Shaitan….

Movie Review: Shaitan….

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By Neharika.

Directed by: Bejoy Nambiar
Produced by: Anurag Kashyap, Sunil Bohra, Guneet Monga, Meraj Shaikh
Screenplay by: Megha Ramaswamy, Bejoy Nambiar
Starring: Rajit Kapoor, Rajeev Khandelwal, Kalki Koechlin, Pawan Malhotra, Shiv Pandit, Gulshan Devaiya, Neil Bhoopalam, Kirti Kulhari
Music by: Prashant Pillai, Amar Mohile, Ranjit Barot, Anupam Roy
Cinematography:Madhie
Editing by: Sreekar Prasad
Distributed by: Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

Shaitan, a movie which the Indian spectators will experience for the first time. It is this realism, edginess and awkwardness that stays with the audiences once they leave the theaters.

A story about five youngsters, who live life as if there is no tomorrow. They come from affluent homes, speeding through the streets of Mumbai in an expensive Hummer. Amy [Kalki], Dash [Gulshan], KC [Shiv], Zubin [Neil] and Tanya [Kirti] enjoy life, seeking for excitement all the time, till a moment changes everything. Well, they meet with an accident, killing two people on a two wheeler. Their actions to cover up lead them through a series of incidents, thus bringing out the inner ‘shaitan’ in all of them.

Inspector Mathur [Rajeev Khandelwal], who’s fighting his inner demons too, is handed over the responsibility of chasing the youngsters.

The story has the exact amount of ‘rage’, ‘psyche’ and ‘moments’. No dull moments. Both the first and the second halves were well balanced. The film gives us a glimpse of the erratic and inner psyche of today’s youngsters who live for the moment.

Talking about the star performances, Rajeev Khandelwal ( Mathur) as a cop was very very convincing, focused performance. Kalki was as usual excellent, giving a striking performance. Debut actors Shiv Pandit and Kirti both are fresh and will shock audience with their smart convincing act.The others were pretty decent and effective.

Debutant director Bejoy Nambiar has done a fab job. His content, is worth a praise. Right from the script to direction to narration to execution; everything is just about perfect. Madhi’s cinematography is spectacular. The car chase scene literally gets your hair to stand. Must say, very interestingly shot.


The film’s sound-track, which lists five composers including Ranjit Barot and Amar Mohile and a metal band, is peppy and simply superb. Dialogues are completely youth centric.

Final word: An adrenaline pumped thriller, a must watch flick for youth who love realism and edginess.

I give it a 4 on 5 rating…

Desi Boyz!

Movie Review: Desi Boyz!

Nick (John Abraham) and Jerry (Akshay Kumar) are best buddies who share the same home, both of them being victims of the global recession in UK are left jobless. Both the buddies have load on their shoulders, with Jerry taking care of his nephew and Nick has to maintain a high-end girlfriend Radhika (Deepika Padukone).

They are in desperate need of a job and it is then when the duo meet Sanjay Dutt who gives them a job as male escorts in his company, Desi Boyz with one rule set: “No sex”.

There after, life becomes easy for all. The nephew is happy as all his expenditure is taken care off and Radhika is content too.. However, later on, she learns about Jerry and Nick’s nocturnal activities, when their real profile pops up on Youtube..

Nick and Radhika break up, nephew is sent to a foster home, and Jerry is chased out off Nick’s home, to complete his graduation.

Enters Tanya (Chitrangada Singh) who play a ‘sexy professor’. She is also Jerry’s love interest.

The chemistry between John Abraham and Akshay Kumar sets the whole mood of the film. The two, once again leaves the audience in splits, after GARAM MASALA.

Deepika Padukone, needless to mention, is superb through out the film, Chitrangada manages to impress in her brief role while Sanju baba rocks.

Pritam’s music is awesome and the title song, Desi Boyz, has already become a chartbuster.

