Review Wake Up Sid

Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher, Supriya Pathak and Rahul Khanna
Directed by: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: ***1/2



Siddharth - the new enlightenment

A filmmaker can only convincingly create that world which he has closely seen or lived in. So you have Farhan Akthar and Karan Johar recreating their affluent South Bombay lives in their films, where men and women have little to worry beyond the affairs of the heart.

Wake Up Sid walks the same path, where your protagonist is a lazy brat, spoiled with luxuries and clueless about the practical side of life. The guy gets up late, ignores the elaborate breakfast that is brought to him, keeps partying till the wee hours, is curt to his adoring mother, chomps pizzas and leaves his room in a mess, fails in his exams….

The film has a familiar template and it would have probably been difficult to sympathise with a slothful rich kid like Siddharth (Ranbir Kapoor), — when so many youngsters clearly do not enjoy those privileges —- had it not been for director Ayan Mukerji’s deft and mature handing of the subject.

Mukerji probably feels closer to Siddharth’s universe in real life, but unlike Johar or even Farhan, Wake Up Sid casts a more incisive look into the significant ‘other’ – a largely middle-class society where nothing is easy to achieve and everything comes with its share of responsibility and sacrifice.
Also, the film succeeds in bringing out certain facets of today’s generation. Siddharth’s mother (Supriya Pathak - superb) tries hard to be friends with her son, but her lack of sophistication and struggle with English irritates him and he’s often callous towards her. She gently says to him, ‘Bring some organisation to you room beta’ when she sees it all messed up. This humble background of the mother proves essential later when Sid’s father (Anupam Kher – wonderfully restrained) in an emotional showdown with his son tells him how they’ve come up the hard way to achieve the life he’s taking for granted.

The film stays on an interesting track when Sid leaves his house in anger to stay with good friend, Aisha (Konkona Sen), an independent girl aspiring to be a writer. She’s older than him and treats him like a kid friend. For the longest time, there is nothing but friendship between the two and this is brought out really well in the film. The only wrong note here is Aisha joining a magazine as an assistant to the editor. She argues about this in the film but still it’s not clear how getting coffee and clearing her boss’ (Rahul Khanna) desk would help her in anyway. But that glitch apart, nothing really hits a wrong note in the film.

The narrative is seamless and though there isn’t much action by way of story happening, there’s a definite appeal to the quotidian urban life that is portrayed. The emotional scenes, without slipping into melodrama, manage to touch a chord. It’s after a long time that a mother-son relationship has been so well captured.

Since your sense of probability is never outraged in the rest of the film , the resolution to the Aisha- Sid story appears a bit sudden. You are not entirely convinced they are meant to be together. The last 15 minutes is probably the weakest part of the film.

But again, commendable efforts are made by the writers to bring about a transformation in both characters. To start with, Aisha is enamoured by her ‘mature’ boss, but his intellectual arrogance makes her appreciate Sid’s instinctive, child-like joyousness all the more. She is gently chided by her boss at a Jazz event for not appreciating ‘good music’ and she returns home to see Sid giggling with a kid over a scene from Mr India.

Of course, the film wouldn’t have been what it is without Ranbir. It is to his credit that he brings a fair amount of freshness to a character that has been attempted before (first by Aamir in Dil Chahta Hai and then Hrithik in Lakshya). But there is a difference. Aamir in DCH is a smug character, even if he lives off his father. Hrithik does the same, but in a desultory manner and seems trapped in his sloth. There is self-disdain and self-pity. Ranbir’s character in Wake Up Sid comes closer to Hrithik’s role in the sense that he isn’t proud of the life he’s leading. But one can’t help but say that Ranbir is the more natural actor here, because he easily ‘becomes’ the character. With Hrithik, it was a ‘performance’. Also, compared to Aamir and Hrithik, who played the character when they were in their 30s, Ranbir looks more appropriate age-wise.

This also should count as one of Konkona’s better performances. Rahul Khanna looks far more comfortable in the part of the editor than Bobby Deol could in Dostana.
Ultimately, Wake Up Sidis a wake up call for a class of today’s youngsters who desist from taking on responsibility. It also works out to be a thoroughly enjoyable film.
- Sandhya Iyer

Film Review: Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

Frothy fun all the way

Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Upen Patel and Darshan Jariwala
Director: Raj Kumar Santoshi
Rating: ***

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani may never have officially claimed to be a sequel to the 90s cult hit, Andaz Apna Apna, but it is, in fact, a cocktail of frothy romance and giddy-headed comedy in the same vein. The hilarious ‘purish nahin, aap mahapurish ho’ dialogue is altered to ‘toph kya aap toh pop ho’ here.

The playful ‘Elloji sanam’ is evoked in the background….two rival gangs hatch a kidnapping plan, there’s an ineffectual don a la Crime master Gogo and the climax has all the riotous, slapstick fun elements one saw in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s earlier comedy.It probably isn’t as zany as Andaz Apna Apna, but it still confidently holds up well as a frolicsome joyride, weaving a charming tapestry of quirky episodes. The comic-book touch enables Ajab… to work as part comedy and part fantasy, and the result is a feather-light, feel-good film.

