Black
Reviewed: 5th February 2005
Expectations
My expectations from Black were pretty huge. Simply because I think Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one of the most celebrated directors in our country, and rightly so. As a filmmaker, he is beyond words and as a director; he has always been amongst the best. On top of that the cast bought together two of my favourite actors – Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji. Amitabh Bachchan, is, as we all know – the ‘actor’ we all love… Rani has been a personal favourite since the day she entered the industry. And Sanjay Leela Bhansali has this power of creating a wonderful aura around his actors, bringing them to their best and churning out some of their best performances.
When you think of Sanjay Leela Bhansali – you think ‘bigger than life’… Black is big, it’s made on a huge canvas, and it’s obvious that the film has had a lot of money spent on it. However, it is not larger than life, in fact it brings you down to a certain reality in life that maybe you’ve never experienced, and possibly you may never experience. Black IS an experience that our cinema was in great need of.
Promotion
To be honest, the promotion of the film I felt was not as good as it could’ve been. The audio never managed to be released, and the television promos, though extremely eye-catching, were hardly always ‘there’… There was an extreme lack of promotion for Black. But for those who are ‘movie buffs’ there was enough. Interviews from the cast and crew, makings on the television and a lot of industry hype around the film.
Comments on Story
Black is a story that I felt I was waiting for my entire life. The way each nuance was portrayed, everything about it, just had this amazing feeling. Black has taught me a lot, I did not even know existed.
You cry with Michelle, you cry for Michelle. You cry at her achievements, you cry for her happiness… Black is all about happiness… One thing I realised was that Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rani Mukerji were more than right in saying that Black is not a story of depression, it’s not a story about feeling sorry for the protagonist, you don’t get time to feel sorry for Michelle… You feel her anguish, but more than that you feel her power to learn, her power to ‘know’ more, her strength, her achievements…
Something that shocked and surprised me was the comedy. I did not expect so many ‘light’ (quite an ironic word for this film) moments from the film! Debraj, as a character, brings you many comical situations, as well as bringing you extremely emotional points towards the end.
Michelle and Debraj interacting has to be the most beautiful, the most stunning, interaction I’ve seen developed between two lead characters of a film. Their relationship is dealt with such sensitivity, such power… It’s just too good.
Moments That Stood Out
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
- Near the beginning when Michelle (Rani) is told by her sister Sara (Nandana) that Debraj (Amitabh) is back… when they meet him near the fountain, and how Michelle draws that cross on the car window and then runs to meet Debraj… Awesome scene…
- Interaction between young Michelle (Ayesha) and Debraj, at the dining table, when he begins teaching her ‘table manners’…
- When Debraj teaches young Michelle in 20 days… Especially the moments where she learns ‘spoon’ and he tries teaching her ‘napkin’, and then soon after when she learns ‘water’ and then ‘mother’ and ‘papa’… These moments were breath-taking, absolutely mind-blowing…
- When Michelle is being interviewed by the Uni people to see whether she will be accepted, and Mrs Nair is their with her… I felt so sorry for Michelle here, but then I realised not to feel sorry for her, because she’s so intelligent and strong, she finds her way out and excels…
- At the dining table when Sara gives a speech, when her fiancé is there… Oh God I felt like hitting Sara so much lol… And then Debraj reads Michelle’s speech aww
- When Michelle moves into her new house, near her Uni… Man that was a wonderful scene… When she trips up and then laughs at herself aww
- At school, when Michelle argues the teacher saying that she can also ‘see’ dreams, so you do not need eyes to dream…
- When Michelle gets angry and types 60+ words in 2 minutes…
- When Debraj takes Michelle out for an ice cream and forgets her, and when Michelle comes back she tells Debraj never to forget her…
- When Michelle and Debraj are in the garden at school and some student bumps into them and Debraj shouts at him and Michelle is having a go too and she’s about to hit the guy with her stick but she’s aiming the wrong way… aww that was too cute!
- Sara’s wedding day when Debraj is narrating what’s happening to Michelle, that was really sweet…
- Michelle’s graduation speech, that her mother, Mrs McNally, narrates… Oh this is too awesome, very emotional…
- When Michelle goes to Debraj in the hospital, she takes the chains off him and walks away holding the chains, so cute!! And when she goes to visit him again, wearing her graduation robe and hat… That’s awesome…
- And of course the ending, going to church… Fantastic ending…
Screenplay & Editing
The screenplay and editing of Black is outstanding! I did not expect it to have such a tight screenplay and such classy editing, because usually Bhansali’s films tend to… drag, slightly… But Black is his best screenplay till date, and also his sister Bela’s best editing to this day. Both the screenplay and editing are top form. Each frame of Black haunts you hours after watching the film. You can close your eyes, and visualise it all, it’s beautiful… Too beautiful.
Costumes
I absolutely loved the costumes, which is why I’m writing a part of this review dedicated entirely to the costumes! Hats off to Sabysachi for contributing, hugely, in making the film have such a beautiful look! The costumes are extremely different for a Hindi film, but definitely in a positive way. Move out Manish Malhotra, someone just replaced you on my favourite designers list hunnie!!
Art Direction
Wow… Superb, stunning… As always, Bhansali makes sure that his film’s art direction is a scene-stealer! You cannot help but be left in awe of the beautiful sets… It’s absolutely fantastic!
Cinematography
Oh my God, the cinematography was awesome. Too awesome! It’s one of the best cinematographed films I have ever seen. Crystal clear! The film does have black shades, but it makes black look like the most beautiful shade available!
Background Score
As always, as expected, a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, once yet again, excels with it’s background score. The background music makes you ‘feel’ the tension, it contributes hugely to setting the atmosphere. Well done Monty!
Dialogues
OK, yes the dialogues are very much in English… But the way they have been written, and the way the film is made, I cannot imagine it any other way. The film was destined to be written in part English, part Hindi… It’s just the way it is, it had to be this way. I cannot explain why I feel so, but I just cannot imagine having watched Black fully in English or fully in Hindi… I just loved the mixed-ness of it all… Dialogue delivery was good and SPECIAL MENTION, VERY SPECIAL MENTION to the Sign Language… I loved the hand movements, everyone was really good and clear… Beautiful.
Performances The supporting cast, were all – fantastic. Whether it be Michelle’s father, or the professor, her caretaker, or Mrs Nair… Everyone left a mark!
Shernaz Patel as the mother, Mrs McNally, was the best onscreen mother, I’ve ever seen. Her characterization was definitely superb, and her performance, heart-warming…
Nandana Deb Sen as the jealous sister, Sara, was in full form. I’ve never seen Nandana, the actress, before, so for me this is her debut – and was she fantastic or what! She looked gorgeous and performed fabulously!
Ayesha is outstanding, she was the surprise package of the film! For a little child, innocent and naïve, to churn out a performance which possibly some of our ‘top’ actors/actresses couldn’t churn out in their entire career of experiences, Ayesha excels, and saying she excels does not begin to cover how amazing she is in Black. This little girl is the most promising newcomer I’ve seen in the history of Cinema! I cannot believe her performance. Her eyes, her facial expression… They spoke volumes… The best performance I’ve seen from a child artiste, no doubt, and one of the best performances I’ve seen EVER, actually, regardless to age!
Amitabh Bachchan Mr Bachchan – the name spells success and his success is one no one would want to argue. His talent is such, that someone should not argue, but arguing Mr Bachchan’s talent, is like arguing the word – ‘talent’ itself. I have not seen every one of his films, so I don’t know if Black is his best, he’s always so amazing, but one thing is for sure, that I do not know how many actors can reach the age of 60 and give a performance so strong, so powerful… He is full of strength. Amitabh Bachchan in Black is amongst one of the finest performances any actor has ever given, if not the best all time. His dialogue delivery leaves you in awe, but I think the best thing about his performance is his hand movements, the power he has in his hands is amazing. You have to see the film to believe his performance.
Rani Mukerji Saying Rani is amazing, would be the understatement of the year! Black has assured me that Rani is my favourite actress, ever. She’s the most amazing actress, ‘in my film-watching time’, and there is no doubt about that. Versatility from now on will remain her middle name. I don’t think there is any actress in the past 10 or more years who has been able to give such diverse performances and excel at them so beautifully. From now on, Rani Mukerji tops the list of my favourite actresses. The grace with which she enacts Michelle, makes it undoubtedly the best female performance I’ve seen in my entire life, from any actress! Absolutely mind-blowing, breath-taking… Her facial expressions… Her eyes, her smile… She oozed innocence, warmth and such a child-like touch, that no other actress could dream of doing.
I can go on using adjectives to describe the performances given by Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji and Ayesha; forever and ever, because they have truly given performances which the audience can be blessed in seeing probably only once in a lifetime. Oh God they were just too good.
Direction
Sanjay Leela Bhansali… The name reminds you first of ‘Devdas’, then of ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ and then of ‘Khamoshi’… Strangely, I feel, for me at least, I think of his career the ‘other way round’… But from yesterday onwards, Sanjay Leela Bhansali for me, means Black… And Black, for me, means Sanjay Leela Bhansali! I think this is the most challenging film a director (who has previously tasted success with Devdas and HDDCS) could’ve directed. I don’t know what to say about the way SLB directed Black. All I can say is that this man is the best director we will ever see in our cinema. He surpassed not only everyone else, but also himself, with Black. I don’t think the performances could’ve been a spot of what they were, without Sanjay Bhansali. I don’t think anything else, either (every aspect of the film) could have been what it was without SLB. Black was entirely Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s show, and this film assures me that this man is the best director I have seen. No other director would risk making a film like Black, and I don’t see any other director excelling at making such a film, but Bhansali has, and I love him for that. He’s the best, and I say that today, without any doubts!
Audience Feedback & Box Office
I am not going to become Taran Adarsh part II so do not worry! lol… The cinema in which I saw Black (Odeon, Uxbridge, The Chimes) was in absolute awe of the film. Every person in the cinema hall was enjoying and loving the film. I do not know if I’ve ever witnessed such a fantastic response! Everyone, men and women, were crying their hearts out at the emotional scenes, and laughing from their hearts at the comical moments… OK I do not know whether the audience will accept Black, on a whole, but what I know is that those who do not watch Black in the cinema, are missing the most beautiful cinematic experience available. It’s entirely YOUR LOSS if you miss out on seeing this film in the cinema. It’s made to be viewed in the cinema, and you will not be cheated.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali, I bow down to you today, for being one of the most brilliant filmmakers the world will ever see. Thank you for giving me an experience as beautiful as Black, and opening my eyes, or rather bringing me into a light, I had never before seen. Thank you.
Friday, 29 June 2007
Bunty Aur Babli [2005]
Bunty Aur Babli
Reviewed: 28th May 2005
I loved the film! I don't usually give ratings to films coz I find it too hard, but I'll try this time...
First Half: 9.5/10... It was so cool, fun and cute, I absolutely loooved it!
Second Half: 7.5/10... It was very nice, but some things weren't as good as the first half.
Overall: 8/10... A cute comic flick... It was refreshing and different!
The story: Oh my God did I love the story, or what! It totally rocked... I loved it!! The characterizations of Bunty and Babli is what made the story, and it worked wonders coz the characters were sketched so great!
The music: At first I wasn't fond of the album, but after watching the film I love each and every song!
The choreography: Nach Baliye had the most amazing choreography I've seen in aaageees!! The dance moves were brilliant.. Shaimak rocked (haha and his appearance was umm cool too! lolz)... Abhishek and Rani danced really, really well! Chup Chup Ke was so romantic and beautiful, it was one of the best shot love songs I've ever seen, Abhishek and Rani's chemistry was amazing!! Dhadak Dhadak was so adorable, I just loved it and omg Rani looked so gorgeous in this song, her 'best looking' song! The title song was well cool, made me wish I was Babli and could be having that much fun myself lolz... Kajra Re with Aishwarya Rai was nice, though not amazing... Aishwarya looked apt for the performance and I've noticed that Aditya likes her wearing brown contacts, well so do I it makes her look warmer and better, her dancing with Big B and Abhi Babes was really cool...
The direction: With Saathiya, Shaad proved he's amazing, but still some cynics never gave him his due for the film and he didn't really get to prove himself to the whole world with it... But with Bunty Aur Babli he's solo and he's rocking!! The direction was simply outstanding, and without him Abhi and Rani wouldn't have been able to give the excellent performances they did.
The production: Not a stone was left unturned, everything was perfect in terms of production value - way to go Adi (yet again)!!
The performances:
Abhishek Bachchan was brilliant. He reminded me why I love him so much! I think it's his best performance till date... Someone said this film launches Abhishek as a superstar, and I completely agree... He handles the role with such perfection... Only he could've been Bunty and only he could've been Rakesh!
Rani Mukerji proves why she is the reigning Queen of Indian cinema for both the audience and the critics! She looked absolutely amazing, one of her best films in terms of looks, and of course performance too. She's not done many out-n-out-comic flicks, first there was Chori Chori and now BAB, and she's been mindblowing in both!
The performances from both Abhishek and Rani were so NATURAL, it was amazing! They really became Bunty Aur Babli lol infact I feel like calling them Bunty and Babli rather than Abhishek and Rani haha... They were stunning!! And their chemistry.. Oh My GOD! Talk about hot! They are made for each other (onscreen), so frikkin hot! Even when they did the most natural things like looking at each other, sparks were flying left, right and centre!
Amitabh Bachchan was OK in his role. I didn't like his performance as much as I wished I did. He came across a bit too loud and irritating at times. But he was nice in some parts... Best thing about him being in the film was that he got to interact with Abhishek first time onscreen, omg that was just soo cool to see them together, they rocked!!
All the other character artistes; Prem Chopra, Raj Babbar & others were great too...
Overall, Bunty Aur Babli is full of fun and really cool... I know I'll watch this film again and again and again and again, coz it's one of those films that you can watch if you're upset/bored/stressed and just have so much fun watching!!
Reviewed: 28th May 2005
I loved the film! I don't usually give ratings to films coz I find it too hard, but I'll try this time...
First Half: 9.5/10... It was so cool, fun and cute, I absolutely loooved it!
Second Half: 7.5/10... It was very nice, but some things weren't as good as the first half.
Overall: 8/10... A cute comic flick... It was refreshing and different!
The story: Oh my God did I love the story, or what! It totally rocked... I loved it!! The characterizations of Bunty and Babli is what made the story, and it worked wonders coz the characters were sketched so great!
The music: At first I wasn't fond of the album, but after watching the film I love each and every song!
The choreography: Nach Baliye had the most amazing choreography I've seen in aaageees!! The dance moves were brilliant.. Shaimak rocked (haha and his appearance was umm cool too! lolz)... Abhishek and Rani danced really, really well! Chup Chup Ke was so romantic and beautiful, it was one of the best shot love songs I've ever seen, Abhishek and Rani's chemistry was amazing!! Dhadak Dhadak was so adorable, I just loved it and omg Rani looked so gorgeous in this song, her 'best looking' song! The title song was well cool, made me wish I was Babli and could be having that much fun myself lolz... Kajra Re with Aishwarya Rai was nice, though not amazing... Aishwarya looked apt for the performance and I've noticed that Aditya likes her wearing brown contacts, well so do I it makes her look warmer and better, her dancing with Big B and Abhi Babes was really cool...
The direction: With Saathiya, Shaad proved he's amazing, but still some cynics never gave him his due for the film and he didn't really get to prove himself to the whole world with it... But with Bunty Aur Babli he's solo and he's rocking!! The direction was simply outstanding, and without him Abhi and Rani wouldn't have been able to give the excellent performances they did.
The production: Not a stone was left unturned, everything was perfect in terms of production value - way to go Adi (yet again)!!
The performances:
Abhishek Bachchan was brilliant. He reminded me why I love him so much! I think it's his best performance till date... Someone said this film launches Abhishek as a superstar, and I completely agree... He handles the role with such perfection... Only he could've been Bunty and only he could've been Rakesh!
Rani Mukerji proves why she is the reigning Queen of Indian cinema for both the audience and the critics! She looked absolutely amazing, one of her best films in terms of looks, and of course performance too. She's not done many out-n-out-comic flicks, first there was Chori Chori and now BAB, and she's been mindblowing in both!
The performances from both Abhishek and Rani were so NATURAL, it was amazing! They really became Bunty Aur Babli lol infact I feel like calling them Bunty and Babli rather than Abhishek and Rani haha... They were stunning!! And their chemistry.. Oh My GOD! Talk about hot! They are made for each other (onscreen), so frikkin hot! Even when they did the most natural things like looking at each other, sparks were flying left, right and centre!
Amitabh Bachchan was OK in his role. I didn't like his performance as much as I wished I did. He came across a bit too loud and irritating at times. But he was nice in some parts... Best thing about him being in the film was that he got to interact with Abhishek first time onscreen, omg that was just soo cool to see them together, they rocked!!
All the other character artistes; Prem Chopra, Raj Babbar & others were great too...
Overall, Bunty Aur Babli is full of fun and really cool... I know I'll watch this film again and again and again and again, coz it's one of those films that you can watch if you're upset/bored/stressed and just have so much fun watching!!
Paheli [2005]
Paheli
Reviewed: June 24th 2005
My expectations well it stars my all time favourite actor (Shah Rukh Khan) and actress (Rani Mukerji), therefore I expect quite a bit… that too with my other favourite actress (Juhi) making an appearance, I expect the film to be special… And it’s being produced by SRK to top it off, so not only do I want my expectations fulfilled but I want all the audience to enjoy the film and I want the film to do well… but from the first promo I knew Paheli was ‘different’… that made me nervous! Will I enjoy the film? Then a couple of reviews came early of which 2 or 3 (out of the 6 I had read) had said the film was ‘slow’ and that the second half was a ‘let down’… that made me further nervous… why did they not enjoy the film much? And again – will I enjoy the film??
