Tevar

Tevariffic is what the campaign building up to the movie said.  A nice play on words and a decent campaign leading up to a decent movie.  But barely there.  If there was any way to pay tribute to Bollywood to begin a fresh year, Tevar is exactly the way it should be.  Music, Masala, Action, Drama – almost everything that you could expect from B-town and all reasonably packaged.

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.

Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi

Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi (KMKJHG) is a movie that is definitely made from the heart but will at best find itself as a complicated 6 word clue in a random Dumb Charades round of an even more random Inter Collegiate Festival.  It is way too simple a story and needed to be packaged too well for it to be a success.

The Xpose

Words fail me when I try to express my sentiments on 2 supremely contrasting examples of cinema that will make their mark on the nation today. 16th May 2014 will definitely go down in the annals of Indian History as a red letter day - and I'm not referring to the more than obvious result in the General Elections 2014. It will be remembered forever as the day a man from Gujarat took on a monster from across the seven seas.

Shuddh Desi Romance

They say experience teaches a man better than anything or anyone else.  Not that you need to commit your own mistakes to learn from – you can as well learn from other people’s mistakes.  I have no clue to where Maneesh Sharma got his sum total of learning.  Whether it was from his solid effort with Band Baaja Baraat or his just about par effort of Ishaqzaade.  Either ways, he seems to have learnt.  And learnt well.

B. A. Pass

A bit of research on the net and you are informed through Wikipedia that B A Pass is classified as a “neo noir” movie.  Translated it means “New Black”.  Click on the link below to understand what this means - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_noir.  Some aspects would include a conflicted antihero, Nihilistic Moral systems, Low key Lighting, unusual camera placement and striking use of light and shadow.

Ghanchakkar

Remember that guy from Khosla Ka Ghosla – Munjal? Khurana’s (Boman Irani) sidekick / Secretary.  The guy who does the dirty work for Khurana.  For those who aren’t aware of who played that character (and I am quite certain that most people in India wouldn’t know his name) it is a guy called Rajesh Sharma – one of the finest supporting actors in India currently.  This time around he plays Pandit.

Special 26

Neeraj Pandey’s debut into Bollywood could be equated to a storm.  While it was a remake, A Wednesday, created a lot of ripples across the film world.  Of course he was aided by a few of the best names in the industry.  2 out of those – Anupam Kher and Jimmy Sheirgill form part of the crew for Special 26 as well.

Love Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana

What is it about Punjabis and Punjab in general that makes them an ideal target for movies of any kind. Is it their loud nature that gives them a character that is quite unique as compared to any other sect, caste, creed or society? Or is it the fact that they are super colourful. Or maybe it the fact that they drink like there is not tomorrow. Or is it that they are just very large hearted characters - especially the Sardars.

Or is it just their Chicken and their capability to gorge on tons of the 2 legged creature that has become an integral part our lives as well? Considering that the earlier points were already beaten to death, Sameer Sharma - himself a Punjabi probably - must have definitely said to himself that it was time to get the humble creature into tinsel town. Not too many movies have been made which have a chicken as its central character right? Talk about identifying and opportunity.

For those who are getting other ideas, the central plot of the movie revolves around a chicken dish eponymously named by the inventor's wife. The inventory - Shri Khurana aka Darji or Grandfather (Vinod Nagpal) who figures out by chance, a recipe that sets the village of Lalton in Punjab on fire. But the recipe remains a secret. One that only Darji knows and now that he is senile with one foot in the grave, it would, in all probability go with him to the grave.

And so, when Omi Khurana (Kunal Kapoor) comes back in the hope that someone back home will help him solve the gangster problem of £50000 that he has got himself into, he is in for a not so pleasant surprise. Now, he doesn't have the money. The family doesn't have the money. Darji doesn't remember him or the recipe. And the deadly gangster (hilariously deadly) Shanty is after Omi's life. To help Shanty,a we have his absurd younger brother - Manty.

So, as you can see for yourself, there is very little that upon have to look forward to with LSTCK in terms of a story. The screenplay and dialogues are also nothing out of this world. They suit the purpose of the movie and give it a major Punjabi flair for certain. Maybe there were some nuances that the Punjabis would get but I wasn't too excited to be honest. Amit Trivedi's music is also not his best performance to date by a mile.

