Break ke baad!

I’m not too sure if I ve been choosing wrong movies to watch or if most movies being released these days are so wrong!!
Take Break ke baad for example. There is absolutely nothing right about this movie.  Be it the Pink wearing, chocolate looks wala Imraan( who has failed with his charm – yet again) or the long legged, bad wardrobed Deepika (who cant act for Pete’s sake) or the run of the mill story which is no different from the scores of movies being made!
The story is Yaaaawn with absolutely nothing in it. Seems more like an attempt to remake a not so great, forgettable movie like Love Aaj Kal. Now this is new to me. Take a bad movie and try to remake it. And Bingo!  The new movie has superseded the first one in all regards!!
The movie is prolix with a totally disjointed script and totally failing to arouse any kind of feeling at all. Imraan being the loyal boy friend trying to keep the relationship going regardless of how and the “I want to break free from it all” Deepika fail to make a connect with the audience and there’s no point in the movie where one can relate to the insipid characters.
And what I despised most in the movie was  how the oh-so- great-looking  and acting- Sharmila Tagore has been so wasted and reduced to miniscule role and has been robbed of her awe-striking screen space and how the very talented Sahana Goswami has been reduced to a junkie with no scope for any acting at all but dressed like a *$#@!
If anything, the movie succeeded in bring out a lot of reactions from me. I sat, slept, cursed, swore, booed, jeered, clenched my fists, curled my lips through it and finally gave credit to the director for making it relatively short.
I’m still waiting for a decent Bollywood movie( seems like that’s too much to ask going by the kind of movies being made these days). May be I could do a decent job at writing a decent script (even with a nonexistent love life)!!!
Time to take a break from all this baloney and hope there’s a better movie in the offing - Break ke baad!!

I hate love stories!!!

Come Friday and everybody anticipates the release of some highly hyped movies and this Friday was no different. I hate love stories which promised to be different from the run-of-the-mills love stories being made in scores is a huge let down. The movie is totally lacking in depth and fails miserably to make a connect with the audience ( Me being the audience)!
Imran Khan, who plays the role of a flirty cynic is said to have drawn inspiration from ha-haa-haaa- Akshay Kumar and I must say he has surely done justice to the image assassination of Akshay!!!His chocolate boy looks dont work any more for too much of chocolate only gives you a bad tooth!!!
Sonam Kapoor, has proved the critics right with this movie going on to display and justify why everybody thinks she s an over rated actor. Her chemistry with Imran is similar to the chemistry between Akshay Khanna and Aishwarya in whats-the-name-of-that goddamned movie!!! Yeah, it is non existent!!
Throughout the movie, there is a constant competition between the two leading actors as to who can carry off the stoic expression better. But I must say here, Sonam Kapoor has indeed put in lots of efforts into this and the femme fatale wins this very healthy competition!!!
If anything, the movie is cliched,boring, highly predictable reminding the audience time and again as to why we all hate love stories!!!!
The only saving grace of the entire movie is the Mr. Fatso aka the best buddy of the protagonist who to some extent, thanks to his expressions and one liners and his pictorial graphs saves us from drowning in 150 mins of baloney!!!!

Finding Fanny!

Only yesterday, I watched Finding Fanny after having quite a long wait for it and I must say the movie was definitely worth it!

The movie is not a regular masala flick and is definitely different from the hordes of Bollywood movies being made. I suppose I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that movie is for a niche audience.

The ensemble cast of the movie does thorough justice for the roles that they have been cast for. Be it the buxom Dimple Kapadia, or Pankaj Kapoor, the artist who fancies the curvaceous Dimple, or the old Romantic post man, Naseeruddin Shah, or the young widow, Deepika Padukone or the forever irritated, Arjun Kapoor, all of them do a great job at the small but important role that they all have in the short movie. For me the favorites were of course Pankaj Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia. Pankaj for his romantically sleazy lines and the manner in which he says them  and Dimple for her reactions to almost everyone and everything!! And for a change, I actually liked Deepika Padukone, in her smooth, suave performance (unlike her roles in the other masala flicks)

I wouldn’t really want to talk about the story. But I would surely want to talk about the photography which is excellent! Each shot is like a perfect frame capturing the small town’s beauty and the nuances of everyday life. What compliments the photography is the simple music, which is perfectly in sync with everything else which makes the movie so nice. The comedy is something which is laced with sarcasm, goes on to be a little dark, here and there, sleazy, at times, clever, throughout, thereby maintaining the overall mood of the movie.