Prem (Ranbir Kapoor), having left his schooling half-way, spends his time goofing around with friends and running a club that tries to bring together lovers. One such instance brings him close to Jenny (Katrina Kaif), a recent entrant in his neighbourhood. The two become friends, with Prem making several life-style changes in a bid to win her over.
There is a rather charming touch to their characters, where both stammer whenever they get upset or emotional. Santoshi makes the romance kick in a tad too quickly, where the couple fight and the episode is followed by a song.He introduces a few twists and turns along the way, but they seem too trivial to cause a serious impediment to the love story. This is where the film’s path diverges slightly from something like an Andaz Apna Apna, which could revel in its silliness without a care. This being a love story, however flippant it maybe, one is expected to invest a little more in the characters’ lives and their emotional somersaults. However, the script and essential lightness of the narrative makes it difficult for you to really sympathise with Prem and Jenny’s affairs. There’s complete absence of any real drama or conflict.

Yet, the film stays enjoyable if you’re willing to go with a non-serious love story interspersed with peppy songs, charming lead stars and goofy fun. In the climax (a very extended one), you have a sequence where Ranbir is fighting the goons all alone and Katrina in a bid to help him, swings the baton too. But it always ends up hitting Ranbir instead of the bad guys. So after two or three mishaps, Ranvir grabs her shoulders and says, “Tum mere side se ho ya unke…Jaake kone me baitho’. There are many such cute moments.

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani is another great showcase film for Ranbir Kapoor, who displays his fine abilities not just as an actor, but as a dancer too. There is great assuredness about him as an actor, but one also gets the sense that there is something lacking in terms of originality in his act. There’s too much studied proficiency to his performance, and this brings a certain emotional disconnect with his character.

Katrina Kaif, natural as always, shines in the part of the lovely Christian girl. The actress always works her charm in characters that are somewhat extensions of her own personality. Upen Patel looks bulky and ill-at-ease. The episode involving him and Katrina is not so bad, but Santoshi resorts to quick contrivances in the end. Darshan Jariwala is superb!

The film should count as a successful attempt from Raj Kumar Santoshi, who was running out of form for a while. Like all his films, this one too is a relatively lengthy film. Not a film that will stay with you, but a perfect date movie nevertheless.
-Sandhya Iyer

Movie Review: Blue

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Zayed Khan, Lara Dutta, Rahul Dev and Katrina Kaif (guest appearance)
Directed by: Anthony D’ Souza
Stars: **

See Blue and you’ll know how the film is symptomatic of what Hindi films suffer from today. High on ornamental value and low on substance, one has to rue how obscene amount of money gets spent on a film that no one would miss anything even if it hadn’t been made.

Yes, the film has superb production values and is truly international in its look. But beyond that, it’s literally water going down the drain. Blue turns out to be a very forgettable film, though it’s clear the makers have moved heaven and earth to make it an unforgettable one.
Like an indulgent parent who stuffs too many fancy gifts into his spoiled kid’s hands, the producer here brings everything that money can buy for his debutant director, Anthony D’Souza. This has ensured some novelty and first time attractions of course. For starters, this is truly the first underwater thriller that Bollywood has attempted. And to make it convincingly, the makers have spent lavishly on international technicians and all kinds of gorgeous locations.

Then there’s the Kylie Minogue item number for which the makers paid a bomb – the million dollar question is how many in the audience even recogonise her! Also, there’s no end to the number of cars that explode mid-air, bikes that burn or bullets that burst like bombs.

Aarav (Akshay Kumar) is a dashing young man, who owns a Fishery in the Bahamas. Sagar (Sanjay Dutt) works for him, and is also his confidant. Sagar’s life revolves around his girl friend Mona (Lara Dutta) and biker brother, Sam (Zayed Khan). The latter gets into trouble with a goon (Rahul Dev) who demands huge amounts of money to be returned back to him. Since Sam’s life is under threat, he joins his brother and Aarav in the Bahamas. Aarav has his sights set on a treasure that is hidden in a ship that lies underwater. Sagar is not willing to venture into the deep ocean for this purpose, but circumstances force all three of them to go there eventually.

The film is sleek and polished. The action sequences are well-shot and D’Souza goes about his business with a certain flair and style. There are also some funny punch lines at the start (thankfully understated) that serve the film well. The marine life and locations around Bahamas are breathtakingly captured. All this would have amounted to something if the makers would have concentrated half as much on a script, which ends up being the only absent entity in this extravagantly mounted film.

For almost close to one hour, the movie is nothing but a series of highlights ( the Kylie Minogue club number, motorbike race, the sensuous Dil Gustakh Hai number, Katrina Kaif’s entry and so on). D’Souza is so consumed with shooting pulsating action sequences and adding style to every frame, that he would have been happy to do away with a plot if he could.

Most of the film is about Dev chasing down Zayed Khan and it gets frustrating after point because the whole conflict, if one can call it that, is pretty senseless. Rahul Dev just lands up everywhere, shoots bullets at will…all leading to a suspense that most can see coming from a mile.

The water adventure is only in the last 25-30 minutes, where the three men get into the ocean. But with such a lame storyline and no feeling of connect with these characters, all you do as an audience is view their action with detached interest.
The film is quite short at one hour and fifty minutes, but in spite of it, tests your patience.
The performances are decent. Akshay Kumar seems to have a sense for everything (dressing, women, action), except a sense for scripts. Sanjay Dutt has put on tons of weight and looks weary for an action thriller of this kind. Zayed Khan plays the expected cool dude with an attitude. Lara Dutta is attractive, but once again reveals how poor an actress she is. Katrina Kaif shines in a sharp 12 minute cameo.

