PK ~ Movie Review

There were three movies that I watched in a row in this break at my hometown. Starting with PK, the movie ran for almost two weeks here, and was screened almost everyday for the morning, matinee, evening and late night shows. Aamir Khan did manage to keep a tab on all the theaters owing to his acting prowess and being the creatively eccentric one from the Khan club. And, I like him because he plays his cards cleverly as always (if you had noticed by any chance that none of the PK Promos gave away the slightest cue about the plot of the movie until the release date).

The movie is a satirical comedy drama film that gives strong underlying pointers at a hypocritical society with a mob mentality. Certain humorous instances on religion and sentiments were quite a punch, where boon for one becomes bane for the other. The movie is more on the lines of Paresh Rawal’s OMG which was more realistic and less controversial. That said, PK is mediocre, because the idea is not entirely indigenous. Yet, when it comes to acting, Aamir Khan stole the show as always by depicting an unsuspecting naive alien character with finesse, who learns the worldly ways of the earth and transforms into a perceptive earthling, unveiling the follies of many in the process.

I would perhaps watch it again just for a few comical bits in the movie. Other than that, it is just a one time watch.

Sushant Sing Rajput’s role is minuscule but that dude can act for sure!

Anushka Sharma, that look suits you well….But whatever have you done to your lips? You had a much prettier face in RNBJ!!

Aamir Khan, waiting for more meaningful movies from you J

Rating: 2.8/5

Mardaani ~ Movie review

Watched Mardaani yesterday. So a late review.

 

Was it a movie worth recommending to others to view? Was it a movie that would leave an impression on people? Do such movies create the awareness that is needed today? The answers shall vary. Was the movie good? Well, that is the only question I can answer perhaps. 

Mardaani, is a comeback film for Rani Mukherjee, the firebrand actress who proved her acting prowess in films like Black and No one killed Jessica. The movie primarily focuses on human trafficking that has its roots going so deep into the system, that there is no way, it is a one man business. The search never ends. The master mind is seldom known. Sometimes, there is no mastermind, as there are just too many to shield the multi billion dollar business of trafficking. So, when a teenager, Pyaari is kidnapped and sold into a harem run by a pimp only known as Vakil with his young partner, Walt, Senior Inspector, Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani Mukherjee) braces herself with her team, to search her daughter like Pyaari from the hell hole, the latter was pushed into. The story portrays the lady officer to be calm, composed and alert, even as her indulgent heart cries aloud for the kidnapped girl. How she plans to rescue the abused girls forms the crux of the story.

The movie overall, is a one time watch. Rani, has definitely given a power packed performance with her toned and muscular body language and her patent rustic tone. However, for me, it was Tahir Raj Bhashin (Walt), who stole the limelight. His portrayal as the young cold manipulative and cruel pimp matched the protagonist’s attitude in the movie.

Rating: 3/5

P.S:  (wanted to give 2.5 but the extra .5 is for absence of songs in the movie)

Would like to watch Lakshmi, a movie on similar lines with a braver story line. A story about how a 14 year old girl escapes from the clutches of prostitution and seeks justice against her tormentors.

2 States ~ Movie review

A cute intelligent Tamilian girl, a droopy eyed Punjabi boy,  feisty parents and in-laws to be,  moderate acting, mediocre songs and some tadka of inter-state romance ..... Chetan Bhagat has surely dramatized the notable events of his life through this movie.

So, did I like it? I am not sure I can say Yes. But, neither can I say a No. Even as a beautiful  love story blossoms between the TamBrahm Ananya and the Punjabi Krish in the campus of IIM, the couple faces the challenge of taking the road of commitment to marriage. There follows a lot of emotional cocktail between the obsessed mother of the boy (played impeccably by Amrita Singh) and the dominating mother of the girl (played by Revathi). And, it is important to mention here, Amrita and Revathi give some priceless insights when it comes to dealing with multifarious situations where cultures and backgrounds clash like fire and water!

As far as acting is concerned, Alia Bhat seems to be on a roll! She has somehow been able to replicate the chirpy, independent and feminist personality (innate in most south Indian girls) with aplomb. Arjun Kapoor as Krish fitted the role apt, although he has been heavily shadowed by Alia’s prowess in acting. Ronit Roy and Shiv Kumar Subramanian have done their parts well as the complicated fathers who have difficulty in being accepted the way they are.

Overall, the movie was just fine. Songs were not that great. The movie, I felt was long. Rest, it is a one time watch!

