The Common Man Speaks

Red Alert – The War Within Movie Review

July 11, 2010 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Best of 2010 So Far!

Rating – * * * *

Almost daily we read newspaper reports about naxals and their terror movement. But how many of us are truly educated about this grave problem India is facing? Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s Red Alert – The War Within is a scorching eye-opener for all those ignorant about the issue as it provides an in-depth view of the naxals and also portrays their mindset in a manner that will shake, thrill, move as well as entertain.

The film gains momentum right from the very first scene when Narsimha (Sunil or Suneil Shetty), a cook, visits a naxal camp to provide food. The unexpected circumstances force Narsimha to stay with the group and also be a part of them. Along with Narsimha, the viewer is taken on an unconquered, harsh and heart-wrenching journey courtesy the activities of the naxalite group that includes Velu Anna (Ashish Vidyarthi), Saralaka (Seema Biswas), Murli (Sunil Sinha), Radhaka (Ayesha Dharker), Laxmi (Sameera Reddy) and Krishna (Ehsan Khan).

Making a film like Red Alert can take a toll on the best of directors and for this Anant Mahadevan has every reason to keep his head high as he has handled the subject with maturity and intelligence. His subtle as well as hard hitting presentation of Narsimha’s journey is sure to grab the viewer’s attention throughout. This is easily Mahadevan’s best work till date. In fact, it is difficult to believe he is the same person who gave films like Aksar, Victoria No. 203, Aggar and Anamika.

Mahadevan is blessed with Aruna Raje’s flawless and watertight screenplay. The film wouldn’t have been what it is without such a brilliant writing effort. To weave the lives of the naxals, their thinking, attitude and terror acts while making the audience feel for the central character of Narsimha is no ordinary feat. Although the climax might appear filmi, it certainly provides a positive feel because of unexpected twists.

The dialogues and the background score are highly effective. The cinematography deserves special mention as it can be a hell of a task to shoot around 80% of the movie in jungles.

Red Alert redefines Sunil Shetty who shocks with his career best performance. The actor gives a run for the money to all top performers in the country as he gets into the skin of the character in a masterful manner. His expressions, dialogue delivery, the way he depicts Narsimha’s confusion, depression, agony and determination makes him a candidate for a National Award. Damn all those stand up comedians who make fun of this actor!

There are a bunch of other actors like Seema Biswas, Ayesha Dharker, Sunil Sinha, Makarand Deshpande, Vinod Khanna and Zakir Hussain who give top-notch performances. But it’s Ashish Vidyarthi who makes us wonder why he isn’t seen much these days. His performance as the head of the naxals Velu Anna oozes terror in every scene of his. Sameera Reddy is a total revelation. Also a career best performance by her for she leaves a strong impact in a complete de-glam avatar. Naseeruddin Shah impresses in a cameo while Bhagyashree is not bad.

The low opening the film has gained (which will always be the case until the audience comes out of romantic and comedy entertainers’ hangover) won’t overshadow its numerous achievements. In my personal opinion, Red Alert – The Terror Within is clearly the best 2010 has offered so far.

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Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: Red Alert Bollywood movie, Red Alert box office, Red Alert movie, Red Alert movie review, Red Alert movie story, Red Alert The War Within movie, Red Alert The War Within movie review, Red Alert The War Within review, Sunil Shetty Red Alert

Raavan Movie Review

June 20, 2010 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Visual Delight Despite Limitations

Ratings: * * *

Adapting a mythological epic like Ramayana in the present era can never be a cake-walk. Apart from the turmoil that a filmmaker goes through, there is a constant awareness (or fear) of how imbibed the epic is in the audience’s minds. In spite of knowing this, director Mani Ratnam treads on the difficult path and kind of remakes the epic in Raavan. He narrates the story from the point of view of the demon (Ravana) and adds his own interpretation. Although his interpretation goes sorrowfully wrong at the end, he comes up with a visual treat. In fact, Bollywood has hardly seen a film as technically stunning as Raavan.

Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) is the most feared man as the head of a tribal area (Laal Maati) in a jungle district in North India. To settle a score with Superintendent of Police Dev Pratap Sharma (Vikram), Beera abducts his wife Ragini (Aishwarya Rai). Dev starts a desperate manhunt for Beera in order to free Ragini.

To get things straight – Raavan suffers from a weak storyline which becomes quiet illogical when it reaches the climax. However, in a rarest of the rare cases, the film still turns out to be a memorable experience despite the flaws. This is because Mani’s creativity that can be seen in plenty of scenes.

But Mani should be highly thankful to cinematographers Santosh Sivan and Manikandan. The way in which they have captured the jungles, waterfalls, rivers, birds and nature as a whole is nothing short of mastery and something that is hardly seen on Indian screen. Especially in the song sequence of Behne De which is pure delight. It won’t be an overstatement to say that Sivan and Manikandan are the true heroes of the film. Their work when coupled with a powerful and brilliant background score leaves a long lasting impact on the viewer. The fight scene on the bridge will stay etched in your memory throughout your life.

Like most Mani films, even Raavan has an impressive musical score by A R Rahman. The songs go well with the theme of the film and for this lyricist Gulzar deserves equal credit. Tracks Beera and Behne De stand out. Having said that, some songs also hamper the narration.

After Yuva and Guru, Mani ones again succeeds in making Abhishek give a powerful performance that will be talked about. However, his character of Beera doesn’t evoke much terror or threat that one expects from a demon like Ravana. But as this is a writing fault, Abhishek shouldn’t be blamed for he does his task with perfection.

Aishwarya’s performance is another plus point of the film. She excels in the role of a kidnapped wife (Sita).  Her character had a difficult task of showing fearlessness despite being kidnapped by a bunch of ruthless tribals and she succeeds in it. Also, she portrays her change in feelings towards Beera through perfect expressions. But Vikram (supposed to be Ram) doesn’t look impressive mostly because he speaks Hindi in a South Indian accent although he is playing a guy from North India. Ravi Kishan, Govinda and Priyamani are likable in support roles while Ajay Gehi amd Nikhil Dwivedi show promise.

Despite  the several plus points, Raavan ceases to be a perfect movie because of a weak script, non-acceptable events in the second half and a poor climax. This will ensure the film will suffer badly at the box-office after the first weak.  But, as stated earlier, the mesmerizing visuals and some breathtaking cinematography do manage to overshadow the weak points. Watch it for the visual treat it offers.

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Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: Raavan box office, Raavan Mani Ratnam, Raavan movie, Raavan movie review, Raavan movie story, Ravan Abhishek Bachchan, Ravan Aishwarya Rai, Ravana Mani Ratnam, Ravana movie review, Ravana review, Ravana story

Raajneeti Movie Review

June 5, 2010 by Keyur Seta 6 Comments

Ruling Party!

Ratings – * * * ½

As his last two films, Gangajal and Apaharan, dealt with the issue of politics and that too impressively, director Prakash Jha earned the title of being a specialist in the subject. And with his next film Raajneeti dealing with the same issue, expectations are sure to rise high especially because of an ensemble starcast. Thankfully, Jha succeeds very well in fulfilling the expectations although the climax doesn’t look 100% convincing.

Inspired largely from the Mahabharata, the film starts off with the story of Bhaskar Sanyal (Naseeruddin Shah) a leftist leader who is ready to challenge any political leader. However, he is forced to disappear from the scene following a grave mistake.

Years later, in the present era the story deals with the family of Bhanu Pratap, the head of the Rashtravadi Party. Following a heart attack, Bhanu becomes bed-ridden due to paralysis. This naturally makes his son Prithviraj Pratap (Arjun Rampal) as the successor of the party. This doesn’t go well with Prithvi’s cousin Veerendra Pratap (Manoj Bajpayee). In order to stop Prithvi from acquiring power, Veerendra uses Sooraj Kumar (Ajay Devgan), a fiery youngster from the Dalit caste. Following the consequences, Prithvi’s brother Samar (Ranbir Kapoor) is forced to land in the ruthless game of power although he has always kept himself away from politics.

