Raavan

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 18th June, 2010
Time : 140 minutes
Director & Writer : Mani Ratnam; Music : A R Rahman
Starring : Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram, Ravi Kishen, Govinda, Nikhil Dwivedi, Priyamani
The lack of a coherent story, a weak script, wafer-thin characters and unexplained relationships are counter balanced by some of the most beautiful locales you’re likely to see within India, some stunning camera-work and an Aishwarya who looks better than anything she has in the past 3 years (and yes, I am hopelessly biased on the last aspect, so you’ve been warned) !




Abhishek is a guerrilla warrior, lives in jungles, amongst the tribals. He kidnaps the new SP (Vikram’s) wife, Aishwarya to settle some scores with him. He intends to kill her but instead becomes mesmerized by her. They travel from hideout to hideout, with Vikram in hot pursuit, aided by trusted lieutenant Nikhil Dwivedi and a forest tracker (Govinda). While Abhishek, has his two brothers, (the elder one is Ravi Kishen) and to assist him. Abhishek soon is openly in love with Aishwarya, besotted by her, unable to think of anything else, asking her point blank if she also feels the same way, questioning her about her husband. Aishwarya will soon have to make a choice, between this simple tribal leader and her policeman husband.



Where the film fails is in building either of the three central characters, giving them any depth, any life, any attributes that we can really identify them. Instead it chooses to give us really broad stereotypes and just leaves us with that. The whole Ramayan angle is also very ham handed, a bit forced. Abhishek’s character is not sufficiently Raavan-ish, the cop husband far from being Ram and even the side characters (Govinda being named ‘Sanjivani’ or the whole Abhishek’s sister being humiliated via the nose a la Suroopnakha), none of it worked



What works is the lush countryside, the amazing ruins, the fine mist / water that surrounds most of the film, the clouds that seem to float mid-air and mid-set and the rivers and waterfalls that seem to be be omnipresent throughout. The innovative camera angles & the play with light and shadow also add to the charm, for example in one of the opening sequences we seem to descend on a boat from up above, only to realise later that it was the viewpoint of an eagle and then moments later we go underwater to track the boats progress. Kudo’s to Santosh Sivan for this.



I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is the best Aishwarya has ever looked, but she sure looks lovely, sensuous, a woman worth chasing. Her acting was fine, but even I found issues with her voice – shreiky, screechy, not matching the sensuousness of her character / her face at all. Abhishek is good, a bit over the top, but maybe that was the character as well, the look, eccentricites, style of talking not really helping to endear him to the audience. Vikram is a bit too stiff, unable to look convincing as the vulnerable husband but coming across just fine as the ruthless cop. Nikhil Dwivedi, Govinda, Ravi Kishen do their bits well, Priyamani looks & does a good job as the sprightly sister.


Funnily enough, I found it amusing that most film-makers go for exotic loaclaes abroad and spend a packet while Mani Ratnam found the most stunning scenery in India itself. I think it’s the weight of expectation combined with a genuinely weak script (plus a farcical, unconvincing ending) that leaves you with an unfulfilled taste as you leave the hall. I would watch it at least once though, just for the visual spectacle, story be damned…

Rajneeti

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 4th June, 2010
Time : ~170 minutes
Director & Writer : Prakash Jha; Co-Writer : Anjum Rajaballi; Music : Shantanu Moitra, Pritam, Wayne Sharp, Aadesh Shrivastav
Starring : Ranbir Kapoor, Manoj Bajpai, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar, Nikhila Trikha

Weaving the stories of Mahabharat and Godfather together in a fast paced political thriller is a brilliant idea. Getting a high profile starcast together to essay the roles is a master stroke. The length, predictability and heaviness of subject matter are definitely issues. But some searing performances, most notably by Katrina Kaif and Manoj Bajpai, help overcome even the fact that at its core, there is no new message in the film. Its about politics…the grim, dirty, gory side of a power struggle between different factions.

So, lets get to know the contestants.
Faction one is led by Arjun Rampal, after his father’s death. Arjun is short tempered, urbane, feisty, prone to falling prey to some eye candy but inherently straightforward. He loves his younger brother, Ranbir, who’s busy with his PhD on Victorian poetry in USA and couldn’t care less about the politics at home. Both are guided by Nana Patekar, who’s unstintingly loyal to the family and happy to remain behind the scenes.

