The Common Man Speaks

Bodyguard rules box-office. What about audience’s hearts?

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I have been making a note of people’s reactions on Salman Khan’s movie Bodyguard. From all the responses, apart from one person, almost all others have thrashed the movie. Even on the net, I have seen terribly unsatisfactory comments on the film with some even terming it as unbearable and difficult to sit through.

However, despite this, the film has created history at the box-office by earning over Rs 20 crore on the opening day itself. Just imagine – on one hand, the audience is left unsatisfactory and on the other, the film has gained the biggest box-office opening ever in the history of Bollywood! If there is one thing which is unfair, it’s this!

Like I said in one of my previous posts here, it has become an easy recipe to cook a box-office hit. Just sign a big star like Salman, make an interesting promo, include songs at regular intervals and you get your box-office hit! You have created enough hype and booked almost ever theatre in the country. Naturally audience will flock the halls to see the movie once. Hence, you earn mammoth profit. But can you call this real success if the film fails to impress the audience?

But Bodyguard isn’t the only instance. There have been numerous movies in the past which have rocked the box-office but failed to satisfy majority of viewers. As veteran filmmaker Sudhir Mishra rightly pointed out, producers are only thinking about the profit in the first weekend.

In this race to earn big monies in the initial weekend, we have stopped making movies which have superlative content, movies which bring a smile on your face even years after its release!

This is where I consider Marathi cinema much ahead than today’s Hindi films. A super-hit Marathi film will surely satisfy a large majority of its viewers. Their biggest advantage is that the story or the script is considered way bigger than the cast. If a Marathi film is rich in story, it will surely draw crowds irrespective whether it has a known face. Sadly, this hardly happens in Bollywood.

These big and rich Bollywood producers should ask themselves whether their aim is only to earn big bucks or make quality cinema. Their answer will determine the future of Bollywood!

Singham Movie Review

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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.

Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap Review

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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.

Something for the majority of youth please?

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Youth-based films or films about Generation Y are regularly hitting the screens in Bollywood these days. It is said that these films are specially manufactured for today’s youngsters. But in my personal opinion, all these films don’t relate to the majority of India’s youth.

Movies like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, I Hate Luv Storys, Aisha, Break Ke Baad, F.A.L.T.U, Luv Ka The End and Always Kabhi Kabhi do centre around young Indians but majority of youngsters aren’t like what is shown in these films.

Characters in the above mentioned films are from elite classes or millionaire’s families who spend a bomb on their dressing and looks. They wear modern branded clothes with some girls going for minimal clothing. They mostly speak in a westernized manner with words like ‘cool’, ‘guys, ‘babes’, ‘hot’, ‘sexy’, ‘dude’ ‘f***’, etc being a regular feature in their vocabulary. They regularly hangout in discos and pubs. Needles to say – one of their biggest mottos in life is to find a girlfriend or a boyfriend.

There is no denying that such youngsters do exist in India and there is nothing wrong in making movies on them. However, I am unable to understand why every youth-based film these days focuses only on such youngsters. Although I have nothing against such movies or such characters, I am just unable to relate myself with them.

There is a large majority of the Indian youth, who is stark opposite of these. They come from the middle-class or lower middle-class who think twice or thrice before spending even Rs 100 as they are concerned about their family budget. They wait for the day when they can free their parents from the responsibility of running the house.

These people are also much Indian or traditional in terms of their language, behavior, clothing, beliefs, values etc. They believe that life is much more than having a girl or a guy to hang around with. Most importantly, they are very much concerned about the socio-political situation in India.

Why there isn’t a single youth-based film focusing on the majority of Indian youth? Even forthcoming films like Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge, Virus Diwan and Student Of The Year focus on the same set of ultra-modern youngsters. But since some untouched topics are touched these days in Bollywood, maybe the day is not far away. Till then, I am waiting. Fingers crossed!

How to ‘Cook’ a Box-Office Hit!