To present the above mentioned story on celluloid can be a hell of a task for the writers and for this very fact, Anjum Rajabali and Jha deserve all the accolades. The level of viewer’s interest doesn’t fall even a bit throughout the film. In fact, because of the tight screenplay, one doesn’t even realize the close-to-3-hour length of the movie largely because of some thrills and twists.

Naturally, directing such a film is a daunting task too especially the numerous political rally scenes. Jha not only carries the task with maturity and perfection, he also makes sure that the goings create a terrific impact on the audience. Plus, he makes sure each and every actor enacts his or her part with perfection.

Dialogues are a vital ingredient in a film like Raajneeti. Even in this department, the film scores brilliantly. Each and every line is involving, impacting and long-lasting. Technical departments like the background score and cinematography add icing to the cake. Crisp editing also plays a major role in the favor of the film. Each and every scene is non-lengthy and to the point. But the major relief is that the songs appear only for a few minutes or even seconds, which makes sure the narration isn’t disturbed.

The performances of the huge star cast make it difficult to pick one or two of the best since all the major names, Ranbir, Devgan, Bajpai, Arjun and Nana Patekar give a flawless act. Still, one can say that Ranbir and Bajpai make heads turn the most. However, it’s Rampal who is a surprise package. People will surely rate him higher after this performance. Katrina’s performance should be appreciated largely because her character needed someone with a firang accent. Sarah Thompson does well too and so does Naseeruddin in a cameo.

As stated earlier, the climax falls on the flipside. It’s surprising to see the film being concluded in an underworld thriller manner. Plus, the secret related to the character of Devgan doesn’t have much to do with the main story. But the biggest drawback seems the disappearance of Naseeruddin’s character in a highly questionable manner.

However, these factors don’t stop Raajneeti from being a powerful political thriller. The inclusion of commercial elements and the above mentioned high points will make sure the film earns a good sum at the box-office at least in the first two weeks.

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Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: Raajneeti review, Rajneeti Katrina Kaif, Rajneeti movie, Rajneeti Prakash Jha, Rajneeti Ranbir Kapoor, Rajneeti review, Rajneeti story, Rajniti review, Ranbir Kapoor Rajinti

Karthik Calling Karthik Review

March 6, 2010 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment


Yes… take the call!

Ratings: – * * * ½

The psychological thriller genre is hardly touched by Indian filmmakers. Vijay Lalwani touches it in his directorial debut Karthik Calling Karthik and after the final culmination it can be said that the touch produces a remarkable sensation.

Despite being brilliantly intelligent, Karthik Narayan (Farhan Akhtar) has a loser’s attitude and lacks confident. His cowardly nature makes it extremely easy for his boss (Ram Kapoor), his landlord and others to bully and harass him. He is also unable to express his fondness for his colleague Shonali (Deepika Padukone). The one day, he receives a phone call which changes his life. Things start falling into place unbelievably. However, the problem lies in the fact that the person who is calling him is nobody else but himself. How can Karthik call Karthik?

Lalwani is responsible for the story, screenplay, dialogues and direction and the debutant excels in every department. The never-told-before story is intriguing and has some edge of the seat moments. The suspense is just not predictable and makes the viewer guessing till the end. The intelligent screenplay adds boost to the story.

Most importantly, Lalwani also succeeds in the main headache, the direction, with ease. He has shot the story in an interesting and extraordinary manner, which gives it an international look. Surely, this man is the lookout for the future. The witty and intelligent dialogues are another feather in his cap.

The few items on the flip side include some portions where the pace drops especially during the pre-interval romantic moments. Also the logic behind the suspense might not go down well with all. Lastly, those who expect so-called entertaining values might get disappointed because of the nature of the subject.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music has nothing special to offer. The title track, however, suits the mood at the opening credits. But the background score is superb.

