Irrespective of how his films fare at the box-office, you cannot shut your eyes to the fact that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films have so much to offer in terms of style and substance.

Alas, SAAWARIYA is all style, no substance. When a director of the calibre of SLB attempts a love story, you expect to experience the various emotions that you generally associate with romance. Sadly, the emotions you experience while watching SAAWARIYA is sorrow and after the screening, anguish.

With splendid backers like Hollywood giant Columbia/Sony and a dream cast, Bhansali falters big time in SAAWARIYA. It doesn’t give you the feeling that you’re watching an SLB film or a film of epic proportions. Instead, you constantly feel that you’re watching a 2-hour play.

Dostoevsky’s short story WHITE NIGHTS may sound interesting on paper, but SLB’s adaptation suffers because there’s not much meat in the plot. In fact, it wouldn’t be erroneous to state that SAAWARIYA ranks amongst SLB’s weakest films, as far as scripting is concerned.

To cut a long story short, SAAWARIYA disappoints big time. You expect the moon from this genius film-maker, but you’re disheartened as you watch his new creation.

This time, hum dil nahin de chuke sanam!

SAAWARIYA is about two young star-crossed lovers. A musician, Raj [Ranbir Kapoor], is certain that he has found his ultimate dream when he arrives at a picturesque town. However, destiny paints a different picture for Raj. One silent night, he spots a mysterious girl draped in black, standing alone at a bridge.

This chance encounter introduces him to Sakina [Sonam Kapoor], a shy and quiet girl, who continues to intrigue him. Thus follows the beginning of a new friendship, where Raj, with his most charming ways and an undying spirit, tries to win Sakina’s heart.

Raj is unable to accept her haunting past and their friendship pulls him into a whirlwind of desire, madness and romance.

SAAWARIYA suffers because of its writing mainly. Let’s unravel the points that bother the viewer no end…

Which part of the country is this straight-out-of-a-fairytale town located? And what era are we talking of?
Even if you subscribe to the theory that it was love at first sight for Salman and Sonam, what is it that keeps their romance going?
Why does Salman disappear suddenly? Besides his name, the girl knows nothing about him. Not his home/native place, work/profession/work place, relatives, nothing absolutely. It’s like falling in love with a shadow, isn’t it?
Why does Rani Mukerji abandon Ranbir, when he comes knocking on her doors and admits that he wants to spend time with her? Why does she lose her temper, although she secretly loves him?
And Salman returns. The sequence that follows and the culmination to the story leave you completely disgruntled and perplexed!
Besides, the conversation between the lead pair fails to involve you. Sure, a few sequences are filmed brilliantly, but the impact the film ought to create in totality is missing. It gets verbose and boring after a point.

What makes matters worse is the setting/ambience. The film gets monotonous after a point, visually speaking, since it has been shot in its entirety on dark sets. You long for some visual relief, some bright spots, some sunshine…

Monty’s music is another sore point. Sure, a few songs are well tuned, but the everlasting melody, associated with SLB’s films, is missing. You hear them, savour them that moment, but forget all about them once the movie concludes.

Ravi K. Chandran’s cinematography is of international standards. The sets look imaginative, but as mentioned earlier, you yearn for a visual break, a different colour.

As a storyteller, SLB is letdown by his own writing. Things start slipping as the reels unfold. In the post-interval portions, you fervently pray that things might stabilize, for SLB as also Ranbir and Sonam’s sake, but alas! The love, passion and anguish, the hallmark of SLB films, is clearly missing this time.

Now to the dream launches! Ranbir Kapoor is supremely talented, no two opinions on that. Yes, he looks handsome, but what you carry home is the sincerity in his performance. If that’s the [high] level of performance in his debut film, this lad will only make the Kapoor clan proud in years to come. It’s a 10 on 10 for this debutante!

Sonam Kapoor is an average actor. However, her role doesn’t give her the opportunity to display histrionics. She looks gorgeous at places, but plain ordinary at times.

Age has started showing on Salman Khan’s face. He looks like an old, mature man in this film. The boyish looks have gone! As for his role, he is completely wasted in this hardly-10-minute appearance. Rani Mukerji is first-rate. Zohra Segal is superb, while Begum Para is hardly there.

On the whole, SAAWARIYA lacks soul. It’s SLB’s weakest film to date, in terms of writing. At the box-office, the film will collect big numbers in its opening weekend due to the Diwali vacations as also the hype surrounding the film. But the cracks will start showing at relatively smaller stations/single screens first [where the practice of advance booking doesn’t exist] and at big centres as days progress. For the distributors, they’ll have to rely on its business from multiplexes mainly. While the business from multiplexes at Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, NCR, Kolkata, Jaipur and South will be impressive initially, there would be a big gap between multiplex and non-multiplex centres. Overall, disappointing — in terms of content and in terms of business as well!

Indiafm Rating: 1/5/5

Going out in a reported 2,000 prints, the film claims to be the biggest day-and-date international release in Bollywood history. (Official red-carpet world preem Oct. 8 was held in London, not Mumbai.) And with one number alone that features cameo appearances by 31 Bollywood stars, past and present, pic has a wow factor unequalled by any Hindi film in memory. Box office slugfest over the Diwali period with equally awaited “Saawariya,” the first Bollypic funded by a U.S. major (Sony), looks to be a battle royale.

Unlike “Main hoon na,” which, though set in the present, was heavily doused in ’70s retro, new pic requires considerable knowledge of mainstream Hindi movies to get all the in-jokes. But just as the earlier pic referenced several classic Western musicals (from “Grease” to “West Side Story”), “Om” also stirs in some non-Hindi parallels, notably from “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Phantom of the Opera.”

Part one is set 30 years ago, during the high days of the studio system. Om Prakash Makhija (Khan) is a “junior artiste” (i.e., extra) on the fictional RC Studios lot, where he dreams of becoming a superstar. He’s encouraged by his best buddy, Pappu (Shreyas Talpade), and mom, Bela (vet Kirron Kher), also a onetime wannabe actress.

In fact, Om doesn’t need much encouragement, as — in a string of eye-popping musical numbers (one digitally incorporating old stars’ faces) — he imagines himself singin’ and dancin’ alongside his dream actress, superstar Shantipriya (former model Deepika Padukone). Om befriends Shanti on set but, by chance, overhears an argument with her producer, Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal), that completely changes his perception of her.

Part one ends with a technical tour de force that sees RC Studios destroyed by fire and Om and Shanti destroyed by the Machiavellian Mukesh. Post-intermission, 30 years later, the yarn follows a contempo superstar, Om Kapoor (also Khan), who was born on the day the studio burned down. Vain, terminally lightweight Om (”just call me OK”) has a strange fear of fire and seems to have inherited the spirit of the old Om.

Pic is really two movies in one, with part one a jokey tribute to the ’70s and part two much more plot-heavy and dramatic. With the hunky Khan onscreen almost the whole time, and seriously overdoing his mature-boyish charm in the first half, the movie also requires considerable tolerance of the King’s limited range. Padukone, a real looker with major screen presence, acts as a balance in the early stages; more’s the pity she’s not given much chance in part two to develop her likeable, klutzy wannabe actress, Sandhya (”just call me Sandy”).

Playing a villain for a change, Rampal is fine as the ruthless Mukesh, and Talpade, as Om’s buddy, makes a good screen partner to Khan. Among the other thesps, Kher has the meatiest role as Om’s mom.

Thick-and-fast musical numbers lack the lightness and pure fun of those in “Main,” but compensate with sheer magnitude, topped by the foot-tapping, 9½-minute title song in part two, which is virtually a Bollywood “Who’s Who.” Production values are super-lavish throughout, from the kaleidoscopically colored ’70s costumes through V. Manikandan’s glossy widescreen lensing to the slick visual effects.

Vareity

With: Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Shefali Shah, Divya Dutta, Jisshu Sengupta.
(English, Hindi dialogue)

A grand old stage vet experiences a tragic downfall when he ventures into his first starring film role in “The Last Lear,” Rituparno Ghosh’s badly calculated behind-the-scenes meller that exhibits a peculiar contemptuousness toward movies and moviemaking. A decidedly serious dramatization of Utpal Dutt’s play, “Aajker Shahjahan” (The Emperor Today), and also partially made to honor superstar Amitabh Bachchan — here incredibly in his first primarily English-lingo pic — Ghosh’s handling is stodgy and dull and calls out for trimming. Local auds and non-resident Indian fans will flock to see this unusual Bachchan project and will patiently look past work’s myriad problems.

The premiere of a film titled “The Mask” provides Ghosh’s narrative with a rather creaky framing device to rewind to the film-within-a-film’s genesis: Journo Gautam (Jisshu Sengupta) uses an interview with great thesp Harish (Harry) Mishra (Bachchan) as a vehicle to introduce the old, crusty artist to rising hot-shot helmer Siddarth (Arjun Rampal).

It takes a long while to fill in this phase of the saga, since the action first involves “Mask” co-star Shabnam (Preity Zinta), hiding from her cruel husband by going to Harry’s home. There, it’s revealed that Harry is now infirm and bedridden, with the household run by his longtime companion Vandana (Shefali Shah), who at first treats Shabnam with spite.

Eventually, the women grow comfortable with each other, as Shabnam relates to Vandana how she got to know Harry while making the film. At the same time, outside the premiere screening, Gautam recalls his side of the Harry story.

Pace is particularly slack in the early going as characters and relationships are established across locales and timeframes, making Harry’s first encounter with Gautam long overdue.

A man living in the memories of his legendary Shakespearean performances, Harry is a flatly drawn curmudgeon that Bachchan uses for the personal pleasure of much scenery chewing, declamations and more than a few of his signature flourishes. A theatrical moment when Harry breaks into a Prospero soliloquy from “The Tempest” in the middle of his Kolkata living room is a case of Shakespeare-gone-kitsch.

Since Harry views the Bard and the theater as almost holy callings, with cinema far down the cultural food chain, the likelihood of him accepting Siddharth’s film offer — to play an aging clown in a down-and-out circus, no less — is a major reach. Script never convinces on this critical matter; on the other hand, the inner workings of a non-Bollywood film set ring true, particularly when the crew works in the stunning Himalayan foothills of Mussoorie.

During a key plot device involving the use of a stunt double for Harry, with Harry insisting that he can do the dangerous stunt himself, pic once again rings false.

Throughout, “The Last Lear” seems to hold to an underlying assumption that theater is a considerably higher artform than cinema, a lesser medium more suited for slick operators like Siddharth. It’s a mighty odd message for moviemakers to deliver.

Alongside Bachchan’s scene-stealing, the ultra-popular pair of Zinta and Rampal manage to hold their own onscreen. It’s an interesting paradox to watch a star like Zinta deliver a good perf as a woman who’s widely known as a bad thesp.

Production aspects are top-line, led by Abhik Mukhopadhyay’s evocative widescreen lensing.