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Ninety percent (or more) of movies fail to taste success at the box-office. Still, Salman Khan’s recent superhits Wanted, Dabanng and Ready have proven that it is easy to ‘cook’ a box-office hit. Don’t believe? Have a look at the following recipe for a box-office hit: –

  • Salman Khan: The first and foremost thing is to get Salman Khan on board as the lead actor. Do this and half of your battle is won! If you have him, it really doesn’t matter who is directing the film. In fact, it’ also fine even if there is no director!
  • Salman’s Heroics: Add large number of scenes that will produce seetis from the audience. For instance, fight scenes where Salman should emerge victorious and make popat of the gundaas, scenes where Salman should successfully woo the ‘heroine’, a dance number preferably as Salman’s entry scene, plenty of dialogues that add fuel to the heroic image of Salman, all ‘good’ people admiring Salman in the end, etc.
  • Good Looking ‘Heroine’: A good looking heroine who should be ready to match steps with Salman during song and dance breaks. I am using the word heroine instead of actress since her acting skills would be seldom used in such a film.
  • Songs: After regular intervals, there should be a song. Few dance tracks and a romantic number should do. An overhyped item number is an added advantage.
  • Supporting Cast: You need a big gang of supporting actors who continuously need to appreciate Salman’s heroics or be at the receiving end of them. Most of them should also be ‘ready’ to get insulted or fooled by Sallu.
  • Script: I don’t mean a watertight script or a powerful script. The most important thing is to throw all kinds of logic out of the window. Oh, you need to delete the word logic from your dictionary temporarily. Get a mixture of comedy, romantic, action and mildly emotional scenes, without thinking much about continuity or reason since Salman would be the centre of attraction in all of them. Playing of the theme tune of the movie in the background which compliments Salman’s heroics is also a must to trigger seetis.
  • Marketing Strategy: It really doesn’t matter if the makers haven’t worked hard while making the film but it is absolutely vital for them to pull up their socks while publicizing the movie. TV, radio, internet, TV serials, TV reality shows, banners, contests and what not should only speak about your movie. The name of the movie or its actors should ‘hit’ the public wherever they go or whatever they listen or read.

Throw these ingredients in the frying pan and voila, you get a box-office hit which would generate plenty and plenty of moolah for the makers. So, isn’t it easy to ‘cook’ a box-office hit? Of course it is when you have Sallu at your side. But wait a minute! What about appreciation? Oh come on! Who the hell cares about that when you have money flowing into your account especially in the first two weeks?

Ragini MMS Movie Review

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Direction: Pawan Kripalani

Production: i Rock Films, Alt Entertainment, Balaji Telefilms

Cast: Raj Kumar Yadav, Kainaz Motivala

Rating: * * *

If a horror genre flick starts off with a full length Hanuman Chalisa, it surely raises your expectations for a spine-chilling experience. Although Ragini MMS doesn’t fully succeed in terrifying you to your wits, it definitely deserves a watch (if you are non-conservative) for some creatively crafted scenes and for being a new age horror film.

Based on a true story, the film is about a brash foul-mouthed Uday (Raj Kumar Yadav) who takes his girlfriend Ragini (Kainaz Motivala) for a naughty weekend outside city at a friend’s bungalow. Ragini is unaware that Uday and his friend have rigged the bungalow with spy cameras in order to record the sexual activities between the couple. Uday’s plan goes haywire as the couple starts experiencing some bizarre incidents.

A well made horror film needs to be loaded with terrifying scenes which should also take the audience by surprise apart from telling an interesting tale. Pawan Kripalani and Vaspar Dandiwala’s writing provides that as the events in the first half have a number of frightening moments which keep the audience at the edge of their seats. There is an interesting mix of sex and horror which works and builds excitement for the second half.

As a director, Kripalani deserves applause for handling the subject with maturity. He also succeeds in shooting a horror film in a never-seen-before manner through some intelligent use of spy cams. He is aptly supported by Tribhuvan Babu’s cinematography and Jitendra Chaudhary’s background score, which thankfully doesn’t contain the overuse of loud sounds we often see in non-terrifying horror films.

The post-interval portions, however, do not amuse much. After a shocking incident (not possible to reveal), a good amount of time is spent in freeing Ragini from the handcuffs, which tests the audience’s patience after a point of time. Even the penultimate terrifying moments appear funny. It is also not explained why the ghost (who repeats the same lines in Marathi) commits all those killings. On top of that, we have an abrupt climax.

Performances are another plus point. Raj Kumar Yadav appears very real. He is terrific during scary moments. Kainaz Motivala plays her part perfectly and displays different emotions with ease.

Overall, the plusses of Ragini MMS manage to overshadow the minuses. The very low budget and positive word-of-mouth should keep its producers (i Rock Films, Alt Entertainment and Balaji Telefilms) happy.