The music by A R Rahman is a mixed bag. The title track and Dil Gustakh Hai is a lovely composition, and very aesthetically picturised.Ultimately, though, Blue with the kind of resources at hand, could have been a truly memorable adventure film only if someone would have cared to come up with a script. The way it stands, Blue’s distributors might just be in the red.
-Sandhya Iyer

Acid Factory review

Sanjay Gupta manufactors....

Director: Suparn VermaStarring: Fardeen Khan, Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpai, Dia Mirza, Dino Morea, Danny Denzongpa and Aftab Shivdasani
Rating: **

Acid Factory brings with it a sense of ennui from the very first scene of the film. It is in the same, predictable vein of all the Sanjay Gupta films one has been subjected to so far. Exploding cars, outlaws, guns, violence, dim yellow lighting, pole dancers -- all reminiscent of everything one has seen before. In many ways, Acid Factory is a low budget Kaante.Yet, the concept isn't bad and could have been a riveting watch had it been treated like a psychological thriller, but both journalist-turned-director Supern Verma (Ek Khiladi, Ek Haseena) and Sanjay Gupta clearly are not interested in adding the least bit of depth to the proceedings. There's no back story to any character, their motivations are unclear, so there's an emotional disconnect you feel all along.

The film is pegged as a smart, fast-paced thriller. So when it begins, you have all its main characters (Dino, Danny, Aftab, Fardeen and Manoj) trapped inside an acid factory. There has been a gas leakage, resulting in all of them suffering from a temporary memory loss. None of them remember how they came inside or who they are. Each one is wary of the other, not knowing whom to trust.
Meanwhile, their boss (Irrfan Khan) is on a mission to collect a hefty ransom from one of the characters' wife (Kareeb actress and Bajpai's wife Neha makes a lovely appearance in a brief role, after years of hibernation). He is unaware of the leakage or the memory loss and keeps calling at the factory to inquire about girlfriend Max (Dia Mirza) who has not recovered from the impact of the explosion yet. At first, you wonder why the main door is locked and if they all have a common enemy. But as the film progresses you realise that these are really two warring groups with none of them knowing which side they are fighting on, due to the memory loss. Then the question is, why is the factory door locked in the first place?
There are many such questions popping up in your mind. Fardeen Khan, who is an undercover cop, gets trapped too. It's hard to believe he would give his senior officers absolutely no idea about his whereabouts. But since the film moves at a reasonably good pace, it doesn't give you much time to think and that is what one fathoms both Gupta and Verma were counting on.

Suparn Verma opts for a screenplay where the action moves back and forth in time. Sadly, the flashback scenes are extremely tame and don't add anything to the central drama or suspense. Also, since you don't know anything about the characters till the very end, you are quite simply not invested in them to care about what happens to their lives. The film could have been a smart thriller, if only the makers had concentrated less on the stylish action sequences and more on the characters. The tension does not build up even after Dia Mirza is introduced. Her tough woman act looks forced most of the time.

The only two characters who make their presence felt are Fardeen Khan and Irrfan Khan. The latter, by virtue of being such a superior actor, makes all his scenes interesting, something that cannot be said about the rest of the cast. Dino Morea in particular is quite poor.

Unlike many films one has seen this year where the concept itself was a dud, here one must concede that Supern Verma had something interesting to work with. He keeps it mildly engaging at times, but for most part, this is a very unsatisfying watch because the audience is not given anything to invest in the film.
-Sandhya Iyer

'It would be safe to have very high expectations from 3 Idiots'

Boman Irani talks about his character in 3 Idiots and how he’s excited about how the film has turned out. The actor also has two other interesting films coming up, Shyam Benegal’s Abbaji and a comic caper Fruit & Nut

It’s a rare actor whose personality and charm shines through all his characters, and yet, each of these roles remain so distinct and memorable. From Let’s Talk to Khosla Ka Ghosla, from Munnabhai MBBS to Lage Raho…from 99 to Little Zizou, Boman Irani in a short span has essayed a whole array of wonderful characters, making him quite easily one of the most interesting actors of this generation.

His next big one is 3 Idiots with Raj Kumar Hirani, who introduced him with Munnabhai MBBS in a role that has gone on to attain a cult status. Their second venture, Lage Raho Munnabhai was even more successful. Now, the actor is super excited about 3 Idiots, where he plays a mean-spirited professor to Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi.The film as one is aware is inspired from Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone and the point of reference for Boman’s role is the character of Cherian from the book. “We’ve remodeled it. I’m called Veeru Sahasrabuddhe in the film, also referred to as ‘virus’. I’m thrilled with the way the film has shaped up. Raju has done it again. It’s turned out to be a wonderful film,” he says.

But considering how monstrously successful Hirani’s previous two ventures have been, 3 Idiots would have to live up to a lot of expectations. “Raju is successful each time, because he strives for excellence. It’s a touching, fun film. It would be safe to say that people can have a lot of expectations from 3 Idiots,” says the actor.
Even though Boman was a villain of sorts in both the Munnabhai films, he was also strangely likeable for his quirks. How different will his character in 3 Idiots be? “He’s the meanest of them all in this film. Lucky Singh in Lage Raho… looked like a teddy bear by the end of it. In 3 Idiots, he’s plain nasty. You don’t want to be anywhere near him. The guy is full of ego, full of himself. He’s painful, with no sense of humour…very unfeeling.”

