Paro: The cause of heart breaks for over half a century but none better than this (Dev D)

Anurag Kashyap announced his arrival with the classic Black Friday but this was the film that compelled everyone to sit up and take notice.

Everything about Dev D looks perfect. First up is the casting. Abhay Deol fits the role to a T and gives a very restrained performance. The pathos needed by this character is accurately portrayed by him. He is one of the most dependable actors but somehow he isnt seen much these days. Wish he comes up with  something special similar to Manorama Six feet under, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and Shanghai. Mahie too is terrific as Paro and expresses tremendously through her eyes. Couple of scenes are applaud-worthy. The character of Chandramukhi played by Kalki is the most sensible of the lot but unfortunately gets into the wrong profession because of the MMS scandal.

The script is innovative and brilliantly written. Dev's encounter with Chanda when he goes to meet her second time is a gem. So is the scene between Rasika and Dev D in the bus.

No wonder the movie won the national award for the Best Music. Amit Trivedi's work is highly experimental and acts a catalyst to the proceedings. This guy is the most promising of the current lot and I am super impressed by his work so far (Aamir, Dev D, Lootera, Bombay Velvet, Queen, Udaan, Kai po che). Also some of the songs have been brilliantly shot. And was a pleasant surprise to find Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sunil Grover aka Gutthi as the band singers in Emotional Atyachar.

This film had lot of new names associated who went on to do big eventually. Vikas Bahl (Queen, Shaandaar), Vikramaditya Motwane (Lootera, Udaan), Nawazuddin, Sunil Grover, Amit Trivedi, Amitabh Bhattacharyya,

In comparison, SLB's version was highly overdone and superficial. And was SRK's hammy act.

Note: Had seen Dev D when it had released in 2009 but writing this review after  rewatching it again after almost 7 yrs

2015 gems

Recounting the releases of the year gone by and jotting down the films that would really stay back with me for a long time.

Talvar
Heartening. Shows how the entire murder case was messed up by the police and how conflicting the reports were. Meghana Gulzar does a smart work of giving this a Rashomon treatment by giving different POVs. Irrfan is simply brilliant. This has been a terrific year for him (ok ok I am not counting Jazbaa). Movie has been beautifully written and has been generous towards the parents. But they had to stick with one POV rather than remaining neutral. Wish the truth is known to all and proper justice is done.

Tamasha
Just in my previous post I had written about how inconsistent Imtiaz Ali was and how I wasnt impressed with his scorecard. However I would say Tamasha is the most complex script that he has directed. First of all hats off to the writers for doing a great job and transforming a simple story to cinematic excellence. The whole Kahaani track has been beautifully written and then Imtiaz has done an excellent job presenting the same on the screen. Ranbir and Deepika have grown as an actor and I am sure they are going to cherish this movie for the lifetime. Deepika's breakdown just before the Tum Saath Ho song has to be the scene of the decade.

Baby
Last hr of this film bears striking resemblance to Argo. Nevertheless this movie is beautifully executed. Neeraj Pandey movies have always been special and this one is no less. His track record has been brilliant so far (A Wednesday, Special 26 and now Baby). Akshay suits these roles much better than the Rowdys.

Dum Lagake Haisha
Such a cute film. Perfect casting (Bhumi, Ayushman, Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Sheeba Chadha). The entire ensemble has done a great job in the film and the story/setting is spot on. Brings back old memories of the past. Perfect soundtrack (Moh Moh ke dhage is beautifully composed). Ishq Karara brings back Sanu and Anu Malik together and song is a treat to watch. Hope Bhumi is used wisely and doesnt remain a one movie wonder.

Titli
Hardcore and brutal. Shows the life of a low income family living in the heart of the capital. Titli wants to go away from his family and start his own parking garage. He gets forcefully married but her wife loves someone else who in turn is cheating with her. All this adds upto all the commotion in the movie. Ranvir Shorey is brilliant and so is the rest of the cast.

Honorable Mentions
Masaan (pure arthouse brilliance), Dil Dhadakne Do (commercial to the core), Piku (perfect story and casting), NH-10 (disturbing), Badlapur (Sriram rarely disappoints), Tanu Weds Manu Returns (all because of Kangana), Drishyam (nice story)

Imtiaz Ali: Is he really a great director?

I was in awe of Imtiaz Ali after  his first 3 movies viz Socha Na Tha, Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal. However after watching his last two films (Rockstar and Highway), I have started doubting his directorial capabilities.

Socha Na Tha was a been there-seen that kinda cinema. However it was beautifully penned. Really loved the refreshing storyline and fresh characters (Abhay and Ayesha). Though the movie didnt do exceptionally well, it was loved by the young brigade. Thanks to its smart humor. At this point, I started seeing Imtiaz as one of the promising directors.

Jab We Met sealed his position as one of the top notch filmmakers in the country. Was an excellent film (his best). Great screenplay, beautiful music and ace performance by Kareena. Kareena's comic timing was noticed for the 1st time and which she enhanced further in some of her subsequent attempts (barring Golmaal series). Imtiaz now was amongst the top 5 directors in the country.

His next directorial venture Love Aaj Kal too didnt disappoint. Though not as smart and refreshing as Jab We Met, it still was an entertainer. Thanks to Saif-Deepika excellent chemistry. I didnt think Imtiaz lost any brownie points coz of this movie.

And then the downfall started.
Rockstar was marred by a bad plot and even horrible screenplay. The movie kept fluctuating between past and present at uneven pace. The editing was really bad. His pick for the lead actress was faulty and so was Ranbir's character. The movie didnt earn big bucks at the ticket window. However it was a disappointment for me.

