Ok so this is the diva's comeback movie.Madhuri Dixit is back & in a musical from the Yash Raj stable-Aaja Nach Le.So one expected this movie to be a sure shot success well in advance.So has the movie delivered to the expectations?Is the diva still retaining her magic?have the people connected to the movie in a big way.Well yes & no.Yes Madhuri still retains her magic even though she's aging but sadly the movie has not really lived up to its expectations.
Madhuri is dance student in a small town who runs away with her American boyfriend to the U.S when her folks want to get her married.Later she realises that he was not the person destined for her & lieves her own life seperately.She now runs a dance school in New York & has a daughter.One day she gets a call from her native town,as her dance guru is on his death bed.
By the time she arrives the guru is dead but she is even more shocked to see that the once popular Ajanta,amphitheatre which was the lifeline of the town is now in ruins & that its going to be brought down to accomodate a shopping mall instead.Her guru wanted her to prevent the same from happening.
Madhuri now takes up the cause & first meets up with the local M.P who is also the Raja of the place ( cute cameo by Akshaye Khanna) who challenges her by saying that nobody goes to Ajanta anymore to see any performance.To this Madhuri retailates by saying that she will ensure that she stages a performance there in 2 months time.
Akshaye agrees to stop the demolition if the performance happens provided if Madhuri uses people of the same town to perform.Our lady agrees for the challenge & how she goes about organising the show is what the rest of the tale is all aboutNo prizes for guessing how the story concludes.There are good cameos by a lot of good actors like Konkana Sen,Kunal Kapoor,Ranvir Sheorey, Divya Dutta,Irfan Khan, Akhilendra Mishra etc.
Sadly the music by Salim Sulaiman is a let down though the Laila-Majnu piece looks impressive ( lyrics by Piyush Mishra).But how do the sets resemble broadway sets is a big mystery ( in terms of grandiosity)?Overall the movie is just for Madhuri fans to relive their nostalgic memories.
Rating-2/5
Friday, December 28, 2007
Beowulf- A Quick Review
Robert Zemeckis ( director of Forest Gump,Back to the Future,Polar Express etc) is now back with Beowulf- a spectular visual treat.Its the next level of animation- using the latest advancement in the areas of graphic & animation to give it a near life like experience.
So you dont see cartoons of the characters as seen in most animation movies- here you have life like images of all the characters.You also have the liberty to make the use of technology to bring in good features like Ray Winstone ( Beowulf) has been shown flaunting his 6 pack abs!!!This is an interpretation of an 8th century English poem of the same name-Beowulf told in an entertaining manner.
A Danish King,Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) is shown throwing a huge party for the townsfolk, owing to the inauguration of the newly constructed-mead hall.Amidst all the merry making & excessive mead drinking, one sees the young queen (Robin Wright Penn) completely bored & detached with the proceedings.Suddenly the entire proceedings get distrurbed when an ugly monster called Grendel breaks into the party & maims & kills more than half the people in the hall.
King Hrothgar then declares a huge reward for anybody who can kill Grendel.In come's Beowulf ( Ray Winstone) along with his team of men.Beowulf goes on to challenge & kill Grendel ( curiously he is in the buff while fighting Grendel).Then while the near dead Grendel retreats to his cave where Beowulf then comes face to face with Grendel's mother- who at times is a huge snake & at times becomes a temptress ( played by the ultra sexy Anjelina Jolie).
The story continues to gain momentum and moves ahead in time with Beowulf becoming king & going on to fight another great challenge in the end.I am purposely avoiding the story's progress as it needs to be seen to be actually enjoyed.While it maybe an advcanced animation movie, it certainly isnt a movie for the kids.There's violence in plenty & also hints of sex thrown in liberally.
All said and done its a good spectacle, do go for this.
Rating-3.5/5 (0.5 extra for the extraordinary animation work)
So you dont see cartoons of the characters as seen in most animation movies- here you have life like images of all the characters.You also have the liberty to make the use of technology to bring in good features like Ray Winstone ( Beowulf) has been shown flaunting his 6 pack abs!!!This is an interpretation of an 8th century English poem of the same name-Beowulf told in an entertaining manner.
A Danish King,Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) is shown throwing a huge party for the townsfolk, owing to the inauguration of the newly constructed-mead hall.Amidst all the merry making & excessive mead drinking, one sees the young queen (Robin Wright Penn) completely bored & detached with the proceedings.Suddenly the entire proceedings get distrurbed when an ugly monster called Grendel breaks into the party & maims & kills more than half the people in the hall.
King Hrothgar then declares a huge reward for anybody who can kill Grendel.In come's Beowulf ( Ray Winstone) along with his team of men.Beowulf goes on to challenge & kill Grendel ( curiously he is in the buff while fighting Grendel).Then while the near dead Grendel retreats to his cave where Beowulf then comes face to face with Grendel's mother- who at times is a huge snake & at times becomes a temptress ( played by the ultra sexy Anjelina Jolie).
The story continues to gain momentum and moves ahead in time with Beowulf becoming king & going on to fight another great challenge in the end.I am purposely avoiding the story's progress as it needs to be seen to be actually enjoyed.While it maybe an advcanced animation movie, it certainly isnt a movie for the kids.There's violence in plenty & also hints of sex thrown in liberally.
All said and done its a good spectacle, do go for this.
Rating-3.5/5 (0.5 extra for the extraordinary animation work)
Oram Po-A Quick Review (Tamil)
Ok you may have seen numerous rip-offs of Hollywood & other foreign action movies in Tamil Cinema.But could you have imagined watching a desi version of Fast & the Furious?Well for that aspect alone I would say Bravo to the husband-wife directorial team of Pushkar & Girija.Replace foreign locales & fast cars with Chennai and auto rickshaws & voila- you have the long delayed release-Oram Po.
Aarya plays an autodriver who competes in the illegal autorickshaw racing circuit of Chennai & is a champion for the same.His friend is Lal who plays Bigle, a big auto rickshaw service specialist.Aarya & Lal usually compete with another rickshaw service specialist-John Vijay who plays an enormously funny character called Son of Gun.
Aarya's rickshaw is mortgaged to a sethji& in order to repay the loan he & lal decide to compete against Son of Gun in a race.Aarya has an affair with Pooja ,a biriyani seller who is also Lal's fiancee.The night before the big race Aarya & Pooja have a major tiff regarding their wedding & so during the race Aarya loses his concentration & thus loses.
Following this Aarya & Lal also drift apart as news of Aarya's affair with Pooja ( thanks to Son of Gun) reaches Lal.Running parallel to this is the story of some missing precious stones of a smuggler.So what happens next?Do Aarya & Lal unite?What happens to Son of Gun is all told in the rest of the tale.
Overall its a decent attempt, quite fast paced & lively.Performances of all the cast members are good particularly John Vijay.G.V.Prakash Kumar's music is quite suiting the requirement of the movie.Take a bow- Pushkar & Giri- quite a decent debut movie.
Rating-2.5/5
Aarya plays an autodriver who competes in the illegal autorickshaw racing circuit of Chennai & is a champion for the same.His friend is Lal who plays Bigle, a big auto rickshaw service specialist.Aarya & Lal usually compete with another rickshaw service specialist-John Vijay who plays an enormously funny character called Son of Gun.
Aarya's rickshaw is mortgaged to a sethji& in order to repay the loan he & lal decide to compete against Son of Gun in a race.Aarya has an affair with Pooja ,a biriyani seller who is also Lal's fiancee.The night before the big race Aarya & Pooja have a major tiff regarding their wedding & so during the race Aarya loses his concentration & thus loses.
Following this Aarya & Lal also drift apart as news of Aarya's affair with Pooja ( thanks to Son of Gun) reaches Lal.Running parallel to this is the story of some missing precious stones of a smuggler.So what happens next?Do Aarya & Lal unite?What happens to Son of Gun is all told in the rest of the tale.
Overall its a decent attempt, quite fast paced & lively.Performances of all the cast members are good particularly John Vijay.G.V.Prakash Kumar's music is quite suiting the requirement of the movie.Take a bow- Pushkar & Giri- quite a decent debut movie.
Rating-2.5/5
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal- A Quick Review
Yes I know its too late to review a movie like Goal.My apologies for the same.Nevertheless I still have to do my duty.Goal is Vivek Agnihotri's next attempt after Chocolate & too things are quite obvious to the viewer while watching Goal- one Vivek continues to be fond of foreign subjects & two-the movie does try to cash in on the gains of a sports movie like Chak De India ( no harm in that though).
Goal is a football movie- a tale of a U.K based club ( Southall United Football Club) which comprises of make shift players of Indian,Pakistani & Bangladeshi origin.Arashad Warsi is the captain of the team & when the club faces the threat of having to move out of their bastion, they are left with no option but to win the English Premier League & stay put !!!
So Arshad first manages to get the coach-Boman Irani who once played for the same team & has a troubled past.John Abraham is an Indian who wants to make it big as a British Soccer player.But when he does not get his due outside, Boman convinces him to join their team.Inspite of Arshad's apprehensions & their regular rivalry the team unites,improves & plays well.
Of course there is the usual twist in the plot which leads to the grand finale- the final match being played in a grand fashion.And of course no prizes for guessing the end.Well so you want to know whats Bipasha doing in the movie?Well she's the physio of the team & Arshad's sister who likes John.
Overall a decent movie, lets face it.But its not a Chak De or an Iqbal.John is decent, while Boman & Arshad are just ok.Raj Zutshi does well among the others.Music is average with only 2 songs in the movie.Overall the producers UTV have made a profit on the movie as they sold it at a reasonable price.
Rating-2/5
Goal is a football movie- a tale of a U.K based club ( Southall United Football Club) which comprises of make shift players of Indian,Pakistani & Bangladeshi origin.Arashad Warsi is the captain of the team & when the club faces the threat of having to move out of their bastion, they are left with no option but to win the English Premier League & stay put !!!
So Arshad first manages to get the coach-Boman Irani who once played for the same team & has a troubled past.John Abraham is an Indian who wants to make it big as a British Soccer player.But when he does not get his due outside, Boman convinces him to join their team.Inspite of Arshad's apprehensions & their regular rivalry the team unites,improves & plays well.
Of course there is the usual twist in the plot which leads to the grand finale- the final match being played in a grand fashion.And of course no prizes for guessing the end.Well so you want to know whats Bipasha doing in the movie?Well she's the physio of the team & Arshad's sister who likes John.
Overall a decent movie, lets face it.But its not a Chak De or an Iqbal.John is decent, while Boman & Arshad are just ok.Raj Zutshi does well among the others.Music is average with only 2 songs in the movie.Overall the producers UTV have made a profit on the movie as they sold it at a reasonable price.
Rating-2/5
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Polladhavan-A Quick Review ( Tamil)
Director Vettrimaran, a protege of Balu Mahendra makes his debut with Polladhavan & what a debut this is.This movie is fast emerging as the dark horse of the diwali releases with word of the mouth being quite positive.Dhanush is back in form after that box office disaster Parattai......