And yet, the character is not without other interesting shades. “He wants his students to excel…and do well in life. As long as there is a chink in his armour, you know there is hope. You also feel bad for the guy, thinking how he has so completely lost the plot of humanity,” he observes succintly.
3 Idiots is Boman’s pet film presently, but he’s also very excited about his Shyam Benegal film, Abbaji, that is to be screened on October 18 at a London film fest soon. The film recounts the story of a father who takes leave from his work to find a bridegroom for his daughter. “It’s my first film in the lead,” says Boman, adding, “It’s a very charming and moving film.” The film is set to release in February next year.
The other film that is coming up for Boman is Fruit & Nut, which he describes as a “completely bizarre, mad-cap comedy”He plays a character called Harry Holkar who imagines himself to be an ex maharaja and wants to reclaim his city. “He’s a harmless fool. It’s a very unpretentious, crazy, comic caper,” the actor tells us.Much like a magician who pulls rabbits out of his hat, Boman comes closest among today’s actors to surprise you with his ability to come up with delightfully original performances each time. Hence, one can safely hope that all of Boman’s three films will be a treat for his fans.

-Sandhya Iyer

What's Your Raashee film review

What's Your POINT!

Starring: Priyanka Chopra, Harman Baweja, Darshan Jariwala, Anjan SrivastavaDirected by: Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
Stars: **1/2

The most disappointing aspect of watching a movie is seeing a pointless endeavour and What’s Your Rashee? is mostly just that. So if Jodhaa Akbar was a four hour long film about a royal couple unable to decide whether to consummate or not, this one goes on endlessly about a guy’s search for a bride. Jodhaa Akbar, for all its splendour and great music, was hardly as significant as a Lagaan or a Swades. One already saw a certain lack of ambition in the story, beyond of course its mammoth scale. Now, with What’s Your Raashee?, Ashutosh Gowariker has gone ahead and tried to recycle a concept that became popular with the televised series, Mr Yogi in the DD days. The idea of an NRI looking for one girl from every sun sign is expected to be an episodic one and clearly suited for television. When it’s made as a film, it turns out excruciatingly long drawn and boring.

The strength of the subject is the curiosity it evokes in the audience about their individual sun signs, so for a while, it seems interesting when NRI Yogesh Patel (Harman Baweja) meets a couple of girls. The first one(Aries) is the best of the lot and Priyanka’s really in form here. Also, for a subject that would normally be right up Yash Raj’s alley, Gowariker ensures there is a certain authenticity to the setting. The homes appear lived in, the characters (many new faces) are all people who one might have encountered at some point. So thankfully, there’s nothing synthetic about the story.

Yogesh’s meeting with the girls is fairly good until interval point. Harman’s earnestness and Priyanka’s finesse as a performer ensure that the proceedings stay interesting for quite some time. Another aspect about the film is that Gowariker never overstates the traits in any sun sign and keeps it subtle. So the Aquarian should be recogonised by her dreamy eyes, the Geminine by her proclivity to fall in love with the idea of love, the Arian for her honesty and so on. On one level, you can appreciate the director’s acumen to slip in characteristics in an unobtrusive way, but then again, some signs are so unrecogonisable that they become mere characters.The essential repetitiveness of the plot takes its toll in the second half and the episodes from this point are simply not engaging enough. The Piscean girl’s ‘punar janam’ episode is especially tedious. Gowariker inserts two sub-plots to break the monotony but all they do is stretch the film even longer. There’s one involving a jotish-turned-jasoos and another one with Yogesh and his brother being chased by a ‘Bhai’ character who wants his money back.

These are as boring as the hazaar songs that have been needlessly thrust into the narrative. The film’s climax is probably as unconvincing as the premise itself. It’s never clear from the very beginning why Yogesh’s grandpa won’t hand him over his inheritance if he won’t marry. This is a major flaw in the script, something which could have been easily taken care of.
Many of Ashutosh’s strengths as a director, including his ability to treat his story and characters intelligently are visible here. But many of weaknesses are more pronounced than ever. The filmmaker has always made long films, but here it seems especially unjustified. At least five of the songs could have been done away with. The only two songs that are reasonable good are Su Che and the title track. His languorous, unhurried style of filmmaking that probably was okay for a film like Swades makes it quite problematic when it comes to a light-hearted, fun film like this one.

Still, if there’s anything to recommend, it is the performances. Priyanka Chopra, while never a very charismatic actress, has always been a competent and intelligent performer. And nothing proves it better than her ability to play each character in a unique way. The screenplay lets her down at various points but there is very little to fault the actress. Priyanka has put in an enormous effort, in the sense that she’s skillfully changed her body language and speech pattern for all the characters. She’s especially terrific playing the 15 year old girl.
Harman Baweja has been well cast. The film probably needed an actor without the baggage of an image and could look convincing in the role of a well-meaning, malleable young boy. He’s decent, and has almost as much screen time as Priyanka.
The other actor who really shines here is Darshan Jariwala, as Harman’s affable uncle.