Faction two is led by Manoj Bajpai, after the unfortunate paralysis of his father, who until then was the leader of his party and of his family (and Arjun's dads elder brother). Manoj is single-minded in pursuit of power, very clear that he wants to rule, not let his uncle or his sons take over and determined to have his own way. He is joined by Ajay Devgn, the secret illegitimate elder brother of Arjun / Ranbir, an upcoming Dalit leader and strong arm man.


Katrina Kaif is the impulsive, spoilt daughter of one of the states wealthiest men and kingmaker, very much in love with Ranbir since childhood. However, Ranbir’s heart lies with Sarah Thomson, his girlfriend in USA.


The film is about the naked lust for power, the unquenchable thirst and love for occupying the seat of Chief Minister. All other emotions, grief, fairness, and even love, are sacrificed at the altar of politics.


Arjun Rampal was good, intense to watch, but at times slightly over the top. Ranbir delivers a controlled performance but, more due to his character’s fault than his acting, we’re not able to totally go along with his metamorphosis from nice, clean, apolitical man to scheming, conniving, killing machine. Ajay Devgn and Nana Patekar are both very good in slightly subdued roles. Nikhila Trikha, in the role of Arjun / Ranbir’s mom, is the weakest link, with a very insipid performance. But Katrina and Manoj are outstanding. Katrina also has to transform during the film. From being impetuous she has to become controlled. From being mistress of her own destiny, she has to bow to the wishes of others around her. And she does it all flawlessly, looking like a million bucks. And when she gives her first political speech, she does it with panache, making you root for her, as does the crowd. Manoj Bajpai is mesmerising, almost hypnotic, leaves no ambiguity about his character, plays him to a T, transforming into a person who’s lust for power is out of control.

Good photography, gritty & beautiful locales, panoramic crowd shots and reasonably tight editing works for the film. It does stretch the credibility though in quite a few places, is fairly predictable, there are quite a few threads left loose (the whole Dalit angle, the thoughts of Nana Patekar and why is he so loyal etc) and its definitely heavy, especially after the second half where it perhaps has a few turns, blasts and dead bodies too many. When you leave the hall, your head is heavy, there is no joy or exhilaration and its not the story but the performances and some of the characters that stay with you. Some of the key characters and plot lines weren’t developed enough – Ajay Devgn’s or even Arjun Rampal’s being cases in point.


It’s like tasting two familiar wines in known bottles but only they’re mixed together to create some new flavours and the glass in which its served is entirely new, adding to the entire taste and experience. And as with the wine, if you’re not careful, it could leave you slightly heavy-headed…

Iron Man 2

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 26th April, 2010
Time : 124 minutes
Director : Jon Favreau; Writer : Justin Theroux, Stan Lee (Marvel comics);
Starring : Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Jon Favreau, Don Cheadle, Samuel L Jackson
The kookiness of Robert Downey Jr and the sassiness of Scarlett Johannson, best exemplified by her black leather outfit, save this film from becoming robotic and regressive.

I haven’t seen Iron Man1, so for me the story starts afresh here. Its about Robert Downey Jr, billionaire, a man who’s invented these iron suits, that any man can step inside and become a superhero / war machine aka Iron Man. You can fly, fire guns, missiles, be impervious to bullets etc etc. He’s become a one many army who protects the country, putting people who previously supplied to the US Army, like Hammer Industries, almost out of business.


However, there are three issues in paradise. One, is that he has to wear this power source (don’t know why, guess it was explained in part1) and this is becoming toxic, bringing him closer to death. Second, the US Senate, instigated by the Hammer CEO, a wonderfully shallow performance by Sam Rockwell, is out to try and appropriate the suits on the grounds of safety. And third is that a brilliant disgraced Russian scientist, Mickey Rourke, who’s seeking revenge against Robert’s family, is out to get him.


The stunts in the beginning are quite exceptional. The Monaco Grand Prix sequence, in particular, is breathtaking for its imagination and execution. However, once the novelty had worn off, it got a bit repetitive towards the end, with grand finale actually not materializing / getting over in a jiffy. The grand battle between Robert and Rourke was actually a bit of let down after a pretty good build up.

