Sirf

Sirf (drama)
Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Manisha Koirala, Sonali Kulkarni, Ranveer Shorey
Direction: Rajaatesh Nayar

PLEASE, don't we know what life in a metro is all about by now. Haven't we done the Mumbai salsa several times now. Just let big city blues be, unless, there's still an undiscovered Woody Allen out there to do a New York diary on amchi Mumbai, saddi Dilli, namma Chennai.

Sirf is again a city document, which encapsulates the unfulfilled longings of a bunch of characters who try to fulfil their dreams in the vast, abyss-like metro. There's Manisha and Kay Kay: a rich, successful couple who have everything but quality time for each. There's Sonali and Ranvir: a hard-pressed, middle-class couple with a love story that's losing out on the struggle to earn money. There's Pravin Dabbas and Rituparno Sengupta: a small town couple, struggling with the culture clash of permissive cosmosexuals. And there's a young couple dreaming of finding a roof in the unaffordable city in order to get married. Somewhere down the sleepy comings and goings, their lives get intertwined and salvation does lie round the corner. But for that, you'll have to sit up and shake the yawns, since the director fails to invest energy in his drama. What's more irritating is the sudden twist in the seemingly normal tale about a bunch of happiness seekers. Nah! Kay Kay couldn't get crooked, ekdum se, could he? And a Jabalpur girl (Rituparno) couldn't be such an old-fashioned nag, could she?

Watch out for Manisha Koirala. It's a comeback that calls for a bunch of better roles.

Tashan

Tashan (drama)
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Anil Kapoor
Direction: Vijay Krishan Acharya

DESPERATELY seeking some scriptwriters for Yashraj Inc. After the no-brainer Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, get ready for another plot-dead film that tries to score on presentation alone. Sadly, there isn't even a zany, new age tashan to boast about here. There is a pathetic attempt to exploit the Nostalgia Inc, but unlike Om Shanti Om which made an art of retro, Tashan fails to whip up old-is-gold sentiment, despite rendering Amitabh Bachchan's seminal Deewar soliloquy before Bhagwan in tootie-frootie Angrezi and milking good old Gabbar dry. More importantly, the film fails to capitalise the Saif-Kareena chemistry completely and almost relegates Saif as a sidekick, a role he has ably played against Akshay Kumar in the 1990's with films like Main Khiladi Tu Anadi, etc. But what saddens you the most is the gangster act by Anil Kapoor. As the English-loving Bhai, hailing from small-town Kanpur, Kapoor is absolutely unintelligible and ends up a pale copy of Jaaved Jaafrey's rib-tickling cameo in Salaam Namaste. Now that from an actor of his calibre is absolutely heartbreaking.

So what's worth a dekko? Akshay Kumar as a small-time thug who dreams of becoming a big-time ‘sooter' (shooter) and a zero-size Kareena Kapoor in a bikini, recreating the oomph of Ursula Andress in Dr No. Akshay has progressed into a natural scene-stealer by now and simply walks away with the applause, be it action, comedy or emotion. As Bachchan Pandey, the goonda who is pulled out of Kanpur to work as a ‘recovery agent' for Bhaiyya ji (Anil Kapoor), Akshay creates a tashan that actually works. His job is simple. He must find the two fugitives, Saif and Kareena, who have walked away with Bhaiyya ji's moolah. And he does it with a pizzazz that makes the film work, in bits and pieces. Watch him jump around like Hanuman (or is it Keanu Reeves in Matrix) in a death-defying fight sequence or ward off the slutty con-girl Kareena and then get goofy and giddy in love: you'll join the audience as it applauds his antics with taalis and seetis.

That's it. After that, it's khallas. All the conmen and their crooked acts fail to create a jagged edge, even though you have Saif and Kareena trying to dupe any and everyone, including each other, in the frame. Truly, it's the season of wickedness in Bollywood. Yet, unlike the bhai versus bhai treachery of Race, this roulette of deceit and upmanship lacks sophistication. Stylistically, it is loud and gaudy and peppered with strange lyrics that make a mockery of Hinglish. No, this one's not really a film that lives up to the repute of YRF productions and can be viewed merely for moments of pleasure, whipped up by a manic Akshay.

The Eye

The Eye (horror )
Cast: Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola
Direction: David Moreau, Xavier Palud


BASED on a Hong Kong horror film, The Eye comes a wee bit late. Because, Bollywood has already ripped it. Remember Naina , where Urmila Matondkar saw stuff - death, accidents, ghosts - after a cornea transplant. Replace Ms Matondkar with Jessica Alba and the soporific horror sequences of the B-grade Bollywood film with a handful of real chills and thrills and rest assured: this is an adequate time-pass film.

Alba is Sydney Wells, the young, blind musician, who goes in for a cornea transplant, only to discover she was better off without sight. For her blurry vision shows her dead and dying people along with the shadowy, skeletal angels of death. More scary is the image she sees in the mirror in place of her face. It's a sad, doleful girl who seems to be telling her something. All that Alba has to do is to ferret that girl out and find out the disasters that lie in wait. And the only person who can help her is the reluctant doctor who drives her all the way to Mexico to meet her donor.

Not the best for Alba fans, nevertheless there's ample fun for horror buffs here.

Hope and a Little Sugar

Hope and a Little Sugar (drama)
Cast: Mahima Chaudhary, Anupam Kher, Amit Sial
Direction: Tanuja Chandra

A jelly bean of a film, this one looks at 9/ll - and the acrimonious aftermath - through sugar-coated glasses. Nevertheless, you are willing to forgive the childlike simplicity of the director's attempts to dissect complicated conundrums like racial prejudice, communal bias, only because it states its message so very simply. The pithy film celebrates the spirit of tolerance, humaneness and empathy without going into heavy-handed dissertations on terror, Islam, jehad, backlash....

