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: BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG

No other actor could have done the role better than Farhan Akhtar!

Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Sonam Kapoor, Divya Dutta, Pavan Malhotra, Yograj Singh, Prakash Raj, Master Japtej Singh
Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

I was kind of wary of going to this film as I had a niggling doubt that it might be in the likes of a documentary. Finally, Farhan Akhtar tipped the scales and I decided to go with the rest of my family who were going to see it anyway.

THE STORY

The film is based on The Flying Sikh Milkha Singh’s life story. It begins with the Rome Olympics in 1960. Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) fails to win the 400 m and all the Indian newspapers write him off. Actually, on the verge of victory, Milkha recalls a horrifying incident from childhood and turns back to look, losing the race.

When a race is organised between Pakistan and India to be hosted by the former country, Milkha refuses to take part. A cabinet member decides to go to Chandigarh to persuade Milkha to run again for his country. He meets Milkha’s coach Gurudev Singh (Pavan Malhotra) on the train.

The rest of the movie is about Gurudev Singh narrating the story of Milkha Singh’s life and how he becomes The Flying Sikh.

MY PERCEPTION

Farhan Akhtar – there could not have been a better choice for the role of Milkha Singh, I am sure. He was just amazing and it’s so obvious that the actor has worked fantastically hard to fit into the role.

The races, the excitement, the adrenalin rush, the disappointments – every scene touches the viewer’s heart.

Then there is the flashback into Milkha Singh’s horrendous childhood and the suffering he and his family undergo during the partition. Very well sequenced and portrayed. Even the child actor (Master Japtej Singh) playing the young Milkha Singh has played his part very well.

Pavan Malhotra as Coach Gurudev Singh has done exceedingly well. But I liked Yograj Singh (Indian Coach Ranveer Singh) even better. He was just perfect for his role.

Divya Dutta deserves a special mention. We keep seeing this actress in small roles from time to time. In this, she has a fairly chunky role and performance is simply superb.

Sonam was cute in her minuscule role. Prakash Raj also has a small role and he has done it well.

I almost got up to dance to the song ‘Maston Ka Jhund’. It had such a catchy beat and the dancers were good too.

I was a mite worried that the running time of the movie was 3 hrs plus 7 minutes, but the film moved fast and did not stagnate at any point.

While Farhan Akhtar has given an outstanding presentation throughout the film, the scene in which Milkha breaks down when he visits his home in Pakistan is the best. It was heartbreaking to watch him as he faces his childhood traumas.

VERDICT: Overall, an excellent movie that’s a must watch. I believe it has also been made ‘tax free’ now.

RATING: ****Snazzy

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

Film Review: ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin
Director: Zoya Akhtar

THE STORY: Kabir (Abhay Deol) proposes marriage to Natasha (Kalki Koechlin) and they get engaged much to the thrill of both sets of parents. His best friend Imraan (Farhan Akhtar) goes to the engagement while a third friend Arjun (Hrithik Roshan), living in London, does not attend.

As the film moves on, we get to understand that the Three Musketeers – as the friends are called – have grown up together and are extremely close. Kabir is a millionaire working for his family’s construction business; Imraan works as copywriter for an advertising agency and Arjun wheels and deals at the London Stock Exchange.

The three men plan a holiday in Spain before Kabir gets back home to tie the knot with Natasha. You need to see the film to find out how the holiday changes their lives forever.

MY PERCEPTION: You need to decide whether you want to read from here on as there might be a few spoilers. If you have not seen the film and plan to do so, this is the point you STOP READING.

The movie takes off on a light note with the first half full of witty dialogues that keep the audience laughing away. Thank you Farhan Akhtar for the clean language – it was an absolute relief after Delhi Belly (no offence to that film, of course).

The characters are amazingly sketched. Kabir is all funny and a great tease. But he is a different man in his fiancée’s presence. We realize later that he is not in love with Natasha but has been kind of steam-rollered into making a proposal of marriage. While he is loyal to her, he also takes life quite lightly. Imagine his shock when he finds out that Natasha believes that marriage is so serious that she is ready to give up her career as an Interior Decorator and make him her sole purpose in life. It takes the effort of both his friends and a 3-week holiday away from her for Kabir to get his priorities right. Abhay Deol has delivered one more hit.

Imraan works as a copywriter, and also writes poetry. He is very angry with his mother (Deepti Naval) for not having told him who his real father is. He had believed his mother’s husband to be his father and had been too close to him until his death. He finds out that Salman (Naseeruddin Shah) is his father after the foster one dies. Shocked that his mother could keep this from him, he stays away from her. Later, meeting Salman in person in Spain makes him value his mother better. The meeting between Salman and Imraan shook up not just the latter, but me too. While Salman’s behavior does not fall in with what we believe to be humanitarian values, it’s wholly acceptable from his point of view. “You did ask for the truth,” he says and we catch on. Imraan’s tears touch you very powerfully at this point. Later, when he apologises to Arjun for taking away his girlfriend years ago, you can see the healing take place as the ‘sorry’ is from the heart. Farhan Akhtar Rocks!

Arjun eats, sleeps and breathes money. He has always led life from the poor side of town and he wants to make it BIG before retiring at 40, he insists. He wheels and deals at the stock market and refuses to stop working even during the holiday. It takes Laila (Katrina Kaif) and her deep-sea diving instructions to make Arjun take a new outlook on life. Arjun does not swim as he is afraid. His friends pressure him into joining them on the deep-sea diving adventure and Kabir insists that not knowing swimming is no excuse. Left with no choice, Arjun let’s go of the fierce control that he has over his life for the first time. And learns to live as a result! He sheds tears after the amazing experience under the sea. Hrithik Roshan – what to say? After watching Kites, I had sort of given up on the actor. The film was so disappointing in all ways. I did not watch Guzaarish as I am not a fan of Sanjay Leela Bansali’s work.

But Hrithik Roshan was simply amazing in this film. He is sizzling hooooooootttt for one thing. He emotes beautifully. I suppose Hrithik’s acting skills depends a lot on the director. As the snooty man who is interested more in money than anything else, as the one reduced to tears after deep-sea diving and later the one who crosses over into ‘living life’, Hrithik was simply awesome. Kudos Hrithik!

Katrina Kaif as Laila was very good in her role. You can see that she has worked hard on improving her acting skills and she is getting better and better at it. Of course, she still has some way to go. Congratulations Katrina!

Kalki Koechlin as Natasha was excellent in her role. Way to go Kalki!

The music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy was just perfect for the film. Most of the songs were in the background and a fitting accolade to the meandering roads of Spain as our heroes travel through the country. The ‘senorita’ song and dance sequence was lovely and all the three heroes of the film who have given their voices for the song have performed well. It was Farhan’s voice that stood out amongst the three.

The cinematography was wonderful and it was a pleasure seeing Spain from the film’s angle. The tomatina festival and the bull-race were well-portrayed.

Congratulations Zoya Akhtar for delivering a lovely movie!

VERDICT: If you love life, you will not miss this one. Absolute fun in the first half, the second half sets you thinking very deeply.

RATING: **** Snazzy
(I did not give full 5 stars as I felt that the movie could have been a tighter fit with half an hour less of it)

* 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