Rating: 2.5/5

Gulaab Gang ~ Movie review

Woman – the puzzling creation of nature. If she can be deathly vulnerable to the stumbling Pandora boxes that come her way, she can be belligerently antagonized when her tolerance to abuse and corruption hits rock bottom. When Rajjo (Madhuri Dixit), the main protagonist quips, “Ek glass pani milega? Gala Sukh raha hai!”, the sense of eerie does hint at something good or worse waiting to happen. With a lathi in her hand, dressed in a gulaabi saree, do not ask what she can do, but what not, she can! That is what Gulaab gang, directed by debutant director Saumik Sen and produced by Anubhav Sinha, is all about.

When I started watching the movie, the first thing I loved about it is, there are no heroes. Just a village of gutsy ladies, led by their calm charismatic chieftain, Rajjo Devi as the fearless Gulaab Gang and a delightfully evil antagonist Sumitra Devi (Juhi Chawla) are all that keep you rooted. The movie is packed with action, a lot of dialogue punches and colourfully choreographed songs. A tad too long that it is, Madhuri and Juhi have revived their magic in the movie by playing their characters with finesse. As Rajjo, the Gulaab gang chief locks horns with the malicious politician Sumitra, the movie focuses on the many issues women face even in the rural pockets of our country, despite the growth and progress we all claim to have made.

And now, time for some rating. I would give a 2.8/5

The movie is a onetime watch despite, some intense acting, natural action sequences and well choreographed songs. It dragged a little longer than usual. Also, too many songs can spoil a film!

Queen ~ Movie review

What does it take to break free from constipated thoughts and traditions?

How does it feel to step out in the world and rediscover a self one never knew existed?

Her majesty, Queen shall answer your questions and must say, with a lot of chutzpah! 

Watched Queen yesterday. And there were two things that came to my mind when watching the movie,

First, Kangana Ranaut as protagonist Rani, re-asserts the age old adage, “Simplicity is beauty”.

Second, Kangana Ranaut has proved to the world that, she is one of the finest artists Bollywood has given.

Queen directed by Vikas Bahl, is all about rediscovering the queen that resides in each female, that comes out only in the hour of need. And Rani, for whom the world comes crashing down after her fiance cancels their marriage a day before, travelling alone on her honeymoon to Paris and Amsterdam becomes her road to self discovery. On her journey, she makes good friends, one of them being the sensuous Vijayalakshmi (Lisa Haydon) and also learns a thing or two about life.

Kangana who put the ramp on fire in the movie Fashion, where she played the role of an arrogant and disturbed supermodel, Shonali has transformed here flawlessly into a 24 year old demure Rani with little makeup and a lot of verve. She has definitely raised the bar in acting among Bollywood actors.

Kudos to Kangana!!

Rating: 4/5 (all for her!)

P.S: Loved the songs, all of them, especially London tumakada!

Highway ~ Movie Review

Highway.

If I were to wrap a review in three sentences, it would be something like,

Alia Bhat has it, in her!

Randeep Hooda is inexorably handsome!

And, Imtiaz Ali is a terrific director with an amazing story line!

This movie convinced me that, Bollywood can produce intense, real and meaningful movies too. Coming to the review part, the movie has a great direction and amazing soundtracks (Needless to say, A.R Rehman revives his magic in music). The movie revolves around three characters, Veera Tripathi (Alia Bhatt), the captive with an abusive childhood who suffers from a Stockholm’s syndrome when she gets abducted, Mahabir Bhati(Randeep Hooda), the abductor who is what he is, as a result of a traumatic childhood and the highway, that covers the natural yet strange, pure yet complicated relation that forms between Veera and Mahabir.

Besides, showing a breathtaking landscape covering highways of Rajasthan, Punjab, Kashmir, Haryana, Uttaranchal and Ladakh, the movie also digs into the complexities of life that are same to all, not withstanding which economical background a person hails from.

Everyone is fighting their own unique battles after all!

That is what Highway is all about.

Rating: 4/5

P.S: I was so tempted to give it all stars, but the movie dragged a bit longer than usual. 

The movie review is late, as I watched it yesterday.

Although, Randeep Hooda is one talented actor, it was Alia Bhatt who stole the limelight! 

And credit goes to Imtiaz Ali for the story and direction. 

And, I love this song!!

Rourkee bypass ~ A Short film

Recently I watched this short film on filmcurry.com – Rourkee Bypass. And little did I know, I was to be addicted to short films than the normal two hour movies, thereafter. And why not? Short films have this amazing way of adapting simple yet profound incidents that have happened, or are happening or, are just waiting to happen in some corner of the world. And Rourkee Bypass is just one to quote here.

