wake up sid (review)

What is your Aim In Life ?
The first think that a career counselor had asked me in a group discussion when I was in my 10th standard was – What is your aim in life ? I was stumped went numb , not because I didn’t have any answers . This thought never came to my mind as I was too pre-occupied with other things ignoring the fact that one day I have to choose my identity in this competitive world . But one day this ignorance leads to failure that allows others to demand of you an answer to the same question again . It is then when you know that you are left with no choice with no choice but to grow up , leave the child in you behind & transform to a man .

Ayan’s Writing Moments
This reluctance to leave your childhood & teenage fun days , aimlessness , ignorance is what Ayan Mukherjee is trying to depict through his protagonist Siddharth Mehra who wants to have fun all his life , but is challenged by the hard complexities of life in the shape of his first big failure & has to choose his true calling & wake up . His life is comforted by the advent Of Ayesha Banerjee an independent girl who becomes an anchor in Sid’s life & shows him the way. Sids transformation is constructed superbly by Ayan who has penned an exciting screenplay . Though the movie is extremely simple in idea , Ayan brings in some superb moments in the screenplay that are relatable & heart warming .Right from the first scene to last there are umpteen moments that you will find have happened in your own life . It is this relatablity that helps the viewers interested in the proceedings.
That Ayan is a wonderful writer is shown with the way he has written the smaller players in the story not allowing them a different space & treating them as characters who come in & out as Sid’s Journey progresses . But Ayan still manages to flesh them out by giving each their moments . Wether they are Laxmi’s outburst at Sid telling him he is not the only one who has failed & her frustration with weight gain or talented Samit Sen’s scene when he shares the real reason with Sid on why his girlfriend dumped him or The delightful Kashmeera Shah (watch out Miss Rakhi Sawant she can act you can’t) enquiring Konkana about her sex life is hilarious . Even the girl who hates Ranbir for his privileges instead of her being the most deserved one & Neha the girl who falls for her have been given their moment to shine . But for me the cutest scene in the movie is when the little kid gaps at her double aged Kashmeera showing signs of childhood first love . Infact Kashmeera’s character points to first signs of sexuality in Sid as well. This is surprising for a movie that aims at being realistic but has no mention of sexual awakening , an issue that is so prevalent in youngsters of today .Perhaps that’s the Dharma Effect emphasizing on a clean movie

Ayan the Visionary Filmmaker
That Ayan is an excellent writer is proven , but not all good writers can make for superb visionary filmmaker but Ayan scores here as well . That he isgreatly inspired from Farhan style of Cinema is evident even though he is making a movie for Dharma . The way he has extracted performances from even the smallest characters right from the kid to the servant to the friends & others authenticates that . So does his handling of scenes & use of music . The Musical score& background are used to fill in the silences where nothing is said using the scores as a means to convey those emotions . He even knows when to use the silences , using them in the most dramatic of scenes like the confrontation scenes between Sid & his parents or later with Konkana , never allowing such scenes to go into melodramatic territory .His use of Mumbai ( I got that right O.K.) as a character as well depicting its spirit & welcoming nature for outsiders who start feeling at home in a few days is once again a piece of genius from the young filmmaker . Though the film is polished in look , he never allows te camer to take over the story with strange camera angles as some people in the factory m ight do . The film moves at a leisurly pace , but it is justified as it showcases the slow lazy life that Sid lives & never once does its pace bore you .

The little Screenpaly issues
That Ayan understands Sid’s character to the core is quite apparent , he must have led that kind of life himself to know it so well . But the screenplay does have its glitches . The sudden decision of Sid to do a job is not justified having shown him as lazy , aimless boy . Some more scenes could have been included to make him realize that . Also Sid gets a job & success pretty quickly something that is hard to fathom . Life on the other hand is not that easy for an undergraduate in real life .

The Ensemble Performances
There are many mundane moments of silences which are not easy to depict on screen from paper , but Ayan is helped by the excellent ensemble cast . Apart from the brilliant support cast the big players too pitch in with their best . Kher is natural as the father & helps bringing in the tender moments to life through his acting talent . The underused Supriya Kapur is a delight to watch . Konkana , though is not at her best . In the role of a girl who thinks she is matured , but likes having as much fun as Sid she is at times inconsistent making her look artificial , while in some scenes she is brilliant. Having said this , her chemistry with Ranbir works as there are some lovely romantic moments written between them .

Ranbir –The Perfect Sid
But Wake Up Sid is clearly a film that belongs to an actor who is a pleasure to watch on screen , the most talented of this generation Ranbir Kapoor . Ranbir is spontaneity at its best creating an identifiable natural character out of Sid providing a certain amount of laziness though his body language something that is inherent to the character . He coveys all emotion through eyes & is restraint to the core . The man is showing rare signs of maturity , something that many other actors achieve quite late in their careers .

Inspite of some discrepancies Wake Up Sid is an easy watch ., We can all relate to his coming of age drama , self realization journey , finding his true self . Some are still trying to find it , some are choosing their parents whishes , some are still struggling in life . Sid is in all of us.

3 ½ /5

blue ( trailer review)

Blue has arrived in town & no we are not talking about Sanjay Leela Bhansali here . An action adventure with sharks , treasure hunt is here & no we are not talking about an Hollywood movie here .There is style , bikes & sexy girls & no we are not taking about Dhoom 3 here . Infact It is desi film , we are talking about , touted as the most expensive Indian film ever made with a budget of approx of 100 crores woopie .
Yes the 100 crore is also India’s First underwater movie with 80% of it being shot with real sharks unlike Luck . The starcast is equally intimidating by Akshay who is trying to give at least one decent flick after plethora of trashy movies in the last one and & a half years , all could have been frontrunners for getting Indian Razzies if there was one . Hopefully , Blue will change it all . The promo starts with Akki short dialogue piece on Luck ( hope not to see any more thesis on that subject post Luck ) . We are then introduced to the others Sanjay ( who looks like aged ) Dutt , Lara floating under the sea like a sea fairy in hot bikini (she looks quite saucy man) , Katrina in a different tomboyish avatar , Zayed ( I cant act salaa ) Khan . Have to mention that Kat , Lara , Akki is going to be the only performance worth watching as Sanju looks jaded & aged for this hip movie & zayed can’t act saala .
The promo is a fast pace visual extravaganza with top underwater clips shown , bikes sexy babes , Boxing babas(fit Akki & sanju having a boxing match in one of the clips) . What adds to it is the outstanding background score By the genius of A.R.Rahman .That Kylie Minogue in the cast & Resul ‘Slumdog’ Pukooty behind the sound & also the action set pieces equaling any big Hollywood movie , so much so that people have already started talking about it being a copy of some Hollywood movie (the perception of every Indian Film being a copy of a Hollywood flick ) , this one is sure hit menu . The only thing it needs is a story .I hope it does have one as I m dying to watch a good adventure action movie in Hindi . Will surely catch it First day First show .

