79. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

DISCLAIMER :

1. Every movie review on this blog carries a disclaimer.

2. Text ahead might contain spoilers, but hey, I am sure 3/4th of the world has already see the movie by now.

3. A movie seen late, gets a review, late.

As fate would have it, this is the second Hrithik Roshan movie this blog is reviewing. 

ZNMD is an interesting flick to watch(but just once!). Three friends get together on a supposed Bachelor Party, setting them on to experiment adventure sports they dread most, making them unveil their hidden fears. A comparison with Dil Chahta Hai inevitably crosses your mind looking at the tension and friction between Arjun and Imraan. Such a comparison does unimaginable damage to the movie, which Zoya Akhtar seems to have quickly grasped. 

• Hrithik Roshan sports a Dhoom 2 look. Yes?
• The chemistry between Arjun and Imraan is unmistakable and thoroughly enjoyable.  Abhay Deol plays Ms. Goody Two Shoes and is the glue between these two. 
• I can't even get to writing it, but Nazeeruddin Shah and Deepti Naval are wasted :( For whatever it's worth, the two have enacted their parts beautifully, though I did want to put some life into Naval's character.
• When all of the world is singing Senorita, I can't see why Roshan sings Senori"thaa". :D Abhay Deol's unrestrained singing and his clumsy dancing bring a whiff of fresh air to the song. *drool*
• Katrina is aptly cast in the movie, movies-set-in-foreign-locations being her forte, thereby bringing out her talent to nonchalantly carry off her American Hindi.
• Why in the name of God was "Saare jahan se acchha" played before they were about to skydive?
• Farhan Akhtar is adorable. Kalki Koechlin has enacted her bit well, and adds that posh-ness to the setting.
• The ending scene while the credits are rolling, is completely utopian in my view. The compulsive need to show that all was cool between Kabir(Abhay) and Natasha(Kalki) as the movie ends. Disappointing. Life doesn't work that way. 
• iLOLed at Bagwati :D

The movie is certainly nothing out of the ordinary, but is definitely worth a watch. If nothing, you'll atleast feel the desperate need to skydive before you die :)

Sanjay Leela Bhansali ka problem kya hai?

AUTHOR'S (UNSOLICITED) WORD :

Guzaarish. To put it simply and right at the outset, I don't get one single clear-cut point that the movie tries to send across.

ISHTORY :

Hrithik plays a bearded Ethan Mascarenhas, a once-upon-a-time-famous-magician-now-turned-quadriplegic owing to a fatal accident that took place 12 years ago.. Bhansali bhai certainly didn't finish the script over a cup of coffee, 'coz he forgets it is 12 years that poor Ethan has been paralysed for, and plays Tambola with the guy's life, and Ghajini with himself. He makes it 14 years. Anyhow, I digress. Chuck, 12 or 14, this man for some reason, has taken to hosting inspirational radio shows from the comforts of his dilapidated room in an antique palatial-looking bungalow, the roofs of which keep dripping water onto the nose of Ethan Mascarenhas every time it rains. Add to scene, Sophia D'souza, played by Aishwarya Rai, who has unconditionally served Ethan for the past solve-above-conflict-12-or-14 number of years. At most points in the movie, one keeps wondering if she was burnt from riches to rags buying her Marilyn Monroe red lipsticks and investing in that unnecessary plunging neckline for a paralysed man. That's where Bollywood makes me cringe. This compulsive need to show skin, no matter what the script. I digress again. Yea so, famed magician, nurse to match, and add to potpourri, a student whose only USP and contribution-in-the-movie is the cute blob of hair on his head. How a magician plays Ms. Goody Two Shoes to write every single trick-of-the-trade and capture the finesse of magic in a notebook, so some joker will someday come and carry forth his lineage fails the audience at some logical realm.

Guzaarish is about Ethan's petition for euthanasia. He calls it Ethanasia. Oh, ok. And oh man, what a petition. Guy shouts into the radio daily 'jitni bhi hai, jaisi bhi hai, zindagi khoobsurat hai', writes a book on Quadriplegics and then decides, chalo bohot khush reh liya, ab marna chahiye. Why he keeps pleading to a court that keeps rejecting his appeals for death and his claims for his "right to die" and finally agrees for murder is beyond God. If I were him, I would have died just looking at the constipated look Aishwarya Rai sports in 'Udi Udi' and her flowy skirts that make you wonder if it was a Jane Austen movie. Time and again, he gives the audience bechaara doggy looks, while his lawyer-cum-best friend fights with Byomkesh Bakshi, desperately trying to cry, but somehow can't manage to. Glycerine ki izzat ka falooda. One of the fairly decent actors in the movie, this lawyer lady Devyani, is failed by a script that does no justice to her role. Giving her competition for the money he's been paid, Suhel Seth compensates for the heavily missing comic relief in the movie. He seems to be capturing screen space mainly due to size, than anything else. When all else fails, Ethan guy decides to marry his nurse as a sign of returning the favor for murdering him. Death party happens. People sing song with catchy tune. Ya-ya-ma-ya-ya Ya-ya-ma-ya-ya..... Curtains down. Kal ho na ho type death. You don't see it. You imagine it. 