It focuses on loneliness. And mind well, I am not talking about the loneliness that is felt by the generation of today for whom it is more synonymous with no internet or no whatsapp or no gaming, but the kind felt by the generation of yesterday who want to stay connected with the current one in any which way possible.

The film is a perfect example of a very common plight that can be observed in the old people of today who are lonely. And needless to say, loneliness is terrible. And it is even more in old age, where heart aches for company. In this case, the young man made a promise on impulse, but did not bother to keep it or even understand the impact of such a promise on that old lady. A sad plight of today! It is important for this generation to realize that they need to stay connected with the people of yester years. They may not sound interesting. They may be technologically challenged. They may advise you on many things, on which you may even feel you don’t need it. But then, that is not the point. They need a listening ear. They want to be a part of your lives. They feel good when they are given importance. And mind well, old age is not a choice for a living. It is inevitable. It will come. And to each one of us.

So, why not call up your grand parents, grand aunts and other relatively lonely elders of your family and talk to them? And, they will be happy. So will we be.

And for the above, I would say ROURKEE BYPASS is a must watch! All you have to do is spare 5-7 minutes which must be that difficult!

Special 26 ~ A movie review

It had been a while since we watched a movie in a theatre. The last one was Talash, which we saw in Bharuch last year. Of course, that was after a gap of 2 years. And now after a gap of two months, we got a chance to watch yet another – Special 26, here in Mhow. Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill, Divya Dutta, Manoj Bajpai and some new faces in Bollywood have tried their level best to make this film a must watch. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t say it is a ‘must’ watch. May be just one time.

Movie review: Special 26

The movie is set against an 80’s backdrop where there were no cell phones, no internet, no use of computers and no sophisticated devices to track fraud. And so, it was probably easier than today to commit scams without getting caught. And so a team of four con men rob the ‘rich and famous’ off their ‘not so rightfully’ earned wealth and disappear into various states under disguise. And they appear to have a ball of a time disguising as CBI officials or at times, as Income Tax Dept, or even as police. All goes well, until a hawky CBI official vows to catch the con gang at any cost, come what may. And so starts the wild goose chase.

Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Kishore Kadam and Rakesh Sharma are the con team who execute each heist operation flawlessly. All four of them, put together as a team acted with finnese. Kajal Agarwal (who plays Akshay's love interest), though did not have much to act here, looked simple and beautiful as the 80’s ‘Marathi mulgi’. Jimmy Shergill as usual was terrific, though his role was small, yet prominent. Divya Dutta, though a talented actress was totally wasted in this movie. If there was a stunner, then it had to be Manoj Bajpai as the actual CBI officer who tracks down the conmen. He looked ravishingly handsome and was the only one who overshadowed Akshay with his acting. As for Akshay Kumar, I believe he is stereotyping his movies. He must now dabble in new roles.

A multi starrer movie is always tricky. It, most of the time, overshadows the main lead (which of course is a good thing). However, in this case, none of the stars left a lasting impression at the end. The plot is always the life of any movie, irrespective of a starry cast. And Special 26 failed right at that. (I wanted to give one star but considering that there were a few genuinely comic moments, this movie scores one more. As far as music is concerned, most of the songs are good. But when watching movie, they were totally annoying as they took up too much of the movie time)

Rating :

P.S: The movie is loosely based on a real heist carried out on a jewellery store in Opera House, Mumbai on 19^th March, 1987, when 26 people posing as income tax officials raided the store.

Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao and Dhobhi Ghat ~ Movie review

Aamir Khan – the exception among Khans!

I was never a Khan fan, NEVER! And I could tolerate no Bollywood Khan, especially SRK whose very sight used to irk me to no bounds. When it is about Sallu mia, he is just a 'little better' than SRK but ranks second in my category of ‘detested wannabe actors’!. Saif on the other hand, has evolved into a more dignified actor with enhanced acting skills that seem to have just got better with time. Yet, such developments have not made me his fan either! But then, the one Khan who mesmerized me and got me out of the ‘Hate Bollywood Khan’ club, with his core intellect and amazing ideas was Aamir Khan. While all other Khans are still reveling in their fame and glory of past, this guy over the years, has transitioned from an amateurish actor to a versatile artist, a creative script writer, director and producer who churns out simple candid concepts pulled from every day life, in a very lucid way.

