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.)

Aamir Movie Review

Everything happens in one day. As the protagonist alights from his flight in India, he is taken for a ride, literally. For the first few minutes, as things happen in a flurry, your heart races anticipating the turn of events. Eventually, you settle to an engrossing fare with an unusual end. The end, as the beginning, raises many questions. About how unsuspecting Muslims are used by those in power to spread terror.

Dr Aamir Ali (Rajeev Khandelwal) is one such unsuspecting Muslim who is dragged to the vortex of terrorism. His only crime; that of being a Muslim. But does he succumb to the terror tactics or does he bow down before God? Does he do what is asked of him, or does he sacrifice his life and is labeled a suicide bomber, for his family to bear the stigma? This film is for the discerning audience. It raises many questions in the mind of the viewer and leaves many questions unanswered. It's almost as if it's a film for the festival circuit.

Rajeev Khandelwal as one who is caught between the devil and the deep sea is convincing in his performance. Dragged to the by-lanes of Mumbai, inhabited primarily by Muslims, he is given a taste of how his brethren are living. At least that is what is being drilled into his head by the one who is constantly feeding him information on Islam. Forced to follow orders on phone, Aamir is sent from one destination to another as his movements are tracked, until he is to do the final delivery of the red bag at Andheri station. The truth dawns on Aamir that the bag contains a bomb. What does he do here? Go on... watch this flick. What is really over-the-top is the precision of the terror network that track him down right from the time he exits the airport. A little hard to digest. Nevertheless an interesting film backed by tight editing, sound background score and a solid performance from Rajeev. This lad from television has a good future on the big screen.

TO GO OR NOT: Not to be missed!Ratings : 4/5

Mere Baap Pehle Aap Movie Review

There is a clean look to this film; the comedy and the dialogues have no double meaning, a relief when you know every writer wants to cash in on 'sexual innuendos'. The acting is never 'over-the-top' say for a few actors and the timing in most scenes is just perfect. Yet, there is that extra something that takes the fizz out of this Priyadarshan flick. And it is easy to lay your finger on this irritant; it's the long length of the film.

I wonder what the editor, and director was thinking when they agreed upon this almost three-hour long fare. It's like an artist painting a good picture and not knowing where to stop, thus negating the impact of his great visual. It's like you are so in love with your work that you are constantly giving a few dabs of paint touch-up here and a few dabs there, which ultimately takes away the beauty. Same here with Priyadashan; had he called 'cut' after two hours, this here would have been a much different film. You cannot stretch humour for so long that the audience in the theatre wait for the film to end. When that thought crosses your mind, you know that the director has goofed up.

The film begins on a funny note and maintains the 'just in line humour' throughout thus eliciting laughs from the audience. The performance from Paresh Rawal, Akshaye Khanna, Rajpal Yadav and Genelia D'Souza is what good comedies are made of. The timing between these actors is perfect. Akshaye surprises with his comedy, while Genelia is a revelation. To hold your own against the likes of Paresh Rawal and Om Puri takes a lot and this girl comes out unscathed.

The picturisation of songs and capturing of mood is first rate. The colours used and the elements framed in the lens is eye-catching. The songs are not that great but the music is peppy.

The movie is all about Janardhan Wishvanbhar Rane (Paresh Rane) and his son Gaurav (Akshaye Khanna). Rawal has single-handedly brought up his two sons, while one is married; Gaurav is like his father, always berating his dad for goofing up and keeping him away from his friend Madhav Mathur (Om Puri), who apparently is bad company. The 60-plus Mathur is always on the lookout for a young bride to get married. Mathur's to be wife had apparently ditched him during his 'saath pheras'.

The father-son relationship is beautifully captured. Both Paresh and Akshaye complement each other in this endearing relationship that sometimes borders on insanity. Add to it Mathur's influence that always finds his father in trouble. Shikha (Genelia D'Souza) completes the love interest in the film.

Aishwarya Rai as Benazir Bhutto?

According to industry insiders, Aishwarya Rai is being toplined to play the role of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

She is also set to share screen space with Meryl Streep on Hollywood project 'Chaos' and with Brendan Fraser in Roland Joffe’s 'Singularity'.

UTV Motion Pictures is planning the project on Benazir Bhutto. “We are in talks and it’s too early to comment on the project,” said UTV CEO Siddharth Roy Kapoor.

According to a source at the production house, “Aishwarya is the first preference for the role. We are looking for a woman of substance."

"The actress who does the role should be admired the world over, especially on both sides of the border."

