Blog | Amodini's Movie Reviews - Part 77Amodini's Movie Reviews | Movie Reviews by Year, Genre and Rating

Best films of 2008

Posted on February 2, 2009 by amodini

Better late than never, say I. So, a little late, but here nevertheless are the Top 10 Films of 2008. The year began strong with films like Mithya and Jodhaa Akbar. There were very few blockbusters that did well. This was the year of the “cheapie” – a film with B grade stars, made probably on a small budget. “Hello” was one of these, and so was “Welcome to Sajjanpur”. As always stupidity ruled, and made films like “Singh is Kinng” big hits.

Anyway, enough said; here are my picks :

10. Ramchand Pakistani : This is a not-so upbeat film about a father-son pair caught in a border jail after inadvertently crossing the India-Pakistan border. A wonderful cast and good direction make this a very special film.

9. Rab ne bana di jodi : Ahh, Shahrukh as one of us ! SRK plays an ordinary young man, married to the woman of his dreams. The catch ? She doesn’t love him, and says she never will.

8. Superstar : Kunal Khemu, re-incarnated. In a double role no less. The story of two men who look alike but born to different circumstances, Superstar is a breezy watch.

7. Ghajini : Amir’s lone film of the year, Ghajini is a remake of the South-Indian film of the same name, and even stars the same heroine, Hindi film debutante, Asin. Fairly violent, Ghajini was a superhit in late 2008. It brings back memories of 80s-based, Shiva-esque dramas, and is a decent watch.

6. A Wednesday : A taut, gripping drama, Wedneday doesn’t have many big actors, save Naseeruddin Shah, but manages to leave an impact.

5. Sorry Bhai : Another film by director Onir, this one is quite enchanting. A tale of two brother and the one woman they both love, this film has got it all – emotion, humor and drama.

4. Jaane tu ya jaane na : The romance of the year stars newcomer Imran Khan and Geneliw D’Souza and is a peppy, fun, young film.

3. Jodhaa Akbar : This humongous history lesson stars hunky Hrithik and luminous Aishwarya as the historical couple Akbar and his Rajputian wife Jodhaa. The handsome couple also do well acting wise, and director Ashutosh Gowarikar delivers another enjoyable film.

2. Welcome to Sajjanpur : The feel good film of the year, this movie is set in rural India. Shreyas Talpade heads an impeccable cast, and master director Shyam Benegal brings to you another well-told, engrossing tale.

1. Mithya : A well-made drama about an ordinary young man thrust into the underworld as kingpin, this one is a must-see.

Honorable mentions go out to the following films :

– Oye Lucky Lucky Oye
– Hulla
– Fashion
– Tashan
– Bachna ae haseeno
– Rock On

Also look at the ones that were : The Top 10 films of 2007 and 2006 !

Tags : Best films of 2008, Best hindi movies, Good hindi movies, Top 10 movies

Posted in annual roundup, Best hindi movies, bollywood, recommended, Top 10 | Tagged 2008, best, bollywood, films, hindi, indian, movies, top 10 | 5 Comments

Review : Slumdog millionaire

Posted on January 22, 2009 by amodini

Rating : Above average (3.9/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2008
Running time : 2 hours
Director : Danny Boyle
Cast : Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Irfan Khan, Anil Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Kid rating : PG

I only had the vaguest inkling of the story of “Slumdog millionaire”, having carefully not read any of the reviews. So, when it started out, brutally enough in a police lock-up with the protagonist Jamaal (Patel) being tortured, it seemed to be quite far away from the shiny small-screen glamour of “Kaun banega crorepati”, the game show which supposedly played a major part in the film. However, SM, as I discovered, was woven between the past and the present, taking us through Jamaal’s few hours of television fame, his subsequent police incarceration, and his past life as an orphan in Mumbai.

Jamaal has had the good fortune of being selected as a contestant on “Kaun banega crorepati (India’s version of “Who wants to be a millionaire”). A humble chai-wala, with no formal education, Jamaal still manages to answer all the questions which are thrown at him. When the game breaks for the day, the show’s influential host Prem (Kapoor), unable to believe that Jamaal is not cheating at the game, gets him whisked away by the police. During the police interrogation, we get to know Jamaal’s story, and the fact that Jamaal is on the show to get in touch with his lady-love Latika.

