Jolly LLB movie review: Boman Irani and Arshad Warsi present a befitting satire on the Indian judiciary

Finally we get a courtroom peek that won’t make lawyers – real ones – look away in despair

For all those who are expecting a courtroom drama like that in Damini, where red-eyed Sunny Deol wouldn’t stop asking for that elusive taareek, Jolly LLB might be a tad disappointing. Of course, there’s always a next taareek (date) that the judge (Saurabh Shukla) diligently jots down, but heck, that happens in a real courtroom too. What’s absent is the sheer nautanki and over-the-top dramatisation that have been loyal companions of any Indian courtroom drama…till now. So now getting a taareek isn’t the end of the world, there’s no Gita for the proverbial kasam (swear) and the witness box is just a square-meter of raised wooden platform minus railings. Get that!
With all these warnings in place, here’s the plot – Jagdish Tyagi aka Jolly (Arshad Warsi) is an advocate from Meerut who lands in New Delhi and spells ‘appeal’ as ‘apple’ in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) around which the story of Jolly LLB spins. The PIL demands further investigation into a case concerning advocate Rajpal’s (Boman Irani) big shot client who has been accused of killing six pavement dwellers in a hit-and-run case.
The case itself is an interesting one, with Boman playing the devil’s advocate and pulling every possible string to botch up the investigation process. Rings a bell, doesn’t it? Warsi, on the other side of the courtroom, keeps making things difficult for the senior counsel. We smiled.
Moving on, we have an excellent judge who burps, farts, grumbles about the tea gone cold and knows how to keep lawyers like Rajpal in check. And at times you are in awe at how this rotund judge sweet-talks the intimidating lawyer into submission. Smart fella, we say.
Subhash Kapoor has made a sincere effort to present a real courtroom to viewers. One with a flickering tubelight and a whirring fan that Rajpal thinks should be replaced with an air conditioner. And then there’s the outside of the courtroom, where the ‘chamber’ of a junior lawyer comprises a rickety table, stool and a stack of files under the open sky. And yeah, an alternate profession is a must as back-up for these strugglers who stand outside courtrooms to rope in clients just like a chaiwallah entices prospective customers on the railway platforms. Now that’s not very far from the harsh truth.
Into this hard-hitting satire and an interesting court case comes Sandhya aka Sandhu (Amrita Rao), who is Jolly’s girlfriend. And her job is to pop up for a song-and-dance sequence that makes us impatiently twiddle our thumbs while waiting for the running around the trees to get over so that we can get on with the case. You see, the legal story does get you hooked. But Sandhu is pretty persistent at times. Remember to treat those times as loo-breaks.
And then there are loopholes. Thankfully, they’re not the size of a black hole. Phew! Here’s one – the intelligent and foxy Rajpal does a shoddy job at ‘fixing’ his manipulations. Why? Isn’t he experienced enough by now to know how crucial such things are? Not very convincing, Mr Kapoor! Then there’s the whole fuss surrounding the advance notice that’s required before presenting a witness. Frankly, it isn’t that big a deal – with the judge’s permission, of course – as it’s shown out to be. But we let that pass for the want of a li’l drama in this courtroom.
The individual performances – Arshad Warsi’s acting skills are commendable. And finally it looks like B-town’s Circuit can manage serious emotions as well as comic ones. Boman Irani plays the role of an intimidating lawyer quite convincingly. And no, his role isn’t based on advocate Ram Jethmalani’s personality as suggested by rumour. Amrita Rao is bearable. And we love Saurabh Shukla.
So here’s a movie that we recommend you watch just to see how our reel life courtrooms are catching up with the real life ones. And trust us, you won’t be disappointed.

                                                                                                                                                        Rating: 3 out of 5    


Reviewed by Latika Payak

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Vishwaroopam movie review: Stylish and gripping entertainer!

Kamal Haasan’s controversial movie Vishwaroopam – releasing in Hindi as Vishwaroop – does not hurt the sentiments of anyone

Film: Vishwaroopam / Vishwaroop; Actors: Kamal Haasan, Pooja Kumar, Rahul Bose, Andrea Jeremiah, Shekhar Kapur and Jaideep Ahlawat; Director: Kamal Haasan