Camera (color, widescreen), Avik Mukhopadhyay; editor, Arghya Kamal Mitra; music, 21 Grams CQ; production designer, Indronil Ghosh; costume designer, Varsha Shilpa; sound (Dolby Digital), Bishwadeep Chatterjee; sound designer, Rishwadeep Chatterjee; visual effects supervisor, Naveen Paul. Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival (Gala Presentations), Sept. 8, 2007. (Also in London Film Festival.) Running time: 123 MIN.

variety.com

Heyy Babyy is about 3 womanisers Arush (Akshay Kumar), Tanmay (Ritesh Deshmukh) and Ali (Fardeen Khan). Arush loves sleeping with babes and then ditching them. Tanmay is a party entertainer who enjoys playing with babies and babes too! Ali is a gambler cum womaniser. The 3 cool dudes are having a ball in Sydney. The formula is simple Flirt – Sleep – Ditch. But a sweet little baby girl changes their lives.. Forever! The cool dudes turn into loving and caring fathers. Just then their lives take yet another twist with the entry of Esha (Vidya Balan)..

Heyy Babyy has just the right ingredients for a perfect entertainer, comedy combined with emotions. The movie begins with a bang with brilliantly executed comic scenes that has the viewers in splits. The subsequent portions with the emotional bonding between Arush, Tanmay, Al and the Baby does tend to drag a bit. At the half way mark you start wondering just what could happen next, as the story requires a twist to carry it forward. But what works for the movie is the brilliant second half. The credit should go to Sajid Khan who handles every scene with brilliance. Most definitely a director to watch out in the future. The music is average. Mast Kalandhar is the song that stands out. The cinematography (Himman Dhamija) is stylish, Sydney and Brisbane has been shot well.

Akshay Kumar rocks in comedy but way below average in the emotional scenes. He is in full form in the portions between him and Vidya Balan in the second half. Ritesh Deshmukh isnt at his best which is disappointing. Fardeen Khan is surprisingly good. Vidya Balan has no scope for histrionics. She needs to work on her look. In western clothes she looks plumb but absolutely gorgeous in the traditional Indian saree! Boman Irani is brilliant. Anupam Kher and Shahrukh Khan have a brief special appearance.

A few things that worked

- Akshay Kumar wooing Vidya Balan in the second half. Hilarious!
- Chemistry between Akshay – Ritesh – Fardeen.
- The baby leaves a smile on your face.
- The crowd reaction when Shahrukh Khan appears on screen has to be experienced to be believed.
- The one liners.

A few things that didnt work

- The slow paced first half. 10 mins can easily be chopped off for better impact.
- The Music.

Also, some interaction between Anupam Kher and Shahrukh Khan would have been interesting as SRK plays Raj (from DDLJ).

Overall, Heyy Babyy is a well made comic entertainer which mainly works thanks to Akshay Kumar’s amazing comic timing. Worth a watch in theatre.

Heyy Babyy ends with a message from Sajid Khan which reads “Love you SRK”. I’d end this review with “We Love you Akshay” your just brilliant in comedies.

Heyy Babyy Rating: 3.5 on 5
Indicine Team

Follow the links below for more external movie reviews of Heyy Babyy.

Marigold (Larter) is a self-absorbed, bitchy princess type with no layers whatsoever. She spends the first quarter of the film demonstrating her character flaw again and again.

She flies to India to appear in a low-budget flick, only to find the project has folded, she has no luggage and her taxi driver has stranded her in the back of beyond. Then, before you know it, this class-A cow has befriended a lovely Indian girl called Rani, who sees something in Marigold despite her prickly exterior, and gets her a job on another film shooting in the area.

Marigold falls for the choreographer, Prem (Khan) and they spend the rest of the movie (the one we’re watching and the one they’re making) living out every romantic comedy cliche. Prem teaches her to dance. They laze on a Goan beach by a campfire, surrounded by pretty lanterns and brightly coloured silks which just happened to be lying around. A boat trip here. The Taj Mahal there. And it’s all liberally sprinkled with Bollywood dance numbers which Larter bravely participates in, even though she’s a very average singer and dancer.

Director Willard Carroll clearly went to India on holiday, fell in love with the ‘culture’ (for culture, read picture postcard India) and wanted to make this rather obsequious love letter to the place that so inspired him.

He borrows heavily from the structure and style of Bollywood but effectively cherry-picks the bits he likes and ignores plot and characterisation. The arrival of Barry (Bohen), Marigold’s on/off boyfriend is painfully clunky; in all of India he just happens to come to the right region in order to find his stroppy girlfriend. In a later instance, he coincidentally ends up at the same hotel. What?

The whole point of Bollywood’s hyper-real romances is that you’re rooting for the love interests to get together at the end of the movie. When they do in Marigold (this isn’t a spoiler – there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better in a hundred Mills & Boon novels), it’s like someone letting the last bit of air out of a long-deflated balloon. It was already flaccid to begin with.

The dance numbers are spectacular but any fool knows you can make an audience feel good with a bit of Busby Berkley-style abundance. Lots of people together in colourful costumes, doing the same dance moves and looking like they’re enjoying themselves is always going to pick things up. But leave that to Bollywood.

Verdict
As Prem’s dad says of his son’s feature film career, “I know nothing about dancing and the plots seem ludicrous to me.”

Channel 4

Ali Larter (alter ego Niki Sanders from “Heroes”) stars as the self-centered American B-movie actress Marigold Lexton, whose career is fading. Lexton loses her luggage and is trapped in Goa, India, without a return ticket when the movie she was to star in loses its Hollywood financing and shuts down. To try to earn her way back home, she takes a small part in an Indian musical, and starts to fall in love with the choreographer, Prem (Salman Khan).

It was hard to imagine the two characters falling in love, perhaps due to the lack of kissing (public displays of affection are taboo in a Bollywood movie) or the less-than-explosive chemistry between the two characters. In Indian movies, the song lyrics often provide these cultural clues. Having English subtitles for the Hindi lyrics while the musical numbers were performed would have provided context and made us believe that the Lexton and Prem were definitely falling in love.

What should have been an opportunity to connect between the East and the West was instead turned into a befuddling mash-up where the viewer is left wondering what they sang or wishing he or she could reference a good Hindi-to-English dictionary in a dark theatre.

By Pei Chien (meniscuszine.com)

Chak De India is a beautifully made film that makes you laugh, makes you cry, gives you goose bumps, and stirs up patriotism inside you. It is a film that every lover of good cinema must watch.

It is heartening to see Yashraj Films move away from their stereotypical mushy romances and sentimental family dramas. Sports, in itself, is not a popular genre in Bollywood. On top of it, ‘Chak De India’ has no love angle even though it has Shah Rukh Khan playing the leading man alongside 16 new girls. Despite so many odds, ‘Chak De India’ turns out to be a riveting film. Reason – excellent writing (by Jaideep Sahni), well etched-out characters, brilliant performances (by Shah Rukh, Shilpa Shukla, Sagarika Ghatge and Chitrashi Rawat) and, last but not the least, superb direction by Shimit Amin .

I cannot recall a single dull moment in the film. From the word go, the movie grips you like a vice and keeps you riveted until the end credits roll. During this ‘Chak De’ ride, you go through myriad emotions. You empathize with the pain of the protagonist, cherish the clashes and camaraderie of the girls, and you are filled with an uplifting, charged-up feeling as you see the underdogs rise to the occasion.

To cut to the chase, ‘Chak De India’ keeps you on the edge of your seat, even though it is a sports-based film and not a thriller.

The film’s story is simple and yet it carries so many undercurrents.

Kabir Khan (Shah Rukh), the best centre-forward in Indian hockey team, misses the crucial, last-minute penalty stroke against Pakistan and is blamed for the Indian team’s defeat in the finals. So much so, he is labeled gaddar (betrayer) by his own fellow countrymen. Disgraced and dishonored for one momentary failure, Kabir Khan leaves his parental house with his mother and disappears into oblivion.

Seven years later he appears again, not as a player but as a coach of a bunch of girls in whom even the Hockey Federation has no confidence. Kabir Khan has just three months to coach and train these girls for the Hockey World Cup in Australia.

The girls come from all over India – Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, North East and other states.

On the outside, Kabir Khan is very strict with the girls. Through his toughness he wants to instill discipline and integrity in the team, something which is significantly missing.

Within the team, there is hardly any camaraderie. There are usual girlie fights and arguments. Somebody is egoistic, somebody too self-centered, somebody is hot-tempered and somebody is simply naïve.

Using very unconventional methods, Kabir Khan manages to create a team spirit among the girls. But some differences remain, only to be sorted out in the World Cup tournament in Australia, which the team must win to make India proud. But Kabir Khan is fighting for more than pride for India. For him the victory would bring redemption (for his momentary failure 7 years ago) and reclamation of his lost honour. And when that moment of reckoning does come, he looks on with disbelief in his teary eyes.

‘Chak De India’ is not just a sports film. It is replete with myriad emotions. And the best part is that Shimit Amin tells the story very realistically, making it all the more believable. He also doesn’t bring any unnecessary dramatization into the story.

The movie has a number of intelligently conceived sequences. For instance, a sequence when the girl’s hockey team has to prove their mettle against the men’s team. The girls lose by a narrow margin, but they get an applause and salutation from male players. Or another sequence when the girls bash up a bunch of eve teasers. These sequences and the last portions of the second half – when the crucial matches are played – evoke a flood of emotions inside a viewer.

A constant thread of humour runs through the film’s narrative. The humour is vernacular, and genuinely funny at that. The funniest of the lot is the rustic Haryanavi girl Komal (Chitrashi Rawat) and the hot-tempered Punjabi girl Balbir Kaur (Tanya Abrol).

After a long time – perhaps since Swades – Shah Rukh gives a substantial reason to write something about his acting. The superstar doesn’t go overboard in his performance in ‘Chak De’– there is no quivering of lips and no heavy breathing. Using his facial expressions and intense eyes to his advantage, with utmost conviction SRK plays a man simmering and seething within. Undoubtedly, this one is a praiseworthy performance from the King Khan.

SRK isn’t the sole focus of the film. Ample footage is given to the girls. Shilpa Shukla (as the egoistic Bindia) delivers a laudable performance. She maintains a snooty, high-headed demeanor throughout the film. Sagarika Ghatge (as the attacking forward player Preeti Sabarwal) is convincing. Vidya Malvade (as the goalie) plays her part well.

To conclude this review, let me say objectively that ‘Chak De India’ surpasses the expectations that I had begun to have from Yashraj Films of late. A great deal of credit for this gripping film should go to director Shimit Amin, who never lets the technicalities, the cinematic style (or still better the visual beauty) overtake the essence of the story.

At the end of the day, ‘Chak De India’ is a deeply touching film that offers plenty for you to carry home with.

Do yourself a favour, go and see this film. It is a must-watch.

Rating: ****

apunkachoice.com

The movie, directed by Himesh’s longtime friend Prashant Chaddha, is not based on Reshammiya’s life. It is a fiction story that anyway answers some FAQs about the singer-musician.

In his acting debut, Himesh is too uptight before the camera. For the most part he wears a brooding look that has by now become quite typical of him. And the emotions that he expresses in the film are those of sadness, pain, anguish, helplessness and anger. In fact, after some time the movie begins to look like a vanity collage of Himesh Reshammiya.

‘Aap Ka Surroor’ tells the story of HR (Himesh), a rock star on a musical tour in Germany. He falls in love at first sight with Riaa ( Hansika Motwani ), the event manager of his concert.

On the other hand, there is Ruby ( Mallika Sherawat ), the partner of the organizer of the concert. Ruby is in love with HR. But he doesn’t reciprocate her feelings. He loves Riaa.

