Blog | Amodini's Movie Reviews - Part 73Amodini's Movie Reviews | Movie Reviews by Year, Genre and Rating

Movie Preview : 3 Idiots

Posted on December 16, 2009 by amodini

We don’t need no education

We dont need no thought control

No dark sarcasm in the classroom

Teachers leave them kids alone

Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!

All in all it’s just another brick in the wall.

All in all you’re just another brick in the wall.

So said Pink Floyd in their well-known hit. Mucho similar thoughts have been aired about oppressive education – the kinds that does not allow the student to think for himself. “3 idiots” harps on the same chord. We have 3 supposed idiots come to study in an engineering academy. Why ? Because their parents pre-ordained it. Out of the three only one is a “free-thinker” come to study just because he wants to learn. The other two are just more fodder for the education mill. But things change with association, when these two meet the one.

Of course, that one is something special. He’s named Rancho, really Ranchod. And a word about that – who actually names their kid Ran-chod ? Ran = battle-field, Chod = leave, i.e.; one who runs away from the battle-field – a loser. People name their kids Ranvijay, i.e.; one who is victorious on the battle-field – a winner, but Ranchod ?

Anyway the film high-tails it across the education experience of these three, especially Rancho’s head-butts with a professor, Viru Sahastrabudhhe (Boman Irani), and his romance with Sahastrabudhhe’s daughter Pia (Kareeena Kapoor). But one day Rancho disappears. Why ? The two remaining idiots embark on a quest to find out. On their journey, they remember a long forgotten bet, crash a wedding, and become part of the congregation at a funeral that goes out of control. But after all this do they find what they have set out to seek ?.

“Three idiots” is rumored to be based on Chetan Bhagat’s book “Five Point Someone – What not to do at IIT”. The director has denied it, but Bhagat who earlier helped spawn the forgettable “Hello”, had this to say :

”The director took my book as the base but he has changed it according to his requirements. He took permission from me before taking my story, but has not involved me in making it into the final script. But, he has shown me the final script and I have liked it too.”

The film stars Aamir Khan as the irrepressible Rancho, Madhavan as Farhan Qureshi and Sharman Joshi as Alok. Kajol makes a special appearance. It is directed by Rajkumar Hirani (of Munnabhai fame) and is a Vidhu Vinod Chopra production. Music is by Shantanu Moitra, and lyrics are penned by Swanand Kirkire, both of whom also worked on “Welcome to Sajjanpur”

This coming-of-age/self-actualization flick hits theatres December 25th 2009.

Posted in bollywood, Previews | 4 Comments

Movie Review : Rocket Singh, Salesman of the year

Posted on December 12, 2009 by amodini

Rating : Good (4/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2009
Running time : 2 hours 35 minutes
Director : Shimit Amin
Cast : Ranbir Kapoor, Navin Kaushik, Manish Chaudhari, Prem Chopra, Gauhar Khan, Shazahn Padamsee
Kid rating : PG

ROCKET SINGH : THIS ONE’s ROCKETING SKYWARDS !

On an interview I watched on NDTV, anchor Soniya Singh interviews Ranbir Kapoor, and starts of by saying “Today I have one of the sexiest men in India . . .” and Ranbir responds, “What ! Really ? Are you serious ?” He doesn’t look like he’s joking either. This title has been conferred on one of the most up-and-coming stars of desi cinema, and he himself doesn’t seem to take it very seriously. That’s part of his charm, you could say, and that unselfconscious charm is what works in Rocket Singh – Salesman of the year.

OK, for the uninitiated, Harpreeet Singh Bedi has just graduated from B.com by the skin of his teeth (38.72%), and in the first frame of the film, we see him eyeing his results on the internet, and sighing thankfully. After he relaxes contentedly for a while in his chair, the screensaver takes over; Guru Nanakji’s image flits across the screen fitfully. That sort of sets the tone of the film – a middle-class Sikh “good” boy, brought up by his grand-father (Prem Chopra) and out to make it in the big bad world.

