MB Movie Reviews

2008-06-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

Okay...I dont like to update this reviews blog anymore...because I hardly watch movies nowadays... the last time I went to the cinema was in December for 'Taare Zameen Par' (a classic, I think I did review it on this blog... and I guess TZP set my expectations so high now that I'm no longer interested in wasting time watching average movies!!!!) and 'Alvin & the Chipmunks' (cute movie, made me revisit my childhood haha) ....

So yeah, even when I do watch the odd movie now and again....I guess the only ones Ive seen since the last update include: Aaja Nachle (crap), Goal (quite crap), Race (disappointing), Mera Pehla Pehla Pyar (veryyy cute, loved it) & Johnny Gadaar (awesome thriller).....I'm just kind of out of the whole Bollywood-fanaticism thing now, strangely....so I dont even feel like reviewing movies when I do eventually watch them.....

I considered deleting this blog...but because Ive got so much on here, I decided to leave it for now :D And who knows maybe the film bug will come back at me sometime.... Hmm!

Bhool Bhulaiyaa [2007]

2008-01-06T03:19:00.001-08:00

I'm not at all a Priyadarshan fan (very rarely do I like his movies) so my expectations from 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' weren't exactly high. However I ended buying the original DVD a week back… why? Because I wanted to buy the Filmfare mag and didn't have cash on me and the salesperson said I'd have to spend more to pay by card haha so I was like "whatever give me any DVD I don't have yet" and ended up buying this one!

I watched it last night and was pleasantly surprised. The film is a psychological thriller with elements of comedy and the unusual genre itself makes it worth watching.

The first hour of the film is typically Priyadarshan and very tedious to watch. To be frank, the first hour was simply boring! It was only after Akshay Kumar's entry that the film picked up and became interesting (the previous portions in the first hour could easily have been summarised into 20 minutes rather then the drag it was).

Do I regret owning the DVD? Nah! It was a good film and I'm really happy with what I saw.

The music is great and the album is definitely among the better ones of 2007.

I believe Priyadarshan's best films are definitely Hulchul (2004) and Kyon Ki (2005). Besides them, I also enjoyed Garam Masala (2005). Bhagam Bhag (2006) and Chup Chup Ke (2006) both had some hilariously entertaining and enjoyable moments too. From what I recall of his filmography, I have not enjoyed any of his other films at all! So where does 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' fit in? I'd say it's definitely one of his better works and I would probably rank it alongside Garam Masala. Had the first hour been summarised into a 20-minute segment instead, I would have most likely ranked the film amongst what I consider his absolute best (Hulchul and Kyon Ki).

Akshay Kumar comes into the film late but still holds the film on his shoulders. This is definitely his show all the way. His expressions, dialogue delivery and body language are, as always, spot on! He brings his character to life and delivers yet another very natural and believable performance.

Vidya Balan comes in next. For most the time she didn't have any histrionics to display as such but the short while (towards the climax) that she did get some scope proved that Vidya is a bundle of talent. This was the return of the lovely Vidya 'Parineeta' Balan – this time I saw no glimpses of Madhuri, Rani or Aishwarya, I only saw Vidya Balan. A natural performance but the actress needs to work on her makeup.

Shiney Ahuja delivers a decent performance (probably the second best in his career after Woh Lamhe). The actor will perhaps never learn to deliver his dialogues naturally and that is his biggest downfall. Also, he shakes his head a bit too much for no reason. Nonetheless it was a decent performance.

Amisha Patel looked absolutely gorgeous but heaven knows why the living hell she did this role. She was good in whatever she had to do but frankly she had absolutely near to nothing to do.

Everyone else in the cast did a fine job too.

Overall 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' is definitely worth a watch, I'm impressed!

Taare Zameen Par [2007]

2007-12-26T06:03:00.001-08:00

It's difficult to review a film that's so brilliant. I can list a whole bunch of adjectives saying how it's a great work of cinema but better still I can request you to go watch it for yourself and witness the magic unfold in front of your own eyes.

With a very fine SCREENPLAY Taare Zameen Par grips you and from the beginning credits right till the ending your attention remains glued to the screen.

The best thing about the film is definitely the STORY itself, which has never before been seen on the Indian cinema screen. It's a film based on children but it's not exactly a "children's film" – it's a film for everyone, a film everyone should watch and learn from. It teaches you but it does not lecture you and bore you!

To be honest I don't know if a few years ago I would have been able to concentrate on and enjoy a film with no 'hero' taking centre stage because a few years ago we used to have to choose between entertainment or good cinema – usually sacrificing one for the other at least to a certain extent… but Taare Zameen Par proves that 'paisa-vasool entertainment' does not come at the sacrifice of good quality cinema. Here is a film which is not only fantastic cinema but also extremely entertaining.

Taare Zameen Par is not a film about 'herogiri' and there is no love story, neither is there any villain. We are not given a Gabbar nor do we have a Raj-Siman, this is not a film that follows formulas but one that will hopefully open even more doors for our filmmakers! After Chak De India, this is another 'different' film of 2007 that dares to be different without giving up the entertainment quality. *My fingers are definitely crossed for the success of this film, because it deserves it!*

I love children a lot so to me watching a film about children was like being in heaven! Haha… I really enjoyed the film, every single moment of it. Can't wait for the DVD.

As far as the MUSIC goes I wasn't exactly singing the tunes before I saw the film… but now I love the songs! 'Bum Bum Bole' is stuck in my mind; it's so cute and fun! Shaimak Davar did a brilliant job with the natural choreography. 'Maa' is one of the most tear-jerking songs I've watched in my life…the lyrics made me cry and so did the visuals. 'Jame Raho' was fantastic – I loved how the music changed to being more peaceful when we see Ishaan.

The DIRECTION was the main reason I was looking forward to the film. Acknowledged 'perfectionist' Aamir Khan was stepping into the captains shoes – how would his ship sail? There's only one answer to that – it sails smoothly and most perfectly, with no hiccups whatsoever! The 'Aamir Khan stamp' was visible throughout the film and I was surprised at how I could actually feel Aamir's presence in the first half even though (as an actor) he had not appeared at that point. The film consisted of so many beautiful moments that if I began to note them in this review I'd take hours writing this! Hats off to Aamir Khan, who we always knew was one of our best actors and has now proved to be one of our finest filmmakers too.

Getting to the PERFORMANCES I don't know where to start.

Darsheel Safary stole my heart. The boy is a born actor. He's so adorable and everything about him was just perfect – from his facial expressions to body movement and dialogue delivery. He was Ishaan Awasthi! This was I believe the finest performance from a child-artiste since Ayesha Kapoor in Black. The role of Ishaan is a dream role for any actor and this young child performs it with what appears to be such ease. Now, here's an actor to watch out for.

Aamir Khan was simply natural. His expressions are priceless and he looked seriously cute too.

The other young actors, playing the roles of Rajan and Yohan, also did a brilliant job. Tisca Chopra was very good and Vipin Sharma was fantastic! In fact each and every actor did justice to his or her role.

OVERALL… As Taran Adarsh [IndiaFM] rightly puts it, this "isn't one of those films that merely entertains, but also enlightens." To my surprise, I actually agree with Adarsh! Anyone who misses out on TZP is missing out on a lot so do yourselves a favour and go catch the next show playing at your local cinema – you will not be disappointed and I can promise you that much!!

Jab We Met [2007]

2007-12-17T04:20:00.001-08:00

Imtiaz Ali had already proved his potential as a director in his debut film 'Socha Na Tha'. His style is different… he is fresh, young and unique. His debut film was one of the best in the year it released (2005) so my expectations from 'Jab We Met' were somewhat high.

Since her very early years in the industry Kareena Kapoor had been a "forever favourite" of mine together with Juhi Chawla, Kajol and Rani Mukerji but things changed in the past year as I was no longer impressed by her film or role choices and saw absolutely no hope for her future. Shahid has also been a favourite of mine since his debut and I've continued being a big fan of his, as he continues to deliver very fine performances back to back, but again his career was seemingly going nowhere in terms of success. As a pair I never saw any sparks fly between Shahid and Kareena… I loved 'Fida' and '36 China Town'/'Chup Chup Ke' were not too bad either but I never found the onscreen pairing of Shahid & Kareena attractive at all.

Act 1: 'Jab We Met' vs. 'Socha Na Tha'

In terms of the basic story I do think 'Socha Na Tha' delivered us something more unique and 'Jab We Met' was not as original perhaps. However that's not to say that the former is a better film then the latter – that, I do not believe. If 'SNT' scores one more point in the story department then 'JWM' goes many steps forward in terms of screenplay. This time the screenplay is a lot tighter and in fact the technical values all round are a lot finer (SNT of course was a delayed production so understandably was a bit weaker in the look department).

Just as his first venture Imtiaz Ali once more takes us on a roller coaster ride full of the most exciting twists and turns. 'Jab We Met' is simple and yet so beautiful. It's not complicated but it's far from being ordinary. An intelligent film that would work beautifully with both the multiplex audience and at the same time would not be too hard for the more average cinegoer to understand.

