Ugly Aur Pagli - Bollywood Movie Review

Cast: Mallika Sherawat, Ranvir Shorey
Director: Sachin Khot
Rating: **

A romantic comedy that starts with a fart and a puke joke can only get better as it progresses. Sure enough, “Ugly Aur Pagli” brings us a kind of detoxicated sex comedy where the gender war is telescoped into a vivacious tongue-in-shriek war of words between an outwardly mismatched pair.

Suparn Verma’s dialogues have a lived-in quality. Yup, two young people who are in love but don’t know it would speak this language and probably feel some of the emotions too.

If “Ugly Aur Pagli” looks so believably all-there, it’s because of Ranvir Shorey’s ability to remain normal and wimpish even when the world around him is exploding into little amusing atoms of undefined chemistry between the lead pair.

But lead pair is more like the ‘misled’ pair. Often you wish Ranvir and Mallika wouldn’t get into those sweaty pubs and dance floors, which have become a staple diet of all ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ films in recent times.

Why must even a deviant comedy like this one seek a comfort zone by travelling the sing-sing-swing-swing route?

“Ugly Aur Pagli” has the guts to take its lead pair into avenues that are infrequent in Hindi cinema. The poor hangdog man is a bit of a timid docile lamb constantly being bullied by the sassy forever-inebriated girl who’s so zonked she re-defines brassy burlesque on celluloid.

Mallika is a very limited actress and an even more limited dancer. She swings from loud boorish bullying to pseudo-snivelling in a rapid-fire of uneven emotions. She wobbles, but never falls.

A lot of the scenes - some clever, others not quite - are held in place by Ranvir’s amazing ability to make the mundane look super-interesting.

Here’s the ideal effortless working-class hero. An Amol Palekar with a lot of chutzpah and world weary charm. Ranvir steps back to watch Mallika cavort at the highest shrillest pitch and makes sure she doesn’t stumble over and fall.

And we aren’t just talking about the character’s constant state of inebriation. Ranvir holds up a lot more than his co-star’s drunken ceaselessly slumping figure.

The film is a series of well-crafted chance encounters between two Mumbaiites who are in search of companionship. The sequences are shot with a kind of unobtrusive flamboyance(if that isn’t a contradiction in terms). Mumbai doesn’t look different but it sure looks indifferent to the feelings of the sensitive. That’s the whole idea of a familiar metropolitan backdrop, right?

Ideally a romantic comedy should converge only on the two love birds. This one takes the rule too its extreme limit. Ranvir and Mallika are so much at the centre of it all, you wonder if the rest of the world is on a sabbatical. But watch out for Ranvir’s encounter with Mallika’s parents - played by Tinu Anand and Sushmita Mukherjee.

Though this sequence belongs to the two character actors, again, it’s Ranvir who gives character to the ambience. Would this sometimes sassy, sometimes sensitive, constantly searching romantic comedy have worked without Ranvir’s penchant for producing pyrotechnics out of pedestrian working-class impulses? Hard to say.

But then who can say what “Ugly Aur Pagli” has in mind? By the end of it all we don’t even know who is ugly and who is mad. ‘Ugly’ Ranvir even wears a petticoat for one sequence and cycles all the way to pagli’s home.

Care to solve the mystery of the man-woman equation? This film has a go at it. Albeit in swipes of talkative satire that make the film resemble an American sitcom.

Singh is Kinng - Bollywood Movie Review

Review by: Taran Adarsh IndiaFM

Just a word of caution before you watch this film: SINGH IS KINNG is not for the intellectuals or those pretending to be one. It’s not for the hard-nosed critics either.

Now read on…

Vipul Shah. Anees Bazmee. Akshay Kumar. Katrina Kaif. Four names for whom success has become a habit. That makes SINGH IS KINNG the most awaited movie of the season. Must add, the wait was worth it!

You know the rules when you watch a hardcore entertainer: Just don’t look for logic. If you do, too bad for you, for you would never enjoy a film of this genre and more specifically, SINGH IS KINNG.

Anees Bazmee’s films are very high on entertainment. The plotline may be paper-thin, perhaps ludicrous and farcical, but when did Bazmee ever promise a SCHINDLER’S LIST or a SAVING PRIVATE RYAN? SINGH IS KINNG works because it delivers what it promises: Full on entertainment!

Bazmee has the knack of making immensely watchable fares that cater to the aam junta. SINGH IS KINNG isn’t a laughathon in entirety. Comedy, romance, action and drama, everything is well synchronised in those 2.10 hours here.

But, wait, SINGH IS KINNG isn’t a foolproof product. It has its share of flaws, the turn of events aren’t captivating at times, but SINGH IS KINNG moves so fast and packs in so much, there’s no time to think or analyze.

The final word? SINGH IS KINNG is a delicious and scrumptious pav-bhaji served in the finest cutlery. Your taste buds are sure to relish it… and ask for more!

Lakhan Singh aka Lucky [Sonu Sood] is the King of the Australian underworld, accompanied by his associates [played by Javed Jaffrey, Neha Dhupia, Manoj Pahwa, Yashpal Sharma, Kamal Chopra and Sudhanshu Pande]. Far away, in a small village in Punjab, where Lucky was born, there exists someone more notorious than him - Happy Singh [Akshay Kumar].

The village is fed up of Happy’s magnanimity, which has resulted in a number of hilariously disastrous situations. Out of desperation, they decide to send him on a long trip [that will keep him out of the village for a while!] to bring Lucky back to Punjab, as his despicable deeds were maligning their image in Australia.

The happy-go-lucky bumpkin, taking his mission a bit too seriously, embarks on his journey, accompanied by his friend, Rangeela [Om Puri], who hates Happy for dragging him into it.

The high point of his journey is his chance meeting with Sonia [Katrina Kaif], with whom he falls in love, but upon reaching his destination, things take a precarious turn as he runs into a series of comic misadventures, leaving him penniless. He is fortunate to find warmth and affection in an elderly lady [Kirron Kher].

In a strange turn of events, an attempt on Lucky’s life is foiled by a well-intentioned Happy, who fights off the attackers by risking his own life. Following the altercation, Lucky lands up in hospital paralyzed and Happy, unexpectedly, finds the tables turned on him when he is expected to assume the role of the new King.

Few minutes into the film and you know that SINGH IS KINNG is a lavish spectacle that’s high on entertainment. Sonu Sood chasing a gora assassin at the very start or minutes later, Akshay chasing a hen - SINGH IS KINNG starts with gusto.

And Bazmee doesn’t let you wear your thinking caps all through the first hour. From India to Egypt to Australia, from the comforts of his home in Punjab, to the humble abode of a woman selling flowers in Sydney [Kirron Kher], SINGH IS KINNG involves you in the journey.

And then Akshay becomes the King. Oh, how he becomes the King is equally hilarious. The sequence at the hospital [Sonu Sood is diagnosed with a weird disorder] is simply hilarious. There’s a twist in the tale at the intermission point and the second hour, therefore, shifts gears - it changes from kabhi funny, kabhi drama to a prem kahani.

It’s smooth sailing till there’s another twist towards the pre-climax [wouldn't like to reveal it, since it would act as a spoiler]. But, frankly, the film could’ve done without this track. The narrative, thankfully, is back on tracks soon after.

Anees Bazmee has a flair for writing great entertainers that work big time with the masala-loving junta. If you’ve loved NO ENTRY and WELCOME, you’d love SINGH IS KINNG too. This time, Bazmee shares the writing credits with Suresh Nair and the duo come up with some real wacky episodes. In terms of production design, this is Bazmee’s most lavish fare so far. It’s a grandiose product.

Pritam’s music is already popular and it compliments the goings-on completely. ‘Bhootni Ke’, ‘Jee Karda’ and the title track stand out, while ‘Teri Ore’ is easy on the nerves. Ben Nott and Sanjay Gupta’s cinematography is top notch.

Akshay Kumar takes rapid strides with SINGH IS KINNG. Sure, you’ve seen him in comic fares time and again and perhaps, there might be a doubt, Will he carry it off yet again? Oh yes, he does! There’s no saturation point as far as this actor is concerned. He holds your attention in every sequence, irrespective of how strong the scene is, and that’s the biggest compliment for any actor. SINGH IS KINNG without Akki is like an ocean without marine life. Akshay rules!

The camera loves Katrina Kaif and it shows in SINGH IS KINNG too. She looks bewitching and enacts her part with tremendous confidence. Kirron Kher is superb and so is Om Puri. Terrific performances! They compliment Akki so well. Ranvir Shorey is first-rate. Sonu Sood is another actor who’s finally getting his due in Hindi films. Javed Jaffrey’s character works big time till he does a somersault in the pre-climax. Neha Dhupia is engaging. The nok-jhonk between Sudhanshu Pandey and Yashpal Sharma is perfect. Manoj Pahwa is good.

