Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Most of us are lucky enough to have one set of friends (usually from school), among whom the grownup business doesn’t hold much sway. With them, you are always juvenile – your jokes, reminiscing about school incidents – and your laugh is unfettered and unabashed. Doesn’t matter if you are not in regular touch anymore – you may as well be meeting after years – but it takes you just 5 minutes to find that old frequency and start from where you left off. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a cinematic ode to those friendships

It has three friends, on a three-week vacation to Spain as a sort of bachelor trip, after one of them, Kabir (Abhay Deol), is engaged to be married. The trip was a pact the three had made in their schooldays, where all three will pick one adventure sport each and the other two have to do it. And yes – this backstory about the trip is totally lame and unrealistic – but the movie gets much better if you decide to just ignore this wee bit

Once the premise is laid out, the movie moves to firmer ground as the equations between the three friends is slowly revealed. Arjun’s (Hrithik Roshan) fixation with making money (he is investment banker, of course) clashes strongly with Imraan’s (Farhan Akhtar) tomfoolery while Kabir plays the mediator between the two. Soon they bump into the movie’s fourth cog – Laila (the luminous Katrina Kaif) – the diving instructor, who exhorts Arjun to see the world apart from money. After all, what if you don’t live till forty, she reasons ?

And this is the second unrealistic bit in the movie – as Hrithik starts seeing all the colors in the world after his first deep sea dive. But it does the movie good as Hrithik finally lets his hair down and soon all three friends are at their chummy best. The first half of them movie with Katrina is also the most enjoyable part as Imraan finds himself a Spanish chick and there is bagwati of course.

But just like its predecessor Dil Chahta Hai, everyone has his inner demons to combat and we are introduced to their conflicts one by one. Hrithik’s was the first, but Imraan’s baggage is the heaviest and Kabir’s is the one most unwilling to confront it. But each sport in turn, leads to each one of them come to face with their issues and resolve them – culminating in the final climatic bull run

But it is the juvenile tomfoolery between the trio that warms your heart. From bagwati to their petty one-upmanship to impress Laila, Hrithik, Farhan and Abhay strike the right chord in us. Sure, comparisions to Dil Chahta Hai are inevitable. But slight similarities is characters aside (Aamir-Farhan, Saif-Abhay, Akshaye-Hrithik), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is an endearing light hearted movie which has its own story to tell and will definitely succeed in making you smile

If nothing else, then at least for Farhan, Hrithik and Abhay reproducing the old Doordarshan just-before-the-Sunday-1pm-movie music


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Yeh Saali Zindagi

When I watch gangster capers like Yeh Saali Zindagi, I am never quite sure how to go about reviewing the movie without giving away the essence of it. Because none of these movies have much of a story in the traditional sense. But they make up for the lack of a depth with their moviemaking style – and packing the script with quirky characters

Which Yeh Saali Zindagi has by bucketloads. Beginning with Irrfan Khan, a crooked account par excellence who helps arms dealers, politicians and other unsavoury characters stash away their moolah. He might be exceedingly clever in the ways of the world, but the wiles of women are completely beyond him, as he discovers, hanging from his 30th floor balcony in the opening scene of the movie. Holding the end of the rope is his boss, Saurabh Shukla – who doesn’t think much of the womankind and their wily ways – and nor does he care about his promises to his employees.

The opening scene of the movie might be a bit of a shock to some – given the coarse and vulgar language in it. Sudhir Misra’s writing and editing is crisp – so you have to follow the movie carefully to understand the twists and turns of the script. Those squeamish about vulgar hindi words are better off not watching the movie – and those with weak hindi should probably brush up their abuses. Because the dialogues in Yeh Saali Zindagi are really profane – and all the fun is lost if you don’t understand the dirty jokes – of which there are plenty

The humour is irreverent (and of course very rustic). Death and violence are casually treated, and the background narration by Irrfan adds dry deadpan humour to the proceedings. There are mandatory backstories for most characters – and jumps between them quite abrupt – hence requires full concentration.

Essentially there are two stories running in parallel in the movie – Irrfan & Chitrangada’s love track and Arunoday & Aditi Rao’s marriage track. Irrfan and Chitrangada need no introduction. Arunoday is ex-Cabinet minister Arjun Singh’s grandson while Aditi Rao is the bua from Delhi 6. Both of them are quite the revelation – Arunoday showcasing his good physique and acting and Aditi Rao coming across as quite smouldering despite her cute Nauheed-Cyrusi-looks. Infact there is a constant sexual tension between her and Arunoday, resulting in about a dozen slaps and two dozen liplocks in the movie

But Chitrangada Singh takes all the male attention as the sultry and smoking-hot singer Priti. She forms the linchpin of the movie – not very different from her debut movie Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi – where two men are vying for her charms. The difference is that Yeh Saali Zindagi has a busload of other weirdos – gangster brothers Bade & Chhote, corrupt cop Satbeer and the motley group of henchmen.

This is not Sudhir Misra’s most serious movie by a mile – but the director seems to be having fun here. There script is manic, punctuated by languid frames of Chitrangada - yet there is an air of nonchalance through out the movie which stands it in good stead over other movies of its genre. In comparison, Kaminey feels almost formulaic. And because of its exaggerated eccentricity, this movie will not appeal to everyone. But if you keep up with it, Yeh Saali Zindagi will reward you will a tumultuous thrilling ride packed with a lot of fun.