A film which depends solely on the title role requires a special talent and Farhan Akhtar proves that he has it. Flawless and brilliant are the words for his act here. He portrays roles of a loser, a transformed confident chap and a disturbed individual with utmost perfection. Deepika Padukone does well as Farhan’s lady love but she could have done with less skin show. Ram Kapoor’s egoistic and ruthless act comes as a surprise. Surely we want to see more of him.

Karthik Calling Karthik surely deserves a watch since it succeeds in treading on an unconquered path. Sadly, however, the film has gained disappointed collections. Wonder when our audience will stop clinging only on those so-called family and masala entertainers and will start giving important and encouragement to such genres.

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My Name Is Khan Review

February 16, 2010 by Keyur Seta 4 Comments

Repairs Almost Everything… But Almost!

Ratings: – * * *

It’s surprising to see a movie on world peace and about the portrayal of Islam coming from a man who is known for churning out tear-jerking love stories and family dramas. It’s even more surprising to see filmmaker Karan Johar using a character with Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism) to prove his point. Although the film succeeds in the mission, it is the central character of Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) that you feel like carrying away more than the film because of a sloppy storyline and a stretched second half.

Right from his childhood, Rizwan Khan is told by his mother that human beings can be distinguished only as good or bad as religious differences pose no meaning. Despite, his autistic condition, Rizwan possesses a special skill of repairing all kind of gadgets. Hence, he can ‘Repair Almost Anything’. He meets a pretty single mother Mandira (Kajol) when he is forced to migrate to the US with his brother Zakir (Jimmy Shergill). However, the 9/11 attacks change everything including the equations between Rizwan and Mandira. Now, Rizwan has only one mission – to meet the President of the United States just to say, “My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist”.

It is the character of Rizwan and his innocent activities that makes the film possible. He makes you laugh, cry, enlighten as well as rethink on certain issues. His each and every interaction is memorable, especially his comments, “Liar liar” for those who are ‘bad people’.

Johar deserves appreciation for bringing to light an important issue and for trying to spread the message of humanity. Also, he shows the plight of innocent Muslims after the 9/11 attacks without the use of melodramatic and round-the-mill dialogues. Plus, Rizwan’s encounter in Georgia is memorable and moving.

However, having said that, the problems in the story and script are too big to ignore. These include: –

  • A character suffering from autism easily travels from one unknown destination to another without facing any problem whatsoever because his condition.
  • Too many incidents added after the interval tests one’s patience. Needless to say, this also increases the length to a large extent.
  • The motto of Rizwan (of meeting the President just to say that he is not a terrorist) isn’t appealing enough to generate backing from the audience.
  • The reason for Rizwan getting arrested when he was standing in the crowd appears weird.
  • Communal riots are shown taking place in Mumbai in the year 1983. They never happened in that year.
  • Sadly, the list doesn’t end here.

It takes the genius of Shah Rukh Khan to make the character of Rizwan possible. Because of SRK’s charm, one doesn’t feel awkward or uninterested while watching an autistic character. He achieves perfection with regard to the mannerisms, way of speaking and gestures of an autistic character with ease, which is hugely difficult. In short, this surely deserves a place in SRK’s top 5 performances ever.

However, My Name Is Khan is not just about SRK. Kajol shows her brilliance as much as him. The actress achieves mastery while depicting every emotion whether it is love, comedy or tragedy. It is because of the absence of Kajol that some non-talented glam dolls have acquired the top spot these days. Jimmy Shergill, Soniya Jehan and all the supporting characters play their parts well. Zarina Wahab, as Rizwan’s mother, deserves special mention.

Because of the negative points (mentioned above), My Name Is Khan turns out to be just a one-time watch movie. Still it can be considered special because of SRK’s performance and the issue it focusses. The film is definitely going to enjoy huge profits because of the hype and the huge scale release but the collections are expected to come down after the first week or so.