Bhansali has borrowed some darkness from the sets of Saawariya(and some bad acting too), though he mostly manages brownie points for cinematography.

PERSONAL FAVORITES :

1. Totally unwanted wicked-looking magician. Waste of even-otherwise-pretty-useless bandwidth. 

2. Those unrecognizable weird people present at death party, supposedly closest friends, who hardly get a mention in the movie. They just come, sing, hug Ethan and leave. Awwww, how touching! 

3. The fact that the movie couldn't make me shed a single tear. For records, I have wept in almost all movies I have seen in a theatre. Sniff, it's ok. 

74. பாஸ் (எ) பாஸ்கரன்

Disclaimer/Warning : Might contain a few spoilers. On second thoughts, if you have seen the teaser, you are spoilt enough. There isn't much to the story anyway.

I am probably not the right person to write movie reviews, given the fact that my reviews are usually based on user experience, than on anything else. I go just by the feel I get at the end of those 2.5 odd hours, and usually don't dissect the movie into parts. That should tell you that you will mostly not find comparison between the concerned director's earlier stints, in-depth rave about cinematography etc. kind of jazz on this blog. And movies like Boss(A)Baskaran are totally feel-based movies; there isn't too much of a strong storyline that grows on you hours later, and yet, such movies bring with them an implicit feel-good factor. That said, obviously you need to shut down your dimaag ki dukaan and go watch this movie. Logic fail.

THE PLOT

B(A)B revolves around the life of an unemployed youth - Boss(Arya)...and no, he is not a goon, gunning people down for money. He is pretty happy with his life FWIW, what with a best friend like Nallathambi(Santhanam), who runs a hair saloon. Most of Boss's life has been spent in that chicken coop watching his friend earn wrath from customers in ways more than one, mostly thanks to our Smart Alec.

No brownie points for guessing that his elder brother has a good job as a vet. Typical Indian cinema - only one black sheep permitted per house. Enter Nayantara, whose elder sister is married to Boss's elder brother. N is aware of Boss' good-for-nothingness and doesn't give him much bhaav. And then they fall in love.

Contrary to popular idea, I think she looks good in whatever, little or more, she wore throughout the movie, and not anorexic. Except for that unwanted Mama Mama song, where she looks like part of some tribal fraternity.

Set in the backdrop of Kumbakonam, B(A)B tickles your funny bone throughout and moves at a good speed. One definite plus is the bonding between the guys. Nallathambi comes as a whiff of fresh air with his comedy timing. That banker guy, the elder bro and his wife also give the magical effect in parts to the story. The usual violence + fight scenes that are quintessentially part of Tamil cinema, were absent, which worked out to be a major win for me. The climax is bound to remind you of Minnale or Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein(suit yourself), but that's that. It isn't cliched at all. 

The movie carries several references to popular scenes from oldER movies, but obviously, if you are a movie retard in general, and a Tamil Cinema retard in particular, you'll find yourself laughing either for different reasons or at yourself. All in all, watchable-with-family-type movie. NANBAEN DA! 

67. To see or not to see?

Today didn't start on a very good note for I chose to catch Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya at the theatre. "Dilli ke theatre mein madraasi movie??" See, its simple. If you are a Tamilian residing in this part of the country, there are only two ways you get to see a Tamil movie. One, get a CD/DVD. Duh ! :| Second, wait for some Tam club or association to come up with the idea of screening it. Paisa vasool. Watch it free fund mein. Like how I did. Remember how they used to take us 5th grade kids for showing Baby's Day Out which was being screened at some Ficci Auditorium. Bah, not even a theatre. Anyway. Sometimes we go and watch movies just because 'everyone around is talking about it'. Somehow, I didn't know good things or bad things. :|

VTV left me devastated right in the very beginning when the cast and credits scroll across. It hit me like a slap on my face when the screen read "Starring Young Superstar Silambarasan". Starring WHAT Silambarasan?? :O :O To err is human. I forgive you, Gautham Menon. 15 minutes into the movie, I stretched my hands and let out a loud yawn - one that got the man sitting next to me move into the next nearest seat.