SM is a pretty upbeat film. It starts off amidst wretched poverty, showing very starkly the underbelly of great, shining India. And I, being desi and all, and watching SM in a very mainstream cinema theatre in a very American city, am squirming in my seat, thinking this is another of those films milking poor, exotic India for a shot at the Oscars. Although, really, it’s not.

It does make me uncomfortable, watching poor, naked children wallowing in filth, begging at the cross-roads, playing next to large garbage dumps, in one of the largest slums of a bustling, rich, cosmopolitan city in the country of my birth (Ah, where are those dreams of being the next Shanghai ? Maybe an adequate sewage system first ?). It is one thing to travel back to India and feel desperate poverty all around you; it’s everywhere. But is quite another, to see it splashed across a wide-screen, in urban America, surrounded by relatively wealthy Americans, for whom definitions of poverty are quite different than those encountered in the Third World. It makes me uncomfortable, because it’s my dirty laundry hung out to dry, for the world to see, celebrate and toast as cinematic greatness at the Golden Globes, at the Sundance festival, at the Oscars. But it is what it is, I tell myself. They show it because it does exist. You encounter many such poor Jamaals on Indian streets.

The film now, it travels question by question. In flashback mode, it takes us through Jamaal’s interrogation at the Mumbai police station, and reveals his life story, bit by bit, as Jamaal tells the inspector (Irfan Khan) how he knows the answer to each question asked on the show. Dev Patel as Jamaal, is quite effective, except for the American accent he sports – it’s not really, really obvious, but you can tell. Freida Pinto, as fellow-orphan Latika, is much more believable, and so is the actor who plays Jamaal’s brother. Anil Kapoor comes across as a sneering TV show host, being ever so subtly snide about Jamaal’s poverty-stricken roots. Having watched Bacchan and SRK being extremely polite and amiable hosts, in the actual TV show “Kaun banega crorepati”, I’m a little surprised that Anil Kapoor’s character has such obvious class hang-ups.

As I said, the film starts with a cold, hard look at poverty, and the life of the poor; Jamaal and Salim are poor orphans of a Muslim slum. They are smart, and “jugadu” as street-kids are and their young life is strewn with escapes; escaping from the police, escaping from the beggar mafia, escaping from the railway ticket collector. As they work their way up with age and time, they separate. And getting onto “Who wants to be a millionaire” is Jamaal’s attempt at finding his loved ones again.

So, yes, SM starts off depressingly, but soon develops into a wistful love story. It’s very hopeful, what with the ascent of a slum boy to the millionaire’s chair. And it’s not that Jamaal is “made” smart by the script; he is a smart kid. An intelligent, smart kid born indigent. And he hopes, and he dreams of meeting Latika again, against all odds.

And, yes, the script and direction is strong, the story is interesting and well-told, and the actors deserve applause. The film takes you through many emotions, but above all, and what drew me in, is that this is a simple film. It’s basic, no additional flounces or frippery (except that Bollywood style closing) and it appears to be passionate. Made from the heart.

Posted in english, hollywood, rating-PG, recommended | 2 Comments

Review : Ghajini

Posted on December 26, 2008 by amodini

Rating : Above average (3.8/5)
Genre : Thriller/Suspense
Year : 2008
Running time : 3 hours
Director : A. R. Murugadoss
Cast : Amir Khan, Asin, Jiah Khan
Kid rating : PG-13

GHAJINI : MASALA MEETS MUSCLE

The remake of the South-Indian original, Ghajini reminds me of the 8o’s revenge based dramas; films like Shiva which, in their turn, were remakes of South-Indian hits. Hence the abundance of large instruments of torture and gory fight scenes which usually end up with a knife in the back or a smashed head. With the color-coordinated songs (clothes match the cars) this film is also reminiscent of older Jeetendra-Sridevi pot-boilers like “Himmatwala” etc.

It’s a vendetta based film, where the whole point of the film is revenge. Aamir plays Sanjay Singhania, a very, very rich tycoon, who’s run afoul of a nasty businessman/crook. When the villain vastly damages Sanjay and his loved ones, resulting in Sanjay losing his lady-love Kalpana (Asin), and most of his memory, he must have his revenge on an enemy he doesn’t quite remember.