Bedi is Ranbir Kapoor, all bearded up and sporting pink colored turbans. He gets the first job he interviews for, as a salesman in a computer firm. This simple Sikh boy has miles to go before he can land a sale though, since he is quite perturbed by the palm-greasing required in the business. Unfortunately his morals do not match those of his compatriots, and he earns himself a demotion, and a whole lot of ridicule. However there is a breaking point and once he reaches it, our sincere Sardar decides to get even and then some !

“Rocket Singh” is brought to life by an off-beat story, a modern day Panchatantra’s tale on honesty. Jaideep Sahni, the writer (who also wrote Khosla ka ghosla), fleshes in each of the characters in the film beautifully, whether it be the pretty, ambitious receptionist (Gauhar Khan) or the IT support guy Girish Reddy, who speaks in Hyderabadi Hindi. Bedi himself, his grand-father and his friends are realistically wrought. Direction is strong, and although the film is almost entirely shot in office-space, which means enclosed rooms, Shimit Amin manages to keep up the interest with well-paced events and some great, subtle humor. There is attention to details – in one scene, Harpreet’s boss Nitin, getting ready for a bike ride, wears his jacket backwards and attaches clips to the bottom of his trousers – hilarious !

The first half of the film, essentially the setup, is smooth sailing. We so like Harpreet at this point, that we might now forgive him any slip-ups. By the time intermission occurs, Harpreet is well-ensconced on his moral high horse, and we are firmly seated behind him. It’s not that we, in the backs of our minds, are not a little amazed at his total naivete (how did he remain so unaffected by all-pervading corruption ?) but outrage is a powerful thing. How dare this merciless, corrupt world get after this poor little innocent boy ? The wrong-doers surely deserve their come-uppance !

This film is something special, from the time the introductory credits roll (beautifully done to a backdrop of shots showing fixtures in Harpreet’s middle class life) to the portrayal of a rare honesty on celluloid. What make it truly more effective than any ordinary story of goody-2-shoes, was the fact that the film spun off on it’s subject quite naturally ; there were no overt and false-sounding tactics or events used to push the honesty-is-good theme. It just is. It just is because it is the right thing to do. That is what did it for me.

I would have awarded the film a higher rating if not for it’s relatively weak ending. In resolving matters to a satisfactory (commercial ?) end, Sahni slips in one too many preachy dialogues, and weakens the up-till-now strong plot. This is where the film gets a little ham-handed, and I’m inclined to take away some of the brownie points it had so deservedly earned.

All that said, allow me now to slip into adulatory mode. Ranbir Kapoor is the STAR of the film. To all those who say he had it too easy (star son and all) let me tell you that it is not for nothing that he is rising as fast as he is. This one can act, emote, dance, and he does it all well in this film. Harpreet is your average do-no-harm kind of a guy, and when one of the characters tells him that he trusts him, because he’s not a met a deceitful Sardar in is life, we, looking at Harpreet are all so ready to nod our heads in unison.

Also, Harpreet’s bosses – the sideburned Nitin, played by Naveen Kaushik, and the unctuous, wily Puri , played by Manish Chaudhary are fantastic. Gauhar Khan is pretty good as the ambitious receptionist. Shazahn Padamsee has a small role as Harpreet’s love interest, but is unremarkable. And Prem Chopra as the grand-father who has lovingly brought up his grandson to believe in goodness, is pretty nice (like grand-fathers are).

This is a lovely, lovely film. And clean. No double-meaning dialogues, no vulgar innuendoes, no indirect references to the female anatomy. Yes, there are some shots of bikini-clad women (Girish is addicted to porn) , but given that semi-clad women are everywhere thesedays (!!), not particularly injurious to (older) kids. There are also some make-out scenes, but they are quick and not explicit.

Do go see.

Posted in 2009, bollywood, drama, family-friendly, rating-PG, recommended | 4 Comments

Movie Preview : Rocket Singh – Salesman of the year

Posted on December 9, 2009 by amodini

I remember my 10th and 12th class boards and the pressure was bad then. It’s worse now. But what do folks who can’t make good do ? According to this film, they become salesmen (or women). Meet Harpreet Singh Bedi, skinny Sardar, and failure extraordinaire. He’s passing (or is that failing nowadays ?) B.Com with 39% marks and that’s an improvement on his school performance. But he’s full of confidence, and out to make it in the world of sales. Is it any wonder that the title song goes “Pocket mein rocket . . .” ?