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Tangled

In case you didn’t know, Tangled is Disney’s 50th animated feature film. It has been a long journey since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, all the way back in 1934. And I really hope they go on to make another 50 of their fabulously entertaining movies which always seem to paint the world in such optimistic colors. The world could definitely use some of that good cheer

And there is plenty of good cheer in Tangled – from the delightfully cute Rapunzel and the roguish Flynn Rider to the animals Maximus and Pascal. Maximus and Pascal star as the amazingly funny yet cute animals that abound in all Disney movies in the last decade. There are too many to count – Bartok the bat in Anastasia, the cricket in Mulan, Louis the alligator in The Princess and The Frog and many more.

The Disney version of Rapunzel has her as a sassy, spunky teen who yearns to get out of her tower prison. For company, she has her chameleon Pascal and some magical lights which seem to float up in the sky every year on her birthday. Till one day, a thief on-the-run climbs into the tower to hide.

What follows is the typical Disney extravaganza of song & dance, color and laughter. The renderings are gorgeous and 3D adds a special flair to the visuals. The humour is integrated extraordinarily well in the screenplay – much to the joy of us moviegoers. Soundtrack duties are in the hand of 8 time oscar-winner Alan Menken – and results in two standout tracks. “Mommy knows best” and “I have a dream” are picturized memorably and will have you laughing through them or at least smiling widely

Very few movies get a ovation from the audience at the end – even fewer if they are animation movies. Yet the crowd at PVR Phoenix Mills on a Tuesday night saw fit to applaud this movie when the end credits rolled up – for being such a fabulous entertainer. If you are looking for a dose of good laughter and happiness this week at the multiplexes, give Tangled a watch. You wont be disappointed.



If you are planning to watch it in 3D, definitely do try to watch it in a PVR multiplex. The plastic 3D glasses they provide are of much higher quality than the disposable stuff provided at other multiplexes and provide a dramatically better visual experience
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Band Baaja Baaraat

“Bread pakode ki kasam !”, three weeks after I watched this movie, I still look fondly back at it – and wouldn’t mind paying to watch this movie again. An unabashed Bollywoody movie after a long time, full of song, dance, laughter & dollops of “Dilli-ness”, Band Baaja Baaraat is one of those vibrant romantic movies which make Bollywood what it is – a happy-dreams factory. In the process, Yash Raj finally found its mojo again and we might have found two potential superstars of the future

If a month after its release, you do not know the story of Band Baaja Baaraat, then you really have been living under a rock somewhere. But just to humour you, Band Baaja Baaraat is a romantic comedy set in a backdrop of weddings in Delhi – where the lead duo of Shruti Kakkar and Bittoo Sharma form their own wedding planning company Shaadi Mubarak. Their complementing natures make their venture successful, but the attraction of opposites is too hard to resist and love gets mixed with business – with slightly tumultuous results.

While the pace of the movie flags for a bit in the second half when the emotions run riot, Band Baaja Baaraat has a fabulous first half where the energetic and fresh Shruti meets the UP ka launda Bittoo (who is terrified of being dragged back to his dad’s sugarcane fields in Saharanpur). Newcomer Ranveer Singh is a complete natural and does a fabulous job as Bittoo – including his “binnesse” and love for bread pakodas. His confidence and screen presence are something some older actors might be jealous about. Anushka gives her best performance so far, as the bubbly girl from Janakpuri, decked in bright punjabi suits and fits like a hand in glove into the role.

Apart from the slight melodramatic post-interval section and the predictable ending, there is not much to nitpick in Band Baaja Baaraat (and which romantic comedy’s ending surprised you anyway ?). The supporting actors do their parts very well and the weddings are true-blue dilli weddings. The songs have been making waves, especially “chai mein dooba biscoot ho gaya…”

This is obviously not a serious movie, looking for critical acclaim. It is a light hearted movie with joy, laughter and an honest attempt at making you leave the hall with a nice smile on your face. In that it is fairly successful (I quite liked the ending credits). So if for some reason you missed catching this movie in the holiday season, it still has a couple of shows in all multiplexes this week.



(After 3 weeks, I might have selectively remembered only the good things, hence only 3.5 stars)
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The Social Network

Right from the word go, The Social Network makes it clear it is not going to be a lazy watch. A rapidfire exchange between a young Mark Zuckerberg and his date in the opening scene sets a fast-paced tone for this movie. It makes it clear that you, the viewer, has to pay a lot of attention to what the actors are saying. Because as you’d realize later, a lot of the movie is a boardroom drama, where lawyers grill a disinterested Mark Zuckerberg over the events leading up to the founding and growth of facebook.com

Interspersed between the boardroom scenes are events from Harvard in 2003, where a geeky, socially awkward Mark Zuckerberg launches the predecessor of facebook.com in a drunken night of coding after being dumped by a girl. In the whirlwind days that follow, we see how one of the most ubiquitous of websites – www.facebook.com - came into being.