This is a formula film – nothing new about it. The first half of the film is mostly breezy – there are some gory parts, but on the whole it’s pretty light-hearted and fun. This is mostly due to the heroine – peppy Asin, a newcomer who also starred in the Ghajini original. Asin makes an impressive Hindi debut; she reminds me of a slimmer version of Sridevi – the hair, the figure, the over-archingly self-aware, over the top acting.

The second half of the film features some very gory fight scenes, and much brutality. Amir goes from a sweet lover-boy to rabid, growling revenge-seeker, very believably. Truly, in such films, where direction is adequate, but not quite flawless, where the story needs you to put away rational doubts, and brute force, not realism rules, can one see the finesse of an actor. And Aamir is quite a fine performer.

Jiah Khan who plays a major role, can’t act. And neither can the guy who plays the role of police inspector; he does very little besides flex his muscles. The rest of the cast is just about adequate; the villains are evil and sneering and trigger-happy, and the “good people” are very holier-than-thou. The heroine especially is a wholesome do-gooder, earnest and a little too empathetic – the kind of chirpy, scootie-driving gal who appeals to all the richie-rich, macho tycoons of desi filmdom, because of her golden heart.

This film is quite interesting with it’s anterograde amnesia theme; the hero able to retain events of only the past 15 minutes. And while the pace is fast, and keeps you engrossed, all facets of such a potentially complicated story aren’t intelligently handled. The director glosses over much of the things-that-could-be. In reality, Aamir’s mentally tortured character might need intensive therapy, but in the film he bashes 7 men all by himself, deals with many traumas, and manages to beat up villains with iron rods stuck into him.

Yes, it is a masala film, so yeah, I’ll bite my tongue and continue. I liked the film – it’s an interesting drama, dark and gruesome. But it also has romance, light-hearted moments, and features one of my favorite heroes. The heroine packs some oomph, the film has good cinematography and some very nicely picturised, melodious songs. The song which features “multiple” Amirs , all in different get-ups and all in the same frame was especially interesting. The downer is that Ghajini is predictable fare; there had been a spate of such films during the Shiva phase, and this theme seems a little jaded for today’s time. I wish it had had more finesse and attention to detail, been more realistic, and avoided some amateurish blotches – then it would have been quite superlative.

Posted in 2009, action, bollywood, drama, rating-PG13 | 7 Comments

Review : Rab ne bana di jodi

Posted on December 13, 2008 by amodini

Rating : Above average (3.75/5)
Genre : Romance
Year : 2008
Running time : 2 hours 47 minutes
Director : Aditya Chopra
Cast : Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Vinay Pathak
Kid rating : G
RAB NE BANA DI JODI : GOOD, BUT LACKS FINESSE

The much awaited “Rab ne bana di jodi” lives up to it’s hype – well almost. A film by director Aditya Chopra, this one is a romance. It’s meant to be one of those romances where we are persuaded to believe that true love comes because of inner, and not outer beauty (I could contest this genre by pointing out that such stories abound when the guy is the geek, and the girl is quite beautiful, if not Ms. Universe herself – after all how many times in desi films have you seen a geeky girl get the guy ?).

I won’t give too much of the film away – but here are the basics. In the face of tragedy, Taani (Anushka) is unexpectedly married off to geeky Surinder Sahni (SRK). She had hoped to marry her sweet-heart, but married to a boring Surinder, she resigns herself to a life of being a dutiful wife. Lively Taani loses her spark, but the love she thought she’d never feel again is awakened when she meets funny, young Raj . . .

The film’s story places it squarely in sadda Punjab, in Amritsar to be precise. It’s a far cry from Switzerland, and the breath-taking locales of Europe are replaced her by the narrow gallis of Sahni’s town. However the scenery is still colorful, the skies still blue, and the shots still beautifully composed. The glitz and glamour of a regular YRF film are a little toned down and the item-numbers have to be disguised as acts in a dance competition.The direction is strong as always, and Chopra is more careful than usual when sketching out his characters.

Surinder Sahni (Suri) is delineated out with affection. He is boring and staid and a creature of habit. A simple man, he loves his new wife with all his heart. Hers, body and soul, he offers himself up to her, to do with as she pleases (only she can‘t see it). Sodden and soaked in a love, which he is too shy to reveal, he is afraid that she will never love him (she tells him as much). His desperation to win her over is movingly depicted, and SRK, whom I’ve never considered much of an actor, save for his role in Swades, does an impeccable job; I really felt for poor Suri.