Ranbir Kapoor plays this zany Sardar, and from the promos it looks like he’s doing a great job. He does have Sikh roots (his mom Neetu Singh is a Sardarni) although I’m not sure if that’s what’s doing it. For one thing with a beard, he looks like such a typical young Sikh boy; button down shirt, long stringy legs, and a nice bright pagdi (turban) all neatly tied. Well Ranbir as Bedi gets a sales job, and the film apparently is about the way his “traditional” values clash with the contemporary values of the professionals working with him, and how being the hero types, he works it all out.

This film stars a bunch of newcomers – model Gauhar Khan (yes – she of the wardrobe malfunction), fresh and dewy-eyed beauty Shazahn Padamsee (daughter of well-known ad-film director and voluble NDTV talk-show guest Alyque Padamsee and singer Sharon Prabhakar). It is directed by Shimit Amin (of Chak de India fame) with screenplay by Jaideep Sahni. With all the talent in this film, it should be interesting.

Rocket Singh (Official website) opens in a theatre near you Dec 11th 2009.

Posted in bollywood, drama, Previews | 1 Comment

Review : Kurbaan

Posted on December 4, 2009 by amodini

Rating : Above average (3.75/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2009
Running time : 2 hours 40 minutes
Director : Renzil D’Silva
Cast : Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri, Kiron Kher, Vivek Oberoi, Dia Mirza, Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Kid rating : PG-13

KURBAAN : Terror tale with a twist!

Kurbaan is another film with a terrorism based story-line, although the nasty parts sneak up on you. The film starts off pleasantly enough with beautiful Delhi lecturer Avantika Ahuja (Kareena) who’s falling in love with new colleague Ehsaan Khan (Saif). The relationship is deemed short-lived however, because Avantika is soon recalled back to the American university where she was teaching earlier. She must leave, but quite unexpectedly Ehsaan offers to uproot himself for her and come to the US. Surprised and delighted, Avanika persuades her unhappy Hindu father to give his blessings, the couple marry and are off to the land of Uncle Sam.

Suave Ehsaan soon lands a professorial job, and everything is going along fine, until the couple, now seeking domestic heaven, buy a house and get to know their seemingly peculiar neighbors. . .

This film is a little different from your standard issue “terrorism” film because it brings the conflict closer to home. It is a crisp drama, didn’t slack off or lose pace. It does suffer from numerous logical flaws though and has a rather split personality when it comes to the issue of religious ideaology. On one hand, the movie tries to take the high road, by presenting the view that Islam is a religion of peace – after all Ehsan does teach a course on Islam in the modern world, but on the other it re-enforces the typical stereotypes associated with Islamic fundamentalism – the parochial attitude towards women and education, domestic violence etc. All the Muslim women in the film, save one, are hijab-wearing domesticated females immersed in their male-dominated lives. And all the Muslim men in the film, except one again, are portrayed as devout fundamentalists, seething to avenge perceived wrongs. Thus, the “message” if there was one, doesn’t really get through very effectively.

Kareena acts well, in a role which while being central to the film, still does not impact it in a way it could have. Avantika is but a cog in the wheel, being buffeted by forces around her. She endures, but does not at any point take an overt stand. Among all the revenge-seeking, bigoted Muslim women portrayed, she is the poor little Hindu girl. I must say though that she looks beautiful in the film. She carries off extra bold eyeliner pretty well, although in some scenes she does come across like a Kathakali dancer who’s lost her way. She’s worn these beautiful, full-skirted churidaar kurtas in the movie, which are more (I think) skirts with short tops, although I couldn’t be sure.

Saif Ali Khan has indeed come a long way in his filmi career; I remember when he started off in Bollywood, he was so raw and bore such a striking resemblance to his beautiful mother Sharmila Tagore, that he was dismissed as “too feminine” by many.