The humour, Robert’s relationship with his uptight, newly crowned CEO, Gwyneth and his buddy Don Cheadle were good fun, as were his interactions with Scarlett, a woman he cant quite figure out. One sequence, where Scarlett and Jon Favreau enter a building and have to combat the security guards is also really good, both for its comic quality and slickness (a la Matrix) of action. Robert Downey seems to really have come into his own now, revelling in the freedom of roles like Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes, giving them a wonderful whackiness, a refreshing outlook in otherwise strait-jacketed linear movies.



This one is not going to stay with you but its enjoyable, its great fun for kids or those boys who still love their toys…

Badmaash Company

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 7th May, 2010
Time : 144 minutes
Director & Writer : Parmeet Sethi; Music : Pritam
Starring : Shahid Kapoor, Anushka, Meiyang Chang, Vir Das, Pawan Malhotra, Anupam Kher

A movie of two halves, the first being breezy and at times even likeable but the second becoming inexplicably sentimental and slow. Overall, when you left the hall you weren’t quite sure of what you saw and what to make of it

A tale of four friends, with Shahid being the brains of the group, the guy who came up with the big ideas which would get them rich quickly. His girlfriend Anushka, is the designated eye candy (does a decent job of it as well) while Meiyang and Vir are the designated sidekicks. Shahid doesn’t agree with his father’s philosophy of working diligently in one firm for 25 years and cannot wait to start his own business. He comes up with a great idea for his first venture, gets seed capital from his America based uncle (Pawan Malhotra) and he and his friends are off and running. When the idea runs its course, he decides to move to USA and they begin trying new ideas even there. Will they be successful, will they be able to stay together, will they still remain as single minded in pursuit of the same wealth are some of the questions / developments of the second half.


Its interesting as a premise, raises some pertinent questions which are relevant to the generation of today. But strangely it doesn’t connect and here I blame the character development. Its hard to understand how a character like Shahid changes, one moment walking out of his father’s house because of a difference in their philosophy towards life, the other craving his blessing. One day chasing wealth single-mindedly, the other craving respect (izzat ki roti). One day being amiable, breezy but the other becoming irritable, cranky when things go wrong. I wish all this had been explained more clearly, that we could’ve made the journey along with Shahid and felt the same way. But here we are informed about the trip rather than invited to share the ride.


The first idea that Shahid comes up with is truly great, everything seems very realistic, no one gets hurt. However, the other ones, in USA, are not so clean, here there is an element of dishonesty, they swindle people. And there are other things which happen which aren’t so real. The language, clothes and behaviour of the four doesn’t match the era they’re shown to be living in. There are issues raised like the ‘God Complex’ which are just lightly brought up, not delved into in any detail (for a more interesting film touching on this topic watch Malice). Anushka’s & Shahid’s relationship is also not truly explained. The one character who remains consistent is Vir, so if anyone connects, its him.


I found it interesting that YRF made this film after Rocket Singh. Both touched upon pretty relevant themes for today’s youth, both encourage entrepreneurs, self-made destiny, friendship etc and are far removed from some of the recent fluffy films from the same stable. However, I don’t think in this one they got the balance between fun and work right. Which, by the way, is another interesting potential topic for a film…

Hum Tum Aur Ghost

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 26th March, 2010
Time : 128 minutes
Director & Writer : Kabeer Kaushik; Music : Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy
Starring : Arshad Warsi, Dia Mirza, Sandhya Mridul, Boman Irani, Shernaz Patel, Zehra Naqvi, Javed Sheikh
An interesting plot line, similar to Ghost Town / Sixth Sense, of a man who see’s ghosts and decides to help them fulfil their unfinished tasks, is dialled up with full Bollywood-style drama, tears and emotion, to leave you feeling very unsure about the film we see.

Arshad Warsi, fashion photographer is doing well in his job and is happily ‘engaged’ to Dia Mirza, despite her father’s objections. All is well in paradise except for one tiny problem. When alone, he can hear voices. In his house. On the street. Everywhere. Forcing him to sleep on railway or street benches and hit the bottle really hard. Soon the ghosts, led by Boman Irani, get more forward and appear in front of him, imploring him to do their unfinished tasks and put them out of their limbo existence. Arshad’s assistant, Sandhya Mridul, believes him and actually helps him in his tasks. Dia and his psychiatrist, Shernaz Patel, firmly believe there is an issue with the upstairs wiring.