Anushka Sharma makes a strong debut. She is an average actress (which is generally more than enough in Bollywood), a graceful dancer with a shapely figure. This debut could have better had her character been graced with the same attention to detail as Surinder’s did. As it is, Taani is something of an unknown ; why she does what she does is a mystery – we don’t really know what goes on in her mind. As such we tend to empathize with her a little less.

This film starts off strong; we get to know Suri and his timid life. In comes Taani, and we get to know him better (unfortunately not her). And then closer to the interval, with that incongruous throwback-to-the-oldies song, the film starts to lose it’s moorings. It continues in this un-hinged fashion for quite a bit of the middle third, with events which have no bearing on the story. I feel Aditya Chopra, with all his talent, gets afflicted with the Raj-Kapoor-brand-of-love syndrome (which I find particularly annoying). This results in the film’s emotional momentum, which was building up quite nicely upto now, suddenly getting sporadic, and teetering between love and tragedy. If you’ve seen Raj Kapoor’s “Mera Naam Joker”, where he tries to dredge up sympathy (pity ?) for his (unlikeable) character, you’ll know what I mean.

One of the film’s songs is the soft and nicely picturised “haule haule”. The film in it’s build-up to the climax, doesn’t seem to be taking it’s own advice (i.e.; not so haule, haule) because we do not actually get to see the build-up of love in Suri’s life. True love strikes in the space of one song, and Suri is broadly brushed into his “chosen one” status fairly quickly. It is too filmi and too pat. Chopra seems to be saying – Here it is , do you get it now ? It is like we are wayward children, who need to be told what to feel, instead of an attentive audience which can gauge emotion by itself.

The film – it outs itself. Chopra seems to want to bare it all for us, the audience, as if he doesn’t trust us to reach the right conclusions by ourselves. As such, I’m a little disappointed that this film lacks the finesse that a “Hum dil de chuke sanam” had, and that a director of Chopra’s calibre sacrifices what could have been a thing of beauty at the altar of commercialism. “Rab ne bana di jodi”, while a fairly decent film, lacks the subtlety, that slow churn of blossoming love, that might have transformed this above ordinary film, into a spectacular one. It might seem that I’m quibbling over a minor matter, and being awfully picky. After all, in this age of “Golmaal” and “Golmaal returns” how does a little lack of finesse matter in an otherwise wholesome product ?

The film has lots of plot-holes, and requires you to wear your Bollywood-colored glasses, to overlook them. Me, I overlook them because of Suri – such a likeable character is he ! So, yes, this is very watchable film featuring a great beginning, a crowd-pleaser of an ending, and a mediocre middle. Kid-wise this is a clean film, although suited to older kids, because of the relatively slow pace of the film, and the forays into the pseudo-tragic.

Posted in 2009, bollywood, dance, drama, family-friendly, rating-G, recommended | 9 Comments

Review : Hello

Posted on December 9, 2008 by amodini

Rating : Poor (2.5/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2008
Running time : 2 hours 17 minutes
Director : Atul Agnihotri
Cast : Sharman Joshi, Eesha Koppikar, Sohail Khan, Gul Panag, Amrita Arora, Dalip Tahil
Kid rating : PG-13

HELLO : WRONG NUMBER, ANYONE ?

“Hello” is said to be based on Chetan Bhagat’s bestseller “One night at the call center”. And if this is a fair adaptation of the book, I’m not sure I want to read it. The characters in the film are a little juvenile, much too clichéd, and lack depth. I haven’t read the book, but have heard that the charcaters are better sketched out in the book. In the film however they get “shallow-ized” and made palatable for a light, fluffy, doesn’t-mean-too-much desi film with a too-pat ending.

OK, the film is basically about a bunch of call-center employees, with a myriad of problems. There’s Shyam (Sharman) who’s in love with Priyanka (Gul). Priyanka is also in love with him, but in the face of parental pressure and differences with Shyam (whom her mother doesn’t approve of) has consented to a marriage with an NRI “boy”.There’s Radhika (Amrita Arora), stuck with mean in-laws, while the husband is perpetually out of town and up to no good. And there’s Isha (Koppikar), who in her race to become a model, is losing her integrity. There’s also Vroom (Sohail), a type A personality in love with Isha. Rounding off the bunch is the lone oldie “Military Uncle” (Sharad Saxena), who’s US-settled son is apparently a heartless wretch. Dalip Tahil plays their wanna-be American boss. The resolution to all their problems, comes via a single phone call, from God.