Vivek Oberoi makes a semi-comeback as Riyaz, a journalist with plenty of guts and emotion, but very little apparently, in the way of brain-cells. And Diya Mirza (whatever happened to her filmi career ?), has a tiny role, as his girl-friend and colleague. Om Puri, Kirron Kher and Kulbhushan Kharbhanda are dependable stalwarts, as good as ever.

The film has decent direction, adequate screenplay, pretty good music, and a decent background score. It also has quite a bit of violence, and some extensive kissing/love-making scenes – thus getting a PG-13 rating. On the whole a good watch, Kurban is one of the better films to come out this year.

Posted in 2009, bollywood, drama, rating-PG13, thriller, watchable | 2 Comments

Movie Review : Ajab Prem ki ghazab kahani

Posted on November 22, 2009 by amodini

Rating : Average (3/5)
Genre : Comedy / Romance
Year : 2009
Running time : 2 hours 35 minutes
Director : Rajkumar Santoshi
Cast : Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Govind Namdeo, Upen Patel, Darshan Jariwalla, Smita Jaykar, Navneet Nishan
Kid rating : PG

“Ajab Prem ki ghazab kahani” turned out almost like I thought it would, although I had expected better. Majorly slapstick-y with a very, very loose story-line, is how I’d describe it. The regular rules on describing character development, depth don’t apply here because, and I’ll say it flat out, there is none. Character development that is. This film, while being physically situated in a hill-station like small town, appears to play out in fantasy land. Hence, to sit through this film, you are required to suspend your disbelief and knowledge of physics, gravity and all that tiresome logic.

The film, as the title proclaims, is about Prem Chopra (Ranbir Kapoor) who is a 9th standard fail, good-for-nothing wastrel (where have I seen that before ?). Prem is all about being President of a “Happy Club” – he does nothing else. The Happy Club and it’s members, who are all Prem’s equally good-for-nothing friends, have lofty goals in mind, but run around not amounting to much.

Prem who lives with and is supported by his parents, wants to “grow up” once he sights and falls in love with the beautiful Jennifer (Katrina). However Jenny is being forced by her foster parents to marry an odious chap, and she actually loves Rahul (Upen Patel). Prem, by virtue of being her friend, and very classically hero-like in being unable to tell her of his love, finds himself kidnapping her from her very own wedding so she can be with her true love. Things ofcourse do not go as planned, but does Prem get what he deserves ?

While the film makes it very clear that there is no realism in the story, and the viewer should expect no connections (remote or otherwise) to coherence, it is also not an out-an-out gag fest. There is an attempt to create a film full of buffoonery, tomfoolery and abject slapstick, but Santoshi cannot keep up the momentum. Thus while there are some scenes which are comedic, there were gaps in the film where I was plain bored. Add to that, the fact that this film pretty much conducts itself at a level suited for a teeny-bopper flick, and you get the picture.

Santoshi who has delivered meaningful films like “Damini” in the past, also managed to turn out half-decent “comedies” like “Andaz Apna Apna”. This time he tries to be fluffier than usual, if you get my drift, and as far as I’m concerned does not get it right. APKGK has a pretty light-weight script, and is unencumbered by traditional filmi elements such as a believable story or screenplay. Even given that, this film fails to leave a mark, chiefly because I care not a whit about the card-board-ish lead-pair, Prem and Jenny, both of whom share 2 common characteristics. Firstly they both stammer when upset, and the second (which the director may not have intended) that although full-grown adults, they appear to only possess child-size brains.

This film might descend into stupidity, but it’s stars are quite another matter. Luminous Katrina, and the youngish Ranbir, ooze beauty and charm in every frame. Even though they have no help from the script, they manage to salvage the film to make it an average entertainer. There are other factors which help, like the absolutely marvelous Govind Namdeo, who breathes life into his 10 minute role. Also Darshan Jariwala, playing Prem’s restaurant-owner father, and Smita Jaykar, playing his loving, indulgent mother lend their able support. The songs, which are quite melodious are picturised beautifully and with a sophistication not seen in the film itself.