The spirit of the film belongs to Anupam Kher who essays the role of a Sikh Colonel who heads a happy Hindustani family in Manhattan. Come 9/11 it isn't only the WTC Towers that end up as debris. The Colonel loses his son (Vikram Chatwal) in the terrorist attack and has no one to vent his anger on, other than Ali (Amit Sial), a young photographer who has befriended the family. Spending lonely hours in police stations and pubs, trying to find a rationale behind the gnawing sense of loss, he finds a soft target in the young Muslim and blames him for the violence that has scarred his life. Sense prevails when the turbaned Sikh himself becomes a victim of racial violence and it's time for building bridges once again; time for hope and a little sugar to sweeten up the soured affairs.

Watch out for a touching performance by Anupam Kher, an actor who still carries the sparks of Saaransh within.

Salakhain

Salakhain (drama)
Cast: Zara, Ahmed, Meera
Direction: Shahzad Rafique


AFTER Khuda Kay Liye , this is the second Pakistani film to find a theatrical release in India. Yet, unlike Khuda Kay Liye , this one is pure mainstream, providing a dekko at the Pakistani film formula, which is so very desi. The guys have their guns and their glares, the girls have their rain-drenched chiffons and their item numbers, the moms have their moments coupled with emotional hysteria and the gangsters have their molls to spray acid on. All in all, it's familiar terrain.

Thematically, the film is like your average revenge masala, where a college boy falls prey to the political mafia and emerges from the salakhain (read jail) as a one man army against the goons. All he wanted to do, when he was not dancing in the rain with his pretty padosan , was to fulfil his abba's dream and become an afsar with a kursi . But all he ends up doing, when he is not crying on his moll's shoulders, is roaming the streets and spraying bullets at his tormenters. In between, he is caught in a gang war and ends up losing his family too. Not much left for our crusader, other than his bloody crusade. And yes, his comely comrade-in-arms (Meera), the gun-toting club dancer who seems to be wedded to sorrow.

Ostensibly, the film which was released in 2004 was declared a blockbuster in Pakistan and reportedly ran for 75 weeks. It does have enough masala to keep you in your seats, but stylistically, there is a dated feel which reminds you of Bollywood in the 1980s. Today, when Indian cinema is resplendent with a techno-sheen that compares well with the west, it would take meaning or mega-glitz in film imports to lure the fastidious film buff, not masala alone.

Krazzy 4

Director: Jaideep Sen
Cast: Arshad Warsi, Irrfan Khan, Rajpal Yadav, Suresh Menon
Rating: /photo.cms?msid=2946467

Not again! Another over-the-top comedy and this time with a senti-‘mental’ shade to the story which only ends up being detri-‘mental’ to your mental health. When will the mentality of moviemakers change?

The fundamental idea of Krazzy 4 is clearly inspired from an English film The Dream Team and is sketched into a screenplay which is as much manipulated as the title of the film. Alas the makers seek numerological aid for the title but are at lack of logic when it comes to treatment.

The four title characters are supposedly mental patients but surprisingly seem to be fit and fine to physical and psychological perfection. Raja (Arshad Warsi) is temperamental. Daboo (Suresh Menon) can’t speak. Mukherjee (Irrfan Khan) is a cleanliness freak with an obsessive compulsive disorder for neatness. Gangadhar (Rajpal Yadav) still lives in a bygone era as outdated as the flavour of this film. There is no backing to the background accounts of these loosely drafted characters or any explanation on how they landed in the mental hospital.

Dr. Sonali (Juhi Chawla) feels the quartet needs some time away from the hospital and takes them to the city to watch a cricket match. Unfortunately in the city Sonali is kidnapped and the foursome is stranded. Conveniently Raj stumbles upon his ex-girlfriend (Dia Mirza) while Mukherjee meets his daughter on some random road. The script is crammed with many more of such cinematic coincidences until it comes to a clichéd climax where the four give long lectures on how its better off being dim-witted than being bad in the mad world outside.

The irony with our comedies is that when characters are expected to act sane they go blaringly berserk, and when they are expected to act mad like in this one, they end up appearing rational. While the four characters here are expected to be stupid, they exhibit more intelligence than the rest of the commonsensical cast put together. They stand for the National Anthem, sing expressive songs and also carry off a sting operation successfully.

From an unscrupulous politician who gets his own wife kidnapped to corrupt cops, Ashwini Dheer employs every possible formula in his wangled screenplay. Almost every gone-off gag is stretched beyond its expiry date until it backfires in reflex action. Just for instance there is an entire track dedicated on how earning just one rupee in this materialistic world is so difficult. How redundantly ridiculous!

Jaideep Sen’s directorial touch is equally slapdash, reminiscent of a substandard 80s potboiler. Resorting to a crude Rakhi Sawant item number to wheeling rickshaws in climax chases, the director clearly caters to the front-benchers. Unfortunately these days cinema halls do not fill up till front row capacity.

Even the performances of the much capable cast aren’t inspiring, to say the least. Arshad Warsi’s repeated anger bouts do not amuse. Irrfan Khan looks uninterested. The immensely talented Suresh Menon is criminally wasted in a mute role. Rajpal Yadav is bearable this time around.

Crazy has different connotations from passionate to mad. While the director doesn’t seem to be passionate about his craft, he surely makes you go mad by the end of the show.

U Me aur Hum

Some films just want your heart to take over your mind. U Me aur Hum crafted with heartfelt passion over cerebral challenges is an ideal example. The sheer sincerity and intensity of the attempt involves you so influentially as an audience that the cynic critic takes a backseat and the unstrained spectator comes forth.

Right from the imaginatively designed opening credits inscribed with love definitions from across the globe, the movie sets in a surreal ambience for an endearing experience. Love is in the air as Ajay Devgan takes over as the captain of the ship (director) literally initiating his love story on a cruise-liner. And director Devgan unveils his narrative through actor Ajay who literally takes over as a story-teller in the film to narrate a mesmerizing story in the flashback mode.

Its love at first sight as always for Ajay, who doesn’t take too long to propose to a cruise stewardess Piya (Kajol). To impress his ladylove Ajay manipulates all that Piya likes. Conveniently the girl is awed and the two are soon a couple. So far so fair! But one wonders if director Devgan forgot to add a story to love. But your inhibitions come to rest as the real story begins post-interval where Piya’s amnesiac bouts come into picture imparting a much-needed twist in the linear tale. Bollywood romance flicks love to put love to test. Fortunately this time the novel setting to the love-test gives an entirely fresh outlook to the film.

