Zests of a Common Man

July 19, 2014 by Keyur Seta 10 Comments

This post is a part of the #ZestUpYourLife activity in association with TATA Zest and BlogAdda.com

By: Keyur Seta

There is a huge difference between living life and merely surviving through it. So in the midst of a hectic professional life, it is necessary to have people, things and situations that add Zest to your life by making it worth living. I am fortunate to have many sources of Zest in my life.

Here’s listing five of them:-

Mussoorie (Picture Source: http://beqesh.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/a-walk-in-the-clouds/)

Nature: Whenever you are stressed out, disturbed, tensed or angry over something, just surrender yourself to nature – be it mountains, shade of a huge tree, landscape, river, lake or sea – and see the difference within minutes. I can say this from many personal experiences. I can stay in the company of nature for hours alone as if I am having a conversation with the surroundings. Needless to say, something that provides you with immense peace has to be labeled as a Zest! It can also be described as ‘Nature Therapy’.

Roadside food: If I am given a choice between a luxurious five star restaurant and a roadside rekdi, I will choose the latter 10 out of 10 times. I personally feel that the taste of roadside food (be it any cuisine) is unmatchable to any of those big sophisticated restaurants. Just think about it – Can you ever compare the experience of eating a spicy Vada Pav during heavy rains to that of eating mannerly in those luxurious air-conditioned restaurants?

Cinema: This is the biggest passion in my life. Although I watch many films, each of my movie experience is special as it takes me to a different world altogether thereby making it more like a spiritual activity, irrespective of its quality or genre. Hence, I address it as ‘cinema’ instead of just ‘movies’. Over the years, I have realized there is a big difference between both. The term ‘movies’ refers to those who watch films just for fun while munching tubs of popcorn. On the other hand, ‘cinema’ refers to people like me who just don’t need anything as we are completely focused on our spiritual exercise.

Company of a cinema buff: When I am in the company of someone who considers watching films a spiritual exercise, I can literally speak with him or her for hours without a moment’s pause. Hence, such a cinema buff is also a Zest for me. And speaking about films doesn’t necessarily mean a serious discussion on great films. It also includes making fun of a lot of bad films and the various ham scenes in it. If you are lucky, you might even witness me acting out some ham scenes.

Company of a Common Man: Just like the company of a cinema buff, having a down-to-earth chat with a simple Common Man (ideally with a cutting chai) provides me with immense peace, irrespective on what topic the discussion is, ranging from movies, politics, cricket to even laughing at a silly PJ. Through my personal experience, I have wholeheartedly started believing that simple joys of life are the most pleasurable and long lasting.

Picture Source: coolage.in

Humshakals Review

June 20, 2014 by Keyur Seta 3 Comments

Director: Sajid Khan

Producers: Vashu Bhagnani’s Pooja Films

Writers: Sajid Khan, Robin Bhatt and Akarsh Khurana

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Ram Kapoor, Tammannah Bhatia, Esha Deol, Bipasha Basu

Music: Himesh Reshammiya

Genre: Comedy (???)

Rating: * ½

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Ashok (Saif Ali Khan) and Kumar (Riteish Deshmukh) are the best of buddies. Kumar works in Ashok’s multi-million dollar business empire. Ashok’s father is in coma since 15 years. Ashok’s uncle (Ram Kapoor) is eager to enjoy Ashok’s wealth all by himself. But as he is bound by few clauses in the will, he can’t kill Ashok and Kumar. So he sends the two friends to a mental asylum where Ashok and Kumar’s lookalikes are being treated. But this is not the end as far as the saga of the lookalikes is concerned.

Review: With Humshakals, director Sajid Khan was expected to be back on track or at least produce something better than his last outing Himmatwala. But he has come up with a huge surprise, not in a good way though. Humshakals has not only turned out to be worse than Himmatwala but it also falls in the category of one of the worst mindless comedies churned out by Hindi cinema.

