Step Up 3D

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 3rd September, 2010
Time : 107 minutes
Director : John Chu; Writer: Amy Andelson, Emily Meyer; Music : Bear McCreary
Starring : Rick Malambri, Adam Sevani, Sharni Vinson, Alyson Stoner, Keith Stallworth, Joe Slaughter
If this wasn’t in 3D, would probably be advising you to stay away. Very weak & predictable story, mostly wooden characters, hammy, school play-ish acting, clichéd dialogue is compensated for by some good moments, great choreography and some mind blowing dance moves which become pure dynamite in 3D.


The plot is very very weak, reminiscent of almost every film in this genre made previously. Plot elements include a ‘good’ guy (Rick) who scouts talent and runs a dance school / practice arena, a must win (else Rick loses his house & everything) dance competition (the World Jam), a precocious new talent (Adam) who has to choose between engineering and dance, an evil ex-best friend now turned enemy (Joe), an insider who seems to be leaking information and a turncoat, unsympathetic bank managers and the obligatory love interest (Sharni). Pretty obvious how things pan out ?


There are a few moments which really stand out. A tango (quite unexpected amongst all the hip hop). A lovely street dance between the 2nd lead pair of Adam and Alyson, again set to an unexpected music track. A beautiful moment on a vent between the main leads, truly lovely to watch (especially the bubbles, and I’m definitely going to try this out). And some truly kickass choreographed set pieces, both the qualifying rounds (yes, the world championship only requires 2 rounds before the finals) and a fitting fantastic finale…


The good thing here is that some of the moves are made specifically for 3D, its not just a technological afterthought but clearly part of the original thought process. Water, bubbles, hand movements, some jumps, confetti, light effects all combine nicely with the 3D to create a visual feast. And some of the sets were truly terrific, very artistic.


So, a film that is very clear what its about (and what its not). Almost juvenile in parts, yet manages to excite. A good, fun, one time watch.

Dabangg

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 10th September, 2010
Time : 129 minutes
Director, Co-writer : Abhinav Kashyap; Co-writer: Dilip Shukla; Music : Sajid-Wajid
Starring : Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonu Sood, Arbaaz Khan, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Om Puri, Mahesh Manjrekar, Mahie Gill, Tinnu Anand

‘Tu atom bomb hui, darling mere liye’

This film is an ode to the old-fashioned, over the top entertainer. The one man army, who cant be stopped by either a hail of bullets or a stab to the stomach. The avenging ‘Incredible Hulk’ like superhero. And of course, his lady love. Sonakshi Sinha receiving the perfect launch pad.


The story line is simplicity itself. Salman is the stepson of Vinod Khanna, yearns for his Dad’s love & approval but doesn’t get it, all of it going towards his real son, Arbaaz Khan. When Salman becomes a cop, he faces a couple of battles. First with notorious youth leader and chief villain, Sonu Sood. And the other within his family. Oh, and BTW, Salman also falls in love with Sonakshi and conducts an hilarious courtship with her…


There is nothing new in the storyline, nothing we haven’t already seen. But its done with a flair, panache and sense of humour that entertains and delights. And no one but Salman could’ve carried it off. His simple dance steps are noteworthy – the one with the buckle, the one with the hand in ‘humka peeni hai’, the swimming step in the same song, his ‘mad’ dance to the munni song. His style will spawn a thousand imitations. The sunglasses at the back of the collar, the stiff walk, the jokes, his own reaction to his own jokes. And the little thing he has going whenever a certain ringtone plays in a certain villains pocket. The ‘mote wale is taraf, patle wale is taraf , aur fit wale mere peeche’. The neon hearts reflection in the sunglasses. Fantastic.



Sonakshi looks great and does a good job of the role assigned to her. Her debut also spells hopefully, a return of the voluptuous heroines, the heaving bosom’s & sizzling sarees. And an end to the size zero skimpily clad bimbette’s. Here’s looking at you, kid.


Everyone in the character cast does their job well (Dimple, perhaps, felt a little out of place). The background score, like that of a western’s, is exhilarating. And each song is a spectacle, worth waiting for. None more so than Munni with her ‘Shilpa sa figure and Bebo si ada’.


If I’m to carp, I’ll find fault with the ending (interesting, slightly long drawn, perhaps needed a small twist?). But I’m not going to.