I thought that Rockstar was just an aberration in his directorial cap and hoped that he would come back aces with Highway. That was not the case.

The writing failed him again. Alia was moved from one state to another without depicting it clearly where she was on a given day. At times I was confused whether she was in WB, Sikkim or Himachal, Showing her journey via map or some timeline would have helped. It was also never shown her duration in captivity. Her kidnapping scene itself was poorly executed. Why the heck couldnt she jump into the car on seeing the goons. Delhi girls are smart, man. Also she had another opportunity to escape when the kidnappers left her in the car. Also I had serious reservations with respect to the movie length. It could have easily been cut by 20-25 mins. Some of the scenes were dead boring.

After his last 2 attempts, I am not sure I will eagerly await his next movie. However I sincerely hope he strikes back and proves me wrong.

P.S: He is able to pull exceptional performances from some of his central characters (Abhay in Socha Na Tha, Kareena in Jab We Met, Ranbir in Rockstar, Alia in Highway)

Movies I watched last week

was on a movie watching spree last week..almost saw most of the genres..romance, comedy, war, sci-fi, drama, animation....stayed away from horror as this is a territory I dare not cross....

Do Dooni Char (3.5/5): Have already posted my review earlier...one of the better movies of 2010

Mirch (3.5/5): Interesting, funny and hilarious movie..dealt with a topic (female adultery) never touched in Bollywood...all the 4 stories are riveting....however the plot which binds all the 4 stories is lacklustre...this could have been much better....raima is too expressive with her eyes and konkona is superb...Boman plays his part with aplomb...

No Problem (1/5): Giving a single point for all the spot boys, assistants, make-up artists who had to work hard for such a stupid crap movie....movie had big names but neither the story was good nor the acting...

Well Done Abba (4/5): One of the most underrated movies of 2010...had zero expectations before I started watching the movie..Minissha has given her career best performance and Boman has scored another winner....i commend the way they have adapted to Hyderabadi accent...the supporting cast is also good...the movie seems to drag at the end...could have been 15-20 mins shorter to creating a far greater impact..

Break Ke Baad (3.5/5): Far better than 2010 rom-coms such as IHLS, Aisha and Anjaana Anjaani....Deepika is an eye-candy..absolute treat to watch...has also given a good performance...Imran is pretty decent...

District 9 (4/5): Loved this movie...the junior alien reminded me of E.T...the guy who played Wikus acted really well...

The Secret in Their eyes (4.5/5): There is something about this movie which keeps haunting me...may be the rape/murder topic..or may be the quest of Esposito...or maybe the love of the husband....justice was done in the form of academy awards for best foreign language film last year..

Persepolis (3.5/5): Had high expectations but was somewhat let down by this movie...

Hurt Locker (4/5): First movie I saw which dealt with the Iraq war...had a good story and equally interesting performances....direction was spot on...

Khosla Ka Ghosla VS Do Dooni Chaar

I happened to finish Do Dooni Chaar today after hearing a lot of rave reviews about it...lot has been published in the media about its similarity to Khosla ka Ghosla...I too would agree to it with some minor differences....

Similarities

• Movies have Delhi as the backdrop and have tried to portray it from "aam junta" point of view
• It is based on a central theme (house in KKG and car in DDC)
• Both the protagonists (Anupam and Rishi) are from middle class family.
• Central characters face opposition from their wives/children in the first half...however post popcorn meal there is a transformation and they make all efforts to help Anupam/Rishi
• Central characters are shown helpless for most part of the film and often rely on ideas/suggestions from others.
• Central characters are shown to be honest whereas their kids are rebels in their own way.
• Mom plays the pacifier in both the films
• Both the movies depict common-man issue in a very subtle but humorous way.
• Simple story told with an almost perfect screenplay.

Differences

• The protagonist in DDC is the only source of income in the family which isnt the case in KKG. Hence they have a better standard of living
• The hardships and struggles (though a bit over the top in the 1st half) are more in DDC than in KKG
• It is based on a central theme (house in KKG and car in DDC)
• Both the protagonists (Anupam and Rishi) are from middle class family.

Coming to performances each of the characters in both the films excel and leave a lasting impression. Rishi and Neetu look perfect as the on-screen couple and their camaraderie is their to be seen.

KKG had a better background score as compared to DDC. Same hold true for the music. However the performances are better in DDC as compared to KKG.

For me, KKG has more repeat viewing capability than DDC. But this does not demean DDC as it is still one of the better movies of 2010.

Arbit movie review: Dil Hai ki Manta Nahi

One of my fav movies of all time...it is a remake of It Happened One Night...this movie released way back in 1991 and I hadnt seen IHON....I extremely enjoyed this movie and still love it....last yr i saw IHON and the movie was a complete remake....yet i have no issues....aamir and anupam acted really well....aamir's character of raghu jetli is still fresh in my mind...very egoistic, snobbish and with lotsa attitude....same applied for pooja bhatt...songs were superb...be it the title song or adayein bhi hai or galyat sankli or o mere sapne or tu pyaar hai....everything was perfect abt this movie

Love Aaj Kal: Movie Review

Imtiaz Ali is back with a bang....He keeps on growing as a director as well as a story teller...each of his movies have been good...be it socha na tha (very cute) or jab we met (very adorable) or love aaj kal (very soulful)...