HR’s troubles begin with the murder of a TV journalist. The finger of suspicion points towards HR and he is arrested by Stuttgart police and put behind bars.

Convinced of HR’s guilt, Riaa’s father (Sachin Khedekar) fixes her marriage with another man. Now, HR has only one option: to run away from police captivity and find the real killer to prove his innocence before his ladylove is married off to someone else. Will he succeed?

‘Aap Ka Surroor’ is based on a wafer thin plot. On top of it, the film’s script and dialogues are very filmy. But director Prashant Chaddha makes the flick interesting by telling the story very stylishly and at a brisk pace. In fact, the film is akin to an outstretched music video that packs in different ingredients necessary for a masala entertainer: romance, music, drama and action.

The film’s USP is its music. Songs like ‘Asalaam Valekum’, ‘Tera Mera Milna’, ‘Tanhainyan’ and ‘Mehbooba’ are a delight to ears. However, the placement of ‘Mehbooba’ (with Mallika) could have been better.

While Himesh impresses as a music composer of the film, he fails to make any mark as an actor. He is stiff, he is conscious of the camera and he tries to act as if he has all the pain in the world. This act begins to look superficial after a while. Anyway, considering it is his first attempt at acting, some leniency should be shown in evaluating his performance.

Hansika Motwani is cute and gorgeous. Although she is confident in front of the camera, her acting skills need some polishing.

Mallika Sherawat looks sexy and plays her part of a vamp very well. The change in her character in the second half was unexpected.

Among other actors, Raj Babbar and Sachin Khedekar have very small roles. Shravan as Himesh’s sidekick is superb.

On the whole, ‘Aap Ka Surroor’ is worth a watch if you are a Reshammiya fan. The film’s story interweaves romance, mystery and thrills in a way that will appeal to the masses.

Rating: 2.5/2/5

Apun Ka Choice

The dictionary describes the term family as a fundamental social group in society, typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.

In a country such as ours, bestowed with a rich culture and values passed on through generations, the term family takes a new meaning altogether. Apne is the pronunciation of this meaning of family and what it means to be conferred with one.

Every family member watches out for the other, that’s the thought Baldev Singh (Dharmendra) leads his life by. After an unsuccessful career in boxing, convicted of doping charges, he asks his son Angad (Sunny Deol) to make him proud in the ring. But Angad refuses, as he opts for an alternative career. This refusal comes at a cost, that of hostility between father and son.

With a great offer to reclaim his honour, Baldev begins coaching Gaurav (Aryan Vaid). All is well till he too deserts him for another coach. Shattered and completely out of control, Baldev’s rescue vehicle is none other than his younger son Karan (Bobby Deol), who recuperates from a paralysed hand. With coaching sessions in full swing, it is up to Karan to salvage his father’s honour. What follows is a series of unfortunate events and the re-discovery of familial bonds. A family torn by tension discovers what it means having each other around.

To begin with, the concept of family that is so bound to our being, is also intertwined throughout the film. Without going overboard in trying to state a point, the plot discovers the bond extremely well. The characters are not mundane (there are always exceptions), neither is their feeling. The characters are well carved and executed with simplicity, they become easy to associate with. The nitty gritty of the relationships are well brought out and with a good background to each character, they are granted a good amount pf depth.

The fact that the three male leads are related by blood, makes it all the more compelling. The chemistry they share is highlighted right through the film.

The camerawork and cinematography are deserving of praise. Each moment is well captured and with the captured emotions flowing, you can’t help but join in sharing it. The dialogues too are worked upon well.

While the filters heighten emotions and are used well in the pertinent scenes, it is the inconsistency that disheartens. The need to fuse them and create one magnanimous movie that is flawless is unseen. Even the editing, though good in most parts, seems edgy at times. Moreover, the humour attacks that are rarely seen through the film also seem forced. It is as though in an constant effort to calm one down and liven up the atmosphere around, but it doesn’t really help as the emotions are already thrust onto you.

In a film that is about family, one seldom one needs to act. The emotions you feel are real and that is precisely what one sees in the eyes of the Deol trio. They all manage to put up great performances. However of the three, only Bobby in the few minutes he essays his role with a paralyzed left arm, seems unconvincing. Soon, with both arms functional again, he gets into form. Shetty essays her character with panache and is adorable. Kher, as Baldev’s wife and the moral support, is very persuasive. The few minutes Dutta, Vaid and Kaif are allowed to perform, they do well. Banerjee, though present in most parts of the film, fails to spark the magic he usually conjures.

Business at the box office should be good. With mixed reactions, expect it to do well phenomenally in certain centers and cities, and moderately in a few others. Good and strong word of mouth publicity will strengthen its collection capabilities.

With Apne, chances are you will walk out of the theatre and hug your family and tell them their worth. This one dose of entertainment is recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5

BOC

I have never been an Emraan Hashmi fan but have to say this, after watching Awaarapan, I would be a fool not to praise the actor for giving such a power-packed performance in a film which doesn’t really have the potential to appeal to the masses, all thanks to a bland story line coupled with mediocre dialogues. In spite of the multiple drawbacks in the film, Hashmi holds on to his own and delivers the finest performance of his career.

The Bhatt camp is known for providing us with unique cinema and that’s what they do here as well, but unfortunately director Mohit’s idea of expanding an incident in the life of a man into an entire two hour film falls flat.

Shivam (Emraan) is an atheist henchman of Mallik (Ashutosh Rana), a rich hotelier cum businessman involved in flesh trade and many such illegitimate activities in Hong Kong. Shivam follows Mallik’s orders blindly. He kills people if necessary, runs Mallik’s hotel, keeps an eye on his mistress and in no time becomes his confidante. But this strong bond between the two develops crack when Shivam is assigned the job of killing Mallik’s Pakistani mistress (Mrinalini Sharma, extremely ordinary). The entire film then shows what is it that makes it impossible for a cold blooded shooter like Shivam to accomplish his gangster boss’ ‘kill my mistress’ request…

The first half of the film drags enormously and by the time the film picks up in the second half, you are already bored. The film is extremely serious and tries to show the dilemma of a sensitive heartbroken aashiq (Emraan) and thus if you are going through ‘without my lover’ phase too, do carry a hanky along, as there is loads to sob about. Also if you are an avid watcher of ‘escapist and feel good films’ or ‘entertaining’ films, this film is not for you, so just stay away.

In fact the film won’t work for anyone except for those Emraan Hashmi fans, who often pray to see him act without performing his trademark ‘smooches’! Awaarapan’s only USP is the fact that in the history of Indian cinema, you’ll see an Emraan Hashmi keeping his heroines at an arms length!

Shreya Saran (acts well), promoted by the film unit as the lead heroine, surprisingly does a cameo; while Mrinalini walks away with a meatier role, which she doesn’t do justice to at all.

Music is just alright, except for the track ‘Ab Aa O Naa’ which is simply superb.

Awaarapan, a tale of a heartbroken bloke and his excessive love for a woman will fail to satisfy even the hardcore lovers of mushy romance, leave alone the aam junta… We tackle a huge amount of depression on a daily basis anyways; don’t need Shivam’s extra emotional baggage to add to it!

Rating: ** ½

indiatimes

Just when you thought it was safe to brand Ram Gopal Varma into a predictable style, the filmmaker strikes back with Nishabd, a bittersweet left hook that leaves you reeling with its poignancy. He also manages to extract a phenomenal performance from The Megastar, who proves he’s always, always capable of making your jaw drop. And then there’s the ravishing Jiah Khan, who makes this bold, punchy film a knockout.

The film opens in the insanely green Munnar, the kind of casually breathtaking locale that gives Kerala a good shout at that Divine Country claim. Through the hazy bluegreen tint of the camera we come across the stark white spikes of Amitabh Bachchan’s french beard in extreme close up, as he starts his narration — as he, standing on the edge of a rocky precipice, tells the story of a girl that drove him to thoughts of suicide.

Amitabh plays Vijay, an introverted, no-nonsense photographer who lives in the heart of a massive tea estate with his wife Amrita (Revathy). As is evident from the walls lined with photographs taken by him, Vijay loves lowlight, cold colours and silhouettes as much as RGV. And that’s not all they have in common — they both share the inescapable craving of finding the right subject, one with enough lifeblood.

Or ’spirit.’ That’s the word Jiah uses, an effervescent girl with a penchant for short shorts and filled with the persistent restlessness of the young. She’s 18, from Australia, and visiting her friend Ritu (Shraddha Arya) and her folks. We meet her in a precariously ripped denim skirt as she sashays in with a telltale L-O-V-E handbag and a ‘that’s-(only)-okay’ attitude. Trying hard to sit through the saas-bahu television show, she wipes creamy finger on the couch as Revathy glares, and eventually goes in to meet the lensman, meticulously laying his cameras down to sleep.

And then comes time to wake up and smell the passion. The most atypical of RGVs films, this one smartly takes an achingly long time to get from moment to moment, with much to read between the lines, the glances — and between Amitabh Bachchan’s sighs. The film luxuriates in this leggy languor, the entire first half focussing on the inevitable spark, the undeniable chemistry, between this perfectly cast odd-couple.

It is impossible to call Amitabh Bachchan a revelation, the actor having done it all before, but this is a reinvention so masterful that you can’t help but marvel. The actor is used to perfect effect by Varma, draping him in believable cardigans and realistic lighting. If the wistful moans from the women in the audience are any indicator, then Bachchan strikes the exact tone; for the girls, he’s that super-cool friend of Dad’s they always wanted. Sexy, very sexy.

It’s also a role nobody — repeat, nobody — else could have played. As RGV unravels his simple narrative, you realise just how vital Amitabh is to the proceedings, equally as both the industry’s legendary patriarch and its undying rockstar. The tightrope walk of the fallen hero is a difficult one, but Bachchan, armed with that baritone and a role which lets him play with silences, is superb as he not just strikes the balance, but creates a tragic protagonist we sympathise with, constantly.

Also apropos is Jiah. ‘J’ to friends, this one’s a drop dead stunner, a delicious nymphette who knows just how appealing she is. Jiah starts off almost manipulative — she dangles her ebullience in front of Vijay and almost tauntingly asks if he loves her spirit — but grows to show shades of half-naivete, half-scorn. It’s a believable character, and her accent fits right in. It’s a nuanced, impressive acting job as she flits from moody jumpiness to assured devil-may-care, from teasing to tormented.

And did I mention the legs?

The first half of the film is brilliant, showcasing amazing performances. Outside of the lead couple, Revathy is reliably solid — even while having to struggle with some too-obvious lines — but Arya overplays her bratty daughter card to annoying proportions. As is the norm with Ramu in offbeat mode (Naach, Kaun) the film is exquisitely framed and very well shot (there is a wonderfully twisty long take as Bachchan stands outside the house) — but this one goes a step better. It’s nicely, lazily edited, it’s slow pace a great temperamental accompaniment to Vijay’s heartbreaking fall from grace.

Yet while The Fall is painfully powerful, the rest doesn’t quite gel. Things fall together in a slightly slipshod manner in Vijay’s world post-Interval, and the dissolution could certainly have been more emphatic. Things come together — or drift apart, depending on which side of the fence you’re on — with an abruptness uncharacteristic to the first half.

