Ghajini Hindi Review

Ghajini, played ferociously by Pradeep Singh Rawat, is the kind of villain who wears thick gold chains and rings on every finger. He is defiantly brutal - he runs a pharmaceutical company but for reasons never explained, he likes to smash iron rods into human heads and forces young girls into both prostitution and organ trade. He has one gold tooth, wears shiny white shoes and keeps a posse of henchmen so ugly that they look like they were airlifted from Ram Gopal Varma's last film. And of course Ghajini routinely drops lines like: aise marenge ki uska nakhun bhi nahi milega and my personal favourite: short-term memory loss patient mujhe kya yaad dilaayega. Ghajini, director A R Murugadoss's remake of his Tamil blockbuster, is a throw back to what Hindi films used to be: a three hour extravaganza of romance, comedy, action, set-piece songs and drama. It's a standard revenge film given a fresh twist with a dash of Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed Memento. Like that film, the protagonist here, Sanjay Singhania played by Aamir Khan, is hit on the head and suffers from short-term memory loss. He cannot remember anything for more than 15 minutes.So, he tattoos his body with instructions: the most important one being that his girlfriend Kalpana was murdered, and he must find the murderer and kill him. The film is riddled with logical loopholes but Murugadoss, who also wrote it, doesn't give you enough time to think about them. So, you never ask how Sanjay, the fabulously wealthy owner of a cellphone company, conducts a lengthy romance with Kalpana, played by debutant Asin, pretending to be an ordinary man? Or why Ghajini, a master-thug and expert killer, doesn't have a gun when he needs it the most? Or why the key conflict, which leads to Kalpana's death, is such a random imposition on the script?Instead, you are caught up in the mystery of how a superbly stylish businessman becomes a killing machine who routinely cracks necks and in his introduction scene, plunges a broken tap into a man's stomach. Ghajini isn't for the faint-hearted. The violence is gory and elemental. The climax is pure man-on-man combat with lots of crunching bones. For Aamir, Ghajini is a 360 degree turn from the sensitive teacher he played in Taare Zameen Par. With a buffed up, eight-pack body, here he is a brutal killer in a murderous rage. Watch him as he explodes with grief and then just as quickly forgets it. It's a memorable performance indeed. Thankfully Asin is less animated than she was in the Tamil version. Some of their romantic scenes, and particularly her death are nicely done. Ghajini isn't a great film or even a very good one but I recommend that you see it. It is, as we used to say in the old days, paisa vasool.

Kungfu Panda Review

The movie has used hp animations.

Date seen: 22/6/08

Rating 4/5

THE GENERAL IDEA
The synopsis for Kung Fu Panda looks something like this: “A clumsy panda bear becomes an unlikely kung fu hero when a treacherous enemy spreads chaos throughout the countryside in this animated martial arts adventure featuring the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, and Jackie Chan. On the surface, Po (voice of Black) may look like just another portly panda bear, but beneath his fur he bears the mark of the chosen one. By day, Po works faithfully in his family’s noodle shop, but by night he dreams of becoming a true master of the martial arts. Now an ancient prophecy has come to pass, and Po realizes that he is the only one who can save his people from certain destruction. With time running short and malevolent snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane ) closing in, Furious Five legends Tigress (Jolie), Crane (David Cross ), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), Monkey (Chan), and their wise sensei, Master Shifu (Hoffman), all draw on their vast knowledge of fighting skills in order to transform a lumbering panda bear into a lethal fighting machine. Now, if the noble Po can master the martial arts and somehow transform his greatest weaknesses into his greatest strengths, he will fulfill his destiny as the hero who saved his people during their darkest hour.”
THE GOOD
“The most important element” in any film will vary according to its genre. For a film like Kung Fu Panda clearly the most important element it needed to pull off was comedy. If a film like this one doesn’t make you laugh… then there isn’t much left to fall back on. Thankfully the movie succeeds quite well on this level. I can’t recall any more than 1 hard belly laugh (usually a decent comedy needs much more than that), but it felt like it at least always had me smiling or giggling through the run time. Almost none of the joke were home runs… but then did all work. The end result was I found myself entertained almost all the way through.
Coming up with a good villain in a kids film is no easy task. The character has to be menacing, but at the same time you can’t give kids nightmarish visions and make them crap themselves. I mean come on… it’s Kung Fu Panda… you can’t exactly have Violator (from the Spawn comics) showing up can causing kids across the nation to spontaneously crap themselves in their theater seats… then requiring therapy for the next 3 years to make the nightmares go away! It is a fine and delicate balance… and the villain in Kung Fu Panda, Tai Lung, was PERFECT. He was certainly menacing… but at the same time easy enough for the kids to handle without needing pampers. I think the presence of such a villain really helped the film work.
Doing good action in an animated film is also no easy task. I mean, it’s easy enough to DO… just not so easy to do WELL. However, Kung Fu Panda and the folks at Dreamworks really did pull of some BEAUTIFUL animation with complex yet extremely smooth kung fu fighting that was a treat to watch. It was also a lot of fun seeing how each character had a totally different fighting style in keeping with which animal they were. I mean come on… how on earth do you animate a snake doing Kung Fu and have it look cool? Well… they found a way!
THE BAD
There isn’t a lot to complain about in this movie, but I will raise a couple of issues. First of all, some of the voice casting felt completely wrong. I worship the ground Dustin Hoffman walks on… but him as the voice of the sage Chinese Kung Fu master that trains the furious 5 and Po??? It just didn’t fit. Seth Rogen as one of the furious 5? I hope I’m not just being picky… but whenever these guys spoke (especially Rogen) it just kinda pulled me out of the movie. It was just really conspicuous.
I would have liked to have seen more about the furious 5 characters (the tiger, crane, monkey, viper and the mantis. I think Jackie Chan had like 2 lines… but I mean more in the sense of seeing even just a 2 minute segment of where they each came from and how they ended up at the temple in the first place. Not a major complaint… but it did keep popping into my head as I was watching it.
OVERALL
Contrary to my initial impressions, Kung Fu Panda ends up being a funny (not outright hilarious), exciting, well animated and beautiful to look at movie that both kids and yes, even adults will enjoy. Some poor voice casting and a few character left without being fleshed out much didn’t become major distractions to enjoying the movie. Could have taken or left Jack Black as the lead voice… but he didn’t detract from the film in anyway

shawshank redemption review

Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman
Directed by: Frank Darabont

Date Seen : 21/11/2008

Rating 4.5/5

If you think that's a turnoff title, remember all the smartass things people said before Forrest Gump happened. Shawshank -- the name refers to a maximum-security prison in Maine -- is already being touted to join Gump in the Oscar race. Why not? The academy regularly drops its drawers for films that celebrate the triumph of the human spirit. And this baby strums that theme hard as inmate Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a Shawshank newcomer in 1946, strikes up a 20-year friendship with a lifer named Red (Morgan Freeman). They're both in jail for the Big One: murder.
Robbins and Freeman have the juice as actors to make figuring out whether Andy and Red really did it a riveting guessing game, especially if you're a sucker for prison melodramas. Writer Frank Darabont (The Fly II), in his feature-directing debut, doesn't skimp on the caged-bird cliches, sadistic and sentimental, but he plays enough hardball with the formula to evoke memories of such goodies as Cool Hand Luke, Birdman of Alcatraz and Riot in Cell Block II.
Stephen King wrote the novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, on which the film is based. (Andy's cell is bedecked with a poster of Hayworth in all her Gilda glory.) You can find the novella in a 1982 King collection, Different Seasons, along with a story, "The Body," that became the, basis for the 1986 Rob Reiner smash Stand by Me. Both tales are said to represent the gentler side of King, meaning the side that doesn't sell as well, though the torture, rape and killing in Shawshank qualify as horror in my book.
Darabont stays mostly true to the source, except for shooting in Ohio instead of Maine, expanding a few scenes and characters and casting the always welcome Freeman as a prisoner King described as a red-headed Irishman. King is a master at creating a whole world out of small details. Darabont tries to match him visually. The everyday agonies of prison life are meticulously laid out by cinematographer Roger Deakins (Barton Fink). You can almost feel the frustration and rage seeping into the skin of the inmates.
There is humor, too, as Red brings the painfully introverted Andy out of his shell. Andy, a respected banker before being convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, wins favor and permission to expand the prison library by offering financial advice to the Shawshank elite. That includes Hadley (Clancy Brown), the cruel captain of the guards, and Norton (Bob Gunton), the fanatically religious warden. We've seen these types before. There are also cobwebs on Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore), the aged parolee who can't adjust to the outside, and Tommy Williams (Gil Bellows, in a role once earmarked for Brad Pitt), the young thief who can't live inside.
It's the no-bull performances that hold back the flood of banalities. Robbins and Freeman connect with the bruised souls of Andy and Red to create something undeniably powerful and moving. Instead of selling bromides, as lesser actors would do, they show the wrenching struggle required by any human being in a trap simply to keep hope alive.

