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Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Zokkomon
Starring: Anupam Kher, Darsheel Safary, Manjari Phadnis, Kunal
Directed by: Satyajit
Heart-warming performances and noble intentions do not make great cinema. This one falls short of expectations, mainly because of the poor special-effects and the failure of the plot to take off. To imagine a film about a flying hero without convincing technique to make the flight of fancy believable, is to imagine a grounded aircraft waiting clearance on a foggy afternoon when nothing in the skyline is visible.
As "Zakkomon", Darsheel just doesn't take wings. He has great charm, no doubt. And his performance is more crafted and honed than it was in "Taare Zameen Par". Sad to say the material meant to support him is frail and feeble. The effort is noteworthy for the conviction that the two principal actors, Safary and Kher, are able to impart to a film that seems hellbent on messing up its own prospects. All said and done "Zokkomon" in unable to rise to the occasion. Touted as a super-hero film with the youngest super-hero in the world, it just doesn't provide the young hero the space to spread his wings. The mask gets muzzled. The cape is clipped in the wings. Darsheel Safary in the title role looks every inch the self-styled Saviour of the world. He takes the part seriously. But doesn't allow it to trip over in self-importance. He gets ample support from Anupam Kher in the two roles as an evil uncle and the scientist. The two actors seem to get the point of doing a film about a 14-year-old flying hero. If only they were better supported by the technical department.
The ineptness of the special effects is surprising considering the film comes from the reputed international producers Walt Disney. One wouldn't like to see "Zokkomon" as a wasted effort. It pushes the envelope a little towards the right direction in providing entertainment for kids. Through Darsheel's endearing screen presence, the plot is able to overcome its inherent deficiencies and connect with young minds. The fantasy element, so essential to propelling the plot ahead, is marred by a discernible lack of funds. But Darsheel in the inspiring company of his Anupam Uncle and his perky co-star Manjari Phadnis seems to be determined to have fun at a party where the arrangements are not quite what the guests expected. Though there has been zero hype around 'Zokkomon', one hoped somewhere in the corner of the heart that the film may end up surprising you and there is something really enticing that plays on screen. Alas, none of that really happens which means 'Zokkomon' turns out to be yet another forgettable instance of a kid's film disappearing into oblivion.
Unfortunately the story too doesn't hold much ground as the film moves ahead on a predictable note. Also, the all important factor - getting touched by the plight of the young boy here - doesn't happen due to which one can't expect an outlet of emotions that would have initially made you teary eyed and later euphoric. To be fair to the genre when it comes to films for kids, there is eventually a standard storyline that one has been seeing since eternity. Whether it is 'Oliver Twist', 'Cinderella' or 'Harry Potter', one can't escape the plotline of 'a poor little kid being tormented and how he/she eventually rises from the ashes. Fair point, as long as the narrative is exciting enough to keep you glued on screen.
In case of 'Zokkomon' though even this basic premise is so half heartedly conveyed through the promos that you find yourself disinterested at the very go itself. The 'evil uncle' angle doesn't make you emotional either as Anupam Kher gets into the 'Chaalbaaz' mode while being even more sinister.
In fact it won't be wrong to say that while in 'Chaalbaaz' Sridevi got into a double role to give it back to Kher, Darsheel has pretty much his own alter ego to contend with (in the form of Zokkomon) to get back at the same actor who has been so effortless and unpretentious despite getting a similar character to enact. Not just that as this time around it is him who is seen in a double role while also enacting the part of a scientist who is actually responsible for the creation of 'Zokkomon'. Of course just like all superheroes, the bare minimum criteria for Zokkomon too is to fly. Well, he does fly and though at times you do want to let the kid out of who scream with excitement, you don't quite manage to do that as kids seated next to you also don't seem really delighted.
Performances too are decent, nothing extraordinary. Just like 'Bumm Bumm Bole', in 'Zokkomon' too Darsheel is decent, not quite fantastic, something that is an expectation from him ever since his smashing debut in 'Taare Zameen Par'. Anupam Kher is good in both the roles. Manjari Fadnis is decent in a role which isn't that of a quintessential leading lady. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is completely forgettable. All said and done, the track record of kid films, whether animated or otherwise, has been so abysmal during all these years that one anyways has set perceptions around 'Zokkomon' as well. The final word? Here goes another kid film which doesn't even half excite you, let aside making you feel that it could have been a better watch. There have been many attempts in the past to woo children by fancy caricaturish characters, enchanting visuals or special VFX works; however mostly every film did bite the dust when it came to the Box-Office collections more so because they all lacked a clever script. In this scenario comes Walt Disney too with a children's film Zokkomon in a bid to give Indian children their first superhero. Now it only remains to see whether this superhero really woos children or not.
Zokkomon is about an orphaned boy Kunal (Darsheel Safary), who has a staggering amount bequeathed on his name by his dead father. In order to claim that money, his evil uncle Deshraj (Anupam Kher), who gets entangled in a legal hassle for having laundered money from government grants issued for the welfare of his village, abandons Kunal in a big city and declares him dead. Meanwhile, Kunal comes across the ebullient artiste Kittu (Manjari Fadnis) who coincidentally lives by the same principles as that of Kunal. They hit it off and become good friends. Kittu urges Kunal to get back and also accompanies him but the two get separated on their way. So while Kunal reaches the village alone he finds the gullible villagers considering him to be a Ghost.
