Film Review: DIL DHADAKNE DO

I am going with 6 stars for Dil Dhadakne Do!

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Shefali Shah, Anushka Sharma, Farhan Akhtar, Rahul Bose
Director: Zoya Akhtar

We wanted to go to this film as a family together and finally managed the 11 pm show last night at PVR Sion. The theatre was completely packed.

THE STORY

Kamal and Neelam Mehra are keen to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. A self-made Delhi businessman, Kamal’s company AyKa is facing problems. And their marriage is not what it appears to be. They had their daughter Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra) married off when she was 21 to Manav (Rahul Bose), a businessman from Mumbai. Ayesha sets up her own travel agency and is extremely successful. Kabir (Ranveer Singh) is the Mehras’ son who’s more interested in flying than in the family business.

The Mehras organise a cruise and invite their relatives and friends for a 2-week trip to Greece and Turkey. That’s where they plan to get Kabir’s marriage fixed to the Sood heir Noorie (Ridhima Sud), hoping that her father (Parmeet Sethi) would finance their business in return. But is Kabir or Noorie interested? What happens when Ayesha wants to divorce Manav? Watch the film to find out more.

MY PERCEPTION

The film is 2 hours 50 minutes long. It’s been a few years since I watched such a long movie. But I really don’t know where the time flew as the story kept me hooked from beginning till end. I was actually sorry when the film ended. It was a simple family drama with a bit of romance thrown in.

Anil Kapoor was perfect in his role as Kamal Mehra – a shrewd, self-made businessman; fitness freak and flirt. He has always been a good actor and this is probably his best performance.

Ranveer Singh brings a lot of energy to his roles. This one was no less and he was impressive as the Mehra heir and Ayesha’s younger brother.

Anushka Sharma was also good as dancer Farah who is Kabir’s love interest.

Farhan Akhtar has a small role that he has performed extremely well.

Rahul Bose’s character was completely irritating and he fit the bill to perfection.

Priyanka Chopra was amazing as Ayesha. Her eyes spoke volumes in the scene when she silently watches her brother telling their parents off for their self-centredness. The way she quietly puts up with the attitudes of her parents and mother-in-law while becoming a truly successful businesswoman is beautifully portrayed. A special kudos!

The cruise was lovely, the music perfect, the cinematography beautiful while all the other actors did their parts very well. The directing and editing have been done to perfection.

Aamir Khan narrates the film in the background as the voice of Pluto, the Mehra family dog. It was a cute and novel way of presenting the story. I liked it!

I have saved the best for the last. Shefali Shah – I have been to her reading of the book Gandhi, My Father before the release of the film by the same name. She was present at the book reading at Oxford Book House, Churchgate along with Akshaye Khanna and Gandhiji’s grandson Tushar Gandhi. Shefali Shah played the role of Kasturba in the film. I was too impressed by her reading a few pages from the book. I think she’s a very good actor.

But in Dil Dhadakne Do, her performance as Neelam was exemplary. The way she portrays high-society arrogance, her sarcasm towards her husband, her affection for her son, her frustration, her overeating nature because of the unhappy life she leads – I can go on and on. Shefali Shah deserves First Prize in this film.

Special congratulations to Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar for conceptualising such a wonderful film!

VERDICT: I am going with 6 stars for Dil Dhadakne Do while 5 stars have been the maximum I give my film reviews. Need I say more?

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super
******Super-duper

Film Review: PK

#PK touched my heart

Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sanjay Dutt, Sushant Singh Rajput, Saurabh Shukla, Boman Irani, Parikshit Sahani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani

I was a trifle hesitant to go see the movie in the theatre after watching the promos for PK. Aamir Khan with wide open eyes that forgot to blink kind of put me off. But then the film is by Rajkumar Hirani. I loved Munnabhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai & 3 Idiots. As I was oscillating, unable to decide whether ‘to see or not to see’, Venkat told me that Aamir Khan plays an alien in the film. That clinched the deal. I had to see the film. That’s how Venkat, Viggy and I landed up at Cinemax Sion for a 11 o’clock show on Saturday night. 

THE STORY

PK (Aamir Khan) travels through space from a distant galaxy and lands on the deserts of Rajasthan, buck naked. The only thing he’s wearing is a neckpiece, a brilliant green medal that’s actually a remote control that will help him recall his spaceship when he needs to go back home. Within a few minutes of landing, a local steals his neckpiece and PK (not named yet) is stranded on earth.