But as one said, the film ceases to be interesting after a point and the concept simply runs out of steam. By the time, the climax approaches, you couldn’t care less who Harman marries.
-Sandhya Iyer

Basu Bhattacharya and the mortality of marriage

As a director, Basu Bhattacharya has always been interested in exploring the complex, grey area in a marriage. Many filmmakers have portrayed marriage on celluloid, but no one has quite examined it in the brutal way that Bhattacharya has.
It’s clear he was cynical about the institution and showed its slow degeneration through couples who share a common, closed space, but a vacuous one. Amidst busy nothings and the grueling routine of life, the mind continues its search for love and belonging wherever it can find it, thereby creating a sordid confusion.I would think Bhattacharya grew more and more disillusioned with marital relationships in later years. Anubhav (Tanuja, Sanjeev Kumar) – with all its complexities – is still somewhat bright in its tone and tenor. It takes on bleaker shades with his next, Grihapravesh. Yet, Bhattacharya allows the marriage to survive here, as he also sees the futility of breaking away from something that has grown to become a habit.
But the anguish takes an altogether ugly turn in Avishkar (Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore), with the couple even physically abusing each other. Ironically, it is this couple that is most in love before marriage.
Bhattacharya’s films are not an easy watch, as there is a level of abstraction in his tackling of these themes. There is nothing black or white, right or wrong, moral or immoral in Basu’s world. His narrative style provided a rare depth to his stories to ironically portray emptiness.

Film Review: Dil Bole Hadippa!

Not such a ball...

Director: Anurag Singh
Stars: Rani Mukherjee, Shahid Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Poonam Dillon, Dalip Tahil, Sherlyn Chopra, Rakhi Sawant
Stars: **1/2

Few films of its stature can have a poorer start than what Dil Bole Hadippa has. The very first scene is a lame replica of the introduction portion one saw in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi with the
Ek Omkar chant in the background. Seriously, there’s been such an overdose of Punjabi culture and clichés in Yash Raj films that it has started to ring utterly false now. The banner is still stuck in the Dilwale Dulhaniya…mould of ‘meri mitti, mera desh’ to evoke forced nostalgia and patriotism. This formulaic tripe, without even a pretense of breaking away from the norm, is enough to turn you off very early on.

The whole plot setting is a contrived one. Fortunately, the film settles down once the central premise comes into play and what you get is a decent fare, thanks almost entirely to the two lead stars and the essential hilarity of their situation in the movie.
Veera (Rani Mukherjee) is a hard core cricket buff, with aspirations of being in the local cricket team, that clashes every six months with a team in Lahore, Pakistan. The match is organized by two old friends (Anupam Kher and Dalip Tahil ) from each side of the border. This is a ludicrous set up for any film and the first match is so shabbily done – it has to be seen to be believed.
Also Rani – with all that chunky jewellery, make-up and ultra feminine demeanour doesn’t quite convince you of her ardour for the game. Compare this with the sporty looks the
Chak De..players or the Bend It Like Beckam girl donned and you’ll see why Dil Bole Happida doesn’t quite cut ice.
The film picks up momentum with Rohan’s (Shahid Kapoor) entry, who comes from London to help his father (Kher) rebuild his team. Veera, excitedly goes for the selection but is turned away from the gate because she’s a woman. The guard jokes that it isn’t a Miss India competition going on. Hence, she decides to put her father’s nautanki company (very convenient arrangement) to good use and dresses up as a guy (Veer) to enter the cricket team.
A Golmaal-type situation arises, and Veera has no option but to play both boy and girl.

Amidst some genuinely funny scenes (Veer cringing to enter the Mens’ room or Shahid saying to her that he’d like to have a man-to-man chat with Rani), the director and writers constantly let the narrative slip into cheap melodrama every now and then, some of it absolutely cringe-worthy. Sample the scene where Veera is asked to leave from the gate at the start. A procession of a goddess is passing by, so the writers use that opportunity to have Rani deliver a sermon on societal double standards. Then there’s also a direct translated copy of Lagaan’s dialogue where her father says to her, “Itne nanhe nanhe ankhein aur itne vade vade sapne” (Small eyes dreaming so big).

Yet, the film has plenty of light moments and the peppy music (good stuff from Pritam) and background score (overused and overdramatic at times) keeps you somewhat engaged. The Gim Shim Kar Le Re song is especially funny.

Rakhi Sawant and Sherlyn Chopra don’t have much to do, except add some sizzle to the screen.
The one reason why Dil Bole Hadippa manages to be watchable is the chemistry between the two leads. Both Rani and Shahid look great together.. One has to be especially impressed with Shahid who has delivered his most effortless performance till date. There’s obviously some inspiration taken from Shah Rukh Khan’s Chak De India act, but Shahid performs with flair and attitude.
Rani is very effective as the Sardar, where her comic timing is excellent. But overall, it’s not a great departure for her neither is it a grand comeback. Watching her in the film is almost like seeing an older Babli.
Dil Bole Hadippa could have been a better film if only the director and writers had not resorted to so many contrivances and push button effects. The climax is actually the worst one has seen in a while, with the film going into Rang De Banasti mode with a heavy duty lecture, where Rani evokes everyone’s name from Indira Gandhi to Kiran Bedi. For a film with a plot as flimsy as this, it seems laughably audacious to try and shove in a feminist angle also.

