Sha Sha Sha… Mi Mi Mi.. What a chance !!

The moment I saw the theatrical trailer of Shamitabh I was licking my lips and was eagerly waiting for this movie to come out. The combination of Mr. Done it all, Amitabh Bachhan, and an impressive new comer to hindi films, Dhanush, with Balki at the helm to direct them seemed all too good to lose out on. Add an interesting plot to the mix and I thought we had a winner on our hands. But 30 minutes into the movie and I realized that the plot line was paper thin and too much was left up to the brilliance of the 2 main leads of the movie. The climax was unconventional albeit predictable. In the end I was left with a feeling similar to the one of an unsuccessful Indian cricket defense in an ODI and saying “What if they could have done this… Only if they would have done that..”

Shamitabh almost seems like a movie born out of a conversation at a party etc. The idea is brilliant and very innovative, just like all the other Balki movies. In a nutshell Shamitabh is about an aspiring mute actor Danish, who needs Amitabh’s voice to realize his dream. Together they become the superstar Shamitabh by combining their names. But beyond the core idea and some witty dialogs in between the movie fails to deliver content wise. Even the character back stories are borrowed from real life stories. There are pockets of brilliance in the movie where you get hooked on for say about 15 minutes but then the next 15 minutes seemed like a drag and I heard myself saying, “Kya paka rahe hai”.  Thankfully the songs did not interrupt the flow to add to my woes and provided somewhat of a background score for most parts. “Only if” the editing would have been a bit tighter. The end credits were one of the coolest parts for me and a very nice way of paying a tribute without explicitly saying out loud. Also I felt there was a subtle attempt to celebrate Amitabh Bachhan’s voice.

With all the issues in the content of Shamitabh, the performances by Bachhan and Dhanush are simply superlative. Amitabh Bachhan proves once again that no one and I mean absolutely no one can match him for the drunk scenes. The way this man is defying his age and is carrying on is simply amazing. Dhanush stands up toe to toe with his senior counterpart, proving Ranjhana was no fluke and displays an array of emotions. Akshara Hassan is clearly the loose end in the acting department of this movie. A fellow viewer in the theatre summed it up for me when he said “kahan se laaye hai yaar isko?” (Where have they got her from?). She looked like a teenager who lacks the charisma and skill and just fails to stand up even half as tall as her co stars. 

Music by Illayaraja is pleasant on the ears but lyrics don’t really help the cause. In the end ‘Pidly si baatein’ is the only song that stuck with me. Extra points to Amitabh Bachhan for his vocals. There are no two opinions about Balki’s talent as a story teller. I felt there was just too little content here to make a full feature film. This could have been a great addition to one of the 'Bombay Talkies' short films. 

I would not say its a horrible movie, but its definitely DVD/ satellite TV material for me. An opportunity missed for sure. For the 2 bright star actors of the movie I would rate it 6.25 on 10.

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My name is SRK and I am a damn good actor.

Recently at an award ceremony Boman Irani said that one should never stop dreaming. He dreamt to be an actor and he started his career at 44. To this SRK replied in satire that he too was now 44 and maybe he can now learn how to act. Now I know that he wasn't kidding. Where was this 'roop' of SRK all this while? Where was this Karan Johar all the while?

For the first time in all the SRK movies that I have watched (Note that I have seen almost all perhaps other than Guddu and co.), it was Rizvan Khan the character on the screen and not the superstar SRK. For the first time in all the Karan Johar directed movies that I have seen, I felt respect for the film maker. A strong writing from Shibani Bathija only strengthens Johar's directorial effort.

The plot revolves around Rizvan Khan who suffers from a form of Autism. He walks the path of truth and follows his mother's advice that there are only good people and bad people in this world. The first half is all about Rizvan and the challenges he faces, how he falls in love with Mandira(Kajol) and how he adapts to the world around him to lead a normal happy life. The second half takes a turn and discusses the world post 9/11 for Muslims and Asians from the subcontinent. I loved one line where Rizvan compares the pre and post 9/11 eras to AD and BC timeline. Many people found comparisons with Forest Gump. I can confidently say its no where remotely close to Forest Gump and people should watch FG again if they still think so.

This movie totally belongs to Shahrukh. He stands tall as an actor. When people said this was SRK's best, I thought how good can he be? But man is he good or what. Outstanding stellar performance! Where was this Shahrukh all these years? The next best effort in the movie is the powerhouse named Kajol. She is as good as always especially with the expressions in her eyes. The pair weave magic on screen. The rest of the ensemble cast are good in their bits.

Music is apt for the movie. SEL make it work once again. My favourite tracks are Sajda and Noor e khuda. The background score is nice too.

This has to be Karan Johar's best work. I have a new found respect for the man. The climax could have been a little tighter but I will overlook it for the mere way the rest of the movie is executed. The movie delivers a wonderful message and is bound to stick in one's head. Its a pity a movie with a message of peace had to go through such violence to get released.