First off, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif have only guest appearances and the stars of the film are the above insipid bunch (save Sharman). Secondly, the much-touted humor (a funny move, you say ?) is quite absent. Thirdly, the direction, the screenplay and the pace of the film are abysmal. Note that I’m not in awe of the (weak) story or the (juvenile) dialogues either. The characters are card-boardish, and the director is too busy too create a “frothy” film to care.

The film takes quite a few pot-shots at the Americans, equating a 35 year old American’s intelligence to a 10 year old Indian‘s. Yes there are dumb Americans, but the director should remember that stupidity is not the sole domain of the Americans; he himself, doesn’t appear to be the sharpest tool in the shed.

Hello appears to be the work of an amateur. It has zero finesse (the love-making scene between Gul and Sharma seemed C-grade), very little depth, and very little to care about. It’s uninteresting and quite a mess.

Kid-wise – this does have some mature content, and might only be OK for older kids.

Posted in 2009, bollywood, rating-PG13 | 2 Comments

Review : Sorry Bhai

Posted on December 1, 2008 by amodini

Rating : Good (4.2/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2008
Running time : 2 hour 10 minutes
Director : Onir
Cast : Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani, Sanjay Suri, Sharman Joshi, Chitrangada Singh
Kid rating : PG-13

SORRY BHAI : ONE FAMILY’s EMOTIONAL DRAMA !

You know how first impressions are – I see the title, and it’s “Sorry Bhai” and I’m thinking witheringly – doesn’t it have a tagline ? It doesn’t because it isn’t another one of those wanna-be-deeper films. But you could be mistaken, “Sorry Bhai” for a name sounds very much the same genre as “Partner” or “Golmaal returns”. Thankfully, it’s neither another “Partner” nor another “Welcome” – “Sorry Bhai” is actually a pretty decent drama.

And why not ? It is directed by Onir, of “My brother Nikhil” fame, after all. As in that film, Onir manages to make this a human story, it is about people like us, with families like we have. And what I especially liked in “SB” is it’s natural-ness, it’s light and frothy and tumultuous and witty like people often are. The humor is subtle and nicely woven into the real-sounding dialogues.

SB is a story of two brothers and the one woman they both love. Also it is a story of the family unit – the two brothers and their parents (Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani) who are affected by all this love-lorn drama in their midst. Shabana Azmi is, as always, magnificent as the pouting matriarch. Boman Irani is her equal though, all glinting eyes and sly humor, in depicting the loving father to his two sons. However, the actor who really steals the limelight here is Sharman Joshi, masterfully under-playing Siddharth, a jazz-loving physicist, attracted to his brother’s fiancee. Suri plays the elder brother Harsh, engaged to Aliya (Chitrangada Singh). While Suri and Singh also do well, I didn’t find their roles as well fleshed out as the others.

This is a lovely film. It got me chuckling at all the family jokes, the horsing around and the good-natured banter. It also got me all weepy and anguished at the dilemma the brothers face. Onir handles all the emotion very well – whether it’s the light jabs between the family members, or the heavy tension after the “revelation”. There is no filmi rona-dhona here, it’s all pretty realistically done. I genuinely felt for these guys, and cared about how it would end. There is one scene in particular, which I found very moving, and in it Irani (the father) is exhorting his son (Sharman) to break the Maa ki kasam oath which his Mom has given him, and go marry the woman he loves. Sharman, broken and teary-eyed lying on the bed, afraid that harm will befall his Mom should he not keep his promise to her, murmurs “I can’t take that chance”. And you can see how very much he wants to take his father’s advice, but won’t.

SB has a good screenplay, deft direction, an outstanding cast and features a pleasant sound-track. The film captures very nicely the ties that bind; how it is that we torture the very people we love, use our love as ransom, as power over our own people. And how after all, love heals. Highly recommended.

The film is fairly clean, but has a few love-making scenes which earns it a PG-13 rating. If you liked it, you might also like :
– My brother Nikhil
– Ahista Ahista
–Tera mera saath rahe

Posted in 2008, bollywood, drama, rating-PG13, recommended | 4 Comments

Review : Oye Lucky Lucky Oye

Posted on November 29, 2008 by amodini

Rating : Above Average (3.2/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2008
Running time : 2 hour 15 minutes
Director : Dibakar Banerjee
Cast : Abhay Deol, Neetu Chandra, Paresh Rawal, Archana Puransingh, Manu Rishi, Anurag Arora
Kid rating : PG

OYE LUCKY LUCKY OYE : GREAT DETAIL, LITTLE STORY !