Jagat Janani aka Jaggu (Anushka Sharma) is studying in Belgium and that’s where she meets Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput), a Pakistani. They fall in love and move in together. When she tells her parents about her love, her father (Parikshit Sahani) insists on consulting the family astrologer-advisor Tapasvi Maharaj (Saurabh Shukla). The Maharaj plays on people’s fears and insists that he has a direct dialogue with the Creator. His prediction that Sarfaraz will ditch Jaggu comes true when he stands her up on their wedding day. 

Jaggu is refused entry into her home when she returns to Delhi. She lives by herself and works for a TV channel. Hunting for stories, she meets PK who fascinates her. But is he what he is claiming he is? 

MY PERCEPTION

Rajkumar Hirani has done it again. Instead of going the Hollywood way and presenting aliens as horrible, negative creatures, he has presented PK as a Highly Evolved Being. A special Kudos for that to the director!

The story goes back and forth connecting the incidents that lead to a meeting between Jaggu and PK. While the first half is totally hilarious, there were times that I shed a few tears for the wonderful soul who is visiting the earth and is caught up in our quarrels and dishonesty. The character of PK is built beautifully and Aamir Khan has given an outstanding performance. 

Anushka Sharma has always been an excellent actress and I must say that this is her best so far. Congratulations!

Sushant Singh Rajput has done very well in his cameo as Sarfaraz. While Boman Irani, Sanjay Dutt and Parikshit Sahani have small roles, they were important enough to keep the story going. Good show guys!

Saurabh Shukla as the mean and cheating Tapasvi Maharaj has given a super performance. Shukla has been seen in a variety of character roles and he has been consistently great in each performance. Awesome! 

The music was soothing. This is typical of Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions and I find it a loveable trait. Though I heard most of the songs for the first time, both the lyrics and tune were too good and added to the film’s value.

One thing that struck me was that some of the dialogues overlapped with those in OMG Oh My God! I agree that both films promote similar messages. I only wish that they had checked things out and stretched that little bit extra to make it completely different. It doesn’t take away from PK being a great film though.  

I like a creative work – both books and films – that makes me emote. Whether it’s joy, love, anger or vengeance, it should touch my heart. PK did that to me. Need I say more?

VERDICT: A Must-see

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super

Sharing: SATYAMEV JAYATE

He has reached the peak of his career in Bollywood and has delivered his best over and over, especially in the past few years. Now where to go from here?

Aamir Khan has taken the perfect step with his latest TV Show Satyamev Jayate.

I was more interested in watching the show because of what its title suggested than the reason that it is has been produced and anchored by the man himself.

 The show began and Aamir Khan went ahead and immediately introduced the women on the show one by one and got on with the programme. The onus was clearly on the guests and not on the anchor.

What I liked best was the way Aamir handled the subject. This was about female foeticide – real life cases, the problems that pregnant women face all over the country. He brought proof on the show as to how it is not just the lower class and uneducated who are party to this. There was this lady doctor from Delhi who had had some terrible experiences when she became pregnant with twin girls.

The stories were revealed in such a way that it brought tears to not just the audience on TV but all of us at home who were watching the programme. Aamir Khan was in tears many times too. Yeah, it’s easy to point out that he is an actor and so could probably cry at will. Only if you watched the show you will know the tears for being genuine.

Another thing I liked very much was the way the programme ended. Aamir Khan brought out the fact that a district in Punjab – Nawanshahr – has completely eradicated the problem. Through interviews and videos, it was shown very clearly how this could be made possible throughout India. HOPE! That’s the need of the hour.

You need guts to face TRUTH! This show is not for the weak-minded, but the lion-hearted.

Click here to watch Episode 1 that was aired today.

Satyamev Jayate is aired on Sundays from 11 am to 12.30 pm on Star Plus

Film Review: 3 IDIOTS share the last laugh!

Cast: Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani, Omi Vaidya
Director: Rajkumar Hirani

The film is loosely based on Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone or so I heard. I have yet to read the novel to relate to this.

The Story: Farhan Qureshi (Madhavan) stops an Air India flight by feigning a heart attack. He wants to rush to meet Rancho (Aamir Khan), his college buddy. He calls Raju (Sharman Joshi), another friend, and rushes to meet Rancho whom they have not heard from over the past few years. The two friends rush to the top of the college tower only to meet Chatur Ramalingam aka Silencer (Omi Vaidya), the smart-aleck they used to hate. It has been ten years since college and Silencer wants to show off his success. When threatened, he offers to take Farhan and Raju in search of Rancho. A large part of the rest of the film is shown in flashback over their college days and the balance in their search for Rancho. How they find him and what Rancho has become forms the end of the plot.

