Zindagi na Milegi Dobara - the review

Well, yes, it does sort of remind you of 'Dil Chahta Hai'. I mean a movie about 3 guys riding in a car is bound to. Especially when one of the guys directed the earlier cult film. But ZNMD is essentially a road trip movie. A great way to showcase the beauty of Spain and indulgently pay tribute to that old adage 'boys will be boys.'

ZNMD is geared towards providing you vicarious thrills. You watch this movie not for its story or plot structure but for the experience it provides. The way it takes you along on a journey through sun drenched Spain - with its vibrant countryside, its quaint villas, its energetic dances and exotic women. You fall in with Arjun (Hrithik), Kabir (Abhay) and Imran (Farhan) as they pursue one adventure after another - from deep sea diving, to sky diving, to running with the bulls - in a bid to recapture something they have lost in the routine of daily life.

Arjun is a grim hotshot financial broker who has lost sight of the simpler pleasures of life in his bid to make as much money as possible before the age of 40. Kabir the prankster is engaged to Natasha (Kalki) and unsure about whether he wants to marry her. Imran is the perennial smartass who is in search of his biological father. When the three friends reconnect over a trip to Spain they realise what is really important to them in life. Arjun learns to relax and let his hair down as he falls for the free spirited diving instructor Laila (Katrina Kaif). Kabir is forced to accept that his relationship with Natasha is stifling him and Imran realises that his biological father is his father in name only. As they travel through Spain, each thrill seeking sport proposed by one of the trio leads to epiphany for another.

ZNMD is all about Carpe Diem or Seizing the day before it is too late. A feel good philosophy if ever there was one. Thanks to its beautiful locales and beautiful people spiced up with some smart lines and good music, ZNMD is also a feel good movie. So well done Zoya Akhtar. Luck by Chance was more original and realistic but like your brother, you know how to put old wine in a new bottle.

7/10

Dabangg - naam aisa toh movie kaisa!

A movie that deliberately tries to be a takeoff on Westerns, typical Bollywood masala movies and Rajni style over-the-top potboilers at the same time, should definitely be called Dabangg (Fearless)! This time bomb succeeds to a large extent due to one man – Salman Khan as Inspector Chulbul Pandey who uses his quirks and eccentric acting to great effect. Leave your finer sensibilities at home and you are sure to enjoy this movie.

“Dil se bulbul aur dimag se dabangg” – that’s Inspector Chulbul Pandey for you in this crazy ride through UP heartland. He is the "Robinhood Pandey" of the masses, the apparently corrupt cop with a heart of gold. He beats up goons with flamboyance, in action scenes that look like they are straight out of a video game. But what sets Chulbul apart is how he breaks into a jig in the middle of one such encounter when a cellphone starts playing a song from ‘Wanted’. He is also the loving son to his mother (Dimple Kapadia) and the ignored son of his arrogant stepfather (Vinod Khanna). His relations with “mand-buddhi” step-brother Makkhi (Arbaaz) are not too pleasant either. On his knuckle-cracking way he falls in love with the beautiful village belle, Rajo (Sonakshi Sinha) and almost bullies and hustles her into marrying him. On the other side of the fence we have Chhedi Singh (that’s Sonu Sood and really, who thought up the character’s names in this movie!) – evil doer and aspiring political party leader who’s always practising his smiles before the camera.

Chulbul Pandey works not despite, but because of Salman’s swagger. His major attitude and his corny one-liners are designed to draw a “seeti” from the audience. Salman looks fresh (and interested) after a long time. He delivers outrageous punchlines, beats up goons and romances his lady love with an equal mixture of in-your-face style and pelvic thrusts. It is hard to imagine anyone else pulling off this “sanki” (eccentric) character so well. Sonakshi Sinha makes an assured debut. She is beautiful and has good screen presence – making her presence felt in what is essentially Salman’s show. She fares better than Arbaaz who bumbles his way through even in his own home production. Sonu Sood is good and perhaps an underrated actor. What people like Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Mahesh Manjrekar, Om Puri and Anupam Kher are doing in this movie was a mystery to me since their roles did not warrant the use of their talent. Especially Om Puri and Anupam Kher’s roles were just like bit parts that anyone could have performed.

