Mass Meter - ** 1/2
Class Meter - *** 1/2
Honeymoon travels pvt ltd -
If Nikhil Advani with 23+ reels of raw stock failed in depicting love stories of 6 couple, Writer / Director - Reema Kagti does it with aplomb in her debut with only 12 reels !
Pure, fun & frolic comic caper with a treatment as fresh as mint ! Bold, unconventional , witty and yet talking volumes on marriage and relationship . Anurag Kashyap (dir of Black Friday) returns here to demonstrate his skills as a dialogue writer with some gems of dialogues on relationships .
Do not go for this movie with a mountain of expectations , i am sure married as well as courting couples will identify with the bitter-sweet memories of their relationship. Makes up for a cute Date Movie !!
The movie gets straight to the point, without wasting any moment / raw stock showing the 6 couples beginning their journey to Goa . The director uses great imagination in using RJ (Radio Mirchi) as a sutradhar in giving us short insight / flashback in the lives of every couple, with a suitable song of the yesteryears to suit the emotions .
Music by Vishal-Shekar is fresh and energetic , camerawork is non distracting and simple .
The couples as you would have seen in the funny trailors of the movie are -
Shabana Azmi – Boman Irani: portraying couple brought together by a tryst of fate . Many delicate moments in this sweet story, wonderfully performed by Shabana & the ever surprising ever shining and endearing Boman.
Kay Kay Menon – Raima Sen: Bong couple , a conservative husband and a cute wife . The scene showing them in boxing ring is hilariously imaginative, hats off to the director in conjuring this ordinary tu tu main main scene as a boxing match between arch rivals . Kay Kay breaking into a jig, is ofcourse one of the highlights of the film.
Amisha Patel – Karan Khanna: A romantica at heart amisha in a chatterbox role and a hubby who is confused (dont want to reveal much here) !
Sandhya Mridul – Vikram Chatwal: Net marriage and how the story unfolds may be a surprise and shock to many . Sandhya's story has touching moments (the one talking about her past )
Abhay Deol – Minissha Lamba: Playing the perfect couple , perfect romance , perfect dance partners and both of them cootchie-cooing and exchanging sweet nothings even at the lunch table . Here I felt the director wanted to share with the audience that there is no such thing as `Perfect Couple' ( hence the track of superman/supergirl) . For a relationship to work , it takes superhuman efforts from both the parties . Alas, most in the audience could not fathom this sub story hence would find it far fetched .
Ranveer Shorey – Dia Mirza – (surprise guest appearance by an actor) : - The shortest story, I wish ranveer was given more footage . He is in great form as a gujju husband . The scene where he is brooding post his wife ditching him and kay kay trying to console him is howlarious.
Every one has a role and a meaning attached to ongoing of the story . The driver as a moral crusader / the guide and his hinglish / the cleaner with his love story .
Go 4 it with the one you love .
A feel good movie with the sunny side up :-)
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Movie Review - Eklavya
Mass meter - **
Class meter - ****
Eklavya - Vidhu Vinod Chopra's return to movie making after sabbatical of 7 years, itself is a good reason to watch this one . I just hope he does not wait for another 7 years to come out with his next :-)
Movie goers today are fed on fast paced , 3 hr+ saga's leading nowher , formula driven , inspired plagiarism or remake's...amidst this comes a movie with an original story idea (Credit - VV Chopra / Abhijit Joshi) !
This is writer / director Vidhu Vinod Chopra's take on the story of Eklavya and he beautifully contemporarizes and adapts the story to depict the dilemma faced by Eklavya. Embellished with fine production values and stellar performance by every member of the cast
Since this movie is not made in popular milieu format, it may not be lapped by the masses but lovers of good cinema will relish this movie. The movie unfolds at its own pace as a good drama or a good novel would.
The movie begins with only the Big B's baritone voice narrating the story of Eklavya to the kids as a refresher to the audience ....Eklavya the one who followed his `Dharm' !
Positives are plenty (not exactly in the order of importance and appearance in the movie)....
*Big B standing tall and giving a yet another royal touch to his role as a royal guard whose duty is to guard the residents of the palace and the secret hidden within the walls of the palace.
*Saif in yet another restrained performance and looking dapper as a real prince would.
*Boman Irani's versatality.
*Sharmila Tagore in a graceful and elegant cameo
*Vidya as the demure rajjo
*Sanju Baba in a role of a corrupt police officer and packing a punch in it.
*Jackie Shroff in a role which only Vidhu can offer him.