One is expected to keep logic and reasoning away while watching such mindless comedies. That’s fair enough because such films are only meant to tickle your funny bone. But you can’t take the audience for granted and expect them to be completely dumb to get amused by horribly shocking basic plot, twists and many subplots. Try to fathom these points:-

A man keeps funding his friend’s illegal scientific laboratory. What is that? They run it like a professional laboratory so what is its exact motto?
That scientist produces a medicine that can make a human behave like a dog for 24 hours.
A bribed ward boy of a mental asylum mixes that medicine in two glasses of water meant for one of the pairs of Saif and Riteish. The culprit is seen committing that crime through the CCTV footage by the doctor and the dean but no action is taken against him. In fact, he is not even confronted for this!
A man suffering from the third stage of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is highly dangerous so he needs to be kept away in confinement. So what do they do? Instead of keeping him in a different room, he is kept way under in a secret basement. Why???
Nobody knows about the existence of that patient. The main doctor in-charge is also completely unaware about him. However, a ward boy not only knows about him but also has the keys to open the secret place! Huh!
The condition of the supposedly utterly dangerous patient is improved in a jiffy. Not just that, he also becomes able to impersonate someone else. But still he goes into a mental stupor due to one reason. So to calm him down, one just needs to present him with a lollypop!
A lot of plot twists are brought in by using substances like the above medicine, chloroform, seductive deodorants, etc.
If I continue to list down more of such ghastly absurdities, I might end up writing a book. In short – the above points are just a few grams from a kilogram of nonsense.

The bigger problem with Humshakals is that it reaches highly insensitive and sadist levels, especially when it comes to portraying mentally retarded and physically challenged people. These are some incidents:-

Patients in a mental asylum are treated worse than animals. They run around in the vicinity while the doctors and others in charge chase them.
An officer in the asylum dressed up as a security guard tortures the patients through electric shocks. He continues this horrifying activity throughout the film.
Two mentally retarded people play with life-supporting equipment attached to a person in coma; the makers have tried to induce comedy through the poor man’s torture.
The same poor old man’s disability is used to create laughter in a devilish way later on!
This is yet another Bollywood film featuring gays or homosexuals in the most objectionable manner.
There is a dose of racism too with respect a colored African or American. Bollywood still thinks it’s funny!

The film does offer some witty PJs that get you in splits; especially the type of humor Sajid is known for, mostly through his TV shows. The song ‘Caller tune’ is also a rare moment of satisfaction. But these instances are too minute in front of the rest of the torture that has a runtime of almost 3 hours.

When you have such content, it won’t be fair to blame the actors for such awkward performances. Despite this, Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh and Ram Kapoor try their best and manage to appear genuinely crazily funny at various points.The three female characters – Bipasha Basu, Tamannah Bhatia and Esha Gupta – don’t get any scope and like Sajid’s previous few films, they are just used to expose their bodies. Satish Shah is hampered due to a terrible characterization. The rest of the actors are not worth mentioning.

Overall: Humshakals is a terrible attempt at comedy. Its only achievement is that it is much better than the disgraceful Grand Masti. Due to the hype and promotions, it will manage to get good or decent numbers at the box office in the first weekend. But it will suffer after that.

Filmistaan Review

June 5, 2014 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Director: Nitin Kakkar

Producers: Satellite Pictures, UTV Motion Pictures and Shringar Films

Writers: Nitin Kakkar and Sharib Hashmi

Cast: Sharib Hashmi, Inaamulhaq, Kumud Mishra, Gopal Datt

Music: Arijit Dutta

Genre: Drama/ Comedy

Rating: * * * *

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Sunny Arora (Sharib Hashmi) is a crazy Hindi film buff who lives life filmi style 24/7. He is aspiring to become an actor but isn’t getting an opportunity. So for the time being, he decides to become an assistant director for a documentary to be shot in Rajasthan by a group of Americans. During the shoot schedule, Sunny is abducted by a group of terrorists across the border in Pakistan. Will he ever return to the other side of the border?

Review: A border separates one country from another but human emotions remain the same all over the world, including the patch of land across the Line Of Control (LOC) called Pakistan. And when people from both sides of the border share a common crazy interest for Hindi films, the border becomes mentally invisible.

This theory of bonding is beautifully presented by director Nitin Kakkar in his debut flick Filmistaan through a smart mixture of rib-tickling and moving moments. What makes it even more special is that he has given a fitting tribute to Filmi Keedas like us to derive at the point.

