the first on the Hindi screen, is an added bonus. 1 pe 2 ka offer; Bollywood stars ke saath Hollywood free!

The focus is on the entertainment quotient. There are moments when you laugh so uncontrollably that it gets embarrassing and there are times when you continue smiling, even during the most ordinary scenes.

But KAMBAKKHT ISHQ dips in its second hour because you expect it to be as frivolous as the first hour, but it changes tracks and gets emotional. Things would've gone wrong had the end stumbled and fumbled, but it doesn't. The finale, in fact, takes the film back to the level that one expects from a film of this magnitude.

To sum up, KAMBAKKHT ISHQ offers you value for time and also, value for money. It offers loads of entertainment in those 2 + hours, loads of glamour in those 130 odd minutes, from start to end. Sure, there are blemishes, but they're trivial when you look at the larger picture.

KAMBAKKHT ISHQ explores the relationship between two individuals who are as different as chalk and cheese. Viraj [Akshay Kumar] is a stuntman in Hollywood, who lives by the mantra 'women are only good for two things'. Simrita [Kareena Kapoor] is a firebrand who is more than able to stare down the most arrogant male with her caustic wit and sardonic tongue.

So what happens when the two people who hate each other the most meet at Simrita's best friend Kamini's [Amrita Arora] and Viraj's brother Lucky's [Aftab Shivdasani] wedding? A wedding that both Viraj and Simrita are violently opposed to and desperate to stop. Sparks fly... the battle of the sexes in on.

Director Sabbir Khan's motive is simple: Entertain for the next 2 hours. The entire first hour moves at a lightening speed, making you enjoy the war of words between Akshay and Kareena at regular intervals.

The first half abounds in terrific moments, but I'd like to single out at least three...

* One, the church wedding of Aftab and Amrita. When the battle lines are drawn.

* Two, the sequence at the operation table, when Akshay spots Kareena.

* Three, the interval point. The pendant connection. Howlarious sequences all!


The post-interval starts with a bang, with Akshay hearing the 'Om Mangalam' chant just about everywhere -- while sleeping, in the shower, in the rest room, even at an award function. The award function sequence is a double whammy. You get to watch Stallone and also the scene is superbly structured, executed and enacted.

Things are smooth sailing till the emotional angle comes up. The narrative dips in those 20 odd minutes. The mood suddenly shifts from laughter to sadness. The makers may argue that a twist in the tale is justified from the writing point of view, since the emotional track is vital for any love story, but the fact remains that one does miss the entertainment quotient here. In fact, the dip in the second hour erodes, to a large extent, the impression that the first half had built so magnificently.

Director Sabbir Khan picks up a theme that may catch you by complete surprise, but marinates it in entertainment, garnishes it well and presents it like never before. The review would be incomplete if we failed to highlight the grandiose look and the lavish production values thanks to the no-holds-barred expenses by producer Sajid Nadiadwala. Each frame looks ostentatious and glitzy.

Music is up to the mark, with three interesting tracks -- 'Om Mangalam' [RDB], 'Lakh Lakh' and 'Bebo' [Anu Malik]. Cinematography [Vikas Sivaraman] is magnificent, with the DoP doing complete justice to the production values.

KAMBAKKHT ISHQ belongs to both, Akshay and Kareena. Akshay is dynamic this time. He received a lot of flak for CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA and there was this nagging feeling that the negativity would spill over to KAMBAKKHT ISHQ. But Akshay is in terrific form here and delivers, without a shred of doubt, a bravura performance. If you loved him in NAMASTEY LONDON and SINGH IS KINNG, you'd fall in love with Akki and his comic timing all over again this time.

Kareena left an indelible impression in JAB WE MET and creates a similar impact, albeit in a different role. Her role has shades of 'Poo' in K3G, but the glam looks combined with that rare confidence takes this performance to dizzy heights. Clearly, Kareena is miles ahead of her contemporaries as far as talent goes and this film proves it yet again.

Aftab and Amrita are perfect for their parts. Vindu Singh supports well. Javed Jaffrey doesn't make a mark because the role has no connection with the main plot. Kirron Kher is getting typecast. Boman Irani is hilarious in that lone sequence. Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards are well integrated in the narrative.

On the whole, KAMBAKKHT ISHQ will strike a chord with the youth and those who relish zany and madcap entertainers. The first half is tremendous, while the second half takes a dip, with the film picking up towards the climax. At the box-office, the film will see an earth-shattering opening weekend and a historic Week 1. It remains to be seen how this film fares in its second weekend/week, given the massive number of screens it has opened globally [2,000 +]. However, the timing is most appropriate [the viewer is thirsting for a biggie] and the hype is tremendous, which should prove very advantageous for the film.

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New York - Movie Review

By Taran Adarsh Rating: **** Myth: New York is about 9/11. Fact: It's not. But it reflects the mood that's prevalent across the globe, post 9/11. The world is divided today. No two opinions on that! Myth: New York bears a striking similarity to KHUDA KAY LIYE. Fact: Nope. KHUDA KAY LIYE and New York may belong to the same family, of an innocent person being picked up for questioning after the WTC catastrophe, but the similarities end there. In fact, KHUDA KAY LIYE and New York are as diverse as chalk and cheese. New York, helmed by Kabir Khan, attempts to be as real as possible. A tale of friendship, with terrorism as the wallpaper, New York hits you like a ton of bricks at several points in the narrative. In fact, there was a possibility that New York may turn out to be a dry experience, a documentary perhaps, but the drama is so well structured and so gripping that you get sucked into the world of Sam, Omar and Maya from its inception. New York is a triumph for Kabir Khan, who deserves distinction marks for handling the subject with remarkable maturity. Also, this film should be a turning point for John, Katrina and Neil. More on that later... The verdict? New York is, without doubt, one of the finest films produced by this premier production house, Yash Raj. Grab a ticket today! Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) has gone abroad for the first time in his life and soon enough, he begins to see and love America through the eyes of his American friends, Sam (John Abraham) and Maya (Katrina Kaif). But an incident changes the world round them. At this point enters Agent Roshan (Irrfan), an FBI agent, who sets the ball rolling for a series of tumultuous events that turn the lives of these friends upside down. New York affects you like no other Hindi film has done so far (on 9/11). In fact, there are portions that give you goose bumps, especially towards the second half of the film, when John recounts his past. One of the reasons why New York works is because not once does Kabir Khan borrow from the past or tilt towards predictable stuff. You just can't guess what and where the story is headed and what the culmination would be. The director and his team of writers establish the plot and characters beautifully, but the real action is reserved for the second half. The nightmarish experience that John undergoes is disturbing, but lifts the film several notches up. But New York has its share of loose ends. The film dips in the second hour. It tends to gets lengthy before it reaches a powerful, brilliantly executed climax. Also, a few sequences only add to the length of the film, which could've been curtailed in the writing stage itself. Director Kabir Khan picks up a real incident -- innocent civilians being suspected as terrorists, soon after 9/11 -- and weaves a brilliant tale around it. The screenplay is its biggest star, without a doubt. Given the fact that New York isn't one of those routine masala fares, Kabir has injected songs only when required. Cinematography is striking. Now here's another surprise. John, Katrina and Neil, all actors, deliver their career-best performance. If the first half belongs to Neil, John takes over the second hour completely. John is superb when he recalls the past. You can feel his pain, that effective is his performance. Also, note his expressions towards the end. This is a different John, for sure. Just one word for his performance -- fabulous! Neil was remarkable in JOHNNY GADDAAR, but disappointed in AA DEKHEN ZARA. Fortunately, he's in top form this time around. Katrina gives you the biggest surprise. Known for her glamour roles, Katrina proves that she can deliver if the director and writer offer her a role of substance. She's outstanding. In fact, people will see a new, different Katrina this time. Irrfan is, as always, first-rate. On the whole, New York is amongst the finest films produced by Yash Raj. At the box office, there's no stopping this one. Go for it now!