Rating: A MUST watch !! Highly recommended!!

Trivia: It was a pleasant surprise to see some scenes shot in USC (USC is the school i attended for my masters). When SRK was there for the shoot 2 years back, we did not know what movie it was for. Good to know now.

Rann - Vijay

Vijay Deenanath Chauhan, poora naam, haaain! Who can ever forget that famous dialog from Agneepath. After a long hiatus, Bachhan's character gets back his old favourite name, Vijay. I don't know if its superstition or not but it does recreate some old Bachhan magic. It was good to see him portray a normal man's role after a series of caricaturish roles in Aladin and Paa. Somehow I like him this way.

Rann has a stamp of RGV in bold capitals on it. Even if you are watching the movie ignorant of the fact that it is a Ramu flick, every scene screams out that this has to be a Ram Gopal Verma venture. And boy oh boy is Ramu back or what. I have always been a fan of his work and he did not disappoint this time for sure.

The plot revolves around Vijay Malik, who believes that News are the goal and money is the medium of earning it and not the other way around. He believes in walking the righteous path no matter what. Things take a turbulent ride when a scandal takes place right under Vijay Malik's nose. This only intensifies the 'rann' between the channels for 'breaking' news.

What worked for me in this movie was the slick pace. No where did it feel like a drag. As always, like his previous movies Satya, Company and Sarkar, the background score plays a pivotal role in packing a punch for every scene. The camera work is typical Ramu style too, with weird new angles. The entire cast gets an equal share of the pie, even Amitabh Bachhan, which I think is a revolution. This made the film and script look bigger than the stars which doesn't happen often in our part of the world.

But all is not hunky dory with the movie. An over the top Rajpal Yadav is quite irritating. The follow up to Bachhan's speech in the climax could have been much better. I couldn't help but draw comparisons to a movie called "Mai azaad hun" in which Bachhan delivers a similar strong speech in the climax.

The entire ensemble cast does a great job. Amitabh Bachhan, in the last 15 minutes when he addresses the nation, is awesome. Ritesh, Paresh Rawal and Mohnish Behl are perfect in their roles.

Ramu does a fine job. Just when you think he is down and out, he delivers. Post Sarkar, life has been a roller coaster both for him and for us. When you expect the most out of him, he gives you a RGV ki Aag and vice versa. Rann might not be his finest work but it is surely not his worst.

Rating: Definitely catch it! I know I am seeing it again when it comes out on DVD.

Chance pe Enhance

Half way through the movie and I was wondering why this movie did not work at the box office. Have people become over critical about hindi movies? Thankfully the second half gave me my answer. It was as though Ken Ghosh and the writers were blowing up a big balloon and half way through they ran out of breath and the balloon lost all its air.

Chance pe Dance had the legs to get a podium finish but stumbled midway. Even though it was a mundane run of the mill kind of a story, the execution was well done till the last 40 odd minutes spoilt the fun.

Basically the movie is about a struggler, Samir, trying to make his space in big bad Bollywood charming producers with his cool dance moves and honest acting skills.What makes it interesting was that the movie focuses more on his lifestyle than the actual struggle. After the climax you feel that something went wrong and that the movie could have turned out so much better.

Music wise also the film does not match the expectations of a dance film. Its average at best. Maybe having Vishal Shekhar as the composers might have helped.

As good as Shahid was, he couldn't save a weak script from meeting its fate. Genelia looks cute. It was good to see Mohnish Behl back in action.

This has to be Ken Ghosh's poorest effort. I am not a fan of his work anyways but a half baked pie is worse than no pie at all. He should have shelved the script if he could not find a 'dhasu' climax.

Rating: Watch it when it comes out on TV or DVD.

3 idiotic movies

Due to my vacation in India, I was cut out from my blogging world as there was so much else to do. None the less I am back now and am summing up 3 movies which stood out for me on this trip.

3 Idiots

So much has been said about this movie already and saying anything more would be like a late govt. tube light like reaction. Needless to say, I loved the movie and thought that it was one of the best movies made in Indian cinema.

The other day I read a blog entry from IBN's Sagarika Ghose where she rubbished the movie as she thought it encouraged teenagers to dump studying, commit suicide and accept the mantra that "the education system sucks". After reading the entire post I thought Sagarika either did not understand the movie at all or she is just putting up a different opinion than the others to come into the limelight. I guess she was successful in some respect as her blog post got a whopping 326 responses, a career best for her.

As far as I am concerned, I loved the movie from the opening cliched scene to the last suspense revealer scene. I thought Raju was outstanding as a story teller and probably this is one of the finest movies adapted from a book. Aamir, Sharman and Madhavan were great as usual but the one actor who stood out for me in the movie was Boman Irani. He was outstanding.

As for the music, I guess Aal izz well is the new jargon of the Indian public. We will have to wait till Raju comes up with something new in his next movie for All izz well to be replaced from Indian lips.