On the whole, SINGH IS KINNG lives up to the hype and hoopla. Want a joyride without taxing your brains? Board the SINGH IS KINNG wagon. At the box-office, the film will fetch a hurricane-like start. The paid previews, the opening weekend, the first week business, everything will be record-shattering. Notwithstanding the new oppositions in the weeks to come, SINGH IS KINNG will rule the hearts of the aam junta [whose verdict matters the most] as also the box-office, proving a record holder in the final tally. Blockbuster Hit!

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Trailer: click here

Bachna Ae Haseeno - Bollywood Movie Review

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone, Minissha Lamba
Director: Siddharth Anand
Rating: ***

Let’s get real. Commitment phobia is endemic among 20-something urban yuppies, especially in the metros. Siddharth Anand, a master at depicting urban mores - “Salaam Namaste”, “Tara Rum Pum” - this time pulls out all stops to expose the suave urbane heel who cannot feel above the waist.

Raj (must Ranbir Kapoor be called that every time?) is a man on the path to redemption. That of course comes later, much later in this elaborate but tightly-edited and engaging comment on the prowling dude’s demoniacal insensitivity towards girls who give him the chance to dance into their lives.

There is ’salvage’ grace in Ranbir’s redemptive journey from cad to closet-saint who wants to set things right in the lives of the women he has wronged. One of these scorned women makes him her glorified slave in scenic Capri. And boy, does Bipasha Basu pull out all stops. The other hurt lady just makes him dance to a tortuous Bhangra tune in Amritsar. All’s well that mends well.

Ranbir inadvertently turns the whole concept of romantic love as propagated by Shah Rukh Khan in “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge” and its zillion spin-offs on its head. Love now can easily be taken to bed. Though no one is thinking of sleep. Not the characters, not the audience.

The first episode with the starry-eyed Mahee (Minissha Lamba, suitably starry-eyed) is a rather diverting homage to Aditya Chopra’s “DDLJ”. That’s a pretty auto-erotic thing to do considering Chopra is this film’s producer. But then, you win some when you try to be winsome. Ghar ka khana served up with affection is not unacceptable.

Ranbir and Minissha are pretty much taken through the same Swiss terrain as Shah Rukh and Kajol in the earlier film. Even the circumstances created to bring them together can’t be told apart. Except that this boy-man is out to have a ‘good’ time with the girl who lives in a bubble.

There’s a bit of Ken Ghosh’s “Ishq Vishq” combined with a dash of Sajid Khan’s “Hey Babby” here. You know the hero who takes the innocent romantic girl for a ride will find his comeuppance. She shows up an hour later.

Some of the sassiest, sauciest and smartest lines come in the second overture of this anti-romantic comedy when Ranbir, now 20-something and suitably hormone-driven courts and mates Bipasha with ferocious intensity.

Ranbir has been there, done ‘em all. He lives the characters to the ‘jilt’, swathes the character in the cruelly cool quirks that make utter self-centredness a fashion statement in contemporary societies.

One of the film’s most stirring moments is when Bipasha is shown sitting on the steps of her marriage venue in her bridal finery waiting for her bridegroom to turn up, her mehndi getting washed in the rain.

A very Raj Kapoor thing to do in a film that’s all about being cool and finally falling flat on one’s face when the hero meets his match.

Deepika Padukone as the statuesque but spunky cabbie in Sydney has the shortest feminine presence in this made-to-order Ranbir vehicle. She gets to mouth the best throwaway lines and to hit the commitment-phobic hero where it hurts the most. And we don’t mean below the belt.

The director has the guts to show his hero as a man thoroughly exposed in his self-seeking egocentricity. Ranbir doesn’t spare the character. He penetrates Raj’s nerve-centre and portrays him as a smooth-talking charlatan who’s looking for trouble in shapely places.

Ranbir plays the Casanova with just the right dollops of dips and curves. The fact that he has already done it all in an abundant flourish in “Saawariya” doesn’t take away from the sincerity of the performance. Watch his surprise when he sees himself cry after Deepika rejects him. No one has done this before.

There are any number of scenes displaying inspired cinema in this work of cyber-art. The characters are etched with a contemporary air without making them overly illustrative. Bipasha’s turn as a wannabe supermodel ready to chuck it all for marriage only to be jilted at the altar is notably powerful.

What the script says about a career women is that sometimes male insensitivity forces their true métier out of a woman. An interesting thought, and one that the narrative holds in place with grace on Bipasha’s expressive face.

But the most interesting female character is Deepika’s. A self-willed, humorous and gritty cabbie, she drives the Casanova round the bend and beyond. Deepika exudes a reined-in grace. She is the future of Bollywood.