First things first. Kamal Haasan’s enormously controversial film doesn’t hurt Muslim sentiments. In fact, it doesn’t hurt the sentiments of anybody except those party-poopers who think having a ball at the movies went out of style with Sholay and Chachi 420. Leave aside its sobering take on global warfare, Vishwaroop, the Hindi version of the Tamil / Telugu Vishwaroopam, is one helluva entertainer.
If you’ve forgotten what edge-of-the-seat entertainment meant, it is time to rediscover it. Stylish and substantial, the narrative weaves and winds its way into coherent and compulsive threads that bring together the theme of international espionage with the more sensitive issues of the Islamic and the personal identity of a man, whose heroic stature grows out of a sense of commitment to the country and to world peace.
Personal interests, we are told, are easy to put aside if you can define heroism from a context far greater than your own good. The deeper thrusts of Haasan and Atul Tiwari’s devious screenplay leap out of this compact epic drama, which takes off into the Taliban terror outfit in Afghanistan and hence to the New York suburbia where domestic normalcy is replaced by a violence – a kind of ceaselessly renewable violence that has gripped working-class lives ever since the 26/11 attack on the US. It made it clear that international terrorism is here to stay. Deal with it.
Just about the only desirable thing that emerges from the horrific folds of global militancy are some great adventure sagas. And Vishwaroop is as gripping as it gets. The narrative moves steadily and sharply to an inevitable nemesis. Maverick director Haasan (and this is his best directorial attempt since the grossly underrated Hey Ram in 2000) is in no hurry to tell his tale. Not that he wastes time. The mood for adventure is built quickly, and the payoff is satisfying.
With some remarkably austere and sharp editing by Mahesh Narayan and camerawork by Sanu John Verghese that captures scenes of violence with as much rugged candour as the sharply-drawn scenes from the hero’s personal life, Haasan’s tale of terror during the times of love, witticism, philosophising and, yes, dancing comes alive in a huge adrenaline rush of adventure, action, drama and other related artistic tools, which never come in the way of the actor-director’s primary concern.
Haasan means business. He is here to narrate an edge-of-the-seat story of international terrorism. The rigorous research that has gone into the plot never weighs down on the narration. Whether infiltrating the Al-Qaeda (scarily real in the detailing and eerily cinematic in its visual sweep) or focussing on the hijinks of our hero, the creative crossovers in the narrative are achieved with the fluency of chapters in a deftly-written novel.
And yet Haasan avoids getting overly breathless in his narration. Shall we just say Vishwaroop moves at the pace that it is meant to? Neither measured, nor hurried, the director negotiates the socio-political and cultural spaces in the plot with an elegant erudition. Gone is the heavily cerebral over-studied atmosphere of his earlier directorial epic Dasavathaaram. Also gone is the over-indulgent footage-occupancy of this actor’s recent screen outings.
Yes, Haasan dominates the show with three different avatars whose destinies intertwine in ways that one can’t reveal without giving plot away. But that’s the way the plot unfolds. That is the way it is meant to be. The narrative in this case just can’t get enough of Haasan. Who but this actor can pull off heart-in-the-mouth never-seen stunts (action director Lee Whittaker and his associates have done a remarkable job) in the same range of vision as an elegantly performed Kathak number?
Pooja Kumar as Kamal Haasan’s beloved is charming. She has a pleasant screen presence and yes, she isn’t in awe of her awesome co-star. However, if anyone leaves a lasting impression after Haasan, it is Rahul Bose, who as an Al-Qaeda chap swathes his persona in menace and terror without getting into the gritting-teeth mould. Bose had last played a villain in Govind Nihalani’s Thakshak in 1999. It is no coincidence that he returns to the colour black in a film that in many ways owes allegiance to the dark sinister angry anti-establishment tales of Nihalani. But Haasan adds a dash of warmth and humour to the intrinsically ominous saga. He is in terror-land with his tongue firmly in cheek.
The sharply-drawn characters, the terrifying insight into the psyche of terrorism and the sumptuous mounting and packaging add up to a movie that is quite easily one of the finest adventure sagas in recent times. The action sequences are, at last, on a par with Hollywood.
Insult to any community? Hah! It would be an insult to the filmmaking community to miss Vishwaroop. Miss this big screen adventure your own risk.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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MATRU KI BIJLEE KA MANDOLA movie review: Vishal Bhardwaj disappoints with this predictable tale

Pankaj Kapur, Anushka Sharma, Imran Khan and a bottle of Gulabo swirl impeccably to the steps choreographed by Vishal Bhardwaj. Yet, they fail to take your breath away…

Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola is a movie set in the rustic locales of Mandola (a village in Haryana). And same is a part of Haripool aka Harry Mandola’s (Pankaj Kapur) name, who turns into Hariya after four pegs of Gulabo – a (local) brand of alcohol. Gulabo – either in the form of a bottle or a cow – keeps appearing in the movie every 15 minutes. But try to keep your mind off this (obvious) detail or the movie will become as predictable as a Monday morning.
The movie roughly revolves around the fertile land owned by the dwellers of Mandola that Madam Politician (Shabana Azmi) and Mr Mandola are eyeing for their personal gain. So how does Matru (Imran Khan) figure into all this, you may ask. Matru is Mandola’s rugged man Friday, who tries his best to save the villagers from Mandola’s evil intentions.
Anushka Sharma aka Bijlee plays the role of Mandola’s daughter and is her usual chirpy self who does a great job of prancing around with an ear-to-ear grin pasted on her lovely face.
Then there’s Baadal (Arya Babbar), who is Madam Politician’s son – a dumb, rich kid whose sole purpose in life is to get married to Bijlee so that he and his Mommy can enjoy Mandola’s wealth thereafter.
The movie moves at an easy pace as all the characters get sketched at leisure. Vishal Bhardwaj has taken enough care to incorporate ample songs that allow tiny loo breaks throughout the movie. So, don’t fret if you missed out on popcorn during the interval; you always stand a chance to buy it during one of the numbers where nothing actually gets added to the storyline.
While the pace or twists are nothing to boast of, we appreciate the way Bhardwaj has kept the rustic flavour intact all through the movie. And adding to it all is Pankaj Kapur’s flawless performance that makes us fall in love with him right from the opening scene.
Imran has done a good job at looking rugged, though he did slip into his usual guy-next-door persona a couple of times. But on the whole, commendable.
So if you have an option of watching the movie at a theatre or waiting for it to premiere on television, we suggest you choose the second. Trust us, you won’t be missing out on anything.

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TABLE NO. 21 movie review: Paresh Rawal and Rajeev Khandelval at their best in this edge of the seat thriller

The suspense thriller based on a reality game show sails through on the back of a strong script and powerful performances by its lead actors

