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Archives for December 2010

Tees Maar Khan Review

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Tees Maar Khan Movie Review

Rating: * *

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Akshaye Khanna, Raghu Ram, Rajiv Laxman, Ali Asgar

Director: Farah Khan

Music: Vishal-Shekhar, Shirish Kunder

Producers: Hari Om Productions, Three’s Company, UTV Motion Pictures

 

After Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om, director Farah Khan is back with another masala entertainer in the form of Tees Maar Khan and that too at a time when only such genre is clicking with the audience as well as the box-office. Plus, the promos promised lots of entertainment and dhamaal in Tees Maar Khan especially the track and video of Sheila Ki Jawani. But unfortunately the promise isn’t fulfilled because of a story and situations that are too unconvincing to digest.

Tabrez Mirza Khan aka Tees Maar Khan (Akshay Kumar) is an expert conman who always manages to free himself from the police authorities if he is caught. One day he gets to lay his hands on the biggest heist of his life by helping twin conmen Johri Brothers (Raghu Ram and Rajiv Laxman) recover their loot from the police. TMK hatches a plan by involving an Oscar-hungry superstar Aatish Kapoor (Akshaye Khanna) in their mission and by also fooling the whole of Dhulia village.

Farah Khan tries very hard to make TMK a non-stop entertainer but the screenplay handicaps her. The first half appears interesting though when TMK is introduced and his con acts displayed. This portion also produces some good funny moments. However, the build up to the robbery (second half), the actual robbery and its consequences just fail to impress or amuse. In fact, the goings appears quite idiotic at times courtesy of too much mindlessness and some non-funny humour. And on top of that, a weak and forced ‘happy ending’ make matters worse.

Vishal-Shekhar and Shirish Kunder’s music relies heavily on Sheila Ki Jawani as the rest of the songs fall just in the average territory. Cinematography is good while the background score plays too much of the title song.

TMK rests on Akshay Kumar’s shoulders and he carries the responsibility with an aura. However, too much of self-boasting and loudness hampers his performance a bit. Akshaye Khanna on the other hand plays a crazy character superbly. He is truly likeable in a never-seen-before avatar. Apart from shaking her leg on Sheila Ki Jawani, Katrina Kaif purely irritates!

Ali Asgar and Akshay’s other two comrades suit perfectly in their roles. Murli Sharma and Aman Verma display good comical acts and so do Sachin Khedekar and Vijay Patkar. Raghu Ram and Rajiv Laxman are average while rest of the characters including Apara Mehta and Arya Babbar give good support.

All in all, Tees Maar Khan is far away from Farah Khan’s earlier two attempts. Because of the huge hype and publicity, the film will surely earn profit at the box-office in the first week. But the collections will be doubtful after that.

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey Review

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Rating: * * *

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Sikander Kher, Vishakha Singh

Director: Ashutosh Gowariker

Music: Sohail Sen

Producers: Ashutosh Gowariker Productions, PVR Pictures

Films based on the freedom movement have been a regular feature in Bollywood.  Right from the black and white era (Shaheed, Anand Math, Haqeeqat) to the current decade (23rd March 1931 Shaheed, Legend Of Bhagat Singh, Mangal Pandey-The Rising) a number of films on the freedom struggle have hit the screen. Because of this very reason, Ashutosh Gowariker’s Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey becomes just a one-time-watch affair as it lacks the true patriotic fever like the number of patriotic films of the past.

The biggest achievement of KHJJS is that it tells the tale which is never told before in Indian cinema – the Chittagong (Chattogram) Uprising, a chapter lost in history. Surjya Sen aka Surjyo Da aka Master Da (Abhishek Bachchan) leads a group of revolutionaries to attack various British establishments in Chittagong. Kalpana Dutta (Deepika Padukone), Pritilata (Vishakha Singh) and a group of teenagers join hands with Surjya in his mission.

Gowariker once again shows that he is one of the masters of period dramas in Bollywood as he takes care of every minute detail while presenting Manini Chatterjee’s novel Do And Die on celluloid. He succeeds in creating the intenseness and at the same time getting top notch performances from every actor. However, he is hampered by a lengthy screenplay.

Art director Nitin Desai deserves plenty of applause for recreating the 1930s era with utmost perfection. He is aptly supported by Kiran Deohans’ artistic cinematography.

Although not one of his best performances, Abhishek Bachchan excels in the role of an unruffled and serious revolutionary Surjya Sen. He suits very well as the leader of the revolutionaries. Deepika Padukone plays the challenging role of Kalpana Dutta with maturity. She shows she can do well in serious de-glam roles as well. Sikander Kher leaves an impact mostly in the second half.

Samrat, Maninder and Firoz Wahid Khan make their presence felt with heroic and heart-warming performances. However, it’s the group of teenagers that move you by their determining and courageous efforts. In their acts, they don’t appear like teenagers at all.

Because of the minus points mentioned above, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey falls short of becoming an extra-ordinary effort although it deserves a watch because of the efforts taken to tell a story which is lost in history. At the box office, the film will struggle to succeed.

Rakht Charita-II (Part 2) Review

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Rakht Charitra-II Review

Rating: * * * ½

Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Suriya, Shatrughan Sinha, Priyamani, Madhura Apte

Director: Ram Gopal Varma

Music: Dharam Sandeep, Kohinoor Mukherji, Imran, Vikram, Sukhwinder Singh, Amar Desai

Producers: Vistaar Religare Film Fund, Cinergy

Rakht Charitra-I, the first part of the biopic on the life of the late Andhra leader Paritala Ravi, ended in way that built excitement and eagerness for its second part. And after watching the second part, one can conclude that the wait and eagerness for it was worth enough. In fact, Rakht Charitra –II is more dramatic and interesting than the first part and even the level of violence is a bit less.

In the end of the first part, Pratap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi) becomes a successful politician and ends gundagardi (hooliganism) in the state. The part 2 begins when Surya (Suryanarayan Reddy aka Suriya) tries to kill Pratap as he believes Pratap is responsible for the death of his family. From here on, an explosive game of cat and mouse erupts between Pratap and Suriya which also takes a huge political angle leading on to an earth shattering climax.

The first 30 minutes of the movie show an edited version of the first part. This will certainly help those who haven’t seen part one but it gets tedious and boring for those who have seen. Hence, that recap portion should have been shortened.

Director Ram Gopal Varma presents the story in the same interesting manner as in the first part. His passion for this subject can be felt throughout. Unusual and creative camera angles, use of explosive background score and songs and a fast, unpredictable and dramatic narrative (screenplay) make the proceedings enjoyable and interesting. The witty dialogues are another plus point. The movie ends promoting a message of non-violence.

Vivek Oberoi continues from where he left in the first part. He shows the same maturity and maintains a high standard throughout. But, it is the southern superstar Suriya who takes the movie by a storm by an astonishing performance in his Bollywood debut. He literally sets the screen afire while showing vengeance. At the same time, he excels in the scenes where he needs to underplay his character. He surely deserves more films in Bollywood.

Priyamani and Madhura Apte play their part very well. Shatrughan Sinha doesn’t get much footage in the second part although he continues his good act from the first part. The rest of the supporting cast and side actors provide excellent support.

Because of the nature of the subject, the film will find it tough to succeed at the box-office. It relies largely on word-of-mouth. However, it should do well in single screens.