Finally, Rohit Dhawan, the director of the film, has done a brilliant job.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Always Kabhi Khabi…

Movie Review: Always Kabhi Khabi…

By Neharika.
Directed by: Roshan Abbas
Produced by: Gauri Khan
Screenplay by: Roshan Abbas, Ranjit Raina, Ishita Moitra
Story by: Roshan Abbas, Ranjit Raina
Starring: Ali Fazal, Giselle Monteiro, Zoa Morani, Satyajeet Dubey, Satish Shah, Lilette Dubey and Vijay Raaz
Music by: Aashish Rego, Shree D, Pritam Chakraborty
Cinematography: Fuwad Khan, Anshuman Mahaley
Editing by: Sanjay Sharma
Distributed by: Red Chillies Entertainment, Eros Entertainment

Grade: D: Poora time Waste  :(

ALWAYS KABHI KABHI is said to be based on director Roshan Abbas successful play ‘Graffiti’, which he had written and directed way back in 1999.

The story spins around the lives of four high-school adolescents – Sameer aka Sam, Aishwarya aka Aishu/Aish, Taariq aka Einsten, Nandini aka Nandu the Bull, who are in their final year at St. Marks, a school full of good looking, well-dressed romantic students dancing around with funny professors like Ms Das (Lilette Dubey) and Professor Agarwal urf Agro (Vijay Raaz), the girl’s skirts end much above their knees and Romeo and Juliet continues to be the most important chapter in classroom.

Sam, the coolest dude in school, who lives life through shortcuts falls in love with Aish, a new entrant in the school, and as always, you can expect obstacles in their love story. A parallel love story emerges between angry young rebel, Nandu and the cute nerd Einsten. Everyone’s parents are evil.
In short, the story is about how the four brats screw up their lives, and to top it up, the family problems, thus clashing their dreams and aspirations.

The first half of the flick is dull and boring while the second half has a flashy climax. The movie is completely a teeny,youth type film, filled with dreams, friendship, love, crushes, parents pressure, campus life, flirting etc etc. The film does convey a message at the end especially to the parents.

Though the movie is so-so, in fact, it desperately wanted to look youthful, though the dialogues and one-liners did have a youth flavor. The entire star cast did their parts beautifully and can be rated above average. Thankfully, there was no over acting.

Roshan Abbas’ Always Kabhi Kabhi would have worked well if he had released the flick a few years back.

Rating: 1 out of 5 

My Friend Pinto

Film: “My Friend Pinto”
Cast: Prateik, Kalki Koechlin, Arjun Mathur, Shruti Seth, Makrand Deshpande, Divya Dutta
Director: Raghav Dar
Rating: 

BollywoodWorld.com, “Zindagi khwab hai khwab mein sach hai kya aur bhala jhooth hai kya?” Remember Motilal’s staggering existentialism in 1956′s “Jagte Raho”? Some such philosophy underlines the key goings-on in “My Friend Pinto” — a wispy, nostalgic comedy about a Goan simpleton’s one night of zany adventures in the mad mad bustle of Mumbai during New Year’s eve.

This isn’t the first film that explores Mumbai by night. From Khwaja Ahmed Abbas’s “Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein” to Sudhir Mishra’s “Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin”, the dark comic side of the city’s underbelly has ceaselessly fascinated Bollywood since long before the term ‘Bollywood’ was invented.

Debutant director Raghav Dar switches on the innovative mode full-blast. The first and most conspicuous component in his comic romp is the director’s sense of fun.

He is fearless about the fun quotient that he has while going with one sumptuous swoop into lives as different from one another as any two homes, families that live in Mumbai can be.

A semi-retired gangster (Makarand Deshpande) and his never-been star-actress mistress(Divya Dutta), his twin assassin-goons Ajay and Vijay (played by real life Amin and Karim Hajee who were last seen together on screen dancing in a Sufi trance to A.R. Rahman’s devotional number in Jodhaa-Akbar), an old taxidriver and his gambler-son(theatre actor Shakeel Khan making a stellar screen appearance), a lost girl Maggie(Kalki Koechlin) abandoned by her small-time crook boyfriend on the railway station, the competitive couple (Arjun Mathur and Shruti Seth) coping with the sudden appearance of an unwanted guest from Goa, even as they try to cope with the fissures in their own marriage… These, then, are some of the characters who show up one night in Dar’s ‘Mumbai raat ki bahon mein’ (Mumbai at night).

