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Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tees Maar Khan
Actors: Akshay Kumar, Akshaye Khanna, Katrina Kaif, Raghu Ram, Rajiv Laxman, Arya Babbar, Anil Kapoor (Sp. Appearance), Salman Khan (Sp. Appearance)
Director: Farhah Khan
Farah Khan tried all the industrial tricks to give a real hit during the Christmas with the hit pair Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in Tees Maar Khan. However, all the hypes created around ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ could not safeguard this latest Farah Khan flick.
Akshaye Khanna plays a superstar Aatish Kapoor, who dreams to win an Academy Award one day. Katrina is a wannabe actress Anya, who also happens to be the girlfriend of Tees Maar Khan (Akshay Kumar). The conman disguised as a Hollywood filmmaker Tees Maar Khan plans a big train robbery of 10, 000 kilograms of antiques and goes for a fake shooting of a film. He even goes on signing Aatish Kapoor as the hero and appoints some villagers for this purpose. But then, the viewers will scratch their hair to find logic behind Aatish signing for the act. The film does not have the typical flavor of Farah Khan films. It seems she messed up the things after signing Akshay and Katrina or more concentration went to the much talked item number ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’. The spice factor is missing and tries to go by the slapstick way.
The film is a remake of 1966 movie Caccia Alla Volpe but one change in the Hindi version is that the robbery is shifted to train than the original ship. However, Farah could play around the interesting train plot and somewhere the magic and charm got lost. It seems Sheila is the only spicy thing in the story with her raunchy choreography. 'Tees Maar Khan' isn't a film where one has to hunt for logic in every scene. Even the humour here isn't the kind where one is required to find any subtle references. In fact every scene that makes you bring on a smile or a laugh is on your face and announces it's arrival loud and clear. Subtlety wasn't expected from this first ever collaboration of Akshay Kumar and Farah Khan and for that reason, 'Tees Maar Khan' stays on to be as unpretentious as it gets.
For conman Tabrez Mirza Khan (Akshay Kumar) aka Tees Maar Khan, it's a challenge to escape with treasure worth 500 crores and weighing around 10000 kgs from a moving train. He has to make the impossible happen and for that he makes a plan which involves running the biggest con job ever. He wears the hat of a movie director, hires the services of a top actor (Akshaye Khanna) and ropes in an unsuspecting set of 200 odd villagers who support him in his game-plan. How he manages to execute his plan takes 'Tees Maar Khan' to its conclusion.
First hour of the film passes away in a jiffy with numerous scenes remaining etched in your memory once the show is over. The opening credits with 'Tees Maar Khan' showing it's true colours inside the womb, Sachin Khedekar's introduction of three top conmen in the country, the con job played by Akshay to make his escape from an airplane, the song 'Sheila Ki Jawani' that follows soon after - all of this manages to hook audience's attention. What takes the film to a different level though is the introduction of Oscar-obsessed Akshaye Khanna. A long scene where Akshay convinces Akshaye that he is a top director from Hollywood and the latter's 'dance of joy' on being told that he was the chosen one for playing a 'gareeb hindustani' is bound to get the house down. The interval point is well set and one looks forward to the momentum continuing in the second half as well.
The second half continues from where the first half had left with Akshay and his team continuing to shoot a mock film in the village. Yes, not all scenes are funny here and there is also an element of predictability that comes in when Akshay unknowingly ends up helping the villagers. This is when all eyes are set on the moment of reckoning, the train robbery sequence, to take the film to an all time high. However, the impact isn't as 'zordaar' as one would have expected here as the entire con job passes off way too simply. The courtroom sequence immediately after that is also on predictable lines and one does get a feeling about something being amiss. Thankfully, there is an epilogue soon after that makes one shrug away those 10-15 minutes prior to that. The premier sequence is done well, hence bringing on laughs all over again.
Amongst actors, Akshay Kumar is (obviously) the focal point of the film and he does well while also bringing in a different shade to his own style of comedy. On his part Akshaye too has thoroughly enjoyed the show by letting his hair down (well literally) and he comes with such an excellent job here that one wonders why he hasn't done a full-on comedy along side Akshay yet. Katrina has a minimal part to play in the actual context of the film but is fabulous in 'Sheila Ki Jawani'. Salman's dance number though is forced in the narrative and could have been done away with.
There was one basic expectation from 'Tees Maar Khan' and that was to get entertained in those two hours with worries of the world being left outside the auditorium. You don't want to check your phone calls once the opening credits start rolling, you don't want those emotional moments to make you shed a tear or two and you basically want to have a good time by laughing out loud at places. Does 'Tees Maar Khan' ensure such an experience? The answer is right. If you want to let go off your stress for those two hours, watch 'Tees Maar Khan'. After watching Tees Maar Khan I realized that it indeed is not an original film but completely inspired by master Italian filmmaker Vittorio De Sicca's 1966 film After the Fox. That took away the entire credibility from the film. However as I spoke about this to the director Farah Khan, she revealed that they have taken official remake rights of the film. Point settled at least now it's not a copy but a remake! However the blunder is that they have not credited Vittorio De Sicca in the story.
The next discussion is - how good a remake is TMK? The film is about a master conman who can open every lock. And he is hired by twin brothers to rob a train which carried a government treasure worth Rs 500 crore. Khan realizes that he will need over 300 hands to get the treasure off the train - which is nearly impossible to get. So he decides to do it without telling the 300 people what the plan is. He decides to shoot a film in a village through which the train will pass. And as a movie stunt the train will be stopped and the 'British treasure' in it will be heisted by the Indian villagers.
