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'Ghajini': The complete masala!

'Ghajini' is a revenge saga, one ingredient that has been the staple diet of Hindi films since time immemorial. It is a powerful film. It has the power to sweep you off your feet from the word 'go'. It has a riveting story, which has been told with flourish by director A.R. Murugadoss. And, of course, it has a knockout performance by Aamir Khan. If at all there's a shred of doubt whether Aamir is "The Best" in the business, all you've got to do is check out 'Ghajini'.

Flaws any? Running time [almost 3 hours]? Not at all! There's so much happening in every scene and the screenplay is so gripping that you don't feel the need to look at the auditorium ceiling or at your watch at brief intervals. You aren't restless. As moviegoers, we've watched countless good versus evil fares over the years and although 'Ghajini' belongs to the same family, not once does it take the beaten track. The story has been told differently and most importantly, the story offers so many twists-n-turns that you just can't guess what would unfold next.

Is it violent? It is, at times, but the violence here is justified. In fact, every time the protagonist bashes up the evil-doers, you clap and root for him. The climax is jaw-dropping -- dissimilar from the original, but it's an out of the world experience nonetheless.

To sum up, 'Ghajini' is commercial Hindi cinema at its best. The film has 'Hit' written all over it. Let me put it this way: Cancel whatever you're doing today and go watch 'Ghajini' instead.

Aamir Khan is suffering from acute short-term memory loss set off by the violent murder of his girlfriend Asin. He's got to work around this handicap, but with methodical and meticulous determination. Aamir etches a path of clues that lead him on his road.

To aid him in his quest, he carries around a sheaf of Polaroids and when he is really sure of a piece of information, he has it tattooed on his body, which stands in for the damaged part of his mind. His indelibly marked torso is the repository of his grief, his rage and his reason to go on living.

Any more revelation would do gross injustice to the film and to its viewer.

First things first! 'Ghajini' is not 'Memento'. There're minor similarities, but 'Ghajini' takes a completely different route to tell its story. Director A.R. Murugadoss tells this one differently. It starts off with what happens in the past, comes to the present-day, goes back in time again and returns to the contemporary again. This is a breathless, exciting story, heart-breaking and exhilarating at the same time.

Hindi movies have often depicted people suffering from amnesia/memory loss, but 'Ghajini' is poles apart because the protagonist recalls events only for 15 minutes. The story is its USP, without a doubt. But what adds sheen and glory to the story is Aamir's portrayal of a man suffering from short-term memory loss. Aamir hardly speaks. In fact, the leading lady [Asin] speaks more than Aamir in the film. But Aamir speaks volumes with his eyes, he conveys whatever has to be conveyed through his body language, he says it all with his facial expressions and that only makes 'Ghajini' a memorable, never-seen-before experience.

Director A.R. Murugadoss deserves brownie points for not just coming up with an interesting story, but also presenting it [refreshingly] differently. The storyteller balances the light moments and the ones demanding intensity with expertise. There's dum in every sequence. Even if the director has to depict violence, he doesn't resort to blood-n-gore or knives-swords-pistols for effect.

A.R. Rahman's music is top notch. At least three numbers have the unmistakable stamp of a genius -- 'Guzarish', 'Behka' and 'Kaise Mujhe'. Ravi Chandran's cinematography is stunning. The film bears a stylish look all through. The action sequences are brilliantly executed. The Hindi moviegoers haven't seen such scenes ever.

Aamir delivers his career-best performance. In the first place, it requires courage and maturity to name the film after the villain. Knowing how egoistic our stars are, something like this is next to impossible in Hindi films.

A lot has been said and written about the 'Ghajini' look -- Aamir's hairstyle and his dream physique. It's awe-inspiring and if more and more people adopt the 'Aamir look' or hit the gym, it would be courtesy the actor. As far as his acting is concerned, he's natural as the tycoon, but like a wounded, ferocious tiger when he goes on an avenging spree. Without doubt, it's a concentrated, layered performance. He acts with his entire being. His body movement, the details of his performance, everything rings true. He is both vulnerable and hard. The pain in his face when he can't remember, is palpable. It's not only the plot that carries 'Ghajini'. It's also the mood and the expression on Aamir's face that makes 'Ghajini' a treat.

Asin is fabulous. To share the screen space with an actor of the stature of Aamir Khan and yet remain in your memory even after the show has ended is no cakewalk. She looks fresh and photogenic and acts her part brilliantly. Pradeep Rawat, the villain, is first-rate. Jiah Khan impresses, especially in the sequence when Aamir follows her to a shopping mall.

On the whole, 'Ghajini' is a winner all the way. The film will set new records and has the merits to emerge one of the biggest Hits of all times. In short, 'Ghajini' has 'Blockbuster' written all over it.

Aamir Khan has special strategy for Ghajini promotion

Watch Aamir Khan Play Drums Click Here

Aamir Khan has always been a path breaker in every area and staying true to his reputation is yet again giving his millions of fans something truly ‘hatke’. His next release is Ghajini, which is all set to come on December 26th. But now instead of opting for a typical “teaser promo” followed by big theatrical promo technique, Aamir has recommended his filmmakers to start work on a never seen before kind of, very user friendly, interactive website for the film.

A source revealed us, “A leading website company that has been handling the personal website of Aamir shall now be doing the Ghajini film website. Aamir we have learnt has been giving his creative inputs for the same which include a specially shot promo just for the website. Internet savvy Aamir knows power of the e-medium in today’s times very well and he is confident that a stronger buzz will be created through it.

Aamir has been interacting a lot through his personal website with his fans across the globe and he wants to use the Ghajini website as a platform to multiply his fan base and in turn also promote his film. This also involves less money as video promos online are practically free of cost and the producer doesn’t have to shell a lot of money from his pocket to constantly showcase his film’s promos on television channels.

The official promotion of the film is set to begin around Diwali time that’s in October end. Aamir intends to get website for the film ready by that time. There are also chances of starting a mobile phone website for the film as well. If it happens then Ghajini probably shall be the first Bollywood film to have a mobile website!”

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - Movie Review

Well, to start off with, Aditya Chopra spells yet another poignant dimension of pure love as in his previous ventures with SRK; DDLJ and Mohabattein. Yeah! These tales were retentive impressing everyone from 8-80yrs old men and women. Of course, we fell in love getting imbibed with those spellbinding personations in these flicks. So, guess what about Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi – a film that brings back sensational pair SRK-Aditya together after 8yrs? Does the film exceed everyone's expectations on 'Love' n 'Entertainment' factors? Or merely conks out dashing down our hopes?
Download Free Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi Mp3 Songs Click Here
Hats off to Aditya Chopra! An awesome motif of delineating a touching story of romance...
Have you ever stopped to think if the most ordinary, uninteresting, unobtrusive man you might see on the road or around you might have a love story to tell?

Maybe not! How can an ordinary man have a breathtaking, goose flesh igniting, awe inspiring love story of all things to tell?

But guess what - love does not differentiate between the ordinary and exceptional, the uninteresting and interesting, the unattractive and attractive. Because love knows no distinction. It can happen to anyone and once it does it engulfs us into it completely and gives us those heaven-sent experiences that only love can yield.

Perhaps, everything in fine and good with the one-liner…. But Aditya Chopra fails in crafting a gripping narration all throughout the show. A flimsy screenplay lacking finesse with bits and pieces of discontinuities and these attributes easily scatters audiences' attention. The best illustration goes with SRK's ducky actresses shaking legs with him for 'Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte' on theatre screen. It's completely odd for that situation and possibly, the sequences could've been switched over to latter half as a 'special round in Dance show'. Was it an attempt to deliver a replica of 'Om Shanthi Om' song of film stars dancing together?