After reading Navdeep Singh’s early review of “OLLO” at PFC, I wanted to see this film the moment it was released here. After all, director Dibakar Banerjee directed the impeccable drama/comedy “Khosla ka Ghosla”, and Navdeep Singh directed that gorgeous foray into desi noir “Manorama six feet under”. They both couldn’t be wrong, could they ?

After watching the 2 hour long OLLO, at the earliest possible time, I have to say that they aren’t wrong, but they aren’t very right either. Of course I went in to the film, buoyed by thoughts of “Khosla ka Ghosla”. Of course I went in to the film relishing the thought of another well-made movie, from a director who knew what he was doing. And while it did turn out to be a well-made film, with exquisite attention to details, and wonderful character development, it definitely did not give me my money’s worth.

Why, oh why, does this film not succeed, you might well ask ? Here’s the short answer – there is no plot. At heart, I’m an old-fashioned girl. I like my films smart and sassy and with a “hook”. The film must have a story, and the story must have a “problem”, i.e.; the hook. The film must hold your attention, and progress(which it does) and RAMP UP (it does not).

OLLO as the title suggests is the story of Lucky, or Lovinder Singh Lucky, a Sardar born in dear old Delhi. And not the swanky side either, this is the Delhi of rooftops studded with TV antennas, open courtyards, and narrow galis. For one familiar with the city, or of the city born, this rendering of much-loved Delhi, warms the cockles of one’s heart. Young Lucky (played marvellously by Manjot Singh) is a the son of a philandering father who’s brought his mistress (whom everyone euphemistically refers to as Auntyji) home to live alongside his wife. Beaten by his father, Lucky is a kid with a false swagger in his step, and a sly word on his lips.

Lucky develops a penchant for trickery, because he wants the finer things in his life, fast. His small-time cons stay with him throught his growing years, only getting honed with time. As a young man, Lucky is an audacious thief, stealing because he can, and because it’s his one-way ticket to every material thing he might covet. His life goes from one small-time heist to another, selling and pawning stolen goods, until there’s only one possible way this could all end . . .

Abhay Deol really does pick off-beat films; from his “Socha na tha” to the very recent “Manorama 6 feet under”, the roles he plays are not the standard Hindi film hero roles at all. As Lucky, Abhay does an excellent job, portraying the “good-natured thief” to the hilt. He holds his own against actor Paresh Rawal. Rawal plays three un-connected roles, and was fault-less in each of them; the only problem I saw lay with his accent, which did not appear to be Punjabi at all (dubbing might have given him more authenticity).

Manu Rishi plays Lucky’s best friend Bangali, and Anurag Arora, with his very true Punjabi/Haryanvi lilt is a Special Branch Officer, in pursuit of Lucky. Neetu Chandra, as Lucky’s lady love, is another excellent actress. Archana Puransingh, played a shrewish Punjabi house-wife, with all the typically Delhi-ite oily, overt posturing. Overall, the film featured an excellent cast.

It is obvious that Banerjee has taken pains with his characters. From the middle-class Dolly (Richa Chaddha), who realises that she is not English-speaking “gentry”, to the apparently gentrified Mrs. Handa (PuranSingh), each role is carefully delineated. The screen-play is solid and dialogues apt. Banerjee makes sly digs at Delhi and it’s class-consciousness as only one familiar with the city and it’s culture can.

This film savors nostalgia. It features old melodies, goes quite retro in the begining with the titles, and makes quite a few references to that charismatic 80s icon, Vinod Khanna. With it’s well-drawn characters you can’t help feeling for, and it’s very charming Delhi, Punjabi (you can call it what you want) feel, this film feels like a well-worn and much-loved garment; you cling to it because it reminds you of a city and a people you might have once known. The only problem here is that this garment is thread-bare.