The best thing about this film, if I had to name one, is that it did not have any double-meaning jokes, vulgarity, sexual innuendoes or the Johnny Lever style facial contortions that currently pass for humor. Although there were minor irritants like showing a woman’s sari being “unintentionally” unwrapped (only in Bollywood !) , this film was relatively kid-friendly, and I have to say that my kids enjoyed it a whole lot more than I did.

APKGK (long names anyone ?) is a slap-stick entertainer and will probably do quite well at the box-office. If you go in there expecting a low-brow, loud, in-your-face comedy sans logic you will get your money’s worth. However if your funny bone is not tickled by random people falling off staircases, or a bunch of half-wits running around for no apparent reason, please consider spending your hard-earned money elsewhere.

Posted in 2009, bollywood, comedy, rating-PG, romance | 5 Comments

Upcoming films : November and December 2009

Posted on November 22, 2009 by amodini

A combined list of films for November and December this time. “3 Idiots”, “Rocket Singh” and “Raat gayi baat gayi” look interesting.

Release Date	Film Title	Genre	Director	Actors
Nov 20	Kurbaan	Drama	Renzil D’Silva	Saif ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri, Vivek Oberoi, Kiron Kher
Nov 27	De Dana Dan	Comedy	Priyadarshan	Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Shetty, Sameera Reddy, Paresh Rawal, Neha Dhupia, Rajpal Yadav, Johnny Lever, Aditi Govitrikar, Chunky Pandey, Archana Puran Singh, Tinu Anand, Vikram Gokhale
Dec 3	Radio	Drama	Isshaan Trivedi	Himesh Reshammiya, Sonal Sehgal, Shehnaz Treasurywala
Dec 4	Paa	Drama	R. Balkrishnan	Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachhan, Vidya Balan
Dec 11	Rocket Singh – Salesman of the year	Drama	Shimit Amin	Ranbir Kapoor, Shazahn Padamsee, Sharon Prabhakar, Gauhar Khan
Dec 18	Raat gayi baat gayi	Drama	Saurabh Shukla	Vinay Pathak, Neha Dhupia, Rajat Kapoor, Iravati Harshe, Ranvir Shorey, Navneet Nishan, Dalip Tahil
Dec 25	3 Idiots	Drama	Rajkumar Hirani	Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, Madhavan

Posted in bollywood, Previews | Tagged upcoming | Comments Off

Movie Preview : Ajab prem ki ghazab kahani

Posted on November 2, 2009 by amodini

Raj Kumar Santoshi has directed a bunch of films, “Andaz Apna Apna”, “Pukar” and “Damini” being the better known ones. His most recent film “Halla bol” didn’t do too well. This time he attempts a romantic comedy with the flavor of the month, Ranbir Kapoor, and the actress who’s had a flurry of films lately – the comely Katrina Kaif.

Of course if the Official Website is anything to go by, this film might be a dud. There’s Kapoor doing a Saawariya, with a towel. He’s also in one of the stills, in what looks to be woman’s dress. And in the promos, he’s hamming it up. Not good signs, any of them. This film is a romance, so hopefully there’ll be more to it than him being the President of Happy Club.

There’s Prem (Ranbir) and Jennifer or Jenny (Katrina). Prem is quite “ajab” and this is his “ghazab” ki kahani – you do see the clever punning by Santoshi & Co., don’t you ? OK then, so Prem falls in love with Jenny who’s already in love with someone else. He also inadvertently kidnaps her (not sure how that works) and she now loathes him, while he adores her, and thinks her vanilla ice-cream (hmm… this is starting to weird me out). Somewhere in there he also makes jalebis while wearing khaki shorts, so maybe he’s a halwai-in-training ?