There are a few basic changes made in TMK from ATF to suit the Indian landscape and to add some bit of romance, which was nil in ATF. And that makes the Sheila Ki Jawani number possible - which is easily the best part of the film. Apart from the fact that TMK has a comic story, what works for TMK is that the writers Shirish Kunder and Ashmit Kunder have cleverly added a whole lot of moments which will be lapped up by the mass audience - a segment that Akshay Kumar has been trying to please. For example songs like Sheila Ki Jawani and Wallah re Wallah are out and out mass numbers. And then there is a track of patriotism and nationalism added in the second half which should click with the mass audiences too.
That apart the film has major flaws in treatment. A story which has immense possibilities of comedy is reduced to actors trying buffoonery - something often mistaken by filmmakers as guaranteed laughter. Hence though the dialogues are fine TMK turns too loud! Akshay Kumar yells throughout! Also many of the jokes are outdated. Songs are dumped in when they are least required. Too many liberties for the sake of entertainment! Technically the film is shot in large scale. It could have been edited better. Katrina Kaif plays a bimbette who loves being item girl and as a bad actress. And she does her job very well. Akshaye Khanna is very good too as he goes about with great seriousness in portraying a character which is inherently funny - an actor who dreams of winning an Oscar and is absolutely jealous of Anil Kapoor who did Slumdog Millionaire! Akshay Kumar goes over the top. Wonder if that's his or the director's fault! Raghu Ram and Rahiv Laxman are just about okay. Arya Babbar and Ali Asgar are good.
Overall, Tees Maar Khan is not the best remake that After the Fox deserves. If Sheila Ki Jawani was to be played in a loop for two hours it would have been far more entertaining and pleasing! A very average product from a director whose last film Om Shani Om was a complete entertainer.
332 Mumbai
Actors: Ali Asgar,Chetan Pandit,Vijay Mishra,Sharbani Mukherjee
Director: Mahesh Pandey
Not that I had any expectations out of this film but then after watching it there are quite a few questions in my mind. First being - Was the movie really required? 332 Mumbai to India is a film which has a fictional plot created around a real life incident that happened in Mumbai two and half years back. A young man, tired of the constant attacks on North Indians in Mumbai by regionalist forces, hijacks a city bus. The movie claims that his intention was to put forward a point rather than hurting someone. But then he is shot dead by the police.
The film is bad piece of writing. Scenes leading nowhere, meaningless dialogues and irritating characters - there are too many blunders. Sample this - a girl who has her own wrist watch asks a person standing beside for time; There seems to be just one news channel and too talks only about Mumbai; an office boy is rich enough to print expensive marriage invitation cards and distribute it among everyone; the media reporting live on the hijack and yet there are no media persons around the venue! And these are just a few examples. Serious scenes end up being comedies due to the dialogues. The fanatic hijacker explains Mumbai and cites examples like 'hamara Sachin" (Our Sachin), which means the master blaster cricket is a national property. Not sure if the famous cricketer will enjoy this bit of attention!
The film is weak on technical front too. Shoddy cinematography, random editing and jarring music make an amateurish product. The actors are no good too. The hijacker with his frowning face seems to be in a trance all through. Even experienced actors like Ali Asghar and Chetan Pandit let down. Towards the end one of the character ask another if the hijacker deserved death that he got. A question arises in my mind too: Did we really deserve this film? The only thing I am in agreement with the director is the end slate that mentions 'A thought by Mahesh Pandey'. This definitely is a thought and not a movie. A movie would have a script too!
It wasn't too long ago when the infamous real life incident took place in the city of Mumbai where a young man had hijacked a bus, announced that he was in the city to kill a political bigwig and was later shot down by the cops. Apparently, his aim was to gain country's attention towards the migrant issue of North Indians in Mumbai that had been the cause of tension for a few months then. However, now that there is peace with no more talks about this 'issue', a film like '332 Mumbai to India' only appears as ill timed. Yes, agreed that the intent here was to bring home the message of 'One India one citizen' here but the way it is conveyed isn't hard hitting enough to stay with you even moments after the curtains come down.
This is not all. There are multiple stories which play in '332 Mumbai to India', most of which don't quite work though there is an intent is to tie them all together. A couple with a man from Bihar and a girl from Maharashtra are trying to get married but the former is worried if he would be accepted. A man from Bihar is worried if his son would get harmed in Mumbai due to prevailing tension. A young screen writer believes that Mumbai is his home though he comes from Bihar. A student from Maharashtra studies in a college up North. An auto rickshaw driver believes that survival is the name of the game. And then there is the young man who hijacks the bus.
There are rough edges in each of the tracks though, partly marred by poor writing and partly due to below average acting. Ali Asgar projects the image of happy go lucky but it doesn't bring in much empathy. Regional politics in college doesn't create a much required impact. The hijacker episode, the most important in the film, is also patchy as it works in some scenes (the first time hijacker brings out a gun and then most importantly when he speaks to media) while falls flat in others (where he threatens and then assures the passengers).
Also, the entire cop encounter drama is half baked and one can clearly sense that there is heavy amount of editing here so that there is no trouble from politicians and cops. In fact what also makes '332 Mumbai to India' doesn't quite come across as the kind of cinema that one was expecting it to be as it doesn't even try to get into the underbelly of what would have possibly transpired between the powers-to-be when the entire incident was taking place. On the contrary whatever that the characters speak in the film is also constantly beeped out or muted, hence resulting in further loss of impact.