The film is about Surinder Sahni (Shahrukh Khan) - a simple, clean hearted, honest man working for Punjab Power, leading a humdrum life, when he meets his total opposite and finds love in the flamboyant, fun-loving, vivacious -Taani (Anushka Sharma) for whom the whole world is her canvas and she paints her own life with the colours of rainbow all until unforeseen circumstances changes it all and brings them together. Sooner, its biggest dance show in Amritsar and Surinder coiffes himself as Raj what he calls 'Macho Chap'… He does it all to impress his girl Taani and what's next?

It's a journey filled with laughter, tears, joy, pain, music, dance and a lot of love. A journey that makes us believe that there is an extraordinary love story in every ordinary jodi.
The first half dawdles with sluggish narration until earlier minutes to pre-interval where SRK's soliloquy with statue takes on emotional quotients. Well, the latter half comprises of few enjoyable moments like Anushka racing on her bike with 'Dhoom Machale' on BCM and next ultimate shot of Vinay Pathak-SRK at garage.

It's a crème de la crème performance by Shah Rukh Khan as he emotes resplendently on all situations. Be it his make-over sequences adjusting his tight jeans in dance class or the performance in penultimate minutes, King Khan is awe-inspiring. A flawless performance by debutant Anushka Sharma and of course she eclipses Shah Rukh on many parts. What to say about Vinay Pathak? He's over-the-top and more emblazons to the screen. He strides sparkling smiles on our lips with his wiggeries and soaks our eyes as he gets emotional. Don't miss the great dance of SRK-Vinay for the original tune of 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'. Its emotional outbursts from every characterization that turns entire spotlights on RNBDJ…

Aditya's innovative thought is laudable on certain parts like Shah Rukh laying rose next to food and again placing it vase, pictorial of Anushka's face for the song 'Tuj Mei Rab Diktha Hai' and entire Amritsar being lit up, 'I Love You' deserves grand round of applause. Fine! Young lads and missies would hail with praise worthy comments for Adhi's ideation. Both SRK and Anushka swallowing Pani Purees followed by abrupt sequence where he has to finish of delicious Biriyani are evokes laughter.

Nevertheless, the biggest flaw is that how come a woman fails to recognize her husband with a slight-make over…. The characters of Surindar and Raj differ merely with thin moustache, hair style and costumes. Both the characters have same voice sans any modulations….
What barricaded Aditya's cognizance while dropping these lines on his paper? Indeed, it's a billion dollar question.

Ravi K Chandran's cinematography enhances visual quality and his placement of creative angles deserves special attention. The duo Salim-Sulaiman seems to have not percolated a lot for background scoring. It's again the pieces of existing numbers in album tuned and they sway on all songs.

Possibly, 'Haule Haule' and 'Dance Pe' peaked with high-promos prior to release. For sure, both the versions of 'Tuj Mei Rab Dikta Hai' capture your senses with beauteous visualizing. 'Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte' fails to make it big despites grand set decorations, costumes and top-charting actresses with SRK. Ritesh Soni's editing especially on 'Dancing Jodi' at the climax is mind blowing... Choreography by Vaibhavi and Shiamak are sumptuously ne plus ultra…
On the whole, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is enjoyable on many parts with fun, frolic, lots of music and dance, pains and emotions. Well, Aditya Chopra gets stuck failing to pen an engrossing screenplay. It's too long, irksome and more predictability when it comes to narration and the auteur could've better avoided these vistas.

Verdict: A Fair to middling Show
Rating : ***

People will love Surinder as much as Raj: Shah Rukh Khan

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Shah Rukh Khan’s 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' (RNBDJ) will hit theatres, this Friday. Aditya Chopra and SRK come together after 8 years and 'RNBDJ' is high on the must-see movie list, this season.

SRK plays a character in complete contrast to his now infamous Raj/Rahuls. In an exclusive interview with MSN, Shah Rukh Khan talks about his character in 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'.
Excerpts from the interview:

Q. Is Surinder (SRK’s character in 'RNBDJ') an extension of Raj?

See, Raj was a sweet boy, who is every girl’s dream. He was cool, he did all the right things like instead of running with the girl he was ready to face the challenges and impress the girl’s family. On the other hand, Surinder Sharma is a common man, the one with whom everyone would identify. He loves someone but doesn’t have the courage to express it.

Q. Are you closer to Raj or Surinder in your real life?

You won’t believe me but, I am much closer to Surinder. I am still a middle class guy at heart who loves sitting on the floor and playing with his kids. I am just like any other common man.

Q. What does the tagline ‘There is an extraordinary love story in every jodi’ mean?

Every common man you see on streets has a love story to tell. The general conception is that love stories are extraordinary. The fact that a love story is ordinary makes it extraordinary.

Q. How does it feel to work with Aditya Chopra, again?

Yashji and Adi are like family and working with them is always fun .Yash Raj Films have always given me roles that has helped me win love and appreciation from fans all over the world. For 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', Aditya has written a character that I feel will become as beloved as Raj of 'DDLJ'.

Q. What are your upcoming projects?

My home production ‘Billoo Barber’ will release next year. Right now, the shooting of Karan’s ‘My name is Khan’ is going on. I am planning to start ‘Don 2’ with Farhan Akhtar too.

'Oh, My God!!': Feel good fare!

Like most debutante-helmed vehicles, 'Oh, My God!!' comes with its share of plusses and minuses. In this case, the aces overpower the deficiencies. 'Oh, My God!!' may not be the ideal multiplex fare, but it has its heart in the right place.

Debutante directors have new stories to tell. Predictability is passé, unconventional is in. First-time director Sourabh Shrivastava's 'Oh, My God!!' may give an impression that it's yet another offshoot of 'Bruce Almighty', but the fact is that 'Oh, My God!!' reminds you of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee/Basu Chatterjee films of the 1970s and 1980s.

Rajendra [Vinay Pathak], a simple salesman with big dreams, a hardcore Dhirubhai Ambani fan, wants to make it big in life through ethical means. Suman [Divya Dutta], his loving wife, stands by her husband at all times. As Rajendra continues to fail in his various money-making schemes, Suman pleads with God to help her husband.

What follows is a series of hilarious encounters where God [played in human form by Saurabh Shukla] tries to help Rajendra become successful, but is constantly frustrated as Rajendra fails to recognise the opportunities.

Given the fact that 'Oh, My God!!' has been shot in 19 days, it doesn't look like a hurried job at all. Sourabh takes a simple story of a simpleton and narrates it in the most simplistic manner. The film has a lethargic pace in the first hour and that tapers the effect to an extent, but its back on its feet, post intermission.

Note the sequences in the second hour. Vinay Pathak watching the bagful of currency with disbelief -- it's wonderfully executed and enacted. God's [Saurabh Shukla] emergence every time Vinay decides to abandon the bag, is another interesting aspect. The finale -- when Vinay throws the money on the street -- is brilliant. In short, the film redeems itself in the second hour.

Sourabh Shrivastava knows the grammar of film-making well. The hand-held camera movement [Amol Rathod] is perfect, but at a few places, static frames would've worked better. The background score is effective.

'Oh, My God!!' rests on Vinay Pathak and Saurabh Shukla's firm shoulders and both deliver natural performances. Vinay is very believable in the latter reels, while Saurabh is equally credible. Divya Dutta is first-rate as the doting wife. Gaurav Gera does well. Harsh Chhaya is okay.

On the whole, 'Oh, My God!!' is a feel-good fare.

'Maharathi': Contrived and implausible!

One look at the set of 'Maharathi', and its theatrical origin is given away. Uttam Gada's play, inspired by Sleuth, has the twisting-turning kind of plot that was popular in stage thrillers once, and the play was a big hit.

About a quarter of century later, Shivam Nair brings the play to the screen, casts some of the finest actors, and wastes all but Paresh Rawal. The other parts simply did not require the combined prodigious talents of Naseeruddin Shah, Boman Irani and Om Puri-- it is a Paresh Rawal show all the way. (One can see why Rawal was so keen to get the play converted to film.)