Some points to mention here… Paheli is not a ‘realistic’ film, it is not from the ‘realistic’ genre, yet it still remains ‘different’, it still belongs to an as yet untouched genre, for audience like me… Paheli is a fairytale…! the first fairytale I have seen come out of Indian cinema…
The look First of all I have to say the sets were breath-taking, extremely beautiful… but what stole my heart was the locations themselves… Costumes were gorrrgeous! I don’t mean just Shah Rukh and Rani’s costumes, but every single person in the film wore such beautiful clothes… yet I don’t feel you could complain that the costumes, sets etc were too ‘loud’ they weren’t, nothing was garish, it was all very simple… simplicity is the word which probably describes Paheli, on a whole, at best actually… last but definitely not least the Cinematography by Ravi K Chandran was mind-blowing, he made everyone, and everything, look so beautiful… everything looked so fairy-tale-ish as though it would disappear if you touched it!!
Rajasthan Rajasthan seems so beautiful… I think what makes it look further beautiful, is the fact that Rajasthan has been so untouched in our cinema, earlier I remember seeing Lamhe shot their and the ‘off-beat’ film Bawandar, but I don’t recall seeing much of Rajasthan in Indian cinema as we do see other places… therefore it was really refreshing to see!
The music/songs At first I was no huge fan of the Paheli soundtrack, it was teek-taak, nothing amazing for an entertainment-wanting-queen like myself lol… but after watching the film, I feel the soundtrack is so beautiful… the golden touch of MM Kreem makes the music classical and you just feel like listening to it for hours on end, the lyrics are absolutely beautiful too… the Choreography was spot on gorgeous, each song was pictured so, so well and I feel it’s amongst Farah Khan’s best work, as it was very ‘hatke’ (different) choreography for her… Each and every song from the film is my favourite, but I guess it’s Minnat Kare and Kangana Re which I would pick visually, as my faves if I had to… musically I have to add that ‘Khaali hai tere bina’ has not left my mind ever since I saw the movie, it’s one of the most beautiful songs I have heard in a long time!
The story I know the story was not specially written for this film, a film has been made on this legend before, and it’s a Rajasthani folk legend, all adapted from a book… I have not read the book or seen the earlier film, so for me, Paheli gifted me a story full of entertainment, a very unusual story
Screenplay I usually talk of the story and screenplay together, but because this film was based on a book I don’t want to upset anyone by confusing the two! The screenplay was good, I feel it was tight enough to keep you gripped and everything was written very well… dialogues too, were beautiful and very ‘conversation-like’… editing however could’ve been better, my knowledge of the technical aspect of movies is limited but from what I know the editing of Paheli at times didn’t please.
The Direction The direction was superb, I don’t remember seeing any of Amol Palekar’s earlier directorials, I am unaware of his earlier work, in fact… but I’ve seen him in a film or two as an actor, and he was good…I could definitely see his touch as an actor into the direction of Paheli, in fact sometimes SRK’s acting reminded me of Amol Palekar lol… the only criticism I have of him as a director, if any, were that sometimes the scenes tended to not drag (if that was the case I’d have criticized Sandhya the screenplay writer), but go at a slow pace… I mean I read in a review (either Indiafm or Rediff) just a few minutes ago that the film does travel at a slow pace, and I think everyone would agree with this, but the review also mentioned how this is a small price to pay as Paheli is such a treat to watch, and I absolutely agree with that!
Performances I feel everyone in the film, even the backup artistes gave admirable performances, not one person went over-the-top in any scene… everything was kept very real, and maybe it is only in terms of performances this folk-tale could be call a piece of realistic cinema!!! lol … I do not know each actors name so I wont be able to analyse each of their performances, therefore I’m saying it right now that each and every performer did extremely well, in this film their were no ‘superstars’, their were no ‘stars’ and maybe their were no ‘actors’ as such, they were all ‘performers’ who most definitely became their characters for the while they had… each character was there with a relevance, no one was just ‘thrown in’, you could tell that no character was written for the stars, in fact the actors picked were so apt for the roles!
Amitabh Bachchan Well he had just one scene, but it was in a way the most important scene and he the most important character of the scene, so his character leaves a wonderful impression… he did a fantastic job in that one scene and really lets his presence be felt. Was very cute and nice to see him in such a role lol
Suniel Shetty Actually I genuinely feel Suniel had nothing to do, and feel I would be being unfair to judge such a small performance lol but nonetheless whatever he did have, he performed with grace and well you could tell that for a senior actor as him the appearance was a cake walk of course… it was nice to see him, though.
Anupam Kher Now this was one great role! It was so good to see Anupam, I love this guy and the role did complete justice to his amazing capabilities as an actor… a wonderful role and even more wonderful performance!! Great to see him!
Juhi Chawla Oh she looked gorgeous! So cute! Her role was actually quite nice, not as bad as some people were making it out to be according to me… it was a sweet role which really did further the story, a very important role in putting the message of the film forward. She performed, as expected, flawlessly and oh my God she still looks so young and beautiful, still the most beautiful actress their ever was and ever will be, love you Juhi!
Rani Mukerji First things first, Rani looked so mind-blowing-ly gorgeous! She looked out-of-this-world! Performance wise, what can I say? With each film this girl takes on a new challenge by taking on a radically different character from her previous film, this was yet another completely alien/different role for Rani as an actress, and she took it on with full force and emerges, as always and as expected, a complete winner! It’s becoming common-knowledge to expect brilliant, flawless and stunning performances from her, and obviously that happens here with Paheli also!
Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh has been going around saying Paheli is Rani’s story, and yes it is in a way, but I feel he is being far too modest in saying that… Rani I feel was the heartbeat of Paheli, but Shah Rukh WAS the HEART, he was the soul (ironically he literally was a soul haha)! I was so proud to see SRK in the film, when I think about his performance I feel like a proud parent (even though he’s old enough to be MY parent haha)! Honestly, this film ranks amongst SRK’s best performances of all time… To follow up the performance of Mohan Bhargav in Swades with another subtle, brilliantly performed, flawless performance with a different character as Kishan/Ghost in Paheli, was a very wise move! I hope SRK continues doing such characters so that his ‘haters’ just have to stop saying stupid things to him and accept his unbeatable brilliance as an actor! As the ghost and husband both, he excels soooo well, if you have any doubts about his versatility or capabilities as an actor, Paheli will surely wash them away!
With Paheli Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji prove for the nth time that they are the best, or at least one of the few bests, the industry has seen in a long time! And Amol Palekar proves that he’s an extremely talented filmmaker to make such a simple, sweet emotional and cute film and extract such brilliant performances from his cast!
Few last notes:
Chemistry between Shah Rukh and Rani was outstanding! This time their pairing had a very adorable/cute feel to it, as compared to the hot/sexyness they had together in Chalte Chalte! These two gorgeous versatile actors prove they can even make versatile chemistry haha… the scenes they had together were soooo cuute!
Seeing Shah Rukh and Juhi together again, though not much, it was enough for me to be grateful to the crew of the film for bringing them together haha, man it was awesome… they still have so much warmth together, hope they do another lead film together soon, they were really teasing the audience with their chemistry in this film, making us thrive for more!
For the first time, Juhi and Rani was so awesome! It’s so awesome now that I can say each of my top three actresses (Juhi, Rani, Kajol) have interacted together onscreen, I’m so happy… Juhi and Rani looked so warm/cute together, I wish they had more scenes, it was aweeesomee to see them!
Production values were great, everything needed was provided… For Shah Rukh as a producer, I am so, so happy that he’s getting to make such wonderful films, I’ve enjoyed each of his productions and Paheli continues the tradition!
Puppet shows When I heard they were using puppets in the film, I was a bit confused as to how that would happen and whether that would stall the film, but it didn’t… it reminded me of how the cartoons were used in Hum Tum, I think it was a great way of putting the story forward… puppets were great and I read at the end that Naseerudin Shah was the voice of the male puppet that’s cool!
Accents I have to add that it was brilliant for the actors to try the rajasthani accent, rather than speak the way they normally do… the accents furthered the feel of the film and Rajasthan and let you be ‘at one’ with the film, falling into a world of these characters, without knowing your watching a film!
Special effects were awesome!! Oh my God they were so amazing… first double role film I’ve seen in India where you cannot even tell which SRK was put their computerized-ly later lol it all looked so real, was awesome!
The ending was great, very unexpected!
OVERALL I don’t know how Paheli will do at the box office but reading the review by Taran Adarsh was helpful in making me hope for the best, he seems to think it can do great, I really hope so! It’s a wonderful, wonderful film and a must-see for everyone!
Reviewed: June 24th 2005
My expectations well it stars my all time favourite actor (Shah Rukh Khan) and actress (Rani Mukerji), therefore I expect quite a bit… that too with my other favourite actress (Juhi) making an appearance, I expect the film to be special… And it’s being produced by SRK to top it off, so not only do I want my expectations fulfilled but I want all the audience to enjoy the film and I want the film to do well… but from the first promo I knew Paheli was ‘different’… that made me nervous! Will I enjoy the film? Then a couple of reviews came early of which 2 or 3 (out of the 6 I had read) had said the film was ‘slow’ and that the second half was a ‘let down’… that made me further nervous… why did they not enjoy the film much? And again – will I enjoy the film??
Some points to mention here… Paheli is not a ‘realistic’ film, it is not from the ‘realistic’ genre, yet it still remains ‘different’, it still belongs to an as yet untouched genre, for audience like me… Paheli is a fairytale…! the first fairytale I have seen come out of Indian cinema…
The look First of all I have to say the sets were breath-taking, extremely beautiful… but what stole my heart was the locations themselves… Costumes were gorrrgeous! I don’t mean just Shah Rukh and Rani’s costumes, but every single person in the film wore such beautiful clothes… yet I don’t feel you could complain that the costumes, sets etc were too ‘loud’ they weren’t, nothing was garish, it was all very simple… simplicity is the word which probably describes Paheli, on a whole, at best actually… last but definitely not least the Cinematography by Ravi K Chandran was mind-blowing, he made everyone, and everything, look so beautiful… everything looked so fairy-tale-ish as though it would disappear if you touched it!!
Rajasthan Rajasthan seems so beautiful… I think what makes it look further beautiful, is the fact that Rajasthan has been so untouched in our cinema, earlier I remember seeing Lamhe shot their and the ‘off-beat’ film Bawandar, but I don’t recall seeing much of Rajasthan in Indian cinema as we do see other places… therefore it was really refreshing to see!
The music/songs At first I was no huge fan of the Paheli soundtrack, it was teek-taak, nothing amazing for an entertainment-wanting-queen like myself lol… but after watching the film, I feel the soundtrack is so beautiful… the golden touch of MM Kreem makes the music classical and you just feel like listening to it for hours on end, the lyrics are absolutely beautiful too… the Choreography was spot on gorgeous, each song was pictured so, so well and I feel it’s amongst Farah Khan’s best work, as it was very ‘hatke’ (different) choreography for her… Each and every song from the film is my favourite, but I guess it’s Minnat Kare and Kangana Re which I would pick visually, as my faves if I had to… musically I have to add that ‘Khaali hai tere bina’ has not left my mind ever since I saw the movie, it’s one of the most beautiful songs I have heard in a long time!
The story I know the story was not specially written for this film, a film has been made on this legend before, and it’s a Rajasthani folk legend, all adapted from a book… I have not read the book or seen the earlier film, so for me, Paheli gifted me a story full of entertainment, a very unusual story
Screenplay I usually talk of the story and screenplay together, but because this film was based on a book I don’t want to upset anyone by confusing the two! The screenplay was good, I feel it was tight enough to keep you gripped and everything was written very well… dialogues too, were beautiful and very ‘conversation-like’… editing however could’ve been better, my knowledge of the technical aspect of movies is limited but from what I know the editing of Paheli at times didn’t please.
The Direction The direction was superb, I don’t remember seeing any of Amol Palekar’s earlier directorials, I am unaware of his earlier work, in fact… but I’ve seen him in a film or two as an actor, and he was good…I could definitely see his touch as an actor into the direction of Paheli, in fact sometimes SRK’s acting reminded me of Amol Palekar lol… the only criticism I have of him as a director, if any, were that sometimes the scenes tended to not drag (if that was the case I’d have criticized Sandhya the screenplay writer), but go at a slow pace… I mean I read in a review (either Indiafm or Rediff) just a few minutes ago that the film does travel at a slow pace, and I think everyone would agree with this, but the review also mentioned how this is a small price to pay as Paheli is such a treat to watch, and I absolutely agree with that!
Performances I feel everyone in the film, even the backup artistes gave admirable performances, not one person went over-the-top in any scene… everything was kept very real, and maybe it is only in terms of performances this folk-tale could be call a piece of realistic cinema!!! lol … I do not know each actors name so I wont be able to analyse each of their performances, therefore I’m saying it right now that each and every performer did extremely well, in this film their were no ‘superstars’, their were no ‘stars’ and maybe their were no ‘actors’ as such, they were all ‘performers’ who most definitely became their characters for the while they had… each character was there with a relevance, no one was just ‘thrown in’, you could tell that no character was written for the stars, in fact the actors picked were so apt for the roles!
Amitabh Bachchan Well he had just one scene, but it was in a way the most important scene and he the most important character of the scene, so his character leaves a wonderful impression… he did a fantastic job in that one scene and really lets his presence be felt. Was very cute and nice to see him in such a role lol
Suniel Shetty Actually I genuinely feel Suniel had nothing to do, and feel I would be being unfair to judge such a small performance lol but nonetheless whatever he did have, he performed with grace and well you could tell that for a senior actor as him the appearance was a cake walk of course… it was nice to see him, though.
Anupam Kher Now this was one great role! It was so good to see Anupam, I love this guy and the role did complete justice to his amazing capabilities as an actor… a wonderful role and even more wonderful performance!! Great to see him!
Juhi Chawla Oh she looked gorgeous! So cute! Her role was actually quite nice, not as bad as some people were making it out to be according to me… it was a sweet role which really did further the story, a very important role in putting the message of the film forward. She performed, as expected, flawlessly and oh my God she still looks so young and beautiful, still the most beautiful actress their ever was and ever will be, love you Juhi!
Rani Mukerji First things first, Rani looked so mind-blowing-ly gorgeous! She looked out-of-this-world! Performance wise, what can I say? With each film this girl takes on a new challenge by taking on a radically different character from her previous film, this was yet another completely alien/different role for Rani as an actress, and she took it on with full force and emerges, as always and as expected, a complete winner! It’s becoming common-knowledge to expect brilliant, flawless and stunning performances from her, and obviously that happens here with Paheli also!
Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh has been going around saying Paheli is Rani’s story, and yes it is in a way, but I feel he is being far too modest in saying that… Rani I feel was the heartbeat of Paheli, but Shah Rukh WAS the HEART, he was the soul (ironically he literally was a soul haha)! I was so proud to see SRK in the film, when I think about his performance I feel like a proud parent (even though he’s old enough to be MY parent haha)! Honestly, this film ranks amongst SRK’s best performances of all time… To follow up the performance of Mohan Bhargav in Swades with another subtle, brilliantly performed, flawless performance with a different character as Kishan/Ghost in Paheli, was a very wise move! I hope SRK continues doing such characters so that his ‘haters’ just have to stop saying stupid things to him and accept his unbeatable brilliance as an actor! As the ghost and husband both, he excels soooo well, if you have any doubts about his versatility or capabilities as an actor, Paheli will surely wash them away!
With Paheli Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji prove for the nth time that they are the best, or at least one of the few bests, the industry has seen in a long time! And Amol Palekar proves that he’s an extremely talented filmmaker to make such a simple, sweet emotional and cute film and extract such brilliant performances from his cast!
Few last notes:
Chemistry between Shah Rukh and Rani was outstanding! This time their pairing had a very adorable/cute feel to it, as compared to the hot/sexyness they had together in Chalte Chalte! These two gorgeous versatile actors prove they can even make versatile chemistry haha… the scenes they had together were soooo cuute!
Seeing Shah Rukh and Juhi together again, though not much, it was enough for me to be grateful to the crew of the film for bringing them together haha, man it was awesome… they still have so much warmth together, hope they do another lead film together soon, they were really teasing the audience with their chemistry in this film, making us thrive for more!
For the first time, Juhi and Rani was so awesome! It’s so awesome now that I can say each of my top three actresses (Juhi, Rani, Kajol) have interacted together onscreen, I’m so happy… Juhi and Rani looked so warm/cute together, I wish they had more scenes, it was aweeesomee to see them!
Production values were great, everything needed was provided… For Shah Rukh as a producer, I am so, so happy that he’s getting to make such wonderful films, I’ve enjoyed each of his productions and Paheli continues the tradition!
Puppet shows When I heard they were using puppets in the film, I was a bit confused as to how that would happen and whether that would stall the film, but it didn’t… it reminded me of how the cartoons were used in Hum Tum, I think it was a great way of putting the story forward… puppets were great and I read at the end that Naseerudin Shah was the voice of the male puppet that’s cool!
Accents I have to add that it was brilliant for the actors to try the rajasthani accent, rather than speak the way they normally do… the accents furthered the feel of the film and Rajasthan and let you be ‘at one’ with the film, falling into a world of these characters, without knowing your watching a film!
Special effects were awesome!! Oh my God they were so amazing… first double role film I’ve seen in India where you cannot even tell which SRK was put their computerized-ly later lol it all looked so real, was awesome!
The ending was great, very unexpected!
OVERALL I don’t know how Paheli will do at the box office but reading the review by Taran Adarsh was helpful in making me hope for the best, he seems to think it can do great, I really hope so! It’s a wonderful, wonderful film and a must-see for everyone!
The Rising: Ballad Of Mangal Pandey [2005]
The Rising: Ballad Of Mangal Pandey [2005] Reviewed: August 13th 2005
OK after reading all these bad reviews, I thought I was in for torture, and considering I was watching the english version, I thought I was going neck-deep into double-torture!!
Did that happen? NOT at all! In fact, I'm so surprised and happy with what I just came out of watching... First things first - 'The Rising' may be no classic, but it's certainly a good film, and I'm really shocked at the negative response it's generally been getting...
The storyline is good, screenplay/editing was OK, though I did feel a few bits here and there were unnecessery, I feel if I were the filmmaker I would've edited, or at least speeded up, about 4/5 of the scenes, a good 15 minutes of the film could've been completely chopped.... I mean the film was wonderful, as it was, but had that slight change been made at the editing table, it could've been a near perfect product...