Movie review: Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Vinay Pathak
Director: Aditya Chopra

Love is a yellow tiffin stuffed with ‘garma garam khana’, balanced between the knees of that scooter rider going down a small-town road, on his way to his public sector office, and fellows called Sharma ji, Varma ji, and Sahni ji.

Or that’s what Aditya Chopra would have us believe. His new film has Shah Rukh Khan playing Surinder Sahni, a small cog in a big ‘sarkaari’ wheel, living an ordinary 9 to 5 existence. He has a best friend who revels in the name of Bobby aka Balwinder (Vinay). And he’s just acquired a new wife, Taani (Anushka), who’s mourning the untimely exit of an old love.

Tiny three-membered cast, instead of the standard full-scale Yashraj ‘baraat’. Middle-class homes and offices, instead of ornate palaces and Swiss chalets.

A hero who wears a thick moustache, black-framed spectacles, and pants which don’t fit. And a simple, unmade-up heroine, dressed, for the most part, in ‘salwaar kameez’ and ‘phulkari dupattas’. No, gulp, pastel chiffons. Could this really be Yashraj turning over a welcome new leaf ? Uh huh : the outlines of the characters are new, but the brush-strokes that fill in the whole, aren’t. In its telling, the few fresh touches in ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ are overpowered by those that are all too familiar.

It opens with one of the oldest tricks in the book – dying dad asking hero to wed heroine. You’re still getting over that when the film whisks you off to Amritsar, where Surinder and Taani’s love story is destined to unfold. It begins well—they sleep sweetly in separate rooms, and swap such winsome exchanges as her saying ‘aap lucky ho ji, ki aap ko kabhi pyaar nahin hua’, with him replying, a tad poetically, ‘isse zyada pyar ki na toh mujhe aadat hai na zaroorat’.

Whenever SRK plays an average joe, he scores. Surinder Sahni is all set to be one of his most loved parts—his Punjabi ‘leheja’ and his quiet bashfulnesss is pitch-perfect. But superstars can’t be made to appear ill-dressed wimps who don’t know how to keep their women in the kitchen, when, of course, they are not being meek and pliant in the bedroom.

SRK’s double role arrives in the guise of Raj, and this version is very up to the Amritsar minute—skintight tee, ripped jeans, spiked hair. And there you have it, another creaky nostrum—dull office-going Surinder, or boisterous, brash Raj, what’s a Taani to do?

Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye

Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye brings you the ultimate media-savvy thief – the one who stole at nights, and wanted to be famous for it by day! And all of it in action-packed, fun-filled, two hours with a happy happy ending.
In Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye you’ll see Lucky, a gawky 15-year-old lower middle-class kid from the inner city ghetto of West Delhi rise to become one of the most wanted master thieves of India with crores of cash, a glamorous lifestyle, cars, women, a fan following, with fame and notoriety - and yet looking for something more. In this film, you'll take a ride with Lucky as he escapes his suffocating childhood and a bullying father to glide into crime – petty thieving in this case. Lucky meets Gogi Bhai - his surrogate father-to-be – who’s a wedding singer by profession and a stolen goods receiver by vocation. He befriends the thoroughly- respectable Dr. Handa, who could fund his business enterprise. Through Handa, Lucky enters the respectable, club-going, picnic-packing, English-speaking world of upmarket, urban India. Why all this trouble? Can’t he just steal and leave us alone? This is the story of the rise of Lucky – and his search.
This story was inspired by various real events and characters and through the memories of my childhood and adolescence where I met characters who've left a lasting impression on me. It's also inspired by crime reportage in the new shining India. Lucky wants everything that you and I want - name, fame, wealth, arm candy, and those everlasting fifteen minutes under the spotlights. But that’s where the resemblance ends. Most of us go to work at day, suck up to our bosses and make a respectful, decent life of it. Lucky steals from your or my home at night. And yet, he sees no difference between him and us – he wants to go the same parties, drink at the same five-star pubs, court the same networked people, and feature at the same page three do’s. I also made the film to find out why someone who had five crores in cash and goods, a few apartments, a dozen cars and a good TRP rating on TV would end up stealing a greeting card, a teddy bear and a framed photo of a family playing in the snow

Sorry Bhai

Starring: Sharman Joshi, Sanjay Suri, Chitrangada Singh, Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani; Director: Onir;

Rating 2out of 5

Date Seen: 01/12/2008

Geeky scientist Siddharth Mathur (Sharman) is given their mother’s ’swear’ by elder brother Harsh (Suri) to bring her along for his wedding to be held in Mauritius. Their mom, (Shabana) is least interested in attending the wedding because Harsh has planned to marry against her wishes. Siddharth succeeds in bring along mom and jovial dad (Boman) to Mauritius. Since Harsh is pre-occupied with lots of work he lives it to his fiancée Aaliyah (Chitrangada) to show them around make them feel comfortable. Herein starts the trouble as since their mom doesn’t really like Aaliyah, Siddharth ends up spending most of the time with Aaliyah. At the same time Aaliyah starts feeling neglected because of Harsh’s workaholic ways and starts getting drawn towards the very loveable yet shy, Siddharth. What happens after they both end up falling in love with each other forms the rest of the film.
Sanjay Suri is as easy going as usual but despite being the co-producer of the film, his character appears neglected in the second half. Sharman puts up a convincing act and perfectly fits the part. Shabana has a wonderful knack of doing some really difficult parts that look easy on paper. She succeeds yet again. Boman as the forever leg pulling father is back in form after some hamming acts in films like Yuvvraaj, Love Story 2050 and Dostana. Chitrangada Singh not only looks extremely sensuous throughout but also puts up a nice natural act.
Onir fails to hold your attention for two hours. The biggest blame for the same goes for the poor scripting. The film is predictable from the word go and the dull pace literally puts you off to sleep. The whole ‘Maa Kasam’ thing ends up being unintentionally hilarious. Imagine, Shabana giving a mother’s swear to younger son (Sharman) to let go of the forbidden love so that her elder’s son upcoming marriage is saved from trouble! Also, though Shabana and Boman appear almost like a real life couple, the whole attempt appears like the maker is keen to recreate the couple’s magic from their last film together, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. The music too isn’t something that has immediate recall value. Agreed there a few funny moments but barring them, the bold themed film with so many minuses going against the film, it appears little chance that it will appeal to its target – the multiplex audience.
Final Verdict The film would have been an okay one time watch had the writing been little more imaginative, but alas!

Download

Sydney White 2007

Our fair maiden Sydney (Amanda Bynes) doesn’t have coal-black hair or sing with a sweet voice or have woodland creatures following her around. Instead, the tomboy grew up on construction sites with her widower dad (John Schneider), a plumber who guided Syd as best he could. But now the time has come for the gorgeous freshman to head to Southern Atlantic University to pledge her late mom’s once-dignified sorority, where she meets this story’s version of the Wicked Queen: the vain and evil Rachel (Sara Paxton), president of the sorority. Let’s just say Sydney does not fit in, and Rachel sends the soon-to-be fairest of them all to the curb. Luckily, there’s a condemned frat house right next door, with seven very socially challenged guys--each with a familiar "Dwarf"-like quality. They take Sydney in, and soon, with the help of one love-struck frat boy named Tyler Prince (Matthew Long), she and the seven doofuses campaign to take over the student government—and push out the Greek system that has ruled for too long.
Acting Tween sensation Amanda Bynes knows exactly where her bread is buttered. With star vehicles such as What a Girl Wants, She's the Man and now Sydney White, the comic actress keeps playing slightly different versions of the same character: a pretty, if goofy and klutzy, young woman whose vivaciousness usually changes everything for the better. And whether her fluff movies grate or not, you can’t fault Bynes, who clearly knows what works for her. Paxton (Aquamarine) is perfectly predictable as the mean girl, . But the seven guys playing the nerds do a nice job of reinventing their dwarfishness, be it sneeziness, sleepiness, bashfulness, dopeyness—you know the rest. The only dork who didn’t quite mesh with his inner-“Dwarf” was the one called Spanky (Samm Levine), who is more horny than “Happy.” I guess in the fairytale there really isn’t a Lusty dwarf, even though you’d think at some point at least one of them must have had a few untoward thoughts about Snow White. They were little but still men.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames
Directed by: David Dobkin

Date Seen; 22-11-08

Rating 2/5

Gay Movie.Say it isn't so. Not that Adam Sander as Chuck and Kevin James as Larry play idiot hetero fireman who fake being gay for health benefits. I mean that Sideways writers Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor actually contributed to a script that trots out every fag joke -- yes, even dropping the soap -- and then tells us how wrong it is to laugh. No comedy this year can beat this dud for mealy-mouthed hypocrisy

Brave One

Release Date: 2007-09-14
Starring: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews, Mary Steenburgen
Directed by Neil Jordan
Produced by Joel Silver, Susan Downey
Written by Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor and Cynthia Mort