There are many others. Oh yes, characters pop out of every nook and cranny like rabbits from a hat. Bringing them all together is the Goan Mama’s boy, the simpleton Michael Pinto who we’re informed, with tongue firmly in the scriprwriter’s cheek, is the nephew of Albert ‘jissko bahut gussa aata tha’ (who gets very angry).

The reference to Saeed Mirza’s 1980 cult classic “Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai” is not lost in the film’s melee of bustling adventures. The film is knowledgeably laden with references to cinema and cinematic devices from the past including a very pointed allusion to a corpse’s journey across Mumbai from Kundan Shah’s “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron”.

“My Friend Pinto” is a very complex script to write and an even more complex act to pull off on screen. Dar manages the chaos created by Michael Pinto’s misadventures across the celebratory streets of Mumbai with fluency and grace.

The awkwardness that we encounter in the storytelling is purely by design. Pinto is put into all kinds of bizarre and embarrassing situations. Like Charlie Chaplin in the silent films, he walks out of the chaos unscathed.

He is a Goan angel in disguise. He’s Chaplin, Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt from “City Lights”, “Jagte Raho” and “Pyasa”. He is all of those and none of them.

Prateik with his waif-like quality truly finds himself as an actor when he plays a lost character. “My Friend Pinto” needed his vulnerability and uncertainties.

The supporting cast is impressive, with Divya Dutta and Makrand Deshpande having a ball with their guns and games. They are like two bulls in a sex shop. Arjun Mathur as Pinto’s desensitised Mumbai friend creates quite a graph for his character within the limited space provided by the restless script.

Quirky, capricious, whimsical and at times magical (watch those Broadway-styled musical performances), “My Friend Pinto” conveys the key comic patterns of Kundan Shah’s “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron”.

Prateik echoes the innocent adventures of Raj Kapoor in “Jagte Raho”. Dar’s directorial debut is endearing in its eccentricity.

When you leave the crazy comic cosmos of Pinto’s world behind, you take away with you a film that is fiercely original in concept and designed to deliver tongue-in-cheek swipes at all those scared cows of Bollywood that we grew up watching and loving without knowing why we loved them in the first place.

There is something about “My Friend Pinto”. But you don’t really know what.

Loot

Film: “Loot”
Cast: Govinda, Suniel Shetty, Javed Jaffrey, Mahaaskshay Chakbraborty, Ravi Kissan and Prem Chopra
Director: Rajneesh Thakur
Rating: 

There is a Don (oh, there are many of them peeping out of every nook and cranny of this abominable comedy) played by Prem Chopra who loves Meena Kumari and “Pakeezah”. Sighing loudly he tells another don, played with lipsmacking relish by Mahesh Manjrekar, “They don’t make heroines like Meena Kumari any more. She was someone you wanted to marry. Nowadays the heroines are good for only one thing.”

That is just about the most subtle dialogue you will get to hear in this in-your-face farce where three small-time wastrels — Govinda, Jaffrey and Mahaakshay, and a scowling goon Suniel Shetty — take off to Pattaya. What follows is a fiesta of fatuous gags and dialogues including of course, bad puns on ‘pattaya’ and ‘guard’….

Wouldn’t miss out on that.

“Loot” looks like an unfinished product from a group of actors and technicians who lost their way in transit. This one should have ideally remained in the cans. Just why Suniel invested into this piece of filmed garbage is anyone’s guess.

May be he thought it would be a fun caper, a sort of “Oceans 11″ with lots of lowbow jokes about ‘andar daal’ and ‘baahar khol’. Come on!

Crudity by its very nature requires a very high amount of discipline and dedication to be convincing and inoffensive on scene. The crassness in Loot is simply boring. The characters are most frequently seen lolling around in hotel rooms, waiting for the dialogue writer to come up with some more oafish innuendos. In the meanwhile there is a whole truckload of gangsters, goons, dons and hoodlums waiting to pounce on the plot at the drop of a hat.The world never seemed more unsafe.

Govinda’s habitual abilities to improvise do see some of the scenes to a kind of culmination. And Suniel remains true to his character, while Manjrekar along with his sidekick Razaak Khan share the film’s only genuinely funny sequence. But most of the time, the actors seem as clueless about their next move as the scriptwriter. So they just decide to have fun with the pun.