What makes this movie special is that it is purported to be based on real events not 50 or 100 years back, but a mere 7 years back in time. And we also get to see how facebook might not be one sole man’s idea or work. In parts, the movie resembles some of the documentaries on History & Discovery channel when people are recounting the events of the day. But what makes this movie stand out is the character of Mark Zuckerberg. His mind is shown to be capable of genius – yet his actions seem inscrutable and leave more questions than answers. And fittingly, the movie never answers some of the questions – leaving you to judge whose story you want to believe,

Acting-wise, it is a lesser known cast, but they make a big impression. More than Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Zuckerberg, it is Andrew Garfield - who plays facebook’s first CFO Eduardo Saverin - who wins the acting honors. He makes Eduardo an endearing friend – and also an uncontested winner of the proxy PR battle that this movie is. Justin Timberlake delivers an admirable performance as Napster-founder Sean Parker. That part of the movie is eye-opening. Also adorable are the Winklevoss twins, who apparently are played by two different actors, but with the face of one superimposed later on the others.

The Social Network is one of those movies which have an intricate storyline connected by crisp dialogues and not much action. But it is also the story of one of the biggest phenomenon of our times – facebook ! For that reason alone, it is a must watch. Admittedly, you’d enjoy the movie a tad more if you are a little technically inclined – I know I did. But you do not need a computer science degree to understand human feelings – and isn’t facebook all about the need to be connected with everyone ?


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Despicable Me

Despicable Me is one of those "Awwww so cute" animation movies which shamelessly use really big-eyed cute kids and cute furry little creatures to make you smile - and succeed big time at it ! While not breaking any new ground like Wall-E, it has its own adorable creatures - the Minions - tiny yellow capsule shaped creatures that scurry around making you smile at their antics

The plot of the movie is something only animation studios can come up with. An over-the-hill thief Gru finds himself being upstaged by a younger challenger Vector, who filches the great pyramid and replaces it with a inflatable replica. To one-up on him, Gru decides to steal the moon itself, using a shrink ray - which happens to be in Vector's house. To distract Vector, Gru adopts three cute little orphan girls, whom he intends to dump after he is done with Vector. But ofcourse, we know how it goes

Gru is voiced by Steve Carell, who brings a nice somewhat Russian accent to Gru - while the star of the show are definitely the Minions. Dedicated to Gru, but not above dumb antics, the movie is worth seeing for them alone. Wouldnt be surprised to see a sequel or a derivative of the movie starring the Minions. The animations look similar to Toy Story, and 3D is superflous to the movie - you can easily skip it and watch it in 2D. But between the melt-your-heart kids and the grinning Minions, you will definitely find something to love in Despicable Me.


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The A-Team

It is not the first movie about a team of supercool soldiers – and it is definitely not the most last. Neither is it worthy of any other praise such as most innovative or most cerebral. But what The A-Team is, is a great action movie with awesome one-liners and even better sequences which make you want to do a wolf-whistle ! The best is the flying tank – its worth watching the movie for that sequence alone !

The movie is about a team of 4 maverick soldiers – Captain ‘Hannibal’ (Liam Neeson), Lt ‘Face’ (Bradley Cooper), Bosco and mad-as-a-hatter pilot Murdock – who do really crazy special ops for the army. From the opening chase scene, their credentials and lunacy is established and the movie never lets you down from there. Their craziness, camaraderie and good cheer is infectious – and you can make out that the four actors are having a lot of fun.

For the alpha-team in the movie however, things don’t go so smooth and soon they are framed for something they didn’t do. Dismissed from the army and incarcerated in prison, they must get back together to prove their innocence and expose the villains. The plot is as hackneyed as they come, but the scriptwriters have mixed the stunts with the story in perfect measure. So every 3 minutes you have one kickass stunt or some cool explosions – or usually both.

Most other big budget explosion fests (like the terrible Transformers 2) concentrate on creating spectacular setpieces, but fail to involve the viewer in the rest of the movie. The A-Team however draws you into these four guys – the cigar-chewing Captain, the dimpled-smile womanizer ‘Face’, the hotrod-worshipping Bosco and the nutcase pilot keep an impossible banter going. Especially Murdock and Bosco – its just impossible not to laugh at their antics. And which is why the A-team is a recommended fun watch

Sure its not for the cerebral types – but if you are looking for some harmless fun, this is definitely the movie to watch.


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Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time

Prince of Persia : The Sand of Time is immensely enjoyable movie. Neither a classic, nor pathbreaking – but packed with the right bits of visuals, action, performance and CGI – it is movie pulsating with energy. From the time Dastan is a young street urchin in the Nasaf, to becoming a prince of Persia and then to a fugitive – the movie sets a swift pace. The lead pair of Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton have a good chemistry between themselves. And the story isn’t entirely predictable.

The action sequences were nicely shot – especially the parkour scenes - the chase sequences over rooftops and climbing fort walls with the help of arrows. Maybe it could have used a few more laughs – but then it would have slowed down the narrative.

You should consider watching this movie if you enjoyed the fantasy-action genre - like 300, say. It is missing the blood and gore - it’s a Disney production after all - but its similar fun. The plot is not too stupid (there are a couple of surprises there), the pace is frenetic, the actors are pretty decent and Alfred Molina manages to evoke laughs too. A perfect summer holiday movie – and I will definitely catch the sequel whenever it comes out.


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Iron Man 2

There have been – if I am not mistaken – 10 superhero movie series in the 21st century so far. Some of them are reinterpretations of last century works, while some (like Spiderman and the Hulk) are completely new franchises. Lets see how that has gone so far
Superman (Returns) – boring
Batman – awesome
Spiderman – pansy
Hulk – errr .. the green guy (no, not Shrek)
Daredevil – huh ?
Hellboy – who again ?