Like all content-driven films, Filmistaan rides high largely due to the writing. An interesting story, watertight screenplay and creative dialogues give rise to these winning points:-

Sunny’s lovable character that recites famous Hindi film dialogues throughout the film, even in tense situations.
His close bond with Aftab through the medium of films.
The message of friendship given in a completely non-preachy manner.
A number of memorable scenes including, Maine Pyar Kiya sequence, filming of the hostage, Sunny’s encounter with a Hakeem (easily the most touching scene in recent times), Sunny and Aftab’s antics in the pre-climax, etc.

There isn’t an absence of flawlessness though due to some errors. It is also surprising to see no footage given to the consequences of the kidnapping in India. But thankfully, these points don’t affect you due to the overall content.

There is some smart display of camerawork by Subhansu Das. The background score too excels in creating the right emotions. Arijit Dutta has composed some soulful tracks that suit various situations perfectly.

The performances are of top draw. Sharib Hashmi (Shah Rukh Khan’s Pakistani friend in Jab Tak Hai Jaan) is outstanding! It looks like it was a cakewalk for him to get into the skin of the character of Sunny Arora. It is his act that takes the film to a higher level. Needless to say, he deserves to be seen more.

But despite such a strong performance from the main lead, Inaamulhaq succeeds in impressing with a brilliant portrayal of Aftab. The chemistry between the two actors is incredible. Kumud Mishra is perfect as the head of the terrorist group; he succeeds in speaking mostly through expressions. Some good supporting acts are seen from Waseem Khan, Sanjay Mehta and Tushar Jha. Habib Azmi deserves special mention for his wonderful cameo as the Hakeem.

Overall: Filmistaan highly succeeds in giving a positive message while paying a tribute to Hindi cinema and its fans. The film needs word-of-mouth to make an impact at the ticket window.

Dialogues: Main Tera Hero

April 8, 2014 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Compiled By: Keyur Seta

Writer Milap Milan Zaveri’s crazy and whacky one-liners have played a large role in making David Dhawan’s Main Tera Hero a truly hilarious affair. So here’s revisiting some of the humorous lines from the Varun Dhawan starrer:

Ehsan toh mujhpe Shankar aur Loy ne kiya tha.
Yeh humein degree ke naam pe third degree dega.
Yeh tujhe bohat mahanga padega… No problem, waise bhi sasti cheezon mein main interest nahin rakhta.
Jab main Pampers mein thi tab se mere dad mujhe pamper karte aa rahen hain.
Jaise har Coke Coca-Cola nahin hota, jaise har chana chhola nahin hota usi tarah har shareef dikhne wala aadmi bhola nahin hota.
Ab pata chala, jab Veeru paji Basanti ko bandook chalana sikha rahe the tab Basanti ko kaisa feel hua hoga.
Arunoday Singh: Srinath Prasad (Varun’s character) kahan hai? Rajpal Yadav: Arre who toh kab ka retire ho gaye. Aajkal commentary dete hain.
Main tum logon ko aise dhounga jaise Sachin aur Sehwag ne 2003 World Cup mein Pakistan ke bowling attack ko dhoya tha.
Tumhare dil mein mere liye ghanti nahin baji, toh kya ghanta tumhe mujhse pyaar hua?
Yeh toh chumme ka sequel ban gaya. Krrish 2 ke baad Kiss 2… Krrish 3 ke baad Kiss 3.
Purani Haveli ke paas Chikni Chameli ko dekh ke toh kisi se bhi galti hogi.

Main Tera Hero Review

April 7, 2014 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

Director: David Dhawan

Producers: Balaji Motion Pictures

Writer: Tushar Hiranandani and Milap Milan Zaveri

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Ileana D’Cruz, Nargis Fakhri, Arunoday Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Rajpal Yadav, Anupam Kher, Manoj Pahwa

Music: Sajid-Wajid

Genre: Comedy

Rating: * * * ½

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Staying in Cunnoor, Srinath Prasad aka Seenu (Varun Dhawan) is a nuisance in college. He also has to face wrath from his professor and parents for his poor academic performances. In order to prove a point to his parents, he goes to Bengaluru for further studies. His eyes fall on a fellow student Sunaina (Ileana D’Cruz) and he instantly falls for her.