In all this, the best part of the story is given the short shrift. There isn’t a proper culmination to the Shahid-Rani love story and just when you’re waiting for a final emotional confrontation, the credits start rolling with the lead dancing away to the title song.
See it if you absolutely must or just for the lead pair.
-Sandhya Iyer

Review of Quickgun Murugun

Watch it, I say

Starring: Dr Rajendra Prasad, Naseer, Rambha, Lola Kutty, Raja Sundaram, Sandhya Mridul, Vinay Pathak
Director: Shashanka Ghosh
Stars: ***

It takes sense to come up with entertaining nonsense. Quickgun Murugun is supreme silliness no doubt, but it goes about its business with a kind of joyous self-abandon and poker-faced wit that makes this good kitschy fun all round.
In what is an action -packed, western spoof, you have Indian cowboy Quick Gun Murugun - something of a cross between Clint Eastwood and Rajnikanth - taking up the cause of vegetarianism. For the uninitiated, Quick Gun Murugun happens to be a cult figure down south - a wacky character that appeared a lot in 70s Tamil movies.

In quixotic style, Murugun ( Rajendra Prasad) is goaded into action against meat-eaters, when he's reminded he's a 'cowboy' after all and must protect cows. His target is restaurateur Rice Plate Reddy ( Naseer) and his menacing thugs, who promote non-vegetarianism. Reddy is making his brand of machine made non-veg dosas and is in search of the perfect recipe for it. He's aided in this by Rowdy MBA (pronounced as 'Em') - Raju Sundaram - who comes up with the idea of getting hold of comely mothers for this purpose.

By the way, this is Murugun's second life, since he was killed by the thugs 25 years ago, but let off by Yama (Vinay Pathak). Now, he's determined to avenge his own death and also fight against Reddy's machine-made dosas. As the wacky promos read, 'They made him a past tense, now he will make their future, tense'

There are also matters of the heart that call for attention. Murugan is caught between past affection for Locket Girl (Lola Kutty) who hangs around his neck and Shetty's girlfriend, Mango Dolly (Rambha) who falls for him.
All this is in the midst of entertaining action sequences, and some pretty funny dialogues. As Quick Gun Murugun, actor Rajendra Prasad pitches his character perfectly. Watch him in the bar scene with Rambha where he asks her in perfect South Indian twang, 'Your orizinal(sic) name is Mango?' or in his chivalrous stance to a thug, 'Leave the ladies, I say!'

Director Shashanka Ghosh gets the tone of the film right and the songs with the background music add the requisite chutzpah to this action comic caper. There's a lot of Tamil in the film which helps retain the flavour of the character. Though I must say, the lead actor's get up and and accent is more Telugu than Tamil but for the vast majority it won't make a difference one guesses.

The other plus is that the silliness never slips into puerility, and all the characters have been written with a certain wackiness that makes it enjoyable. Yet, at a mere one and half hours, this film isn't the kind of blockbuster laughathon it could have been. Also, the film is too action-packed, with the comedy and drama taking a slight backseat. But as a whole, this is harmless fun, as light as savoury dosas.
- Sandhya Iyer

Film Review District 9

District 9 is that rare film that combines the adventure and edgeof-the-seat drama of a scary sci-fi flick with a telling statement on issues like migration and apartheid. No surprises then that the the film's young debutant director Neill Blomkamp chooses Johannesburg as the setting. Incidentally, he was also born in South Africa and later moved to the US.

When the film begins, you are acquainted with an alien settlement that landed in Johannesburg some 20 years back. Unlike other films on extraterrestrials, there is absolutely no glamour associated with this landing.Their appearance too is deliberately kept ugly. These aliens are icky, insect-like creatures with sinewy waists and pointed hands. They are pushed to the fringes of civilised society by the government, where they live like scavengers in pathetic conditions. The place they are settled in is called District 9.

The aliens possess rare weapons, which is of both interest and dread to the government, but there's a catch.These weapons can only be operated by a person possessing the DNA of an alien.
Even though the rest of the country has grown used to the presence of these aliens and treat them as low lives, referring to them as `prawns', there is always some trouble brewing around them. Hence the government hires a private organisation called MU (Multinational United) to control the growing alien population and relocate them from District 9 to a rural concentration camp.

The person to be given charge for this mass removal is field operator Wikus ( Shartli Copley), a pencil-pushing officer, who gets the job only because of his influential father-in-law. Wikus isn't too good at his job but is earnest in his duties of evicting several aliens.But one such encounter turns out to be unfortunate as Wikus gets infected by a certain alien fluid. In no time he gets violently sick and is horrified when he sees one of his hands turning like an alien. The authorities hurriedly take him to a lab and declare Wikus to be in the incredible `half human, half alien stage'. They see him now as a rare artefact, a specimen who can be used for experiments. Wikus escapes from the lab and what follows is a riveting chase-drama, where he is forced to take refuge in the only place he knows well -- District 9.

Written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell and produced by Peter Jackson (The Lord Of The Rings), the film is a marvel for its technical brilliance and inventiveness. But more impressive is the fact that District 9 goes beyond being just a smart scifi. There are sociological undertones that talk of the cruelty of mankind in general.

Though the film is primarily a comment on the xenophobic, violent attitude of people, District 9 also compels you to look at the problem of migration from the insider's standpoint. The aliens are portrayed as repulsive, with a downright offensive body and speech pattern. They also pose a definite threat since they possess weapons only they can use. How easy is it then to accept them in their fold and be sympathetic? The film becomes a full-fledged action drama in the second half and there are scenes of extreme gore and violence here. Also, the director makes Wikus' chase an excruciatingly painful one, with the police, the MU guys and even a Nigerian underworld boss unleashing terror on him.

Ultimately though, District 9 is an unusual film, a fascinating allegory that any viewer in any part of the world will have something to identify with.