Then there are the team based superhero movies –
X-Men - really cool and kickass
Fantastic Four – lame x 4
Watchmen – *still scratching my head on that one*

And the final one is of course – Iron Man. Now before I give a one-word answer, I have to put a disclaimer - the first Iron Man movie was really not that good – it wasnt any better than, say, the Hulk or Daredevil. But Iron Man 2 – the one word for it is ‘fun’. Batman is all dark and brooding – and has got the awesomeness of Christopher Nolan behind him. X-men works mainly coz of the kick-ass Wolverine. Iron Man is all about the narcissistic and satirical Tony Stark.

Robert Downey Jr plays Tony Stark/Iron Man – the only superhero who doesn’t hide behind an alter-ego identity. He, infact, is basking in the adulation that he is getting. Being a multi billionaire – he throws lavish parties, goes around with ravishing girls and takes part in sportscar races. Ofcourse, when needed, he dons his red and gold armor to fight the baddies. And he also finds time to mercilessly mock US senators & defence contractors trying to get their hands on the Iron Man suit.

Reminiscent of the uber-delightful banter between Holmes and Watson in this year’s brilliant Sherlock Holmes – Robert Downey Jr takes on a eccentric, playful and whimsical character which easily makes Iron Man 2 the most fun superhero movie so far. The other USP of the movie is the smoldering Scarlet Johansson. You’d expect a fully clothed Scarlet Johansson is no fun at all – but believe me, a Scarlet Johansson in a catsuit kicking baddies’ asses is just as turning on :) !!

True, none of the other characters apart from Tony Stark get enough screen time – Gwyneth Paltrow is a teeny-weeny bit irritating - and Samuel Jackson comes and plays a random Morpheus like character which is totally inscrutable (till you come back home and google to find out that he comes in part 1 too, after the end credits, to deliver a single-line dialogue). But still, Iron Man 2 is a great entertainer and a good superhero movie. Perfect watch for the weekend


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How to Train Your Dragon

Welcome to the formulaic world of animation films – where the protagonist is always the non-conformist fellow, who faces ridicule initially, but finally saves the day for everyone. And along the road, everyone learns an important lesson about enjoying life by celebrating our differences etc. However, as much as I crib about their formula based moviemaking, the zest for life and the vivacity of the animation movies keeps drawing me back to the movie halls where I spend two hours completely immersed in a wonderful world drawn by the animators.

How to Train Your Dragon follows a similar storyline, where a scrawny Viking teenager befriends an injured dragon – and discovers that dragons are much more than what they are made out to be. But ofcourse, before that, he has to endure taunts from his schoolmates and sighs of disappointment from his father. The action takes place in an imaginary island somewhere in the Nordic lands where a village is constantly raided by dragons for livestock and the fearless Vikings fight them off.

The dragons are cartoonized very nicely, and every few minutes, there is a sequence which will make you smile atleast. A movie that you will thoroughly enjoy, even though you can predict whats coming from a mile

The only reason why this movie isn’t a 4 star is because although it is made out to be a 3D movie, it really isn’t. Which is more than a little disappointing, because you keep expecting some cool 3D effects and there are multiple opportunities for doing it, but the 3D effects are just minor afterthoughts – blink-and-you-miss-it kind. And with all multiplexes starting to charge for 3D glasses, it becomes a bigger bummer

How to Train Your Dragon is a good animation movie – certainly worth your time. However, its predictability and scant 3D effects do not make it worthy of more than 3.5 stars (so don’t know why its in the IMDB top 250 movies of all time)


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The Princess And The Frog

Even after the universally acclaimed new-age animations like Wall-E or Cars, quite a few people feel that animations are meant solely for the children, and no serious adults should be caught watching them. I really feel sad for those people, because in their lame posturing, they are missing out some of the greatest joys cinema has to offer. I confess I am an unabashed fan of animations – and The Princess And The Frog is right up there with best that Disney has offered so far.

For the past few years though, Disney hasn’t been on the cutting edge of the animation - with Pixar producing most of the recent animation masterpieces like Wall-E, Cars, Incredibles, Ratatouille etc and Dreamworks producing Shrek, Kung Fu Panda & Madagascar. All the above movies are all a product of CGI animation and look more expressive and real, compared to the old style 2D animations like Aladdin. The Princess And The Frog too is rendered in the old style, but and what it lacks in technology, it makes up with cheerfulness, vivacity and song-and-dance.

It is a Disney musical like Lion King or Mulan – with lot of fun songs and amazing choreography. The one with the fireflies is incredibly vivid and beautiful – sure to bring a wide smile to your face. And it has its fair share of lovable characters, without which any Disney movie is incomplete. There is a Louis, the jazz-loving alligator and Ray, the romantic firefly. The story is a tweak to the old fable about a Princess and a Frog - only, the story is set in the early 20th century. Where a hard working waitress Tiana is saving up for her own restaurant and runs into the visiting Prince Naveen of Maledonia.

The story is formulaic, and Tiana and prince Naveen are adorably cute – and the baddies are clearly bad. But even with all the predictability, the movie is a joy to watch. So if you feel like you need a helping of good cheer and fun, watch The Princess And The Frog this week. And watch out for the blind Mama Odie.


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Karthik Calling Karthik

Innumerable times, I have been disappointed in the second half of a movie after a very promising first half - regular readers (the two of you that are out there somewhere) would remember a lot of earlier reviews, ranting about this very weakness of Indian directors. However, for the first time since I can't remember when, the second half of a movie was immensely better than the first half. And because of it, Karthik Calling Karthik is definitely recommended – a slick psychological thriller quite like the ones from Hollywood.