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: Karan Johar My Name Is Khan, MNIK review, My Name Is Khan box office report, My Name Is Khan Kajol, My Name Is Khan movie review, My Name Is Khan review, My Name Is Khan Shahrukh, My Name Is Khan Shahrukh Khan, My Name Is Khan story

Rann Movie Review

February 1, 2010 by Keyur Seta 5 Comments

Truth or TRP?

Ratings: * * * ½

In a time when news channels are busy with celebrity gossips, astrology, saas bahu news, promoting blind faith, creating sensationalism over petty issues and cooking news about mythological evidences, one tends to wonder what the real role of a news channel is. Ram Gopal Varma’s Rann tries answering the question and not only that; it also shows how the whole political scenario of a nation can change due to the abuse of media.

Vijay Malik’s (Amitabh Bachchan) TV channel India 24 X 7 is low in TRPs as it has not surrendered to sensationalism like other channels. But this won’t bend Malik’s traditional and ethical ways of journalism. Of course, Malik’s ideology is not appreciated by people from his own company including his son Jai (Sudeep). However, Purab (Riteish Deshmukh), an upcoming journalist, considers Malik as a Godly figure because of his honest ideology. One day, India 24 X 7, knowingly and unknowingly, becomes the reason for a major chaos in the country, which benefits a corrupt politician Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal).

Ram Gopal Varma does achieve his goal and, surprisingly, without much media bashing. His intelligently crafted scenes create intenseness throughout with the focus not shifting from the topic for once ever.  Plus, Amit Roy’s unusual yet out-of-the-box cinematography and Amar Mohile’s powerful background score generate further interest. However, one does hope there were some more powerful punches considering the hard hitting subject. Because of their absence, the film may not go down well with the entertainment hungry creatures.

The songs, which are used only in the background, suit the mood of the film perfectly, especially the Vande Mataram track and a song on TRPs.

The ways of describing Bachchan’s up-to-the-mark performance have exhausted over the decades. So I’ll only say that this performance should be added in Big B’s long list of qualitative performances. Over here, he skillfully manages to convey his message thorough his expressions when his inside is full of lava. Despite Bachchan’s presence, Sudeep manages to surprise amazingly. He is flawless throughout with his expressions, actions and dialogues. He surely deserves lots of opportunities.

With this performance, Ritiesh Deshmukh proves his worth even as a serious and intense performer. His pre-climax scene with Bachchan is memorable. Paresh Rawal, in the role of a baddie politician is too good. You love to hate him. Rajpal Yadav, Mohinish Behl, Suchitra Krishnamurthy and other supporting cast play their part well. However, Neetu Chandra is wasted. All she does is expose her body and cool down Sudeep in almost her every scene.

Rann should surely be watched by all those who take every word from these TRP-hungry news channels. The film will surely appeal to those who prefer meaningful, insightful and hard-hitting cinema. Its chances, however, look bleak because of an unimpressive opening.

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood movie review, movie review, Ram Gopal Varma movie, Ram Gopal Varma Rann, Rann Amitabh Bachchan, Rann box office, Rann film review, Rann movie, Rann movie review, Rann review, Rann Ritesh Deshmukh, Sudeep Rann

3 Idiots Movie Review

December 26, 2009 by Keyur Seta 9 Comments


Are you really educated or just well trained?

Ratings: – * * * ½

Ever wondered about the difference between well educated and well trained? Ever thought that intelligence and good marks are poles apart? Ever felt that our education system sucks? Ever thought being happy, satisfied and successful doesn’t always mean earning big bucks? Ever felt the urge of doing what your heart likes? If your answers are yes, go and watch Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots and feel proud of yourself. And if your answers are no, still watch 3 Idiots to destroy your illusionistic image of life.

Loosely based on Chetan Bhagat’s book 5 Point Someone, the film embarks the journey of three engineering students – Rancho (Aamir Khan), Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman Joshi).