From the outset one notices how Ajay Devgan chooses a unique story-telling pattern that despite venturing into frequent flashbacks, connects with the audience every time it comes back. Soon one observes how the director allows each scene to mature at its own pace and doesn’t rush with the screenplay. Devgan’s opulent vision is brought to life by Aseem Bajaj’s superlative cinematography that adds soul to every frame. The extreme close-up shots appear a bit disturbing at the start but one soon acclimatizes with the confining camera frames and relishes the result, as the film progresses.

While one might complain of practically no plot in the first half, Devgan still manages to keep the proceedings lively through his charming chemistry with Kajol on the cruise and a delightful demeanour brought in by the friendly supporting cast. His distinctive directorial prowess surfaces in the second half when the story progresses diligently. The meticulously sketched out screenplay comes in as a pleasant surprise from writers Robin Bhatt, Akash Khurana and Sutanu Gupta who are usually associated with formulaic films or blatant rip-offs. Ashwini Dheer adds in a lot of consideration in his thoughtfully penned dialogues. Apart from the requisite wit, his lines impart a lot of insight and depth to the scenes. The team comes up with an impeccably engaging script which is complimented by Ajay Devgan’s confident and matured direction.

Scene after scene the second half simply bowls you over with the fascinating freshness that is brought in the treatment. I might go on mentioning more than a dozen sequences but the ones that boast of exceptional execution are the one where an infant is almost saved from drowning or when Kajol speaks of how freaky the Alzheimer's disease is, not remembering she herself is suffering from it. The romance never gets mushy nor do the emotions get melodramatic with a subtle stroke maintained throughout. The simmering pace and Kajol’s recurring amnesiac spells, rather than getting repetitive, add compelling credibility to the story.

Ajay Devgan also succeeds in extracting authentic performances from the entire cast. Sumeet Raghavan is exceptionally expressive as Ajay’s close buddy. Divya Dutta and Karan Khanna are pretty good. Needless to say, Kajol and Ajay Devgan play to perfection.

U Me aur Hum raises much above the candyfloss or campus romance regularly churned out in Bollywood. Watch this one for its matchless maturity!

Crossing Into the Deep End, Where Desire Is Fathomed

The flowers that bloom in the French film “Water Lilies” belong to a familiar cinematic species, the newly sexualized teenage girl. Being French, these teenage girls exhibit some notably different characteristics from their Hollywood counterparts; among other things they don’t text, snap their gum or deliver snappy dialogue like some peewee-league Rosalind Russell. But like most movie teenagers, they also weigh in closer to carefully fabricated adult conceits than to fleshed-out real girls.
The three 15-year-olds at the center of “Water Lilies” certainly belong to recognizably fictional types. There’s Anne (Louise Blachère), the sloppy, fat loner (more gently rounded than truly big), who pals around with Marie (Pauline Acquart), a reedy child-woman who, in turn, only has big hungry eyes for Floriane (Adèle Haenel), a ripe beauty whose suggestive smile portends trouble. The scope of that trouble slowly emerges as the girls circle one another at the local pool — they’re all involved in synchronized swimming, hence the title — at parties and, most provocatively, in one another’s bedrooms. Desire, the writer and director Céline Sciamma suggests, embracing her film’s controlling metaphor rather too enthusiastically, has a way of disrupting the most carefully choreographed life.

Ms. Sciamma sets her story in a generic French suburb at a great psychological remove from the holiday hot spot where Catherine Breillat’s teenagers romp in and out of their clothes in “Fat Girl.” Although Ms. Sciamma explores adolescent sexuality and makes something of an uneasy spectacle of the young flesh at her disposal, she has neither Ms. Breillat’s searching intelligence nor her daring. “Water Lilies” is a nice, watchable, attractive, minor work. What it lacks is a sense of purpose, a commitment not just to its characters but also to its own reason for being. Girls grow up. They fumble in and out of bed, sometimes with one another. They cry. They laugh. They’re unspeakable. And then they’re adults.

“Water Lilies” was an official selection at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, probably as much for its national provenance as its accomplishments. Ms. Sciamma, who makes her feature debut here, has a fine sense of color and form, and works well with her young cast. She generally puts the camera where it makes sense and avoids any visual fuss, a few underwater shots notwithstanding; and her editing advances rather than impedes the story. The girls are sympathetic, though Ms. Blachère pushes it. Even so, what is most interesting about “Water Lilies” is that Ms. Sciamma appears not to have recognized that she has the makings of a real star in Ms. Haenel, whose shaded performance suggests a more interesting film than this one.

Juno

Juno (drama)
Cast: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner
Direction: Jason Reitman



JUNO justifiably created a buzz at the Oscars. For here's a film that tackles a tangled topic -- teen pregnancy -- without getting into knots and tangles. It's such a fresh, uncomplicated look at one of the most compelling problems today. And it becomes more important in countries like India where an iron curtain is doggedly pulled down on such occurrences, despite the fact that teen sex -- and pregnancy -- is a truth that should no longer be denied here.

Just sample the no-nonsense approach. Sixteen-year-old Juno (Ellen Page) loses her virginity with her high-school buddy (Michael Cera), also a virgin, and ends up pregnant. She tells her parents who thank God the problem is not drugs and ask her what she would like to do? Earlier, Juno has already run away from the clinical abortion clinic because a teen activist said the foetus had fingernails. She announces her plans to go through the pregnancy and give up her baby for adoption. Dad helps her find a suitable couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) and life goes on normally, with a few hormonal swings here and there. Juno feels left out when she's not invited to the prom, but finds a dance partner in the foster dad. But it's the real dad she really loves, even though he's a gawky, immature teen like her. And it's the sheer gawkiness of this no-holds-barred film which makes it a winner. The film neither celebrates nor condemns teen pregnancy; just treats it as a reality of life that needs to handled with sensitivity and care.