Director Abhinav Kashyap’s debut venture faces limitations in the form of a weak script and perhaps loses the plot in trying to be too many things at the same time. On one hand it is a no-holds-barred comic spoof type and on the other it still tries to be serious enough for son-avenging-mother’s-death type cinema. This attempt to straddle different spaces makes the narrative somewhat disjointed and one is not quite sure what to focus on – Chulbul’s dysfunctional family, his relationship with his father, his pursuit of Rajo, the political machinations in the state or the conflict with Chhedi Singh. Finally one has to decide to just forget everyone else and go with what Chulbul Pandey says and does – that’s the only way to enjoy the mayhem. Don't question the sudden change of heart of Vinod Khanna's character or the chances of Rajo reciprocating the love of a terror like Chulbul. The movie is also quite crass in several instances so be warned. From toilet humour to sexual innuendo, this has it all. They are gunning for every kind of audience and they go forth with all guns blazing.

The songs are quite good especially ‘Tere mast mast do nain’ if you can get over Salman’s bizarre dance moves which look like something he thought up himself. ‘Munni badnaam hui’ is off course the chartbuster to dance to if you want to let your hair down and go crazy.

Watch it to have a laugh with your friends. And watch it to understand that you may like him, you may hate him, but you can’t ignore Salman Khan.

For providing some good timepass of the kind that we more often look down upon, this one gets a 7/10.

Sometimes I hate Luv Storys too

It's one of those phases again - when most movies bomb and there's nothing good to watch. Most of the biggies of this quarter have bitten the dust, be it the over-hyped "Kites" or over-acted "Raavan". Along the way we have had films that fed upon the famine at the box-office like "Housefull" and the I-wrote-it-in-just-six-days dud, "Badmaash Company". Shahid's report card also received another red mark for "Paathshaala".

Now, I just cannot find enough enthusiasm to blow 300+ on tickets and popcorn to watch "I hate Luv Storys" - a movie which seems to say whatever it has to in the trailor itself. It literally screams 'predictable'. My friends recommended this movie saying that at least it would be a good-looking one but I have no soft corner for either Imran or Sonam. The one is just another chocolate-faced cutie with schoolboy talent and for the other, I think I'll wait for "Aisha". An adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Emma' starring Abhay Deol sounds much more promising.

Raajneeti - the review

"Raajneeti" has a theme that will always resonate with members of the world's largest democracy. It takes us into the corridors of power and looks at the business of politics and the politics of love. As a movie, it also scores because it has what the other big releases in recent times lack - namely, a story. This story is a mish-mash of The Mahabharata and The Godfather with a dash of the Gandhi family thrown in for added flavour. With all these reference points, the final product is bound to be an interesting one, which it is.
The problem perhaps is that the reliance on the reference points is too much. There is too much of a need to align certain aspects and characters with The Mahabharata or with The Godfather. Thus neglecting the chance for a more original or more detailed exposition of characters.

The story deals with the fortunes of a family of politicians. The power struggles for the 'gaddi' and the fight for 'satta' between cousins takes up the major part of the story. Each side keeps pulling out all stops to go one up on the other. While Prithvi (Arjun Rampal) is the heir apparent, Samar (Ranbir Kapoor) is the phoren-educated younger brother who becomes unwillingly embroiled in political intrigue after the assassination of their father. He soon reveals himself to be a natural in the murky ways of Raajneeti even while helping his hot-headed older brother gain the CM's seat.

The role of Duryodhan is essayed by Prithvi and Samar's cousin, Virendra (Manoj Bajpai) who does a good job of smouldering in jealousy, hatred and covetousness. He takes the help of Suraj (Ajay Devgan) who is the illegitimate son of Prithvi and Samar's mother - thus a modern day Karan.

Indu (Katrina) is the rich businessman's daughter who loves Samar but has to marry Prithvi since he is CM-in-waiting. In what is an outright negative streak, Samar pretends to love her because the party needs her father's money and later convinces her to marry his brother. The one Samar loves is American girl, Sara who comes to India to be with him when he takes too long to return. When she and Prithvi get killed in a bomb blast, it is time for Indu to take up the reins and lead the party to victory even as Samar guns down the evil-doers. Here again the director imposes a completely unnecessary shootout at abandoned factory sequence just to have a Mahabharata analogy.