Act 2: Dancing to Pritam's tunes

Even before I saw the film I considered this to be one of the best soundtracks to come out of our industry this year. Watching the film has only made me believe that more strongly.

'Mauja Mauja' is truly rocking. Mika's vocals are fantastic and the song is so foot tapping. However, the song is not placed well in the film and comes only as a music video for the end credits. Nonetheless I can totally understand why they did not choose to eliminate it and kept it as they did – it would be difficult to not use a song which is a definite chartbuster! 'Nagada' is another foot-tapper and the choreography is fantastic too.

'Yeh Ishq Hai', 'Aao Milo Chalo' and 'Tumse Hi' are heavenly beautiful. These songs are easy on the ears and just so fresh to listen to. Shreya Ghosal's rendition of 'Yeh Ishq Hai' should without any doubt sweep each and every one of the female playback singer awards at the upcoming ceremonies. Each of them have been pictured beautifully too and a very special mention goes out to the fantastic locations throughout the film.

'Aaoge Jab Tum' is beautifully sung and though it does not feel as fresh as the others, it's very gentle and peaceful to hear.

Act 4: Characterisation

Each of the characters have been sketched and developed brilliantly. Critic Taran Adarsh (IndiaFM.com) mentioned that the film revolves around the basic saying "opposites attract" but I would argue that somewhere along the line both Geet and Aditya were very similar. If Aditya had a hidden extrovert waiting to be discovered in him then Geet also went through a tough time that matured her. Aditya and Geet are soul mates.

Both characters are demanding and both have enough meat for the actors to dig their teeth right into. Arguably Aditya is the central protagonist of the film, his is the author-backed role. I found myself believing that the writer/director was relating to his character very easily. That is not to say that the character of Geet is any less. The character is as important, as well written and as demanding as Aditya's. Neither role is half-baked and it is because both the characters work that the film works!

Act 5: Performances

Shahid Kapoor delivers yet another flawless, mature and believable performance. He is a complete natural and it kills me to think that he has not been given his due even now. His is definitely the show-stealing performance of the film. Shahid does complete justice to the role and emerges a winner all the way. Though the competition for the Best actor department has been tough this year (Shah Rukh pretty much has stamped his names on the trophies with Chak De India) Shahid at least deserves a nomination if not a couple of awards.

Kareena Kapoor is back and how! This is the Kareena I have loved since day one and was strangely missing in the past year or so but now she is back I have no complaints. She looks absolutely stunning and sets the screen on fire with her unmatchable screen presence. Her performance is definitely worthy of winning the Best actress trophies in the coming award ceremonies, and with no real competition around her this year I have little doubt she wont sweep them – about time! Like Geet said "jo aap real mein chahte hai woh actual mein hota hai" ('what you really want, actually happens' – the dialogue of the film!)

Act 6: The real star… Imtiaz Ali

There is no denying that a director is the captain of the ship. With a captain like Imtiaz Ali you know the film will do anything but sink! He already proved he's a director to reckon with in his first film and now he has yet again consolidated that. With 'SNT' he was one of my favourite 'new' directors but with 'JWM' he has now made it to the list of my favourite directors! 'Jab We Met' is simply FANTASTIC and the entire credit goes to Imtiaz Ali – I cannot express how much I am already looking forward to his next film.

Wrap-up: Overall, Jab We Met…

Full of beautiful moments, this is one film that should be treasured from the 2007 releases. Consisting of fantastic performances, an incredible soundtrack, beautifully written tight screenplay and gorgeous locations – Jab We Met is easily one of the best films released this year and definitely deserved all the success that (rightfully) came its way.

Cheeni Kum [2007]

2007-12-06T08:15:00.001-08:00

I'm not going to run around in circles with this review, I'll come straight down to it. Cheeni Kum is a sweet little surprise package with one big downfall – a terribly slow pace.

I didn't know what to expect when I turned the film on, so the film definitely surpassed my expectations in that sense. It is a good film.

However the screenplay writer could have done a far better job. The concept is nice and I like the whole idea of a man only being as old as he feels, after all who knows how many years one will live (regardless to whether they are 16 or 60), right? That was great and I really enjoyed watching the love story between Tabu and Amitabh.

There was a lot of unnecessary stuff going on in the film especially with 'Sexy'. That angle to the film was a slight bit too depressing for such a simple and sweet film; I really think the film could have done without that.

The comedy was brilliant, it was definitely the highlight of the film and I wished there were even more comic moments.

Of course it goes without saying that the film had geographical errors (which film shot overseas doesn't?) but I guess that doesn't really matter because it wasn't a historical, just a simple rom-com mixed with some moral drama.

Amitabh Bachchan is such an amazing actor that one can only attempt at creating a list of adjectives to describe how fine he truly is – you can never do justice to his talent with mere words. Cheeni Kum sees Amitabh at his best – that's the finest compliment I can give I guess? lol… His dialogue delivery (again, need I say it?) is mind blowing! His expressions and body language are unmatchable. He's a natural and this is yet another feather in his cap. A brilliant role in his resume and an equally brilliant performance – hats off to him.

Tabu is an actress who is so often praised to the sky and I'm always wondering "yes she is good, but is she that good? I don't think so". Frankly, I'm not a Tabassum fan. Having said that, I'm far from being a detractor too! She's definitely an actress of substance, she is talented, but I don't think she has had the chance of proving her versatility – Cheeni Kum is definitely a step forward for her. I really wish she worked harder on her dialogue delivery though because that's the only thing about her that never manages to impress me. Her looks – wow! She looked so stunningly gorgeous. The performance too is definitely my most favourite from her. Here's hoping she gets the opportunity to portray such roles again in the near future.

Both actors shared great 'chemistry' and looked fantastic together, their acting styles truly complimented one another.

Zohra Sehgal, Paresh Rawal and the others also did a fine job. Oh and it was really nice to see Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin's Aryan there (as Sexy's dad).

Overall, Cheeni Kum is a sweet and simple film and definitely worth the watch. Its only real downsides are the horribly slow pace and weak screenplay. Rating-wise I'd go for something like 6/10 – good but could have been better.

Heyy Babyy [2007]

2007-12-06T07:49:00.001-08:00

I am a huge fan of Sajid Nadiadwala and to be frank I don't remember ever disliking a film made under his banner. Therefore my expectations from Heyy Babyy were pretty high – I expected a full on entertainer. I was looking forward to the film from the days the promotion began so I was quite disappointed when I never got around to watching it in the cinemas when it released back in August. Thankfully my sister bought the DVD as soon as it released a few weeks ago and we gave it watch this gone weekend.

Heyy Babyy sees the directorial debut of Sajid Khan – someone we all know as a great entertainer, someone so funny and hilarious that you wonder if he's ever serious, so it's no surprise that he decided to start his directorial journey with a comedy! But don't be mistaken because the film does do something a bit more serious. It teaches you without lecturing you, it holds a moral message about something so simple that it's taken for granted and often forgotten – responsibility.

It comes as no surprise that Heyy Babyy excels as a comedy and truly makes you laugh your heart out! It is hilarious. Director Sajid Khan excels. The sensitive way in which the relationship between the three men and Angel is portrayed is so heart-warming and Sajid has truly proved his worth as a filmmaker – he's not just a comedian, not just an entertainer, he is an excellent filmmaker to watch out for.

As always producer Sajid Nadiadwala leaves no stone unturned and has done everything necessary to make Heyy Babyy a quality product. The Australian locales are beautiful and refreshing to say the least. The costumes are lovely and the cinematography compliments the locations/sets.

Initially I was not too impressed with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's work in this soundtrack but watching the film has made me like each and every song. From the title track and 'Dholna' to 'Mast Kalandar', 'Meri Duniya' and 'Jaane Bhi De', each song remarkably fits well into the film. The choreography too deserves to be applauded.

The story is definitely fresh and unique for an Indian movie and the screenplay has been written with excellence, never once are you given a moment to fall bored.

The performances only add further brilliance to the film.

Akshay Kumar proved why he is the unmatchable king of comedy. Being popularly known as the Action 'Khiladi' man of Indian cinema, who would have thought that years down the line he would have featured in some of our best comedies and make us laugh so much? His expressions and dialogue delivery are perfect. Oh his part Heyy Babyy is yet again evidence to prove that he is one of our finest actors!

Fardeen Khan is in superb form and churns out yet another brilliant performance this year after the more restrained performance in Just Married. It makes one wonder why the actor has not achieved much success in the industry, because he definitely has the capabilities of a very fine actor.

Ritesh Deshmukh excels. His expressions are so fantastic and he has definitely been blessed with fantastic comic timing and the most natural flare for comedy.

'Angel' Baby is gorgeous! What else can I say about her? She's already a superstar, God bless her cotton socks.

The interaction and "chemistry" between Akshay, Fardeen, Ritesh and 'Angel' is very special to watch, you really cannot imagine anyone else portraying the roles the three guys have done with such precision.