With such a simple story and the way it’s been told, the movie just goes on to say that it is not always the destination which matters, but the journey taken to reach the destination is what counts.

Kudos to the Homi Adajania for making this differently entertaining melodramatic comedy!!

English Vinglish

The day before yesterday, I happened to watch the movie English Vinglish after a long wait and I must say it was definitely worth the wait!!

The movie or I don’t suppose I would be wrong in saying this, Sridevi, just made me smile all along!!

She plays the role of a typical Indian laddoo making, non-English speaking housewife with so much panache that you wouldn’t really feel that you’re seeing the yesteryears glam doll, the hawa hawai queen at all!! She’s just sooo natural and she’s so endearing that it’s a complete pleasure to watch her!! The best part about the role is that one wouldn’t really feel that they’re seeing a ‘heroine’ trying to play the character but one can easily associate with the character through out thereby making you smile when she does and feel bad for her when something goes wrong.

The movie is made by debutant director Gauri Shinde and what an amazing debut she’s made!! Regardless of how many movies she’ll go son to make, I reckon she shall be remembered for this lovable movie. The manner in which she has shown how the small small things of one’s day to day life play a big role in the way they are seen by others and the way they see themselves is really commendable. 

The story’s about how a typical middle class Indian housewife is taunted by her own family, more so her daughter and husband for her non-English speaking ability and how she goes on to learn the very language and let it speak for her and win back her self respect by redefining her own boundaries!

 I wouldn’t go on to tell more about the story because you must watch the movie yourself to see what the hype is all about and of Sridevi of course! And trust me when I say this again, you’ll see that the movie and the star of the movie, just bring a nice, wide smile on to your face J                                                                                                                                           

Athithi tum kab jaoge ?!?!

This is one movie which never fails to set me rolling every time I watch it! I don’t know if it is Paresh Rawal or the entire crew or the very script or a combination of all of these!

The film revolves around the nuclear family of film story writer, Ajay Devgan, his Interior Designer wife,  Konkana Sen, their waiting-for-a-guest son and their unexpected guest, Paresh Rawal. The movie is about how the family copes with the sudden arrival of a guest, who shows no signs of getting back and how he goes on to change their normal lives and influence them as well.  Be it the way he wakes up everyone before dawn with his gargling, or the way he goes behind the maid to get her to clean the house or the way he farts away to glory, he starts to get on to the nerves of the couple so much so that they actually start plotting ways to have him sent back to his village!

Paresh Rawal, deserves full credit for his portrayal of the role of Chachaji. He plays the role with so much panache that one wouldn’t really feel that they are actually seeing an actor there! Ajay Devgan does a very good job as the sincere, restrained, likeable nephew, Pappu. So does Konkana Sen as a very  “susheel” and irritable wife! Her expressions can say it all!!

A very well made movie with refreshing performances by all the actors and a neat script, without anything excessively done!

If you haven’t watched the movie yet, I’d say please go get the CD and watch it! Just the kind of movie which will get you to unwind after a long and tiring day at work!

Dil Dhadakne Do!

Dil Dhadakne Do, Zoya Akhtar’s latest, is a three hour ‘long’ movie about the “self-made” man Kamal Mehra, played by Anil Kapoor, who owns a company and is trying hard to maintain his status quo  and his family- his jaded wife, Neelam Mehra , played by Shefali Shah, who strives hard to maintain that everything is hunky dory with her family, Ayesha, his daughter, who has sound business acumen but has no love going in her arranged marriage and Kabir Mehra, his son, played by Ranveer Singh, who is wanting to literally fly high and pursue a career in aviation but is caught in the societal expectations of carrying his father’s empire.

Anil Kapoor and his wife are to celebrate their wedding anniversary and they decide to do so by arranging for a luxury cruise for their family, friends and business acquaintances. The idea of the lavish celebration is actually to resurrect the falling business and so, they are forced to strategize and prioritise in deciding on the guest list.  Most of the drama happens on that cruise and one gets to see how scheming the elite can get in ensuring that they get to maintain their status quo.

