ALADIN MOVIE REVIEW

Labels: | at 01:07


Aladin (the film) is no Genius as Amitabh Bachchan's character is, but the movie does transport you to fantasyland, as its genre promises. Right from Boman Irani's voice-over in the beginning, the film carries you to a place called Khwaish, where Sujoy Ghosh rubs his palms, has his actors in slick get-ups, and sets to match the mood. Its fantasyland all right when Aladin (Riteish Deshmukh) is bullied by his friends from childhood to rub a lamp in the hope of a genie appearing. ''Aladin, Aladin kahan hai tera genie,'' his friends harass him all through his growing-up years.

However, things change when Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez) walks into his class on his birthday. Kasim (Sahil Khan), the big bully organizes a birthday bash to impress Jasmine. He convinces Jasmine that Aladin likes lamps and they buy him one as his birthday gift. Once again, they force him to rub the lamp. He refuses, but on Jasmine's insistence, he does oblige. Out comes Genius the genie (Amitabh Bachchan). From then on, its all between Genie and Aladin. He has three wishes but he wastes them all on Jasmine! There's also a twist in the tale in the form of Ring Master (Sanjay Dutt) who plays the bad Genie who wants all powers for himself.

Jacqueline waltzes through her part with the grace of a gazelle. She has the looks and the talent to make a mark. Amitabh is in 'high energy' mode giving the formulaic image of a fat man who we have come to identify with a Genie, a novel twist. Whether he is dancing or fighting, he is still 'Ab Tak Bachchan'. The style and the charismatic power are there for all to see. Riteish is slowly but steadily making a mark of his own. Dutt injects the necessary evil ingredient.

The look and feel of the film given by Sabu Cyril is commendable and the music by Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani has you tapping your feet. Choreography is top class and costumes deserve a special mention.

This film should have been released at the start of the Diwali vacations; nevertheless, kids will have a blast. Grown-ups too will love it, provided they are willing to take a trip down fantasyland.

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LONDON DREAMS MOVIE REVIEW

Labels: | at 01:04


In the first half, the script is hugely disappointing. There are instances of circumstances that make your jaw drop in disbelief. Arjun (Ajay Devgan) is being taken by his uncle, Om Puri, to London after his father's demise. Why he is going there, no one knows. But what takes the cake is at the airport, Arjun leaves his uncle and runs off. That's not all, he lives a good 20 years in the UK, furthers his singing ambition and manages to raise a band of Indian origin called, London Dreams.
How he grew up, where he stayed, why his uncle never lodged a police complaint is things we should not ask. A good 20 years later, or so, he is at his uncle's fast food corner ordering some food with his band friends. His uncle does not recognize him. Later, after a concert, Arjun calls out to his uncle!
Another instance of poor scripting is when at an audition, Arjun requests Priya (Asin) to join him. She knows all about him. C'mon, this is an audition of a lifetime and he is chancing it by requesting some female he saw dancing on the street.
Thankfully, post interval the pieces are picked up and the script gets tighter. Mercifully, there is Salman Khan (Manu) to grab your attention, with a laudable performance. I'm no Salman Khan fan, but the way he has tackled this role is like he has put his whole life into it. The fun-loving Manu, Arjun's childhood friend steals the thunder from Arjun's nose with his performance, just as he does on stage during their concerts. If you are a Salman fan, this is one performance of his you have to watch.
Arjun and Manu are childhood friends living somewhere in Punjab. Arjun has a dream of performing at Wembley to a full house; Manu is content playing the fool in the village. Arjun's parents are dead against their son's choice of career. Things turn in his favour when Arjun's father passes away and his uncle takes him to London. There (20 years later) he meets up with two brothers from Pakistan and sets up his band. Manu, in one of his conversations on the telephone, informs Arjun that he is getting married and Arjun flies down to Punjab, pronto! His first visit after he left for foreign shores (another of the 'script tease'). Here, he hears Manu singing and invites him too, to join his band. Once there, Manu steals the show with his singing and Arjun is sidelined as the crowds root for Manu.
Arjun's dream is shattered. What he dreamt for himself, he sees it happening to his friend. He plans the downfall of his best friend, as he cannot contain his jealousy. He vents his fury at Wembley Stadium when he does get to perform there. All that the crowd wants is Manu, while Arjun is belting out his number. Arjun on his part has made sure that Manu will never come back on stage.
The music is good while you hear it but the lyrics or tune is not something you will take home. A good opportunity lost for the trio of Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy.
Vipul Shah has garnished the film with some convincing concert scenes but its Salman and Salman alone who turns the table for LONDON DREAMS and makes it worth a watch.

