Bang Bang! lost me
about 30 seconds into the movie. A senior intelligence officer, Colonel Viren
Nanda (Jimmy Shergill) walks into the MI6 headquarters to collect a gift – Omar
(Danny Denzongpa). Along the way through
253 layers of security, the colonel asks, “Woh London mein kya kar raha thha”?
If there could have been anything more insulting to the Indian Secret Service
(ISS) I would really like to know.
Showing posts with label Jimmy Shergill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jimmy Shergill. Show all posts
Thursday, 2 October 2014
Monday, 7 January 2013
Rajdhani Express
There is nothing much that director Ashok Kohli can look forward to after his debut in Bollywood. Maybe he needs to destroy all evidence of being associated with a movie titled Rajdhani Express (RE) and the cast and crew associated with it. But the cast and crew will be less of a worry. They would have died of shame anyways after watching themselves.
Hence my hypothesis that the people associated with this disaster of a start for 2013 for Bollywood have not seen their own handiwork. There should be a rule in Bollywood or some contact with the censor board that prevents such jokes on cinema from being released at the beginning of a calendar year or any auspicious day. There should in fact be a censor board arm that prevents release of such disasters.
The movie begins with our ace tennis star who has done his image and future no good by being part of this venture. He starts with a guttural laughter that is intended to create fear. I assume that because he is shown with his hands and legs tied up to a chair. But what he doesn’t know that the audience is laughing at him at the end of the day. In the same guttural way that he attempted to laugh.
Turns out he is Keshav (Paes) works for a local small time Don in the capital city called Bhaijee (Kiran Kumar). Now Bhaijee’s daughter Reena (Sayali Bhagat) and our man have a love hate relationship. They grew up together. He was the domestic under age help. She was the rich man’s daughter. And from then on the divide has been obvious. So when Bhaijee finds out about the hanky panky under his nose, he ostracizes Keshav and sets him up to be caught in the Rajdhani Express carrying ammo.
If by now, you are not tearing your hair apart, then you definitely will, when u see Keshav’s Ist AC Co-Passengers. Banerjee (Priyanshu Chatterjee) who is a Bollywood screen writer. Munish (Sudanshu Pandey) who is a fashion designer. Sunita (Pooja Bose) who is a Bollywood Item girl.
Attempting to add spice to this lousy curry is Deputy Commissioner Yadav (Jimmy Shergill) who must be regretting the day he signed this deal. And there is Shilpa Shukla who plays a Sub Inspector with her right hand in her pocket at all times looking grumpy as ever – I am sure because Kohli asked her to put her hand in her pocket and she didn’t.
She also had reason enough because Kohli asked her to mouth what will be the dialogue of the year, "Loyalty se behter sincerity hai. Loyalty is for dogs. Sincerity is for human beings". Please Please Please tell me you have pulled all your hair out by now. If not, please get a medical mental check-up lined up ASAP.
RE is the kind of movie that will actually make you tear your hair apart in agony. It may even send you on a witch hunt for Kohli because the cast has otherwise given reasonable performances to date. The only difference this time is a Kohli (maybe bad times for the entire clan). There is an absence of everything that goes into a movie. So adding to the list that has 2 movies to date on my blog, we have a 0 on 10 to begin 2013 with.
Trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-rXXW7fBtM
Hence my hypothesis that the people associated with this disaster of a start for 2013 for Bollywood have not seen their own handiwork. There should be a rule in Bollywood or some contact with the censor board that prevents such jokes on cinema from being released at the beginning of a calendar year or any auspicious day. There should in fact be a censor board arm that prevents release of such disasters.
The movie begins with our ace tennis star who has done his image and future no good by being part of this venture. He starts with a guttural laughter that is intended to create fear. I assume that because he is shown with his hands and legs tied up to a chair. But what he doesn’t know that the audience is laughing at him at the end of the day. In the same guttural way that he attempted to laugh.