The acting in the movie is almost uniformly good. Ranbir gets maximum scope to perform and he doesn't disappoint with understated emoting. He also conveys the negative overtones in a chilling fashion showing how he can be innocent or ruthless. I only have an issue with the characterisation where his leap from a PhD student to a conniving political kingpin happens almost overnight. There is no good exposition of the inner turmoil between his better self and his diabolical one. Arjun Rampal is a revelation. He is an actor who has taken his time but is going from strength to strength. A very commendable performance as a slightly hysterical, powerful man who wears his heart on his sleeve. Ajay Devgan is reminiscent of Yuva and Omkara and somewhat sidelined. Nana Patekar is in the complex role of Krishna, Sakuni Mama and the consigliere of The Godfather, combined. He is effective but has a limited role.

Katrina failed to impress, having being able to provide no added emotional layers to her character. When she begins to canvass for the CM's seat after her husband's death, she looked for all the world like had strolled out of the sets of Ajab Prem..and draped a sari around herself. Her role in the movie also does not warrant the place of pride she receives in the film's posters. The producers made it seem like this was a movie based on Sonia Gandhi with Katrina playing the pivotal role but this was just a clever marketing ruse. Ranbir has the bigger and more important role as do Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpai.

Overall the movie is definitely worth a watch and serves as another milestone in tracking Ranbir Kapoor's career graph.

7.5/10

Bad Company

Everything works out so well in the movies. It’s like an alternate universe where custom, convention and even common sense can be flouted with impunity because one knows that there will always be a happy ending (else ‘picture abhi baki mere dost’). Such is also the case with ‘Badmaash Company’ which I saw yesterday. Movies like this make one wish that the IPL-induced Bollywood drought at the plexes had not ended.

‘Badmaash Company’ is in the same vein as other recent Yashraj releases – pretty faces and half baked plots. Its like the Chopras now believe they have too much moolah to worry about script or detailing. And so, they hand over the baton to first time writer-director, Parmeet Sethi - better known to loyal DDLJ fans as Kuljeet and to all others as Archana Puran Singh’s partner. He has said in interviews that he wrote the script for the movie in six days. I really don’t know why he would want to expose before the audience just how little thought has gone into this film. Either he thought the movie was so good that he should be lauded for coming up with it in such a short time or he knows how flawed it is and seeks mercy. Either ways, foolhardy.

The movie which begins in 1994, is about Karan (Shahid) who along with friends Chandu (standup comedian Vir Das) and Zing (Indian Idol contestant Meiyang Chang), indulges in small time smuggling, serving as a ‘carrier’ to Bangkok for some extra dough. On the way they team up with Bulbul (Anushka) and Karan’s con schemes get more ambitious and more WTF inducing. These include importing shoes from Bangkok with the right shoe sent to one city in India and the left to another therein rendering the value zero. The shoes are not claimed for this supposed reason by Karan & co but purchased discreetly later at a Customs auction for throwaway prices. The gang reassemble the shoes at their end and voila! Full value Reeboks plus evasion of 120% customs duty (hence the need to set it in an earlier time frame where import duty was high). The gang now moves to try their luck in the US pulling similar stunts with surprising ease. With more money comes more pride, which as we all know, goes before a fall. Karan’s arrogance becomes his hubris and the team falls apart. Karan finally sees the light of day and decides to live by honest means.

The first half of the movie is much more watchable than the second. The first half sketches in Karan's frustration with his middle class life and his determination to get rich quick. The second half carries on with the boring variations of the con game with loopholes so big as to suggest the Americans and the audience are complete idiots. The movie drags on moving from one ludicrous scheme to another till one loses any interest to know what’s coming next. Characterisations are also flawed leaving the viewer wondering why Karan, a good student helped along by a rich uncle, at all needs to walk on the wrong side. An exploration of the characters rather than of their repetitive fraudulent activities might have been more interesting.

Shahid is competent but still unable to carry a movie on his own steam. There is only so far he’ll be able to go on the basis of just chocolatey looks especially if he always looks likes he’s trying too hard. Anushka sheds as much clothing as she can but still looks like she would be better off doing ads for fairness creams. Vir Das and Chang are both good considering its their first big movie.
The songs are catchy esp. “Chaska”, “Jingle Jingle” and the title track but too similar in mood and picturisation to really stand out.

For promising a fun-filled adventure and giving us a damp squib instead, ‘Badmaash Company’ gets a 5/10.

The Aal is Well phenomenon

I had not been able to write a review for '3 Idiots' one of the biggest movies to release in recent times. It's just that so much has been written, tweeted, blogged, discussed about it already, that I had kind of lost the enthusiasm. Ah well, just call it an "idiosyncrasy" of mine. ;)
But I figure, if I have to do justice to this blog, I should talk about it. So rather than a review at this late stage, let me just write down my thoughts about '3 Idiots':

1. Aamir is a super actor who has the uncanny ability to put on a character as if it were a coat. Yes, he often looks too old to play an engg. student but he pulls it off.