Luv Ka The End Review

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Director: Bumpy

Producers: Y Films

Starring: Shraddha Kapoor, Tahaa Shah, Pushtie S

Rating: *

A girl sets out to take revenge on her cheating boyfriend. The girl succeeds in it but what about the audience? As the girl executes her plan (if we can call it), the poor junta is subjected to some non-believable and non-amusing events which eventually make them wince!

The plot of Y Films’ (youth wing of Yash Raj Films) Luv Ka The End is about how Rhea (Shraddha Kapoor) teaches Luv (Taaha Shah) a lesson for cheating her and deciding to ‘use’ her. There’s no problem with the plot but the way Rhea takes revenge appears plain brainless.

The makers have time and again stressed the fact that its film for today’s youth. But do they think today’s youngsters are so absurd that they will break the guy’s car, sprinkle itching powder in his underwear and portray him as a gay by making him dance in a Ghaghara Choli, in order to teach him a lesson? Even the humour thrown in fails to create a giggle, forget laughter. On top of that, the extra-dud climax provides a perfect icing on the cake for a poor product!

We also have characters like a girl who wears something like a swimming costume in an exam, a guy who is proud of himself as he can move his chest, an oversized pervert who can do anything to get hot girls for his party and a professor who is a replica of Savita Bhabhi!

But the biggest non-believable aspect of the story is that Luv is an active participant on a website where guys upload their love-making videos in order to earn points. The more girls, especially sweet virgins (as they call it), you lay; the more are your chances of being the winner. Imagine, guys openly participating in such a contest from all over India and happily uploading videos of their sexual adventures for the whole world to see!

Director Bumpy doesn’t make a bad debut. You can’t blame him if the script itself is shoddy. But the film somewhat scores in the music department as the title song and the Mutton song are hummable.

Although Shraddha Kapoor isn’t outstanding, she does justice to her character and looks confident. But casting Taaha Shah in such a role is a grave mistake. Not because he overacts in some situations but because it is difficult to believe that girls can be so crazy for such a character, as shown in the film. Pushtie S is the star of the show! Her dialogue delivery and witty dialogues do make you smile. Sreejita De is not bad while Rahul Pardasany is likable.

Overall, Luv Ka The End makes us shudder to think about Y Films’ forthcoming films, if this is what they wish to serve today’s youth. At the box-office, the film has some chance but only in selected metros.

Chalo Dilli Movie Review

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Direction: Shashant Shah

Production: Big Daddy Productions, Eros International Media Ltd, Bheegi Basanti Entertainment

Starring: Vinay Pathak, Lara Dutta

Ratings: * * 1/2

Circumstances force a man and a woman to travel together on a long journey, which has a number of ups and downs. Before the journey ends, they develop affection and respect for each other. However, they don’t fall in love nor do they get a crush on each other. This is Shashant Shah’s Chalo Dilli’s noteworthy achievement. Other than this, this road trip saga (similar to Due Date and Planes, Trains and Automobiles) suffers from a slow narrative and lacks interesting moments. It is Vinay Pathak’s greatness that makes you somewhat satisfied in the end.

The whole idea was to let Mihika Banerjee (Lara Dutta), a high profile investment banker, experience the simple rural life of India with a chatterbox acquaintance Manu Gupta (Vinay Pathak) in a journey from Jaipur to Delhi. The way both the characters meet and are later forced to travel together is interesting and their interaction gives rise to a number of humorous moments. Although not fast paced, the first half is interesting and promising.

The script, however, starts going downhill in the second half where the situations and characters thrown in fail to amuse much. The goon track and Yana Gupta’s raunchy item number just don’t gel with the story. But thanks to a guest appearance by a superstar and some moving drama in the climax, the film manages to produce a smile.

And talking about smiles, they also produced in plenty by the dialogues which are the backbone of this flick. Apart from the song Matargashtiyan, the music is not much to talk about.

Although his character appears similar to the one he played in Bheja Fry, Vinay Pathak steals the show here. He carries the film on his shoulders with his lovable acts which also overshadow the weakness in the script. Having said that, Lara Dutta too produces a mature act. This is one of her better performances till date.

Overall, Chalo Dilli, is a strictly one-time affair as it falls in the could-have-been-great categories. Due to the multiple releases, the film will have a tough time at the box-office.

