Film Review: PIKU

The film will keep you rolling with laughter and shedding a tear or two

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan
Written by: Juhi Chaturvedi
Director: Shoojit Sircar

The Movie

Piku (Deepika Padukone) is probably in her early thirties and lives with her cranky 70-year-old father Bhaskor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) in Delhi. She’s partner with Syed Afroz (Jishu Sengupta) at Minerva Designers.

Bhaskor Banerjee suffers from chronic constipation and the movie revolves around it. BB feels that his daughter’s life should be with him and his motions rather than her setting up her own life. He does his best to discourage young men who may be interested in wooing her into marriage. He insists that women should lead an independent life and not be shackled by a husband. He doesn’t seem to mind if she’s shackled by her father, though.

My Perception

Yeah, I was revolted when I saw the promos and decided not to see the film. But then, at least three people told me that it’s a film not to be missed. And for the reason that I loved Vicky Donor. So, went to PVR Cinemas Sion with Venkat for the 11.30 pm show last night.

Amitabh Bachchan is a veteran actor, no doubt. In his role as the cranky and stubborn Bhaskor Banerjee, he has surpassed himself. Watching him walk and talk was a joy. As you sit through the film, you can’t help laugh at his antics and find him endearing despite his irritating nature. A special kudos to Senior Bachchan on his scintillating performance!

Deepika Padukone is excellent as Piku. Her expressions change from sadness to anger to joy to tears within seconds, keeping the audience enthralled. Her relationship with her father is so beautifully portrayed. She adores him despite his idiosyncrasies. Amazing performance!

Irrfan (yeah, that’s how is name is mentioned in the titles) is a great actor. His performance as the owner of a taxi service is commendable. He’s so able to relate to Piku’s pain as she deals with her recalcitrant parent, who is completely dependent on her.

The rest of the characters are well chalked out and play their roles to perfection.

Just imagine creating a film about “motion se hi emotion” without a strong storyline! Writer Juhi Chaturvedi and Director Shoojit Sircar must surely have had a lot of guts to come up with such a theme. But believe me when I say that they have come up aces with this one. The film has the right balance of humour and emotions to strum your heartstrings.

It must have taken some kind of gumption to have dialogue after dialogue describing the various forms of stools that a person can have. Piku is so used to them that it never strikes her when she talks about excrete descriptively at the dining table.

VERDICT: A truly well made film of just two hours. It will keep you rolling with laughter and shedding a tear or two.

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

Film Review: KOCHADAIIYAAN: THE LEGEND

While people are in awe of Superstar Rajni's stunts, can you imagine what his animated avatar can do?

Cast: Animation by Rajnikanth, Deepika Padukone, Jackie Shroff, Nassar, Shobana
Director: Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwin

The 3D animation film opened yesterday. Venkat and I were keen to see it as we are ardent fans of Rajnikanth and went to Cinemax Sion late last night. The theatre was almost empty and we thought that maybe it was because people prefer the cheaper shows during the week. After seeing the film, we believe the reason could be something else altogether.

THE STORY

The film begins with the child Rana running away from his hometown of Kottaipattinam and taking refuge in Kalingapuri ruled by Raja Mahendra (Jackie Shroff). Rana trains to be a warrior and grows up (now Rajnikanth) and becomes the commander-in-chief of his forces. But Rana has a different agenda. He has come to Kalingapuri to free the wartime slaves belonging to his hometown. He does just that, making an enemy of Raja Mahendra and his son. He goes back to Kottaipattinam to become the commander of the armies there. But there’s a snitch. Raja Rishikodagan (Nassar) of Kottaipattinam has a bone to pick with Rana and maybe his whole family.

I am not going to say more here as I might give away the full story.

MY PERCEPTION

A human Rajnikanth could be a superhero in most of his movies. Can you imagine what an animated Super Star Rajni can do? At least a million times as much! His daughter Soundarya has made her father out to be a supreme hero - not just as Rana but also as Kochadaiiyaan, Rana’s father. You will have to watch the film to see the stunts both the characters perform.

The animation was good, but just that. Rajnikanth’s animated version of Rana is almost perfect except for his fat thighs. Why? He’s perfect as Kochadaiiyaan.