However, Sunaina has been blackmailed into being the girlfriend and future wife of the evil and hot-tempered cop Angad (Arunoday Singh). Despite Angad’s strength and power, Seenu decides to fight against him to win Sunaina’s heart. But things go ugly for Seenu when Ayesha (Nargis Fakhri) forcefully enters his life.

Review: So far in Hindi cinema, only experienced actors or superstars have successfully managed to pull off hero-centric roles in hardcore masala entertainers. But Varun Dhawan, in his father David Dhawan’s Main Tera Hero, has managed to do that just in his second film and how! With his lovable heroic antics, he just doesn’t cease to impress you, regardless of your gender. His act coupled with Milap Milan Zaveri’s writing results in a non-stop laugh riot. After last year’s successful Chashme Baddoor, David Dhawan continues his winning streak.

It is common sense to keep logic and reasoning away in such genre of films. But to enjoy Main Tera Hero, you need to keep both the entities miles away and be ready to accept some madcap, crazy humor. If you can’t do that, don’t even think of watching it. But if you can, be ready for a laughter dose lasting for little over two hours.

What is most impressive about Zaveri’s writing is that he has managed to include punch lines and PJs after almost every few seconds. Despite being silly most of the times, Tushar Hiranandani’s screenplay should also be lauded for the way he has connected various crazy situations, without giving you any time to think.

On few occasions, however, the craziness crosses the limits. You can forgive such points for the laugher provided in return but this will affect a section of the audience. What also goes against the film is some amount of vulgarity. It is absolutely fine for such things to be included in an adult comedy but not in a film targeted for family audiences. Apart from this, the situation in the second half is similar to Sajid Khan’s Houseful 2.

Sajid-Wajid’s music adds to the entertainment with every song – ‘Tera Dhyan Kidhar Hai’, ‘Galat Baat Hai, ‘Besharmi Ki Height’ and ‘Shanivar Rati’ – turning out to be enjoyable.

As mentioned above, Varun Dhawan is simply outstanding, be it comedy, action or dance! His father has made him do stuff that Govinda does in his films. But Varun has managed to do it so early in his career, which is a remarkable achievement. He surely should continue it! Ileana D’Cruz plays her part well. Nargis Fakhri’s bad acting skills are visible here too. Thankfully, it doesn’t trouble you much due to the overall entertainment.

Arunoday Singh is the surprise package. He not only scores with his villainous antics but also with the unusual comedy he had to do. Rajpal Yadav is brilliant at what he does best. Saurabh Shukla and Anupam Kher once again display their talents. Manoj Pahwa and Supriya Shukla, as Seenu’s parents, are decent. Evelyn Sharma is wasted. Shakti Kapoor is hilarious in a cameo.

Overall: Through Main Tera Hero David Dhawan once again delivers what he always promises: lots of entertainment! The film should do well at the box office due to its mass appeal and Varun Dhawan’s act.

Youngistaan Review

April 2, 2014 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

Director: Syed Ahmad Afzal

Producers: Pooja Entertainment and MSM Motion Pictures

Writers: Syed Ahmad Afzal, Ramiz Ilham Khan and Maitrey Bajpai

Cast: Jackky Bhagnani, Neha Sharma, Farooq Sheikh, Prakash Belawadi, Deepankar De, Triveni Sangam Bahuguna

Music: Jeet Ganguly, Shreya Khanwalkar, Shiraz Uppal and Shree-Ishq

Genre: Political Drama

Rating: * * * 1/2

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Twenty-eight year old Abhimanyu Kaul (Jackky Bhagnani) is the son of India’s Prime Minister Dashrath Kaul (Boman Irani). Working as a gaming specialist in Japan, he is living a dream life with his girlfriend Anvita (Neha Sharma) and a close friend (Kayoze Irani). But his life takes a major twist when he has to return to India after his father succumbs to cancer. Circumstances force Abhimanyu to become the interim PM much to the opposition of Anvita. But will an utterly inexperienced Abhimanyu be able to run the world’s biggest democracy?

Review: Can you digest the fact that a completely inexperienced 28-year-old can become India’s Prime Minister? If you can, you would be impressed by debutant Syed Ahmal Afzal’s Youngistaan for its intentions and the message it puts forth in a positive way. Despite its flaws and other issues, the film manages to provide a heartwarming effect since it has its heart at the right place.