Shah plays an alcoholic, once powerful filmmaker Jaisingh Adenwala, who lives in a huge, shabby, overstuffed bungalow that looks like bad stage set. He has a young, virago of a wife, Mallika (Neha Dhupia—shouting out her lines), and a shifty lawyer Merchant (Boman Irani).

One day, a small time crook Subhash (Paresh Rawal) saves Adenwala's life after a drunken car crash, and insinuates himself into the household. Ill, in debt and sick of his wife, Adenwala decides to commit suicide, so that Mallika cannot get her hands on his Rs 24 crore insurance policy, unless she can prove it was murder.

The wily Subhash convinces her to put the body in a large freezer that just happens to be around, and weaves a complicated scheme, by which they can prove that Adenwala was murdered and split the booty. To have an alibi on hand, they hire a housekeeper Swati (Tara Sharma).

Of course the plan starts going wrong, and it takes all of Subash's guts and brains to stay ahead of the game—not to mention acting skills that enable him to wring out tears when needed, and look all helpless when he is actually putting his adversary into a tight spot.

Despite all its cleverness, the plot is contrived and quite implausible, and since most of the film is set in one house, the action is mostly static. The acting style also borders on the theatrical, and it looks like the investigating cop's (Om Puri) role was curtailed to keep running time in check.

Paresh Rawal is quite capable of holding a film all by himself, and despite some overacting he does—but if he emerges as the 'hero' here, it's because the writer handed him all the right moves on a platter. And what a pity to have Naseeruddin Shah locked in a freezer for most of the film. It would have been fun to see Rawal and Shah in an acting duel. That would have made 'Maharathi' a worthwhile watch; now it's comme ci comme ca.

'Meerabai Not Out': Ridiculous!

In Chandrakant Kulkarni's 'Meerabai Not Out' (reminiscent of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Guddi'), the heroine has a secret crush on Anil Kumble (who appears as himself) and a penchant for gully cricket with the boys.

Mandira Bedi has been deglamorised to oily plait, geek glasses, and churidar-kurtas that could have been picked up at Dadar market. She is converted to Shivaji Park's Meera Achrekar—maths teacher and cricket fanatic. (For those outside Mumbai, Dadar and Shivaji Park are traditional Maharashtrian-majority areas of the city.)

Her mother (Vandana Gupte—perfect casting), brother (Mahesh Manjrekar--unrecognisable) and sweet-natured sis-in-law (Pratiksha Lonkar) worry about her single status, and her fellow teachers at the school bitch about her, since she is a favourite with the students.

Mills & Boon ought not to have intruded into this modak-and-poha idyll, but it does, in the form of Dr Arjun Awasthi (Eijaz Khan), who is bowled over by Miss Achrekar. She is soon converted to contact lenses and trendy hairstyle, but her passion for cricket is not dimmed, and that proves to be her undoing in the eyes of Awasthi Sr. (Anupam Kher). When she fails to turn up at her own engagement because a match is on, he reasons that some people are just not meant for the mundane duties of domesticity.

If a film really has the courage to even debate this line of thinking, one will stand up and applaud, but no, having the heroine stay single, weepy and apologetic won't do, and how the 'problem' is solved is so far-fetched as to be ridiculous.

Director Kulkarni (coming via the route of theatre and Marathi films) is obviously quite comfortable with the middle-class Maharashtrian milieu and this is portrayed with accuracy and affection. But instead of coming across as independent minded his heroine Meera turns out as childish and eccentric— Guddi (of the 1971 film) had a redeeming feature, she was a school kid, while Meerabai is a grown woman, who ought to know the difference between reality and fantasy; or at least have the ability to stand her ground, for whatever it's worth. Odd too, that Meera's cricket team has no girls—indirectly the film says that it is a man's world, women have to eventually return to the kitchen.

Still the film has some nice scenes, like the cricket duel between the brother and the boyfriend. Mandira Bedi is utterly likeable as Meera and makes no attempt to let her glam image intrude ("I wear more clothes," she yells at someone who comments that she looks like Mandira). But the film won't last an over on the multiplex pitch.

'Dil Kabaddi': Worth a look!

It's about educated, upper class Indians, who live in catalogue perfect homes, hang out at hip joints, have careers (not jus t jobs).. and are resolutely, unapologetically in the pursuit of happiness. You'd like to see more such people in the movies, from whose windows you can see the Mumbai landscape not New York or Miami.Too bad that Anil Senior's 'Dil Kabaddi' characters come out of a Woody Allen film ('Husbands and Wives'). But with Indian coyness added to them. People who have been married for years talk like this: Wife: Let's do it. Husband: Do what? Wife (with a shrug) You know. (Oh grow up!)

'Dil Kabaddi' is about the impact one broken marriage has on another, and a few other people who come into the path of the whirlwind. Samit (Irrfan Khan) and Mita (Soha Ali Khan) decide to separate, and break it to their friends Rishi (Rahul Bose) and Simi (Konkana Sen Sharma) suddenly over a drink. It gets Rishi and Simi to start examining their own marriage. At least sexual incompatibility comes out of the closet.
Samit gets involved with a ditzy aerobics instructor Kaya (Payal Rohatgi), Mita starts 'dating' (haranguing, mostly) Veer (Rahul Khanna); Simi flirts with Veer too, and Rishi with his student Raga (Sada), who seems to be more sexually experienced than him.

The men seem just silly, while the women – Mita and Simi—come across as dominating, manipulative, and as Samit keeps complaining, "cold." They all talk as if they were reading lines out of a script, accompanied by much shrugging, pursing of lips and raising of eyebrows. And in between their spats, give frank interviews about their feelings—talking straight into a camera to a hidden and persistent interviewer.

If Anil Senior has indeed tried to delve into what goes on behind closed doors in an Indian marriage, the film would have been really brave. But these characters are transposed here from an American film—so they live in a universe free of in-laws and children, with divorce, partner-swapping, pre-and-extra marital sex treated very casually. Not a tear shed or a heart broken.

It is funny in places, but tries too hard—Kaya's aerobics scene at a party, for instance. The actors, however, are completely at ease with the situations and with one another; Irrfan Khan does all the ridiculous 'Kaya' scenes, without a trace of awkwardness, and young Sada is quite a find. For a film that talks a lot about sex, there is remarkably little vulgarity. The production values and camerawork are of a high quality, and film, just may be worth a look. Or maybe see the Woody Allen original, nobody does urban angst and neuroses better than him.

First Look: 'Chandni Chowk To China'

From the hustle-bustle of Chandni Chowk to the hutongs of Beijing, the electric energy of Shanghai and sheer breathtaking Chinese landscapes, ' Chandni Chowk To China' chronicles the lunatic adventures of a hapless simpleton cook from Delhi. As he goes to seek his destiny, he finds himself thrown into a crazy world of megalomaniac villains, femme fatales, crazy inventors, Chinese mysticism and outlandish kung-fu assassins!

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Nikhil Advani's new action-adventure-comedy titled ' Chandni Chowk To China' has distinct shades of autobiography in its plotting. The film's nimble-footed hero is a cook who goes to China and encounters further adventures. By now it's part of Akshay Kumar's folklore that he served as a cook in Bangkok and earned his way back to Mumbai to make cinematic history.

Nikhil Advani has been shooting with hectic celerity in China and Bangkok for his new comedy actioner ' Chandni Chowk To China Town'.

Deepika Padukone will be doing a double role in ' Chandni Chowk To China Town'. This would be Deepika's third release and her second double role after 'Om Shanti Om'.

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye Movie Review - Worth a Watch

It takes some time to set aside misgivings about a film that seems to say "crime pays". When the eponymous Lucky of Dibakar Banerjee's 'Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!' is first seen, he is a media star and a battery of cops is fetching and carrying for him.

But once you are swept into the flow of the crazily unfolding story, Lucky's 'profession' doesn't matter. In a flashback he is a cheeky teenage Sikh boy (Manjot Singh) in one of Delhi's out-of-a-mould, lower middle class colonies– with untidy houses, wires crisscrossing, all over and Hindi-speaking boys ogling snooty English-speaking girls and beating up a boy from a rival school, just because he is rich.