Deepika Padukone’s Vadhana looked extremely ugly in the first few scenes. She improved after a while. If the director could make out that she needed to be made better, why not go back and make the changes from the beginning?

All the promos had made me expect too much maybe. When I read that the makers of Avatar had been involved, I was too keen to catch the film. But all my expectations fell flat. I was expecting background scenes in the likes of Kung Fu Panda. Well, I wouldn’t say they were bad, but they could have been way better.

The story was quite good, but there was a glitch. There was a brother to Rana in the background. He never turned up till the last scene. And where did he suddenly spring from? Or is that a prelude to a sequel? That comes to the question: will such a film work with the Indian audience? I seriously doubt.

The war scenes were excellent with both horses and elephants looking gorgeous; but the song and dance sequences truly grated on my nerves.

The best part was Kochadaiiyan’s dance on Shivaratri. It was simply amazing and yet again the Superstar scores.

I have given an extra star for the efforts put in by Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwin in her first attempt at directing an animated feature.

VERDICT: Watch it at your own risk.

RATING:

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

Film Review: Goliyon Ki Raasleela: RAM-LEELA

Ranveer-Deepika scorch the screen!

Venkat was not keen to see the film as we are never sure what to expect from Sanjay Leela Bhansali. But Vinny and I were quite impressed by the promos and decided to go. We went for the mid-morning show at PVR in Phoenix Market City on Sunday. The theatre was packed as the film has had consistently good reviews.

THE STORY

The film is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. It’s set in Gujarat and is all about the enmity between The Rajadis and Sanedas. Ram (Ranveer Singh) is the younger son of the Rajadi house and wishes for peace. It’s love at first sight for him and Leela Saneda (Deepika Padukone), the laadli of the Saneda female head (Supriya Pathak Kapur). Leela’s wedding is fixed with an NRI from London. Only the lady chooses to run away with her lover. Things don’t work out and the two return to their respective families. Anger and battles are interspersed with goliyon ki baarish and people die on both sides. Will their love survive?

MY PERCEPTION

As I mentioned, the story is loosely based on Romeo Juliet – in that it is a tragic love story. In the Shakespeare tragedy, the hero and heroine were immature youngsters. Not so in Ram-Leela.

Both Ram and Leela are extremely mature and know what they are about. The characters were superbly etched and both the actors have played them so well. I have seen Ranveer Singh in Band Baaja Baaraat and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. In both films his roles had been light and fun. I was quite impressed by the actor’s dialogue delivery. In Ram-Leela, Ranveer Singh has many opportunities to emote and does he squeeze your heart! He was excellent. He looks so good too! I used to think that he did not have the ‘pizzazz’ to compete with the Bollywood Biggies and I am glad he has proved me wrong. Excellent Performance, Ranveer Singh! Keep up the great work!

Deepika Padukone has slowly but surely grown up from her partying girl avatars to more mature roles. She looks gorgeous and has acted so well. She blazes across the dance floors with Ranveer Singh and their chemistry scorches the screen. Her overnight transformation from a laughing young woman to the serious head of Sanedas when her mother is injured is nothing short of amazing. Superb, Deepika Padukone! Way to go!

Gulshan Devaiah

I just love the riot of colours, the exotic backgrounds and stunning costumes along with the elaborate song and dance sequences of some of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films. While not a great fan of the producer-director’s works, I especially loved Devdas. This movie is simply amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The music and dance was awesome in the film and they fitted so well, not taking away from the story. I did not much care for the violence, but then that was very much part of the story and one cannot do away with it.

All the other actors have also performed very well. A special mention for 2-film-old Gulshan Devaiah and Richa Chadda!

Supriya Pathak Kapur’s performance as the head of Sanedas is striking. She looks the personification of evil and does an amazing job of her role. Kudos!

VERDICT: It most definitely worth a see!

RATING: ****Snazzy

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

Film Review: CHENNAI EXPRESS

There’s a very strong divide between ‘class’ and ‘crass’. Shah Rukh Khan bridges the gap with total ease

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Sathyaraj, Nikitin Dheer
Director: Rohit Shetty

I was not too sure that I wanted to see the film after looking at the promos. But Venkat is an ardent fan of Shah Rukh Khan and wanted to go. I tagged along out of curiosity for the paid premiere on Thursday, August 8, 2013. That’s right! Curiosity did kill the cat. And as you can see, it has taken me four days to post the review.