Vidya Balan attempts a more modern and 'filmi' role compared to her previous attempts and I'm disappointed to say that she is not able to carry it off as well as one would hope or expect. She is far better suited to the more traditional, sweet or serious roles. The 'chic' image doesn't really go too well with her. Not to say she did a bad job – she didn't, she did a good enough job and bought the character to life, but I have higher expectations from her. Perhaps someone like Lara Dutta would have bought that extra something I was searching for to this role.

Boman Irani surprisingly has quite a good role and as always did complete justice. Everyone else was fantastic too. It was hilarious to see the SRK-Anupam portion, but I was a little bit upset with Sajid because I'm not too happy with the whole idea of Simran having left Raj – that kind of killed me inside for a moment….haha!

Overall, balancing comedy and drama with perfection Heyy Babyy proves to be one of the finest films of this year. A novel concept and fantastic performances packaged with beautiful songs, locations and choreography – this is definitely a winner all the way and there's no surprise as to why it achieved such great figures at the box office. After a disappointing run at the Box office with Jaanemann, Sajid Nadiadwala is truly back – and how!

In terms of a numerical rating, I guess I'd give the film an 8 on 10.

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag [2007]

2007-12-04T10:01:00.001-08:00

Even though I'm a diehard YRF and Rani fan, and loved Parineeta a lot (consider it a classic), I decided to give this one a miss in the cinema. Do I regret that decision? Yes, it was a dumb decision but not entirely my fault…in fact I blame YRF…they promoted this film like such a piece of boring crap!

My first assumption was that LCMD would be extremely boring and slow paced. I was wrong. It's not slow paced at all and doesn't drag at any point, it moves at a very fast pace in fact! The film consists of a very good screenplay and fine editing.

Another reason why I wasn't looking forward to it as much as I wish I had was because of the ridiculously stupid soundtrack. Even today I feel the music of this film is absolutely crap (no other word can describe it better)! Almost every song is horribly boring to listen to. 'Ik Theeki Theeki Si Ladki' is the only song that comes close to being decent.

Well we have this really dumb family from some village in Benaras, where everyone is either stupid, naïve or overreacts. Then we have this much calmer and cooler family (Abhi/Kunal's). Oh and throw a few gunda's and vamps in there too. The story isn't that exciting, it's quite predictable run off the mill stuff so I won't bother analysing that.

Compared to Parineeta, LCMD is quite a mediocre product from Pradeep Sarkar. It's not a classic (far from it!) however it is a good film nonetheless and it definitely has the repeatability factor (I can Imagine myself watching this DVD quite often).

Performance-wise the film obviously (as expected) belongs to Rani Mukerji. Rani delivers a perfectly natural and flawless performance, but that's obviously normal coming from her. She looks stunningly gorgeous and does complete justice to her role. However, I honestly do not feel this film gave her much as an actress – the character was not that exciting for her and I think she sleepwalked through it. There was nothing wrong with the way the character was written or anything, it's just that it wasn't as challenging a role as I had assumed it would be.

Jaya Bachchan is okay. I guess we can wait however long we want but Jaya Badhuri will never return – she has been replaced by this actress instead, who is not a patch on Badhuri and just about did an average job. Konkona Sen Sharma disappoints. She tried hard but did not seem to fit into the role very well. There are times when she shines like a star and other times when she fades into the background like a junior artiste. Kunal Kapoor is fantastic. He impressed me a lot. He's a brilliant actor with so much potential and made the most of his role here.

Abhishek Bachchan has nothing to do but being the natural he is, he does whatever he has to do with complete conviction. Anupam Kher had nothing to do either but done nicely in whatever he did. Others were okay.

The ending of the film seems to have created quite a stir with the audience. I personally accepted it fine… I don't have any objections with Rohan falling in love with and wanting to marry Bhatki, even after knowing of her profession. However one thing I did find hideous, old fashioned and pathetic was that we were shown the marriage of the couples at the end… what was that all about? Were we meant to throw flowers at the screen and cry out of happiness? Erm…no thanks. That just murdered the film for me… really stupid and old fashioned ending. It should have ended when Bhatki and Rohan hugged after confessing their love and accepting each other – that would've worked better for the film.

OVERALL, LCMD is a good entertainer… it's not the best film, it's not earth-shattering, but it is very entertaining and kept me glued to the screen throughout. I liked it and it was definitely better then I expected.

Bhagam Bhaag [2006]

2007-11-29T07:02:00.000-08:00

I had seen this in "fast-forward motion" earlier on haha but never actually watched it properly, so it was fun to actually sit down and watch it... and surprisingly enjoy it!

A comic thriller isn't a common genre in our industry so I found the twists/turns quite surprising.

Akshay was fantastic. As expected, he totally stole the show. Govinda was brilliant, he'll always be the King of comedy. Paresh is someone I am far from being a fan of, in fact I kind of dislike watching him, but he did a decent job.

Everyone else was good enough too. Lara looked gorgeous and it was a nice surprise to see Arbaaz and Jackie.

Priyadarshan isn't really my kind of filmmaker. However, BB turned out to be a really good entertainer. A nice, fun, de-stressing entertainer.

Nanhe Jaisalmer [2007]

2007-11-29T06:54:00.001-08:00

I expected a lot from this film and I was really happy when my sister bought the DVD (without us having watched it even haha).

The highlight of the film is it's concept. It's unique and appealing. As a diehard film-buff and an extremely star-struck person, I could totally associate with Nanhe's character and at times I would relate with parts of the film a lot.

The downside of the film is that it begins to feel as though it's dragging. It's strange that a lot of films set in Rajesthan tend to have this slow-feel to them haha... I guess with NJ it's because the concept is so straight forward and revolving around a little kid, and it's a simple film with no huge drama going on and no stupid sub-plots.

The music of the film is not all that great. The only song that stands out is the title track which is heart-warming and beautiful in terms of both audio and visuals.

Bobby Deol delivers a fine performance as always. He is an extremely natural actor and did complete justice to his character. I fail to understand why some critics of the film felt that he was not a big enough superstar for the film? That's one of the most ridiculous and pathetic comments any critic could ever make. He didn't have to break any grounds with this performance but he did whatever it required with ease and perfection.

The show stealer is of course the young child artiste Dwij Yadav. I didn't expect him to churn out such a brilliant performance, as he did. He suited the role wonderfilly and proved to be a great performer. The film carries itself on his shoulders! Everything from his expressions to dialogue delivery is great.

Vatsal Seth was a very nice surprise. I really like this boy and I wish he became more successful.

Overall, I really enjoyed Nanhe Jaisalmer and I'm glad it's been added to my DVD collection. I don't know if it has repeatability factor (the fact that it drives at such a slow pace makes me doubt that I'll see it much again) but nonetheless it is a worthwhile watch and I recommend it to everyone. A sweet, simple and adorable film with a very unexpected and surprising twist towards the end.

Darling [2007]

2007-11-12T10:07:00.001-08:00

I saw this movie sometime ago... I think it was in September or October? Not sure to be honest. I was too busy to review it at that point and now I'm not remembering too much *umm..* so this is going to be brief haha

Fardeen Khan is superb and delivers an excellent performance.

Esha Deol is simply fantastic. Not only does she look incredibly gorgeous but churns out a brilliant performance too, definitely one of her career-best.

Isha Kopikar impresses and surpassed what I expected from her.

The music is brilliant, each and every song is really catchy.

The screenplay is the only department which lets the film down.

Overall...The film is everything you expect from an RGV film. It keeps you gripped and does well in entertaining you. It's not a perfect film and could've been a lot better, but nonetheless I'm glad I saw it. The highlight is definitely the performances delivered by the lead cast.

Zindagi Rocks [2006]

2007-11-12T10:02:00.001-08:00

I saw it last night 'coz I had nothing better to do. Usually I like Tanuja Chandra's films but this time I'm really confused about it.

It was alright, a good time pass I guess. But someone please tell me why it was called Zindagi Rocks? It should've been called Zindagi Sucks because it was so depressing and life really does suck, especially what was shown of life in the film.

Shiney Ahuja is the worst narrator a film could have. His voice kept on putting me to sleep. His dialogue delivery is seriously stupid. He looked yellow throughout the film and needs to hire a new makeup artiste. Expressions and body language were fine.

Sushmita Sen was annoying as she usually is these days but I'd still credit her for the effort put in. It was a decent performance. She looked gorgeous, though that spot on the side of her nose kept on jumping out at me!

Kimmy was just simply adorable and gorgeous, I wish she had more scope in the film.

The little boy looked like a girl (I swear he threads his eyebrows?!) but he was still cute and he churned out a good performance nonetheless.

Maushami and everyone else did a good enough job too.

The soundtrack by Anu Malik is disappointing. Ugly songs!

Overall, it's a strange film and I have mixed feelings about it to be honest. I don't regret watching it, it has it's moments... But it had potential to be better then it was.

Om Shanti Om [2007]

2007-11-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Om Shanti Om
Reviewed by Manpreet Bhandal

Shah Rukh is like God to me, I love him more then I can express with words. I'm also a huge fan of Farah (be it as a person, director or choreographer) and 'Main Hoon Na' is one of my favourite films, I think 'Main Hoon Na' epitomises entertainment! However, due to the "diwali clash" I didn't have time to be excited for 'Om Shanti Om'. It was still the album I listened to most [second to 'Saawariya' only] on my iPod, but I wasn't as excited as I usually am for Shah Rukh's films because it just didn't appeal to me from the promos.