Lucky starts by stealing greeting cards, and a scooter to take a girl on a jaunt, and by the time he is grown up (Abhay Deol), he pretty much steals everything, using his brains, charm and chutzpah. He has a sidekick called Bangali (Manu Rishi) and a flamboyant fence Gogi (Paresh Rawal), who protects him.
However amoral he may be in other ways Lucky is loyal to Sonal (Neetu Chandra) and is never seen using guns or violence—his only weapons are his quick thinking and glib tongue.
Reminiscent in tone to Steven Spielberg's 'Catch Me If You Can', and closer home to 'Bunty Aur Babli', the film is marked by Banerjee's eccentric crafting and funky wit (evident in his first film 'Khosla Ka Ghosla'). He also maps a grungy side of Delhi, seldom seen in films—while many directors have gone into the nooks and crannies of Mumbai. The dialect, speech, slang and body language of working class Delhi are so perfectly captured, that you suspect the actors attended workshops before shooting.
Banerjee's whimsical style is demonstrated by his arbitrary assigning of a triple role to Paresh Rawal (excellent), when none of the characters he plays have any connection to each other. The performances by some new actors are also exceptionally good – Richa Chadda who plays Sonal's shrewd sister, Manu Rishi, the young Lucky and Archana Puran Singh as a wily housewife. Abhay Deol, of course, makes a marvellous Lucky with deadpan humour—the actor has consistently shown an adventurous streak in his choice of films.

The director—reportedly inspired by a real life thief—has his sympathies lying with Lucky; even as he steals from Delhi's rich, he is exploited by everyone from a potential business partner (Paresh Rawal) to Sonal's mother (demanding a toaster) to the hypocritical girlfriend, who accepts his money, but won't "touch" it.

The boisterous music (Sneha Khanvalkar) plus retro kitsch look and feel, make it worth a watch. Banerjee is clearly not a one-film wonder, but a director who stands out in a crowd with a style that's quirky and individualistic.

'Sorry Bhai': Flat and humourless

It's not exactly shocking or path-breaking, the story about a man falling for his brother's fiancée—over 20 years ago, there was the sensitively made Panchvati had the same plot, only Onir's Sorry Bhai is light (not enough) and shallow (very).

Siddharath (Sharman Joshi) is supposed to be a scientist, who is working on a project to "make a toy dog fly" and seeking a grant for that. Could anyone take a man like that seriously? His redeeming feature is that he plays the saxophone and has all the time in the world, when his older brother Harsh (Sanjay Suri) is a busy stock broker in Mauritius (which is a pretty location, but hardly such a major financial hub!)

Harsh is to marry Aliya (Chitrangada Singh), which for some reason annoys his mother Gayatri (Shabana Azmi), and she is reluctantly dragged by husband Navin and Siddharth to Mauritius for the imminent wedding.

Gayatri's persistent queries about her parents, irritate Aaliya (she could have just told her the truth right at the start, which she does later) and the family gathering is not a success.

While Harsh and his boss are battling a market crash, Aaliya and Siddharth fall in love. He has some scruples about it, she behaves as if it's quite alright and goes to the extent of seducing him.

'Sorry Bhai' is just a flat and mostly humourless film – Siddharth and Aliya's attraction involves silly gimmicks like sliding down a banister. This kind of no-substance, fluffy film needed style, great acting and an ability to pull off melodrama—all of which 'Sorry Bhai' lacks. And what is one to make of Navin's outburst at his wife—in which he makes accusations at her, which are not quite substantiated with what is seen of their relationship all along.

Shabana Azmi, who can be depended on to lift up any role, cannot do much with one so banal; it is Boman Irani's vivacity, that somehow makes their scenes together work and get an impromptu quality.

Chitrangada Singh looks sultry, but doesn't bring much to the role—not the strength the character needed, or even any jagged edges. Sanjay Suri and Sharman Joshi do their parts with plodding gravity, without any flashes of fire. You suspect everyone went to Mauritius for a holiday and came up with a film while they were at it.

Onir had made the heartfelt 'My Brother Nikhil' and the ponderous 'Bas Ek Pal' before this, and must have wanted to do a romantic comedy-drama for a change, but maybe this is just not his genre.

Maharathi - The Preview

Subhash (Paresh Rawal) has spent the last 10 years unsuccessfully trying to get acting parts in films. He makes ends meet by his uncanny ability to think on his feet committing small time cons on unsuspecting victims.

One night he saves a man's life, to do so he puts his own at risk. He accompanies the injured man back home. Subhash is awe struck at the grandeur and affluence of Mr. Adenwalla (Nasserudin Shah). Subhash realizes this may lead to a generous tip.

Soon enough Subhash is hired by the grateful Adenwalla as his driver. The wife Mallika Adenwalla (Neha Dhupia) resents Subhash for his proximity to her husband and senses this man taking advantage of her husband.

Subhash now firmly ensconced in Adenwallas house and heart discovers his wife's evil designs. On the other hand, Adenwalla, driven to the point of insanity by his money hungry wife decides to take the ultimate revenge. He puts his wife in a catch 22 situation by throwing down a challenge.

Subhash recognizes this as an opportunity to rid him-self of a lifetime of middle class mediocrity and poverty. He collaborates with Mallika to acquire all the money and property.

Working hand in glove, they get a caretaker (Tara Sharma) with the help of their family lawyer (Boman Irani) to be a witness to an ailing Mr. Adenwallas presence in the house which they concoct their plans.

Several thrilling situations arise in their plan, ranging from false alibis, double-crossing, phony kidnappings to hidden agendas which wreck havoc all around.

But even the best laid plans can go awry and this brings ACP Gokhale (Om Puri) and Inspector Borkar (Vivek Shauq) into the picture.

How the scheming Subhash gets trapped in his own lies and how he finally manages to save his skin, forms the crux of the story.

Dostana - Movie Review / Download free MP3

Dostana (comedy)
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra
Direction: Tarun Mansukhani

Download Free Dostana MP3 Songs

Dostana works, not because it is a film about gay rights, like Philadelphia, Brokeback Mountain or The Birdcage . On the contrary, the film doesn't plead the cause of alternate sexuality at all; instead it unspools as a relentless spoof on gays and the way society looks at them. And no, unlike Fashion, it doesn't even have any primary gay characters who play a pivotal role in the drama.

So why and how does Dostana work? Simply because it introduces the most outrageous scenes in popular Hindi cinema and manages to get away with it because it's all done with an infectious zest and effervescence that keeps the ribs tickling. Rarely will you get to see two popular desi heroes indulge in such gay banter, even though it's make-believe. Recounting his fictitious love story, goofy-eyed Abhishek creates a bizarre Venetian soiree with brawny John Abraham, even as his traditional Punjabi mom, Kiron Kher reluctantly begins to accept John as her son-in-law, no daughter-in-law, no...whatever! Absolutely rollicking stuff. Add to this, a funny cameo by Boman Irani as a seriously gay fashion editor who can't control his libido when he spots John, and be ready for mayhem to explode.

Yes, Dostana works, only as a no-holds-barred comedy that cracks most of its laughs in the first half when homeless Abhishek and John pretend to be gay in order to live as tenants in fashionista Priyanka's upmarket pad in Miami. The subterfuge begins to crack when the two fall in love with their gorgeous landlady (Priyanka's never looked better!) and the film slips onto an emotional track as each tries to woo her his own way. More emotions, when a third player enters: silent, chivalrous Bobby Deol who grows from despised boss to benevolent beau for piquant Priyanka. With three guys angling for one hottie, the competition sure gets desperate and dirty, requiring one more outrageous act to resolve the climax. Hold your breath for the last act!