THE STORY

Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) has been orphaned since he was eight and brought up by his grandparents. The family owns and runs a sweetmeat shop. Rahul is tied down to his grandparents till he is 40 years old and his life revolves around them and the shop. His grandfather dies on his 100th birthday. Rahul is set the task of taking the old man’s ‘asthi’ to Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. He plans to have fun with his friends in Goa instead. As his grandmother insists on taking him to the railway station to catch a train to South India, Rahul pretends to travel on Chennai Express. His life goes totally out of control from then on.

MY PERCEPTION

I used to adore Shah Rukh Khan – please note the past tense. He’s an excellent and versatile actor. DDLJ is my most favourite film till date. Of course, there have been some debacles – especially under the helm of Red Chillies Entertainment – such as Ram Jaane, Guddu, English Babu Desi Mein, Paheli, and Ra.One, to name a few. I personally liked Paheli, but the film was not a success.

I so wish the actor will take up interesting roles as he gets older. Chak De was an excellent film and SRK’s performance was just brilliant. If I remember right, the budget for this film was not too big and there was not too much marketing involved either.

I see a kind of desperation in the marketing tactics for Chennai Express. Is it because the content is so ‘khokla’ that it is so? Every TV channel you tune into is talking about Chennai Express, while they are trying to get Kashmir and Kanyakumari together by selling it all the way from the North Pole to the South Pole.

Yes, I also heard the news that they have crossed the 100 crore mark. Why not? Ticket rates are soaring, especially so for the Eid weekend. Everyone wants to see the film – including me – because SRK is starring in it. But does that mean I made an intelligent decision when I spent Rs. 250 for seeing this crap? Most definitely not!

I do like masala flicks – the Rohit Shetty kind – Golmaal: Fun Unlimited (only the first one in the series, mind you); Singham and Bol Bachchan were quite good. But there is a limit to which one can tolerate beefed up thugs, smashed jeeps and prolonged fight sequences. They get more ridiculous with each film.

Chennai Express takes the cake! The thugs are taller and wider with Nikitin Dheer topping the list. I wonder what kind of steroids they must be consuming to be like this. They stand around like baboons with vacant expressions, not adding an iota of value to the film.

Shah Rukh Khan insists that Rahul is all of forty years old. Why the hell does he not behave his age? Rahul’s antics suggest someone who is in Junior College. Need I say more?

The ‘kashin bradhars’ don’t understand Hindi anyway. Rahul and Meenamma (Deepika Padukone) could have comfortably conversed in the language. Why sing antaksharis and torture the audience? If they thought it was comical, they surely have another think coming. Many of the dialogues were in Tamil and then translated into Hindi. To someone like me who speaks both languages, it was prolonged agony. I am sure they could have handled it differently - maybe with captions.

I originate from Chennai and have travelled by Chennai Express at least a hundred times. I have not once noticed the scenes that unfold in the film. Yes, they are scenic, but absolutely inauthentic. Kathakali is the regional dance of Kerala; a Tamil woman wears her nose-ring on her right nostril; a guy carrying his wife up the staircase of a temple is probably borrowed from Karnataka. While Meenamma wears a nose-ring on the left, the other sequences don’t have anything to do with Chennai or Tamil Nadu. Well, these are the goof ups that I noticed. There could have been many more. Shoddy research indeed!

The final fight sequence was the extreme limit. Rahul is a ‘halwaai’ and quite small in stature. He is just a ‘common man’ as he screams to us at least 30 times during the film. He is forty. How could he fight thugs who are thrice his size just to prove his love? Bizarre!

Among all this mess, I was truly impressed with Deepika Padukone’s performance. The actress has obviously been working hard and improving her skills. She’s excellent as Meenalochani despite the stupid accent. In fact, it quite adds to her charms. And she looks gorgeous too! Kudos Deepika! You are truly a Bollywood Queen today!