There is arguably no way to cleanly end a tale of such doomed, ridiculous love, but the hurry of the second half undoes a lot of the first section’s greatness. By the way, this film is a demonstrable argument against the need for an Intermission at all. Still, the film ends with a decidedly unfinished feeling.

Overall, Nishabd is a powerful film — more than you might initially think. It humanises a strong, scandalous subject and succeeds in making it alarmingly commonplace, extremely possible. The two lead characters are very well fleshed out and acted, and by the time the film ends, if you feel anger at the filmmaker for showing preference toward a protagonist or at not tying it all up more conventionally, that is a debatable triumph; you love the characters more than the story.

And as for all those of you who’ve parroting the name of Vladimir Nabakov’s masterpiece, here’s the real scoop: the only thing borrowed from Lolita (that too just the poster of the Stanley Kubrick version, to be honest) is the lollipop.

Ram Gopal Varma has done it again. He’s surprised us with a touching, deep and visibly personal effort, and if you were waiting with brickbats in hand, sorry. This one works.

Rediff Rating: 3.5/5

By GaRaM

Honeymoon Travels Private Ltd, as one expects, is a story of six diverse couples on their honeymoon tour to Goa. But what one doesn’t predict is the experience in store for them.

There is a Bengali couple with a conservative husband (Kay Kay Menon) and a raring-to-go wife (Raima Sen). There is a perfect Parsi couple (Abhay Deol ? Minissha Lamba) who are always in sync with each other and never ever catch up a fight. A Gujarati duo flawlessly named Hitesh (Ranvir) and Shilpa (Dia Mirza) forms the imperfect couple.

Then there is an NRI Richie (Vikram Chatwal) married to a Bambaiyya girl (Sandhya Mridul). A college lovebird duo (Amisha Patel ? Karan Khanna) and an elderly couple (Boman Irani ? Shabana Azmi) complete the dozen honeymooners. So what’s the story? Well their characterizations itself! The character driven film takes the story forward with each couple’s flashback narrative and a fast-forward tale telling in a span of the six days of their honeymoon in Goa.

With its six assorted anecdotes, this light-hearted romantic comedy tries to capture the varied flavors of love. You might love some story, laugh on some, relate to some and perhaps even reject some. But there’s enough on the platter to keep you satiated. How and what you digest depends on your love appetite.

Debutante director Reema Kagti (who has assisted on films like Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai) adopts a fascinating storytelling technique. Despite six separate stories the film isn’t episodic which gives more scope of chemistry between the characters that forms the major highlight of the screenplay. The flashback fable of each couple unravels in an interesting black-n-white frame with a retro song to support each. The use of a radio show to narrate the flashback episodes is a unique idea but might not connect with those accustomed to conventional narrative techniques. Each flashback installment is kept crisply short.

The screenplay is intelligently innovative though at instances it even resorts to some cinematic clichés. The best example of the former being Raima Sen’s parasailing sequence in a sari and for the latter it’s when Raima Sen displays her martial arts antics ? nevertheless both the scenes keeps you in splits. The treatment is rather subtle and at times is left for the audience to apprehend ? like the culmination of Karan Khanna’s character.

There are a couple of surprises in the climax. (And this doesn’t include the identity of the biker who follows the bus from the start. That’s revealed in the initial reels itself). In fact the bigger of two surprises will make your jaw drop out of disbelief. But if you don’t mind cinematic liberties for fun-factor in films, it might just stretch a smile on your face out of the hilarity. However it makes you wonder why in the end, the director did not bank upon the build up made for this surprise throughout the film through the clues thrown out (this might sound gibberish while you read but you will understand this only when you watch the film). If you aren’t a keen observer, the clues thrown in by the director to invoke suspense in the film, might become apparent to you only on a second viewing.

While most of the characters have put in a decent performance, Kay Kay Menon steals the show. His characterization is the strongest or perhaps he has made it so believable with his sincere act. You instantly connect with his character of a modern day man but with a conservative traditional backdrop. The actor often relegated to serious roles in films like Sarkar and Black Friday, surprises with his flair for comedy. And his now-popular dance movements in the song ‘Sajnaji Vari Vari’ is one of the major highlights of the film. His fight sequence with Ranvir Shorey in the bus is absolutely hilarious. How one wishes the film had more of the brilliant Ranvir.

Boman Irani never goes wrong with his character, then be it any role in the world. So even as Oscar Fernandes, he perfects the accent for a Goan Christian. Raima Sen gets a meaty role and impresses both with her looks (despite being sari-clad throughout the film) and performance. Karan Khanna doesn’t have much to speak but emotes well.

Dia Mirza looks damn cute when she cries in the opening scene of the film. Minissha has a charming aura and indulges in an impeccable salsa with Abhay Deol. And when it comes to Shabana Azmi, the flawless actress doesn’t need an approval for her act. Amisha Patel is supposed to play an irritating bimbo character and she succeeds in irritating you to the core. But don’t misconstrue it for her doing justice to her character. She actually irritates and comes as the only actor miscast in the film with her constant hamming.

Overall Honeymoon Travels… is an entertaining journey. Do take the bus. Recommended!

nowrunning.com

Looks like filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra has managed to keep the vow he made to himself in 1981 with Eklavya. The filmmaker had vowed to veer away from the traditional song and dance in Hindi films. Eklavya has only one, well-shot song sequence.

This dark and brooding film about a former royal family with secrets looks like it was made for film festivals. If the success of Omkara, which wrestled with the themes of betrayal, jealousy, destructive ambition and revenge, is any indication, then Eklavya too should do solid business abroad.

The film could also be another international hit for Saif Ali Khan, who does the near impossible by holding his own against a deeply anguished, conflicted and revengeful Amitabh Bachchan.

The film starts with Bachchan sonorously recalling the story of Eklavya, from the Mahabharata. Throughout the film, the legend is invoked obliquely as well as directly by the characters reeling off Sanskrit sayings on what is dharma.

Set in the early years of Indian Independence, the movie involves a casteist, jealous and ungrateful ruler Rana Jayawardhan, played by an over-the-top Boman Irani, who will not let his wife (Sharmila Tagore) die in peace because she is uttering the name of Eklavya (Bachchan).

Rana’s brother Jyotiwardhan (Jackie Shroff) and nephew Udaywardhan (Jimmy Shergill) are impatient to grab his palace and wealth. But when the estranged son (Saif Ali Khan) returns to the palace after his mother’s death, the complications increase.

The ruler’s mentally challenged daughter Nandini’s (Raima Sen) recollection of a crime is the turning point of the film. Looking after the mentally fragile child-woman is Rajeswari, the daughter (Vidya Balan) of a chauffer (Parikshat Sahni).

The scheming father and son set in motion a chain of events that brings a lower caste police officer (Sunjay Dutt) into the story, whereby allowing the film to take up a populist stand against evil minded rulers who mete out terrible treatment to the lower caste denizens in their princely realms.

As the scheming continues, there are murders, attempted murders, rebellion by the villagers whose lands are confiscated by the greedy ruler, and fleeting romance.

The film, which owes as much to Shakespeare (it is no surprising that the dying queen asks for her favourite Shakespearean sonnet to be read to her) as to the Mahabharata, loses its momentum and focus in the last 15 minutes.

Much of the eye-catching action by lensman Natarajan Subramanian takes place in the palace. Chopra has staged quite a few well-edited and hair-raising scenes, especially when a blindfolded Bachchan is testing his archery skills.

While all the male actors apart from Bachchan and Saif get good amount of attention, Raima Sen’s character becomes infrequent as the intermission approaches. One is left wondering why the director banished her off-screen when more calamitous events unfold. Vidya Balan looks lovely and poised, though her character is limited.

Eklavya in a nutshell: Despite the loopholes in the script, a few unbaked characters and a made-for-masses ending, the film emerges strong and ranks definitely watchable.

Rediff Rating: 3.5/5

What is the plot of the movie? It’s the story of Asgar Hussain (Rajpal Yadav) beaten by police, public, jail inmates as he is accused of raping his three daughters. Nobody is ready to help or listen to him. His own lawyer Vishnoi (Kader Khan) never appears in court, while one of his fellow inmates Nazir (Mukesh Tiwari) helps him by writing a letter to Hussain’s lawyer. It is only during the courtroom sequence that the actual truth unfolds.

‘Undertrial gave me goose pimples’

Hussain has married Sabina Begum (Monica Castellino) without knowing she was already married and has a child from her first marriage. Hussain doesn’t make this an issue, but continues staying with his wife and also Sabina’s daughter from earlier marriage. But as the daughters grow up they go astray. Hussain tries to stop them, but lands himself in jail. Has he actually committed the crime?

The movie starts really slow, with nothing actually happening in the first half. The actual story starts late, that is post-interval. The first half is used just to establish the jail environment, which proves eventually irrelevant to the movie.

Though the plot is good, the movie fails to impress. For such topics you need actors who are more effective and dramatic. The actors who have great fan following. Why will anyone go to watch a movie with Rajpal Yadav in it? I am not saying he is a bad actor. But audience wants a glamorous face.

Secondly the dialogues were very cheap and vulgar at times. It is understandable that Asgar Hussain must have come from such background, but there is something called adaptation so this movie could have been based in better environment. Do you think such things don’t happen in a middle or upper middle class family?

The budget further cripples the production, and the movie is shot shoddily.

In my opinion, the biggest drawback of the film is that Rajpal doesn’t have enough dialogue to even express Hussain’s character properly.

Forget great dialogues, half the time he is just staring at people. Yes he has acted well in the movie but great dialogues could have added to his performance. There is a good performance by Prem Chopra as Sabina’s lawyer, and Kader Khan is impressive. Mukesh Tiwari in a small role is okay. Monica Castellino is loud but effective.

Overall I felt the movie had a good plot, but was wasted. The very purpose why this movie was made will not be served. Audience will not go to the theatre to watch Rajpal Yadav as an old haggard old man. But it is indeed a good effort to make public aware of what is happening in our society.

Rediff Rating: 3/5

The grim tale of the conspiracy and the people caught in it is told with a refreshing candour.

A movie like this will always have two kinds of audiences — those who lived in Mumbai on March 12, 1993 and those who did not. For those who were in Mumbai, it was a day when innocence was lost. It was the first time terror had struck in the heart of the city and though time has dimmed the memories, I think all of us who lived in the city then, still remember the fear we felt that day.

Director Anurag Kashyap infuses a slick cinematic idiom to the book by Mumbai journalist S Hussain Zaidi.

The movie begins with a bang as the cacophony of Dalal Street’s hawkers and stockbrokers is stilled by the first of the 12 bombs going off at the Mumbai stock exchange. The terrifying silence after the explosion as the camera catches the blood-smattered aftermath sets you for a truly great reality cinema experience that rarely flags for nearly two and a quarter hours.

Kashyap uses his ensemble cast brilliantly, like a master puppeteer. So while Kay Kay Menon (as Rakesh Maria, the cop who led the investigation) and Pawan Malhotra (as Tiger Memon, the main accused) hog the limelight and screen space, it is the smaller characters populating the movie that give it its bestial undertones as well as its poignant moments.