presentation is quite similar to rang de basanti as it tries to draw a parallel between aaj and kal...but everything has been interwoven quite beautifully...the sepia toned kal exceptionally fits into the glossy aaj....it brilliantly depicts long distance relationships, break-ups, reunions....many of the scenes/dialogues reminded me of my past 3-4 months ;)

coming to performances saif is back to his "Hum tum" days...acts extremely well...thgh wld still prefer him in Omkara, Ek Haseena Thi, DCH and Hum Tum...he is present in almost every frame...deepika is exceptional...her best till date...watch out the way she smiles, cries, smirks, emotes, laughs...everything is so beautiful abt her...check her in the chor bazaari song..she is the new kid to watch out for....she is a mare for a long race :)....rishi is decent...harleen is cute...neetu's appearance brought a smile...still looks very gracious...

dialogues could have been better...was expecting more tongue in cheek dialogues after jab we met...film was a bit disappointing in that department...cinematography is excellent so is the art direction...choreography cld have been better specially for Twist and Aahun Aahun...

LAK is the best album of this year so far....each of the songs is hummable...be it Twist (a national rage), Aahun Aahun (a punjabi number), Chor Bazaari (extremely cute), Main Kya Hoon (beautifully picturised), Aaj Din Chadiye (Rahat always at his best), Ye Dooriyan (Mohit does it again)...

waiting for the DVD to come out...

New York: Movie Review

nice movie after a long bollywood hiatus...anyways this year we have seen only a handful of decent movies....only luck by chance and dev D come to my mind...
i bet this movie would prove to be a turning point in the career of John, Katrina and Neil....all of them have given their career best performance specially John Abraham...i never thght he could act so well....his expressions in the flashback scene were exceptional....one could literally feel the pain that he was going thru...Katrina too was a revelation...her acting in the pre-climax scenes is applause-worthy....finally she is able to act ;)....Neil's acting brings back memories of Johny Gaddar..he looks convincing thruout the movie....in some scenes (early college days) he looks more dashing than John....i will leave it for the gals to figure it out..Irfan is a powerhouse...he portrays his FBI role so effortlessly...thgh not one of his best i wld still count it as one of his better ones...
Kabir's direction is pretty tidy...much better than Kabul Express...editing could have been crispier in the 2nd half..post interval movie seems to astray a bit...director could have given more stress on the terrorist motive...that wld have held the audiences till the very end...few scenes looks straight out of The Departed and Crash...in fact the base plot looks almost similar to that of The Departed...the visuals are eye-catching and so are the actor's wardrobe....Abercrombie and American Eagle rules the 1st half...
Songs though few are exceptional...amongst the best of the year...each of the 3 songs in the movie is hummable...Hai Junoon is about friendship..Mere Sang is about love/consolation and Tune Jo Na Kaha is about separation...Mohit has sung Tune Jo Na Kaha really well....
I wld recommend this movie for all those who liked Dil Chahta Hai, Rock On, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Fiza, Mission Kashmir...

Om Shanti Om review: Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost

probably one of the most hilarious movies and I guess the best spoof ever made in Bollywood....Farah is not scared of showing Manoj Kumar, Dev Anand and Sooraj Barjatya in bad light....this is what the new age bollywood movies should be...bollywood is slowly adapting hollywood style of spoofing characters and movies (check scary movie series or epic movie)...but this movie is far better than the western counterpart....

the movie has included a lot of scenes from reel life and real life....the true incident of Sunil Dutt saving Nargis from Mother India's set has been excellently embedded in the movie...even the take on "No sorry, no thank you" from Maine pyar kiya is brilliantly done...

the opening sequence where Shahrukh is watching the shooting of "Om Shanti Om" song from Karz with Rishi and Subhash Ghai in the frame is nicely picturised...the quick murugan episode is also amazing...some of the scenes remind you of Karz and Karan Arjun

some of the dialogues are brilliant...like the direct lift of the Paulo Coelho's Alchemist principle...agar zindagi mein tumhe kuch paana ho to saari kaaynat lag jaati hai tumhe madat karne mein...suhaagan ke sir ka taaj hota hai chutki bhar sindooor....and my favourite Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost..

some of the sequences that stand out in the film are
Deepika's introduction
sequence outside Rajesh Kapoor's house (award acceptance speech)
deepika's sequence with Shahrukh after Main agar kahoon
Quick Murugan and Mohabbat man episode
Deepika confrontation with Arjun in the green room
The interval point..the burning of the Om Shanti Om set
Akshay Kumar gag on Khiladi returns...amazing sequence..this shows why Akshay is a scene stealer even if given a screen time of 30 secs
Filmfare aware scene (specially the acceptance speech)
Shahrukh meeting with Arjun to start OSO project again
Kiron Kher doing rehearsal in the pre-climax scene
Deepika auditioning for OSO role
climax sequence
and all the songs


like Main hoon na each song is brilliantly choreographed and picturised...Dhoom Tana is probably the 1st song in bollywood which has shown an actress dancing with superstars of yesteryears...here Deepika is shown swinging arms with Sunil Dutt, Jeetendra and Rajesh Khanna....Ajab Si and Main Agar Kahoon are the dreamy numbers which gel well with the proceedings...Deewangi is the most awaited song of the yr with 31 actors (ranging from Jeetendra, Mithun to Kajol, Rani) joining Shahrukh in the post filmfare party...Shilpa, Tabu, Juhi, Rani and Karisma are the pick of the lot in this number..this entire song is worth the movie ticket...the title song has a lot of resemblances with Ek Haseena thi and the picturisation too draws inspirations from it...Dard-e-disco is another winner because of six packed Shahrukh...

coming to performances SRK has delivered another master performance... though not in the likes of Swades, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and Chak de, it still would rank amongst his better performances...Deepika is camera friendly and looks sexy...she has also acted well considering that this is her first Hindi film..she is pretty confident in front of the camera..Kiron kher is excellent as over the top filmy mother...Shreyas is a revelation and is improving a lot...Arjun too has come up with a good performance...the movie could have been better in terms of direction/editing (second half) but the performances and spoofs make up for it...

after a long time Diwali has seen a good movie (probably after Mohabbatein in 2000)..this movie will surely set the box office on fire and will be amongst the top 5 films in Bollywood in terms of revenues generated...this is a movie that can be watched n number of times just for the take on bollywood...