THE PLOT (or the lack of it)

Karthik(Simbu dumb-u) 'falls in love' with Jessie(Trisha) the moment he sees her. He chases her everywhere on his bike and once in a while, she smiles at him from the terrace(while she is on the phone), akin to throwing a 2-rupee coin to a beggar who hasn't had the sight of food for a week. He speaks Englees with a Tamilified accent, which has the same swear word in every 2 out of the 3 sentences. And yes, the 'bleep' doesn't help, Mr. Director. Ok, so he proposes to her. She says No. Her father will not approve of a Hindu boy apparently. Our persistent hero goes all the way to Kerala in search of his love(without even knowing where she stays). His intelligence tells him she will come to the biggest church in town this Sunday(Why 'biggest'? Beats me.) They become 'friends'. Then she says yes. Then no. Then yes. Then no. Forgive me for losing count of the iterations this process goes through - I was busy yawning. Finally, she gets married(not to Karthik) and leaves for UK(note the phoren twist to the story). Our hero meanwhile has become a successful director and is about to release his first movie. Which is titled? 'Jessie'. While at it, he meets Jessie in the YouYes while shooting for an arbit scene. YouKay to YouYes jump? Till this point, I could atleast complain. Beyond this, the director himself is as confused as anyone else watching the movie screen. So, no comments.

To put it succintly, hero loves heroine. Vice versa. Dad says no. Repetitive dialogues. Audience wails, "Ayyyoooo !". Story ends.

Highs :

1. Simbu looks good and smart(for a change). Trisha's wardrobe change is totally win-win.

2. Good cinematography.

3. ARR, needless to say, emerges out the lone 'Vinner'. :D

4. Ganesh, the sidekick. At one point, I was looking forward to his next appearance.

5. The story has a natural flow to it. Things you can relate a girl going through in such a situation. Her confusion and inability to come up with a clear decision. Realistic to some extent.

Lows :

1. No storyline to keep the viewer hooked for 3 hours. The film drags beyond a point where you know things aren't going smooth between the two. Script has too much of repetition.

2. Actors - Though they shared a decent chemistry on-screen, mediocre performances took the charm away. Trisha might mesmerise the audience with her looks, but then, that will be it.

3. The on-screen lead in Simbu's film - Naga Chaitanya. All-time low. :|

4. The end. Obviously. Unwarranted.

P.S. This might be a mean review, but couldn't help it. Overhyped GVM-ARR combo.

P.P.S. Writing a review 2 months after the movie got released. :|

      

54. De Dana Dan

A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

DISCLAIMER : Like all other movie reviews I have written... that reminds me, I have written only one till date, here... this one is also going to contain vetti pechu and stuff that is absolutely of no use to you before I proceed to the review.

Listen, I know, I know. :D NO ONE writes a review one month(err, more than that) after a movie is released. But as you read along, please appreciate the fact that a person like me(who is born of the Ice Age when it comes to movies) is writing a movie review. In all probability, I'll have someone pelting stones at me after reading this piece. The moment I proceeded to prostrate before Google Swami for a breathtaking picture of this awesomeness, I came across a review article that was titled 'De Dana Dan - Beyond pathetic garbage'. I had no heart to read beyond that :D

ANYTHING BUT A REVIEW!

If you want to have a good laugh, buy a ticket for 'De Dana Dan', leave your brains behind at home, and hop on to the theatre seat.

Few quick things on the movie :

1) This movie, unlike what others have told you till date, has no lead actors. Each soul there has an almost equal role to play. Umm, Akshay Kumar would providentially have won the Lead Actor part, but for the fact that he remains locked in a closet for a good 40 minutes of the runtime.


2) This flick has like a line of comedy actors, man and stands as a living proof to my public confession... Yes, Rajpal Yadav, I love you. Just looking at him makes me laugh. This guy deserves standing ovation *heavy applause* He is backed up in mainstream comedy by Johnny Lever(in sheer awesomeness), Paresh Rawal, Asrani, Shakti Kapoor, Archana Puran Singh(who clearly crosses all decibel levels known to man) who have done a decent job.


3) The movie has NO punches at all. I mean, look, I haven't even gotten to the point of talking about good punches and bad punches... I mean... a comedy movie WITHOUT punches. And I was still rolling on the floor laughing.


4) The movie has underdogs everywhere. Fom Suniel Shetty to Akshay Kumar to Rawal to Chunkey Pandey(Oh, he doesn't even exist in the movie), 'paisa' seems to be the theme on which the movie is based. No one has money.


5) Take a diary and a pen when you sit down to watch this movie. You'll really need this, my friend. After one hour of the movie, you'll slowly find yourself asking critical questions(to yourself, of course) like 'Ye yahaan kya kar raha hai?' *What is this chap doing here?*, 'Ye iska kya lagta/ti hai?' *How is he/she related to this fellow?* and finally, 'What the hell am I doing here watching this?'.