It takes guts & a lot of thought to make a movie like this,thats for sure.The story is inspired by the all time classic-Vittoria De Sica's 1949 movie-The Bicylce Thieves & a chinese movie- Beijing Bicycle.What is interesting is that the director has taken the basic thread from these movies & intervowen it with the North Chennai underworld to give it a new interpretation alltogether.
Dhanush is the son of Murali ( Malayalam actor) & Bhanupriya.He along with his friends Karunas,Santhanam etc are all without jobs & only loiter around and while away their time.Dhanush likes Ramya ( Kannada's leading heroine) but has not been able to express the same to her.One day when his father finds out that he has stolen money from home, he gives him Rs.70,000 & asks him to do something good for himself with it.
Dhanush goes & gets himself his coveted dream-a Bajaj Pulsar.Now things start looking good for him, as he gets a job in a bank as a collection agent, his father slowly starts respecting him & he gets his girl too.Its at that juncture that the bike is stolen.Dhanush & his friends move around frantically in search of the bike.
Thats when it is known that the bike had been taken by an underworld gang ( Daniel Balaji) while fleeing from a place after committing a murder. In the interim period Dhanush loses his job, his father is beaten up by Daniel's men & he is almost about to lose his girl too.Then it becomes a curious cat & mouse game between the two against the dark bylanes of north chennai.
The censor board has butchered a lot of scenes & there's heaving muting of sound throught the film.Inspite of that the film keeps you arrested right till the end.Technically well shot ( could have been appreciated more if the censors hadnt butchered so much), the director seems to be in good control throughout.Dhanush is the life of the movie, Daniel Balaji is also good.Their confrontation scenes have a lot of spark.
Ramya is adequate, comedy by Karunas & Santhanam is decent.Music by G.V.Prakash Kumar is good especially the Engeyum Eppodhum remix.After Kireedam G.V has scored another winner.All in all a good movie.Do watch it.
Rating- 3.5/5 ( Extra 0.5 for Vettrimaran & Dhanush)
It takes guts & a lot of thought to make a movie like this,thats for sure.The story is inspired by the all time classic-Vittoria De Sica's 1949 movie-The Bicylce Thieves & a chinese movie- Beijing Bicycle.What is interesting is that the director has taken the basic thread from these movies & intervowen it with the North Chennai underworld to give it a new interpretation alltogether.
Dhanush is the son of Murali ( Malayalam actor) & Bhanupriya.He along with his friends Karunas,Santhanam etc are all without jobs & only loiter around and while away their time.Dhanush likes Ramya ( Kannada's leading heroine) but has not been able to express the same to her.One day when his father finds out that he has stolen money from home, he gives him Rs.70,000 & asks him to do something good for himself with it.
Dhanush goes & gets himself his coveted dream-a Bajaj Pulsar.Now things start looking good for him, as he gets a job in a bank as a collection agent, his father slowly starts respecting him & he gets his girl too.Its at that juncture that the bike is stolen.Dhanush & his friends move around frantically in search of the bike.
Thats when it is known that the bike had been taken by an underworld gang ( Daniel Balaji) while fleeing from a place after committing a murder. In the interim period Dhanush loses his job, his father is beaten up by Daniel's men & he is almost about to lose his girl too.Then it becomes a curious cat & mouse game between the two against the dark bylanes of north chennai.
The censor board has butchered a lot of scenes & there's heaving muting of sound throught the film.Inspite of that the film keeps you arrested right till the end.Technically well shot ( could have been appreciated more if the censors hadnt butchered so much), the director seems to be in good control throughout.Dhanush is the life of the movie, Daniel Balaji is also good.Their confrontation scenes have a lot of spark.
Ramya is adequate, comedy by Karunas & Santhanam is decent.Music by G.V.Prakash Kumar is good especially the Engeyum Eppodhum remix.After Kireedam G.V has scored another winner.All in all a good movie.Do watch it.
Rating- 3.5/5 ( Extra 0.5 for Vettrimaran & Dhanush)
Friday, November 16, 2007
Rock & Roll-A Quick Review ( Malayalam)
After Kaioppu with Mammooty writer-director Renjith is back this time with Mohanlal in Rock & Roll.After a turkey like Ali Bhai & an experimental flop like Paradesi maybe this is the movie that will make both Lalettan's fans as well as the aam junta happy.
This is a light hearted musical & Renjith seems to be in fine control.The story is fairly simple- Siddique is a well known music director & he gets a project with Lal-Jose ( playing himself) when they decide that that it will be great to have a good support score on the drums by Chandramouli ( Mohanlal) who is a world famous drummer, a close friend of Siddique.
In fact they used to have a music group earlier the other members being Rehman-now a key board player, Mukesh-now a well known background music composer,Lal-once upon a time a composer but now addicted to alcohol,seperated from his wife ( Rohini)& playing the violin now & finally Salim Kumar who is a tabla player.
Well Siddique contacts Mohanlal & after some convincing he comes down to Chennai for the assignment.There he meets another old friend,Shweta Menon who's a choreographer.Though Mohan lal refuses the work initially, on seeing a new singer Daya Srinivasan ( Lakshmi Rai) practice the song, he decides to join in.
Mohan lal has a reputation of being single & a big flirt & now he surprises himself & his friends by falling for Lakshmi Rai. So when she goes back to Mumbai, unable to bear the seperation, Mohanlal after a lot of thought decides to use the only weapon he knows to bring her back to Chennai- by announcing that he is turning composer for a movie & wanting her to sing for the project.
Lakshmi Rai is coveted by her cousin who controls the family & it is with great difficulty that she manages to come over for the assignment.When Mohanlal's friends get suspicious of his plans & question the whereabouts of the film's producer, enter Jagathi as the same.So how does Mohanlal go about executing his plan & finally what happens to the love for her is what the movie gets to show.
Renjith has done a great job both as a writer & director.The casting is excellent.Mohan Lal just rocks as Chandramouli the drummer ( people can easily identify him with an eminent drummer).His restrained act & sense of timing is excellent.Just watch him in the scenes when his friends try to conrner him & learn the truth- simply superb.Lakshmi Rai has a good debut in Malayalam.Jagathi is as usual brilliant in his portrayal especially his intro scene where he speaks heavy hindustani.
The rest of the cast- Siddique,Lal,Rehman,Salim Kumar,Mukesh,Manoj.K.Jayan,Shweta Menon& Rohini are all good.Special mention must be made of Suraj Venjuramoodu who plays a composer who lifts tunes- he's simply hilarious.Music by Vidya Sagar is good & suits the mood of the musical film.All in all a good film.
Rating-3/5
This is a light hearted musical & Renjith seems to be in fine control.The story is fairly simple- Siddique is a well known music director & he gets a project with Lal-Jose ( playing himself) when they decide that that it will be great to have a good support score on the drums by Chandramouli ( Mohanlal) who is a world famous drummer, a close friend of Siddique.
In fact they used to have a music group earlier the other members being Rehman-now a key board player, Mukesh-now a well known background music composer,Lal-once upon a time a composer but now addicted to alcohol,seperated from his wife ( Rohini)& playing the violin now & finally Salim Kumar who is a tabla player.
Well Siddique contacts Mohanlal & after some convincing he comes down to Chennai for the assignment.There he meets another old friend,Shweta Menon who's a choreographer.Though Mohan lal refuses the work initially, on seeing a new singer Daya Srinivasan ( Lakshmi Rai) practice the song, he decides to join in.
Mohan lal has a reputation of being single & a big flirt & now he surprises himself & his friends by falling for Lakshmi Rai. So when she goes back to Mumbai, unable to bear the seperation, Mohanlal after a lot of thought decides to use the only weapon he knows to bring her back to Chennai- by announcing that he is turning composer for a movie & wanting her to sing for the project.
Lakshmi Rai is coveted by her cousin who controls the family & it is with great difficulty that she manages to come over for the assignment.When Mohanlal's friends get suspicious of his plans & question the whereabouts of the film's producer, enter Jagathi as the same.So how does Mohanlal go about executing his plan & finally what happens to the love for her is what the movie gets to show.
Renjith has done a great job both as a writer & director.The casting is excellent.Mohan Lal just rocks as Chandramouli the drummer ( people can easily identify him with an eminent drummer).His restrained act & sense of timing is excellent.Just watch him in the scenes when his friends try to conrner him & learn the truth- simply superb.Lakshmi Rai has a good debut in Malayalam.Jagathi is as usual brilliant in his portrayal especially his intro scene where he speaks heavy hindustani.
The rest of the cast- Siddique,Lal,Rehman,Salim Kumar,Mukesh,Manoj.K.Jayan,Shweta Menon& Rohini are all good.Special mention must be made of Suraj Venjuramoodu who plays a composer who lifts tunes- he's simply hilarious.Music by Vidya Sagar is good & suits the mood of the musical film.All in all a good film.
Rating-3/5
Monday, November 12, 2007
Saawariya-A Quick Review
So this diwali's other biggie is Saawariya, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansal,produced by Sony & launching Ranbir Kapoor & Sonam Kapoor.Though this Diwali was supposed to witness a big clash between OSO & Saawariya, it looks like OSO might just win the contest.
So why do you think I am making this statement?As much as I have been following SRK's career in Bollywood, I have also been admiring SLB's movies.But this here ( Saawariya) is undoubedtly a work of someone who has just taken the audience for granted.I can understand an Anurag Kashyap making a No Smoking ( he anyways has never bothered about audiences), but then can SLB say the same?
This is just one pompous work which deserves to go down in history as a major tragedy.Though based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's White Nights, it shamelessly tries to draw influences from Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge in terms of artwork.There are no shots taken in the open & everything seems to be shot on sets ( showing an imaginary city completely in blue).There are songs every 7-8 minutes.
There is hardly any chemistry between the lead pair which is expected in the launch of star kids like Ranbir & Sonam.Well I can go on & on abou the negatives, but then let me stop here since I'm not on a SLB bashing spree.So whats the story then?A wandering singer( Ranbir) comes to a new town & meets up with a prostitute ( Rani Mukherjee) who guides him so that he manages to fix up his stay with a kind old lady ( Zohra Sehgal).
Ranbir comes across Sonam on a bridge & instant love for him.But alas she's waiting for her lover ( Salman).So many songs and some irritating dialougues later you have Salman finally re-entering.So if any of you really want to know who gets Sonam in the end or else if you are a die-hard SLB fan please go ahead & watch it.Others including Salman fans are well advised to stay away from this one.Cinematography by Ravi.K.Chandran is not impressive this time, music by Monty is good, but you wont appreciate it much on screen.
Ok so why did I watch this movie?I wanted to know to what extent was SLB wrong in the movie ( very much) & yes it helps that I saw the movie for free :) .
Rating- 1.5/5
So why do you think I am making this statement?As much as I have been following SRK's career in Bollywood, I have also been admiring SLB's movies.But this here ( Saawariya) is undoubedtly a work of someone who has just taken the audience for granted.I can understand an Anurag Kashyap making a No Smoking ( he anyways has never bothered about audiences), but then can SLB say the same?