Table no. 21 is the story of Vivaan (Rajeev Khandelwal) and Siya (Tena Desae), a married couple in their 30s, who win a honeymoon package for their wedding anniversary to Fiji Islands. While in Fiji, as they savour one freebie after another, a seemingly innocent chance to participate in a game show is offered to them by a menacing looking Mr Khan (Paresh Rawal with a sinister hairdo). The prize money is Rs 21 crores, and of course there is a catch. The couple has to sign a bond , a mortal agreement that if they fail to answer the eight questions and perform the eight tasks assigned, the consequences will be deadly. The game soon takes an intimidating tone as the tasks get more personal and deadly, and the couple’s relationship strain under the secrets they reveal to each other.
The movie’s concept is rather interesting, and the character that Rajeev Khandelwal plays is ironically at the receiving end of a Sach Ka Samna type of a game show, where each lie will cost him dearly. Packaged sleekly and with good values, there are a few loose ends visible in what is mostly a decent effort to bring a ‘different’ kind of movie to the audiences. Both Paresh Rawal and Rajeev Khandelwal have given strong performances in a movie where the script truly is the star. Tena Desae has done a good job too, and is more than just a pretty face in the film. She is convincing as a wife and a woman who takes risks and has a few secrets of her own to hide.
The strongest point of the film though is the suspense. In the last 20 minutes, the movie goes on a completely different track where the shades of all the characters – black and white, good and evil, turn grey and come on an equal footing. The movie often goes into the flashback mode, the reason for which revealed in the finale. The story does drag a bit, but the day is saved with an out of the blue shocker of a suspense. Overall a good package, we are left with a feeling that a tremendous scope for some class action sequences is wasted in the semi-lame tasks that the duo is asked to perform in the film. A definite one-time watch, Table No. 21 is a risqué and sexy film that manages to be different and almost worth the ticket price. It delivers a serious message as a parting goodbye!
Rating: 2.5/5

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LUV SHUV TEY CHICKEN KHURANA movie review

Director Sameer Sharma’s directorial debut is a gourmet caper and leaves a wonderful aftertaste of love, belonging and real Punjabi humour

It’s not just the South Indians who have been featured. Over the years, Punjabis have been caricaturised in many Bollywood films. Anurag Kashyap’s latest food-based film manages to undo the damage. The credit of this goes to debut director Sameer Sharma who along with his co-writer Sumit Batheja has cooked up a scrumptious entertainer – Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana. Kunal Kapoor and Huma Qureshi play the leading pair and their chemistry is simply amazing.
The trailer makes it very clear to the audience what to expect from this culinary romp. Omi Khurana (Kunal Kapoor) is neck deep in trouble as he owes 50,000 pounds to his loony gangster brother who is baying for his blood. The only way he can repay his debt is by going back to his village in Punjab and somehow arranging for the money. Chicken Khurana is a priceless secret recipe that was once very popular, but as Omi’s darji / grandpa (Vinod Nagpal) has lost his memory due to old age, nobody else knows how to whip up the chicken delicacy in the same way.
When Omi was a young lad, he stole his darji’s money, left a ‘sorry’ note for his love Harman (Huma Qureshi) and went to London. His comeback to the Khurana household creates an awkward situation for his uncle (Rajendra Sethi), but his aunt and cousin brother Jeet (Rahul Bagga) still love him. Omi pretends that he is a successful lawyer in London and that he is back just to catch up with his family after ten long years. The innocent family buys into his con and, being large hearted Punjabis, welcomes Omi back, unaware of his ulterior motives.
Harman is unofficially engaged to Omi’s cousin Jeet, but deep down inside still loves Omi. Though she knows that Omi is a very selfish man, she isn’t able to get over the fact that he was her first love. Initially she doesn’t show any interest in her one-time boyfriend, but soon succumbs to his dimpled charms and helps him in his search for the secret recipe. One of the most romantic moments they share is when they are celebrating the Lohri festival – Harman calls Omi ‘kanjar’ (lowlife) and in return he calls her ‘kameeni’ (mean), all while they discretely smile at each other.
This sets the tone for the rest of the film and somewhere deep down you know how it will play out. That is where the genius of the writers kicks in – LSTCK is not about Omi finding the secret recipe, but about how he finds love and and what he finally does with it. Smartly written and brilliantly performed by most of the cast (other than leading man Kunal), this film owes a lot of its entertainment value to its supporting cast. Rajesh Sharma as the loony, blunt Titu mama steals the thunder in every scene that features him. Sharma is fast becoming a permanent feature in Kashyap’s productions and it is good to see him sink his teeth into well-written roles. Luv Shuv… has a bunch of very quirky characters. A standout is Dolly Ahluwalia as Buaji, the revered Godwoman.
Music by Amit Trivedi and lyrics by Shellee adds dollops of authenticity to this Punjab-based caper. The way rustic Punjab has been shot is highly commendable and lends visual freshness to the film. Deftly edited, LSTCK has a very unique pace. While the first half leisurely establishes its characters and their motivations, the second half is a laugh-a-minute riot where you can’t stop clapping or guffawing.
Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana is a scrumptious ride through rural Punjab, with a look at some real people, a taste of Punjabi hospitality and an aftertaste of love, belonging and genuine Punjabi humour! Don’t be surprised if you are tempted to rush to the nearest dhaba to indulge in some chicken immediately after watching this feast of a film!
Rating: 4/5

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Midnight’s Children movie review: A stunning achievement!

Cineswami feels Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children is a film South Asians will love although its initial reviews in the West were not positive