When I watched Ghajini in 2008, I was less impressed with the movie, its direction, its script and music, but watched the movie solely for Aamir where he played the role a man bereaved of his love and suffering from a short term memory loss, with finesse. The greatest compliment he got, was from Surya who had played the same role in the original Ghajini movie (that was made in Tamil). Following suit were his Taare Zameen par, 3 Idiots and Dhobhi Ghat, all of which were movies with a simple story, talented cast and some good music too!

Dhobi Ghat – A movie of acquired taste!

PLEASE NOTE: Folks! let me make it crystal clear: If you are looking for some sleazy item numbers, some sensual munni or Sheila trying to show off her perfect curves, a hero villain saga, some clichéd love story, or steamy scenes that can hike your testosterone levels, then please DON'T waste your time reading this post! This movie is just not your cup of tea!

Now coming to Dhobi Ghat, I believe this movie deserves a review! When I saw the trailer of Dhobi Ghat, I instantly decided to watch it. Both, my husband and I are Aamir Khan fans, and considering he makes only one movie per year, we decided not to miss the first day first show! However, we just got lucky enough to get tickets for second day matinee show. And here goes my review!

The movie runs exactly for 1 hour 40 minutes. There are no song and dance sequence, except for the background music that can be heard when words are replaced by silence and actions are spoken through a whirlwind of emotions portrayed by the characters in the movie. So, what is Dhobi Ghat all about? As the name suggests, it is the local washing area of Mumbai, located in close proximity of Mahalaxmi. A slow narrative starts from this very place. And if you read the title again, there is a caption accompanying it – Mumbai Diaries! That clears half the suspense, right?

Dhobi Ghat is a movie centering around 5 intriguing characters:

• A newly wed Yasmin Noor (played by Kirti Malhotra) is enjoying, taking her first baby steps to gel with the hustly bustly city of Mumbai that is so much unlike her hometown at Malihabad, UP. The young bride derives great pleasure in capturing the moments, places and the myriad nuances of Mumbai in her video cam, through which she communicates with the world, with its viewers.
• Munna, the character played by Prateik Babbar (son of Late Smita Patil and Raj Babbar) is about a non resident Bihari who has come all the way from Bihar to gain fame in Bollywood. To survive and make a living, he works at Dhobi Ghat during the day and as a rat killer in the night.
• Arun, the artist, is played by Aamir Khan, who has done great justice to this role, as a successful artist, a disgruntled divorcee and a loner by choice. He takes keen interest in understanding Yasmin (the previous tenant), from her videos that she left behind.
• The NRI, Shai played by Monica Dogra, is an investment banker in America who visits Mumbai on an undefined hiatus, wherein her journey of self reckoning commences, with her chance encounter with Arun, who later becomes her subject of interest and obsession.
• And last but not the least, the most mesmerizing character of this movie is the city of Mumbai itself. In fact, the movie starts with Mumbai speaking through Yasmin, the newly wed girl from UP. It further speaks about people who come to this city with unfulfilled dreams and ambitions only to accomplish them, about people who find love in their passion and their work and about people who gel amicably with the endless cacophony of the city, that is more engaging than dissonant.

The Mumbai diaries take the viewer on a roller coaster ride, exploring its myriad shades here and there which include the good and the bad, the rich and the famous, the poor and the subjugated, the bold and the beautiful, and also the ones for whom this city is no less than a promise waiting to be fulfilled. Besides, some of the camera work in the movie is simply astounding. Some of the best shots in the movie include the breaking dawn, the city coming to life from the wee hours of morning, the narrow roads of slums, the Dhobhi Ghat, the busy Mohammed Ali road at the time of Ramzan, the local trains and the high rise buildings of the city.

Dhobi Ghat was a refreshing starter in the platter of movies, this year 2011 had to offer. Kiran Rao as a director has tried her best with this film, by engaging a new and fresh cast. Besides, ignoring a clumsy narrative and painfully slow introduction of characters, this movie is one amazing watch, in which every character has been portrayed beautifully, simultaneously exploring the various facets of human nature.

Rating: 3.5/5

Bird Idol ~ Movie Review

I watched this movie in the theater last Sunday with Aparna (my SIL). Before, I never was very keen on watching animated movies but then Appu had vouched for its sarcasm saying that the movie was a dollop of fun if I could read between the lines in the script. So we went for a morning show to watch the much awaited movie: Bird Idol.