Hiten Paintal, playing that age-old thankless part of the hero’s friend, joins the ranks of the natural-born scene-stealing supporters like Ninad Kamath, Kabeer Sadnah and Vishal Singh.

The film has been beautifully shot. The azure blue oceans of Italy form a telling contrast to the bronzed, tanned and probably tattooed actors who clutter the Swiss, Italian and desi locales.

Cleverly crafted and structured to contour the severely flawed characters, “Bachna Ae Haseeno” is not meant to be a mammoth social comment on love and marriage. But in its own tongue-in-cheek manner it manages to say plenty about life in the fast lane.

Mission Istanbul - Bollywood Movie Review

Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Zayed Khan, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Nikitin Dheer, Shriya Sharan, Shweta Bhardwaj
Director: Apoorva Lakhia
Rating: ** ½

Mission Istanbul has some superbly skilful editing. The editor’s scissors snip through the material on international terrorism demonstrating a tailor’s tight command over size and measurement.

In fact, editor Rajesh Singh’s work is so exemplary in the first half, you sort of brace yourself for something grander in the second.

Alas, the pace and sheer velocity of the first half slackens. Post-intermission the plot becomes just another ‘two heroes fighting the baddies’ film that we have been watching from the time when villains were smugglers and then gangsters. Now they are tycoons in Saville Row suits!

Terrorism goes international with a screenplay that’s blessedly free of the amateurism that we have come to associate with cinema on terrorism in our country.

Lakhia and his co-writer Suresh Nair get the politics of terrorism dead-on. And the virility of the Turkish outdoors lends credence to the volatile goings-on.

Ironically, the hub of terrorist activities in “Mission Istanbul” is a news channel whose head, played by Nikitin Dheer, hobnobs with a bearded terrorist (Shabbir Ahluwalia).

Zayed Khan, a journalist, and Vivek Oberoi take on the maddened media baron and the timorous terrorist. What emerges is a part-fascinating tale of terrorism during times of stressful satire.

There are also flashes of humour in the story, miraculously woven into the stern fabric of terrorism.

The dialogues between ‘George Bush’ (played by an impersonator) and his aide are really funny.

But some portions go over the top. Like when Shriya Sharan, who plays Zayed’s journalist wife, is shown interviewing Omar Abdullah, her cellphone keeps ringing, until the politician politely asks her to take it.

But one surely can’t take such silly liberties in a film that seems to have researched international terrorism with some attention before plunging into the project.

Lakhia knows how to handle vast crowds caught in terrifying insurgent violence. The canvas though crammed with exploding guns and ricocheting power games never loses its vision, momentum and humour.

In a bizarre sequence of comic violence, Vivek Oberoi wrenches off a victim’s hands and uses them for hand-print entry into a forbidden area of the terrorist headquarters - the TV channel.

Zayed Khan as a newsreader clearly gets to cross all boundaries of duty. He tackles terrorists and alongside makes room to shake a leg on the dance floor.

The attempt to bring in conventional song-and-dance into a rigorous film on Islamic terrorism is not quite misplaced. Lakhia pulls off the coup with energy and elan. Full credit goes to the film’s super action sequences orchestrated by Javed and Aejaz.

Amar Mohile’s over-emphatic background score slams in the mood of danger and intrigue.

“Mission Istanbul” works big time as an action thriller. The director creates a mood that swings dangerously between a Hardy Boys adventure and a ‘Barkha Dutt in the war zone’ kind of news story. That Lakhia pulls it off with a near-effortless outflow of energy is a miracle of sorts.

There is nothing dreamy about this mission. But the subplot about the estranged journalist couple with a romantic song thrown in is as convincing as a devotional song in a beer bar.

There’s a time and place for everything and “Mission Istanbul” gets it right most of the time. The boys are all fully clued into the mood.

Zayed Khan shows remarkable restrain in the most outrageous of situations like the one where Viveik and he share colas and kisses with a ‘desi’ Lara Croft who may or may not be from the enemy camp.

Vivek Oberoi, with his flowing hair and full-on body language, proves himself a pro at the pyrotechnics. He has a real blast.

Not for the squeamish and certainly not for lovelorn dreamers, “Mission Istanbul” is a rollercoaster of action, terrorism and revenge that seldom pauses for breath.

Love Story 2050 - Bollywood Movie Review

Film: “Love Story 2050″
Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Harman Baweja, Boman Irani
Director: Harry Baweja
Rating: **1/2

A star has most certainly been born. There are no two ways about it. After watching Harman Baweja sing, dance, emote and entertain in this Adlab presentation for a full three hours, one wonders if there is anything that this Baweja boy from Bollywood can’t do.