To even attempt filming a book that was widely considered impossible to film is praiseworthy in itself. And to tackle a much-loved book that carries the burden of so much acclaim, not to mention winning the Booker and Booker of Bookers is worth some kudos. But for Deepa Mehta to have pulled off the feat of translating Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children to celluloid and managing to make it for the most part engaging cinema is deserving of the highest praise.
The film is essentially the story of Saleem Sinai, a boy born on the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, that precise, joyous moment when India gained independence from the colonial yoke. Saleem is actually not born into the wealthy Sinai family. He is in fact the bastard child of an eccentric Englishman, William Methwold and Vanita, the wife of the itinerant accordionist Wee Willie Winkie. However, hospital nurse Mary Pereira, in a fit of revolutionary fervour decides to give a rich baby a poor life and vice versa. So she switches Vanita’s baby, born at the exact same time as Saleem with that of Mrs Sinai. Thus the real Sinai heir is brought up as Shiva, a glowering child, simmering with rage at his poverty, reduced to barking in time with his accordionist father’s off-key rendition of ‘How much is that doggie in the window’. Meanwhile, a repentant Mary quits her job at the hospital and joins the Sinai household as Saleem’s ayah. As Saleem grows, he discovers that he can telepathically communicate with hundreds of children who have been born in the hour after midnight on August 15 and he alone has the power to unite them. Each of these children has a special power and is meant for a great calling. Amongst these is Parvati, who has magical powers. The destinies of Saleem, Shiva and Parvati are inextricably linked in the tumultuous years following India’s independence, as events like wars with Pakistan, the formation of Bangladesh and the Emergency unfold.
Rushdie’s novel is dense, layered, complex and magic realist and the author has done a commendable job of condensing it into a screenplay, his debut in the format. It helps that significant passages are told in voice-over, in Rushdie’s own distinctive voice. Inevitably, transposing a 446-page book into a 146-minute movie means some sacrifices and therefore some characters and events have had to be excised, but the film is none the poorer for it.
Mehta’s career has lurched from the sublime (1947: Earth) to the ridiculous (Bollywood Hollywood) and though Water earned her an Oscar nomination and was stunning to look at, it was badly let down by the casting of the ever-wooden John Abraham in a central role. In Midnight’s Children, Mehta gets the casting mostly right. Debutant Satya Bhabha passes muster in the central role of Saleem, but it is Siddharth who has the most commanding screen presence as Saleem’s nemesis Shiva. After failing abjectly in her last international film The Other End Of The Line, Shriya Saran is luminous as Parvati. Other standouts include the ever-reliable Shahana Goswami as Saleem’s mother Amina, Seema Biswas as Mary, and Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Picture Singh, a gnarled snake charmer. And Ronit Roy reprises his glowering father from Udaan. Shabana Azmi plays herself, a shrew, and the stiff Rahul Bose is perfectly cast as a stiff army man. But there are missteps too. Soha Ali Khan is woefully miscast as Saleem’s sister Jamila. Her character is based on the nightingale of Pakistan, Noor Jehan, and casting Soha is as insulting as Veena Malik playing Lata Mangeshkar in a biopic. Try as she might, Soha looks like her brother Saif Ali Khan in drag, during his younger, more feminine looking days. Clearly none of the Sharmila Tagore acting genes has been transferred to her.
But these are minor quibbles in a film, a grand spectacle that takes in the sweep of sub-continental history in a flourish thanks to Mehta’s confident direction, Giles Nuttgens’s lavish cinematography and Nitin Sawhney’s outstanding score. It’s all the more remarkable for the fact that, thanks to her experience with fundamentalists during Water, Mehta chose to film in Sri Lanka and has managed to recreate India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the island country with nary a seam showing.
However, many overseas critics have been left cold by Mehta’s vivid film and reviews have not been great. They can be forgiven as only audiences with beating South Asian hearts for whom our history is embedded in our DNA will truly be immersed in the film, and immersive it is, without a trace of ennui. It is sad that if Indian audiences do get to see the film, it will be a censored version as, like the book, the movie is heavily critical of the Emergency and Indira Gandhi’s role in it. And, since we live in the world’s largest democracy, freedom of expression is not allowed. Pity, because the film is an allegory for India’s progress or lack thereof in the 40-odd years after independence, as exemplified by the titular midnight’s children, all of whom are supposed to attain greatness, but don’t.

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Student Of The Year - Movie Review

As you enter the theatre to watch Karan Johar’s larger-than-life production Student Of The Year, starring Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra, there is a set of predictable elements your filmy mind automatically takes for granted. It’s a given that a KJo movie has to be promisingly ostentatious, supremely surreal and unbelievably unrealistic. You know that there will be a dream world crafted to perfection, there will be snow-clad mountains, pretty actors serenading in the best designer outfits, extravagant weddings and over-the-top emotional hoo-ha. But then you still anticipate a generous dose of drama and oodles of entertainment from the stylish director’s glossy creations.
You can’t deny the fact that Karan’s big on production value flicks hold the capacity to transport you into the world we all would like to be a part of. KJo surely knows how to sell frivolous fluff and fantasies. Sadly, the same can’t be said about his latest release Student Of The Year – starring Varun Dhawan, Siddharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt. The film has oodles of fluff but hardly any substance to hold your attention.

SOTY revolves around three youngsters: Rohan (Varun Dhawan), Abhimanyu (Siddharth Malhotra) and Shanaya (Alia Bhatt). Rohan is the son of India’s leading business tycoon (Ram Kapoor) who is confused about his on-and-off relationship with his girlfriend Shanaya. Abhimanyu comes from a middle class family and wants to win the world with his fierce competitiveness. The trio studies at St Teresa, one of India’s premier academic institutions (that clearly emphasises more on the physical development of its students and doesn’t care much about their IQ levels). So you see boys flexing their muscles and showcasing their washboard abs in almost every frame while girls pay more attention on their designer clothes and discuss the wonders of push-up bra!) It’s the place where the rich brats come to study in their Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and even the poorest of the poor ride swanky sports bike. Almost every student of St Teresa nurtures one dream, and that is to win the prestigious ‘Student of the year’ trophy that will bring fame and fortune along with it.
Interestingly, and quite typically, the film’s trio is amongst the biggest competitors in the race to bag the most coveted title. But as the competition heats up Abhimanyu realises that his friend Rohan is taking his long-time girlfriend Shanaya (the modern day Pooh, played irritatingly by Kareena Kapoor in Kjo’s 2001 directorial venture Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham) for granted. Abhimanyu decides to help Shanaya to get Rohan’s bachpan ka pyar, but in the process he slowly develops a crush on her. Friends quickly turn formidable foes and now there are two things at the stake – the student of the year trophy and Shanaya’s love. Who will win the trophy and who will walk away with the girl? Or can one of the two deserving hunks win both? To get the answer to that one, you have to watch the film.
It’s a predictable plot that hardly offers anything out of the box and director Karan Johar, in his attempt to spice up the tale, adds too many frills and goes all out to glamorise the movie. So you have private jets all set to take you on a trip to Thailand at the drop of a hat. You have a lavish wedding in the exotic locale and an American school that boasts of amenities that can easily put our Olympic Villas to shame. Then there’s the prom, pompousness and irksome pretentions.