2. Madhavan cannot pull it off. He sticks out like a sore thumb and looks too old and overweight to be doing this.

3. Sharman Joshi is a natural. Somebody give this guy more roles. And good roles. Because he can strike a chord and he can act.

4. I did not like the glorification of Aamir's character, Rancho/Phunsuk. He could do no wrong, he had the best lines, everybody loved him. It's time Bollywood grew out of crap characterizations like this. Especially with a talented ensemble cast. Look at Dil Chahta Hai, learn from it.

5. I did not agree with the total vilification and rejection of the education system. The mantra for success is not to bypass hard work. Do what you want to do, but work hard at it also. Passing the buck for failures on the system is taking the easy way out. Root out the inefficiencies in the system but recognize its merits also. Everyone cannot be a maverick.

6. I liked the funny scenes in the movie - from the Chatur speech to Aamir's smartass dialogues. The taut screenplay kept the pace going.

7. The songs though not great by themselves, work when seen in the context of the movie. "Zoobi doobi" has been conceptualised really well.

8. The climax with Aamir assists Mona Singh's delivery was unnecessary and over-the-top. Ya, we get it - the guy's a genius and a hero.

9. Some scenes were refreshing in their irreverence. Like the one where Raju's plight at home with his suffering mother, his paralysed father and his unwed sister is shown in black and white with sitar strains, to underscore the melodrama that was earlier attached to such scenes.

10. I liked 3 Idiots for its performances, its message of following your heart and not giving up, for its humour. I agree that its a feel-good movie though some messages did cause me some alarm. Overall an 8.5/10.

P.S. I also think the movie is quite different from the book. Be true to yourself Chetan.

Uff, IPL aya!

The IPL is a behemoth that even Bollywood doesn't dare to challenge!

And so, the paucity of any good movies at the theatres. Yes, Vivek Oberoi has tried again to be a 'Prince' of the masses but I'll be damned if I go to the theatre to watch a flop actor in a wannabe high-octane Jason Bourne-sque caper. Not unless I want some laughs from unintentionally funny scenes that is. I think its time Vivek gave up on mainstream cinema and looked towards the burgeoning world of parallel cinema. He might just strike gold there.

The other release is 'Jaane kaha se aayi hai'. I have to confess I was a bit intrigued by the prospect of a girl from Venus falling in love with a loser earthling. But treatment is everything and the initial buzz was not promising. I didn't have the heart to drag family/ friends to a Riteish/Jacqueline movie either. I'd rather see it on DVD or when its aired on TV (which going by the look of things, won't be very long).


A movie which I finally managed to catch, albeit on DVD, was 'Kartik calling Kartik'. Gave me the chills I tell you, which I was not expecting. Interesting, different, Farhan-ish (he's an adjective unto himself, this man). Everyone's favourite fable of the loser morphing into a stud is turned on its head in a sinister way. Farhan is believable as Kartik, the repressed soul who bears the taunts of his boss and nurses a secret love for Shonali (Deepika).
Things change for him almost overnight when he begins getting early morning calls from...himself. Talk about self-help!

Soon the overbearing landlord is subdued, the brash boss is tamed and the gorgeous girl is successfully wooed. But things start to unravel fast when Kartik spills the secret of his success to Shonali who poor thing naturally forces him to seek help, of the psychiatric kind. The movie ends on a rather tame and predictable note but possibly it had nowhere else left to go. The title itself is enough to make any person with some grey cells to understand what lies at its core. But still like I said, treatment matters. The movie does rustle up a creepout if not a knockout punch. Farhan's one-liners are cute and Deepika looks good. The music is quite rocking with "Uff, teri ada" and "Hey ya" being the kind of numbers that stick in your head.

Hmm, overall a 7/10 I think.

Jaane bhi do Yaaro - a tribute

Caught up with an old favourite recently - Kundan Shah's "Jaane bhi do Yaaron" (1983). The film is regarded as a cult classic for its dark comedy and the social satire.
Slapstick humour disguises what is essentially a critique of corrupt society of the 80's. The movie underlines the theme of the common man's struggle against the rampant corruption in the Indian bureaucracy, business and media which oppresses him. It's ensemble cast includes several established performers of the Hindi film industry like Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Pankaj Kapoor, Satish Kaushik and Om Puri.