Synopsis:

The movie as a work of animation is good and the story line is quite patent right from the start. The crux of the movie is about a Kingdom of Birds – The fictitious Shayadri kingdom that is ruled by an old eagle. However, pertaining to the king bird's old age, the kingdom is being run by a cruel vulture, Dhamki. And so as the story progresses, we learn that one of the deadliest sins to be committed under the tyranny of Dhamki is cross breed love that is aptly rewarded with death at the claws of the hungry looking diabolic vultures on the Annual Birds Day. So here, let me introduce the protagonists of the movie, Pancham and Pari! Both despite being from different breeds fall madly in love with one another and decide to get married much to the chagrin of Pari’s father. And so the love birds with the help of a Gujarati humming bird Jayesh fly away to the city, away from the tyrannical kingdom and lead a low profile life. Seasons change, time flies and amidst the cacophony of the city, Pancham and Pari have an adorable son Hummy growing up to be one handsome fellow, turning heads of the female crowd wherever he goes! Specially being a cross breed, his looks are enticing as he is gifted with the looks of his father and his mother's crest.

As the movie proceeds, it illustrates Hummy’s interest in music, which is not the typical bird music of twee-twee, cuckoo-cuckoo and wee-wee, but music that is man made. So he and his three friends bring a revolution in the bird music industry by blending human and bird music, forming a group known as the Air Guitars. Change always brings in some unwanted perils! And this revolution invites resentment from the judges of the Bird idol show (one of them is shown impersonating Bappi Lahiri). As the movie unfolds further, the judges plan to unravel the mystery behind the hat, that Hummy wears to hide his crest. And the news reaches Shayadri kingdom, where Dhamki comes to know about the whereabouts of his long lost wayward subjects.

So in the typical bollywood fashion, the hero-villain saga starts! The movie however ends on a happy note with the old king eagle waking up to life after hearing the Air Guitars play their indigenous music and Dhamki succumbing to the consequence of his despotism which is actually the awakening of the subjects of the Shayadri kingdom to live freely in harmony. The Air Guitars set an example for creating a revolution in the mundane thought process of their society. The credits are set rolling as the bird kingdom welcomes the change with an open mind, in their society of repression.

Review:

This animation movie will be perceived in different ways by audience. For kids, being an animation movie, it is a candid script with a good mix of humor, romance and action. The grownups however may have found it a little mind-numbing movie as the regular bollywood content was portrayed using birds. Teen crowd may have declared it drab! But if one understands the depth of this movie's script, volumes of human psychology clouding our human society are delivered lucidly.

A few instances of our satire ridden society are as listed below:

• The inter breed love of Pari and Pancham renders the inter caste system of our very own society. Even to this date in most parts of our country, this concept itself is a taboo.
• The feelings of a young male and a female (Hummy and Surili) are portrayed candidly. The complexity of a female's emotions when it comes to the feelings towards the opposite sex and her simplicity in hiding those feelings is blended perfectly with the inborn ignorance of a male who fails to sense the sensitivity of the female he loves and confuses his feelings with friendship.
• The TV show hosting a series – ‘Balika Bird Who?’ viewed by Hummy’s mother Pari regularly, hints subtly at the dominance of television serials over Indian female crowd.
• The main showstopper for cynicism at its best is the Bird Idol show which actually exposes the reality shows of our Indian entertainment. The incompetence of judges who concentrate more on their position in the industry rather than genuinely picking up fresh talents, the non acceptance of a change/revolution in any industry for that matter the emphasis made on appearance rather than on talent is captured finely. The illustration of this concept is further enhanced with a comic touch where one of the judges was actually the bird version of Bappi Lahiri speaking in a Bong tone and loaded more with jewelery and less with talent.
• And last but not the least, the regular bollywood movie content is exemplified further with the baddies capturing the hero’s family and the hero and his troupe flying off to fight the villain – Dhamki.

To understand and feel the nuances of our one tracked mindset of our society, this movie is a must watch!

SDM..... ~ Movie review

The last weekend was fulfilling. Watched Slum Dog Millionaire at a friend’s place. I was wondering why this movie became a hit. What had Danny Boyle directed, that attracted so much applause? The answer was apparent after I watched the much awaited SDM. Here goes my review.....