I heard the sound of claps, whistles and cheering after a long time in a multiplex. Reminded me of the days of single screen theatres when this was normal. I’m probably going to watch it again in one, a late show this time for full on audience effect. A friend of mine (Amitabh) used to complain that modern Hindi film heroes are too soft, that when they hit someone he only falls a foot away while the older heroes used to make them fly 10-15 feet, break walls etc. Amitabh, you’ll be rooting for Salman here. Would suggest you make your bookings too…

Oh and one more thing…this one deserves to be watched on the big screen…and if anyone dares to do otherwise…to hum aap main itne chhed karenge ki confuse ho jaoge ki saans kahan se lein aur @##% kahan se….

We Are Family

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 2nd September, 2010
Time : 115 minutes
Director, Co-writer : Siddharth Malhotra; Co-Writer : Karan Johar (Remake of Step Mom); Music : Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy
Starring : Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Nominath Ginsberg, Aachal Munjal, Diya Sonecha
The film is created / constructed with the sole objective to lubricate your eyes & give your tear glands a thorough work out. Also, since I’ve not seen Stepmom, I can only comment on this film, not on how good or bad it is as a remake.


Arjun Rampal has divorced Kajol three years ago. She lives separately with their three kids (eldest daughter is 13, son is 7-8 or thereabouts and youngest daughter is about 5). Arjun and Kajol seem amicable enough about this relationship, he seems to have free visitation rights, takes kids home for the weekend, attends b’day parties, school functions etc. Arjun now dates / lives in with Kareena and decides its high time she became friendly with the kids. Kareena makes an honest effort but it doesn’t seem to be really working, leading to fights between Arjun, Kajol and Kareena. Will they ever be able to make this work ?


The first half is reasonably frothy. Kareena’s sometimes misplaced efforts are fun to watch as is the kids reaction to them. The rare moments of fun between Kajol / Arjun and the kids also occur around here. The scenery is lovely, the beauty of Australia coming through.


The issues, though are many. We don’t really understand Arjun’s character. What does he think of Kajol ? Or Kareena ? How important are either to his life ? Cause he seems to flit from one to another reasonably randomly. We don’t have any dialogue where Kajol and Arjun really communicate without sinking into platitudes or the routine ‘where are you’ kind of phone calls. Actually, thinking about it, most of the good dialogues are already revealed via the promo’s and apart from the tear-jerker stuff, there’s not much else to discover in the film.


The kids acted well but were given horrible characters to play. They were made to behave like kids of yore, too innocent, too sweet, too clingy, almost like the kids portrayed 15 years ago in Hindi films. Not at all like the street smart kids of today who’re sometimes even more aware than the parents of whats going on around them. Arjun, throughout the film, seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, perpetually frowning. Kajol is fine, her eyes expressive as always. I found Kareena quite vivacious, her expressions spot on and mannerisms great in a reasonably tough character role. She brought some much needed life into the film.

Someone told me that the film brought to life the worst nightmare that she as a woman could think of. For most guys as well, the film will be their worst nightmare, but for entirely different reasons.

Lafangey Parindey

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 20th August, 2010
Time : 127 minutes
Director : Pradeep Sarkar; Writer : Gopi Puthran; Music : R Anandh
Starring : Neil Nitin Mukesh, Deepika Padukone, Piyush Mishra, Manish Chaudhary, Viraj Adhav, Namit Das, Vinay Sharma, Palomi, Amey Pandya
Welcome to a Yash Raj film without any foreign location, no lip synch songs, no Punjabi khet. But it is a love story. And very predictable, right from frame one you know how its going to turn out. A very good performance from Neil Nitin, though, and some good light hearted tapori moments make sure its not totally boring.



Deepika loves dance-skating and considers it her passport out of the small nukkad she inhabits. Nitin, a co-inhabitant and street fighter, is responsible for making her blind. But keeps it a secret. He along with his friends now work towards trying to make her dream come true. After several paid promo’s of India’s Got Talent, will they find true love ? Will Deepika realise her dream ?