The plot which has many twists to it, is basically about Sudhir (Ravi Baswani) and Vinod (Naseeruddin Shah) - two honest chaps who want to earn a decent living by opening a photo studio. The studio doesn't quite flourish but they eventually get some work from "Khabardar", a publication that specializes in sting operations. Along with its editor, Shobha (Bhakti Barve), they work on a story exposing the nexus of corruption between an unscrupulous builder, Tarneja (Pankaj Kapoor), and corrupt Municipal Commissioner D'Mello (Satish Shah). Another builder Ahuja (Om Puri) too is involved in the business of grabbing building contracts by hook or by crook.

The plot thickens when the photographers find that D'Mello has been murdered by Tarneja and Shobha is not as virtuos as she seems. Next up is a madcap race to get his corpse to the authorities and expose the corruption rampant in the govenment, business and media circles with the assortment of bad guys hot on their trail.

The climax is a high point of this movie for its sheer madness and hilarity. The photographers with dead body and their pursuers barge into a stage performance of the Mahabharata. D'Mello's corpse is dressed up as Draupadi while all the other characters take up random parts, from Duryodhan to Salim, in an attempt to make off with the body!

The movie does not culminate in the victory of good over evil or the vindication of the common man. Instead its theme song "Hum Honge Kamyaab" echoes on as a cruel joke as the last scene unfolds and the protagonists stare defeat in the face.

This movie ushered in social satire in cinema - quite unimaginably ahead of its time. Even while the mature viewer appreaciates the symbolism and dark undertones, the film manages to make one laugh out loud because of its slapstick content.
Some of the immortal lines of this movie include
- "Thoda khao, thoda pheko" (Naseeruddin teaching Satish Shah that this is the way foreigners eat cake)
- "Good morning sir. Good morning Ashok" (Satish Kaushik and Pankaj Kapoor to each other as they enter the play dressed in Mahabharata garb)
- "Shant gadhadhari Bheem, shant!" (The guy who plays Yudhishthir in the play trying to pacify the agitated Bheem who has a heavy UP/Punju accent and is ready to jump at anybdoy's throat given a chance)
- "Ye kya ho raha hai!" (The blind Dhritrashtra keeps saying this through the comedy carnival that progresses on stage; also possibly a reflection of the blind, powerless nature of Justice)

JBDY gets a big thumbs up from me and a 9/10 for being so many movies rolled in one - a comedy, a satire, a human drama - and being first rate at all of them.

What's in a name?

After watching KJo’s latest offering, I kept wondering why Rizwan Khan (SRK) had to be autistic. Finally I concluded that this was the only way in which Khan’s “difference” could be highlighted. And it is this difference enables, or rather, disables him in such a way that he can categorize people only as “good” or “bad”, like his Ammi taught him. His thinking does not encompass distinctions based on religion or race – a stereotyping which has become second nature to most people.

Rizwan suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome which is a form of autism. Though he is very intelligent and can ‘repair almost anything’, he is unable to gauge the emotions of others nor express his own. When he falls in love with single mom and hairstylist, Mandira (Kajol), he is only aware that he cannot bear to lose her. Hence he befriends her and keeps proposing to her, till she finally agrees to marry him. Even as they play happy families, 9/11 happens and changes the socio-cultural landscape in the US. Suddenly, being Khan is not such a good idea. Mandira’s business suffers and people shun the family even as Rizwan remains insulated by his inability to connect. Things take a turn for the worse when Mandira’s son is fatally injured in an act of racial hatred. Mandira, seared by the heat of communalism, seeks distance from the man or rather the name that she feels has brought it upon her – Khan.
From here begins Rizwan’s quest to meet the President of the USA to tell him what he wants the world to know – “My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist”.
Along the way Rizwan suffers from racial profiling at the airport, is locked up on a misapprehension that he might be a terrorist and eventually becomes a hero by restoring the dignity of Muslims in the US. In between he also rescues people trapped in a flood-hit small town in Georgia. Khan’s journey culminates in a meeting with Obama who is again representative of the winds of change blowing across America.