From being a wild party film, the proceedings suddenly shift gears after the death of the PM. But this transformation should have been smoother and natural rather than sudden. Nevertheless, the crucial phase of Abhimanyu becoming the PM is handled with care and a sense of believability. Unlike other political dramas, the love track over here is a concrete part of the story, realistic and not thrown in just for the heck of it. Therefore, there is no question of the narration shifting to the love track since it is always moving ahead with the basic plot.

The most impressive aspect of Youngistaan is surely the motivational message it gives after Abhimanyu gains control of the situation. His speech at the United Nations and various rallies, his method of connecting with the masses and the climax are the winning moments that will leave you delighted. Without being preachy, the film also highlights that politicians are bad, politics isn’t. But despite giving such a serious message, the film never shies away from the light-hearted mode, which adds more mass appeal to it.

As hinted before, there are obvious flaws. Considering the basic storyline, it doesn’t come as a surprise either. I can’t list them to avoid spoilers. At the most, they could have lessened them. One point that can be mentioned is that Abhimanyu and Anvita could have easily got married. Plus, after a point in the second half, the narrative does suffer from some complications that could have been avoided. But due to various other plusses, you tend to make peace with the fallacies.

From the music, the title track and ‘Sangemarmar’ are impressive. ‘Tanki Monkey’ is weird! The technical aspects (cinematography, background score and editing) are as per the requirement.

The film wouldn’t have created this much effect without Jackky Bhagnani’s mature performance. In fact, the actor dishes out a major surprise with an act that is powerful and moving. He has now proved he is not just a star son. Despite his act, you can’t help but be amazed by Farooq Sheikh. He yet again shows he is a storehouse of talent that cannot be replaced.

Neha Sharma too plays her part very well. Like Jackky, even she will be recognized as a serious actor after this act. Prakash Belawadi is excellent as Murli. Deepankar De and Triveni Sangam Bahuguna too aren’t far behind. Boman Irani, Kayoze Irani and Meeta Vashisht are likable too although their roles are limited. The film has decent performances from a series of supporting actors.

Overall: Youngistaan deserves a watch for the message it gives. With elections just around the corner, the film has the capacity to encourage the youth to vote, especially the first-time voters.

Review: Dedh Ishqiya

January 15, 2014 by Keyur Seta 3 Comments

Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Producer: Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures and Shemaroo Entertainment

Writers: Vishal Bhardwaj, Abhishek Chaubey and Sanjeev Datta

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Madhuri Dixit, Huma Qureshi, Vijay Raaz, Manoj Pahwa

Music: Vishal Bhardwaj

Genre: Drama

Rating: * * * *

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Khalu (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) continue their con activities, this time in Lucknow. They get separated after their heist goes wrong. Khalu lands in Begum Para’s (Madhuri Dixit) palatial palace and gets awestruck by her. Begum stays with her helper Muniya (Huma Qureshi). She has organized a swayamwar competition among nawabs.

A desperate Khalu, who is impersonating as a Nawab, takes part in the swayamwar. Soon, Babban too lands at the palace and instantly falls for Muniya. Khalu and Babban start dreaming of marrying Para and Muniya and spending the rest of their lives in the comfort of the palace. But they are oblivious to the fact that the notorious Italvi (Vijay Raaz), another fake Nawab, and some unpleasant surprises can shatter their dreams.

Review: Amidst the overdose of some silly and cheap content in the current mainstream Hindi cinema, director Abhishek Chaubey and producer Vishal Bhardwaj bring a rare gem in the form of Dedh Ishqiya, a sequel to their 2010 hit Ishqiya. It’s a well-crafted dark comic thriller that just doesn’t cease to impress you. The content also makes sure you don’t feel the 150 plus minutes length of the film.

As for all quality films, this was possible due to some high degree of richness in the writing. The story in this second installment too is intriguing and interesting. The writers have rightfully revealed some amount of suspense at regular intervals thereby making the viewer more and more interested. The final twist in the pre-climax too plays a large role in providing overall satisfaction. Apart from this, one can regularly notice the artistic screenplay during a number of scenes.