My Rating: 5/5

Anurag Kashyap's interview: This man has gone thru a lot

It all started eight years ago when i was shooting for SATYA that Ramu told me a story about a chain smoker who gets into trouble with someone who hates smoking( a variation of which he shot in DARNA MANA HAI)..that sparked off an idea..which Ramu instantly laughed and scoffed at..i thought there was something in there but i didn’t know what..i toyed with it for long..had something roughly there but it was too much like THE GAME..after PAANCH got banned i was desperate to make a film..Paanch had a good buzz..there were producers who wanted me to make films for them..i met Boney Kapoor ,narrated him the incomplete idea which was then called, Cigarette smoking is injurious to health..He point blank, told me ,”Go back to the planet you came from”..every one thought it was weird, but none of them knew irreverence..

Kaykay loved the idea..only thing he said was that it’s incomplete(how much i love that man)..i almost gave up on it, till RAJA CHAUDHARY..my assistant in black friday and my lead actor in GULAL(some body even suggested we were probably sleeping together)..him off all the people, while playing squash said he has written a script for a short film on a chain smoker who wakes up one morning without a smoke and there is a curfew outside..he wanted me to act as the character..what a fantastic idea..i agreed to do the role on the condition that i am going to use his short to complete my incomplete script..we made the short..it didn’t work..Raja was a better actor and a writer than he was the filmmaker..i took his short and completed the treatment..

Six months later i was at mariott with my producer friend nilesh dadhich and vinny mitra the director of MERIDIAN and while showing off how weird one can get i narrated my script..i improvised spontaneously..they loved it ,i loved narrating it ..it felt complete..it was on..but it was costly ,nilesh told me .. we need a star.. i said no one but kaykay..i went to london the following month..we were showing Black Friday at BITE THE MANGO in Bradford..nilesh asked me to look up his partner Angad Paul(LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS) and narrate him the script..i did..he said its too weird,needs a star..get shahrukh..i decided to fuck it ..i am not going without kaykay..then the worst period of my life started..Black Friday got stuck..couldn’t get money for gulaal..i started drinking again..nivi (kaykay’s wife) told me stop thinking about everyone..try and get a release first,get a star ,make a movie, kaykay will understand..i went to SRK..

Now there is a history i share with SRK..we went to the same college,we both played for the college hockey team,he was an astounding sportsman,hockey captain..i was the vice captain..but..four years apart from each other..i never went to him for anything using that card..this time i did..he claimed to have known me from delhi..or of me..he wasvery warm and kind and nice..he was growing his hair..Don had not yet started shooting..SRK loved or may be pretended to have loved the idea..he said ..”you are talented,why are you wasting yourself over such absurd films”..he said make this film after you are in a position to experiment..gave me the example of Black..i told him Black according to me was an exercise in vanity and megalomania..but circumstances were such that i was open to mainstream..i mentioned meeting him to Ritesh Sidhwani..i had done the hindi version of dialogues for Reema’s HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. which he was producing..Farhan and Zoya have always been a big support to me..emotionally and morally..one of the scripts written by zoya and reema was optioned by ritesh..he asked me would i like tolook at it..i looked at it..great idea..ritesh then asked me to develop it further with SRK in mind and he will produce it for me..i narrated my smoking story instead..he reacted exactly like others..i was losing confidence..in myself..in my story..i wanted a way out..i didn’t even have the courage to say i don’t want to do Zoya’s story..(haven’t said it till date)i just kept escaping them, kept escaping what started to look like my fate..then out of the blue i found finance for Gulaal..

we went to jaipur to shoot gulaal..meanwhile PAHELI got nominated for the OSCARS from india..i got a call from SRK..he needed help to campaign for paheli in the US..i put him on to CHRISTINA(the greek woman who holds the flag for the indian films in the heart of Hollywood) and NOEL..kept in touch with him(kind of)..then Gulaal was stopped midshoot because the money promised wasn’t realised..ah misery..my motherfucking jinxxx continued..life was being such a bitch..i had an anxiety attack..was flown to bombay..admitted..heart condition..broke..alcoholic..fucked..i called SRK..he said he will get back..i sms’d AAMIR..he said he will get back in march..i called on Jaideep Sahni..he was now with Yashraj..he tried to help..adi was too busy..i could have done anything at that moment..i didn’t know what to do..where to go..before the media found out that gulaal got stopped after finishing 80% of the shoot and the superstitious lot sealed my fate i had to get on to something..that’s when reports on WATER started to filter in..they were praising JOHN..like an oppurtunist of circumstances i called him..it was nine thirty in the morning after i drank all night..he asked me if i could meet him in next half an hour..i said yes..was fifteen minutes late..i knew he too would laugh at my smoking story..so i made up a story on the way to his house..