MUSIC: I absolutely LOVE 'Main Vari Vari', 'Rasiya' and the final version of 'Mangal Mangal' (I think it was the Aatma version)... Choreography-wise 'Main Vari Vari' was brilliant, I loved the colours and picturisation, really beautifully picturised. Song Placement: OK maybe the songs weren't so important to the screenplay, and could've been edited out... However, I enjoyed them and felt they didn't exactly 'pop out' even though they weren't truly needed either...
Costumes, and other styling (hair, make up...) were apt...
PERFORMANCES
Aamir Khan was awesome, he suited the role to the 'T' and did a wonderful job in portraying it... I was a bit disappointed in how his role shaped out though, I mean I expected it to be a far larger role but it was given as much emphasis as I expected... However, it was still a fabulous role for an actor to enact, and Aamir did complete justice to it, he was fabulous... He emoted extremely well through his eyes, and basically was great... Aamir Khan IS BACK with a BANG!
Toby Stephens was great, in fact he surpassed what I expected of him... I've seen him previously in Die Another Day, he was good there, but here he had a lot of the film resting on his shoulders, he was lucky to have actually been given just as much importance, and probably as much footage as Aamir himself!! A great performance, he seemed to have fitten very well into the 'Indian' way of filmmaking, I mean he didn't seem misplaced or anything, he did a great job. I felt the interaction between Aamir-Toby and their characters, was AWESOME, I loved the relationship they had, it was so sweet!!
Rani Mukerji was fabulous... After reading peoples comments I was a bit weiry as to what to expect from her coz everyone was saying her role was tiny etc... But personally, being a huge fan of hers, I was not disappointed... In fact her role was wonderful, and I'm glad she took it on (and equally glad she chose the role of 'Heera' and not 'Jwala')... She danced gracefully and looked awesome in Vari Vari! Yes it was a small role, but it was very fiery and powerful and definitely leaves an impact.. And I loved the ending they gave to her character, how she also fights for freedom
Amisha Patel looked beautifully sweet, but her performance left a lot to be desired. It was a small role and she did not even do justice to that, also I felt they didn't end of her role properly. I loved her entry scene though, it was a really powerful scene, one of the best in the film.
Others, including Kiran Kher, Mangal's coworkers, Coral etc were fabulous also...
Direction: was really good, I've never seen Ketan Mehta's previous films, but he did a brilliant, in fact outstanding, job in The Rising
LANGUAGE: OK so like I said, I thought it'd be annoying watching the english version...But actually IM SO GLAD I GOT TO SEE THE RISING & NOT Mangal Pandey!! It was perfect... The right amount of english, mixed with the right amount of Hindi... The characters who WOULD speak Hindi, spoke Hindi, but the ones who WOULD speak English, spoke English, it was great!
Other Notes: I loved how they ended the film with telling us the actual history, and showing us (what I assume) were real pictures and clips of the actual time...
Overall A very emotional film, full of happiness and sadness both... No, it's not perfect... No, it's not a classic... But it has a LOAD of great points, and I'd say it's definitely one of the better films I've seen this year... Thumbs up to the entire team for making it... Definitely a treat to release around the time of India's independence !!
OK after reading all these bad reviews, I thought I was in for torture, and considering I was watching the english version, I thought I was going neck-deep into double-torture!!
Did that happen? NOT at all! In fact, I'm so surprised and happy with what I just came out of watching... First things first - 'The Rising' may be no classic, but it's certainly a good film, and I'm really shocked at the negative response it's generally been getting...
The storyline is good, screenplay/editing was OK, though I did feel a few bits here and there were unnecessery, I feel if I were the filmmaker I would've edited, or at least speeded up, about 4/5 of the scenes, a good 15 minutes of the film could've been completely chopped.... I mean the film was wonderful, as it was, but had that slight change been made at the editing table, it could've been a near perfect product...
MUSIC: I absolutely LOVE 'Main Vari Vari', 'Rasiya' and the final version of 'Mangal Mangal' (I think it was the Aatma version)... Choreography-wise 'Main Vari Vari' was brilliant, I loved the colours and picturisation, really beautifully picturised. Song Placement: OK maybe the songs weren't so important to the screenplay, and could've been edited out... However, I enjoyed them and felt they didn't exactly 'pop out' even though they weren't truly needed either...
Costumes, and other styling (hair, make up...) were apt...
PERFORMANCES
Aamir Khan was awesome, he suited the role to the 'T' and did a wonderful job in portraying it... I was a bit disappointed in how his role shaped out though, I mean I expected it to be a far larger role but it was given as much emphasis as I expected... However, it was still a fabulous role for an actor to enact, and Aamir did complete justice to it, he was fabulous... He emoted extremely well through his eyes, and basically was great... Aamir Khan IS BACK with a BANG!
Toby Stephens was great, in fact he surpassed what I expected of him... I've seen him previously in Die Another Day, he was good there, but here he had a lot of the film resting on his shoulders, he was lucky to have actually been given just as much importance, and probably as much footage as Aamir himself!! A great performance, he seemed to have fitten very well into the 'Indian' way of filmmaking, I mean he didn't seem misplaced or anything, he did a great job. I felt the interaction between Aamir-Toby and their characters, was AWESOME, I loved the relationship they had, it was so sweet!!
Rani Mukerji was fabulous... After reading peoples comments I was a bit weiry as to what to expect from her coz everyone was saying her role was tiny etc... But personally, being a huge fan of hers, I was not disappointed... In fact her role was wonderful, and I'm glad she took it on (and equally glad she chose the role of 'Heera' and not 'Jwala')... She danced gracefully and looked awesome in Vari Vari! Yes it was a small role, but it was very fiery and powerful and definitely leaves an impact.. And I loved the ending they gave to her character, how she also fights for freedom
Amisha Patel looked beautifully sweet, but her performance left a lot to be desired. It was a small role and she did not even do justice to that, also I felt they didn't end of her role properly. I loved her entry scene though, it was a really powerful scene, one of the best in the film.
Others, including Kiran Kher, Mangal's coworkers, Coral etc were fabulous also...
Direction: was really good, I've never seen Ketan Mehta's previous films, but he did a brilliant, in fact outstanding, job in The Rising
LANGUAGE: OK so like I said, I thought it'd be annoying watching the english version...But actually IM SO GLAD I GOT TO SEE THE RISING & NOT Mangal Pandey!! It was perfect... The right amount of english, mixed with the right amount of Hindi... The characters who WOULD speak Hindi, spoke Hindi, but the ones who WOULD speak English, spoke English, it was great!
Other Notes: I loved how they ended the film with telling us the actual history, and showing us (what I assume) were real pictures and clips of the actual time...
Overall A very emotional film, full of happiness and sadness both... No, it's not perfect... No, it's not a classic... But it has a LOAD of great points, and I'd say it's definitely one of the better films I've seen this year... Thumbs up to the entire team for making it... Definitely a treat to release around the time of India's independence !!
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna [2006]
KANK
Reviewed: 10th August 2006
Living up to expectations:
Where do I start? Karan Johar is not only one of my most loved celebrities but most importantly my favourite director and a filmmaker I really admire and love, I’ve gone around saying for years now that ‘main Karan Johar banna chahti hoon’… I’ve seen every Dharma Production film in the cinema since Duplicate… Duplicate, KKHH, K3G, KHNH, Kaal and now KANK…And I have loved each one a lot! In my eyes Dharma Production is the finest production house in India… The fact that KANK is Karan’s 3rd directorial, following 2 of my top 5 films ever [KKHH and K3G], expectations were sky high from me! They were so high that I feared heavily that I would be disappointed…How can anything live up to what I expected of this film? I’ve followed the film every single day since it was launched… Every day I have thought about it so heavily… Throughout the shooting in New York we had extras informing us about what was going on etc and getting us onset pictures… I have around 500 onset pictures saved to my PC, lots of accounts of the shooting, 300 movie stills…and then we had a load of promos, interviews and specials across various channels especially NDTV and MTV… All this… How can a film live up to expectations after all these spoilers? How can a film still be so special? How can a filmmaker justify the talent of such huge superstars…? One thing for sure the only filmmaker capable of doing this is – Karan Johar! Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Kirron Kher…with Arjun Rampal, John Abraham and Kajol making appearances… Nothing, and I mean nothing, can be bigger than this! Such a starry event makes one thing it will be left merely as such – an event – and there’s a fear that the substance/story will be lost in the starcast…Does this happen? No! Karan makes a film about characters, a film about relationships…and the fact is that though he has India’s biggest superstars in the film they do not ‘stand out of their characters’; they LIVE their characters and that is all thanks to Karan Johar!
Story and Screenplay:
I’m not going to give a brief on the storyline because we all know what the story basis is [if you don’t, then you can always visit www.dharma-production.com]. The story is fantastic! It genuinely is different…There’s not a single film, that I know of anyway, which Kabhi Alvida… resembles. When the cast and crew used to go around saying ‘it’s a different film, it’s very different to Karan’s usual style’ etc I used to think ‘hmm how different can it be?’… But it so is. It really stands apart from what Karan has made earlier. It is far more mature in both the story and also in the way it has been treated. Screenplay is brilliant, it’s so well written. There’s not a moment where you feel bored. Regardless to the length of the film, it just does not drag! It engages you in every moment. Every scene is so well written, that I found myself at many points saying ‘this is my favourite scene’, ‘this is my favourite scene’, ‘this is my favourite scene’… And after a long time I watched a film, which while watching my backside did not get tired on that cinema seat haha
Some Favourite Scenes:
Oh God I was just discussing with my sister and it is impossible to list all my favourite scenes from the film because I don’t think I am wrong in saying that every single scene was my favourite scene LOL…But hey I’ll talk through some scenes which I can recall at this moment, which I really loved:
- The beginning. What a great way to start the film! Introducing each character really made you realise how different each one is…Dev, the successful footballer who gets a 5m contract…. Rhea, a fashion editor who’s just got a new job… [Note here it was great to see the phone call between Dev and Rhea following… Both happy for their individual self] and showing Maya as a bride in front of the mirror and Rishi sleeping on the sofa haha…. In fact the entire wedding sequence was brilliant… The bench scene with Dev and Maya, absolutely fantastic…two sides of a coin meeting… I have loved all of Karan’s bench scenes so far [the one in KKHH and both the ones in K3G], and yet again he delivers a perfect bench scene
- The part when Dev and Maya try to make their marriages work is so great! Especially when Maya’s telling Dev how to be all ‘romantic’ in the bed shop haha and that man sitting on the bed with them says ‘I am taking this bed!’ LOL… and when Maya went home dressed like that LOL and Dev goes and starts ‘massaging’ Rhea oh my God that was hilarious like he was beating her up…and then he goes ‘blue babe’ LOL
- All the confrontation scenes between the married couples were awesome [arguments, and when they tell them about their affair] …I loved how when something would happen with Rishi and Maya the same would be happening with Dev and Rhea… Oh my God how hilarious was
- The entire black beast situation was too funny for words!!! The way Dev was telling Arjun how he’s going to make juice out of him at home LOL and then Maya thinks Dev is the black beast, and then when Dev sees Maya with Arjun he thinks she is the black beast LOL it was so funny…I am wondering though – who was the black beast?? Haha jus kidding!
- The flower scene when Dev takes Maya flowers…Rhea and Rishi trying to call them, leaving the voice message… That whole sequence is awesome
- The anniversary scene when Maya and Dev organise it for their spouses aww that was a great scene
- When Kamal and Sam see Maya and Dev and that whole scene with Sam and Maya following is so sweet and scary at the same time
- The dinner table scene with the entire cast…What Dev says took my breath away, I was like ‘oh…my…God!’
- Sam’s death scene…Oh my God that was really sad especially on the bench outside when Rishi says to Maya ‘At least I have you’
- The phone call between Dev and Maya after they’ve told Rishi and Rhea the truth…That was damn sad
- The ballet scene was amazing…Dev getting jealous towards the end got me so scared lol
- The scene towards the end [3 years later] when Rishi goes to meet Maya in her house is so emotional, when he asks her to be his best man oh my God I was crying in that scene my eyes were so full… so touching…So well written… Possibly my most favourite scene of the lot if I had to choose [alongside the first bench scene with Dev and Maya]
- The ending at the train station with Dev and Maya!
Music/Songs:
Songs are nice, really nice album…Picturisation of the songs made me like them even more! I wish that version of the title song used in the beginning was actually on the CD, I loved it…
Rock N Roll was quite cool, it was a very real-ish party lol…Kajol looked damn damn gorgeous, that pink sari wow…and she came at the part I wanted her to come [Sar pe topi laal…] I was so happy! She looked fantastic with the Bachchan’s! Mitwa was so beautifully shot…it was damn gorgeous! There’s a slight confusion in the lyrics and picturisation both and that adds to the greatness… Tumhi Dekho Na was beautiful…Especially how it starts with ‘blue’… I mean after all I’m sure we all would love to say ‘I like blue’ *wink wink* haha… Wheres The Party Tonight was shot quite nicely, the highlight being the inter-cutting! My heart was in my throat watching that, and don’t worry it’s not ‘bold’ like some people thought it was going to be…it focuses only on their faces! The title song was shot GREAT! Situational and beautiful…!
Farah did a great job with all the songs
Technicalities:
The film looked gorgeous! Great cinematography…All outfits were gorgeous… Everything was fantastic…! I was glad the camera work did not focus so much on the fact that they were in New York lol we didn’t have flags rubbing up in our faces etc it was all cool and casual like Karan said NY is just a backdrop in KANK and nothing more, it’s not a main character
Direction:
He debuted 8 years ago with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and stole my heart, he was fantastic. He followed it up with a huge film, and again did a fantastic job… Now he’s back for a third time…and saying he’s fantastic this time would be a huge under-statement! He is beyond fantastic…He outdoes his previous work even, and makes such a wonderful film…! Any words will be too little in describing his excellence as a director and writer…He’s simply the best!
Performances:
Shah Rukh Khan stole the show. No one could’ve been Dev better than he was…he was just mind-blowing! All those who say Karan does not give him good roles can eat their shoes and clothes too, because this is one of his finest roles and one of his most perfect and finest performances! He excels so well that I now find it weird calling him SRK, I feel like calling him Dev! Mind-blowing, he was just so great! Too great beyond words…Stole the show, stole every scene, stole everything including my heart…Shah Rukh Khan as Dev Saran will prove to all his cynics that he is the best there was, is and ever will be…One of his top 5 performances, no doubt! God he was amazing in every single scene, such a consistent performance it’s impossible to choose his best performed scenes, they all were flawless!
Rani Mukerji was brilliant, the actress cannot get enough of churning out her best performances back to back, beating her previous attempts time and time again. It’s now common knowledge, and has been for some time actually, to expect nothing but the best from her! As Maya she was flawless, beautiful and so sensitive… She was so warm you felt like reaching out to her and hugging her, this warmth only Rani could churn out…Her performance is so great, I am 99.9% sure that the Best Actress trophies have her name across them for a third year in a row! Brilliant, fantastic performance! One of her best performances ever, definitely in her top 5, she excelled in every one of her scenes it’s far too tough to choose her best scenes in KANK!
Abhishek Bachchan was so great! His finest performance till date, he was so awesome! A scene stealer, he was absolutely great especially in his confrontation scenes! He expresses so well through his eyes…Abhishek has come a long way and even still the only way left for him is up…He’s absolutely amazing, he rocks, what a fine performance, absolutely stunning! He was also stunning in his two scenes with Maya towards the end [especially when asking her to be his best man] and when his father passed away
Preity Zinta was lovely, she gave a nice performance and did well in the second half especially. I would not go as far as she does by calling it her best, because I don’t feel it is, but she looked gorgeous and acted well especially in the sequences she has with her son in the title song, the scene she breaks down in front of her mother in law and of course the scene she confronts Maya at the end
Amitabh Bachchan was superb, he was so much life and bought in a great comic angle to the film…he’s a legend, every breath he takes is flawless…His performance is truly great and I loved him a lot more in KANK than in K3G, so so so much more!
Kirron Kher was wonderful, she looked lovely and acted very well!
Ahsaas did a good job in his scenes with SRK and the little girl who played Rani’s student was so gorgeous oh my God lol the whole Tujhe Dekha thing between them was so cute
Arjun was nice and looked hot but his role was very, very small… Kajol looked freekin gorgeous and danced very well… John rocked…!
Overall:
Karan Johar has impressed me beyond words with this film…Every emotion is depicted so wonderfully, every scene is so perfect… I am so glad I am able to say this – it is even better than his past two films…I love this man so much. KANK is a great, great, great film…it’s commercial, it’s ‘big’, it’s entertaining, you can tell it is a very expensive film, it’s a huge banner and has a huge cast – yet it deals with an issue so sensitively, so beautifully, the film is so perfect, I loved it so much! I cannot wait to watch it again and again and again in the cinema and I cannot wait to buy the DVD! End note: I am glad to say that the evening shows for today are booked out in the cinema [Cineword Feltham] I went to, and even the screening I went to which was very early [10:20] it was in the biggest screen and nearly booked, which is amazing! This film deserves every success that comes its way, and more!
Reviewed: 10th August 2006
Living up to expectations:
Where do I start? Karan Johar is not only one of my most loved celebrities but most importantly my favourite director and a filmmaker I really admire and love, I’ve gone around saying for years now that ‘main Karan Johar banna chahti hoon’… I’ve seen every Dharma Production film in the cinema since Duplicate… Duplicate, KKHH, K3G, KHNH, Kaal and now KANK…And I have loved each one a lot! In my eyes Dharma Production is the finest production house in India… The fact that KANK is Karan’s 3rd directorial, following 2 of my top 5 films ever [KKHH and K3G], expectations were sky high from me! They were so high that I feared heavily that I would be disappointed…How can anything live up to what I expected of this film? I’ve followed the film every single day since it was launched… Every day I have thought about it so heavily… Throughout the shooting in New York we had extras informing us about what was going on etc and getting us onset pictures… I have around 500 onset pictures saved to my PC, lots of accounts of the shooting, 300 movie stills…and then we had a load of promos, interviews and specials across various channels especially NDTV and MTV… All this… How can a film live up to expectations after all these spoilers? How can a film still be so special? How can a filmmaker justify the talent of such huge superstars…? One thing for sure the only filmmaker capable of doing this is – Karan Johar! Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Kirron Kher…with Arjun Rampal, John Abraham and Kajol making appearances… Nothing, and I mean nothing, can be bigger than this! Such a starry event makes one thing it will be left merely as such – an event – and there’s a fear that the substance/story will be lost in the starcast…Does this happen? No! Karan makes a film about characters, a film about relationships…and the fact is that though he has India’s biggest superstars in the film they do not ‘stand out of their characters’; they LIVE their characters and that is all thanks to Karan Johar!
