BOLLYWOOD

I don't know why, but I get this feeling that this movie has been cleverly crafted and executed to herald Rani Mukherjee's second coming. Producer Aditya Chopra along with director Anurag Singh has made sure this is a Rani fare all the way and she gets most of the screen time. After all, it has been a long time Rani has been seen on screen. And to be fair to the actor, she has done a brilliant job. Showing the fire of old and a spark that still glows, Rani lights up the screen every time she comes on. Be it in the get-up as a male cricketer or as the village belle. She has enough and more scenes and dialogues to steam ahead in the numbers game. Others beware, the GHULAM girl is back with a bang. There's no dum in the story. It's a remix of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Chak De, both Yash Raj films. There are also enough references to the other hits from their banner, as is customary in all their films. Veera Kaur (Rani Mukherjee) is a cricketer who can hit six sixes in an over. Gary Sobers, Ravi Shastri and Yuvraj Singh be damned. She works in a local theatre group but dreams of donning the India colours. Her argument is simple; if Indira Gandhi could run the nation, Kiran Bedi tame prisoners in Tihar jail and Sunita Williams land on the moon, why cannot she play cricket for the Indian team. Good question! So to make her dream come true she turns into Veer Pratap Singh, complete with a moustache and a beard to enter the selection trials for a local club. Here she runs into (Rohan) Shahid Kapur, who has specially come down from England to help his dad's team, which has been consistently losing, get the winning edge. Dad and Mom are not on talking terms. Seems like she wanted to settle in England and he in India. So son spends most time in England Rohan selects Veer Pratap Singh blissfully unaware that he is a girl, falls in love with Veera, thinking she is Veer's sister, realizes his folly during the all-important match, asks her to sit out, and then, when they are nine wickets down and on the verge of losing the match to a Pakistan team, requests her to pad up. No prizes for guessing which team wins.

There's no dum in the story. It's a remix of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Chak De, both Yash Raj films. There are also enough references to the other hits from their banner, as is customary in all their films.

Veera Kaur (Rani Mukherjee) is a cricketer who can hit six sixes in an over. Gary Sobers, Ravi Shastri and Yuvraj Singh be damned. She works in a local theatre group but dreams of donning the India colours. Her argument is simple; if Indira Gandhi could run the nation, Kiran Bedi tame prisoners in Tihar jail and Sunita Williams land on the moon, why cannot she play cricket for the Indian team. Good question!

So to make her dream come true she turns into Veer Pratap Singh, complete with a moustache and a beard to enter the selection trials for a local club. Here she runs into (Rohan) Shahid Kapur, who has specially come down from England to help his dad's team, which has been consistently losing, get the winning edge. Dad and Mom are not on talking terms. Seems like she wanted to settle in England and he in India. So son spends most time in England

Rohan selects Veer Pratap Singh blissfully unaware that he is a girl, falls in love with Veera, thinking she is Veer's sister, realizes his folly during the all-important match, asks her to sit out, and then, when they are nine wickets down and on the verge of losing the match to a Pakistan team, requests her to pad up. No prizes for guessing which team wins.

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QUICK GUN MURUGUN enthralled us with his lingo and distinct dialect almost a decade ago when he entered our living rooms through MTV. He was a creation of Shashank Ghosh. ''Mind it'' and ''We are like this only'' became popular lines and are used even today. The man has now made it as a hero, thanks to his creator who is also the director of this film.

The movie traces almost 25 years in the life of QUICK GUN MURUGUN who is bumped off by Rice Plate Reddy, the baddie. Rice Plate Reddy is forcefully turning all the pure vegetarian restaurants into non-veg ones and Murugun 'is not liking it' one bit. He polishes off his cronies 'Phatak se', with the subtle use of his guns and nimble hands. The bullets find its target after ricocheting off various objects. Rice Plate Reddy is angry and finishes off Murugun with a bullet to his heart. Yamraj descends to take his soul and all the way to heaven Murugun says, ''I want to go back''. At the registration counter 'Up There', he manages to convince the 'Heavenly Clerk' to send him back. He does come back, 25-years-later, but not in Kerala. Murugun is dropped at Gateway of India in Mumbai.

Rice Plate Reddy has by now set up a chain of McDosas all over the city of Mumbai and is also going international. Murugun's search for him leads to a volley of explosions and countless dead bodies. Yes, Murugun finishes off Rice Plate Reddy. He came from heaven on a mission, you see!

At best, you can enjoy this flick, mainly in English, partly in Malayalam with a little bit of Hindi and a few English sub-titles, for over 15 minutes. Then it gets bothersome. It's like the joke has gone too far. The violence is gory and you don't even see a joke in it. If it was a television film, you would not have 'Mind It'! As a full length feature... well, 'They are like that only...''