I would like to believe that Shah Rukh Khan is quite bright. Did he not see the final cut of the film? Anyone with half the intelligence would have seen it for the crack-pot film that it is. The film will probably appeal the people in the slums, thanks to its slapstick humour and sickle-wielding thugs.

While SRK has grown in years, it does not appear that he has matured as an actor. If you want to do romance, do one as a fifty-year-old or have a script written for you in the lines of Amitabh Bachchan’s Cheeni Kum. Do not torture us with this kind of a stupid film.

VERDICT: Watch it at your own risk

RATING: ** Shaky (one star belongs to Deepika Padukone and none to SRK)

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

Film Review: YEH JAWANI HAI DIWANI

The Kapoor waaris keeps getting better and better! 

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Kunaal Roy Kapoor, Kalki Koechlin, Farooq Sheikh, Tanvi Azmi
Director: Ayan Mukerji

THE STORY

The film begins with Aditi’s (Kalki Koechlin) wedding invitations being sent to her best friends Naina (Deepika Padukone), Kabir aka Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor) and Avinash aka Avi (Aditya Roy Kapoor). Aditi is getting married to Taran (Kunaal Roy Kapoor). Seeing the invite takes Naina down memory lane eight years back. We see in flashback how the shy, introvert Naina, became friends with the other three. Naina falls in love with Kabir who does not want to be tied down to one woman. Back to the present, Kabir is living his dream of travelling the world as a photo journalist. Avi runs a business that is going down the drain while he drinks and gambles his way through life. Naina is a practising doctor living in Mumbai. The rest of the film is set against the backdrop of the many programmes that take place at Aditi’s wedding in Udaipur. Naina falls in love with Kabir all over again. Will he ever return her feelings?

MY PERCEPTION

The film is a typical modern romance with a lot of glamour and glitter. The trek to Manali has been beautifully filmed. The music and dance during the events leading up to Aditi’s wedding are quite entertaining and well made.

Deepika, for a change, does not play a dumb party girl and has added a few depths to the character of Naina. She’s has come a long way and finally, it was nice to see her in a proper role.

Ranbir Kapoor! Well, what is there to say that has not already been said? He’s just amazing and does a superb job of playing Kabir – an affectionate son, a loyal friend and a man desperate to live his dreams. All the while, he appears to be someone with no heart. Ranbir’s subtle acting adds so many layers to the character and we can but sit back and applaud. He has his mother Neetu’s eyes and they are so expressive. Kudos!

Aditya Roy Kapoor – I probably would not have noticed him if I had not seen Aashiqui 2 before this one. While he has a major role, I felt quite fed up of seeing the same act of a drunkard throughout the film. He was passable.

Kalki Koechlin was very good in her role as Aditi. From being an irresponsible youngster who is so in love with Avi, she grows up to being a responsible adult who genuinely values her relationship with Taran. Well done, Kalki!

While it was a fun watch, when you get back home and sit back to think about it, it makes you wonder what was really there in the film. Well, just as the title suggests, ‘Jawaani is Diwaani’. The film is all about how these four friends – rather three, not counting Avi – grow up to become mature adults.

One thing that I could not quite digest is how everyone keeps drinking non-stop. There appears to be a kind of desperation as each and every scene is with all of them – with the exception of Naina, sometimes – drinking away their lives. Are today’s youth so brainless?

VERDICT: It’s worth a watch, especially to see Ranbir in action! He’s just amazing!

RATING: ***Smart

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

Film Review: COCKTAIL

A timepass romantic tri-tangle!

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Boman Irani, Dimple Kapadia, Diana Penty
Director: Homi Adajania

Venkat, Vinitha and I caught the film at Cinemax Sion on the second day of its release as we were quite impressed with the promos.

THE STORY

The film is set in London where Veronica (Deepika Padukone) works hard and plays harder. She is a professional photographer. After one of her rave parties, Veronica sees Meera (Diana Penty) crying her eyes out in the washroom. She takes Meera home to find out that the latter is married to Kunal (Randeep Hooda) who is a fraud. Meera does not have anyone else to turn to and accepts Veronica’s invitation to live in her apartment. Meera takes up a job as a graphic designer. 

Gautam (Saif Ali Khan) is a software engineer who had recently moved base to London. The Casanova hits it off immediately with Veronica and moves into her apartment and directly into her bedroom. The three of them remain friendly while Meera is a mite wary of Gautam’s flirtatious nature.

Randhir (Boman Irani) is Gautam’s maternal uncle who proudly takes responsibility for making his nephew a ladies’ man. Gautam’s mother Kavita (Dimple Kapadia) thinks badly of her brother but believes that her son is Mr. Perfect. She’s keen to see Gautam married and lands up in London suddenly.

Without thinking, Gautam introduces the traditional Meera as the woman he loves while Veronica watches on in amusement. Kavita is quite impressed with Meera and insists on going with the three flatmates on a holiday to Cape Town. While Meera and Gautam pretend to be in love, Veronica spends a lot of time with Kavita and is touched by her motherly love. Having had no affectionate family, she begins to dream of marrying Gautam.

Gautam is shocked at this turn of events. He had never thought beyond an affair with Veronica. Things get worse when the Casanova falls in love with the innocent Meera and she returns his feelings. The two of them see a totally different side to the fun-loving Veronica when she finds out that her best friends are in love with each other.

Things turn quite dark after that, especially when Veronica has a near-fatal accident. Watch the film to see who gets Gautam.

MY PERCEPTION

Saif Ali Khan is superhot and sails through his role. I suppose it is child play for him by now, having done a few similar ones. Considering that he is 42, it’s a wonder that he is able to get away with the role of a man in his early thirties. And believe me, he’s good!

Boman Irani and Dimple Kapadia have executed their roles perfectly.

Newcomer Diana Penty as Meera is very good, especially considering that it is her debut role. Her acting skills are truly appreciated.

Deepika Padukone – somehow despite hearing a lot of criticisms about the actor, I feel she is very good. Having said that, I need to point out that she keeps repeating her party girl role too often – Love Aaj Kal; Karthik Calling Karthik; Break Ke Baad and how many else that I have not seen, I don’t know. It looks that she has been doing the same role again and again, getting a little better after each performance. Well, considering that this is her latest, she has done the best party girl role so far. It has extended to give forth to an easygoing Veronica who evolves into one with a bad temper as her hurt comes to the fore. Deepika has given a great performance!

VERDICT: The film is very light and a fun-watch.

RATING: *** Smart

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

Film Review: AARAKSHAN

What went wrong, Mr. Prakash Jha? Did you lose interest towards the end or what?

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Tanvi Azmi, Prateik, Manoj Bajpai, Darshan Zaveri, Hema Malini
Director: Prakash Jha

THE STORY: Deepak Kumar (Saif Ali Khan) is the son of a widow who earns a living by ironing clothes. He has worked hard through school and has gained entrance into college all thanks to Prabhakar Anand (Amitabh Bachchan), the principal of the most popular educational institution in Bhopal. Deepak is on his way to do his PhD in the USA. Anand’s daughter Poorbi (Deepika Padukone) is also studying in the same college and she and Deepak are in love. Their best friend is Sushant (Prateik), the son of one of the trustees of the college.

Prabhakar Anand believes that education should be made available to one and all. That’s the very reason his college is the most popular in the district since 35 years. Trouble begins when a minister’s nephew, with just 52.07% in Std. XII, is adamant about getting a seat at the college. Everything snowballs out of control when the minister approaches Mithilesh Singh (Manoj Bajpai), a lecturer whose main source of income is from his private coaching classes.

Things get from bad to worse when Anand resigns from his post as principal and later finds that he has lost his home too. Unfazed, he goes on to prove to everyone that his way of educating everyone is the only way to be. Watch the film to see how he manages to do that with his family’s support.

MY PERCEPTION: Amitabh Bachchan gets better and better at acting, if such a thing were possible. He has given a stupendous performance as Principal Prabhakar Anand. Tanvi Azmi – have missed the actor since her last performance as Anupam Kher’s wife in Darr. She is a very good actress and I am surprised that we never saw her in any film all these years.

Deepika Padukone has come a long way and has given a good performance. Congrats Deepika!

Saif Ali Khan was excellent. Kudos! Prateik was good in his role even though it was quite brief.

Manoj Bajpai – why do we see so less of this actor? I simply hated his character and the meanest of the mean look in his eyes. Isn’t that how a villain should be? He was too good and was the perfect villain to Amitabh’s protagonist. The other producers and directors need to wake up and realize what they are missing.

The subject was great and the problem and solution perfectly created. All that said, the film was just tooooooo looooooooong. Where was the editor? Gone to sleep midway or what? And then he suddenly woke up and chopped off a huge slice of the film at the end – yeah, the end was too abrupt.

The movie ran for about 2 hrs and 45 minutes. It should have been just 2 hrs and maybe another 15 minutes at the most. The music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy was good but just did not fit in. They could have done without it. Every scene was prolonged and dragged out. Then, suddenly, in the end, just when the bulldozers were about to strike, Hemamalini walks in and a few seconds later, everything’s hunky dory. What went wrong, Mr. Prakash Jha? Did you lose interest towards the end or what?

VERDICT: You can see it, I suppose

RATING: **1/2 (Better than shaky, less than smart)

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

Film Review: BREAK KE BAAD

Cast: Imran Khan, Deepika Padukone, Shahana Goswami, Sharmila Tagore, Navin Nischol, Lilette Dubey, Yudhishtir Urs
Director: Danish Aslam

I managed to catch the film a few days after its release as Vinitha was busy with her MBA exams and no one else at home wanted to see it with me.

I know the film had not had great reviews, but so wanted to see Deepika and Imran as I had loved both their earlier films – Love Aaj Kal & I Hate Luv Storys.

Story: Abhay (Imran Khan) and Aaliya (Deepika Padukone) have known each other since childhood. He is a steady influence in her life while her parents’ marriage breaks up. Aaliya grows up into a feisty young woman. Abhay has only one thing to look forward in life – Aaliya. His world revolves around Aaliya and he is not interested in anything or anyone else. He works as a Vice President at his father’s (Navin Nischol) old theatre by default and does not seem to have any other ambition. Aaliya begins to feel smothered by his incessant and focused love for her and begins to rear at the bit. She insists on a break and moves to Australia to study for a year. Watch the film to see what happens when Abhay follows her there within a few months.

My Perception: Don’t really know what to say about the film. I went to see it also because I saw that Kunal Kohli was connected to it. I think he just paid the bills and kept away from the production. I can’t see any of his influence here. Hum Tum & Fanaa were a class apart.

Deepika Padukone – I would like to hope and believe that the lovely actress has way more range than what characters she has been playing in the last few films of hers. She is modern, she drinks, she laughs, she is aggressive, she wants her space…. Why should the characters she play be so stereotypical? Love Aaj Kal and Karthik Calling Karthik had her playing a very similar profile. I don’t know whether Deepika was okay doing the same rote over and over but I got pretty bored.

Imran Khan – I expected way better after seeing him in I Hate Luv Storys and I was extremely disappointed. He constantly had the expression of a puppy dog that had been kicked hard. Come on, the role could have been played much better and with more range. I do agree that there were a scene or two where he was cheerful. But that was a rarity.

You see what I mean!

And the dialogues – ohmygod! I thought they were sharp to begin with. But the actors kept repeating a number of things over and over again. Especially the one about “break ke baad” – why the same set of words that ran for a few minutes at a time had to be mouthed by the hero and heroine at least four times? The mind boggles! It is like someone using a set of keywords over and over again on content on the internet to come up on google search. Ridiculous! Maybe the scriptwriter had nothing else to say. Or maybe the editor went to sleep on his job.

Lilette Dubey has far more potential. What was she doing in the film mouthing dialogues similar to those by Aruna Irani in Dil To Pagal Hai? I was amazed. Can’t an intelligent actress have had a say in what she needed to utter on screen? It is not as if she played the role of an idiot.

Sharmila Tagore, Navin Nischol and Shahana Goswami did alright. Shahana has way better potential but the director obviously could not tap it.

Of all the actors, the best award goes to Yudhisthir Urs for playing the most natural role in the film perfectly. I think that was more to the actor’s smartness and luck than anything to do with the director.