Debutante director Vijay Lalwani almost messes it up in the first half an hour though, crafting a loser-to-hero story about the submissive Karthik Narayan, who works in a construction firm office. His abusive boss, office colleagues and even his landlord keep bossing him around. Farhan Akhtar is top-notch in his acting and he plays the moping loser very well. However, the transformation from the ugly duckling to a swan was very amateurishly done and you sort of miss Farhan’s previous movies’ attention to detail.

The story moves onto become a fluffy romance till the interval, with Deepika Padukone serving admirably as eye candy and acting passably. However, the mood in the second half undergoes a drastic change – and it is here that director Vijay Lalwani’s script flexes its muscles. Things become quite intriguing and suspenseful as the phone continues to ring – and our guesses about it fall flat with each “tring tring”. A big reason I liked the movie is because it does not spoonfeed you with each and every thought of Karthik as they go through his head – sometimes you have to try and guess what he is upto. Thinking man’s entertainment I like to call it.

The final explanation of the happenings completely took me by surprise – because it was simplistic yet sneaky. Just like a good thriller is supposed to be - and I loved the movie for it. Most directors fall in the trap of treating their audience as dimwits – but not Lalwani. His writing is a good mix of the obvious and the probable – and he leaves a question or two unanswered at the end.

So even though the beginning of the movie might put you off, bear with it and Karthik Calling Karthik will surely entertain you. It is a refreshing and well thought-out story – so it’s a recommended watch for this weekend


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Striker

Remember the angry young man movies of the yore ? The hero grew up in the slums, had a widowed mom, a sister and a brother, a best buddy and a dream to make it big one day ? Well, if you look at it, Striker is just a modern interpretation of that story – except that its one of the most engrossing movies to have come out in the last couple of years. Unfortunately it also means that clichés like sister getting raped by the villain and hero falling in love with a rich man’s daughter are not there in movie [chuckles]. I am just kidding, Striker isn’t anything like those cheesy old bollywood melodramas.

What Striker is, is a gripping tale of a slum guy with a gift of carrom – who is determined to make it beyond his current 10x10 in Malvani (a suburb of Bombay near Malad) - but is not a sports movie. What we get a deliciously grey character whose morality is not clear – he doesn’t mind playing for money, but will not become a kheli (bhai’s official player). (Carrom in the 70s and 80s is a game controlled by local slumlords with all games having betting on them – and all the best players invariably end up playing for the local bhai Jaleel). Even while playing for money, he stays away from bhai-sponsored events and will play with amateurs instead. Surya’s motto is – you cant beg for it, snatching is not right – so you have to win.

One of the reasons why Striker is such a interesting movie is Surya – played awesomely by Siddharth. He is an enigma – we never get to know what he feels about all the events that happen around him. He shows normal responses like rage and frustration, or the shy smile at his lady love. But we never get a window into the soul of Surya – which makes him very complex and very real-life. We don’t quite know his feelings for anybody – except his sister, whom he clearly loves. With Madhu (the sympathetic fisherwoman) or Noorie, his short-lived love – Surya reacts, but we never get to see the turmoil within

The only time we get to see Surya clearly is when he is with his friend Zaid (Ankur Vikal). Zaid is a carefree, self-depreciating, wastrel friend, who should get all the best-supporting actor awards if they were awarded on merit. Played by Ankur Vikal, whom you have seen in bit roles so far, Zaid is the one with whom Surya laughs, fights and bonds – their relationship holds through everything.

But the main reason why you should watch Striker is because this movie will keep you firmly in your seats no matter what – because the director just doesn’t let you guess whats going to happen next. Just when you think you have it figured out, something happens which throws all calculations off. There are innumerable sequences where you think there are only two possible outcomes of this - and the director will move the story to a third direction. The movie moves as a furious pace and it doesn’t slack right till the end where again, the director ends the movie on a note that nobody would have expected.

The movie sometimes has a feel of a docudrama – so authentic are the visuals of the ghettos in Malvani and the seedy locations of carrom clubs. The ending of the movie is not completely satisfying, however – it looked like the makers decided to abruptly end the movie. If the ending was in the same league as the rest of the movie, it would have been a whole hearted 4.5 star movie. But in its current form, it still is a recommended watch.


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Ishqiya

Everybody knows there is a Karan Johar/Yash Raj school of filmmaking – there have been a lot of graduates from that school – Siddharth Anand (Tara Rum Pum), Nikhil Advani (Kal Ho Naa Ho), Shaad Ali (Jhoom Barabar Jhoom), Kunal Kohli (Hum Tum), etc. However, Ishiqya announces a new Bollywood school of filmmaking – Vishal Bhardwaj school of filmmaking. They say imitation is the best form of flattery – and Ishqiya has the mark of Vishal Bhardwaj all over it, even though direction is credited to Abhishek Chaubey. I do not mean to take away from the debutant director, but from the setting in a remote village near Gorakhpur to the wry, rustic humour, it’s Bhardwaj all the way.