Dr Rajendra Prasad as QUICK GUN MURUGUN has his fingers on the trigger but it is Rice Plate Reddy played by Naseer who is the scene-stealer. This guy is a pocket dynamo. Close on his heels in the menace department is the actor who plays MBA, a perfect villain.

If you have a stomach for non-stop violence and senseless killings, try this Rice Plate, its Reddy-made. If not... MIND IT!

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Director Srinivas Bhashyam has tackled an interesting subject on 'commitment phobia' and 'lust over love', which plagues most of the youth of today. He has handled the subject with sensitivity, bringing to fore the many emotions and driving home a powerful point. Of course, the end is not what was expected; it's clich餮 A 'tadka' towards the conclusion would have made this LOVE KHICHDI, even more delicious.

All the same, he has managed his ensemble cast to perfection and extracted good performances from all of them. Vir (Randeep Hooda) is your typical hot-blooded 26-year-old from Chandigarh who is working as a chef in a five-star hotel in Mumbai. For him, life is all about discos and dating girls. His weapon is his English and his super-confidence in approaching any PYT. It's this journey of his in search of 'sex' that Bhashyam explores.

He has a friend who works with him, Sandhya Iyengar (Sada). Though just friends, for Sandhya, Vir is extra special. And even though she is aware of his escapades, her love for him is real. This love of hers is what changes the 'skirt chasing' Vir towards the end to tame him to domestic bliss.

While Vir thinks he is taking the girls for a ride, there are a few, who beat him to his game. Lost in lust, he is confused as to what he really wants.

Playing the modest Romeo, Randeep Hooda is a joy. From one relationship to another, he dishes out an interesting gamut of emotions. Be it with the girl besotted by him who lives in his building Deepti (Riya Sen); an NRI returned business woman Nafisa Khan (Kalpana Pandit); his landlord's wife Parminder Kaur (Divya Dutta), or Sharmistha Basu (Ritapurna Sengupta). From one woman to another, he displays the pain and pleasure of it all. This guy is one helluva natural and deserves his due.

Among the girls, it's Sada who steals the show. As the one who is silently in love with Vir, and as his constant companion witnessing all his romps, she demonstrates her hopelessness with a touch of boldness, which in turn has the desired effect on Vir.

Most scenes are sure to have an instant connect with the ?youngsters' of today and I'm sure they will lap this Khichdi with glee. On the flip side, considering there is a khichdi of releases (six in all), it might be a little difficult

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Douglas Lazarus an upright, God-fearing Income Tax officer, is dead. It's his funeral and what happens there is what the movie DADDY COOL is all about. The location is Goa and the mourners are close family and friends. There is also an intruder who hovers around the coffin. The family thinks him to be Douglas' friend until he reveals his true identity. This turns the funeral house 'upside down'.

Prior to this, an unsuspecting capsule housed in a Relaxo bottle is the cause of much pain for Michael (Aftab Shivdasani) and a lot of fun on screen. What the capsule contains is some hallucinating drug managed by Harry (Chunkey Pandey), Michael's to-be brother-in-law. Michael is administered the capsule by his girlfriend Maria (Tulip Joshi) because he is hyper about facing her father at the funeral. That one capsule begins the rout at the funeral. That is until the intruder; Andrew Symonds (Rajpal Yadav) makes known his intention.

So you can imagine the scene where the mourning family is already harassed when they are delivered the coffin with the wrong body minutes before the mourners arrive. Elder son Steven Lazarus (Suniel Shetty) is aghast. So is his mother, Suhasini Mullay. In the kitchen, Steven's wife, Nancy (Aarti Chhabria) makes plans of shifting house. She finds this an ideal opportunity to get away from her nagging mother-in-law. But Steven's younger brother Brian (Aashish Chowdry), a successful novelist living in Mumbai, prefers his pet dogs to his mother. Steve is in a fix!

Coming to the funeral are Carlos (Jaaved Jaffery), his wife Jenny (Kim Sharma) and friend Jim (Vrajesh Hirjee). Battered by his wife and bullied by his friends, Carlos takes everything with his chin up, until the shit hits the fan! Stumbling onto the scene of mourning is Ayesha (Sophie Choudhary), an aspiring model who will do whatever it takes to reach the top. She is looking out for her Carlos who told her he would be dressed in a black suit. As it turns out, she meets a room full of men in black!

Mixing up these situations, Director K Murali Mohan Rao, dishes out a laugh-riot. From one comic situation to another, Rao manages to maintain the momentum for most part. Aftab excels in his role. Looks like the boy has done a perfect study of Rowan Atkinson AKA Mr Bean. Ditto Suniel Shetty. He maintains a cool calm amidst the madness to sometimes blow his top. Aashish Chowdry is slowly making the grade to being taken as a serious actor. Vrajesh Hirjee is good in his 'Jim act' while Jaaved Jaffery, though endearing at most times, goes overboard with his 'what maan' dialogues. Rajpal Yadav intensifies the laughs when he comes on scene. There's also Uncle Murphy (Prem Chopra) who comes to the funeral on a wheel chair.