The completely youthful idiom, deftly created through the language, demeanour and attitude of the young Ellen Page and her friends makes the film a milestone mirror of its times. Wanna see what Youngistan is all about, without glossing over the naked truths? Say hello to Juno .

Shaurya

Cast: Rahul Bose, Kay Kay Menon, Javed Jaffrey, Deepak Dobriyal
Director: Samar Khan
Shaurya kya hai?
The nerve to make an original film in an industry where every third film is derived! But a few good men from Bollywood still confuse it to adapting English films to an Indian context.

Shaurya kya hai?
The courage to choose an innovative context as the core and crux of the film! But a few intellectual filmmakers still believe that the issue of ‘victimized Muslims’, over-exploited in Bollywood by now, is fresh to films as yet.

Shaurya kya hai?
The audacity to represent a social theme and yet present it entertainingly! But director Samar Khan confounds entertainment with an item number here and a couple of deftly executed scenes there.

Undoubtedly Samar Khan’s intentions are decent and dignified enough on highlighting the plight of the minority community in our society. But then haven’t we been witnessing that for over a decade now ever since Mukesh Rishi convincingly raised the issue in Sarfarosh for the first time. From Arbaaz Khan in Garv as the victim to Suniel Shetty in Main Hoon Na as the victimizer and a plethora of prototypes in between, we have been there and seen that enough number of times. And coincidentally in all cases, Bollywood is inclined to show the minority being wronged by law. Samar Khan does the same.

Choosing an army backdrop, Shaurya entails a court martial trail evidently inspired from the Tom Cruise – Jack Nicholson starrer ‘A Few Good Men’. And while Indianizing the Hollywood plot, the director decides to raise the issue of the victimized Muslim. One wonders what clicked Samar Khan first – the issue or the inspiration?

Major Akash Kapoor (Javed Jaffrey) gets a military posting in Srinagar. Close friend Major Siddhanth Chaudhary (Rahul Bose) wants to accompany but not on official grounds. Rather he prefers the paragliding pretext in Kashmir valley. Akash manages to manipulate a posting for Siddhanth too but as the defense lawyer of a convict Javed Khan (Deepak Dobriyal) whose case he has to investigate and fight against the prosecutor who would be Akash himself. Basically they intend to maneuver a fake trial whereby Akash gets his victory and Siddhanth enjoys his holiday.

Expectedly Siddhanth seems to be least interested in defending Javed initially. But once he meets Brigadier Pratap Singh (Kay Kay Menon) to whose regiment Javed belonged, his viewpoint changes and he is imbibed with his sense of duty and responsibility. Things take a turn when he fights the case against Akash.

The director lends his finest nuances in setting up the military backdrop of the film. But in contrast he spends too much time on the buildup. The central plot kicks off only by the interval point. The pace is intentionally slow and adds to the effect as each scene takes its own time to mature. But despite that Siddhanth’s change of mind doesn’t come across as convincingly.

While the treatment is sufficiently subtle and subdued, at some instances it isn’t pardoned of filmi liberties. For instance, Siddhanth very assertively claims on a heroic note that his client is not guilty (even before he starts investigating the case) and you feel like blaming the script of being guilty of the typically overconfident Bollywood hero.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to perceive the premise of the issue of the film which makes the second half come across as conveniently predictable. So despite the neatly executed climax courtroom drama (with a brilliant implosive outburst by Kay Kay Menon) the culmination doesn’t go beyond your assumption or imagination.

On the upside, Samar Khan captures a splendid aura while directing the scenes involving Kay Kay Menon and Rahul Bose. The metaphorical conversations between the two are crisply written. Thankfully the romance angle with Minissha Lamba is relegated to the backburner though not before appending a transition song. The refreshing background score soothingly works on a subconscious level while the camerawork is occasionally cool, whenever outside the courtroom.

Of the cast, Kay Kay Menon is the clear scene-stealer with an intimidating and menacing personality and also walks away with the best of lines. Rahul Bose is fairly good while Minissha Lamba comes across as confident character. It’s a pleasant change to watch Javed Jaffrey in a non-humourous role. Deepak Dobriyal speaks through his silence but above that his character doesn’t demand much from the supremely talented actor.

Shaurya, unarguably, is a film with noble intentions. But its lacks novel execution!

Khuda Kay Liye

Director: Shoaib Mansoor
Cast: Shan, Fawad Khan, Iman Ali, Rasheed Naz, Naseeruddin Shah
Language: Urdu, Hindi, English
Country: Pakistan

At the advent of the millennium Indian cinema witnessed a slew of fanatically jingoistic Pak-bashing films. Like any other passing phase, this too was substituted with pro-Pakistan films on the grounds of establishing good relations in changing times with our neighbouring country. From the victimized Muslims to terrorizing ones, we have seen enough of them on the Indian screen. But in most cases it was often served with the commercial consideration of manipulating an audience in the minority community. But when a Pakistani filmmaker comes up with a film, valiantly and unabashedly showing the black and white shades of the countrymen in a seemingly unbiased demeanour, the outcome appears more credible and relevant. Cinematically, we have often realized the potential of Pakistan in poetry but ridiculed it for prose. Khuda Kay Liye changes the latter notion with its poised and progressive point of view.

At the outset, Khuda Kay Liye starts as a story of two rock musician brothers Mansoor (Shan) and Sarmad (Fawad Khan) from Pakistan who are at the prime of their careers. The younger, Sarmad however comes in contact with a religious extremist group headed by Moulana Tahiri (Rasheed Naz) who brainwashes his mind into believing that pursuing music is against Islam. Slowly and subsequently he gives up music, starts keeping a beard and separates himself from his family to join the radical fundamentalists.

The story diversifies into a parallel track where Sarmad’s uncle (Humayun Kazmi) who is settled in London is worried of losing his only daughter Mary (Iman Ali) to a British guy who she is in love with. This despite the fact that the father himself is in a live-in relationship with a British woman! He justifies his double-standards offering the excuse that Islam allows a man to have relationship outside their religion but not a woman. So he gets his daughter to Pakistan to surreptitiously get her married with a prospective Pakistani groom. While we have seen such setting in several Hindi films ( DDLJ, Namastey London ), this one fortunately doesn’t lead to exploiting patriotic sentiments but on the contrary shows how the daughter is wronged in settling in country, absolutely alien to her.