‘We shot the film with hidden cameras’

The filmmakers seem to have realised the dangers of retelling a story that is public knowledge. Hence the use of creative licence to airbrush the characters with shades of heroism or evil. Like Kay Kay who, while not squeamish about using third-degree torture methods, dunks his head in a bucket of water after a particularly brutal session.

The character of Dawood Ibrahim is sparingly used, but to good effect. Vijay Maurya bears a striking resemblance to the underworld gangster and adds a chilling dimension in a bit role.

Aditya Srivastava’s character as Badshah Khan, one of Tiger’s foot soldiers, is surprisingly well etched out. His journey from angry young revenge-seeking Muslim to an increasing desperate fugitive on the run, as he runs out of money and contact with his bosses in Dubai, makes for an good detour from the grim reality of the events unfolding in Mumbai. Kishore Kadam as the brutal torture-happy cop is frighteningly good.

There are other characters who pop in and out of the movie. The gangland lingo and ambience is stark and realistic. The cop house Mumbaiya and Marathi is designed to scare, and it does both to the accused behind bars and the people watching.

Kashyap seems to have mastered the use of cinematic tools and ruses. So there’s grainy docu-style footage to show true events in flashback, and silences that are sometimes frightening, sometimes moving.

There are moments in the second half when the filmmaker seems to lose the vice-like grip by which he holds viewers but that’s excusable since the film has to stay within the framework of its reality theme.

Mumbai’s underbelly is superbly framed in all its grimy glory. So there are squalid slums, overflowing gutters and even a dance bar scene.

While the film stays true as a dark, brooding, evil tale, it is told with a droll, dry humour that brings a smile even as the protagonists head toward their final unforgiving denouement.

Slick production values lift the film. The action scenes showing the bombs going off are well done and the sound effects enhance the action.

So if you’re a Mumbaiite go watch it and relive the fear. It may reopen old scars, but this effort is worth it. If your not, still go, it may help to realise how scared we felt.

This is good cinema and needs to be patronised.

Rediff Rating: 4/5

Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Cast: Kunal Khemu, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ranvir Shorey, Sudir Mishra, Neetu Chandra

Rating: 3.5/5

Traffic Signal marks the completion of the trilogy director Madhur Bhandarkar set out to make (the other two being Corporate and Page 3). The completion of this film will also undeniably complete the simultaneous box office successes he has been pulling off.

The movie dwells upon the networked lives of street urchins and chiefly Silsila (Kunal Khemu), who is the leader of the pack.

To break it down and provide you with crux of the story, it is that of Silsila who is responsible for gathering the weekly collections from everyone at the signal. He is caught amidst his love and high regard for the survival of his people and awe for Bhaijaan (Sudhir Mishra). The admiration turns to contempt when he discovers that Bhaijaan, who had assured them of no killings, was in fact the one who ordered the shootout at the signal in the first place.

On the other hand this movie throws light on prostitution too. Noori (Konkona Sen Sharma), a prostitute, is busy making men proud of their manhood and is too busy to acknowledge the love of doped out Dominique (Ranvir Shorey). It is not until his death that one sees the acknowledgement in Noori’s eyes, the moment the tears start streaming.

This slice of life movie depicts the preparation undertaken by beggars and street urchins to look the way they look and act (literally) the way they do. The movie also goes to the extent of breaking down all inhibitions one would have about these people.

What is evident is the research that has been undertaken before scripting the film. Minute details such as mannerisms and the language used are well brought out through the film. On watching the film you are left astonished by the fact that members of the society who were and in some places are looked down upon are actually the movers of the very same society.

The director has managed to bring out natural performances from the actors; Kunal Khemu has shone like a star and is certainly the surprise package of the entire film. The others are their usual best, including Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranvir Shorey who need no proof of talent. The bolt from the blue was Sudhir Mishra’s role as Bhaijaan, after a brief appearance in Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi, it marks his return to the silver screen as an actor, and might I add a good one at that.

Interestingly, Bhandarkar confirms that he has paid homage to his films, not sparing even those that are only announced as yet. Dialogues in certain scenes incorporate references of Page 3, Chandini Bar and his forthcoming film Fashion. One even saw a neon lit board of ‘Chandini Bar 2’ possibly indicating one in the making.

What others need to learn from Bhandarkar is perhaps how to use in-film placements. This film was not devoid of product placements but they certainly were not jarring and instead supplemented a sense of realism to the movie experience. In-film placements included brands like Mid-Day, Star News and Cinemax. The brands blended into the film perfectly.

If you were to find a problem with the film, here is wishing you all the best in finding it. Speaking of it, the only possible boo-boo was perhaps the sudden shots of brightness due to the scene lightings, but that really does not count.

Traffic Signal gets two thumbs up, for being a stark depiction of reality on celluloid.

What one learns from Traffic Signal:

1) Think twice before dipping your hand into your pocket to give beggars change

2) It is normal to wait impatiently for his forthcoming film Fashion

3) Song and dance need not be the end all of a good film

4) You are a contributor to the richness of a once upon a time beggar (Go ahead and claim your share)

5) Slice of life films always work, they are crowd pullers

6) At the signal, if you are in a car roll up your windows or if in a rickshaw pretend to sleep (Bikers sorry, nothing that you can do)!

Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

Rating: 3.5/5

After the release of Don, Excel Entertainment is back with the release of Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. The music of the film can be rightly termed as ‘wow’.

In tune:

Sunidhi Chauhan proves her versatility yet again by singing ‘Sajnaji’. This song is certainly going to be the new hot song playing at all clubs till something better comes along and that it is certainly going to be long till that happens.

‘Jaane Hai Woh Kahan’ by Shreya Ghoshal and Shaan is sweet, romantic number that is delightfully sung. The song is perfect for all those single individuals, turn the song on and blissfully sleep thinking of what you would want your partner to be like (if you can control your dreams, you might even want to do the ‘filmy’ run in a garden with him/her).

Yet another sweet number in the soundtrack called ‘Halke Halke’ is rendered by Neeraj Sridhar. This song reminds you of the timeless and youthful music from movies like Dil Chahta Hai and Jhankaar Beats. This number is great to play over and over again till perhaps the cassette burns out.

The remix version of ‘Halke Halke’ is simply satisfactory. Not that it sounds any different, but if were to choose, the choice would simply be the one that is not remixed.

Wondering how to get her to say ‘yes’ to you? Whisk her off to Goa and tango (if you know the flamenco you could even perform for her) to ‘Pyaar Ki Yeh Kahani’ by Sunidhi Chauhan and Gayatri Iyer and you’ve got yourself a ‘Yes’. This fast paced track is a wonderful Latin dance number and provides the extra zing needed to the album.

‘Haath Dhore’ is an instrumental number that has all the right elements to make it a number to let your hair down and dance to. This tune has a is something that can be played in clubs all over the globe.

Out of tune:

The song begins with the lyrics ‘I don’t know why’ and honestly neither do we. ‘Albela Albela’ is sung by Vishal Dadlani and Shankar Mahadevan. This song has too much going on in it. It is almost like the musicians are trying to out do the singers. On a better note, this track is certainly listenable, but not over again like the other tracks in the film.

The soundtrack of Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd is certainly peppy, funky and youthful. It won’t be suprising to see it top the charts, especially with songs like ‘Sajnaji’ and ‘Pyaar Ki Yeh Kahani’ that are bound to do well.

Music Director: Pritam

Lyrics: Gulzar

Rating: 3.5/5

The Gulzar – Pritam combination presents some hummable songs in Just Married. Thankfully, this album does not have the ‘typical Pritam music’ that one has been subjected to, of late. His choice of singers is also not the usual run, and has been handled well. As the film’s basic theme is marriage, most of the songs too are based on the same topic.

In Tune

Ram Milaye Jodi is a very lively song and has been rendered equally zestfully by Sukhwinder Singh, Sunidhi Chauham and Shaan. This song has a remix version too, which is even more enjoyable. Thankfully, its melody hasn’t been outrageously tampered with, as is done with most remixes nowadays. The song has a small sad version which has also been sung by Sukhwinder Singh.

Gudgudee is a soft and slow song by Sunidhi Chauhan. One has been used to listening to Sunidhi in fast and loud songs. This is a type of song that she hasn’t rendered since long, but she carries off this song well.

Baat Pakki is another fast song and the lyrics by Gulzar like Jaan phasi saas atki hai… jiyan maran to laga rahega..baat humari pakki hai ….add a dash of fun to the song. This song too has three versions. The first one has been rendered by Shaan and Neeraj Shridhar, the remix version not only has additional beats, but also additional singers. It has vocals by Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Mahalakhsmi Iyer and Sukhwinder Singh. And this remix version also has a non remix version by the same five singers.

Doha is the sad song in the film and the most outstanding part of this song is its rendition by Daler Mehndi. It’s surprising to hear Mehndi’s voice in a sad song, especially after his Rang De Basanti title song that released last year.

Jaagte Raho is the only song in the album that has been rendered by Sonu Nigam. This song is the one after they are ‘Just Married’, perhaps.

Out of Tune

There is nothing out of tune about this album, one can only hopes that the songs are marketed well, since most have the capacity to top the charts.

Songs like Ram Milaye Jodi and Baat Pakki in the album are outright commercial and instantly make you tap your feet. Others like Gudgudee, Doha and Jaagte Raho lack that commercial essence in the true sense, but at the same time, there is nothing bad about them. These are probably the songs that need some time and space to grow on listeners.

Cast: Naseerudin Shah, Sarika, Parzan Dastur

Rating: 3.5/5

Sitting far away from the riots that occurred in Gujarat, one could only imagine the plight of the people there. Parzania (a true story) gives us the opportunity to witness it first hand on the silver screen.

Parzania tags on the story of a distressed Parsi family caught in the middle of a generated communal conflict between the Hindus and Muslims (the Gujarat riots of 2002).

Parzan (Parzan Dastur), the son of Cyrus (Naseeruddin Shah) and Shernaz (Sarika) is separated from his family when a mob of Hindu fanatics begin burning the ‘chawl’ they live in. With people being slaughtered and torched everywhere, they dart to save their lives. Realising that their son is missing, the search to find him begins. With the police not cooperating and hostility in the area, Cyrus and Shernaz are on the verge of breakdown with nothing to look forward to except for their little daughter, who desires nothing more than her brother to return so she can tie him a rakhi.

Cyrus goes to the extreme of fasting and abstains from sleep, praying for the return of his only son. The commission, reviewing the negligence of the police during the riots, questions the individuals in the area, when a shattered Shernaz accuses the government for the loss of her son.

Each passing day they pray for the return of Parzan, but he still is nowhere to be found.

The film throughout is narrated by Allan (Corin Nemec), who has come to India to study the ‘Gandhian’ ideology and sees the religious discord first hand. This interesting form of narrative gives the viewer a third person’s perspective, enhancing the experience further.

What however is distressing is the fact that this beautiful and heartbreaking film will not get the kind of response it deserves. Emotions will take a backseat for song and dance. Watching the film you are only left with the feeling of hate towards the fanatics who think violence is the answer to every problem, hate towards the politicians who to secure vote banks, take no action and furthermore hate towards the police force who swear to protect but fail to do so.