Story and Screenplay:
I’m not going to give a brief on the storyline because we all know what the story basis is [if you don’t, then you can always visit www.dharma-production.com]. The story is fantastic! It genuinely is different…There’s not a single film, that I know of anyway, which Kabhi Alvida… resembles. When the cast and crew used to go around saying ‘it’s a different film, it’s very different to Karan’s usual style’ etc I used to think ‘hmm how different can it be?’… But it so is. It really stands apart from what Karan has made earlier. It is far more mature in both the story and also in the way it has been treated. Screenplay is brilliant, it’s so well written. There’s not a moment where you feel bored. Regardless to the length of the film, it just does not drag! It engages you in every moment. Every scene is so well written, that I found myself at many points saying ‘this is my favourite scene’, ‘this is my favourite scene’, ‘this is my favourite scene’… And after a long time I watched a film, which while watching my backside did not get tired on that cinema seat haha
Some Favourite Scenes:
Oh God I was just discussing with my sister and it is impossible to list all my favourite scenes from the film because I don’t think I am wrong in saying that every single scene was my favourite scene LOL…But hey I’ll talk through some scenes which I can recall at this moment, which I really loved:
- The beginning. What a great way to start the film! Introducing each character really made you realise how different each one is…Dev, the successful footballer who gets a 5m contract…. Rhea, a fashion editor who’s just got a new job… [Note here it was great to see the phone call between Dev and Rhea following… Both happy for their individual self] and showing Maya as a bride in front of the mirror and Rishi sleeping on the sofa haha…. In fact the entire wedding sequence was brilliant… The bench scene with Dev and Maya, absolutely fantastic…two sides of a coin meeting… I have loved all of Karan’s bench scenes so far [the one in KKHH and both the ones in K3G], and yet again he delivers a perfect bench scene
- The part when Dev and Maya try to make their marriages work is so great! Especially when Maya’s telling Dev how to be all ‘romantic’ in the bed shop haha and that man sitting on the bed with them says ‘I am taking this bed!’ LOL… and when Maya went home dressed like that LOL and Dev goes and starts ‘massaging’ Rhea oh my God that was hilarious like he was beating her up…and then he goes ‘blue babe’ LOL
- All the confrontation scenes between the married couples were awesome [arguments, and when they tell them about their affair] …I loved how when something would happen with Rishi and Maya the same would be happening with Dev and Rhea… Oh my God how hilarious was
- The entire black beast situation was too funny for words!!! The way Dev was telling Arjun how he’s going to make juice out of him at home LOL and then Maya thinks Dev is the black beast, and then when Dev sees Maya with Arjun he thinks she is the black beast LOL it was so funny…I am wondering though – who was the black beast?? Haha jus kidding!
- The flower scene when Dev takes Maya flowers…Rhea and Rishi trying to call them, leaving the voice message… That whole sequence is awesome
- The anniversary scene when Maya and Dev organise it for their spouses aww that was a great scene
- When Kamal and Sam see Maya and Dev and that whole scene with Sam and Maya following is so sweet and scary at the same time
- The dinner table scene with the entire cast…What Dev says took my breath away, I was like ‘oh…my…God!’
- Sam’s death scene…Oh my God that was really sad especially on the bench outside when Rishi says to Maya ‘At least I have you’
- The phone call between Dev and Maya after they’ve told Rishi and Rhea the truth…That was damn sad
- The ballet scene was amazing…Dev getting jealous towards the end got me so scared lol
- The scene towards the end [3 years later] when Rishi goes to meet Maya in her house is so emotional, when he asks her to be his best man oh my God I was crying in that scene my eyes were so full… so touching…So well written… Possibly my most favourite scene of the lot if I had to choose [alongside the first bench scene with Dev and Maya]
- The ending at the train station with Dev and Maya!
Music/Songs:
Songs are nice, really nice album…Picturisation of the songs made me like them even more! I wish that version of the title song used in the beginning was actually on the CD, I loved it…
Rock N Roll was quite cool, it was a very real-ish party lol…Kajol looked damn damn gorgeous, that pink sari wow…and she came at the part I wanted her to come [Sar pe topi laal…] I was so happy! She looked fantastic with the Bachchan’s! Mitwa was so beautifully shot…it was damn gorgeous! There’s a slight confusion in the lyrics and picturisation both and that adds to the greatness… Tumhi Dekho Na was beautiful…Especially how it starts with ‘blue’… I mean after all I’m sure we all would love to say ‘I like blue’ *wink wink* haha… Wheres The Party Tonight was shot quite nicely, the highlight being the inter-cutting! My heart was in my throat watching that, and don’t worry it’s not ‘bold’ like some people thought it was going to be…it focuses only on their faces! The title song was shot GREAT! Situational and beautiful…!
Farah did a great job with all the songs
Technicalities:
The film looked gorgeous! Great cinematography…All outfits were gorgeous… Everything was fantastic…! I was glad the camera work did not focus so much on the fact that they were in New York lol we didn’t have flags rubbing up in our faces etc it was all cool and casual like Karan said NY is just a backdrop in KANK and nothing more, it’s not a main character
Direction:
He debuted 8 years ago with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and stole my heart, he was fantastic. He followed it up with a huge film, and again did a fantastic job… Now he’s back for a third time…and saying he’s fantastic this time would be a huge under-statement! He is beyond fantastic…He outdoes his previous work even, and makes such a wonderful film…! Any words will be too little in describing his excellence as a director and writer…He’s simply the best!
Performances:
Shah Rukh Khan stole the show. No one could’ve been Dev better than he was…he was just mind-blowing! All those who say Karan does not give him good roles can eat their shoes and clothes too, because this is one of his finest roles and one of his most perfect and finest performances! He excels so well that I now find it weird calling him SRK, I feel like calling him Dev! Mind-blowing, he was just so great! Too great beyond words…Stole the show, stole every scene, stole everything including my heart…Shah Rukh Khan as Dev Saran will prove to all his cynics that he is the best there was, is and ever will be…One of his top 5 performances, no doubt! God he was amazing in every single scene, such a consistent performance it’s impossible to choose his best performed scenes, they all were flawless!
Rani Mukerji was brilliant, the actress cannot get enough of churning out her best performances back to back, beating her previous attempts time and time again. It’s now common knowledge, and has been for some time actually, to expect nothing but the best from her! As Maya she was flawless, beautiful and so sensitive… She was so warm you felt like reaching out to her and hugging her, this warmth only Rani could churn out…Her performance is so great, I am 99.9% sure that the Best Actress trophies have her name across them for a third year in a row! Brilliant, fantastic performance! One of her best performances ever, definitely in her top 5, she excelled in every one of her scenes it’s far too tough to choose her best scenes in KANK!
Abhishek Bachchan was so great! His finest performance till date, he was so awesome! A scene stealer, he was absolutely great especially in his confrontation scenes! He expresses so well through his eyes…Abhishek has come a long way and even still the only way left for him is up…He’s absolutely amazing, he rocks, what a fine performance, absolutely stunning! He was also stunning in his two scenes with Maya towards the end [especially when asking her to be his best man] and when his father passed away
Preity Zinta was lovely, she gave a nice performance and did well in the second half especially. I would not go as far as she does by calling it her best, because I don’t feel it is, but she looked gorgeous and acted well especially in the sequences she has with her son in the title song, the scene she breaks down in front of her mother in law and of course the scene she confronts Maya at the end
Amitabh Bachchan was superb, he was so much life and bought in a great comic angle to the film…he’s a legend, every breath he takes is flawless…His performance is truly great and I loved him a lot more in KANK than in K3G, so so so much more!
Kirron Kher was wonderful, she looked lovely and acted very well!
Ahsaas did a good job in his scenes with SRK and the little girl who played Rani’s student was so gorgeous oh my God lol the whole Tujhe Dekha thing between them was so cute
Arjun was nice and looked hot but his role was very, very small… Kajol looked freekin gorgeous and danced very well… John rocked…!
Overall:
Karan Johar has impressed me beyond words with this film…Every emotion is depicted so wonderfully, every scene is so perfect… I am so glad I am able to say this – it is even better than his past two films…I love this man so much. KANK is a great, great, great film…it’s commercial, it’s ‘big’, it’s entertaining, you can tell it is a very expensive film, it’s a huge banner and has a huge cast – yet it deals with an issue so sensitively, so beautifully, the film is so perfect, I loved it so much! I cannot wait to watch it again and again and again in the cinema and I cannot wait to buy the DVD! End note: I am glad to say that the evening shows for today are booked out in the cinema [Cineword Feltham] I went to, and even the screening I went to which was very early [10:20] it was in the biggest screen and nearly booked, which is amazing! This film deserves every success that comes its way, and more!
Baabul [2006]
Baabul
Reviewed: 11.12.2006
Prod: B R Films
Dir: Ravi Chopra
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Rani Mukerji, John Abraham and others
--Spoilers may be included at various intervals--
The film sees my favourite actor-actress pairing come together once again – Amitabh and Rani, I love and appreciate their talent so much, words couldn’t express my feelings well enough! The two of them coming together makes any film worth the while for me so there was no doubt in my mind that Baabul would be worth every penny if not more! Then there’s Salman who’s one of my top few favourite actors, John who’s my favourite from the new lot and Hema Malini who is one of my favourites from the senior set of actresses. As for Ravi Chopra, well I’ve not seen a lot of his work; actually I don’t recall seeing anything before Baghban (which I truly loved) …
Story: I think most of us have already discovered that dealing with widow remarriage is not by any means an earth-shatteringly new story in HiFI – it has been done before! But does that work negatively for this film? No. The concept may have been visited before (I don’t know how many times, actually to be honest I don’t even recall myself seeing such a story – I’ve just heard from others that there have been similar ones) however the way the concept has been dealt with is so effective and beautiful, the film has shaped out to be so lovely that it doesn’t make a difference if the story is ‘been there, done that’ because concepts like this perhaps deserve to be revisited time and time again! The horrible ways in which some people treat widows is a dark reality in our society and if the message of widow remarriage is put across time and time again that’s actually a great message to be putting forward!
Screenplay and editing: The film didn’t drag at all…Though it did have quite a slow pace at times (as Baghban did), the screenplay was still very well written! The editing however was very weak! Some cuts made were so jumpy haha…It felt as though they were skipping scenes at times because the editor didn’t merge some parts well enough…The editing was by far the worst part of the film in my opinion, I wish they had a more talented editor or had given the editor a better brief/direction!!
Costumes: Amitabh, Salman and John were dressed wonderfully and very well suited to the character! Hema was dressed gorgeously, Neeta Lulla did a fantastic job with her outfits, and I absolutely loved her saris!! But the person who really took me by storm was Sabyasachi Mukherjee! Gosh this guy is so awesome I adore his work! I’ve never seen such a brilliantly dressed character… Rani’s clothes were Millie! Sabya really knows how to blend fashion with character and that is why he’s such a perfect designer for a film… He had earlier done a fantastic job with Rani in Black and now he’s impressed me even more with Baabul… I can’t wait to see his work in Chudiyan! Rani’s sari’s were breathtakingly beautiful and her suits in the second half really fit well with the mood of her character… The best part though has to be the cuts/colours Sabya gave her in the first half – so suited to the bright artiste Millie was!
Music: Loved it before, love it even more now…The way each and every song was shot was awesome! I’m not going to give each one a mini-review because trust me I could go on forever waffling on about them!!
The first half of the film was full of fun and happiness, it was so entertaining and had me laughing at so many parts! The second part was the complete opposite – dark and depressing – it kept my heart in my throat and water in my eyes!
Chemistry: Amitabh-Rani as always steal my heart, words fail to express how brilliant their chemistry is! Once again they showcase a different form of chemistry but with as much love as usual – definitely my most favourite onscreen pairing of all time! Amitabh-Salman make such an adorable father-son duo, alongside Akshay – Salman is the only male actor who looks so amazing with Amitabh! Amitabh-Hema looked so gorgeous, young and in love hehe… Salman-Rani well I’ve always been a huge fan of this pair right since their Teri Chunariya days! I even own all their DVD’s as a pair coz I love them so much! Once again they looked scorching hot, gorgeous and adorable together – they are the ultimate married couple onscreen! John-Rani aww my Jani they were adorable together but sadly not given as much scope as a pair as I wished to see of them! The first scene of them together, as well as the scene when Rajat comes to see Millie after so many years and also ‘Bebasi’ – their chemistry was full on boiling! Amitabh-John were good together in that scene just after Har Manzar…Hema-Rani were an honour to watch together, I wish we get to see more of their pairing soon, they were so sweet! Salman-Hema looked stunning together, so hot! Hehe
Some memorable moments from the film: There are so many I could go on forever but I don’t have the time at the moment so I’ll discuss this later probably haha but here are some quick moments that come to mind:
- The car race between Amitabh and Salman
- The golf scene where Amitabh ruins Rani’s painting and then the whole situation when Salman woos Rani haha remember that part where he’s asking Rajpal to borrow his shirt and Rajpal takes it the ‘wrong’ way!
- When Rani tells John she’s in love with Salman
- When Salman proposes to Rani
- The scene where Salman and family come to ask for Rani’s hand in marriage
- Both the scenes where Hema’s after Ansh with the milk…Salman’s and John’s, both were such cute scenes!
- When Amitabh tries to convince John to come to Millie
- When John moves into his new house and invites Rani and family over
- When Hema goes to talk to Rani and tells her to wear that colourful outfit
- The scene where Rani finds Ansh in Salman’s wardrobe and Ansh says he can smell his buddy there aww
- Oh and though it’s not a specific scene an honourable mention to how well Ravi sidetracked the whole story with Amitabh’s younger sister in law also being a widow for 20 years and the way she was treated etc…Really well depicted, and her relationship with Om Puri who was like a father-in-law-figure to her was a great contrast to the relationship Amitabh shared with Rani.
Performances:
As all reviews so far have stated, Baabul clearly belongs to Amitabh and Rani all the way! Once again they bring out the absolute best out of each other! Amitabh Bachchan is too great for someone to analytically discuss his performances but this review would be incomplete without saying that his performance in Baabul once again confirms that he is the best and no actor (male or female) in the entire world is even a patch on him, no one comes close and no one ever will, he truly is something else! Be it the way he cries or the way he laughs – no one does it like Amitabh Bachchan! And as far as Rani Mukerji is concerned, well she proves time and time again that she is the only Queen of our HiFI and Baabul consolidates this position of hers. She is the best actress that there is, there ever has been and there ever will be! Every release of hers, every performance betters the last… She proves she is the best each time and the next time she will go beyond herself even – she is her only competition, she’s in a league of her own, she’s unmatchable! With Baabul she once again matches Amitabh Bachchan step by step – need I say more? I’m sure that’s the biggest compliment an actor could ever receive (trust me, it is coming from me anyway!) and Rani’s the only female actor in our industry to achieve that! Both Amitabh and Rani appear to cake-walk through their roles because their talent is so immense that each role is nothing less than a cake-walk for them, they live the roles of Balraj and Millie – they’re perfect and I can definitely picture them holding those beautiful trophies once again so *fingers crossed* that happens!
Salman Khan does complete justice to his character of Avinash! He looks gorgeous and performs great! I didn’t expect his role to be as good as it was, so I was pleasantly surprised here! Though the role wasn’t anything tough for an actor of his calibre, he was simply outstanding! John Abraham disappointed me to be honest… He gave a good performance, yes! But his role wasn’t as good as I hoped it to be and in terms of look with the exception of the outdoor parts of ‘Bebsasi’ he looked really terrible and tired! His performance was stiff in some scenes but in other scenes he was outstanding (his scene just after Har Manzar as well as his scene with Ansh and especially the one where he meets Rani after so many years) were performed brilliantly!
Hema Malini looked gorgeous! Oh my gosh, she is undoubtedly the best looking woman I’ve ever seen! How flawless does she look? She looks young and so beautiful in Baabul…She can give any actress of any generation a race for their money when it comes to her looks (and she’d win handsdown!)…Performance-wise she excelled and I definitely see Best Supporting Actress nominations, if not awards, coming up for her resume! All the supporting artistes be it the kid who played Ansh, Parmeet Sethi, Om Puri etc (everyone else too) did a fantastic job too!
Overall: A warm, beautiful and heart-touching family film… A cute, romantic and comic first half and a more Kleenex-second half… A ‘complete’ HiFI movie in every sense… What more can someone want? Baabul is definitely one of the better films this year and I see a bright future for it at the Box Office because it caters to a great family audience who I presume will open their arms fully wide to the film!! So in hope of that let’s end on a saying as beautiful as the film itself: “After every sunset, there’s a sunrise!”
Reviewed: 11.12.2006
Prod: B R Films
Dir: Ravi Chopra
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Rani Mukerji, John Abraham and others
--Spoilers may be included at various intervals--
The film sees my favourite actor-actress pairing come together once again – Amitabh and Rani, I love and appreciate their talent so much, words couldn’t express my feelings well enough! The two of them coming together makes any film worth the while for me so there was no doubt in my mind that Baabul would be worth every penny if not more! Then there’s Salman who’s one of my top few favourite actors, John who’s my favourite from the new lot and Hema Malini who is one of my favourites from the senior set of actresses. As for Ravi Chopra, well I’ve not seen a lot of his work; actually I don’t recall seeing anything before Baghban (which I truly loved) …
Story: I think most of us have already discovered that dealing with widow remarriage is not by any means an earth-shatteringly new story in HiFI – it has been done before! But does that work negatively for this film? No. The concept may have been visited before (I don’t know how many times, actually to be honest I don’t even recall myself seeing such a story – I’ve just heard from others that there have been similar ones) however the way the concept has been dealt with is so effective and beautiful, the film has shaped out to be so lovely that it doesn’t make a difference if the story is ‘been there, done that’ because concepts like this perhaps deserve to be revisited time and time again! The horrible ways in which some people treat widows is a dark reality in our society and if the message of widow remarriage is put across time and time again that’s actually a great message to be putting forward!