The father initially asks Mansoor to get married to Mary but when he refuses, Sarmad is approached. Sarmad agrees and an incognizant Mary is forcibly married off to him at the outskirts of undeveloped Afghanistan. The father heartlessly leaves Mary behind in a region so rural that he finds difficult to use the toilets there. All this just so that his descendants are Pakistani!

On the other hand, the liberal Muslim, Mansoor’s story proceeds as he migrates to US to study music. But unfortunately after the 9/11 attack he is wrongly accused of being involved with terrorist organizations since he’s a Muslim.

Director Shoaib Mansoor remarkably reveals the plight of Muslim in three different continents and connects them in a fascinating way to comprehensively capture all interconnected issues. Not only does the film exhibit a drift between the Muslims and the Western World but also internally amongst the Muslim community amid the Liberals and the Extremists.

The climax set in a courtroom clears all ancient myths about Islam of men growing beard, women being behind veil and youngsters abhorring music and Western attire. Naseeruddin Shah impresses in a cameo playing a Muslim cleric who gives a disclosing discourse on how the fanatic fundamentalists manipulate Islam for their personal gains. All in the name of God! The director conceivably puts in a lot of his personal reformist thoughts in the film without getting preachy and retaining the entertainment value.

The production values aren’t slapdash as anticipated from usual Pakistani films. In fact it’s top-notch and at par with what the story seeks. The language wouldn’t be a problem with the Indian audience but the viewer needs to be a little more attentive in Naseer’s chaste Urdu revelation. Music undoubtedly is a highlight with the Sufi rock-number ‘ Bandya ’ and the undiluted devotional track ‘ Allah Ho ’ standing out.

Performances are equally accomplished. On an Indian analogy, Shan appears as a mix of Sanjay Dutt and Adnan Sami in his looks and comes up with a fabulous act. Fawad Khan as the indoctrinated extremist is engaging. Rasheed Naz is convincing as the venom-spewing and influential fundamentalist. Iman Ali gets an equally meaty role as much as her male counterparts and emerges victorious with her riveting performance.

Khuda Kay Liye vindicates the fallacy against the regressive approach of Islam and also clears the myth that Pakistani films are constrained to shoddy standards. In fact this one is much above excellence as compared to several Bollywood potboilers.

For God’s sake, you can’t afford to miss Khuda Kay Liye !

Bhram

Cast: Dino Morea, Milind Soman, Sheetal Menon
Director: Pawan Kaul

Was it a suspense flick?

Was it a love story?

Was it a family drama?

Was it a revenge plot?

The genre of Bhram is as much undefined as the narrative. The story opens on three parallel plots and before you realize it struggles back and forth entering and exiting out of multiple flashbacks on the pretext of non-linear story-telling. The attempt falls flat and the experiment only adds to your confusion. The actual mystery of the movie is to identify where the flashbacks start and end.

Shaan (Dino Morea) is seemingly the most eligible bachelor in town. That’s his Bhram! Strangely he falls for an alcoholic and doped fashion model Antara Tyagi (Sheetal Menon) who seemingly goes bed-hopping with every socialite. Why is she so distressed? A doctor in the film reasons it saying ‘all fashion models have pink thongs and black lungs’.

Shaan gets the bahu-to-be to meet bade bhaiyya Dev (Milind Soman). But as soon as they confront each other, she cries rape. Not to her but to her elder sister years ago. Dev defends saying its just Antara’s illusion.

Meshed between the brother and bride, Shaan sets out to Kullu Manali to unveil the truth. And truths are not illusion which means Dev was actually the rapist. Oops did I spill the beans? Not that it isn’t evident from this lame suspense struggler of a film! The climax is so lousy that you feel deceived by the director for making you sit till the end.

The performances are as uninspiring as the plot. Throughout the film carries a jaded and dated look. Music doesn’t strike a chord.
Bhram doesn’t live up to its genre. The only thing it lives up to is its title. Bhram is literally a cinematic illusion.

The reviewer can be contacted at gaurav.malani@timesgroup.com

One Missed Call

Cast: Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns, Ana Claudia Talancon, Ray Wise.
Director: Eric Valette.

If you like the film The Grudge and The Ring this will be a must watch. One Missed Call is a film that has borrowed its concept from two other films and has merged them together. The result, a film with a few scares scattered here and there, apart from this the film kind of drags. The execution of the scares and editing of the film was done with aplomb.

As far as the performance of the cast is considered, there is not much to say. This is because the entire film being a thriller has the people play the scared role over and over again. This makes the entire acting pretty much mundane. So don’t expect much from the cast.

While the story line, well as I said grudge and ring mixed... a fire in a hospital people are killed... vengeful dead baby sister... killing spree... warning to victim in advance... death. Yes, folks this is the basic idea of the entire film, seems kind of funny that a whole film would be made on this topic while so many already exist.

On the whole the film was not that bad and will definitely have a few scares for the audience.

Halla Bol

Halla Bol (drama)
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Vidya Balan, Pankaj Kapoor
Direction: Raj Kumar Santoshi


LONG before Rang De Basanti , Raj Kumar Santoshi made films like Ghayal and Damini , focusing on the common man as activist. And like RDB , these films too met with both critical and mass acclaim.

Of course, RDB had an unrivalled chutzpah and a newness that would be hard to match. Nevertheless, with Halla Bol , Santoshi returns to his quintessential theme, but this time there is a flavour of topicality.

The film seems to be inspired by three major incidents in the recent and not-so-recent past: the Jessica Lal murder case followed by the Justice for Jessica movement, the activism of Aamir Khan in the Narmada issue and the murder of noted street theatre activist Safdar Hashmi during a performance.

For those who had witnessed the vibrant street theatre movement almost a decade ago, Halla Bol was the rallying call of Safdar and his troupe, as it invoked popular support for its crusade against social and political ills. Today, Santoshi remixes the revolutionary naara in a kabhi powerful- kabhi pulpy account of superstar Sameer Khan's (Ajay Devgan) tryst with his conscience.