'332 Mumbai to India' is one film that could have been much better than what it eventually turns out to be. Reason being that it just scratches the surface and then just leaves it there. No, one wasn't expecting a solution from director Mahesh Pandey here. However, he could have presented this film (which deals with the core issue of 'Whose Mumbai is it anyways?') in a much dramatic manner. Alas, that doesn't quite happen, hence making '332 Mumbai to India' a dull affair that just works in some bits here and there but that's about it.
Kaalo
Actors: Yash Patnaik, Mamta Patnaik, Dhaval Gada
Director: Wilson Louis
'Kaalo' comes with a good premise. After all there hasn't been any creature based horror film made in Bollywood and that too while being presented in day horror genre. In that context, one does want to check out what 'Kaalo' is all about as it promises good share of scare factor coupled with thrills.
What one gets to see is a film which is thrilling in parts, has good technical finesse to it but doesn't scare at all. Now how one wishes that the story had enough twists and turns to actually keep you captivated and scared because from the look perspective, 'Kaalo' has to be one of the most original attempts ever.
The film begins with the narration of an age old tale of how the interiors of North India were terrorised by witches. Told in a picture book format, the film soon moves '250 saal baad' as a bus makes it's way through a rocky terrain in Rajasthan. With an ensemble of characters travelling (a not-so-young man, a young girl, a newly wed couple, a photographer and a model, an aged couple, four rogues, a conductor and of course the driver), there is some time spent on character introduction.
As can be expected from a film belonging to this genre, there are shadows and a definite presence of the unknown felt by most of the characters as they all start getting killed one after another. Just like any slasher thriller, here too the focus is on how each and every killing takes place, something that acts as a positive for 'Kaalo'.
However, the sad part is that the film doesn't scare at all. The character of 'Kaalo', once it actually makes it's presence on screen around the middle of the film, isn't really the kind that would scare the day light out of you. Also, the film moves forward in a flat narrative with thrills, action sequences, VFX and cinematography being good but the suspense factor definitely missing.
This is where one feels that while Wilson Louis, the director of the film, did do all in his capacity to make the proceedings interesting, the writing let him down. Case in point being the key male protagonist (Aditya Shrivastava) who is let off by 'Kaalo' not once, not twice but thrice even when she knew that he was being the protector of the girl (Swini Khara) whose blood she was thirsting for.
On a positive front, some of the scenes do stay with you even after the film is through. The way 'Kaalo' buries it's victim under the sand is done well and so are the hallucinations that one of the key characters faces a couple of times. Background score is good as well and compliments the film's narrative. All actors in the film are uniformly okay with none of them either bowling you away with their histrionics or making you look the other way. Wilson Louis has shown that he is a good technician. Now all he needs is a better script to get his imagination run further wild.
After travelling across many festivals around the world and even winning a couple of awards Kaalo released commercially this week. A Bollywood horror flick travelling to festivals is quite a new thing by all measures and it definitely increased the expectations from the film. Plus the director's promise that the film will scare despite being shot in completely day light was intriguing But then we have learnt from earlier examples that films that may have been lauded in festivals don't really translate into something that audience likes. Kaalo justifies the same! The story is about a witch who used to sacrifice young girls to survive. She was killed and buried hundreds of years ago in a Kulbhata, a village amidst the deserts of Rajasthan. But even after that the villagers felt her existence and hence mass-emigrated to other villages! 250 years since then the village continues to be desolated place.
The witch comes back to life when a construction labour drilled into the place where she was buried. Soon after, a bus is forced to take a diversion from the regular route and pass through Kulbhata. Disaster strikes when Kaalo discovers that the bus has a girl child Shona (Swini Khara) travelling in it. Kaalo is laden with writing lapses. The beginning of the story itself is questionable and it is followed by numerous other discrepancies and liberties taken by the writer throughout the film.
One wonders how the witch, who is apparently only powerful within the limits of Kulbhata, forces the bus to take the diversion by creating a huge canyon right on the regular route. Probably the writer forgot about Kaalo's jurisdiction while writing this part! As the story continues there are a lot of inconsistencies in the way Kaalo kills her victims. She keeps letting go Samir (Daya Shetty), despite he being the only person who is trying to fight her!
If that was not enough, the director goes the Ramsay way by showing a rather silly looking creature as Kaalo. One look at it and all chances of you being scared will vanish in thin air! Giving credit where it is due, the film required good VFX considering the creature flies around and travels underground and Wilson delivers that. His expertise in special effects is highlighted. He also uses sounds and music very effectively. Performance by actors too is a plus point. There are very few characters and everyone puts in their best foot. Child actress Swini Khara is the star here!
Hundreds of years ago witchery/witchcraft was practiced heavily in Europe, Africa and Asia. It has been found that between 11th and 19th century as many as 9 million (90 lac) women, suspected witches with supernatural powers, were mercilessly killed in these regions. In India, eastern and northern India had witnessed many incidents of witchcrafts and witch-hunts. Every such incident had a story. Kaalo's story is inspired by one such folktale about a Witch named Kaalo who used to sacrifice young nubile girls for her immortality.
Kaalo was a witch who lived in Kulbhata during the 18th century. She was killed and buried by angry villagers for sacrificing young nubile girls to satisfy her greed for immortality, but her fear lived on. Year's later villagers spoke of Kaalo's sightings yet again. They claimed she was even more angry and dangerous and she was back to finish what she left incomplete Kulbhata was vacated overnight by scared villagers. All roads leading to Kulbhata were sealed by horrifying tales of Kaalo killing anyone who dared to enter Kulbhata. Until a bus carrying eleven passengers on its way to Kuldevi had to pass through Kulbhata.