*Jimmy Sheirgill (another victim of spelling change, uff!!) as never before seen
*Location as an integral part of the narrative, Magnificient palace and astounding sets by Nitin Desai.
*Sweeping camerawork by maverick S. Natarajan Subramaniam (Parineeta, Black Friday) . Most of the scenes are crane shots, and gives a brialliant perspective to the happenings in and around the palace . Every frame has been meticulously crafted.
*Use of Gayatri Mantra Shlok and moody music as background score by Shantanu Moitra (Apparently the background score was done before the movie was shot, and actually played on the sets for the actors to get the feel of the scene !)
*Action Sequences by Tinnu Verma is edge of the seat stuff.
*The pigeon / ghungroo scene
*The assasination bid sequence amidst the camels and a passing train is awesome.
*Jimmy & Jackie's murder sequence is spellboundingly picturized.
*Detailing done by the director for every character .
*Majestic Costumes by R Rathore
*Narrative style of the director
I may sound as if I am complaining, but i am not - If only the movie was little pacy it could have hit the bulls eye at the box office marquee.
Class meter - ****
Eklavya - Vidhu Vinod Chopra's return to movie making after sabbatical of 7 years, itself is a good reason to watch this one . I just hope he does not wait for another 7 years to come out with his next :-)
Movie goers today are fed on fast paced , 3 hr+ saga's leading nowher , formula driven , inspired plagiarism or remake's...amidst this comes a movie with an original story idea (Credit - VV Chopra / Abhijit Joshi) !
This is writer / director Vidhu Vinod Chopra's take on the story of Eklavya and he beautifully contemporarizes and adapts the story to depict the dilemma faced by Eklavya. Embellished with fine production values and stellar performance by every member of the cast
Since this movie is not made in popular milieu format, it may not be lapped by the masses but lovers of good cinema will relish this movie. The movie unfolds at its own pace as a good drama or a good novel would.
The movie begins with only the Big B's baritone voice narrating the story of Eklavya to the kids as a refresher to the audience ....Eklavya the one who followed his `Dharm' !
Positives are plenty (not exactly in the order of importance and appearance in the movie)....
*Big B standing tall and giving a yet another royal touch to his role as a royal guard whose duty is to guard the residents of the palace and the secret hidden within the walls of the palace.
*Saif in yet another restrained performance and looking dapper as a real prince would.
*Boman Irani's versatality.
*Sharmila Tagore in a graceful and elegant cameo
*Vidya as the demure rajjo
*Sanju Baba in a role of a corrupt police officer and packing a punch in it.
*Jackie Shroff in a role which only Vidhu can offer him.
*Jimmy Sheirgill (another victim of spelling change, uff!!) as never before seen
*Location as an integral part of the narrative, Magnificient palace and astounding sets by Nitin Desai.
*Sweeping camerawork by maverick S. Natarajan Subramaniam (Parineeta, Black Friday) . Most of the scenes are crane shots, and gives a brialliant perspective to the happenings in and around the palace . Every frame has been meticulously crafted.
*Use of Gayatri Mantra Shlok and moody music as background score by Shantanu Moitra (Apparently the background score was done before the movie was shot, and actually played on the sets for the actors to get the feel of the scene !)
*Action Sequences by Tinnu Verma is edge of the seat stuff.
*The pigeon / ghungroo scene
*The assasination bid sequence amidst the camels and a passing train is awesome.
*Jimmy & Jackie's murder sequence is spellboundingly picturized.
*Detailing done by the director for every character .
*Majestic Costumes by R Rathore
*Narrative style of the director
I may sound as if I am complaining, but i am not - If only the movie was little pacy it could have hit the bulls eye at the box office marquee.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Review of Lage Raho Munnabhai - 4th Sept 06
I have often heard people say `Kadvi dava zyada kaam karti hai' (Bitter medicines,works better!), but then if Laughter is the best medicine , then aint it a Paradox ? :-)
Okay coming back to the review of last weeks release - Lage Raho,Munnabhai…The sequel trend continues in bollywood.
Munna and Circuit are back in action and are in full form ! I cannot think of an audience who would not enjoy this wholesome,clean,delightful dollop of entertainment !!
A movie which will cater to the mass as well as the class…A movie which breaks free from the stereotype item song driven and formula based regular bollywood fare….A movie which will not embarrass you in case you are watching it with your family !
First and foremost, kudos to the Producer / Director team in believing in their simple value based concept and treating us with the same . The director had made it clear in all his pre release interviews that, the sequel is not in continuation,except for the character duo Munna n Circuit, and places them in a new set up for a new adventure.
