Film Review: DAAWAT-E-ISHQ

It’s worth a see if you like romances

Cast: Aditya Roy Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Anupam Kher, Karan Wahi
Director: Habib Faisal

I had been quite impressed by the promos of Daawat-e-Ishq and was keen to watch the film. Then there is the hero Aditya Roy Kapoor who is too hot for words. So Vinny and I decided to catch it on Saturday at Big Cinemas in R-City Mall, Ghatkopar as the rest of the family weren’t too keen.

THE STORY

Gulrez (Parineeti Chopra) lives with her father (Anupam Kher) in Hyderabad. She has completed her 12th standard topping her class. Unable to pursue her dreams of becoming a shoe designer, Gullu settles for working in a shoe outlet at a shopping mall. Her court clerk father has saved some gold and cash to be given as dowry for his only child. Many guys come to ‘see’ Gullu as a prospective bride along with their families but reject her because they find a dowry of cash and kind worth Rs. 15 lakh too less.

The final straw is when Gullu begins to date Amjad (Karan Wahi) and is confident that he loves her. When his parents meet her father, they insist that they need only Rs. 80 lakh to fund his education in the USA and nothing personal.

That’s when Gullu decides to take things into her own hands. She persuades her father to go with her to Lucknow. They stay at a 5-star hotel pretending to be millionaires from Dubai. They have a plan to find a ‘bakra’ for a groom. Watch the film to find out more.

MY PERCEPTION

The film has a good storyline and is quite interesting as it runs for just a couple of hours. Parineeti Chopra looks good and acts very well. It was very satisfying the way her character deals with the greedy prospective grooms and their parents, especially Amjad (Karan Wahi).

Anupam Kher as her father is just excellent. The widower loves his child but is too steeped in tradition to quite understand her behaviour. Despite all that, he is open to listening to her. Good one!

Aditya Roy Kapoor is too hot and does complete justice to his role as Tariq aka Taru. After seeing him in two different drunken roles (one was good while the other was very so-so) in Aashiqui 2 & Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani, I didn’t know quite what to expect. But he was simply awesome in this film. Kudos! My only peeve is that there was too less of ARK.

The promos were pretty misleading. I had had the impression that the film was about two foodies from Hyderabad and Lucknow. It’s nothing like that. While Tariq runs a restaurant and is a great cook, there was nothing else to it.

While the story was good, I wish it had been handled better. There was very good detailing with Gullu’s prospective grooms. But later, when Gullu and Taru get to know each other, the sequence flashes by too briefly via a song. That could have been explored more, I feel.

VERDICT: It’s worth a see if you like romances; nothing to feel upset about if you miss it either.

*Silly

**Shaky

***Smart

****Snazzy

*****Super

Film Review: HASEE TOH PHASEE

The film's worth a see despite being a bit of a drag at times

Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Sidharth Malhotra, Adah Sharma
Director: Vinil Mathew

Parineeti Chopra was amazing in the film Ladies vs Ricky Bahl. While I love her acting, I didn’t care for two of her films - Ishaqzaade & Shuddh Desi Romance. I went to watch this one with fingers crossed. Read on to find out more.

THE STORY

The story begins with glimpses of Nikhil and Meeta (Parineeti Chopra) as kids. They are naughtier and more intelligent than the other kids in their families and neighbourhood.

Growing up, Nikhil (Sidharth Malhotra) practises Event Management and has been going steady with model-actress Karishma (Adah Sharma) for seven years. He believes in commitment despite her breaking off their relationship every week. Just when they are about to get married, Karishma’s sister Meeta (Parineeti Chopra) decides to return from wherever she’d been since the past seven years. Karishma is a control freak and gives Nikhil no choice in putting up with her whims. Why would he do that? Because he is a commitment freak. What happens when he’s thrown into Meeta’s company time and again? Watch the film to find out.

MY PERCEPTION

Sidharth Malhotra looks handsome and can act too. He has a good role and has performed well. Kudos! Adah Sharma is not bad although she needs to polish her skills.

Parineeti Chopra was excellent. I got blown away by her natural acting. She’s just awesome whatever she does – having fun, flirting with Nikhil, emoting with her father, getting beaten by her uncle and more. I am not talking about the ‘more’ so as to not reveal the story. Congratulations Parineeti for yet another classy role executed perfectly.

That said, the film could have been a lot tighter. It tends to stray in different directions and the director has not made enough effort to keep it in focus. A tighter script is definitely the answer.

