Dabangg



We are already looking at Dabangg getting the biggest opening ever, bigger than 3 Idiots. And most of us have had our curiousity piqued after the ultra rustic trailers featuring Chulbul Pandey and Munni Badnaam – we are wondering, is it the real thing ? However, even after trying very hard to like it, I can’t describe Dabangg as the jhakaas movie it is made out to be. Sure it has got some kickass sequences and Salman clearly is the only one who can carry this role off, such is his persona, but Dabangg comes across wanting where it matters most – its dialogues

We have all seen the trailers with the “itne chhed” and the “haramzada” dialogue – and they got us chuckling the first time we saw them. Unfortunately, you have already seen the best dialogues of the movie – there is nothing else in the movie that is as much fun. The dialogues in the movie are all one liners (thankfully no rambling dialogues) – but there are no more ‘awesome’ dialogues.

The story is very similar to Telugu blockbusters – a story set in some rustic location, where the kickass no-nonsense hero will decimate villain goons army single-handedly, but not before sorting out some family complications. There is of course, a village belle whom the hero romances. In Dabangg, the hero is a police inspector who calls himself Robinhood Pandey – who apprehends bank robbers, but doesn’t turn in the loot to the government. And he is not averse to dealing with politicians etc to counter political pressures. But he is essentially good at heart, even if he is a little quirky about it.

Acting wise Salman seems to be having a ball – just look at him dance in the middle of the fight to a caller tune. Arbaaz Khan plays a very subdued role thankfully and Sonu Sood plays the ‘bhaiyya’ politician very well. Newcomer Sonakshi Sinha seems to have quite a spark in her – her performance is quite spirited and she looks pretty good. So no complaints acting-wise. The song Tere Mast Mast Do Nain stands out as a really melodius number while Munni Badnaam is just pure awesomeness.

Finally, it all comes down to the fun factor. For a movie that sells itself for full paisa vasool masti, it was not enough fun. The opening sequence is nicely done – with visceral action and fun ‘Chulbul Pandey moments’. But the tempo doesn’t last and there aren’t enough ‘Chulbul Pandey moments’ in the rest of the movie. I am not bothering with the story etc because in a movie like this, no one should care for it. But it falls short on the ‘wolf whistle’ moments and were it not for Munni Badnam, it would get only 2.5 stars.

3 star
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Movies to look out for this week

Dabangg [IMDB]

In a small town in UP, a corrupt police officer Chulbul Pandey lives a Robin Hood life, smashing up villains and indulging in crowd-pleasing histrionics

Cast: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonu Sood

Direction: Abhinav Singh Kashyap


Resident Evil : Afterlife 3D [IMDB]

Milla Jovovich continues her fight against the undead with some friends, till she walks into Los Angeles crawling with the undead, and sets up a free-for-all climax (in 3D)

Cast: Milla Jovovich, Wentworth Miller

Direction: Paul W.S. Anderson


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We Are Family




When we hear about a Karan Johar production, we are conditioned to imagine immaculate households, perfect looks and very superficial emotions. A kind of goody-goody world which started off in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai - where no one is really evil, and everyone wishes the best for everyone else. For better or for worse, we automatically discount all his movies as being far removed from reality - we don’t really go looking for real-life cinema – we look elsewhere for that.

And I know that is a big assumption to make in the first place, but that’s how it is for me and Karan Johar / Yash Raj movies. And seen from this prism, We Are Family is not a bad movie at all. I mean ofcourse, the setting is completely unrealistic and everyone is too saccharine sweet and all that – but if you are in a similar mindframe as me, then it is hard to find anything wrong in the movie. Don’t get me wrong, ‘nothing wrong in a movie’ doesn’t mean it is a great movie – far from it. But unlike, say My Name is Khan, nothing is mindboggingly stupid.

The scriptwriters have remained faithful to most of the original story of Stepmom – some of the dialogues etc are carried over word-by-word - and exploited its tear jerking parts to the full. Anyone who has seen the original movie knows that this is hardly a fun movie – it was made to wrench out a tear or two from the hardiest of men. Those who have not seen the original, this movie is about a divorced mother, who is dying from cancer and decides to ‘handover’ her children to her ex-husband and his partner. The original had Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts – we get Kajol and Kareena Kapoor.

On paper they are a formidable team – but with the script being so overbearing, with each frame designed to elicit tears, neither actress gets to display their acting prowess. Surprisingly, Arjun Rampal gets more opportunity to show his acting – his role calling for a restrained subtle performance – and Arjun puts his Rock On experience to good use. The kids are good too – especially the youngest one - she is adorable with a capital A.

So what is the final call ? The movie is your typical Karan Johar – picture perfect frames, nary a crease on the clothes or curtains. The story is a tear-jerker, every other sequence orchestrated to make you reach for tissues. You already know what happens in the end – the only curiosity is what route the director takes to get there. There is nothing really wrong in the movie – but nothing exciting either. So this is nothing that you cant miss, especially if you don’t have a wife/girlfriend forcing you to watch it.


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