This is just one pompous work which deserves to go down in history as a major tragedy.Though based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's White Nights, it shamelessly tries to draw influences from Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge in terms of artwork.There are no shots taken in the open & everything seems to be shot on sets ( showing an imaginary city completely in blue).There are songs every 7-8 minutes.
There is hardly any chemistry between the lead pair which is expected in the launch of star kids like Ranbir & Sonam.Well I can go on & on abou the negatives, but then let me stop here since I'm not on a SLB bashing spree.So whats the story then?A wandering singer( Ranbir) comes to a new town & meets up with a prostitute ( Rani Mukherjee) who guides him so that he manages to fix up his stay with a kind old lady ( Zohra Sehgal).
Ranbir comes across Sonam on a bridge & instant love for him.But alas she's waiting for her lover ( Salman).So many songs and some irritating dialougues later you have Salman finally re-entering.So if any of you really want to know who gets Sonam in the end or else if you are a die-hard SLB fan please go ahead & watch it.Others including Salman fans are well advised to stay away from this one.Cinematography by Ravi.K.Chandran is not impressive this time, music by Monty is good, but you wont appreciate it much on screen.
Ok so why did I watch this movie?I wanted to know to what extent was SLB wrong in the movie ( very much) & yes it helps that I saw the movie for free :) .
Rating- 1.5/5
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Om Shanti Om- A Quick Review
The diwali big release SRK's Om Shanti Om is finally here.So are you the type who grew up on Bollywood cinema of the 70's/80's ( read the Manmohan Desai variety), who liked the opulence, grandeur, charm of the big screen magic?Are you the type who digs bollywood trivia?Are you the type who would like to see a good spoof?And most importantly are you the one who would like movies like Farah Khan's previous venture- Main Hoon Na?
If the answers to all these questions are yes, then its cheers all the way.Pop up the champagne, wear your party wear & party hard.OSO is one hell of a party all the way.Its all about SRK, its all about Farah Khan & her tribute to the 70's ka bollywood.No this one isnt just a 70's styled movie, its a take off or spoof on the 70's.Be it a look at filmmaking styles, sets, references to numerous film personalities etc.
And yes, did you ask whats the story?Well its one of the most filmed subjects in bollywood- reincarnation.SRK is Om Prakash Makhija- a junior artiste & a wannabe superstar.Supporting his dreams are his friend- Shreyas Talpade & his mother Kiron Kher- a former junior artiste herself.SRK is also dreamy eyed about the reigning bollywood queen- Deepika Padukone.
On a film location, SRK saves Deepika from a fire ( remember Sunil Dutt-Nargis story on the sets of Mother India?) and they get friendly.Just as SRK starts feeling his dreams are in control, he realises that there's something more than professional relationship between Deepika and a hot shot producer, Arjun Rampal.
Well in the process , SRK gets bumped off & now we see him in another avatar.This time he is the new superstar-Om Kapoor, son of a popular former superstar played by Javed Shaikh.The rest of the story is all about how SRK remembers his previous avatar & then takes revenge.The climax is differently taken.
Be it the opening scene ( Rishi Kapoor shooting for the Om Shanti Om number in Karz :) ), or the Film Fare awards scene ( brilliant) or the tamil movie shooting staged by SRK to impress Deepika ( hilarious), the song with 31 stars or the now famous Dard-De - "6 pack abs" Disco song, there's enough & more gags to keep you glued to the screen.
SRK, the actor is in good form & hams a lot , but here thats what the script demands.Deepika makes a great debut.She doesnt have to speak much, but her presence is heightened in all her scenes.Arjun Rampal & Shreyas Talpade impress. Kiron Kher is quite funny.Manikandan's camera work,Sabu Cyril's art work & Vishal-Shekhar's music elevate the film a lot.All the songs are good, quite a rarity these days.
And the song during the end credits- mindblowing as Farah introduces the entire crew to us.How many film makers acknowledge the rest of their crew this way.
Farah & SRK , take a bow.You have a winner in your hands.
Rating- 3.5/5 ( 0.5 extra for the end credits)
If the answers to all these questions are yes, then its cheers all the way.Pop up the champagne, wear your party wear & party hard.OSO is one hell of a party all the way.Its all about SRK, its all about Farah Khan & her tribute to the 70's ka bollywood.No this one isnt just a 70's styled movie, its a take off or spoof on the 70's.Be it a look at filmmaking styles, sets, references to numerous film personalities etc.
And yes, did you ask whats the story?Well its one of the most filmed subjects in bollywood- reincarnation.SRK is Om Prakash Makhija- a junior artiste & a wannabe superstar.Supporting his dreams are his friend- Shreyas Talpade & his mother Kiron Kher- a former junior artiste herself.SRK is also dreamy eyed about the reigning bollywood queen- Deepika Padukone.
On a film location, SRK saves Deepika from a fire ( remember Sunil Dutt-Nargis story on the sets of Mother India?) and they get friendly.Just as SRK starts feeling his dreams are in control, he realises that there's something more than professional relationship between Deepika and a hot shot producer, Arjun Rampal.
Well in the process , SRK gets bumped off & now we see him in another avatar.This time he is the new superstar-Om Kapoor, son of a popular former superstar played by Javed Shaikh.The rest of the story is all about how SRK remembers his previous avatar & then takes revenge.The climax is differently taken.
Be it the opening scene ( Rishi Kapoor shooting for the Om Shanti Om number in Karz :) ), or the Film Fare awards scene ( brilliant) or the tamil movie shooting staged by SRK to impress Deepika ( hilarious), the song with 31 stars or the now famous Dard-De - "6 pack abs" Disco song, there's enough & more gags to keep you glued to the screen.
SRK, the actor is in good form & hams a lot , but here thats what the script demands.Deepika makes a great debut.She doesnt have to speak much, but her presence is heightened in all her scenes.Arjun Rampal & Shreyas Talpade impress. Kiron Kher is quite funny.Manikandan's camera work,Sabu Cyril's art work & Vishal-Shekhar's music elevate the film a lot.All the songs are good, quite a rarity these days.
And the song during the end credits- mindblowing as Farah introduces the entire crew to us.How many film makers acknowledge the rest of their crew this way.
Farah & SRK , take a bow.You have a winner in your hands.
Rating- 3.5/5 ( 0.5 extra for the end credits)
Azhagiya Tamil Magan- A Quick Review ( Tamil)
Though this was the most eagerly awaited Kollywood diwali release, Vijay's Azhagiya Tamil Magan has turned to be a damp squib.Directed by Bharhathan it also has Vijay in a dual role for the first time.
The first vijay (good guy) is an MBA student & ace athlete who falls in love with Shreya, a very rich industrialists daughter.One fine day out of the blue, he realises that he has extra sensory perception (ESP) & in one of his visions he sees himself stabbing Shreya.So in order to avoid this happening he goes away from there.
Here comes the other Vijay ( bad guy) who is a crook.Shreya mistakes him for the good guy & brings him home. Now he begins to have a great time at the good guy's expense.When the good guy knows this he comes back to confront the bad guy & how the story culmintates is what this excuse of a movie is all about.
If Vijay thought a dual role is only about voice modulation ( the bad guy's way of speaking gets irritating after a while) then he needs to avoid doing any more dual roles.Shreya does not have much to do.Ditto for Ashish Vidyarthi & Sayaji Shinde.Namitha is there in a blink & miss role ( 2 scenes & a song)Santhanam's comedy is o.k.Music by A.H.Rehman is so bad, you cringe when you remember it is his work.
Technically also the movie is quite shoddy.All in a all its a losing proposition for Vijay, Bharhathan & Appachan ( producer).
Rating- 1.5/5 ( I think I have been a bit liberal here :) )
The first vijay (good guy) is an MBA student & ace athlete who falls in love with Shreya, a very rich industrialists daughter.One fine day out of the blue, he realises that he has extra sensory perception (ESP) & in one of his visions he sees himself stabbing Shreya.So in order to avoid this happening he goes away from there.
Here comes the other Vijay ( bad guy) who is a crook.Shreya mistakes him for the good guy & brings him home. Now he begins to have a great time at the good guy's expense.When the good guy knows this he comes back to confront the bad guy & how the story culmintates is what this excuse of a movie is all about.
If Vijay thought a dual role is only about voice modulation ( the bad guy's way of speaking gets irritating after a while) then he needs to avoid doing any more dual roles.Shreya does not have much to do.Ditto for Ashish Vidyarthi & Sayaji Shinde.Namitha is there in a blink & miss role ( 2 scenes & a song)Santhanam's comedy is o.k.Music by A.H.Rehman is so bad, you cringe when you remember it is his work.
Technically also the movie is quite shoddy.All in a all its a losing proposition for Vijay, Bharhathan & Appachan ( producer).
Rating- 1.5/5 ( I think I have been a bit liberal here :) )
Vel- A Quick Review ( Tamil)
Hari is back with what he knows best - movie set in South Tamilnadu with loads, of action laced with family sentiment.This time in Vel he has Surya in a double role.Though the plot is very very predictable, credit goes to Hari for making it fast, engrossing & trying to steer away from cliches most of the time.
Charan Raj & Saranya are the parents of twin sons.One night in a train, a beggar kidnaps one of the babies for the jewellery lying on the baby.This Surya is taken up by a large family headed by Lakshmi in rural Dindigul.The other Surya grows up in Chennai with his parents.While the one in Dindigul becomes a typical zamindar heir with lots of temperament for settling things with the fist, the other is a composed detective in a private detective agency.
The city Surya falls in love with Asin ( 7 Up Swati- a T.V Anchor!!!) & after some hitches their romance gets going full swing.On one visit to Chennai, the rural Surya gets to see the city Surya & his parents.Similarly the city Surya comes to know about the other Surya's existence & hence decides to go over to the village & meet the other Surya & the family.
After some melodrama both the brothers swap places.The city Surya who is now in the village goes hammer & tongs to take revenge on the villain Kalabhavan Mani who had killed the other Surya's foster parents.Of course after all this there's the mandatory happy ending.
Surya looks convincing in both the roles.Asin is quite adequate & Kalabhavan Mani hams a lot.Music by Yuvan is a big let down.All in all a good diwali entertainer.
Rating- 2.5/5
Charan Raj & Saranya are the parents of twin sons.One night in a train, a beggar kidnaps one of the babies for the jewellery lying on the baby.This Surya is taken up by a large family headed by Lakshmi in rural Dindigul.The other Surya grows up in Chennai with his parents.While the one in Dindigul becomes a typical zamindar heir with lots of temperament for settling things with the fist, the other is a composed detective in a private detective agency.
The city Surya falls in love with Asin ( 7 Up Swati- a T.V Anchor!!!) & after some hitches their romance gets going full swing.On one visit to Chennai, the rural Surya gets to see the city Surya & his parents.Similarly the city Surya comes to know about the other Surya's existence & hence decides to go over to the village & meet the other Surya & the family.
After some melodrama both the brothers swap places.The city Surya who is now in the village goes hammer & tongs to take revenge on the villain Kalabhavan Mani who had killed the other Surya's foster parents.Of course after all this there's the mandatory happy ending.
Surya looks convincing in both the roles.Asin is quite adequate & Kalabhavan Mani hams a lot.Music by Yuvan is a big let down.All in all a good diwali entertainer.