VERDICT: It’s worth a see.

RATING: ***Smart

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

Film Review: SHUDDH DESI ROMANCE

They had a fabulous combination of actors and still managed to botch up the film. That needs talent, I am sure! 

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra, Rishi Kapoor, Vaani Kapoor
Director: Maneesh Sharma

I thought Shuddh Desi Romance was the tagline and kept searching for the name of the film for a while before I realised that that was the movie title. I was keen to see it as it is starring Parineeti Chopra and Sushant Singh Rajput. Vini was also keen on seeing it and we managed to catch it along with a friend a week later on Friday, the 13th at 11 pm at Cinemax Sion at one of the mini theatres.

THE STORY

Raghuram aka Raghu (Sushant Singh Rajput) gets cold feet at his wedding to Tara (Vaani Kapoor) and runs away just before tying the knot. There is a reason to it. He meets Gayatri (Parineeti Chopra) on his way to the wedding and feels the instant chemistry.

Later, he meets Gayatri again a couple of weeks later. Soon, they are living together. After some time, they decide to get married. Again, Raghu is nervous at the mandap, but this time it is Gayatri who runs away.

There’s more, but I will not bore you with it. If you still feel you would not mind watching the film, you can catch it at the theatres. If not, there’s always the idiot box where you can see it a couple of months down the line.

MY PERCEPTION

The film is actually made from a short story – I am sure – that has been expanded into a film that runs for 2 hours and 20 minutes. The same sequences and dialogues repeat over and over. If the film had been any slower, a snail would have beaten it at the race.

I could so relate to the concept of the fear of permanence of marriage in today's youngsters. It is a huge commitment and quite difficult to face when you want to feel free.

They had a fabulous combination of actors – Parineeti Chopra, Sushant Singh Rajput, Rishi Kapoor and Vaani Kapoor – and still managed to botch up the film. That needs talent, I am sure.

Parineeti Chopra was excellent in the role of Gayatri – a woman living by herself, running through boyfriends as she is disappointed with them, every time. She’s independent and fun-loving. She is not able to relate to marriage, as in a permanent commitment.

I saw Sushant Singh Rajput in Kai Po Che. While I did not like the film, the actor was good in it. He’s handsome and dashing and can act very well. The chemistry between Parineeti and Sushant sizzles. Their eye expressions are definitely worth a watch.

Newcomer Vaani Kapoor is quite good, considering that it’s her first film. Her character Tara is also interesting, quite cheerful and could not care less whatever happens.

Rishi Kapoor literally glows in the character of Goyal, a marriage contractor. His second innings in Bollywood promises to be even better than his earlier stint.

Then why did I not like the film?

I couldn’t stand it, in fact. With all these features, the presentation was terrible. It’s like you have the right ingredients to prepare a dish and it fails because of overcooking. The film deserved to be 40 minutes long. There was only that much story and dialogues in it. The rest of the time, everything was repeated. I am sure you get what I mean.

I realised why the theatres are crowded even one week later. A lot of cheapskates land up there to watch the smooching scenes and making lewd comments throughout. There were at least three such guys in front of us and it was obvious that they were not watching the film for the first time. It was just too irritating for words.

I am glad that we could go only to the mini theatre where the ticket costs Rs. 150 per person instead of the usual Rs. 250. But still I feel the film was not worth it.

VERDICT: Watch it at your own risk!

RATING: ** Shaky

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

Film Review: ISHAQZAADE

One more mega flop from Yash Raj Films... I am not surprised as the producers appear to be living in the last century

Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Arjun Kapoor
Director: Habib Faisal

We usually see all the movies at Cinemax as it is very close to home. The film was released today and I was happy that Venkat and I got a chance to see it with friends at PVR Cinemas at Phoenix Mills. It looked like that was the highlight of the evening. Read on to find out more.

THE STORY

Even as kids, Zoya (Parineeti Chopra) and Parma (Arjun Kapoor) used to strike sparks. Living in a small town in North India, both belong to families of politicians. While Parma’s grandfather wants to win the elections, Zoya’s father is equally enthusiastic. It’s very common for bullets to fly around at the least provocation. Both Parma and Zoya grow up to become proud and egotistical brats who throw their weight around. One day, in a fit, Zoya slaps Parma. He plans his revenge and marries her in two different ceremonies – one Muslim and one Hindu. He ditches her immediately after making love to her. Not just that, he also has her Hindu wedding pictures sent to the mobiles of her family members – just her pictures. Her ashamed family members are ready to murder Zoya while Parma’s grandfather goes on to win the elections. That’s when Zoya sets out to take revenge. Will Zoya get her vengeance or will Parma change his ways is what the rest of the film is all about.