But apart from the aforementioned points, what keeps you thoroughly entertained is the super impressive dialogues. The manner in which the writers have presented pleasurable Urdu words with a mixture of some witty and crazy one-liners deserves high applause. In fact, there is non-stop humor even during serious sequences. It is a good idea to include subtitles as a large majority of audience isn’t well-versed with chaste Urdu. With his second handling too being impressive, Chaubey has proved he is here to stay.

The only negative aspect here is some logical flaws in the tale. It’s not possible to reveal them to avoid spoilers. But you don’t mind them much due to various other plus points.

Bhardwaj’s music too is rich and it suits the situations perfectly. All songs score high marks but ‘Dil Ka Mizaaj Ishqiya’ is the best of all. It is sad that the songs haven’t got the due from the audience. On the other hand, some ghastly tracks from other films are receiving applause. Setu’s camerawork is outstanding! It is a pleasure to see the palace and other outdoor locations through his lens. The background score too suits the various moods of the film.

The film is also blessed with impressive performances. With a brilliant act, Naseeruddin Shah once again proves himself as one of the greatest artists from the country. It is good to see his effort going towards a good film after years. Although we have seen Arshad Warsi perform such roles quite a few times before, it is a pleasure to see him due to his wonderful comic timing. Nobody else could have essayed the role better than him.

Madhuri Dixit’s fans might miss the legendary actress in full flow. But we should remember she is playing a disturbed and depressed character. She does very well while being restrained and speaking through expressions. Huma Qureshi is incredible, both in her looks and performance. She is easily the best female actor currently. Vijay Raaz too is brilliant with his comic timing. Manoj Pahwa is a surprise package with a first rate performance. The film is also well supported by Salman Shahid and Ravi Gosain.

Overall: Dedh Ishqiya is a fine work of art but at the same time highly entertaining. It is sad to see the film not doing well at the box office. It looks like our youngsters only prefer trash like Grand Masti and Yaariyan. So if you like Dedh Ishqiya, please spread the word as the film fully deserves it.

Review: Yaariyan

January 11, 2014 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Rating: 0.5 out of 5

By: Keyur Seta

The motto of debutant director Divya Khosla Kumar’s Yaariyan is to encourage carefree youngsters to become responsible adults. But the path taken by the makers to derive at the point is so unconvincingly silly that the film just becomes a laughing stock by the time it ends. On top of that, it also resorts to some high degree of vulgarity.

Four happy-go-lucky and naughty youngsters – Lakshya (Himanshu Kohli), Jiya (Nicole Faria), Neil (Dev Sharma) and Pardy (Shreyas Pardiwalla) – are having the time of their lives in St. Stephens College in Sikkim. Lakshya’s father passed away in a war when the former was just a year old. Much to the grudge of his mother (Smita Jaykar), Lakshya has no respect for the country.

The dream lives of the youngsters come crashing down when they get to know that an Australian firm is all set to take over their college to convert it into a business avenue. But the students of St. Stephens College still have a chance of regaining their college provided they beat a set of Australian students in some sports events.

The following is a scene from the film – During a play, a girl is playing the character of Bharat Mata. Soon, her saree is stripped and she is reduced to almost bare essentials. So a stripped Bharat Mata dances on ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ and those playing soldiers try to woo her with horny advances. If this isn’t annoyingly vulgar, what is? And just minutes later, a character says, “It hurts the most when someone insults our country.” Oh really? How cute! Sadly, there are more doses of cheapness at regular intervals, especially in the first half.

Even if one tries to ignore these antics, the film still doesn’t appeal because, frankly, nothing makes sense. Try to fathom these points:-

Apart from the issue of Australians suddenly claiming to take over the college, what is more absurd is to see the principal choosing a useless bunch of five students to save their college.
When Indians visit Australia for the first round, an Indian student is mercilessly killed by an Australian. Strangely, the culprit isn’t booked. He even visits India for the next round where Indians welcome him and his team! After all, Aamir Khan has advised us to believe in Atithi Devo Bhava!
In a hospital, a character is said to be so critical that he can die any moment. But he is not put to any life support whatsoever! Not just that, he is even allowed to talk freely with his friends in such a fatal condition!
The final round includes a dangerous sport where a slight mistake can even kill a participant! Whatever happened to law and order enforcements!