Yes, maybe there is something Harman can’t do. He can’t make us forget for even a minute that he knows every component of the camera although he has never acted before. The confidence level stops just short of being cocky and overdone. He is never short of a positive and productive attitude.

It is clear that producer-director Harry Baweja has made “Love Story 2050″ as a showcase for his son’s aptitudes. To that extent, the film works wonderfully, creating repeated opportunities for the debutant to shine.

The script - sprawling across two time phases and three hours of playing time - is a simple love story of two very good looking people coming together in the svelte, sweltering, simmering climes of Sydney, moving apart and then going into a futuristic mode without alienating themselves from the romantic genre that this uniquely-designed film inhabits.

Harry Baweja happily avoids the pitfalls of pedestrianism even when the boy-meets-girl plot gets into a trite and repeatedly-tested mode.

The protagonists share a precious, fragile and tender chemistry. A butterfly perches itself on the girl’s trembling hands and manoeuvres her heart into places where there’re no tell-tale signs. The butterfly becomes a likeable leitmotif in the plot. The courtship and romance is done in shades and words that leave us smiling. The initial scenes are actually far more interesting than they appear.

The boy tells the girl to do something that she has never done before. How about shop-lifting? He suggests. She suggests he recite some poetry for her. Javed Akhtar does the rest.

By the time Harman and Priyanka sing their first two duets (Anu Malik at his soft and tender best) we’re convinced that they care deeply for each other. It’s in their eyes. No kisses and cuddles needed. Only cuddly robots. For the first time in a Hindi film, two robots serving as the protagonists’ companions are given prominent places in the plot. And they aren’t just props. They are entities with a mind and personality of their own.

The entire courtship game stretching into two time zones is played out with an endearing innocence, and a focus and finesse that re-define the boy-girl formula in a language that’s sassy and trendy without ever lumbering into the lurid.

Towards the second half, when Harman flies into a futuristic Mumbai to retrieve lost love, the flying cars, the humane robots and the psychedelic dance numbers tend to overpower the basic romantic structure of the plot.

Harry Baweja could have avoided the extravagant excesses in the sky. How long can you watch flying cars and talking robots? After a while you restlessly begin to search for that romantic core which, blessedly, is never too far away from the narrative’s range of interests.

The second half, when a zany scientist (Boman Irani in a weird wig and silly smirk) transports the lovers and the audience into the future, has been done with an élan and flamboyance that leave us enthralled.

Vijay Arora’s camera work is extraordinarily rich in colours and style. The same goes for Priyanka’s sartorial grace. Her two roles are brilliantly defined by the clothes. Fortunately, Priyanka goes deeper in search of her characters’ core. The repressed poetic persona in the first half and the brassy red-haired rock star in the second-half are two different entities.

But make no mistake. “Love Story 2050″ belongs to debutant Harman from first frame to the last. And all his co-stars know it. They all sort of move back to let the Baweja boy take centrestage.

Harman demonstrates an endearing all-purpose showmanship. He dances like a dream and gets gooey-eyed and sentimental in love scenes as though Romeo had just fallen off the balcony while serenading Juliet, bruising more than just his heart. This newcomer is to the camera born.

Wisely, the narrative restricts itself to the ‘love’ part of the love story, creating pockets of asexual passion (not even a peck between the actors) without making cuteness a fetish and a fad.

A whole lot of visible and intangible effort has gone into building this colour-consumed atmospheric world of sights sounds and melodies that represent the harmony of the spheres in optical splendour.

Finally though, the effort doesn’t overpower the heart content and intent of the plot. This is actually a far better film than its genre and lavish budget would suggest.

Avoiding the vulgarity of overstatement but focusing on Harman and Priyanka to the point of making other characters appear largely redundant, “Love Story 2050″ offers a world where dreams and fantasies have a properly-designated place. We aren’t in it just for the pleasure-ride.

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic - Bollywood Movie Review

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Amisha Patel
Director: Kunal Kohli
Rating: ***

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (TPTM) is not a great work of art. It doesn’t cause ripples across the cinematic stratosphere. It does something even better. It makes you feel warm and comforted about the quality of contemporary life. No matter how awful things seem, there’s always that core of goodness in the human heart to count on. This film makes you count your blessings.

Kunal Kohli taps into that noble core, so elusive in our cinema. The last film that was as noble-intentioned as TPTM was Ashutosh Gowariker’s “Swades”.

For all his acute sensitivity and storytelling acumen, Gowariker was awfully out of breath while dealing with the child actor in “Swades”. In contrast, Kohli is at ease with his four child actors who have been selected not for their overt cuteness but their propensity to play the characters that they have been allotted with restrain and understanding.