The cruise is supposed to be a voyage, which in many ways brings about a revival of sorts and goes on to reveal

·         loveless marriage between Anil Kapoor and his wife Shefali

·         loveless marriage again between the detached entrepreneur, Priyanka and her conventional husband Rahul Bose

·         bonding between siblings, Priyanka and Ranvir

·         love affair between Ranvir and Anushka

·         long lost love between Priyanka and Farhan Akhtar

·         parental control issues

·         extra marital affairs and youngster’s love affairs

·         business hostility

·         elite class dysfunctional family lives

·         the loudness of the partying, bitching, bickering, gossiping aunty circles to name a few

The movie maintains the light note only in places and goes on to be quite a drab with lots of scenes and songs not in sync with the flow of the movie. Justice has not been done with the cast. While Anil, Shefali, Ranvir and Priyanka (to a certain extent) have good screen space, one would wonder, what the ‘passionate about dance’ Anushka, the journalist Farhan and the conventional and supporting husband, Rahul are doing in the movie! The revival voyage fails to gain momentum and seems to go on for an eternity and you find yourself waiting for the intermission and post that for the movie to get over!

The ones that shine in the movie are Anil Kapoor, who is terrific in his performance as a dominating, stressed out, industrialist husband and Shefali Shah, who is brilliant as his wife, trying to keep up with her husband’s chivalry, has a deaf ear to her daughter’s marital complaints and is fully supportive of her son’s ambitions to fly high. Ranvir too charms us all in his performance as a loving, vulnerable yet passionate youngster.

The movie is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea and might not be everyone’s ideal definition of an entertainer! Watch it if you don’t have anything else to do and please make sure that you have a disprin with you!

PS: Sorry that the review is long but hey, that’s what it takes to cover a long drab like this one!

Piku

Piku.

Today I watched Piku and I must say that the movie is quite an entertainer!! Of course, with stars like Amitabh Bachan, Irfan Khan and Deepika Padukone one wouldn’t expect anything less! 

The movie is predominantly about the father daughter relationship which is portrayed in a very realistic manner. Amitabh plays the role of Bhashkor, an aged, eccentric father who is over obsessed with his bowel movements and makes it so important that almost any discussion, with everyone, regardless of its nature, has a mention of it and is linked to it, not very subtly though.

Deepika, on the other hand, plays the role of Amitabh’s daughter, Piku, a hot headed architect, who is thoroughly vexed by her father’s obsession and shows it off by having a frown on her face throughout!!

And then there is Irfan Khan, Rana Chaudhary, the owner of travel agency, which drives the Deepika around although almost all the drivers refuse to do so because of her being so arrogant and demanding.

He is kind of smitten by her and tries to ease things, often unsuccessfully and ends up driving the father daughter duo to Kolkata himself. Why they want to go to Kolkata, why Amitabh decides on choosing a taxi instead of a flight or a train, how their journey is and what happens once they are there and later is what the movie is all about.

Amitabh, in his portrayal of an eccentric father, does thorough justice to his role as always. So does Deepika as his irritable yet responsible daughter. Deepika through her role in this movie and in Finding Fanny, gives us a glimpse to her more matured and realistic side which we otherwise don’t get to see in the masala flicks.  And Irfan Khan, as always, pulls off his role so effortlessly! They have managed to maintain the light tone through-out the movie which is perhaps what works best!

Kudos to the director, Shoojit, who has done a fabulous job with the movie! What I liked the best about the movie is the manner in which it is told. The movie is no puzzle and is as simple as it can be. You don’t see the characters and the scenes getting too preachy or too romantic. The attempt to show the nuances of the father daughter relationship, as and how it is, without any dramatic glorification, is quite heart-warming because of which there is an easy connect with the audience. And the simple and subtle undertone to Deepika’s and Irfan’s romance is also very endearing. The music is simple and pleasant and so is the cinematography. All of this makes a great combo and you find yourself enjoying the movie through-out and wish that there are more of such movies in the offing!