Friday, February 26, 2010

Karthik Calling Karthik Movie Review


Friday, February 26, 2010
Rate: 2/5



Kartik (Farhaan Akhtar) is a typical loser: he's frustrated with his job, the girl he likes doesn't even acknowledge his existence, and his confidence is on an all-time low. One good thing is, he knows his life is going nowhere. Bad thing is, he doesn't know what to do about it.


This is Farhan Akhtar's third film as an actor and it must be said that he takes giant strides when it comes to acting. The story throws several challenges at him and fortunately, he emerges trumps in the most difficult moments. This is, by far, his best work.

Deepika Padukone looks bewitching and acts natural throughout. Ram Kapoor is fantastic. Why don't we see him so frequently on the big screen? Shifaali Shah is excellent. Vivan Bhatena is good. Tarana, Vipin Sharma and Yatin Karyekar are serviceable.

On the whole, Karthik Calling Karthik is a decent product with an unconvincing conclusion. Watch it for the wonderful performances of Farhan and Deepika, if you have to. Caters to the youth in metros mainly.

Teen Patti Movie Review


Friday, February 26, 2010
Rate: 2/5




Teen Patti is verbose, inconsistently written and pretentious, but it also has an intriguing story, an unusual gripping soundtrack and an interesting ensemble cast. I suggest you watch it and figure out for yourself if this is your game. Of course, be prepared to hear characters seriously discussing stuff such as Nirvana and the human brain.

The earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. That's so true! Let's face it, money is the root of all evil. When we have more, it is never enough. This is exactly what Leena Yadav's Teen Patti tells you. Teen Patti is not only about gambling on table, but all those gambles that we take in our life. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Hollywood film 21, Teen Patti is akin to a roller coaster ride; if there are highs, expect the lows too.

Bachchan plays the role of a mathematician with remarkable ease. One cannot imagine anyone else in this character other than Bachchan. Especially noteworthy are the sequences between Bachchan and Sir Ben. Madhavan is excellent. The actor displays the grey shades most convincingly. The film introduces four new talents and each is confidence personified. Siddharth, Shraddha and Dhruv get maximum footage and they stand out. Vaibhav has tremendous screen presence, but his role lacks meat.

Raima Sen is alright. Barry John is first-rate. Anjan Srivastava is good. Mahesh Manjrekar is effective. Saira Mohan is hardly there. Sir Ben Kingsley is an amazing actor and expectedly, he's brilliant here. It's a treat to watch these two magicians - Sir Ben and Bachchan - perform on screen. On the whole, Teen Patti is a fresh concept, made well, but limits itself to the intelligentsia and big city audiences mainly.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Click Movie Review


Friday, February 19, 2010
Rate: 2/5



The culmination to the story is interesting and it's an end I haven't seen in Bollywood before. Also, what's interesting is that the film doesn't feature the hero as squeaky clean. He's got a past and his end is justified too. The songs [Shamir Tandon] are strictly okay and the non-promotion of songs makes it worse. Cinematography [Ramji] is alright. The sound design [Parikshit Lalvani] is excellent. That goes for the background score too.

Shreyas pitches in a believable performance. Sadaa does well and manages to hold your attention. Sneha Ullal doesn't get very many lines to deliver, but she stays with you. Rehan Khan gets minimal scope. Chunky Pandey does well. On the whole, Click should appeal to the youth, especially those who love horror films.

Toh Baat Pakki Movie Review


Friday, February 19, 2010
Rate: 3/5



Tabu is a pleasure to watch. She's natural and it must be said that it gets difficult to move your eyes when she's on screen. Sharman, again, is likable and gets it right. Vatsal does fairly well. Yuvika doesn't get much scope. Ayub Khan is passable. Himani Shivpuri and Suhasini Mulay are as usual. Upasna Singh is loud. On the whole, Toh Baat Pakki has a few interesting moments, but not enough to keep you hooked. It will have to rely on a strong word of mouth, especially from family audiences, to stay afloat.

A lot of present-day directors seem inspired by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee's movies. The veterans told simple stories in the most simplistic manner. Director Kedarh Shinde, one presumes, also seems inspired by their master works and attempts to narrate a story that's identifiable and at the same time, dipped in humour. But Toh Baat Pakki is not as invigorating as one expects it to be. The film has some wonderful moments, some old-world charm, but the humour, at several points, falls flat. Especially towards the penultimate portions. Final word? It's a half-baked fare!