Just for laughs, with a loose second half, Dostana boasts of some fine chemistry between the two lead players: Abhishek and John. However, Priyanka too manages to hold her own between the buddy and the beefcake, with her sassy desi girl act, while Bobby suitably blends in. Eventually, it's the modern look and unconventional drama of the film that prevails, specially since the film doesn't actually promote a better understanding of homosexuality at all.

Yuvvraaj - Movie Review

Yuvvraaj (drama)
Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anil Kapoor, Zayed Khan Direction: Subhash Ghai

HE'S the last of the showmen left, apart from Yash Chopra, who seems to have taken a break from direction. Yes, not so long ago, Subhash Ghai was a synonym for Bollywood's opulent extravaganzas of the '80s-'90s, when cinema was still a larger-than-life narrative about good versus evil. Remember Karz , the original, Karma , Ram Lakhan , Khalnayak , Taal ...an era of cinema where the formula not only held sway, but was a grand success too.

The onslaught of new storytellers and new styles may have pushed the old guard into the background, but it failed to dim the passion. Today, after a lean phase, the veteran filmmaker returns with Yuvvraaj , a grandiose film that has lots to boast about, even though it falters here and there in terms of script and narrative.

Topping the list of positives is AR Rahman's scintillating music score which brings to life Gulzar's poetry with sublime fluidity. And since the film is essentially set against a musical backdrop, where Katrina and Salman are members of an Austrain orchestra, Rahman's ode to Beethoven seems in perfect sync with the script.

Secondly, it's the aesthetics of the film which leaves a lasting impression. Mostly shot in Prague and Austria, the film is picture-postcard perfect, with cinematographer Kabir Lal capturing the exotic locales in splendid hues. And finally, the film scores with its performances, especially by Salman Khan who essentially plays himself — a super brat — with perfect elan.

He is the prodigal son, who was thrown out of the family mansion by his father because of his sibling rivalry with his mentally challenged elder brother, Anil Kapoor. As a choir boy in Prague, he finds a soulmate in cellist Katrina Kaif, but cannot marry her since her dad (billionaire Boman Irani) doesn't approve of his impoverished situation.

Hoping to change his fortunes after the death of his dad, he rushes home to inherit the family millions, only to realise there's nothing left for him and his younger, equally roguish brother, Zayed Khan. Nerd Anil has been declared the sole heir, with sundry greedy relatives eyeing the moolah around him. Time for the dysfunctional family to outwit each other and split or to outsmart the outsiders and come together, once again....

Essentially a tale of three brothers, who rediscover their ties after hating each other for years, Yuvvraaj does have some fine moments of bonding between Salman and Anil. Zayed, however fails to connect and remains the outsider in this Trimurti, though surprisingly, Katrina does manage to hold her own in this bhai-bhai business. We do wish the duo (Katrina-Salman) had more time to set the screen on fire with their crackling chemistry, especially since all that we manage to get is a tantalising teaser with Katrina handcuffing a bare-chested Salman with her silken scarf. Kendi pump up the jam, janah!

On the flip side, the story hangs loosely in the middle and winds up in a mothballed climax, where old-fashioned baddies try to bump off the goofy Anil Kapoor who does an Eeshwar all over again. But Salman Khan and AR Rahman more than make up for the lapses, carrying you off on a sonata and a song. Watch Yuvvraaj for an in-fashion retro feel.

Hancock': An interesting idea!

'Hancock' demonstrates why Will Smith gets paid the big bucks.

Movie Review

The guy has owned Fourth of July weekends with huge debuts for some passable but not-so-great movies ('Independence Day,' 'Men in Black II'), and he'll likely do it again with this foul-mouthed-misanthrope-as-superhero flick.

'Hancock' has a crisp, entertaining set-up — Smith as a superhero who hates everyone and is hated in turn for the chaos he causes. With nowhere to go after that, the filmmakers let the story devolve into a lame variation of the very action genre they aimed to flip on its head.

But none of that matters. It's Will Smith and it's another passable movie, largely because he is WILL SMITH.

Los Angeles may loathe their resident dude with superpowers, but Smith makes you love him, from the moment he wakes up on a bus bench, surly and hungover, and snaps crabbily at the little kid who roused him with the simple call to arms, "Hancock? Bad guys?"

Smith is the closest to a sure thing Hollywood has, the most likable, bankable star around. He can score hits out of a drama about a homeless dad ('The Pursuit of Happyness') or an end-of-the-world saga released at Christmas time ('I Am Legend') as easily as he can with standard summer fare such as 'Bad Boys II.'

Because Smith inspires such kinship, you wish 'Hancock' director Peter Berg and screenwriters Vy Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan had provided better material to let him show off his charm.

The movie opens with great promise, offering a solid action sequence blended with a nice character study. Smith's Hancock, a man with no memory of his past before waking up with superpowers in a hospital 80 years earlier, grudgingly puts his gifts to work again, stopping thugs in a high-speed shootout with police.

He does it in typical Hancock style, with no regard for public safety and causing millions in property damage, to the point that authorities gripe publicly that he should go "help" some other city for a while.

A loner who looks and smells more like a homeless guy than a hero, Hancock goes about his job with a sense of drudgery. He can't stand his life, he couldn't care less about the people he saves and the idea of disguising his identity would be as laughable to him as actually dressing the part in a fancy superhero suit.

One day, he steps in and indifferently rescues earnest public-relations man Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), who surprises Hancock by actually thanking him, profusely.

Ray takes it on himself to do an image-makeover for Hancock, convincing him to try behaving like a hero so the public will see him that way. That means putting on a slick superhero costume instead of his usual rags and applying finesse to his powers, which include flying that usually ends with landings so hard they pulverize the pavement.

"Landing is your superhero handshake," Ray tells Hancock. "Don't come in too hot, don't come in too boozy, and don't land on the $100,000 Mercedes."

Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), thinks it's all a bad idea, wishing Hancock would stay out of their lives.

'Hancock' seems to be charting fresh, smart territory amid Hollywood's formulaic superhero tales. It's amusing and touching to see the awkward kernels of humanity Smith's character reveals as he tries to treat people with respect and decency, and people respond with the same toward him.

Then, the filmmakers cannot resist embracing the conventions they were tweaking. 'Hancock' turns from a moody, darkly funny character piece trimmed out with a bit of engaging action and veers into a poor impersonation of a standard superhero movie.

A plot twist that's not very surprising reveals details of Hancock's past, the movie laying out a limp backstory that the most insignificant of comic books could best in terms of superhero "mythology."

After that, 'Hancock' is mostly bruising action, the sequences sturdy but unspectacular.

Smith always is fun to watch, though he becomes less interesting as Hancock loses his rough edges and turns into your regular old hero at large. Bateman's puppy-dog optimism is a fine complement, and Theron manages to maintain credibility in a sloppily concocted role that forces her to make schizophrenic character shifts.

The surprisingly brisk running time speaks to the scrawniness of the story and drama. "Hancock" is a fine idea that dead-ends in an empty alley, and all Berg and company can do is have a standard-issue costumed crusader come bounding back out to save the day.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na ... Know More

Expect a couple of surprises when you go to watch Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. There are a few surprise actors in the film who appear in cameos. We had earlier reported that Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah enact the roles of Imraan Khan's parents in the movie. Now, get to know more on the story before Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na review is out.

Well, there are three more stars enacting brief, but important roles -- Paresh Rawal (who enacts the role of a cop) and two Khans, who're brothers in real life. We're going to keep that a secret till Friday.

But expect a pleasant surprise at the very start. A small note from Aamir Khan to his Chachajaan (late Nasir Husain), who launched him in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Aamir expresses his heart-felt gratitude to the filmmaker for launching him in his home production.

The trend of launching the first promo of a forthcoming film continues this week as well. Before the 16 reels of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na unfold, you are treated to the promos of Vikram Bhatt's 1920 and Ritesh Sidhwani-Farhan Akhtar's Rock On, which marks the acting debut of Farhan Akhtar.