4/5

love aaj kal review

LOVE - Trunkcall to chota recharge
Imtiaz Ali is the new brand name of modern love in Hindi Cinema . He speaks a language of the youth & has had different interpretation of love stories which seem more closer to reality in sharp contrast to the melodrama of Hindi love stories . While his first film ‘Socha Na Tha focused on the concept of the arranged marriage being alien concept to the present hip society , his second , the Cult movie ‘Jab We Met’ focused on two temperamentally different individuals getting attracted to each other & how love can change the path of your life completely . But it seems Imtiaz is running out of screenplay ideas now & you can’t blame him for that as he is attempted a genre for the third consecutive time that has been the bread & butter of Hindi film makers i.e. love stories . Umpteen number of filmmakers have tried their hand at love stories , some have been extremely successful at it . But such has been the quantity & quality of love stories that anything that is done seems to make you feel like you have seen it before . Its extremely difficult to make it different .
So like his first 2 films Imtiaz has a novel idea that is the comparision of love between 2 generations . Generations which are completely different from each other , thus both believing that things in their generations were better than the others . Imtiaz experiments whether the people of Aaj , The ‘aam Aadmi or Mango people’ can choose love over practicality . Whether they can feel the pangs that the lovers of Kal – ‘The Laila-Majnus , The Heer- Ranjas’ felt in their generations or do they surely believe that all these are ‘Chutya panni stuffs that are made to confuse people’ . Are relationship for them just a means to fulfill the physical needs or do they have a heart that longs for companionship of each other . Has career taken precedence over Love .
In Imtiaz’s Love AAj Kal , Aaj is represented by the Jai & Meera a modern couple who decide to break up because they will be living in 2 different countries to fulfill their dreams , so since ‘long Distance relationship’ never works , they decide its better by calling it off & if they are doing so , let’s do it in style by throwing a break up party . Yes you heard that right , Imtiaz knows exactly what he is doing as he wastes no time in giving undue screen time in building up the fast paced relationship between Jai & Meera that starts on one September & ends in another 2 years later . The fast pace showing exactly the fragility of relationship which ends like a chota recharge card as quickly as it starts . That Imtiaz is a master of relatable punch lines & situations comes through in scenes , when a worried sub character conveys his confusion on what should he say in the break up party to the couple – congratulations or offer condolences to them , or jai’s friends( one of them being the talented Vir Das in a miniscule role ) go to a shopkeeper enquiring whether he has any presents for a break up party or the scene where a guilty & nervous Saif trying his best to express the breakup wish , but unable to do so ,as he keeps babbling about other stuff like the traffic not knowing that Deepika too has similar ideas .
So post the Break up party , Imtiaz introduces The Kal in Veer Singh ( the superbly natural Rishi Kapoor) who forces Jai to go to the airport to meet Meera & present her flowers . When Jai enquires the reason for interference in personal space , Veer Singh says he looked exactly like him when he was young , thus justifying Saif playing Younger Rishi , a real masterstroke from Imtiaz .There are many more such writing gems from Imtiaz whose superb gift of dialogues is seen in like - Deepika saying the lines post getting the flowers in the airport ‘ aaj pehli baar Phool who bhi ab’ , or ‘aakhri baar milna kyu zaroori hota hai’ or the scene when saif & Deepika discuss their flaws post breakup are superbly written . So this is when Veer Singh starts telling him his love story with Harleen – a pure , non physical love which will remain forever eve waiting for a lifetime for the beloved , like a trunk call ,where just a look is enough for Veer Singh to take a ‘Pratighya’ like a Hindi Film Hero that she will be mine for the next 7 births & following her to 3 different cities . Imtiaz gets the look of the set of the 1960’s , Delhi , Kolkata just right as well as Saif , who gets the body language perfect as Veer Singh , Though at times his Punjabi accent tends to get artificial rather than being real , as if The hip Jai ,a part that he plays so perfectly in the movie , wanting to break out of the Punjab da Puttar .
So at first Jai laughs off the Pratighya & the untouched love of Veer singh as he doesn’t understand How can he feel love for just one woman in sharp contrast to him who has fallen in love 15 times or with the fact that ‘Kuch Bhi nahi Hua’ between them so far, yet they are in love . But soon he starts identifying with the love story as it opens up his hidden feelings for Meera . But he ignores it as this is not practical . In the meantime , Meera gets pursued upon by her boss & Jai starts his ‘Khula Saand’ days by getting attached to a foreigner . This is exactly where Imtiaz loses the plot & gets back to his old formula of one of the lovers being attached to somebody else like Kareena’s character in Jab We Met & Abhay’s in ‘Socha Na Tha’ as well as both the lovers ignoring their feelings . The Aaj part tends to drag as Imtiaz tries putting in too many things & you tend to get impatient waiting for Kal’s Story to happen which seem to be much more captivating then the AAj one thanks to its innocent charm .
Soon Deepika & Saif realize love for each other , but that is after the 2 characters commitment to life & career respectively . But the scene where saif realizes his love forv Deepika could have been better written . Imtiaz showcases the mundane lonely life that Saif lives with a song in the background quite wonderfully as there is a transition from a cool Saif to a depressed one showed wonderfully & without overdoing it by the master filmmaker . Infact songs are used wonderfully taking the film forward like ‘Dooriyan’ a sad song is followed by the contradicting breakup scene to avoid a long distance relationship , ‘Twist’ signifying Jai’s ‘Khula Saand’ days & Chor Bazaari depicting the 2 lovers having a great time inspite of them being with different partners or believing that they have broken up , but from within they still very much together
. Although the 2nd half has its share of moments , it is in these portion that the melodrama seeps in as well as the pace of the movie starts to drop .Even there you do have Imtiaz’s brand of superb lines as well in scenes like when Jai’s new girlfriend asks –‘Jai do you love me’ jai Replies – ‘who knows what that is , I still have got to figure that out’ Another problem in this part is Deepika ‘s character who is not really fleshed out (even though expression wise Deepika comes up with her best performance , in some scenes her Dialogue delivery is indifferent) . In Jab We met Shahid’s character & in Socha Na Tha Ayesha Takia’s Character were very well written & that was the reason the 2 respective movies worked because both the protagonists vibed well with each other . In this movie Meera comes off sometimes as a person sure of herself , sometimes confused , sometimes stupid . There are many questions her character leaves unanswered . Imtiaz too seems confused while writing her character whether to make the 2 protagonist similar in nature like in Socha Na Tha or to make her a character opposite to Jai . Her confusion on the marriage & the person she loves inspite of having a good time with Jai contradicts her surety of her career & breaking up move as well as the right decisions that she takes as Jai puts it – ‘Tu hamesha Thik Baat Bol Deti Hai Jaaneman’.
Imtiaz in this movie surprisingly veers too close to Yashraj Brand of Blockbusterites cinema instead of real cinema . Yes he do find a fair amount of realism , but he tries to combine it with the melodrama that he has prevented in his earlier 2 films . I don’t believe that a good filmmaker like Imtiaz will bow down to market diktats , but there are traces of Yash Rajism in his movie , maybe as a means to pay tribute to Yash Chopra . That perhaps is the reason that what should have been ideally a much shorter crisp movie ends up becoming a 30 minutes extra drag . Infact a few scenes remind you of Kunal Kholi ‘s Hum Tum as well as Yash Chopra ‘s epic Veer Zaara . Now there is nothing wrong in paying a tribute to a legendary filmmaker like yash Chopra or the hit brand Yashraj , but somehow Imtiaz’s brand movie doesn’t combine well with Yashraj’s Melodramatic Candyfloss as it leaves a sour taste . Imtiaz also pays tribute in a small way to his first taste of Success ‘Jab We Met’ . The Punjabi song featuring the beautiful , unknown Harleen reminds you of that as well as the line ‘Pagalpan lagta hai naa , to karte hai’ ( Remember this line in scenes where Geet asks Aditya to flush his girlfriend’s photo in the toilet & Aditya later asks Geet to abuse her boyfriend on phone to wipe him & her out of their mind ) are small moments reminiscing his cult last movie . Love Aaj Kal is nor the superb Jab We Met or the identifiable ‘Socha Na Tha’ , it is easily Imtiaz’s weakest effort . Even then it is not a bad film & has its excellent moments combined with boring ones Had it been made by a first timer or a Kunal Kholi , it would have been liked & forgotten , the fact that it has been made by Imtiaz posts his first 2 gems makes it a little disappointing as the expectations were really high . I just hope that Imtiaz doesn’t attempt a romantis movie for a while now , as he seems to have consumed all screenplay ideas in this genre . He is much better filmmaker to just get stuck to one genre of movies & I m expecting something different from him the next time . Till Then Lagey Raho Imtiaz Bhai

