Monthly Archives: July 2011

Singham Movie Review

Director: Rohit Shetty

Producers: Reliance Entertainment

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Prakash Raj, Kajal Agarwal, Sonali Kulkarni, Sudhanshu Pandey

Music: Ajay-Atul

Rating: * * * *

Plot: Inspector Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgan) is worshipped in the Konkan village of Shivgad because of his ruthlessness towards criminals and kindness towards the needy. Nobody messes with Singham until the day when he has an encounter with mafia cum builder cum politician Jaykant Shikre (Prakash Raj). Singham hits Bajirao’s ego so hard that he gets posted in the city of Goa, which is literally Shikre’s den. Thus, starts a battle between the good and the evil.  

If you try to list down the number of movies made on the premise of an honest cop pitted against a powerful mafia/politician, the figure will go into hundreds. Rohit Shetty’s Singham is based on the same theme. But Shetty’s nature of presentation and narration makes Singham stand apart from many of the dramas based on a similar storyline. For the kind of power the movie generates, it won’t be an understatement to say that Singham is one of the most well and powerfully made masala entertainers ever in Bollywood.

Yunus Sajawal’s fast-paced screenplay is loaded with plenty of clap-worthy instances while Farhad-Sajid’s powerful yet witty dialogues produce seeti bajao moments in abundance. But Devgn’s dialogues in the penultimate moments appear to have lifted from Rajkumar Santoshi’s Khakee. Some breathtaking action and stunts (Shetty) are a huge plus point although some appear too unrealistic.

But a good amount of credit should also be given to Amar Mohile’s background score. As Devgan goes about roughing up the gundas, the background music that follows gives you goose bumps and makes you crave for more. There is also a regular does of humor.

Most of the mass-friendly action flicks produced in the last few years have lacked a proper story and narration. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen here. There is always a danger of the writers and director getting carried away by this kind of a subject but here, they have taken special care in narrating a well-intentioned story intelligently.  And although you know the end of the story even before the film starts, the climax is by no means a run-of-the-mill type. The humorous situation in the ending moments is responsible for this.

To list the fallacies, you can add some scenes which appear over the top, too loud and unrealistic. Even the action in some parts looks animated. However, due to the powerful effect produced by the film, you don’t care much about these factors.

Sunny Deol is considered a specialist for such roles but Ajay Devgn proves here he is no less than the best when it comes to playing such an action oriented role. You just can’t stop admiring him every time he speaks those heroic lines, bashes up baddies, lambasts Shirke and also when he speaks Marathi in a wrong accent! Even his expressions are a killer. I repeat what I’ve said few times before – he is one of the best actors Bollywood has ever produced.

Although Prakash Raj’s character is similar to the one he played in Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap (specially his act in the end), it is enjoyable to see him perform. His ruthless acts as well as his comic antics are up to the mark though he overdoes at times.

Ashok Saraf excels in the post-interval scenes. Sachin Khedekar succeeds in tickling your funny bone but even he overacts few times. Sonali Kulkarni shows her class with a mature act. Kajal Agarwal is not bad. Thankfully, her love track with Ajay doesn’t appear a forced one. Sudhanshu Pandey impresses in a cameo.

Overall, Singham hits you but you highly enjoy the blows. Finally there comes a masala entertainer that has style as well as substance. It’s going to fetch good numbers even at the multiplexes while in the single screen theatres, the response will be terrific.

Law System, Government responsible for July 13 Mumbai blasts

Of course, some terror outfit is responsible for the July 13 Mumbai blasts (Dadar, Opera House and Mumbadevi). But according to me, it’s our spineless law system and government that is more responsible for it.

Long back, Ajmal Kasab was convicted for the 26/7 blasts yet he is living a problem-free life. A terrorist who killed hundreds of innocent Mumbaikars is enjoying the status of India’s son-in-law with crores of rupees being spent on him.