Screenplay and editing: The film didn’t drag at all…Though it did have quite a slow pace at times (as Baghban did), the screenplay was still very well written! The editing however was very weak! Some cuts made were so jumpy haha…It felt as though they were skipping scenes at times because the editor didn’t merge some parts well enough…The editing was by far the worst part of the film in my opinion, I wish they had a more talented editor or had given the editor a better brief/direction!!
Costumes: Amitabh, Salman and John were dressed wonderfully and very well suited to the character! Hema was dressed gorgeously, Neeta Lulla did a fantastic job with her outfits, and I absolutely loved her saris!! But the person who really took me by storm was Sabyasachi Mukherjee! Gosh this guy is so awesome I adore his work! I’ve never seen such a brilliantly dressed character… Rani’s clothes were Millie! Sabya really knows how to blend fashion with character and that is why he’s such a perfect designer for a film… He had earlier done a fantastic job with Rani in Black and now he’s impressed me even more with Baabul… I can’t wait to see his work in Chudiyan! Rani’s sari’s were breathtakingly beautiful and her suits in the second half really fit well with the mood of her character… The best part though has to be the cuts/colours Sabya gave her in the first half – so suited to the bright artiste Millie was!
Music: Loved it before, love it even more now…The way each and every song was shot was awesome! I’m not going to give each one a mini-review because trust me I could go on forever waffling on about them!!
The first half of the film was full of fun and happiness, it was so entertaining and had me laughing at so many parts! The second part was the complete opposite – dark and depressing – it kept my heart in my throat and water in my eyes!
Chemistry: Amitabh-Rani as always steal my heart, words fail to express how brilliant their chemistry is! Once again they showcase a different form of chemistry but with as much love as usual – definitely my most favourite onscreen pairing of all time! Amitabh-Salman make such an adorable father-son duo, alongside Akshay – Salman is the only male actor who looks so amazing with Amitabh! Amitabh-Hema looked so gorgeous, young and in love hehe… Salman-Rani well I’ve always been a huge fan of this pair right since their Teri Chunariya days! I even own all their DVD’s as a pair coz I love them so much! Once again they looked scorching hot, gorgeous and adorable together – they are the ultimate married couple onscreen! John-Rani aww my Jani they were adorable together but sadly not given as much scope as a pair as I wished to see of them! The first scene of them together, as well as the scene when Rajat comes to see Millie after so many years and also ‘Bebasi’ – their chemistry was full on boiling! Amitabh-John were good together in that scene just after Har Manzar…Hema-Rani were an honour to watch together, I wish we get to see more of their pairing soon, they were so sweet! Salman-Hema looked stunning together, so hot! Hehe
Some memorable moments from the film: There are so many I could go on forever but I don’t have the time at the moment so I’ll discuss this later probably haha but here are some quick moments that come to mind:
- The car race between Amitabh and Salman
- The golf scene where Amitabh ruins Rani’s painting and then the whole situation when Salman woos Rani haha remember that part where he’s asking Rajpal to borrow his shirt and Rajpal takes it the ‘wrong’ way!
- When Rani tells John she’s in love with Salman
- When Salman proposes to Rani
- The scene where Salman and family come to ask for Rani’s hand in marriage
- Both the scenes where Hema’s after Ansh with the milk…Salman’s and John’s, both were such cute scenes!
- When Amitabh tries to convince John to come to Millie
- When John moves into his new house and invites Rani and family over
- When Hema goes to talk to Rani and tells her to wear that colourful outfit
- The scene where Rani finds Ansh in Salman’s wardrobe and Ansh says he can smell his buddy there aww
- Oh and though it’s not a specific scene an honourable mention to how well Ravi sidetracked the whole story with Amitabh’s younger sister in law also being a widow for 20 years and the way she was treated etc…Really well depicted, and her relationship with Om Puri who was like a father-in-law-figure to her was a great contrast to the relationship Amitabh shared with Rani.
Performances:
As all reviews so far have stated, Baabul clearly belongs to Amitabh and Rani all the way! Once again they bring out the absolute best out of each other! Amitabh Bachchan is too great for someone to analytically discuss his performances but this review would be incomplete without saying that his performance in Baabul once again confirms that he is the best and no actor (male or female) in the entire world is even a patch on him, no one comes close and no one ever will, he truly is something else! Be it the way he cries or the way he laughs – no one does it like Amitabh Bachchan! And as far as Rani Mukerji is concerned, well she proves time and time again that she is the only Queen of our HiFI and Baabul consolidates this position of hers. She is the best actress that there is, there ever has been and there ever will be! Every release of hers, every performance betters the last… She proves she is the best each time and the next time she will go beyond herself even – she is her only competition, she’s in a league of her own, she’s unmatchable! With Baabul she once again matches Amitabh Bachchan step by step – need I say more? I’m sure that’s the biggest compliment an actor could ever receive (trust me, it is coming from me anyway!) and Rani’s the only female actor in our industry to achieve that! Both Amitabh and Rani appear to cake-walk through their roles because their talent is so immense that each role is nothing less than a cake-walk for them, they live the roles of Balraj and Millie – they’re perfect and I can definitely picture them holding those beautiful trophies once again so *fingers crossed* that happens!
Salman Khan does complete justice to his character of Avinash! He looks gorgeous and performs great! I didn’t expect his role to be as good as it was, so I was pleasantly surprised here! Though the role wasn’t anything tough for an actor of his calibre, he was simply outstanding! John Abraham disappointed me to be honest… He gave a good performance, yes! But his role wasn’t as good as I hoped it to be and in terms of look with the exception of the outdoor parts of ‘Bebsasi’ he looked really terrible and tired! His performance was stiff in some scenes but in other scenes he was outstanding (his scene just after Har Manzar as well as his scene with Ansh and especially the one where he meets Rani after so many years) were performed brilliantly!
Hema Malini looked gorgeous! Oh my gosh, she is undoubtedly the best looking woman I’ve ever seen! How flawless does she look? She looks young and so beautiful in Baabul…She can give any actress of any generation a race for their money when it comes to her looks (and she’d win handsdown!)…Performance-wise she excelled and I definitely see Best Supporting Actress nominations, if not awards, coming up for her resume! All the supporting artistes be it the kid who played Ansh, Parmeet Sethi, Om Puri etc (everyone else too) did a fantastic job too!
Overall: A warm, beautiful and heart-touching family film… A cute, romantic and comic first half and a more Kleenex-second half… A ‘complete’ HiFI movie in every sense… What more can someone want? Baabul is definitely one of the better films this year and I see a bright future for it at the Box Office because it caters to a great family audience who I presume will open their arms fully wide to the film!! So in hope of that let’s end on a saying as beautiful as the film itself: “After every sunset, there’s a sunrise!”
Murder [2004]
Murder
Reviewed: 29.06.2007
I'd loved Murder even when I had seen it for the first time back in 2004 and now when I was rewatching it [as I recently bought the DVD] I realised how it truly is a great film, everything about the film is brilliant! A gripping story and screenplay, fantastic direction and suitably cast actors who churn out such natural performances.
The music of the film by Anu Malik was trendsetting to say in the least. It was Anu's 'Bheege Hont' and 'Kaho Na Kaho' which started off the new trend in HiFI's music industry today.
Ashmit Patel delivered the weakest performance of the three actors but nonetheless he was good in some scenes. He's a bit too stiff at other times and appears unsure and one wishes it was someone more talented, like John Abraham or Arjun Rampal, casted in the role. His expressions and dialogue delivery are not bad but his body language needs to be worked on big time!
Mallika Sherawat proved her worth as an actress here - she proved she could act and look hot at the same time! How I wish Mallika had debuted with this film and not that sleezebag Khwahish, she would've been at a far more respected and better position today had that been the case. She fits the role of Simran perfectly and handles it with excellence, never once stepping out of character. Her facial expressions, dialogue delivery and body language are topnotch and she portrays the depressed and unfaithful wife with perfection.
Emraan Hashmi steals the show... I hate his character so much and that speaks volumes about his portrayal of the character with grey shades. I used to really dislike Emraan at that time [because I hated him in debut film, Footpath] but his stunningly natural performance in Murder turned me into his fan overnight - and rightfully so. He's perfect as Sunny and you can't imagine any other actor, his coworker or senior, play the role as well as he did.
Overall, Murder is a film worth watching again and again. It's brilliant [as most movies from the Bhatt camp are] and so entertaining to watch. I loved it when it released, and still do.
Reviewed: 29.06.2007
I'd loved Murder even when I had seen it for the first time back in 2004 and now when I was rewatching it [as I recently bought the DVD] I realised how it truly is a great film, everything about the film is brilliant! A gripping story and screenplay, fantastic direction and suitably cast actors who churn out such natural performances.
The music of the film by Anu Malik was trendsetting to say in the least. It was Anu's 'Bheege Hont' and 'Kaho Na Kaho' which started off the new trend in HiFI's music industry today.
Ashmit Patel delivered the weakest performance of the three actors but nonetheless he was good in some scenes. He's a bit too stiff at other times and appears unsure and one wishes it was someone more talented, like John Abraham or Arjun Rampal, casted in the role. His expressions and dialogue delivery are not bad but his body language needs to be worked on big time!
Mallika Sherawat proved her worth as an actress here - she proved she could act and look hot at the same time! How I wish Mallika had debuted with this film and not that sleezebag Khwahish, she would've been at a far more respected and better position today had that been the case. She fits the role of Simran perfectly and handles it with excellence, never once stepping out of character. Her facial expressions, dialogue delivery and body language are topnotch and she portrays the depressed and unfaithful wife with perfection.
Emraan Hashmi steals the show... I hate his character so much and that speaks volumes about his portrayal of the character with grey shades. I used to really dislike Emraan at that time [because I hated him in debut film, Footpath] but his stunningly natural performance in Murder turned me into his fan overnight - and rightfully so. He's perfect as Sunny and you can't imagine any other actor, his coworker or senior, play the role as well as he did.
Overall, Murder is a film worth watching again and again. It's brilliant [as most movies from the Bhatt camp are] and so entertaining to watch. I loved it when it released, and still do.
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Guddi [1971]
Guddi
Reviewed: 28.06.2007
Dir: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Cast: Jaya Bhaduri & Dharmendra
After years of waiting I finally bought the Guddi DVD a few months back and eventually got the chance to watch it yesterday. I haven’t seen much of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s cinema but whatever I’ve heard of him has always been positive. I must have seen many of his movies while growing up but the only ones I absolutely and clearly remember are Chupke Chupke, Anand, Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate, and to some extent Namak Haraam and Abhimaan.
The Music is average. There is no track which truly lives on and neither are the songs required in the screenplay. In fact if there is a downside to this film it is most definitely the songs – they’ve been placed as suitably as possible in the film but to be honest the film could have more then easily done without them.
The Story is the heart of Guddi. A naïve and innocent girl who thinks everything she sees on the cinema screen can be taken as reality, and I could see myself somewhere in Guddi to be honest. Of course in today’s day and age it’s impossible to be as naïve as Guddi was in the situation – we know a lot more about what lives celebrities lead and we know how to differenciate between what they are depicted as onscreen and how they appear in real life – however, aren’t there so many millions of us still across the globe who become so fascinated by the glamour and glitz of the film world that we fail to realise the sweat and hard work that goes on behind the scenes at times? The whole concept of a fan falling in love with a movie star, to an extreme that sadly is imaginable, makes a enthralling story which keeps you glued to the screen all throughout! Guddi forms another very real, relatable, and yet extremely unique story from Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s resume.
The Screenplay & Dialogues by Gulzar are brilliant. The dialogues are natural and conversation-like, not at all dramatic and filmi like I would have personally expected from an old movie. There was nothing clever or poetic about them, unless necessary, it was all very real. The screenplay was brilliant, there wasn’t a moment where I felt bored or where I lost focus. A gripping and tight screenplay (the film is only two hours of length)!
Performances were brilliant all round. Every actor delivers a fine performance and naturally fits into their given character, making the character come alive. The most effective performances come from the following actors…
Dharmendra: An amazingly natural performance. Playing himself he handles the character with such ease that it makes you fall in love with him all over again (ironic considering the story of the film haha). The man is flawless in every which way – Greek God looks [so darn drool-worthy *sigh*] and the talent to match, or rather surpass, any so-called best actor. He is the best! The best thing about Dharmendra as an actor is that it doesn’t seem he wasted his talent, because from what I have seen of his career he has so easily handled so many different types of roles – hats off to him for not only being a natural and flawless actor, but also proving his versatility.
Jaya Bhaduri: I just took a look at her filmography on IMDB and it seems this was one of her first few films? All I can say is boy am I impressed or what! Not only does she churn out a stunningly natural performance, taking to the role of Guddi/Kusum as though she was born only to play this, but she looks like a dream – so beautiful, so innocent. The more I see of Jaya Bhaduri from her old movies, the more I fall in love with her and the faster she races up the list of my favourite actresses. I cannot wait to see more old movies of hers because she proved yet again with Guddi that she is one of the finest actresses Indian cinema has ever produced.
Samit Bhanja: Sometimes when I’m watching an old movie and there’s no real “superstar” (an actor I recognise) in a particular frame/shot of the film, I tend to lose focus during that time. Samit Bhanja churns out a good performance as Naveen, and I really grew to like him as the film went on.
Utpal Dutt: A very likable performance, and an even more likable character – I enjoyed watching him.
In true Hrishikesh Mukherjee style, Guddi proves to be yet another realistic, simple, sweet and unique story made with excellence on par with any other classic from our cinema. It took me forever to finally watch this film but I can only say how glad I am that I finally got to watch it!
I recommend the film to everyone who appreciates cinema, everyone who has ever felt cinema is the centre of his or her life [just the way the character of Guddi does], and actually I recommend the film to everyone, period. Guddi is a classic worth watching – if you haven’t seen it, you really are missing out a huge deal, so go get your hands on a copy and watch it, you wont regret it and I promise you that much!!
Reviewed: 28.06.2007
Dir: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Cast: Jaya Bhaduri & Dharmendra
After years of waiting I finally bought the Guddi DVD a few months back and eventually got the chance to watch it yesterday. I haven’t seen much of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s cinema but whatever I’ve heard of him has always been positive. I must have seen many of his movies while growing up but the only ones I absolutely and clearly remember are Chupke Chupke, Anand, Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate, and to some extent Namak Haraam and Abhimaan.
The Music is average. There is no track which truly lives on and neither are the songs required in the screenplay. In fact if there is a downside to this film it is most definitely the songs – they’ve been placed as suitably as possible in the film but to be honest the film could have more then easily done without them.
The Story is the heart of Guddi. A naïve and innocent girl who thinks everything she sees on the cinema screen can be taken as reality, and I could see myself somewhere in Guddi to be honest. Of course in today’s day and age it’s impossible to be as naïve as Guddi was in the situation – we know a lot more about what lives celebrities lead and we know how to differenciate between what they are depicted as onscreen and how they appear in real life – however, aren’t there so many millions of us still across the globe who become so fascinated by the glamour and glitz of the film world that we fail to realise the sweat and hard work that goes on behind the scenes at times? The whole concept of a fan falling in love with a movie star, to an extreme that sadly is imaginable, makes a enthralling story which keeps you glued to the screen all throughout! Guddi forms another very real, relatable, and yet extremely unique story from Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s resume.
The Screenplay & Dialogues by Gulzar are brilliant. The dialogues are natural and conversation-like, not at all dramatic and filmi like I would have personally expected from an old movie. There was nothing clever or poetic about them, unless necessary, it was all very real. The screenplay was brilliant, there wasn’t a moment where I felt bored or where I lost focus. A gripping and tight screenplay (the film is only two hours of length)!
Performances were brilliant all round. Every actor delivers a fine performance and naturally fits into their given character, making the character come alive. The most effective performances come from the following actors…
Dharmendra: An amazingly natural performance. Playing himself he handles the character with such ease that it makes you fall in love with him all over again (ironic considering the story of the film haha). The man is flawless in every which way – Greek God looks [so darn drool-worthy *sigh*] and the talent to match, or rather surpass, any so-called best actor. He is the best! The best thing about Dharmendra as an actor is that it doesn’t seem he wasted his talent, because from what I have seen of his career he has so easily handled so many different types of roles – hats off to him for not only being a natural and flawless actor, but also proving his versatility.
Jaya Bhaduri: I just took a look at her filmography on IMDB and it seems this was one of her first few films? All I can say is boy am I impressed or what! Not only does she churn out a stunningly natural performance, taking to the role of Guddi/Kusum as though she was born only to play this, but she looks like a dream – so beautiful, so innocent. The more I see of Jaya Bhaduri from her old movies, the more I fall in love with her and the faster she races up the list of my favourite actresses. I cannot wait to see more old movies of hers because she proved yet again with Guddi that she is one of the finest actresses Indian cinema has ever produced.
Samit Bhanja: Sometimes when I’m watching an old movie and there’s no real “superstar” (an actor I recognise) in a particular frame/shot of the film, I tend to lose focus during that time. Samit Bhanja churns out a good performance as Naveen, and I really grew to like him as the film went on.
Utpal Dutt: A very likable performance, and an even more likable character – I enjoyed watching him.
In true Hrishikesh Mukherjee style, Guddi proves to be yet another realistic, simple, sweet and unique story made with excellence on par with any other classic from our cinema. It took me forever to finally watch this film but I can only say how glad I am that I finally got to watch it!
I recommend the film to everyone who appreciates cinema, everyone who has ever felt cinema is the centre of his or her life [just the way the character of Guddi does], and actually I recommend the film to everyone, period. Guddi is a classic worth watching – if you haven’t seen it, you really are missing out a huge deal, so go get your hands on a copy and watch it, you wont regret it and I promise you that much!!