-Sandhya Iyer

Luck review

Don't push your 'Luck'

Starring: Imran Khan, Shruti Haasan, Sanjay Dutt, Mithun Chakraborty, Danny Denzongpa, Ravi Kissen, Chitrashi
Directed by: Soham Shah
Stars: 1 ½

Knowing that the director of Luck is the same guy who directed the god awful Kaal, one was always going to tread with some caution. And yet, this film from the Shree Ashtavinayak (the production house that gave another big dud in the form of Kidnap last year) stunningly manages to lower the bar further, coming up with a film that is both silly and revolting.

We know of films that progressively get bad but Luck wastes no time in this regard. So within less than a minute your heart sinks thinking of the torturous hours before you. The very first scene has Sanjay Dutt and a group of men hand-tied and blindfolded running through railway tracks even as a douzen trains go rushing by. Most of the men get killed and only Dutt survives. This is what Soham and Renzil D’Silva’s idea of luck in the film is!
Sample some more scenes meant to show you how Dutt is a lucky chap since childhood. He’s the only surviving kid in a riot or some such thing. In another scene as a child, he jumps from the fourth floor with his friends and ends up being the only one to live. This is the sort of crude definition Soham has for the word luck.

Moosa (Dutt) is into the business of bringing together ‘lucky’ guys (!) and pitting them against each other for a game show, where people can lay bets on them. It’s somewhat like a realty show on an island, except that here contestants even have to kill each other to survive.Now, who in their right minds would be part of something like this, even if they needed money badly? But there’s no use entertaining logical questions while watching this film, unless you want to frustrate yourself further.

Meanwhile, Ram (Imran Khan) is in urgent need of money after his father dies, leaving the family in severe debt. He has to arrange as much as 20 crores(!) or else his mom and him could be rendered homeless. So his ‘imaginative’ option is to go to the US and earn it quickly. But his Visa gets rejected and he comes up with more ‘creative’ ideas that we rather not go into.

Raghav (Ravi Kissen), a criminal, escapes his hanging due to a technical glitch. The writers of this film acquaint us that once a hanging goes wrong, the person cannot be hanged twice and has to be let off!! Nice!
Ram and Raghav are two among the others who finally come for the game show and therein begins one task after another – some scenes offer decent thrills but it’s mostly just a sickening experience.
The first half has to be the worst I have seen in a very long time. And you know the makers are really scraping the barrel when Mithun Chakraborty is made to spout his famous, ‘Koi shak’ again and again.

But Luck somewhat improves in the second half and that saves this from being an absolute disaster. Ravi Kissen is the sole entertaining character in the film and he does well. Sanjay Dutt plays these ‘dada -gunda’ type roles so often that there’s nothing left to be said anymore, except that he could desperately do with some change.
Shruti Haasan has clearly done this film for a lark. She’s not overly self-consciousness and comes with a certain casualness, which is welcome. But acting is not her forte.
Coming to Imran, it’s unfortunate that someone with such pleasant screen presence and decent acting talent is getting stuck in one bad film after another. He plays his part with restraint and does well in the action sequences.
The only other thing to recommend here is the music, which is good.Finally, what can one say? When films like these get made, you know that Bollywood is severely down on luck, as are audiences like us.
-Sandhya Iyer

Jashnn film review - Party's over!

Director: Raksha Mistry, Hasnain S
Starring: Adhyayan Suman, Shahana Goswami, Anjana Sukhani, Humayun Sayeed
Rating: *

Some parties are never meant to take off and Jashnn certainly is one. This is a snooze fest that keeps you awake sometimes only because you are stunned at the sheer inanity on display. It’s hard to believe that the Bhatts who are generally known to be quite proficient with their script selections could have actually green-lighted something as trite as this.

Akash (Adhyayan Suman) is an aspiring singer who lives with his sister Nisha (Shahana Goswami), an ex model who now lives as a rich man, Aman Bajaj’s (Pakistan import Humayun Sayeed) mistress. Nisha keeps tolerating an abusive relationship with the man because she insists she got tired of being middle-class and roaming in an auto! So she instead roams around in the bungalow wearing skimpy clothes that look like they could slip off her chest anytime.
Meanwhile, Akash falls in love with Bajaj’s sister, Sara(Anjana Sukhani ). Bajaj is livid when he hears the truth and goes all out to destroy Akash’s dream of making it as a singer.

This is such a hackneyed script and in the hands of directors Raksha Mistry and Hasnain. S (The Train, The Killer), it’s almost an impossible film to watch. Both of them treat their characters with IQ levels that would shame even 5-year-olds. There’s no logic to any of the characters actions or motivations.

Like in all Bhatt films, the dialogues are probably the only bright spot but they are distributed so indiscriminately to the characters, that it doesn’t even ring true. Like you sit up when Bajaj says, ‘Jhagda tab karo jab jeetne ki umeed ho. Jhagda hamesha barabar walon mein hota hai’ But then, the film does just the opposite and what ensues is a fake drama, ending in Bajaj shedding copious tears watching Akash perform in the end. Before that, you have the latter stoically announcing, “Itni zillat ki barish ho gaye hai, ke hum kuch dhul se gaye hain” None of that dialoguebaazi, however, saves this disaster-of- a flick.
Adhyayan acts like he can’t believe he’s been offered such a meaty part and hams like crazy. There’s a smugness that is quite off putting about him. Anjanu Sukhani overacts too, but she’s decent enough here. Shahana - always so competent - is stuck with a role that doesn’t even make sense and is made to spout dialogues, ‘Main tangi hue gosht nahin banna chahti’
Overall, a film that should not be touched with a barge pole.
-- Sandhya Iyer

Alternative Sexuality - Will Hindi films have a role?