The whole never-do-well, goofy guys cleaning up their act, after meeting the perfect woman thing is getting a tad clichéd. Didn’t Ranbir just play the same role in “Wake up Sid” ? Katrina’s the peppy, young thing – yet again. But on the bright side, two of the songs in the film have been sung by Atif Aslam, in his gorgeously soulful voice, and they turn out beautifully, especially “Tera hone laga hoon”

This film is aimed at the younger crowd, and I’m going by the look of the promos and the Website, and their ‘apparent” desire to be so cool and hip, and narrate in comic form. And everytime they get “comic-y” (remember Hum Tum ?), it ends up looking juvenile and losing appeal. So I do hope that there’s more meat in the film, and they are not so fixated on working the “masala” in that they forget that there’s more to a film than that. Santoshi generally isn’t all fluff so that gives me hope, although which schmuck is behind the silly Website (and OMG, this doesn’t bear thinking about, but will the movie be as silly as that?)

Posted in bollywood, Previews | 1 Comment

Movie Review : Baabarr

Posted on October 25, 2009 by amodini

Rating : Average (3/5)
Genre : Drama/Action
Year : 2009
Running time : 2 hours 10 minutes
Director : Ashu Trikha
Cast : Sohum Shah, Om Puri, Sushant Singh, Govind Namdeo, Tinu Anand, Mithun Chakraborty, Urvashi Sharma, Shakti Kapoor
Kid rating : PG13

BAABARR : OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLE !

Gangster movies first came to be noticed with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Parinda (1989). Satya which came in 1998 was the 90s version of the gangster saga. Urmila Matondkar made a beautiful foil for Chakravarty’s earnest gangster, and the tight story and screenplay held me engrossed for those couple of hours. Then came Vaastav, Company, Sehar and a whole host of films which gave this genre some respectability.

And in 2009 we have Baabarr a gangster film which left me unmoved, and I must admit a little bored. Baabar depicts grass-roots growth of crime – how a boy surrounded by violence grows up to be a gangster. You’d think this would be an interesting story to tell and see, but the director, the script-writer and the weak screenplay manage to project the protagonist as an unsympathetic psycho with anger issues.

Baabarr is a little boy who is privy to his family’s fights with other local thugs. His brothers, the eldest of whom is played by Shakti Kapoor, retaliate by producing home-made guns and fighting bloodshed with bloodshed. Baabarr, then a 12 year old decides to assist his brothers by picking up a gun and killing a man. From then on, it’s a downward spiral, with Baabarr growing up to become a thuggish lout, known for his anger, and his obstinate and trigger-happy ways.

The government decides to reign in criminal activities in the area, by bringing in encounter specialist Dwivedi (Mithun Chakraborty). Dwivedi is assisted by his second-in-command Inspector (Om Puri), who has his own fish to fry, in the midst of all this. The rest of the film delineates altercations between the cop and the gangster, with an offbeat ending.

The leading man is newcomer Sohum Shah, although why he is in the lead is quite the question. Sohum cannot act and does not have the screen presence to carry off a persona such as Baabar’s. Besides those failings, the screenplay and story do not help much. The way Baabar’s introduction to crime has been depicted make you think the director’s taken the easy way out. Baabarr as a boy, is cold and emotionless, someone who might have been better of a in a shrink’s office, than fighting it out on the streets. And the “sympathy” factor which normally kicks in, in gangster movies comes from the fact that the hero can redeem himself in our eyes, by possessing at least some admirable qualities, such as integrity, a sense of fair-play, or even kindness to those weaker than him. Baabarr, unfortunately possess none of those.

This film has a number of very good character actors like Govind Namdeo, Sushant Singh and Tinnu Anand, but they are used poorly, and can do little in the face of weak scripting and character development. Mithun, as Dwivedi, is still Mithun, with his characteristic swagger and style of dialogue delivery, and it is a pity to see a talent who started off in the most excellent Mrigaya come to this.

Besides the generally poor quality of the film, there’s also the fact that everything we see here has been done before and done better. There is no new element to capture our imagination, as the film offers the same old “wanna-be-gritty-crime-thriller”, albeit in more tawdry garb. For it’s casual, trigger-happy violence, and the glorification of a bhai type this film earns itself a PG-13 rating.

Baabarr is quite a disappointment; this one can be lived without.