Rancho never hesitates to challenge, question or prove somebody wrong even if it is the director of his college Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Boman Irani). He will go any heights to help someone and even enlighten others like he does to Farhan and Raju, who have joined engineering without any passion to learn the subject. After changing people’s lives, Rancho, however, suddenly disappears after graduation. Today, after five years, Farhan and Raju get a chance to finally meet their best buddy.

After Munnabhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabhai, Hirani is back with an enlightening film, but of course, without appearing preachy. The way he has narrated the tale will appeal to both youngsters and their parents. Even as the writer, Hirani deserves full marks for adding some jaw-dropping funny moments, that will leave you in splits even after the movie is over, and also some touchy incidents.

Shantanu Moitra’s music and Swanand Kirkire’s lyrics add icing to the cake. All the tracks – Aal Izz Well, Give Me Some Sunshine, Zoobi Doobi, Behti Hawa Sa and Jaane Nahin Dungaa – fit the story and the plot perfectly. Even the cinematography deserves special mention.

Despite, however, a long list of winning moments, there are present some flaws in the plot as well as in some scenes. The whole motto of Rancho while he was graduating (which is revealed after the first half) is purely unrealistic. And the destination where Aamir’s character reaches at the end is highly questionable. Mona Singh’s child delivery scene is indigestible and debatable while Sharman’s hospital scene doesn’t fit well. Also too much shedding of tears could have been avoided and the overall length should have been tighter. The inclusion of  a large number of filmi moments doesn’t suit in a film which has an enlightening message. Lastly, some funny moments are not comfortable for family viewing (especially the ragging scene).

Aamir Khan proves yet again why he is one of the best in the business when it comes to carrying the film on one shoulder. The actor is adorable in each and every scene. Because of his brilliant portrayal of a college youth, you completely forget his real age. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi provide perfect support. Both are flawless and lovable throughout. The nature of Boman Irani’s character is the same as in Munnabhai MBBS. Despite that, he portrays his part with a new dimension and perfection. Kareena Kapoor (Pia) too should be proud of her act. However, it is Omi’s (Chatur aka Silencer) mind-blowing comic act that takes everyone by surprise. Omi’s character and its hilarious accent will be remembered as long as the movie itself!

All said and done, watch 3 Idiots for the shower of hope that it provides while giving a new definition of life. And those creatures who are looking for non-stop fun, the film is worth multiple watches. The huge and extraordinary first weekend collections indicate that 3 Idiots will surely become the highest grosser ever in Bollywood!

Personal Note: – I never felt ashamed or disappointed for scoring less than 50 % marks in most of my college exams and after watching Rocket Singh and 3 Idiots, I have started flaunting my marks.

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Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year Movie Review

December 13, 2009 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment


Heart-warmer Of The Year

Rating: – * * * * ½

It’s a harsh truth that Bollywood, these days, is ruled by market forces where money is the name of the game. Films are showered with lots of so-called entertaining factors just to attract (or even fool) the masses in order to earn as much revenue as possible in the first three days.

In the midst of such a situation, it takes more than guts not to bow down to the bazaar demands make something right from your heart. Well, Shimit Amin’s Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year does the gutsy act and does it victoriously.

Rocket Singh is one of those flicks which reinforces your belief in the three assets called hope, hard work and honesty, which is almost non-existent in today’s movies. Harpreet Singh Bedi aka Rocket Singh (Ranbir Kapoor) has these assets in abundance instead of good marks to show off. He is one contended guy who has no interest in being in the ‘big’ profession of a doctor, engineer, MBA, etc. But little did he know that his assets will turn out to be the reason for his downfall. Despite this, Harpreet decides to fight back.

The presentation of this simple tale is equally simple. For this, Jaideep Sahni deserves tons of accolades for writing a heartwarming story, churning out some out-of-the-ordinary scenes in his screenplay and creating witty, funny as well as heart touching dialogues. In addition, Sahni’s honesty to the subject can be seen from the fact that he has refrained from giving undue importance to the romantic track or other such masala factors.