Of course, it can be explained to an extent by the fact that screenplay and dialogues are written by Bhardwaj himself – and he … err … produced the movie as well. He was the music director too – Dil to Bachha Hai Ji will continue to play in the background long after you have exited the movie hall. But my great respect for the man is because of the performances he can extract from his artistes – be it Maqbool or Omkara or Kaminey. Each of his actors – big or small – deliver their best performances under him – and you will be really hard pressed to find a single fault in his movies as far as acting is concerned. And the best part is, he doesn’t work with the same actor twice (the only exception is Pankaj Kapoor in Maqbool & Blue Umbrella).

So it’s no surprise that Ishqiya has blowout performances by Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi and a number of small character actors whom probably you would have never heard of. Naseeruddin saab wasn’t mentioned, not because he didn’t do a good job (it’s difficult for him to do a bad job anyway), but because his character in Ishqiya is understated compared to the other two. Arshad and Naseeruddin star as two petty criminals on the run – Babban & Khalujaan. Desperate to find a hiding hole away from their pursuer Mushtaq’s eyes, they land at their friend’s village near Gorakhpur, only to find his widow Krishna there (Vidya Balan).

Both Khalujaan and Babban get attracted to the demure, alluring but tough-as-nails Krishna – Khalujaan first in the old-fashioned romantic way and Babban’s lust getting the better of him later. But Mushtaq and a lot of other unexpected people catch up with Babban and Khalujaan, leading to story twists you wouldn’t have seen coming. The chemistry between all three is great, and Arshad Warsi gives his best performance since his Circuit act, stealing all the laughs.

The defining characteristic of Ishqiya is the colourful rustic Hindi used – it may be the authentic cowbelt language, but if you are not paying enough attention, you will miss a couple of words completely. And it is liberally sprinkled with Hindi expletives – much more than Omkara, for comparision – so the squeamish ones stay away and the non-Hindi people get at least one proper Hindi speaker with you. Or you could always make do with an engineer (all engineering hostels have this as their lingua franca :)

The other big talking point for a long time is going to be the Arshad Warsi – Vidya Balan kiss. Man that has to be the most smoking kiss on Indian movies – full of lust as they go for each other tongues!! I don’t know how they shoot a scene like that and then go back normally to their respective vanity vans!

Abhishek Chaubey makes a very impressive debut in Ishqiya – it has all the hallmarks of master Bhardwaj himself. I would actually hold back to his second movie to decide whether he is an actual prodigy or it was just Vishal Bhardwaj ghost-directing. The movie is a love story in the rustic badlands of UP amidst its caste wars, the look is very raw & earthy, and there is an undercurrent of dry humour running throughout the movie. There are some elements of gangster caper genre – given Abhishek Chaubey was the screenwriter for Kaminey & Omkara. There is nothing really wrong with the movie, but if I have to quibble, I would say that the second half meandered a bit too much. Overall, I didn’t get ecstatic over the movie like I did after Gulaal or 99. And hence the rating


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Paranormal Activity

Horror movies as a genre is not as prolific as say, romantic comedies or action movies – and most of them seem to be tied to the possessed-child or the zombie/undead phenomena. Only once in a while does a Ring or a Blair Witch Project break the clutter – and manages to scare the daylight out of most people. Paranormal Activity is another such breakout movie which succeeds in scaring - because psychologically, your home is your refuge against everything ‘out there’. But what if something is inside your home ?

Paranormal Activity works because it does not indulge in gore or visuals – it thrives on sounds and suggestions – and forces our imagination to work on what is haunting Katie and her boyfriend Micah. It is spookier because most of the movie is a handycam style visual record of several days and nights in the life of the young couple as they are disturbed by someone – or something. Most of the events happen in their bedroom at night, when both are asleep – and you cannot help but remember the bedroom scene (atleast once) when you are about to sleep on your own bed.

The movie begins with Micah setting up a night-vision camera in the bedroom to try and capture ‘paranormal activity’ that has been following Katie around since her childhood. Micah is quite excited by the prospect of capturing something on camera while Katie is indifferent – in a way all girlfriends are when boyfriends get very excited about their latest gizmo. (Micah carries around the camera in daytime as well – so all the footage that we see is mostly first person. Although his zeal for recording everything on camera does seem a bit excessive at times, you can to overlook it as a farcical reason to shoot everything from the same camera.)

I have to check myself from revealing more of the story as I don’t want to deprive you of the joy – or horror - of watching this movie. The director Oren Peli starts with a very slow pace – with scenes of domestic bliss and happiness, and then things get progressively creepy. By interval time, you are quite intrigued by the story. Though scares are almost non-existent till then – unless you are a little fainthearted, and loud thud noises are enough to scare you. In the second half however, a couple of times wifey almost broke my finger …

I didn’t quite get scared till the very end of the movie – but it does have several thrilling moments en route. Good horror movies are hard to come by and this one is highly recommended simply because it succeeds in carrying the idea over to your own home.



PS – The entire movie was shot in just a week in the director Oren Peli’s own home in San Diego, where he continues to live today. There was no cameraman in the crew as the lead actor does most of the shooting himself. The total production expense was just $15,000 and the lead actors were paid $500 only. Last counting, it had grossed over $100 million in collections, leading to the tag of ‘the most profitable movie ever’.
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Rocket Singh : Salesman of the Year

The creative team behind Chak De India has delivered another … well … another Chak De India, for lack of a better description ! A non-glamour movie, rooted in reality and earnest as hell – only to have an idealistic & highly improbable ending !!