he heard my made up story and instantly hated it..he said tell me something more intelligent(he really said that)..i took a deep breath and told him the smoking story..he fucking loved it..i told him i have no producer..he said he will find me one..he spoke to UTV..they didn’t like it..too bizzarrre..i told him officially the story was still lying with SRK..he said until and unless SRK doesn’t let go of it ..i will amount to be a double crossing son of a bitch..i called SRK and told him i was going to someone else..he naturally assumed i was going to kaykay..he advised me again..i didn’t want to listen..my arrogance still probably was far greater than theirs..i still believed that if only my films would have come out, it would have been different..but then that arrogance was fucked with,fingered with..kicked out of all production offices inspite of john being unconditionally on board..

then i got a call from Vishal..he had seen my last seven years and still somehow had not lost faith..he asked me that would i like to make a film for him..”neki aur poochh poochh” ..i narrated him cigarette smoking is injurious to health..he loved it..finally..someone who truly loves films..he asked me to come to his set of omkaara the next day and narrate the script to Kumar Mangat..Now here is a man who looks like the most conventional producer in bombay bot he isn’t..he loved it too..his son loved it fucking three..i was on..they offered SAIF..i said JOHN..the man stood by me..i will like hell stand by him..they didn’t even argue..it was just me being defensive..they agreed and asked for a meeting..with john..they met..i waited for things to move..they had omkara to be busy with..negativity abound..i started thinking it won’t happen again..so before they could tell me it was all a mistake..i left the country..escaped to LA..thats when i met OZ..hung out in NEWYORK.. walked the streets..till i got a call from kumar mangat and vishal asking me when am i coming back to india as they have signed john..WHOOOO..it was happening..now everyone wanted the whole script which was only in my head and as a thirty page treatment on paper..

so i wrote for next three days ..met john in NEWYORK..saw united 93 together..came back and found everyone busy with omkara..negativity..when you have been fucked so many times in life,you tend not to believe anyone or anything..that’s how i was..i left again, this time for rishikesh..almost making those lose faith in me who were the only ones in this miserable place to trust me..somehow..good sense prevailed..and the only change they asked me to do was to change its name to NO SMOKING..

thats the story of this film and that’s how i have JOHN ABRAHAM..today we saw BARTON FINK together..and he is going to rock..and the grip is on too..now..whoever said that you are never going to fail unless you try also said that reality is the place where the pizza delivery man comes from..cheers guys..now only if Scorcese could smile on me..

First look: Sonam and Ranbir

I am completely bowled over by this trailer....one of the best i have seen....




Ranbir looks completely like Hrithik in his KNPH days....Sonam brings out memories of Aishwarya Rai in Taal.....music is very very peppy.....

Heyy Babyy....u rock in pieces

definitely a movie which should have been produced by Yashraj films since it has its share of funny and emotional moments as does all Yashraj's mushy mushy love stories have.....the comic scenes are good (excellent at places) but the emotional sequences are a downer...typical bollywood cliches

Sajid Khan who himself is a comedian is not able to handle the tear-jerking scenes well and most of the on-screen ongoings and dialogues seem repeated....but the funny moments in the movie will surely bring the house down and smile on everyone's faces....

the movie starts off really well with the title track...amongst the best videos Bollywood has ever come up with ;).....you need to see it why I say that....definitely this would be one of the most downloaded video songs.....Om Shanti Om will have a big task to match up with this song (it has 35 actor/actresses in that song).....

Some of the scenes which stand out are

• Title track with 15 hottest babes in Bollywood
• Trio trying to wipe the potty of the baby
• Department store track in which Akki is searching for baby food
  
• Kids bashing up Riteish...watch out Riteish in his typical Maharashtrian form
• Car sequence in which Fardeen is driving the car slower than the joggers
• Parimal Tripathi episode
• Raj-Simran episode

Songs are peppy with the title track leading the proceedings...Mast Kalandar too is a racy number so is the video (check out pony tailed SRK in this video)....Jaane bhi de and Meri Duniya are hummable situational numbers....Dholna is a typical Yashraj number

Akki is at his best yet again...everyone knows that he is too good in comic scenes but he has handled emotional scenes also with aplomb...Vidya emotes well during the climax....just one concern...she seems to be putting a lot of weight and the director is trying to hide that thru her costumes....Fardeen is ok but he excels in Parimal Tripathi role...Riteish as usual is totally dependable and he is a master for such kinda roles....his Jai Maharahstra antics will surely find audience's favor....Boman and Anupam act well....Babyyy is too cute....

overall I would give the film 3/5 (1 point less because of bromide emotional sequences)

Do u wanna "Partner"

which ones better Hitch or Partner...very difficult to say since both are equally good....each of them better in their own rights....

Partner is just an Indianized version of Hitch...with its share of David dhawan antics....another David film in the category of "leave ur brains at home" (but I watched the movie at home so didnt leave my brains anywhere)....completely timepass wholesomely entertaining movie....almost the entire plot and 50% of the scenes are copied from Hitch..but who cares as long as the movie is engaging

the camaraderie between Salman and Govinda is absolutely brilliant and hilarious....wish Katrina had a bigger role and more screen presence..she was relegated to backseat....in contrast Amber Valletta had a much bigger and authorbacked role in Hitch.....Lara was good..Amin Haji (the child from Fanaa) is once again in top form....

The golden touch which David Dhawan had lost in late 90s and early 2000s seems to have returned back with 3 back to back hits (Mujhse shaadi karogi, Maine pyar kyur kiya and Partner)....

A couple of songs viz. title song and You are my love are pretty hummable...Soni de nakhre too is not bad....