One of the passengers on the bus was a twelve-year-old girl named Shona (played by Swini Khara of Cheeni Kum) who was traveling alone to spend her vacation at her grandmother's house in the neighboring village. Shona was clever, witty and cheerful. She soon became the life of the journey. Everyone loved her endearing manners. Especially the reclusive and reticent Sameer, who was traveling with a bag loaded with gun powder to blast a small hillock which would give way to a water canal for his drought hit village. Badly disfigured and thirsty for blood, Kaalo could smell the girl from miles away and headed straight for the bus.
She would kill everyone who came in her way. She had to have the girl anyhow When the passengers realized they were staring into death everything changed from being the life of the journey, Shona became their very reason for dying. Everyone wanted her out of the bus some even used her as a bait to lure Kaalo away from themselves. Human relations changed as people fought for their survival.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Mirch
Actors: Shreyas Talpade, Mahie Gill, Konkana Sen Sharma, Raima Sen, Shahana Goswami, Arunoday Singh, Ila Arun, Shreyas Talpade, Boman Irani
Director: Vinay Shukla
This is a rare Bollywood arousal. Bollywood grows and becomes more passionate after making a sarcastic remark on Amrika last week; this one raises and satisfies your hormones of fun, masti with its naughty level of horniness, ‘Mirch’ is a film with a one-track mind and a single ambition to entertain with layers and should happily wear that crown until another film sets out to steal it.
Coming from Vinay Shukla the helmer of the acclaimed ‘God Mother’ which starred Shabana Azmi in the lead, changes gear in ‘Mirchi’ but doesn’t forget to celebrate womanhood but this time with a wit on its own. Chauvinist may find it difficult t accept but for more open minds it an arousing experience. ‘Mirch’ gives ample time for the women to score which translates into extra coin for its prospects making it a must see comedy for adults.
Maanav (Arunoday Singh) is a struggling filmmaker who is unwilling to compromise on the script he has written. His girlfriend Ruchi (Shahana Goswami) a successful film editor, arranges for him to meet Nitin (Sushant Singh), a film producer. Nitin likes the script, but is not very sure of its commercial prospects. Maanav then suggests a story from the Panchtantra: ‘A woman is caught red-handed with her lover by her husband and yet, she manages to wriggle out of it scot-free!’ Nitin finds it too short for a feature film. Maanav then creates three more stories based on the same premise: in a way, the Panchtantra story travels in different versions to the modern times through the film. The four stories are woven together by a common story. ‘Mirch’ echoes the message - if you have your wits about you, you can salvage even the most impossible situation.
The message is simple - At a deeper level, ‘Mirch’ is about the gender equality in relationship. Mirch" is meant to be a 'tikhi', spicy and delectable account of sex, stolen pleasures and furtive philandering during times of day-to-day stress. Instead it turns out to be one of those half-cooked exotic dishes, more tempting for what it promises than actually delivers.
Vinay Shukla's last film "Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe", which came eight years ago is best forgotten. However his film prior to that "Godmother" stood tall and imposing primarily because of Shabana Azmi's preponderant performance as a politician in rural Gujarat who rips the male bastion apart with her no-nonsense approach to life and politics. "Mirch" is about the politics of sex. Set in two different time zones, the contemporary and 'period', it takes potshots at the male gaze as it falls on female sexuality. Each of the four stories has a protagonist, played by Raima Sen and Konkona Sen Sharma in two stories each, with a high libido level that they do nothing to hide.
In each story, the woman is caught red-handed by her husband doing 'it' with a lover. How the sexually-liberated woman in each story wriggles out of the bedroom crisis forms the core comicality in the quartet of stories. The four stories, apparently derived from the ancient Panchtantra tales and their designedly delicious denouement are neither convincing, nor funny enough to be outrageously fable-like. The stories just about manage to bring a smile on our faces. Not that Shukla can be faulted for his intelligent and astute handling of such an audacious idea. Strong sexual gestures specially in a woman make for very unpoetic cinema. Love when linked to lust tends to lose its lyrical lustre.
Shukla shoots his two heroines with a certain sensitivity, although there's not much room in the satirical tales of cuckoldry for subtlety he builds room for tender touches and fleeting moments of arresting intimacy. Raima's large limpid eyes lend a certain grace even to her character in the past and contemporary times. However Konkona's performances in her two tales suffer for the lack of inherent grace in the characters. And the actress doesn't seem to be enjoying the process of playing these 'naughty' characters. In her 'period' piece, Konkona cajoles her royal husband (Prem Chopra) to climb up a tree to watch her making love with the senapati.
How much fun for the actor and how funny for the audience can such a situation be? Go figure out. Interestingly, Shukla has cast Arunodoy Singh as the film's resident sex object. The female protagonists in three of the stories are shown lusting after him when they think their husbands are not around. To create a certain distance from the preposterous parodic premises, Shukla creates a film-within-film format whereby a young struggling idealistic filmmaker (Arunodoy) and his girlfriend (Shahana Goswami) try to convince a wily producer (Sushant Singh) to produce a film which has plenty of sex, humour and drama.
The stories that the young filmmaker in "Mirch" tells the cynical producer are the stories that we the audience see the not-so-young filmmaker Shukla tell with a blend of whittled-down passion and half-formed sensitivity. Some of it though not all, is interesting. As for the theme of creative compromise that triggers off the four-storeyed plot, is "Mirch" really liberated from those compromises?