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ALL THE BEST-FUN BEGINS MOVIE REVIEW

Labels: | at 00:59


Dear Mr Ajay Devgan. I don't know whether you have officially knocked off the 'A' from your surname or it is just a passing fad for a shift in spelling. For fear of you getting back to your original spelling, I'd rather address you with the 'A'. Remember Kareina Kapoor and Viveik Oberoi? They both went back to their original spellings.
Anyways, this note before the review is to congratulate you on a laugh riot. You have really lit up the lives of millions of cinemagoers this Diwali. A big hug and also a big Thank You on behalf of the viewers who will know their money has been well spent and won't come out feeling Blue!
People, line up for your tickets, ALL THE BEST directed by Rohit Shetty is a MUST WATCH. Sanjay Dutt is having the time of his life in a role he revels from the time he enters Goa Airport. Never have I seen him having so much fun and being so involved in his character. Ajay Devgan is super in his support. The show belongs to these two. Atul Parchure, Johnny Lever and Sanjay Mishra are the others who will have you laughing your guts out.
ALL THE BEST is a situational comedy. Veer (Fardeen Khan) needs extra pocket money from his stepbrother, Dharam (Sanjay Dutt), who lives in London. He needs the money to support his rock band. Prem Chopra (Ajay Devgan), his best friend who is married to Jhanvi (Bipasha Basu), hits on an idea. He tells Veer to inform Dharam that he is married. Vidya (Mugdha Godse) is Veer's girlfriend. Everything moves on smoothly for this gang until they take a loan from Tobu (Johnny Lever) to enter a car race. They lose the race, and have to repay the Rs 5 lakh loan along with the Rs 5 lakh, which Tobu wagered on them winning the race. They decide to rent out Veer's bungalow. Just then, they get a call from Dharam who is in Goa for a couple of hours. He decides to drop in home.
Vidya has gone off in a huff and cannot be contacted because she has left her cell phone at Veer's home. Veer is at his wits end, while Prem tries to solve the situation by getting Mary (Ashwini Kalsekar), their housemaid, to enact the wife's role. In walks Jhanvi and the roles have been reversed. From here on, everyone moves in and out of the bungalow leaving Dharam garam.
It's a laugh riot all the way. The background score keeps pace with the comedy, the music is peppy while the dialogues have weight. There's also action aplenty.
Its thumbs, toes and bottoms up for Devgan and director Rohit Shetty.

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BLUE MOVIE REVIEW

Labels: | at 00:56


This one has to go down as the biggest disaster of the year. It is sure to sink without a trace.
There is no substance, there is no script and the dialogues are juvenile and crass to the core. Sample this: Akshay Kumar tells a girl, "Let me ride you." The only twist in the plot (if you can call it one) is so loud that the director is almost shouting it out. When this excursion ends, you almost sigh in relief!
The quality of the acting is what you would put up in a school play. Akshay Kumar is always dressed like a bandmaster, Sanjay Dutt is left to find his left foot as he struggles to groove to the beat (where was the choreographer?) and Lara Dutta is busy changing into stylish two-piece suits (the skimpy ones) to get underwater. If she is not in her swimming attire, she is busy shaking her body like a girl lost in a pub. As for Zayed Khan, he gives one the feeling that he is hanging around with a bunch of his school buddies. Oh yes, somewhere along the way Katrina Kaif also shows up with Rahul Dev. There's also Kylie Minogue. Did she know what she was getting into? I'm sure, she too is feeling blue!
BLUE is a picnic in the Bahamas for the cast and crew. I guess director Anthony D'Souza told the cast, "Just get in front of the camera and do whatever you want." All four are very unconvincing and you can even see them squirm in some scenes. Sanjay Dutt, I'm sure, will be hiding his face in his hands if he ever watches this film in its complete state. Never has he ever been so bored in a role.
The first hour is a drag, the following is even worse. The first scene itself is an indication of what is in store. Dutt and Akshay play with a shark! No, in fact they are shooing it away from their net! However, you wait patiently because the promos have been convincing. They then get into the boxing ring. There is no respite. From here, it moves from one weird scene to another.
As for the story, go figure it out. I'm still trying to figure out what was in the bag that cost 50 million dollars. Worse, I can't for the life of me fathom why Zayed Khan did not look into the bag, the size of a lap top case, which Rahul Dev gave him to deliver to another person for a fee of 50,000 Dollars.
My advice would be to save the money for some Diwali shopping.