Dejected he enters the so called 'bhoot bangla' of the village and there meets a cynic scientist also played by Anupam Kher. With the help of his 'magic uncle' (as he refers the scientist) Kunal turns into Zokkomon and not only teaches Deshraj a lesson but also changes the mindset of the villagers making them believe more on science and less on supernatural non-existing things. Directed by Satyajit Bhatkal, Zokkomon too fails to impress as a film. Not only does it have a weak plot, it defies logic. So while on one hand the mad scientist boasts of making everything possible with Science, on the other the film takes to the clichéd route of power of hope, prayers etc that the kids in the village take to bring their friend Kunal back to life (which ironically works)!
Moreover, it turns out to be too melodramatic a film for Kids' tastes. The length of the film can be deterrent for it too. Even the songs composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy are disappointing. Darsheel is just average. Manjari Fadnis as Darsheel's friend is average again. Anupam Kher both as Deshraj and as the scientist acts very well. Over all, Zokkomon may not work at the Box-office. The film however may recover money through repeat runs on Disney channel later on. Opinions are like Anupam Kher. Every film has one. This one has two, Anupam Khers that is. One’s a shrewd education Mafiosi in a village, who diverts government funds for labs, library, benches into his personal account. He’s also dumped his li’l nephew to rot in the city. The boy makes an adult friend on the city’s streets, survives the urban wrath, finds his way back home.
The other Anupam Kher is a mysterious sort of figure, soaked in prosthetics, a supposed scientist, whose village lab emits laser lights. He turns the said little boy into a flying ‘Zokkomon’, concocting his voice to sound like Amitabh Bachchan’s from Agneepath. This lead character appears in the second half of the film, which is a bit too late for a super hero flick by his name. Any story, let alone one for kids, I suppose, deserves an emotional connect. Establishing relationships may help. Explanations sure do as well. It’s hard to tell why this wily uncle wants to kills off his nephew, or how the adult friend suddenly besots this little boy. It’s harder still to figure how this Zokkomon technologically came into being. Given this is apparently a movie about merits of science over superstitions.
If it weren’t for the feeble impact, this could seem an Aamir Khan production: the girl’s from Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (Manjari Fadnis); the wonder kid (Darsheel Safary) from Taare Zameen Par; the director had helmed a fine documentary on the making of Lagaan. The missing link is the subject they’ve collectively chosen to film. Little boy Zokkomon gets into a freefall, doesn’t break any bones, lies unconscious in bed, fighting for his life. Mass hysteria gets generated over him. Villagers go berserk. Attempting this kind of sudden adulation for a cartoon, animation or super-hero character, without any basis in literature (Chacha Chaudhary / Sabu etc), television series (Spiderman, for my generation) or video game franchise (Pokemon), is sheer wishful thinking. As Shekhar Kapur once famously said, “In future sequels, Sony will have to ensure that when Spiderman takes his mask off, he is either Indian or Chinese. Or they will lose out on 75 per cent of their market.” This is a Disney movie. The future is yet to come. This one's a shaky, false start at best, or nonetheless.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Dum Maaro Dum
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Prateik Babbar, Bipasha Basu, Rana Daggubati, Aditya Pancholi
Director: Rohan Sippy
Dum Maaro Dum starts with a small montage of blockbusters of yesteryears including the likes of Sholay, Shaan, Saagar, to the recent Bluffmaster giving way to the logo of Ramesh Sippy Films. This boastful display itself raises your expectations from DMD sky high. Lorry (Prateik Babbar) fails to bag a scholarship at an international university while his girlfriend Tanya (Anaitha Nair) does. Distraught for having been left behind, Lorry gets convinced to become a carrier for drugs in order to get the admission fee. Despite all precautions, he gets caught at the airport, the local peddler who got him into it is dead and the Baap of all goons, Michael Barbossa isn't known to anyone.
Joki (Rana Daggubati) a local crooner is lovelorn for having lost out on his girlfriend Zoe (Bipasha Basu) to Drug Mafia Lorsa Biscuitta (Aditya Pancholi) who blackmails her to become his keep. Joki doesn't want his friend Lorry to lose himself the way his girlfriend did hence he tries saving him but comes in the bad books of Michael Barbossa. ACP Vishnu Kamath (Abhishek Bachchan) is hired to steer clear Goa from all the drug dealings. He busts the crime rackets one after the other but stumbles upon a block - that of a so called Michael Barbossa who apparently hasn't been seen or heard off by anyone but has a major chunk worth 970 Crores of drugs under his wings.
All three stories are connected at one moot point Who or rather where is Micheal Barbossa? Unraveling of this suspense forms the rest of the story. Directed by Rohan Sippy, DMD tries too hard to be stylish and snazzy and in the process loses out on its grittiness. The way Abhishek Bachchan breaks into the song Thyan Thyan appears very filmy. The first half of the film has a great build up to an interesting suspense drama but it starts trudging in the second half and even the revelation of the suspense is tad disappointing.
What works for the film is the slick editing by Aarif Shaikh and great cinematography by Amit Roy. The way Goa and its rave parties are captured is commendable. The film has too much dramebaazi giving a very 90s "Bollywoodish" feel. Music by Pritam works only in parts. Deepika Padukone's item number is very average.