The movie revolves around three people - Jamal Malik (our slum hero), his elder brother – Salim Mailk (the would be gangster) and Lathika (Jamal’s love interest). All of these forced by unspeakable incidents, get entangled in a complex maze designed by destiny. As the movie opens, we find a grown up Jamal (played by Dev Patel) is manhandled by the police (played by Irfan Khan) regarding his participation in the ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ contest. The story unfolds gradually as we find that this ‘not an educated’ Jamal has actually answered all questions correctly in a 'kaun banega crorepati' show that arouses doubt of fraud embroilment in the manipulative host of the show (played by Anil Kapoor). So, as the police kick start their interrogation, the whole plot unravels! As scenes swap between Jamal’s present and his past, every question that he answered in the show has been in someway connected to the puzzling events that have profiled his life for so long. On a solemn note, Danny has made a stupendous attempt at portraying certain harsh realities of slum life and also the prevailing good will and undying hope that the future will be good no matter what!

The BGM for this movie by AR Rehman has clearly sealed the fact that he is now one untouchable hare in the world of music and is now going out of reach for his competitors. Kudos to Danny Boyle for having directed such a wonderful movie for which every penny is worth it!

Aamir ~ Movie Review

Dated : 23-07-08

“This wretched world is so much full of hate when there is so little time to love…..”

Aamir is a brilliant movie directed by Raj Kumar Gupta with the cast – Rajiv Khandelwal as the male protagonist – Dr. Aamir Ali. It is a very simple but beautifully written script about a Good Samaritan doctor – Aamir, who having studied medicine in London decides to return back to his beloved motherland and more importantly to his affectionate family that consists of his parents, three sisters and a younger brother. Everything is moving smoothly in life for our Aamir who has a name to him, a wonderful family and a beautiful girl friend -soon to marry (who ironically is a Hindu and this fact establishes the secular mindset of this young handsome doctor). But it seems Destiny has other plans for him…..
“Kaun kehta hai ki har aadmi apni kismat khud banata hai?”As our hero gets up from his sweet slumber to find that he has reached his much adored destination, he gets ready for a warm rendezvous reunion with his doting family. But life is not what it seems to be. Moments later he waits outside the airport slightly agitated at the fact that he doesn’t find his family to welcome him at the airport and nor his phone is answered at home. But his wait of those few seconds is disturbed as his luggage is suspiciously scooped off and two anonymous motorcyclists hurl a mobile at him and honk off. As the mobile starts ringing, his face cribs with utter dismay and confusion, unable to comprehend the happening around him. And then as he attends the call by anonymous caller, he realizes for no reason, his innocently decorated fairy tale world comes crumbling down to dust, slaughtering his fore seen blissful dreams that abruptly paves way for a never ending bizarre nightmare. Then as the movie proceeds, Aamir, landing up in the beleaguered by-lanes of the dingy area of Dongri (in Mumbai) in his unfriendly suite, realizes slowly the gut fact that he has been caught in an uncanny mesh created by a bunch of religiously fanatic and conniving wierdos of his own community, who deceitfully trap him, by taking his family as hostage. With no body to help him around in his hour of agony, he is forced to work as a puppet in the hands of the unknown devious minds, who relentlessly monitor his movements as well as thoughts. As the movie progresses towards the end, and as the climax sheds its cocoon, he shockingly comes to realize, with his conscience suffering immense mental fatigue and an appalling pain….., that he has been embroiled in a malicious bombing conspiracy to bring dread in the lives of the innocents…..
The movie has done a great job from every angle be it the camera effect, the direction, the script and the acting. The sudden camera movements by Alphonse Roy and the unpredictable background score by Amit Trivedi is impeccable. This is the first movie for Rajiv Khandelwal(who is a renowned tele actor having credits to his name in serials like Left Right Left as Captain Rajveer) and is definitely a launch pad for him towards the fame world as he has come up with a restrained but natural performance of a troubled common man. The acting by Gajrao Rao as the sadistic villain also deserves accolades.
This is a must watch Folks!
Cheers!!!!!