The Namesake [2006]
The Namesake
Reviewed: 26.06.2007
Er it was OK... I couldn't relate to the story or to the characters so it didn't touch me in any great way or anything. I mean all that hoohaa over a name? And that scene where they're showing college students taking the p!ss out of someones name? I mean seriously... What world is that? Anyway whatever... Film-wise also it was really slow paced...Patchy screenplay. Performances were good though...probably the only highlight. None of the roles required anything major from the actors but still the actors did a good job in whatever little they had to do. Irrfan is someone I usually hate with a lot of passion but he was quite good here, suited the role..for once! Tabu was really good and got into the skin of the character so easily it seemed. That Penn[?] guy was annoying.
So yeah...I had heard so much about the film and what I saw really didn't match up to that!
Reviewed: 26.06.2007
Er it was OK... I couldn't relate to the story or to the characters so it didn't touch me in any great way or anything. I mean all that hoohaa over a name? And that scene where they're showing college students taking the p!ss out of someones name? I mean seriously... What world is that? Anyway whatever... Film-wise also it was really slow paced...Patchy screenplay. Performances were good though...probably the only highlight. None of the roles required anything major from the actors but still the actors did a good job in whatever little they had to do. Irrfan is someone I usually hate with a lot of passion but he was quite good here, suited the role..for once! Tabu was really good and got into the skin of the character so easily it seemed. That Penn[?] guy was annoying.
So yeah...I had heard so much about the film and what I saw really didn't match up to that!
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Salaam-e-Ishq [2007]
Salaam-e-Ishq
Reviewed: 28.01.2007
Expectations: My expectations for SEI were quite high. Kal Ho Naa Ho is one of my favourite films but everyone always credits Karan for that (as he wrote the screenplay and produced it) so in a way SEI was ‘the test’ for Nikhil as far as I was concerned. Is he actually a good filmmaker? Or was KHNH a one off (and that too thanks to Karan)?
To top it off the film starred some of my all time favourite actors (Salman, Govinda, Juhi) as well some of my current favourites (John, Sohail, Akshaye, Vidya, Priyanka, Ayesha), actually I loved the entire cast. It’s a huge cast and it used to make my head spin just thinking how anyone could handle such a cast, how do you do justice to them all?
Judging by the promos the film looked really interesting, I loved the concept and then when the soundtrack came out, I found it to be one of the better movie albums in a long, long time – furthering my expectations from the movie even more.
Random Comments:
Akshaye Khanna was the ‘leading hero’ of the film. He connected everyone together – I think if there’s a “leading” (or author-backed) role in the film, it’s definitely his.
I love the songs even more now that I’ve seen the film. Saiyyan Re was one I didn’t like earlier on but now I just love the song so much! It was pictured so beautifully, as were all the other songs. In fact the choreography was absolutely fantastic, each song was extremely well shot. Hats off to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the choreographer(s) of the film.
The editing was really good; I loved some of the techniques used. The film shows (after KHNH) that Nikhil must have a serious eye for editing; he uses interesting techniques that other filmmakers strangely don’t.
I loved how all the stories connected together. Except for Sohail-Isha’s track (which was like the Shakespearean random clown/fool scenes haha), all the stories bounced off each other so well, I didn’t expect it to be so well sewed together. Very well written screenplay.
Basically, technically the film was awesome. Visually also it was a treat to the eyes. Beautiful costumes (and not just beautiful for the sake of it, each character was designed for suitably and that was the best thing about it), great make-up for all the artistes, and brilliant art direction, one set that really stood out was Anil-Juhi’s house, perfectly made for their lives – grey/black paint and furniture, depicting the dullness in their lives, I loved that!
Performances & Individual Stories:
Akshaye Khanna Ayesha Takia
The Story: I loved it, it was so cute and entertaining, and had me laughing uncontrollably at times, though at other times it did get a bit heavy on the emotional side (especially for Ayesha’s character, I felt so sorry for her because it seemed like every time she decided on a guy for herself to marry something or another went wrong haha).
Akshaye’s Performance I love it when Akshaye does light-hearted roles like these, he’s amazing with them. His comic timing is perfect and his facial expressions are so adorable! He suited the role perfectly and I can’t think of anyone else doing it as well as him, I loved him in it so much! With Aap Ki Khatir and now Salaam-e-Ishq, he’s definitely one of my favourite actors, I hope to see a lot more of him now.
Ayesha’s Performance Her role was very short but she did a fantastic job with whatever she had. She looked stunningly gorgeous and gave a brilliant performance. She’s such a natural actress.
Anil Kapoor Juhi Chawla Anjana
The Story: Fantastic! Absolutely brilliant, I loved their story so much. I could really feel Anil’s character…he lead such a mundane and boring life, just like me! Wake up go to the train station, go to work (well I got uni) like a zombie and then come back to the train station, come back home and go to sleep! Haha! I just loved the way they showed his character ‘coz I could so feel it! I loved how the story was written and portrayed so maturely yet there were some really cute light moments as well. I also loved Juhi’s character (and a huge special mention to the clothes she wore, so real).
Anil’s Performance Anil used to be one of my favourite actors through the end-80s and 90s time of his career, but in the 2000s he hasn’t really impressed me much he just appears so ‘wannabe’ all the time. With Salaam-e-Ishq though, that changes. He was perfect for his role and churned out a fantastically flawless performance, he rocked! And he looked good too (haha he looked so oddly cute without the moustache, even though I knew he shaved it for the film it was still such a shocker!)
Juhi’s Performance Brilliant and subtle performance. The role was short but it was quite complex. Had it been played just the slight bit wrong the whole story could’ve gone for a toss, but Juhi handled it perfectly. She performed maturely and beautifully. The beauty of her performance lies in her ability to make you feel for her, she’s such a warm actress you just feel like reaching out to her and giving her a big hug, oh and she looked so, so gorgeous!!
Anjana’s Performance I always loved this girl in her Ghar Jayegi video, she’s gorgeous! As an actress I’d say this was quite a good role for her to get her teeth into and she did just that, she made the most of it. She did a pretty good job and I liked her!
Govinda Shannon
The Story: Aww the cutest story of the lot! I just felt like giving Govinda the biggest hug, he was so adorable…Raju’s a great guy! I think the idea of communication problems and yet they still fall in love, well…wow! That’s something eh? Haha… it had some of the cutest and funniest moments, and some really emotional times too, I really enjoyed it a lot! I think in terms of concept this was the most unique and praise-worthy.
Govinda’s Performance He’s back and with a bang! He’s such a brilliant actor and he proves that yet again with Salaam-e-Ishq. I am so happy that he got this chance because it truly was a shame that filmmakers were not signing him on anymore… I think that will definitely change now post-SEI though because he has given such a brilliant, natural, flawless and lovable performance that I think it’s undoubtedly going to revive his career and rightfully so!
Shannon’s Performance Honestly? I truly was expecting her to be awful! But she fit into the role and film so well. She was excellent. She emoted extremely well!
John Abraham Vidya Balan
The Story: The most intense and emotional story of the lot… my eyes watered up so much watching them. It reminded me a lot of Saathiya until the whole amnesia thing took place. A fantastically directed and performed story, and really heart-touching! Their romantic moments were so adorable but the other portions were just as much upsetting, I felt so sad watching…I could genuinely feel their pain. And aww Ashutosh is sucha dream guy…*sigh*
John’s Performance I am so glad that I got to see this for John…My God he was perfect! What a great performance…I’m actually failing to find words to desribe just how brilliant he was…he was just absolutely mind-blowingly outstanding…I could go on using adjectives to say how awesome he was…really, really great…I’m so proud of him! What a sparkling performance, he truly shines!!
Vidya’s Performance This girl rocks….but we all know that! So need I say more? Well I will anyway haha…she’s absolutely amazing, such a natural actress! Every role she takes on – she walks through it so flawlessly. The way I see it Vidya Balan is definitely a legend in the making.
Salman Khan Priyanka Chopra
The Story: Full on fun! This track was like all crazy and hilarious (though towards the end my eyes did start watering for them also haha).
Salman’s Performance Raaoooooooll was obviously awesome!! Salman gave a perfect performance as always, he can’t go wrong even if he wanted to! He looked like a dream and performed superb…but his role really did not demand anything of an actor of his calibre, but I have no complaints against him or Nikhil…he was perfect for and as Raaaoool, I’m glad he did it!
Priyanka’s Performance She had me in splits! Kkamini…haha I love her! She was brilliant…she could’ve easily done ‘too much’ for the role and ruined it, but she didn’t…she was perfect, I cant imagine any other actress doing this role as well as she did. Her dialogue delivery was perfect, she looked absolutely gorgeous and acted brilliant, I’m so proud of her!
Sohail Khan Ishaa Kopikar
The Story: This track was basically like those fool/clown sidetracks in Shakespeare’s plays. It didn’t have much to do with the film but wasn’t completely off-track either. It existed for comic relief, and did a brilliant job at that. The comedy was perfect and each time they came onscreen I didn’t know where to hide because I felt like laughing so ridiculously loud, it just rocked! I wish they had about 2 more scenes though, they were completely missing in the second half. However, I do understand why that is, perhaps Nikhil felt that having their comic sequences in the second half (which was quite serious) might take away from the audience concentrating on the seriousness of the other stories.
Sohail’s Performance Since his debut film I’ve been a huge fan of his and each time I watch another film of his I feel even more strongly about his being one of our better and most underrated actors. He was absolutely amazing in this film as per usual! Yet another different role he took on but he excelled and how, even with such a short role he leaves a great mark!
Ishaa’s Performance She didn’t have much to perform at all but this is one of those rare occasions when Ishaa did not annoy me hehe… she acted well (loved her broken dialogues LOL) in whatever she had to do, and looked absolutely gorgeous!!
I loved all the mini-stories, all the performances and appreciated the chemistry shared between each of the actors who shared any scenes, all of it was wonderful and I think a huge amount of credit for all of that should rightfully go to the films director…
Nikhil Advani has proved with Salaam-e-Ishq (at least to me as a viewer who always had faith in his capabilities) that he is a great filmmaker and has a lot of potential, he will go really far. Salaam-e-Ishq would probably be a really hard film to direct with so many different stories going on. It’s like directing 6 separate films and then deciding on how to put them all together, it’s a tough job but he did it with absolute ease. I’m impressed, I’m proud and he’s made me really happy, Salaam-e-Nikhil…!
Overall: Salaam-e-Ishq is everything I expected it to be. It’s entertaining, it’s beautiful and it’s full of great performances. With a load of awesome comedy and some extremely heart-touching warm and emotional moments too, it’s a winner all the way. The first film I saw in 2005 was Black. The first film I saw in 2006 was Zinda. The first film I saw in 2007 is Salaam-e-Ishq. Now I don’t think this is a classic (I do think Black and Zinda are classics) but nonetheless it is a brilliant movie. I’d definitely recommend it to each and every person who loves cinema, loves love and above all, loves entertainment, because I do believe that since Main Hoon Na this is the most entertaining film I have seen, it keeps a perfect balance between being a well made film and extremely entertaining, I can’t wait to own the DVD so I can watch it all over again and again and again.
Reviewed: 28.01.2007
Expectations: My expectations for SEI were quite high. Kal Ho Naa Ho is one of my favourite films but everyone always credits Karan for that (as he wrote the screenplay and produced it) so in a way SEI was ‘the test’ for Nikhil as far as I was concerned. Is he actually a good filmmaker? Or was KHNH a one off (and that too thanks to Karan)?
To top it off the film starred some of my all time favourite actors (Salman, Govinda, Juhi) as well some of my current favourites (John, Sohail, Akshaye, Vidya, Priyanka, Ayesha), actually I loved the entire cast. It’s a huge cast and it used to make my head spin just thinking how anyone could handle such a cast, how do you do justice to them all?
Judging by the promos the film looked really interesting, I loved the concept and then when the soundtrack came out, I found it to be one of the better movie albums in a long, long time – furthering my expectations from the movie even more.
Random Comments:
Akshaye Khanna was the ‘leading hero’ of the film. He connected everyone together – I think if there’s a “leading” (or author-backed) role in the film, it’s definitely his.
I love the songs even more now that I’ve seen the film. Saiyyan Re was one I didn’t like earlier on but now I just love the song so much! It was pictured so beautifully, as were all the other songs. In fact the choreography was absolutely fantastic, each song was extremely well shot. Hats off to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the choreographer(s) of the film.
The editing was really good; I loved some of the techniques used. The film shows (after KHNH) that Nikhil must have a serious eye for editing; he uses interesting techniques that other filmmakers strangely don’t.
I loved how all the stories connected together. Except for Sohail-Isha’s track (which was like the Shakespearean random clown/fool scenes haha), all the stories bounced off each other so well, I didn’t expect it to be so well sewed together. Very well written screenplay.
Basically, technically the film was awesome. Visually also it was a treat to the eyes. Beautiful costumes (and not just beautiful for the sake of it, each character was designed for suitably and that was the best thing about it), great make-up for all the artistes, and brilliant art direction, one set that really stood out was Anil-Juhi’s house, perfectly made for their lives – grey/black paint and furniture, depicting the dullness in their lives, I loved that!
Performances & Individual Stories:
Akshaye Khanna Ayesha Takia
The Story: I loved it, it was so cute and entertaining, and had me laughing uncontrollably at times, though at other times it did get a bit heavy on the emotional side (especially for Ayesha’s character, I felt so sorry for her because it seemed like every time she decided on a guy for herself to marry something or another went wrong haha).
Akshaye’s Performance I love it when Akshaye does light-hearted roles like these, he’s amazing with them. His comic timing is perfect and his facial expressions are so adorable! He suited the role perfectly and I can’t think of anyone else doing it as well as him, I loved him in it so much! With Aap Ki Khatir and now Salaam-e-Ishq, he’s definitely one of my favourite actors, I hope to see a lot more of him now.
Ayesha’s Performance Her role was very short but she did a fantastic job with whatever she had. She looked stunningly gorgeous and gave a brilliant performance. She’s such a natural actress.
Anil Kapoor Juhi Chawla Anjana
The Story: Fantastic! Absolutely brilliant, I loved their story so much. I could really feel Anil’s character…he lead such a mundane and boring life, just like me! Wake up go to the train station, go to work (well I got uni) like a zombie and then come back to the train station, come back home and go to sleep! Haha! I just loved the way they showed his character ‘coz I could so feel it! I loved how the story was written and portrayed so maturely yet there were some really cute light moments as well. I also loved Juhi’s character (and a huge special mention to the clothes she wore, so real).
Anil’s Performance Anil used to be one of my favourite actors through the end-80s and 90s time of his career, but in the 2000s he hasn’t really impressed me much he just appears so ‘wannabe’ all the time. With Salaam-e-Ishq though, that changes. He was perfect for his role and churned out a fantastically flawless performance, he rocked! And he looked good too (haha he looked so oddly cute without the moustache, even though I knew he shaved it for the film it was still such a shocker!)
Juhi’s Performance Brilliant and subtle performance. The role was short but it was quite complex. Had it been played just the slight bit wrong the whole story could’ve gone for a toss, but Juhi handled it perfectly. She performed maturely and beautifully. The beauty of her performance lies in her ability to make you feel for her, she’s such a warm actress you just feel like reaching out to her and giving her a big hug, oh and she looked so, so gorgeous!!
Anjana’s Performance I always loved this girl in her Ghar Jayegi video, she’s gorgeous! As an actress I’d say this was quite a good role for her to get her teeth into and she did just that, she made the most of it. She did a pretty good job and I liked her!
Govinda Shannon
The Story: Aww the cutest story of the lot! I just felt like giving Govinda the biggest hug, he was so adorable…Raju’s a great guy! I think the idea of communication problems and yet they still fall in love, well…wow! That’s something eh? Haha… it had some of the cutest and funniest moments, and some really emotional times too, I really enjoyed it a lot! I think in terms of concept this was the most unique and praise-worthy.
Govinda’s Performance He’s back and with a bang! He’s such a brilliant actor and he proves that yet again with Salaam-e-Ishq. I am so happy that he got this chance because it truly was a shame that filmmakers were not signing him on anymore… I think that will definitely change now post-SEI though because he has given such a brilliant, natural, flawless and lovable performance that I think it’s undoubtedly going to revive his career and rightfully so!
Shannon’s Performance Honestly? I truly was expecting her to be awful! But she fit into the role and film so well. She was excellent. She emoted extremely well!
John Abraham Vidya Balan
The Story: The most intense and emotional story of the lot… my eyes watered up so much watching them. It reminded me a lot of Saathiya until the whole amnesia thing took place. A fantastically directed and performed story, and really heart-touching! Their romantic moments were so adorable but the other portions were just as much upsetting, I felt so sad watching…I could genuinely feel their pain. And aww Ashutosh is sucha dream guy…*sigh*
John’s Performance I am so glad that I got to see this for John…My God he was perfect! What a great performance…I’m actually failing to find words to desribe just how brilliant he was…he was just absolutely mind-blowingly outstanding…I could go on using adjectives to say how awesome he was…really, really great…I’m so proud of him! What a sparkling performance, he truly shines!!
Vidya’s Performance This girl rocks….but we all know that! So need I say more? Well I will anyway haha…she’s absolutely amazing, such a natural actress! Every role she takes on – she walks through it so flawlessly. The way I see it Vidya Balan is definitely a legend in the making.
Salman Khan Priyanka Chopra
The Story: Full on fun! This track was like all crazy and hilarious (though towards the end my eyes did start watering for them also haha).
Salman’s Performance Raaoooooooll was obviously awesome!! Salman gave a perfect performance as always, he can’t go wrong even if he wanted to! He looked like a dream and performed superb…but his role really did not demand anything of an actor of his calibre, but I have no complaints against him or Nikhil…he was perfect for and as Raaaoool, I’m glad he did it!
Priyanka’s Performance She had me in splits! Kkamini…haha I love her! She was brilliant…she could’ve easily done ‘too much’ for the role and ruined it, but she didn’t…she was perfect, I cant imagine any other actress doing this role as well as she did. Her dialogue delivery was perfect, she looked absolutely gorgeous and acted brilliant, I’m so proud of her!