The performances by all the actors can be described as nothing more than heartfelt. Even minor things like the slapdash camerawork take a sabbatical for a larger, more beautiful reason, that of waking us up to see that it is not only about the riots or Parzan but moreover it is about showcasing what we are heading towards.

What creates the mood for the film apart from the acting is Zakir Hussain and Taufiq Qureshi’s music, which is soulful and strikes a chord of pain.

This movie is a fine Indian example of a neorealist film, that showcases real life but through the sliver screen medium. References of making us conscious that we, as an audience, are viewing a film is seen everywhere right from the obvious, that of Naseerudin Shah working in a theatre to burning film posters of Kabhie Khushi Kahbi Gham. (In one scene there is even a Raj Kapoor film poster with ‘Neo realist film’ on it).

Parzania is a remarkable and stirring film that leaves you with a teary eye and softened heart.

Six different couples, 12 different lives, one common problem! That’s what sums up Nikhil Advani’s magnum opus – Salaam-e-Ishq.

This three and a half hours long epic dwells upon the subject of love. Love is the problem and also the solution to the lives of these six couples. Each couple faces hardships and this movie documents them all, leaving no bit edited.

To cut a long story short (literally), the film is about Tehzeeb (Vidya Balan) and Ashutosh (John Abraham) who are madly in love until Tehzeeb loses her memory in a train accident. Ashutosh stands by her, trying to help her regain her memory.

Then there is Raju (Govinda) and Stephanie (Shannon) in a bizarre “cabbie-loves-foreign-passenger” story. Stephanie has crossed the seven seas to confess her love to her loser boyfriend (Kushaal Punjabi). She travels half of north India with Raju, in a bid to find her boyfriend, who, by the way, is looking for an ‘Indian Patni’.

Item queen Kkamini (Priyanka Chopra), whose lifelong ambition has been to star in a Karan Johar movie, decides to fake her way through to get a role in his film. Rahul (Salman Khan), who has loved Kkamini all his life, right from their humble beginnings (from some pub in Dehradun, where she was a singer and he a waiter), decides to play her love interest in order for her to accomplish her plan. No prizes for guessing what happens next… they fall in love.

Couple number four is Gia and Shiven essayed by Ayesha Takia and Akshaye Khanna respectively. Gia loves Shiven and vice versa but the problem lies in the fact that Shiven doesn’t want to marry her and devices tactics to get her off his back. And successful he is. Just when you though their story was over, he now wants to marry her. He lands up to break her marriage, with none other than Rohit (Kushaal Punjabi) the same boyfriend Ms. Stephanie is looking for to confess her love.

Cut to father of two and husband to Seema (Juhi Chawla) – Vinay (Anil Kapoor). Vinay goes astray and begins to fall for Anjali (Anjana Sukhani). Realizing that her husband is cheating on her, Seema leaves home along with the kids. Vinay then meets Kkamini, who gives him a free counseling session in a London pub and tells him to gather his life and ask forgiveness from his wife (she is repaid with a similar session, wherein he tells her to admit to Rahul that she loves him). Off they are on their respective ways, running to their respective halves doing what the other instructed.

Lastly there is Ram Dayal (Sohail Khan) and Phoolwati (Isha Koppikar), a newlywed couple. Ram Dayal, who is blessed with more than his share of bad luck, looks for nothing more than a golden opportunity with his wife.

The concept is undoubtedly appealing, what fails to thrill is the duration of the film. A movie that could have conveyed the message effectively in two hours, dragged on till eternity. With six different stories, you are left feeling tired. It becomes difficult to follow beyond a point as to what is happening where.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music by a long shot is the only thing that holds the film together and provides relief.

Understandably this is not a realistic movie or a completely fresh story. Touted as a ‘feel good’ film, one just doesn’t feel good about watching it.

The film’s prospects at the box office windows are, however, not fatal. Due to the immense hype around the movie and also the lure of the huge star cast, the film it expected to open to good responses in the metros. However, it may fail to hold forth at the box office in the long run due to word of mouth publicity.

On the acting front, except for Salman Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Vidya Balan and Priyanka Chopra, none of the actors have stayed true to their character. Moreover, an actress like Ayesha Takia who has Bollywood’s ‘the girl next door’ image is made to look like an exotic fish with bad make up throughout the movie. Her lines are insignificant and she, who has been appreciated in Nagesh Kuknoor’s Dor, is certainly not allowed to perform.

What one learns from the film is…

Love is a problem and a solution
Vidya Balan and Akshaye Khanna are great actors
Brands such as Ira and Times Now have a lot of money to spend (they are everywhere in the film in the form of product placements)
Nikhil Advani makes good but long films.

business of cinema

This is the week you are just glad to have the option of watching a movie that does not bore you or kill you. Guru has released all over.
There is film and there is cinema, Guru is the latter. A cinema that has truly raised the bar of what Bollywood cinemas should aim to be.

Guru set in the 50’s till the 90’s orbits around the life of Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) a middle class man with the dream of making it big in life, a dream of being better than the best.

In the beginning Gurukant Desai approaches his father to tell him that he has decided to start his own business in the textile industry. But with a refusal from his father he decides to go ahead with his plan and thinks of an ingenious way to amass the money needed to set up his business. He decides to marry Sujata (the flawless and gorgeous Aishwarya Rai), as she would bring with her a dowry of Rs 25,000, which would be sufficient to make a small beginning. Convincing her parents and Shakti, who is bummed because the love of her life decided to betray her and leave her stranded (he must be crazy to leave her), Gurukant successfully marries her and now has the money to start off his business.

With their bags packed, the newlyweds leave for Bombay (Mumbai) to start a new life and a new business. On reaching and trying a thing or two to start his business Guru realizes that things were not going to be easy. With his traders license application rejected, a sad Guru finds himself wandering on Marine Drive cursing the union leader who rejected his application in spite of promising to look into the matter and getting it approved.

At this point Mr. Das Gupta (Mithun Chakraborty) who is walking his dog overhears Guru; impressed with him he gets Guru a trader’s license (still figuring how though). With the license in place, Guru marks his beginning and begins to grow strong. So much so that he manages to reopen the trade market by blackmailing and pressurizing the IAS officer who shuts the trade market by declaring it as a place of gambling.

Sujata, who throughout essays her character remarkably reminding the viewers of her performance in Iruvar (her debut movie), forms the backbone for Guru’s success. With great profits Guru sets up a textile factory (named after Sujata, now that’s true love), soon emerging as a high roller in society with tremendous support from the public.

Sudden growth leads to a gradual fall… the same was true for Guru. Strong and undeterred by his surroundings, he was the business king but as luck would have it his move of killing competition by publicizing their negativity gets Mr Das Gupta angry.

Thereon the war of right against the wrong beings. Shyam (R Madhavan) is appointed to snoop around and uncover the truth of Guru’s instant success. Guru, still undeterred, finds ways to grow till things get out of hand and finds himself among a group of unhappy employees and share holders.

With reports blown out of proportion in the newspapers, Guru succumbs to the negativity and is paralyzed. Now in the hospital with nothing more than Sujata’s support, Guru is slowly recovering but the final blow occurs when he is summoned to the court and is set to be tried for all his business malpractice.

Unable to speak, paralyzed and shaken all he has for defense is his will to succeed. On the day of the hearing the panel of judges charge him with unfair trade practices, but with faith in himself he stands up to them and confronts them with his version of the truth. In typical ‘filmi’ style he accuses them of holding back growth of a nation and blames them for the extensive reliance on imported goods. With this over empowering speech, he gathers once again the support of the public and the judges see him as not a thug but a hero. The final verdict declares Guru free of all charges and orders him to pay a fine of a few lakh rupees.

What is remarkable is not only the story but also the way it has been narrated, the film is stylistic and beautiful. Each frame is well constructed and well executed. For all those who wrote off Abhishek and Aishwarya’s pairing, it is time you eat your own words as they not only share an amazing chemistry but also do complete justice to their characters. The only injustice done was to Minu (Vidya Balan) who is of no significance to the movie but still manages to do a remarkable job.

Here’s hoping that Mani Ratnam will continue to set the bar higher each time.

businessofcinema.com

In the case of I See You, the latter seems to have been the case. Produced by Mehr Rampal, the film is so Arjun centric, even his biggest fan would feel claustrophobic while watching it.

That’s not as much a problem though as is the storyline. You don’t have to be a skeptic to dismiss the premise that the spirit of a girl in coma flits around like a ghost, unheard and unseen by all. Till she meets the chosen one, Arjun Rampal, who can not only see and hear her, but can feel her too; this is rather convenient because at some point he falls in love with her.

Vipasha Agarwal is the girl who is neither in this world nor in the other. An accident has left her in a coma but her spirit roams the world at will, or London at any rate. When she finally convinces Arjun that she is a spirit and he is not being made a bakra of by his colleague Chunky Panday, he sets out to save her. From what? Here unfolds a half baked story of organ transplant etc etc.

She says that in her state of unbeing, she can’t pick up things but easily takes his hand and guides him on the dance floor when the script feels the need for a song. When she sees that her comatose body is about to be killed, she doesn’t get Arjun to rush and stop it, she cries in his arms instead. Spirits can be so abjectly human as to cry?

Boman Irani makes an appearance as a psychiatrist but is used more as a prop in the Chunky-Sonali Kulkarni tale of a mismatched marriage, disjointed in the context of the film. Even the side track of the Hindi speaking British police inspector wears thin in a while.

A fantasy like this would have worked if it was kept light and the acting was believable if not excellent. Unfortunately, neither of the two happens here. Instead of staying at the fantasy level it becomes all mushy and human and serious and neither of the lead actors can hold an expression. While Arjun has still to live up to his Moksh expectations, Vipasha has a long way to go to be called an actress.

Chunky Panday and Boman Irani do cull a few moments of mirth but not enough to keep one interested in the proceedings. They are helped largely by some dry humour in the dialogue by Niranjan Iyengar.

Eventually, what keeps you in your seat is the camerawork by Ashok Mehta who makes London look fetchingly urban. Pity his former assistant Vivek Agarwal didn’t learn the art of keeping the audience engaged from him.

DNA India

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Lara Dutta
Direction: Priyadarshan

Rating: **

This one’s literally Bee-grade. A huge honeycomb suddenly erupts, the supposed comedy disrupts, practically every joke and gag is manically abrupt.

Truly to bee or not to bee is the question.

That’s Priyadarshan’s Bhagam Bhag in the director’s patented style of trouser-dropping humour and bone-breaking slapstick.

Like it or not, the effort keeps coming apart at the seams, discourtesy a caboodle of wacked-out characters, plus those clunky passages of dialogue yelled out at a volume guaranteed to shatter glass. Alas.

Do carry ear-plugs, then, to reduce the impact of the oddballs and odder belles from a travelling musical drama company.

Two of its pivotal players (Akshay Kumar-Govinda) have just driven the shivering-quivering heroine (one-dance wonder Tanushree Dutta) far away from the premises. Why, why?

Apparently, Quivering Kumri didn’t approve of their bouts of lewd heave-teasing. Sensible girl.

Now, a new leading lady has to be firmed since the company’s Saroj Khanesque shows are about to kick off in London, which incidentally looks suspiciously like Oxford town. Uh oh.

Nautch girl baliye, indeed. Next: a very zapped-out femme (Lara Dutta, woody) is located to play the abhinetri. So mercy be, the shows go on. Or do they?