To get the downsides out of the way first: The story is nothing outstanding or new, we've been there and seen that. The screenplay confuses at times and the editing could have been a lot sharper.

The best parts of the film (which make it worth every minute):

* The beginning with Rishi's song "Om Shanti Om" from Karz – that was truly awesome and unexpected!

* The choreography of 'Dhoom Taana'…a very special mention to the special effects – the way they bought in the actors from their old films and 'stuck' them in the frame with Deepika haha that was so fantastic!!

* The entire "Mind It" scene LOL! That is the funniest scene of the film!!!

* Shah Rukh's re-introduction in the second half

* The discussion about the strange film where Shah Rukh's character can't hear/speak/move or anything

* The entire Filmfare sequence… Amisha/Dia part was too funny! Abhishek's Dhoom 5 was hilarious! Akshay Kumar's 'Return of Khiladi' is perhaps the funniest thing I've ever seen…OMG his "gun" *ahem* Hahah! Hats off to Akshay, he almost stole the show in the entire film with that bloody hilarious sequence LOL… the red carpet with Bappi Lahri, Hrithik, Rakesh, Abhi, Amitabh, Rani, Preity, Bipasha… was fantastic. Especially the girl's "OK and me…we're just good friends" LOL

* Deewangee. Enough said. Everyone looked bloody gorgeous and was such a treat to see!! I could write a separate review for this song but that would get ridiculous. Definitely a highlight!

* Training Sandy to become more like Shantipriya… Sandy was such a laugh!

* The twist that it was actually Shantipriya in the climax scene and not Sandy!

First half / Second half: There are no two ways about it, I by far and large preferred the second half! It was so cute and funny and had so many more good moments as compared to the first half!! The whole 70s spoof got really boring after some time so the first half started to drag sadly… But the second half had me in splits quite a lot…

Classifying genre: Well, it's a "masaala film"…it has a bit of everything… but I definitely preferred the comic moments. The romantic and emotional/tragic parts were dealt with really poorly and not at all impressive, but the comedy made up for that… there were some really good comic moments!

Music: I'm not a fan of this soundtrack but it's good. I wish Farah had taken Anu once again though ('MHN' is such an amazing album!)… Audio-wise my favourite song is 'Dhoom Taana' but a couple of the others are nice too.

Performances:

Shah Rukh Khan What can I say? He's SRK, he's always great… The role doesn't challenge him, so that's disappointing, but performance-wise he does a natural job as always and lives the role(s) of Om to perfection. He was damn cute in the first half and his "hunky cool" act in the second part had me laughing so much, bless! However, his makeup artiste needs to be sued (does he even have one?) because Shah Rukh was looking way too wrinkly in this movie and that didn't do well with the character being quite a young guy!

Deepika Padukone This girl really impressed me! I am so happy with her… She's just so adorable!!! It's great that we've got such lovely new talent in the industry and I'm so happy that this weekend I've seen Ranbir, Sonam and Deepika make their way into our cinema… these three will rock our industry and totally rule! Deepika is a born superstar, she has fantastic screen presence. It's sad that she didn't get to dub for herself and the role doesn't demand much of her as an actress, but she does make the most of whatever she's been given to do and she shows very promising signs, good job…I like!

Shreyas Talpade This is the first time I saw Shreyas act I think… And to be honest he was good but not great. He did justice to his role but he came across as a cheap version of Ritesh Deshmukh to me. Shreyas is really cute but Ritesh would've done this role better and would have left a more remarkable impact.

Arjun Rampal I've always liked Arjun! He's good looking and a good actor but he's never been given recognition as an actor. He churns out yet another very good performance here.

Kiron Kher This woman is perhaps the most rocking onscreen mother we have today. I'd choose her over Jaya Bachchan any day!! She's a laugh and she's just so full of energy, and not to mention she shares beautiful chemistry with Shah Rukh.

Others from Satish Shah to Bindu to every single character artiste did a decent/good job, all of them were impressive.

Overall, I wouldn't say I'm disappointed with 'OSO' because frankly I'm not. It was a nice and cute entertainer and I had a nice time watching it, in fact I will for sure buy the DVD when it comes (but then for heavens sake I have the DVD of Maya Memsaab too) and I will probably watch it a few times more at least when it releases… I don't think 'OSO' is at all as good as 'MHN', 'MHN' is far superior in every single department, however it's a nice watch and a recommended entertainer/pass-time!

Saawariya [2007]

2007-11-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

Saawariya
Reviewed by Manpreet Bhandal

[As this is a review of the film, it may consist of spoilers so beware incase..]

Expectations: 'Khamoshi', 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', ' Devdas' and 'Black'… there's little I can say to describe, without taking too much time, just how brilliant each one of these four films are. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is not only a filmmaker beyond excellence but also someone who cannot get enough of churning out films nothing short of being classics back to back! I was so excited when Sanjay launched Saawariya because to me SLB is the epitome of filmmaking, he's everything a director should be, and he is my inspiration! When he announced his cast I was ecstatic!

Ranbir Kapoor – the son of my first ever favourite actor.
Sonam Kapoor – the daughter of an actor I've grown up watching and admiring.
Salman Khan – one of my favourite actors from the day I learnt to walk/talk.
Rani Mukerji – an actress I've admired and loved obsessively for almost 10 years.

To have these beautiful people under the master wand of my most favourite director, I couldn't imagine it getting any better! Then in September when the music was launched, I became crazy and yes there is no better way to describe it. I fell deeply and hugely in love with "Bir and Sona" (that's Ranbir and Sonam, in case you hadn't yet gathered), and Monty Sharma's music had me under a spell! The first promo was in the beautiful signature-style of SLB and I was so excited! The release date got closer and I kept on feeling the strangest of emotions… one minute I'd feel absolutely excited and positive and then I would feel ridiculously nervous.

I didn't get much sleep at all last night so forgive me for writing a lazy (but still lengthy of course *haha*) review.

And now the review…

Initial thoughts: They say that when you go in for an interview, the employer makes up their mind about you within the first few minutes. The same happens with a film. Just a few frames into the film and I knew I was in for something fantastic! I knew I had entered a dream-like world, which is going to take me away from all my own worries and present me with something beautifully welcoming.

Storyline: As I just mentioned above it's a dream-like film. We're transcended to a world we can't really relate to, yet yearn to know more about. We question whether the world truly exists, whether these characters really exist or whether they are a figment of Gulab's imagination. Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story 'White Nights' the story itself is not exactly breathtakingly unique or unseen, but it's been dealt with in the most remarkable manner. It's surreal, yet inviting. We know this place doesn't exist; yet we wish it did. Time and place do not play important characters in 'Saawariya'; in fact they are insignificant factors.

The most beautiful part about the story is how Sanjay has managed to bring in so many messages without rubbing them in your face. He doesn't lecture you, yet he does touch upon issues… be it the way the prostitutes lead their lives or how 'Lollipop' has been living life so alone and isolated.

Technicalities: It really doesn't come as a surprise that the film was definitely the most beautiful piece of visual poetry I have ever witnessed. Cinematographer Ravi K Chandran has yet again worked his magic and bought to us an unimaginable, dreamlike, beautiful and striking cinema experience which leaves you in awe, credit for this of course also goes to the art director Omung Kumar. Let me put it this way – if you thought Devdas and Black were the best you were going to get from SLB in terms of visual-appeal, you were pleasantly mistaken! Everything else is first rate. The screenplay and editing work together wonderfully and refrain from allowing the viewer to get bored at any point of time, in short the film does not drag and has been skilfully edited. I was really upset to see that some songs were cut short and others were entirely omitted, but I respect the editor (which happens to be director SLB himself) did his job with the films best interest at heart.

Costumes/Character styling: Wonderful! The film did not demand dramatic 'costumes' per se, but the outfits worn were suited to each character. Job well done by each and every costume designer!

Music: I have been hearing the songs of Saawariya like crazy ever since the soundtrack released. Even when I had an ear infection, I didn't stop listening to these songs, doesn't that say enough? Monty Sharma stunned his with his themes/scores in 'Devdas' and 'Black' but with 'Saawariya' he has proved to be one of our finest music directors ever. This is a soundtrack I surely won't be forgetting, ever! Without a doubt, it's an evergreen album. Each and every song has been composed/arranged beautifully and the vocals are absolutely superb!

Choreography: Every song has been choreographed with divine beauty. Each one of them is a visual extravaganza! Special mention to 'Chabeela' and 'Yoon Shabnami', both of which are so festive and perfect for the Diwali season in which the film has released.