Verdict: The film is out of the theatres. If you have not seen it, you have saved hard-earned money. If you have too much time, you can always catch it soon on TV. That day is not very far away.

Rating: **

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

Film Review: HOUSEFULL

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Ritesh Deshmukh, Boman Irani, Lara Dutta, Deepika Padukone, Jiah Khan, Chunky Pandey, Randhir Kapoor, Lilette Dubey, Malaika Arora
Director: Sajid Khan

The Story: Arush (Akshay Kumar) leads a jinxed life in the United States of America. He appears to bring bad luck to everyone around him. A casino employs him for the sheer bad luck he brings along to ensure that customers lose. He is in love with Pooja (Malaika Arora) and believes his marriage to her would change his luck overnight. But she wants out as he has brought nothing but ill luck to her. The sad Arush takes a flight to London to visit his friend Bob (Ritesh Deshmukh). Bob is married to Hetal and it is on their second anniversary night that Arush lands up at their home as a surprise (shock). He almost gets thrown out but Bob is too fond of his friend and takes him back in. Hetal and Bob introduce Arush to their employer Kishore Samtani (Randhir Kapoor) who is a billionaire. His daughter Devika (Jiah Khan) agrees to marry Arush the moment she sees him. Arush is thrilled to get married to Devika and they become owners to 500 million pounds from Devika’s father. Arush goes on his honeymoon but is heartbroken to find out that Devika loves an Englishman and had agreed to marry Arush to escape her father’s clutches. Arush jumps into the sea to commit suicide only to be saved by the beautiful Sandy (Deepika Padukone). The story continues with the luck changing in Arush’s favour. Don’t want to say much more and give out spoilers….???

My Perception: This is Sajid Khan’s second film and considering what I thought about the first one – Heyy Babyy (“boring” in one word) – I should not have gone to this. But what with the dearth of Bollywood films, I went to see it along with my husband and daughter in a kind of desperation. Of course, I made sure that I left my brain back at home. Even then…

Akshay Kumar has taken to acting a fool in all his recent films. Does that mean that it is less of an effort and that’s why he is taking on such roles? He is a very good actor and why he would continue to take such dumb roles is beyond me. He works hard (?) to create forced comedy that is not funny at all.

Ritesh Deshmukh was very good in his role and so was Lara Dutta, but nothing outstanding in either case. Deepika Padukone was sizzling hot. She looks gorgeous and her acting skills are improving day by day. Arjun Rampal looked hot too and was excellent in his role as Major Krishna Rao. Boman Irani brought on a number of laughs as Lara’s father. Chunky Pandey’s acting and dialogue delivery is definitely worth a mention. Jiah Khan looked and acted like a slut. I wonder whether the role demanded that. Lillette Dubey had a blink-and-miss role that did not demand much of her acting skills. Randhir Kapoor was in a drunken stupor in all his scenes. That maybe came naturally.

I need to mention here that a part of the film – where the partners are interchanged to fool the parent and uncle with a large home and a fake baby – is a rip-off from the Kamal Haasan-Prabhudeva starrer Kadhala Kadhala. The Tamil film was far superior to this flick.

Yes, I did laugh a lot during the film. But ask me what I laughed about – I know not and I care not.

May be Sajid Khan does not care either.

Verdict: I am sure anyone who watches Hindi films will see it as there are not many offerings from B-Town.

Rating: **Shaky

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

Film Review: KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK

Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone, Shefali Shah, Ram Kapoor
Director: Vijay Lalwani

THE STORY:

Karthik (Farhan Akhtar) is a prize loser। He works extremely hard at a builder’s office but gets treated terribly in return by his boss (Ram Kapoor). He is silently in love with Shonali (Deepika Padukone) who works in the same office, but she is not even aware that he exists. Karthik will not use a cell phone as he believes it will fry his brains. The peon at work laughs at him disrespectfully for this very reason. All his colleagues treat Karthik like dirt. Then there is his landlord who nags him to pay an extra amount as deposit or threatens to throw him out of his flat. Karthik has a recurring nightmare that tops everything – of two little boys of which he is the younger one. The older boy falls into the well by accident and dies. His psychiatrist (Shefali Shah) insists that Karthik is not responsible for his older brother’s death. But nothing helps Karthik. His life gets worse day by day!