There is much more silliness in the narration but I haven’t mentioned it to avoid spoilers. Also, in between the writers address too many issues and thereby raising a question as to what the film is exactly about! Perhaps the only positive point one can derive is that the second half provides a number of unintentionally humorous moments, mostly during the closing stages.

Songs like ‘Allah Wariyan’ and ‘Meri Maa’, are impressive and offer relief but others like ‘ABCD’ and ‘Sunny Sunny’ are not only irritating but plain cheap! Perhaps Sameer Arya’s camerawork and good production values become the biggest plus points. It is sheer pleasure to see the picturesque locales of Sikkim and Shimla.

From the six debutants, Rakul Preet impresses the most. Apart from decent dialogue delivery, she scores the most while speaking through eyes. Himanshu Kohli isn’t bad either. Although his act isn’t up-to-the-mark, he has some acting potential. Shreyas Pardiwala, Vikas Verma and Dev Sharma play decent supporting acts. But Nicole Faria is simply irritating and unbearable! The sole purpose of her character was to offer skin show.

Serah Singh too has nothing much to do apart from planning kissing sessions with Kohli. Evelyn Sharma irritates once again. It is difficult to understand why veteran artists like Deepti Naval, Gulshan Grover and Smita Jaykar signed such a film. They don’t get much scope either.

Overall, Yaariyan is not only dumb but it also continues to lower the standards of mainstream Hindi cinema where vulgarity has become a norm these days. The disgraceful Bharat Mata scene mentioned above is simply unforgivable!

Review: Dhoom 3

December 20, 2013 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya

Producer: Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films

Writers: Aditya Chopra and Vijay Krishna Acharya

Cast: Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Katrina Kaif

Music: Pritam

Genre: Action Thriller

Rating: * * ½

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Sahir (Aamir Khan) has created havoc in Chicago by robbing huge amounts from The Global Bank twice. He is not an ordinary thief. He has a secret mission for robbing the same bank, which is related to his late magician father (Jackie Shroff). As the thief writes a message in Hindi in the bank after each robbery, the Chicago Police calls ACP Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) and his assistant Ali (Uday Chopra) from Mumbai to help them solve the case.

Review: One doesn’t need a statutory warning to keep reasoning aside while watching the Dhoom series. But to enjoy Dhoom: 3, the third installment of the series, one needs to keep logic away like never before. So if you are willing to accept a film that sets a new benchmark for mindlessness in return for some outstanding action and stunts, Dhoom: 3 is for you. If not, stay thousands of kilometers away from this one!

Dhoom: 3 is very unlike the first two films of the franchise for there is a strong emotional angle attached with the character of the thief. But the USP is, of course, the action that will take you by surprise on numerous occasions. In fact, it won’t be an overstatement that the film’s action, chase and stunt sequences are something never tried before in Indian films. However, on many occasions, the makers have taken cinematic and genre-related liberties to an idiotic level. In fact, the stunts seen in Rohit Shetty’s film would appear much realistic after watching some in this film.

But the mindlessness in the film is not just limited to this. There is a huge surprise element that will give you a jolt. It isn’t something that is revealed in the climax but it forms a major part of the story. This serious twist is not only unfathomable but also plain hilarious. I can’t explain any further since it will be a huge spoiler. But what I can explain is that the basic plot just leaves you speechless. Just because a thief writes a message in Hindi, two cops are imported all the way from India. Well, to understand the thief’s message, you don’t need cops, you just need a translator!

Apart from this, the very motto of the thief is simply psychotic. This doesn’t go with a character which is not quite a psycho. Lastly, the final culmination is also far from satisfying.

The film becomes a visual treat due to the camerawork. Sudeep Chatterjee deserves high applause for his work, which mostly included shooting some utterly difficult shots. Action directors Conrad Palmisano and Sham Kaushal too deserve equal praise. The editing (Ritesh Soni) is sleek and as per the need while the background score is an overdose of the Dhoom theme. Apart from the track ‘Malang’, Pritam’s music is nothing much to talk about.