I found the Mumbaiyya bhasha disconcerting at first but jokes like “aajkal respect ki koi valuech hi nahin hai” or ‘Bhai, aapka parcel’ (referring to Deepika) settled me in. The locales are well depicted, the grit and grime and the claustrophobic closeness coming through nicely. Neil was a revelation, despite a role not involving too many words, he managed to convey emotions well. The training sequences of Deepika and Neil Nitin are fun, songs are good (keep the mood light and have a nice rhythm to them), Deepika does a good job, the friends are credible.



But the overall plot isn’t. Everything is a bit too pat. The fight scenes get repetitive. Its implausible (the recovery from the accident, the whole talent show, esp at the end) and there are also some unnecessary sub-plots (Anna’s) or characters (Deepika’s brother).


Its light and fluffy, mildly entertaining but there is nothing here that’s going to stay with you. Apart from some nice tunes (special mention of Man Lafanga here), perhaps…

Peepli [Live]

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 13th August, 2010
Time : 104 minutes
Director & Writer : Anusha Rizvi; Music : Indian Ocean, Bhadwai Musicians, Mathais Duplessy
Starring : Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghuvir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa, Malaika Shenoy, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Farukh Jaffar, Sitaram Panchal, Naseeruddin Shah, Jugal Kishore

Near every city lies a village where life couldn’t be more different to what we city slickers are accustomed to. Farmer suicides, an unchanging harsh life, forgotten people, poverty, lack of infrastructure, corrupt cops, all powerful officials and politicians, an agrarian economy, casteist vote banks. Peepli [Live] is a film that re-introduces us to that world once again, very simply, without too much sermonizing and with a great deal of humour


Natha (Omkar) and Budhia (Raghuvir) are two brothers who’s ancestral agricultural land is about to be auctioned off by the nationalised bank due to their defaulting on a loan. They beg the local politician cum don (Sitaram) to save them but he & his henchman jokingly suggest that they commit suicide wherein the govt would give them compensation of Rs one lac. Budhia then tricks his simpleton brother to agree to the suicide unleashing a storm of protest. First from Natha’s feisty wife, Dhaniya (Shalini) and their bed-ridden foul mouthed mother, Amma (Farukh) and then later, when the story breaks, thanks to a local journalist Rakesh (Nawaz), from everyone and anyone. Local politicians, cops, media, the agricultural minister (Naseeruddin Shah), the bureaucracy, the chief minister, all find themselves drawn into the Natha story. But no one seems to care about the real issues, the plight of farmers in general. Will Natha’s threat of suicide lead to any real change ? Will he actually commit suicide or not ?


What charms you straight away is the simplicity of the storyline and narration. The earthy humour, the rustic feel, the genuineness of the characters, the songs and the lovely soundtrack, the choicest abuses, the great performances. And of course, the sheer absurdity of it all. The gift of a handpump, with no help for installation. The gift of a TV with erratic electricity in the village.


Moments that stay with you include Dhania’s aggressiveness and her running dialogue with her daughter in law, the ping pong battle between the CM and the Agriculture Minister, the images of the sweaty, wiry frame of the character named Hori, the sheer number of schemes that different govts have introduced and the little benefit that they have actually brought about. And the last few frames, which seem to tell a story by themselves.




However in the second half, there is an element of fatigue which sets in. The spectacle of 24*7 news coverage of Natha does begin to lose its charm, there is a lack of lack of newness in the second half, which just delivers more of the same as the first. In fact, while the film is interesting, the tv promo’s made the film fairly predictable



I think the film is a must watch if only to shame us city folk to stop complaining about trivial issues and pay heed to the trauma that afflicts most of our brethren in the villages. That it entertains us as well for most of the film can be considered a fitting bonus...

Despicable Me

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 6th August, 2010
Time : 95 minutes
Director : Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud; Writer : Sergio Pablos, Ken Daurio, Cinco Paul; Music : Heitor Periera, Pharrell Williams
Starring : (Voices of) : Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher

Mr Gru wants to be known as the greatest criminal in the world. So when someone steals the pyramid of Giza, its clear that stealing the moon is the only fitting riposte. He, his army of minions (cute, cuddly creatures) and the scientist, Dr Nefario, begin planning their heist. However, when the Bank of Evil (formerly known as Lehman Brothers), which normally funds their heists, shows a predilection towards younger, hungrier clients like the Vector, it unleashes an unhealthy competition between the two.