Abhishek Bachchan is impressive as a Cop. Prateik disappoints in his part. South Star Rana Daggubati is average while Bipasha Basu acts decent. Aditya Pancholi fails to do justice to his character. A maniacal villain in this film could've worked wonders. Over all, Dum Maaro Dum does have the ingredients for an interesting one time watch. A romantic song, suspense element, an item number, action, drama etc should be reasons enough to entice the audience. New Delhi, April 19: Director Rohan Sippy’s third directorial venutre ‘Dum Maaro Dum’, which is courting controversy for its theme and backdrop, is ready to hit the screens Friday. Set in Goa, the thriller revolves around drugs, sex and violence.
Made on a budget of about Rs.20 crore, the film is releasing released Friday in 20 countries at 350 international locations and at 1,000 theatres and multiplexes throughout India and the director is hoping to strike a chord with foreign audiences with his movie. Sippy’s last directorial venture was 2005 film ‘Bluffmaster’ and the Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra starrer was big hit. Sippy has once again teamed up with Abhishek for his first thriller, which has garnered enough publicity because of the objections by many on the ground that the film portrays Goa, one of the most sought after holiday destination among foreigners, and Goans in a bad light.
Three interesting stories are woven into the ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ script, which focuses on six people played by Abhishek, Bipasha Basu, Prateik Babbar, Aditya Pancholi and Telugu actor Rana Daggubati, who is making his Bollywood debut with it. The sixth is a mysterious character lurking in the background. In the film, Vishnu Kamat (Abhishek), a self-destructive police officer fleeing from his own past, has been asked to wipe out the local and international drug mafia operating in Goa. As he steps into the murky world, he is greeted with shocks and surprises.
Lorry (Prateik) is keen to accompany his girlfriend to a US University, but his life threatens to spiral out of control after his scholarship gets rejected. Then he meets a smooth talking hustler who promises to fix things up for him. And local musician DJ Joki (Rana) is a mute spectator of what is happening around him. He drifts aimlessly through his life after an encounter with drug mafia cost him everything he loved. He meets Zoe (Bipasha), an aspiring airhostess whose dreams turn into dust. And Lorsa Biscuita (Aditya) is the linked to all as a ruthless businessman who has his hands on every Goan pie, legal or illegal. He is the link between all the drug mafia operating in Goa. However, he finds himself pushed to extreme limit with Kamath’s arrival. And the ultimate drug kingpin whom no one knows. ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ was always meant to be an edgy thriller, but it has a strong emotional quotient too, which I believe will broaden the appeal of the film,’ said Rohan.
Abhishek had sung ‘Right here right now’ in ‘Bluffmaster’, which was immensely popular and in this film too he has has exercised his vocal chords for the song ‘Thayn Thayn’. Even before its release, the film has found itself embroiled in legal hassles. The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court had issued notices to the director and producers of the film, over a petition seeking a ban on the film, but the court cleared its release.
Then women organisations in Goa raised objections over a dialogue of Bipasha which said that ‘women are cheaper than liquor in Goa’, however keeping in mind the sentiments, the makers decided to change that particular line. The crass lyrics of the re-mixed version of cult song ‘Dum maaro dum’ of 1971 film ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ starring Zeenat Aman and Dev Anand also raised eyebrows. It invited flak not only from musicians and lyricists, also from the evergreen star and the glamour icon of yesteryear themselves.
Teen Thay Bhai
Cast: Om Puri,Shreyas Talpade,Deepak Dobriyal,Ragini Khant
Director: Mrigdeep Singh Lamba
Teen Thay Bhai is a film about three brothers, Chiksi Gill (Om Puri), who runs a business of undergarments, Happy Gill (Deepak Dobriyal), a quirky unskilled dentist and Fancy Gill (Shreyas Talpade), a struggling actor in Punjabi Films. All three of them hate each other and can't stand each other at all but are forced to spend one whole day each year in a dilapidated mansion size house somewhere in the Himalayas for three consecutive years in order to fulfill a clause and claim the property bequeathed by their grandfather. In an extremely predictable fashion how the three come together is what follows through a series of unhumored, banal buffoonery that proceeds at an excruciatingly slow pace. Directed by Mrigdeep Singh Lamba, Teen Thay Bhai doesn't even meet the slapstick standards as it fails to even conjure a chuckle or two. The filmmaker tries his hands at every type of comedy right from toilet jokes to black humor but all fail in making viewers laugh.
The film not only has a very wafer thin plot but also suffers with bad screenplay. It oscillates between monotony and boredom throughout. Though the film does have some endearing moments especially the flashback of Happy Gill where he falls in love with a Punjabi kudi Gurleen Kaur (Ragini Khanna), it gets overshadowed by the tediously long and irritatingly loud act of the others. There's excessive melodrama throughout the flashback portion of the film specially the drama by Yograj Singh who plays the grandfather. The first half still remains tolerable as the film takes a meaningless tangential turn in the second half in a bid to increase the comedy quotient but ends up only frustrating the viewer further. What the audience takes away at the end of the film is the traumatic experience of viewing extremely close and unpleasant shots of Om Puri's face; the excessively loud dialogues mouthed by him, the long hammy monologues of Deepak and Shreyas and last but not the least a bad story.