The nothing-fancy, just-get-to-the-point approach continues throughout, with the known pattern of a film within a film. This modern version of Panchatantra which travels in its various versions to modern times never gets vulgar and its smartly devoted to its sexual undercurrent, Vinay’s narration makes it simple and smooth and is able to claim marvelous performance from its actors especially Konkona Sen Sharma.
The movie’s short stories are its comic highlight which comes with an unexpected twist in the end which makes it really funny. Disclosing the stories will kill the charm but it feels that the period story of the king in Rajasthan should end up being the favourite. Bollywood has had its share of comedies which tries to please all but this is loyal to its genre and succeeds in its elementary mission due to its sheer wit layered by fundamental realism about gender equality and coming out during difficult times with your wisdom.
Konkana is the best but Raima is not far behind, Arunoday Singh is natural, Shreyas Talpade is competent, Shahana Goswami is good as usual, Rajpal Yadav is fine, Boman Irani excels, Sushant Singh gives justice, Prem Chopra is apt, Saurabh Shukla is fair, Tisca Chopra and Ila Arun chip in with valuable support. The talked about love making scenes are well shot. Smartly shot and sharply edited with fine production values
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
No Problem
Cast: Anil Kapoor,Sanjay Dutt,Akshaye Khanna,Bipasha Basu,Kangna Ranaut,Neetu Chandra,Paresh Rawal,Sushmita Sen,Saloni Daini
Director: Anees Bazmee
Anees Bazmee's last film was Singh is Kinng and that released two years ago. Prior to hit that the director has a series of hits making him one of the most expensive directors in the industry. But No Problem might just be the unwanted obstacle in his rise as a director of impeccable judgment when it comes to comedies. In fact it puts to test the script sense of a lot of actors. The first among these names is Anil Kapoor. This is Anil Kapoor's sixth film as a producer and second this year. And he is yet to see an outright winner at the box office. His judgment seems to have gone wrong again as he claimed this film to be double as funny as Bazmee's earlier movies Welcome and No Entry. There is rarely a funny moment in the film. Rather it could leave you desperate to leave the theatre!
The story is about two thieves Yash (Sanjay Dutt) and Raj (Akshaye Khanna) who rob a bank and then the manager of the bank Zandulal (Paresh Rawal) goes after them trying to salvage his reputation and get the money back. Raj falls in love with the Sanjana (Kangna Ranaut) who is the commissioner's (Shakti Kapoor) daughter. In the meantime Inspector Arjun (Anil Kapoor) is a dumb police officer who tries hard to be brave and catch notorious gangster Marco (Suniel Shetty). The two tracks interlink creating a lot of scope of situational comedy. However the film falls as the director fails to keep his movie to situational. The attempt to make characters funny does not go well and the film, which could have been quite hilarious, ends up being a bore.
While screenplay is an issue yet it could have been overlooked in favour of the attempted comedy. But then a film full of gags that have been used to death over the years is not happening. Who would laugh if someone uses a banana as a gun, a scene we have seen so many times in years? There are many such hammed and loud scenes making this an unpleasant experience. To add to these an absolute lack of detailing is seen, right from characters to locations of shoot. While passing off Cape Town as Durban is still fine to the Indian eyes, how does one accept the director's attempt to pass off New Mumbai's railway tracks as somewhere in Durban? The irritating songs do not help the cause and neither does their placement.
Technically the film looks neat but could have been edited off quite a bit. The songs are well edited and shot quite elaborately. Performance wise it is an average pack. All actors ham as per the director's requirement and are irritating at instances. Even then Paresh Rawal and Anil Kapoor stand out. Sushmita Sen is fine while Kangna is miscast. Sanjay Dutt has no variations. Akshay Khanna and Suniel Shetty are good. Neetu Chandra need not have taken this role up as all she is required to do is show her curves.
Overall, this is a goof up on the director Anees Bazmee and producer Anil Kapoor's part. It is a whole load of trash that has been made out of crores of rupees. Not worth your minute or penny. Anees Bazmee roped in some big stars like Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Akshaye Khanna and Kangna Ranaut and then he forgot to give them proper characterization and script. As a result, we all see ‘No Problem’ releasing today on the theaters. Anil plays a clumsy cop, who is after two crooks Sanjay Dutt and Akshaye Khanna. To make him more confused, a gangster played by Suniel Shetty and his moll Neetu Chandra enters the scenario. Sushmita Sen returns to comedy as the schizophrenic wife of Anil Kapoor. Kangana Ranaut is a bimbette on the beach and Paresh Rawal is a puppet in the hands of all those madcaps.
A cachet of stolen diamonds and the run by all the characters behind this creates the confusion in the story. Bazmee tries hard to tickle your fun bones until you burst out with the silly and stupid acts of the characters. It is all about a chaos created by all these characters in the film. Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt, who are working first time together, have gone wasted with some senseless and silly acts. The comedy king Paresh Rawal tries his best to set the comic timing right but all goes in vain. Kangana Ranaut, who was trying to come out of her disturbed girl image with this comedy flick, tried to add some glamor with dazzling clothes and fiercely blown lips. But she does not get enough space to prove her comic act.
Phas Gaye Re Obama
Cast: Rajat Kapoor,Neha Dhupia,Amol Gupte,Amit Sial,Sanjay Mishra,Manu Rishi,Brijendra Kala,Sumeet Nijhawan,Surendra Rajan,Pragati Pandey,Devender Chaudhary,Vivake,Avantica
Director: Subhash Kapoor
Earlier this year Hollywood gave us a serious fare The Company Men, which is about some men at different stages of their career and hit by the recession. Though the film ends on a happy note it is thorough drama. And that's probably what you would expect from a film about a serious issue like recession, which has left countless people jobless and penniless. But with Phas Gaye Re Obama director Subhash Kapoor takes us on a completely different track; a joy ride! Career and recession is a big part of PGRO too. In fact each character in the film talks about career, reputation and moving ahead of the recession. But this one has its own twists! Here most characters are gangsters who kidnap for a living. There are multiple gangs at various levels of the power ladder and seniority.