The format and the narrative style is déjà vu, but has a good dose of laughter hurt anyone ? Dialogues are true Mumbaiya ishtyle !!
I don’t wish to reveal much of the movie premise, except for the fact that this time round, Munnabhai has a tryst with History….!!!
Reasons to watch this movie (Not necessarily in the order :-))
Sanju / Arshad and their brilliant camaraderie.
Dialogues laced with ample of wit and lyrical simplicity.
Boman Irani's take on sardarji, and does perfect justice to his character Lucky Singh !
Vidya Balan - who is a treat to the eyes and looking as fresh as morning dew on the flowers.
The 6-7 endearing Senior citizen who are integral part of the script.
Dilip Prabhavalkar as Mahatma (…wish the make up was done little better !)
Brilliant cameo's by host of talented artists,including a surprise towards the climax.
An Original concept in times of rampant plagiarism.
The music and the imaginatively picturised songs which flows with the movie.
The track - Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram - song with utmost zest by Sonu Nigam
The director himself is the editor of the movie and shows no sign of indulgence by keeping the length of the movie short and sweet, its another thing that no one would have complained even if the movie just continued the momentum….!!
Compare this with some of the directors (hint - Karan Johars and the types!!), for whom even 23+reel is not enough to convey the story . Lage Raho…comes at a perfect time, presenting to our society the nearly forgotten ideologies of M.K.Gandhi, in a non sermonizing way, which will surely touch the right chords .
Cinema is a mass medium, hence this movie should surely work in influencing the audience in a positive way.
To each one his own - You may walk out of the theatre with a huge smile and a sense of emotional upliftment OR take the morals and values presented subtle-ly by the director
Do watch it with all your near and dear ones!
Okay coming back to the review of last weeks release - Lage Raho,Munnabhai…The sequel trend continues in bollywood.
Munna and Circuit are back in action and are in full form ! I cannot think of an audience who would not enjoy this wholesome,clean,delightful dollop of entertainment !!
A movie which will cater to the mass as well as the class…A movie which breaks free from the stereotype item song driven and formula based regular bollywood fare….A movie which will not embarrass you in case you are watching it with your family !
First and foremost, kudos to the Producer / Director team in believing in their simple value based concept and treating us with the same . The director had made it clear in all his pre release interviews that, the sequel is not in continuation,except for the character duo Munna n Circuit, and places them in a new set up for a new adventure.
The format and the narrative style is déjà vu, but has a good dose of laughter hurt anyone ? Dialogues are true Mumbaiya ishtyle !!
I don’t wish to reveal much of the movie premise, except for the fact that this time round, Munnabhai has a tryst with History….!!!
Reasons to watch this movie (Not necessarily in the order :-))
Sanju / Arshad and their brilliant camaraderie.
Dialogues laced with ample of wit and lyrical simplicity.
Boman Irani's take on sardarji, and does perfect justice to his character Lucky Singh !
Vidya Balan - who is a treat to the eyes and looking as fresh as morning dew on the flowers.
The 6-7 endearing Senior citizen who are integral part of the script.
Dilip Prabhavalkar as Mahatma (…wish the make up was done little better !)
Brilliant cameo's by host of talented artists,including a surprise towards the climax.
An Original concept in times of rampant plagiarism.
The music and the imaginatively picturised songs which flows with the movie.
The track - Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram - song with utmost zest by Sonu Nigam
The director himself is the editor of the movie and shows no sign of indulgence by keeping the length of the movie short and sweet, its another thing that no one would have complained even if the movie just continued the momentum….!!
Compare this with some of the directors (hint - Karan Johars and the types!!), for whom even 23+reel is not enough to convey the story . Lage Raho…comes at a perfect time, presenting to our society the nearly forgotten ideologies of M.K.Gandhi, in a non sermonizing way, which will surely touch the right chords .
Cinema is a mass medium, hence this movie should surely work in influencing the audience in a positive way.
To each one his own - You may walk out of the theatre with a huge smile and a sense of emotional upliftment OR take the morals and values presented subtle-ly by the director
Do watch it with all your near and dear ones!
Review on KANK - 14th Aug 06
Welcome to the opulent world of the Karan Johar's, where kuch kuch hota hai to both the couples in their married lives full of Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham and raw stock has been used so liberally kya pata, Kal Ho Na Ho !!
The 3rd directorial effort of Karan Johar, had huge expectations from every one who is a sucker for feel good cinema as well as audiences who love to cry while watching movies (includes yours truly!). This movie was no different, I cried....but for different reason... of a wasted 3 hrs + of my priced weekend.
