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/

Agent Vinod (2012)

In a recent quiz, I had asked this question - The kidnapping of a prominent scientist, Ajay Saxena (Nazir Hussain) prompts the Chief of Secret Services (K.N. Singh) to assign flamboyant X (Mahendra Sandhu) to this case. While on this assignment, X meets with Ajay's daughter, Anju (Asha Sachdev), who insists on assisting him. The duo is further assisted by Chandu aka James Bond (Jagdeep) and his gypsy girlfriend (Jayshree T). The two couples will soon have numerous challenges thrust on them, and will realize that their task is not only very difficult but also life threatening. Which 1977 movie am I talking about? The answer was the 1977 movie Agent Vinod – In service of the nation. I was surprised that a team actually cracked the answer.

The biggest controversy of course leading upto the movie was that involving our very own inspired music director Pritam. The Pyar Ki Pungi Song which was apparently lifted from the Iranian Song “Soosan Khanoom” bears little resemblance to the so called original. I think the Iranian Band Barobax should listen to some of Pritam’s other inspirational numbers to understand where the person can go down to. In fact they should thank Pritam because thanks to him, the hits on their you tube video have crossed a million. Judge for yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE63JoBA6iI. And they should also feel better because almost all songs have been copied. Including inspiration from that great ode to Russia’s Public Enemy #1 from BoneyM – Rasputin (in case you were wondering).

Now that we have got the useless pieces of trivia out of the way, lets get down to the review of the movie. Do not let the detractors tell you that Agent Vinod is a waste of time or torture (as someone said while exiting the theatre). It is in most parts a smartly made espionage movie – with loads of inspiration from our friend from MI5. It is great to see one from our part of the world. If you keep aside the corny one liners that Vinod makes – attempting to be slick like bond, you will breeze through the movie. And hope that you don’t get into a PVR which takes 30 minutes to start the movie and has a 20 minute interval!!! The cinematography is good. The titling is very well done and gives you feeling of a well made movie in the first few minutes only. The disappointing part was the lack of good finishing towards the end but one could overlook that I guess.

Sriram Raghavan (Ek Hasina Thi, Johnny Gaddar), claimed all the way through the build up that the 2012 movie which released today was in no way inspired by the 1977 hit (if I may call it that). I am quite certain there was an inspiration hidden somewhere. While I liked Raghavan’s previous 2 movies – and I wasn’t alone there, Agent Vinod I would guess falls short significantly. The last time Saifeena paired on screen in that famous size zero movie, audiences reportedly left the hall tearing their hair apart – or so I am told. I guess Raghavan had more confidence on them but the chemistry fails miserably. Mostly from Kareena’s side – and it has nothing to do with the absolute bias I have against her. Guess they are one of those couples who have chemistry where it matters to them as a couple.

I must confess that I found myself really enjoying the movie in parts and then Raghavan kind of stretches a point too far and lets the movie wander all over the place before getting it back on track. The good scenes like the fight between AV and Prince of the LTTE have been edited exceptionally by Pooja Ladha Surti (Ragini MMS, Johnny Gaddar). I thought it AV was enjoyable. I leave it to you to decide. 6 on 10. Definitely the movie to watch out for this weekend.

And watch out for the hotties - Maryam Zakaria, Vasilisa Petina, Leeann Roberts, and Malika Haydon

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi929669401/

Well Done Abba

When Shyam Benegal released Welcome to Sajjanpur, most scorned @ the concept and all but wrote him off.  But as they say, form is temporary and class is permanent.  With Well Done Abba (WDA) Shyam Benegal proves once again that he was, is and will be one of the best directors India has ever had and can expect to have – this time with a not so intense but very pointed take on the corruption food chain.

Arman Ali (Boman Irani) is in trouble.  He has returned back to work as a driver to Rohan Kapoor (Rahul Singh) in Mumbai after 3 months.  The trouble is that he had taken leave for only a month.  Obviously Rohan doesn’t want to have him back.  And it is not the first time that Arman Ali has decided to take off for a few extra days.  But this time around, Arman has an extremely genuine reason.  But not one that can be explained over the phone or a 5 minute conversation.  The complexities of the issue that Arman had faced over the past 3 months can be only understood if one were to give him an uninterrupted listen.  Rohan is in a rush and needs to get to Pune.  Seizing the opportunity, Arman Ali offers to drive him down and explain the issue en route.  Luckily for him, Rohan says OK.

Arman Ali reaches Chikatpally, a village close to Hyderabad. All this thanks to a panic telegram from his brother Rahman Ali (Boman Irani) stating that his daughter, Muskaan (Minisha Lamba), has come of age and that he needs to be more attentive – a very polite way to say that its time to get her married off. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever progress.  I mean whats the point of getting a girl married @ 17????  Nevertheless, when Arman gets back, he finds that there are larger worries that bother the village.  Chief amongst them being a severe water shortage.  However, he also finds out that the government is working towards building wells for the truly needy – those below the poverty line (BPL).  So starts Arman’s effort to procure his own “Bavdi” (A Well that has water in it for those unfamiliar with the local lingo in Andhra.

Well Done Abba is one of the most educational movies that I have ever seen.  It is a movie with a purpose unlike most others which try to do so but fall flat as prey to just simple entertainment.  Now I don’t mean to say that other movies do not try to send a message across. Its just that the message gets lost in the overall idea of giving the audience an entertaining couple of hours and does not really provoke thought.  That doe not make them bad movies per se.  In sharp contrast, Shyam Benegal has courageously tried to expose the gangrene that has set in the system and how government officials eat away most of the tax payer’s money.  I am given to understand that the movie is an adaptation of a Marathi play.  Would love to get and opportunity to watch it.  Other than the core issue at hand it also sends strong messages for the development of the girl child, moving away from the archaic caste system and also touches upon the issue of “bride sales”.  All of this very interestingly but noticeably woven into the overall message of standing up against corruption at the grass root levels and how each one of us can make a difference. 

What also helps Shyam Benegal is that he is working with a cast that has predominantly moved in from theatre into the large screen.  It is next to impossible to find flaw in Boman Irani’s acting talent and WDA just goes one step further to cement his position as probably the best comedian and one of the best actors of our time.  Actors like Yashpal Sharma, Ravi Kishen and Sonali Kulkarni seamlessly step into their roles of a sidekick constable, a Government Engineer and the Engineer’s wife withtou any effort whatsoever.  Stand out performance by Minisha Lamba – yes, there is a lot of potential there – just needs the right director to extract it out of her. I would highly recommend WDA not just for the messaging but also for the comeback of one of the best directors of our time. Had it not been for a couple of songs that were not required, it would have easily been an 8 on 10.  That’s probably the only place where Benegal could have done with some cuts. 7.5 on 10 from my side. Watch it!!!