Naturally, this becomes a confidence-booster for upcoming terrorists. They know even if they are convicted after attacking India, the government and law system are there to make sure they live the rest of their life with ease. So, why wouldn’t they risk committing a terror act considering they are already brainwashed?

In 2006, the TADA court started hurrying up with the 93 blast case only because 7/11 train blasts took place that year. So now because of the July 13 blasts, there might be a lot of hustle and bustle with Kasab’s case. The message is clear – we need a fresh bomb blast to solve the pending blast case. But even then, there is no guarantee that those convicted would be punished (as mentioned above about Kasab).

It seems we need someone like the Common Man from A Wednesday to punish terrorists. People might think I am being filmy but I don’t find any other solution when we have such pro-terror government and law system.

Pic courtesy - NDTV.com

Sher-O-Shayari (Part 1)

Some of my creations when I had nothing else to do.

 

*

Itni muddat se mila unka sunehra saath,

Lakh koshishe ki par na hui koi baat,

Bas lab humare kuchh der yunhi thartharaye,

Par nigahen kambakht chup kaise reh paye

 

*

Kaaton ko na samjho yun nafrat ki cheez,

Use bhi paida karta hai gulaab ka beej

 

*

Hai din bada suhana ujala failata hua,

Par humein hai intezar andheri raat ka,

Jab neend le jaye humein us khwab ki or,

Jo hai thikana un se mulaqat ka

 

*

Taak raha hoon use is ummeed mein,

Ki badal (change) ho hawa ke rukh mein,

Aur kudrat woh sunehra nazara dikhaye,

Jab chehre pe uski zulfe lehraye

 

*

Samjha humnein unhe suraj ki tarah jo roz roshni deta hai,
Par woh nikle mausam ki tarah jo aaye din badalte rehta hai

 

*

Us aaine ki taraf na dekha karo,

Usme to har shaqs dikhai deta hai,

Kabhi jhankho meri aankhon mein,

Tumhara hi aks dikhai deta hai

 

(Hindi transliteration of the same)

*

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*

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*

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*

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*

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Shopping extravaganza called arranged marriage!

(Note: I am not against arranged marriage. Many of my friends and relatives are happy after getting hooked in an arranged manner. It’s just that I can’t help looking at the funnier side of the whole process of an arranged marriage. So, just sharing my thoughts here and hoping this would be looked upon as ‘just for laughs’ kind of piece.)

The whole idea of an arranged marriage confuses me. I find it weird how people try to ‘fix’ a marriage between two ‘total strangers’, against the forces of nature. And I can’t help but compare the whole procedure – of a girl’s family meeting a boy’s family – with shopping. Yes, you read it right!

Before starting their search for a suitable match, the boy and the girl prepare their list of likes and dislikes in their future partner. Just like the way we think before shopping as to which brand of jeans, colour for the top, type of footwear, etc we would like.

But the real shopping fun begins when the girl and the boy’s family meet each other. The party which starts asking questions first is the buyer while the other is the seller. For example, the boy’s family will start listing all good qualities of the boy just like a salesman trying to portray his product in a must-buy manner. On the other hand, the girl’s family will try to figure out the percent of truth in their claims, just like the buyers do to make sure the salesman isn’t lying.

Pic courtesy – CartoonStock.com

After the first round, the tables are turned. Buyers become sellers and vice-versa. Now, the girl’s family will start proving how perfect to-be bahu she is while the boy’s family will do some brain-work in guessing the percent authenticity in their claims. Most importantly, both of them (girl and boy) will check whether the list of qualities in the opposite person matches with the shopping list they prepared.

If both parties are satisfied, they go ahead with the marriage. In my words – the deal is finalized with both parties benefiting as buyers as well as a sellers. In this way, a total stranger becomes the most important person of your life after just few meetings. Wow!

But wait a minute! Where the heck does love figure in this since it is the most important ingredient for marriage? Oh forget it! As long as the girl’s family can say, “Humare sar ka boj hat gaya!” and the boy’s family can proudly declare, “Humare ghar me oonche khandan ki bahu aa gayi,” nothing else matters! Not even love!