Sameer Khan's story is familiar. He is actually Ashfaqe-ullah, a small town theatre activist who dreams of making it big in Bollywood, even as he idolises his dacoit-turned-theatre guru, Pankaj Kapoor. Once in Bollywood, he sheds his middle-class bearings and changes everything -- values, ethics, attitude -- along with his name.

Of course, his family refuses to change with him, including his girl friend-turned wife (Vidya Balan) who watches his moral degradation from a distance. It takes the murder of a young girl in a party to provoke his conscience and ferret out the old activist, Ashfaqe-ullah. Soon, Sameer is the one-man army against the battery of evil politicians, businessmen and cops who are hellbent on covering up the crime. And the only shoulder he can lean on in these trying times is that of his old Guruji's: a firm, powerful and mesmerising Pankaj Kapoor.

Halla Bol is a rambling film that tries to take on too many things: the underbelly of Bollywood, politics, police, page 3, media...So much so, it loses grip, ever so often. But what holds it together are some power-packed performances, a sensible, topical theme and a handful of riveting scenes.

Watch Pankaj Kapoor tackle the bribe offered to him by the power brokers, Ajay Devgan stand up to the wily politician in his palatial house or Vidya Balan publicly applaud her husband for his valour and you'll get your paisa vasool moments.

Sunday

Sunday (thriller)
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Ayesha Takia, Arshad Warsi, Irfan Khan
Direction: Rohit Shetty


HAVE patience and you might just begin to have a ball with this quirky little thriller. A Southie re-make, the film is a smart little teaser, but with too many loosely edited sequences, especially in the first half. But if you've managed to be attentive till the second half, you may just be rewarded for going through the first-half grind.

A bright and bubbly dubbing artist (Ayesha Takia) leads a happy girl-next-door existence in saddi Delhi, until one night she decides to party late into the night. Now nothing wrong with partying and all that, including the scratch marks on her neck and the girl-boy brawl in the pub.

But bechari Ms Bubbly has a major problem. She's completely scatter-brained and seems to forget too many things, including the sequence of events on that particular Sunday when things got wild, a girl was murdered, a cabbie man (Arshad Warsi) was taken for a ride and a small time actor (Irfan Khan) decided to play Dracula. Add to this a tapori cop (Ajay Devgan) who can't decide whether the piquant Pixar-Disney girl is innocent or suspect and you have a kabhi bumpy-kabhi breezy ride through a hatke whodunnit.

The locales of Delhi add a snazzy touch to the backdrop, especially when Arshad Warsi chooses to drive his glaring red ambie along India gate. But more than his concept cab, it is Arshad who walks away with the film as a serious guy who doesn't see anything funny in his humdrum life. Only the viewer finds him completely funny, especially when he tries to explain why the Lal Qila is red to a bunch of tourists. He gets great support in the goofy act from Irfan Khan as the thakela actor in search of that life-defining role.

Rama Rama Kya Hai Dramaaa

Rama Rama Kya Hai Dramaaa (comedy)
Cast: Rajpal Yadav, Neha Dhupia, Ashish Chaudhry, Amrita Arora
Direction: S Chandrakant

THREE married couples have their own theories on matrimony. For some, it's nuptial blues, for others it's nuptial bliss, for us it's a sleepy tryst with Rajpal Yadav desperately trying to lug the burden of a non-happening film on his puny shoulders. Rama Rama faltu ka dramaa !

Yadav is a cashier in a bank who settles for an arranged marriage with a small town girl (Neha Dhupia). The girl marries him because she harbours dreams of a glitzy life in amchi Mumbai, with loads of pizza, burger and paani puri.

And the guy marries her because his neighbours (Anupam Kher and Rati Agnihotri) tell him she's ‘heroine’ type glamorous. Both their dreams are shattered in the daily bickering that sees the bride sulking before the TV and the groom imagining he's married to any and every beautiful girl he spots. So much so, he even thinks he's married to his boss' wife (Amrita Arora), despite the fact that the boss (Ashish Chaudhary) has his own tale of woe as the archetypal henpecked husband. The third couple is the elderly, yet eternal romantics (Anupam and Rati) who get cosy any and everywhere and believe in saat janam ka saath .

Try stretching a three-hour film around this paper-thin storyline and you know what you'll soon be hearing. Your neighbour's deep-in-slumber snores. Rajpal Yadav tries hard to keep the comic banter on, but the laughs are too few to certify this film as a comedy. And with Amrita Arora and Neha Dhupia perfecting the art of the bimbette bore, there seems to be no respite for the bechara viewer.

Mithya

Mithya (thriller)
Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Naseeruddin Shah
Direction: Rajat Kapoor

PARALLEL cinema seems to have made a comeback in Bollywood, but with a different set of rules. Instead of making films that want to change society, our alternate filmwallahs are wanting to expand creativity, allowing space for an alternate cinema that thrives beyond the formula. And with a whole new crop of young film savants entering the business, viewers can gear up for an exciting crop of films in the next few years. Case in point: Mithya which re-visits Don , but with a difference.

VK (Ranvir Shorey) is the struggling Bollywood actor who practises Hamlet in his decrepit barsati, while doing twopenny roles for a living. Like, playing the corpse who falls dead on the table with his back turned towards the camera. But VK's luck changes when he is abducted and supplanted in the shoes of a dreaded Don, simply because the junior artist resembles the mobster who has angered the rival gang, headed by Naseeruddin Shah. Does his luck change for better or worse, who knows? Because soon, the down and out actor is enjoying the perks of a gangster and determining underworld policy, when he's not playing with the Bhai's kids or having a midnight cuppa with his wife. So what was real and what was mithya: standing in the queue for a bit role in studios or financing producer's films with ill-gotten wealth? Before our poor hero can find the answer, he is caught in the crossfire of gang warfare and finds himself at the end of the road, quoting Hamlet once again. to be or not to be....