The promos of both 1920 and Rock On look exciting and you can visualize an interesting story in that minute-and-a-half footage you've just watched.

Love Story 2050

It is a story about Karan (Harman Baweja), a young, spirited, sporty boy who lives life off the rules and Sana (Priyanka Chopra), a young petite, shy girl who lives life by the rules. This develops into a magical love story.Karan's uncle, Dr. Yatinder Khanna's (Boman Irani) much developed time machine finally works. Sana expresses her wish to travel ahead in time to Mumbai in the futureWe land in Mumbai 2050 in the time machine... along with Uncle Yatinder, Rahul and Thea (Sana's younger brother and sister). Flying cars, 200 storey buildings, robots and sky rails have changed the very face of Mumbai.

Through a series of twists and turns, the time traveler Karan finds himself separating from his love. QT, a friendly femme robot and Boo, a small robotic teddy bear play their distinct roles in bringing their love story together but soon find themselves under the threat of the demi-god of the future, Dr. Hoshi.Will Karan be able to overcome the threat of Dr. Hoshi and win his love and travel back in time?

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na Vs Love Story 2050

The two eagerly awaited films, Aamir Khan's JAANE TU... YA JAANE NA and Harry Baweja's LOVE STORY 2050 hit the screens in less than 24 hours. The decks are clear for the first major clash of the second half of 2008. So let us evaluate what the release plans of the debut vehicles of Imran Khan's JTYJN and Harman Baweja's LS 2050 are.

Interestingly, both the films have multiplex connections. While JTYJN has been co-produced by PVR Films, LS 2050 has Adlabs in the same capacity. JTYJN has a total running time of 2 hrs and 35 mins and LS 2050 has duration of 2 hrs and 59 mins. The Aamir Khan venture will release with 350 plus prints (including 100 digital screens) and Harry Baweja's film will go in for 540 plus prints (including 200 digital screens) in India. In the Overseas, JTYJN will have approximately 110 prints and LS 2050 will go in for 200.

These are some exclusives of both the films and its now up to the audience to decide the fate of the two. May both of them win!

Hansika Motwani ready to bare!

The young Hansika Motwani, who made a dream debut in Telugu cinema with the blockbuster 'Desamuduru', has made it clear that she has no problems in wearing revealing clothes, if the role demands it.

"Recently, there were a lot of rumors that I am wearing a bikini in one of my films. But, let me tell you that I am not required to wear a bikini in any of my forthcoming films. To be honest, I have nothing against wearing a bikini. I will wear such attire if the role demands it" says the teenage star.

Hansika’s maiden hero was Allu Arjun in 'Desamuduru'. The girl with the stunning figure stole many hearts with her innocent face and great looks in the film.

She has recently been putting on weight. And, that is worrying. She said she will be reducing weight and sporting a perfect figure soon.

'Happening' shocks, then bores

For a movie called 'The Happening', not much happens.
Movie Review

M. Night Shyamalan effectively delivers the usual broody air of foreboding that has been a trademark of his hits (The Sixth Sense' and 'Signs) and misses ('Lady in the Water' and 'Unbreakable').

And this fear-mongering story of an airborne toxin that causes victims to snuff themselves in nasty ways — shoving hairpins into their throats, hurling themselves en masse off a high rise, the like — induces plenty of seat-squirming. The shock value wears off quickly, though, and writer-director Shyamalan strands us (along with Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel) in an ultimately boring cautionary tale with an infantile eco-message.

Thankfully, Shyamalan's not trying to pull great surprises anymore. He sneaked up on us brilliantly with an ending to 'The Sixth Sense' that made just about everyone want to see it again.

Since then, his attempts to startle mostly have been flimsy gimmicks, though the end to 'The Village', while not terribly surprising, packed provocative notions about creating your own monsters while trying to shield yourself from the horrors of the world at large.

In 'The Happening', those horrors land abruptly and mysteriously as crowds in New York's Central Park become disoriented one morning, then start killing themselves savagely. The phenomena spreads through Manhattan, then to Philadelphia, Boston and other cities, trickling down to smaller and smaller Northeast towns, villages and pockets of people.

By way of lame explanation, a TV news talking head babbles some scientific nonsense about a substance that blocks the brain's self-preservation neurotransmitters.

At first, it's assumed this is a terrorist attack. But as the day wears on, observers realize — none too plausibly, given the skimpy anecdotal evidence and utter lack of empirical validation — that our green friends in the plant world are the source of some deadly toxin.

Philly science teacher Elliot Moore (Wahlberg) and wife Alma (Deschanel) flee the city by train along with his buddy Julian (John Leguizamo) and his 8-year-old daughter, Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez).

Stranded in rural Pennsylvania, Julian heads off to search for his missing wife, leaving his daughter in the care of Elliot and Alma, who join other survivors rushing through the boondocks to stay ahead of the toxin.

From here, 'The Happening' deflates from its grisly, early promise to repetitive images of people running through fields, the unlucky ones suddenly stopping, then searching about for convenient ways to do themselves in.

By the time a guy cranks up a giant lawnmower and lies down in front of it, Shyamalan's images of mass suicide have grown tiresome.

There's little room for Wahlberg and Deschanel to do more than react in terror, and both are rather bland even at that. A feeble marital rift Shyamalan tosses in does nothing to spice up the drama.

Gradually, 'The Happening' turns weird for the sake of turning weird as Elliot and Alma take refuge with a crazy old woman (Betty Buckley, the step-mom from 'Eight Is Enough' — remember her?).

Shyamalan manages to keep in check the overactive ego that led him to take on tiny roles a la an Alfred Hitchcock walk-on in some movies — and the all-out narcissism he displayed by casting himself as a writer whose book will be the basis of humanity's salvation in 'Lady in the Water'.

He does slip himself into 'The Happening', though, providing the phone voice of a man with whom Alma has a flirtation.

The movie's vague, shame-on-us finger-pointing would have been tepid in the 1960s and '70s, when Hollywood condemned our rapacious species with more fun and interesting future-shock stories such as 'Planet of the Apes' and 'Silent Running'.

Shyamalan states that the idea for 'The Happening' — the entire structure and the characters — came to him in an instant as he drove through rural New Jersey and was hit by the thought, "What if nature one day turned on us?"

Fine, nice start. But all Shyamalan ever came up with is a start, an intriguing impetus for a story that ultimately goes nowhere and says nothing.

'The Happening', a 20th Century Fox release, is rated R for violent and disturbing images. Running time: 91 minutes. Two stars out of four.

'Thoda Pyar'... and No Magic!!!

There's a fleeting scene in Kunal Kohli's 'Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic', in which the characters visiting Los Angeles, pass the famous landmark of the hills with 'Hollywood' written across. For a few seconds, the 'H' change to 'B', and you think, ha! Wishful thinking. First come up with an original idea, then talk!

All three of Kohli's films so far have been picked from Hollywood sources, his latest has bits and pieces from several –'Sound of Music', 'Mary Poppins', 'Nanny McPhee', 'Enchanted'—without even an ounce of magic from any of them.

There has to be a good reason for a director to pick up a really hackneyed subject to make a film—and that too in these times, when all its Hollywood source material has been seen (or can be) on TV and DVD.

It's either a classic he wants to reinterpret in his own way (danger zone!) or there's something he wants to add to the formula. After watching the promos of Kunal Kohli's 'Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic', you know exactly what the film is about, how it will go and how it will end. Then what's your motivation for spending those big multiplex bucks?

Ranbeer (Saif Ali Khan), a surly businessman (he was orphaned in childhood and grew up with deep frown lines) accidentally kills a couple when his car crashes into theirs. The judge (Sharat Saxena) – like in the old hit 'Dushman'—orders him to look after their kids, and do it well, or go to jail.