Besides the Benazir project, Ash has also committed to Shankar’s 'Robot', Mani Ratnam’s next with Abhishek and Shriram Raghavan’s project opposite John Abraham.

Sakar Raj- the review

Any movie that has in it Amitabh Bachchan as one of the lead characters is good enough to make most Indians notice and look out for the much awaited reviews. Add to that the presence of the most glamorous couple of Indian Film fraternity, Abhi-Ash, and you have a complete package. What happens when they team with the maverick RGV...

Sandeep Sinha, Mumbai: For me Ramu has failed yet again. And this time around, with a subject that had the potential to make Sarkar Raj the biggest political drama of Indian cinema.

Wasting more than half of the screen time in close ups, unnecessary and unjust camera angles and movements, limiting his visuals and dynamics to mere low key lighting and color tone , using loud sound and cinematic liberty for drama and when nothing could sustain for too long ,he traded on uninterrupted dialogues rather than motivated action to explain everything in the end.

There is no role of police officers of any rank in his film.

You can't just rely on Stars and their performances and some powerful dialogues to make a successful small budget film like Sarkar Raj.

Unfortunately it had very few wow moments.

With Sarkar, Ram Gopal Varma had precisely established the central characters, set the ambience, defined the aura and demarcated the genre. So in the follow-up he simply had to take the legend ahead while narrating a new episode. And to a decent degree he succeeds in carrying the legacy forward. In the second installment, Sarkar aka Subhash Nagre (Amitabh Bachchan) takes a backseat as son Shankar Nagre (Abhishek Bachchan) takes hold of the family empire. An NRI industrialist Anita Ranjan (Aishwarya Rai) approaches the Nagre family with a power plant project to be set in the local lands of Maharashtra under Sarkar's domain. After initial reluctance, Sarkar gives a go ahead to the venture which soon takes shape of a political conspiracy.

Ramu's storytelling pattern is such that he initially builds up the drama and subsequently breaks down the politics behind the play. He effectively employs all the original techniques from the predecessor by making use of the same theme for the background score (Amar Mohile), caustic editing pattern (Amit Parmar, Nipun Gupta), sepia tone effect and erratic camera angles (Amit Roy).

But while adhering to the original, he occasionally, also sets up repetitiveness in the screenplay with similar setup and shot execution. For instance he sketches a group of negative forces absolutely analogous like the villain quartet from Sarkar with identical intentions to crumple the Nagre kingdom. Reprehensibly their caricature characterizations do not gel with the solemn temper of the film. Sayaji Shinde hams endlessly while Govind Namdeo and Upendra Limaye are consistently theatrical, appearing more as comic sidekicks.

To an extent, even the screenplay is moulded in the vein of the forerunner film when Shankar wages a political war against his opponents. But the treatment is twisted as Ramu reverses the roleplay of the father-son duo in this film in clear contrast to the format adopted in the earlier episode. While the father takes a backseat in the initial reels giving authority to son, he grabs charge of the proceedings in the concluding portions.

Like in Sarkar, Ramu sharply balances the role runtime of both the father and the son justifying the collective presence of Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. But he simultaneously swaps their zones of prominence thereby bringing a variation in their contribution. Despite drama being the highlight, the texture is subtle throughout.

From a political war, the film intermittently shifts track to a regular revenge drama till it arrives to a volatile climax that forms a highlight of the enterprise, escalating the entire graph. Sarkar Raj clearly gains major marks for its clever culmination, which was so much lacking from recent RGV products. The considerately and crisply penned dialogues by Prashant Pandey add a lot of insight to the scenes and depth to the characterizations.

From the cast, Aishwarya Rai plays a mere spectator to the scenes than a participant to the politics. She is her usual self and her act doesn't seem to be sculpted by the RGV touch. The other two Bachchans have exhaustive scope and completely submit to Ramu's visualization.

Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, once again, employ the intensity of their piercing eyes to give sight to Ram Gopal Varma's distinctive vision.

The guru of Indian noir is not evolving... Saroj, Kathmandu: Though the story revolves round the same old Sarkar movie but as the spirit of Godfather was not as expected. Still, a brilliant movie. It was able to entice people throughout the whole movie.

Prashanth, California: Just wow..!!!! The movie is filled with amazing power packed dialogues, back ground score is amazing. Hats off to RGV for not letting the story down at any point of time in the movie. Drama is absolutely amazing in the movie. A normal cine goer can never expect the twists and turns in the movie. Well the sub title " power can not be given, it should be taken" perfectly suits this movie. I'll rate 4.75 out of 5 for this movie.