Regardless of how the suspense is, viewers take home the suspense element from a suspense/murder mystery genre of movies. It sticks in their head for a long time. Generally the suspense decides the make or break of such kind of movies. Hence you tend to get rave reviews of such films.
Tasveer gives us a unique combination of Nagesh Kukunoor and Akshay Kumar which is a good enough reason for the regular movie buff to watch this flick. Apart from the main suspense Nagesh, excels in both departments of writing and direction. He is one of the finest directors of Indian cinema and he doesn't fail the audience's trust.
Jai (Akshay Kumar) is a forest ranger and has a god given special ability. He can touch any photo and teleport into the time the picture was taken and be around for about a minute. If he stays for over a minute his heart stops. Initially neither the doctor's, nor the damily can explain this behavior. Jai doesn't let any one into his secret, not even his fiance Sheela (Ayesha Takia).
One day Jai comes to know that while celebrating with his close friends, his father has met with an accident and has died of a heart atack . Jai was never at good terms with his father due to their line of work. But a series of dreams and a private investigator Happi (Javed Jaffery), who is indebted to Jai's dad, force Jai to realize that his father had been murdered for the money. He decides to unearth the secret by teleporting to the time his father clicked a photo during the last few moments of his life. Watch how Jai and Happi solve this mystery to unearth the killer.
The music by Salim Sulaiman is in sync with the movie and there are a couple of really good tracks. These tracks appear in the background and do not hamper the pace or connectivity of the story.
Acting wise, Akshay is very good. It was very refreshing to see him come out of his comfort zone and try something new. Ayesha Takia is good as always. Javed Jaffery provides some humor in the movie. The rest of the ensemble is a group of character artistes who are interestingly cast in this movie. All of them have a very short role but are effective. Benjamin Gillani and Sharmila Tagore play Akshay's parents and are good. Girish Karnard is wasted. Bollywood's step son, Anant Mahadevan (who gets screwed in every movie) has no different treatment. Rushad Rana is good.
Nagesh Kukunoor is a brilliant director and has done a terrefic job with this movie. If only the main suspense would have been better, the whole outlook towards the movie would have changed.
Spoiler: The movie has a Shakespearan ending wherin every one dies.
Personal Input: My version of the ending which according to me would have worked and would have been innovative. Akshay has a split personality and he is the one who kills his father. This also explains his special ability of going back in time to when the picure was taken. He actually remembers the things he did or saw at a subconscience level while his alter ego had taken over. :) Let me know what you think about this ending.
Rating: **1/2 ( Definitely worth waching once)
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Aa Dekhen Zara... Out of focus
Pace is the key when it comes to action thrillers. So far we have seen many action movies which are slow paced. My complain with the makers of this movie is that its a little too fast paced. For a moment I was wondering if I had missed a scene or two.
I cant help but compare this movie to one of the all time classics 'Mr. India'. While the former's story, characters and treatment made us believe in the invisibility gadget and then root for the protagonist, AA Dekhen Zara falls flat on the face in this aspect. The story idea was noble and fresh but the screenplay has gone haywire. Writers Sheershak and Shantanu should have focused a little more on the screenplay.
Ray (Niel Nitin Mukesh) is a jobless photographer with nothing going right for him. He inherits a camera from his grandpa after his demise. Apparently the camera only clicks on a future date and time. When the pictures are developed they show the scene on that future date and time. In his first handling of the camera, Ray figures out that the camera predicts the future and his reaction is such that it would make you think, you can buy such cameras from your nearest chor bazaar and is very normal. There was no explanation akin to that of Mr India.
Ray goes on a picture taking spree and wins lotteries, horse races and becomes a crorepati in the progress. He also starts dating Simi (Bipasha) but doesn't let her into his secret. Meanwhile he comes into the spotlight after winning so much money in the horse races. Captain (Rahul Dev) comes to know of his secret behind betting correctly every time. (I don't know when Bollywood will let go of such cheesy names for bad guys. They could have seriously come up with a better name than captain). Even he doesnt show a surprise element after coming to know the secret of Ray's success.
As if the bad guys were not enough Ray discovers in one of the pictures that he is gonna die in 5 days. His life goes Topsy turvy and the chase begins to save his own life. There are several characters who are introduced in this time frame but they are insignificant. Watch out if Ray can defy the future and make 'honi ko anhoni'.
The music by Pritam is below his standards. 1-2 tracks stand out but are absolutely unnecessary in the movie. Neil Nitin Mukeshlends his voice to the title track. Intelligent mixing with Kishore da makes him sound nice. Peppy number.
On the acting front, NNM is ok. He has played a safe bet by choosing a similar genre to Johnny Gaddar. Bipasha did not need to do this movie after her successful run with Bachana Ae haseeno, Race etc. She doesn't get scope to act. It was good to see Rahul Dev back. Sophia is ok in her cameo.
To be fair to director Jehangir Surti, there is only so much you can do with a bad script. He tried his level best but the movie was weak at its heart. A better screenplay for the story would have worked wonders.