The four kids (Akshat Chopra, Shriya Sharma, Rachit Sidana, Ayushi Berman), odious enough as it is, giving their relatives a hard time, hate him and go all out to make his life hell. Then God (a chubby Rishi Kapoor) sends an angel Geeta (Rani Mukerji) to earth to sort their problems. She lands up wearing a dress more hideous than her white chiffon angel costume and wins over the kids with magic.

Write your own movie review of 'Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic'

She inexplicably speaks like a Punjabi housewife, takes an instant dislike to Ranbeer's flighty bimbo girlfriend Malaika (Ameesha Patel) and manages to do the job of bringing kids and 'enemy' together, but, predictably 'didi' and 'bhaiyya' fall in love and it's God's problem to solve this one.

Of course, there are special effects, but there is such a thing as overdoing it. Geeta takes the kids to a museum and they get into outer-space, enter a war tableau, participate in the Dandi march, and you wonder why the pari is singing a patriotic song to entertain the kids? If the film was meant for kids, then why the erotic Lazy Lamhe number?

The biggest problem with 'TPTM' is its predictability, its curious lack of warmth for the characters, more special effects than it required, a needless sojourn in LA—all this fluff, over a solid screenplay and heart-tugging lines.

Saif Ali Khan must have told to keep that frown on and does; Rani Mukerji acts cuter than all four kids put together, which along with their cuteness, ups the saccharine quotient of the film to unhealthy levels, without making their antics any more watchable. Forget Hollywood, see 'Parichay' and 'Bawarchi'—even today they can make the most jaded viewer laugh and cry. That is movie magic, this is just charlatanry.

'Via Darjeeling': Fails to Entertain!

Some ideas translate into interesting, 2-hour films. But some ideas, though translated on screen, make you feel that they're best suited for television. That's what you experience when you watch 'Via Darjeeling'.


Movie review

It's pretty okay to be different, but when you're looking at the Indian audiences and the kind of cinema they tilt towards, you cannot be too experimental. In that sense, 'Via Darjeeling' holds appeal for a tiny segment of moviegoers here. It's more for discussions amongst friends or those sitting in a coffee shop or at a friend's place on a rainy night [exactly what the characters do in 'Via Darjeeling'].

The story revolves around Ankur [Kay Kay Menon] and Rimli [Sonali Kulkarni], a newly-wed couple on their honeymoon in Darjeeling. The story takes a turn when Ankur disappears on the eve of their departure. The cop, Robin Datt [Vinay Pathak], tries to trace Ankur, but can't.

The suspects are a taxi driver Ankur had fought with and a mysterious looking man Bonny [Parvin Dabas], whom Rimli thought was following her throughout their trip in Darjeeling.

Two years later, Inspector Datt relates this story to a few friends [Rajat Kapoor, Simone Singh, Proshanth Narayanan, Sandhya Mridul] on a rainy night. They are intrigued by this story and question him about the outcome. But he has no answers. Fascinated by this story, they start a tale about the possible outcome and all take part to give their own versions where personalities and motif change.

'Via Darjeeling' follows the format of one story, but multiple versions/endings. The problem here is that the main story [as narrated by Vinay Pathak] is incomplete, so all assumptions and interpretations don't look convincing or cut ice with the viewer.

Had the director [Arindam Nandy] or writers [Ranjan Das, Arindam Nandy] made Pathak reveal the outcome to the main story in the end, after various versions are told, perhaps, it might've appealed then. Yet, one of the versions -- narrated by Rajat Kapoor -- holds your interest, but the versions narrated by Simone Singh and Proshanth Narayanan get monotonous.

Director Arindam Nandy's choice of the subject may not hold universal appeal, but it does hold your attention at times. The songs are well woven in the narrative. Cinematography is alright, but the beauty of Darjeeling hasn't been captured to the optimum on celluloid. Dialogues [Atul Sabharwal] are in sync with the mood of the film.

The performances are neat. Kay Kay is, as always, perfect. Sonali Kulkarni is the scene stealer here. Parvin Dabas looks right for the part. Vinay Pathak is frst-rate. Simone Singh and Rajat Kapoor, both handle their parts with precision. Proshanth Narayanan is top-notch. Sandhya Mridul is fiery.

On the whole, 'Via Darjeeling' is more of an experiment. At the box-office, it's a dud!

'De Taali' One for the Youth!!!!

The three leads of E Niwas' 'De Taali' have presumably passed out of college, but still lead a carefree life of adventure sports and chilling out in their tree house. There is a bright, comic-book goofiness about the relationship between Abhi (Aftab Shivdasani), Paglu (Riteish Deshmukh), and Amu (Ayesha Takia)— not a hint of jealousy or even the slightest sexual spark.

Abhi's (Aftab Shivdasani) wealth seems to fund the idle lifestyles of his best pals Amu and Paglu. Abhi keeps falling in love with kinky gals (his encounters are really funny), but Paglu convinces Amu that she is right for him.

Just when Amu realizes that she is in love with Abhi, he flips for Kartika (Rimi Sen). Like 'My Best Friend's Wedding', Paglu and Amu do all they can to stop Abhi from marrying Kartika, who is smart, ruthless, bitchy and, as they fear, a gold-digger. While Amu is tomboyish and sweet, Kartika is overtly sexy and predatory-- there's no way Abhi can resist her trap.

Write your own movie review of 'De Taali'

In desperation, Paglu kidnaps Kartika, Amu becomes an unwilling accomplice, but their victim is more than the two of them can handle, till Paglu stumbles on secrets of Kartika's past..a trail of broken hearts.

'De Taali' (written by Abbas Tyrewala) first half is breezy, the second half slow-moving-- the efforts to be funny get too frenetic and cease to be amusing after a point. Ritiesh Deshmukh keeps the loony antics going and he consistently gets the laughs, just with his spot-on expressions. Aftab Shivdasani and Ayesha Takia are good too in their own way, There's some weird track with his landlord (Saurabh Shukla), who seems to believe he is a prince in hiding.

With some ruthless editing 'De Taali' could have been a fairly enjoyable romp.

'Get Smart' misses it by a lot

'Get Smart,' which began its life on TV as a classic sitcom that cleverly satirized Cold War espionage, has been transformed for the big screen into just another standard action picture.

Movie review

Pity, too. Because Agent Maxwell Smart himself would have made a more entertaining movie, just by picking up a camera and bumbling his way through it.

You certainly can't complain about the casting of Steve Carell in the lead role: What other actor has the buttoned-down looks and self-deprecating sense of humor to fill Don Adams' shoe phone?

And director Peter Segal ('Anger Management,' '50 First Dates'), working with writers Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, retains just enough elements of the 1960s TV series to tug at baby boomers' sense of nostalgia. Max marches through a series of steel doors and drops through a phone booth to reach CONTROL's underground headquarters; while on the job, he utters a few of those favorite lines like, "Would you believe ... ? and "Missed it by that much."

But tonally, that's where the similarities end.

Carell's Smart is a good guy - hardworking, earnest, desperate to prove he's ready to be promoted from behind the desk as an analyst to the challenges of working as a field agent. While it's true that doing a dead-on impression of Adams would have seemed campy and fallen flat, this characterization misses the point, too. The combination of self-seriousness and ineptitude is what made Maxwell Smart a comic icon. No one involved with this movie seems to get that.

In this screen version, Smart and the glamorous, capable Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway, kicking far more butt than Barbara Feldon ever could have imagined) find themselves in a series of increasingly elaborate, explosive scenarios (hanging from a plane, being dragged behind a speeding SUV, dodging a train). It all plays out in big, loud, obvious fashion - as if the filmmakers figured the audience wouldn't be interested in the sort of sly absurdity that gave the show its original charm.

Among the wasted supporting cast are Alan Arkin as the exasperated Chief, Terence Stamp as the evil head of the rival spy agency KAOS and Bill Murray in one painfully unfunny scene. Dwayne Johnson swaggers and flashes those blindingly pearly whites of his as the studly Agent 23, with Masi Oka and Nate Torrence grabbing a couple of laughs as a pair of put-upon CONTROL tech geeks.