Johar’s leading men and the leading lady have been employed for enough of unnecessary, so-called aesthetically well put up, skin show, and the director hesitates in showing some restrain. You can’t help giggle when you see the boys emerging out of the sea in their teeny-weeny boxers with camera hovering over their torso – almost greedily – capturing every detail of their bod. It’s one thing to see John Abraham pulling his trunks beyond permissible limit to create a frenzy, but quite another to see Varun Dhawan flashing his butt crack as he comes out of the pool after a refreshing swimming section. Karan has definitely failed to ask the most critical question here – why?

As for the cast of the film, both Siddharth and Varun have done a good job. While Siddharth has a definite camera presence and exudes confidence, Varun and Alia have played their part decently. Rishi Kapoor’s gay character is intermittently funny. Ram Kapoor and Ronit Roy are completely wasted. Vishal-Shekhar’s music is hummable, refreshing and foot tapping. Writer Rensil Dsilva’s script is muddled and the screenplay is predictable. We wish director KJo had managed to infuse some novelty into his story and gone beyond Louis Vuitton, Ferraris, I-pads and his usual Dostana connotations.

Rating: 2/5

Watch the trailer of STUDENT OF THE YEAR!

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Aiyyaa Bollywood Movie Review

Her favourite book is Alice in Wonderland. How fitting, as our quirkily endearing character Meenakshi (Rani Mukerji) flits between her dreams and reality with such dexterity, she's often confused herself. In her own words, "kitni zaalim duniya hai - na reality mein jeene deti hai, na sapnon mein jaane deti hai!" Meenakshi is part of the Deshpande family, whose home is right beside the locality dustbin. Of course, this disturbing fact is more symbolic than one notices at first glance. For, in a scene, we are told that in her dream world, the world is a pristine place without any garbage. Such is the sweet, eccentric nature of the film's comedy.
And the poetry is evident in the scene where she steps into the aesthetics of the art school where she works, and then we see her step into the garbage-laden street.
Meenakshi is against rushing into marriage and is tired of the "chai-pohe" routine the family puts her through. It's all OK till she sets her eyes on an art student (Prithviraj) in the college. Coincidentally, she also meets a match that makes for perfect 'husband material'.

Special: All about Aiyyaa
 
So what should she do? Follow her heart (and nose) and pursue the strapping young man who won't even look at her, or marry the rotund man with the stable job who grows roses in his garden? This identifiable issue is something several women face.
We then explore this dilemma further in the second half of the film. While the film's first half is breezy and great fun, the second half could have been shorter. But that's nit-picking in a film that's largely fabulous. You are again reminded of Alice in Wonderland because the book, beneath the light-hearted adventure, also delves into dark territory.
Director Sachin Kundalkar weaves a sweet, delicate love story that's as adorable as it is audacious. The national-award winning director, who has made films in Marathi, makes a wonderful debut in Hindi films and one is tempted to sample his films in Marathi as well.
Technically, the film is superb! The cinematography captures the dream-like texture of the film expertly, and dexterous editing and sound design are equally masterful. Songs (Amit Trivedi and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya) are an absolute treat! The magical background score enhances the film's fable-like quality.
A lot has been said about heroines finally getting their due in terms of meaty roles. That is especially true for Aiyyaa, as you finally have the heroine's character having a blast, pursuing her love interest and lustily sniffing for his scent.
It's a very special character crafted with love and indulgence. And Rani Mukerji is tremendously good in the film. Honestly, you can't take your eyes off her! When she's day-dreaming, dancing (like you wouldn't believe), or pursuing her man - you cannot help but be involved and cheer her on!
Prithviraj Sukumaran as the brooding and ruggedly handsome Surya is apt for the role and one hopes to see more of him in Hindi films.
Anita Date who plays her colleague and (a very interestingly crafted character that's a mix of being madcap and street-smart) is wonderful. The rest of the supporting cast is fantastic as well.
The film pushes the envelope ever so gently. This quirkily entertaining film is recommended for those who often find themselves delightfully blurring between dreams and reality, and especially for those who want to get a taste of it.
Enjoy this totally wakda film!
Rating: 3.5 stars

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English Vinglish Review

 

Sridevi’s comeback film English Vinglish has garnered rave reviews, including the one written by BollywoodLife’s own critic. So we really don’t need to give you more reasons for watching the movie. But then we thought again – director Gauri Shinde’s directorial debut is so cute that we needed to share more about it with you than what has been mentioned in our critique.So here are five reasons why you should watch English Vinglish, starring Sridevi, Mehdi Nebbou, Adil Hussain and Priya Anand, among others. This one’s for Sridevi fans! But we’re sure the actor’s going to make a lot of new ones after watching the film.

1. Sridevi’s performance – Do great actors actually make a ‘comeback’? No! Acting is in their genes and they just need to switch the button on and there they are, emoting as effortlessly as ever. So true for Sridevi, too!

2. Global reach – English Vinglish joins Bollywood / Indian films made on an international scale that are truly global, thanks to an international cast, a global story and shorter screening time.

3. Mehdi Nebbou – He’s not the only member of the film’s international star cast, but he is totally the icing on the English Vinglish cake…or the cherry, you decide. We wish there was more screen time given to this hot French-Arabic actor – maybe a kiss with Sri thrown in, or maybe a Shahrukh Khan-style romantic number? Ooooh!

4. Self-help movie – It’s not that kind of a film, but like we said before, watching Sridevi’s character Shashi Godbole overcome her weaknesses and emerge a winner will inspire you to do the same with your life. So there’s entertainment and inspiration in this one.

