Ekkees Topon Ki Salaami

While my first movie of the day (Tamanchey) had very little even remotely good, my 2^nd one yesterday was almost the opposite.  I say almost because like a lot of cinema these days, it had a lot going for it but the finishing was just not there.  It left me with mixed feelings but definitely more good than bad.

Ladies V/S Ricky Bahl

A couple of weeks back I first watch a Female dominated Hollywood movie (The Help) and then a female dominated Bollywood Movie – Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl. I am at no point of time trying to compare the two in any manner whatsoever – don’t get me wrong here – there can be no comparison. But then, it isn’t surprising to see something that was long due I guess. We have seen quite a few this year haven’t we? Starting with No One Killed Jessica, Saat Khoon Maaf, to as late as early December with Dirty Picture which finally broke the myth that female dominated movies cannot be a success. LVRB would have also achieved similar results I guess.
The 2nd installment of the 3 movie contract signed by the heart throbs of last year no longer – Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharm (does anyone know if the contract is still in place for the 3rd one or has YRF decided to let them go?) – seems to have been well received by the audiences. Despite YRFs desperate attempts to ensure that Indian audiences do not get well finished movies, LVRB seems to be well paced for the better part of the movie and has some good performances from the entire cast. Ranveer Singh takes his presence a notch higher in Bollywood with a performance that is a tad more confident than BBB. Anuskha Sharma continues to cement her position as the 2nd lady of Bollywood – and I am serious when I say this – she has the confidence, is spunky as hell, is prepared to work hard and has only Vidya Balan to compete with (not much of a contest honestly after Dirty Picture). No one else really comes close from a perspective of acting. I am quite certain she will do well.

The support cast is a mixture of debutantes and ad film actors. Dippanita Sharma Atwal finally gets some kind of a role in a Bollywood movie but she flatters to deceive in her portrayal of an IIT – IIM Engineer MBA. Ask her about either of these institutes and I am quite certain she will be left gaping. I moot a proposal that movie makers of any kind should first seek permission from the crown jewels of Indian education before slanderous claims that may significantly erode their fan following. And then there is a reasonably talented lady who seems to have used her relationship status i.e. cousins with Piggy Chops well to her advantage. And lastly there is the one who is better known for playing the pregnant wife in the latest Tata Sky Ad. All of them seem reasonably confident and come up with acceptable performances.

But one cannot make up for the lack of strong execution on an otherwise strong storyline. Editing gaffes, consistency errors, below par screenplay and dialogues – everything that you could expect from an average Bollywood masala movie – you will find in LVRB. The fact that the music is just about average doesn’t help either. Maneesh Sharma’s 2nd movie will make some money at the BO for sure but will it get him more movies – not so sure. If its any saving grace, it is as good as MI Ghost Protocol. 5 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2557845017/

Mausam

Have you guys heard the story about The Hare and The Tortoise? I cannot say with conviction that everyone who reads this blog would have. But I can say this with absolute conviction that Pankaj Kapur has not only heard the story but also took it so much to heart that he applies it in every aspect of his life. But there are a couple of learnings from the story that Pankaj Sir seems to have forgotten about the story. Firstly the moral was “Slow AND STEADY wins the race” – not just SLOW wins the race. Secondly, winning happens if and only if the Hare decides to take a nap and not the goddamn Tortoise!!!! Mausam in a nutshell is the best sleeping pill one can have after a hard day’s work. It is the ultimate prescription that a doctor can give for insomnia. Guaranteed results or your money back. This one is in the league of “Tree of Life” folks – complete and utter yawn fest.

It was a full house for the 2040 show @ PVR Mulund – much to my pleasant surprise and of course to the happiness of the multiplex owners. The campaigns and probably the decent music of the movie seemed to have made an impression on quite a large bunch of suckers – chief amongst them being yours truly. But most of us who walked in expecting a reasonable romantic movie were in for a really rude shock. Let me speak about the positives first because that would be a quick one. There was cinematography and credit to the team to have created a movie that may not have been a sight for sore eyes but was visually quite appealing. And then there was the music which was good but the pessimist in me is quite certain that Pritam would have used his international resources quite well to come up with the final product. Honestly, I cannot find much more other than these two factors.

I am quite convinced that the only person who can make Shahid Kapoor act is Vishal Bharadwaj. I am also quite certain that there is a gene pool mismatch between father and son which is worth investigating for those who would be very curious. That the additional A in Sonam A Kapoor is not making things work too much for her is quite obvious. And Mausam hasn’t sent her charts sky rocketing in any manner. Most of the support cast seems non existant with Anupam Kher getting precisely 3 minutes and 38.497 seconds of screen time. Aditi Sharma was definitely the pick of the support cast as the desperate Rajjo who cannot look beyond our hero Harry. I have immense respect for Pankaj Kapur as an actor. But his directorial debut has been nothing short of a disaster. Editing is all but absent. I would strongly recommend Mausam for the sleep deprived population of the country. 3 on 10.

Trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZwSV5qeMoc