As for the plot, it feels like an afterthought, something cobbled together once all the pratfalls and sight gags were lined up. (Again, several of the bad guys are Russians, but their villainy lacks the sort of relevance it had 40 years ago.) An attack on CONTROL exposes all the secret agents' identities, leaving Max and 99 as the only ones left to go after the rival spy agency KAOS and undermine their nuclear plot.

Or something.

This requires Max to harpoon himself repeatedly in the face with one of his gadgets, then fall out of a plane without a parachute. Later, he's at the center of jokes involving urine, vomit and his own bare backside.

In case all that failed to wow the crowds, and it probably will, 'Get Smart' wedges in a totally needless romance between Max and Agent 99. Again, part of the allure of the TV show was the banter, the tension between the two, the way they teased and cajoled each other but always managed to get the job done, somehow. The 20-year age difference between Carell and Hathaway is a bit of a distraction, but fundamentally, they just don't have enough chemistry to suggest that falling for each other would be inevitable.

Besides, Agents 86 and 99? It just doesn't add up.

When Saif Ali Khan met Kareena Kapoor…

'Tashan' was a flop, but it is still actor Saif Ali Khan's favourite film because it brought girlfriend Kareena Kapoor into his life.

"It was great fun making 'Tashan' and something really positive came out of it. I met Kareena during 'Tashan'. That's enough for me," Saif told us in an interview. Starring Saif, Kareena, Akshay Kumar and Anil Kapoor, the film fell flat at the box office.

The actor also admits that he wants to spend as much time with his girlfriend as possible. He said: "Look, she's shooting in Australia and I had two months off. So obviously I'd go to visit her. Or if she's doing an event in Andheri and I can join her, I will."

Wagging tongues don't bother Saif who is gearing up for his next release 'Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic'.

"I know people will talk about it. I don't care. Every relationship goes through a period of consolidation. We've been together for nine months. We both know how much we mean to each other."

Excerpts from an interview:

Q: Disheartened by the failure of "Tashan"?
A: Not at all! I liked the script. The role didn't end up the way I thought it would. It was edited quite a lot. As Aditya Chopra explained to me it was for the betterment of the film. But, yeah, it was a disappointment. I won't pretend about that.

Q: 'Race' was a hit, but it was a terrible film.
A: Who cares what you think about it? It ran, and I was frowning throughout. A superhit, that's nice; I enjoyed the wheel dealer plot.

Q: Were you convinced?
A: Well...it has taken me a long time to get to the position of the main lead. And the man responsible for this in many ways is Aditya who gave me 'Hum Tum' and 'Salaam Namaste'. I've always trusted his judgment.

Q: But Akshay Kumar had all the punchy dialogues.
A: You win some, you lose some. I knew he had a stronger part. Our roles turned out different from what it was expected to. I really believed in the idea, and we all stood by it. Now let's see. It was great fun making the film and something really positive came out of it.

Q: What's that?
A: I met Kareena during 'Tashan'. That's enough for me.

Q: You do want to spend as much time with Kareena as possible?
A: Obviously. Look, she's shooting in Australia and I had two months off. So obviously, I'd go to visit her. Or if she's doing an event in Andheri and I can join her, I will. I know people will talk about it. I don't care. Every relationship goes through a period of consolidation. We've been together for nine months. We both know how much we mean to each other.

Q: Why are you frowning so much in public these days?
A: Am I? If you're talking about the promos of 'Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic', that's a frowning role.

Q: Is it because of the prying eyes?
A No, one should get comfortable with public attention. I'll make an effort to look happier. I am happy. I've so much to look forward to. I'm doing so well professionally. I've a great personal life. I guess I'm just a frowning guy. I must stop that.

Q: You're moody, that's all.
A: I guess I am. I can't help it.

Malaysia builds a film city for Indian filmmakers

European countries have of late been wooing Bollywood filmmakers to come and shoot their movies there in order to give a boost to their tourism. But Malaysia has gone a step further by building a film city to cater to the needs of Indian movie-makers.

Besides having all sorts of ready-made locales, the film city, sprawled across 107 acres of land, also has post-production facilities. So, if a producer desires, he can complete his entire movie there to cut costs. The project has been sponsored by Malaysian investment company P.K. Resources.

In recent past, Malaysia has been one of the most favourite shooting locations of Hindi as well as other Indian movie-makers including Tamil and Telugu. In order to make it more Bollywood-friendly, the company has apparently planned to put some Bollywood celebrities on its management board.

These days almost all major Bollywood movies are partly shot in one or the other foreign country. Producers prefer to shoot abroad, not only to capture the unusual locales, but also for speedy completion of the movies as the stars and other unit member can devote completely to the project without distraction.

Shooting abroad is more hassle-free than in India. While shooting in India, a producer has to be constantly on his toes to secure clearance from several government departments. On the other hand, Australia and European countries try to provide Bollywood all conceivable help, including single-window clearance for all facilities required for film shootings and reduced rates - in some cases, no charges - for the same.

The clothes! The shoes! The magical depiction of Manhattan and the promise of finally finding true romance!

Movie review

It's like porn for women. And we haven't even been to the sex part of the 'Sex and the City' movie yet.

Fans will be thrilled to see their old friends — Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha — back together and on the big screen, which makes it easier to ogle what they're wearing, of course. Everyone else? Well, they never watched the HBO series and if they did, they didn't get it. Or they're heterosexual men.

But writer/director Michael Patrick King and producer/star Sarah Jessica Parker certainly know their audience: the devotees who've already reserved group tickets for opening weekend, which they'll celebrate in high style, complete with the requisite Cosmopolitan consumption and needless shopping sprees.

In that regard, this hotly awaited follow-up to the hit TV show, which ended in 2004, is a success. This is one of those movies you have assess in terms of whom it's aiming to please, not unlike the 3-D Hannah Montana concert film: The audience has very specific tastes and needs.

Surprisingly, despite its obsession with all things Manolo Blahnik, 'Sex and the City' also has its share of tearjerker moments. Parker has become such a fashion icon over the past decade that you forget she really can act, and is capable of visceral, heart-tugging vulnerability. And not to say too much, but she does get plenty of opportunities to display that side of her talent — especially with a running time that's well past two hours.

It's all really soapy, though, with only some smidgens of substance. Co-star Cynthia Nixon's story line is meaty, but more often than not our heroines are defined solely by the partners in their beds and the clothes on their backs, as if to suggest that the right wardrobe and a big enough closet to put it all in are the keys to ultimate happiness. The movie (and the series that inspired it) perpetuate stereotypes of female superficiality, but then again, these women do stick by each other no matter what, which makes it somewhat easier to stick around for the conclusion.

This critic, by the way, never saw the artistic need for a 'Sex and the City' movie. Why not just let the series finale be the end and look back on the whole experience as a wonderful memory, shining in the distance like the top of the Chrysler Building on a perfect spring day? (Sorry — it's tough not to get all Carrie Bradshaw when talking about this flick.)

It is indeed a giddy, fizzy kick at the top, with Parker's Carrie breathlessly catching us up on what's been going on with the four girlfriends over the past four years. Carrie, of course, ended up with Mr. Big (Chris Noth). Now that she's grown up and moved on from writing columns to books, the two are scouring New York for the perfect apartment (i.e. one with sufficient closet space) — even though they're not officially engaged.

Nixon's Miranda is still stuck in Brooklyn (it's hard to extricate yourself once you've moved there) with her mensch of a husband, Steve (David Eigenberg), and their son. Like so many women, she's struggling to juggle marriage, motherhood and her career.

Former shiksa goddess Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is living in the idyllic bliss of the Upper East Side with hubby Harry (Evan Handler) and the little girl they adopted from China. (King had promised to give each character a full story arc, but we see too little of the adorable, ever-optimistic Charlotte. Her subplot involving an embarrassing case of Montezuma's Revenge during an all-girl trip to Mexico doesn't count.)