Date Seen ; 20-11-2008

Rating 4/5

With Panic Room, Flight Plan, and now The Brave One, Jodie Foster is on the verge of becoming an action star. And odd career move for an actress on the down side of forty. If she has to get wrapped up in ass-kicking though, The Brave One is the way to do it. The movie takes a familiar genre, the vigilante revenge flick, and for a change takes it seriously. I’m not talking about the way Christopher Nolan takes Batman seriously, after all it’s still a guy in a cape running around overreacting to his parents’ death. Let’s face it, that never made a whole lot of sense. Get over it already Bats. The Brave One is an examination of what it might take for a real person to become a vigilante, an examination of what might drive a normal woman to become judge, jury, and executioner. The normal woman in question is Erica (Foster), host of a low-rent weekend radio show in New York City and engaged to a sexy, swarthy doctor. During and evening stroll in Central Park, Erica and her fiancée are attacked by a gang of thugs. Her future husband is beaten to death, and she’s left severely injured and hospitalized. When Erica gets out, she’s not consumed by a need for revenge, but rather completely overtaken by fear. The city she’s known and loved her entire life now terrifies her. After several failed attempts she finally makes it out her front door, jumping at shadows and fighting down the constant, overwhelming urge to run home screaming. Her tragedy has left her irrevocably altered, but she’d determined not to let the fear she now feels rule her. So, as so many have before her, Erica buys a gun. Still frightened but feeling empowered, she walks the city, fighting down her terror until tragedy strikes again. She witnesses a convenience store robbery and in an act of self-defense shoots the robber dead. It’s as if her eyes have been opened to an entirely new world. Erica faced her fears, and shot them dead. Determined never to be afraid again, Erica takes to the streets, intentionally putting herself in more and more dangerous situations as if daring the world to give her its best shot. The criminals of the city are more than happy to oblige, seeing only a seemingly defenseless white woman in a place where she probably shouldn’t be. When she attacks, Erica responds with deadly force, becoming a vigilante. With every encounter she grows more confident, but begins to wonder if she’s losing herself in the process. Tracked by the police and hounded by her own conscience, The Brave One uses her vigilantism as a way of exploring the terrible emotional toll taken on survivors of violent crime. Whether or not Erica gets the bad guys, or whether or not the police catch her becomes much less interesting than understanding what it is that’s driven Erica to this. More than anything The Brave One is about dealing with fear and surviving in spite of it. In exploring what it’s done to Erica, Jodie Foster gives one of the best performances of her career. So does Terrence Howard as a conflicted, honest police detective who befriends her, and then ends up hunting her. Director Neil Jordan’s carefully crafted film doesn’t have Jodie Foster swooping down from rooftops on a zip line, but it’s one of the best vigilante themed movies I’ve ever seen. The Brave One takes a fairly obvious, overused movie conceit and uses it to explore something much deeper and more real than you’d ever expect. That only serves to heighten the film’s tense, utterly believable action sequences, even if they aren’t the real focus of the script. If there’s any flaw in the movie at all, then it happens in the last five minutes when Howard’s policeman character makes an unlikely decision. His actions undermine some of the realism of the rest of the film has worked so hard to set up, but those five minutes aren’t enough to kill the smart work that came before it. Before you get all excited about the next man-in-tights superhero flick or watch Kevin Bacon shave himself bald and put on revenge-themed eye makeup for Death Sentence, make it a point to seek out The Brave One.

EMI

Date seen: 21/11/2008

Rating: 2/5

Staring : sanjay dutt, arjun rampal, urmila

EMI dealing with the theme of credit cards and bank loans couldn't have had a more apt release timing in phase of global recession. Despite that it fails to generate interest for its juvenile outlook towards the issue. The story initiates in four individual installments. Ryan (Arjun Rampal) is a DJ at a nightclub and survives on credit cards to meet his high-end lifestyle. Anil (Ashish Chaudhary) and Shilpa (Neha Uberoi) opt for loans for their needs ranging from car, home to honeymoon. Chandrakant (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) takes a personal loan for his son's foreign education. Prerna (Urmila Matondkar) is seeking insurance cover of her deceased husband and needs money to manipulate the case. When they all are unable to repay their monthly installments, the bank hires recovery agent Sattar Bhai (Sanjay Dutt) to get its money back. While you expect Sattar and his gang to threaten the bank borrowers, the recovery agent seems to be on a divergently different drive. He acts as a marriage counselor for Anil and Shilpa who are on the verge of separation. He plays agony uncle to Chandrakant whose son steers away from responsibility. He works as a placement agency for Ryan offering him new job opportunities. And since the film lacked an obligatory love-track, Sattar bhai is made to romance Prerna. By now you know where the film is heading but the movie tagline still inspired me to sit through. Ticket liya hai, dekhna to padega. What next you ask? All the borrowers are changed beings and suddenly also capable enough to clear off their credits. If it was so convenient to compensate and if recovery agents were so accommodating, one wonders where the problem lied, in first place. And before you realize, the film ends with a message saying 'take loans responsibly'. Wish the producers would have invested more responsibly in better scripts. The basic message that EMI intends to give is how humans consent to loans without a foresight and consequently end up in trouble for lack of planning. But there is considerable lack of planning in scripting the film, particularly in the second half. The solution that it offers to credit concerns is absurd and impractical. The editing seems to be slack and some scenes in the second half are absolutely unnecessary. The acts are as uninspiring as the narrative. Arjun Rampal's mode of payment and performance are both plastic. Ashish Chaudhary and Neha Uberoi are equally artificial. Sanjay Dutt looks uninterested and his chemistry with Urmila is clearly cold. Manoj Joshi hams and Snehal Dhabi has been repeating the same sidekick act from Satya till Welcome. Malaika Arora shouldn't have attempted acting over the two item numbers allotted to her. Credit it to the lackluster direction but EMI fails to generate interest even in installments. You certainly can't bank upon this one for entertainment. The next time any call-center employee pesters you with free credit-card offers, recommend EMI to pay them back.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi Music review

Music of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, 2008’s most anticipated movie, directed by Aditya Chopra after a gap of 8 years has finally hit the stores. This film has a lot of expectations considering it’s the first release of Shahrukh Khan this year, debutant Anushka Sharma who is creating a lot of buzz among the crowd, combination of Shahrukh and Aditya which created history with DDLJ in 1995, and Yash Raj Films, which are looking for a big hit this year.In Bollywood, music of the movie plays a vital role in the success of the movie and if the songs are good then half of the battle is won. Looking back at the track record of Salim – Sulaiman, who also gave the music for Chak De India in 2007 and Fashion this year, winning half of the battle doesn’t seem to be a big problem. And yes, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi succeeds in every department. The power of this soundtrack lies in its simplicity. Let’s get a song by song review of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
Verdict- In an age where songs and their remixes are filled with rapping, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi stays away from this. It’s, unequivocally, a gem for the music lovers and the best soundtrack of 2008.It takes you to those good old days when music was simple and great and at the same time, it has the modern touch to capture universal attention. There is nothing wrong with the soundtrack, no remix, no rapping and most of the songs are of short length which is a big bonus. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is a kaleidoscopic soundtrack which is a must in everyone’s collection.

Ghajini Preview

The film has always been in news because of various reasons and has created some amount of Hype around it already . But the trailer might slow down the hype to an extent. The trailer for me first of all was very “Thunda” and nothing except the music of it left me wanting for more .The first trailer of a supposedly Psychological Action Thriller shows the lead actor Dancing in some exotic locations of probably Namibia . The lead actor flaunting his six packs and the lead girl Shriya smiling her way into his heart in a fantasy land . If we leave the dancing part then there is very much less left in the trailer and that part also is very weak . We only get to see Aamir Khan throwing a punch at a person which is a typical South Indian film Punch that usually Rajnikanth throws in his flicks .For all the guys that don’t know this film is a remake of a south-Indian flick of the same name which in turn was majorly inspired by the Hollywood Psycho-Thriller “Memento” directed by Brilliant Director Christopher Nolan . You all might have seen The Dark Knight which is also directed by Nolan so you know his Brilliance . “Memento” is a very unusual film and if made in an exact manner as it is , would never work among Indian audience . It has a very non-linear Narrative style and something quite complicated for our audience that loves David Dhawan type of cinema . The story of memento is as such that there can’t be any song sequence anywhere . It is an intense film with no light moments . I don’t know how would the Director Murugadoss manage to break into a random song sequence in such an intense story .
I’ve not seen the Tamil version so can’t comment on the film but I just hope that it does not turn out to be a south Indian commercial film with defiance of all logic . From the looks of the trailer it looks like the film would be more commercial in nature and would work amongst commercial cinema loving audience . The only thing that I loved about the trailer was the fantastic music by ARR and the humming by Sonu Nigam . I always expect something like Lagaan or TZP from Aamir , off beat yet entertaining . I hated Fanaa though it was a huge commercial success . Its just that I don’t like to see Aamir in commercial cinema . One thing that goes against Ghajini is the fact that none of the Directors form South apart from Mani Ratnam have succeeded in Hindi film Industry . Ghajini won’t have much of future in South also since they have already seen the film with their favourite actor .
In all , the trailer didn’t work for me as I was expecting it to be something unusual . This turned out to be like thousands of trailers in the past and probably even worse . This trailer I am sure would be loved by Die-Hard Aamir fans since he is in a completely new look and also doing some good moves in the trailer . A very so so first trailer of a very much anticipated film of the year . I have huge expectations from this film considering the bad year this has been for films and I just hope Ghajini doesn’t turn out to be a Rajni .