It should be very easy to convince dis-believers that you can see ghosts. So there is an obvious flaw in the film as Arshad never resorts to that. Keeping that aside, the film may have worked if they’d kept it light and easy (a la Ghost Town). With the kind of tasks he gets, all dripping with soppiness, mushiness, it almost shoots itself in the foot. Even the whole romantic track, between Dia and Arshad, apart from repeated ‘I love you’s’, there is never any conversation between them, its never explained why. There are still some good comic moments (the bank scene stood out). But far and few in between. Which, like the ghosts, leaves us kind of in the middle of nowhere.

Dia looks lovely in the film, don’t think I’ve ever seen her look better. Boman is extremely polished. Arshad perhaps got his look wrong a bit, slightly ruffian-ish, complete with a stubble and earrings. Didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the characters.



Kabeer Kaushik, after the magnificient Sehar and an ordinary Chamku, disappoints. The film is shot in London (don’t understand why), has an unusual storyline, but not enough conviction behind it to stick single-mindedly to it.

Kites

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 21st May, 2010
Time : 130 minutes
Director & Co-writer : Anurag Basu; Writers : Robin Bhatt, Akarsh Khurana, Rakesh Roshan; Music : Rajesh Roshan
Starring : Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori, Kangana Ranaut, Nick Brown, Kabir Bedi, Yuri Suri
Some lovely scenery, an even more lovely Barbara Mori (dressed in appropriate clothing throughout the film) and a good looking hero cannot mask an extremely weak, formulaic & flawed storyline that fails to sustain your interest throughout the film


Hrithik is a dance teacher in Vegas. Chasing money, riches. Even does green card marriages with female immigrants to make an extra buck. Has the good fortune to have an extremely rich heiress, Kangana, fall head over heels for him. And the family accepts him unconditionally as well. All is smooth till Kangana’s brash and brutal brother arrives on the scene, with his fiancée, Barbara Mori. And she & Hrithik cant keep their eyes of each other. They run away with the family hot on their heels, and, well, what follows is too predictable to elaborate.



I'd always been told that love is blind. Didnt know it was foolish as well. Hrithik / Barbara, even if they wanted to elope, did everything pretty much the worst way possible, almost wilfully putting themselves and their well wishers in harms way. The editing didnt work as well, I found the flashbacks / intercut with reality distracting. What does work is the cinematography, with some lovely landscapes, beautiful parts of Mexico / USA hitherto unseen in Indian cinema (for whom USA has pretty much meant New York and autumn leaves).


Why with all the resources at their disposal we couldn’t get a better story really baffles me. If you watch the promo’s and the song videos, you’ve literally seen all the fun moments between the lead pair. Why, when you have a lead pair with good chemistry, you’re not showing them having fun, interacting, sparking off each other is again beyond me. Instead we get to see them trapped in one incredible situation after another, some silly stunts, some blown up cars, a raging, vengeful brother who’s almost psychotic. And that, pretty much, is that….




There was a very apt ad before the film, which showed classic sequences like the ‘dhal gaya din, ho gayi raat’ song and the ‘maine pyaar kiya’ pigeon sequence and then asks us to abandon the age old formulae and go for something new, like Vivel soap. Wish the makers of Kites had done that as well, in terms of the story they used…

The Hurt Locker

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : June, 2009
Time : 131 minutes
Director : Kathryn Bigelow; Writer : Mark Boal;
Starring : Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, Christopher Sayegh
Its tense, edge of the seat stuff as we follow the adventures of a bomb disposal squad in Iraq. Well etched characters and almost surreal situations with any Iraqi, even the most innocuous ones being potential villains, make sure the film is a good cinematic experience. But I’m not quite sure what the point of it was…hence the low rating…


We follow a particular disposal squad, comprising 3 people, who’re part of the Bravo battalion and more importantly they have a 100 odd days to go till their rotation ie the date they will be sent back home. The master blaster or the one who has to go and actually defuse the bomb is killed in the first mission that we watch. His replacement, James, is as different to him as is possible. Sanborn, who’s African-American and very efficient at what he does and Eldridge, who is tortured by thoughts of death, are the other two members.
Together they face various situations like having to defuse a dilapidated car, loaded with explosives, parked in front of an office or facing deadly sniper fire in the middle of the desert or encountering an abandoned building which is used to ‘manufacture’ body bombs. Will they make it to their rotation date ? Will their vastly different personalities be able to work together ? These seem to be the overall plot points in the film.