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Zor Lagaa Ke…Haiya - Movie Review

Starring: Mithun Chakraborthy, Mahesh Manjrekar, Riya Sen, Gulshan Grover, Seema Biswas, Ashwin Chitale, Ayesha Kaduskar, Meghan Jadhav, Ritwik Tyagi and Hardik Thakkar Director: Girish Girija Joshi Rating: *** Four kids staying in the same building – Laddu (Hardik), Priya (Ayesha), Ritesh (Ritwik) and Karan (Meghan) feel threatened by a beggar staying near their building. They nickname him Ravan for his scary appearance. Forever intrigued by the bag he always carry with him, the four friends devise various plans to steal it and find out what is inside it but all their plans fail as Ravan (Mithun) outsmarts them every time. Finally they decide upon building a small tree house in their building compound so that through it they can keep a watch on Ravan who stays on the road across their building. Ram (Ashwin) who works as a labourer on the upcoming new constructions in their complex, comes to their aid and helps them build this tree house. But after many more attempts on stealing Ravan’s bags, the five kids end up being friends with Ravan and their tree house starts becoming the night abode for him. But, danger comes in form of ruthless builder Bakshi (Gulshan Grover) who decides to raze the tree for making way for a new gate in front of it for his commercial purposes. He takes aid of Gupta (Mahesh Manjrekar) his contractor on the site. How the five kids with the help of the homeless Ravan give a fight to Gupta and his cronies to save their tree forms the rest of the film. While there was always a risk of sounding preachy when films carry a strong message, debutante director Girish has successfully managed to avoid that by subtly yet strongly incorporating his message through a neatly woven screenplay. The best thing about Zor Lagaa Ke is that the children in the film behave their age unlike typical filmy kids and their behaviour in this film is definitely relatable. Girish and his writer’s team have come up with some really good emotional moments especially in the second half. The lighter moments, such as the Superheroes, Mahabharat and Sarkar take offs have been imaginatively woven. The various tricks employed by Ravan and the five kids to shove away Bakshi and Gupta from cutting their tree house are simply hilarious. But the big twist in the climax is the master stroke. Bapi Tutul’s music is melodious with some real good lyrics by Amitabh Verma with the pick of the lot being Sapnon Ka… number. Most importantly none of the songs hamper the pace of the film. The film deserves full marks in the acting department. Each single kid has leaves you very impressed with his/her endearing act. While Ashwin Chitale the child star of India’s Oscar entry Shwaas is simply superb in emotional moments, the burly Hardik and also Meghan, Ayesha and Ritwik enact their parts naturally. Mahesh Manjrekar is the most entertaining amongst the adults. The constant bearing he has maintained of his mannerisms is howlarious. Seema Biswas is remarkable as usual. Gulshan Grover is menacingly good. Riya Sen manages a cute cameo. But it is Mithun who towers over the film with his absolutely brilliant acting. This old war horse has proved yet again that if you give him a good role and a nice script and he will show you why he is such a multi National Award winning actor. Zor Lagaa Ke…Haiya is a film for you and your children and of course the child in you, so just don’t miss it. Very rarely sensitive yet entertaining children’s films are made in India. It is a fine effort by debutante director Girish Girija Joshi and deserves a huge applause.

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Karma - Crime Passion Reincarnation - Movie Review

Rating: *1/2 Recall Chetan Anand's Raaj Kumar - Rajesh Khanna - Vinod Khana - Hema Malini starrer KUDRAT. The film has tremendous recall value for various reasons, especially the lilting musical score ['Hume Tumse Pyaar Kitna, Yeh Hum Nahin Jaante' and other lilting tracks], besides a gripping storyline. KARMA - CRIME, PASSION, REINCARNATION seems inspired by KUDRAT, but the problem is that the film doesn't have the power to hold your attention after an interesting start. At best, it works in bits and patches, that's it! Vikram [Carlucci Veyant], estranged and separated from his father Ranvir [Vijayendra Ghatge], for the past thirty years, visits him in Ooty with his bride Anna [Alma Saraci] from New York at her insistence, but only for a day or two. The moment Anna alights from the train that brings them to the small town, she unwittingly becomes the medium of events including visions of a murder that took place in the woods thirty years ago. Even though Anna had never set foot in Ooty, leave alone India before, she seems very familiar with the surroundings and even some people. Anna begins to questions some people who then see her as a threat. The nightmares occur more frequently and with more specificity. At first, Vik accuses Anna of having some ingrained psychological problems, which hurts Anna deeply, but when strange inexplicable events happen to Vik himself, he apologizes to Anna. Vik resolves to help Anna and when it is discovered that a murder had indeed taken place thirty years ago and together they try to solve the mystery. The spirit of Linda [Claudia Ciesla], raped and murdered thirty years ago, reincarnated as Anna, leads Anna and Vik to the discovery of the identity of the murderer. Director M.R. Shahjahan has handled a few sequences well. The sequences involving Alma Saraci specifically raises the bar. The portions make an eerie impact and enhance your interest in the subject. But the culmination to the story -- which is so vital in this case -- falls like a pack of cards. The viewer can sense, much before the film has ended, who the culprit is, which is bad news for any thriller. Also, the flashback portions are just not convincing. Alma Saraci and Carlucci Veyant, the principal stars, enact their parts well, especially Alma. Claudia Ciesla gets no scope. Vijayendra Ghatge is as usual. On the whole, KARMA - CRIME, PASSION, REINCARNATION appeals in parts, but that's not enough.