Pyaar Impossible

I had lowered my expectations for this movie even below the bench just because the film was starring Uday Chopra. Later when I came to know he had even penned the movie I lowered them even more. Some might even think why I saw it. But now I am glad that I did. The movie surprised me in a good way. It was not as bad as I had thought it would be. There was a feel of honesty being exuberated from the movie. All in all a feel good kinda movie.

Uday was surprisingly good, both as an actor and as a writer. Priyanka was the perfect Alisha Merchant the casting crew could have ever found. Jugal Hansraj did another decent job of directing a film after Roadside Romeo.

Definitely worth watching once, if not on the big screen then surely on DVD.

Quick Gun Murrugan

Finally I got a chance to see this flick and boy oh boy was I not disappointed. This movie is sarcasm personified. Its a laughathon in every respect. The best comic scenes are generated when the characters appear to be serious. I found everything from chitragupt being named as C. Gupta to cowboys actually fighting to save cows damn funny.

The entire cast rocked it. Especially the guy playing 'Rice Plate Reddy' was awesome.

A must watch for people who adore PJ's and sarcastic comedy. Highly recommended.

Pocket Mein Hai Rocket

Rocket Singh SOTY is the 3rd Ranbir movie movie coming in a short space of time. It is also Shimit Amin's 3rd movie as a director. Some might think 'teen tighada kaam bighada', but for me Rocket Singh was a thrid time wonder. It's my favorite Ranbir Kapoor movie so far and a par-satisfaction movie as far as Shimit Amin is considered.

The plot is simple. Harpreet Singh(Ranbir) is a young individual who simply doesn't believe in academics = intelligence funda. He enters the big bad world of a corporate company as a junior Sales trainee. After being harassed and humiliated by his bosses, Ranbir decides to start his own business at the company's expense. The rest of the story picks up from there.

The movie is full of delightful witty one liners. Once again, like the previous Jaideep Sahani(writer) movies the characters are very strong in this one too. The best lines go to D. Santosh(He played Rajguru in Legend of Bhagat Singh) who plays a service engineer in the movie. His mere presence is very funny and I burst out laughing whenever he came on screen.

Music wise, nothing much to talk about since the movie is pretty much song less. The opening song in the credits was likable.

Ranbir was very good in his role again and was very convincing as the ordinary boy who dreams to make it big. Shazahn Padmasee looks beautiful but doesn't have much of a role. The ensemble cast was a treat. Everyone from Gauhar Khan to Santosh to the actor who was called 'Nitin' in the movie were awesome. Not to forget Prem Chopra, who did not look anything like his mean old self and was a very sweet granpa.

Shimit Amin's direction is top notch. This is a movie which could have gone horribly wrong but kudos to the director for handling it masterfully. Not his best, but right up there somewhere.

Rating: Definitely worth watching 1ce or twice.. Do not miss it !

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Comedy

Even before the trailers were aired for this movie, I was excited to see it just because RajKumar Santoshi was making a comedy for the first time after Andaz Apna Apna. The trailers were modest to be best except for 2-3 good numbers from Pritam. I heard mixed reviews from people around, ranging from very poor to AAA like. Warning, this movie is only for people who can digest half mad jokes like the ones in AAA.

The plot is simple. Prem(Ranbir) is a below average guy who is a 9th dropout. He runs a club in his town, called the Happy club, which appropriately solves peoples' problems. He falls for a girl, Jenny(Katrina) who is exactly his opposite, smart, intelligent etc. etc. They just have one common element, they both stammer when they are upset. This kicks off their friendship. The rest of the movie is based on this plot and there are abundant comic scenes in between to show how Ranbir woos Katrina.

There are a couple of brilliant comic scenes in the movie in which I was laughing my #$$ off. After a certain time I guess I just lost it. I think I haven't laughed so much in a movie since Haseena Maan Jayegi. After the interval I was thinking that the movie will go little senti. But the film continued to be a laughathon till the end sequence. Its the kind of movie where I still laugh just remembering some of the scenes.

Pritam has been outstanding this year. He must have "composed" music for at least 10 movies and most of them have been outstanding. This one is no different. The best song of the album is "Tera Hone Laga Hu" and Katrina looks tooooo cute in the song.

Ranbir carries the film brilliantly on his shoulders proving once again that he is improving with each instance. Katrina finally has learnt the art of acting. A gorgeous face along with acting is a lethal combo. All the supporting cast is also very good. Darshan Zariwalla shows his prowess at
comedy.

Rajkumar Santoshi has tried his best at recreating AAA magic and he has almost hit bulls eye. Its a gem in its own right.
I know I am gonna watch this movie multiple times

Rating: Definitely catch it!! (.. more than once :) )

Spoiler Joke: In the climax, Ranbir's dad tells him "aaj mujhe tujhpe kitna garv hai beta etc. etc." So Ranbir tells him "Waah zara phir se kahiye". His dad literally repeats the entire senence with the same serious expression. lol :P