wake up sid (trailer review)

Now this one was totally unexpected . Dharma Productions comes out with one of the best promos of this year with Wake up Sid . This one does promise a lot & there is a feeling that it will deliver . Especially with someone as honourable as Anurag Kashyap speaking of it as one of the best coming of age Drama scripts that he has ever read in his blog at PFC . This should indeed be an honest confession as the whole world knows the contrasting views on cinema that Karan Johar & Kashyap have .
Wake up Sid’s theatrical trailer starts of with Sid ‘s mother( the extremely underutilized Supriya Kapur) asking him to be a hero as he does nothing himself , to the next clip showing Sid wanting to have just some fun . We are then introduced to the title song which is penned as an awakening song where Sid is asked to wake up from his sleep of laziness & not taking responsibilities .. As the song is played we see visuals of Sid yawning , in his own world with his friends( one of them being Namit Das who played the Gay character in the enjoyable President Is Coming) having a great time . There is also a conversation between Sid & his father( Anupam Kher) on him coming to office for a car . We are finally introduced to his love interest Konkona Sharma & her conversation with Sid .
In short The promo gives us a sneek peek into the world oF Sid which is surrounded by his lack of taking responsibilities & his only interest to have some fun . The visuals are extremely relatable , as if you have seen it happening with someone close to you or Yourself . This is what makes Wake UP Sid different from flashy first look of other movies .Simple & captivating , The last time I felt like this about another movie was Taare Zameen par . Wake up Sid rekindles that kind of feeling . A must watch


4/5

dil bole hadipaa( trailer review)

Yashraj are the baap of brilliant first trailers . Whatever be the quality of the respective movies , yashraj will produce a trailer that is bound to excite the audience . They are gurus who had revolutionized Film promotion in Hindi Cinema , the kings of packaging a product . Whether it’s the Potboilers like Dhoom series or the experimental Kabul Express or duds like Jhoom Barabar , Yashraj has come out with stunning promos which many a times have turned out to be better then the final product ( Bunty or Babli) .A case in point is the recent New York whose first teaser was so good that it got the movie-goers excited , wanting to watch the movie . As a result of this New York has turned out to be one of the few hits this year .
With such reputation , you are not surprised when you see the first look of their new movie ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ . High on energy & Punjabipan this promo will make your heart skip wanting to join the fun . Whatever may be the final product as far as quality of the movie is concerned the first look has done its job . Though its not as spirited trailer as Bunty or Babli , it has an high energy quotient . With Mika Paaji( I think it is him with his usual nasal energetic voice) crooning the title track with lots of punjaabi lyrics ,Yashraj has gone back to their tried & tested formulaic setting of ‘Sarson de keth’ & ‘Baigan Da Bharta’ . With the song in the background the visual images coming in the fore were of the 2 leads Rani ( good to see her after a long time) & Shahid , the new poster-boy (this comprises of an interesting lead pair which looks quite good) doing some bhangra – shangra to the peepy tunes as well as some Filmy lovers fight in middle indicating they will have the usual Nok-Jhok . We are also introduced to the interesting supporting cast comprising of Anupam Kher , Dalip Tahil (good to see him in a movie , last saw him in the extremely forgettable Hello ) , Vrajesh Hirjee ( the snake man of Golmaal) . We also get to see the queens of controversies Rakhi ‘Syamvar’ Sawant & Sherlyn Chopra in the first look . After showcasing the the interesting acting team , the big crux of the story is revealed , when Rani’s Sardar look is unveiled as well as her cricket connection where she is seen holding a bat , & hitting sixes with the trailer finally ending with a cricket field .So it seems to be a fun film with a cricket angle to it . But as I have already mentioned Yashraj’ s high-level product promotional capabilities , you have no choice but lured to see the movie .
There is only one glitch . The promo reminds you of previously released Yashraj movies from Rani’s girly look reminding of Bunty Babli as well as in one scene depicted of Saathiya . We are also reminded of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom & Veer-Zaara in certain shots shown .Also the concept of a girl wanting to play a sports inspite of opposition is reminiscent of the enjoyable ‘Bend It like Beckham’ Though I might add its too early to talk about the concept as the movie hasn’t released . But whatever little I have heard is that desperate to play cricket , Rani disguises as a sardar to get into a men’s team .
I hope this movie does have its own voice though as the formulae had resulted in the Yashraj getting into a rut of flop movies & it looks very similar to movies seen before at least the first look make you feel so .After the grim & unlike Yashraj movie New York had hit the jackpot , this (if it is so mentioned ) will be taking a step backwards

3 ½ /5 .

luck(review)

WANTED
A Screenplay writer for director Soham Shah who could double up as a dialogue writer. The writer should be able to give shape to Soham’s unique ideas as well create interesting characters for it . He should also be able to write realistic lines which should take away from the boredom of heavy duty lines as felt by the tortured audience of Luck .

CONFUSED IDEOLOGY
This was the first think that came into my mind as I was watching Soham Shah’s Luck . Soham Shah is someone who has great eye for visuals as his scenes are extremely well shot . He also has unique ideas too . But this is where he gets stuck at , he doesn’t know where to go from here , How to make the idea into a viable 2 & half hour movie ..
The film opens well with a superb train sequence which introduces Sanjay Dutt’s character Moussa ( ya I know he had the same name in Gupta’s movies , infact Shah seems to have been heavily inspired by Gupta’s school of cinema which prefers style rather than substance ) . Post this excellent sequence & Moussa’s introduction, the movie goes on a downhill . Too much time is spent on introduction of the other charcters & none of them are interesting enough to hold the audiences attention thanks to inept writing & kiddy dialogues which takes the audience for a ride Add to that are the many loopholes in the screenplay .Sample this Ravi Kisshen is a dreaded criminal who is sentenced death penalty . But is released by the authorities when he is lucky to escape the hanging as the hanging rope slips away . Now How cool is this , which judiciary does so , release a criminal who has killed many people because he is lucky . The film has many more such childish piece of writing .
I felt things might change once the real action of human betting starts . Now a theme of human betting is unique & Shah could have used it to a more darker & grim end . What he ends up doing with it is giving it a more 80’s action kind of structure where there is a hero , side characters & a villain . There are even old Hindi Cinema formulaic elements of revenge , twins etc used in the script .Add to that , is the shoddy climax( Shah had done the same in Kaal with the climax , a clear writing deficiency) which is the lowest piece of writing that one has seen in this movie so far ,where Imraan challenges Sanjay . It takes the movie to a new low & shows Soham didn’t know where to go , whether to follow the sophistication of multiplexes audience or go for the single screen which loves the 80s kind of treatment . In short , he didn’t know where to head as far as screenplay writing is concerned .So he decided to mix both the elements to make a kichdi , a not so tasty one I might add . Soham Shah should have either gone for a kickass action fun movie or a grim one . He follows both & falls badly
Shah is not the first one to fall into that trap , remember Tashan which had a great first half but ended up making a bad second half in order to please everyone. We all know what happened with Tashan . It is indeed surprising at a time when unique & well written movies like Aamir , A Wednesday has done extremely well earning money as well as praise from the critics, Shah decides to go back revisiting the 80’s perhaps the worst time of Hindi cinema as far as writing was concerned with the exception of a few .

BORING DIALOGUES
‘mai khareedhta nahi , sirf bhare mai leta hoo’
‘mujhe paiso ki nahi sirf tujh jaiso ki zaroorat hai’
‘biz dino k liye tu mujhe apna luck bare pe dede’
‘laxmi tika lagani aayi hai aur tu eid ka chand bana hua hai’
These are one of the many filmy lines that you get to hear in this movie . In fact it stays in the movie throughout with every character speaking the same language so much so that beyond appoint it starts to irritate you . What is also there is an entire Soham Dictionary on luck as a concept with the same 80’s style of writing .It was almost as if Mr Shah is writing a thesis on Luck & wants to acquire a doctorate on the subject . Well , I have to say that I had no choice but to call him Dr Soham Shah after the irritation the Dialogues had caused to me hoping I could escape the headaches such lines were giving me . But alas , the lines kept on coming as if he was enjoying the torture that he was giving to the audiences .
A word of advice would be to take admission in the Imtiaz Ali school of dialogue writing whose refreshing & relatable lines can take even a water-thin plot to a new level . So go & Watch Jab We Met Mr Shah & be the first to catch Love AAj Kal as well . You need it boss .

CONFUSED ACTING
Great performances are the key to a thriller’s success . Sometimes the caliber of the actor takes even an average thriller to a new level . Examples of this fact are movies like Khakhee ( AB, Akshay Ajay , Atul ) , Dus ( Sanjay , AB Jr , Pankaj Kapur ) , Gulaal (the entire cast) . These films show that good acting is a key to a thriller’s success .
But in the case of Luck , Confused scripts lead to confused acting . Shah doesn’t seem to be a guy who has great control over his actor’s performances . So you get to see a disinterested Sanjay Dutt who looks like he was mouthing the dialogues in sleep . You could see his eyes not emoting at all , just mouthing the lines with a need to go home quicky attitude . Now this is the 2nd time in a row after Kidnap we have seen him like these . If you are not interested , don’t do the movie , why waste so much money for bad acting . Poor Soham might not have the guts to tell him so after his first movie in Kaal hasn’t worked , he needed a good actor .Mr Dutt seems to be more interested in the elections rather than acting . I hope this is not the case as it will be a pain to see a good actor like him waste his talent for political gains
Add to this is Imran who gives strange expressions ,trying too hard to look tough . In fact his expressions remind you of the PSII game boys characters mechanical expressions . Imran still has a long way to prove himself as an actor & that Jaane tu…. wasn’t an effort due to Abbas Tryewalla’s brilliance . Shruti who looks scorching hot in this movie until she opens her mouth to say some dialogues , she is a superb singer though . Mithun‘s character is the most underwritten yet he is okay , Danny is good , but he is the saddled with most of all those filmy lines , so you get irritated after a while thinking – ‘Now what the hell is he going to say’ . The only 2 people who are decent here besides Danny is Ravi Kishen & Chitrashi Rawat . Rawat’s character is the only one after a while who gets to you emotionally as far as Kishen is concerned , there are times he hams . But considering what he plays in the movie , it goes with the character .