Performances:

Ranbir Kapoor stuns! And how! I really can't find words to describe just how cute and natural this boy is. He is so charming! When his introduction came in the film, I was about to fall off my seat… believe it or not, I pinched myself 10 times because I felt so numb and thought I was dreaming…even pinching myself didn't help because I still thought I am dreaming! I simply cannot believe that Rishi's son has truly arrived… and he is so incredible! Natural, cute and charming are the best adjectives to describe him. He exudes such warmth you just feel like reaching out to him and giving him the biggest hug. Yes, it's true… the film belongs to him entirely. I feel like I have been blessed that I have finally seen him onscreen, it's like a dream come true. He's a fantastic actor and to think this was just a debut performance is absolutely ridiculously impossible. An incredibly fine performance! Hats off Ranbir… keep working this way. There's no doubt you're here to stay, just keep at it because there are no two ways about it – you are our next superstar…I say we already send you off to Madame Tussauds haha! Oh and "I love you baby!" LOL

Sonam Kapoor is so heavenly beautiful! Every time Sonam came on the screen I couldn't take my eyes of her (and yes people, I am still straight!), she's just so beautiful and has such classic beauty. One second she looks adorable and innocent like a child and the next second she'll look so prim and proper lady-like. I cannot believe some critics were being so harsh on her, I am really insulted by them because I fail to understand who exactly they were watching, as it cant be the same girl I watched. She blew me away with her talent and beauty both. She has such grace in her every move, in her every word… she's truly fantastic! It breaks my heart to think that she wasn't thinking of becoming an actress, because if not her I cant imagine a single other actress doing this role (no, not even our senior actresses!). Her voice really stole my heart. She's too cute! Not only have we found our next male superstar in Ranbir but we've also found our next female superstar in Sonam! Sonam, like Ranbir too, I believe you also are going to grow from strength to strength… it's hard to imagine how you can get even better (because you both were so freaking fantastic), but I know you will keep on surprising me…keep up the great work!

Both Ranbir and Sonam share the most immaculate chemistry, absolutely flawless pairing. They are both our forthcoming super-super-superstars and I am so proud of them! They both act, look and dance like a dream, a very beautiful dream!! I am so impressed… they have truly lived up to my expectations, and believe me you my expectations were freaking high! I truly am in love with them all over again… if you thought I couldn't get madder about them, trust me I am…I don't know what I'm going to do now until their next film releases! They were just so fresh and so lovely!! Oh and one more quick note… I've never seen a newcomer use their eyes as expressively as Ranbir and Sonam did, they completely floored me with their brilliant performances… they were Ranbir Raj and Sakina and not Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam!

So yes, the ending was a bit hard to digest… but then aren't all of SLB's endings? I accept the ending as the perfect ending to 'Saawariya', I cannot imagine it any other way. If Ranbir Raj is lonely it's only because Sakina is with her true love, so we have to be happy for Sakina! And I'm sure Raj wont be upset or anything because if he is, he'll just get in that "boxing ring" haha…aww…

Rani Mukerji is a 'pataka' [firework] in every sense of the word! She lives the role of Gulab with such natural ease but of course that doesn't surprise me an ounce because I always expect the most natural and perfect performances from her, she wont know how to give a bad performance even if she tries haha (unless she is acting to act bad of course!)… she looks her career-best, so gorgeous!! Her dialogue delivery is superb and she had me laughing so much…love this woman to death!

Zohra Sehgal was a sweetheart. It was so good to see her! And she has the sweetest smile!!

Salman Khan had a very short appearance and not much of a demanding character but Salman being Salman leaves a fantastic impression nonetheless. He does complete justice to Imaan.

Others were fantastic too, everyone did a brilliant job!

Sanjay Leela Bhansali… what can I say? The man is my Guru! If anyone can dare make a film like this, it's him… in the 90s decade when everything was about masaala love stories, he made Khamoshi. At a time when it was all about mini skirts, he made HDDCS and Devdas. At a time when filmmakers want to keep safe with love stories, he made Black (a film which broke all boundaries and gave leeway to filmmakers who are now free to make whatever the hell they want!)… with Saawariya he yet again proves his worth as a director. What he extracts from these newcomer kids is unbelievable! Sanjay, last time I reviewed your film in 2005 I bowed down to you and thanked you for everything you taught me. This time, I've just run out of ways of saying how brilliant you are…You're the best…end of!

Overall, Saawariya is yet another classic feather in SLB's cap. This man cannot go wrong and he proved that to me today! I am so, so, so happy and so content with what I saw. It's one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. It's hard to compare it to Sanjay's other films because I love them all so much, but I'd say if it's second to anyone of his films it's only Black. One of the finest films of our generation…SLB, thank you once again for a cinematic experience of a lifetime.

Rating: 9.5/10

Yes Boss [1997]

2007-09-14T04:37:00.000-07:00

I remember watching this film in the cinema when it released, and then watching Duplicate just a few months later too. I used to get incredibly confused between the films haha but one thing I knew was that I loved both dearly. Duplicate was a film I ended up watching a lot over the years, but Yes Boss I didn’t see as frequently. Thankfully I bought the DVD a couple of months back and finally got around to watching it the other day!

I don’t want to beat around the bush here, I’m going to put it simply – it is a great film! It’s a complete entertainer and a brilliantly made film. Everything about it is wonderful. The comic moments are perfect and so are the more emotional sequences.

The story is unique and really interesting. The basic theme [how people can do anything for fame and money] is realistic, as all Aziz Mirza films. The highlight of the film is definitely the characterizations, as each character is so perfectly sketched.

Aziz Mirza delivered a classic with Yes Boss! He’s a fine filmmaker, who doesn’t know how to make a bad film. I cannot wait to see his forthcoming Shahid-Vidya starrer, but I do wish he returns to Shah-Juhi sometime soon.

Performances by the entire cast are good and each actor justifies his/her character. Shah Rukh Khan suits the character so wonderfully. His natural performance and charm give the character something no other actor could have. It goes without saying that this is his show all the way and he steals each and every scene from under the noses of all his co actors!

Aditya Pancholi delivers one of his best performances. Juhi Chawla looks adorable and does exceedingly well in her role. All the character artistes (namely Gulshan Grover, Reema Lagoo, Johnny Lever, Kashmera Shah etc) all do well in their roles.

Overall, the film is simply brilliant. There’s little else I can add to this review! It runs at a perfect timing, never boring the viewer. Consisting of a great soundtrack, fantastic performances and a fantastic story, it’s no wonder why Yes Boss remains today as one of the most universally loved films of the 90s.

Zameer [2005]

2007-09-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

I know this isn’t the type of film most people get excited about watching, but I remember looking forward to it many years back while it was being shot. I remember how happy I used to get seeing the onset pictures in Filmfare and Cineblitz, and then the promos started and I was so hyped for the film! However, then the film just got stalled for sometime and that was irritating, it took longer then expected to release and my hype got lost somewhere there and I forgot all about it! Then when I was at some DVD store a couple of weeks back I saw the film in the “3 for £10” section and just had to buy it to add to my collection!

I’m a huge fan of both Ajay Devgan and Mahima Chaudhary and since last year I’ve started to like Amisha Patel a lot too, so I was really looking forward to watching this one when I got time. So last night I did just that!

In terms of the box-office result, I know this film flopped…badly! Do I think that’s justified? Well, in a way, yes it is. Why? Because it released 5 years too late! The film is very “outdated” in terms of concept and perhaps even treatment. Had it released earlier, it would’ve found a market for itself. But instead it ended up being unfortunate enough and releasing in the year where we saw progressive cinema like Black, My Brother Nikhil and Parineeta seeing commercial success.

Zameer consists of a very sweet romance, with all the ingredients one expects from a movie of the 90s. It doesn’t find a place in today’s cinema, but that’s not necessarily translating into the film being a bad film – I personally do not believe it to be so!

I enjoyed the film a lot. The story is a sweet college romance, with a twist. It’s not original or earth shattering, but it forms the base for a very good entertainer. I’m delighted to say that this DVD wont just sit on my shelf collecting dust from now on, because I can actually imagine myself watching it again!

The music by Jatin-Lalit is a let down. None of the songs are catchy enough to even remember, and the lyrics are incredibly cheap! The technicalities of the film are also unimpressive but that’s not really a surprise as it’s a film which was in ‘the making’ for a long period of time and didn’t even have the backing of a big production banner.

All the performances are impressive and the three lead stars of the film get very good roles to project their talent. Ajay Devgan is as smashing as ever! His natural performance makes his character so believable that the viewer cannot help but sympathise with the situation he’s in.

Among the actresses, both get good roles to display their talent. Amisha Patel looks adorable and makes a very convincing college student. She pulls of her cutesy outfits with a lot of grace and a very warm childlike innocence. Performance-wise there are times where one wishes she had worked that tad bit harder, but nonetheless she delivers well. Mahima Chaudhary is a revelation. She looks stunning, as she always does, and performs like a dream! Her expressions were perfect throughout and though her screen time is a lot less then Ajay and Amisha, she leaves an equal amount of impact!

The supporting cast all do a very good job. Kulbhushan Kharbanda is at his best, Alok Nath is impressive and Shakti Kapoor delivers one of his finest, most likeable and mature performances!

Overall, I’m very impressed with this film and I know I’m probably not in the majority here, but I believe it’s definitely worth watching at least once! Sweet story, great entertainer and very good performances all round!