Film review: Could this be love (French)

Watched this French film at an ongoing European Film Festival in Pune yesterday and liked it quite a bit.

This Pierre Jolivet directed film is about a charming 43 year old man, Lucas (Vincent Lindon), a rich, divorced industrialist, who tends to go all out when he’s in love.Smarting from a recent affair (where the woman was set up by one of his competitors), Lucas feels it imperative to know all about the woman he’s freshly fallen in love with. He’s incredibly attracted to the 38 year old Elsa (Sandrine Bonnaire), a ceramist whom he’s commissioned to create a fresco for his office foyer. To put to rest all his doubts, he hires his detective friend to know all there is about his ladylove.

Initially, the feisty and quick-witted Elsa plays quite hard to get but finds herself falling for her employer. Their first few attempts at love making prove disastrous for one reason or the other but they get over it soon, and find each other head over heels in love.

But just when life looks perfect, Elsa gets a whiff of the ‘spy devises’ installed in her house and thinks of Lucas as a ‘whacko’ She shuns him, only to have him go into a major depression and snack on frozen Pizza for days on end.
Yet, in the end, the real story gets around to Elsa and to Lucas’ surprise, he hears about his ladylove finishing the fresco in his office foyer. Overjoyed, he rushes to her and it’s all good again for the love birds.
This is quite a light-hearted film, paying a nice little tribute of sorts to the art of ceramics. Vincent Lindon, as the handsome businessman with his heart on his sleeve, is delight to watch. All in all, a nice little love story here.
-Sandhya Iyer

Fiilm review: Firaaq

Cries from a carnage

Starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Deepti Naval, Tisca Chopra, Sanjay Suri, Raghuvir Yadav
Director: Nandita Das
Stars: ***


Nandita Das’ directorial debut Firaaq starts with a particularly macabre scene with two men burying a mass of dead Muslims in the aftermath of the Gujarat carnage. The next scene cuts to a worried, lower-middle class Muslim couple, retuning back to their area, and shocked to find their house almost burnt down. These two back-to-back scenes, with its inherent bid to grab the audiences’ attention, are a bit shaky and loud – where one fears Das is probably over-directing. But that’s a doubt that gets put to rest in the subsequent reels, where the story starts to introduce you to the various characters of the film.

In Mumbai Meri Jaan fashion, the film alternates between various episodes, trying to give the audience a sense of the dread that permeates after the incident. And Das takes care to include people affected from all demographics. So there is Muneera (a poor mehendiwali) and her husband trying to figure out who burnt their house and in the bargain start suspecting many of their own friends. The blatant anti-Muslim stance that many believe the Gujarat government took, is depicted in the story of a well-to-do inter-caste couple, Anuradha Desai (Tisca Chopra) and her husband, Sameer Sheikh (Sanjay Suri). Their showroom is robbed and the couple starts to feel unsafe in the very state they’ve always considered home.

The story involving Naseeruddin Shah, as a devout musician and his caretaker (Raghuvir Yadav) is probably the most understated ones among all of them. Naseer’s character is in a state of denial about how his surrounding has altered and becomes quite disoriented when some of these changes stare him in his face.

But the most satiric and scathing attack on certain Hindi factions in the state is represented through Paresh Rawal’s character, a callous, self-serving middle-aged Gujju, who loves throwing his weight around, occasionally beating and deriding his compliant wife (Deepti Naval), when he’s not cheating people along with his equally phony brother.
And in all this, two of the stories include an orphaned five-year-old (Mohsin), who is witness to the violence and depravity around him.

Das is clearly making a statement about Hindu fundamentalism and how the minority community was almost on the verge of a wipe out - with both the State’s police and even many of the citizens turning against Muslims (there’s a particularly hard-hitting scene here where Muneera’s husband – after escaping from a police – is hit on the head with a stone thrown on him from a balcony.)
This is probably one of the few films where not too much effort has been made to ‘balance out’ things —- Yes, some Hindu characters are shown to be sympathetic and there is Deepti Naval, who is deeply affected by her inability to help out a Muslim woman chased by a mob. But for most part, the film only highlights the atrocity on Muslims. Since the film is ultimately about human suffering and not expected to be a docu-drama, one wonders if Das should have concentrated so pointedly at the sufferings of the minority alone.

Firaaq has some extremely well-shot scenes and superb performances by almost everyone. Paresh Rawal is the pick of the lot, followed by Naseer, Raghuvir Yadav and Tisca Chopra.
However, what prevents the film from really being as engrossing as it should be is the fact, that unlike a Mumbai Meri Jaan, there is very little progression in all the stories. The suffering is internalised, which causes the film to drag a lot. And even though, one is happy the film got made, the fact that Das is pretty judgemental (rightly or wrongly) could prompt the audience to be defensive. So in that sense, one might get a feeling of only being privy to one half the story – though in Das’ view there was only one side to this story!
All in all, Firaaq is a bold film, with some excellently done scenes but for its slow pace, lack of any respite and a bit of repetitiveness, it could demand a fair bit of patience from the audience.
- Sandhya Iyer