Monday, February 15, 2010

My Name Is Khan Movie Review


Friday, February 12, 2010
Rate: 3.5/5



My name is Khan bears all the emotionally manipulative elements that one can expect from a Karan Johar film but some somehow manages even to nosedive into the realm of the absurd. Take the sub plot of a hurricane ravaged African American town that the hero saves and top it up with the appearance of the American president. Make that two president’s. ‘Yes. We Khan!’


Shahrukh Khan has moments where he seems to have stretched himself as an actor bringing to Rizwan a certain vulnerability that is uncharacteristic of Khan in recent roles. Yet this is not enough to hold together a film where the protagonist makes no real journey. Rizwan knows right from the start where his character will end up. Kajol looks beautiful but comes accross as unnnatural and her emotional outburts are sadly shrill and screamy.
Yet, there are some great moments in the film; like when Rizwan is taught by his doting mother (Zareena Wahab) ) that one's religion does not differentiate him from another. The only difference between people is that there are good people and there are bad people.
The supporting cast performs well. Besides Zareena Wahab's awesome screen mother debut there is Sonya Jehan (last seen in Akbar Khans Taj Mahal) who plays the part of Rizwaan's sympathetic sister in law with grace. Jimmy Shergill as Rizwan’s jealous brother pitches in a controlled effort and Navneet Nishan brings some genuine laughs.
While the subject matter seems good intentioned and the story does attempt to push the envelope, the outcome of My Name is Khan is disappointing. Packaged overtly like Forest Gump’s ‘box of chocolates’, the myriad web of characters and sub plots suffocate under too many issues (Autism, Minority, 9/11, Hurricanes). Maybe if the writers had stuck to one or two issues and fleshed them out sincerely, My Name is Khan might have struck a deeper chord.

My name is Khan bears all the emotionally manipulative elements that one can expect from a Karan Johar film but some somehow manages even to nosedive into the realm of the absurd. Take the sub plot of a hurricane ravaged African American town that the hero saves and top it up with the appearance of the American president. Make that two president’s. ‘Yes. We Khan!’


Shahrukh Khan has moments where he seems to have stretched himself as an actor bringing to Rizwan a certain vulnerability that is uncharacteristic of Khan in recent roles. Yet this is not enough to hold together a film where the protagonist makes no real journey. Rizwan knows right from the start where his character will end up. Kajol looks beautiful but comes accross as unnnatural and her emotional outburts are sadly shrill and screamy.
Yet, there are some great moments in the film; like when Rizwan is taught by his doting mother (Zareena Wahab) ) that one's religion does not differentiate him from another. The only difference between people is that there are good people and there are bad people.
The supporting cast performs well. Besides Zareena Wahab's awesome screen mother debut there is Sonya Jehan (last seen in Akbar Khans Taj Mahal) who plays the part of Rizwaan's sympathetic sister in law with grace. Jimmy Shergill as Rizwan’s jealous brother pitches in a controlled effort and Navneet Nishan brings some genuine laughs.
While the subject matter seems good intentioned and the story does attempt to push the envelope, the outcome of My Name is Khan is disappointing. Packaged overtly like Forest Gump’s ‘box of chocolates’, the myriad web of characters and sub plots suffocate under too many issues (Autism, Minority, 9/11, Hurricanes). Maybe if the writers had stuck to one or two issues and fleshed them out sincerely, My Name is Khan might have struck a deeper chord.

