Film Review: BAJATEY RAHO

The first prize goes to Dolly Ahluwalia who is just superb as Mrs. Baweja

Cast: Vinay Pathak, Ranveer Shorey, Dolly Ahluwalia, Tusshar Kapoor, Ravi Kishan, Vishakha Singh
Director: Shashant Shah

I was not sure that I wanted to watch the film after I read Mumbai Mirror’s review. But Venkat was keen on seeing a movie and there was not much of a choice during the weekend. I have to say that Bajatey Raho was not a bad film at all.

THE STORY

Sabharwal (Ravi Kishan) is a ruthless businessman who is also a fraud. Using the honest Baweja and Saira as front men, he gets the public to invest cash in his bank to the tune of 15 crore. The money disappears and Baweja and Saira are arrested. Baweja dies of cardiac arrest while Saira languishes in jail. The cheated public file cases against Mrs. Baweja (Dolly Ahluwalia), her son Sukhi (Tusshar Kapoor) and Saira’s husband Mintoo (Vinay Pathak). That’s when the three of them get together with Ballu (Ranvir Shorey) to get the money back from Sabharwal a la ‘Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less’ style.

MY PERCEPTION

The film is not great but makes for a fun watch. As far as acting goes, Dolly Ahluwalia is simply superb as Mrs. Baweja. I thought she was really good in Vicky Donor. She’s as good if not better in this film.

Ravi Kishan as the villain was simply superb. His irritating smirk goes a long way in making the character so real.

The rest of the cast were not too bad. The best part of the film was its length - just an hour and 47 minutes.

VERDICT: It’s worth a see if you don’t mind shelling out the cash.

RATING: ***Smart

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

Film Review: AGENT VINOD

The Desi James Bond is most definitely worth a watch

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Ravi Kissen, Kareena Kapoor, Ram Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Gulshan Grover, Adil Hussain
Director: Sriram Raghavan

Venkat was very keen to watch this film on the day of its release. After a long time, all four of us could go for this one together. As usual, I have to thank Cinemax Sion for organizing the tickets at short notice.

THE STORY:

A nuclear bomb that could destroy everything within a 10 km radius has been created in Russia. It is up for auction and criminals are desperate to get their hands on it. Agent Vinod (Saif Ali Khan) works for RAW, India’s intelligence agency. He is sent on a mission to save the world.

Vinod takes off across Afghanistan, St. Petersburg, Morocco, New Delhi and a few other places, chasing criminals. Into the fray jumps Ruby Mendes (Kareena Kapoor). But is she friend or foe? Watch the film to find out what’s happening.

MY PERCEPTION:

Well, as you can see, I have mentioned very little of the story as it is barely 24 hours since the film’s release.

First of all, Congratulations to Saif Ali Khan on producing this excellent film! His acting has got to yet another level and Saif has done a great job of the desi James Bond. I would say that it’s not very fair to compare this film with James Bond, but everyone is automatically doing just that. Even considering that, Agent Vinod is a very good film.

Kareena Kapoor has a good role and she has executed that perfectly. Kudos!

Ram Kapoor has done an excellent job of his very short role as a mafia don based in Russia. Prem Chopra was very good as the criminal based in Morocco.

While Ravi Kissen, Rajat Kapoor and Gulshan Grover had minuscule roles, the characters fitted in very well with the flow of the film.

The music does not distract you from the film in any way and blends well. In fact, the drum beat that was used throughout formed a perfect background score. Simply loved it!

Adil Hussain as the Colonel was a class apart. I had seen this actor playing Vidya Balan’s husband in Ishqiya. He makes a cool villain.

The film has it all – a clear-cut plot, slick action, a savvy hero, a stylish heroine, villains galore, song, dance, foreign locations and more. The cinematography was excellent.

More importantly, the film runs for 2 hours and 40 minutes but still manages to keep the audience hooked. And that is something! The film moves quite fast and the director deserves a special Kudos for that one. Keep up the good work, Sriram Raghavan!

VERDICT: What are you waiting for? Catch the next show

RATING: **** Snazzy

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