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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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