Striker Movie Review


Friday, February 5, 2010
Rate: 2/5



The story hits off in a North Mumbai ghetto and cuts frequently between the 70’s, the 80’s and 1992- when the communal riots break out in Mumbai. Chandan Arora’s ‘Striker’ is dark and original cinema but seems somewhat lost in translation.
A lower middle class boy from Malvani, Surya’s (Siddharth) childhood is marred by an episode where on losing a carom bet, his elder brother, Chandrakant (Anoop Soni) is beaten up by local goon Jaleel (Aditya Pancholi). Chandra stops playing the game but he secretly coaches the young Surya, who plays truant from school to pursue the game and become a champion.
As a young man, Surya is conned of all his money by a Dubai employment agency making him an angry youth on the loose. Surya’s childhood buddy Zaid (Ankur Vikal), a cocaine addict who works for the feared Jaleel, re introduces a 'desperate for money' Surya to Jaleel and Surya is forced to play the game for Jaleel’s betting den. The fiercely independent Surya refuses to be controlled by Jaleel and the two find themselves at loggerheads. When the communal riots break out, Jaleel takes on a more sinister and bloody role, and Surya suddenly finds himself embroiled in the mess way deeper than he or his family can afford to be.
Chandan Arora captures a terrific atmosphere, deftly recreating the Mumbai of the 1980’s and bringing forth several sincere performances. P.S.Vinod’s evocative lighting and camerawork play an important part in the telling of this unusual tale and the carom sequences are slickly cut together bringing forth to celluloid a somewhat unsung sport. Aditya Panscholi in a career-reprising role is scary as the twisted Jaleel but the real villain of the story is its weak screenplay. Using long-winded tracks to make a small point and adding multiple characters that appear and disappear, the story seems confused and too long for its two hour play.
The brooding Siddharth who made an impact with Rang De Basanti brings a refreshing earnestness to his character but sadly plays the part angry and shouting through most of the film. One often wonders during the narration what Surya’s motives could be as they don’t seem compelling enough for him to be driven to play the game, then to stop playing it, to want to take off to Dubai and then to play the game again.
Ankur Vakil (Slumdog Millionaire) is a good performer, playing the junkie thug Zaid who’s only redeeming factor is his loyalty to his childhood friend Surya. Seema Biswas delivers a competent performance as Surya’s mother but seems unchallenged by her role. Anupam Kher plays a sincere cop trying hard to broker peace during communal tension and refrains from the usual clichés that one can expect from a Muslim Mumbai cop in films.
Inspite of the high strung drama played out by the angry young Surya and the rest of the cast, the carrom matches have very little dramatic effect on the film. The game doesn’t really have much to do with the resolution of the story and this leaves you disappointed and frankly, a little carom ‘bored’.
Yet, the power of the story is strong and the honesty of the film shines through the sagging screenplay. The leading man is not a 2D hero and comes across as a real human being. His silent romance with the burkha clad neighbor Noorie, that is abruptly halted by her moving away, brings a loveable shade to the intense Siddharth. Delivering a heartfelt message and underlined with some beautiful music pieces by an ensemble of music directors including Vishal Bharadwaj, Chandan Arora’s ‘Striker’ pockets the queen but sadly misses a deserving cover.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Road To Sangam Movie Review


Friday, January 29, 2010
Rate: 2.5/5



Writer-director Amit Rai explains his point of view, but the screenplay could've been firm for a stronger impact. Otherwise, the director has succeeded in extracting wonderful performances from the principal cast. Paresh Rawal excels in this film. This is amongst his finest works. Om Puri is equally competent, although the length of his role is limited. Pawan Malhotra is efficient, as always. Javed Sheikh is good. The remaining actors enact their parts very well. On the whole, Road To Sangam is mainly for connoisseurs of cinema and also for the festival circuit.

One look at the promos of Road To Sangam and you realize that this isn't one of those films you watch every week. Road To Sangam, in fact, pricks your conscience and mirrors a reality. Wars have been fought and are still being fought in the name of religion. Road To Sangam tries to seek answers to the burning issue and in the process, also talks of partition and the Muslims in present-day India. Made with honest intentions, this one's targeted at connoisseurs of cinema.

Ishqiya Movie Review


Thursday, January 28, 2010
Rate: 2.5/5



Every actor in Ishqiya delivers a sparkling performance! Naseeruddin Shah is superb as a romantic. He is matchless in the sequence when he learns the truth about Vidya and Arshad. Arshad packs in a bravura performance yet again. Post Munnabhai films, Arshad should be liked in this one the maximum. Vidya continues to surprise. It's a dynamic performance undoubtedly. PAA and Ishqiya are two landmarks in her career.

The actors enacting the role of Jijaji, the kidnapped victim and Vidya's husband are all perfect. The child, who interacts with Arshad, is natural. In fact, every performance in Ishqiya is worthy of mention.

On the whole, Ishqiya is definitely worth a watch. The film has a riveting plot, great performances, soulful music
, an absorbing story and skilful direction to make the viewer fall in ishq with it. It should appeal to the hardcore masses as also the multiplex junta.