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Dashavtar - Movie Review

Starring Kamal Haasan, Kamal Haasan, Kamal Haasan & Some More Kamal Haasan. Also Starring Mallika Sherawat, Asin, Jaya Pradha & Others Directed by K Ravi Kumar Rating: dunno! 12 hours after I saw the amazing camera chameleon Kamal Haasan transform into ten utterly different characters my head is still reeling “Is that also him?” my daughter kept asking about every character, man woman or child who popped up in this action- reaction drama on the dynamics of destiny, karma, religion, politics and global terrorism. Matrix meets maya in thunder land would be an apt description to this film which very honestly, defies allotting. Phew! Got that? No? Well, you still have to see Dashavtar to know what the astounding Kamal Sir has attempted and failed to achieve in this woefully ambitious tale of greed and lust for life…and I don’t only mean the emotions that motivate the characters. The actor who’s also the screenwriter of this flamboyant tale of rebellious warriors, international gangs and parochial accents, is also motivated by a lust and ambition for more more and more of himself on screen. He doesn’t just hog footage. He wallows it up without a burp. On-screen megalomania is not a good thing for the well being of a film. When the actor becomes several sizes larger than the vehicles invented to accommodate his restless talents, it’s time for the actor to slow down and consider why cinema flourished as an art-form in the first place. Was it so that one day an actor of Kamal Haasan’s stature could monopolize screen time to the detriment of all narrative equilibrium? Indeed the actor’s audacity takes your breath away. Right before our stunned eyes Kamal Haasan transforms into characters ranging from an old cantankerous woman to George Bush. The funniest of them all is an impersonation of a pompous parochial Bengali government agent (whose ringtone is R.D Burman’s Jaane-e-jaan tu kahan main yahan in Bengali), assigned to bring an global terrorist (played with snarling lip smacking relish by, who else, Kamal The Chameleon) to book. They case one another on land and in space. They create mayhem but no pace or space for the narration to breathe in any semblance of grace. This is an epic that loses control over its resources. A Tamil maestro of the performing arts, doing a Bengali accent is as outrageous as Jaya Prada playing the wife of a cancer-stricken Punjabi Bhangra-pop singer. Oh, didn’t I tell you? Kamalji also does a Punjabi. And why not? Dashavtar is an ode to Indianess in all its gory glory. It starts several centuries ago and ends in in 2004 with the Tsunami waters creating a havoc and catastrophe (impressively staged) far more containable than what what this film has achieved. Dashavtar is one chaotic messy and exasperating mass of mammoth ambitions gone awry. An ongoing theme in all of Kamal Haasan’s cinema is the opposition between religion and cynicism. As in real life in this film the actor (in one of his dus avatars) or is an agnostic who ironically has to run around with a Krishna status that has a deadly vial secreted in its clay body. Wow, God meets the NASA! For company the agnostic has the hysterical Asin screeching and fretting like Kajol on drugs. Then poor Mallika Sherawat appears to perform a snazzy cabaret to an indeterminate Himesh Reshammiya tune and gets impaled to the nearest wall like a comic book amazon who forgot to let us know she could and would go from oomphy to grisly without bothering about the strange range of moods that this bizarre film covers. Don’t blame her. It’s the atmosphere of constant hyper-activity that Kamal Haasan with some help from director Ravi Kumar creates. Some of the aerial action sequences are no doubt breathtaking. And a couple of Kamal Hassan’s avatars specially the Japanese samurai and the wizened senile woman looking for her long-lost son are outright awesome. By the time the old lady thinks she has found her son, the director has lost the plot. Completely. This film is more a triumph of prosthetic excesses than creative passion.

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Gulaal - Movie Review

Starring: Kay Kay Menon, introducing Raj Singh Chaudhary, Jesse Randhawa, Deepak Dobriyal, Aditya Srivastava, Ayesha Mohan, Piyush Mishra and Abhimanyu Singh Director: Anurag Kashyap Rating: **** Set in the fictional Rajpur town of modern-day Rajasthan, Gulaal is entangled with stories of student politics, a covertly taking shape local rebellion for an independent Rajputana stare and love taking it forward. The meek, Dileep Singh (Raj Singh Chaudhary), is an idealistic man who gets caught in the whirlpool of student politics and much more, as he gets sucked into the world of Rananjay (Abhimanyu Singh), Dukkey Bana (Kay Kay), an autocratic local Rajput leader who is leading a planned armed movement to reclaim Rajputana for Rajputs, a brother-sister couple (Aditya and Ayesha), the illegitimate children of an erstwhile Rajput king who are seething at their bastard status (Aditya Srivastava, Ayesha Mohan) and Anuja (Jesse), a young teacher who becomes a social misfit in college after a particular incident inflicted upon her by college hooligans. Dilip gets used as a pawn by people who matter to him and ends up being an unwilling player in a sinister plot. What it all leads to forms the rest of the film. Bollywood gets yet another talented actor in Raj Singh Chaudhari who is also the co-writer of the film. In a film packed with great acting talents, Raj stands out with his convincing act. Kay Kay Menon as always is simply superb. Another show stealer is Deepak Dobriyal who plays his loyal assistant in the film. He speaks volumes just with his expressions without speaking much. Mahie Gill as the mujra girl cum beauty parlour owner is stunning and has tremendous screen presence. Aditya Srivastava and Ayesha Mohan are good as well. Piyush Mishra is terrific as Kay Kay’s brother and has the film’s best lines. Gulaal was claimed as Anurag Kashyap’s angriest film and it indeed is. It explores the dynamics of royalty vis-à-vis the democratic system. Sectionalism today has set everywhere in a big way and the film is the true reflection of where our nation stands today. Though been in the making for more than four years now, never once the film gives a dated feeling. The credit for which also goes to cinematographer Rajeev Ravi. Kashyap’s dialogues that are replete with sarcastic one-liners, beautiful poetries and philosophies and also the referential meanings are amongst the finest seen on screen for a long long time in Bollywood. Piyush Mishra apart from acting superbly also scores full marks for his hard hitting lyrics and beautiful music that is mix of many interesting things such as sarcasm, peppiness, and sensibility. It is the film’s lyrics and music that make the film a completely an extraordinary experience. Gulaal is something that is extremely relatable, especially for today’s youth. Though at a running time of over two and a half hours, there are times when the film tends to appear dragging, it is worth a watch. The film though has Anurag’s now trademark abstractness at times, it is not as incomprehensible as it was in No Smoking or in Dev.D. Go watch Gulaal.

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Kisse Pyaar Karoon - Movie Review

Rating: * Certain themes worked in the '70s and '80s. But they seem completely out of place in today's times. You can't connect with them, plain and simple. That's the issue with Kisse Pyaar Karoon. Kisse Pyaar Karoon? uses every rule in the book to entertain the viewer. It borrows heavily from all masala films that one has watched and admired over the years. To give the credit where it's due, a few scenes are indeed funny. But it comes too late in the day. Ideally, it should've released a couple of years ago. Sid (Arshad Warsi), John (Aashish Chowdhry) and Amit (Yash Tonk) are thick friends. Everything is going fine till Sheetal (Udita Goswami) enters the scene. She plans to usurp the wealth of John. She entices him and John falls for her. Realising that Sid and Amit could thwart her plans, she creates problems and hurdles in their friendship. Sid and Amit realize her game and plan to throw a spanner. They decide to drill sense in John, but John is in no mood to listen. He's completely smitten by Sheetal. Sid and Amit embark on a plan to save John from Sheetal. Director Ajay Chandhok displays a flair for comic entertainers, but there's not much he can really do since the writing (Yunus Sajawal) is archaic and outdated. The same formula has been repeated so many times in the past, you don't react to it any longer. Despite the shortcomings, Chandhok has the potential to strike the right note if he gets the right script. Daboo Malik's music is pleasant. The title track and 'Bechain Saansein' come easy on the lips. Arshad Warsi, Aashish Chowdhry and Yash Tonk play to the gallery. We don't expect histrionics in a film like this. Instead, we look for buffoonery and that's what they end up doing. Udita Goswami makes her presence felt, while Aarti Chhabria is hardly there. Shweta Menon entertains when she's on screen. Shakti Kapoor and Ashish Vidyarthi are wasted. On the whole, Kisse Pyaar Karoon? comes too late in the day. Perhaps, this masala film may've struck a chord a few years ago, not today.

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Delhi 6 - Movie Review

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra thinks out of the box and it's more than evident now. First AKS, then RANG DE BASANTI, now DELHI 6. A two-liner of the story may give you an impression that it's similar to UTV's earlier outing SWADES, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker: An American of Indian origin returns to his roots and decides to stay back in India. But DELHI 6 bites more than it can chew.

Set in old Delhi, the screenplay [Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Prasoon Joshi, Kamlesh Pandey] takes its own sweet time to come to the point. In fact, the entire first half is dedicated to the sundry characters in the bylanes of old Delhi, where several stories run parallel with the main plot... The two warring brothers [Om Puri, Pawan Malhotra] and the wall that divides the two; the daughter of the house [Sonam Kapoor] aspires to be an 'Indian Idol' contestant; a moneylender's [Prem Chopra] wife has an illicit relationship with one of his lecherous debtors [Cyrus Sahukar]; an 'untouchable' [Divya Dutta] makes more sense than the so-called thekedaars of samaj; a friend of the family [Rishi Kapoor] has still not forgotten his first love [Tanvi Azmi]. Oh yes, there's also a 'Kaala Bandar' who spreads havoc in the locality. Really, Rakeysh tries to pack in multiple stories in those 2.18 hours.