5. Family film – It’s a clean, fun, emotional family film, with some emotional gyaan thrown in on how not to take feelings for granted. No item song, no kissing scene, no violence, no double-meaning jokes…. You could safely take munna, munni, ma, baba and biwi to watch it, all without cringing!
Now if these reasons are not enough for you to go watch English Vinglish, find your own…but you have to watch it to know, of course!

P.S.: If you’re an Amitabh Bachchan fan, there’s his cute cameo to look out for, too.

-Shweta Parande

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'The Amazing Spider-Man' poorly executed reboot

A desperate battle for survival. How else does one describe 'The Amazing Spider-Man', the reboot of a franchise that began hardly a decade back and which, despite its best intentions has only regressed the original story?

The familiar story of Spiderman's beginnings has undergone only cosmetic changes. His father is shown to have been working for Oscorp before he disappeared. His girlfriend is Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) who is his first love in the comic books and not Mary Jane and her father is a cop.


Spider man inadvertently creates the monster he later fights. And Peter Parker/Spiderman (Andrew Garfield) lets both his girlfriend and her father know his secret identity.

It is hence fun finding out why this film was made. Here are six probable reasons:

1) Peter Parker in the original franchisee got married and it was time to send him back to school. 2) If comic books can reboot from a 'Spider man' to 'The Amazing Spider-Man', why can't a film. 3) To help the Titanic of a sinking studio, stay afloat. 4) If kids can like 'Transformers', they will like anything that has special effects. 5) Girls hate lizards so every time the lizard guy comes up, girls will jump on the lap of their boyfriends who will create a word of mouth buzz. 6) The studio found a director, whose last name was had some connection with spiders - Webb.

At its core level, one can describe this film as the template of the original Spider man mixed with few scattered elements taken from various films e.g. introduction of the concerned father of the girlfriend like in 'Twilight' or have him make his own gadgets like 'Batman'.

There are too many problems with the film to narrate. Firstly, the story itself does not have any emotional pull or the engagement of the original Spider man. The characterizations are not handled properly and even Gwen ends up becoming just a pretty face without a mind or aspiration of her own.

Even the hesitant, love angle between Peter Parker and Gwen is not handled well. And many characters are left hanging without a conclusion, most notably that of Irrfan Khan. Despite being a brilliant actor, he hardly suited his blink-and-miss role where he fumbles with his ascent.

One department where 'The Amazing Spider-Man' does not fail is its special effects. Considering the state of commercial cinema emanating from Hollywood, one can safely assume that this would be reason enough for the film to make a billion dollars globally.

The film gets an early release in India. It is not hard to imagine why. Demographically India not only has the world's largest number of teens, but also the world's largest concentration of them, teens who have grown up loving the brainless 'Transformers' series.

The Indian angle with the presumably last minute introduction of Irrfan Khan is also meant to woo Indian audiences.

If reboot is what Hollywood was looking for, they could have done something much more interesting and fun.

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Cocktail : Movie Review

The heart has its reasons, the mind its methods. When the two are sought to be yoked together on Bollywood’s big romcom canvas, the result can be touch-and-go. One misstep either way could mean a hopeless nosedive either into mushy drivel or pretentious claptrap.

But no such worries here. For the most part, Cocktail, directed by Homi Adajania and scripted by Imtiaz Ali (a sort of high priest of the genre), steers clear of the pitfalls and delivers an eminently watchable love story that breaks the mould.

A gullible Delhi girl, Meera (Diana Penty), steeped in desi values, is trapped in a hoax marriage and gypped of her savings by an artful dodger, Karan (Randeep Hooda).
Left high and dry in London, the dainty damsel in distress is forced to shack up with a free-spirited girl, Veronica (Deepika Padukone), who is diametrically her opposite, temperamentally and sartorially.

Sugar and spice, fire and ice, Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper… the ladies are as far apart as two poles can possibly be. Yet they become best friends.

Veronica’s pad is plastered with in-your-face posters that make no bones about what she really wants out of life: come in, we’re open; beer will change the world; please adjust your dress before you leave. Meera fits in without a fuss but sticks to her old-world ways.

The cocktail is complete when the essential alcoholic spirit is added to the heady mix in the form of an incorrigible skirt-chaser, Gautam (Saif Ali Khan), who ambles into the living space occupied by the two girls.

Sure enough, an explosion of love and lust happens, bringing in their wake a host of tricky situations. The boy doesn’t believe in love at first sight but his mom (Dimple Kapadia) is bent upon finding him a good Indian bride.

Veronica, the poor little rich girl with a troubled past, loves Gautam, but the latter falls for the staid Meera, just the kind of woman he can take home to mom. Troubles erupt as innocuous fun gives way to intense feelings.

With the friends are in danger of turning into frenemies, the heart- and-mind equations come to the fore and the dialogues bubble with effortless energy and a healthy abhorrence for the clichés of Hindi cinema.

"I have never seen a man like Gautam," Veronica tells Meera when she realizes she is about to lose him, "and trust me I’ve seen many."

Gautam playfully berates Meera for going into "Shakuntala mode", while, in another sequence, Veronica asks her gal pal: "Aur thoda melodrama ka scope hain?"Adajania, on his part, harmonizes melodrama and mirth to near-perfection.

The first half of the film is reserved for lively sweet nothings and comedic moments triggered by the unannounced arrival of the boy’s mother from Lajpat Nagar; the second half gets down to unfolding the larger business of the heartbreaks, hard knocks and eventual emotional salvation that follows.

Riverdale High was peopled by 17-year-olds. In Cocktail, the girls are in their 20s, the guy is thirty-something. While it is aimed essentially at the youth segment, it is filled with enough wry wit to be worth a watch for those that might have left their flighty days behind.

As you would have guessed by now, there isn’t the slightest semblance of novelty in this ménage a trois – this is exactly how it has been ever since the advent of the Archie comics in the early 1940s – but Adajania manages to impart a veneer of freshness to the sparkling broth.