Ram Jaane [1995]

2007-09-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

As a child this was one of the films I used to watch most often, because it starred two of my favourite actors [Shah Rukh and Juhi]. However, as years went on I began to, in a sense, forget about it. The last time I saw the film properly was probably a good 10 years ago! So the other night I decided to give it a watch, for old-times sake, even though I didn’t remember much about it and most people I know bash the film quite a bit.

Did the film disappoint me? Hell no! It’s a fantastic movie and I consider it to be a golden piece in my DVD collection. The story is fabulous and the characterizations are brilliant (primarily the one of Ram Jaane himself). Running to a screenplay of approximately 2 hours 20 minutes, the screenplay of the film is quite good and surprisingly the film didn’t drag at any point.

The music by Anu Malik is superb and each song is catchy! The lyrics are quite tacky, with song titles like “Phaink hawa mein ek chumma tum catch karlo”, “Bum chiki chiki bum”, “Pehla love song” and “Pump up the Bhangra”, but I guess that’s just how the majority of soundtracks during that time were! Also, keeping in mind the area the film is set in and the kind of characters we follow in it, these tacky lyrics actually match pretty well!

The highlight of the film is undoubtedly the performance delivered by Shah Rukh Khan. I really don’t think myself worthy enough to attempt to review performances by the man I consider to be the best actor in the entire world. No amount of words can do justice to his brilliance in most films, and this is no different. He slips into the role of Ram Jaane as a hand does into a glove! His facial expressions and body language deserve a 10/10 as always, but what really catches the viewers attention, with the performance he gives us here, is his mind-blowing dialogue delivery! It goes without saying that this film is his show the entire way. I am really glad he won an award [at the Screen awards] recognising his brilliant in this performance – extremely deserving!

All the other actors do complete justice to their roles. Pankaj Kapoor is a scene-stealer!! His performance is outstanding as ‘technicolour’! Puneet Issar tended to go slightly over-board in some portions, but did a good job nonetheless.

Vivek Mushran is good, though I found his facial expressions slightly irritating at times. Juhi Chawla looks and performs very cutely. Gulshan Grover did very well.

Overall, the film really surpassed what I remembered of it. It’s very entertaining and Shah Rukh’s performance makes it so worth buying… a must watch for all Shah Rukh fans!

Aap Kaa Surroor [2007]

2007-09-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Himesh Reshammiya has been a favourite of mine ever since 1998. He always ranked as one of my favourite music directors, and then when he explored new avenues and debuted as a singer – he became one of my favourite singers! 9 years after the time I first knew who he was, he debuts as an actor with ‘Aap Kaa Surroor – The Moviee – The Real Luv Story’. My initial thoughts? “Oh my God…Himesh as an actor, that’s awesome, I can’t wait! But what kind of terrible title is that? Stupid numerology!”… all the promos were impressive and I was dying to see the film but then came June 29th 2007… and three biggies release: Apne, Awarapan and Aap Kaa Surroor. Thanks to some unfortunate reasons, I had the chance of watching only one of them in the cinemas and debated over it for quite some time before finally deciding on Apne. However when the three films released on original DVD’s, I bought them all! I loved Apne, I liked (but was disappointed by) Awarapan…and now for Aap Kaa Surroor. The DVD had been sitting pretty in my collection for like almost a month now and I just couldn’t find the convenient time to watch it, but today I finally got around to doing so.

The promotion of the film was stupendous! There was just so much mystery revolving around the film and it’s story. Why are the songs looking like music videos? Who’s that couple always hanging around in the background? Will Himesh Reshammiya make as good an actor as he does composer/singer? Can a film with such a stupidly written title (credit: numerology) be appreciated; can it be anything more then a cheese-fest? And then *hold your breath* the film releases and it becomes such a huge success that the success is compared to movies like Krrish and Dhoom 2! Oh my God… HR has got the impossible to be possible – his movie is being compared to the legendary actor’s [another HR] movies haha, but can the film actually be even a fraction as decent as them?

The story of the film is sweet and simple but has many twists and turns incorporated into it, which heightens the level of excitement. It revolves around the life of a rockstar [Himesh], how he falls in love and the corruption he discovers in the music industry. The screenplay is perfect and the film is only about 2 hours 10 minutes in length! It doesn’t drag at all and keeps the viewer engaged throughout.

Prashant Chadha, thankfully, takes us away from New York and London! Instead we are introduced to the uniquely beautiful scenery of Germany, which is made to look even more pretty and welcoming thanks to the cinematography by Manoj Soni. In fact the film looks like one big music video thanks to the gorgeous, stylish and crystal-clear gloss look! Trade analyst Taran Adarsh is absolutely right when he refers to this film as “eye candy” – it most definitely is!

This review would be absolutely incomplete if the music section was not given justice. Himesh Reshammiya excels in both departments (as the composer and playback singer)! All the songs are impressive and beautiful. A fantastic soundtrack!! Each and every song is a treat to hear and also to watch, as the choreography is also fantastic!

Debutante actor Himesh Reshammiya takes to the role like a fish to water! Playing a rockstar must have come very easy to the superstar and he enacts the role with absolute ease, showing no signs of forced-effort. He’s an absolute natural! Never once in the film does he go overboard, he fits the role perfectly and does complete justice. Before watching the film I had my doubts whether or not he would prove to be a good actor, but thankfully Himesh has removed all doubts – he churns out a fantastic performance, absolutely wonderful…you couldn’t have asked for more! Here’s an actor who can act, compose music and also playback for his own songs – and do all that excellently, without sacrificing anywhere, Himesh proves that with A.K.S! Now I’m really looking forward to seeing him set fire on the cinema screen once more (and next time HR, I will surely be there in the cinema watching the movie, I really regret not having done so)!

Hansika Motwani impresses more then expected. She’s a complete natural. Never once did I remember she is ‘Hansika – The child artiste’, she was 100% Riaa (her character) in this film and hats off to her for delivering such a fine performance, and also looking so breathtakingly beautiful throughout. I wish her all the success for the future, because I really am looking forward to seeing her act again! Oh and I must add that her acting style really resembles both Preity Zinta and Kareena Kapoor (either she takes inspiration from them, or it’s just coincidental).

In a guest appearance, Mallika Sherawat leaves an impact. She performs with ease and delivers a great performance as Ruby.

The actors playing the roles of Shravan and Bani both do justice to their roles, but it’s the guy playing Shravan who really excels. After a good job in Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye, he impresses yet again (and looks hot too!).

All the others, most notably Raj Babbar and Darshan Jariwala, do complete justice to their roles too.

Prashant Chadha does a brilliant job as Aap Kaa Surroor is a brilliant entertainer! It has all the ingredients of a successful film so it really does not surprise me that it’s one of the most successful movies of 2007. It is, without any doubt, a very good movie and definitely worth watching at least once. If you haven’t yet seen it, I suggest you get yourself moving and buy a copy of the original DVD because it’s most definitely worth every penny you pay! Just the other day I was telling my sister how I wished we had more of these cute love stories made which you can watch whenever you’re feeling bored – and Aap Kaa Surroor is just that, and more! It’s very entertaining and it’s also a quality film! I’m not at all disappointed, actually it’s surpassed my expectations!

Cash [2007]

2007-09-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

Anubhav Sinha has a great resume to boast of, including films like Tum Bin [fantastic emotional drama], Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai [sweet love story] and Dus [classy and stylish action]. The director has not only proved his fantastic capabilities as a filmmaker, but has also assured the audience that he will not be typecast in a particular genre of filmmaking. After making 2 family entertainers [Tum Bin, Aapko Pehle Bhi…] the director took on the challenge of an action-adventure movie [Dus], which went on to achieving a lot of commercial success, before exploring a completely different style of filmmaking with Tathastu and then reverting back to the action genre with the film in question – Cash!

So, is Cash yet another milestone in Anubhav’s journey, or does it take him 10 steps backwards? In terms of success, the film was not really appreciated by either the critics or the audience!

The story of the film revolves around the typical chor [thief] and heera [diamonds] business. It’s not as novel as one would expect and yet it still has potential to make a decent action thriller. Although the story disappoints initially, the major downfall of Cash lies in it’s weak and patchy screenplay. The film seems rushed at some parts and at other parts it feels it is going at the pace of a snail! The entire first half seems without purpose and leaves the audience feeling bored and highly irritated. It’s the second half of the film where the action begins to take off and the film becomes tolerable and entertaining.

A major turn-off in the film is the cheesy and highly pathetic animation! It’s absolutely ridiculous when the actors keep being animated every other second (and the worst thing is that the animation is so terrible)! The locations of Cape Town are breathtaking and the action sequences are incredibly well illustrated.

The soundtrack by Vishal-Shekhar is impressive. All the songs are catchy, though they really don’t find place in the films screenplay! The most strangely placed one being ‘Mind-blowing Mahiya’.

Ajay Devgan seems uninterested and bored (and to be honest, I don’t blame him!), you can tell he felt forced to do the film and his heart wasn’t in it. The energy was missing. However, being the fantastic and natural actor he is, he still manages to churn out a natural performance and completely justifies his character. Some of his scenes were absolutely fantastic [like when he’s teaching Shamita to get her car starting again… “koo-kiri-ooo-kirich” LOL] and he didn’t even have to put in any effort to steal the scenes he was in!