But, alas, the problem is that barring a few individualistic sequences, you don't carry the film home. The film is engaging in bits and spurts. Worse, it tends to get monotonous, preachy and boring and the end is so bizarre, you actually want to ask the writers, 'Hey guys, you okay?'

Let's cut a long story short: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra misses the bus this time.

DELHI 6 tells the story of a young American boy Roshan [Abhishek Bachchan] of Indian origin, who comes to India for the first time, to drop his ailing grandmother [Waheeda Rehman]. She wants to retire and spend the last leg of her life back home; dissolving into the soil she was born in.

In America, having led a very western lifestyle, Roshan is not familiar with the sites and smells, the food and culture, the religion and beliefs, this huge melting pot that India is. He believes that Dadi had left her family and loved ones back in America, only to realize that how wrong he was.

The warmth and affection of the neighbourhood embraces him with open arms. Amidst all this he meets the beautiful Bittu [Sonam Kapoor], who wants to break free from the typical Indian social structure, to whom Roshan is destined to lose his heart.

That Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is an accomplished storyteller is evident in several individualistic scenes. Note the scene when Vijay Raaz slaps Abhishek and Abhishek slaps him back. Also, portions in the second hour, when a Baba [Akhilendra Mishra] triggers off the Mandir-Masjid talk and divides the two communities, is very well structured. The sequences are disturbing and the writers and director succeed in exposing the fickle-minded people residing in the locality.

But the screenplay isn't foolproof. The romantic track is the weakest link in the enterprise. The love story falls flat. Also, the ending is so abstract that an average moviegoer would find it difficult to comprehend what the actual culmination is. The sequence in the end, when Amitabh and Abhishek have a conversation, looks weird. In fact, ridiculous. What was the need to have this sequence? It makes no sense. Even the Ram Leela sequences, interspersed at regular intervals, are forced in the screenplay.

Rakeysh's handling of the subject is exemplary at places. But the writing [faulty at times] as also the execution of the material isn't the type that would appeal to all sections of moviegoers. A.R. Rahman's music is outstanding; it's easily amongst his finest works. 'Masakali', 'Ye Dilli Hai Mere Yaar', 'Rehna Tu', 'Maula' and 'Genda Phool' are amazing tracks. Ditto for Prasoon Joshi's lyrics; they're gems. Binod Pradhan's cinematography is brilliant. Watch the Jama Masjid sequence [breath-taking] or the camera movements in the bylanes of old Delhi. Just one word to describe the output: Incredible!

Abhishek doesn't work. Also, his American accent looks fake. Sonam is likable. Waheeda Rahman enacts her part well. Rishi Kapoor is wasted. He deserved a better role. Amongst supporting actors, Om Puri [powerful], Pawan Malhotra [flawless], Vijay Raaz [tremendous], Deepak Dobriyal [genuine], Divya Dutta [admirable] and Cyrus Sahukar [likable] leave a mark.

Prem Chopra is alright. Atul Kulkarni looks like a buffoon. And what is Raghvir Yadav doing in this film? Supriya Pathak, Tanvi Azmi, K.K. Raina, Akhilendra Mishra and Dayashanker Pandey are passable. Amitabh Bachchan's presence in the penultimate minutes fails to evoke any reaction.

On the whole, DELHI 6 has a terribly boring beginning [first hour], an absorbing middle [second half] and a weak end [climax]. At the box-office, the business is bound to be divided. The film may record bountiful collections at multiplexes in its opening weekend. The popular music as also the fact that there's no major opposition will benefit the film in the initial days. But the business at single screens as also the mass belt will be a shocking contrast. However, the cracks will start appearing sooner than expected, even at plexes. Thumbs down!

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Billu Barber - Movie Review

Rating: ***1/2 Priyadarshan is synonymous with ha-ha-thons, but the talented storyteller has been equally proficient while handling intense dramas like SAZA-E-KALA PANI, GARDISH and VIRASAT. Like VIRASAT and MALAMAAL WEEKLY, Billu, the accomplished director's new outing, is also set in a hamlet. Although the story has been attempted in Malayalam (KADHA PARAYUMBOL) and Tamil (KUSELAN) earlier, the story actually takes its inspiration from the legendary friendship between Lord Krishna and Sudama. In this case, the story talks of the friendship between a superstar and an ordinary mortal who runs a salon. Billu is a simple story about simple people, told in the most simplistic manner. There's a generous dose of glamour as well, given the fact that the protagonist's friend happens to be a superstar, but what actually works for the film is the simpleton's story. He wages a daily battle to make ends meet. Although the film is engaging, Priyadarshan reserves the best for the finale this time, when the superstar reminisces about his childhood friend and the deep bond that they shared. The end is remarkable and is sure to strike a chord with all sections of moviegoers. Final word? Billu is amongst Priyadarshan's finest works. And also Irrfan and SRK's. This tale of friendship is sure to steal your heart! Billu tells the story of a simple ordinary man, Bilas Rao Pardesi (Irrfan Khan), living in a small town with his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta) and two kids. His life undergoes a drastic change as superstar Sahir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) visits the village for a film shoot. Everything changes. Things go from good to bad to worse to good again. Ten minutes into the film and you get absorbed into Billu's small world. The salon is in bad shape, the family is facing tough times, the neighbours and acquaintances are fair-weather friends... Billu's life gets grim with each passing day. The story takes an interesting turn when Billu's life collides with the superstar's. And the assorted characters -- right from an aspiring poet/lyricist (Rajpal Yadav), to a stingy money lender (Om Puri), to the principal of the school (Rasika Joshi) -- everyone wants favours from Billu. These characters only make Billu more interesting. SRK's track is equally fascinating and only spices up the proceedings. In fact, Priyadarshan has amalgamated the three songs (featuring SRK with Deepika, Priyanka and Kareena) in the narrative smartly. Not once do you feel that you're watching two stories concurrently. The best part of the enterprise is its climax. The superstar recalls his humble beginning and how his friend stood by him in times of crisis. The writing is brilliant and SRK only takes the scene to greater heights with his terrific portrayal. Priyadarshan is adept at handling relationships and with Billu, he proves he can handle emotions with as much flourish as comedy. To tell a simple, uncomplicated story, without the usual frills, is an arduous task indeed and Priyadarshan tackles the material with remarkable ease. The humour here is subtle, not loud, and a constant smile remains on your face all through. Mushtaq Shiekh and Priyadarshan's screenplay is foolproof. In fact, the writing never loses focus and the highs and the lows in Billu's life are sensitively penned by the duo. Manisha Korde's dialogues are simple, gelling with the mood of the film. Pritam's music is energetic. The songs, promoted aggressively prior to the release, only get an impetus thanks to the presence of the three actresses. 'Mar Jaani' and 'Love Mera Hit Hit' are, of course, the pick of the lot. V. Manikandan's cinematography is top notch. The locales (Pollachi) are breath-taking. In the recent years, Irrfan has emerged as a force to reckon with, his performances have appealed to all strata of moviegoers and his work in Billu will only cement his status as a remarkable actor. Shah Rukh Khan needs to be admired for two reasons. The show belongs to Irrfan, although SRK could've forced himself in every scene. Also, he has chosen to opt for a film that's not one of those run-of-the-mill types. In terms of performance, SRK shows his true potential towards the finale. Lara Dutta springs a pleasant surprise. She goes through her part with complete understanding. Om Puri is excellent. Rasika Joshi is too good. Rajpal Yadav is really funny in the penultimate scene, when he recites a film song of an SRK film. Asrani and Manoj Joshi are passable. On the whole, Billu is a sweet-n-simple film that lingers in your memory even after the show has concluded. The final 20 minutes are the highpoint of the enterprise and that elevates the status of the film to great heights. The film has the potential to grow with a strong word of mouth. Recommended... Take your family for this one!