Each of the four brats, forced by law to come and live with the man who accidentally killed their parents, sparkle with spontaneous credibility. Kohli treats the kids as young adults and he treats the audience with as much respect. He gives us what we apparently want - emotions, laughter and drama. But he makes sure his plot doesn’t become a slave to conventional prescriptions.

It’s not easy to desist from using a patronising tone for the children when they are orphans trapped in an adult situation that they don’t understand.

Kohli does a fantasy spin where the sassy and spiffy words and storytelling offset the quaint arcadian story of the four orphans and a cantankerous tycoon who we soon discover is constantly unhappy on account of a girlfriend who only talks about designer clothes.

For enlightened conversation he must turn to a poker-faced butler (Razzak Khan), a business associate on the webcam (who talks in an indeterminate accent) and later the four children who are forced on him with a god-sent angel who infuriates him by constantly laughing in his face.

More than “Mary Poppins”, Kohli is inspired by “The Sound Of Music” and I don’t mean the soundtrack created by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

Saif’s ceaseless scowl could well be a spillover from what Christopher Plummer wore as a passion statement way back in the 1960s in the Roger & Hammerstein musical. And Rani Mukherjee could be a desi Julie Andrews popping out of a cottony heaven run by a god who looks a lot like Rishi Kapoor.

The idyllic theme often takes off into a realm of commodious fantasy with children prancing with animals - both real and computerised - in what could happily be seen as a modern day interpretation of Gulzar’s “Parichay”.

TPTM leaves you with a feeling of warmth and well-being. It’s an all’s-well-with-the-world anthem on celluloid sung at a pitch that pointedly avoids the higher notes and scales some sweet tender octaves in tones that sound like paeans to heaven.

More than anything else, TPTM bowls you over with its nobility of purpose. Though inured in the condensed milk of human kindness, the narration never plummets into becoming an occasion to flaunt some jaundiced utopia - not even when Kohli, very bravely inspired by Raj Kumar Hirani, brings footage of Mahatma Gandhi into the narration.

Rani lends an aura of mischievous artlessness to the angel’s role. Saif is all scowls and pursed lips, but nonetheless emotive in parts. Amisha Patel’s benign bimbo act depends more on styling than substance.

Sudeep Chatterjee’s camera work is gloriously wedded to gloss. Every hair on the head glistens with glamour. Every scowl is on the prowl for perfection.

This is a film that no one can hate. It doesn’t have a single “bad” character, not even badly-written characters. In just two sequences Sharat Saxena as the legal eagle lets you know all we need or want to know about his life. The children tell us the rest.

Kismat Konnection - Bollywood Movie Review

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Vidya Balan
Director: Aziz Mirza
Rating: ***

“Kismat Konnection” is one of the sweetest and most endearing romantic comedies in recent times. Its beauty and charm lie in its truthful and transparent depiction of life.

In one of the gloriously gossamer moments in “Kismat Konnection”, the hero - a harassed working-class entity and the kind of bereft soul you would immediately recognise if you’ve grown up watching Aziz Mirza’s working-class romances - looks up at the sky with one of his shoes in hand and says with a stifled sob: “I give up”.

Fortunately, god isn’t listening when Raj Malhotra (Shahid Kapoor) wants out. Imagine what we would do if the working-class hero stumbled and fell.

Mirza sprinkles the frames with soft, satiny, whispering waves of undulating emotions. There are many moments in this boy-meets-girl saga that spread a warm sunshine across your heart.

This time it’s more about the mystery than the chemistry. Those invisible forces that guide the romantic spirit from one heart to another, infusing two people with collective ecstasy - that’s the world which the two protagonists in the film inhabit.

This one is not about villains and goblins or over-groomed mannequins and under-dressed dolls. For “Kismat Konnection”, the mellow-toned manoeuvres of Mirza move into the metropolitan milieu and mores of Toronto.

Shot by the invincible Binod Pradhan, the city looks pretty. But not postcard-perfect. Mirza shoots the protagonists with affectionate gusto in the bustle. Raj and Priya (Vidya Balan) never get lost in the alien crowds heading towards god-knows-where. But it’s more a merger than a disappearance.

Portions of the film are shot with such rare care and unfussy simplicity, you simply get sucked into the sheer artlessness of the hectic but quietly comforting romantic overtures.

Pritam Chakraborty’s peppy tunes are mostly kept at the periphery, used mostly in the promotional clippings on television. On screen it’s the romantic “Ba-khuda” that stirs our senses and fills us with a pervasive bonhomie.