Sohail Khan Ishaa Kopikar
The Story: This track was basically like those fool/clown sidetracks in Shakespeare’s plays. It didn’t have much to do with the film but wasn’t completely off-track either. It existed for comic relief, and did a brilliant job at that. The comedy was perfect and each time they came onscreen I didn’t know where to hide because I felt like laughing so ridiculously loud, it just rocked! I wish they had about 2 more scenes though, they were completely missing in the second half. However, I do understand why that is, perhaps Nikhil felt that having their comic sequences in the second half (which was quite serious) might take away from the audience concentrating on the seriousness of the other stories.
Sohail’s Performance Since his debut film I’ve been a huge fan of his and each time I watch another film of his I feel even more strongly about his being one of our better and most underrated actors. He was absolutely amazing in this film as per usual! Yet another different role he took on but he excelled and how, even with such a short role he leaves a great mark!
Ishaa’s Performance She didn’t have much to perform at all but this is one of those rare occasions when Ishaa did not annoy me hehe… she acted well (loved her broken dialogues LOL) in whatever she had to do, and looked absolutely gorgeous!!
I loved all the mini-stories, all the performances and appreciated the chemistry shared between each of the actors who shared any scenes, all of it was wonderful and I think a huge amount of credit for all of that should rightfully go to the films director…
Nikhil Advani has proved with Salaam-e-Ishq (at least to me as a viewer who always had faith in his capabilities) that he is a great filmmaker and has a lot of potential, he will go really far. Salaam-e-Ishq would probably be a really hard film to direct with so many different stories going on. It’s like directing 6 separate films and then deciding on how to put them all together, it’s a tough job but he did it with absolute ease. I’m impressed, I’m proud and he’s made me really happy, Salaam-e-Nikhil…!
Overall: Salaam-e-Ishq is everything I expected it to be. It’s entertaining, it’s beautiful and it’s full of great performances. With a load of awesome comedy and some extremely heart-touching warm and emotional moments too, it’s a winner all the way. The first film I saw in 2005 was Black. The first film I saw in 2006 was Zinda. The first film I saw in 2007 is Salaam-e-Ishq. Now I don’t think this is a classic (I do think Black and Zinda are classics) but nonetheless it is a brilliant movie. I’d definitely recommend it to each and every person who loves cinema, loves love and above all, loves entertainment, because I do believe that since Main Hoon Na this is the most entertaining film I have seen, it keeps a perfect balance between being a well made film and extremely entertaining, I can’t wait to own the DVD so I can watch it all over again and again and again.
Guru [2007]
Guru
[Reviewed: March 27th 2007]
Expectations: I love ‘Dil Se’ and thought ‘Yuva’ was an interesting concept (but went wrong somewhere along the lines)… I’ve always known of Mani Ratnam as a ‘good filmmaker’ but I’m not a fan of his…so my expectations for Guru weren’t really high at all, which is why I’m watching it after such a long time of its release.
My Favourite Scenes: There were a lot of good moments in the film, especially in the first half. My favourites have to be the following…These scenes really ‘made the film’ for me.
* The train scene when Sujatha is running away, realises her lover does not feel the same as her, and then meets Guru on the train.
* The scene where Guru goes to Sujatha’s house to ask her father for her hand in marriage…what a unique way to ask haha
* The golf scene when Guru asks for the letter and the scene after when Guru and Sujatha are ‘dreaming’…Guru about the future and what he aspires to have, and Sujatha more about reality…about washing the clothes and cooking the meals.
* Not really the scene itself but I loved the dialogue when Guru says ‘Mumbai ko aap logo ne kutta bana kar raka hua hai’ That was damn hilarious!
* The scene when Guru and Sujatha are in bed and keep slapping each other LOL it’s hilarious, cute and romantic!
* Just before ‘Tere Bina’ when Jignesh leaves Guru’s partnership…when Sujatha finds out why Guru married her.
* When Guru goes to see Nanaji and Shyam points out all of Guru’s low points…
* When Sujatha takes the twins to get the Nanaji’s blessings…I really hated that Nanaji character urghh
* When Shyam proposes to Meenu
* When Guru goes to see Shyam and realises that he’s married to Meenu
* When Guru goes to meet Ghanshyam in hospital
* When Guru and Sujatha are remembering the old days and then Guru has an attack and falls to the ground.
* In hospital when Sujatha takes her twins to see Guru, that was really touching…
* When Guru and Sujatha go to see Meenu and she’s critically ill…and then also Meenu’s funeral.
Songs: Not a great album but it’s average. Tere Bina is a gorgeous song, by far the best on the soundtrack. It was pictured very well too. Mayya Mayya was OK being in the credits and all but I wasn’t fond of the initial part when Mallika was wearing the golden outfit – that was a bit boring, though Mallika did look hot! Barso Re is a nice song audio-wise but it’s the choreography that really made me love it, it was so gorgeously shot that I felt like going to those locations and dancing in the rain myself LOL…Ek Lo Ek Muft was a terrible song…pictured OK because it fit the situation fine but my GOD! The audio of this song gives me the biggest headache in the world…horrible song, one of the worst I’ve ever heard in my life.
Performances
Abhishek Bachchan: He’s a great actor and has been so since the day he debuted. Abhishek is a natural and he uses this opportunity to the max to prove just how talented he is. I don’t think it’s ‘handsdown his best performance’ or anything, I’ve liked him a lot more in a couple of other movies (namely ‘Bluffmaster’ and ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’) but this is definitely one of his best performances. He fits into the character so well and so naturally…it’s a really tough character but he pulls it off as though he IS Gurukant Desai. No complaints against his performance at all… be it his dialogue delivery or his body language, right from his first scene to his last, Abhishek Bachchan delivers flawlessly.
Aishwarya Rai: I don’t think much of Aishwarya Rai as an actress. She’s a beauty and even here in ‘Guru’ she looked absolutely gorgeous! The difference this time though was that she churned out a stunningly natural performance…something I didn’t even dream she was capable of doing. I wish she put this effort into all of her performances because though she’s not born to act, she obviously is able to churn out great stuff… As Sujatha she was perfect! Her dialogue delivery, her actions, the way she emoted through her eyes…she really touched my heart. This is definitely her finest performance after a long time. She really impressed me a lot! Earlier I’ve loved her performances in Josh, Mohabbatein, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Humaara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (in that order) and this matches them, if not surpasses them, easily.
Madhavan: I’m no Madhavan fan! I think he’s been terrible in everything I had seen of him up till Rang De Basanti (he was great in that) but in ‘Guru’ he was just so natural and fit the role perfectly. A great performance.
Vidya Balan: This girl doesn’t know how to give a bad shot…she performs like an absolute dream! But I really wish her character was given more importance. Sketchy characterisation but this legend-in-the-making performs the role so well and looks so gorgeous…she really makes the most of it and definitely leaves a mark.
Mithun: He didn’t have much to do at all but whatever he did have, he did with perfection... a nice and natural performance.
Others: Everyone else did a good job too…most notably Manoj Joshi (I think that’s his name…the actor who played Ghanshyam)…he did a fantastic job, especially in his hospital scene.
Overall: ‘Guru’ is most definitely a really good film, but it’s not amazing and it’s not perfect IMO… It could’ve been a lot better. Some parts are too boring and dry (like a lot of the initial portions and some scenes near the end) but I still enjoyed the film for its beautiful performances, great concept and all those many scenes I mentioned as my favourites…those scenes make the film worth every penny and more… ‘Guru’ is definitely a good film and definitely worth watching at least once!
[Reviewed: March 27th 2007]
Expectations: I love ‘Dil Se’ and thought ‘Yuva’ was an interesting concept (but went wrong somewhere along the lines)… I’ve always known of Mani Ratnam as a ‘good filmmaker’ but I’m not a fan of his…so my expectations for Guru weren’t really high at all, which is why I’m watching it after such a long time of its release.
My Favourite Scenes: There were a lot of good moments in the film, especially in the first half. My favourites have to be the following…These scenes really ‘made the film’ for me.
* The train scene when Sujatha is running away, realises her lover does not feel the same as her, and then meets Guru on the train.
* The scene where Guru goes to Sujatha’s house to ask her father for her hand in marriage…what a unique way to ask haha
* The golf scene when Guru asks for the letter and the scene after when Guru and Sujatha are ‘dreaming’…Guru about the future and what he aspires to have, and Sujatha more about reality…about washing the clothes and cooking the meals.
* Not really the scene itself but I loved the dialogue when Guru says ‘Mumbai ko aap logo ne kutta bana kar raka hua hai’ That was damn hilarious!
* The scene when Guru and Sujatha are in bed and keep slapping each other LOL it’s hilarious, cute and romantic!
* Just before ‘Tere Bina’ when Jignesh leaves Guru’s partnership…when Sujatha finds out why Guru married her.
* When Guru goes to see Nanaji and Shyam points out all of Guru’s low points…
* When Sujatha takes the twins to get the Nanaji’s blessings…I really hated that Nanaji character urghh
* When Shyam proposes to Meenu
* When Guru goes to see Shyam and realises that he’s married to Meenu
* When Guru goes to meet Ghanshyam in hospital
* When Guru and Sujatha are remembering the old days and then Guru has an attack and falls to the ground.
* In hospital when Sujatha takes her twins to see Guru, that was really touching…
* When Guru and Sujatha go to see Meenu and she’s critically ill…and then also Meenu’s funeral.
Songs: Not a great album but it’s average. Tere Bina is a gorgeous song, by far the best on the soundtrack. It was pictured very well too. Mayya Mayya was OK being in the credits and all but I wasn’t fond of the initial part when Mallika was wearing the golden outfit – that was a bit boring, though Mallika did look hot! Barso Re is a nice song audio-wise but it’s the choreography that really made me love it, it was so gorgeously shot that I felt like going to those locations and dancing in the rain myself LOL…Ek Lo Ek Muft was a terrible song…pictured OK because it fit the situation fine but my GOD! The audio of this song gives me the biggest headache in the world…horrible song, one of the worst I’ve ever heard in my life.
Performances
Abhishek Bachchan: He’s a great actor and has been so since the day he debuted. Abhishek is a natural and he uses this opportunity to the max to prove just how talented he is. I don’t think it’s ‘handsdown his best performance’ or anything, I’ve liked him a lot more in a couple of other movies (namely ‘Bluffmaster’ and ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’) but this is definitely one of his best performances. He fits into the character so well and so naturally…it’s a really tough character but he pulls it off as though he IS Gurukant Desai. No complaints against his performance at all… be it his dialogue delivery or his body language, right from his first scene to his last, Abhishek Bachchan delivers flawlessly.
Aishwarya Rai: I don’t think much of Aishwarya Rai as an actress. She’s a beauty and even here in ‘Guru’ she looked absolutely gorgeous! The difference this time though was that she churned out a stunningly natural performance…something I didn’t even dream she was capable of doing. I wish she put this effort into all of her performances because though she’s not born to act, she obviously is able to churn out great stuff… As Sujatha she was perfect! Her dialogue delivery, her actions, the way she emoted through her eyes…she really touched my heart. This is definitely her finest performance after a long time. She really impressed me a lot! Earlier I’ve loved her performances in Josh, Mohabbatein, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Humaara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (in that order) and this matches them, if not surpasses them, easily.
Madhavan: I’m no Madhavan fan! I think he’s been terrible in everything I had seen of him up till Rang De Basanti (he was great in that) but in ‘Guru’ he was just so natural and fit the role perfectly. A great performance.
Vidya Balan: This girl doesn’t know how to give a bad shot…she performs like an absolute dream! But I really wish her character was given more importance. Sketchy characterisation but this legend-in-the-making performs the role so well and looks so gorgeous…she really makes the most of it and definitely leaves a mark.
Mithun: He didn’t have much to do at all but whatever he did have, he did with perfection... a nice and natural performance.
Others: Everyone else did a good job too…most notably Manoj Joshi (I think that’s his name…the actor who played Ghanshyam)…he did a fantastic job, especially in his hospital scene.
Overall: ‘Guru’ is most definitely a really good film, but it’s not amazing and it’s not perfect IMO… It could’ve been a lot better. Some parts are too boring and dry (like a lot of the initial portions and some scenes near the end) but I still enjoyed the film for its beautiful performances, great concept and all those many scenes I mentioned as my favourites…those scenes make the film worth every penny and more… ‘Guru’ is definitely a good film and definitely worth watching at least once!
Eklavya - The Royal Guard [2007]
Eklavya - The Royal Guard
[Review: May 7th 2007]
More like the royal waste of time or rather a ROYAL PAIN OF BORE IN THE YOU KNOW WHAT! I'm so annoyed that I own this movie...but at the same time it's cool 'coz my video uncle had actually SOLD it to me on a RENTAL PRICE (they must have too many copies and not enough ppl willing to rent it hahaha, I don't blame them)!
So yeah... I think you understand my feelings about the film... I didn't like it. It is the worst 2007 film so far handsdown and I cannot understand HOW Vidhu Vinod Chopra took so long creating THIS... He is such a talented filmmaker and this is a big fat black mark on his beautiful career IMO LOL
It was like some Shakespearean movie... real headache... so fake and so annoying... I'm not going to comment on all the actors individually because I don't think even one left a mark...they were all blahhh!! I don't understand how or why they signed the film (well probably they did coz it's VVC only)... They all either had nothing to do or those that had something to do just looked so clown-ish! Haha!
The only scene I enjoyed was the last scene It was genuinely the best scene of the film LOL .... The length was good and I'm glad it was that short because otherwise it would've been even more painful!
I'll be kind and give it 1 star...and rate it 1/10... Because I love Saif so much. Otherwise it's such a MINUS! URGH!!!
Total bakwaas movie... I didn't expect much but this surpassed my expectations in the sense that not only was it more boring then I expected but it was a bloody disaster ROFL!!
[Review: May 7th 2007]
More like the royal waste of time or rather a ROYAL PAIN OF BORE IN THE YOU KNOW WHAT! I'm so annoyed that I own this movie...but at the same time it's cool 'coz my video uncle had actually SOLD it to me on a RENTAL PRICE (they must have too many copies and not enough ppl willing to rent it hahaha, I don't blame them)!
So yeah... I think you understand my feelings about the film... I didn't like it. It is the worst 2007 film so far handsdown and I cannot understand HOW Vidhu Vinod Chopra took so long creating THIS... He is such a talented filmmaker and this is a big fat black mark on his beautiful career IMO LOL
It was like some Shakespearean movie... real headache... so fake and so annoying... I'm not going to comment on all the actors individually because I don't think even one left a mark...they were all blahhh!! I don't understand how or why they signed the film (well probably they did coz it's VVC only)... They all either had nothing to do or those that had something to do just looked so clown-ish! Haha!
The only scene I enjoyed was the last scene It was genuinely the best scene of the film LOL .... The length was good and I'm glad it was that short because otherwise it would've been even more painful!
I'll be kind and give it 1 star...and rate it 1/10... Because I love Saif so much. Otherwise it's such a MINUS! URGH!!!
Total bakwaas movie... I didn't expect much but this surpassed my expectations in the sense that not only was it more boring then I expected but it was a bloody disaster ROFL!!
Vivah [2006]
Vivah
[Reviewed: 26th December 2006]
The first time on Christmas that I saw an Indian movie, and one of the first times after such a long gap that my entire family watched a movie till late night - they actually sat through the entire film, and weren't talking through it - trust me this rarely happens these days, if ever!
Expectations: I've loved every single film directed by Sooraj Bharjatya... Be it Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Hum Saath Saath Hain or Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon - I love them all, a lot! So my expectations for Vivaah were extremely high in that sense... I expected a beautiful family film... Sooraj Bharjatya's sense of filmmaking is a genre in itself and I wanted 'his' kind of movie, and nothing else. I wanted to see Vivaah in the cinema but none of my local cinemas were showing it (why did Sooraj give this film limited release? I have no clue why he did this because it truly has Blockbuster potential! Sooraj!!) so I waited for the DVD and though I still can't find a copy to buy anywhere, my rental shop had a rental-copy so I got to see it last night!
Story: Nothing too difficult to come up with, yet funnily enough it was new and unique, I've never seen anything like it before! How strange that no one came up with the idea of making a film on this simple and sweet story, earlier!
Sidenote: I didn't see Salman's picture in Poonam's room *sniff* ... Either I missed it or was it edited out of the film? Someone help me out here ! LOL I don't want to miss it the next time I watch it!
Music: Sadly the only downside to the film...It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything great either. The lyrics were dodgy at times (Ocean and Roshan? Just for the sake of rhyming? LOL) but suited the theme of the film so it was OK... The music itself however was a bit disappointing from a Sooraj Bharjatya film - all his other 4 directorials have albums featuring in my all time favourite music list, this doesn't. But it's OK coz the beauty of the film made up for the not so great music! I still do wish the music was better though...
Performances
Shahid Kapoor I've always considered him one of my favourite newbies in the industry, he impresses me with each and every one of his performances right from the time he debuted. I hope Shahid sees a lot of success in his career and after Vivaah, I genuinely believe that's really possible! He was brilliant as Prem! I've loved all the actors who've essayed the Prem roles (and even other roles) in Sooraj's films and felt they always excelled, but after Salman and Saif, Shahid has to be my favourite Sooraj Bharjatya hero! He was so awesome, so natural, so adorable!
Amrita Rao I absolutely loved her in Ishq Vishk and Main Hoon Na, but always found her annoying in her other films. Vivaah reminded me just how much potential this actress has. She was brilliant as Poonam, and I can't imagine anyone (none of my favourites even, and definitely not a senior actor) essay this role as beautifully as her. She was made to be Poonam and excelled incredibly well, I love her all over again!
I really hope both Shahid and Amrita win lots of awards for their performances. I knew people had been raving about them in Vivaah but I didn't believe how great they would be until I saw it for myself and now I actually believe they have just as much chance, if not more, as any of their seniors to sweep the awards, good luck to them because they'll deserve all the awards and rewards they receive, they rocked and made the perfect Sooraj Bharjatya couple, which reminds me - how adorable is their chemistry aww they looked gorgeous together!! What can I say? Sooraj Bharjatya has found his new Prem, as well as the most perfect Bharjatya heroine possible! The best thing about them was they appeared so natural in their performances...