Zayed Khan does well and looks very sweet, however he does tend to go overboard at times. Ritesh Deshmukh is easily the show-stealer! His natural performance makes you want to stand up and applaud him. As always he’s simply a revelation! This is yet another fantastic performance from him, and this time in a very different avatar.

Watching Suniel Shetty in Cash gives a deja-vous feeling, how many times have we seen him play absolutely identical roles in the past couple of years? He does well, but he needs to refresh himself.

Esha Deol easily wins the race amongst the actresses in the film. She looks beautiful and gives a strong performance. Shamita Shetty is adorable. Dia Mirza looks pretty but disappoints with her mediocre performance. Ayesha Takia is a beautiful surprise and looks absolutely gorgeous, while performing as naturally as ever even in such a short appearance.

All in all, let’s put it simply… I had earlier planned on buying the original DVD of Cash (without having seen it) and boy am I glad I did not make that mistake! I’d advise everyone who’s bored, and has nothing better to do, to give Cash a watch, it’s worth that one watch when you have nothing better to do…but don’t spend £20 buying it – just rent it for £2 instead, like I did. Do not under any circumstance bother spending too much cash on it because though it has it’s moments, Cash really isn’t worth your Cash!!

Rangeela [1995]

2007-08-31T07:22:00.000-07:00

Rangeela

Reviewed 10th Aug. 2007

I didn't remember anything about this film so when I watched it yesterday it was as though I was watching a new film (though it is in every way very 90's of course haha)!

Ram Gopal Varma is an interesting director and I usually enjoy his films, though rarely do I love them. Rangeela has it's moments. It's a very interesting concept but the screenplay is a slight let down. In fact there are a number of let downs... I had grown up being told that this movie is a classic so I was personally disappointed because I didn't consider what I saw to be classic-material personally...

Downsides:

* Urmila's performance. She's usually brilliant in her RGV movies but this is definitely an exception, according to me. She acted a bit too over the top.

* The music! This is meant to be a legendary album but I personally really hate the songs. The music is too loud and the singing to low - I personally feel it's nothing more but a headache album. The only song I really like is 'Tanha Tanha'.

* Screenplay...gets slow at times and the editing also as there could've easily been some scenes chopped off for better of the film.

^^ All those downsides out of the way, it's still a good film. It didn't live up to the expectations I had formed over the years, but nonetheless it was very good.

Jackie Shroff churned out a decent performance, though the role did not demand much. Same goes for Gulshan Grover.

Urmila Matondkar disappointed me as I stated above in the 'downsides' section. Though I must say that she was good in some scenes. She looked pretty and Manish did a very good job with her outfits. And though I found her very annoying I have to admit that even I wouldn't think of a better casted person in the role of Mili from the actresses available in the 90's - Urmila was an amazing dancer and her innocence was very warm! So yes she didn't impress me but at the same she was probably the best suited to the role compared to her contemporaries.

The scene stealer was by far and without doubt Aamir Khan! He was completely natural and shone in the role of Munna - the role was certainly tailor-made for him and I can't imagine any other actor having pulled it off. Actually, till date for me Sanju Baba was Munna Bhai, but now Aamir has put me in a bit of a fix haha 'coz he was a perfect Munna Bhai! Very natural performance, extremely likable as always!

Overall, Rangeela is a good movie in general from RGV's camp, but it had potential to be better!

The Legend Of Bhagat Singh [2002]

2007-08-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Legend Of Bhagat Singh

Reviewed 29.08.2007

When this film released, just over five years ago, I was totally against watching it for various reasons: [1] I was a huge fan of 23rd March 1931 Shaheed (the Deol's version) and had a grudge of sorts against Raj Kumar Santoshi [RKS] for playing dirty with the Deol's, [2] I hated the soundtrack with a passion, [3] Though even then I was a huge fan of Ajay Devgan, I felt he was a completely incorrect casting for the role of Bhagat Singh, especially when I had heard him (attempt to) scream 'Inquilab Zindabad' in the promo - I felt he sounded like a mouse.

Now, five years is a long time! So when I saw the DVD on sale in a store a couple of months back, I decided it was worth buying (because it was so cheap - in a 3 for £10 deal). And then eventually I got around to watching it earlier this week.

The film is a brilliant attempt at trying to tell the true story of Bhagat Singh and the history of India at that time. With so many cinematic adaptations on this piece of history, it's impossible not to compare the films with each other! The two films I will compare it to are 23rd March 1931 Shaheed [Guddu Dhanoa, 2002] and Rang De Basanti [Rakeysh Mehra, 2006]. In comparison to the Guddu Dhanoa film, The Legend Of Bhagat Singh [TLOBS] is far superior in most aspects - and this statement comes from a huge fan of Dhanoa’s version. Where Dhanoa’s version fails, RKS excels. The technical aspects in TLOBS is evidently better and TLOBS also appears as the more intelligently scripted and historically correct version – especially as Bhagat Singh’s own brother had guided RKS. However there is one department in which Dhanoa’s version is far greater, and that is the soundtrack (which I will comment on in more detail later)! Now coming to Rang De Basanti, which deals with the subject in an entirely different way as compared to the two Bhagat Singh films, I would say that Rang De Basanti arguably is a better film then TLOBS. Rakeysh Mehra cleverly incorporates the history of Indian independence, without becoming to lecture-type and wannabe-studious about it. TLOBS is definitely like a history lesson but that doesn’t necessarily stand as a negative point against the film, because I’d say it’s a history lesson every Indian should go through the process of watching!

My only problems with the film are [1] the soundtrack and [2] a small part of the film that I found unconvincing. I’ll talk about these first, so I can get them out of the way:

Though a brilliant film, TLOBS does have its downsides. The most irritating one, according to me, being the soundtrack by A R Rahman. Though here I would add that the background score of the film is definitely praiseworthy, the actual soundtrack was so disappointing and out of context – an absolute disappointment from someone like A R Rahman who is so highly rated! Not even a single song on the album consists of Punjabi-flavour and none of the singers sing in a way believable that Bhagat Singh may have sang, making it hard to digest that these songs could have existed in that time. The instruments used also seem out of place considering the time the film is set in, in fact the songs sound extremely modern. This is the one department that Guddu Dhanoa’s version, with music by Anand Raaj Anand, scores over Raj Kumar Santoshi.

The only other disappointment in the film was the scene in which we see Mannewali and Bhagat actually speaking! That was incredibly surprising. Would a couple in a village of Punjab, and that too in the 1920s/30s actually speak to each other before marriage like that? Again, this is another part that I preferred in Dhanoa’s version where Bhagat spoke to his parents about his commitment, rather then to the girl. Also, I was happy in Dhanoa’s version that Bhagat was not shown shying away and giggling at the mention of his could-be- fiancé when with his friends. I felt RKS was trying to give too much importance to the fiancé-angle just for some commercial acceptance from the audience!

Director Raj Kumar Santoshi does a brilliant job in extracting some fantastic performances from his cast.

As Bhagat Singh Ajay Devgan does not leave any scope to better the performance – he is perfect! I will not go drawing comparisons between his portrayal and Bobby Deol’s, because I felt Bobby too was absolutely perfect (and had the advantage of actually resembling Bhagat Singh)! Even though I’ve never been disappointed by Ajay’s performances, I still for some reason had my reservations about seeing him portray this role. Thankfully though, I was proven wrong and Ajay once again excels and churns out a fantastically natural and convincing performance.

All the other actors excel too. Sushant Singh is amazing and D.Santosh leaves a huge impact as Rajguru! Akhilendra Mishra delivers a natural performance, and in fact all the other actors portraying the roles of freedom fighters also make a good impression with their performances. Amrita Rao has no true purpose and stands around in the background of many frames, acting like a mere plank! Last but not least, Raj Babbar & Farida Jailal are in full form as always.

Overall, Raj Kumar Santoshi delivers a brilliant film, as he most often does. I’m glad I finally got around to watching it and I would recommend it to the other few people who’ve yet to see it also! If I were rating the film out of 10 I’d give it a 8, I would easily have given it a 9 but the soundtrack is so disappointing (I actually felt like puking whenever the songs came, and surely that’s not a good thing in a patriotic musical where the songs should make you feel all emotional etc), so yeah I’ll stick with 8/10 – fantastic film!

Sadak [1992]

2007-08-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

Sadak
Reviewed 15.08.2007

I didn't remember this at all so for me it was like I was watching a new movie. It was good... didn't drag. Nice songs..nice performances all round. Everything was pretty good, I was impressed..Longer review coming soon - Stay tuned.

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local [2007]

2007-08-29T07:27:00.001-07:00

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local
Reviewed __

Saw it...Liked it! Good film...very interesting story.Neha looked pretty and acted fine.Abhay Deol stole the show as always This man is born to steal shows LOL...He rocked!Quite a good film! Stay tuned for a longer review.