While most jokes stay within the limit, there are a few that cross the line, like the one with Jaffery and the guy who plays a Priest.

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Kisaan does not delve deep into the problems of farmers in remote India (read suicide) but scratches gingerly on the surface. It's sad, because this film had the potential of being taken rather seriously; entertaining as well as educating.

Although it briefly touches on the malady of farmer suicides and land sharks, it does not go the distance. It ends up being a 'typical Bollywood masala flick'.

The film is about Dayal Singh (Jackie Shroff), a widower, who raises his two sons Aman (Arbaaz Khan) and Jigar (Sohail Khan) singlehandedly. He faithfully toils with his sons on his ancestral land as a true farmer would. One day, his neighbour commits suicide because he had taken a meager loan and could not repay it. Also, he had given his thumb impression on a blank piece of paper to the loan sharks. That paper turned out to be his noose.

Deeply disturbed, Dayal decides to send his elder son to the city to get a degree in law. Fifteen years later, when Aman returns to his village, with a law degree in hand, he is facing a rather peculiar problem. Sohan Seth (Dalip Tahil) an industrialist wants the farmers to sell their land. He is willing to pay more than the market rate. While most agree, others are being forced. Dayal and his sons are of the opinion that no one should be forced. In one such meeting, the melee, Dayal is slapped by a local goon who has teamed up with Sohan. Being the lawyer that he is, Aman stops his dad from retaliating. However, when Jigar, who was not at the scene, learns of the incident, he exacts revenge by cutting the hand of the offender.

From there on the film sinks into melodrama with Sohan befriending Aman and causing a rift in the family. To add glamour, there is Dia Mirza paired opposite Arbaaz and Nauheeh Cyrusi as Titli (cute) who is Sohail's love interest.

Jackie Shroff is solid, giving off a very good performance as the father and farmer who is protective of his land and fiercely proud of his sons. After his debut flick HERO and later GARDISH, Jaggu stands out yet again. There's something about Sohail Khan that strikes you. I think it is the sincerity of his performance. As the hotheaded son with an immense love for his father and land, he is a powerhouse. Arbaaz's vague wig casts an unreal air around him.

The music has a distinct feel of eighties, which goes well with the theme. With over five releases this week, the film will hit bulls-eye in the rural areas of India. Producer Sohail will have to make sure they get a tax-free entry onto the theatres.

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It takes a 'brave man' with strength in his wealth to produce a film propelling him as a leading actor. It takes an even braver man to direct a film as kitsch as this.

Naseer Khan is the leading man; he is also the co-producer of SHADOW. In real life, he is also blind. The move is meant to prove that blind men can act and indulge in dare-devilry, which even guys with proper vision cannot. Nothing wrong in that. In fact, it's a very bold and creative attempt. But how about taking some acting
lessons before dumping yourself on unsuspecting audiences? Although the concept is kind of 'cute', things could have worked in favour of Naseer and the film had the cast and crew made a decent attempt to enact the scenes. At best, this is like a home video gone horribly wrong.

The story is about Naseer Khan who plays a sharp shooter Arjun Sherawat and also doubles up as a car mechanic who can fix a car just by moving his hands beneath the bonnet. As a sharp shooter, he does not miss his target, so why did his miss his first target, the person who raped his sister? Had he bumped that corrupt politician off in the first instance, we would not have been bored with this headache. But then again, if he had, there would have been no film like SHADOW.

I know its mean, but don't even let your SHADOW in for this flick!

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Nothing is clear; the only thing evident is that there is friction in Kashmir between the militants, religious heads and a reformed politician. When the movie ends, the end line says, ''This movie is dedicated to the children of Kashmir.''

So, aptly, there are two kids who take you through life in a troubled valley. Parzan Dastur (Sikandar) is a 14-year-old who is good at soccer in his school but is targeted by three bullies from his school because of his brilliance with the ball. Ayesha Kapur (Nasreen) another 14-year-old befriends Sikandar and the two become good friends. One day, Sikandar chances upon a gun by the wayside. He picks it up to teach a lesson to his bullies. But that one move, changes the course of his motives.

Though, by the end, you pretty much have things sorted out in your head, you wonder why director Piyush Jha failed to build his characters. There's no bite in the bait and no chill in the kill. Every scene is treated like any other and that's what spells disaster for the film. There is just one definite drone, scene after scene.


Madhavan and Sanjay Suri go about listlessly. Can't blame them really. It's only Parzan and Ayesha who get a scope to display their acting prowess. Arunoday Singh, who makes his debut, injects sufficient life in his portrayal as Zahgeer Quadir, a militant leader.

What Jha was trying to portray was the blooding in of the innocent children by the militants. What he ends up showing is a pale disaster.

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