Turns out he is Keshav (Paes) works for a local small time Don in the capital city called Bhaijee (Kiran Kumar). Now Bhaijee’s daughter Reena (Sayali Bhagat) and our man have a love hate relationship. They grew up together. He was the domestic under age help. She was the rich man’s daughter. And from then on the divide has been obvious. So when Bhaijee finds out about the hanky panky under his nose, he ostracizes Keshav and sets him up to be caught in the Rajdhani Express carrying ammo.
If by now, you are not tearing your hair apart, then you definitely will, when u see Keshav’s Ist AC Co-Passengers. Banerjee (Priyanshu Chatterjee) who is a Bollywood screen writer. Munish (Sudanshu Pandey) who is a fashion designer. Sunita (Pooja Bose) who is a Bollywood Item girl.
Attempting to add spice to this lousy curry is Deputy Commissioner Yadav (Jimmy Shergill) who must be regretting the day he signed this deal. And there is Shilpa Shukla who plays a Sub Inspector with her right hand in her pocket at all times looking grumpy as ever – I am sure because Kohli asked her to put her hand in her pocket and she didn’t.
She also had reason enough because Kohli asked her to mouth what will be the dialogue of the year, "Loyalty se behter sincerity hai. Loyalty is for dogs. Sincerity is for human beings". Please Please Please tell me you have pulled all your hair out by now. If not, please get a medical mental check-up lined up ASAP.
RE is the kind of movie that will actually make you tear your hair apart in agony. It may even send you on a witch hunt for Kohli because the cast has otherwise given reasonable performances to date. The only difference this time is a Kohli (maybe bad times for the entire clan). There is an absence of everything that goes into a movie. So adding to the list that has 2 movies to date on my blog, we have a 0 on 10 to begin 2013 with.
Trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-rXXW7fBtM
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Dangerous Ishhq 3D
I am totally convinced that I am a complete sucker for punishment. As I was growing up and took to my movie affliction really seriously in the early 90s, the person who I hated the most would have been the elder of the Kapoor Khandan ki betiyaan. Many moons ago, the founding father of India’s first family had put down a rule that “Koi Kapoor Khandaan ki Beti will not enter Bollywood” (No daughter from the Kapoor family will enter Bollywood).
But then a rebel faction of a deranged wife and her two daughters decided to move away from this archaic rule. What they forgot and refused to give credit to is that the senior most Kapoor would have thought about something before the not so great rule. He had the vision even before his grand daughters were born. A vision that none of the women in the family would be safe in the big bad world of Bollywood and that the acting genes find its way only to the men in the family. The women would never know how to act.
After sustaining the elder of the 2 sisters for over a decade, and a welcome decade of a break in between, we have to go through the trauma of sustaining her in the latest of Vikram Bhatt’s methods of torture. It goes by the name of Dangerous Ishhq (note the spelling) and before I forget – 3D. I saw it in 2D and Vikram ji in his most cost conscious method has done nothing much to differentiate between the 2D and 3D version. It seems tackily executed because some work done to create the 3D effect continues to exist in the 2D version as well.
Enough of the Vikram Bhatt and Karisma bashing. Lets move to the story or the lack of it. There is this woman who looks well into her 30s if not 40s who is actually picked up by Manish Malhotra to be the show stopper. All of 4 ft and nearly 40 is not a great combination per se. But what the heck. Whats life without a bit of risk. So what if the person needs to wear 7” heels and still doesn’t get to 5 ft. Anyways, Sanjana (Karisma) is not only a sought after model but is also required to go to Paris at the drop of a hat.
But Before she leaves, her boyfriend who looks half her age (now now we are open minded about these things here. Don’t get me wrong) gets kidnapped. News is that he is a massive industrialist. Enter cop in command (Jimmy Shergill) who has no qualms of involving a dim witted woman in the crime scene. Especially after she starts getting visions about her boy friend from a past life which will eventually transcend 6 centuries and 3 lives. Aaaaargh!!!!
As always, a concept that may have passed off as a good one but then one Vikram Bhatt and a cast of insipid actors ensured that whatever little hope existed would not see the light of day. It is a truly dangerous expedition this one. Even if one were to pay you for it. But then if you like your cheap thrills, you can go ahead. 2 on 10.
Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi23307033/
But then a rebel faction of a deranged wife and her two daughters decided to move away from this archaic rule. What they forgot and refused to give credit to is that the senior most Kapoor would have thought about something before the not so great rule. He had the vision even before his grand daughters were born. A vision that none of the women in the family would be safe in the big bad world of Bollywood and that the acting genes find its way only to the men in the family. The women would never know how to act.
After sustaining the elder of the 2 sisters for over a decade, and a welcome decade of a break in between, we have to go through the trauma of sustaining her in the latest of Vikram Bhatt’s methods of torture. It goes by the name of Dangerous Ishhq (note the spelling) and before I forget – 3D. I saw it in 2D and Vikram ji in his most cost conscious method has done nothing much to differentiate between the 2D and 3D version. It seems tackily executed because some work done to create the 3D effect continues to exist in the 2D version as well.
Enough of the Vikram Bhatt and Karisma bashing. Lets move to the story or the lack of it. There is this woman who looks well into her 30s if not 40s who is actually picked up by Manish Malhotra to be the show stopper. All of 4 ft and nearly 40 is not a great combination per se. But what the heck. Whats life without a bit of risk. So what if the person needs to wear 7” heels and still doesn’t get to 5 ft. Anyways, Sanjana (Karisma) is not only a sought after model but is also required to go to Paris at the drop of a hat.
But Before she leaves, her boyfriend who looks half her age (now now we are open minded about these things here. Don’t get me wrong) gets kidnapped. News is that he is a massive industrialist. Enter cop in command (Jimmy Shergill) who has no qualms of involving a dim witted woman in the crime scene. Especially after she starts getting visions about her boy friend from a past life which will eventually transcend 6 centuries and 3 lives. Aaaaargh!!!!
As always, a concept that may have passed off as a good one but then one Vikram Bhatt and a cast of insipid actors ensured that whatever little hope existed would not see the light of day. It is a truly dangerous expedition this one. Even if one were to pay you for it. But then if you like your cheap thrills, you can go ahead. 2 on 10.
Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi23307033/
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
I think here is a movie that turns out to be a slight disappointment simply because of the sheer expectation that was built up before I managed to see it last week. It released right at the beginning of a 2 week movie drought for this writer. One of those periods which I dread because the choice that I need to make is between sleeping for 6 hours v/s 3 hours and the body is just not capable of handling those long long days without sleep. All courtesy that magic four letter word – WORK (what was your dirty mind thinking). But during those days, I was probably the only person at work who had not seen Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster. And the rave reviews of the movie only aided in getting my expectations to a high. Therefore when I walked into the movie hall, I was expecting a 6 on 10 at least, if not a 7 on 10. Ergo the disappointment of getting a movie which was probably a 5 on 10 to be absolutely fair.
Tigmanshu Dhulia’s debut as director was the Jimmy Shergill movie Haasil which, I was given to understand, was an extremely intense movie and a welcome change for Jimmy Shergill who had till then been labeled as a chocolate boy hero thanks to his mushy roles in the likes of Mohabbatein. Something that I have personally held against him all this while – Jimmy Shergill that is. Nevertheless, coming back to Dhulia’s capability to direct a motion picture – lets be fair and call it solid. He could definitely use some more effort in paying close attention to the final product along with the editing team to cut certain parts which got this movie into drift mode more times than I was comfortable. You could catch yourself just about drifting off at least a couple of times in the movie. I personally felt that he could have done with about 15 minutes off.
His capability to get the actors to emote on screen doesn’t seem to be questionable from what I saw in SBG. I have always felt that Mahie Gill was a one movie wonder and she did show signs of the commitment behind Paro, that got her fame and credibility in the first place. I guess the credit here goes to Dhulia. And I would say the same of Jimmy Shergill and surprise surprise – Randeep Hooda who for my money’s worth was the pick of the cast. Where were you all this time Hooda Saheb??? Release the true Hooda and his capabilities out more often I say. The only wasted opportunity by any of the cast would have been Shweta Narayan who could have done so much better with her small but pivotal role but I guess Dhulia could not get her to come up with the goods. The cinematography was again solid. And that’s what the movie was I guess – at the risk of repeating myself – SOLID. Nothing more. Nothing less. 5 on 10. Watch it. Doesn’t matter if it is on cable. Worth a dekko.
Trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MpB95_ArXA
Tigmanshu Dhulia’s debut as director was the Jimmy Shergill movie Haasil which, I was given to understand, was an extremely intense movie and a welcome change for Jimmy Shergill who had till then been labeled as a chocolate boy hero thanks to his mushy roles in the likes of Mohabbatein. Something that I have personally held against him all this while – Jimmy Shergill that is. Nevertheless, coming back to Dhulia’s capability to direct a motion picture – lets be fair and call it solid. He could definitely use some more effort in paying close attention to the final product along with the editing team to cut certain parts which got this movie into drift mode more times than I was comfortable. You could catch yourself just about drifting off at least a couple of times in the movie. I personally felt that he could have done with about 15 minutes off.
His capability to get the actors to emote on screen doesn’t seem to be questionable from what I saw in SBG. I have always felt that Mahie Gill was a one movie wonder and she did show signs of the commitment behind Paro, that got her fame and credibility in the first place. I guess the credit here goes to Dhulia. And I would say the same of Jimmy Shergill and surprise surprise – Randeep Hooda who for my money’s worth was the pick of the cast. Where were you all this time Hooda Saheb??? Release the true Hooda and his capabilities out more often I say. The only wasted opportunity by any of the cast would have been Shweta Narayan who could have done so much better with her small but pivotal role but I guess Dhulia could not get her to come up with the goods. The cinematography was again solid. And that’s what the movie was I guess – at the risk of repeating myself – SOLID. Nothing more. Nothing less. 5 on 10. Watch it. Doesn’t matter if it is on cable. Worth a dekko.
Trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MpB95_ArXA
Monday, 4 April 2011
Game
A seemingly successful actor – and I wonder how you can give this role to Jimmy Shergill – Vikram Kapoor kills a random girl in a pathetic display of drunken driving somewhere in Mumbai on the 22nd August 2007. A despicable looking politician is fighting elections in Thailand – uh? Thailand of all places – and he goes by the name of O P Ramsay (Bomman Irani). And then there is the so called Crime Reporter – how exotic – Tisha Khanna (Shahana Goswami) who has been completely distraught since her mother’s death. She is completely in denial but finds herself Driving Under the Influence way too often for the comfort of the London Police. Even more surprisingly, the London Police seem to be very kind to her and keep letting her go for some weird reason. By the way, is this just me or does everyone suddenly believe that there is too much drunk driving happening around in this movie – hmmm – whatever. Rounding off the quartet is the young Indian owner of a discotheque in Istanbul which is seemingly a front for the drug mafia. He goes by the name of Niel Menon (Abhishekh Bachchan) – good lord now there are mallus in Istanbul also??? No offence meant to my friends from across my state border – even I am almost mallu btw :P. Well this Menon finds himself owing $20 million to the Columbian Drug Mafia – now where did the Columbians come into play here. Anyways, he is an expert in self defence and he manages to get himself out of the attempt on his life using techniques which can be seen in any Steven Seagal Movie and can be comfortably achieved using some slick camera work as well.
And where exactly is this display how far the Indian’s have reached across the world actually headed to? It is moving towards the exotic island of Samos in Greece where yet another Indian worth $16 billion – and yes this time is the B word and not the M word – who goes by the name of Kabir Malhotra (Anupam Kher) has just been given confirmation by his “Executive Assistant” Samara Shroff (Gauhar Khan) that the four would be landing into Athens soon. Very soon. A very pensive Kabir Malhotra declares – Let the Game Begin – And suddenly you are wondering if you are @ the Olympics. What with several Greek references in the first few minutes.