If you liked this film, you might also like :
– Bunty aur Babli
– Ek chaalis ki last local
– Dil pe mat le yaar

Posted in 2008, bollywood, drama, rating-PG, watchable | 3 Comments

Review : Dostana

Posted on November 23, 2008 by amodini

Rating : Above Average (3.6/5)
Genre : Romance/Comedy
Year : 2008
Running time : 2 hour 25 minutes
Director : Tarun Mansukhani
Cast : Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bachhan, John Abraham, Kirron Kher, Boman Irani, Sushmita Bundela Mukherjee
Kid rating : PG 13

DOSTANA : A GAY FILM !

Recall the “Kantaben” episode in “Kal ho na ho”. Now concoct a whole film around it, and Voila ! You have “Dostana”, a film about two men pretending to be gay. And because it would be mightily inconvenient to situate such a story in good old, traditional India (some “patriotic” group or other “guardians” of our culture might take offence), the story is set in Miami. Also throw in a nicely proportioned, peppy lass and you now have a full-on Masala film !

The two men in question are Kunal (Abraham) and Sameer – or Sam (Bachchan). One’s a photographer and the other’s a nurse, and they both are inevitable skirt-chasers. Having their fill of women (women seem to fall all over themselves for these two) but lacking housing, both end up trying to rent rooms in an apartment belonging to single, Sindhi lady Neha Melwani (Chopra). However, Ms Melwani and her aunt (Sushmita Mukherjee) will have no men in the apartment, and Kunal and Sam then pretend to be a gay couple to gain admittance.

The three roomies then proceed to become best buddies, with the two men falling in love with Neha. She of course treats them as friends only, and falls in love with her boss Abhimanyu Singh (Deol). So there’s one girl, and three men who want her – and it takes the entire second half for one to win.

“Dostana” opens with a song, featuring some of the fittest bodies in Bollywood. There’s John Abraham, resplendent in bright yellow swim shorts. There’s Shilpa Shetty, she of the well-toned body and long, long legs. Abhishek is left (a little too) hirsute and clothed, which is how we like him. And there’s a bevy of bikini-clad beach beauties, vying for attention. Bright colors, blue skies, and the sea complete the slick, well-glamorized shot.

This opening sort of sets the tone of the film; it does not lack item numbers, or skimpy clothing, and it‘s about happening, hot young things sorting out their life and loves in a happening, hot, young world. Gay desis abound, and are amazingly, out of the closet. Desi folk are chic, work in non-engineering careers, and dress to kill. If you have it, you must flaunt it. Priyanka romps around in short shorts and bikini tops, and looks good doing it. And John Abraham, in one scene, wears only the bare essentials.

The men are into wine and women, but they also, this being Bollywood and all, possess hearts of gold. While I must give the film credit for even raising the notion of gay partnership as a possible relationship, for the desi public, I am also a little perturbed that when it suits it, the characters in this film seem to ooze what can only be described as homophobia. And while desi male sexuality is all out on display – Kunal and Sam sleep around and indulge in one night-stands (and they can still apparently morph into paragons of morality when confronted with true love), the desi woman, Neha, still remains prim, proper, and pristine (and asexual ?), unwilling to even share an apartment with a man.

This film is directed by Mansukhani, but has Karan Johar’s stamp all over it. It is thoroughly glam-med up, vibrant and slick, with well-choreographed numbers. Adequate direction, a shallow but entertaining script, and reasonable acting make this a mucho-masala film. The first half of the film is a breeze; funny, with lots of little well-timed gags. In the second half the film drags a bit, because of predictability – I knew exactly how it was going to end, and it isn’t that hard to guess. No real twists and turns here, except for the completely unexpected man-on-man kiss !

John and Abhishek, display real chemistry, playing off well against each other , and Priyanka does adequately. Kirron Kher hams it up as Sam’s typically Punjabi Mom, who has a hard time accepting her son’s alternative sexuality. Boman Irani is Neha’s out-and-about gay boss, and Bobby Deol, as the straight man in her life, is the third contender for Neha’s love.

“Dostana” is a decent watch. Yes, you do have to accept that in desi filmdom, there is only one kind of sexuality that is accepted, and it’s straight and male. The others (female, gay, lesbian etc. ) might exist but are never quite willingly acknowledged in the desi spectrum, although we might nod our heads and mumble soothing words, when asked, because we are oh-so-broadminded and believe in true love (wherever it might be found).