Add to this director Shimit Amin’s creativity, which can be seen in almost every scene. It’s because of his brilliance that the film turns out to be one of the most entertaining in recent times. In fact, Amin’s effort is at par with his last worshipped flick Chake De! India.

Playing the main lead in such a film is crucial and requires extraordinary talent and Ranbir Kapoor, with this performance, shows that he possesses extraordinary factor. The actor’s presence is enough to keep one glued to the screen as he expresses each emotion with ease.

Amongst the supporting cast, Gauhar Khan, Shazahn Padamsee, Prem Chopra and the actor who played the peon all perform their task perfectly. However, it’s D Santosh (the porn-watching IT guy Giri), the actor who played sales manager and the one who played Ranvir’s boss Puri who manage to surprise everyone with flawless and up to the mark performances, especially D Santosh.

Technical departments don’t disappoint too as Salim-Sulaiman’s amusing background score and Vikas Nowlakha’s apt cinematography suit the subject well. There’s isn’t much scope for Salim-Sulaiman’s music but the song Nikal Padi goes well with the post-interval situation apart from the hit promotional track Pocket Mein Rocket.

Considering everything, Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year is a rare gem which succeeds in bringing the spotlight back on honest, meaningful and non-masala cinema. Damn the average opening; the film’s makers and contributors have every reason to be proud.

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: Gauhar Khan Rocket Singh, Jaideep Sahni Rocket Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor Rocket Singh, Rocket Singh movie, Rocket Singh review, Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year, Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year review, Shazahn Rocket Singh, Shimit Amin Rocket Singh

Damn These Dialogues!

November 29, 2009 by Keyur Seta 11 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

Right from its inception, Bollywood has churned out some memorable flicks with some classy and landmark dialogues. However, amongst these praiseworthy dialogues, there have also been some which are plain idiotic.

Surprisingly, many of these stupid lines have appeared in movies which are highly regarded and respected. Being subjected to hearing such lines since childhood, I can’t help but make fun of them. There’s some force which is compelling me to interpret these dialogues (in capital letters) in my way, which can be more idiotic than the original lines!

–  Agar tumne uske saath shaadi ki to mera maraa moo dekhogi! – AS IF OTHER PARTS OF YOUR BODY WOULD BE ALIVE.

– Main tera khoon pee jaaunga – A HOPELESS AND HELPLESS VICTIM OF WATER SHORTAGE.

– Doctor tells a lady that her husband is no more and she says, “Keh do ki yeh jhoot hai!” Just imagine the doctor saying, “Haan aisi situations mein mujhe mazaak karne ki aadat hain.”

– Yeh gaajar ka halwa maine apne haathon se banaya hain – YES WE CAN COOK FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR BODY.

– Nikaah kabool hain? – NAHIN YAAR. MAIN YAHAN ITNE ACHHE SE TAYAAR HOKE SIRF TIMEPASS KARNE AAYAA/AAI HOON!

– Kanoon ke haath bohat lambe hote hain – KAASH PAIR BHI LAMBE HOTE TO POLICE TIME PE POHOCHTI!

– Mera dimaag mat khao – MAIN SADI HUI CHEEZEN NAHIN KHATA!

– Bachne ka koi rasta nahin. Police ne tumhe chaaron taraf se gher liya hai – THEN WHY YOU SOUNDING SO PETRIFIED?

– Itne kharche? Ghar mein ek phooti kaudi nahin hain – AGAR HOTI TO BHI KYA HO JATA? IS IT ACCEPTED AS CURRENCY IN INDIA?

– Main kahan hoon? Main kaun hoon? – ACTUALLY YOU SHOULD ASK, “MAIN KYUN HOON?”

– A typical maa asks with a startling and spooky expression, “Tumne mujhe maa kaha? – GALTI HO  GAYI. PHIR SE NAHIN KAHUNGAA!

(And now the killer of all:-)

– Aage jaane ke liye tumhe meri laash pe se guzarna hoga – NAHIN MAIN ITNA BHI NIRDAY NAHIN HOON. MAIN LAASH KE SIDE MEIN SE CHALA JAAUNGA. I WILL MANAGE ALL RIGHT!