Rating- 2.5/5
Diwali- Dhamaka!!!
Well here' wishing all of you a very happy & prosperous diwali.Hope all of you are having a great weekend.What better way to unwind this festival weekend apart from watching the diwali releases?Bollywood has seen the biggies- Om Shanti Om & Saawariya release.Though opening collections have been good for both.Reports clearly indicate that OSO is the likely winner.
Kollywood has seen 6 releases- Vijay's Azhagiya Tamil Magan (ATM), Surya's Vel, Dhanush's Polladhavan, Jeevan's Machakaran, Sathyaraj-Prithviraj starrer-Kannamoochi Enada & an all new star cast in Agra.Initial reports indicate that Vel is the likely winner with Polladhavan following closely behind.ATM is turning out to be big turkey!!!
Will be out with the my diwali reviews shortly.Keep watching this space!!!
Kollywood has seen 6 releases- Vijay's Azhagiya Tamil Magan (ATM), Surya's Vel, Dhanush's Polladhavan, Jeevan's Machakaran, Sathyaraj-Prithviraj starrer-Kannamoochi Enada & an all new star cast in Agra.Initial reports indicate that Vel is the likely winner with Polladhavan following closely behind.ATM is turning out to be big turkey!!!
Will be out with the my diwali reviews shortly.Keep watching this space!!!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Athithi-A Quick Review
Athithi is Mahesh Babu's much awaited movie this year.People are still talking about his Pokiri while conveniently having forgotten his last release Sainikudu which was a washout.So does Surendar Reddy ( Anthanokkade, Ashok) the director deliver with Athithi?The answer is both a yes & a no.While he scores on the technical front, he falters on the script which could have been better.
Mahesh is an orphan in Delhi, he is taken in by a couple after he saves their daughter & renamed athithi.One night somebody kills the couple & the blame falls on Mahes & he is put in a reform home.When he comes out he wants to nab the killer & find his friend- the heroine.
He once again saves the girl unknowingly ( Amrita Rao ) from some hooligans & they promptly fall in love.He then gets to know her reality & so now wants to protect her as well as identify the killer.He follows her to Hyderabad where she lives with her uncle ( Nasser) the Home Minister & his family.
The killer is now trying to kill Amrita Rao & its Mahesh Babu the saviour who comes in the way. So who is the killer & what happens at the end is what the rest of the story all about.Comedy is in the form of Sunil,Brahmanandam & Venu Madhav. Sunil-Brahmanandam's scenes , though few still raise a few laughs in the 2nd half.The ending reminds you of Kamalhasaan's Ragahvan ( Vettaiyadu Vilayadu in tamil).
Nasser has nothing much to do, Murli Sharma the latest Bollywood export to Tollywood is quite efficient.Amrita Rao sparkles & puts in a neat performance.Music by Mani Sharma is decent but not great.Malaika Arora is red hot in her item number.But its Mahesh Babu who is the life of the movie.His looks, mannerisms & dialogue delivery are all very stylish.
All in all its a mass masala movie, not bad for a weekend if you dont have other options.But Surendar Reddy you have not repeated the Anthanokkade act here !!!
Rating- 2.5/5
Mahesh is an orphan in Delhi, he is taken in by a couple after he saves their daughter & renamed athithi.One night somebody kills the couple & the blame falls on Mahes & he is put in a reform home.When he comes out he wants to nab the killer & find his friend- the heroine.
He once again saves the girl unknowingly ( Amrita Rao ) from some hooligans & they promptly fall in love.He then gets to know her reality & so now wants to protect her as well as identify the killer.He follows her to Hyderabad where she lives with her uncle ( Nasser) the Home Minister & his family.
The killer is now trying to kill Amrita Rao & its Mahesh Babu the saviour who comes in the way. So who is the killer & what happens at the end is what the rest of the story all about.Comedy is in the form of Sunil,Brahmanandam & Venu Madhav. Sunil-Brahmanandam's scenes , though few still raise a few laughs in the 2nd half.The ending reminds you of Kamalhasaan's Ragahvan ( Vettaiyadu Vilayadu in tamil).
Nasser has nothing much to do, Murli Sharma the latest Bollywood export to Tollywood is quite efficient.Amrita Rao sparkles & puts in a neat performance.Music by Mani Sharma is decent but not great.Malaika Arora is red hot in her item number.But its Mahesh Babu who is the life of the movie.His looks, mannerisms & dialogue delivery are all very stylish.
All in all its a mass masala movie, not bad for a weekend if you dont have other options.But Surendar Reddy you have not repeated the Anthanokkade act here !!!
Rating- 2.5/5
Saturday, November 3, 2007
No Smoking- A Quick Review
Anurag Kashyap's No Smoking is definitely a leaf out of his own book.Its his expression of himself.Its also a test to find out how many people sympathise with such subjects ( very few going by the no.of people in the auditorium !!!).
John Abraham plays "K" a rich successfully guy who is a chain smoker.His wife -Ayesha Takia cant take his smoking anymore.Thats when his friend "Abbas Tyrewala" ( Ranvir Sheorey) advices him to go to a Prayogshala for remedy.The prayogshala is run by Baba Bengali (Paresh Rawal).
John is forced to sign a contract & its then a downward spiral from there.Everytime he smokes a cigarette, bizzare things happen to him like his brother getting kidnapped.So far the plot seems to be a bearable, but hereafter things out of hand- literally!!!
John now revolts & ends up paying badly.It becomes a cat & mouse game.In between we see Ayesha as both his secaretary & wife ( roles keep interchanging).There are shots of Siberia thrown in, representation of hell etc.
Finally its the bath tub sequences and the two item numbers ( the Bips number comes right after the end credits !) which you can remember with clarity. Tough to say whether Anurag lost it in the 2nd half or made a masterpiece.Its too tough to comprehend for ordinary mortals.
Rating- Strictly from the critical angle- 2/5 ( actually very tough to rate such movies).The rating includes 1 point to Anurag for his guts to make such a movie.
John Abraham plays "K" a rich successfully guy who is a chain smoker.His wife -Ayesha Takia cant take his smoking anymore.Thats when his friend "Abbas Tyrewala" ( Ranvir Sheorey) advices him to go to a Prayogshala for remedy.The prayogshala is run by Baba Bengali (Paresh Rawal).
John is forced to sign a contract & its then a downward spiral from there.Everytime he smokes a cigarette, bizzare things happen to him like his brother getting kidnapped.So far the plot seems to be a bearable, but hereafter things out of hand- literally!!!
John now revolts & ends up paying badly.It becomes a cat & mouse game.In between we see Ayesha as both his secaretary & wife ( roles keep interchanging).There are shots of Siberia thrown in, representation of hell etc.
Finally its the bath tub sequences and the two item numbers ( the Bips number comes right after the end credits !) which you can remember with clarity. Tough to say whether Anurag lost it in the 2nd half or made a masterpiece.Its too tough to comprehend for ordinary mortals.
Rating- Strictly from the critical angle- 2/5 ( actually very tough to rate such movies).The rating includes 1 point to Anurag for his guts to make such a movie.
Jab We Met-A Quick Review
Imtiaz Ali is back after that sweet little love tale- Socha Na Tha, this time with Jab We Met.We see the Shahid-Kareena pair for the 4th time ( Fida,Chup Chupke,36 China Town) & this is definitely the best of them all.
The chemistry shows wonderfully & you actually hope that itsnt their last movie together with all the controversy behind them!!!The plot is very simple- Shahid is a failure both professionally & personally and is planning to end his life.
He comes across Kareena in a train.She's a nosiy, slightly irritating girl & somehow they end up missing the train in between.She then threatens him to drop her home all the way in Bhatinda,Punjab.Thus begins a DDLJ style journey home.
Kareena is in love with Tarun Arora & plans to elope.Her family reminds you of Pyar To Hona hi tha.As Shahid helps her elope, her family thinks they eloped together.Shahid returns to his business & he now gets super successful ( wow!if only things coudl be so simple).
Her family now confronts him thinking she is with him.He learns that she is in Shimla & that she has been jilted by her lover.Thus begins another journey to get her back home.And yes its a predicatable happy ending.Though the plot is very familiar it is very easy going & you just float along.Kareena is the soul of the movie & has some whack one liners.
Music by Preetham is good especially Mauja hi mauja.Go for this fun ride!!!
Rating-3/5
The chemistry shows wonderfully & you actually hope that itsnt their last movie together with all the controversy behind them!!!The plot is very simple- Shahid is a failure both professionally & personally and is planning to end his life.
He comes across Kareena in a train.She's a nosiy, slightly irritating girl & somehow they end up missing the train in between.She then threatens him to drop her home all the way in Bhatinda,Punjab.Thus begins a DDLJ style journey home.
Kareena is in love with Tarun Arora & plans to elope.Her family reminds you of Pyar To Hona hi tha.As Shahid helps her elope, her family thinks they eloped together.Shahid returns to his business & he now gets super successful ( wow!if only things coudl be so simple).
Her family now confronts him thinking she is with him.He learns that she is in Shimla & that she has been jilted by her lover.Thus begins another journey to get her back home.And yes its a predicatable happy ending.Though the plot is very familiar it is very easy going & you just float along.Kareena is the soul of the movie & has some whack one liners.
Music by Preetham is good especially Mauja hi mauja.Go for this fun ride!!!
Rating-3/5
Nasarani- A Quick Review (Malayalam)
The Joshy directed Ranjit written Nasarani is Mammooty's Ramzan release. As David John Kottarathil, it is an "achayan"role once again for Mammooka.Its a typical masala venture with all elements being wowen in ( except for songs).
Mamooty's wedding to Vimala Raman is called off as his father (Capt.Raj) accidentally shoots dead her father on the engagement day.10 years later one sees Mammooty swooping down upon a women's college where Vimala is a Professor.he whisks her away to a mountain top to celebrate their 10th year anniversary of love and a pending marriage !!!
Vimala's half sister is a medico who is on the run as she is accused of murdering a politician (Vijayaraghavan's son).Now Mammooty becomes the saviour & unravels the mystery.In between one comes across a lot of character's like Biju Menon ( the minister's elder son), Lalu Alex ( a cop), Kalabhavan Mani, Maniampillai Raju, Bharat Gopi etc who are all Mammooka's confidants.
Overall its just old wine in new packaging.
Rating- 2.5/5 ( Extra 0.5 for Mammooka in a typical kottayam achayan role-he's good)
Mamooty's wedding to Vimala Raman is called off as his father (Capt.Raj) accidentally shoots dead her father on the engagement day.10 years later one sees Mammooty swooping down upon a women's college where Vimala is a Professor.he whisks her away to a mountain top to celebrate their 10th year anniversary of love and a pending marriage !!!
Vimala's half sister is a medico who is on the run as she is accused of murdering a politician (Vijayaraghavan's son).Now Mammooty becomes the saviour & unravels the mystery.In between one comes across a lot of character's like Biju Menon ( the minister's elder son), Lalu Alex ( a cop), Kalabhavan Mani, Maniampillai Raju, Bharat Gopi etc who are all Mammooka's confidants.
