Laden with Crap!

Watching Tere Bin Laden - Dead or Alive was such a waste of time! Around half an hour into the movie, I was not sure whether we would be dead or alive until the end of the movie. It was such a load of crap.

Although sequels never match up to the original, this one is so bad that it should never have been attempted. All in all, there were 10 people in the theater, of which a group of 6 left around 40 minutes into the film. The only good reason for us to bear this nonsense was the "private screening" kinda experience in a nice multiplex.

The comedy quotient is at an extreme low, with forceful punches from time to time. Performances are strictly average. The Obama lookalike is too young and Pradhuman Singh's Laden act falls flat. Manish Paul is average but nothing close to his potential that we have seen in his TV shows. Ali Zafar's cameo, which is supposed to be funny, is barely so!

The only saving grace (if at all) is the character played by Sikandar Kher, He has done well with the dual part, getting the accent quite right for both.

Overall, this one is laden with a baseless plot, mediocre performances, and utter lack of finesse. Catch this one on TV if there is nothing else to watch (not even Suryavansham).

Sh(a)Bass!!

Happened to catch this epic movie two days ago on TV. Whatta film! Hats off to R. Balki for the concept.

Who would've thought that Amitabh and Dhanush, with their distinctly opposite personalities, can be cast together to create something unique!

The Balki-Bachchan combo completes their hat-trick of brilliance with this one.

Although Amitabh and Dhanush excel, the real stars of the show are Amitabh's baritone voice and Dhanush's acting. Together, they rock!

Akshara Haasan is alright for the part, though dialogue delivery is too monotonous.

Some portions of the second half drag a little bit and I am not a fan of toilet humor either.

That apart, this is a must watch for the amazing performances!

Chak De India starring Mary Kom!

From the first look of the film itself, there was an inkling that this one would resemble Chak De India!

True to the suspicion, this film is a mash-up of several movies of the sports genre.
With nothing new to offer from the plot point-of-view, this is strictly a one-time watch.

An arrogant coach (read: failed star athlete of his time), plight of women athletes in India, a mean "head" of sports department, a natural sports star from a poor background, sibling rivalry are some of the "highlights" of the movie which failed to impress. All these "plots" are just gheese peete and seen "n" number of times before.

However, must appreciate the casting. R.Madhavan holds on to the character to the T although his flab quotient overrides his fab value to some extent. Ritika Singh is aptly cast, and so is Mumtaz Sorcar. Nasser and Zakir Husain are supportive in holding things together. Small punches from the other supporting actors provide the comedy quotient. Nothing special about the music either.

Overall, unless you are specifically interested in watching khadoosgiri and arrogance, you can wait till they screen this on TV.

Lift your spirits!

Airlift - Sheer Brilliance!

Whatta way to tug the heartstrings of patriotism when Republic Day is just around the corner!

A commendable effort by director Raja Menon. The execution of the story line is crisp, without much dragging and delay. The characters are clearly etched out. Special mention for the cinematographer, Priya Seth, for brilliantly capturing the essence of the ordeal. Depiction of the war zone is extremely detailed.

The background score and couple of songs are pretty good. Especially loved the "Tu Bhoola Jise" number; although did not much appreciate the rip off of "Didi didi".

And of course, Akshay Kumar steals the show with his effortless performance. He is ably supported by the rest of the cast. Was great to see Nimrat Kaur in a more glamorous role as compared to her earlier one in Lunchbox. Purab Kohli also made a mark with his passable part. Inaamulhaq, who played the Iraqi major, is also worth a special mention.

Overall, this is a must watch movie for all. Catch it as soon as you manage to get tickets!!

Pain Ratan Dhan Payo!

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo - Extremely disappointing for a Rajshri loyalist like me. It lacks the usual goody goody stuff & sanskaars and most importantly a story line!

In the first 10 minutes, the entire "plot", including the "twists", becomes so obvious that the 3 hour "musical" seems to last forever. And by the way, music seems "inspired" from total disasters like "Haan Maine Bhi Pyar Kiya". 

Some good talent like Anupam Kher and Swara Bhaskar is totally wasted in the supporting cast. Also, Neil Nitin Mukesh can do better than such bad/minuscule/passable roles.  