Well, Game then follows the route of any standard Bollywood attempt for a crime caper or a murder mystery. Extremely predictable for the just above average movie goer and quite long drawn as well. With both direction and acting seemingly absent from the movie, you start wondering what is keeping you stuck to your seat and then maybe your rational side tells you it is the 200 bucks that you paid for the tickets and the hope that it will actually not land up meeting your predictions and just about surprise you. But that’s not going to happen I assure you. The acting, in fact, gets worse with the movement of Kangana Ranaut – Senior Officer of the International Vigilance Services – walks in and starts off with her severe emphasis on syllables. I wonder if there is a term for people who speak in the manner that she does. Sarah Jane Dias doesn’t have any respectable amount of screen time. If anything saves the movie it would be the natural performances of Boman Irani and Anupam Kher who people expect to deliver at these levels anyways. Nothing worth mentioning per se in the movie. I give it a 4 on 10. Definitely missable. You could catch it on cable or on DVD when it gets out and save some money.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2743639321/
And where exactly is this display how far the Indian’s have reached across the world actually headed to? It is moving towards the exotic island of Samos in Greece where yet another Indian worth $16 billion – and yes this time is the B word and not the M word – who goes by the name of Kabir Malhotra (Anupam Kher) has just been given confirmation by his “Executive Assistant” Samara Shroff (Gauhar Khan) that the four would be landing into Athens soon. Very soon. A very pensive Kabir Malhotra declares – Let the Game Begin – And suddenly you are wondering if you are @ the Olympics. What with several Greek references in the first few minutes.
Well, Game then follows the route of any standard Bollywood attempt for a crime caper or a murder mystery. Extremely predictable for the just above average movie goer and quite long drawn as well. With both direction and acting seemingly absent from the movie, you start wondering what is keeping you stuck to your seat and then maybe your rational side tells you it is the 200 bucks that you paid for the tickets and the hope that it will actually not land up meeting your predictions and just about surprise you. But that’s not going to happen I assure you. The acting, in fact, gets worse with the movement of Kangana Ranaut – Senior Officer of the International Vigilance Services – walks in and starts off with her severe emphasis on syllables. I wonder if there is a term for people who speak in the manner that she does. Sarah Jane Dias doesn’t have any respectable amount of screen time. If anything saves the movie it would be the natural performances of Boman Irani and Anupam Kher who people expect to deliver at these levels anyways. Nothing worth mentioning per se in the movie. I give it a 4 on 10. Definitely missable. You could catch it on cable or on DVD when it gets out and save some money.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2743639321/
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Tanu Weds Manu
The trailers of Tanu Weds Manu have been around for so long now that people already know the story for sure. There is a slim chance that you would have missed them in the halls. And if you are a movie addict like this writer, then you would have probably been tearing your hair apart by now, wondering when the movie would be releasing finally. It finally did yesterday. Phew.
Director Aanand Rai (I wonder why people are so hell bent on numerology) uses a star cast which doesn’t have too many well known names (except Madhavan and Kangana) but has all the faces that you would have seen in some movie or the other in the recent past. The fast paced first half starts off with the build up to Tanuja Trivedi (Kangana Ranaut) who is the kind of girl that most parents would want to be rid off sooner than later. A graduate from Delhi University, she is the kind of girl who would give the best of guys a scare. Smart, spunky, good looking and with a sharp tongue, she is far from being any man’s dream girl. She drinks, She smokes, She dopes. And that combination is quite lethal for a traditional UP family. Oh and did I mention the fact that she has had a few affairs and has actually run away from home a couple of times in vain. So much for being a “Sundar, Susheel, Sanskaron wali ladki” (Beautiful, Talented, Cultured girl – pardon my translation if incorrect)
And to fall into this trap is Dr. Manu Sharma ( Madhavan) who has come back from London thanks to parental pressures to get married – although I find that a bit hard to believe coz his parents seem to be the understanding kinds. His mom is quite a nag but then which mom isn’t especially in these matters? Dad is super cool and so is Pappi (Deepak Dobriyal) his family friend. The foursome make their way to Kanpur for the first step in the girl hunt – The Trivedi household – where there is complete and utter chaos coz – Jijaaji aa rahe hain (the brother in law is on his way – already? I thought the marriage is some time away). The girl is obviously in no mood to get married. Not because she is against the concept. But because her thrill in life is to be a rebel and go against everything that her parents ask her to do. And also because she wants to get married to her boyfriend. But our hero is unaware of all this and still falls in love with a girl who has fallen asleep on a quart of vodka and 5 sleeping pills. When she does come to her senses, she asks him to call off the wedding. Now what?