The movie is replete with deja vu moments, dried leaves will remind you of Mohabatein, the scenes in and around New york remind you of Kal Ho Na Ho, the lavish family function or Disco Party songs as in every such movies......The appearance of Karan Johars Lucky Mascot Kajol in the songs, his friends doing thankless, ill defined cameo's.
Wish Karan had not based this movie in New York and had a strong story and taut screenplay.....
The movie opens with a football match, where charismatic king of limited expressions SRK is playing football. Wish they could have shot the football match in a better way. The other characters are soon introduced with no time wasted. Rani as the confused girl who is getting married to a good friend, Abhishek , Priety as wife of SRK and Amitabh as the philandering father of Abhishek. Amitabh has done a role which he has never done before, but alas a half baked one.....
How can one explain a character sleeping around and behaving obscenely pervert for his age and justifying the noble action, by mentioning that he had promised his wife that post her demise he would do everything he could not do while she was alive....Uff...talk about bereavement and enjoyment in the same vein !!!
For cinematic twist, SRK meets with a dramatic accident, curtailing his football career short and his acting prowess shorter...!! From here on the character starts limping inconsistently.....
Now for some ludicrous reasons, rani the wife with OCD for cleanliness decides that marriage is not working, though the husband is caring and affectionate. To synchronize the infidelity here SRK is getting irritated with his career minded `Man in the house' wife Preity....
Its time SRK re-invents himself, may be DON would do it for him ! Preity's figure in the movie is waxing and waning, in some scenes she looks plump and some svelte....Continuity lapse looks like.
Post some chance and some forced meetings at Grand Central Station, SRK and Rani decide to fall for the forced inviting trap of infidelity.....Wafer thin excuses for straying in relationship.
Post interval, the straying couple decide to share it with their respective spouses expecting forgiveness and starting life afresh ! Great expectations by Charles Dickens !!!
From here on the movie is down and beyond redemption.
As expected pretty much, SRK is divorced and OCD Rani is thrown out of her house. Inexplicable jump of 3 yrs in the movie, before the director decides to unite SRK and Rani Chalte Chalte !!!
If at all there is any consolation is this magnum bore-us, those are -
Well sketched character for Abhishek and Preity.
Imaginatively picturised song, Tumhi Dekho Na....
Title song of the movie
Glossy cinematography by Anil Mehta
Cute performance from the child artist
Crispy dialogues from Niranjan Iyengar
There are many benchmark movies on infidelity made in Hollywood as well as Bollywood, and this does not belong in that cateogory.
As for the Karan Johar fans & The soaked hanky fan club, would recommend to rent the DVD of Kuch kuch hota hai or Kal Ho na ho, instead :-)
The 3rd directorial effort of Karan Johar, had huge expectations from every one who is a sucker for feel good cinema as well as audiences who love to cry while watching movies (includes yours truly!). This movie was no different, I cried....but for different reason... of a wasted 3 hrs + of my priced weekend.
The movie is replete with deja vu moments, dried leaves will remind you of Mohabatein, the scenes in and around New york remind you of Kal Ho Na Ho, the lavish family function or Disco Party songs as in every such movies......The appearance of Karan Johars Lucky Mascot Kajol in the songs, his friends doing thankless, ill defined cameo's.
Wish Karan had not based this movie in New York and had a strong story and taut screenplay.....
The movie opens with a football match, where charismatic king of limited expressions SRK is playing football. Wish they could have shot the football match in a better way. The other characters are soon introduced with no time wasted. Rani as the confused girl who is getting married to a good friend, Abhishek , Priety as wife of SRK and Amitabh as the philandering father of Abhishek. Amitabh has done a role which he has never done before, but alas a half baked one.....
How can one explain a character sleeping around and behaving obscenely pervert for his age and justifying the noble action, by mentioning that he had promised his wife that post her demise he would do everything he could not do while she was alive....Uff...talk about bereavement and enjoyment in the same vein !!!
For cinematic twist, SRK meets with a dramatic accident, curtailing his football career short and his acting prowess shorter...!! From here on the character starts limping inconsistently.....
Now for some ludicrous reasons, rani the wife with OCD for cleanliness decides that marriage is not working, though the husband is caring and affectionate. To synchronize the infidelity here SRK is getting irritated with his career minded `Man in the house' wife Preity....
Its time SRK re-invents himself, may be DON would do it for him ! Preity's figure in the movie is waxing and waning, in some scenes she looks plump and some svelte....Continuity lapse looks like.
Post some chance and some forced meetings at Grand Central Station, SRK and Rani decide to fall for the forced inviting trap of infidelity.....Wafer thin excuses for straying in relationship.
Post interval, the straying couple decide to share it with their respective spouses expecting forgiveness and starting life afresh ! Great expectations by Charles Dickens !!!
From here on the movie is down and beyond redemption.
As expected pretty much, SRK is divorced and OCD Rani is thrown out of her house. Inexplicable jump of 3 yrs in the movie, before the director decides to unite SRK and Rani Chalte Chalte !!!
If at all there is any consolation is this magnum bore-us, those are -
Well sketched character for Abhishek and Preity.
Imaginatively picturised song, Tumhi Dekho Na....
Title song of the movie
Glossy cinematography by Anil Mehta
Cute performance from the child artist
Crispy dialogues from Niranjan Iyengar
There are many benchmark movies on infidelity made in Hollywood as well as Bollywood, and this does not belong in that cateogory.
As for the Karan Johar fans & The soaked hanky fan club, would recommend to rent the DVD of Kuch kuch hota hai or Kal Ho na ho, instead :-)
Review on KRRISH - 26th June 06
KRRISH
In the season of the sequel comes Krrish. The Indian Super Hero.....It is to the credit of Rakesh Roshan who is no John Woo, nor Steven Spielberg but manages to weave a watchable fare, replete with SFX and stylish action sequence rarely seen in hindi cinema. The story begins in a picturesque hill station with madam Re' trying to over protect her gifted grandson from the privy world .
Those were the days of hindi cinema, when the hero as a kid is shown running and the camera focuses on his running feets and viola he has grown up into a HERO. The audience is treated here to a similar scene with pulsating music , when krishna the hero is shown racing with the horse and winning (Thankfully Maneka G, did not take any offence to this one!!).
Enter, the heroine along with an adventure camp group. The introduction scene between the hero and heroine is interestingly shown. Next is the predictable song and dance situations in the glorious tradition of Hindi Cinema to profess and confess love .
Pre Interval some amount of melodrama between the grandmother refusing to age and the grandson refusing to visit the local saloon for a decent hair cut, about his visit to Singapore . Finally she relents ,knowing that Manali would not have much opportunity for a super hero to utilize his super powers.
Post interval, and no sign of the super hero yet....
Some more inane scenes unfold in the scenic Singapore, delaying the arrival of the super hero again. Next our hero takes the heroine to visit a circus ; Hero Honda presents The Bombay Circus, another momentuous opportunity for a song and dance . The circus catches fire and it is left to the hero to become a super hero much against his grandmom's desire, to save some kids trapped inside the blazing tent.
Krrish does it in style wearing his father's overcoat overturned, and by wearing a partial mask to mask his identity completely !! From here on the audience could have been treated to more of the super hero saviour moments, but papa director and the writers decide that our Indian Super Hero has personal agenda more on his mind . May be saving the world etcetra could have been outsourced to Spidey, Superman and other super heroes .
Naseer plays the arch nemesis, who wants to dethrone the jumani's and the bejan daruwala's by building a super computer which can reveal the future. I do not want to reveal much of the movie for the cine goers.
Now Post some stylishly shot action sequences courtesy Tony C and the hardworking Hrithik, our hero returns back home . Background score is highly inspired from Spidey movies and stock music from Vangelis. Camerawork is good and pleasing . The in your face ad endorsement was too much, thankfully only KRRISH was spared from endorsing any product or else the director would have even shown KRRISH flying with some billboards .
Kids will love the movie and so would the masses, if only some more IQ was put in the screenplay and the writing dept, KRRISH would have really hit the bulls eye.
Watch it only for HRITHIK and the hardwork gone in by SFX and Tony C Or wait for the Superman to return on 30th June.
In the season of the sequel comes Krrish. The Indian Super Hero.....It is to the credit of Rakesh Roshan who is no John Woo, nor Steven Spielberg but manages to weave a watchable fare, replete with SFX and stylish action sequence rarely seen in hindi cinema. The story begins in a picturesque hill station with madam Re' trying to over protect her gifted grandson from the privy world .
Those were the days of hindi cinema, when the hero as a kid is shown running and the camera focuses on his running feets and viola he has grown up into a HERO. The audience is treated here to a similar scene with pulsating music , when krishna the hero is shown racing with the horse and winning (Thankfully Maneka G, did not take any offence to this one!!).