Into this otherwise straightforward plot also enter Mr Gru’s very very hard to please mom and three orphan girls (who seem to be the only ones who can get into Vectors house with ease). So, suddenly Gru, who enjoyed bursting balloons to make kids cry, is forced to babysit, tell bedtime stories etc. Will he manage to steal the moon ? More importantly, will he make it in time for the girls dance recital of Swan Lake ?



Wonderfully weird, yet engaging and quite funny in parts, the film is not really a conventional animated film. Including the last one I watched (How to Train Your Dragon) there seems to be a trend towards whacky plots and even whackier titles - a far cry from the days of Pocahontas or Mulan.



Several interesting touches include Mr Gru’s slightly Arabic accent, his desperate need to get his Mom’s approval, the minions who always seem to be upto something or the other (even when given as mundane a task as going to the supermarket) and the three girls who pretty quickly get the hang of being able to get Gru to do their bidding.



Its highly probable that the creators were on some sort of intoxicant while dreaming this one up. But if that’s the case, I wouldn’t mind something of what they were on….

Aisha

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 6th August, 2010
Time : 126 minutes
Director : Rajshree Ojha; Writer : Devika Bhagat (inspired by Jane Austen's 'Emma'); Music : Amit Trivedi
Starring : Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Ira Dubey, Amrita Puri, Cyrus Sahukar, Anooradha Patel, Yuri, Lisa Haydon, Arunodhan Singh, Anand Tiwari, MK Raina
Lets be clear that style is more important than substance in this film. Its almost a paid promo for Sonam and the brands she endorses.. L’Oreal / Dior / Elle / Louis Vuitton getting as much footage as some of the characters. What keeps it together are some good punch lines and very good performances from Abhay Deol (who basically carries the film on his shoulders), Ira Dubey (plays her part to perfection) and Amrita Puri (who puts heart into the girl from Bahadurgarh).



So Aisha (Sonam) is full of herself. She’s into match making, shopping, wedding planning, animal shelters, river rafting, partying…pretty much aimless and happy to spend Dad’s money as she zips around in her yellow VW Beetle. Her best friend is Pinky (Ira Dubey), also a bit of an airhead, happy to be Aisha’s partner in crime. Aisha now acquires a new project. She is determined to pair up Shefali (Amrita Puri, gawky, plaited girl from Bahadurgarh who continuously makes various faux pas’ and is desperate to get married) with one of their circle, Randhir Gambhir (Cyrus Sahukar, heir to a mithai shop empire, rich but not really with it and has a huge crush on Aisha). While Dad, masi etc watch indulgently, the only one who doesn’t really approve is Arjun (Abhay Deol, childhood friend, smart investment banker, expert polo player, great tango dancer, general cool guy). He wants Aisha to let things be. He doesn’t want her to turn Shefali into a Xerox copy of herself. He wants her to focus on better things / realize her potential. And Aisha doesn’t like being criticised…


Arjun’s girlfriend, Aarti (Lisa Haydon, svelte, sexy in a very Angelina Jolie-esque way) and Dhruv (Arunodhan Singh, Aisha’s masi’s stepson and a guy who thinks he’s cool vs actually being so) provide the other complications in this otherwise straightforward storyline.


They manage to hold it reasonably together till the first half but then it starts to fall apart. Key reason is that we never understand why the characters behave the way they do because character development is sacrificed at the altar of fast paced storytelling. And promoting Sonam, making sure she is always the centre of attention. And its all very predictable.

Sonam is not bad. She seems to embody the Barbie doll characteristics of Aisha, looks nice all dolled up and sulks / pouts to perfection. It’s the scenes where she needs to emote which seem to test her. But she's not bad, especially for this role. Some of the jokes are great, with Abhay having most of the punch lines, right from “mall ka rasta bhool gayi ?” to “I know nothing about girls but a lot about women”. The soundtrack is consistently peppy, some lovely songs (including a soft guitar number) and some scenes are designed to perfection, including the opening wedding, some of the art in the background and Abhay’s snazzy suits.



Love can be one of the most complicated emotions. But not if you watch Aisha. Pithy one liners, people who seem to find their soul mates at the drop of a hat and a central character who seems to be comfortably gainfully unemployed. And an ending that’s too pat. All part of a nice, girly, Lutyen's Delhi paradise.