Somewhere in the initial reels singer Mika and starlet Kim Sharma (long time no see) pop up as part of a street gang in Pattaya. They add considerably to the overall confusion of the proceedings.

Really, you’d need nerves of steel to sit through this mishmash of misdirected mirth and over-done cockiness. The actors try hard not to look bored. The performances in this deflated farce are better than the recent “Rascals” where the actors tried hard to be funny. Here no one makes an effort except the dialogue writer who seems to be falling off his chair in delight at his torrent of double entendres.

If only we knew what was so funny. “Loot” is a hoot. And a painful reminder of the collapse of the comic caper in Bollywood in a heap of inadequacy. The writing reaches a stalemate even before the actors warm up to their roles.

And then it’s downhill all the way.

Murder 2

Murder 2 - Music Review

7 years down the lane, ‘Bhege Hoth Tere’ still rules the chartbuster and is one of the most foot-tapping numbers of the present day. Music-goers till date croon the song with same passion and is as refreshing as before. So when the sequel to this hit movie hit the market, expectation obviously touches sky.  The Bhatt camp, Mohit Suri and Emraan Hashmi, the combination of this trio never misses to give a hit and electrifying album.

‘Murder 2’ has replaced Mallika Sherawat with Jacqueline Fernandez and the makers promise the sequel to be more erotic and intense thriller compared to the prequel. It brings together composer Harshit Saxena, Sangeet & Siddharth Haldipur, Mithoon to deliver another memorable offering.  As far as music is concern, Bhatt camp always dominates the musical world. Their film hardly misses to deliver a hit chartbuster. The Bhatt camp always give opportunity the new singing sensation from the reality TV shows. In 2008, they offered Toshi to sing ‘Maahi’ from ‘Raaz-The Mystery Continues’ and it rocked. Now they are again giving the huge responsibility of framing the song ‘Haal-E-Dil’ to another TV reality singing talent Harshit Saxena to sing and compose the song.  Let’s see how he has done and what is stored in ‘murder 2’.

The album kick-starts with ‘Haal-E-Dil’ crooned by Harshit Saxena. He has been able to do justice to the film. It is a typical Emraan Hasmi type of song blend of romance and thrill. It is high on instrument and sounds like a rock ballad. Well, he has done a good job and has been able to build up the expectation.

 The second song goes as ‘Aa Zara’ which is a club number. Picturized on Jacqueline Fernandez, the song is high on beats and Sunidhi Chauhan’s scintillating voice could not done wonder this time. Composed by the duo of Sangeet and Siddharth Haldipur and lyrics written by Kumaar, the song is a let down. It lacks the disco factor. The plus point of this track is that it has the sensuous feeling.

The next track is ‘Aye Khuda’ which sounds very ordinary. The track is purely situational. It is not the type of song that you would like to hum or listen again and again. it is a just passable. While the remix version sounds little better. Kshitij Tarey, Saim, Mithoon could not utilize the opportunity.  The lyrics is catchy but the song is too slow.

The fourth track is ‘Phir Mohabbat’ sung by Mohd Irfan, Arijit, Saim. This time Mithoon has again taken the task of composing the song. It is a romantic number where the male protagonist speaks bout his heart. lyrics by Sayeed Quadri has done the maximum job. Very soulful and touchy wording and beautifully sung by the singers.

The fifth offering of the album is ‘Tujhko Bhulana’ is just awful. Music by Sangeet Haldipur, Roshni Baptist is a total let down. The song is not up to the standard of film like ‘Murder’. Sayeed Qadri’s lyrics was also very depressing. Hope, if not the song the picturization might feel the space.

Overall, the music of ‘Murder 2’ is average. If one compares it with the prequel then it would be highly disappointing. It stands nowhere to the original ‘Murder’ track. While ‘Haal-E-Dil’ and ‘’Phir Mohabbat’ will contribute to the film’s success.