Karan Johar is to be lauded simply for staying away from his default option of making movies – the super-rich playing out an emotional drama in their chiffons and pearls. Yes, the foreign locales are still there but this time the story actually demands it. The emotional overdose though hovering at the edges is also carefully kept in check. Perhaps the only real problem of the movie is that Karan is still unoriginal. His movie is teeming with so many issues, borrowed from so many different places, that it loses the plot a bit. Hindi cinema now adds autism to its list of special conditions that have had movies made on them in the recent past, the others being dyslexia (Taare Zameen Par) and progeria (Paa). While the theme of an autistic man facing the challenges of life and finding happiness would have been substantial, that is not enough for Johar. Autism becomes relegated to the sidelines as he takes up his next issue, US post 9/11. Again a subject that has had multiple movies made on it (think Kurbaan, New York). His Rizwan Khan also reminds one of Forrest Gump as he trudges relentlessly on becoming a part of history without being quite aware of what he is doing. So one is left wondering whether the movie is about autism, about post 9/11 America or whether it’s just a love story. I’m not saying it doesn’t work. I just feel that both autism and terrorism are big enough issues to be given their own space and not be forcibly clubbed.

While I’m at it, let me also add that mainstream Bollywood try as it might, is still tied down to some of its older roots. Such is the need to have SRK romance Kajol, that we have a love story thrown in between the spunky hairstylist and the autistic salesman. The way it is portrayed in the movie, it seemed unrealistic in the extreme. A more extended and sensitive treatment of their deepening attachment might have made sense. Instead we have a chocolates and balloons romance where Mandira treats Rizwan as some sort of a goofy kid and then suddenly agrees to marry him after seeing a beautiful view of San Francisco. Where is the attraction? When did it suddenly happen? As a single mother and as a woman dumped by her first husband, what does she find in Rizwan?
Another such disbelief-inducing caper is the Rizwan’s rescuer act in the hurricane hit town of Wilhemina, Georgia. A completely unnecessary and unrealistic digression that adds to the film’s running time (which is already substantial). There are no governmental or non-governmental agencies to help out the people till Khan shows up. Then there is a stream of well-wishers who pitch in by just wading into the place. If it is all that simple, why didn’t the trapped residents just walk out? Are we expected to believe that in the world’s most developed country, absolutely no rescue efforts are being directed to a town in trouble?

Anyhow, what one cannot fault in MNIK is SRK’s performance. After a long time, we see him in a role where he is not playing the archetypal lover boy with the dimpled smile and the arms spread wide. Shah Rukh gives Rizwan his own unique identity – unfocussed eyes, expressionless face and gawky body language. A true challenge for an actor whose eyes can usually convey so much, whose expressions we are so familiar with and whose body language has always been very dynamic. He is convincing in his single-minded pursuits, whether it is marriage with Mandira or meeting the President. A wooden-faced abnormal hero is never an easy thing to be.
Kajol is refreshing to look at and as spontaneous as ever. Leaving aside a tendency to screech, she performs her part ably. The DDLJ pairing of SRK and Kajol look so good together that sometimes I felt myself wishing that I was watching another one of their rom-coms - that SRK would dimple charmingly with a twinkle in his eye as he softly whispered sweet nothings in Kajol’s ear and she would smile and exchange a secret with those tawny eyes. Somebody write a nice middle-aged romance for these two!
The music in the movie is catchy and mainly Sufiana with “Tere Naina” and “Sajda” standing out.

In true Dharma Productions style, MNIK too is of grand proportions but Karan Johar has come a long way since his Kuch Kuch Hota hai days. With his attempts at making different types of cinema and a hopefully restrained sensibility, his style is a work in progress. One movie at a time.

MNIK gets a 7/10 from me.

Rocket not quite a cracker

Had gone to see "Rocket Singh" some time back. Despite the relatively low-key promotions, had some solid expectations from this movie since it was directed by Shimit Amin of "Chak de India" fame. I already knew that this was not going to be some typical Bollywood (chiffon sarees, running around trees, loud histrionics) type of movie. In fact it was one of those slice of ife types that have increasingly found afvour with the multiplex audience.

"Rocket Singh" is the story of Harpreet Singh Bedi (Ranbir), who has just completed his graduation and dreams of being in the field of 'S-A-L-E-S'. His very practical realisation of his shortcomings, both academic and financial, make him view Sales as the apt profession for him. Here, he reckons, he can get big by relying only on his "akal". To this end, he joins a computer sales firm (AYS) as an intern and begins to slowly assimilate the tricks of the trade. Tragedy strikes when he complains about bribery in the system and finds his new career summarily at an end. He is just allowed to serve his notice period before being kicked out. During this time, he faces the wrath and ridcule of his colleagues, their jibes often taking the form of paper rockets that are flown at him.