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MAIN AURR MRS KHANNA MOVIE REVIEW

Labels: | at 00:51


MAIN AUR MRS KHANNA had the potential to be an intense, intricate, complicated story of love. However, the weak writing has let the film down. It's really sad because they had one of the best actresses in Bollywood playing the lead in Kareena Kapoor. They also had Salman Khan, a top draw for distributors across the globe. But the intensity of the romance between Salman and Kareena is wasted away by novice twist, which takes the sting out of the tale.
The meeting between Samir Khanna (Salman Khan) and Raina (Kareena Kapoor), too is not very convincing. But the film does take off after that and then crash lands at the Melbourne airport with the introduction of the 'twist'. Samir marries Raina who is from an orphanage. However, his parents are not too happy with their son's choice of bride. They move to Melbourne, Australia, to begin their marital life. Here, Samir faces some tough financial times, we learn, as he is involved in his firm losing out on a lot of money in the stock exchange. Not able to get a job in Australia, he decides to shift base to Singapore at the insistence of his friend.
At the airport, however, he hands over Raina's passport and ticket and tells her that her flight is to Delhi, while he is off to Singapore. He says that this is in their best interest. Raina decides against boarding the flight back to Delhi and with the help of a friend finds a place to stay and a job at the airport. Here she meets Aakash (Sohail Khan), who works at a cafe. Akash it is who helps her out during her difficult times and they develop a bond of friendship. Though for Mrs Khanna, Akash is just a good friend, Akash has slowly fallen in love with her. He feels Samir will not come back for her and theirs will be a happy ending. However, Samir, after tasting success, comes back to Australia to take Raina with him. Here is when the complications erupt.
In this day and age of instant communication, it's sad that Samir and Raina hardly ever keep in touch on the phone that she does not let him know that she has registered for a marriage with Akash for the sake of her work permit. In addition, the scenes where Aakash and his friend try to barge into their home and all three (Aakash, his friend and Samir) sleep on the same bed is not convincing. I'm sure they had sofas and even carpets to lie down on. Samir and Raina need not have to sleep in different rooms, too.
When there's not much in a script, no actor can do anything. Not even a dashing Samir, or even a stunning Mrs Khanna!