The simplicity of the visuals is refreshing – the utter lack of polish and style that one associates with Yash Raj productions catches your attention from the word go. There is not a single song picturised in the movie – only a couple of background tracks that do not stand out or distract in anyway. There are two leading ladies but no romance – love is not what this movie is about. What you get in the movie is an inside view of a salesperson’s world - its intense competition, disregard for the consumer, focus on numbers and targets – and the dry humour. How an office party consists of music played on windows media player and whiskey mixed with water at the office water dispenser. And how a loose connection on the motherboard is labelled as a replacement and charged Rs 5,000.

(The story has already been splashed across everywhere – with almost the entire plot unravelled - which I believe was a big disservice to the movie)
Ranbir Kapoor plays Harpreet Singh Bedi, a fresh B.Com graduate with persuasive skills and no academic ambitions to speak of – he graduated with just 39% marks. But he knows whats good for him – sales - and soon bags a job at a computer manufacturing company AYS, as a trainee salesman.

However, the world of sales turns out quite different from his expectations and sticking to principles leads him to a lot of humiliation and ridicule.
How he perseveres in this world without letting go of his ideals is the story to watch

The salesteam leader Nitin gives a great field introduction to the new trainee. With a hint of Roadies’ Raghu in his appearance and a whiplashing tongue, he is played excellently by Naveen Kaushik. Similar praises have to be heaped on Prem Chopra as Harpreet’s doting grandfather and Gauhar Khan as the cynical but ambitious receptionist. Porn-watching tech-support D. Santosh rounds off the excellent cast. Their performance makes you neglect the slightly slow pace of the movie. Newcomer Shazahn Padamsee has almost no role to play though – comes across as a bit of an air-head.

But Ranbir Kapoor cannot be praised enough for his acting skills. While he has performed admirably in collegian and happy-go-lucky roles before, Rocket Singh shows that he is superlative and complete natural in front of the camera in all kind of roles. He is definitely the most exciting actor to have come out of Bollywood since Abhay Deol.

Director Jaideep Sahni continues on his excellent form from Chak De India – but cant deliver an ending as strong as the rest of the movie. Like Chak De India’s over-dramatic ending, Rocket Singh ends up with a over-idealistic climax – which is the setback in what is otherwise a superb movie. But even with this blemish, Rocket Singh is a highly recommended watch for its fresh approach, honest storytelling and superb acting all around.


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2012

2012 promises to be nothing more than a disaster movie – and it is exactly that. However, what works for the movie are the awesome action pieces that take your breath away. The CGI work is spectacular – you haven’t seen anything like this (not even from Michael Bay). Skyscrapers toppling, roads splitting up into canyons, the Sistine Chapel collapsing – and the piece de resistance – a plane taking off from a runaway as it cracks up behind it. I don’t remember the last time a cheesy action movie has me so exhilarated with the action scenes.

However, if you are the sort who looks for logic in every movie – please avoid this one. For it is not the most logical story every produced. The plot is something like this - as prophesied by the Mayans, the year 2012 witnesses a gigantic solar flare which bombards earth with a neutron-like subatomic particle and causes the earth’s core to start heating up. The result is a earth’s crust displacement which leads to massive earthquakes, volcanoes and tidal waves.

And the world is not caught unawares – an Indian scientist Dr Satnam makes the discovery in 2009 itself and the world powers ultra-secretively prepare for this armageddon. However, calculations are wrong and things start going kaboom a month before schedule ….

The Good
As I have already waxed eloquent, the disasters are breathtaking to watch. There is not a moment’s respite and the action just keeps on coming – the first half especially.
And there is not much else to recommend in the movie

The Bad
As is the bane of this genre, dialogues are extremely cheesy, especially towards the end. And while all the world is collapsing around us, we are made to sympathize with the family of John Cusack and Amanda Peet – without much explanation as to why they are the chosen ones. You can predict from a mile which ones from the group are going to make it are which ones aren’t. And Jimi Mistry (the Guru) is atrocious as Dr. Satnam – he really grates on your ears – but thankfully he has just a 3 min sequence.

Even though it is almost two and half hours long, 2012 has enough bangs to keep you entertained for most of the journey. So if you are in the mood for a mindless apocalypse movie, this is just the thing for you.


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The Informant!

The Informant! is one of those quirky cool movies that only Hollywood can produce (any such movie here would probably result in burnt theatres and hundreds of court cases !!). Its based on a real story and the disclaimers before the movie sound like this

... some characters are composites and dialogue dramatized.
So there.

With that cheeky introduction, The Informant! starts off with Mark Whitacre, President of Bio-Products division at Archer Daniels Midland, an agri-business giant. He has an all-american family with wife Ginger and two kids, a big house and plans to build a horse stable. But soon it transforms into a corporate spying story as Whitacre turns into an informant for the FBI, first alleging sabotage by japanese rival Ajinamoto Co - and then price fixing of lysine (an amino acid) by his own employers.

(I didnt make it up! There is - or atleast was - an Ajinamoto Co in Japan)

But just as you are settling down to watch a gripping corporate crime story like The Insider, you are distracted by some inane tangential comments made by Mark Whitacre –

When polar bears hunt, they crouch down by a hole in the ice and wait for a seal to pop up. They keep one paw over their nose so that they blend in. Cuz’ they’ve got those black noses. They’d blend in perfectly if not for the nose...
So the question is - how do they know their noses are black? From looking at other polar bears? Do they see their reflections in the water? And think, “I’d be invisible if not for that.”
That seems like a lot of thinking for a bear.