Yuvraaj Review

Release Date: 21/11/08
One of the big releases of the year , the much awaited Subhash Ghai’s Yuvraaj , is all set to release and the first promos have hit the cinema halls . The film as we know starrs Salman Khan and Katrina together after a long time . In “Partner” they were not opposite each other . Apart from them the film also has Subhash’s favourite Anil Kapoor and Zaayed Khan . The music is by the maestro himself , A. R. Rehman and the Lyrics are by the wordsmith Gulzaar sahaab . The duo together have given musical masterpieces like Dil Se , Yuva and Guru , all being with Mani Ratnam . This time they team up with Subhash Ghai who has also given musical hit like Taal . Yuvraaj is also a film in the Taal category i.e. a Musical Love Story . Taal is one of ARR’s best works and the movie is also one of the best from Subhash Ghai . Lets hope they are able to create the same magic once again after almost Ten Years .
The magic that I am expecting gives a glimpse of itself in the promos of the film . The first trailer starts off with some musical notations being shown in the light of some candles . After that starts a beautiful orchestration in the background and we see a glimpse of all the lead actors of the film one by one . First we see a little younger looking Salman and then the eternal beauty Katrina playing a Cello . After her we see Anil Kapoor with a bouquet of flowers giving his innocent smile even at this age . Then at last we see Zaayed Khan walking on the streets . Then starts a series of some very short scenes all showing the Musical environment in which all the leads are living . The huge concert halls and musical notes etc. all giving you a glimpse of the scale of the movie and its background . Then at the end a line comes which is probably the tag line of the film “Music Binds Love ” . Then at the very end we see an even younger looking Salman peeping from behind a pillar into the camera .
The trailer in all gives out very few details about the story and just gives an intro of the leads . The music in the background also gives us a hint of whats in the store . The music is just fabulous as expected from ARR and this is probably the first time he will get to use the western orchestrations in a full fledged way since this film seems to be set in London which is home to the symphonies and orchestras . The music in Taal was more Indian and had a mix of Indian and Western . But in Yuvraaj we might get to see just western classical instead of Indian classical . I am more interested in the album than the film for the meantime .
The looks of the actors are also one thing to watch out in the trailer . Katrina looks like a hollywood heroine from the 50’s and looks like an exotic beauty . She is the only female lead and hence the second thing that the movie will be focussing on apart from Music would be of course her . The lead actors of the film would probably fight it out for the God’s Best creations , Music and Love . Then we also get to see the “Bhola” avatar of Anil Kapoor that he dawned in his first few films . Salman also looks quite younger and he might look good with Katrina in this one .
Overall , I am looking forward to both the Album and the film which will release soon .Subhash Ghai is also looking for a hit since a long time and I hope he gets that in this film and viewers get to see a complete film . The year in any case has been very bad with most of the films leaving disappointed. I also hope that my favourite Katrina acts this time which she can and not just dances to songs

Dasvidanya review

Starring: Vinay Pathak, Neha Dhupia, Rajat Kapoor, Ranvir Shorey, Purbi Joshi and Sarita Joshi.
Director: Shashant Shah

Rating: 3 out of 5

Date Seen; 20/11/08

Duration 1 hr 53 Minutes

Final Verdict: Watch it for some really good bitter sweet moments, the film is definitely not a waste of your time and money but leaves you depressed

Download

Dasvidanya tells the the story of simpleton, Amar Kaul (Vinay Pathak) who works as an accounts manager in a pharmaceuticals company. Amar’s only excitement in life is making a to-do list every morning and then ticking off everything that he accomplishes at the end of the day. But unfortunately, destiny has some other plans stored for him. He comes to know through his doctor that he is suffering from stomach cancer and now only has just three months left to live.
This news makes Amar wake up to the reality that how till now he has wasted his life. Never mustered thecourage to express his love, never brought a car or never ever traveled abroad, Amar has so many unfulfilled dreams left! He then sets about making a new to do list of 10 things. His last list of all the things he has to do before he dies. From making a foreign trip to telling his childhood love about his affections for her to meeting his school best friend with whom he has lost contact. The film then follows Amar’s journey towards fulfilling his wishes which also take him nearer to his death.
Completely, character driven, the charm of the film lies in its simplicity of its theme and its wonderfully etched characters. The screenplay is well woven with some moments that carry the power to remain etched in your memory even long after the film is over. The only spoke in the wheel is the Russian girl’s track as it slows down the pace of the film. There are moments however that instantly bring tears to your eyes such as a few scenes between Vinay and his mom played by stage veteran Sarita Joshi and Vinay finally expressing his love on a rainy night to Neha Dhupia. First timer Shashant Shah has handled the subject with a rare maturity.The film is a must see for Vinay Pathak’s absolutely brilliant performance. One can easily rate it above his Bheja Fry act. Rajat Kapoor is good and so is Sarita Joshi. Neha Dhupia shows remarkable improvement as an actress while Ranvir Shorey appears completely disinterested. Saurabh Shukla is good as Vinay’s boss and Gaurav Gera as his brother.

Dasvidanya tells the the story of simpleton, Amar Kaul (Vinay Pathak) who works as an accounts manager in a pharmaceuticals company. Amar’s only excitement in life is making a to-do list every morning and then ticking off everything that he accomplishes at the end of the day. But unfortunately, destiny has some other plans stored for him. He comes to know through his doctor that he is suffering from stomach cancer and now only has just three months left to live.
This news makes Amar wake up to the reality that how till now he has wasted his life. Never mustered thecourage to express his love, never brought a car or never ever traveled abroad, Amar has so many unfulfilled dreams left! He then sets about making a new to do list of 10 things. His last list of all the things he has to do before he dies. From making a foreign trip to telling his childhood love about his affections for her to meeting his school best friend with whom he has lost contact. The film then follows Amar’s journey towards fulfilling his wishes which also take him nearer to his death.
Completely, character driven, the charm of the film lies in its simplicity of its theme and its wonderfully etched characters. The screenplay is well woven with some moments that carry the power to remain etched in your memory even long after the film is over. The only spoke in the wheel is the Russian girl’s track as it slows down the pace of the film. There are moments however that instantly bring tears to your eyes such as a few scenes between Vinay and his mom played by stage veteran Sarita Joshi and Vinay finally expressing his love on a rainy night to Neha Dhupia. First timer Shashant Shah has handled the subject with a rare maturity.The film is a must see for Vinay Pathak’s absolutely brilliant performance. One can easily rate it above his Bheja Fry act. Rajat Kapoor is good and so is Sarita Joshi. Neha Dhupia shows remarkable improvement as an actress while Ranvir Shorey appears completely disinterested. Saurabh Shukla is good as Vinay’s boss and Gaurav Gera as his brother.

Dostana Review

Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Bobby Deol and Kirron Kher; Director: Tarun Mansukhani

Date Seen; 15/11/2008 Duration 2 hrs 30 mins

rating: 2/5

Final verdict: No sense, but for the laugh glamour and songs you can see it once.

Dostana’ rocks when it’s funny. But it shocks when you see a nicely developed plot lose its substance and become just a bland and emotionless tale of friendship and love in the second half.You have to have a slightly cheeky sense of humour to like a film like Dostana , which is packed with over-the-top gay gags and ample gloss to glaze your eyes. There’s Shilpa Shetty in half-covered bikinis, Priyanka Chopra in beachwear and John Abraham in pulled-down (not all the way) underwear. If that doesn’t interest you (which I doubt), the humour in ‘Dostana’ would entertain you enough to sit through the length of the film without much bum adjustment. The
problem is that all the bonhomie and hilarity in ‘Dostana’ fail to culminate into a story that touches you. Sam ( Abhishek Bachchan ) and Kunal ( John Abraham ) are young bachelors in Miami who keep running into each other coincidentally. Both are out to look for a house when they come across a lushly decorated apartment in a Miami high-rise. The only hitch is that a girl named Neha (Priyanka Chopra) already lives in a room there and her aunt won’t rent the apartment to guys for obvious reasons. To be able to rent the place, Sam and Kunal invent a lie that they are a gay couple and, therefore, Neha has nothing to fear from them. After Sam and Kunal move into the apartment, they have to pretend to be a gay couple all the time. This leads to a series of humourous situations where the duo are confronted with Neha’s gay boss ( Boman Irani ) and Sam’s conservative Punjabi mother ( Kiron Kher ).Trouble begins when Sam and Kunal fall in love with Neha but she is blissfully unaware of their feelings, because she is convinced they are gays. She rather loves her new boss ( Bobby Deol ).‘Dostana’ is a full-on fun film that doesn’t trouble itself with authentic depiction of gay love. The men-in-love are shown predictably effeminate and pansy (their brawny bods notwithstanding) and a viewer doesn’t feel that the gays are being mocked because it’s all in good fun and banter. After all, the lead pair doesn’t play gays, but only straight men pretending as gays. Only one character is gay in the film and that’s brilliantly portrayed by Boman Irani.Abhishek Bachchan is the driving force of ‘Dostana’. The actor plays his over-the-top character with such ease and conviction that you don’t mind one bit even when he ends up making faces to make you laugh. John Abraham’s performance is restricted to a few expressions, the most repeated of which is a frozen, fixated look that he often gives to the other actors in the frame. ‘Dostana’ proves yet again that John – no matter how hot or cool he looks – is yet to become an actor.Priyanka Chopra looks superhot and acts well. Kiron Kher overperforms in a scene or two, while Bobby Deol appears uptight and restrained.The movie’s production values and the styling of the characters are topnotch. The music, though not impressive, blends sweetly into the narrative. But more outstanding is the background score, which actually adds an extra punch to the humour.‘Dostana’ might have been a roller-coaster joyride had the director ( Tarun Mansukhani ) known where to take the story in the second half. The plot merely skims through the three romantic tracks (between Abhi, John, Priyanka and Bobby) without making you feel for a single one of them. So even though the film entertains you, it doesn’t touch your heart the way it could have.

Ghajini

Dostana Preview Download

Abhishek Bachchan as Sameer Born and raised in London, now in his early thirties, Sameer works in Miami, as a male nurse at St. Steve’s Hospital. A goofy kind of guy, who yet has the ability to charm his way into anybody’s life. Sameer is the man with the plan. Plans he seldom thinks through their consequences.

John Abraham as Kunal

Kunal is a guy in his early thirties. Tall, suave, confident and good looking who has this brooding quality about him that makes girls swoon over him. Which he plays to his full advantage. He’s a fashion photographer who is pretty straight edged, responsible and an organized man who has a life in order except for his residence permit as he is an illegal immigrant.

Priyanka Chopra as Neha

Neha Melwani is a 27 year old, contemporary Indian woman. She is a smart, gorgeous and stylish woman, working at a fashion magazine called Verve. Hard working and someone who loves her work, she longs to settle down and have a family. She is respectful, intelligent and also innocent which sometimes lands her into trouble.SynopsisIt's all happening in the Beach Party Capitol of the world...Miami. When Sameer (Abhishek Bachchan) and Kunal (John Abraham) are turned down for an apartment because the landlady doesn't want two strapping young men to corrupt her young sexy niece Neha (Priyanka Chopra) they go to plan 'G' - they pretend to be 'Gay' to secure the apartment.All is well till they meet the sexy siren Neha and thus begins a journey of fun frolic and a test of friendship like never before.When Neha's boss Abhimanyu (Bobby Deol) enters the fray as the third contender for her affections, it gets even hotter under everyone's vests and bikinis and the boys get down and dirty in sunny Miami.‘Dostana’ also features Shilpa Shetty in a guest appearance for an item song where she is seen jiving along with Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham on the Miami Beach.The movie has music by Vishal-Shekhar and lyrics by Anvita Dutt Guptan, Vishal Dadlani and Kumaar.The costumes for John and Abhishek are done by Aki Narula , while Manish Malhotra has done costumes for Priyanka Chopra.A youth-oriented film, ‘Dostana’ is scheduled to hit the screens worldwide on 14th November.

Release tommorow! Download Link Soon

Story of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

A simpleton Surinder Sahni (Shah Rukh Khan) loves his wife but is unable to reach out to her. Meanwhile, a dance competition on the lines of the dance show Nach Baliye is held in town.

Seizing his chance, Surinder transforms himself from a simpleton to a hip personality with a new name -- Raj Kapoor .He partners with his wife, who is unaware that her dashing dancing partner is really her husband. She gradually starts falling in love with Raj only to realise the fact that he is her husband.

Releasing on Dec 12

Movie Review: Karz

Star Cast: Himesh Reshammiya, Urmila Matondkar, Danny, Raj Babbar and introducing Shweta Kumar; Director: Satish Kaushik; Rating: 1/5
Date Seen 24/10/2008
Download Here




This remake of Subhash Ghai’s 1980s super hit Karz has basically the same storyline as the original with a little twist added to it. So for all those who haven’t seen the original, the plot goes like this – Kamini (Urmila) marries Ravi Verma (Dino Morea) for his riches and bumps him off immediately after their marriage. Two decades later, the biggest music sensation in South Africa, Monty (Himesh) one day suddenly during a rehearsal starts playing a tune and goes into a trance, with intense visual flashes of a mansion, a temple, a beautiful girl and ends up collapsing unconscious. Further a flash back reveals that Monty was actually Ravi Verma in his previous life, married to a beautiful girl called Kamini. Monty now has the grave realization of having been reborn in his current persona. His beautiful love interest (Tina) is none other than Kamini’s foster daughter. From here starts Monty’s new journey. A journey of revenge! How he accomplishes it and gives justice to Ravi Verma’s hapless old mother and sister forms the rest of the film.
The basic premise of this film is even exciting for anyone of today’s generation. But one thing that one needs to keep in mind while watching this film is that it is not completely aimed at the multiplex going audience. It has been treated like a typical masala film aimed at the masses and to enjoy one needs to keep his brains back at home.
The things that work are - The enthusiasm of Himesh in reprising Rishi Kapoor’s Monty. Himesh has given it his all and his efforts show. You root for him in the second half when he starts playing games with Urmila. The action sequences, especially the climax ones are mind blowing. Another good plus is the performance by Urmila in her first ever full blown villainous role. Her venomous act is bound to get her few awards this year for sure. She has even exposed her body a lot in those glamorous dresses. Gulshan Grover (as Sir Judah) in his unusual get up leaves a mark. Danny as the every helpful Kabir chacha (played by Pran in the original) and Asrani lend able support.
But the things that don’t really work are – The pairing of Himesh and debutante Shweta Kumar. They share an extremely thanda chemistry. Considering it is her debut film, the poor gal hasn’t been properly presented as well. In the acting department she still has a long way to go. The styling of the film is extremely poor excluding that of Himesh’s. The set design is straight out of the 80s films. Also, despite having so many dance numbers, there is not a single song that stays in your mind thanks to some really pathetic choreography with those now mandatory firang dancers around. The high point of the original Karz, the Ek Hasina Thi number falls flat in here in its new version. As a director, Satish Kaushik fails to add any independent distinct style.
I suggest dont see it its a waste.

Movie Review: Fashion

Movie star Cast: Mugdha Godse, Priyanka, Kangna, Arbaaz, Harsh Chhaya, Madhur, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, Neil Mukesh, Arjan Bajwa, Sameer Soni and Kitu; Director: Madhur Bhandarkar; Rating: 4/5

Date Seen: 3/11/08

Fashion begins in Chandigarh, where aspiring model Meghna Mathur (Priyanka) expresses her wish to go to Mumbai to her parents. While her dad (Raj Babbar) out rightly denies her permission, her mom (Kiran Juneja) is supportive. Against her dad’s wishes, Meghna leaves her house with dreams in her eyes to strike it big in the modeling world. But it is not a path of roses for her as she experiences some major difficulties in her initial days in Mumbai. But she gets a good helping hand with an old acquaintance, Rohit (Ashwin Mushran) an aspiring designer who assists big shot designer Rahul Arora (Sameer Soni). She keeps bumping into another struggling model, Maanav (Arjan) while making the rounds of modeling agencies for auditions. Meghna becomes good friends with Maanav and even starts sharing his apartment after she faces accommodation problems. Meghna gets noticed by India’s top modeling agency Panache’s top official, Anisha Roy (Kitu) who brings her to Panache boss, Abhijit Sareen’s (Arbaaz) notice. Abhijit gets impressed by her ambitious nature and go getter attitude. Panache’s face is Shonali (Kangana) but though very successful, her drug habit starts becoming a problem for her and subsequently for Panache. Abhijit decides to terminate Shonali’s contract and ropes in Meghna in her place. Soon, Meghna is everywhere – right from being the showstopper at the biggest fashion shows in town to fashion magazine covers to print ads to TV commercials. The overnight success spoils Meghna and the budding love relationship between her and Maanav also comes to an abrupt end. What happens after Meghna reaches the pinnacle of success in the modeling world and how her journey also invariably leads to the downfall of Shonali and what shocking things further await Meghna forms the rest of the film.
After Chandni Bar, Page 3, Corporate and Traffic Signal, Madhur has hit a master stroke with Fashion exposing the murky underbelly of the most glamorous profession in the world. Never getting preachy and avoiding stereo types Madhur efficiently handles the subject without getting judgemental even once. He has outshined himself in the technical department making Fashion is most slick product till date. His perfect casting also lifts the film to a completely different level. In fact one wouldn’t be surprised if Madhur manages to win a National Award with this film as well! Also, perhaps for the first time his climax is not dark where the protagonist ends up being a loser! The film has a bitter-sweet ending.
The screenplay by Madhur, Anuradha Tiwari and Ajay Monga peeks deep into the reality of the fashion world and touches every single aspect of the industry such as casting couch, gay designers, wild lifestyle of models who can’t handle success, backstage dramas during major fashion shows, manipulative head honchos and attitude problems of successful people. After holding the audience’s attention captive for a major portion, the screenplay tends to drag towards the finale moments. Niranjan Iyengar’s dialogues strike a chord.
Priyanka in the most challenging roles of her career, delivers the goods successfully. Kangana despite a short role ends up giving an award worthy performance. Even though it is her debut film, Mugdha Godse shows extreme confidence. Arbaaz Khan is good and so is Sameer Soni. Arjan Bajwa acts well. Kitu Gidwani is graceful whereas Ashwin Mushran is very like able.
Fashion is a must watch for many reasons so go for it and trust us you wont be disappointed.

Shoot on Sight

Movie Review: Shoot on Sight;

Star Cast:Naseeruddin Shah, Brian Cox, Greta Scacchi, Om Puri, Laila Rouass and Gulshan Grover;
Director: Jagmohan Mundhra;
Rating: 3/5
Date Seen 21/10/08

Shoot on Sight, the title refers to a contentious, post-9/11 British law-enforcement policy, doesn’t make pulses pound in the tradition of a big Hollywood police thriller but instead focuses on the human story and that’s what is more commendable.

Tariq Ali (Naseer) is a Muslim police officer at Scotland Yard Commander. Ali, born in Pakistan, is married to an English woman, Susan (Greta Scacchi) and with two kids, is tasked to investigate the police shooting of a suspected Muslim terrorist on the London Underground. Distrusted by both his British superiors in the London police, and his fellow Muslims, he finds his inquiry hampered from all sides. When evidence surfaces pointing to the slain man’s innocence, as well as the existence of a terrorist cell operating in his own backyard, Tariq must faces the realization that sometimes the right decision is the hardest one to make.

Shoot On Sight is based on the aftermath of the infamous 7/7 bombings in London and the killing of Jean Charles De Menezes on the London Underground. Carl Austin’s screenplay does proper justice to the subject by showing view points of both the sides aptly. The family interplay surrounding Tariq and his clash of values with Westerners, and his patient but increasingly torn wife, played by Greta Scacchi, who is an outsider to their culture trying to blend in has come out superbly. The film appears a sincerely decent effort by Jagmohan Mundhra whose last film was the Aishwarya Rai starrer Provoked. What actually make the film interesting are the performances by Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri who plays the fanatic preacher and dangerous Jihadist Junaid. Greta Scacchi and Brian Cox also lend able support. Gulshan Grover and the beautiful Laila Rouass impress in their cameos.

Handsomely shot, the film strives to be multifaceted without quite reaching the moral and ethical complexities it tries to grasp.

Vantage point

Rating 4/5
Date Seen 29/10/2008

Directed By:
Pete Travis

Cast:
Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Zoe Saldana

Thomas Barnes and Kent Taylor are two Secret Service agents assigned to protect President Ashton at a landmark summit on the global war on terror. When President Ashton is shot moments after his arrival in Spain, chaos ensues and disparate lives collide. In the crowd is Howard Lewis, an American tourist videotaping the historic event to show his kids when he returns home. Also there is Rex, an American TV news producer who is reporting on the conference. It''s only as we follow each person''s perspective of the same 15 minutes to and immediately after the shooting so that the terrifying truth behind the assassination attempt is revealed.

Movie Review: Heroes

Movie Cast: Salman Khan, Preity Zinta, Sunny Deol, Mithun Chakraborty, Bobby Deol, Sohail Khan, Vatsal Seth, Dino Moreo, Riya Sen, Amrita Arora and Monish Behl;
Director: Samir Karnik;

Rating: 4/5
Date Seen : 30/10/08

Samir Karnik after two back to back flops (Kyon Ho Gaya Na and Nanhe Jaisalmer) makes a grand comeback with a Heroes, a good film that tugs your heart strings and makes you think.

It tells the story of two aimless youth Sammy (Sohail Khan) and Ali (Vatsal Sheth) who have to travel a thousand miles to deliver three letters as a part of their film school assignment. But little do they know that the journey they have embarked upon will end up giving a new meaning to their life. Unfolding in three chapters it tells peaks into the lives of Balkar Singh (Salman) and Kuljeet Kaur (Preity) in the first chapter, brothers Vikram (Sunny) and Dhananjay Shergill (Bobby) in the second chapter and that of Dr. Naqvi (Mithun) and his son Sahil (Dino) in the final chapter.

How Sammy and Ali’s encounters of heroes in real life changes their attitude towards their own life and our country forms rest of the film.

It is a very good subject that doesn’t involve any jingoism from our country’s army men characters to prove their love for the nation. Though the opening sequences (including a mindless song) appear a little irritating, the film takes a good turn once the chapters start unfolding back to back. The culmination is the high point of the film which makes us all feel proud for country and our army men and also makes us realize at the same time that you don’t have to be in the army to be a real hero. Every common person has it in him to be a Hero. The title of the film couldn’t have been more apt.

Scenes between Salman and Preity, Bobby and Sunny have turned out very well. You are in tears in most of the places. This film is a pleasant surprise if you go in without any expectations. The performances by every single actor take this film above average. Salman and Preity not only look like a real couple but they are very much in character appearing real Punjabis. Sunny gets some whistle blowing moments after a long time in a Bollywood film. Bobby in a short role impresses and so do Dino and Mithun. Vatsal shows remarkable improvement as an actor post his disastrous debut in Tarzan the Wonder Car. Sohail with his witty one-liners keeps you engaged and shows the transformation of his character very well. Amrita and Riya hardly have any role to speak about.

Samir Karnik deserves kudos for choosing a great subject and narrating it very well. He has very well incorporated strong emotions that bring a tear to you eyes. Don’t miss this film; we are sure you will come out a changed person when you see it.

Hari Puttar

Rating 2.5/5

Date Seen:1/11/08

Movie: Hari Putar; Star Cast: Sarika, Jackie Shroff, Zain Khan, Swini Khara, Saurabh Shukla and Vijay Raaz; Director: Lucky Kohli, Rajesh

Hari Puttar- A comedy 'with only errors'

The worst part about the movie 'Hari Puttar' is that it is completely an uplifted movie. The title is stolen, the story is stolen, only the sad music is something which is original (that too we aren't sure, so don't blame us!). The best part of the movie is, opps, sorry there's no best part in it.

We wonder after watching Home Alone movies- all the three series, how can people like this blunder. An utter nonsense movie and a big time disgrace to the legendary 'Home Alone' series.

The movie came into limelight much before its release, all thanks to the great Warner Bros, according to whom (and the world too) that the producers of the movie 'Hari Puttar' stole the title from the much famed 'Hari Pottar' series and then a concept entirely stolen from 'Home Alone' series. We wonder why did the makers of Home Alone series spare them when Warner Bros. didn't.

Anyways we didn't see anything new or creative in the movie. All innovative ideas and creativity were more like music man Pritam's case- STOLEN OR COPIED.

'Hari Puttar' is good for people who either couldn't make to see the Home Alone series or didn't have enough cash to buy their DVD. Such people will enjoy this movie to the core and will later curse them too (if they happen to see the original Home Alone series).

GOLMAAL Returns.

Rating; 3/5

There is a sequence in Rohit Shetty's Golmaal Returns where Ajay Devgan launches into a self-righteous diatribe against wife Kareena Kapoor In doing so, he invokes one of Hindi farce's most hackneyed gags -- one where he uses film titles to construct sentences. It is a bit we've seen a million times before, but the difference here is that Devgan sticks exclusively to movies starring himself, going from Dilwale to Diljale to Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. As he winds on, an ever helpful Shreyas Talpade prompts him with a few more: 'Cash, Raju Chacha, Ramu Ki Aag,' he says, only for Devgan to snarl, asking him to leave the salt out of the wounds.

It is refreshing, this long-overdue ability shown by our stars to mock themselves. Instead of shying away from three of his biggest clunkers -- one of which he produced himself -- Devgan is instead taking the punch front and centre, and knowing that the joke is on him makes it that much funnier. There is much of this tomfoolery in the decidedly scriptless Golmaal Returns, with jokes made at everyone's expense: from Kareena's boyfriend's tattoo (the same jibe in two films released within four days of each other, really to Tusshar Kapoor's sister's serials.
Also impressive is the fact that the film, clearly not taking itself seriously, works in constant mock-movie mode. Every few scenes, one or more of the characters steps out of, well, character and break the fourth wall to make a reference to the first film, a possible Golmaal 3, or -- like in the aforementioned Devgan scene -- to each other as actors, not their fictional personas. It is a manner of loopy filmmaking in the key of Steven Soderbergh's delightfully self-referential (and completely plotless) Ocean's Twelve, and so there is definite potential to shine.
Except, these moments of zing, while pretty darned good -- sometimes even quotable -- are too few and far between. The film is longdrawn, weighed down by several scenes that just aren't funny besides trying too hard. The basic problem for Golmaal Returns is that -- and here I urge you to scroll back to the first paragraph, to reemphasise the point -- by the time the really awesome laughs come around, you're already tired by the been-there-seen-that banality of it all.
It's a shame, because Shetty clearly is an intelligent guy. There is concept behind his caricaturing and some quite innovative -- and even alarmingly wicked -- broadsiding, but he settles for dumbing this film down into something painfully puerile, diluting the best of his gags by setting them among a pile of Priyadarshanesque pap. Sigh.

Tusshar Kapoor leads the pack in terms of performances, his mute act only having gotten better with time. Often the only reason for a lot of scenes being watchable, Tusshar shows off extreme mime skills in a scene where he chastises Kareena and Amrita for wailing before hearing him out.
The only other good acting job in the film comes unsurprisingly from Kareena, the heroine frequently shooting her Jab We glare while hilariously playing a soap-obsessed housewife -- and all this while looking like a million bucks.
Shreyas Talpade is all over the place, while Ajay Devgan and Arshad Warsi are essentially faffing through the proceedings -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing in a movie of this nature, but some restraint would have truly helped the overall picture. Significant restraint would also be required of the director for the appalling insensitivity on display with the mute jokes -- the Tusshar track is all about how he refuses to tell a girl who makes eyes at him that he's a mute, for fear that she rejects him, a horrid idea the other two guys only encourage -- and it's okay to laugh at a character being dumb, but plain sick to do it just because he can't speak.
Another word to the wisecracker, Rohit: enough with the Sanjay Leela Bhansali digs. Clearly you aren't enamoured with the director, but the only reason we laughed our heads off with all the Black references in Golmaal was because some people actually liked that film; heck, some utterly worshipped it. This time, when you harp on and on about Saawariya ,the jokes fall truly and utterly flat -- because a good spoof always takes on something significant, iconic, memorable. Not a movie nobody wants to remember.
The last five minutes of Golmaal Returns are the funniest I've seen in a movie theatre in a very long time. If only the film preceding it was even half as good.

Reference: rediff, Gupshup

Drona

Movie: Drona;
Star Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Kay Kay Menon and Jaya Bachchan;
Director: Goldie Behl;
Rating 2.5/5

Director Goldie Bhel may be one of the best friends of Abhishek but his friendship is not doing any good for Jr. Bachchan as far as professional relationship is concerned. First he made a flop film like Bus Itna Sa Khwab Hai with Abhishek and to worsen things more now he has come up with a dud flick like Drona.
window.google_render_ad();
As every other superhero flick, Drona's story too deals with the fight between the good and the evil where Abhishek plays the super hero Drona, a savior of the world, and Kay Kay is seen portraying the character of the evil who wants to kill Drona in order to have his control over the whole world. In this otherwise boring flick, Priyanka Chopra's sensuality brings some relief. She plays the body guard to Drona.
There's nothing to talk about the direction as even an amateur director would have done a much much better job than what Goldie has done. I think he needs to assist some good director before trying his hands on any other project. God knows, what in the world inspired him to make a high budgeted movie like Drona.
The script also hasn't supported the poorly directed flick and even the characters are poorly sketched. Kay Kay's character is more clownish than devilish. Same goes with the main character of Drona. His strengths and power are not dealt with in detail which is so very important for a superhero flick.
Coming to the songs, which have no significance in the movie, are unbearable.
The only thing that stands out in Drona is the brilliant special effects, which are way ahead of Bollywood standards.
Performance wise too non of the actors have delivered in compared to their caliber. It can be rated as one of the worst flick Kay Kay has ever done. With his tummy, Mr. Abhishek doesn't at all fit into the costume of a superhero. Again it's only Priyanka who stands out of them all and that too only due to her sensuality and glamorous look. Jaya Bachchan has a very small role.
Overall, Drona could easily be placed a notch or two below some of the worst movies I have ever seen. I would never advice anyone to waste one's hard earned money to see this senseless film.

the mistress of spices review

Rating 2/5

THE MISTRESS OF SPICES looks at the conflicts faced by Tilo [Aishwarya Rai], a beautiful young woman trained in the ancient and magical art of spices. Ordained with special powers to help those that come to her, Tilo can sense people's problems with a startling ability to see into their past and future.Tilo works in a small San Francisco store called 'Spice Bazaar', where, with the guidance of her spices, she finds the perfect remedy for anyone who walks through her door. For her powers to work, she must obey three simple, but strict rules: She must use the spices only to help others, she must not touch another human's skin and she must never leave her store. When Doug [Dylan McDermott], an architect, crashes his Harley Davison outside her San Francisco store, she has to tend to his wounds and her life is changed forever. For the first time, Tilo's own desires are stirred -- is there more to life than helping others? Tilo knows the rules and her spices warn her to stay away. But Doug doesn't have any spices telling him what to do and soon returns to ask her on a date.No matter how hard she resists him, his persistence, honesty and friendship draws them closer to each other. When they accidentally touch, another rule is broken and the spices are enraged. The spices are in no mood for either leniency or romance, but Tilo is captivated by the force of love and agrees to go on a date leaving her spices behind. The spices begin to punish her -- the more she falls in love and defies the rules, the more her customers suffer.All Tilo wants to do is carry on her work and fall in love as well, but she is forced into a painful dilemma. If she turns her back on her way of life, all the people that she has helped will suffer, but if she doesn't, she will lose Doug forever.Paul Mayeda Berges had a fascinating story on hand and even the screen adaptation of the novel has its high points, but it's the powerless execution of the subject material that makes the film sink faster than Titanic. There's not one sequence in the film that you actually cherish, primarily because the narrative is handled in the most slapdash manner.Tilo's relationships with her clientele consume most of the time. And that tends to make the proceedings monotonous. Tilo's relationship with Doug and the 'anger' of spices at the growing friendship could've been depicted far more interestingly, but the impression you get after having watched the film is that the director was more keen to tell the qualities of the spices rather than a sound story. That's precisely why the film makes a zilch impact! Santosh Sivan's cinematography and the art design are up to the mark. Only thing, the director hasn't done justice to the beauty of San Francisco. There was scope to show several breath-taking locations of the city when Doug and Tilo spend an entire day together. The instrumental version of a yesteryear hit works beautifully in the romantic scene.Aishwarya looks ethereal and impresses in parts, not in entirety. Dylan is strictly okay. Again, the director hasn't tapped his potential to the fullest. Anupam Kher goes over the top. Nitin Ganatra pitches in a decent performance. Ayesha Dharker is wasted. Ditto for Zohra Segal and Padma Lakshmi.On the whole, THE MISTRESS OF SPICES is a spiceless, bland fare with nothing to excite the moviegoer. At the box-office, this one's a disaster!

Ramchand Pakistani

Director: Mehreen Jabbar

Cast: Syed

Fazal Hussain, Navaid Jabbar, Rashid Farooqui, Maria Wasti, Nandita Das

Rating: 4/5

After witnessing the victimized Muslim in a slew of Indian films this year, here comes a Pakistani film about a victimized Hindu. But much against exploitation of religious sentiments, this one doesn't manipulate cast and creed concerns but broadly illustrates injustice and oppression to the humankind in general. 7-year-old Ramchand (Syed Fazal Hussain) belongs to a Dalit Hindu family residing in Pakistan at a village situated on the Indian border. One day the boy and his father Shankar (Rashid Farooqui) accidentally cross the border and enter India where they are arrested by the border security on pretext of spying. The two are transferred to a jail in Gujarat where they spend five long years for no fault of theirs. Meanwhile Ramchand's mother Champa (Nandita Das) keeps longing for the return of her husband and son. With a premise as basic as this, the straightforward storytelling by director Mehreen Jabbar focuses predominantly on human bonding and the emotional evolution of the child character. The film very sharply shows how two innocent people pall prey to the political hostility between two neighbouring countries on the verge of war and become hostages on charges they are not even remotely aware of. Their helplessness to the circumstances and the resulting frustration is persuasively portrayed. The film maintains a politically correct stance by not taking sides of either country (India or Pakistan), religion (Hindu or Muslim) or creed (untouchables or upper class) and has a very secular outlook. Also the narrative intentionally steers away from justifying the rights and wrongs of the legal system and has a peripheral approach to the imprisonment of the protagonists, thereby showing them as fall guys of fate. The screenplay significantly concentrates on the progression of Ramchand in prison and his association with his father and elder inmates. But the most tender relationship he shares is with his female warden Kamla (Maria Wasti) who detests him for being a lower class untouchable but at the same time also grooms him, being his only female caretaker in the jail. In a parallel plot, Champa's struggle for solitary survival and her subsequent attraction towards a village merchant is sensitively depicted. The basic human hope for the quest of freedom that the film highlights, reminds of Hollywood classic The Shawshank Redemption which had a similar prison setting. With the separation of the family across the border, one can also draw references to Gadar though in terms of conduct the films are poles apart with this one being toned down by zilch heroism. Of the touching treatment, watch out for the scene where the child vents his angst on his pet bug or the scene where the father holds on to his son for a cycle ride. Another scene where the kid guards his female warden's room or watches video cassettes of Chaalbaaz and Chandni with her are captured on a lighter note. However, the Nandita Das track drags at instances and could have been shorter. The title character is played by two child artists who pose for the two ages of Ramchand Pakistani. Syed Fazal Hussain excels as the younger Ramchand through his innocent-filled expressions while Navaid Jabbar is equally competent as his elder avatar. Rashid Farooqui brings conviction to his character of a vulnerable father and a frustrated victim of circumstances. Nandita Das is fine in her role but has played several of such countryside characters before. Maria Wasti as Ramchand's custodian is both compelling and charming in her act. Ramchand Pakistani captures the connotations of two religions in its title while its appeal is unbound by the confines of any creed or country.

Download Here

Kidnap

Sonia (Minissha Lamba) lives with her mother, Mallika (Vidya Malvade) and grandmother (Reema Lagoo) because her parents had divorced when she was ten. A fortnight before her eighteenth birthday, she picks an argument with her mother about her coming home late after the Christmas Party. Her mother tells her to stay within limits and arrive home in time. She is reluctant to abide by the rule and after much negotiation demands that she would listen to everything if she gets to meet her father. Then she leaves home & goes swimming in the sea to vent out. Far into the sea, she vanishes underwater... (is she dead?)NO. She wakes up in the evening in a cottage which has no exit. At first she doesn't believe that she has been kidnapped and thinks that her friends are playing a prank on her. The abductor Kabir (Imran Khan) tells her how she came there. When she went swimming in the open sea, he pulled her below the water surface and knocked her unconscious using a bottled chloroform.On the other hand, everyone is worried at her home. Next morning, her mother receives a call from Kabir, who demands to speak to Vikrant Raina (Sanjay Dutt), a US-based Indian business tycoon, with whom he has an old score to settle.Kabir demands that Vikrant (and Vikrant alone) play a "game". The game involves Kabir giving a task to Vikrant and upon completion of the task, Vikrant will get a clue that will take him one step close to his daughter.Directed by Sanjay Gadhvi Produced by Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Pvt. Ltd. Written by Shibani Bathija Starring Sanjay Dutt,Imran Khan,Minissha Lamba,Vidya Malvade

Download http://www.mininova.org/tor/1881842

Hello

Director: Atul Agnihotri
Writer: Atul Agnihotri
Release Date: 10 October 2008
Genre: DramaRuntime: 129 minutes

Cast: Amrita Arora as RadhikaSharman Joshi as ShyamKatrina Kaif as Mysterious WomanSalman KhanSohail Khan as VroomIsha Koppikar as EshaAnupam Maanav as Tv reporterSuresh Menon as Systems GuyRishi Nijhawan as GaneshGul Kirat Panag as PriyankaSharat Saxena as Military UncleDalip Tahil as Bakshi
Plot Summary:Hello... is a tale about the events that happen one night at a call center. Told through the views of the protagonist, Shyam, it is a story of almost lost love, thwarted ambitions, absence of family affection, pressures of a patriarchal set up, and the work environment of a globalized office. Shyam is losing his girl friend because his career is going nowhere as he trudges his way around in a call center. His girl friend, Priyanka, is also an agent like him at the call center who is about to be snatched by an NRI technogeek. There is also the aspiring model, Esha, who is hoping for the break that seems to be always already eluding her and the man about town, Vroom, who is into well, things. The housewife, Radhika, who is constantly at the receiving end of her mother-in-law and a beleaguered grandfather, Military Uncle, who has been barred from interacting with his grandchild make up the rest of the call agents who see their worlds crumbling around them as the decisions of right sizing are conveyed by Bakshi, the boss. It is a night when dreams will finally crumble. Or will it? For there is that call from God. Narrated as a tale within a tale as a beautiful woman meets the auteur narrator and promises him a story on the condition that he has to narrate it further, Hello, based on Chetan Bhagat's one night @ the call center, is the one remarkable story from Tales from a Thousand and One globalizing, urban, Indian Nights.
Download @ http://www.mininova.org/tor/1900232

1920

Rating 3

The year is 1920 and the house is isolated in the wilderness has a secret. It is waiting for the curse to come true. For years everyone who has bought the house and tried to pull it down has died under strange circumstances. It is like the house has has a will and a life of its own.
Arjun (Rajneesh Duggal) and his wife Lisa (Adah Sharma) move into the house and he has been given the task of pulling it down and making a hotel there. The haunting begins.
Strange and inexplicable events start taking place. The curse says they will not survive. The only thing they have that is true is the love they once shared, which is now under the shadow of doubt. They will have to depend on the love and faith if they are to come out of this alive

Cast:
Rajneesh Duggal, Barkha Bhist, Dilip Thadeshwar, Amita Bishnoi, Vipin Sharma, Sri Vallabh Vyas, Amin Hajee, Ashish Pradhan, Rushitaa Pandya, Adah Sharma, Anjori alagh, Raj Zutshi, Smita Hai

Phoonk A Blac Magic Story

Rating 2
Closed it half way, It was really bad , ram gopal verma's touch is going...

Saas Bahu aur Sensex

Saas Bahu aur Sensex . a good movie worth seeing.

New Movies - releasing Soon

DRONA
The players: Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Kay Kay Menon, Jaya Bachchan
The maker: Goldie Behl
The plot: Somewhere in the land of myth, magic and mystery a regular guy (Bachchan) comes to terms with his super hero status which involves battling the spiteful, power-hungry baddie (Menon) with a cool sword in hand and feisty she-bodyguard (Chopra) in tow.
Pros: After Krrish, maybe the audience is ready to place their bets on the zardozi-clad knight with extraordinary powers. Abhishek does possess the requisite intensity and presence to pull this off. Besides, there's this chemistry thing between him and Priyanka, which as witnessed in Bluffmaster, works very well.
Cons: The promos make Drona seem like a compilation of a zillion Hollywood fantasy flicks.
Release date: October 2.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KIDNAP
The players: Sanjay Dutt, Imran Khan, Minissha Lamba, Vidya Malvade.
The maker: Sanjay Gadhvi
The plot: Boy meets girl gets a twist. Hot guy (Khan) holds hot girl (Lamba) hostage. Next, he sets up a series of tasks for her estranged billionaire papa (Dutt) to perform, before the latter can come to her rescue.
Pros: Imran Khan is a fine actor and has aroused considerable curiosity among audiences with his unusual choice of second film. Also, Kidnap is a refreshing break for its director Sanjay Gadhvi after the mindless yet profitable Dhoom movies.
Cons: Gadhvi does have a soft corner for style over substance.
Release date: October 2.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KARZZZZ

The players: Himesh Reshammiya, Urmila Matondkar, Shweta Kumar.
The maker: Satish Kaushik
The plot: South-Africa based rock star (Reshammiya) finds love in a pretty dancer (Kumar), only she happens to be under the guardianship of a woman (Matondkar) he dated and got killed by in his previous birth.
Pros: Reincarnation has usually been a lucrative theme at the box-office. Not to forget singer-turned-actor Reshammiya's overwhelming popularity or the bumper opening of his debut, Aap Ka Surroor.
Cons: As in case of most remakes, purists are bound to thumb down Kaushik's reworking of Subhash Ghai's musical drama of romance, rebirth and revenge.
Release Date: October 17.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FASHION

The players: Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Mughda Godse, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Arbaaz Khan.
The maker: Madhur Bhandarkar
The plot: A small-town girl (Chopra) hits big-time success on the runway. But the stress and insecurity of leading a high-profile existence in the cut-throat world of modeling is no catwalk, as she subsequently discovers.
Pros: The premise definitely has our attention. Ditto for the cast.
Cons: Fashion isn't everyone's cup of tea and there's a possibility a significant section of the audience might not relate with it.
Release date: October 29.