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ACID FACTORY MOVIE REVIEW

Labels: | at 00:47


It's a first in Bollywood, Jhakaas action with kick-ass editing. It's so sharp that the cuts back and forth leave you breathless even as the action unfolds with typical Hollywood finesse. The screenplay blends seamlessly into every scene, past or present and the sound will truly get you. This is Bollywood at its best when it comes to action, direction, screenplay, editing, sound and cinematography. In short, this is Tashan - The Ishtyle, The good luck, The pharmoola!
Take a bow Mr Sanjay Gupta. I know you are the producer, but there is no mistaking your signature style.
What's even more unbelievable is that the story is a simple kidnap for ransom drama. But the intriguing plots within, layered between every scene is what is truly outstanding. Director Suparn Verma handles each scene with gay abandon.
Action director, Tinu Verma has set a benchmark, which will give Allan Amin sleepless nights! Cinematographer Sahil Kapoor takes you on an aerial tour of South Africa, capturing the beauty of the land. His use of camera angles and movements is slick... very, very slick. It's so real that you feel what the character on the screen is feeling. Bunty Nagi has clipped each scene and merged the past and present, peeling off every confusing layer with effortless ease. Oscar Winner Resul Pookutty takes this sound to another level. Be it the choppers homing in on the villain's car or the bullets being fired, or even the highway chase, his sound takes you right where the action is. Art Director Nitish Roy takes us away from Mukesh Mills to this Acid Factory. See it to believe it. Not ostentatious, but very real. Styling by Shantanu, Nikhil and Shahid Aamir also deserve special mention, as also the music by Shamir Tandon, Manasi Scott, Gourov Dasgupta, Bappa Lahiri and Ranjit Barot. For Manasi, it's a first as she has sung, composed, written the lyrics and even enacted her song on screen.
Now for the acting. Everyone is in a class of his or her own. Fardeen Khan, Dia Mirza, Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpai, Dino Morea, Aftab Shivdasani and Danny Denzongpa. The portrayal of every character and the eventual betrayal is carried off with style and delivered with conviction. Irrfan Khan makes a drastic shift form his usual dialogue delivery to suit the character of Kaiser he so chillingly displays. Danny is style personified while Manoj Bajpai gets a complete makeover. Dino for once stands out in his role and Fardeen Khan gives us glimpses of the style and grace his late father, Feroze Khan, once displayed on screen. This lad is slowly coming into his own.
As for Dia Mirza, she makes a solid impact even though she comes in the second half. Cool, calculating, and confident, a performance hitherto not seen from this former Miss India. This has been her Acid test!
Divulging anything about the story would be a grave injustice, to you, dear reader. But one word of caution. Keep alert at all times. Even if you blink for a second, you may miss a vital link that will help you unravel the mystery along with the characters, who incidentally, are suffering from a temporary memory loss.
Keep a watch out for Sultan, JD, Romeo, Max, Om and Sartak. They are your vital clues to this jigsaw.
I have just one grouse though. Why did Kaiser send Romeo out of the Factory to shoot Sartak? That is the only jarring note for me because Kaiser is portrayed as a merciless killer.
If you love the thrill and chill with fast-paced action, ACID FACTORY cannot be missed.

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DO KNOT DISTURB MOVIE REVIEW

Labels: | at 00:42


Sssssssshhhhhhh! DO KNOT DISTURB... This is a knotty affair... Enter at your own risk!

David Dhawan has flopped and flopped miserably. He comes out with no script, creates silly situations and expects his cast to enact with conviction and have the audience in splits. Pity, because he had such a talented line-up of stars that are sadly made to jump around without rhyme or reason. Govinda, Riteish Deshmukh, Rajpal Yadav, Ranvir Shorey, Sohail Khan, Lara Dutta... all are made to do meaningless scenes.

It all starts because Govinda has been caught in a frame with his girlfriend. Fortunately, for Govinda, Riteish Deshmukh wanders into the frame while the photograph is being taken. The said photograph lands on Sushmita Sen's table. She wants to get to the bottom of her husband's affair. She hires a detective to follow Govinda while Govinda tracks down Riteish and pays him to pretend to be Lara Dutta's boyfriend. From one bizarre situation to another, the movie moves on...

Songs pop up at unexpected turns and you end up feeling bad for the director who gave us a few No. 1 hits.

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WAKE UP SID MOVIE REVIEW

Labels: | at 00:36


Ayan Mukerji makes a solid debut as a director with his maiden venture, WAKE UP SID.

Mukerji is in control of the proceedings right from the word go. There is a level of rare maturity in his handling of the two lead actors so diverse in their approach to cinema. One a bubblegum, chocolate hero; another, a solid performer known more for her intense performances. Mukerji's control comes to the fore in his handling of every scene. He never goes over the top, and even the perpetual 'bunch of friends at college' are refreshingly used.

There is also a smart smattering of an interesting mix of English numbers used to light up certain moods, which works as a stimulant.

WAKE UP SID, is a mature love story. On one hand of the spectrum, you have a mature, older woman in search of her independence and on the other hand, you have an irresponsible, immature lad who is so dependent on his parents and their wealth. One day there is a wake up call from where begins his inward journey to unraveling the man within.