Need a better life? Commit a heinous crime!

Our Law System needs a reality check as to whom it is supporting actually. Looking at the recent court hearings on serious crimes in recent years, I show no qualms in saying that our law is meant to support the most atrocious of criminals.

A trigger-happy Ajmal Kasab, who openly waged a war against India and killed hundreds of innocents, is being looked after as the son in-law of the nation and crores and crores of rupees are spent on him. Afzal Guru was sentenced to death for attacking the parliament but after his appeal, he is leading a normal life and the government has forgotten about him.

Suresh Kalmadi, sentenced with the most serious charge of corruption, is living a peaceful lifestyle in the prison. We all have read how he is been looked after in the prison like a VVIP.

Now, just two days back our law system once again proved its fondness for monstrous criminals by giving laughable punishments to Maria Susairaj and Emile Jerome for murdering Neeraj Grover and cutting him into 300 pieces! What’s more, according to latest news, Maria might also get an offer to be a participant in the pro-rants TV show Bigg Boss and a possible chance of winning a fortune of Rs 5 crore!!!

Moral of the story – if you are bored of your non-happening life, just commit a heinous crime. Pick-pocketing or petty thefts won’t do. Just do something extravagant and our law system and government are there to make sure you enjoy a lavish lifestyle after that!

Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap Review

Review: Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap

Direction: Puri Jagannath

Production: A B Corp, Viacom 18

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Prakash Raj, Hema Malini, Charmy, Sonal Chauhan, Makarand Deshpande

Rating: * * ½

Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap has the biggest superstar Amitabh Bachchan displaying his greatness through his witty humour, heroic dialogues, energetic dance moves and most importantly, some mind-blowing fight scenes at the age of 67. However, these factors fail to amuse you much if the film suffers from a shoddy script. Just not done!

A gangster-cum-terrorist Kabir (Prakash Raj) hires an ex-gangster Viju (Amitabh Bachchan) to eliminate ACP Karan Malhotra (Sonu Sood) as he is been finishing off his gang members one by one.

No matter how bigger star you have, it doesn’t help much if your story is unconvincing and your screenplay haywire. Right from the start, there is just no focus in the proceedings with scenes jumping from one sub-plot to the other without any link. Few characters keep appearing who have no place in the plot whatsoever. Some scenes don’t even have a proper conclusion. In between, Bachchan’s heroic antics, which surely are a treat to watch, are just forcefully included especially the song ‘Go Meera Go’.

In this way, the paper thin story is narrated throughout. Thankfully, Big B’s heroic act in the penultimate moments manages to produce smiles. But again, what was the need to conclude a fun-filled film in an emotional/romantic manner?

Director Puri Jagannath’s has handled the subject in the same way he handled Pokkiri. There’s a typical south Indian touch in almost every scene. A tribute for a Bollywood legend made in a south manner doesn’t look appealing although Puri should be appreciated for some stylish scenes and seeti bajao moments.

It is the legend Amitabh Bachchan who makes this a watchable affair. The way he portrays an energetic and youthful character act at such an age forces one to stand up and applaud this actor. He is even terrific with his singing which makes an ordinary effort by Shankar Ehsan Loy come alive.  But the overuse of the colorful glasses could have been reduced. After all, Bachchan is one of the few actors who even acts through his eyes.

Sonu Sood continues to impress film after film with his bravura acts. Here is one actor who deserves many more films simply because he has a class of a character actor and also the ingredients of a ‘hero’ material. Negative act by Prakash Raj is another plus point and so is Makarand Deshpande’s.

Sonal Chauhan and Charmy fit well in their roles but their characters were not needed at all. The same can be said for Raveena Tondon who also hams her way mostly. Hema Malini is somewhat likable.

Overall, Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap can only be seen for Big B’s heroism. That’s it! Due to the content and the fact that it is released with Delhi Belly and Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, will limit it chances at the box-office.