Kunal Kapoor has always been and will continue to be a director's actor. As Sameer Sharma is definitely not the kind of director who could inspire much confidence in any of the cast. Huma Qureshi takes off from where she left in Gangs of Wasseypur. Here is a girl who is here to stay. A pity that she will never move into commercial cinema coz she is just to large for the screen.

The rest of the cast are people who come from theatre and give the movie the fillip that it needed to stay afloat. But for them, Luv Shuv could have been a disaster. 5 on 10. Worth a demo but u could wait for the DVD or see it on TV.

Watch the trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9oO8bd7qM

4084

How often have we seen movies which has a star cast which is on the outside average and it turns out to be an exceptionally great movie. Take the case of Bheja Fry (the first one) or Tere Bin Laden. On the other hand you have movies which have exceptional star casts – actors who are known for their fantastic capability – which turn out to be damp squibs to say the least. Ones which make you tear your hair apart in frustration and disgust. Movies that make you really wonder about the possible weak moment at which the makers of the movie made one of these actors sign on the dotted line – and then used that signature to sell the concept to the other 3. Or were there methods which were not so legal utilized to get the 4 great actors to sign on the dotted line? Or is that that these actors are slaves to some exceptionally good quality marijuana that forces them to be high out of their wits (like those who predicted a 2-1 victory for India in the Australia series – sorry I had to get that in). Well if you haven’t figured out which category of movies tdoes Chaalis Chauraasi (4084) fall under then I am not quite certain who or what could help you out. Maybe the good quality marijuana that these actors are having may help out immensely.

When you see Naseeruddin Shah, Atul Kulkarni and Kay Kay Menon in the same screen you can be quite confident that there is a quality movie waiting for you right? Even when the 4th person in the cast is the not so highly rated but good Ravi Kissen. WRONG. When one of the cast plays the role of a car thief with a fetish for the age old Fiat which is fondly called Dukkar (Pig) in the Mumbai market – WRONG! And then there is one whose dream was to be a singer but is relegated to being a pimp because he gets into the good books of a dance bar owner – WRONG!! Or if you are a drug dealer with a Shetty sounding name and who doesn’t have much of a qualm in spreading the junk in society then – WRONG!!! And of course when one of them plays the role of a retired Head of Department (English) and has spent 10 years in jail for killing his wife then – DEFINITELY WRONG!!!!

Hriday Shetty hasn’t done his chances of a long term career in Bollywood too much good. What kind of a director makes actors with so much talent reduce themselves to the level of trite comedy – actually severely slapstick comedy? Even if it had to be done, then I would have expected some attention to be given to detail and some importance given to finishing or screenplay or dialogues or editing or story or cinematography or whatever it is that makes movies worth watching? Not sure about the actors but Hriday Shetty was surely smoking up when he made this movie because there is nothing much to really look forward to with 4084. A highly avoidable below par flick 4 on 10 is what I give it.

Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0SaVc24WlY

The Dirty Picture

I must start this review with an anecdote from a few of days back. I was on my way back from the village (read Bangalore) and was taking the Indian Airlines flight. My song of the day was “Oooh La La”. Just kept humming it through the day. En route to the airport we were having this conversation that The Dirty Picture will be one of the top 5 movies of the year and that Vidya Balan will clearly get 2 nominations for the year – The first movie of the year No One Killed Jessica and The Dirty Picture. In fact, now that I think of it, she could win both awards – Best Supporting Actress for NOKJ and Best Actress for TDP.

Anyways, as I was humming the song and boarding the flight, I was also chatting up with my colleague. We did not say anything about Naseer Bhai – how can we say anything about one of the best actors of our time. We were just intrigued about his role in the movie and how he would essay it. We both agreed that Emraan Hashmi would have, by the end of the movie ticked off from his list another actress – only this time, it would be a genuine actress and not a random aspiring starlet. And the unanimous agreement – actually question was – What the hell is Tusshar (now without the Kapoor) doing in the movie? And as I was saying this out aloud, I entered the flight only to be greeted with a vision that I will not forget for the rest of my life!!! There on Seat1D, and smiling right back at me (surely she heard my comment about Tusshar) was Vidya Balan in all her simplicity. And did she look gorgeous? Hell Yes!!!!