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Dev D - Movie Review

Starring Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill, Kalki Koechlin Directed by Anurag Kashyap Rating: *** ½ Fiery unforgettably unstoppable in her self-worth…Paro, now transposed to Punjab (gawd, yeh ladki kahan-kahan jayegi?!) knows her Devdas just back from England wants some quality sex. As determined as ever, she cycles to the nearest surgarcane fields with a bulky bedroll tied to the carrier, spreads it,and herself, out for her foreign-returned lover-boy… That image of the super-determined Paro cycling to sex in the fields, compounded with that brilliantly shot sequence where she explodes her bitterness frustration and anger by pressing down on a handpump as thought it were a….never mind!...qualify as two of the most astutely achieved images of literature- on- cinema in recent Bollywood memory. Anurag Kashyap at last sheds his obstinate inaccessibility as a filmmaker. More a homage to Sanjay Leela Bhansali than litterateur Saratchandra Chatterjee's Devdas, Kashyap's Dev D is that deep liberating lascivious luscious provocative tantalizing and tragic view of tragic hedonism, ruinous selfindulgence and vain miscommunication that Saratchandra barely thought about but couldn't articulate. Kashyap's Devdas is a raunchy renegade, a bastard of the first order who thinks of only selfgratification. And his task is made easier by the two women who come into his life in this splendidly tragi-comic subversion of a timeless novel that said, defeatism is heroic. But only when compounded by the ability to confront your weaknesses headlong. As Dev D, Abhay Patel, that big-little hero of the outré cinema, is crass and wounded, vain and vicious, stupid and sensitive. The contradictions pulsate and nourish the narrative making it a ripe and riveting drama of disorientation and dissociation where the protagonist's failings are defined more by physical appetites (sexual and otherwise) than metaphysical longings. In telling a timeless story of selfseeking arrogance Anurag Kashyap manages to build a spiral of contemporary themes. The Chandramukhi sections where the innocent school girl gets trapped into a quagmire of campus sleaze and finally ends up as a sex worker is hertwrenching in its portrait of the contemporary moral crisis that threatens to tear our civilized society limb by limb. Kashyap pays some delectable tributes to Sanjay Bhansali's Devdas, not only in the outstanding sets and art decoration (Sukanta Panigrahi) and the super-smouldering-and-evocative cinematography (Rajeev Ravi) but also in the way kitsch is converted into a cool neo-classic currency. The dialogues (Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane) have a constantly quirky and cutting edge. Check out the long boudoir piece where Chanda wonders aloud to Dev why people are so coy about calling a a sex worker a randi. The words and visuals are not for the squeamish. Indeed the film's most glorious accomplishment is that it succeeds in simultaneously being sluttish and sublime. The principal characters seem to be scoffing and saluting Saratchandra's novel while forging a totally unexplored territory for the three tormented misfits whose malfunctional destiny makes them bitter and angry but never repulsive to the spectator. Anurag Kashyap shoots the drama of the damned on locations that echo the protagonist's inner state. The open-aired Punjabi prelude progresses painlessly into a pained and claustrophobic psychedelic stroble-lit nightmare that includes three male pub performers who pop up willy-nilly to sing on Dev's plunge into a hellish self-pity. Kafka would recognize and Saratchandra would probably reject the world that Kashyap's Devdas enters. Would Saratchandra Chatterjee, Bimal Roy or Sanjay Leela Bhansali smile at Anurag Kashyap's backhanded warm and revisionist look at the life love and heartbreaks of Hindi literature's ultimate loser? Abhay Deol plays Devdas with a wry cynicism suggesting both disgust and longing for a social system that rejects him as much he rejects it. Kashyap's two prized finds are his 'Paro' Mahie Gill and 'Chanda' Kalki Koechlin. Mahie plays Paro with a blend of pride and resignation, fire and pathos, bringing to the part a rare and undefinable solidity. How does she compare with Suchitra Sen or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Paro? Who's comparing?!! Kalki as the schoolgirl-turned-whore plays her character stripped of all selfpity. Not that she enjoys being what she is. But this Chandramukhi isn't apologetic about the place that life has put her in. Anurag Kashyap's Dev D is a harsh but sensitive take on an age-old material, done with a sense of spiraling pit-in-the-stomach vertiginous momentum that's not quite lost even as the protagonist loses his way in a maze of selfindulgence. Watch the film to see with what tongue-in-cheek temerity form is wedded to content without the director wavering in his determination to take cinema into regions that have nothing to do with convention. And everything to do with invention.

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Luck By Chance - Movie Review

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Rishi Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Isha Sharwani, Dimple Kapadia, Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Kapoor, Aly Khan Lyrics: Javed Akhtar Music: Shankar, Eshaan & Loy Producers: Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar Director: Zoya Akhtar Rating: **** One has often heard, read and seen the positive and negative aspects of Bollywood. It would be erroneous to state that LUCK BY CHANCE does a pol-khol of the glamorous industry. Let's put it this way: The film mirrors the behind-the-scenes drama and manoeuvring exactly the way it occurs in showbiz. Watching LUCK BY CHANCE is like experiencing it first-hand. If you're associated with Bollywood, if you know how the machine works, you'd laud and applaud, laugh and smile, identify and understand and at times, empathize and sympathize with the characters in LUCK BY CHANCE. Zoya Akhtar's take on an industry that attracts millions of hopefuls year after year is bang on target. Almost three decades ago, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's GUDDI depicted a star-struck teenager's [Jaya Bhaduri] obsession for a top star [Dharmendra]. Along with the core issue, the film highlighted the behind-the-scenes hard work and labour that went into making movie LUCK BY CHANCE taps almost every important facet of Bollywood and presents assorted characters you've encountered some time in life: An over-ambitious aspirant who knows to make the right moves; an actress trying hard to get that big break, even if she has to compromise; an icon of the 1970s who desperately wants her daughter to be a star; a producer who looks at riding on big names, script be damned; a failed actor now looking at direction to redeem his career. One of the prime reasons why LUCK BY CHANCE works is because the writing [Zoya Akhtar] is simply wonderful. Right from the characters, to the individualistic scenes, to the way Zoya puts them in a sequence, LUCK BY CHANCE is easily one of the most cohesive scripts this side of the Atlantic. The verdict? Leave aside everything and hitch this joyride called LUCK BY CHANCE. It would be sacrilege to miss this one! Sona [Konkona Sen Sharma] arrives in Mumbai with dreams of becoming a film star. She does whatever it takes, to make it. Vikram [Farhan Akhtar] has just moved to the city leaving the comforts of his Delhi home. He is used to getting what he wants and is smart enough to know when to demand it and when to manipulate it. Gradually, Sona and Vikram develop a romantic relationship. Rolly [Rishi Kapoor] is a successful though superstitious producer who only works with the biggest stars. He is making a potential blockbuster launching Niki [Isha Sharwani], the daughter of 1970s superstar Neena [Dimple Kapadia]. The hero of the film, Zaffar Khan [Hrithik Roshan], is the superstar. Zaffar decides to opt out of Rolly's film and that creates havoc in Rolly's life. Rolly decides to cast newcomers and finally, Vikram is shortlisted for the main role... LUCK BY CHANCE picks up characters straight out of life and that's the beauty of this script. The interesting part is that each of these characters has a story running parallel to the main story. Although the writing is foolproof, this review would be incomplete if one failed to acknowledge a number of scenes that are the hallmark of this enterprise... *Note the sequence when Rishi Kapoor breaking down after Hrithik has walked out of his movie. It moves you! *On the lighter side, Farhan strikes a conversation with Dimple at a movie premiere and extols lavish praises on her. * Much later, an angry Dimple instructs Isha to patch up with Farhan, soon after Farhan and Isha's debut film has been declared a success. Watch the moments when Dimple recalls her early years. The sequence featuring SRK. If Zoya's writing is superb, her execution of the written material deserves distinction marks. This may be Zoya's directorial debut, but she treats the difficult subject like a veteran. Javed Akhtar's dialogues are remarkable. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is a mixed bag; the score could've been better. However, the choreography of the circus song is remarkable. Carlos Catalan's cinematography captures the right moods. Farhan Akhtar is evolving into one of the most dependable actors of his generation. He's very real, very believable. No wonder, this character stands out. Konkona Sen Sharma is exceptional. The supremely talented actress delivers a sparkling performance yet again. Rishi Kapoor is incredible. A performance that merits the highest praise. Dimple Kapadia is in terrific form. It easily ranks amongst her most accomplished works. Juhi Chawla is first-rate. Isha Sharwani does her part well. Sanjay Kapoor springs a surprise. He registers an impact. Aly Khan is perfect. Hrithik Roshan is truly wonderful. Note the sequence when he strikes a conversation with Karan Johar, only to realize that he himself had paved the way for Farhan in the industry. Only an accomplished actor could've handled this sequence with aplomb. Amongst the A-listers who make fleeting appearances in the film, the one who registers the maximum impact is Shah Rukh Khan. On the whole, LUCK BY CHANCE is an outstanding film in all respects. A magnificent outing from the producers of ROCK ON!!, LUCK BY CHANCE is sure to prove an extremely lucky and rewarding experience at the box-office. Strongly recommended!