Everyone has a reputation to save while ensuring that they sustain themselves through the rough times. So when a 'rich' NRI from America Om Shashtri (Rajat Kapoor) reaches his hometown he is seen as the ideal candidate who can pull out all these kidnappers from the rut. The only catch is that this NRI no more rich and quite broke. He reaches India hoping to sell of his ancestral property and get some money out of it. Here starts a crazy ride of kidnapping leaving everyone involved in it bewildered. PGRO works because of the superb characters and equally good performances from the actors. Each character is unique and has individual dreams and aspiration, towards which they are struggling. And this is brought out very well in a screenplay which is designed to keep you smiling if not laughing throughout. While the first half builds the characters and situations the second half gets faster.
The performances as mentioned are worth a watch. Rajat Kapoor, Amole Gupte and Sanjay Mishra prove their prowess as seasoned actors. Neha Dhupia too chips in as Munni, which has got to be one of the better characters in her career. But the real dynamite is Manu Rishi. Manu, who got accolades for his writing and performance in Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, displays that he is one talent to look out for.
The film has it technical details sorted too. It is set in the rural part of Uttar Pradesh and the tone of the film gives a rustic feel to the story. The background music works well in the film. It has been a year of small budget films with the audience lauding efforts like Peepli Live, Udaan and Tere Bin Laden. And Phas Gaye Re Obama would be looking to make a similar impact. And it has everything that a film needs to do so. Director Subhash Kapoor, who had gone unlucky with his first film Say Salaam India, shows again that he has it in him to deliver smart and yet entertaining films. Watch the film to know for yourself!
Bollywood has proved yet again that it is not always an ensemble star cast and a big budget that works for a film. Phas Gaye Re Obama is the perfect example of a film where it is the content made better through superb performances that wins the hearts of not only the audience but also the critics. It may be recalled here that many films hitting theaters in 2010 were critically acclaimed movies in spite of the fact that they were made at a paltry budget (read Udaan, Tere Bin Laden, Love Sex Aur Dhokha). Phas Gaye Re Obama begins from where we see the NRI character Om completely bankrupt in the recession hit America. Om, played by Rajat Kapoor, returns to India to acquire the necessary amount of money required to keep his house in the US. But as soon as he lands on Indian soil, Om is kidnapped by underworld dons. The gang who has kidnapped Om are of the idea that he is still a rich man and therefore he will give them money to cope the recession. Phas Gaye Re Obama is the first film which deals with the innovative subject of recession hitting a terrorist gang! And it is this subject which makes the film a must watch.
Something that all film connoisseurs can look forward to is the brilliant screenplay of Phas Gaye Re Obama. Though the cast is nothing to boast about, their acting skills completely overshadow their image. The editing of the Subhash Kapoor project which hits theaters today falls short of expectations at certain places, but the story and performances make up for minor glitches.
Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan,Deepika Padukone, Vishakha Singh, Samrat Mukherji, Sikander Kher, Maninder Singh, Feroz Wahid Khan, Shreyas Pandit
Director: Ashutosh Gowarike
There's ongoing sense of serenity compounded by a feeling of sincerity and transparency in the cinema of Ashutosh Gowariker. This filmmaker never hides life's most essential truth in cinematic subterfuge. Rather, Gowariker goes the other way. He strips the emotional content of cinema of its accessories and trappings and leaves the screen with just that right amount of drama that does complete justice to the characters without making them a casualty of excessive creative freedom. Celebrate the creative freedom of a fearless and honest cinema. "Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey" (KHJJS) is an inherently dramatic story about a large group of young people who fought an unknown chapter in India's freedom movement, told on screen with a minimum amount of flag-waving bravura. The source material, Manini Chatterjee's novel, is open to an acutely pompous and self-important treatment. But when has Gowariker's cinema ever been a prey to pomposity? If he can make Akbar's court look so cool, casual and muted in spite of its inbuilt flamboyancy, the super-committed sepoys of self-government in KHJJS are not capable of even a second of verbal or visual overstatement.
Going to a world that is strongly redolent of historic ramifications, Gowariker pulls the real-life material out of the textbook and transforms it into an eminently engaging story about anti-colonialism. This is certainly not Gowariker's first visit into Colonial India. Who can forget the director's neo-classic "Lagaan" where one villager gathered a whole team of ragged villagers to beat the Brits at their own game. KHJJS is not as playful, lyrical and lush as "Lagaan". This time Gowariker tells his story with brutal straightforwardness, a quality that is a hallmark of this exceptional director's cinema, here more prominently on display than in any of his earlier works.
The epic satire of "Lagaan", the grandiosity of "Jodhaa-Akbar" and the transparent nationalism of "Swades" peep out of Gowariker's latest work in measured doses, though never in a way that suggests any calculated attempt to create a pre-given ambience. The setting, Chittagong in Bengal in the 1930s, is created with a fluency, virility and scrupulousness that make us believe in the characters and their mission from the word go. Watching out for those sleeping-dogs of over-statement, the narrative moves across a an artless criss-cross of patriotic plotting without tripping over in anxiety and nervousness.