Watch Shahid sneak surreptitious glances at Vidya from the corner of the eye. Watch as she watches him sneak glances. She knows. He knows that she knows. We know.

This is a film that could do away with those witty wise-cracking crackling words of eternal romanticism made by hearts that know no impurity and malice. The narrative flows with calm assurance, bringing in its wake several interludes of heart-warming tenderness.

Shahid is extremely adept at expressing hurt. And he gets many opportunities to do so. From the moment when he pleads with God to stop tormenting him to the time he realises he has wronged the golden-hearted girl who trusted him to create a miniature haven in the concrete jungle, Shahid infuses a disarming verve to the portrait of an artist as an angst-laden man.

As for Vidya, she exudes such positivity with her voice and smile, she reminds us of the early Juhi Chawla who, by the way, makes a very unconvincing cameo appearance in the film as a goofy crystal-ball gazer.

What keeps the love-interest interesting are the details that go into preserving the core of simplicity in the man-woman relationship. The supporting cast is mildly interesting. But it’s the Shahid-Vidya axis that keeps us vigorously engrossed even when the narration loses virility in parts. But the story never sags. Never stops walking tall.

“Kismat Konnection” doesn’t aspire to be a classic look at the man-woman relationship. Like Mirza’s earlier films, the protagonist struggles with broken-down vehicles and a crumbling conscience, clinging to his convictions as he slides down the ladder of self esteem.

By the end, the goodness of it all just wraps you in a warm blanket. Yup, all’s well with the world. This working-class romance really works.

God Tussi Great Ho - Bollywood Movie Review

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Sohail Khan and others
Director: Rumy Jafry
Rating: *

Director Rumy Jafry’s directorial debut pretends to say something deep and indelible, but ends up being as profound as a bowl of soggy noodles staring at you for edible nirvana.

Arguably one of the most botched-up comedies in recent times, “God Tussi Great Ho” takes us into territory that the Khan brothers - Salman and Soahil - have been together in David Dhawan’s “Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya”.

The cartoon-like cat-and-mouse game between Salman and Sohail to get the perky Priyanka Chopra’s attention is completely devoid of zing despite the familiar ring. Though admittedly Sohail, who’s rapidly emerged as one of our most delightful comic actors with films like “Salaam-E-Ishq”, “Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya” and now this where he gives big brother a run for his money, takes the lead.

The in-house channel war between the two Khans is reminiscent of Shah Rukh Khan-Juhi Chawla’s comic competitiveness in Aziz Mirza’s hugely underrated “Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani”. In fact, Sohail is wickedly inventive in a plot that pulls the characters down with each creaking push of the writer’s pathetic pen.

Who wrote this garbage? You wonder. And why must Amitabh Bachchan be subjected to this sort of tripe trip at this juncture of his career?

After Rishi Kapoor in Kunal Kohli’s “Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic”, it’s the Big B’s turn to play god on a set that has a cascading waterfall, cotton-candy clouds and Salman suitably dressed in a formal suit.

What’s missing is the fizz in this askew cocktail. As a writer Rumy Jafry is on shockingly shaky grounds. Just like Salman’s Volkswagon, which changes colours from drab pink to bright red in the second-half when Salman gets godly powers from the ‘real’ god.

Never mind. Because Priyanka’s nose-ring changes from left nostril to right.

That’s about all that the narrative gets right in the trite second-half.

The second half of the film is so crummy and scattered that you wonder what happened to the director. Was he on leave while god ghost-directed the second-half?

Appalling in structure and abysmal in content, “God, Tussi Great Ho” is somewhat bearable for Sohail’s comic aptitudes. And yes, Priyanka is easy on the eyes.

Wish our directors would know where to stop before comedy becomes a travesty.

Money Hai To Honey Hai - Bollywood Movie Review

Cast: Govinda, Manoj Bajpai, Aftab Shivdasani, Upen Patel, Celina Jaitley, Hansika Motwani
Director: Ganesh Acharya
Rating: **

Give this film a chance. “Money Hai To Honey Hai” has a certain sincerity of purpose and a rather sturdy narrative that serves the comic purpose until interval.

But that’s when the pace slackens, the interest-level droops and the chuckles drop drastically to make way for a touching and simple climax that tells us it’s okay to be ordinary and that living is about letting your dreams run free.

Choreographer Ganesh Acharya’s earlier directorial effort “Swami” was a well-intended narrative gone awry due to a story-telling inertia. But this time Acharya is on surer ground. And it’s got little to with the Mauritian outdoors and the sun-kissed beaches the film boasts of.