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Slumdog Millionaire - Movie Review

Starring: Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Dev Patel, Freida Pinto Director: Danny Boyle Rating:* Anil Kapoor stood up and cheered lustily into the camera when Danny Boyle won the Golden Golden Globe last weekend. I wish I could share his enthusiasm for Danny's phenomenal flight into frenzy. After all the accolades and awards Slumdog Millionaire (SM) proves to be a deafening blow to the year that saw Mumbai go numb with terror. SM takes nasty below-the-belt potshots at the underbelly of the city, portraying Mumbai as the armpit among the metropolises. Mira Nair once paid a warm endearing homage to the street children of Mumbai in Salaam Bombay.Long before, Satyajit Ray in Pather Panchali portrayed rural India as poor but never as a gutter of misery. It's now Danny Boyle's turn to do a 'Slam' Mumbai. The coming-of-age tale about three orphaned chawl kids bears just a passing resemblance to Boyle's rightly-celebrated Trainspotting where the director trailed a bunch of misfits through the streets of Edinburgh. Slumdog Millionaire is Trainspotting on steroids. It's a beefed -up look at the scummy side of Mumbai, bewildering in its obsession with discovering life in the chawls of Dharavi (curiously the protagonist Jamal is referred to as "the boy from Juhu") as being a facsimile of that drain-inspector's report which Mahatma Gandhi had discovered American journalist Katherine Mayo's account of India in Mother India to be. Slumdog Millionaire is worse. It looks at Mumbai as a swarming slum of sleaze sex and crime with characters who seem to have jumped out of Rakesh Roshan's and Manmohan Desai's cinema bruising their deep-focussed emblematic quality while making this huge global leap from 'Bollywood' to 'Hollywood'. After seeing Boyle's much talked-of film it's crystal clear why this murky and squalid portrait of Mumbai has the Americans preening in delight. At one point after being thrashed mercilessly our hero Jamal tells American tourists, "You wanted to see real India? Here it is. " "Now we'll show you the real America," the American lady replies handing Jamal a 100-dollar bill. This, without any apparent sense of irony. This isn't the 'real' India. This is India as seen through the eyes of a Westerner who's selling desi squalor packaged as savvy slick entertainment. There is a very thin line dividing slick from scum. Slumdog Millionaire doesn't stop to make those subtle distinctions. It moves at a frenetic pace creating a kind of sweaty energy that one sees in marathon runners in the last lap of their journey. Boyle is constantly busy whipping up a hysterical banshee of sights and sounds in Mumbai denoting the embittered angry generation of the underprivileged class that grows up in the slums dreaming of the Good Life. Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle shoots Mumbai with a gun rather than a camera. Every frame conveys the killer instinct. Every shot ricochets across eternity solidifying sounds and feelings that are otherwise intangible. Yup, this is a film on a mission. It wants to exploit the Mumbai slums as a hotbed of tantalizing images conveying the splendour of squalidity. And to think every prominent of the cast and crew went around proclaiming Slumdog Millionaire would do wonders for Mumbai's tourism industry! Yeah, right. It does as much for the cause of Mumbai as Rolamd Joffe's The City Of Joy did for Kolkata. That much-vilified film at least secreted a core of humanism under its pretentious surface. Slumdog doesn't even pretend to care for the city that it so unabashedly cruises in search of imperialistic tantalization. From Frame 1 Danny Boyle goes for the jugular. Every scent and stench of the city is converted into a liquid asset.Groups of defecating young boys running out in otherworldly ecstacy when they spot Amitabh Bachchan's helicopter hovering abovehead becomes a celebration of lowly life. Our protagonist Jamal dunks himself into excreta from head to toe and wades through the disgusted crowd to get Mr Bachchan's autograph. The star signs calmly, as though exceptionally smelly young boys covered in human waste are the odour of the day. Such moments define Boyle's attitude to Mumbai. He sees it as city where humour emerges from human waste. But who's laughing? Even communal riots are not spared of this tantalizing trivilazation of abject misery. Rioters descend on a Muslim locality like Bandits attacking a village in the Chambal valley. A mean Mumbai Mafioso (Ankur Vakil) gouges out orphans' eyes and makes them beg on the streets singing what appears to be his favourite Bhajan Darshan do ghamshyam ad nauseam. Even Madhur Bhandarkar got it better in Traffic Signal. There's absoloutely no sense of historic sensitivity in the narrative. "If it was not for Ram and Allah, my mother would be alive," says our regretful hero Jamal after the riots. Such corny dialogues, so much a part of Vikas Swarup's novel is minimized in the film. But not enough. Some of the outrageously filmy plot maneouverings from the novel like the game show host (played in the film with cheesy relish by Anil Kapoor) turning out to be Jamal's illegitimate father, are done away with. But the film nevertheless remains as wedded to kitsch and as ridden with coincidences and implausibilities as any formula Hindi film. In fact the two runaway brothers from the chawl being called Salim and Jamal seems like a backhanded homage to Salim-Javed the pair that wrote the hit films of the era that Slumdog Millionaire adopts, the 1970s Every sequence is punctuated and edited to accentuate the cinematic aspect of the drama. Each time game-show host Anil Kapoor has to provide our callow hero Jamal a clue, a flackback highlighting the theme of the quiz-question, is conveniently arranged in the plot. Squalour never appeared designed than it does in Slumdog Millionaire. Bollywood has never been more audaciously honoured. This is an over-hyped and disappointing film that insults Mumbai, culminates with a Bollywood –styled item song on a railway platform. Mike Myers does it far less self-consciously in The Love Guru.