Dashavataram ~ Movie Review

Dated : 17-06-08

“I do not say– There is no God! But I only say it would have been better had there been one!”
A movie that takes the viewer on a roller coaster ride across the centuries, across the countries and more importantly across the time giving the viewer an insight into the in depth rationalization of the Chaos theory and the Butterfly effect, A movie that brings out some stigmatizing social evils that still exist in the society in a curt and right but humorous way, A movie that questions the game of destiny, further questioning the belief in the supernatural power, with a fetter of coincidences that are brought live in this movie by the 10 astounding roles played by Padmashree Dr Kamal Hasan. – Dashavataram.
Movie - GIST
The movie starts off taking the viewer way back in the 12th century – The days of Cholas…when the distinction and discrimination between the Shaivaites and the Vaishnavaites was apparent. It so happens that the King Kulothunga Chozan then in power wants to have the huge idol of Lord Vishnu to be thrown over and out into the ocean to bring the victory of the Shaivaites to history. But there is one strong willed man, who going strong on his belief in Lord Vishnu, decides to lay down his life and leave his family behind to uphold the faith he has in his Lord. He is RangaRajan Nambi – the hard core Vaishnavaite (the 1st role played by Kamal Hasan) who then cajoled by his loving wife Kothai (played by Asin) to bend down to the king’s whims and fancies for the sake of his family that consists of a son too. But Nambi decides to go even with the ocean rather than with the king and so he embraces death with dignity going into the unfathomable abyss of the deep blue ocean along with his Lord………..Then the movie suddenly fast forwards the time and after travelling across the century the viewer enters a biological lab in progress in USA in the year 2004. Dr. Govind Ramasamy Naiker (The second role played by Kamal Hasan and also the reincarnate of Nambi in modern age) a brilliant scientist cum atheist who has been conducting some biological experiments that has produced a hazardous chemical fluid which is actually a bio weapon. But the guinea pig kept in captivity is a monkey named Hanu, which unknowingly mistakes that medicine for chocolate and drinks it only to die a bizarre death with blood spurting out from every fissure of its body. This incident rakes up an unethical deal between the treacherous scientists and an ex-CIA agent turned terrorist – Fletcher (The third role played by Kamal Hasan as the terrorist) with an innocent Govind as the only witness to it. And then starts the cat and a mouse game between Fletcher and Govind with the former behind the latter and the latter behind the vial that contains the ultimate death for the world. As Govind is busy switching the place of the vial for safety of the world, Fletcher accompanied by his female partner – Jasmine (who is none other than the hot sensual babe – Mallika Sherawat), is swiftly switching his places to hunt Govind down and take the vial to bring the ultimate destruction to the world. As the game continues, bodies pile up in the blood game resulting in the death of Yuka - the sister of Shinghen(The fourth role played by Kamal Hasan as the Japanese Martial Arts teacher) and the word reaches George Bush, the President of US(the fifth role played by Kamal Hasan) and immediately information carries itself faster than the deadly virus of the much coveted vial(that actually travels to Chennai in an unknown parcel) and Govind reaches Chennai to fetch it but there he is greeted by the sturdy policeman – Balram Naidu (the sixth role played by Kamal Hasan) who, belonging to Andhra Pradesh favors for and bends more towards his ethnicity. As the game of death proceeds, our hero Govind after a long arduous escape from the blabbering Naidu and the conniving Fletcher(who along with Jasmine follows him to India), ends up in a Brahmin dominated village (Agraharam) that carries more of the Vaishnavite sentiments, only to meet the beautiful Andal(played by Asin) who is the reincarnate of Kothai of the former century(Ironically there is a role switch..In the pervious century, it was nambi who was the firm believer in his Lord and here in this birth it is Andal…..)…..As the vial reaches the 95 year old lady – Krishnaveni Paati (The seventh role played by Kamal Hasan) in the form of a parcel, the journey takes twists and turns with all the players including Balram, Fletcher, Jasmine ending up in the same village for the vial and as the entire focus directs itself towards the vial, the old unsuspecting Krishnaveni Pati puts the vial into the idol of Lord Narayana as she says “Let him show the way”. And then with more bodies piling up as Fletcher unscrupulously goes on a rampage killing everyone on his way, Govind and Andal end up being together through out the movie with Govind protecting the vial and Andal protecting the idol. Also in the movie we come across Avtar Singh(the eighth role played by Kamal Hasan as the Punjabi) who being a singer suffers from a cancerous growth in his throat decides to give his best in the last show of his, Kaifulllah Khan(the ninth character played by Kamal Hasan as the unusually tall Afghan) who plays a major role in circumstancing the Butterfly effect for Govind and Vincent Boovaragan (the tenth character played by Kamal Hasan as the Dalit leader) who fights for the weaker ones. There are many incidents in the movie that all tag together giving ground to the sequence of the events that happen and ultimately giving rise to the end scene where Fletcher, Govind, Andal and Shingen(knowing that Fletcher slay his dear sister) are caught in the death quadrangle with Fletcher having the vial. As Fletcher with the malevolent smile drinks that fluid to bring death to the world, destiny has other plans as it brings tsunami where the ocean unleashes its fury on earth (also considering the fact that the cure for that virus was NaCl and the ocean has loads of it ) as if it was venting vengeance against the wrong done.
Movie – Review Dashavataram – A splendid attempt by a 54 year old prodigy – Padmashree Dr. Kamal Hasan, to study and analyze the concept of science, God and reality. The events have been circumstanced in such a way that the viewer cannot just help but wonder at how the link has been created between each event. The Butterfly effect being an important part of the Chaos theory has been skillfully incorporated in this movie. For example, without Shinghen, Govind would have been dead. Without the tsunami, the world would have been destroyed by the bio weapon. Without Krishnaveni Patti the vial would have gone in the hands of Fletcher had she not put the vial into the idol. And from the time the vial went into the idol, it looked as if destiny was mentoring the movements of the cat and mouse chase game. Even Kaifulllah Khan (the unusually tall Afghan) also played a minor but conspicuous role becoz without him, Govind would have never escaped Naidu or Fletcher and the list simply goes on……The comedies in the movie have been very spontaneous and have been timed so correctly that one must watch the movie with great concentration in order not to miss it. There has been a boring intervention in-between as the movie becomes slow somewhere near the end but the tsunami at the end surpasses the flaws and makes it a fantabulous ending to the long arduous journey towards saving the world. The music that has been composed by Himesh Reshamiya has been an average one though.
Any layman after watching this movie may not enjoy this much but when one gets to analyze the sequel of events, he/she would realize that it requires a paramount intelligence event to attempt to make such a movie! This is a must watch movies Folks!!!!!