Dum Maaro Dum Movie Review

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Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Rana Daggubati, Prateik Babbar, Aditya Panscholi

Director: Rohan Sippy

Music: Pritam, R D Burman

Producers: Ramesh Sippy Entertainment, Fox Star Studios

Ratings: * * ½

Let’s face it: there is a dearth of quality crime thrillers in Bollywood since very long. But with the arrival of Dum Maaro Dum and its impressive promos, it seemed that the vacancy will be filled. The film has an interesting story and is gripping most of the times only to mess up in the climax. Hence, the vacancy is still not filled.

In Goa, Lorry (Prateik) fails to get a scholarship at a US university but his girlfriend gets through easily. Lorry is eager to be with his girlfriend in the US but is way short of funds. So he agrees to deliver a drug consignment in the US in order to earn a thick sum in a short time. Lorry is forced by his friend Joki (Rana Daggubati) against walking on the dreaded path but to no avail. Long before that, Zoe (Bipasha) had unwillingly become a part of the drug mafia as she had agreed to deliver drugs in order to fulfill her dream of becoming an air-hostess.

Meanwhile, ACP Vishnu Kamath (Abhishek Bachchan) is given the task of uprooting drug mafia from Goa. Kamath comes face-to-face with a big name in the field of drugs – Lorsa Biscuita. However, Kamath doesn’t have a proof against him. He soon gets to know that the man behind the whole scene is Michael Barbosa. But who is Barbosa? Nobody from the police force has seen him.

Director Rohan Sippy deserves praise for the way he has filmed the story. Sleek style, apt colour print, fast narration, jazzy camerawork, witty dialogues and a powerful background score make for an interesting viewing. However, it’s Shridhar Raghvan’s story and the screenplay (in the second half) that’s not up to the mark.

The scenario is build up very well in the first half but the writing loses some grip in the second.  Also the re-appearance of the characters’ dark past wasn’t needed. But those aren’t the biggest problems. The biggest letdown is the climax where Abhishek’s character is sidelined and it is not revealed how the mystery is solved! Even the suspense about Barbosa is far from satisfying.

Pritam’s music is nothing much to talk about. The most important title track, a classic from R D Burman, is ripped apart in the remix by adding some ugliest of words possible. Even Deepika Padukone’s forced hot avatar doesn’t help it.

Abhishek Bachchan is having a dreadful run at the box-office but has been giving good performances. In DMD, he gives his best performance in a long time. He shows concrete toughness as an ACP and at the same time is wonderful in emotional scenes. Clearly an under-rated actor in today’s times!

Rana Daggubati makes a confident debut. Although an actor like him deserves a meatier role, he manages well. Bipasha Basu achieves perfection playing a troubled character. Prateik Babbar shows maturity but his character just doesn’t look like a 17-year old. It’s a joke!

Aditya Panscholi is good as a villain and so is Govind Namdeo as Abhishek’s assistant. Muzammil S. Qureshi, another debutant, does well and has a good sense of humour.

Overall, Dum Maaro Dum fails to make use of the opportunity of being a quality crime thriller. At the box-office, the film has a chance of earning well in the metros.

First Film Titled FALTU Released in 2005

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Vashu Bhagnani’s youth oriented film F.A.L.T.U starring Jackky Bhagnani and debutant Pooja Gupta and directed by first timer Remo D’Souza is making waves because of its unusual and faadoo title. However, hardly few people remember or are aware of the fact that this is not the first film with such a title. A film titled Faltu had released in 2005. Unfortunately, because of the arty subject and a lack of publicity, the movie just went unnoticed. But I still remember watching the promos of the 2005 film many number of times.

The 2005 film was Bengali filmmaker Anjan Das’ first Hindi film and it starred Yash Pandit and Manjari Phadnis in the lead. Well-known Bengali actors Soumitra Chatterjee and Indrani Haldar were also a part of the cast. The film was based on well-known Bengali writer Syed Mustafa Siraj’s novel Ranirghater Brittanto.

The story deals with a 20 year old boy called Faltu (Pandit) from the village of Ranirghat who is in love with Tuktuki (Phadnis). Faltu was born after a series of men raped a mentally retarded woman Suri Khepi (Haldar). A census order by the government forces Faltu to search his father. Little did Faltu know that the truth with shatter his as well as Tuktuki’s life forever.

A look at the posters of both the movies: