Race(review)

Comeback of Shidney Seldon Of india - Abbas Mustaan
Abbas mustan are known to be masters of thrillers in india so what if half of their successful thrillers are mostly copy of hollywod movies . originality isn’t their forte but one cannot deny that they were the first ones to bring complex characters which are straight but gay(oops sorry ) grey characteristics . they challenged the conventions of Hindi cinema & wrapped it with all the entertaining formulas , but their last few films have not been up to mark in terms of content & treatment . but finally in Race they get the formula just right . That s exactly why I believe that Abbas-Mustan are the Sidney Sheldon of India who manage to include in their content lots of expected & unexpected twist apart from lots of sex & style. In Race , which is basically an idea of 2 brothers competing with each other & has been converted into screenplay where there are twist & turns every 20 min apart from style & oomph . in race there is no logical script but an attempt at keeping the audience guessing . there are lots of questions but u r not allowed to ask that as the film moves at a superb pace . here the twists are used as one liners are used in comedies , so some twist are quite predictable some are not . importantly the latter ones are more in number . that’s where it works . songs could have been avoided & should have been kept less in number as they affect the continuation of the script .
Performances are fine with Akshaye surprisingly getting more screen time than Saif & showcasing his full range as an actor in playing a role quite opposite to his personality . there are not too many popular faces who could have played it better . Saif is required to look good as there is very little scope for him to perform & one has seen him perform much better . Bipasha is required to look sexy & that she does & gives a decent performance as well . Katrina is fine in the second half . Anil Kapoor & Sameera Reddy have badly written roles & they seem to have taken the revenge on the audience by acting even more badly .
Alan Amin has very little to do & he has done much much better work than this in other movies . the film belongs to the editor as he constructs & puts together a super pacy film . not once accept for some songs do u feel letdown by the pace . Cinematography is quite good The film has a good look, something which is expected of a 35 crore film . the look of the characters is superb by Anahita Adjania & it is one of the best things about . Music is peppy & exactly what the movie needed . Choreography is excellent . screenply writer should be lauded for a tight screenplay .
On the whole race is no great cinema but a good entertainer & is a film which sees the comeback of Sidney Sheldon of India – Abbas Mustan .

JODHA AKBAR (review)

A CLASSIC

Ashutosh Gowariker’s epic JODHA AKBAR is a classic tale of love after marriage & the coming of age of a young emperor . Ashutosh proves with this one that he is Indias finest filmmaker as only he can deliver a hattrick of movies which will be remembered for years to come in Hindi Cinema . All 3 movies are a great amalgamation of art & entertainment as well as extremely different in terms of content . Asutosh’s screenplay have one thing in common , great moments which will linger in your heart even after one has seen the movie –1. the sword fighting scene between the Hrithik & Ash produces a rare sexual energy ever seen 2. the Khwaja Song where Hrithik is completely immersed in the powers of the Almighty along with the Bhajan were he has almost the same effect is superb . te film has many more such beautiful moments & add to that is his vision & scale on which he never comprises . an example of this are the huge sets , the big scale battle scenes (hardly ever seen in hindicinema ) which are realistically shot & will surely pump ones heartbeat , the beautifully mounted song ‘Marhabba’ is eye popping & rich in treatment as well as money .
Ashutosh vision is greatly helped by the two protagonist –Hrithik plays Akbar like a true king , not once does Hrithik The star come to your mind when u see him perform , u completely take him to be the real vulnerable but good hearted Akbar completely dependent on his loyal ones .the voice modulation , the walk , the eyes all convey the much needed sense of royality to the audience. it is a character which Ashutosh has obviously written keeping the image of hindi film hero & nicely adding it to the larger than life persona of Akbar . the brilliance of Hrithik is superbly supported by Aishwariya Bhachan who proves yet again that if she is guided by a good filmamaker can give the best in the business competition . their superb performances are also a reason for their crackling chemistry . the confrontationscene where Hrithik is trying to convince her to come back with him & Ash not relenting is a real example of their superiorty .
But the brilliance of the two is not quite replicated by the support cast which is average . though tere are some brilliance like the man who plays Hrithiks guardian in the beginning or the actor who plays the eunch , the main cast comprising of Sonu Sood (average) , Dheer , Poonam Sharma ( cant act ) , Illa Arun(hams) . but the 2 leads old the film .
Asutoshs writing & Direction as mentioned is brilliant , though there are few scenes which linger a tad too long & could have been shortened & would have helped the length of the film . music is divine , Rahmans compositions touch your heart slowly like Amrit jal & ake u pure . The Lyricts are superbly rendered . The cinematography is a dream , it changes beautifully in transforming us to a fantasy land which is beautiful to the battle scenes , shot in an apt rustic manner . the sound recording is brilliant . u get to hear each & every sound right from the voice of the elephants to the sound of the bangles which makes the watching themovie great fun . Editing could have been tighter s a few scenes are a tad too long as mentioned before . Action is the kind hardly seen in hindi cinema ever absolute classic . Background score has te right blend of melody & thrill which adds to the beauty.
In conclusion , Jodha Akbar is definitely Indias finest film on a real life character & will certainly be counted as a classic in times to come . I m certainly looking forward to DVD to absorb the magic of this movie again .

SUNDAY - REVIEW

Sunday is quite a funday . its no great cinema , nor is it pretending to be but it certainly is not a 2nd time see . on the other hand one has seen quite a few movies last year in similar lines where the oneliners are more important than script ,so it kind of does wear . the gay jokes wacks so do the of Irfaan & Arshad track . the romantic song is the wrong chaal , many scenes reminds one of golmaal . but the suspense factor factors suffers due to the fractured screenplay which makes it a half baked delay . Rohit Shetty is A competent filmmaker , so his talent should not be wasted or else he will have no takers . Ajay & Kareena are good but now should now do some good work like Robinhood .
Alas Sunday is an average fare &in some parts entertaining & engaging . but with a comedy coming out almost every Friday it suffered because of that factor .

my top 10 films of 2007

These are the movies that i enjoyed & adored this year & are my choice for top 10
1. CHAK DE INDIA- a real inspiration

The most inspiritional film of the year would definitely have to be Chak De India . Indias finest sports film has made hockey the new style mantra . Jaideep Sahinis brilliant script where he envisions plenty of messages which include – team spirit , women empowerment , the problem of cast divisions etc , some great dialogues ‘ mujhe states ke naam na sunai dete hain na dikai dete hai si sirf ek mulk naam sunai deta hai INDIA‘ , ‘is team mai sirf ek gunda ho sakta hai aur who mai hu’ & some great characters & moments make this movie one of those rare good sports film that is not just abt sports but so much more .Shimit Amins realistic treatment never lets the brilliant script to go wrong . all the 16 girls are brilliant & then there is the king Shahrukh who gives his best , (the use of his eyes in the climax is a highpoint of the movie) . this is a movie that will every individual will get inspiration from wether he is a sportsman or in everyday life. so CHAKE DE INDIA


2.TAARE ZAMEEN PAR - dreams of a child Rarely does a movie come along that makes u cry & want to be a child again . Amol Gupte’s superb script dwells on the child psychology when parents fail to understand them & burden them with unnecessary expectations . it also showcases Dyslexia – a problem that is hardly known but exists among children . An emotional & restrained climax is what ends the movie on the high note . Aamirs superb execution of the subject lifts the movie to another level . the use of songs as anarrative is brillianat each & every song has beautiful meaning attached to it & hearing them reminds u of ur childhood . credit to Prasson Joshi for some of the finest lyrics I ave heard . the song “maa’ is bound to make every child from 16-60 moist eyed .Jaame rahoge is another song that showcases that it is not Ishaan the protagonist who has a problem but as we are all living a monotonous & mechanical . Mera jahan showcases the real world frm Ishans eyes & Bheja kum shows Ishans problem where he imagines alphabets as monsters . Finally the film belong to the lead star not Aamir but the superb Darsheel Zafary who gives the finest performance of the year by miles . the way he emotes through is eyes is brilliant . the only I would like to end with is THANKU to Aamir & Amol.


3. JAB WE MET - the refreshing love story

Imitiaz Ali shows his real potential as the director after the superbly refreshing ‘Socha Na Tha ‘ in this tale of a amn who hardly talks or laughs like a miser would money & an innocent chatterbox . what works here is the refreshing treatment by imitiaz ali & his extracting superbly real performances frm not even the lead cast ( both of whom are known 2 be over the top actors)but also frm unknown faces ( special mention 2 the man who played the manager of the hotel) , imitiaz’s superbly everyday dialogues also set the mood of the movie , its a rare movie were humor is subtle & not slapstick . some great music by Pritam & superb use of it by Imitiaz in the story allows the movie to move forward . all this makes Jab We Met the most refreshing love story of the yr . A filmthat you would love to watch again & again


4. LIFE IN A METRO - a musical ode to the metro


Anurag basu emerges as the real winner here with his superb musical ode to poetry which is realistic but des not have anything clichéd . some wonderfully new characters , great performances by almost the entire ensemble cast right from the underrated Sharman Joshi , the brilliant ,Irfaan khan in a role different frm his intense role , k.k.Menon ‘s perfection , Kangana Ranaut’s raw talent , Konkona’s spontainiety , Shilpa’s oomph appeal & Dharmendra’s star power. add to it the best album of the year by pritam & some of the finest cinematography in a smll budget movie ,( in fact it makes the metro look beautiful) & u have the finest film on multilayered stories to have come in world cinema . kudos to Anurag Basu


5. GURU - the victory of the dreamer

Mani Ratnam’s superb tale of the victory of the dreamer is an affectionate tale which would relate & encourage every individual who has the audacity to dream . powered by Mithun’s superb performance & Abishek’s brilliance along with te support of aishwariya rai , Mani creates a human drama hardly ever seen in hindi cinema . infact Mani is able 2 extract superb performances frm each & every member of the cast even the one scene of Sachin khadekar .the cinematogarhy enriches Manis vision even more . only the climax ,Vidyas character (wastage of a good actor) & some songs had been rectified it would definitely had been counted as Manis best . but still it remains one of his most inspirational works & will be remembered for some of its finest performance .
6. BHejA FRY- a small budget revolution

The film that revolutionalized the low budget , no stars cinema . the film had no stars , a budget of 50 lakh yet it entertained & was declared a hit . it shows that a movie can work witout big names . it is a one man show with vinay pathak giving a superbly perfect performance as the idiot . it has also made a star out of not an actor but the director , the talented Sagar Ballary

7.BLACK FRIDAY- THE hard hitting genius

What a movie . the Eccentric Anurag Kashyap gives hindi cinema one of its best movie ona real life incident . the tale of 94 bomb blast has been brilliantly presented with a novel narration & some real hard hitting stuff . a haunting backround score does to the film. The film also has some of the best performance of the year esp by the lead cast of K.K.Menon, Abhijeet Srivastav , Pawan Malhotra . its sad movies like tis don’t work . 2 scenes will remain in my mind forever –a look at Malhotra’s eyes when he promises to take revenge of the riots , the remand room scene between Menon & Srivastav. The film also gives a deep message that religious extremisn will only lead to destruction in society .

CHEENI KUM - the novel theme with lots of sugar & spice

The recipe – a novel theme , lots of brilliance from Amitabh Bhachan & Tabu , a little bit of Zohra sehgal ,some never before characters in hindi cinema , throw in some great one liners & u have the perfect dish laid by director R. Balki . its perfect medicine for diabetics .nice film, really enjoyed it

9.PARTNER- the laugh riot


Something clicked here I don’t know what . it wasn’t the story as it had none whatever it had was the frame by frame copy of Will Smith’s Hitchwhich itself was acopy of choti si baat (if there is an award for the copy cat of the year it has to go to David Dhawan) . what it did have as its own was some corny & funny oneliners & the presence of a great comic actor Govinda who showed he did not lose his touch .


10.AJAA NACHLE - the comeback queen


The tale victory of the underdog over the powerful through the art of dancing & the forgotten theatre clicked for me . it did not have the directorial finesse of Lagaan but the extremely relatable characters penned by the Indian at heart Jaideep Sahini makes it a extremely lovable fare . add to it were the performances by the supremely talented starcast right from Irfan to akshaye ., u have the perfect sweet dish . finally add to the top a madhuri bonanza to make it seemly irresistible . the Laila Majnu climax ( a copy of romeo-juliet climax of ‘Shakespeare in Love) is interesting . I definitely wanted to get up & dance after seeing this movie .