Arakshan

Aarakshan - Movie Review

Prakash Jha’s movies always give one a reflection of the present society. It shakes our thinking and compel us to think is this really happens in our society. His journey from ‘Damul’ to ‘Aarakshan’ is path breaking and thought provoking. His latest offering ‘Aarakshan’ based on caste-based reservation is an awakening subject which makes us aware how sensitive the issue is and how the society has been divided into general and backward classes.

The film not only deals with the caste based reservation but also shows us the picture as how educational institutions have become a big hub of money making. Though we claim to be an equal society, students were divided into two on the basis of caste when it comes to get admitted into college or getting a job. ‘Aarakshan’ is a reflection of the present society.

It tells the story of Dr. Prabhakar Anand (Amitabh Bachchan), an ideal principal of an esteemed college and a man of strict principles. It is a story of Deepak Kumar (Saif Ali Khan), a brilliant student who is ready to do anything for his sir. Then there is Poorbi (Deepika Padukone), the daughter of Dr. Prabhakar Anand who falls in love with Deepak.  Deepak and Poorvi have a close buddy in college name Sushant [Prateik].

Things were all right until Dr. Prabhakar Anand gave approval on reservations for backward classes. His approval was opposed by the standing committee of his private institution which compels him to voluntarily resign from his post. Mithilesh Singh (Manoj Bajpayee) who never sees eye to eye with Anand in any matter is appointed as the new college principal. He parallely runs coaching classes outside the campus.

Then follows the tiff between the right and the wrong, good and the evil. The film has many strong conversations which is real and catchy. There are many instances in the movie that deserves applaud.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is not at all ear-soothing. None of the songs can impress the audience. Sachin Kumar Krishnan's cinematography is top-notch. Santosh Mandal's editing is fine.

Speaking about performances, Amitabh Bachchan delivers an outstanding performance, totally fits to the role. His expression was real and touchy. Saif Ali Khan portrayed his part really well. At first glance, one had the feeling that his looks doesn’t fit to the character but when later he proved to be effective. Deepika Padukone is simple, matches her step with established actors. Manoj Bajpai plays the negative character with perfection. Prateik needs time to polish his acting. Darshan Jariwala, Yashpal Sharma is effective.

‘Aarakshan’ is a well made film by Prakash Jha. Recommended to go and watch the social awakening subject.

Arakshan - Music Review

After ‘Rajneeti’, director Prakash Jha has come up with another hard-hitting socio political subject, ‘Aarakshan’. It is an intense subject that deals on the caste reservation in our society. Basically, in an intense subject less importance is given on song and dances. So, let’s see whether ‘Arakshan’ stands out and come up with an ear-soothing album.

The huge task to helm the music of ‘Aarakshan’ was given on the shoulder of music composer trio S-E-L (Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy). After the super duper musical success of ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, audience expectation from SEL rises up. Prasson Joshi has penned the music of ‘Aarakshan’.  Singers like Mohit Chauhan, Shreya Ghosal, Mahalaxmi Iyer, classical singer Pandit Channulal Mishra have lend their voice to the album.

The first track goes as ‘Aacha Lagta Hai’ a sweet, light and romantic duet by Mohit Chauhan and Shreya Ghosal. The credit for this beautiful number goes to the lyrics by Prasson Joshi. He has injectedd soul in this song. You will fall in love with this feel good number.

Next comes, ‘Mauka’ sung by hordes of singers like Mahalaxmi Iyer, Raman Mahadevan, Tarun Sagar, Gaurav Gupta and Rehan. The variation of voices gives a new feeling to the song. It is a fast paced number, highly instrumental but medium in tempo.  

The third track goes as ‘Kaun Is Dor’. It is a semi-classical number sung by Pandit Mishra and Shreya Ghosal. The blend of Shreya and Pandit Mishra’s voice gives a sooth feeling. It has a total Indian feeling.

The song that follows ‘Kaun Is Dor’ is ‘Saans Albeli’ crooned by Channulal Mishra which too is soothing and sounds like a gentle breeze. It is a slow track.

Then comes ‘Roshanee’ by Shankar Mahadevan. It is a motivational song, very situational. Neither too good not too bad.

On the whole, the album of "Aarakshan" is not musical and won’t impress the music lovers.