Overall its just old wine in new packaging.
Rating- 2.5/5 ( Extra 0.5 for Mammooka in a typical kottayam achayan role-he's good)
Chocolate-A Quick Review (Malayalam)
Shafi ( Thommanum Makkalam,Mayavi) is back again, this time with a college romantic entertainer-Chocolate.The premise of the movie is interesting.In a women's college,a Professor's
son ( Prithviraj who has been thrown out of various colleges for violence ) is admitted in a P.G course following the use of a loophole though the parents protest the same.
This upsets Roma, Samvrutha & Remya Nambisan who are the tomboys ruling the college.Sensing a danger to their rule, they oppose Prithiviraj.The encounters between them are very light hearted & entertaining.
In the midst of all this Prithvi & Roma fall in love.Prithvi's friend Jayasuriya is in love wit Samvrutha.How the love stories climax is the rest of the story.Salim Kumar,Lalu Alex, etc make up a good supporting cast.
Music by Alex Paul ( reminds you of Classmates ) is good- Ishtamalle being the pick of the lot.
The movie is rocking Kerala's box office now.
Rating-3/5
son ( Prithviraj who has been thrown out of various colleges for violence ) is admitted in a P.G course following the use of a loophole though the parents protest the same.
This upsets Roma, Samvrutha & Remya Nambisan who are the tomboys ruling the college.Sensing a danger to their rule, they oppose Prithiviraj.The encounters between them are very light hearted & entertaining.
In the midst of all this Prithvi & Roma fall in love.Prithvi's friend Jayasuriya is in love wit Samvrutha.How the love stories climax is the rest of the story.Salim Kumar,Lalu Alex, etc make up a good supporting cast.
Music by Alex Paul ( reminds you of Classmates ) is good- Ishtamalle being the pick of the lot.
The movie is rocking Kerala's box office now.
Rating-3/5
Paradesi-A Quick Review ( Malayalam)
Hey!finally I come out with my first malayalam film review.And what a movie it happens to be-Paradesi- directed by P.T.Kunhimohammed & starring the wonderful Mohanlal in a lifelike role is not your typical entertainer but for those who love serious cinema.
The movie depicts the real life tragedy of people trapped in their own country as foreigners ( paradesis).Sometime before Indian independence there were quite a few malayalees especially malabar muslims who had moved to Pakistan for work leaving their kin behind in Kerala.After independence they were neither here nor there, not wanted anywhere.
Paradesi is the tale of one such individual -Valiyakathu Moosa ( Mohanlal) who keeps getting shunted back to Pakistan every time his visa expires.He tries to finally hide behind at home & even tries to legally stay on.But fate intervenes & he is finally deported once again.
The movie keeps shifting between past & present.Mohanlal in 3 different life stages-35,55-60 & 80-85 is the life of the movie. Its an award winning performance.All the supporting cast like Shweta Menon (Mohanlal's wife), Laksmi Gopalswamy, Jagathi, Siddique etc are all very good.The pace of the movie is a let down at times.
The make-up & props used highten the movie.Kunhimohammed & Mohanlal deserve a pat on their back for this brave attempt.
Rating-3.5/5
The movie depicts the real life tragedy of people trapped in their own country as foreigners ( paradesis).Sometime before Indian independence there were quite a few malayalees especially malabar muslims who had moved to Pakistan for work leaving their kin behind in Kerala.After independence they were neither here nor there, not wanted anywhere.
Paradesi is the tale of one such individual -Valiyakathu Moosa ( Mohanlal) who keeps getting shunted back to Pakistan every time his visa expires.He tries to finally hide behind at home & even tries to legally stay on.But fate intervenes & he is finally deported once again.
The movie keeps shifting between past & present.Mohanlal in 3 different life stages-35,55-60 & 80-85 is the life of the movie. Its an award winning performance.All the supporting cast like Shweta Menon (Mohanlal's wife), Laksmi Gopalswamy, Jagathi, Siddique etc are all very good.The pace of the movie is a let down at times.
The make-up & props used highten the movie.Kunhimohammed & Mohanlal deserve a pat on their back for this brave attempt.
Rating-3.5/5
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
After a break
Friends its been a while since I've blogged, been busy @ work & then was held up with my brother's wedding and the related activities.
But in the meanwhile there hasnt been much action on the movie front.Speed-though a decent take-off on Cellular has not done well at the box office.Nothing much happening on the tamil front either.Telugu industry saw the release of Venaktesh-Nayanthara starrer-Thulasi ( doing decent business) & Mahesh Babu's latest Athithi which also has Amrita Rao in her first telugu flick.
Athihi is probably a hit but not in the league of Okkadu,Athadu or Pokiri.Malayalam cinema saw 4 movies releasing for Ramzan- Mohanlal's Paradesi, Mammooty's Nasarani, Prithviraj's Chocolate & Suresh Gopi's Black Cat.Surprisingly the winner is Chocolate.Last friday ( 26th Oct) also saw the release of Jab We Met ( Shahid,Kareena ) No Smoking ( John Abraham, Ayesha Takia).
Will come out with my reviews for most of these movies soon, very soon.
But in the meanwhile there hasnt been much action on the movie front.Speed-though a decent take-off on Cellular has not done well at the box office.Nothing much happening on the tamil front either.Telugu industry saw the release of Venaktesh-Nayanthara starrer-Thulasi ( doing decent business) & Mahesh Babu's latest Athithi which also has Amrita Rao in her first telugu flick.
Athihi is probably a hit but not in the league of Okkadu,Athadu or Pokiri.Malayalam cinema saw 4 movies releasing for Ramzan- Mohanlal's Paradesi, Mammooty's Nasarani, Prithviraj's Chocolate & Suresh Gopi's Black Cat.Surprisingly the winner is Chocolate.Last friday ( 26th Oct) also saw the release of Jab We Met ( Shahid,Kareena ) No Smoking ( John Abraham, Ayesha Takia).
Will come out with my reviews for most of these movies soon, very soon.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag-A Quick Review
Well some of my friends and my brother say that I have always had a soft corner for Yash Raj Films & their movies. While I wont deny their claim completely it is also true i feel that these days they have been churning out quite a few uneventful movies some which like Fanaa have unfortunately been successfull & some of it like Tara Rum Pum, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom etc have bitten the dust.
Here comes one more such uneventul film from their stable-Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (LCMD).Directed by Pradeep Sarkar the veteran ad film maker & director of movies like Balo Theko ( Bengali which introduced Vidya Balan) & Parineeta and starring good actors like Rani Mukherjee, Konkona Sen,Jaya Bhaduri, Abhishek Bachchan etc, this could have been an excellent combination to boast of.
Alas the subject of the movie is a big let down- its inspired by a Marathi short story ,Doghi written by Vijay Tendulkar which was made into a play & a marathi movie of the same name.It also bears resemblance to Aaina a movie starring Mumtaz & Rajesh Khanna in the 1970's which was a remade by K.Balachandar from his own tamil movie-Aval Oru Thodarkathai.
Well going back to the plot, Anupam Kher & Jaya Bhaduri lived a miserable life in Varanasi.They have only tales of old glory left.Even their haveli is under legal dispute with their relatives laying stake- Tinnu Anand & Sushant Singh.Rani Mukherjee & Konkona Sen play the free spirited daughters.One fine day when things get very difficult,Rani decides to support the family & goes to Mumbai to work.
So as usual she is made to compromise in order to make ends meet & ends up becoming a high class "escort" in order to ensure things at home are taken care of!!!Well she also ends up meeting Abhishek Bachchan in Switzerland, but has to move out of there soon.Konkona comes over to Mumbai and gets a job in an ad agency.She also falls in love with Kunal Kapoor, a colleague.
Alls well till here, when Konkona finds out about her sister's profession.But she doesnt let her down & insists Rani accompnay her for the wedding.Thats when its known that Abhishek is Kunal's bada bhai.Well I hope you all can understand that the story ends on a predicatble happy note.
The whole story is so so predicatable, you can take lots of breaks in between & still know where the story has reached!Performances are decent, music is just ok with only the first song-Humto aise hain bhaiyya staying on your mind.While Varanasi & Switzerland have been shot well ( expected from YashRaj Films), there is nothing much to redeem the movie.Certainly a disappointment from Yash Raj & Pradeeo Sarkar.
Rating-1.5/5
Here comes one more such uneventul film from their stable-Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (LCMD).Directed by Pradeep Sarkar the veteran ad film maker & director of movies like Balo Theko ( Bengali which introduced Vidya Balan) & Parineeta and starring good actors like Rani Mukherjee, Konkona Sen,Jaya Bhaduri, Abhishek Bachchan etc, this could have been an excellent combination to boast of.
Alas the subject of the movie is a big let down- its inspired by a Marathi short story ,Doghi written by Vijay Tendulkar which was made into a play & a marathi movie of the same name.It also bears resemblance to Aaina a movie starring Mumtaz & Rajesh Khanna in the 1970's which was a remade by K.Balachandar from his own tamil movie-Aval Oru Thodarkathai.
Well going back to the plot, Anupam Kher & Jaya Bhaduri lived a miserable life in Varanasi.They have only tales of old glory left.Even their haveli is under legal dispute with their relatives laying stake- Tinnu Anand & Sushant Singh.Rani Mukherjee & Konkona Sen play the free spirited daughters.One fine day when things get very difficult,Rani decides to support the family & goes to Mumbai to work.
So as usual she is made to compromise in order to make ends meet & ends up becoming a high class "escort" in order to ensure things at home are taken care of!!!Well she also ends up meeting Abhishek Bachchan in Switzerland, but has to move out of there soon.Konkona comes over to Mumbai and gets a job in an ad agency.She also falls in love with Kunal Kapoor, a colleague.
Alls well till here, when Konkona finds out about her sister's profession.But she doesnt let her down & insists Rani accompnay her for the wedding.Thats when its known that Abhishek is Kunal's bada bhai.Well I hope you all can understand that the story ends on a predicatble happy note.
The whole story is so so predicatable, you can take lots of breaks in between & still know where the story has reached!Performances are decent, music is just ok with only the first song-Humto aise hain bhaiyya staying on your mind.While Varanasi & Switzerland have been shot well ( expected from YashRaj Films), there is nothing much to redeem the movie.Certainly a disappointment from Yash Raj & Pradeeo Sarkar.
Rating-1.5/5
Friday, October 12, 2007
Bhool Bhulaiyaa-A Quick Review
Well the big Eid release-Bhool Bhulaiyaa is here.Priyadarshan is back again & yes this is another remake.But no its not a remake of Chandramukhi ( the Rajnikant hit Tam/Telugu movie made by P.Vasu which in itself was a frame to frame remake of P.Vasu's own Kannada hit-Apthamitra which in turn was "inspired" by the malayalam
movie Manichitrathazhu by Fazil) thankully its a remake of the original mallu movie-Manichitrathazhu by Fazil.