Music by Sukhwinder Singh and Ranjit Barot is average at best. There is no innovation in the cinematography. The otherwise talented cast Om Puri, Shreyas Talpade and Deepak Dobriyal ham throughout the film courtesy bad screenplay and script. '3 Thay Bhai' is the kind of film for which the makers may claim after a year that it failed because 'it was way ahead of it's times'. That it tried to follow European cinema. That it had a bit of Russian folk element and setting, especially due to all around snow peaked mountains and 'Chook' and 'Gake' kind of characters. Yup, I remember reading about such characters in those cute looking books around centred on Russian folk fare but '3 Thay Bhai' is far from coming anywhere close. On the contrary the film ends up being a boring and frustrating piece of cinema that makes those two hours seem much longer, especially in the dying moments (literally so) when it goes on and on with a celebration song thrown in even before the end credit title roll begins.
The film is (obviously) about three brothers who can't see eye to eye and have a bone to settle. This is owing to some misunderstanding owing to their troubled childhood. The trouble though is that these misunderstandings too are so childish that it makes one think why couldn't the three of them have just come together on a session of drinks (considering the fact that all of them are so fond of liquor, as shown in the film) and resolved all their differences. Nevertheless, the writers and the director here seem to have grown up on Tom & Jerry and they have ended up making an entire film that is based on similar humour though being utterly charm-less. Also, to bring in certain elements that could have appealed to the adults, there is this entire meaningless episode dedicated to the gypsy women who are cooking 'paranthas' at the top of the hill followed by the one involving a cop who has his own unique (but hardly funny) way of giving third degree torture.
I mean if a broken door, falling roof, misplaced ashes, a dead dog, dysfunctional fireplace, burnt underwear, a bottle of whiskey, damaged fuse, lot of snow and an intruder could make three brothers go so mad with each other then well, they didn't deserve to be together after all. It indeed is extremely unbelievable to see three grown up accidentally tripping over other and shouting as if a bullet went through their hearts. Come on, even cartoon channels have started showing projecting better humour on screen these days, what with 'Doraemon' fast replacing 'Tom & Jerry'. In a setup like this, one would have expected the actors to be all charged up. But then it seems that they too realised that it was an exercise in futility and hence seem to have given up. Om Puri aims at being angry for the entire duration in the film but after a while even his jokes dry up. Shreyas isn't his 100% self and is surprisingly patchy. Deepak too is a far cry from his 'Tanu Weds Manu' days and his subdued act seems laboured. Yograj Singh as 'dadaji' is a poor version of Puneet Issar while Ragini Khanna overacts in a manner similar to that of Divya Dutta.
Yes, an occasional banana peel humour does invoke a smirk or perhaps an occasional laugh but that happens only for a moment, for a dialogue, for a split second situation but never for an entire scene. This means that despite having actors such as Om Puri, Shreyas Talpade and Deepak Dobriyal on board, all you end up with is an expression of boredom on your face right through the film's narrative with a climax that is not just long drawn but also clichéd, predictable and a trigger for the question that pops up in your mind 'So, what's the big deal?' Some comedies mean well. But they lose their way in their noble intentions. “Teen Thay Bhai” seems like a terrific idea for a comedy. Three brothers separated more at mirth than by birth, trying hard to keep the spirit alive. They fail miserably, not for the want of trying.
The script here depends too much on extraneous trappings, too little on integral assets. There’s no scarcity of acting talent here. Shreyas Talpade, Deepak Dobriyal and Om Puri shine in that order Alas, they have no meat to sink their sharp teeth in. Often we see the actor groping and grappling with material that doesn’t give them a chance to move beyond the immediate laughter of a situational comedy. Beyond the sound of current laughter there’s no hereafter in the humour. The static snowcapped location doesn’t help either. The three principal actors seem as frozen in their efforts to rise above the stagnant humour as the snowy landscape in Jammu where veteran cinematographer Ashok Mehta tries desperately to find a centre in the meandering mirth. The script has the seeds of an engaging satire. But the story never takes off. Minimalist props and background music don’t help drive away the feeling of growing boredom that clutches at the throat of this vapid tale of three brothers who could kill each other with sibling friction and kill us with sheer boredom.
Towards the end, the plot shifts out a snow-strapped cottage into the outdoors where the brothers are assailed by hippy women who feed them with parathas filled with marijuana. By this time the script has completely run out of tricks to hold our attention. A climax with a giant steamroller as the villain is just about all that we are left looking at. “Teen Thay Bhai” is like one of those books whose backflap synopsis offers us tempting insights into human nature. But by the time we settle down to the experience the plot has betrayed its own interests.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thank You
Cast: Akshay Kumar,Sonam Kapoor,Bobby Deol,Suniel Shetty,Celina Jaitly,Irrfan Khan,Rimi Sen
Director: Anees Bazmee
New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) After doing a cricket-based drama "Patiala House", Bollywood star Akshay Kumar is back on thebig screend with multi-starter comedy "Thank You", a funny take on extra-marital affairs. The film releases Friday. Produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Hari Om Productions, the film is about three married men trying to have some fun outside their marriages. Apart from Akshay the film stars Bobby Deol, Irrfan Khan, Suniel Shetty, Rimi Sen, Celina Jaitly and Sonam Kapoor. In the film, three best friends and business partners Raj (Bobby), Yogi (Suniel) and Vikram (Irrfan) are portrayed as womanizers. Their wives are clueless about their husbands cheating on them with every pretty girl they lay their eyes on. However, their supposedly happening world is rocked when Raj's wife Sanjana (Sonam) begins to suspect her husband and hires a private detective, Kishan (Akshay) to keep an eye on him.