In the end it was the 3 Idiots who share the last laugh!

Our Perception: The film has been very well made with the plot keeping you fixed to your seats despite being three hours long. A couple of songs may have been avoided. Aamir has done an excellent job, but then so have Sharman and Madhavan. Boman Irani as Veeru Sahasrabudhe aka Virus has done a super job. His make-up and lisping have gone a long way in ensuring that the role is not the same as that of Dr, Asthana in Munnabhai MBBS. Kareena was okay as Pia. I would award the first prize to Omi Vaidya as Chatur Ramalingam. The guy was just fantastic – he did not seem to act but to walk through his role.

By the time this blog is up, most of the Mumbai population must have seen the film at least once or twice. I am glad in a way as I can go ahead and write anything about the film without spoiling anyone’s fun.

The delivery scene was over-the-top but then again, truth can be stranger then fiction.

Most of the people I know thought the movie was damned funny. I agree to a point. But beyond that, I would say, it was a very thought-provoking film and I cried quite a bit in a few scenes. Especially the one when a student plays the guitar wishing that he could live life once again with different choices. It was heartbreaking to see it more because it is so true in today’s society. I have seen so many youngsters forced to study subjects that they never want to. Worse is not being allowed to pursue the career that one adores. I sincerely wish that people would not just see the jokes but look beyond to what, I am sure, the director was trying to say.

Education for the sake of learning VS getting marks is a subject close to my heart. I am glad that more people will become aware of this after seeing Aamir Khan saying it on screen. Another one that touched the heart was when Rancho explains ‘machine’ in simple language while Silencer rattles off a book definition and the teacher’s reactions to both. Totally realistic!

I only wish that the ragging had not been shown as if it is the best that could happen to one at college. The scene also was very similar to the one in Munnabhai MBBS. I was under the impression that this is not permitted in colleges nowadays.

The best scene was probably the speech given in Hindi by Silencer. It was just hilarious. I have copy-pasted the speech for your reading pleasure, thanks to my friend Diti.

Adarniya sabhapati mahodaya …atithi vishesh shikshan mantri shri R D tripati [tripathi] ji ..maanyaniya shikshagan aur mere piyaaare [pyare] sahpatiyo [sahapathiyon] …aaj agar I.C.E aasmaan ki bulaaandiyo [bulandiyon] ko chhu raahaa [raha] hai ..to uska shreya sirrf [sirf] ekinsaan [ek insaan] ko jaataahai [jata hai] shri veerusahastra buddhe ..give him a a big hand ..he is a great guy really .. Peechle buttis saal se inhone nirantar is college mein balatkar [balaatkaar ] pe balatkar kiye ..umeed hai aagey bee [bhi] karte rahege [rahenge] ..hamine to aashcharya hota hai ki ek insaan apne jeevan kaal mein itni balatkar kaisi kar sakta hai …inhone kadi tapaasya se apne aapko is kaabil bunaya [banaya] hai ..waqt ka sahi upyog ghante ka purna istemaal koi inse seeke [seekhe] ..seeke inse seeke ….aaj hum sab chaatra yaha hai ..kal desh videsh mein fail [faael] jayenge ..waadaa hai aapse jis desh mein honge waha balatkar karenge I.C.E ka naam roshan karenge …dika [dikha] denge sabko jo balatkar Karne ki shamtaa yaha ke chaatro mein hai wo sansaar ke kisi chaatro mein nahiii ….No other chaatra No other chaatra Adarniya mantraji namashkar aapne is sansthaan ko wo chees di jiski hamein sakht zaroorat thi ...sstunn ..stunn hota sabi [sab hi] ke paas hai ..sab chupa ke rakte hai ..detaa koi nai …aapne apna stun is balatkari purush ke haat mein diya hai…ab dekiye yeh kaisa iska upyog karta hai.. Sloke..... Utamamm dadh dhadhattt padam…….. madhyam padam thuchuk thuchuk…….. khanishtham thudthudiiiy padam…….. sursuria pran khatkam..!!!!

Verdict: Definitely worth a watch. I went for a late night show and was wide awake throughout the film.

Rating: ****Snazzy

* Silly

** Shaky

*** Smart

**** Snazzy

***** Super