This malayalam movie ( Mohanlal,Shobana,Suresh Gopi) is a modern day classic within the mainstream genre & shared the National Award in 1993 for Best Film providing Wholesome Entertainment along with Darr.But for those expecting a Priyan's trademark, please be warned- this is not a comedy.Its a psychological thriller with doses of comedy thrown in.Coming to BB's plot ( for those who havent seen any of the 4 south Indian versions :) ), Shiney Ahuja & Vidya Balan are newly married & come down to their home town from the U.S.
They have a large extended family-Manoj Joshi,Paresh Rawal,Rasika Joshi,Amisha Patel etc.When Shiney & Vidya decide they want to stay in their pushtaini ( old traditional) haveli, the family throws a fit since the haveli is supposed to be haunted.After some mishaps everyone stays in the haveli & people suspect Amisha Patel of being ghost possessed.
Well its nearly interval time & thats when our hero Akshay arrives-he's Shiney's friend-a well known Psychiatrist.How he goes along to solve the mystery is the rest of the story.Performances wise Akshay is in form, since its a role laced with humour, which comes naturally to him.Shiney Ahuja is ok, though people will like Vidya Balan here, her performance pales in comparison to those who have played the roel earlier like Shobana ( malayalam), Soundarya ( kannada) & Jyothika ( Tam/Telugu).
Amisha Patel doesnt thankfully have any emotional scenes, Manoj Joshi does well.Paresh Rawal & Asrani are ok but dont have too much to do here, same for Rajpal Yadav.Music by Pritam is good- especially the title track which is rocking the nation ( hey!it comes at the end of the movie with the end credits, so junta stay on for the same)& Labon se.
Priyan who was associated with the original mallu movie also is sure to take the bollywood audience by storm.For more or less sticking to the original script & daring to bring the hero almost as late as the interval but still making gains out of the same,credit goes to him.
The holiday crowd ( Eid & weekend) along with the title track + Priyan-Akshay combo will ensure a terrific start for the movie.Go watch this one, its one different journey.
Rating-3/5
movie Manichitrathazhu by Fazil) thankully its a remake of the original mallu movie-Manichitrathazhu by Fazil.
This malayalam movie ( Mohanlal,Shobana,Suresh Gopi) is a modern day classic within the mainstream genre & shared the National Award in 1993 for Best Film providing Wholesome Entertainment along with Darr.But for those expecting a Priyan's trademark, please be warned- this is not a comedy.Its a psychological thriller with doses of comedy thrown in.Coming to BB's plot ( for those who havent seen any of the 4 south Indian versions :) ), Shiney Ahuja & Vidya Balan are newly married & come down to their home town from the U.S.
They have a large extended family-Manoj Joshi,Paresh Rawal,Rasika Joshi,Amisha Patel etc.When Shiney & Vidya decide they want to stay in their pushtaini ( old traditional) haveli, the family throws a fit since the haveli is supposed to be haunted.After some mishaps everyone stays in the haveli & people suspect Amisha Patel of being ghost possessed.
Well its nearly interval time & thats when our hero Akshay arrives-he's Shiney's friend-a well known Psychiatrist.How he goes along to solve the mystery is the rest of the story.Performances wise Akshay is in form, since its a role laced with humour, which comes naturally to him.Shiney Ahuja is ok, though people will like Vidya Balan here, her performance pales in comparison to those who have played the roel earlier like Shobana ( malayalam), Soundarya ( kannada) & Jyothika ( Tam/Telugu).
Amisha Patel doesnt thankfully have any emotional scenes, Manoj Joshi does well.Paresh Rawal & Asrani are ok but dont have too much to do here, same for Rajpal Yadav.Music by Pritam is good- especially the title track which is rocking the nation ( hey!it comes at the end of the movie with the end credits, so junta stay on for the same)& Labon se.
Priyan who was associated with the original mallu movie also is sure to take the bollywood audience by storm.For more or less sticking to the original script & daring to bring the hero almost as late as the interval but still making gains out of the same,credit goes to him.
The holiday crowd ( Eid & weekend) along with the title track + Priyan-Akshay combo will ensure a terrific start for the movie.Go watch this one, its one different journey.
Rating-3/5
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Eid Mubarak- Bhool Bhulaiyya Vs Laaga Chunari Mein Daag
Well its Eid & a major time for festival releases in Bollywood.This time its two biggies- T.Series with Bhool Bhulaiyya Vs Yash Raj Films with Laaga Chunari Mein Daag.Its an interesting clash, one- a subject made succesfully in all the 4 south Indian launguages & the other a supposedly bold attempt.
Actors in both sides are top notch & the music too is rocking the charts.So is it gonna be Priyan,Akshay,Vidya,Shiney etc in Bhool Bhulaiyya or Pradeep Sarkar, Rani,Abhishek etc in LCMD who will win the battle at the Box Office?
As a film buff I am hoping both do well.Will keep the updates going this weekend.Do look out for this space............
Actors in both sides are top notch & the music too is rocking the charts.So is it gonna be Priyan,Akshay,Vidya,Shiney etc in Bhool Bhulaiyya or Pradeep Sarkar, Rani,Abhishek etc in LCMD who will win the battle at the Box Office?
As a film buff I am hoping both do well.Will keep the updates going this weekend.Do look out for this space............
Katrathu Tamil- A Quick Review (Tamil)
I had the privilege of watching a special show of this movie with my good friend,Kishore @ Priyadarshan's Four Frames Preview Theatre in Chennai.It turned out to be a good experience.Starring Jeeva & directed by a new comer-Ram ( but doesnt look like a debutant director's effort!), this one has class written all over it.
Its about the trials & anguish a Tamil M.A qualified school teacher, played by Jeeva goes through.He only has his childhood girlfriend ( new find Anjali) to look upto as a source of succour.The movie portrays how Jeeva turns pyshcopath, killing people in a fit of rebelling against the system which gives no chance to people like him but allows mediocre people in the name of IT & ITES to move ahead in life.
Its also a journey of Jeeva finding his girl & redeeming himself, though to a tragic end.Though there are a lot of questions left unanswered in the movie, overall its a brave attempt by Ram & must be commended.
Rating-3/5
Its about the trials & anguish a Tamil M.A qualified school teacher, played by Jeeva goes through.He only has his childhood girlfriend ( new find Anjali) to look upto as a source of succour.The movie portrays how Jeeva turns pyshcopath, killing people in a fit of rebelling against the system which gives no chance to people like him but allows mediocre people in the name of IT & ITES to move ahead in life.
Its also a journey of Jeeva finding his girl & redeeming himself, though to a tragic end.Though there are a lot of questions left unanswered in the movie, overall its a brave attempt by Ram & must be commended.
Rating-3/5
Malaikottai-A Quick Review ( Tamil)
Well Vishal the one man army & the fastest "rising"star in Kollywood is back with his 6th movie-Malaikottai.Directed by Bhoopathi Pandian ( Devathaiyai Kandein, Thiruvilayadal Aarambam) who is known for his sense of comedy, this one tries to combine the action image of Vishal with comedy for the first time.
So whats it all about?Vishal gets into an altercation with a gang in his hometown Pattukottai & the court gives him conditional bail but asks him to report to Trichy Police Station every day for a month.The Inspector in the Police Station is Ashish Vidyarthi, his chittappa ( dad's younger bro).Vishal falls in love with Priya Mani who is an engineering student.Trichy is being ruled by Devaraj ( Kannada actor) & his brother.
Again Vishal knocks off the villain's brother & then it becomes a straight competition between the two.Vishal is good in action, but can improve in the lighter scenes.The scenes between Ashish Vidyarthi & Urvasi are good.What was Nirosha doing in the movie?Priya Mani has nothing much to do.Overall an average movie.
Rating-2/5
So whats it all about?Vishal gets into an altercation with a gang in his hometown Pattukottai & the court gives him conditional bail but asks him to report to Trichy Police Station every day for a month.The Inspector in the Police Station is Ashish Vidyarthi, his chittappa ( dad's younger bro).Vishal falls in love with Priya Mani who is an engineering student.Trichy is being ruled by Devaraj ( Kannada actor) & his brother.
Again Vishal knocks off the villain's brother & then it becomes a straight competition between the two.Vishal is good in action, but can improve in the lighter scenes.The scenes between Ashish Vidyarthi & Urvasi are good.What was Nirosha doing in the movie?Priya Mani has nothing much to do.Overall an average movie.
Rating-2/5
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Happy Days- A Quick Review (Telugu)
Shekhar Kammula is back with his fourth movie ( after Dollar Dreams,Anand & Godavari), this time its a fun filled nostalgia laced movie-Happy Days.Its about a bunch of people who join CBIT ( a well known engineering college in Hyd of which the director is also an alumnus) & their journey for the next 4 years.
The film captures a lot of intricate weavings of love, friendship, pain etc during the days in college.It in particular makes one relive one's own experience of love ( or the lack of it!) during one's college days & thats where the movie scores.
Except for Kamalinee Mukherjee in a guest role ( a la Sushmita Sen in Main Hoon Na) & Tamanna, the rest of the cast is completely new.But the performances are all very natural & makes the viewing a pleasure.Overall a good film to watch.
Rating-3.5/5
The film captures a lot of intricate weavings of love, friendship, pain etc during the days in college.It in particular makes one relive one's own experience of love ( or the lack of it!) during one's college days & thats where the movie scores.
Except for Kamalinee Mukherjee in a guest role ( a la Sushmita Sen in Main Hoon Na) & Tamanna, the rest of the cast is completely new.But the performances are all very natural & makes the viewing a pleasure.Overall a good film to watch.
Rating-3.5/5
Ratatouille-A Quick Review
Well tobe honest I had never seen a single cartoon movie on the large screem until this one came along.This was one genre of movies that I never wanted to spend my money on.It all changed when I saw the trailer of Ratatouille & actually liked it,so ended up watching the movie on a sunday morning.
Whats the story?Well its about a rat in Paris who's inspired by a popular chef & similarly wants to be a great chef himself.He ends up helping a young introvertish lad ( who is actually the son of the now dead great chef) become a chef & run a restaurant.
Will not go too much in detail as far as the plot is concerned.Its better to see it & enjoy it instead.I am sure my opinion about cartoon movies has improved drastically after watching this.
Rating- As a regular movie-3/5, as a cartoon-4/5
Whats the story?Well its about a rat in Paris who's inspired by a popular chef & similarly wants to be a great chef himself.He ends up helping a young introvertish lad ( who is actually the son of the now dead great chef) become a chef & run a restaurant.
Will not go too much in detail as far as the plot is concerned.Its better to see it & enjoy it instead.I am sure my opinion about cartoon movies has improved drastically after watching this.
Rating- As a regular movie-3/5, as a cartoon-4/5
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Johny Gaddar-A Quick Review
Wow! Sriram Raghavan after Ek Hasina Thi is back with Johny Gaddar & it hits the bulls eye.Its big big tribute to the thriller genre in Bollywood.Some salutations are obvious like references to Parwana, Johny Mera Naam etc.The others are more subtle.