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Raaz - The Mystery Continues - Movie Review

Rating: ***1/2 The team behind Raaz - The Mystery Continues have often clarified that it's not a sequel to RAAZ, one of the most interesting cinematic experiences, besides being the biggest Hit of that year. Yet, you cannot but draw parallels with the first film of the franchise. Horror as a genre hasn't been tapped to the optimum in India. We've witnessed spooky fares in the past and some of them have succeeded in making you break into a cold sweat (BHOOT stands tall in this list). Last year's PHOONK and 1920 were scary movies as well. There's tremendous curiosity to watch Raaz - The Mystery Continues, but does it scare the living daylights out of you? Fortunately, yes! The story (Mohit Suri) is absorbing and Mohit treats the subject like a veteran, as if he knows the genre very well. There're moments that make your heart beat faster, you watch the events with eyes and jaws wide open. Sure, there're blemishes as well, but they don't overpower the plusses or make you change your opinion about the film. While the beginning and the middle of the film is engrossing, it's the end that could've been better thought of. Wanna get scared? Wanna get goose pimples? Buy the ticket for Raaz - The Mystery Continues pronto. It lives up to the hype and expectations completely. A brooding artist Prithvi (Emraan Hashmi) experiences mysterious and distressing visions about Nandita (Kangna Ranaut), a woman he has never met, while he paints on canvas. Intrigued by these visions, Prithvi tracks her down and warns her that these are not merely paintings of her, but accidents that are waiting to happen. At first, Nandita refuses to believe him and dismisses him as an eccentric stalker. However, the striking resemblance between Prithvi's paintings and the near-death incidents in her life is hard to ignore. Now, one of Prithvi's paintings has revealed her as dead. The only way she can change her fate is to unravel this mystery with his help, at the risk of alienating herself from her boyfriend, Yash (Adhyayan Suman). But he refuses to believe in Prithvi's premonitions. Will Nandita risk her love and her life to unravel this mystery? Most of us have heard, witnessed or perhaps had a first-hand experience of supernatural. The present-day generation may, perhaps, term it as wild imagination or hallucination, while the believers may have their point of view. Mohit and screenplay writer Shagufta Rafique's characters in Raaz - The Mystery Continues are believers and non-believers, both. Mohit smartly builds up the atmosphere. Sample these: Emraan and Kangna's first encounter at a mall and minutes later, inside an elevator; the New Year bash when Kangna is 'attacked' by spirits; Kangna's experience in her bathtub and also when she looks at the mirror; Kangna almost jumping off a cliff; the highpoint sequence, when angry bulls attack Emraan and Kangna. Incredible sequences all! Mohit has handled the most difficult portions with panache. However, the entire flashback part, towards the pre-climax, is not as convincing. The ending too could've been better in terms of writing, although Mohit has filmed it exceptionally well. Mohit's choice of the subject as also the actors is right. This is, without doubt, his finest effort to date. Shagufta's screenplay is watertight at most times. Like always, the Bhatts come up with a lilting musical score and at least two songs -- 'Soniyo' (Raju Singh) and 'Maahi' (Sharib-Toshi) -- are first-rate compositions. Ravi Walia's cinematography is up to the mark. The effects are impressive. On the acting front, both Emraan and Kangna vie for top honours. Emraan is excellent. He conveys a lot through facial expressions and that's the sign of a proficient actor. He's just getting better and better with every film. Kangna is top notch. After FASHION, this one's another power-packed performance from the actress. Adhyayan Suman is super-confident and registers a strong impact, especially towards the climax. He shows promise. Jackie Shroff is quite okay in a brief role. On the whole, Raaz - The Mystery Continues is rich in the horror quotient and that is one of its major USPs, besides the highly competent performances by its principal cast and a lilting musical score. At the box-office, this one will continue the winning streak of Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt's Vishesh Films. The 4-day weekend (Monday, January 26 in a holiday) will only cement its status further. Go for it!

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Chandni Chowk To China: Maar-Saala Arts

Starring Mithin Chakraborty, Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Ranvir Shorey Directed by Nikhil Advani Rating : * ½ This is a film about maar-saala arts, not to be confused with martial arts which Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan practice with such splendid and subtle skills on screen. Akshay Kumar cannot be accused of the sins of subtlety. Not at all. He goes from a sweaty cook in Chandni Chowk to a cheesy fighter in China with hammers tongs and indecipherable tongues. What lies between the extremities represented by the two Oriental cultures has to be seen to be believed….or, not seen to be not borne. But then we in country love to torture ourselves. And most of us do exactly what we are told not to. So go for this one. And find out why 'Bollywood' (that horribly inappropriate wannabe term used to describe Hindi mainstream cinema) cannot compete with its technically savvy upcountry cousins from the West, or even China and Hong Kong. When Jackie Chan kicks ass, man… he really kicks! No two ways about it. Akshay Kumar divides his time between being an action hero and a comic virtuoso, tripping over the line that divides the two genres with little or no scope to contain the fall as the screenplay plunges lower and lower into the depths of inanity. Writer Sridhar Raghavan, known for his smart slick cerebral takes on formulistic conventions spins a web of incidents chronicling the journey of Sidhu the protagonist from a cook in Chandni Chowk to the satirical samurai in Shanghai is littered with laughable incidents and episodes that appear more to be part of a clumsy sitcom lampooning the Chinese than purported large-screen spectacle bringing China to Bollywood. Director Nikhil Advani (who displayed pockets of sensitivity in his innovative but over-long Salaam-e-Ishq two years ago) takes the hero into what looks like a carryover of the Chambal ravines in China. Honestly, if this film had been shot anywhere in the world it would've been just as bland and fatuous. What compounds the woefully inadequate narration is the abject lack of connectivity between the protagonist and the audience. Not even for a second do we feel a rush of empathetic adrenaline for the culturally-displaced Sidhu who encounters all kinds of emaciated goons, terrorized by a suited, booted and largely-uprooted villain named Hojo (Gordon Lieu) who is no Gabbar Singh or Mogambo. Just an aging goon in a black suit who doesn't know it's bad manners to pee in public, specially in the hero's face. Brutality when done with grace can be extremely arresting. We saw that recently in Ghajini. Chandni Chowk To China does the cause of cinematic violence a great deal of disservice. The internationally-renowned action directors who pool in their might seem unsure of where to position the action. Perched on the Great Wall Of China, Akshay Kumar and his fellow fighters (and that includes the desi Lucy Lieu Deepika Padukone) slug it out like drunken revelers on a rowdy spree. Elegance is in short supply in the film, except when Deepika playing twin sisters (told apart mainly by their hair, one of them perpetually forgets to braid it properly) waltzes in with a light step and twinkling eye. She seems to have fun. We don't. And that's mainly because the scriptwriter forgot to include the audience in his circle of entertainment. Large chunks of this 'Adventures Of Sidhu in blunderland' saga leave us cold and unresponsive. And when the final climactic fight between the hero and the villain occurs, Akshay Kumar decides to turn it into a comic romp in the middle of the climac. We are more dazed than dazzled by the baffling mood swings in the plot. Yes, there are moments that hold your attention. Sidhu's martial arts training with twin Deepika Padukone's Chinese dad (who looks like he could do with a wash) are superbly orchestrated. That touch of unstrained comicality in stressful times that the narration apparently strives to achive, eludes the film by a wide margin. Most of the time you are looking at a film that does appalling things to Indo-Chinese relations. Not to mention our traditional perception of mainstream masala-maar ke entertainment. Martial arts are turned into maar-saala arts. And you leave the film wondering what it was meant to be. A bird, a plane or just a pathetic parody of Jackie Chan's comic vendetta sagas. Chandni Chowk To China isn't just no-brainer. Its lobotomized laughter can make you wish for anesthesia. At least you'd know where the numbness is coming from.