While he attempts to come to terms with the rude blow that his honesty has rewarded him with, he finds that assembling computers and selling them is something that he can do without the help of his company. So he begins parallel business by recruiting dissatisfied employees of AYS and launches 'Rocket Sales Corporation' by making them not employees but "partners". His aim is to ostensibly gain happy customers by charging them a bare minimum margin and providing irrestible service guarantees. He thus uses the resources of his employers to further his own profits. He does have pangs of guilt but these he resolves by deciding to eventually pay back AYS for the resources he has used.

And here lies my basic problem with the movie. Clearly, the audience is supposed to sympathise with the hero. Feel sorry for his banishment from Sales heaven, rejoice in his new found success and turn a blind eye to the fact that he is not honest enough to use illegal means for his venture. It seemed confused to me. When Harpreet does his business almost exploiting the company he works for and making a sizeable dent in their bottomline, is it okay? Because his employer Puri (played with much drama by Manish Chaudhury) is such an archetypal 'bad guy'? Do the ends justify the means? I would have been happier had he actually set up his business and succeeded without resorting to underhanded methods, no matter how good his intentions.

The climax is of course when they are caught out and lose the Rcoket Sales to AYS in an out of court settlement. However at the end, we are made to understand it is the people who run the business that matter which is why Puri has a change of heart and returns Rocket Sales to Harpreet, being unable to live up to the high standards he has set. This is a false, filmy note in an otherwise reality based movie. Showing Harpreet building another successful business with his sales skills after the disbandment would have been better than getting his business back on a silver platter to him and with an insufferable lecture from Puri.

The most commendable part of the movie was the talent of its character actors. Gauhar Khan as Koena the tough talking, trashily dressed recptionist with a heart of gold was a revelation. Naveen Kaushik as Nitin Rathore, Harpreet's manager does a good job too but seems too 'inspired' by Raghu of MTV Roadies fame. D Santosh as Reddy clicks with audience and is entertaining as the porn loving IT guy. Manish Chaudhury I thought was someone who needed more restraint. Ranbir's love interest is Shazahn Padamsee, who sadly lacks screen presence and is reduced to just a PYT.
Ranbir is very good as Harpreet - he delivers just as he is expected to and more. Watch out for the scene where he s being insulted bu Puri and fighting to keep his temper in check. The smouldering expression in his eyes does all the talking. He is also one of the few star actors who doen't let his presence dominate the story. The story takes its own course with Ranbir most believable as the earnest, simpleton Sardar.

The music of the movie is mainly restricted to background scores and whetever there is of it is effective.

Overall however, "Rocket Singh" left me with a mild dissatifaction - a feeling of how much better it could have been. The movie feels like a bit of an anti-climax and as such would rate it only a 6/10. Watchable but not exceptional.

Truly an "Ajab" kahani!

I was raring to break my box-office dry spell and had really hoped that 'Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani" would do the trick. So I went for the evening show of the flick today.

Well, I soon realised that the movie is a slightly updated but much less funny version of Andaz Apna Apna. Not exactly in terms of storyline but in terms of style. There is much slapstick humour, comic book sequences and colourful settings.

The story, whatever little there is of it, deals with the escapades of do-gooder Prem (Ranbir), President of the Happy Club, in an unnamed idyllic hill station. While Prem rapidly falls in love with and proceeds to woo pretty-as-a-picture, Jenny (Katrina), she is in love with Rahul (Upen Patel looking completely repulsive). Even when faced with this heartbreak, Prem agrees to help Jenny marry Rahul. Needless to add, by the end of all the craziness that occurs, Jenny realises that it is Prem who is her true love.

My misgivings about the movie began almost as soon as it started since there was some weak and totally unfunny slapstick happening. Later as one adjusted to the weird world of Prem, there were some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. Prem's desperate attempts to impress Jenny, the reliable comic timing of his parents (Darshan Jariwala & Smita Jayakar) and the fast paced action helped. But the second half brought the tenuous humour setup crashing down. Unnecessarily encumbered with some sentimental scenes alternately with slapstick ones, it soon got to a point where one was almost waiting for the movie to reach its predictable conclusion.