Go and watch it only if you are a die-hard Salman fan and have "loved" even the likes of Yuvraaj, Tere Naam and Yeh Hai Jalwa!

Looks like good old Babuji (Alok Nath) was smart enough not to get involved in this disastrous fairy tale!

Crappy New Year!!

I am not at all Happy this New Year! I mean, what on earth was Farah Khan thinking??

She had set a "worst possible movie" benchmark with Tees Maar Khan  a couple of years ago and has maintained the same (sub)standard style of film making in this one!

She and her brother Sajid are taking Bollywood to a whole different (lower) level! Their sibling rivalry (or collaboration?) is resulting in cheap, cheaper and cheapest "comedies" (if you must call them that) being churned out year after year!

Happy New Year is a sheer waste of good talent. With an ensemble like Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood and Deepika Padukone, one should be able to simply rock it! Instead, the outcome is more of the "put a sock in it" kind!

The film looks like a bad rip off of Ocean's Eleven, mixed with Shalimar.

The jokes are either non-existent or disgusting and crude. For example, it is not even remotely funny to see a guy vomiting on demand or a fat guy (Kiku) dressed up as a lady and trying to emulate Saroj Khan or a play on words like "Madar...........chod na yaar"! And what's with lines like "Nandu Bhide..dokyat kidey" and a sick gay-ish scene between Vishal Dadlani and Anurag Kashyap....puh'lease!!

As far as the cast goes, Abhishek's comic timing is under-utilized, Sonu seems to be there only for the muscle quotient, Jackie Shroff is passable, Anupam Kher's role is so short that you may miss him if you blink an eye, and Vivaan Shah needs to wipe that constant smirk off his face!

The saving grace is SRK's abs and aura (although they don't match with his aging face), Boman Irani (I just love the guy in whatever he does), Deepika Padukone, and the title track at the end (Farah style).

I strongly feel that Farah needs to rewatch Main Hoon Naa and Om Shanti Om and at least try to get the next one right!

All in all...SRK...you broke my heart!!

Dil Chahta Hai Jo Jeeta Wohi Harry Potter...Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa??

Just when you start feeling that I have completely lost it, let me justify the title of this post!

I went to watch "Student Of The Year" expecting a typical KJo flick and the film completely lived up to my expectations. It was an extremely over-the-top candyfloss story. However, it was definitely worth that one-time-watch.

The story is set in a out-of-this-world fancy school named St.Teresa's, which is kind of a blend between Gurukul (Mohobbatein) and Hogwarts in terms of sheer size and magnitude. The three leads, Rohan Nanda, Shanayah Singhania and Abhimanyu Singh are among the most popular kids (sounds like Ron, Hermione and Harry??). No points for guessing who is a rich brat and who is poor. Thanks to our endless number of movies, names like Nanda and Singhania are synonymous with wealth and abundance!

So, the story mainly revolves around this group of 7 kids, their effeminate principal and the sports coach (and the principal's dream-boy :-D). The two dudes are great at sports, academics and whatever else they do. The babe is good at being sexy. Then there's this fat, studious guy and a sardar to attempt comedy. There's also a chamcha of the rich dude, a "best friend" of the babe and another wannabe babe. The entire film focuses on school life, romance, friendship, competition, betrayal, revenge and reconciliation. The story is simplistic. The first half opens with a Dil Chahta Hai-esque hospital sequence with a story telling similar to Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa. The second half focuses on how they try to win the prestigious "Student of the Year" trophy. This part is a mixture of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar  and Harry Potter. Overall not a bad one though...

Out of all the new comers, I personally liked Varun Dhawan the best. However Siddharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt are a close second. Kayoze Irani also stands out. I was kinda surprised to see Sanaa Saeed after so many years since Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Rishi Kapoor is damn cute in the gay-ish principal's character! The rest of the supporting cast is alright although I feel Ram and Gautami Kapoor are an incorrect choice as parents of a 20 year old!!

Overall, these students have made their mark and am sure will go a long way! Kudos to KJo for maintaining the candyfloss quotient with this goody goody movie! Whatever everyone else says I thoroughly enjoyed it!