Rajat Kapoor has successfully picked up the formula and transmuted it into a stylish gangsta rap that is strictly meant for the viewer who likes his cinema unconventional and edgy. The performances are riveting, with Ranvir Shorey playing the pivotal role with pizzazz and Neha Dhupia adding aah-tittude to the gangster's moll, resplendent in '60s style sartorial splendour. The rest of the gang -- Naseer, Saurabh Shukla, Harsh Chayya, Vinay Pathak -- are in fine fettle, providing a strong scaffolding for the Alternate Actors Inc.

Superstar

Superstar (drama)
Cast: Kunal Khemu, Tulip Joshi, Aushima Sawhney
Direction: Rohit Jugraj


SO Kalyug wasn't a flash in the pan. Kunal Khemu once again proves that he's not only a fine actor, but can actually carry a film on his unconventional shoulders. Once again, we have the backdrop of Bollywood to showcase a story of look-alikes who accidentally swap their fortunes in an industry where there is only one god: money. And young Khemu plays the double role with great nuance and restraint, creating two heroes who strike a chord, despite the rambling script and the loose editing.

Kunal No 1 is a wannabe actor who drives his rickety bullet from Borivili to Film City in search of that great role which will make him a mix of Amitabh, Shah Rukh and Salman. Kunal No 2 is the hedonistic son of a producer who pumps in all the money he has to create a superstar out of his son. But the beta is a bumbling, non-performing actor who jives his way through his sad little life, while his look-alike (Kunal No 1) doubles in for all the difficult parts. However, the junior artist soon finds his role expanding and his own life disappearing after a pact he signs with the producer. The lure of becoming a superstar weans him away from his loved ones, leaving him locked up in a lonely castle where the rain is artificial, even though the Rolex is pure gold.

Watch the film for its moments and its performances. Director Rohit Jugraj (he directed James) handles the emotional sequences with great restraint, while Kunal Khemu touches your heart in both the roles: as the middle-class boy with stars in his eyes and the poor little rich boy who celebrates his birthday alone.

Jodhaa Akbar

Jodhaa Akbar (romance)
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai
Direction: Ashutosh Gowariker



FIRST things first. This is more fiction than history. So don't blame yourself if you've never heard about most of the key characters in this drama. Don't blame yourself if the history books you read never told you about a Ms Maha Manga (Ila Arun) who was ostensibly Akbar's governess and ran the imperial household like a thoroughbred evil 'saas' (stepmom-in-law) straight out of Ekta Kapoor's stables. Nor did they throw light on some badmash called Sharif-uddin (Akbar's brother-in-law) who plotted relentless intrigue against the Emperor and even sent a terrorist to kill him in the streets of Agra. This one being the Godfather -like twist, where Mikey Corleone had to fight his own brother-in-law-turned traitor for the sake of the family honour. And then, there's no mention too of the final man-to-man Brad Pitt-Eric Bana style encounter (remember Troy ?) that Akbar had to engage in to safeguard the Mughal Empire....

No, we aren't going to quibble with history here because Jodhaa-Akbar is a plain and simple love story between a man named Akbar and a girl named Jodhaa who tried to come close together despite the sundry barriers of religion and culture. And instead of the car chases and the roller-blade rides that pepper modern-day romances, you have mad elephant tamings and sword-and-sandal battle sequences to rev up the dramaaaa. If you are willing to shed off all the trappings of history, only then will Jodhaa Akbar work for you. Because, despite the millions spent to create period and pomp, the film only works when Hrithik and Aishwarya try to find romance in an archetypal arranged marriage that was solemnised for everything but love.

It is only when an iridescent Jodhaa shows nakhra on her wedding night, declaring 'no sex please, until I know you', or Akbar stares at her longingly, passionately, on the distant parapet, while his governess instils state craft into his inattentive head, that the film really works. Then again, when Jodhaa stares out lustily -- from behind the curtains -- at her bare-bodied, abs-o-lutely oomphy husband practising the sword on the terrace, or does some more nakhre-baazi when Akbar dozes off unspent on her bed, that sparks fly and chemistry crackles.

Yes, Jodhaa Akbar works only because its heart is in the right place. The film talks about a love that transcends all barriers -- gender, religion, culture -- and dreams of an India where secularism and tolerance are the twin towers that should never ever crumble. And Akbar and Jodhaa are the alluring exponents of this dream. Beyond that, the film has nothing much to boast of, except a few interesting song and dance set pieces where dervishes whirl, drums roll and doves fly. The battle sequences are unimaginative, often tacky, the length inordinate, the political intrigue comic, the editing extremely loose and the narrative does test your patience. What carries the film through is the performances and bits of the music (AR Rahman). Both Aishwarya and Hrithik complement each other once again after ending up as one of the most sizzling couples of contemporary cinema in Dhoom 2 . There is an elegance and a fine restraint in their falling-in-love act, even as some of the fringe players -- Sonu Sood, Ila Arun, Yuvi -- add character and form. Be very patient, sidetrack history, don't look for the artistry of Lagaan , and you might just like this 'Shahenshahji' (that's what Jodhaa calls Akbar) and his missus who doubles up as a crouching tiger to the hidden dragon.

Black and White

Black and White (drama)
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Anurag Sinha
Direction: Subhash Ghai



FOR a filmmaker who scaled Bollywood's heights as the quintessential Sapnon ka Saudagar to suddenly shift gear is indeed a valiant bid. And Subhash Ghai deserves kudos for daring this switch in the high noon of his career, since experimentation is generally the forte of GenXers and Bratpack dreamers. Suddenly, and surprisingly, Ghai sets aside the grandeur of films like Ram Lakhan, Khalnayak to step into the difficult terrain of cinema verite. And no, he doesn't flounder and fall flat, despite a few loose strands and false notes that hold back the film from becoming a searing document of our tumultuous times. Black and White is a thought-provoking film that challenges the state's stereotypical formula to combat terrorism. And somewhere between its moments of light and shade, it holds a glimmer of hope and humanism: yes, fanatics can be cured, terrorists can be tamed, secularism may live long.