MY PERCEPTION

I usually do at least a small bit of research before going to watch a film. As I knew Parineeti Chopra was the heroine, I did not bother and went ahead to watch the film, much to my regret.

The film has a story that would have done well in the 1970s or maybe even the 80s. I am amazed how film houses refuse to evolve with the changing trends. Today’s Bollywood brings forth films like Vicky Donor, Agent Vinod, Tezz and the like. I wonder what kind of an audience will want to watch this film with such a horrible theme. Even Parineeti Chopra’s debut film Ladies vs Ricky Bahl produced by Yash Raj Films was such a fun watch.

The only thing going for the movie is Parineeti Chopra. She looks beautiful and acts superbly well. She has lost oodles of weight or rather the puppy fat that she had carried in her first film and appears great. A special Kudos! Sadly, I was misled into watching the film because Parineeti was acting in it.

Another person who has done well is Gauhar Khan. She has proved that she can give the Sheilas and Munnis a run for their money while they can never match her acting ability. Yeah, Gauhar Khan can both dance item numbers as well as act. Congratulations!

Arjun Kapoor has a very very long way to go. And he needs to go to an acting school before that. Need I say more?

VERDICT: If you like a lot of violence in a small town setting with an unhappy story thrown in, then maybe you should watch this film. Otherwise, STAY WAY and donate the cash to your favourite charity. That way, you save a lot of headache.

RATING: **Shaky (One whole star belongs to Parineeti Chopra)

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

Film Review: LADIES vs RICKY BAHL

A light romance that was fun from the way go with excellent casting

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Dippanita Sharma, Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Sharma
Director: Maneesh Sharma

It’s been over a week since the film’s release. We had been wondering whether to watch it or not. Last night, Venkat and I decided to go to the film at Cinemax Sion.

THE STORY: Ricky Bahl (Ranveer Singh) goes under various aliases. He has only one purpose – to con young women into parting with their cash. He does not cheat them into physical relationships or any such thing. Ricky studies his targets thoroughly before jumping into the fray. He flatters them and manages to loot them. As Sunny, he becomes Dimple’s (Parineeti Chopra) boyfriend, impresses her parents and loots 20 lakh. He sells a fake MF Hussain painting to Raina’s (Dipannita Sharma) company for a crore and twenty lakh. But what he had not foreseen was Raina’s aggressive nature. She sets out to get in touch with the other women he has cheated and sets up a plan. That’s when the young widow Saira (Aditi Sharma) joins the group. She had been cheated of 10 lakh rupees by Iqbal, another alias of Ricky. Raina, Dimple and Saira get together and hire Ishika Desai (Anushka Sharma) to con Ricky Bahl ala Not-a-Penny-More-Not-a-Penny-Less-style. Watch the film to see how far they succeed.

MY PERCEPTION: The film ran for approximately two hours and was well scripted, directed and edited. The only fault I could find there was the songs that keep cropping up mid-way. But I suppose one has to learn to live with them in Bollywood.

Dipannita Sharma has come a very long way since December 16. She has quite a chunky role in this film and she has performed quite well. With her height, I would presume that Dipannita must be a model. But she has terrible dress sense. The first few scenes were good. Later, at Goa, she was dressed horribly in every single scene.

Aditi Sharma as Saira was excellent. She probably will never make a heroine, but she looked very cute and acted very well.

Of these three women, the first prize goes to Parineeti Chopra as Dimple Chaddha. She was just too good as an irritating Punjabi, rich, spoilt brat. She acted extremely well and her dialogue delivery was just perfect.

Anushka Sharma looked gorgeous and acted very well too. Her on-screen chemistry with Ranveer Singh was superb. Her eyes are too expressive and her dressing sense gets better and better. Keep up the great work, Anushka!

Ranveer Singh was very good in his first film, Band Baaja Baaraat. In this, he is even more polished. He has walked through his role casually and done a fabulous job. Kudos!

I congratulate Yash Raj Films for bringing forth yet another light romance with excellent casting that I thoroughly enjoyed!

VERDICT: You should watch it if you are a fan of Ranveer Singh or Anushka Sharma and especially if you are fond of romances. A light movie!

RATING: *** Smart

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