Enter, the heroine along with an adventure camp group. The introduction scene between the hero and heroine is interestingly shown. Next is the predictable song and dance situations in the glorious tradition of Hindi Cinema to profess and confess love .
Pre Interval some amount of melodrama between the grandmother refusing to age and the grandson refusing to visit the local saloon for a decent hair cut, about his visit to Singapore . Finally she relents ,knowing that Manali would not have much opportunity for a super hero to utilize his super powers.
Post interval, and no sign of the super hero yet....
Some more inane scenes unfold in the scenic Singapore, delaying the arrival of the super hero again. Next our hero takes the heroine to visit a circus ; Hero Honda presents The Bombay Circus, another momentuous opportunity for a song and dance . The circus catches fire and it is left to the hero to become a super hero much against his grandmom's desire, to save some kids trapped inside the blazing tent.
Krrish does it in style wearing his father's overcoat overturned, and by wearing a partial mask to mask his identity completely !! From here on the audience could have been treated to more of the super hero saviour moments, but papa director and the writers decide that our Indian Super Hero has personal agenda more on his mind . May be saving the world etcetra could have been outsourced to Spidey, Superman and other super heroes .
Naseer plays the arch nemesis, who wants to dethrone the jumani's and the bejan daruwala's by building a super computer which can reveal the future. I do not want to reveal much of the movie for the cine goers.
Now Post some stylishly shot action sequences courtesy Tony C and the hardworking Hrithik, our hero returns back home . Background score is highly inspired from Spidey movies and stock music from Vangelis. Camerawork is good and pleasing . The in your face ad endorsement was too much, thankfully only KRRISH was spared from endorsing any product or else the director would have even shown KRRISH flying with some billboards .
Kids will love the movie and so would the masses, if only some more IQ was put in the screenplay and the writing dept, KRRISH would have really hit the bulls eye.
Watch it only for HRITHIK and the hardwork gone in by SFX and Tony C Or wait for the Superman to return on 30th June.
Review on FANAA - 29th May 06
Fanaa - There are so many loopholes in this movie, that it is destined to be fanaa'ed !! Of course,the BO collection will say otherwise.Die hard fans of the stars/banner may still rave about this tasteless fare...Post the phenomenal performance by Rani in BLACK, the benchmark set for the portrayal of a blind person has gone so high, that it is really difficult for any1 to match it.The movie has wafer thin characters, who mouth cliche'ridden dialogues...
There are moments in the movie, which shows lack of sensitivity towards the blind.How a conservative muslim blind girl, gets ready for a one night stand is baffling ! Lots of cinematic liberties have been taken, to take the audience for a ride.Expectations were high for this movie, and it does not meet any of those. There was lot of media hype around the story/screenplay by Shibani Bhatija, but alas....!
Kunal Kohli, critic (CHALO CINEMA) turned director ironically who use to pan movies for being regular run of mill affairs, fails prey to his own set standards. Result, neither does FANAA falls in the entertainer cateogory nor does it fall in class movie zone . Production values are as per expectations from the banner.Will someone explain, why the kid was sporting the aamir khan hair cut ? Now that was one LOUD HINT for an assumed dumb audience ! Length is another drawback of the movie, it could do with a trimming of nearly 45 minutes of non-value added scenes.
The perfectionist Aamir also cannot save this half baked character of a terrosist cum romantica !! Give it a miss, not worth the trip to the theatre. No Chalo Cinema, for this one at least.
There are moments in the movie, which shows lack of sensitivity towards the blind.How a conservative muslim blind girl, gets ready for a one night stand is baffling ! Lots of cinematic liberties have been taken, to take the audience for a ride.Expectations were high for this movie, and it does not meet any of those. There was lot of media hype around the story/screenplay by Shibani Bhatija, but alas....!
Kunal Kohli, critic (CHALO CINEMA) turned director ironically who use to pan movies for being regular run of mill affairs, fails prey to his own set standards. Result, neither does FANAA falls in the entertainer cateogory nor does it fall in class movie zone . Production values are as per expectations from the banner.Will someone explain, why the kid was sporting the aamir khan hair cut ? Now that was one LOUD HINT for an assumed dumb audience ! Length is another drawback of the movie, it could do with a trimming of nearly 45 minutes of non-value added scenes.
The perfectionist Aamir also cannot save this half baked character of a terrosist cum romantica !! Give it a miss, not worth the trip to the theatre. No Chalo Cinema, for this one at least.
Review on RDB - 30th Jan 06
What works in the favour of RDB ?
The novel concept of history vis-a-vis the youth of today.
The deft execution of the screenplay.