A 5 member gang ( Dharmendra,Neil Mukesh,Vinay Pathak,Zakir Hussain & Daya Shetty) want to make a big deal which would make them all wildly rich.But Neil who loves Zakir's wife ( Rimi Sen) & wants to go abroad with her, decides to double cross the gang & have the money for himself.Its then a complete zig zag tale, keeping you guessing right till the end.
All the performances including that of Govind Namdev as the cop are good.Neil Mukesh makes a good debut & Dharampaji continues his good work of Metro & Apne here.Surprisingly the Box Office performance so far has been very poor.
Rating- 3/5
A 5 member gang ( Dharmendra,Neil Mukesh,Vinay Pathak,Zakir Hussain & Daya Shetty) want to make a big deal which would make them all wildly rich.But Neil who loves Zakir's wife ( Rimi Sen) & wants to go abroad with her, decides to double cross the gang & have the money for himself.Its then a complete zig zag tale, keeping you guessing right till the end.
All the performances including that of Govind Namdev as the cop are good.Neil Mukesh makes a good debut & Dharampaji continues his good work of Metro & Apne here.Surprisingly the Box Office performance so far has been very poor.
Rating- 3/5
Chirutha- A Quick Review ( Telugu)
Well its the big telugu debut movie- Chiranjeevi's son Ram Charan Teja makes his debut here in Puri Jagannath's movie.First things first does the movie live upto the hype & does Ram Charan deliver?Well its a no & a yes. While Ram Charan makes a reasonably promising debut, Puri Jagannath seems to have got it wrong somewhere.
There's hardly a plot.Ram Charan's dad is killed by a goon-Ashish Vidyarthi & his mom is now sick. The hero grows up in a reform home & then moves to Bangkok where he is guide. Neha Sharma the heroine, whom the hero had already "met"in Hyderabad lands up in Bangkok & our hero is her guide.
She is the spoilt rich daughter of Prakash Raj.Once while saving her from the bad guys , the hero & heroine end up getting stranded on a deserted island.So its now time for romance.Well turns out that Ashish Vidyarthi & his son are now in Bangkok & after making peace with Prakash Raj, its time for Ram Charan to take revenge.
Whew! its one big mess out there. Neha Sharma only has to look pretty.The others are all wasted.The comedy is a big let down-surprising since its a whole brigade-Bramhanandam,Ali, Venu Madhav, M.S.Narayana, Dharmavarapu etc.The locales are quite lovely.All in all it goes as a failed attempt though at the Box Office its likely to be a safe bet due to lack of opposition & curiosity factor.
Rating- 2/5
There's hardly a plot.Ram Charan's dad is killed by a goon-Ashish Vidyarthi & his mom is now sick. The hero grows up in a reform home & then moves to Bangkok where he is guide. Neha Sharma the heroine, whom the hero had already "met"in Hyderabad lands up in Bangkok & our hero is her guide.
She is the spoilt rich daughter of Prakash Raj.Once while saving her from the bad guys , the hero & heroine end up getting stranded on a deserted island.So its now time for romance.Well turns out that Ashish Vidyarthi & his son are now in Bangkok & after making peace with Prakash Raj, its time for Ram Charan to take revenge.
Whew! its one big mess out there. Neha Sharma only has to look pretty.The others are all wasted.The comedy is a big let down-surprising since its a whole brigade-Bramhanandam,Ali, Venu Madhav, M.S.Narayana, Dharmavarapu etc.The locales are quite lovely.All in all it goes as a failed attempt though at the Box Office its likely to be a safe bet due to lack of opposition & curiosity factor.
Rating- 2/5
Sivi-A Quick Review
Well it was by pure accident that I ventured to watch Sivi- a tamil horror movie!For starters I dont recollect having watched any tamil movie made by completely new technicians & starring newcomers in the recent past.
So considering that & also that there have hardly been any noteworthy horror movies in tamil cinema, this is a good attempt.Though inspired by the Thai cult movie-Shutter, this movie still manages to hold your attention.
The hero is a photographer.One night when is travelling by car along with his girlfriend,they accidentally hit a girl on the road & speed away.Right after that there's a photoshoot and when the hero then gets the photos developned, he is shocked to find the photos distorted & carrying the image of a ghost.
The ghost happens to be that of a girl who was the hero's collegemate.Though she loved him, our hero after a brief fling refuses to marry her.Now the ghost is back to haunt.What happens next?The climax is interesting & gives way to the prospect of a sequel.
All in a all a fair attempt.
Rating- Though I am inclined for a 2.5/5 I would go for a 3/5 since it was made without any stars
So considering that & also that there have hardly been any noteworthy horror movies in tamil cinema, this is a good attempt.Though inspired by the Thai cult movie-Shutter, this movie still manages to hold your attention.
The hero is a photographer.One night when is travelling by car along with his girlfriend,they accidentally hit a girl on the road & speed away.Right after that there's a photoshoot and when the hero then gets the photos developned, he is shocked to find the photos distorted & carrying the image of a ghost.
The ghost happens to be that of a girl who was the hero's collegemate.Though she loved him, our hero after a brief fling refuses to marry her.Now the ghost is back to haunt.What happens next?The climax is interesting & gives way to the prospect of a sequel.
All in a all a fair attempt.
Rating- Though I am inclined for a 2.5/5 I would go for a 3/5 since it was made without any stars
Marudhamalai-A Quick Review
Well after a long time I saw a movie by "Action King" Arjun in the big screen, the last being , Mudhalvan ( in 1999). But Arjun seems to be still fit & raring to go & is tailor made for this role.Nothing much about the story-Arjun plays a law graduate who joins the police due to his dad (Nasser) who is a police constable.
So our hero joins as a constable & the head constable there happens to be Vadivelu.The heroine Nila happens to be a neighbour of the hero & daughter of the inspector.So the first half is mainly fun filled with Vadivel having a meaty part.The villain is Lal who prevents elections in that town & this time Raghuvaran the chief election commissioner is prepared to defy Lal & conduct elections.
So during the elections, in a freak encounter Arjun clashes with Lal & puts him behind bars.The 2nd half sees Arjun now as an Inspector & his game for supremacy with Lal.You know how the movie will end right?If Kireedam was for the classes, Marudhamalai is for the masses.Nila has nothing much to do.D.Imman's music is a big bore.In the end its basically Arjun & Vadivel ( to some extent) who salvage the movie.Nevertheless this is a winner at the Box Office.
Rating-2/5
So our hero joins as a constable & the head constable there happens to be Vadivelu.The heroine Nila happens to be a neighbour of the hero & daughter of the inspector.So the first half is mainly fun filled with Vadivel having a meaty part.The villain is Lal who prevents elections in that town & this time Raghuvaran the chief election commissioner is prepared to defy Lal & conduct elections.
So during the elections, in a freak encounter Arjun clashes with Lal & puts him behind bars.The 2nd half sees Arjun now as an Inspector & his game for supremacy with Lal.You know how the movie will end right?If Kireedam was for the classes, Marudhamalai is for the masses.Nila has nothing much to do.D.Imman's music is a big bore.In the end its basically Arjun & Vadivel ( to some extent) who salvage the movie.Nevertheless this is a winner at the Box Office.
Rating-2/5
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Dhol-A Quick Review
Well Priyadarshan is back again, this time with a remake of Siddique-Lal's hit malayalam movie,In Harihar Nagar which already had a bollywood version long back called Parda Hai Parda ( anyone heard of it???). Well Partner,Hey Baby,Dhamaal & now Dhol prove that comedy is the in thing now.
This is a story of 4 guys ( Rajpal Yadav,Sharman Joshi,Kunal Khemu & Tushar Kapoor) who have nothing else to do to aprt from dreaming of making it big.When a beauty ( Tanushree Dutta) arrives in the neighbourhood all of them try desperately to attract her & get married to her.They end up claiming to be friends of her dead brother.
What follows is a series of gags as usual & some loony dialogues.The movie is good in parts & certainly Rajpal Yadav walks away with the applause.The other 3 are competent.Tanushree & Payal Rohatgi have nothing much to do.All in all a decent fare.
Rating-2.5/5
This is a story of 4 guys ( Rajpal Yadav,Sharman Joshi,Kunal Khemu & Tushar Kapoor) who have nothing else to do to aprt from dreaming of making it big.When a beauty ( Tanushree Dutta) arrives in the neighbourhood all of them try desperately to attract her & get married to her.They end up claiming to be friends of her dead brother.
What follows is a series of gags as usual & some loony dialogues.The movie is good in parts & certainly Rajpal Yadav walks away with the applause.The other 3 are competent.Tanushree & Payal Rohatgi have nothing much to do.All in all a decent fare.
Rating-2.5/5
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Satham Podathey-A Quick Review
Hey!Its been a while since I saw a tamil movie ( not after Sivaji & Kireedam) & last week I happened to watch Vasanth's Satham Podathey in Coimbatore's Archana theatre.To start off, its a decent attempt, the cast is good & there is promise in the script.
Padmapriya gets married to Nithin Sathya ( of Chennai 28 fame) who does not reveal that he is a habitual drunkard & impotent.On discovery he tries to lie to Padmapriya & finally she gets divorced.She comes across Prithviraj who takes a liking to her & they get married.
Enters Nithin again in her life & what happens next is the way the story moves. On the negative side the pace gets quite slow at times & 2 songs in the 2nd half are completely not needed.On the positive side performances from all the 3 are commendable.Overall a decent attempt.
Rating-2.5/3
Padmapriya gets married to Nithin Sathya ( of Chennai 28 fame) who does not reveal that he is a habitual drunkard & impotent.On discovery he tries to lie to Padmapriya & finally she gets divorced.She comes across Prithviraj who takes a liking to her & they get married.
Enters Nithin again in her life & what happens next is the way the story moves. On the negative side the pace gets quite slow at times & 2 songs in the 2nd half are completely not needed.On the positive side performances from all the 3 are commendable.Overall a decent attempt.
Rating-2.5/3
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Dhamaal-A Quick Review
Indra Kumar seems to have got belief in comedy & so you see him again with Dhamaal after a successful Masti & a disastrous Pyare Mohan behind him.Want to know the plot of Dhamaal?well actually there's none.Its all about a series of gags played by on & by 4 guys-Ritesih Deshmukh,Arshad Warsi,Javed Jaffrey & Ashish Chowdhary.They play good for nothing guys whose world changes when a dying Prem Chopra tells them of a 10 crore fortune hidden in Goa.
Unfortunatley for them Sanjay Dutt a cop finds them and he wants to get the money too- after all he was chasing Prem Chopra for the last decade.Then begins a series of comic events as all of them try to find the fortune.Javed Jaffrey as the idiot is excellent, Riteish is good & Ashish impresses but Arshad disappoints a bit. Sanjay Dutt is not bad & Asrani is superb. Sanjay Mishra too is ok.Indra Kumar seems to have made a good return.
Rating-3/5
Unfortunatley for them Sanjay Dutt a cop finds them and he wants to get the money too- after all he was chasing Prem Chopra for the last decade.Then begins a series of comic events as all of them try to find the fortune.Javed Jaffrey as the idiot is excellent, Riteish is good & Ashish impresses but Arshad disappoints a bit. Sanjay Dutt is not bad & Asrani is superb. Sanjay Mishra too is ok.Indra Kumar seems to have made a good return.