KUDOS TO PADMASHREE DR.KAMAL HASAN!!!!!

CHEERS!!!!!

Taaren Zameen par..... Movie Review

Dated : 08-01-08

Taare Zameen Par - A perfect serving to the end of a forgettable 2007. This movie has rocked Bollywood box office. The world created by Prasoon Joshi, with an imaginary ‘duniya’ that had planets,fishes,plants,mud,UFOs and so on was quite commendable. It has also portrayed an other world that is least bothered about imaginations and rather believes more in the 'ground reality' that is asserted time and again with the untold words that it is a rat race after all and winning is the only way to the pinnacle. Parents being overly apprehensive about children and children vexed about the marks that in due time carries little value as compared to the gargantuan hard work put in by the them, is what this movie portrays in the first half. And then, there is this dyslexic 8 year old Ishaan Avasthi.

Ishaan loves miniature creatures and he finds fishes to be most fascinating. He loves stray dogs, cleans their ears, fights for them and plays against the other boys of his locality and is frequently admonished by his parents specially branded by his father as ‘DUFFER’……’STUPID’…..and so on. Yet, he is loved by his doting mother who adoringly calls him ‘eeennuuuu’ and is lovingly encouraged by his talented all rounder elder brother for his imaginatively rich paintings. However that does not stop him from frequently getting punished by his teachers as he is unable to ‘grasp’ anything in the class as he explains how the letters dance in front of his eyes and gives the answer for 3*9 = 3 (This is how our eenu interprets - as how the planet no 3 ie Earth has to be put into planet no 9 ie Pluto and how the net result after the collision is Planet no 3 The Earth). Such weird are his imaginations which are later explored in the movie through his paintings that turn out to be a perfect blend of nifty hands and an ingenious mind. The first half of the movie is a bit slow with a fast music showing us the enormous dare in the 8 year old who when expelled from the class for his brazen attitude, intrepidly walks away in the streets of Mumbai exploring the roads, the people, the constructions and the laborers and so on, not giving a damm about what the world thinks about him and how he had become a butt of ridicule for the people around him for being a loser.

The movie then proceeds faster with excellent music composed by Shankar and brother Raman Mahadevan. The second half mainly focuses on how this ruthless world does not welcome any change and how it fails to think outside the box and how a dyslexic but a revolutionary eenu (who is later put in a boarding school) where his maverick teacher(Aamir Khan) brings the phenomenal tur around in the child. 

The anthology of emotions like anger, helplessness, disillusionment, hopelessness, fear of failure and haplessness created due to incessant ridicule, murder of self esteem portrayed by the child artist is mind blowing and the sympathy that proliferates in the teacher’s heart that easily shows off in his face for the kid is most alluring saga of this movie…

It is a paradox that we all see the glittering stars that are far far away and however small they are we strain and see them with lot of efforts. But we are unable to spot the sparkling stars amidst us who are hidden beneath the clouds of dyslexia . The loser is not the star as he still lives in his wonderful world but the losers are the unfortunate parents and it took an Amir Khan to bring out the reality as a gripping eye opener. I give it a hi five!!