HINDI CINEMA’S FINEST SPECIAL EFFECT SCENES
Luck has great action sequences – full marks to Allan Amin & the VFx team . The parachute scenes is quite superb as well as the under water sequence . The train sequence is the best of the lot . Unfortunately Soham keeps the action choreography to a limit & focuses on the story which is the most boring part of the movie . He should have filled the movie with action .
One of the factor that do make the action scenes even more enjoyable are the invisible Vfx or special effect . This Soham Shah movie can at least be proud of one thing that it has the best special effects ever produced in India so far . Look at the under water shark scenes as well as parachute scenes to see the effect of invisible Vfx . I call it invisible because it is indeed hard to decipher that these are Vfx scene . Can’t say the same about the climax though where the standard Of Vfx goes down suddenly after pinnacle heights achieved in the initial action scenes. But Shah should be credited to bring the novelty & realism that we have not seen in Hindi Cinema Vfx or special effects so far

It is well aided by Santosh Thundiyil’s cinematography capturing the beautiful visuals & action scenes beautifully especially the under water ones .
Soham Shah is not a bad filmmaker ,he has great ideas , good technical expertise , his only problems are writing & performances . Now does that make him a good filmmaker , I don’t think so too . Oh I m confused , must be the effect of confusion after watch The Unluck oops sorry LUCK .

Aladin (movie trailer review)

ALADIN
Now this one I was waiting for a long time . . I missed the trailer which was uploaded on You tube . But I m happy as I heard it was a trailer minus the effects & music. My expectations had gone way beyond when I heard the comments on the trailer by those who have watched it on youtube . Finaly I saw the Trailer of Aladin in a News Channel .

I had already mentioned in a blog article http://pronefilmviews.blogspot.com/2009/07/looking-for-5.html , that story of Aladin & Genie is my favorite . Plus the fact that it is being helmed by Sujoy Ghosh makes it even more exciting . So here is the oral summary of the first look of the eagerly anticipated Aladin .
The trailer starts with the Sfx’s being shown with imageries of a fictional land & then Dutt’s character with a cool moustache Ring Master is introduced who rubs the lamp & calls Genius . We are then introduced with AB’s genius with music playing in the background . Then We are taken to some more fantasy SfX created land . We finally get to see Alladin Chatterjee (interesting) termed as the loser having a jig at an Akshay Kumar number after perhaps seeing the Heroine for the first time . This also results in Jacqueline Fernandes seeing Reitesh doing an Akki . To which Ritesh explains that the pelvic thrust goes with the mood of the song . This scene is quite funny . We are then taken to the real crux of the story Genie & the 3 wishes , followed some more Sfx’s & song scenes Then Dutt asks perhaps Genius to kill Alladin . We also have Reitesh calling the whole Genie & 3 wishes stuff to be a children story in between & not believing in it .
Now I m a trifle disappointed as I expected the promo to be out of the world . Perhaps my expectations from the trailer was huge, so I wouldn’t have been satisfied with anything but the best . The background score is disappointing as it should have had a sense of fantasy & mystery to it something on the lines of score of Harry Potter .A portion of the SFXs too looked quite like SFX rather than a part of a reality . But as I said I am expecting too much from this movie . The promo starts very well as the Sfx used in the initial scenes are good till that really funny scene between Retiesh & the heroine .The promo ends well too . Only the background & one or two Sfx scenes are the iffy ones . A part of the Sfx where smoky figures erupt reminded me of the classic ghost dance from Satyajit Ray's cult fantasy 'Goopy Bagha series movie' .It would have helped if they would have shown Ringmaster a little later along with Genie just for effect in the trailer .But the look of all principal characters especially Ringmaster is cool .
Anyway I m sure to watch this movie first day First show as it looks a kickass fantasy with lots of humour which will also push the standard of special effects in India . Hope it reaches the same heights Like 'Goopy Bagha' series did

3 ½ /5
watch aladin trailer on you tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm56IEZ7clo
& check whether you agree with my trailer review

story of 3 trailers - wanted , factory & rashee

WANTED
Wanted is an extremely important film for Salman who needs a hit . This one has been helmed by rubber man of India Prabhudeva & has been produced by Boney Kapoor . Like all Kapoor movie this one too is a remake of Prabhu Deva south movie Pokiri .
The film’s promo starts well , then goes wrong with chessy 80’s style voice over & scene that look like a ditto Southie remake . Sample this Salman takes a bite of a chips which results in a mild earthquake , in another scene stone take a stagnant pause in air & Salman kicks it to hit the villain , extremely Southie indeed .But I did like one of Salman’s dialogue shown in the promo here – ‘commitment dene k baad to mai bhi khud ko nahi rok sakta’ . This one is sure to be a fun ride for Ghajini fans I believe .
Expect for the voice over , everything else is quite good & decent .

2 ½ /5

WHAT'S YOUR RASHEE
Ashutosh Gowariker is back after just a year or less with another movie .Ya that is quick . It seems that one of my favorite filmmaker wants to stay in news all the time . That is after his initial outburst against fellow colleagues at Award Ceremonies , Ashu is here with the first Look Of his new venture ‘ What’s your Rashee’ .
This one is a very small & simple trailer with a unique visual appeal where we see Mr Baweja appearing like Maine Pyar kiya ‘s Salman Khan with an average title song playing in the background. We also see the astrological wheel depicting astrological signs. Astrological signs also appea& Disappear from the screen showing its importance in the script . Then finally we have Priyanka & her 12 different avatars each symbolizing what every astrological zodiac sign stands for .
Well one thing is for sure that even tough the first look is simple , I m pretty sure that the film will be good & well made since such a seasoned filmmaker is making it . Even though this is the weakest from Ashu as far as star power is concerned , you cannot undermine that the finances have come from UTV who promote their movies in an unique fashion , most of which don’t have stars , yet end up earning money .

2 ½ / 5 for the uniqueness of the trailer .

ACID FACTORY
This one is staright out of factory Not Ramus But Sanjay Gupta ‘s . Stylish this factory has an interesting mix of actors . From the brilliant ( Irfaan , Manoj , Danny) to good actors ( Diya Mirza & Aftab) ending up with non actors like (Dino & Fardeen) . Helmed by Suparn Varma whose first film’Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena’ I thought was a nice stylish effort , this one promises to be high adrenaline kick ass action movie with lots of style.
The promo starts of with a factory being shown& then we are directly taken to be introduced to the ensemble cast each doing some daredevil action scenes with cars crashing & a good thrilling background soundtrack . . I just hope all the action & style is backed has some substance ,as it is the only thing missing in people who are heavily inspired from Gupta’s style of cinema . One Problem , you get very little idea what this movie is all about from the teaser .

3 /5

looking for 5

This year has been a disappointment as far as quality of movie is concerned . only some genuinely good films have arrived the others have all been disappointing .The proof of that is that just 5 have somewhat worked this year out of which 4 were good movies Dev D ( Good,technically solid , great performances & intrepertation) , 99(Good Breezy, Funny), Raaz(well written & directed ) ,& of course New York (Good) .there were some movies genuinely good that didn’t work at the BO – Gulaal( my favourite so far) , Billu(rare clean entertainer) , (wonderfull) . But over all this year has been a disappointment as far as quality is concerned . inspite of this there is hope as some films are still to arrive that could get the audiences happy again . Here are 5 I m looking forward to :-

1.KAMINEY (releasing 14th August)
Dhan te dhan. Its rare why nobody had ever imagined to use these words for a song as it has been a part of Hindi masala movie culture for such a long time . This is going to be Vishal’s classic . the first promo itself as well as the song has set the adrenaline rushing . Shahid’s new look ( he is slowly starting to become a dependable star) & Priyanka’s variety along with a host of unknown stars . I m especially looking forward to the brilliant actor of Benagali Cinema Rajatva Dutta as well TZP writer Amol Gupte as part of this largely unknown ensemble cast & who the hell is that actor with Shahid in the song . clearly a lot of new actors will be discoveried after this movie releases . its going to be an epic .

2.LOVE AAJ KAL (releasing 31st July)
Imitiaz ali the name itself signifies quality ,so doesn’t matter who he picks as actors , I want to watch his movies . His takes are fresh & original ( damn those people who are calling this one a copy , why would he do it now after getting a success from originality) the first look is superb & bold , so is Saif’s Punjabi look .the music is different & superb . I just keen to see what he does with Deepika who is not known to be a performer . After the first 2 his take on love stories is always welcome as the others are bogus as is mentioned in his promo –‘yeh heer Ranja , Romeo Juliet sab logao ko chutiya banane ke liye hai’

3.ALADIN ( Diwali Release supposedly)
This has been one long wait , but I don’t think that I m going to miss this one . the name Aladin itself alarmed me as Aladin &his genie are my favorite cartoon characters . So Sujoy’s modern day adaptationhas to be well made as there are many like me who have grown up on Aladin stories . What has interested me more is his blog on Aladin where he has shared some wonderful articles on the making . his blog shows he is top writer , so my expectations are high from Sujoy’s modern day fantasy as far as the script is concerned

4.BLUE(diwali release)
Now this too has been a long time . India’s first underwater film has Akshay the best action star in India in it . So obviously this one will be a far cry from his recent B grade entertainers . Some of the photos I have seen on the web of this movie has excited me more than enough . With Lara & sanjay & a budget of 100 crores as well as a adman AnthonyD souza helming , it is bound to be well shot . I just hope it has a script as most action filmmakers tend to forget that aspect .

5.AASHAYEIN (not announced)
Another late comer , but I am a huge Kukunoor fan & hope he reclaim lost glory post Tasveer after this . This film is of a genre of human drama that Kukunoor has always specializes in Dor , Iqbal plus John recent improvement & the claim of it to be his best performance till date has relay has me excited . The first promo which was out quite a long time back has got me even more excited . Hope it releases soon

So here is my list . if you have your own list please mention it . The more the better .

new york(review)

the infiltration of reality into designer world

New York is one of the bravest attempt coming from the Yashraj stable . Aditya Chopra has only been attributed as the story writer for the film & to be very fair the film does have a predictable story line .Well you cant blame him for lack of ideas as he is always hidden & reclusive to the world to watch it closely . The film talks about the Muslim point of view in U.S.A post 9/11 . How the most civilized world lost their humanity at the first sign of global danger i.e. Al Qaeeda . Now the Muslim Plight has been brilliantly showcased in the movies like the outstanding Aamir , But 9/11 & America’s reaction to it has not been depicted in Hindi cinema before . So inspite of having a predictable story , the setting is new . That’s exactly what works for New York . What also works for the film is the friendship track in the university . The track with wonderful song ‘Junoon’ playing in the background creates a sense of strong emotions for the characters especially for Neil’s character that lingers on even in the most dramatic scenes featuring Neil . In the same way the big twist though on expected lines works well because the torture scene preceding it has been shot extremely
But thank God New York has been helmed by a Kabir Khan & not a Aditya Chopra or else we would have seen a 3 hr plus movie with loads of melodrama & songs .All these factors would have doomed the movie as it is of completely different genre in contrast to the Romantic epics that Aditya is known to make . Thankfully Kabir Khan comes from a raw & Real school of filmmaking , a facet that we saw in his extremely unique & quirky first attempt Kabul Express . Kabir Khan has a very simple style of story telling , no props , no unique camera angles , just let the story do the talking So none of the songs are lip -synched but are used as backgrounds to set the moods of the scenes , the pacing is fast & important scenes are superbly shot like the John Abraham’s big revelation scenes or the torture scenes .
realistically . It also helps to give John’s character the meat that it required .
Where Kabir Khan does well again is his choice of actor in the most important role of the film . Jus like his choosing of the brilliant Arshad Warsi in Kabul Express ,here too he goes for the superb Irfan Khan for the role of an FBI agent who creates the game which takes the story forward , Irfaan also has also has to mouth some very topical lines as regards to conveying the main message of the movie .Though in the hands of any other actor such lines could have gone into preachy territory , it is Irfaan’s natural talent that he makes all the lines real& restraint .

Though Kabir is not a director who can be called as an expert in extracting great performances from all his actors , which explains the indifferent performances from the 3 leads which varies from brilliance to plain ordinary(the 9/11 scene & their reaction to it is one such example of such inconsistency , seriously the expressions there was quite wooden in sharp contrast to what should have been the case after seeing such a heinous event happening supposedly so close to them) . It was quite expected though as non of the actors are known to be performers & it is after all their 1st attempts at full fledged serious roles .So inspite of the fact that one cant call it a complete performance they still surprise you in many of the scenes . Look at John Abraham , in an effort that can be termed as a performance from him after a long time instead of his regular kind of roles where he has to show the audience his Abs ( sometimes more than that) &just look good , he shocks you in the second half especially the sophistication & ease he brings to his dreaded character .It is easily his best effort till date & his constant improvement & choice of intelligent subjects as a way to enhance his career shows that one day John will be counted as an actor & the wooden tag will be removed , a change that has happened with many other actors ( for Example a certain MR KHiladi)
The same goes for Neil who has trappings of someone whom will evolve into a fine actor & inspite of the fact that he has got lots of scenes with Irfaan he comes out with flying colors expect for the few glitches here & there , it is a fine effort for somebody doing his third film . Katrina largely plays a supporting role to the 3 men , but surprises one as well in her first performance oriented role , yes she still has issues with dialogue delivery , but she has been aptly cast has the sunshine ( ever smiling) girl in the movie .A word for the actor who plays who is brilliant & a complete natural , I wonder why such talents are not highlighted by the media
Having said all the nice deserved things about New York , there is one glitch which I want to covey & that is the glorification of the anti-social . For some reason at one point unintentionally I might add we start rooting for the anti-social rather than the law enforcers , which is a dangerous situation at times especially the message that the makers is trying to convey through this movie . It is quite dangerous in times like these when violence is prevalent in every corner of the society .
3/5

paying guest(review)

Hindi film industry has always been a formula industry . If one simple idea works they start churning out similar 100 more concepts until it becomes rotten enough for a new formula to be invented . It was evident from the era of Angry young man Mr Bhachan where his screen image was utilized by number of filmmakers to the hilt . such precedence was also observed when Hum AApke Hai kaun was declared a hit . The formula was such a hit that more & more replicas were created , some even gave rise to generation changing directors like the elusive Aditya Chopra & the magnanimous Karan Johar .But these are famous examples of Hindi cinema’s masala culture .
Of late a new kind of shortcut formula has emerged .These is how it goes2,3or sometimes 4 good for nothing guys getting stuck in an unusual circumstances which gets the writer an opportunity to bring gag after gag . There are also unnecessary boring subplots because the main plot cannot make 2 & a half hour movie ( read Golmaal , Dhamaal , Hera Pheri , No Entry) So, we have the actors doing just about anything to make the audience laugh to compenstate for the lack of screenplay & ideas . There is also a touch of glamour thrown to make way for song in the shape of heroines many of whom are struggling in the acting department . Then there is the baap of the formula where in the climax you have all the actors coming together making a circus for an over the top end where you are supposed to fall off laughing (a la Priyadarshan school). Now all these movies mentioned in the bracket are the superb interpretations of the formula – cult classic . there are many who have got it terribly wrong (n Dhol , Apna Sapna Money Money) .

Paying Guests falls in the latter category a one line interesting theme is made into a screenplay as a comedy but fails to evoke any laughter & whatever is there has already been shown in the promos . It is supposedly taken from a play , but it hardly looks like one as it seems somebody has tampered with it to make it feel like an old 8o’s trash masala comedy . So you have the Sindhi , Bengali & Punjabis that we used to see in the 80s making appearance in this one with the same hamming it up kind of a language . Songs are thrown in for non reason as dream sequences , the old hindi movie treatment .The jaane Bhi Do Yaaron kind of a climax fails to evoke any laughter but feels like a children Drama Skit that is going on . What doesn’t help are the actors Javed Jaffery is his usual ham king hamming it up like anything , Ashish & Vatsal are support performers , the glamour quotient is quite bad – Riya Sen ( go to acting school ) , Neha Dhupia ( stick to Mithyas , you are a better actor than this ) , Celina & the other actress are poor . Paintal & Chunkyhams it up & would give tough competition to Javed Jaffery .The only saving grace is the honest Talpade (but he is getting repetitive) & Jhonny Lever as well as the sparkling Delnaaz .
This is yet another dud from Subhash Ghai who has lost all glory with only Iqbal as a shining light in his production house . For a man who was one of the better formula filmmakers his bank account seems to have expired since the old formula had become extinct from cinema , yet he still is dreaming in 80’s era instead of looking ahead . Soi many of his contemporaries have done that Yashraj is producing Chak DE , Kabul Express , Raj Santoshi is going for differebt ideas & creating super movies like Khakhee . Its time Mr ghai wakes up & smells the coffee as he has himself directed & produced one bad commercial potboiler to another . Wake up Sir .
`1/5

the saviours of cinema?

The recent news circulating that the famous Pankaj kapur starrer T.V sitcom Office Office is being made into a film has got me thinking .Now I don’t quite know that wether Office Office does have the appeal to translate into great cinema . But it is a great concept , something that as usual , Hollywood has already started with Sex & The city & many more soaps coming with their film version . For Indian cinema it might be a new step but it could well turn out to be successful as the filmmakers have a readymade story & a fan base which has enjoyed the show on television from before . This may take Hindi Cinema out of the recent slump thanks to the lack of good content . Now unfortunately for filmmakers Indian television today is known for its lack of any content , most of it is derived from bad 80s movies & are generally regressive in nature , something which is sure to keep the multiplex audience at bay .But inspite of this it has produced some original gems which have turned out to be TRP winners as well . So I decided to put together
some popular serials that are great movie potentials in my view . Here a list of soaps that can be turned into movies according to me as also my choice of actors who should potray them :-

1.Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai
Premise – a witty & humorous tale of a rich high society family that has some of the finest characters written on Television .From the High society lady in Maya Sarabai to the extreme opposite middle class daughter-in-law Monisha , The sarcastic Indu Sarabhai to The maa da ladla Roshesh . And finally the peacemaker in the family who bears the brunt of the family’s simple feuds in Sahil Sarabhai . this one has all the promise & material to be recreated into a hit & witty family movie .

Cast – the same cast which have depicted the characters on television & why would you want to change the set of brilliant actors in Satish Shah , Ratna Patak Shah , Sumeet Raghavan , should be retained . the role of Roshesh should be either played by the same actor or by someone like Sharman Joshi , Sumeet’s wife Monisha’s role should go to someone like Rani Mukherjee or Asin to add a bit of star power . Some more new characters can be added to the movie as well to make it interesting . But don’t remove the deaf phoopha who gives Indu a run for his money from the scheme of things .

2. Hum Paanch
Premise – the Queen of bad serials Ekta Kapoor best & most successful attempts . This tale of 5 daughters & a hassled father . the fathers woes are added by the presence of his 2 wives – a dead one who talks to him through her garlanded photo & the alive wife who encourages all the naughtiness of her daughters . In the age of women repression & female infanticide this serial could make a great comic film as well as giving many social messages .

Cast – the strong woman activist elder sister should be played by Kajol , Vidya Balan should reprise her role of the nerdy , deaf second sister , the bimbette with no brain can be played by Sonam kapoor , Genelia d’souza should play the tom boyish fourth sister . Rishi Kapoor or Boman Irani or Pankaj Kapur should play the hassled father’s role . While Shoma Anand should reprise her role as the supportive mother . The dead mother should be played by a senior actress like Dimple Kapadia .

3.Circus

Premise – a circus party breathing its last with the ever decreasing popularity coinciding with the fading health of the owner & his sons confusion wether to move on or keep his fathers dream project going is stuff that could make any bollywood drama fail . Best remembered for being one of Shah Rukh’s first few baby steps in television before his advent into cinema . Circus was extremely popular at that times thanks to its believable characters & dramatic content & the old ambience that a circus party would put together


Cast – would love to see Big B in the father’s role & Ranbir in the son’s role . need to cast good actors in the supporting cast

4.Shararat
Premise – Kids love the magical comedy of 3 fairies who stay in the human world with their secrets unrevealed except to their respective husbands . While their powers are being monitored by a God fairy . While there is naughty naani , a mother , a hassled father & their beloved Jia the young fairy who keeps messing up by doing the magic wrong . Add to it is Shanti aunty the neighbor who keeps asking for stuffs . Again great characters can make a good movie & this one will surely attract the kids .

Cast – Would not even think of getting anybody else then Farida jalal ,Shoma Anand & Daisy Irani reprising their roles . While the mother can be played by Juhi Chawla with Prachi or Amrita Rao pitching in as the sweet Jia . Kunal Khemu or Arjun Singh should play Jia’s boyfriend & Govinda should play Jia’s father in its filmy avatar .

5.Tehkikat
Premise – My last choice is the hit Doordarshan detective series starring Vijay Anand & Saurabh Shukla . The show was extremely popular at its time . And with terrorism , political corruption ever so increasing this is the best time for
detective concept like this in cinema .

Cast – I would have loved to see Mr Vijay Anand back in hsi role . but since the great man is not there anymore , I would like to see Amitabh Bhachan or Naseerudin Shah playing his larger than life role with Shukla joining him as a continuation of his character .

So these are the serials that can be conceptualized or remade in cinema . It was difficult naming it out of the many ordinary stuff that exists in Indian T.V. today . I hope content on television improves & creates many more such 5 gems & help those filmmakers who cannot write anything original .

WILL EMOTIONAL ATYACHAR END ON KASHYAP THIS TIME ?

'EMOTIONAL ATYACHAR' this happens to be the part of the lyrics of a song in the new movie of the eccentric Anurag Kashyap Dev. D - a modern day interpretation of Sarat Chandra s Devdas . Having seen & heard of Anurag 's quirky sense of cinema I wonder what would he do to the novel & its premise. I had just heard Anurag in an interview that he hated the novel & its hero , so keep your fingers crossed for another atom bomb from this 'destructive genius' . I just wonder sometimes
had Sarat Chandra been alive how he would have been able to take this new interpretation of his most famous creation . he surely would suffer a second heart attack if the recent dialogue promo is anything to go by where dev is asking paro for a nude photo of hers . the great writer would have had already suffered a first one after the watching the gloss & glamour over the top interpretation by Sanjay Leela Bhansali where he had torn apart the novel . but I m sure that with his sense of cinema he wont be going for the over the top or melodramatic section & would make something which will get acclaim everywhere .
I hope his interpretation works like all the others before this has. As if there is anyone who needs a hit is Kashyap .there are 4 reasons why a maker like Anurag should be encouraged . he is a wonderful writer & has great potential to be one of our greats . he is a rebel with a cause who can change Hindi cinema with his rebellious ideas . he doesn't shy away from saying whatever he wants , the way he wants . he is one of those few who doesn't think of the so called commercial diktats or star power while he is writing or making a film.
His films are a great example of this . I mean the amazing & hard hitting uncensored dialogues of Black Friday . the scene between K.K. & Abhihjeet Srivastav in the remand room still gives me goose-pimples & there are many more of such scenes in this brilliant film .
One of his most entertaining movies is his animation flick ' the return of hanuman . It really surprises me that that it is not so much acclaimed as Black Friday as it is one movie which makes the Indian Gods cool . the characters are presented in a mordernised manner breaking away from the trashy Doordarshan gods that we have been
seeing since the 90s & even exists in many hindi movies now (Anybody seen the God in Atul Agnihotri 's Hello) .the spoofy monkeys on SRK & Rajnikanth etc was a real stroke of genius as well, I have also heard that he is starting a superhero film so that would be interesting to see the realistic maker attempting a fantasy superhero him
I am pretty sure that the man will give us a quality. film this time too .The only thing that would prevent this maverick filmmaker from making a good film is his suffering from the same diseases that Aamir had in Ghajini & forgetting that there is an audience who will pay for watching his movie , if he goes for his individualistic ego trip & makes another No Smoking . I mean what the hell was the movie all about . if any filmmaker has to explain in interviews after its release what he/she has tried to say through the movie then he has failed as a filmmaker . I hope that is not the case . Infact I m sure it is not the case by looking at the promos being showcased on television that Anurag has a sensible story for a normal audience to watch .
Anurag is a great filmmaker who deserves a hit for its daring approach to cinema . Hope Dev D hits the bulls eye & gives Anurag the much needed taste of success that has eluded him so far . .