Movie Review: First half of 2007

Its been a long time since I have written a review on a Hindi film (i suppose Guru was the last one)....well rather than writing the review on each of the films separately, me decided to recap the 6 months gone by.

Black Friday (10/10): Powerful movie....direction, screenplay and editing were spot on...performances of each and every character was excellent....

Tara Rum Pum (6/10): Big disappointment from the Yashraj camp....Siddharth's second outing was a bad rehash of Days of Thunder....moreover Saif's and Rani's acting was also not exceptional...songs were good but not something which will be remembered after the year has gone by...

Parzania (7/10): Another good movie which became a bit monotonous towards the end...moreover this movie has lot of similarities with Bombay

Namaste London (6/10): Never had high expectations from this movie...movie was so-so....i thought it was just a copy of several movies (Hero Hindustani, Pardes, Raamji Londonwale)....some of the dialogues were good...songs were really good specially Dilruba and Main Jahaan Rahoon.....

1:40 ki last local (9/10): Really loved this movie....Abhay is a terrific actor when it comes to comedy...all his movies (Socha na tha, Ahista Ahista, Honeymoon Travels) have been good...he is the only one in the industry who is choosing light hearted movies....he is Amol palekar and Farooque Shaikh of today's era...

Honeymoon Travels (8/10): Nice cute movie....KK and Raima Sen were terrific...songs were good (Pyar ki ek kahaani, Halke Halke, Sajnaaji)...dunno why Halke Halke was not marketed well....

Guru(7/10): It deserves 7 points just for Abhishek's acting and Maiyya Maiyya song (not the video but the vocals in the song)

Bheja Fry (10/10): It one of the better comedy films of recent times.....Vinay Pathak was simply superb in this film....

Eklavya (9/10): Acting was top grade from everyone...be it Amitabh, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Khan, Jimmy or Raima Sen...Vidya Balan was somewhat wasted...direction is till now the best of this year...

Salaam-e-ishq (3/10): Nothing to write about this movie....a big big disappointment...however songs were exceptional.

Cheeni Kum (9/10): the combo of Amitabh and Tabu was deadly....Tabu handled the lighter scenes really well....even the child actress was good....

Shootout at lokhandwala (6/10): Didnt njoi this movie that much....somehow the characters looked fake...

The Train (4/10): Bad acting by everyone (Emraan, Sayali and Geeta)...songs are among the best of the year...

Life in a Metro (10/10): Another excellent movie..Shilpa, Irfan and Konkona was superb...the entire track of Irfan and Konkona was hilarious...music is the best of this year...

Fool n Final (3/10): bad remake of Snatch(a must see film)

I havent seen Awarapan(mindblowing music) , Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (already a box office disappointment), Apne (killer starcast) and Aap Ka suroor (multi talented Himesh) yet....

A R Rahman concert in NY (16th June 2007)

was lucky enuf to catch the AR Rahman 3rd dimensional concert in Long Island, NY last weekend....the show was about to begin at 8 but we (myself, Harshad and ungle) were so excited that we reached there by 6:30 PM....already by that time people had started pouring in at the Nassau Coliseum....by the time i was inside the stadium I had met many of my junior college frenz, undergrad mates and colleagues who all had come to catch this magical nite.....

the show kickstarted at 8:35...this was as per IST....the first song of the evening was the masterpiece "Jaage Hai" from Guru....there was some sound problem during the first 2 songs and hence the lyrics were not clear...but who cares about the lyrics when Rahman is playing...what a way to start the show...amongst my fav songs composed by Rahman recently....Rahman looked dapper in a purple chudidar... the next song to be played was the energetic number "Khalbali" from RDB.... rahman then left the stage and his troop took over.....
Sukhvinder and Neeti were first to take the lead with "Ramta Jogi"..this was followed by "Ayo re sakhi" from Water...Sukhvinder sang this song so well along with Sadhana Sargam that I was awe-struck...somehow I didnt notice this song when I saw the movie...but now after the concert this song ranks among the best rendered songs...Rahman too regards this songs as one of his best compilations....

Hariharan followed it up with the evergreen "Roja Jaaneman" from Roja...this was the song that catapulted Rahman (his first movie as composer) to stardom....none of the Rahman's recent concerts are complete without Sivaji...he sang close to 4-5 songs from Sivaji...the first one to be sung was "Vaaji"..Hariharan and Madhushree were dancing throughout while singing this song....the next Sivaji song was "Sahana Saaral" by Vijay Yesudas and Chitra...

Naresh Iyer took over for the next 2 songs "Be a rebel" and "Roobaroo"....by this time the audience were up on their feets and dancing merrily....the next 2 songs were sung in Hindi as well as Tamil...."Kehna hi Kya" from Bombay and "Kabhi Neem" from Yuva...the mukhda and 1st antra were in Hindi whereas the 2nd antra was in Tamil...Hariharan and his team then turned up in somewhat a remixed version of "Ghanan Ghanan" from Lagaan

then there were a couple of more Sivaji numbers...but then came the best part of the day "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from Sukhvinder....during this song almost the entire 13000 junta was dancing in their aisles...this 6 minute song was converted into a 10 min song because the audience was njoing so much that Sukhvinder could not resist but extend the last antra by bringing tremendous variations in his voice...Rahman then sung the brilliant " Dilse re" from Dil Se.

then the find of the evening Aslam Khan sang Kesariya Balam...i assume that this is the song from Dor...Rahman during this tour had picked up 2 singers from US thru a talent hunt...one of the guys was from Dilawar (Delaware) and the other was from Texas...they sang "Mitwa" from Lagaan and "Yeh Tara" from Swades.... Sivamani then turned up with his amazing solo performance....this guy is simply mindblowing....there was also a small piece of jugalbandi with another guy which too was brilliant....