The first half of TWM is quite entertaining with a lot of clean humour and truck loads of over acting by Kangana Ranaut which is not very successful in masking the sincere effort from Madhavan and a solid one from the rest of the cast. One would be surprised at the attention to detail that the numerology believer director has put into finer points such as Delhi Airport being actually Delhi airport and not like most other movies where Hyderabad airport is called out as anything from New York to London to even Sydney at times. It remains to be seen, however if the other scenes were actually shot on location. I could vouch for Lucknow and Kanpur but not for the likes of a Kapurthala. What does not work for TWM though is the immense emphasis on every syllable that Kangana makes (That is the way she talks) and a second half that goes a way bit awry and very slow. The music is apt for the locations but not too great. Overall if you believe the successful formula of movies based on marriage that has always worked in India, you would enjoy TWM. I give it a 5 on 10. Its definitely watchable.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVdksjTQLjk&feature=fvst
Director Aanand Rai (I wonder why people are so hell bent on numerology) uses a star cast which doesn’t have too many well known names (except Madhavan and Kangana) but has all the faces that you would have seen in some movie or the other in the recent past. The fast paced first half starts off with the build up to Tanuja Trivedi (Kangana Ranaut) who is the kind of girl that most parents would want to be rid off sooner than later. A graduate from Delhi University, she is the kind of girl who would give the best of guys a scare. Smart, spunky, good looking and with a sharp tongue, she is far from being any man’s dream girl. She drinks, She smokes, She dopes. And that combination is quite lethal for a traditional UP family. Oh and did I mention the fact that she has had a few affairs and has actually run away from home a couple of times in vain. So much for being a “Sundar, Susheel, Sanskaron wali ladki” (Beautiful, Talented, Cultured girl – pardon my translation if incorrect)
And to fall into this trap is Dr. Manu Sharma ( Madhavan) who has come back from London thanks to parental pressures to get married – although I find that a bit hard to believe coz his parents seem to be the understanding kinds. His mom is quite a nag but then which mom isn’t especially in these matters? Dad is super cool and so is Pappi (Deepak Dobriyal) his family friend. The foursome make their way to Kanpur for the first step in the girl hunt – The Trivedi household – where there is complete and utter chaos coz – Jijaaji aa rahe hain (the brother in law is on his way – already? I thought the marriage is some time away). The girl is obviously in no mood to get married. Not because she is against the concept. But because her thrill in life is to be a rebel and go against everything that her parents ask her to do. And also because she wants to get married to her boyfriend. But our hero is unaware of all this and still falls in love with a girl who has fallen asleep on a quart of vodka and 5 sleeping pills. When she does come to her senses, she asks him to call off the wedding. Now what?
The first half of TWM is quite entertaining with a lot of clean humour and truck loads of over acting by Kangana Ranaut which is not very successful in masking the sincere effort from Madhavan and a solid one from the rest of the cast. One would be surprised at the attention to detail that the numerology believer director has put into finer points such as Delhi Airport being actually Delhi airport and not like most other movies where Hyderabad airport is called out as anything from New York to London to even Sydney at times. It remains to be seen, however if the other scenes were actually shot on location. I could vouch for Lucknow and Kanpur but not for the likes of a Kapurthala. What does not work for TWM though is the immense emphasis on every syllable that Kangana makes (That is the way she talks) and a second half that goes a way bit awry and very slow. The music is apt for the locations but not too great. Overall if you believe the successful formula of movies based on marriage that has always worked in India, you would enjoy TWM. I give it a 5 on 10. Its definitely watchable.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVdksjTQLjk&feature=fvst
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