James is an adrenalin rush seeking redneck. He doesn’t follow protocol, prefers to work using his hands than relying on the robot, on occasion will take off his body armor suit while defusing a bomb (if I die, I want to die comfortable) or his headphones (especially if disagreeing with whats being said to him). He thinks nothing of attempting to find the people who set off a bomb by chasing them into the night or trying to be an amateur detective while chasing Beckham (a cute little sub-plot). In short, he’s nothing like his predecessor or Sanborn, who were / are very organized and play by the rules. Their third member, Eldridge, is struggling to cope with the war, is seeking medical / psychiatric help and is easily unnerved by the kind of situations he encounters. James is the most chilled out of the three. He doesn’t think too much about death, about what he does. He is by no means dumb but just not the type to think beyond what he does or what his gut tells him to do.


The film has some key messages. 1. All war is bad. 2. The war in Iraq, against local insurgents, was a particularly bad one. 3. Americans are not regarded as saviours of Iraq by the Iraqi’s but hated by them (unlike what CNN wants us to believe). 4. Maybe, just maybe, if you want to survive the war without any mental scars, you have to be an adrenalin rush seeking junkie like James.
Since the first three messages were already known, didn’t need a film to tell me those, the only one message relevant to this film is the fourth one. And I’m not sure I agree with that. Am not sure if salvation lies in putting yourself in danger at every given opportunity. So in a nutshell, I didn’t quite see the point of the film but enjoyed watching it…

Housefull

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 30th April, 2010
Time : 155 minutes
Directors & Co-Writer : Sajid Khan; Writers : Milap Zhaveri, Vibha Singh; Music : Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Starring : Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Boman Irani, Lilette Dubey, Jiah Khan, Chunkey Pandey, Randhir Kapoor, Malika Arora Khan
It’s a fine line between a goofy comedy and mindless slapstick degenerating into a farce. To my profound regret, I found this film more the latter than the former.


Akshay is a loser. He’s born unlucky and brings bad luck to all around him (including his girlfriend, Malaika who leaves him for the same reason). The only person who still tolerates him is his childhood friend, Ritesh, who works in a casino in London and is married to a co-employee, Lara Datta. Akshay’s luck seems to have turned when he marries the rich casino owner’s daughter, Jiah. But then enter Deepika Padukone, Arjun Rampal, Boman Irani to play even more gags and set things up for a grand finale.

Logic is happily ignored through the film but then you walk into the hall with that expectation. I didnt laugh loudly at all throughout but can admit to being in the minority in the audience. I found most of the jokes either slapstick or too contrived or really clichéd, oft-repeated situations. A husband snuggling into his bed and finding a man instead of his woman, an elder seeing two men in compromising situations and jumping to the assumption they’re gay, a web of lies where two friends have to pretend to be with each others girlfriends / spouses…these have all been seen before and have been done nearly to death. There is a serious lack of new thought in the film, with rehashing old gags being the name of the game.


What it relies on to pull it through though is sheer star power. The combined looks of Deepika and Lara (along with small cameo’s by Jiah and Malaika) doing enough on the glamour quotient, especially thanks to the ultra skimpy clothing donned by all of the above.
And on the male side as well, we have Akshay, Riteish and Arjun, all of whom also find plenty of opportunity to dress up as well as parade topless. Boman, Lilette were wasted in roles which didn’t use any of their acting talents but reduced them to loud caricatures.



Sajid begins the film by paying homage to the likes of Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra and Hrishikesh Mukherjee but then delivers a film that does justice to neither. This may do well commercially but is loud, slapstick and mindless at best and insipid, clichéd and distinctly unfunny at worst. Watch at your own peril.