Having made fun of all these lines, I still want the idiocy to continue so that I can write more such blog posts!

Filed Under: Bollywood, Humour Tagged With: best hindi film bollywood dialogues, Bollywood dialogues, Bollywood movie dialogues, famous bollywood dialogues, famous hindi film dialogues, filmi dialogues, filmi jokes, filmy dialogues, funny dialogues, Hindi movie dialogues

Kurbaan Movie Review

November 23, 2009 by Keyur Seta 10 Comments

Almost Kurbaan

Rating: – * * *

Each and every department of a movie, no matter how perfect and up to the mark, can go unnoticed if the basic plot is infected with flaws. That’s exactly the problem with Rensil D’Silva’s directorial debut Kurbaan. One really wishes the plot was as flawless and watertight as the performances, of each and every artist, and the technical aspects.

The story goes around professor Avantika (Kareena Kapoor), who thought her life is a bed of roses when she married her lover Ehsaan Khan, also a professor, (Saif Ali Khan) until she discovered she is being used as a pawn in a huge terror conspiracy. There’s also Riyaaz (Vivek Oberoi), a war journalist with disguised intentions.

As stated earlier, the problem with Kurbaan lies in the plot itself. The whole idea and motive of Riyaaz is devoid of much logic (not going through the details in order to avoid being a spoiler).

Another scene, the most vital in the plot, is plain laughable. Just figure this out – Avantika gets to know that the plane, in which her friend (Dia Mirza) will be travelling, is going to get blown up. What does Avantika do when she couldn’t get through Dia’s mobile phone? She phones at Dia’s office landline just 15 minutes before takeoff and leaves a recorded message urging and pleading her not to take the flight. How the hell can she expect Dia to receive the message in her office just 15 minutes before the takeoff? She could have called the police, the FBI or the airport authorities but looks like she didn’t trust them.

The above two loopholes turn you off from a rather well made thriller with some terrific edge-of-the-seat moments. Another flipside is the duration of 2 hours 40 minutes. One could afford to miss the initial 20 odd minutes where the hero goes head over heels when he sees his heroine and flirts with her in a typical 90’s fashion. In some more places, the editor should have used his scissors.

Despite the problems, D’Silva does leave a mark. Shooting such a film can be a hell of a task especially when it’s your first one. Therefore, D’Silva should get full credit for it. But the strongest factors come in the form of Hemant Chaturvedi’s cinematography, Salim-Sulaiman’s revolutionary background score, Parvez Khan’s action and Anurag Kashyap and Niranjan Iyenagar’s dialogues.

Salim-Sulaiman’s duo, as music directors, does produce some tuneful melodies but sadly the songs end up being interrupters and the most memorable title track appears at the end credits.

Both Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor enact their parts with flawlessness. Their emotional acts in the climax stay etched in your memory. However, it’s Vivek Oberoi who comes as a total surprise. He has played his part so well that it won’t be an overstatement to assert that the actor is back to his Company, Saathiya and Dum days. In a film which relies mostly on performances, the supporting cast needs to deliver top notch performances and Om Puri, Kiron Kher and the rest of the filling cast do exactly that.

The information and statistics provided in the script and the issues taken to light need special mention. Not many would have known that the US, in their efforts to curb terrorism, ended up taking many more than 15,000 lives in Iraq and Afghanistan which is five times more than the death toll in the 9/11 attacks (3,000).

All in all, Kurbaan is for those who like to enjoy some spine chilling moments without troubling their brains. Despite the big starcast, the film has had just an average opening which will make its going tough at the box-office.

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: Kareena Kapoor, Kurbaan, Kurbaan box office, Kurbaan film review, Kurbaan Kareena Kapoor, Kurbaan movie, Kurbaan movie review, Kurbaan review, Kurbaan Saif Ali Khan, Kurbaan Vivek Oberoi, Kurban, Kurban review, Saif Ali Khan

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