6) Songs have NO CONNECTION with the movie. Pritam bhai, chai ki dukaan kholo.


7) Neha Dhupia hs done her part well. Sameera Reddy and Aditi Gov(w?)itrikar are pretty useless, going by the plot(if there was any). Katrina Kaif, errm, I don't know guys.


8) Like mentioned earlier, please do not complain of a lack of storyline. There isn't any. But that doesn't mean you can compare it with Avatar.

45. Wake Up Sid - the review

A Word From The Author

When the world is hopping from Skoda Laura to Audi, a scooter ride isn't really what one goes back to. But anyday more appealing to me, than a car drive. I love the feeling of the wind blowing through my open ears and my hair flying in all directions... Somehow, at that point of time, the blob of facewash that is gonna go in order to remove all that dirt and grime and hours of conditioning that my hair would require later didn't quite make its entry into my nimble brain that time.. There's so much freedom in the open air! So off we went.

You don't have much scope on the TV on Gandhi Jayanti when they have decided to repeat Lage Raho Munnabhai and Gandhi everytime the calendar shows Oct 2.

OK, so once in a while, all of us get lucky and yesterday was my day. Defying the worth of Murphy and his laws, MY queue TOO moved pretty decently. What followed was an intense discussion amidst a solid state of confusion between the guy at the counter and my dad. Aah! So my dad had asked for tickets for 'What's up Sid?'. How can dads get the movie name almost always wrong? Beats me. Obviously, the poor guy at the counter couldn't decide upon whether it was 'What's ur raashee?' or 'Wake Up Sid!' that we wanted! Blame me and my sis for that, I say. Who asked us to turn the world upside down early morning debating over which one to watch of the two. My dad has this uncanny knack of guessing movies tht have Saif starring. It was just the other day that they were showing trailers of 'Love Aaj Kal' on the TV. And he promptly said,"Arre, Salaam Namaste!" :D

THE REVIEW

Um.. So let's see.. KJo has managed to come up with this extremely novel plot this time up.... Sid is this really cute bacchha(read slacker), who is unaware of the vagaries of life and is busy happily spending his dad's not-to-mention hard earned money on parties, friends and what not. And somehow, things happen that transform him into this responsible young man. Oh so unexpected!

 But all said and done, the movie, though very predictable from a broader perspective, doesn't fail to strike a chord with you instantly. For bits and pieces, it reminds one of Dil Chahta Hai. Maybe Lakshya too. So much so that it might sound cliched now. Don't believe it. It's like none of the two. Like any other KJo movie, this one too had brilliant colours, that cannot escape your eye. The tinge of creativity that shades the theme deserves a good applause. One gets to see a bunch of new faces like Rishi(Namit Das) and Laxmi(Shikha Talsania), who have done good justice to their roles with neat acting. Perfect.

This is Ayan Mukherji's directorial debut for you.

Aisha(Konkona Sen) is an aspiring writer and a newbie to Mumbai and its ways. She finds her first friend in Sid, who though is very very different from her and her independence-seeking self, is honest, sweet and fun-loving. Sid's life revolves around his best buds, Rishi and Laxmi and all is breezy till one day he is thrown out of his dad's house(and obviously property). And the rest is so known.

Few moments in the movie take your breath right away. Aisha's birthday celebration with Sid's bread cake, for one. You hear yourself going, "Awww....!". Rishi's and Sid's laughter moment on Rishi's break up, for another. And when he finally gets the omlette right.

The movie lost me at the climax when Sid reads the mag to find out how Aisha feels for him. But hadn't she shown him the article before itself, where he makes suggestions and edits to the story, which later get appreciated by the editor? There is an outlined mismatch.

Sid sweeps you off your feet and into his world very naturally. Most certainly, he is sure to remind you of your college days. And more so, 'coz he has mastered the art of sending across the message so realistically. Konkona Sen, needless to mention, gives the movie its calming effect with effortless yet stupendous performance. Both of them definitely look great together and the onscreen chemistry quotient is very high. But better as friends, maybe. An awesome-looking Rahul Khanna could have been used in a better way. He hasn't been given much scope in the movie. Anupam Kher, as usual, is wonderful. Supriya Pathak is nice in her own way, though a stronger connection between the mum and the son could have been portrayed. Kashmeera Shah has well-delivered her bit. The Mumbai Beats office and Aisha's house are a piece of icing on the cake. Brilliant and award-worthy creativity and an eye for detail there. Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is melodious. 'Iktara' is simply amazing.

The movie is sure to be a hit amongst its target urban audience. Anywhere between a 3.5 to 4 for sure.