APKGK used a lot of Andaz Apna Apna's comic devices like the father-son squabbling, the hopelessly inefficient suited goons and the 'we all fall down' kind of humour. It also has a hotchpotch of scenes which leave you reminiscent about other movies - some of which were possibly intentional. You have Ranbir in a towel - an image strongly linked to "Saawariyaa", the Sufi singers of "Jodha Akbar" appear in a song in this one too, both the lead actors suffer from a stammer when they get emotional a la "Kaminey", Prem dissuades Rahul from marrying Jenny much like SRK had in "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa"...

In other words, there's very little that you've not seen before in this movie except maybe the jodi of Ranbir and Katrina. While the two have good onscreen chemistry, Ranbir clearly steals the show with his earnest performance. He is fast approaching the stage where he will have enough screen presence to match the big stars. He has pretty good comic timing as well and his sheer goofiness adds more value than the situations or dialogues. He is the only good reason to watch this movie methinks.

In the movie, Prem, on spotting Jenny talks about her "silky-silky hair and her milky-milky skin...just like vanilla ice cream." And just like vanilla ice-cream Katrina is plain throughout - no added flavours, no zing, nothing except that thrill one gets on seeing a walking-talking Barbie doll. Truth be told, she has suggested in other movies that she might have unexplored depths in histrionic ability and this movie was probably too mindless for her to try anything.

Though the songs appeared to jump up at odd times, the soundtrack of this movie is decent. The one I liked best was 'Tera Hone laga hoon' by Atif. 'Main tera dhadkan' and 'Prem ki naiyya' were also catchy.

Overall, the movie did draw out some genuine laughs but these were too erratic and sometimes too forced, to make a successful rom-com.

Would give this one a 5.5/10.

Final words of advice: Watch it for Ranbir. He's the real paisa-vasool. :)

And Sid woke up!

As the coming-of-age story it is supposed to be, "Wake up Sid" (WUS) works.
The story, like so much of real life, is not particularly original but is still refreshing in its individual approach. Spoilt rich kid, Siddharth Mehra (Ranbir) is living the good life with his dad's credit card. There is really very little of the 'hero' about Sid in the first half - he is rude & thoughtless with his mother, happy to spend his father's money, a sore loser and ingrate of the highest order. he flunks out of college and gets thrown out of home without a penny. What follows is Sid's slow awakening to a realisation of what he wants out of life. His journey to the surface is tempered and helped along by Aisha Banerjee (Konkona), the 'New girl in the city'.

For Ranbir the role of Sid fits like a glove - he is very believable as the thoughtless, impulsive, dreamy youngster. I did however feel that there were moments when his expressions were unfathomable. Whether he is still inexperienced to be able to convey the right emotion accurately or whether it was just a shortcoming of the screenplay was hard to say. There were instances when I thought the dialogues and expression on Ranbir's face were a prelude to something..but that next course never quite got served. All said and done, he is still one of the better performers among the new crop of actors and can only get better with time.
Konkona plays her part with consummate ease. Her character is a mish-mash of roles she has essayed in earlier movies. Her Aisha is soothing with calm self-possession and confidence that holds a clear attraction for Sid.
I was really amazed to read somewhere that Ayan Mukherji the director of WUS is only 24! Consider this and the movie seems even more credible. The very real "young" feel of this movie, one feels, is no doubt because the director himself is so young. The son who is churlish with his mother, the relationship where age is not a barrier, the alternative career choice - these are all relatively fresh themes to be tackled barring a few movies like "Dil Chahta Hai".

The movie is overall well put-together. One area where it could have really scored more would be the dialogues. While definitely not run-of-the-mill Bollywood, they lack the bite that helped films like "Dil Chahta Hai".
The music of the movie is catchy enough, esp. the title track and "Iktara" also strikes the right chord. One does feel however that the tracks are somewhat forgettable.

Overall a good watch that leaves you with a smile on your face. I would give it a 7.5/10

New beginnings

I have been writing so many posts related to the movies on my other blog, that I decided to start a blog dedicated solely to what is a passion for most Indians - the motion pictures!

I'll also add on the other movie-based posts I had written earlier to this blog. And continue practising my reviewing skills on (almost) every movie that I watch.

Movie reviewing has always been one of my dream jobs - getting paid to do something I really enjoy. Well I'm not getting paid yet, but hey, like a wise man once said, "kabhi kabhi kuch paaney ke liye, kuch khona bhi padta hai"!

Statutory warning: I am not one of those privileged souls who are only into foreign cinema and Hollywood. I plunge headfirst into every potboiler Bollywood can churn up for me and most times I love it too. So cheers!