Kishan has built his reputation as a man who saves marriages by getting philandering husbands to mend their ways. However, in this particular case, Kishan gets into trouble when he falls in love with Sanjana, which means he may not be acting in her best interest. Soon follows a crazy cat and mouse game, where Kishan tries to catch the husbands red-handed. Directed by Anees Bazmee, who has given hits comic capers like "No Entry", "Singh Is Kinng" and "Welcome", "Thank You" promises some really ribtickling moments. It was originally suppose to star Katrina Kaif, but Sonam later stepped in. Since the film is on infidelity, it has some steamy scenes and scorchy dance numbers. But Bobby refused to do some dance moves. Mallika Sherawat is doing an item number "Razia" in the film. A re-mixed version of "Pyaar do pyaar lo" from "Jaanbaaz" has been used in the film, where Akshay, Bobby, Irrfan and Suneil were supposed to dance on the song shot in a night club with women dressed in bikinis.
One of the dance steps had the boys spanking the dancers on their buttocks, but Bobby flatly refused to the dance step and he was not comfortable with it. However, the song is already popular among music buffs as it can be frequently heard on radio stations. The film has been extensively shot in the exotic locales of Toronto, Vancouver and Ontario. The film's storyline reminds one of Indra Kumar's 2004 comedy "Masti" that had Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh and Aftab Shivdasani. It did good business. Bazmee's last release "No Problem" failed to rake in the moolah at the box-office. Similarly, Akshay's "Patiala House" also proved to be a dud. Going by the promos, one would have expected that 'Thank You' is yet another Akshay Kumar dominated show where he gets the best scenes and dialogues for himself while hogging all the limelight. However what one sees is Akshay being one of the driving factors here instead of being the sole actor who is carrying the entire film's weight. Of course he is the key to the entire movement of the film's narrative but then Suniel Shetty, Bobby Deol and Irrfan Khan are not mere peripherals here; they traverse a much greater distance.
Cards are laid out at the very beginning of the film with Rimi Sen and Celina Jaitly realising that their flirtatious husbands (Irrfan Khan and Suniel Shetty respectively) could well have taken Bobby Deol in their wings. They warn Bobby's unsuspecting wife Sonam about this who reluctantly agrees to hire the services of private detective Akshay Kumar. While Akshay goes on to find ways to expose the erring husbands, they have their own plans. They instead reach out to Akshay and hire his services to find the identity of the man who is out to expose them.
There is ample scope for the other actors in the film as well which means that Suniel Shetty as well as Irrfan Khan get numerous moments to excel. In fact Suniel makes the most out of it and goes about enticing laughter in practically each of his scenes. Watch out for the scene where he is caught red handed by his wife. Or later when he plots revenge against Irrfan and Bobby. The trio is also brilliant in the best scene of the film which is set on a balcony and comes soon after the song 'Razia'. As a chauvinist, Irrfan Khan brings the house down with his one liners. His deadpan dialogue delivery and a body language which is still, yet so effective, works wonders. Watch out for the extreme transition he goes through from someone being over confident to a meek man in the later part of the film.
Bobby doesn't have many comic scenes to his credit and he primarily excels when entrusted with a few dramatic moments. He is decent, though not the kind of scene stealer that Suniel or Irrfan turn out to be. Sonam looks pretty and does a decent job in a role that requires her to be sad for most part of the film. Celina surprisingly disappears after a couple of scenes. In fact Rimi has a much meatier role and she displays her very good comic timing all over again, something that she had demonstrated quite well in her earlier films like 'Hungama' and 'Dhoom'. As for Akshay Kumar, he truly is the soul of the film. He neither tries to be an over smart a la 'Tees Maar Khan', doesn't behave like 'Mr. Know it all' and definitely doesn't play a flirt. In fact he keeps it all under control while taking a balanced approach without being loud at all. The point where he excels though is the one in the climax where he delivers an emotional speech on infidelity and why women are far superior than men. Any points where the film falters? A few moments in the first half and the beginning of the second half when comic moments tend to vanish. Also Akshay's back-story, though relevant, comes a little too late by which time one is rather expecting the film to end. The King (played by Mukesh Tiwari) angle seems forced and could have been more effective. The action sequences are just about okay as well when one would have rather expected them to be far more thrilling. Climax is predictable as well and makes one remember the last (wedding) scene of 'Break Ke Baad', which again wasn't the most original of all.