For Aamir Khan, this was one of the most challenging roles of his career and he does full justice to it. Barring awkward expressions on few occasions, he is terrific not only during action sequences but also during emotional moments. The chemistry between Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra works once again. Although they are getting repetitive, some smart humor, different from the first two films, works for them. Abhishek also scores well during confrontation scenes with Aamir.

Katrina Kaif has nothing much to do. But whatever little part she has, she irritates with her non-acting skills yet again. Some portions of her dance performance during the song ‘Kamli’ are simply scary! Siddharth Nigam, the child actor playing younger Aamir, is remarkable in a very difficult role. Jackie Shroff isn’t bad. It’ just that he struggles with simple lines in between. Andrew Bicknell does well playing the owner of the bank while Tabrett Bethell isn’t bad.

Overall: Dhoom: 3 is a never seen before action adventure in Hindi cinema. Yet the film rises just to an average level due to the various issues listed above. At the box office, it is set to create new records due to the mind-blowing opening it has received.

Review: Boss

October 18, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Director: Anthony D’Souza

Producer: Ashwin Warde

Writer: Sajid-Farhad

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Ronit Roy, Shiv Pandit, Mithun Chakraborty, Aditi Rao Hydari, Danny Dengzongpa

Genre: Comedy/ Action

Rating: * * * ½

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Shiva (Akshay Kumar) falls out with his father Satyakant (Mithun Chakraborty) following a terrible incident. He is adopted by Big Boss (Danny Denzongpa) after he saves his life. Although Big Boss runs a transport business, he is famous as a hero of the oppressed. When Shiva grows up, he acquires the title Boss (Akshay Kumar) as even he becomes the messiah of the poor.

Fate brings Boss face-to-face with his father and younger brother Shiv (Shiv Pandit). There comes a situation where Boss has to save Shiv from the evil of the corrupt, monstrous cop Ayushman (Ronit Roy).

Review: Hardcore, hero-centric masala entertainers have become a regular feature in Hindi cinema in the post-GHAJINI era. Such films provide high doses of entertainment in various forms to the masses. While some of these films have managed to impress, some have failed. Thankfully, Anthony D’Souza’s Boss falls in the former category due to various entertaining factors, provided you are game to rest the topmost organ of your body.

The biggest factor here is the dialogues by the writer duo Sajid-Farhad, who can add another name in their long list of successful films. The lines are a mixture of PJs, slapstick and crazy humor that provide bucket full of laughter regularly. What’s more impressive is that, like their previous works, they have refrained from surrendering to vulgarity.

The initial moments, however, are not high on entertainment though due to the late entry of Akshay. But that doesn’t hurt much since after his arrival, the film takes you on an enjoyable ride till almost the climax. A combo of crazy situations, jokes and some creative action sequences are on offer. Some of the memorable scenes include:

Akshay’s entry
His scene with Mukesh Tiwari
His first encounter with Shiv
A fight scene in the premises of a temple
An action scene where Ronit’s goons chase Akshay

But there are a few issues that go against the film. The suspense at the end of Akshay’s flashback is unconvincing. The characterization of Ankita’s friend is confusing. Lastly, the finale isn’t as exciting as expected.

The technical department can hold its head high. Daredevil stunts (Anal Arasu) coupled with some smart camerawork provide excitement. The background score complements different situations perfectly. The film scores high even on music due to the title track, ‘Hum Na Chhode’, ‘Har Kisi Ko’ and ‘Party All Night’.

Akshay Kumar once again proves that only he deserves the title of Khiladi. His comic timing is terrific while he is super impressive in those difficult action sequences. His fans are sure to love this act. Ronit Roy is impressive in the role of a ruthless, corrupt cop. Mithun Chakraborty shows the right emotions needed from the character, although he looks uncomfortable sometimes.

Shiv Pandit makes use of the opportunity and provides a decent act. Danny Denzongpa is perfect in the role of Big Boss. Aditi Rao Hydari is not bad. After a long time, Johnny Lever is in good form. Aakash Dhabade is excellent! Rest of the actors like Sanjay Mishra, Parikshit Sahani and Govind Namdeo provide adequate support.

Overall: Boss is a typical massy entertainer. It has a chance at the box office but due to the not-so-great hype, it relies on word-of-mouth.