This and many other random utterances cause you to start doubting Whitacre himself – is he the white hat he claims to be? And credit to director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven series, Erin Brockovich), he doesn’t for a moment let you know what is coming at the end of the movie. Not to mention, his handing of the potential serious drama is highly humorous and tongue-in-cheek.

Which maybe does a little disservice to Mark Whitacre himself – irrespective of his personal failings, he did help the greater good by his whistleblowing deed. Matt Damon is absolutely fantastic as the slightly overweight, middle-aged Mark Whitacre. His role as the erratic corporate whistle-blower has already generated oscar buzz.

Apart from a slightly slow middle segment, The Informant is a great watch. Its got a limited release in India, with a few shows at PVR and single shows at Fame & Fun Cinemas. So probably you are going to have to take a few pains to watch it – but its well worth your time.


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Wake Up Sid

Growing up in a middle class family, you are constantly badgered to make up your mind about your career and then expected to work towards it. From where I come, most kids follow their fathers’ footsteps and join up for engineering – irrespective of whether they have the aptitude for it or not. And most do ok in life – grabbing a software job, frequenting Bangalore’s numerous pubs, till they (or parents) find a girl and get married - generally accepting life for what it is.

Ofcourse, none of us had the luxury of not doing anything – nothing at all – because our dads didn’t have a whole lot of money. But just imagine if they did – wouldn’t you also not bother too much about what you want to do in life ? If there was an option just to go on long drives, eat out, holiday, party - without bothering about the credit card bill ? Not to mention, no horrible boss and/or a shitty job – sounds really good, right ?

Well if wishes were horses … Nevertheless its still good fun to indulge in this fantasy, which goes around by the name of Wake Up Sid. You can immerse yourselves in this fantasy land where you have a cool SUV to drive, every gadget you can think of, a no-limits credit card, great friends and a certain roguish boyish charm. Ranbir Kapoor fits into this role as a hand in a glove – as a lazy confused young man who just doesn’t see the point of being all grown-up. He is happy as he is – bunking college, partying every night and tiptoeing back into the house at daybreak. Daresay, he does it much better than Hrithik in Lakshya !!

During one such party, Sid meets Aisha (Konkona) who has just arrived in Mumbai hoping to be a journalist. Even though she is much older to him, they like each other’s company and soon become friends. He helps her find and settle into a studio apartment – carrying on with his usual life otherwise.

However life delivers a kick to his cojones when college ends – resulting in a huge fight with dad and Sid walks out of his house in a huff. Having no other option, Sid bunks up with Aisha. Living in the small studio apartment with her, Sid starts understanding facets of life that he had so far refused to look at – and discovers what he wants to do in life. And along that, he discovers love as well.

I am sure most of you would have guessed the story anyway – it was never a big secret. However, execution is top notch and Ranbir Kapoor makes Sid very believable – and very lovable. Konkona is as usual superb at playing Aisha – and looks much more groomed than normal, thanks to Karan Johar's fashion tips. Anupam Kher doesn’t have to try too hard for his scenes and the friends come across as very genuine. The only weak character is Sid’s mom played by Ratna Pathak Shah – her broken English can be quite grating on the nerves.

Script-wise, there was two weak points. A small one is Aisha’s flat makeover. How can a middle class girl without a job in Bombay afford to refurbish a down-in-the-dumps flat completely (painting it etc) ? The other one is the climax scene – it seemed quite contrived and didn’t fit in well with the very natural screenplay otherwise. The movie has a very real worldly feel to it – even though it’s a Karan Johar production – because its shot entirely in Bombay and you can spot numerous familiar locales. And because there are no dream sequence songs shot in Greece or Switzerland or people living in huge mansions.

Overall, a good watchable film with two great performances by Ranbir and Konkona.



And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the 100th review I have put up !!
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Away We Go

Apologies for no posts last week – last weekend was spent with family in Goa and this weekend was Durga Puja

Away We Go has been labelled a lot of things – road movie, coming-of-age movie – but if you ask me, it was one of the sweetest romantic movies I have watched in sometime. Its got no recognizable stars – infact the female lead is kinda ugly – but the two lead actors produce some wonderful tender moments in the movie.

A geeky insurance salesman and his 6 month pregnant girlfriend find themselves up a creek without a paddle when Burt’s parents announce a surprise move to Belgium. Finding no reason to continue living in Connecticut and dreaming of an outdoors life for their soon-to-be-born daughter, Burt and Verona decide to relocate. Away We Go covers their journey to find a new home for themselves, while discovering some facets of life.

While filmed like a roadtrip movie and introducing new characters at every city they visit, it is the relationship of Burt and Verona that catches your eye and that’s what you carry out of the movie. The movie starts where most romantic movies end – the hero and heroine are already in a long term relationship. And neither are they facing a crisis – they are very happily in love with each other. But as they meet relatives and friends in different cities, they question their ideas of a family and what it means to be parents …

Very sensitive but in a happy way – and diametrically opposite from Revolutionary Road, director Sam Mendes’ last work. And it has its fair share of quirky characters – the alcoholic, husband-abusing lady and the crazy indie-karmic Maggie Gyllenhaal will have you holding your sides in laughter. But cutting through all the dysfunctional families, is the resolve of Burt and Verona to give their daughter the best shot at life …

A must watch for all people in a relationship atleast.


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