I must say, that most of our discussion was bang on. Vidya Balan gives her 110% as always and generates an aura around Reshma aka Silk that will generate emotions starting from the rank depraved to the completely sympathetic thanks to the pitiful end that we know Silk Smitha had. Some really good dialogues dot the otherwise slapstick ones. But then it is The Dirty Picture. So slapstick was to be expected and I give Milan Luthria full credit for the same. Probably the best movie from the Luthria stable but it would not have been possible without the stunning performances of the cast.

I terms of other aspects, The Dirty Picture was probably below par. Editing was quite below par and the movie was way too long – probably 2.5 hours which turned out to be nearly 3 thanks to the breaks and trailers. While the songs were good, they were quite ill placed especially Ishq Sufiyana which kind of hits you out of the blue about 10 minutes from the end. And Honeymoon Ki Raat was also kind of wasted. I thought the movie could have easily finished in about 2 hours. Kind of moved away from the basic concept so aptly captured by Reshma that the movie business is about 3 things – Entertainment, Entertainment & Entertainment. 7 on 10 and definitely makes it to the top 5 movies of the year for me.

Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM8m4_DLZtY

No One Killed Jessica

No one needs to be told what happened in the Jessica Lall case. Enough and more has been said about the case and written about it and there would be hardly a soul in this country who is not familiar with what happened in the case. Plus with the advent of the net, there are going to be enough and more hits on the likes of Wikipedia to try and understand the gorier details of the case. There will be a little more talk about it over drinks at the local bar or over a cup of coffee. Unfortunately this is exactly what would work against the makers of No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ) and more so for director Raj Kumar Gupta.

The challenge in taking up a controversial topic like the Jessica Lall murder is primarily the extent to which you can actually show the truth on screen. More importantly, if there is an attempt being made to portray as close to reality as possible then how does a director ensure that the freedom of expression at no point of time is superceded by the attempt to be politically correct. NOKJ finds itself caught in exactly this labyrinth and and the end of the day you find a product that is a mish mash of sticking to the disclaimer and trying to get the whole truth and nothing but the truth out. If you walk into NOKJ with the expectation of something similar to a Black Friday, you would be making the same mistake that I did and land up being quite disappointed. Why could the makers not have stuck to the facts of case? Isn’t it contradictory to the very purpose of making the movie in the first place. The least that could have been done is stick the names. If it is OK to call out Jessica Lall and Sabrina Lall then why is not OK to call out Manu Sharma, Venod Sharma or for that matter Sayan Munshi, Bina Ramani and Malini Ramani.

Adding to the above, there is one inconsistency too many for it to be called a decent attempt. Surprising considering that Raj Kumar Gupta has given us a very good movie like Aamir, a little over 2 years back which was made quite well to say the least. I mean, how can you have the same TV programme in one shot that shows 3 different times – 6:24, 9:33 and 10:30 (don’t hold me to the exact times here). And all of this is within a couple of seconds of each other. And not just that. The sequences of June Lall screaming “Where is my baby” or Rani Mukerji saying “Gaand Phat Ke Haath Mein Aa Jaati” are anything but convincing. The over acting defeats the basic essence of a scene which could have been so much more poignant. And then there is shit loads of stuff which were totally unnecessary. What is being conveyed through a scene of a pick pocket taking off with a cameraman’s wallet or some random pedestrians mobile phone? What is the purpose of showing the Victoria memorial or the Kolkata trams? Or for that matter Vidya Balan taking a shower with her spectacles on? And I have pretty much scratched only the tip of the iceberg here.

But not all is bad. Rajesh Sharma’s (Munjal from Khosla Ka Ghosla) performance as the lead inspector in charge of the case and the frustrations that he faces is impressive. And so is the performance from Yogendra Tikku in the role of Sanjit Lall, Jessica’s father. Amit Trivedi’s music is fabulous as always. The titling and the starting line, “”Everybody is a “somebody” in Delhi. Nobody is a Nobody” give the movie a good start. There is also a beautiful shot of the mobile ringing in the middle of the night intermittently lighting up Vidya Balan’s face. Not Vidya Balan’s best performance to date. Last year she started with a bang with Ishqiya. Not to be the same this year unfortunately. I do believe however that she is a fabulous actress. Wonder why she could not come up with the best this time. Rani Mukerji is disappointing with her excessive attempts to play the bitchy news caster, Meera Gaity. Someone please teach her how to smoke on screen. A below par result from a movie that I personally expected a lot from. 5 on 10 at best is my verdict.