The imaginative and brilliant cinematography swinging between today and sepia tone yester years.
The razor sharp Editing.
The youthfulness and zest amazingly captured in the initial reels followed by the transformation.
The rousing background score and an apt original music score.
The perfect selection of the starcast.
The inspiring non sermonizing dialogue which gives a feeling that it is a leaf out of our day to day life exchanges .
Aamir Khan breathing life in the colourful character.
Siddharth,Kunal,Atul,Sharman ably supporting and living their roles honestly.
Great Production values.
Q & A session on the radio in the pre finale, wherein the director is actually answering the questions of the aam junta via the medium of the character.
We may have seen some n number of movies depicting the freedom struggle movements, like the kakori conspiracy, the jalianwala baug, the martyrs etc. This is where the director scores big time by presenting his interpretation of those moments.
Personally speaking I felt that for the finale the director resorted to much of cinematic liberties for the shock value required and instigating the audience into a debate.
But then on second thoughts, this was essentially required may be for the twist the story had taken and for showing the dramatic changes in the characters.
The movie was released to packed multiplexes on the eve of the republic day.
Please Welcome Rakeysh Mehra, as one of the most promising director to hit the scene in recent times.
The novel concept of history vis-a-vis the youth of today.
The deft execution of the screenplay.
The imaginative and brilliant cinematography swinging between today and sepia tone yester years.
The razor sharp Editing.
The youthfulness and zest amazingly captured in the initial reels followed by the transformation.
The rousing background score and an apt original music score.
The perfect selection of the starcast.
The inspiring non sermonizing dialogue which gives a feeling that it is a leaf out of our day to day life exchanges .
Aamir Khan breathing life in the colourful character.
Siddharth,Kunal,Atul,Sharman ably supporting and living their roles honestly.
Great Production values.
Q & A session on the radio in the pre finale, wherein the director is actually answering the questions of the aam junta via the medium of the character.
We may have seen some n number of movies depicting the freedom struggle movements, like the kakori conspiracy, the jalianwala baug, the martyrs etc. This is where the director scores big time by presenting his interpretation of those moments.
Personally speaking I felt that for the finale the director resorted to much of cinematic liberties for the shock value required and instigating the audience into a debate.
But then on second thoughts, this was essentially required may be for the twist the story had taken and for showing the dramatic changes in the characters.
The movie was released to packed multiplexes on the eve of the republic day.
Please Welcome Rakeysh Mehra, as one of the most promising director to hit the scene in recent times.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Review-Traffic Signal
Mass meter - **
Class meter - **
At the outset let me share that Madhur Bhandarkar does not figure in the list of my favourite directors barring his hard hitting Chandni Bar, good in parts Page 3 , Corporate based on cola war minus the fizz and now this.....
Traffic Signal - So called part of the trilogy, after Page 3, Corporate...Madhur Bhandarkar the director with a penchant for exposing the underbelly is back . The thriving human lives living out of a Traffic Signal. Now my non intelligent guess on how the director / writer team comes up with the story is as follows - They fish for all articles / headlines related with their theme / subject and then as fillers weave a story around it !! Mention of the July deluge, Bomb Blasts, Unbreakable spirit of Mumbai City...get the idea !!??
Traffic Signal is a filmy microscopic view on the lives living in and around a signal in search of a livelihood . In case you happen to watch this movie , you will surely ponder for a moment next time you stop at a signal (some sensitive souls already would be doing this daily!!), before the light turns green.
The story is their fight for survival, their hopes, their pain and momentary joy and happiness . The director does not waste time in setting the story and the pace for the same . This signal has everyone , A Manager (kunal khemu in a deglam and a powerful performance), beggars, gajrewali, embroidery seller (neetu chandra in an impressive debut), pavement rangoli artist, a kid called dambar due to his dark skin (who dreams about having a fair skin and is disillusioned on using the product Fair Fast :-) , another called tsunami , paya (sidekick of kunal), a gandhi wadi social worker (dombivli fast actor), Prostitutes / Gay, soliciting customers by the night (Konkona Sen, yet again shining in a brief cameo ) , A beggar begging only in underwear which he calls his costume (non working hours seen at the multiplex) , A habitual druggie (Ranvir, surprising in a serious and pathos laden role contrary to the light roles he generally plays !), roadside romeo's, eunuchs who rue the fact why there are no competitions similar to Miss India / Mr India for their tribes :-) A beedi shop (doubling up as the money deposit centre for the traffic cop) , A cafe at the corner , Old lady with a cow , a telling comment on tele-marketeers (yes from ICBI Bank:-)) discussing on their calling data and harassing prospective customers with interruptive sales call (the treatment meted out to these guys cannot be printed ), local goons, local MLA's, honest engineer.....