The last scene of the movie keeps the hope for a sequel alive. Only if we would have had Ray's camera we could have known if that's gonna come true. Hopefully not, for the audience's sake.
Rating: *1/2 (kisna se thoda zyada, yaadein se thoda kam :) Skip it !!)
I cant help but compare this movie to one of the all time classics 'Mr. India'. While the former's story, characters and treatment made us believe in the invisibility gadget and then root for the protagonist, AA Dekhen Zara falls flat on the face in this aspect. The story idea was noble and fresh but the screenplay has gone haywire. Writers Sheershak and Shantanu should have focused a little more on the screenplay.
Ray (Niel Nitin Mukesh) is a jobless photographer with nothing going right for him. He inherits a camera from his grandpa after his demise. Apparently the camera only clicks on a future date and time. When the pictures are developed they show the scene on that future date and time. In his first handling of the camera, Ray figures out that the camera predicts the future and his reaction is such that it would make you think, you can buy such cameras from your nearest chor bazaar and is very normal. There was no explanation akin to that of Mr India.
Ray goes on a picture taking spree and wins lotteries, horse races and becomes a crorepati in the progress. He also starts dating Simi (Bipasha) but doesn't let her into his secret. Meanwhile he comes into the spotlight after winning so much money in the horse races. Captain (Rahul Dev) comes to know of his secret behind betting correctly every time. (I don't know when Bollywood will let go of such cheesy names for bad guys. They could have seriously come up with a better name than captain). Even he doesnt show a surprise element after coming to know the secret of Ray's success.
As if the bad guys were not enough Ray discovers in one of the pictures that he is gonna die in 5 days. His life goes Topsy turvy and the chase begins to save his own life. There are several characters who are introduced in this time frame but they are insignificant. Watch out if Ray can defy the future and make 'honi ko anhoni'.
The music by Pritam is below his standards. 1-2 tracks stand out but are absolutely unnecessary in the movie. Neil Nitin Mukeshlends his voice to the title track. Intelligent mixing with Kishore da makes him sound nice. Peppy number.
On the acting front, NNM is ok. He has played a safe bet by choosing a similar genre to Johnny Gaddar. Bipasha did not need to do this movie after her successful run with Bachana Ae haseeno, Race etc. She doesn't get scope to act. It was good to see Rahul Dev back. Sophia is ok in her cameo.
To be fair to director Jehangir Surti, there is only so much you can do with a bad script. He tried his level best but the movie was weak at its heart. A better screenplay for the story would have worked wonders.
The last scene of the movie keeps the hope for a sequel alive. Only if we would have had Ray's camera we could have known if that's gonna come true. Hopefully not, for the audience's sake.
Rating: *1/2 (kisna se thoda zyada, yaadein se thoda kam :) Skip it !!)
Top 10 worst hindi movies...
Top Ten worst hindi movies of the last 2 decades..
Note all these movies had a decent cast and crew.
This list does not include the obvious B grade movies..
10.] Trimurti
*ing SRK, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff
Tough call for the 10th spot. But I think Subhash Ghai has lost it post Karz. He has been on a declinig curve.
Anil Kapor saves this movie from landing any higher than the 10th spot.
The others are hamming away to glory.
9.] RGV ki aag
*ing Ajay Devgan, Sushmita Sen, Nisha Kothari
This must have been the most tainted film in bollywood history. From day 1 it ran into problems. To be fair to Ramu he was fighting a lost battle. This movie would have worked if it was promoted as a spoof.
Watch out for amazingly hilarious dialogs including "Diwali kab hai? kab hai diwali?"
After watching this movie, if I meet Nisha kothari i am gonna strangle her !!!
8.] Vivah
*ing Shahid Kapur, Amrita Rao
Although this movie worked at the box office (please dont ask me how) it was one hell of a torture. All the characters are so sweet n goody two shoes that you would suffer from diabetes if you watch the entire movie.
Use of archaic words like "jal" for paani were reincarnated in this movie.
7.] Ram Jaane
*ing SRK, Juhi Chawla, Vivek Mushran
Another one which worked at the box office purely on SRK value. But one doesn't have to see the entire movie to know how bad it is.
SRK (in his white jacket with no shirt inside) hams like theres no tomorrow in this one.
6.] Mai Prem ki deewani hun
*ing Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachhan, Kareena Kapoor
This is a must watch movie to learn what not to do in a hindi movie. It is a horrrrendous affair.
Koi Mil Gaya released later in the year and Hrithik seemed to have mixed up some of KMG scenes in this movie.
KK was loud as usual and Abhishek did not have anything to do in the movie.
The only saving grace is Annu Malik's music which helps this movie to the 6th spot.
5.] Himalay Putra
*ing Akshaye Khanna
This was the launch pad for Akshaye Khanna back when he had hair on his head.