Sidharth Mehra (Ranbir Kapoor) has it easy. He has a rich father, a doting mother and a bunch of friends who he moves out with. Life is set. It couldn't be better. He even has credit cards to fund his extravagant lifestyle. Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma) comes to Bombay from Calcutta in search of her identity. She has a dream of becoming a writer and she knows this is the city of dreams. Sid and Aisha meet on the last day of college when she comes in with one of their friends. They hit it off instantly and go on to become the best of friends. Sid helps her in her house hunting and even helps her set it up. However, when the final year results are out, Sid is the only one who has failed.
Upset, he insults his mother (Supriya Pathak) and refuses to apologize even after his dad (Anupam Kher) asks him to. Because he does not want to go by the rules laid down by his dad, he leaves home and finds shelter at Aisha's home. Here is where he begins to mature, seeing life from a different perspective. Helping him through is a confused Aisha. Confused because she thinks he is a kid and somewhere deep down she is slowly beginning to look at him 'differently'.

Ranbir Kapoor has the charm of Rishi Kapoor and the sexiness of his mother Neetu Kapoor. He uses this potent mix to deadly effect. A natural with any scene, Ranbir walks into this role with the ease of a pro and comes out trumps. Be it when he is enjoying himself out there with his friends, insulting his mother or even keeping up pace with Konkona, he is perfect.

Konkona, not known for her glamorous image, keeps pace with the cute Kapoor lad. The two look fabulous together. It's only a tight script and a good director that could weave this magic.

Love you, Sid!

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WHAT's YOUR RAASHEE? MOVIE REVIEW

Labels: | at 00:28


Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles! Sorry Captain Haddock, I had to borrow your oft-repeated phrase used in exasperation, or was it a mild way of using an expletive! Watching Ashutosh Gowariker's WHAT'S YOUR RAASHEE evokes an exclamation of this sort. You expect much more from the director who gave us that mammoth hit LAGAAN and followed it up with SWADES and JODHA AKBAR. WHAT'S YOUR RAASHEE, is nowhere near these three films in terms of content or execution. A simple, logical shift would have been in getting 12 different girls with different Sun Signs to enact what Gowariker is trying to characterize on screen. But what you get is 12 Priyanka Chopras donning the garb from Aries to Pisces. Nothing wrong with that. But 12 sun signs will have their 12 different and distinct characteristic traits apart from the physical attributes and Priyanka tries her best but ends up repeating herself. She begins well with the first two Sun Signs. However, I wonder which girl, apart from the Scorpio girl, who I believe was decently portrayed, will ever associate with any of the Raashee's depicted by Gowariker.

Run for cover, Gowariker!
The ones for whom this film will do a world of good though, is Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja. Priyanka gets to don 12 different characters to display her acting skills. As for Harman, this lad has finally shaken off his Hrithik ka bhoot and is actually looking good and has put up a decent performance. Their chemistry here is very different from their LOVE 2050 disaster. Based on the Gujarati novel 'Kimball Ravenswood' by Madhu Rye, WHAT'S YOUR RAASHEE? is Ashutosh Gowariker's first romantic comedy. Yogesh Patel (Harman Baweja) is happily pursuing his studies and working in the Big Apple. A phone call about his dad's state of health has him rushing back to India. His brother, it appears, had taken huge loans. The only way out is to get Yogesh married. They stumble on this idea when the pundit who is called to predict whether Yogesh's brother will face a jail term ends up studying Yogesh's kundli. He states that if Yogesh gets married by the 20th of the month, there will be a flood of wealth in the household. Right enough, when he is delivering his prediction, Yogesh's mother gets a call from her father in Gujarat that he is 'willing' his entire property to his darling grandson, Yogesh. From here starts Yogesh's dilemma. To cut the long story short, he agrees after much persuasion, but on the condition that he gets to meet one girl from every Sun Sign.

The premise is silly, the plot frivolous and the execution lacks direction. It appears as though Gowariker has let go of the reins and is not aware of what is happening. The movie breaks the three-hour barrier. Each Sun Sign lasts for over 12 minutes and is most often punctuated with a song. And in every 'meeting' Yogesh is always helping the girl, either to be a model, marry the one of her choice, or pursue her studies. One even follows him and another tries to seduce him in the first meeting! And these are all shudh Gujarati belles. There are also too many sub-plots; the pundit who turns jaasoos, the sidekicks of the don and the Kampala to Khandala plot. The music is a huge draw but is overused, the start is terrific; giving one a Broadway feel but then comes the downer... It's easy to predict the fate of this flick at the Box Office!

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