A sense of calm camaraderie prevails even during moments of unsettling bloodshed. This is no one-day mataram. The patriotic zeal never felt more tranquil before. This is history without hysteria. In KHJJS, each one of 70-odd characters seems born into his or her respective parts. Much of supporting cast does what it is expected to. It supports the drama and the tension with restrain and skill. Standing tall in the supporting cast is Sikandar Kher expressing indignance and ire without going over-the-top. Deepika Padukone sheds her pouty movie-siren's image confidently. She gets unexpected competition from debutante Vishakha Singh who seems to get under the skin of her character.
But the film finally 'belongs' to Abhishek Bachchan in the way that films become the property of actors who own characters not for a display of histrionic vanity but because they grasp instinctively the world which the character inhabits. Abhishek's empathy with his character is complete and unimpeachable. As Surjya Sen, he conveys a muffled but obstinate idealism. Abhishek's eyes become his window to a world where pain governs the journey to a greater glory. Just as it's impossible to imagine Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Black" and "Guzaarish" without Amitabh Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan, or Gowariker's "Swades" without Shah Rukh Khan, what, we wonder, would Surjya Sen be if Abhishek had not played him with such quelled anger, dignity and grace? Or for that matter where in our cinema today would history find a place if Gawariker was not committed to making compelling films on the indelible relationship between the present and the past? On the technical front, Kiran Deohans' cinematography and Nitin Desai's art direction are subtle delicate but evocative. Sohail Sen's music fits in like a glove with the film's theme and mood of restrained revolution.
Don't expect the bombastic patriotism of Manoj Kumar's "Kranti" or the tax-exemptible desperate nobility of "Gandhi - My Father". The effectiveness of Gowariker's drama is drawn from the director's determination to keep his drama denuded of exhibitionism. "Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey" is the kind of rare and precious cinema on the theme of idealism, nobility and nationalism that is being progressively pushed out of our cinema by crass boorish comedies. It must be seen not because it retrieves a forgotten chapter from our history, but simply because it's a story so well told you forget it's a true story.
The truth of the moment in the cinema of Gowariker is the only truth that matters for the audience. The rest is history. Ashutosh Gowariker has come up with an yet another long periodic film but with a difference. The film is about the forgotten heroes of Chittagong Uprising in 1930. We have seen many films based on the freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Netaji Subhas Bose and Mahatma Gandhi but the battle of a school teacher, Surya Sen, was never brought on the big screen.
When you think about a periodic film during British rule, you will be thinking of some rude and rowdy British officers and some big fight between the British soldiers and the patriots. You will find the same thing here but not dramatically. Here, you will get the real feel of the story because of its realistic approach and narration style. Art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai has taken us to that era when Masterda Surya Sen planned consecutive five attacks in various important places for the British. Along with his young team of 64 people, the school teacher led the attack. It included two brave women, one is Kalpana (played by Deepika Padukone) and the other is Pritilata (Vishakha Singh). Abhishek has done good justice to the role of Surya Sen and Vijay Maurya as one of the fighters with Sen has given yet another excellent performance. Sikander Kher has proved that he can do better in the off-beat roles. Deepika has nothing much to do but in her Bengali attire, the actress has carried off her character very well.
The kids are the best part of the story as we see them discussing the meaning of ‘Vande Mataram’. Their enthusiasm and connect with their characters make then watch worthy. Gowariker has ably brought the essence of that era in the film. As a whole, it is a must watch film for the today’s youth, who would get to know the fighting spirit of the youth of the British era. You will not feel bored for a single moment in spite of its long duration.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Band Baaja Baaraat
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh;
Directed by: Maneesh Sharma;
Have you ever wondered what they mean when they talk about the chemistry between a screen pair? Watch this delightful ode to the great Indian wedding and it will solve the mystery for keeps. The super-accomplished Anushka Sharma and debutant Ranveer Singh, quite easily the discovery of the year, whip up a wondrous camaraderie in scenes written with such skill and craft in the film, set in the backdrop of weddings-sheddings in the heart of "Nayee Dilli". "Band Baaja Baaraat" is an utterly joyous and enjoyable look-see at the world of Punjabi weddings in Delhi as seen through the eyes of two wedding planners, partners in business Shruti and Bittu, who have sworn from Day 1 never to get involved with one another.
'Pyar' (love) and 'Vyapaar' (business) just don't jell. The couple keeps telling one another. But are the gods listening? The skilfully-written rom-com takes the no-holds-barred pair's relationship through a lavish labyrinth of shaadi replete with Bhangra tracks (Salim-Suleiman) that provoke your heart and feet to jump up and dance. Outwardly, the film looks like Mira Nair's "Monsoon Wedding" put into a maze of wedding festivities that seem to meander from one joyous jig to another until we come to a point where we ask in unison?now what? With a smoothness of touch that shows the hand of a writer who knows his job thoroughly, full marks to the dialogue and screenwriter Habib Faizal, "Band Baaja" changes the profile of Shruti-Buttu's relationship midway. What remains unchanged is that sense of joie de vivre which comes to a film on that rare occasion when the writer and director know where they're going and how to take the characters there without giving away the signposts to the audience.
Delhi the city of bustling streets, speeding auto-rickshaws, and restive bus stops - has never been more vibrant and alive in any other recent film. Aseem Mishra's camera penetrates the heart of the capital and the souls of its two unforgettable protagonists. Unlike Yashraj Films' "Bunty and Babli" some years ago, Bittu and Shruti are fooling no one except themselves. What does one say about the two principal performers without tripping over with the excitement of being in the midst of remarkable talent? With just three films, Anushka Sharma has grown into one of the most watchable and eloquent contemporary actresses. To the role of the spirited Shruti Anushka, she adds the kind of spice that one associates with Kajol and Rani Mukherjee. In two key sequences with Ranveer Singh - where she conceals her true feelings and much later lets them all out in a tumble of smirking hurt - Anushka blows the screen apart.