It is the last straw when his boss throws Karthik out of his job for no fault of his while Karthik also gets to know that Shonali does not know of his existence. Karthik goes home, utterly defeated. He gets more and more depressed until he decides to commit suicide by consuming sleeping pills.

It is five am when his phone rings, stopping him from popping the pills into his mouth. There is a man on the phone who insists that he is also Karthik. He seems to know everything about our loser hero including his bank account PIN number and the colour of the socks that he is wearing.

Fortunately for Karthik, whoever that man is, he helps him turn into a confident young man. Karthik turns confident, takes to power-dressing, gets his job back with four times the salary he used to earn, gets a separate cabin for himself, has his landlord eating out of his hand and the best of the lot – Shonali becomes his girlfriend.

While Karthik-on-phone guides the geek-Karthik, things get better and better. But then it is time for the twist in the tale. Karthik-on-phone tells geek-Karthik not to talk about these phone calls to anybody on earth. But Karthik breaks his promise to tell Shonali and everything goes down the drain. What happens after this point is for everyone to find out for themselves.

MY PERCEPTION:

Superb movie! Short and well-made within a span of two hours and a few more minutes! Farhan has definitely had a say in the film-making, it appears, as it sure has his touches. The editing is crisp and the film flows well. As Karthik, Farhan’s performance is nothing short of brilliant. The man’s expressions – facial, body language, intonation in dialogue – are just awesome. During his makeover from a Geek to a confident young man, Farhan still manages to capture the innocence of Karthik who has just changed on the outside but still quite the same from within. His lack of confidence hits you whenever he lifts the phone to say ‘hello’.

Deepika was great in Love Aaj Kal and she is better in this movie. Her on-screen chemistry with Farhan and the dialogue delivery are too good. She’s a gorgeous babe who can act too.

Shefali Shah as the psychiatrist has a small role that is impactful. Ram Kapoor is okay as the boss – not much scope for acting but he was good.

The music was wonderful, all background. A special kudos to Shankar Ehsaan Loy for that!

VERDICT: This one is definitely for the metros and multiplexes.

Rating: **** Snazzy

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

Film Review: LOVE AAJ KAL

I had understood that the title meant Love Nowadays. Only on seeing the film did I realise that it means Love Today and Yesterday.

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor, Rahul Khanna
Director: Imtiaz Ali

Jai (Saif Ali Khan) is based in London and dreams of working for Golden Gate Bridge Co. in San Francisco. Meera (Deepika Padukone) lives and works in London too and dreams of going back to India and restore the heritage buildings. The two meet and vibe wonderfully from the word Go. They have a great relationship and never speak of marriage. And then one day, Meera leaves for India to fulfil her dreams. Jai and Meera continue their friendship over the distance. But what is there between them?

Then there is the other love story from 1960s Punjab that is interwoven with the present day scenario. Veer Paaji (Rishi Kapoor) runs a restaurant in London. He talks about his love life in a flash back to Jai. The young Veer (Saif Ali Khan) is in love with Harleen (a Brazilian model, no less), a girl from his town. In those days, it needed a helluva lot of courage to express one’s love. And this is a problem that Veer faces while loving Harleen from a distance. The rest of the film goes to show whether the two sets of lovebirds get to tie the knot or no.

Saif Ali Khan has given a terrific performance as chatterbox Jai and the quiet Veer. He has come a very long way and has matured into a great actor.

Deepika Padukone has arrived. While her 100-watt-smile had always been attractive, the woman has got tremendous acting talent. She is absolutely subtle while her eyes speak volumes.

The on-screen chemistry between the two main actors dazzles.

One can very well relate to the story as it is so much a reality whether it is the 1960s or the first decade of the 21st century.

The film has been extremely well directed with the present and the past blended so beautifully that the viewer is never once confused or irritated with the scenes switch back and forth. The editing is perfect with no loose ends while the movie is compactly fitted into a little over two hours.

Verdict: Go for it folks. It’s absolutely worth a watch.
Rating: ****

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