Rating-3/5
Chak De India-My Thoughts
Well I know its too late to write a review for a movie that millions of Indians have already watched ( lots of them including me more than once!!!), but nevertheless felt like writing what I felt while watching it for the 2nd time last night.
Even in its 5th week, the movie is getting good crowds, the junta seems to like all the poignant moments. I think the movie combines all elements of a good film in the right doses. SRK continues where he left in Swades & is very very natural.Most of the girls in the movie have already got popular especially Sagarika Ghatge ( Preeti Sabharwal).
Hope Yash Raj Films continue to give us films like these.
My rating is a sure 4/5 .
Even in its 5th week, the movie is getting good crowds, the junta seems to like all the poignant moments. I think the movie combines all elements of a good film in the right doses. SRK continues where he left in Swades & is very very natural.Most of the girls in the movie have already got popular especially Sagarika Ghatge ( Preeti Sabharwal).
Hope Yash Raj Films continue to give us films like these.
My rating is a sure 4/5 .
Friday, September 7, 2007
Darling-A Quick Review
Well after last week's epic disaster RGV Ki Aag, RGV is back again with Darling.So you wonder how RGV does this time around. Well at the outset let me tell you that RGV seems to have regained some lost ground with Darling-which is a decent product.It has its own fine moments & positives & though there are some thorns in the bouquet of flowers, the bouquet still looks good.
So we have Fardeen playing a busy corporate with Isha Gopikkar as his wife & Esha Deol his secy cum girlfriend.When Esha Deol tells Fardeen that she's pregnant & Fardeen says that he cant marry her, they have an argument & in the melee Esha dies accidentally.Yes Esha is now back as a ghost.But there RGV manages to stay clear of the ordinary & manages to keep the viewers attentive.
Its a decent mix of horror laced with some comic moments.Esha Deol steals the show & Isha too does well especially towards the end. Though this was a better performance from Fardeen, there are still moments when he gets to you. Music by Pritam & Himesh ( one song) is good- and doesnt really distract.All in all a decent attempt from RGV.Hope he forgets the debacle called Aag & gives us better movies starting from here.
Rating-2.5/5
So we have Fardeen playing a busy corporate with Isha Gopikkar as his wife & Esha Deol his secy cum girlfriend.When Esha Deol tells Fardeen that she's pregnant & Fardeen says that he cant marry her, they have an argument & in the melee Esha dies accidentally.Yes Esha is now back as a ghost.But there RGV manages to stay clear of the ordinary & manages to keep the viewers attentive.
Its a decent mix of horror laced with some comic moments.Esha Deol steals the show & Isha too does well especially towards the end. Though this was a better performance from Fardeen, there are still moments when he gets to you. Music by Pritam & Himesh ( one song) is good- and doesnt really distract.All in all a decent attempt from RGV.Hope he forgets the debacle called Aag & gives us better movies starting from here.
Rating-2.5/5
Saturday, September 1, 2007
RGV Ki Aag-A Quick Review
Well as promised here I am with my review of RGV Ki Aag.First things first, does RGV manage to deliver- the answer is a loud NO.Well more on the verdict later.First off all let me tell you that there's no plot to talk about- everyone knows the plot of Sholay & Ramu has just tried to replicate that with Mumbai's underworld as the backdrop replacing Ramgarh with " Kalinganj"-Ramu would you please tell me where in Mumbai do you have a mini town that too on the sea shore like this?
Well as for the characters- Big B plays Babban ( Gabbar), Mohanlal plays Inspector Narasimha (Thakur), Ajay Devgan plays Heero ( Veeru), Prashant Raj plays plays Raj, Nisha Kothari plays Ghungroo ( Basanti),Sushmita plays Durga Devi.If I were to list the positives I would say Big B does a decent Babban in bits & pieces ( but if want to watch him as bad man watch Aks- its way much better), Mohanlal is restrained & to top it all the Mehbooba song is not bad with Urmila sizzling & Abhishek doing a jig with his dad,Big B.
But the positives are too few in muber. The negatives are far too many.Its pace is very slow at times, there are hardly any arresting moments, dialogues are hardly worth mentioning ( Sajid-Farhad did you do your homework on Salim-Javed correctly?), the music is a big bore, Ajay Devgan & Prashant are both wooden, Nisha might make some front benchers happy with her skin on display but offers nothing compared to the length of the role.
All in all its one big misadventure.Ramu if Sarkar was your best movie then Aag is your worst.Please face it & come back to us with a much better work in Sarkar Raj- we are waiting eagerly for it.
Rating- 1/5
Well as for the characters- Big B plays Babban ( Gabbar), Mohanlal plays Inspector Narasimha (Thakur), Ajay Devgan plays Heero ( Veeru), Prashant Raj plays plays Raj, Nisha Kothari plays Ghungroo ( Basanti),Sushmita plays Durga Devi.If I were to list the positives I would say Big B does a decent Babban in bits & pieces ( but if want to watch him as bad man watch Aks- its way much better), Mohanlal is restrained & to top it all the Mehbooba song is not bad with Urmila sizzling & Abhishek doing a jig with his dad,Big B.
But the positives are too few in muber. The negatives are far too many.Its pace is very slow at times, there are hardly any arresting moments, dialogues are hardly worth mentioning ( Sajid-Farhad did you do your homework on Salim-Javed correctly?), the music is a big bore, Ajay Devgan & Prashant are both wooden, Nisha might make some front benchers happy with her skin on display but offers nothing compared to the length of the role.
All in all its one big misadventure.Ramu if Sarkar was your best movie then Aag is your worst.Please face it & come back to us with a much better work in Sarkar Raj- we are waiting eagerly for it.
Rating- 1/5
Friday, August 31, 2007
Song of the Day!
I am a man driven by music & film music has always enthralled me.From today I will be nominating my choice of song of the day.It might be a new song, old song & in any language-but would be the one I'm humming the whole day!!!
And today's song of the day is "tujhe na dekhoon to chain, mujhe aata nahin hai, ek tere siva koi aur mujhe baata nahin hai, kahin mujhe pyar hua to nahin hai"
Trivia- Do you know Rang was a movie released in the early 1990's ( 1993) & starred Kamal Sadanah & Divya Bharati.Though the movie wasn't a hit, the music did well.
And why am I thinking of the same today?Well today also sees another remake of an old movie-Victoria No.203 being released.Its produced by Kamal Sadanah ( who's also the baddie in the movie ) & incidentally the original was produced by his dad.So thinking of Kamal reminded me of this song.For all who know the song but who've forgotten it- do hear it again & those who haven't heard, do hear it!!!
And today's song of the day is "tujhe na dekhoon to chain, mujhe aata nahin hai, ek tere siva koi aur mujhe baata nahin hai, kahin mujhe pyar hua to nahin hai"
Trivia- Do you know Rang was a movie released in the early 1990's ( 1993) & starred Kamal Sadanah & Divya Bharati.Though the movie wasn't a hit, the music did well.
And why am I thinking of the same today?Well today also sees another remake of an old movie-Victoria No.203 being released.Its produced by Kamal Sadanah ( who's also the baddie in the movie ) & incidentally the original was produced by his dad.So thinking of Kamal reminded me of this song.For all who know the song but who've forgotten it- do hear it again & those who haven't heard, do hear it!!!
RGV Ki Aag!!!
Well the moment has come,RGV Ki Aag has released today,reports coming in so far have been mixed. Will give you all my version of how it is later tonite/tom morning after watching it tonite.
Till then watch this space, as they say!!!
Till then watch this space, as they say!!!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Bollywood-2007 the year so far
Its been a decent year as far as 2007 is concerned.After a few bad months initially things now seem to look decent for Bollywood.While Mani Rathnam's Guru was the 1st hit, it took quite a while to have another success in the form of an unkown entity-Bheja Fry which broke all conventions.In between Vipul Shah's Namaste London also did decently well.Metro & Cheeni Kum again proved that multilplex movies are here to stay.
After a slightly dry spell things looked better with Apne & Aap Ka Suroor.With Apne-Dharampaji was back in form along with his sons, with AKS, HR proved his mettle.David Dhawan recreated magic with Partner,Yash Raj films got back into form with Chak De India & now Sajid Khan's rocking with Hey Babyy.
The year has lots more to go-Sawariya, Om Shanti Om, Laga Chunari Mein Daag, Aaja Nachle etc.Hope the year ends on a bright note.
After a slightly dry spell things looked better with Apne & Aap Ka Suroor.With Apne-Dharampaji was back in form along with his sons, with AKS, HR proved his mettle.David Dhawan recreated magic with Partner,Yash Raj films got back into form with Chak De India & now Sajid Khan's rocking with Hey Babyy.
The year has lots more to go-Sawariya, Om Shanti Om, Laga Chunari Mein Daag, Aaja Nachle etc.Hope the year ends on a bright note.
Hey Babyy-A Quick Review
Well last night I decided to check out Hey Babyy along with a couple of good friends.The 1st one hour was quite lively with the bachelor's having a ball of their life & quite a few comic situations.
But it all gets senti & mushy with Vidya Balan's entry nearly mid way into the movie.
Is it a copy of 3 Men & a Baby?not really ,but then does it hit the bulls eye?again not really.The movie already has taken a fabulous opening at the box-office.But how I wished if Sajid Khan could only have made a better debut as a director.The baby is really cute, Akshay does his role with the feel-yeh to mere baaye haath ka khel hai,Fardeen is quite bad-but you know what there are a quite a few who'll laugh seeing Fardeen trying hard @ emoting, maybe thats what Sajid wanted.
Ritiesh is apt as usual & as for Vidya-please tell me what was her costume designer & hair specialist doing in the movie.That apart she didnt really have a meaty role.And yes there's SRK in a song- you'll miss him if you go out to the loo , but that was enough to make the public go mad.Songs on the whole are decent, go for it if you just have nothing much to do.
Rating-2.5/5
But it all gets senti & mushy with Vidya Balan's entry nearly mid way into the movie.
Is it a copy of 3 Men & a Baby?not really ,but then does it hit the bulls eye?again not really.The movie already has taken a fabulous opening at the box-office.But how I wished if Sajid Khan could only have made a better debut as a director.The baby is really cute, Akshay does his role with the feel-yeh to mere baaye haath ka khel hai,Fardeen is quite bad-but you know what there are a quite a few who'll laugh seeing Fardeen trying hard @ emoting, maybe thats what Sajid wanted.
Ritiesh is apt as usual & as for Vidya-please tell me what was her costume designer & hair specialist doing in the movie.That apart she didnt really have a meaty role.And yes there's SRK in a song- you'll miss him if you go out to the loo , but that was enough to make the public go mad.Songs on the whole are decent, go for it if you just have nothing much to do.
Rating-2.5/5
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Junta,
I promise to share with you my footnotes of my world-pertaining mainly to movies, masti & my thoughts on life.please feel free to to let me know what you feel about my posts.
I promise to share with you my footnotes of my world-pertaining mainly to movies, masti & my thoughts on life.please feel free to to let me know what you feel about my posts.
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