He serves up the familiar ingredients of a romantic comedy. The incurable flirt, the perky butterfly who does not give a damn and the timorous waif whip up quite a cocktail and the director plays bartender with skill and style.

Seven years is a long time in a filmmaking career, but Adajania shows no signs of rustiness as he makes the transition from the dark, quirky world of 2005’s Being Cyrus to the flashy, frothy, up and about universe of Cocktail.

He marshals the wafer-thin narrative resources just as successfully as he had done in his infinitely more complex and unconventional debut film, tweaking his style only for the sake of the levity that is required to make this one hit the right notes.

Saif Ali Khan trades the firearms of Agent Vinod for the foibles of a brash lover boy who believes that no relationship is for keeps until the heart decides otherwise. The role fits him like a glove and he makes the most of the opportunity.

As the two girls in the rigmarole, Deepika Padukone (first-rate) and debutante Diana Penty (pretty good), make a fair fist of the job of getting an array of emotions across during breaks from cavorting through the streets of London and having a good time on the beaches of Cape Town.

Cocktail has just the right mix of fizz and flavour to allow the occasional and inevitable crinkles of triteness to flow well below the surface. It is definitely worth a visit to the multiplex. 

-Extracted from NDTV

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Thattathin Marayathu - A Vineeth Srinivasan Movie

Thattathin Marayathu - A Romantic fable set in the mystical town of Thalassery, that created a new sensation in the Malayalam Film Industry.
Writer-director Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Thattathin Marayathu talks about an innocent love story that leaves you with a smile in the end. Not many films can boast of such a claim these days and this refreshing tale of romance turns out to be thoroughly engaging.
The story is happening in a sleepy village in Thalassery where Vinod (Nivin Pauly), an average student from a modest Hindu household falls in love with a beautiful girl named Aisha (Isha Talwar), hailing from a wealthy and influential Muslim family.

Their first real ‘meeting’ ended up literally in an accident and he was almost instantly smitten by her ample charm. Vinod and his friends try every possible way to grab her attention and to their surprise, she reciprocates the feeling, pretty easily.
Now what happens next is what the story is all about and it is told mostly with clichéd situations, melodramatic moments and smart lines but portrayed in quite a delicious way. In fact that stylish narration is the strength of the film as well. With a cute, simple storyline, which is meant to be enjoyed like of whiff of pure fresh air, the film just keeps you engaged all along, quite effectively.
Of course this one is far from perfect and at times, the events mentioned tend to defy logic as well. And the scenes towards the beginning of the second half, when the character Hamza (Bhagath Manuel) makes his entry, is a bit out of sync. But with brilliant visuals from Jomon T John, excellent music by Shaan Rahman, with a well-written script and good presentation, Vineeth takes the viewers on a romantic trail.
With a new look that makes him really handsome and younger, Nivin Pauly performs with confidence and ease. There are moments when he fumbles but this is one of the most impressive performances by a young actor during recent times, when almost the entire focus is on him.
Debutante Isha Talwar looks beautiful, but she is mainly shown through her beau’s eyes. Watch out for a brilliant show by Aju Varghese as the hero’s confidant. The rest of the cast has also come up with a nice show.
A feel good romantic film hasn’t been one of the favourite genres in Malayalam for pretty long. No surprises if Thattathin Marayathu makes you feel romantic, with its cuteness and innate honesty. Don’t miss this one!

Staring: Nivin Pauly, Isha Talwar, Aju Varghese, Manoj k Jayan, Bhagath Manuel, Ahmed Sidhique, Manikuttan, Aparna Nair, Ramu, Deepak, Sreeram, Sunny Wayne, Subheesh Sudhi, Nandan

Directed/Witten/Screenplay: Vineeth Srinivasan

Produced by: Lumiere Film Company

Audio Launch Photos: Click Here

Extracted from Sify.com

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Kahaani : A must watch movie

Vidya Baghchi's (Balan) husband Arnab has gone missing and she arrives in Kolkata, seven months pregnant and desperate to find him. The cops at the Kalighat police station are thrown and initially dismiss Vidya's case as one of a husband having fled after knocking up his wife. Vidya finds a friend in rookie officer Rana (Parambrata Chattopadhyay), who helps her piece together a trail that she hopes will lead to Arnab. But the hunt turns deadly when Vidya and Rana discover clues that hold answers to other unsolved mysteries, that are fiercely being kept under wraps.

As the packaged water-guzzling, bellied protagonist, Vidya turns in another fine performance, segueing from steely determination to quiet desperation with ease. And while several supporting characters comfortably hold their own even when sharing presence with Balan (especially Saswata Chatterjee, who plays Bob Biswas), the one that deserves most mention is the city of Kolkata that plays Vidya's friend, foe and silent spectator while it readies to ring in Durga Puja celebrations. 


But there are a few grouses. One wishes that the movie had subtitles, as there's plenty of Bengali in 'Kahaani' that throws the non-speaking viewer off. This reviewer would have totally missed Tagore's song 'Eka', had she not had some help from another viewer who was Bong. There's an unnecessary love angle that turns Chattopadhyay's character into Balan's simpering sidekick. Also the movie's climatic 'aha!' moment feels like the last chapter of a Nancy Drew novel - where the pieces all magically fall in place, motives are suddenly obvious and the characters are all slapping each others' backs for a job well done instead of looking sheepish about not having figured it out earlier.

What to do?
There's certainly a story, but that alone isn't why you're going to enjoy 'Kahaani'. Go watch it for Vidya, Kolkata and thrills that won't have you gripping the handles, but will keep you glued to the seat anyway.

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Review: The Dirty Picture is all about Balan and bravado

Sukanya Verma feels The Dirty Picture just draws an outline of Silk's character instead of painting a layered portrait but Vidya Balan makes it awe-inspiring with her performance.

The Dirty Picture was always going to be a tricky proposition.