The story is ostensibly based on the headline-grabbing case of the terrorist attack on Parliament, when a Delhi University professor (SAR Geelani) was held responsible for his links with the terrorists. Like Geelani, Professor Rajan Mathur (Anil Kapoor) too teaches Urdu in Zakir Hussain College and unwittingly becomes associated with a suicide bomber (Anurag Sinha) who comes all the way from Afghanistan to blow up the Red Fort on Independence Day. Nomair Qazi, the bomber, poses as a victim of the Gujarat riots and wins the sympathy of the professor and his activist wife (Shefali Shah), as he takes up residence with his supposed grandfather (Habib Tanvir) in the bustling by-lines of Chandni Chowk. The jehadi has fourteen days to plan his suicide mission and conveniently uses the simple professor and his emotionally exuberant wife to gain entry in the high-security environs of the Lal Qila. But before that, he must learn the more important lessons of life:

Incredible India's all-encompassing Indianness (read bhangra, bhaichara, bonhomie). And what better place to experience the highs of a syncretic culture than Chandni Chowk, a standing testimonial to India's tolerant tehzeeb.

Cut out the clumsy climax, the awkward activism of Shefali Shah, the fumbling romance with an all-eyes, duppata -laden student, the incoherent black and white birth-of-a-jehadi sequences in a shadowy Afghanistan and you'll end up with a stellar show by Anil Kapoor (completely restrained) and Habib Tanvir (veteran histrionics). Add to this the delicious smells and sounds of Chandni Chowk, deftly captured on camera by the director, and you might just believe the filmmaker when he says the world doesn't exist in black and white; there are colours -- and ideologies -- beyond extremes. A word about debutant Anurag Sinha: too linear a performance to impress. Surely, a terrorist doesn't wear a permanent scowl, specially when he is ostensibly trying to hide his antecedents and blend in with normal people.

Race

RACE (thiller)
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif
Direction: Abbas-Mustan


THE Baazigars are back. Once again, the Burmawala brothers (Abbas-Mustan) dig deep into the darker side of the human psyche and come up with another thrilling study of wickedness. Ever since Shah Rukh Khan made a virtue of vile and guile in Baazigar, the director duo seemed to have specialised in a certain kind of cinema. One, where all the beautiful people are bubbling over with the beast within. And what makes their films interesting is the fact that this beastliness is born out of circumstances -- a childhood grudge, a blow of fate -- rather than being a case of pathological evil. Hence, the viewer always seems to `understand' and `empathise' with the anti-hero. As Saif Ali Khan confesses in Race: he is only scared of honest people. The rest, he can handle and outrun, in any and every race. Ethics, anyone?

The story can't get darker than this. Two brothers begin by racing bikes in childhood and end up running a race for life itself, with each trying to kill the other. Younger brother Akshaye hates big brother Saif, who not only won all the kiddy races but also managed to walk away with the family fortune, leaving kid brother completely dependent on his generosity. Under the veneer of pyar-mohabbat and traditional bhaichara , kid brother weaves a complicated plot to get rid of Bade Bhaiyya and walk away with the millions. And he's got a tantalising weapon to deliver the final blow: the sultry and super-sensuous Bipasha Basu who plays her charms against Bhai-Bhai . But it isn't Bipasha alone who keeps you guessing about her loyalties. In this gritty game of death, loyalties are as slippery as quicksand and it takes just a flick of a pretty head for a sweet simpleton to turn into a pucca predator. End result? Twists, turns, twists that keep you on the edge and leave you unblinking for most of the film.

The film boasts of a super cool look, testosterone-high action sequences, a lively music score (Pritam) and some classy performances from Akshaye and Saif as the bloodthirsty bhais . But the film does get staggered in the second half with the Anil Kapoor-Sameera Reddy track being the weakest link. Amongst the girlie brigade, it's Bipasha who adds glitz with her dangerous liaisons. Sameera too articulates the busty bimbo act with elan, reminiscent of TV's super-sleuth Karamchand's Kitty. Katrina however is too pale as the blousy secretary who comes into her own only when she gets seductive with a `Touch me, kiss me' tenor. Time for some paisa-vasool entertainment.

One Two Three

One Two Three (comedy)
Cast : Suneil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Tusshar Kapoor, Esha Deol, Sameera Reddy
Direction : Ashwani Dheer

PLEASE dad, call it lingerie, not bra-panty, insists a harassed son to his father. Yes please, you feel like crying out on behalf of the harassed viewer who is saddled with a film that shows, mentions, waves, peddles, juggles female underwear in the name of cinema; for the sake of comedy. Krazzy! For surely, hooking a few laughs on this brand of female apparel may have been one of Bollywood's oldest tricks. But to booby trap all your laughs on D-cup is neither chic, nor funny. So are you ready for a bagful of stringy things being passed around a bunch of oddball characters and wonder what's so funny about an itsy bitsy piece of cloth.

Now this is quite a disappointment, coming from a director who has already proved his forte with comedy on the small screen. Ashwani Dheer's popular satire on babudom and bureaucracy, Office Office , has quite a fan following. Diehard fans refused to give up their tryst with the harried common man (Pankaj Kapoor) who tries to wade through familiar corruption and red tape, despite the advent of the sundry comedy shows and the barrage of stand-up comedians. One Two Three however lacks both the finesse and the humour and you manage a smile only rarely: when Sanjay Mishra imitates vintage villain Jeevan. The rest is one long comedy of errors caused by three people having the same name, Lakshmi Narayan. Lakshmi one (Paresh Rawal) sells lingerie in a car, Lakshmi two (Sunil Shetty) is an executive with a mean boss who wants to buy a car, Lakshmi three (Tusshar Kapoor) is a small time Bhai on his first assignment as a hitman. Trouble begins when the three Lakshmi Narayans land up in the same hotel and their tasks -- and identities -- get mixed up. Add to this an underworld war between two gangsters, a stolen diamond, a lingerie designer (Esha Deol) who dreams of marrying a don, a car salesgirl (Sameera Reddy) who poses in bikinis in front of the cars, an oversexed Haryanvi cop (Neetu Chandra) who imitates a TV character, and you have a gag bag with no laughs.

And hey, was that Upen Patel and Tanisha in the credit list? Count one two three, and they're gone!