Film Review: BESHARAM

Besharam is too mild a gaali for the makers of this film

The film had terrible reviews and Venkat refused to go. Vinny, Viggy and I booked for a morning show on Saturday at PVR Cinemas in Phoenix Market City at Kurla. The highlight of the morning was the nearly empty mall and PVR Cinemas.

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Pallavi Sharda, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Javed Jaffrey, Amitosh Nagpal
Director: Abhinav Kashyap

THE STORY

The film is set in Delhi. Babli (Ranbir Kapoor) and his sidekick Titu (Amitosh Nagpal) are car thieves. There is a reason for it. They are both orphans who are not educated. They have no knowledge of right and wrong. They steal cars, sell them and give the money to the orphanage where they live with a dozen other kids of various ages.

Chulbul (Rishi Kapoor) and Bulbul (Neetu Kapoor) work for the police department and are married to each other. Bheem Singh (Javed Jaffrey) is a ruthless criminal who deals in ‘hawala’ transactions. He kills first and talks later.

Tara Sharma (Pallavi Sharda) lives with her widowed mother. She’s well educated and works for an MNC. She has expensive tastes and owns a Mercedes car.

Watch the film to see what happens when Babli from the wrong side of the tracks falls for Tara AND steals her car unaware that it belongs to the woman he loves.

MY PERCEPTION

 Well, please don’t take my suggestion seriously and go to watch the film. At least, don’t waste good money in going to a theatre to do so. The film is bound to arrive in the small screen in maybe a month or two. You can always shut your TV off the moment you are bored.

Okay, I did not run away from the theatre and that was for one reason – Ranbir Kapoor. The other reason was Javed Jaffrey.

Now let me get all the positive points together. There isn’t much, of course.

Ranbir Kapoor is a superb actor and he has done total justice to the role. Javed Jaffrey’s get-up was nothing short of fabulous and he has done his part extremely well. Newcomer Pallavi Sharda looks cute and she can act. Amitosh Nagpal as Babli’s sidekick is very good.

The film was simply awful! There was a song every few minutes and they were not good at all – neither the music nor the scenes. They were each one of them pure torture.

There was nothing to the story and the film was made quite badly. What’s with the loo scenes, I wonder! Rishi Kapoor has been doing so well in his second series. I don’t want to pay good money to see how he uses the toilet. Ugh!

The fight sequences were too prolonged and the comic timing – if there was one – was quite bad. Himani Shivpuri is such a good actress. She was totally wasted in Besharam.

Besharam is too mild a gaali for the makers of this film. Do I say more?

VERDICT: Watch it at your own risk!

RATING: ** (Shaky)

*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: EK MAIN AUR EKK TU

Has Bollywood finally arrived!!!!!!!!!! A simple, short film with not too many songs

Cast: Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani, Ratna Pathak Shah, Ram Kapoor
Director: Shakun Batra

I know it’s been a while since I wrote film reviews. While I could not write a review for Rockstar as I left for Chennai some hours later, I did not feel like talking about Don 2 and Agneepath as the violence in both films almost did me in.

Seeing the promos for Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu had put me off watching the film totally. My husband was not keen either. But I noticed that Mumbai Mirror had given it four stars. I did not read the review as I did not want to know the story, etc. I waited the week out for Vini to be free to watch it with me today. Am I glad I went!

THE STORY: Rahul Kapoor (Imran Khan) is the only child of his parents (Boman Irani & Ratna Pathak Shah). He has led a repressed life from childhood and his life has been chalked out completely by his parents. Rahul has accepted his way of life without fighting it. He lives in Las Vegas while working for a big firm. Unfortunately for him, he loses his job due to recession. But Rahul is unable to admit the fact to his parents who are actually visiting with him at that point. He pretends that everything is hunky dory until they leave. Soon after, he decides to go to a psychiatrist and his path crosses with Riana’s (Kareena Kapoor). Almost 27 to his 25, Riana has a tremendous impact on Rahul’s life. She is the exact opposite of what he is. And thus begins the romance…..

MY PERCEPTION: The film is simply superb with just two songs that do not distract you away from the script. Do not go by the promos. They don’t give you a clue about how the film actually is. And better still, the film runs for just about an hour and 40 minutes. Can you believe that?

I just loved the story and was very happy with the ending. It is not just one more romance from Karan Johar and Ronnie Screwvala. Ok, I just realized my mistake. I did not know that Ronnie Screwvala was one of the producers. I would have watched the film without any hesitation if I had. And I also need to congratulate debut director Shakun Batra. Way to go, man!

I am never sure whether Imran Khan is a good actor or bad. I suppose he is both depending on his director. Well, the actor did very well in this film. Kudos!

Kareena Kapoor was also excellent in her role as Riana. Keep up the good work, Kareena.

Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah as Imran’s abominable parents did great work of their roles.

VERDICT: A fun watch with an unexpected but perfect ending. I would say a must watch if you like light films.

RATING: **** Snazzy

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

Just giving a brief verdict on the other films that I watched but did not write about…

ROCKSTAR ***** Super
Ranbir Kapoor rocked as the hero. I would go so far as to say that Ranbir has proved that he is the best in all four generations of the Kapoor Khaandaan. The music was amazing and the editing simply superb. AR Rahman deserved all the awards in the world for this one. I am proud to be walking the earth in the same times at this gentleman. Mohit Chauhan’s voice is liquid gold.  Need I say more?

DON 2 ** Shaky
The one question that I wanted to ask SRK after watching this one was “why this kolaveri kolaveri kolaveri da?” I am amazed that Farhan Akhtar made this film. Over and above that, SRK received the Zee Critics Award for Best Actor for his performance in this film. Wonder how much he paid for that one? Mr. Khan, please take a sabbatical of may be 2-3 years and come back to filmdom with a fresh outlook. Happy holidays!

AGNEEPATH **** Snazzy
I still did not want to write a review. Hrithik Roshan proved yet again what an excellent actor he is. Sanjay Dutt was a class apart. I don’t think I have ever seen Rishi Kapoor play a negative role. He was simply superb! But the first prize I will give to Kanika Tiwari who played Hrithik’s sister. She was so cute and acted so well, despite talking very less. As you can see, I have not mentioned Priyanka Chopra – well, she is not worth a mention here.

Film Review: ANJAANA ANJAANI

Anjaana Anjaani

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Zayed Khan
Director: Siddharth Anand

The Story: Akash (Ranbir Kapoor) is a financial whiz-kid whose touch turns to gold on Wall Street. He has his own business in partnership with a few friends. But a wrong move leaves them all with a loan of $ 12 million. The broke and frustrated Akash attempts suicide by jumping off the bridge into the Hudson River. He finds a very much drunk Kiara (Priyanka Chopra) on the bridge. She laughingly edges him on to commit the act. They both go their own ways only to have accidents with the same car and land up in the same hospital.

On recovery, the two strangers get together and try very many ways to commit suicide without success. Of course, there is a reason for Kiara wanting to kill herself. The film goes on to show how the Anjaana and Anjaani fall for each other and live happily ever after.

My Perception: As far as love stories go, the film was not too bad. The only trouble iss, it is a very short story and should have been made into a short film that will have had a run of 40 minutes. It was 2 hrs too long. Don’t mean to be too harsh, but there needs to be some meat to the plot. It is barely a sketch with very few incidents happening – too weak to hold up as a full length Bollywood film. Even after giving allowance for all the songs, the film should not have been more than one hour long.

Priyanka Chopra has proved herself to be an excellent actress over and over again and she is sizzling hot too. I don’t think a no-brainer such as this would make much of a negative impact on her career. But then again, it will never go down in history as one of her better performances.

We have seen way better of Ranbir Kapoor in Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh, Ajab Prem Ki Kajab Kahani and Raajneeti. There was no scope for any acting for this guy in the film. It must be the director’s fault surely.

Zayed Khan was a surprise package. While he was there in only 3-4 scenes, the man proved that he could act. Congratulations!

The music and songs were good, but there were just too many of them.

Verdict: A weak storyline with mediocre direction makes the film a waste of money and time. I am sure it should be out as ‘World Premiere’ on a TV channel pretty soon. Those who are keen would be better off seeing it then. 

Rating: **

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

Film Review: RAAJNEETI: POLITICS... AND BEYOND

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpai, Darshan Jariwala, Katrina Kaif, Sarah Thompson Kane, Nikhila Trikha

Director: Prakash Jha

I managed to see the film along with my family on the day of its release. The multiplex theatre was packed – after so long. And it was obvious from the audience reaction that the movie was very much worth a see.

THE STORY: As the tagline suggests, the movie is beyond politics. I have read somewhere that all the plots and stories around the world are but based on seven unique plots. Every story that has ever been created has been recycled from one of these. Well, this one is based on the biggest Indian epic, The Mahabharata. Veerendra aka Veer (Manoj Bajpai) plays the role of Duryodhana while he befriends the Dalit head Suraj (Ajay Devgan) who had been abandoned by his unmarried mother and brought up by the political family’s driver. You guessed it – he is Karna. The Pratap family of Pandavas include Prithvi (Arjun Rampal) and Samar (Ranbir Kapoor). While Veer is desperate to head the political party practically run by the family, the Prataps oppose him at every point. Gopal (Nana Patekar) happens to be Prithvi and Samar’s Mama - depicting the role of Lord Krishna. The war between the two sides brings about a nasty end to most of the characters while the widowed Indu (Katrina Kaif) who had been married to Prithvi becomes the Chief Minister. Samar goes back to the USA to complete his PhD as he had never been interested in politicking.

OUR PERCEPTION: Everything was absolutely grand - the story, the direction, the editing, the acting, the sequences, the cinematography and what not. You could not afford to get distracted even for a couple of seconds if you don’t want to miss something important, and everything is. The story flow is absolutely gripping and keeps you glued to the screen. The editing is absolutely tight with not one single excess shot. Kudos to the director and editor! The music is left in the background with just one small song that fits in well.

Naseeruddin Shah had a small role and he did quite well.

Nana Patekar as Mama Brij Gopal was simply amazing. I have heard him rattle off a lot of dialogues speedily in many of his films, both as good man and bad man. But in Raajneeti, his silences speak volumes. Impressive!

Arjun Rampal has finally arrived. A director has used him correctly and he has performed extremely well in his role as Prithvi, the politician. Prithvi is a combination of great looks, education, ambition and a streak of meanness that is not overpowering. His need to revenge has been portrayed in such a subtle fashion as one gets to see the result of his violent nature rather than the actual fight sequences. Awesome work, Arjun!

Ajay Devgan was good, nothing exceptional nor anything that he has not done before. His performance has been consistently good and he was excellent as Suraj.

We are seeing Manoj Bajpai in Bollywood after a long time. I thought that his film career had taken a downward spiral after he became an overnight hit in Ram Gopal Verma’s Satya. One could catch glimpses of Viku Mhatre in Raajneeti. Good show!

Katrina Kaif’s acting career has been soaring in Bollywood. But this film is definitely a turning point. She has stepped above her glam roles and has done some serious acting here. She has also worked on her Hindi and it shows. A great effort with stunning results, Katrina!

I always like to keep the best for the last. Yeah, that’s right – Ranbir Kapoor as Samar. The versatile actor is growing by leaps and bounds. It is really not necessary that it is all in the genes. We have seen a number of Kapoors flop too. But this Kapoor has got into the right profession, it seems. The range of emotions that he could portray and the subtlety with which he handles his role are simply amazing. One specific scene that touched me was when he sheds quiet tears looking at his father’s dead body, his lips quivering as his manliness does not allow him to cry out aloud while he is absolutely shaken that his father had been murdered. Keep up the wonderful work, Ranbir!

I have never been too fond of Prakash Jha’s films, finding them too violent for my taste. What tempted me to watch Raajneeti was the fantastic array of star cast. The violence is only in the background and not in the shedding of blood. There are no terrible fight sequences and it is way more subtle as only the vicious results are portrayed. Very glad about that! The film is totally gripping and does not even allow one time to think or predict the next scene. Not that everything was a surprise, but it is very rare that one gets to see such a tightly etched plot. Kudos to Mr. Jha!

Everything that is great need not be perfect. You need something to criticise. There is one such element here too. Suraj, Prithvi and Samar’s mother! Nikhila Trikha takes on the role of Kunti in Mahabharata. While she was doing alright when she did not have much talking to do, the moment she goes to ask Suraj to leave Veer and join his brothers, she falls flat on her face. Her expression and dialogue delivery sucks. A small black mark in an otherwise perfect film!

VERDICT: Paisa Vasool! Bollywood is back in action with this one.

RATING: **** ½ Snazzy Plus
* 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: ROCKET SINGH: Salesman of the Year

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Shazahn Padamsee, Gauhar Khan, Naveen Kaushik, D. Santosh
Director: Shimit Amin

The film is all about Harpreet Singh Bedi (Ranbir Kapoor) who has just managed to get a pass class in graduation. He is simple-minded and straightforward with all his values inculcated by his loving grandfather (Prem Chopra). With no thought of going on for further studies, Harpreet decides that the job of a salesman would be just perfect for him.

He gets a job as a sales trainee at a big company selling computers called AYS. That's where he finds out all about the cutthroat practises of sales. Harpreet being the honest chap that he is, puts his foot completely in his mouth when he writes up a complaint against the general manager of another company when the latter demands a bribe. That's when he faces the malicious side of his boss. Will Harpreet stick to his honesty and carry on with his life or will he buckle under pressure from his boss is what the rest of the film is all about.

Ranbir Kapoor has yet again proved that he is a fine actor by playing his role to perfection. He gives an excellent performance as the young Sardar who is too honest for his own good. The actors playing the part of Sunil Puri (MD of AYS) and Nitin (Sales Manager) have done superb jobs of their roles. Gauhar Khan as Koena, the receptionist-cum-telephone-operator is good. Shazahn Padamsee (daughter of Alyque Padamsee and Sharon Prabhakar) as Shereena has a very small role that is passable. Nothing that requires great acting skills. D. Santosh (Rajguru of Legend of Bhagat Singh fame) has done a commendable job as Reddy. The movie itself is a fun watch as you can well relate to the characters and you can feel the crowd around you feeling happy and sad for Harpreet in turn as his life swings on a balance.

Verdict: Go for it. It most definitely is worth a watch.

Rating: *****

* Silly

** Shaky

*** Smart

**** Snazzy

***** Super

Film Review: AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Dharshan Jariwala, Smita Jaykar, Upen Patel

Director: Rajkumar Santoshi

The Story:
Prem (Ranbir Kapoor) is a high school dropout who hangs around with his friends at his Happy Club. The happy-go-lucky young man has no job and takes no responsibilities much to the disgust of his father Shankar Sharma (Darshan Jariwala). He is adored by his mother Shalini (Smita Jaykar). Prem and his friends do their best to bring lost lovers together. When Jenny (Katrina Kaif) moves into the neighbourhood, Prem falls for her at first sight. She befriends him despite the differences in their backgrounds – she is Christian while he is a Hindu Brahmin; she is well-qualified while he is 9th fail and so on. But very soon, Prem is heartbroken when he finds out that Jenny loves someone else. But being the Happy Club President that he is, he goes on to set her love story straight.

What I liked about the film:
It’s a cute film that makes you laugh non-stop. Despite being a no-brainer, it still manages to keep you in splits. Ranbir Kapoor has done a wonderful job and his acting skills grow by leaps and bounds. Katrina Kaif is her usual glam-doll angrezi self. Darshan Jariwala and Smita Jaykar as Ranbir’s parents have done an excellent job. It is very obvious that the full film has been shot in a studio but still is quite pleasing to the eye. It has a bit of everything – humour, drama, pathos, fight-scenes, villains with also a bit of spirituality thrown in the form of Jesus Christ making an appearance in the end.

What I did not like about the film:
Nothing, actually.

Verdict: If you are looking for a couple of hours of fun without asking too many questions, then you must watch it.

Rating: ****

* Silly

** Shaky

*** Smart

**** Snazzy

***** Super