As the unofficial biopic of a famously erotic personality from showbiz, it has to acknowledge the vastly sexual nature of its subject. At the same time, exploiting this very attribute to explicitly titillate could mar its credibility. And that's where director Milan Luthria pulls off a masterstroke. He picks one of the most exciting, exquisite and exceptional actresses from the present to portray one of the most raunchy, rebellious, raciest sex symbols of the past.

There's remarkable relish and abandon in the manner Vidya Balan essays Silk, inspired by Southern siren Silk Smitha and her part-flamboyant, part-distressing journey from struggler to star to shadow.

The world has never been kind to sex symbols. The very idea of objectifying one's self in an industry run by lust and power driven men invites disapproval. But The Dirty Picture, set in the garish, (mostly) absurd 1980s, neither cringes at her choices nor condemns her audacity. On the contrary, it celebrates cleavage-dominated, over-the-top flamboyance and treats Silk like an unsung star of the aforesaid era, who happened before her time but struggled to gain respectability for flaunting her sensuality and promiscuity in a way that didn't conform to social perception.

That she employs it at whim as a self-seeking device, however, is conveyed rather confusingly in the narrative. On one occasion, she whacks a salacious chap for suggesting the illicit but promptly becomes the 501th fling of a dissipated superstar (Naseeruddin Shah

In spite of the most ridiculous get-ups, Shah is most effective in conveying the smug, randy tone of his narcissistic old-timer. Even when, make that, especially when, playing to the gallery with lines like: 'Jawani to taste karne ke liye hoti hai, Waste karne ke liye nahi' or tucking his tummy, only a tad embarrassed, after a bunch of photographers appeal, 'Sir, pet thoda andar.'  

The other two men in Silk's life -- Tusshar Kapoor  and Emraan Hashmi  -- do not possess the insights of Shah and prove to be the dullest links of Rajat Arora's boisterous and cluttered script. If Tusshar's feeble presence cannot be manned up by a thick moustache, Emraan's progression in the story to accommodate a maudlin love song, leads to The Dirty Picture's most patchy, flimsy and prolonged third act. Silk's camaraderie with secondary characters -- Rajesh Sharma, as the supportive filmmaker and Anju Mahendru modeled around film journalist, Devyani Chaubal is much more fascinating.

And while Arora inundates the scenes with whistle-inducing dialogues typical to the bombastic decade, the screenplay lacks in purpose, subtext and detailed character development. The background behind Silk's strained relations with her mother or an out-of-context adolescent fan lusting after Silk are never truly established. Also grating is the moment when Silk launches a labored on-stage speech to lambast the double standards within the industry.

While on clamor, save for the superb usage of the rollicking Tamil ditty Nakka Mukka alongside Bappida's Ooh la la splendour, the background score goes about blaring senselessly without a cue.

As one appreciates Luthria's effort to authenticate the period by bringing in retro outfits, kitschy sets, vintage cameras, Maruti  800s and Premiere Padminis, minute slip-ups go unnoticed. Like how two minutes after crying sore about people who speak 'shoo shaa English,' Vidya, herself, talks about India  winning against West Indies  at the World Cup in a diction, which makes it difficult to visualise her as, like the makers compel us to believe, down market. 

The Dirty Picture, despite the comprehensive objectivity implied through its title, is not a full-fledged biopic. Instead of painting a layered portrait of Silk, it draws an outline of an unapologetic resident of a flesh-obsessed film industry responsible for her rise and ruin. But Vidya lends her so much transparency, aplomb and sauciness, the outcome is far more awe-inspiring than it deserves to be.

Whether she's cracking crude innuendos or bursting out of her tightly-fitted clothing to expose all those meticulously added calories, the actress, literally, puts her soul and body to embody Silk. In a world, where a majority of women obsess over a flat stomach above anything else, Vidya flaunts a protruding belly as though it didn't exist. Such commitment would impress anybody -- you, me. Tom Hanks ?

In terms of creativity, it's a middling effort. But where bravado is concerned, The Dirty Picture kicks ass by virtue of three very strong reasons: Vidya Balan. Vidya Balan. Vidya Balan.

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The Harry Potter

CAST: Alan Rickman, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Tom Felton, Helena Bonham Carter, Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint

THE sixth installment of the Harry Potter series The Half-Blood Prince is adapted from British novelist J.K. Rowling's penultimate novel. The eponymous schoolboy still in owlish spectacles as he hits 17 is back in another epic adventure. He and his cute juvenile leads are all grown up but still manage to mesmerise. 

As Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort) tightens his grip on both the Muggle and the wizarding worlds, Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) suspects Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) to be a new Death Eater recruit on a special mission for the Dark Lord. He also feels that perils may lie in Hogwarts. In the meantime, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) seems to have finally removed the shroud of secrecy from Harry (Voldemort's darkest weapon - the Horcrux) and about the dark path that lies ahead, and instead provides private lessons to get him prepared. Dumbledore also recruits his old friend and colleague Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) for this. In between there is romance brewing for Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson) and their classmates. But above all this the danger is imperative, to them and Hogwarts. The dark past of Tom Riddle (a.k.a. Voldemort) is finally revealed in an adventure-filled epic.  Harry and Hermione still try to focus on being teenagers, and audiences will enjoy the budding romances. All the actors have developed nicely, giving their most convincing performances to date. A lot of special effects, sound effects and eerie scenes play around the film. Look out for the scene in which Potter approaches his final confrontation with Voldemort, the wizardly battles resembling Lord of the Rings. For those who haven't read the book, nail-biting entertainment is guaranteed. The film is full of tricks and conceits that will delight Potter aficionados. Like the Narnia series, the Harry Potter movies are a cinematic wonder, target the right group and have been loved right from their beginning in 2001.

Bonus features include additional scenes, J.K. Rowling: A Year In The Life (a well structured documentary on Rowling), a sneak peek at the to-be-launched Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort and cast members in one minute talk drills.

— Verus Ferreira

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