Not really, since the master of ceremonies (Paresh Rawal) often runs off to the loo and is eye-boggled on being confronted with more crazies than in a mental zoo. Pooh.

Just for the record, there are drug mafia meanies (topped by the ageless Sharat Saxena, of course), a space cadet (Razzak Khan, ditto), a whiskyholic (Shakti Kapoor, egads), and a certain Mr Manubhai Gandhi who sets off double entendres about Munnabhai-style Gandhigiri.

To be sure, Neeraj Vohra must have created all these cliched chappies in his sleep. Bore snore.

More woes. Anything and anyone goes.The second-half even degenerates into a brain-toasting whodunit about a mysterious gazillionaire (Arbaaz Khan), who has this Guinness Record Book ability to grow a beard thicker than a brick, at hair-raising speed.

And please. what are you to make of an Indo-Brit “police commissioner” (Jackie Shroff), who jumps in and out of cop cars,looking more important than Tony Blair. Despair.

Throughout, you do wonder how Britons respond to Mumbai moviedom’s frantic antics being performed on the streets. Frequently, the Oxford locals wander into camera range, more frightened than deer caught in the flash of headlights. Be that as it may, admittedly Jeeva’s camerawork is deluxe supreme.

Pritam’s music is nothing to hum or haw about though. Suleiman-Shaikh’s background score lifts riffs from the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack.As for the aforecited dialogue, it’s replete with such nuggets as, “Are you a man or a pajama?” Quite.

Of the cast, Akshay Kumar dominates whatever there is of the show with his spontaneous sense of comic timing. Disappointingly, yesterday’s super-sparkling Govinda is lustreless and tired in a sidey role. Rajpal Yadav, as a busybody taxi driver, is energetic. And Paresh Rawal, despite his underwritten role, is reliably first-rate.

The promos of Bhagam Bhag give the impression that the film is Govinda’s Bollywood comeback. But after watching it, I couldn’t help but wonder where was Govinda in the film?

The Hero No 1, who used to make us laugh and inevitably got our feet tapping during his song sequences, is missing in action in this film. He simply plays second fiddle to Akshay Kumar, who steals the show.

The story revolves around a theatre company headed by Sethji (Paresh Rawal), whose company is offered to do an act in London. Of course, not once do you see any of the actors rehearsing.

When they are about to board the aircraft, the play’s heroine, played by Tanushree Dutta, disappears. But still, the theatre group board the plane to London, and decide to find a new heroine.

Enter Lara Dutta, a girl with suicidal tendencies, who bumps into Akshay one day. She replaces Tanushree in the play. Surprisingly, no one bothers to find out whether she can act, dance or sing.

Akshay soon falls in love with her but later, finds out that she is already married.

There are far too many characters in the film, and by the end, you’re left wondering who’s who. Asrani, Sharad Saxena, Rajpal Yadav, an overweight Jackie Shroff (playing a London police officer) and innumerable other characters keep running on the streets of London with sticks. The law and order machinery seems to have no problem with that.

Director Priyadarshan sticks to his old tested and tired formula — a comedy of errors, and you’re left wondering how many times he will continue to repeat the same formula.

The film flows well till the interval, but loses steam then on, as Priyadarshan adds an element of suspense, making you wonder if the film is a comedy or a thriller.

Akshay looks old — you can see patches of white in his stubble. Govinda looks old as well. The only real Govinda moment in the film is when he sings the already popular song, Signal. He has his funny moments but lacks the punch. And he really needs to step on that treadmill.

Paresh Rawal is wasted, with few comic moments. Rajpal Yadav has his moments too.

Priyadarshan’s silly comedy does not end here. The three actors –Akshay, Govinda and Paresh — are wanted by the London police for a murder and their pictures are flashed all over the local newspapers. Yet, they roam all over the city without a care.

Lara keeps disappearing in the film. Priyadarshan tries to introduce suspense with her character but after a point, one couldn’t care less whether she was dead or alive.

The real hero of the film is Akshay Kumar. He outshines everyone and has some of the best dialogues in the film. He is a treat to watch.

Rediff Rating: **

It’s a perfect example of the final product failing to match the enormous hype. For the convoluted plot, a stream of uninspired star cast, ear-splitting-music and a torturous almost-three-hour length makes ‘Bhagam Bhag’ a heap of suffering. And if you want the dope on the much-looked-forward-to ‘comeback’ of comedy king Govinda, then the news is overweight by at least twenty kgs. Need I say more! If you want to be taken seriously as a leading man and you can’t control your weight and care to look good (that flab on the face is a good advertisement for a mutton shop), then you don’t have any business of being in the showbiz. Except for a few stray comic situations in a typical Priyadarshan fashion, ‘Bhagam Bhag’ disappoints. It will be difficult for even Akshay Kumar to salvage this crazy-race-to-nowhere.

Bunty (Akshay Kumar) and Babla (Govinda) work as actors in Sethji’s (Paresh Rawal) theatre company. Their ‘innocent’ flirtations with the lead (Tanushree Dutta) results in a precarious situation as the upset heroine leaves them in a lurch (literally) while they were ready to fly to London for a performance of their lifetime. The race begins in gusto to get a new heroine in London. Nisha (Lara Dutta), the damsel-in-distress is the answer. But she suffers from suicidal tendencies. Or does she! She almost comes under guide Gullu’s (Rajpal Yadav) English Taxi.

Bunty, the B.A in English lukha dude romances the sensuous Nisha only to realize that she is married to Vikram (Arbaz Khan). Bouts of madness later she sets herself on fire…Allegations are thrown around….Race begins again….All this while there are volley of characters in search of pudiya (drugs) adding to the comedy-of-chaos. And then there’s Shakti Kapoor-Razzaq Khan combo. Each more stupefying than the other. After a point of time, the gags stop making you laugh. Not even smile. As for Govinda….It seemed as if he is acting out of his memory of the golden days when he ruled the roost. His role is nothing but an extended side-kick who pouts and preens, looks terribly haggard and out of sorts.

The moments when Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal share screen space, it seems as if it is ‘Hera Pheri Part III’ (without the wonderful humour though). Govinda is not the only casualty in this film. Paresh Rawal in an ill defined role looks totally out of place. For people who were regaled by this genius of an actor in films like ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Hulchul’, ‘Hungama’, Malamaal Weekly’ etc. will be sorely disappointed. You can say Akshay Kumar is the best thing about this film but even he is far from his own standards that he set in films like ‘Garam Masala’, ‘Deewane Hue Paagal’ and ‘Hera Pheri III’. His escapades with Shakti Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav and Razzaq Khan bring out some wonderfully funny moments. And you don’t mind that they don’t have anything to do with the flow of the film.

Lara Dutta is passable while Tanushree Dutta is hardly there. She sizzles in the track ‘Pyaar Ka Signal’ at the beginning of the credit line and before you’ve settled in your seat she goes missing. For good.

Pritam’s music is loud and bordering on crass at times. Except for Kunal Ganjawala powered ‘Tere Bin’, none of the numbers are high on Appeal Quotient. ‘Afreen’ is choregraphed beautifully but the Broadway Musical feel is way over the top as a music composition. Jeeva’s camera work is fine. The real culprit is the dialogue-peddler Neeraj Vohra who has got it all mixed up. His lines evoke half a laugh but not more. No, he is not in the same form as ‘Phir Hera Pheri’ or ‘Golmaal’.

As for Priyadarshan, then he needs to reinvent himself fast. No, I don’t have a problem with him lifting ideas from Malayalam hits. But it has to make sense. If he wishes to make a film like ‘Bhagam Bhag’ again then he may soon run out of takers. Alright the film will partially appeal to the frontbenchers but it loses steam as it unfolds. I think ‘Malamaal Weekly’ was hilarious. Even ‘Chup Chup Ke’ was worth-watching for most part. But I don’t think I can say the same thing about ‘Bhagam Bhag’. For it’s a tired attempt at making you laugh. Santa isn’t gonna be hollering at the Box Office….Ho Ho Ho…

Bhagam Bhag: Run as fast as you can….Away

Star Rating: **

Starring: Govinda, Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Lara Dutta

Bole To: Govinda aala re!

STORY: Bunty (Akshay) and Babla (Govinda) are two actors in Paresh Rawal’s theatre group. After one such show, an organizer offers their group to perform 30 shows in England but as per the contract they need to leave for England on the same day. Unfortunately the heroine of the play opts out due to Bunty’s misbehavior. They eventually reach London and chaos ensues. Throw in some toilet jokes, Rajpal Yadav, unnecessary drama plus plenty of funny sequences – and we’ve a Priyadarshan movie.

REVIEW: Suspend your disbelief, chuck away that sense of logic and enjoy the show! Sure there are some scenes where you’ll be tired of looking at your watch and yawning too much. But then overall, this is a fun movie. Duh! Govinda excels, his comic timing is superb – it’s good to see him on-screen after a long time. And his chemistry with Akshay is the highlight of the movie. Jackie Shroff looks old, it’s ’bout time he quit. The climax scene set atop a fire-ladder is simply crazy. Oh and special mention goes out to Guru (Shakti Kapoor) and his gang of goons – typical scenes but hilarious nevertheless. Lara Dutta,and Arbaaz Khan obviously have nothing much to do.

BOTTOMLINE: Not-so-much fun on the run, but watch it for some good laughs!

By Vaibhav Wankhede

Rating: *** ½

The verdict is out. Bhagam Bhag is total paisa vasool . What a good way to end 2006! Through Bhagam Bhag, Priyadarshan has finally delivered what has been expected from him since Hera Pheri …a sassy, hilarious comedy.

Bhagam Bhag’s first half, which is full of whacky humour tickles your funny bone, with the sheer hysteria that it creates; while the second half takes a form of a suspense thriller leaving you glued to the edge of your seat – a murder mystery unfolds!

Bunty (Akshay Kumar) and Babla (Govinda) are actors working in Sethji’s (Paresh Rawal) drama troop. One fine day, destiny strikes gold, when an organizer offers this theatre group a chance to perform 30 shows in England, after witnessing one of their vivacious performances.

Just as they are about to leave, the heroine, Anjali (Tanushree Dutta) chooses to opt out thanks to a flirtatious Bunty. The troop decides to carry on the plans of finding a heroine in England.

Once they land in UK, Bunty and Babla start their desperate chase to find a belle, as, whoever finds a heroine first, gets to be the hero!

Babla secretly seeks help of Gullu (Rajpal Yadav), a taxi driver, who misinterprets Babla’s ‘girl’s need’ thus leading him and Bunty to a drug baron and many more misunderstandings thereby. Bunty too doesn’t have it easy.

After much trial and tribulations, Bunty bumps into a mentally disturbed and suicidal girl, Mini (Lara Dutta), who agrees to play the heroine’s role. Everything seems good until, after yet another suicide attempt, Lara loses her memory and remembers only her husband (Arbaaz Khan)!

After she gets back to her hubby, shocking events follow – a murder takes place and the trio of Bunty, Babla and sethji is held responsible for it!

‘Who has committed the murder?’ is the question.

The music is fun and jazzy while ‘ Pyar ka signal’ sets a carnival mood, ‘ Tere Bin’ , has a strong romantic flavour to it.