As for Ranveer, he sinks his teeth into Bittu's part with a self-confidence that comes to actors after at least 10 full-fledged films. And that too if they are gifted. Here's a new talent in a film industry dominated by jaded superstars. Ranveer's spirited screen presence and quick-silver comic timing makes the older stars look old, if not outdated. In the climax where he calls himself an ass for denying his feelings, Ranveer is a revelation. Go for this newcomer, producers, he will soon be booked for the next three years. The supporting players are largely unexposed artistes. They add to that sense of feisty freshness that runs across the film. Bravo, Yashraj for bringing such exceptional new talent to our cinema. Bravo, debutant director Maneesh Sharma for taking us through the organised chaos of traditional weddings in movements of pure pleasure and enjoyment that communicate themselves to the audience. Hours after watching the film, I've still not stopped smiling.
Yash Raj has not had the best year. They started the years with a bad Pyaar Impossible. They did have some respite in Badmaash Company but the next Lafange Parindey stuck sore too. Anushka Sharma, who was also a part of Badmaash Company, may just turn lucky for the production house as she returns with Band Baaja Baarat a simple, warm, colorful love story of two friends and business partners. Band Baaja Baarat is about Bitto Sharma (Ranveer Singh) and Shruti Kakkar (Anushka Sharma). They are friends who decide to start a business on the principle that love and business can't go together. However as they walk the steps of success they draw closer to each other till one of them falls in love.
While the first half is well paced the second half is slower but that is acceptable keeping in mind genre of the film. Also it cannot be denied that the second half is predictable, like any other romantic comedy. What works best for the film are the lead characters and the dialogues. Writer Habib Faisal, who had debuted as a director with a very likeable Do Dooni Chaar earlier this year, does what he does best. He sets the story and characters in Delhi a setting he seems to be very comfortable in. And there are a few scenes which are written well and executed equally beautifully by the director. For example the first kiss scene and the tension around it is built very well.
Technically it is as good as any Yash Raj film. It has been shot and edited very well. The songs that may seem just above par as standalone album comes alive on screen and is well placed. This is just Anushka Sharma's third release and one thing is pretty clear she is here to stay. The actress who is yet to have any release outside Yash Raj establishes that she has it in her to make it bigger than just be a subordinate to the hero. In fact in Band Baaja Baarat she leads the way as the more experienced actor between the two leads. Having said that newcomer Ranveer Singh shows extraordinary screen presence and confidence. What works for him is that the character is extremely likable.
If you bump into a bunch of young 'filmies' in Mumbai's western suburbs, you may be forgiven to believe you'd walked into a Delhi University alumni meet instead. Batches range from early '90s to late 2000s. Practically everyone working in movies these days seem to have once called Delhi their home. It's bizarre. Shah Rukh Khan, I suspect, was the catalyst not for their creativity, but their move to Bollywood. Few of these filmmakers have turned directors by now (Dibakar Bannerjee, Imtiaz Ali et al), many are screenwriters (Jaideep Sahni etc), most make for young army of assistant directors working their butt off to tell a story they know best.
Delhi is what they grew up on, and know best. It inspires Mumbai movies. Repeatedly. This is not a surprise. The music bears a strong mix of Bhangra. Here of course, it sounds entirely a derivative of tracks from Dev.D (Pardesi), Tashan (Dil Haara Re), Delhi 6 (Yeh Dilli Hai Mere Yaar), Aisha (Mithi Mithi Bol). The dialogues are in colloquial Hindi, 'slanguage' more common to the north. The hero of this subaltern imagination should be called Bunty. Always. He's Bittoo here (Ranvir, looks the part). He talks while he eats with his mouth wide open, has just graduated from Kirori Mal. His father owns sugarcane fields in Saharanpur that he'd rather not return to.
The girl (Anushka Sharma, incredibly at ease) is boisterously confident in her manners. Her professional ambitions don't interfere with her conservative personal dreams (kids, marriage, parents' happiness). She belongs to the Punjabi family of Kakkars from one of capital's old-world mid-class housing colonies. Bittoo and Shruti start a successful wedding planners' "binness" right after finishing college. This is good move, no doubt, given a culture that perennially envies its neighbour, thrives on throwing money at weddings and other personal processions to show wealth off. The leading couple makes for an intelligent tag team. They pull off huge weddings, profit from people's vanities, stay professional with each other, truly enjoy their work.
A random one-night stand pulls them apart. They mix pleasure ("pyar") with business ("vyapaar"). Never the two should meet. The guy gets wary, the girl feels vulnerable. They split. The nuances here, smartly written, are fairly known. Whether the act itself is complete parody, you will neither fully figure, nor frown much over. This world is any day more relatable than duffers drivin' around daddy's Ducati in downtown West, known to Bollywood NRIs alone. But the realism is pretty much where the enjoyment ends. Or begins.
This is still a fable around the macho hero and his bubbly heroine. There's already an issue if you hope this aggro Jat boy doesn't get the joyous Janakpuri girl. Ever. They should remain platonic friends. So here's a romantic comedy, when a comedy alone would have worked. There's no proverbial chemistry between the leading couple, and that makes for a film of its own. Not this one. Another Delhi movie, maybe. "Love degi, degi love? (Will you give me love)," he seriously proposes. You know what the answer's going to be. But you want to laugh. Damn!
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