Nevertheless, 'Thank You' works as a package where it carries a message in addition to entertainment. Since the film is a clean family entertainer, it has the potential to expand its boundaries and find good audience for itself. Considering the fact that audience has been starved of any major film for weeks now and there is a fortnight ahead with minimal competition, 'Thank You' should find itself in the safety zone pretty soon and then also go on to make decent moolah for it's makers. Bollywood seems to be undergoing times of rehashing. While some filmmakers are remaking films, some are plainly encasing songs of yesteryears to create some hype around their film. Anees Bazmee's latest release Thank You has it all. The film is not only lifted in bits and pieces from Anees's previous films like No Entry or No Problem but also has resemblance to films on infidelity like Biwi No.1, Masti, Shaadi No 1 etc. Moreover, Anees also packs in an item number featuring Mallika Sherawat and has a remixed cult number Pyar Do Pyar Lo. Now it only remains to see whether all this works in the film's favour or not.
Based on infidelity, Thank You is a film about three lecherous husbands Raj (Bobby Deol), Vikram (Irrfan Khan) and Yogi (Suneil Shetty), big womanizers who openly cheat on their wives played by Sonam Kapoor, Rimi Sen and Celina Jaitly respectively Of them all Sanjana (Sonam) loves Raj too much but starts doubting him and deploys a detective agent Kishan (Akshay Kumar) to prove this. How he works towards proving Raj guilty and in the process exposes Vikram and Yogi too follows through rest of the plot. Though not as intolerable as No Problem, Thank You has more negatives than positives. The film gets mired by not only bad editing but also bad dubbing and lighting. Even the lip-syncing of songs by all the actors is faulty. Story writer and director Anees Bazmee fails to bring any novelty in the story and this time around lacks in direction too. All the actors appear in their over the top acting and expressions. Akshay Kumar is his usual flop self and as most of the cases, this time too fails to conjure any laughs. While Rimi Sen is all bloated up in this film, Celina Jaitly mostly suffers from bad make-up followed by close shots throughout the film. A part from weeping and sniffing, Sonam Kapoor doesn't have much to do. Irrfan Khan is the only respite in all of them. He surely does bring in a few chuckles.
Monday, April 4, 2011
F.A.L.T.U - Entertainment with soul
Cast: Jacky Bhagnani, Arshad Warsi, Puja Gupta, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Madhavan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Kareena Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Sushmita Sen, Mallika Sherawat, Abhishek Bachchan, Akbar Khan
Director: Remo DSouza
The movie, FALTU is directed by the ace choreographer Remo D’Souza and it is a first for him. No wonder that the audiences will be treated to mind boggling dance moves in the movie. The word “faltu” means complete waste in Hindi. The name suggests that the movie is going to be different from the other flicks. It is comedy at its best laughing at the current educational system of the country. The music director for the flick is Sachin Jigar and Sameer had taken up the responsibility of penning the lyrics for the songs. Vashu Bhagnani is the proud producer of the film. The movie is particularly releasing on the all fool’s day, 1st April 2011, to celebrate the fun and frolic of the movie.
The story of the movie revolves around four best friends, who are good at nothing and are permanently marked as failure by the education system. The three boys and the girl stay together and enjoy the life together. However, things change as they went through a life changing experience. The satire on the educational system tries to highlight the message that students should not be forced to study as per their parent’s whims; instead they should be given the freedom to choose what they wish to do. The star cast of the movie includes Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Angad Bedi, Jacky Bhagnani and Puja Gupta.One, the last movie from the same makers was called Kal Kisne Dekha (yeah, no one I know saw it too).
Two, this is what in Bollywood should be termed the ‘family film’. Which isn’t to suggest it’s meant for family viewing. But that a family’s made it (for its own pleasures first): Pappa (Vashu Bhagnani) is the producer, mummy (Honey Bhagnani) the associate, old protégé (Ritesh Deshmukh) is in the cast… Beta (Jackky Bhagnani) is the superstar, of the film, and of 14 original songs in it, most of them ‘item numbers’. The peppiest track, Party baaki hai is shot as an ad for Nissan Mycra (which by the way is darned smooth for a small car). Heroines in Hindi movies though are the only movable commodities that need no parental connections to compete for stardom. Hardly a film hero or producer, you may have noticed, wants their daughters to get into this trade. They just know better, I guess. The one here (Puja Gupta) is rightly a newcomer. Stepping out of a film such as this, I felt, “Ah, wasn’t bad at all!” This tells you as much about my experience of the movie as the expectations held when walking into it.
The lead boy’s father here sells bangaar (scrap) for a living. The boy himself would be scrap material for an education system that values marks scored in an exam alone. They don’t give you points for partying. That’s what the hero and his friends do. They can barely pass a written test. Except for one of them (Chandan Roy Sanyal, inspired casting), whose strict dad (Akbar Khan, imitating his late brother Feroze) coerces him into academics. The said geeky kid could also do with some fun. He’s scored a 90-plus, gotten admission into a top college, which would be a three-year paid vacation anyway. As all Indian liberal arts colleges are, and that isn't emphasized here. His buddies are struggling in their early 40s. No college will accept them. Their parents are understandably disillusioned. It may be too late for a rain check. The hero is equally helpless.