This movie shows Akshaye's skills in horse riding, driving super bikes in hills, swimming, polo, golf, tennis...hoooooof..
I guess they left out couple of small things, his acting skills and the movie script.
(Just for the record, post DCH Akshaye has transformed into an amazing and probably the most under-rated actor)
4.] Jai Veeru
*ing Fardeen Khan, Kunal Khemu, Dia Mirza
Fardeen Khan should be the king of bad movies. This movie has all the masala of the yesteryear. Car chases, Dons, Vamps, name it and you shall get it.
Titled on the famous Sholay pair, the movie did not fool the audience. Those who missed this flick saved themselves a couple of hundred hair. No wonder Firoz Khan has lost all of his :)
3.] Jaanasheen
*ing Fardeen Khan, Celina Jaitley
I simply have no words for this one. A master piece.
2.] Talaash
*ing Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor
For a long time this was my benchmark for bad movies until recently. This movie is so bad that you tremble with fear when it just doesnt stop.
I guess this was the shock which Nostradamus had predicted which could end the world. In the movie "The Ring", the characters were being shown this movie and hence they came back to haunt people.
1.] No Smoking
*ing John Abraham
This is my new benchmark for bad movies. I am really proud of sitting through this movie entirely till the credits rolled.
There are different themed movies and then there are different themed movies. This movie is a good candidate to giving 3rd degree torture to criminals. If you can watch this movie in its entirety without fastforwarding any part, you will have developed good tolerance skills.
Thats it folks.. Lemme know if i left out any obvious ones :)
Note all these movies had a decent cast and crew.
This list does not include the obvious B grade movies..
10.] Trimurti
*ing SRK, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff
Tough call for the 10th spot. But I think Subhash Ghai has lost it post Karz. He has been on a declinig curve.
Anil Kapor saves this movie from landing any higher than the 10th spot.
The others are hamming away to glory.
9.] RGV ki aag
*ing Ajay Devgan, Sushmita Sen, Nisha Kothari
This must have been the most tainted film in bollywood history. From day 1 it ran into problems. To be fair to Ramu he was fighting a lost battle. This movie would have worked if it was promoted as a spoof.
Watch out for amazingly hilarious dialogs including "Diwali kab hai? kab hai diwali?"
After watching this movie, if I meet Nisha kothari i am gonna strangle her !!!
8.] Vivah
*ing Shahid Kapur, Amrita Rao
Although this movie worked at the box office (please dont ask me how) it was one hell of a torture. All the characters are so sweet n goody two shoes that you would suffer from diabetes if you watch the entire movie.
Use of archaic words like "jal" for paani were reincarnated in this movie.
7.] Ram Jaane
*ing SRK, Juhi Chawla, Vivek Mushran
Another one which worked at the box office purely on SRK value. But one doesn't have to see the entire movie to know how bad it is.
SRK (in his white jacket with no shirt inside) hams like theres no tomorrow in this one.
6.] Mai Prem ki deewani hun
*ing Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachhan, Kareena Kapoor
This is a must watch movie to learn what not to do in a hindi movie. It is a horrrrendous affair.
Koi Mil Gaya released later in the year and Hrithik seemed to have mixed up some of KMG scenes in this movie.
KK was loud as usual and Abhishek did not have anything to do in the movie.
The only saving grace is Annu Malik's music which helps this movie to the 6th spot.
5.] Himalay Putra
*ing Akshaye Khanna
This was the launch pad for Akshaye Khanna back when he had hair on his head.
This movie shows Akshaye's skills in horse riding, driving super bikes in hills, swimming, polo, golf, tennis...hoooooof..
I guess they left out couple of small things, his acting skills and the movie script.
(Just for the record, post DCH Akshaye has transformed into an amazing and probably the most under-rated actor)
4.] Jai Veeru
*ing Fardeen Khan, Kunal Khemu, Dia Mirza
Fardeen Khan should be the king of bad movies. This movie has all the masala of the yesteryear. Car chases, Dons, Vamps, name it and you shall get it.
Titled on the famous Sholay pair, the movie did not fool the audience. Those who missed this flick saved themselves a couple of hundred hair. No wonder Firoz Khan has lost all of his :)
3.] Jaanasheen
*ing Fardeen Khan, Celina Jaitley
I simply have no words for this one. A master piece.
2.] Talaash
*ing Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor
For a long time this was my benchmark for bad movies until recently. This movie is so bad that you tremble with fear when it just doesnt stop.
I guess this was the shock which Nostradamus had predicted which could end the world. In the movie "The Ring", the characters were being shown this movie and hence they came back to haunt people.
1.] No Smoking
*ing John Abraham
This is my new benchmark for bad movies. I am really proud of sitting through this movie entirely till the credits rolled.
There are different themed movies and then there are different themed movies. This movie is a good candidate to giving 3rd degree torture to criminals. If you can watch this movie in its entirety without fastforwarding any part, you will have developed good tolerance skills.
Thats it folks.. Lemme know if i left out any obvious ones :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)