Rahman then sung a song from his new international album "Pray for me brother"...this was a song dedicated to poor all over the world.....all the spectators were waving their cell phones (with lites on) during this performance...the sight was worth a spectacle... this was followed by an unplugged version of "Tu hi re (Bombay)" from Hariharan and "Aie Hairate(Guru)" from Hariharan and Sadhna Sargam...

then came my best song/performance of the day...this was "Maiyya Maiyya" from Guru...this was sung by Neeti Mohan...Neeti Mohan was one of the babes from the Aasma band (Chandu ke chacha) from V Popstars...her performance, overall look, voice modulation, belly dance was simply stupendous...this is among the most difficult songs to sing and she turned up aces with this one...this dame should be given more opportunities in Bollywood...

then there were some more songs which moved the show towards climax: "Ni Main samajh gayee (Taal)", "Ik Onkar (RDB)" and "Rang de basanti(RDB)"...Aslam Khan sang the title song of RDB really well and had this talent been discovered earlier Rahman would have taken him instead of Daler....

then came my fav Tamil song "Secret of Success" from Boys...Naresh and Blaaze sang this song really well...the show ended with Rahman singing "Humma" from Bombay and "Vande Mataram".....

the 3.5 hrs show got over so fast that audience were longing for more....there were some songs which I wished could have been performed but thats fine considering the time these guys have to perform....some of them were
"Nahi Saamne" from Taal by Sukhvinder
"Chupke se" from Saathiya by Sadhna Sargam
"Banno Rani" from 1947-Earth
"Yaakai thiri/Fanaa" from Yuva
"Chanda re" from Sapnay

Well here are some pics from the show
Pics from Rahman Show

Guru bhai aavya che

cld have been better
cld have been shorter
cld have been more stylized
cld have done without 2-3 songs especially tere bina and barso re
cld have done without Vidya Balan and Madhavan (sheer waste of talents)..any Jack and Jill cld have done their part

movie definitely lacks the Maniratnam tch...the movie tremendously misses his deft finesse and silken touch...direction is not at all exceptional...though some scenes have been executed well like the Abhishek-Mithun-Madhavan argument at Mithun's place, Abhishek-Madhavan confrontation at Madhavan's home and the climax......editing lives a lot to be desired....

Songs like Barso re and tere bina impedes the speed of the film....movie moves at snail's pace in the post interval scenes.....

In terms of acting, Abhishek takes the entire cake with some small bits and pieces left for Mithun and Aishwarya.....Abhishek fits the character of Gurukant Desai perfectly...his dialogue delivery, physical appearance, walk are spot on.....the climax scene at the court as well as the cricket stadium are clap/whistle worthy.......Aishwarya acts well in the courtroom sequence....Arya Babbar as Aish's sister is ok.....Madhavan and Vidya do justice to their role...Mithun is back with a bang after a string of inconsequential roles in the past 2-3 yrs....

Some of the songs are great like Aey Hairate, Baazi Laga my fav (though was not included in the final cut) and Jaage Hai

My overall rating: 2.5/5

Flashback 2006: Top Movies

Finally a recap of the top films of the year....listing them in order

Lage Raho Munnabhai:
Probably one of the finest movies in recent times...mixed humor with social message splendidly...direction was top class so was editing...Arshad and Sanjay yet again formed a terrific duo...all the actors continued from where they left...Vidya (though she looked a bit overweight) was gorgeous...Gandhi was remembered after a long time which was evident from the percentage increases in people going to Sabarmati on 2nd october...
Click here for review


Rang de Basanti:
Another winner in terms of conveying the social message...this film actually invigorated Indians to raise their voice for the Jessica Lal murder case....best directorial effort of the year...cinematography was A1 so was the music....this was the best cast ensemble once has seen in a long time....each character potrayed his/her part well...Aamir as usual excelled in this film..Siddharth played his part well and was able to carry off the climax perfectly....this movie was on par with LRM...so the top position would be shared by RDB and LRM..also I was wrong about the impact of this film when I reviewed it...
Click here for review


Pyar ke Side effects:
Best Hinglish film of the year....Rahul was simply awesome in this film...I have seen this film atleast 6-7 times just for Rahul's performance...but I would not take the credit away from Ranvir and Mallika for giving a polished performance....Ranvir in particular was absolutely funny...he is one of the actors whose potential is untapped....some of the scenes (coffee date, scoreboard scene, dinner time confrontation) will be remembered for a long time....
Click here for review

Khosla ka Ghosla:
Another comic caper in the lines of PKSE...this was a perfect Delhi film...no director in Bollywood has been able to portray Delhi in the same way as done in this film..Anupam played his part well...but the hero of the film was Ranvir (once again)....if his performance in PKSE was worth 10/10 then KKG deserved 20/10....even though the basic plot of the film was a serious issue it was dealt in a very light hearted manner....Navin and Parvin also played their part well......

Omkara:
perfect adaption of Othello by Vishal Bharadwaj....this film surely will garner several music as well as critics' award...many actors like Saif, Konkona and Kareena gave their best performance in this...Langda Tyagi (played brilliantly by Saif; finest performance of the year) is simply the best villanous character played in Bollywood (even better than Gabbar, Mogambo, Shakaal)..Beedi would rank as one of the better item numbers rendered brilliantly by Sunidhi....dialogues too are award-worthy...