He and his friends cook up a college name then, design its fake website, advertise the non-existent school in news-dailies. They take over a disputed property, hire film extras (“junior artistes” in Bollywood-speak) to pose as students. Just so their parents can come, drop them off to this supposed school, leave for home, feeling secure about their kids’ future. The amount the kids probably spend to start a college from scratch could find them a place at various private universities that offer seats against capitation fee. But that’s another matter. Mom-pops are satisfied. Plan works. Or it doesn’t. Turns out hundreds of other low-scoring students have also turned up at the same fake school, hoping to be enrolled. Half a dozen writers have been credited for this film. The director is also the choreographer (since that would be most of his work). Plagiarism is still acceptable in Bollywood. The flick has been richly lifted from a Steven Pinker flick, called, well, Acceptable (2006). Which, by the way, has already been cogged once by another local filmmaker (KD Satyam’s Admission Open, last year). Huh!
The fake college in the original stood for SHIT (South Harmon Institute of Technology). The one here’s called Fakirchand and Lakirchand Trust University (in short, FALTU). A fully equipped campus is in place. Swimming pool works well. Crates of beers have been ordered. Mindlessness shouldn't be measured. Frat-boy, crass fun is a legit Hollywood genre (Old School, American Pie etc). The unlikely issue with Faltu is it isn’t faltu enough. It unleashes a lengthy manifesto for educational reforms insetad. Kids learn to make their imagined hobbies their chosen careers, watch videos of fashion designers, DJs, chefs, fitness instructors, choreographers… The film’s director (Remo); director of Housefull and Hey Baby, Sajid Khan; fashion designer Manish Malhotra etc walk in to lecture students on how to make it in life (or films). Clueless collegians look up, impressed. The suggested professions are possibly harder to break into than passing simple school exams. But then Everyone wants to tap into fancies of the indeterminate youth that makes for majority of India’s consumers. Most mistake their clothes for attitude. I just worry for the heavy icons we offer them, and lessons we dole out. Step into this employment exchange entertainment. Thank god, if you don’t have a child to raise. Curse your luck, if you do.Just before you think that F.A.L.T.U. is yet another college romcom in the offering, hold on for a second. That's because the film is not a romcom, it is indeed a 'dramcom' where drama and comedy run parallel to each other.
F.A.L.T.U. starts in a manner that one expected it to be. Three youngsters (Jackky Bhagnani, Puja Gupta, Angad Bedi) just want to have their quota of fun. They are pretty much carefree about their career ahead and resultantly fail to get admission in any college. They try to take help of their fourth friend's (Chandan Roy Sanyal) influential father (Akbar Khan) but are ridiculed there as well. However life takes a turn for them when together, they end up setting a fake university by default. Soon there are hundreds of students who throng the university and now the quartet has a task cut out for them to create a roadmap for everyone's career ahead. In this endeavour of theirs, they are supported by Arshad Warsi (who is a man for all seasons) and Riteish Deshmukh (who is a motivational help). Let's face it, the film's basic premise is as truly unbelievable as it is impossible to imagine everything around the university, its hostel, it's maintenance cost, other bills etc. to be funded without any financial backing. However once audience gets it in his/her mind that it is a movie which is being watched rather than a serious docudrama, F.A.L.T.U. turns into an enjoyable watch.
The initial scenes where these friends are is struggling to get admission into a college, the sequence when they take help from Arshad and Riteish, the twist in the tale when hundreds of students land up at the university all of this keeps the fun element on during the first half of the film. Second half stays on to be enjoyable as well though there is more drama than comedy in this part of the film. Jackky's conversation with his dad (Darshan Zariwala) where the latter explains to him the meaning of something waste turning useful after all, his idea of making things far more productive at the college, the extended sequence at a graveyard where all students come together to select a choice of their subject there are quite a few highlight sequences that ensure that F.A.L.T.U. doesn't dip.
There are portions towards the latter part of the film which could entice mixed reactions from the audience though. Celebrities talking to camera about what goes behind excelling in their respective fields may be either grabbed with both hands or could see indifference coming their way. However from the message perspective, these scenes are bang on.
What takes the film to a different high altogether though is the song 'Awaaz' which forms the climax of the film. A stage dance performed by all the 'faltus', it boasts of some brilliant choreography that belongs to never seen before variety. Amongst performances, Jackky leads from the front and shows a maturity in approaching his character as he transforms from a beer guzzling youngster to someone who tries to find a meaning in not just his life but also that of his college-mates. He dances brilliantly as well, especially in the song 'Fully faltus'. From this point on, he should be finding a good standing for himself in the industry. Puja not just looks pretty but also acts confidently with an uninhibited approach. She is supposed to be casual in the film but never goes overboard. Chandan gets a lengthy role for himself post 'Kaminey' and impresses in practically every scene that he appears. As for Angad, one can see a good actor behind a tough physique. Amongst the 'veterans' in the cast, Arshad and Riteish prove to be the anchors in the scenes where they appear. Cast in meaningful roles which are not mere guest appearances, they leave a mark. Amongst other actors, Darshan Zariwala leaves maximum impact, especially in the two scenes where he explains the meaning of 'kabaad' to his son.
At the end of it all, director Remo D'Souza ensures that F.A.L.T.U. stays on to be an entertainer with soul. You expect a cool campus entertainer from F.A.L.T.U. After all songs like 'Chaar Baj Gaye', 'Fully Faltu.', 'Bhoot Aaya' and especially 'Le Ja' (all composed by Sachin-Jigar) have already become quite popular over the weeks gone by which means that campus crowds have already been enticed enough to check out the fun quotient that the film brings on. But then the film's purpose is not just to entertain but also educate. And it does that successfully in it's own sweet manner.F.A.L.T.U? Not quite. A film that takes stinging swipes at our education system cannot live up to a title as uninspiring as that.