For Gossips And Mirch Masala Log On To Bollywood Paradize

Jumbo - Movie Review

Rating: *** You need to look at an animation film differently. Let the kid in you come to the forefront when you watch one. At the same time, it's pertinent that every film, live or animation, should possess that grip to keep the viewer hooked to the proceedings for the next 2 hours. Percept's Jumbo may not be as entertaining as HANUMAN -- one film that opened the doors for animation films in India -- but it is shades better than most amateur attempts that followed the success of HANUMAN. Jumbo, based on 'Chao Praya Prah Hongsawadee', a story by Ariya Jintapanichkarn, tells the adventures of Jaiveer aka Jumbo, a baby elephant. He dreams of following Yudhveer, his absent father, and becoming the royal elephant. Jumbo decides to go in search of his father. During his search, Jumbo meets up with a kindly elephant trainer, a hyperactive messenger bird and a female elephant, who becomes his sweetheart later. Subsequently, Jumbo becomes a war elephant and defends his kingdom against the evil opponents. Jumbo bears an uncanny resemblance to THE LION KING. You don't take to the film instantly, but it picks up towards the latter part when Jumbo is chosen by the king to fight the opponents. The animation isn't at par with the best (SHREK, THE LION KING, FINDING NEMO, the recent hit MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA), but the quality is better than some of the stuff we've witnessed in India. Jumbo has the trappings of a typical Hindi film. There's revenge, romance, emotions, action... plus, the voiceovers by several top names, besides a song (well choreographed by Ahmed Khan) and scenes featuring Akshay Kumar. Also, the voiceovers are in sync with the lip moments. Akshay, Dimple Kapadia, Rajpal Yadav and Gulshan Grover infuse life in those characters. On the whole, Jumbo is a sweet, sincere and simple film that works. Who knows, it may spring a surprise this Christmas. Recommended for kids from 6 to 60.

For Gossips And Mirch Masala Log On To Bollywood Paradize

Ghajini - Movie Review

Rating: ****1/2 The wait is finally over! An Aamir Khan film is nothing short of an event. The supremely talented actor acts in one film a year and no two films are ever identical in terms of plotline. No wonder then that you await an Aamir starrer with bated breath. Ghajini, the Tamil version, has been a massive hit and so was its dubbed Telugu version. Will the Hindi adaptation live up to the humungous expectations? The hype is unmatched and you expect no less than a present-day masterpiece. Now the good news: Ghajini demonstrates how strong film-making can enhance and elevate an already solid concept. Ghajini is a revenge saga, one ingredient that has been the staple diet of Hindi films since time immemorial. It is a powerful film. It has the power to sweep you off your feet from the word 'go'. It has a riveting story, which has been told with flourish by director A.R. Murugadoss. And, of course, it has a knockout performance by Aamir Khan. If at all there's a shred of doubt whether Aamir is The Best in the business, all you've got to do is check out Ghajini. Flaws any? Running time (almost 3 hours)? Not at all! There's so much happening in every scene and the screenplay is so gripping that you don't feel the need to look at the auditorium ceiling or at your watch at brief intervals. You aren't restless. As moviegoers, we've watched countless good versus evil fares over the years and although Ghajini belongs to the same family, not once does it take the beaten track. The story has been told differently and most importantly, the story offers so many twists-n-turns that you just can't guess what would unfold next. Is it violent? It is, at times, but the violence here is justified. In fact, every time the protagonist bashes up the evil-doers, you clap and root for him. The climax is jaw-dropping -- dissimilar from the original, but it's an out of the world experience nonetheless. To sum up, Ghajini is commercial Hindi cinema at its best. The film has 'Hit' written all over it. Let me put it this way: Cancel whatever you're doing today and go watch Ghajini instead. Aamir Khan is suffering from acute short-term memory loss set off by the violent murder of his girlfriend Asin. He's got to work around this handicap, but with methodical and meticulous determination. Aamir etches a path of clues that lead him on his road. To aid him in his quest, he carries around a sheaf of Polaroids and when he is really sure of a piece of information, he has it tattooed on his body, which stands in for the damaged part of his mind. His indelibly marked torso is the repository of his grief, his rage and his reason to go on living. Any more revelation would do gross injustice to the film and to its viewer. First things first! Ghajini is not MEMENTO. There're minor similarities, but Ghajini takes a completely different route to tell its story. Director A.R. Murugadoss tells this one differently. It starts off with what happens in the past, comes to the present-day, goes back in time again and returns to the contemporary again. This is a breathless, exciting story, heart-breaking and exhilarating at the same time. Hindi movies have often depicted people suffering from amnesia/memory loss, but Ghajini is poles apart because the protagonist recalls events only for 15 minutes. The story is its USP, without a doubt. But what adds sheen and glory to the story is Aamir's portrayal of a man suffering from short-term memory loss. Aamir hardly speaks. In fact, the leading lady (Asin) speaks more than Aamir in the film. But Aamir speaks volumes with his eyes, he conveys whatever has to be conveyed through his body language, he says it all with his facial expressions and that only makes Ghajini a memorable, never-seen-before experience. Director A.R. Murugadoss deserves brownie points for not just coming up with an interesting story, but also presenting it (refreshingly) differently. The storyteller balances the light moments and the ones demanding intensity with expertise. There's dum in every sequence. Even if the director has to depict violence, he doesn't resort to blood-n-gore or knives-swords-pistols for effect. A.R. Rahman's music is top notch. At least three numbers have the unmistakable stamp of a genius -- 'Guzarish', 'Behka' and 'Kaise Mujhe'. Ravi Chandran's cinematography is stunning. The film bears a stylish look all through. The action sequences are brilliantly executed. The Hindi moviegoers haven't seen such scenes ever. Aamir delivers his career-best performance. In the first place, it requires courage and maturity to name the film after the villain. Knowing how egoistic our stars are, something like this is next to impossible in Hindi films. A lot has been said and written about the Ghajini look -- Aamir's hairstyle and his dream physique. It's awe-inspiring and if more and more people adopt the 'Aamir look' or hit the gym, it would be courtesy the actor. As far as his acting is concerned, he's natural as the tycoon, but like a wounded, ferocious tiger when he goes on an avenging spree. Without doubt, it's a concentrated, layered performance. He acts with his entire being. His body movement, the details of his performance, everything rings true. He is both vulnerable and hard. The pain in his face when he can't remember, is palpable. It's not only the plot that carries Ghajini. It's also the mood and the expression on Aamir's face that makes Ghajini a treat. Asin is fabulous. To share the screen space with an actor of the stature of Aamir Khan and yet remain in your memory even after the show has ended is no cakewalk. She looks fresh and photogenic and acts her part brilliantly. Pradeep Rawat, the villain, is first-rate. Jiah Khan impresses, especially in the sequence when Aamir follows her to a shopping mall. On the whole, Ghajini is a winner all the way. The film will set new records and has the merits to emerge one of the biggest Hits of all times. The weekend business should be historic, the Week 1 business should be unparalleled, the lifetime gross should be amongst the biggest of all times. In short, Ghajini has 'Blockbuster' written all over it.

For Gossips And Mirch Masala Log On To Bollywood Paradize