Akshay steals the show with his amazing comic timing while Govinda looks a tad too old but his wonderful performance overshadows his looks department. Paresh’s character is quick-witted as usual and he’s the icing on the cake, Lara acts well, however, Tanushree doesn’t have much scope in this one.

The director manages to sustain the audience’s interest throughout.
Don’t miss this one. It’s a must watch.

It is certainly not the best of Priyadarshan. But Bhagam Bhaag still makes for an entertaining watch. The film’s crazy plot, filled with comic chaos and confusion, is its main USP. On top of it, Akshay Kumar shows his impeccable flair for comedy.

The basic formula of ‘Bhagam Bhag’ is the same as any other Priyadarshan movie. The story’s central characters try to outsmart each other, but wind up in a situation where they are hunted by a number of other over-the-top characters. There are mistaken identities, a murder, an underhand plot, chaos and commotion.

Bunty (Akshay Kumar) and Babla ( Govinda ) are the two main actors in a dance troupe run by Champak Seth ( Paresh Rawal ). The two actors can’t keeps their eyes and hands off their heroine Anjali ( Tanushree Dutta ), who, tired of their Casanova ways, eventually quits the group just when they are about to leave for an important show in London.

In London, Bunty and Babla search dedicatedly for a new heroine, but end up in police custody after a drug dealer gives them Heroin, in stead.

After being let off, Bunty meets a strange girl with suicidal tendencies. The girl is Munni ( Lara Dutta ). He decides to cast her as his heroine in the show. Bunty also falls in love with her.

But Munni meets with an accident and recovers her lost memory. It turns out that she is Nisha and is already married to someone called Vikram ( Arbaaz Khan ).

In the subsequent reels, Nisha apparently commits suicide and Vikram is murdered. And Bunty, Babla and Champak Seth are the prime suspects.

Kitschy slapstick is cocktailed with genuine humour in a delectable way in ‘Bhagam Bhag’. Besides the main players, a number of side characters provide ample moments of comic relief : be it Rajpal Yadav as the taxi driver, or Shakti Kapoor as the drunk with very short memory, or Sharat Saxena and his boss as the bird-brained drug dealers.

But none matches the superb comic timing of Akshay Kumar. The actor is relentlessly getting better and better at comedy. Right from the first scene when he prods Govinda into telling about the hot moment shared with actress (Tanushree), to the second half when he speaks in broken English with an air travel company executive, Akshay is simply superlative. He is the reason you can watch this movie.
Surprisingly, Govinda is restrained throughout the film. Save for one or two scenes, he is strictly okay. Even Paresh Rawal fails to offer much to laugh at. In comparison, Shakti Kapoor and Rajpal Yadav have some better lines.

Lara Dutta plays her part well. Jackie Shroff as the London cop is effective. Arbaaz Khan, too, is okay.

All said, ‘Bhagam Bhag’ is a good timepass flick. It offers nothing outstanding or extraordinary. It entertains you for three hours and leaves you with smiles.

Producer: Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd and Popcorn Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd.
Director: Priyadarshan
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Paresh Rawal, Lara Dutta, Rajpal Yadav, Jackie Shroff, Arbaaz Khan

Rating: 3.5/5

India’s very own Dumb and Dumber Bunty (Akshay Kumar) and Babla (Govinda) are two stage actors who’ve been entrusted upon the job of finding a heroine.

In London for a performance, their director the affable Champak Seth (Paresh Rawal) has told them that whoever will source a heroine will be the hero of the play. The two trouble-prone buffoons are loose on the streets of London, and befriend an Indian driver Gullu (Rajpal Yadav). They chance upon a pretty girl Munni (Lara Dutta) who seems insistent on giving up her life, and offer her the role. But things are not what they seem and the two, along with Seth delve deeper and deeper into trouble.

True to its name, the film has lots of ‘bhagam bhag’ and the most original comic gags you’d have seen in a long time. As is the case with most comedies in the past year or so, there are multiple plots running simultaneously, a host of misunderstandings multiplying the confusion and a climax that has all the characters confess in monologues, piecing the jigsaw puzzle together. What’s more interesting about Bhagam Bhag is that the plots are all innovative, the confusion is hilarious and the second half even sees a murder mystery insinuate its way into the story.

There are scenes that undoubtedly make you reminiscence the cult classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron – the stage as a setting, a dead body, and villains that are more bumbling idiots than anything else.

One sore point though – one truly wishes such comedies would just leave women alone. Right in the middle of some genuine humour are unnecessary sexist jokes like – ‘Tu agar ladki ko izzat dega, to who tujhe apni izzat degi.’ And of course the other staple – countless jokes revolving around the toilet.

The songs by Pritam are fairly hummable, though not memorable. The background score adds to the fun. Cinematography by Jeeva is top notch, and so is the editing by Gopal Kishore and Arun Kumar. The second half could have benefited with a few minutes of trimming though.

Priyadarshan despite making one comedy after the other (Hera Pheri, Malaamal Weekly, Garam Masala) has not jaded, in fact has only shown great interest in working the genre to its maximum effect. All the actors here are in top form. Govinda as Babla, the dumber of the two, is happy to play second fiddle to Akshay Kumar and concentrates on getting his act right. Lovable as the simpleton stage actor who’s always dominated by a more educated Bunty, Govinda is first rate. Yes, he does look older than the last time you saw him on screen, but his performance makes up for it.

Paresh Rawal doesn’t have that much to do here, but is imminently watchable as the theatre director, forming the troubled trio. Akshay Kumar deserves special mention as he effortlessly carries the film on his shoulders. His comic timing is impeccable, right from his deadpan dialogue delivery to his hilarious gestures, and he manages this without going over-the-top. Again, a film won’t really work, if the actors, however accomplished, have zero chemistry between them. In Bhagam Bhag, the three work together extremely well, completing each other’s timing to the spot.

One of the more difficult genres to make, a comedy to work, has to have clean writing, direction, performances, editing and technique. This film has it all. Enjoy this raucous comedy and be ready to fall off your chair. Even the most cynical watcher won’t be able to stifle a laugh.

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Priyadarshan has attempted varied genres over the years. His body of work includes some thought-provoking films as well as films that defy logic but nonetheless cater to the hoi polloi. Of late, the supremely talented storyteller has trained his sights on one particular genre — comedy.

BHAGAM BHAG, his new outing, charters a similar path. At least that’s the impression you get when you look at its qualitative promos. After a breezy first half, you realize that there’s more to BHAGAM BHAG. It’s not just a comic fare. It transforms into a murder mystery.

Nothing wrong if Priyan packs two diverse genres in one film, but the problem is that the comedy works and the whodunit doesn’t!

Let’s examine the two halves of BHAGAM BHAG minutely. Analysis of Part 1 first:
Lock your brains and throw the key in the sea as the curtains go up and BHAGAM BHAG unfolds. Remember, don’t look for logic, don’t ask questions.

The escapades of Akshay-Govinda-Paresh are truly entertaining. In fact, howlarious at times. A number of comic scenes are the mainstay of the enterprise. The first half, to put it rightly, is paisa vasool entertainment!

Now an analysis of Part 2 [post-interval portions]:
The whodunit takes off very well at the intermission point. But as the mystery deepens and the three suspects [Akshay, Govinda, Paresh] start running helter-skelter, trying to put pieces of the jigsaw puzzle meticulously, the sequence of events that lead to the finale aren’t convincing and captivating.

The climax is the biggest culprit. The identity of the murderer and the motive behind the murder should come as a shock if the whodunit has to have a solid impact. In BHAGAM BHAG, the end result is not as impactful.

To sum up, BHAGAM BHAG may not be Priyadarshan’s finest effort in this genre, but it provides ample laughter and entertainment in the final tally. Had the second hour been as captivating as the first, it would’ve been a different story altogether!

Champak [Paresh Rawal] has a theatre group in India and he performs shows all over the country. Bunty [Akshay] and Babla [Govinda] along with others are actors in the group. Both are naughty-natured guys who never miss a chance to flirt with girls, even with girls in the group.

At the completion of one show, an organizer [Asrani] offers Champak’s group to perform shows in England. Unfortunately, the heroine of the play [Tanushree Dutta] opts out due to Bunty’s misbehavior.

They reach London and through Gullu [Rajpal], a taxi driver, Bunty and Babla try to find a girl for their play, but it leads to many misunderstandings. In this process, Bunty and Babla fall into trouble involving a drug baron [Manoj Joshi].

Thereafter, Bunty and Gullu discover a girl Minni [Lara Dutta], who suffers from amnesia, to act in their drama and just as Bunty and Minni fall in love, she regains her memory and reveals that she’s married to a U.K.-based entrepreneur [Arbaaz Khan].

Comedy is serious business and Priyadarshan has explored this genre with flourish. In BHAGAM BHAG, there are ample moments that tickle your funny bone. But it’s the writing in the second hour [screenplay: Neeraj Vora] that acts as a spoilsport.
The Shakti Kapoor-Rajpal Yadav track raises a few laughs in the first hour, but stands out like a sore thumb in the next hour. Ditto for the drug baron [Manoj Joshi] and his sidekick [Sharat Saxena]. It hardly evokes mirth!

The murder mystery is just not convincing. The Arbaaz-Lara-Jackie tracks are poorly etched out. And as pointed out at the outset, the climax — very similar to the one in David Dhawan’s SHAADI NO. 1 — manages a chuckle, but is far from being hilarious.

Given the fact that Priyadarshan is saddled with an ordinary screenplay, there’s not much he can do to elevate the goings-on. Yet, there’s no denying that his handling of the comic scenes is superb. Pritam’s music is strictly okay. ‘Signal’ is the best track of the enterprise, while ‘Afreen’ appeals more due to its choreography and the colorful set [Sabu Cyril] than its tune. The music composer is just not in form here. Jeeva’s cinematography is topnotch. Dialogues [Neeraj Vora] are excellent. Vora knows where to give the right punches!

Akshay does his part well, but why is the actor getting typecast in similar roles? Compare his character in DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL, GARAM MASALA and PHIR HERA PHERI with the one in BHAGAM BHAG and it’s the same Akshay in all the films. Hello Mr. Kumar, why this act of monotony?

Govinda doesn’t get it right in his comeback vehicle. Known for his impeccable sense of timing vis-à-vis comic films, he’s just not in form this time around. Also, he’s looking older and obese in the film. Paresh Rawal is competent, while Rajpal Yadav is superb, but is sidelined in the second hour.

Lara Dutta lacks the talent to carry off a challenging role. She looks pretty, that’s it! Jackie Shroff is mechanical. Arbaaz Khan doesn’t get much scope. Shakti Kapoor is in true form. Asrani, Sharat Saxena, Manoj Joshi, Razzaq Khan and Amita Nangia are okay. Tanushree Dutta looks glamorous in the ‘Signal’ track.

On the whole, BHAGAM BHAG will be loved for its comedy in the first hour, but the whodunit in the second hour tapers the impact. At the box-office, the pre-release hype will ensure a bountiful first four days [Monday is Christmas, making it a 4-day weekend], thereby adding to the booty. Even otherwise, the holiday period in the coming days and lack of a mass-appealing entertainer since DHOOM 2 will benefit BHAGAM BHAG, making the film a safe bet for its distributors.

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