F.A.L.T.U turns out to be quite a pleasant surprise. Fresh, feisty, vivacious and vibrant, and with an important message on the gaping loopholes in our education system, this film gets your adrenaline all pumped for its energetic storytelling and more than a fair share of juvenile antics which stop short of being annoying because they represent the dimmed aspirations of hundreds of school drop-outs and semi-drop-outs who run adrift in the absence of the requisite marks to get into college. The film offers a solution borrowed straight from Steve Pink's 2006 high-school comedy "Accepted" where the losers and other unlikely heroes opened their own bogus college to pacify their disgruntled parents. Is Bollywood still doing unofficial remakes? As in Ayan Mukerjee's vastly superior "Wake Up, Sid," the aimless protagonist takes the earnest parents for granted until the terrible marks precipitates a domestic crisis for the academic failures.
After a point, the storytelling acquires a life of its own independent of any other films, desi or firangi. The film exudes a certain gaiety and ebullience. Bright showy colours are used to convey the shallow life where the only thing to look forward after a party is an after-party. Post-debutant director Remo d'Souza (he has earlier directed a Bengali film) lets the four principal characters do their own thing. A spirit of unconditional bonhomie runs through the hyper-activity of the characters, as they party, party and then party some more. And then somewhere down the line they want to get serious about their education. Interestingly, the bonding among the quarter of friends never goes into any emotional tangents. There isn't even a hint of a romance between Jackky Bhagnani and debutante Pooja Gupta who are the official hero and heroine. None of the four principal characters gets to lord over the proceedings. There are no romantic duets, no attempt to create individual alcoves of emotional or dramatic interest for any of the characters. Not one moment touches your heart. This isn't a film that encourages a slackening of narrative energy.
The performances are largely functional. Jackky Bhagnani shows a marked improvement since his last film. He gets dependable support from Chandan Roy Sanyal and to a lesser extent Angad Bede. Among the senior cast one is rather taken aback to see Rameshwari who once played the charming scenestealer in "Dulhan Wohi Jo Piya Man Bhaye", as Angad Bedi's South Indian mother. Angad looks as South Indian as Bishan Singh Bedi. But then we aren't really looking for cultural specificity in these actors. These characters represent a state of mind. They live in a world of vibrant colours.They are a part of a world where poor academic performance has turned them into diehard pleasure-seekers. To avoid thinking of what darkness lies in the future for these young losers,there's always the next party. Come, let's join the fun.F.A.L.T.U? Not quite. A film that takes stinging swipes at our education system cannot live up to a title as uninspiring as that.
F.A.L.T.U turns out to be quite a pleasant surprise. Fresh, feisty, vivacious and vibrant, and with an important message on the gaping loopholes in our education system, this film gets your adrenaline all pumped for its energetic storytelling and more than a fair share of juvenile antics which stop short of being annoying because they represent the dimmed aspirations of hundreds of school drop outs and semi drop outs who run adrift in the absence of the requisite marks to get into college.
The film offers a solution borrowed straight from Steve Pink’s 2006 high-school comedy “Accepted” where the losers and other unlikely heroes opened their own bogus college to pacify their disgruntled parents. Is Bollywood still doing unofficial remakes? As in Ayan Mukerjee’s vastly superior “Wake Up, Sid,” the aimless protagonist takes the earnest parents for granted until the terrible marks precipitates a domestic crisis for the academic failures. After a point, the storytelling acquires a life of its own independent of any other films, desi or firangi. The film exudes a certain gaiety and ebullience. Bright showy colours are used to convey the shallow life where the only thing to look forward after a party is an after-party.
Post-debutant director Remo d’Souza (he has earlier directed a Bengali film) lets the four principal characters do their own thing. A spirit of unconditional bonhomie runs through the hyper-activity of the characters, as they party, party and then party some more. And then somewhere down the line they want to get serious about their education. Interestingly, the bonding among the quarter of friends never goes into any emotional tangents. There isn’t even a hint of a romance between Jackky Bhagnani and debutante Pooja Gupta who are the official hero and heroine. None of the four principal characters gets to lord over the proceedings. There are no romantic duets, no attempt to create individual alcoves of emotional or dramatic interest for any of the characters. Not one moment touches your heart. This isn’t a film that encourages a slackening of narrative energy.
The performances are largely functional. Jackky Bhagnani shows a marked improvement since his last film. He gets dependable support from Chandan Roy Sanyal and to a lesser extent Angad Bedi. Among the senior cast one is rather taken aback to see Rameshwari who once played the charming scenestealer in “Dulhan Wohi Jo Piya Man Bhaye”, as Angad Bedi’s South Indian mother. Angad looks as South Indian as Bishan Singh Bedi. But then we aren’t really looking for cultural specificity in these actors. These characters represent a state of mind. They live in a world of vibrant colours.They are a part of a world where poor academic performance has turned them into diehard pleasure seekers. To avoid thinking of what darkness lies in the future for these young losers,there’s always the next party. Come, let’s join the fun.
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