Dor:
Another gem of a film from Nagesh...though not on par with Hyderabad blues and Iqbal this film still was one of the best films of the year....no one expected Ayesha and Gul to act so well...Shreyas as baharupiya was funny..but I would say that Nagesh was wasted in an insignificant role.....

Films like Jaan-e-mann, Gangster, Taxi No. 9211 and Krrish complete the top 10 list.....

Dhoom 2 : Better late than never

Disappointing...this is the 1st thing that came out of my mouth after watching D2. Moreover this was the reaction of many cinegoers in the theatre........but the box office report tells a different story...biggest bollywood movie of all time (breaking the record of Gadar).....according to me the movie worked because of Hrithik's popularity and death defying stunts.....

The movie starts in a predictable manner...Hirthik trying to rob diamonds from a train (a la Roop ki Rani choron ka raja)...however the stunts during this sequence though stunning are illogical..it was referred in the movie that Hrithik does a robbery in a country only once...but he ends up robbing in India twice...why

the museum loot is also illogical...how can a 6 inch high remote car escape the eyes of 20 security guards even when the car is moving at snail's pace....also how can one expect Hrithik to come out of the gutter through a jet and rise to such a height....also how come hrithik has all the solutions to escape during that robbery..think of highly acidic solution in his boots and magnets on his hands.....

the 2nd half is too slow and concentrates more on the relationship between Ash and Hrithik...also Abhishek's character looks very weird throughout the movie....he literally looks dumb.....all the smartness that he gained in dhoom seems to been lost in D2....also Ash's character is somewhat loud...why does she have to mouth those irritating words like "funny guy" and "like" so often..... Bipasha's character is not at all required in the movie...she does not help the story to move forward...moreover there is no need of a double role...both her characters are useless specially the one in Rio de Janeiro....dont know why they had to include Rimi Sen in the movie...her character too does not take the story forward.....it is Uday's character which continues in the same way as he left in Dhoom....

the climax is also very dull....how can Abhishek leave Ash and Hrithik even after he tracks them down...

The script is very weak so is the screenplay....there is no story...the entire movie revolves around different heists and amazing stunts... direction is pathetic.....Sanjay cannot compete with the likes of Raju Hirani, Adi Chopra, Rakesh Mehra....songs are good though a lot was expected from them....Dil lagana and Dhoom again are my picks...

Ash looks sexy in the film and so does Bipasha...but Ash still is not on par with Rani, Preity in terms of acting....she still has a long way to go....Uday is a bit irritating as Ali but this is what his character is....Abhishek does not get any scope....such a waste of a great actor...Sanjay Gadhvi needs to watch KANK, Sarkar, Bluffmaster to understand his acting abilities....

The success of Dhoom 2 has benefited one person only and that is Hrithik...Hrithik is the best thing to have happened to this movie and he is the saving grace...all his dances and stunts are stupendous....even his get-ups are mind blowing...be it statue or the queen or the dwarf...he is one of the few choosy actors who can compete with Aamir..for more evidences watch out his last 3 releases Koi mil gaya, Lakshya, Krrish.....

Great minds think alike

My fav movie is Shahrukh's fav movie too...check this out

http://movies.indiatimes.com/quickies/309796.cms

he was simply mind blowing in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa....the rawness and freshness of his early days was visible in Sunil (the character he played)..Shahrukh has never acted so well in any of his later films...Swades came close but still KHKN was miles ahead in terms of performance....excellent music and brilliant supporting cast made this film more watchable...

Jaan-e-mann: Movie review

i have mixed feelings after watching this film due to the fact that there are a lot of inconsistencies in the movie yet the story is beautifully told....

First of all the minuses
1) Was it necessary to show Anupam Kher as a dwarf...what was the sense in this
2) Was it necessary to show Anupam Kher in a double role....what was the reason to cast him as a waiter in a NY restaurant.....what a waste of such a terrific actor
3) Why didn't Akshay know that Salman was the one after Preity in the college when he met him after 7 yrs...one wld definitely remember your beau's sweetheart even after 10-15 yrs...ask me :))))
4) Why didn't Akshay ever ask Preity who her husband was or in that case why didn't Preity ever mention Suhan's name to Akshay....even the slightest hint wld have ended the movie well before time
5) Why didn't Preity ever ask Akshay where he stayed....
6) The editing was shoddy.....easily 15 mins from the first 1 hr and last 30 mins could have been chopped off

Inspite of so many minuses the plusses mostly make up for them
1) Salman was perfect in the role of Suhan so was Preity in the role of Piya. Preity didn't have much to do inspite of being on the screen for close to 2 hrs but she was adorable..Salman put in a decent sensible performance...
2) Akshay Kumar was simply brilliant as a nerdie...his overall look in the film was great....his comic laughter is sure to bring the house down....Akshay is definitely one of the most bankable star of the country right now...
3) Songs are absolutely mind blowing especially Sau dard and Ajnabi Shehar...Sonu is at his best in these 2 songs....
4) Picturisation of all the songs is stunning and the choreography is perfect
5) Shirish Kunder has handled several scenes pretty well...he is atleast a better director than his wife Farah who had messed big time in Main hoon na
6) Visuals are breathtaking...NY is shown in the most picturesque way

However looking at the competition with Don and its dismal opening I feel that this film might just be able to do average business...though there are chances that word of mouth publicity might help it recover its cost....

All in all one of the decent movies of the year.....