Phew !! have i missed anyone ? Yes, the number of daily commuters and a slice of their lives too on passing by the signal :-)
Many Lives, Many Stories....some touching the viewers, some jumping the signal !
Somewhere along, i got a deja vu feeling...This movie does miss the brutal starkness of Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay, but the camraderie shared by the characters is similar to the one seen in the TV Serial Nukkad....
The real winner in this tale is the set design by Nitin Desai , Costumes , few good dialogues and the creative camerawork by Mahesh Limaye (capturing montages of the city-scapes and juxtaposing it on the set where the story is based). Very few but brilliant directorial touch in this filmy take !
Few touching moments in the movie - the untold love story between ranvir / konkana and its untimely end, the tsunami orphaned kid calling chennai from PCO using his hard earned money to seek update on his family , never loosing hope , the signal being uprooted towards the end and carried by labourers as if they are pallbearers on the final journey witnessed by the affected lives at the Signal etc etc.
You may be shocked at some scenes, smile at some and touched by others but you cannot ignore this movie .
Stop by this signal if you have time....
Class meter - **
At the outset let me share that Madhur Bhandarkar does not figure in the list of my favourite directors barring his hard hitting Chandni Bar, good in parts Page 3 , Corporate based on cola war minus the fizz and now this.....
Traffic Signal - So called part of the trilogy, after Page 3, Corporate...Madhur Bhandarkar the director with a penchant for exposing the underbelly is back . The thriving human lives living out of a Traffic Signal. Now my non intelligent guess on how the director / writer team comes up with the story is as follows - They fish for all articles / headlines related with their theme / subject and then as fillers weave a story around it !! Mention of the July deluge, Bomb Blasts, Unbreakable spirit of Mumbai City...get the idea !!??
Traffic Signal is a filmy microscopic view on the lives living in and around a signal in search of a livelihood . In case you happen to watch this movie , you will surely ponder for a moment next time you stop at a signal (some sensitive souls already would be doing this daily!!), before the light turns green.
The story is their fight for survival, their hopes, their pain and momentary joy and happiness . The director does not waste time in setting the story and the pace for the same . This signal has everyone , A Manager (kunal khemu in a deglam and a powerful performance), beggars, gajrewali, embroidery seller (neetu chandra in an impressive debut), pavement rangoli artist, a kid called dambar due to his dark skin (who dreams about having a fair skin and is disillusioned on using the product Fair Fast :-) , another called tsunami , paya (sidekick of kunal), a gandhi wadi social worker (dombivli fast actor), Prostitutes / Gay, soliciting customers by the night (Konkona Sen, yet again shining in a brief cameo ) , A beggar begging only in underwear which he calls his costume (non working hours seen at the multiplex) , A habitual druggie (Ranvir, surprising in a serious and pathos laden role contrary to the light roles he generally plays !), roadside romeo's, eunuchs who rue the fact why there are no competitions similar to Miss India / Mr India for their tribes :-) A beedi shop (doubling up as the money deposit centre for the traffic cop) , A cafe at the corner , Old lady with a cow , a telling comment on tele-marketeers (yes from ICBI Bank:-)) discussing on their calling data and harassing prospective customers with interruptive sales call (the treatment meted out to these guys cannot be printed ), local goons, local MLA's, honest engineer.....
Phew !! have i missed anyone ? Yes, the number of daily commuters and a slice of their lives too on passing by the signal :-)
Many Lives, Many Stories....some touching the viewers, some jumping the signal !
Somewhere along, i got a deja vu feeling...This movie does miss the brutal starkness of Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay, but the camraderie shared by the characters is similar to the one seen in the TV Serial Nukkad....
The real winner in this tale is the set design by Nitin Desai , Costumes , few good dialogues and the creative camerawork by Mahesh Limaye (capturing montages of the city-scapes and juxtaposing it on the set where the story is based). Very few but brilliant directorial touch in this filmy take !
Few touching moments in the movie - the untold love story between ranvir / konkana and its untimely end, the tsunami orphaned kid calling chennai from PCO using his hard earned money to seek update on his family , never loosing hope , the signal being uprooted towards the end and carried by labourers as if they are pallbearers on the final journey witnessed by the affected lives at the Signal etc etc.
You may be shocked at some scenes, smile at some and touched by others but you cannot ignore this movie .
Stop by this signal if you have time....
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