Posted in 2009, bollywood, rating-PG13 | Comments Off

Movie Preview : Blue

Posted on October 14, 2009 by amodini

My intuition is wishy-washy on this one. Promises to be another blown-up, bloated, can-you-do-this stunt-filled film with more hype and very little matter (hopefully will be more complimentary in the Blue movie review) i.e.; another wanna-be Indian action/thriller. For starters there is Aarav, Akshay Kumar , owner of “Blue Shipping & Fisheries” (that’s probably where they got the name, no ?) , eminently eligible bachelor, risk-taker extraordinaire, and very-very sun-glassed. In his honor, an ode to similarly sun-glassed men :

Ah, so cool,
So very, very cool,
I drool
Drool : nothing but saliva

Then there is Sanjay Dutt, the man who must never, ever appear in a wetsuit in public, or else we will all be blinded. Which I am. I can’t type.

** 2 hours later ** Apparently the blindness is temporary. So back to business. Saagar (Dutt) is Aarav’s closest friend, and, the website says, “a straight-forward, simple man with a troubled past and a modest future”. OK. Sam (Zayed Khan) is Sagar’s estranged brother. He’s also arrogant, passionate about bikes (I didn’t see that coming), and seeking refuge from an accidental brush with the mafia. Lara Dutta’s character is creatively named Mona, and she is a marine enthusiast, and Sagar’s lady love. She’s also pretty, “effervescent” (according to the website) and compassionate. How nice, really ! The part about her being compassionate, and . . . er, effervescent. Must help with the floating in the H20.

There is also Katrina Kaif, sporting a chin stud, dishevelled hair, and presumably the surprise package, because the official website doesn’t mention her in the cast. Accidental ommission ? I think not. Anyway, the story is that the 3 males go treasure hunting in the Pacific Ocean, amid shark-infested waters. Ms. Dutta is presumably a hanger-on of sorts, because the story doesn’t explicitly mention her role.Very few come back from the deep, we are told. So will these pretty people ?

The music looks good. “Aaj dil gustakh” is very nice, although I do have reservations about the “Chiggy wiggy” song – wish it didn’t have the Bhangra beats forced in there. Kylie Minogue is in the movie as herself. Lara Dutta joins the bevy of bikin-clad Bollywoodian beauties, and looks fit and svelte doing it.

Blue floats up Oct 16th – here’s the official website.

Tags : Blue film preview, Blue movie preview

Posted in bollywood, Previews, rating-PG15, thriller | 2 Comments

Upcoming films : October 2009

Posted on October 9, 2009 by amodini

October has more than the usual number of releases, and there’s something for everyone : romance, comedy, thriller, kiddie stuff. And Sanjay Dutt (I’m not a fan) Govinda and Fardeen Khan star in a lot of them :

Release Date	Film Title	Genre	Director	Actors
Oct 2	Wake up Sid !	Romance	Ayan Mukerji	Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anumpam Kher, Supriya Pathak Shah
Oct 2	Do Knot Disturb	Comedy	David Dhawan	Govinda, Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta, Ritesh Deshmukh, Ranvir Shorey, Rajpal Yadav
Oct 10	Acid Factory	Thriller/Action	Suparn Verma	Fardeen Khan, Dino Morea, Diya Mirza, Aftab Shivdasani, Danny Denzongpa, Manoj Bajpai, Irrfan Khan
Oct 16	Blue	Thriller/Action	Anthony D’Souza	Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Shetty, Zayed Khan, Kabir Bedi, Kylie Minogue
Oct 16	Main aur Mrs. Khanna	Romance/Comedy	Prem Soni	Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sohail Khan, Govinda
Oct 16	All the Best	Comedy	Rohit Shetty	Ajay Devgun, Bipasha Basu, Fardeen Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Mugdha Godse, Asrani
Oct 23	Bal Ganesh 2	Kid Cartoon	Pankaj Sharma
Oct 30	Aladdin	Adventure/Fantasy	Sujoy Ghosh	Amitabh Bachchan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandes, Sanjay Dutt
Oct 30	London Dreams	Musical	Vipul Amrutlal Shah	Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, Asin Thottumkal, Rannvijay Singh, Om Puri