Alok Nath One of his best performances, he was brilliant! I really felt his pain, aww his role was so cute and his performance was fantastic!
Anupam Kher As always Anupam was flawless...It's great to see him become so active this year in the film industry, he's always been one of my favourites and will always be!
Everyone else was brilliant and perfectly cast as well! I loved the people who played Shahid's brother and bhabi, they were awesome! Was great to see the actor who played his bro, as he also featured in my favourite Indian TV series (JJKN) so was nice to see him back! Mohnish Behl was nice in his short appearance. Seema Biswas had the most annoying character but performed well, although she didn't have much to do except walk around with a blank face really haha, gotta say she received the most comments (not so pleasent and not suitable to mention at the forums haha) from my family The girl playing Amrita's cousin {Chotti} was good too...Everyone was good and well cast!
Moments in the film: I loved so many! All those sweet/romantic moments made me feel like marrying Shahid, I swear I've fallen in love with him all over again, and I've fallen in love with his Prem And the ending was so emotional and put my heart in my throat!
Sooraj Bharjatya is one of a kind! No one can make his kind of movies, only he can! If anyone else tried making Vivaah the way he did - they would've fallen flat on their faces and made it look cheap/corny/cheesy, but he doesnt.. He makes a sweet and beautiful film! One of the best films this year, and perhaps one of my favourite films ever actually! It was GREAT to see a film like this, really refreshing. His work in Vivaah, as a director/filmmaker, is as remarkable as all his previous work. I didn't see as much cheesy/corny/fake-giggly stuff as I expected, it was all so sweet but not over-sweet, it still appeared very real! Sooraj rocks, I can't wait for his next movie - I hope he doesn't take too long a break, and I hope next time he has enough faith in his popularity as a filmmaker to release his film with a lot more prints!
[Reviewed: 26th December 2006]
The first time on Christmas that I saw an Indian movie, and one of the first times after such a long gap that my entire family watched a movie till late night - they actually sat through the entire film, and weren't talking through it - trust me this rarely happens these days, if ever!
Expectations: I've loved every single film directed by Sooraj Bharjatya... Be it Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Hum Saath Saath Hain or Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon - I love them all, a lot! So my expectations for Vivaah were extremely high in that sense... I expected a beautiful family film... Sooraj Bharjatya's sense of filmmaking is a genre in itself and I wanted 'his' kind of movie, and nothing else. I wanted to see Vivaah in the cinema but none of my local cinemas were showing it (why did Sooraj give this film limited release? I have no clue why he did this because it truly has Blockbuster potential! Sooraj!!) so I waited for the DVD and though I still can't find a copy to buy anywhere, my rental shop had a rental-copy so I got to see it last night!
Story: Nothing too difficult to come up with, yet funnily enough it was new and unique, I've never seen anything like it before! How strange that no one came up with the idea of making a film on this simple and sweet story, earlier!
Sidenote: I didn't see Salman's picture in Poonam's room *sniff* ... Either I missed it or was it edited out of the film? Someone help me out here ! LOL I don't want to miss it the next time I watch it!
Music: Sadly the only downside to the film...It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything great either. The lyrics were dodgy at times (Ocean and Roshan? Just for the sake of rhyming? LOL) but suited the theme of the film so it was OK... The music itself however was a bit disappointing from a Sooraj Bharjatya film - all his other 4 directorials have albums featuring in my all time favourite music list, this doesn't. But it's OK coz the beauty of the film made up for the not so great music! I still do wish the music was better though...
Performances
Shahid Kapoor I've always considered him one of my favourite newbies in the industry, he impresses me with each and every one of his performances right from the time he debuted. I hope Shahid sees a lot of success in his career and after Vivaah, I genuinely believe that's really possible! He was brilliant as Prem! I've loved all the actors who've essayed the Prem roles (and even other roles) in Sooraj's films and felt they always excelled, but after Salman and Saif, Shahid has to be my favourite Sooraj Bharjatya hero! He was so awesome, so natural, so adorable!
Amrita Rao I absolutely loved her in Ishq Vishk and Main Hoon Na, but always found her annoying in her other films. Vivaah reminded me just how much potential this actress has. She was brilliant as Poonam, and I can't imagine anyone (none of my favourites even, and definitely not a senior actor) essay this role as beautifully as her. She was made to be Poonam and excelled incredibly well, I love her all over again!
I really hope both Shahid and Amrita win lots of awards for their performances. I knew people had been raving about them in Vivaah but I didn't believe how great they would be until I saw it for myself and now I actually believe they have just as much chance, if not more, as any of their seniors to sweep the awards, good luck to them because they'll deserve all the awards and rewards they receive, they rocked and made the perfect Sooraj Bharjatya couple, which reminds me - how adorable is their chemistry aww they looked gorgeous together!! What can I say? Sooraj Bharjatya has found his new Prem, as well as the most perfect Bharjatya heroine possible! The best thing about them was they appeared so natural in their performances...
Alok Nath One of his best performances, he was brilliant! I really felt his pain, aww his role was so cute and his performance was fantastic!
Anupam Kher As always Anupam was flawless...It's great to see him become so active this year in the film industry, he's always been one of my favourites and will always be!
Everyone else was brilliant and perfectly cast as well! I loved the people who played Shahid's brother and bhabi, they were awesome! Was great to see the actor who played his bro, as he also featured in my favourite Indian TV series (JJKN) so was nice to see him back! Mohnish Behl was nice in his short appearance. Seema Biswas had the most annoying character but performed well, although she didn't have much to do except walk around with a blank face really haha, gotta say she received the most comments (not so pleasent and not suitable to mention at the forums haha) from my family The girl playing Amrita's cousin {Chotti} was good too...Everyone was good and well cast!
Moments in the film: I loved so many! All those sweet/romantic moments made me feel like marrying Shahid, I swear I've fallen in love with him all over again, and I've fallen in love with his Prem And the ending was so emotional and put my heart in my throat!
Sooraj Bharjatya is one of a kind! No one can make his kind of movies, only he can! If anyone else tried making Vivaah the way he did - they would've fallen flat on their faces and made it look cheap/corny/cheesy, but he doesnt.. He makes a sweet and beautiful film! One of the best films this year, and perhaps one of my favourite films ever actually! It was GREAT to see a film like this, really refreshing. His work in Vivaah, as a director/filmmaker, is as remarkable as all his previous work. I didn't see as much cheesy/corny/fake-giggly stuff as I expected, it was all so sweet but not over-sweet, it still appeared very real! Sooraj rocks, I can't wait for his next movie - I hope he doesn't take too long a break, and I hope next time he has enough faith in his popularity as a filmmaker to release his film with a lot more prints!
Shaka Laka Boom Boom [2007]
Shaka Laka Boom Boom
[Reviewed: April 13th 2007]
Dharshan's are not really my cup of tea, I like very few of their films... so my expectations were not high. The film is really slow paced and drags on and on...you are left wondering at numerous instances as to WHAT THE HELL is happenin haha... Quite a boring film...but some scenes are good....
Some good scenes I remember:
- Funny scene near beginnin when Kangana thinks Upen is following her haha
- When Anupam dies and Upen goes to India to immerse the ashes and he's sitting at his house with the ashes remembering when he was growing up with his dad, very sweet scene
- near the ending when Bobby is making Upen make all that music and Upen is so ill and Bobby's pretending to be like his friend and fooling him
Some HILARIOUS moments:
- The disco ball falling on Bobby..OMG I couldn't control my laughter... I mean it'd be really sad to happen to someone BUT this was just hilarious *no offence* it was just so..haha I mean how could they think of this?!
- when Bobby is in hospital and starts getting those weird visuals ROFLLLL of those dragons and all flying around...omg what crap animation, that scene just shocked me so much that I was sitting there with my hand on my mouth
Performances
- Bobby Deol stole the show...he was brilliant...really, really good. Was nice to see him take on a negative role and he totally pulled it off... his expressions and dialogue delivery were perfect. His body language also was great... For the 2 hours of the film he was not Bobby Deol, he was AJ.
- Upen Patel annoyed me...I mean he was OK in some scenes... but his bum chin annoys me so much and his fake blue contacts irritated the bloody life outa me... not to mention that stupid voice they used to dub for him...urghhh he was strictly average!
- Kangana Ranaut was bloody irritating and pathetic... my request to her would be for her to retire already... at least she was watchable in Gangaster/Woh Lamhe... over here she is just so horribly annoying... urgh! She can never be a top actress because she can never even do these average-heroine roles! I cannot beleive this is the Filmfare Newcomer Award winner, how undeserving, shocking and horrifying!
- Celina Jaitley looked really pretty but didn't have scope to deliver anything acting-wise.
Music.......songs are really good... I especially love Thaare Vaaste.
OVERALL Shakalaka Boom Boom starts off on the dullest note... it's really slow paced...but it was OK to watch, I guess better then doing nothing. But I wouldn't necessarily tell anyone to watch it...if you have something better to do..don't bother with this!! Actually I would only advise Bobby Deol fans to watch it...'coz from how I see it: only if you're a Bobby Deol fan OR have nothing better to do (and I was both of these haha) will you think this film is 'Strictly OK'..otherwise you'd probably think its super-crap!!
Rating: Out of 5...I'd give is 2 and I am probably being kind. 1 for Bobby Deol, 0.5 for the Music and 0.5 for the concept which could've evolved into something better.
[Reviewed: April 13th 2007]
Dharshan's are not really my cup of tea, I like very few of their films... so my expectations were not high. The film is really slow paced and drags on and on...you are left wondering at numerous instances as to WHAT THE HELL is happenin haha... Quite a boring film...but some scenes are good....
Some good scenes I remember:
- Funny scene near beginnin when Kangana thinks Upen is following her haha
- When Anupam dies and Upen goes to India to immerse the ashes and he's sitting at his house with the ashes remembering when he was growing up with his dad, very sweet scene
- near the ending when Bobby is making Upen make all that music and Upen is so ill and Bobby's pretending to be like his friend and fooling him
Some HILARIOUS moments:
- The disco ball falling on Bobby..OMG I couldn't control my laughter... I mean it'd be really sad to happen to someone BUT this was just hilarious *no offence* it was just so..haha I mean how could they think of this?!
- when Bobby is in hospital and starts getting those weird visuals ROFLLLL of those dragons and all flying around...omg what crap animation, that scene just shocked me so much that I was sitting there with my hand on my mouth
Performances
- Bobby Deol stole the show...he was brilliant...really, really good. Was nice to see him take on a negative role and he totally pulled it off... his expressions and dialogue delivery were perfect. His body language also was great... For the 2 hours of the film he was not Bobby Deol, he was AJ.
- Upen Patel annoyed me...I mean he was OK in some scenes... but his bum chin annoys me so much and his fake blue contacts irritated the bloody life outa me... not to mention that stupid voice they used to dub for him...urghhh he was strictly average!
- Kangana Ranaut was bloody irritating and pathetic... my request to her would be for her to retire already... at least she was watchable in Gangaster/Woh Lamhe... over here she is just so horribly annoying... urgh! She can never be a top actress because she can never even do these average-heroine roles! I cannot beleive this is the Filmfare Newcomer Award winner, how undeserving, shocking and horrifying!
- Celina Jaitley looked really pretty but didn't have scope to deliver anything acting-wise.
Music.......songs are really good... I especially love Thaare Vaaste.
OVERALL Shakalaka Boom Boom starts off on the dullest note... it's really slow paced...but it was OK to watch, I guess better then doing nothing. But I wouldn't necessarily tell anyone to watch it...if you have something better to do..don't bother with this!! Actually I would only advise Bobby Deol fans to watch it...'coz from how I see it: only if you're a Bobby Deol fan OR have nothing better to do (and I was both of these haha) will you think this film is 'Strictly OK'..otherwise you'd probably think its super-crap!!
Rating: Out of 5...I'd give is 2 and I am probably being kind. 1 for Bobby Deol, 0.5 for the Music and 0.5 for the concept which could've evolved into something better.
Namastey London [2007]
Namastey London
[Reviewed: 25th March 2007]
Expectations I love 'Aankhen' and 'Waqt' so expected quite a lot from Vipul's new film. On top of that I really liked 'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye' last year and adored Akshay and Katrina's chemistry so much and was really awaiting NL to see them back together again, and to see how Katrina does because I love her so much! Plus...the promos of NL looked really good and the film was shot in two places that I associate myself with most (London & Punjab).
The Story and Screenplay. The story of the film was really good and actually surpassed what I expected from it...I thought it would be a pretty simple and straightforward story judging by the preview etc but the twists and turns really surprised me. As for the screenplay..again I was impressed. The film didn't drag one bit...a great and tight screenplay!
The Songs. Audio-wise I love the songs even more after watching the movie...all the songs are great but my favourite has to be 'Rafta Rafta' which was the best choreographed song and just so cute! All of the others were pictured nicely too.
Hilarious Moments I Just HAVE to mention...
- when Jazz meets all those random boys in India...especially the one who was sitting their with his laptop and most of all ROFL the one who was a huge indian soaps fan..omg he was just too funny!!
- the rugby match...I never knew rugby could be so fun to watch LOL!! and the scene that followed when Rishi can't control his laughter and then everyone else starts aswell
and there were just so many other great comic moments...and some really nice heart-touching moments too...what a great and COMPLETE film!
Direction. Vipul Shah proves once again that he's a talented filmmaker. Namastey London rocks and he's done a great job in terms of direction! Aankhen, Waqt and now Namastey London...he's so kickass!
Performances
Akshay Kumar has always been one of the best actors we have and he proves time and time again that he can excel in any role with pure excellence! He performs the role of Arjun as though he IS Arjun and I seriously cannot imagine a single other actor doing this role as well, no one could come close to performing it the way Akshay did...he was mindblowing and so natural, there wasn't one second where I thought I was watching Akshay Kumar...it was the character of Arjun all the way!
Katrina Kaif impressed me the most...hers was the performance of the film. I'm so happy with this girl! She's gorgeous and so talented! Her performance was so..perfect. There is no other actress who could've handled this role as well as Katrina did and I can say that with absolute certainty! She was just so cuute and handled the 'western brat' part of her role better then any other actress could've coz someone else would've easily gone over the top and started to irritate but she was awesome...this girl has so much potential.
Rishi Kapoor was absolutely amazing and so much fun! It was so great to watch him haha and he was just so perfect for the role...I swear this guy is just the best onscreen dad (and of course one of our finest actors ever)...he was perfect for this role, great performance!
Upen Patel was very good and did justice to his role (though he didn't really have much to do). He impressed me a lot more then he did in his debut (36 China Town), but now I'm proud of him and the fact that he's British! *yay* haha.
Everyone else was apt for their roles and churned out good performances... was really nice to see Ritesh Deshmukh there, my sweetu!
Overall... Namastey London is the second film I've seen this year (after Salaam-e-Ishq) and though I love SEI a lot I have to say that NL is better and definitely my favourite of the two. The film's a winner all the way and I expect it'll be a really big hit *touchwood*...
[Reviewed: 25th March 2007]
Expectations I love 'Aankhen' and 'Waqt' so expected quite a lot from Vipul's new film. On top of that I really liked 'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye' last year and adored Akshay and Katrina's chemistry so much and was really awaiting NL to see them back together again, and to see how Katrina does because I love her so much! Plus...the promos of NL looked really good and the film was shot in two places that I associate myself with most (London & Punjab).
The Story and Screenplay. The story of the film was really good and actually surpassed what I expected from it...I thought it would be a pretty simple and straightforward story judging by the preview etc but the twists and turns really surprised me. As for the screenplay..again I was impressed. The film didn't drag one bit...a great and tight screenplay!
The Songs. Audio-wise I love the songs even more after watching the movie...all the songs are great but my favourite has to be 'Rafta Rafta' which was the best choreographed song and just so cute! All of the others were pictured nicely too.
Hilarious Moments I Just HAVE to mention...
- when Jazz meets all those random boys in India...especially the one who was sitting their with his laptop and most of all ROFL the one who was a huge indian soaps fan..omg he was just too funny!!
- the rugby match...I never knew rugby could be so fun to watch LOL!! and the scene that followed when Rishi can't control his laughter and then everyone else starts aswell
and there were just so many other great comic moments...and some really nice heart-touching moments too...what a great and COMPLETE film!
Direction. Vipul Shah proves once again that he's a talented filmmaker. Namastey London rocks and he's done a great job in terms of direction! Aankhen, Waqt and now Namastey London...he's so kickass!
Performances
Akshay Kumar has always been one of the best actors we have and he proves time and time again that he can excel in any role with pure excellence! He performs the role of Arjun as though he IS Arjun and I seriously cannot imagine a single other actor doing this role as well, no one could come close to performing it the way Akshay did...he was mindblowing and so natural, there wasn't one second where I thought I was watching Akshay Kumar...it was the character of Arjun all the way!
Katrina Kaif impressed me the most...hers was the performance of the film. I'm so happy with this girl! She's gorgeous and so talented! Her performance was so..perfect. There is no other actress who could've handled this role as well as Katrina did and I can say that with absolute certainty! She was just so cuute and handled the 'western brat' part of her role better then any other actress could've coz someone else would've easily gone over the top and started to irritate but she was awesome...this girl has so much potential.
Rishi Kapoor was absolutely amazing and so much fun! It was so great to watch him haha and he was just so perfect for the role...I swear this guy is just the best onscreen dad (and of course one of our finest actors ever)...he was perfect for this role, great performance!
Upen Patel was very good and did justice to his role (though he didn't really have much to do). He impressed me a lot more then he did in his debut (36 China Town), but now I'm proud of him and the fact that he's British! *yay* haha.
Everyone else was apt for their roles and churned out good performances... was really nice to see Ritesh Deshmukh there, my sweetu!
Overall... Namastey London is the second film I've seen this year (after Salaam-e-Ishq) and though I love SEI a lot I have to say that NL is better and definitely my favourite of the two. The film's a winner all the way and I expect it'll be a really big hit *touchwood*...
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