If you liked this film, you might also like :
– Kabhi alvida na kehna
– Namastey London

Posted in 2008, bollywood, comedy, rating-PG13, romance, watchable | 1 Comment

Review : Drona

Posted on November 18, 2008 by amodini

Rating : Below average (2.8/5)
Genre : Drama / Fantasy
Year : 2008
Running time : 2 hours 35 minutes
Director : Goldie Behl
Cast : Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bachhan, Jaya Bachchan, KayKay Menon
Kid rating : PG

DRONA : BORING AND TACKY

You know you watch all these foreign fantasy based films, built upon folklore and mythology, and you begin to wonder why there is no desi fantasy/folklore based film. You have whole generatons of people being bred on Amar Chitra Kathas, and if that isn’t material begging to be ripped off, I don’t know what is. Well, wonder no more people, because here comes Drona, or the Deva vs. Asura war in the modern world.

And just as they tell it in the comic book version,the Asuras are still serching for the elixir of Life, or Amrit. The Amrit is being guarded by a long line of “Protectors” or Dronas, the most recent of whom is Aditya. Born in England, and leading a very Harry Potter like life, with his mean aunt and cousin, Aditya (Abhishek) is quite unaware of who he is. Well, one day he does find out, courtesy villain Riz Raizada (KK Menon). And then to the rescue come the hidden minions who help Drona escape from his clutches. Yeah well, the film doesn’t quite end there, because the villain is kind of persistent . . .

Drona’s bodyguard is Sonia, a turbaned, and flowing-robed Priyanka Chopra driving a swanky yellow roadster. This bodyguard, although svelte and fit, has the typical Bollywoodian female’s histrionic traits, with a Babuji hangup; “My Babuji used to say this”, and “My Babuji used to say that”, until I wish the woman would just shut up and get on with the movie. Actually, that was the problem with the all the characters in the film – they all talked too much and did too little.

The story is told partly in flashback, and via animation, which was nicely done. Very Amar-Chitra-Katha-ish, but nice. Once you dig the background, you look forward to the new Drona and his exploits. Unfortunately there are none to talk about (much). Apart from being born Drona, I’m not sure what the hero actually does that shows why he is a hero. We don’t get a feel for who he is, how he thinks or what he feels – thus making it very hard to sympathize with him or give 2 hoots about the film.

As far as the casting goes, they could have done much better than junior B, and Ms. PoutyLips. Junior B can’t stop glowering since his Sarkar Raj days ; someone should tell him that glowering is not equivalent to acting, i.e.; you can’t replace one with the other. And Ms. PoutyLips didn’t have much to do, except to look pretty, and well, ummm . . . Pouty (and that‘s not really her fault – see her actually act in Fashion). One little shoulder injury, and all the fight goes out of the BodyGuard, leaving in her place the empty shell of the traditional desi woman kow-towing to her man. All hail Patriarchal Bollywood !

Jaya Bahaduri plays her dumpy old self (Wow – I feel strangely mean saying that – but she really is extremely cylindrical and depressed looking in this film) being you know, Wonder Boy’s Mom and all that, and everyone is kind of all in awe of him (I can’t tell why !).

KK Menon plays at being villain. This villain’s evil (yes we anticipated that), but he’s also kind of twisted, and eccentric, and crazy. Now I’m presuming that they wanted him to be scarily eccentric, but they don’t quite manage to pull that off, even though KK is such a fine actor. For one thing – his hair is kind of Tintin like – and I quite liked Tintin. Would you take someone with Tintin-like hair seriously ? No, I mean really ?

Jokes apart, this could really have been some film, and it isn’t. This thing had potential – an actual Dev-Asura war in this technological advanced world – just imagine what they could have done ! But no, director Goldie is an old stick-in-the-mud going back to the desi emotional rona-dhona and faux valor. The film has got some special effects which have been nicely done – like the scene in the desert. But the others stink ; it’s a little better than the Ramayan teleserial effects, but not by much. There are no exceptional fight scenes, no wonderful chases to pump up the thrill factor, and really no action. They talk, and they talk and then they talk some more. And they talk lofty too . If only they walked the walk, while they talked the talk.

This film is not paisa-vasool – not by a long shot. Overall the film suffers from poor production values (the sets looked tacky), a lustreless screenplay, and uninteresting, perpetually grimacing characters. I got terribly bored, waiting for them to shut up and get on with it. And I got tired of watching the actors ham it up, and spew out dialogues that just brimmed with stupidity and a lack of imagination.

Quite disappointing.

Posted in 2009, bollywood, drama, rating-PG | 2 Comments