“Money Hai…” soaks you in its warmth, but it’s finally a failed comedy - albeit an honourable failure.

Seldom have you seen a less noisy comedy in recent times. The background sounds are kept at a minimum and for once the characters don’t scream inanities and double meanings at one another.

The plot about six incorrigible losers who get a chance in life when a wacky millionaire (played by Prem Chopra) makes the Losers Inc. - a chance they can’t refuse.

Some of the tracks in the plot are truly funny. Hansika Motwani as a tv icon who wants to break away from her weepy Bahu image on a long-running soap is surprisingly in command over the rites of screen excesses.

Hansika’s hammy acting is so purposely pitched at an extravagant decibel you can’t but laugh.

Upen Patel’s toy-boy act with Archana Puransingh is also hilarious. The rest of the comic act swings from rib-tickling to drab.

A remarkable aspect of “Money Hai To Honey Hai” is the choreography - a field where Ganesh Acharya excels. The music and dances in this film have a frisky and flighty flavour - very outdoors, very sexy and different.

And it’s not just Govinda who gets to shake a leg to an original beat. Every actor swings in to a freewheeling groove.

Upen and Hansika pull out all stops. And Celina Jaitley, who plays a fashion designer who dreams of making clothes for the working class, tugs at the heart.

The story is basically of dreamers coming together to assert their yearnings in ways that are sometimes interesting and sometimes listless.

Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na - Bollywood Movie Review

Film: “Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na”
Cast: Imran Khan, Genelia D’Souza. Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak, Manjari Phadnis
Director: Abbas Tyrewala
Rating: ***

Abbas Tyrewala’s directorial debut, which stars newcomer Imran Khan, has a certain sparkling spirit, a zest for living life and a certain zing about the way the characters look at life and love.

It’s not only about the way the characters’ exuberant yearnings connect with the audience, it’s also about the casual, free-flowing events and dialogues in the narrative that give the characters an edge over other urbane youngsters who have come and gone in the past.

The bunch of collegians here take their cues from Farhan Akhtar’s “Dil Chahta Hai”, Rakeysh Mehra’s “Rang De Basanti” and even Karan Johar’s “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”, but the plot is endearing and fairly original despite the derivative echoes.

While the supporting cast of friends are both real and tangible, at the core of this romantic musical are Jai (Imran) and Aditi (Genelia) who are ‘best friends’ in the coolest sense of the term. Bantering bum-chums at the surface but sharing a much deeper bond underneath - all their friends can see that the twosome are made for each other. But they can’t.

It’s an exceedingly old formula for a romantic comedy given a fresh new spin by a storyteller who picks moments from ordinary lives and converts them into a celebration of life and love.

Old songs (mainly R.D. Burman) and new original music by A.R. Rahman coalesce while Jai and Aditi’s love story goes through several twists and turns. And they finally arrive at the traditional end-game for romantic films - the grand reunion at the airport seconds before the girl is scheduled to take off for good.

The flurry is charming, though a little too self-consciously designed at times. Peep underneath. And you see the narration covering a lot of familiar ground.

Every actor pitches in at just the right volume of vivacity. Imran has a fresh face, is original and possesses a natural screen presence that immediately connects him with the audience.

There are stand-out supporting performances by Naseeruddin Shah (playing Jai’s dead father in a portrait), Ratna Pathak (Jai’s mom), Paresh Rawal as a boorish cop and Arbaaz and Sohail Khan as a couple of outlandish cowboys.

Then there’s Manjari Phadnis as the hero’s could-be love interest. Living in perpetual denial, she thinks her embittered parents (Rajat Kapoor and Kitu Gidwani) actually love each other under the acrimony.

The characters never claim to be extraordinary in their desires. It’s their ordinary dreams and down-to-earth desires which give the narration a spirited spin.

And all those playing Imran and Genelia’s friends are also superb.

While Genelia is a natural in most scenes, Imran’s unassuming boy-next-door personality lends itself with picture-perfect precision to the mood and tenor of the narration.

Here’s a young actor who has a long innings ahead. He doesn’t think before he acts. It’s not about how deep he goes into his character, it’s more about how much at home he is occupying the space provided by the script.

“Jaane Tu…” doesn’t have any message for the audiences. What it has is an honest story about a bunch of credible characters told in a fashion that’s casually trendy and warm.

Manoj Lobo’s cinematography and Shan Mohamed’s editing assist the director in making a film that you’d probably like to watch again just to see if you missed out a vital bit of the characters’ lives while they were looking for love.