The Train [2007]

2007-08-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Train
Reviewed 13.08.2007

I love Emraan Hashmi's films in general so I felt really happy when my sis bought Awarapan and The Train on DVD even though we hadn't seen them yet -- with Emraan Hashmi you can rely on him that his films will be worth at least one watch (most of the time). The Train is not an exceptional film, it's not extraordinary. However, it's a good way to pass time and the concept was very good. I have seen Derailed when I was in college but as with most Hollywood movies I remember jack-all about it, so I cannot compare or comment on the issue of it being inspired or what not!

As far as the music goes, I'm not a huge fan of the soundtrack, it's OK but it's not really up to the standards I have from an Emraan Hashmi movie (but then again why should it be haha he's an actor, not a music director LOL)!

Emraan Hashmi delivers yet another natural performance. He handled the role with a lot of maturity. Sayali is a pretty girl but in her close-up shots one wishes her make up artiste had at least tried a bit harder! Acting-wise she wasn't outstanding, but still did an impressive job. Geeta Basra is an insult to British fans of Hindi Cinema. I remember she once said she wants to be the next Madhuri Dixit... All I can say is girl pull your pretty little socks up (rather then pulling your skirt up) next time. Her make up was horrifying and her dubbing was just terrible!

I was very disappointed by one of my favourite designers (Vikram Phadnis). The clothes were very pretty but at times did not keep in tune with the film or characterisation.

Overall, The Train is a decent film. I don't see myself watching it repeatedly but perhaps after a couple of years I will pick up the DVD from my shelf and give it another watch haha... It's fine but I hoped for better!

Awarapan [2007]

2007-08-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

Awarapan
Reviewed 14.08.2007

I'm a huge fan of the Bhatt's and Emraan Hashmi so I was really awaiting Awarapan and had even wanted to see it in the cinema, but was unable to as it released with Apne! The film did not live up to my expectations because the pace was extremely s.l.o.w...! I was disappointed to an extent as I have very high expectations from the Bhatt's. It's a good film but had potential to be a lot better. The screenplay and general pace were the biggest let down's!

The soundtrack is simply outstanding, it's by far one of the best albums this year... Amazing songs! I love 'Mahiya', 'To Phir Aao' & 'Tera Mera Rishta'.

Performances were good overall. Emraan Hashmi yet again proves that he is a complete natural performer. He's a brilliant actor and has everything going for him. Fantastic performance as always! Oh and I loved his hairstyle!

As far as the girls go, Mrinalini Sharma gave a very good performance and looked absolutely gorgeous! I really liked this girl a lot... Absolutely fantastic! Shriya was average. She looked quite bad but performed fine in whatever little she had.

Ashutosh Rana did justice to his role, but I did not like him as much as I have in some of his past films. Salil was very good!

Overall, I find that Awarapan is a good film but it's slightly disappointing coming from the Bhatt's! It has it's moments but could've been a whole load better with a finer screenplay and a better pace! A recommended watch nonetheless. In comparison to this films I've seen this year I'd say it joins Guru...LMKK...JBJ...The Train with a 6/10 rating.

Chak De India [2007]

2007-08-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

Chak De India
Reviewed 13.08.2007

The YRF-SRK team has been loved by many over the past 14 years so them teaming up again for ‘Chak De India’ definitely created hype among the audience. Does ‘Chak De India’ live up to the created hype? Most definitely!

The basic story of the film is brilliant. It’s inspiring and such a brilliant concept. The screenplay is perfect too and does complete justice to the great story. When the intermission comes you’re left in surprise as the first half goes by so quickly! And then you suppose that perhaps the second half wont be as fast because it has quite a few hockey matches in it – but I was proven wrong as the second half was just as slick and fast-paced as the first half.

As a high school student I had always enjoyed playing hockey in our PE lessons, but I was never so interested in the sport as to play it further as a passion or join a team etc… And I’ve never in my life seen a hockey match on TV. However, after seeing this film I am just so intrigued by the sport that I am willing to watch all the games that are aired on TV – it just seems so fun! When the film finished and I came home I told my family how I really wished I was trained for a hockey team haha… It was just as fun to watch as football is! And sports incorporated into films as part of the genre has become really exciting to watch… The car racing in ‘TRRP’, the biking in ‘D2’ and now the hockey in ‘CDI’ is always portrayed so brilliantly… Now I really can’t wait to watch ‘Goal’ this winter!

The music by Salim-Sulaiman forms an outstanding soundtrack, with each song being so beautifully composed – the best of the lot easily being the title track itself. The way in which they incorporated the songs in the film as background music was praiseworthy – their placement in the script was perfect!

Director, Shimit Amin excels and churns out a great product. He extracts brilliant performances from his cast and justifies his screenplay with utmost brilliance. Hats off to him for taking on such a beautiful theme and creating such a fantastic movie!

Producers Yash Raj Films are back with a bang this time and if all goes well ‘CDI’ should bring to them their well deserved Box Office and critical acclaim because it’s a perfect film!

The entire cast did a brilliant job with the performances! Great casting results in natural performances all-round!

It’s unfair to let any of the girls go unnoticed because they all did an amazing job and fit their characters so well! But the girls who stood out most were those who portrayed the roles of the very pretty Preeti, the ice-queen Bindia, the cute but feisty Komal, the more subdued but intriguing Vidya and of course the most entertaining of all Balbir!

Now coming on to the King of all hearts, the King of all actors… the best forever and always – Shah Rukh Khan. As expected the King Khan once more delivers the finest performance and stuns with his natural performance as Kabir Khan. It’s very tough for any member of the audience to critically analyse such a perfect actors performance – he can never go wrong so it’s only expected that he churns out not just his best but the best! His chemistry with all the young girls was outstanding and I think the fact that he was working with new co-stars added a fresher feel to his performance. I really don’t know how to express his brilliance as a performer, or how I can justify with mere words just how great he was in this performance… so all I can say is that here is a man who is for me the finest actor that ever lived, and this in my opinion is one of his most outstanding performance of his career, so you can do the maths about just how amazing he is in ‘Chak De India’!

Overall: ‘Chak De India’ is by far the best Hindi film of 2007 and I recommend it to each individual. A film about sportsmanship, spirit, teamwork and determination – it’s a must see for everyone! 10/10 !

Fiza [2000]

2007-08-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

Fiza
Reviewed 31 July 2007

I bought the DVD on the weekend so got a chance of watching it after almost 7 years hehe...been a long time. Wow... Wow... WOW! What an amazing and powerful film! It truly leaves an impact of sorts... The characters are all really well written.

Karisma Kapoor is simply outstanding. She's so natural!! She breathes such innocence into her performance, however she never once appears weak - she's so strong. A Great character and an amazing performance... truly, hats off to Karisma for pulling this off so beautifully. She looked gorgeous, performed like a dreaaaam and I just have to add that her dancing in 'Main Naachu Bin Paayal' is one of the best actress-dances I've seen in my liiifetime..She's just amazing, this girl rocks!

Hrithik Roshan was too good to be true. For a newcomer to have churned out such a stunning performance in a tough role like Amaan...I really don't know what to say! He looked gorgeous too and him & Karisma really looked like bro-sis! His performance was just as good Karisma's!

Jaya Bachchan was good too, though she tended to go overboard at times...but overall it's a very good performance...though nothing will change my view tht Jaya Bhaduri was 1000x better then Jaya Bachchan!

Songs are fabulous...Anu Malik is simply a genius!

Overall I really really really love this movie...Not once did I get bored. It's absolutely AMAZING!

Damini [1993]

2007-08-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

Damini
Reviewed 02 August 2007

Wow!!! I didn't remember anything about this film so it was a treat watching it last night. What a fantastic movie!! Everything about it was brilliant. It's a very long film and yet never dragged and I didn't hit the skip button at any given point. The story was great and so was the screenplay. The climax of the film was brilliant but I think the judge got a bit filmi hehe they could've toned down his dialogues the slightest bit at least to make it a bit more real!

Meenakshi Sheshadri was simply outstanding!! I cannot believe that she did not win any awards for this? I haven't seen much of her as an actress to be honest but this was a very natural and convincing performance, and that too in such a tough role. I was really really really impressed by her. She did a great job! Sunny Deol is an absolute scene-stealer! His role is really short in terms of length but the power and strength it holds makes it one of the best roles an actor could wish for and Sunny's mannerisms, dialogue delivery and emotions are spot on perfect. A really natural performance and very much worthy of the award(s) he won. Loved his dialogues... be it 'dhai kilo ka haath' or 'tareeq pe tareeq'..fab dialogues!!

Rishi Kapoor didn't have much to do but did extremely well in whatever he had, as he is as we all know a brilliant and natural performer. Amrish Puri was fantastic. His eyes have so much fire in them!! It was awesome to see him and Sunny confront each other as they both have such strength in them hehe

Aamir Khan was a huuuge surprise to see, I never had a clue that he had this item song/special appearance in this film????! I was really taken aback. But he danced very well!! Songs were nice too! I love the whole 'Damini Damini Damini O Meri Damini' theme.

Overall the film is simply rocking...I loved it so much. Will be watching it lots more in the future I feel because it's a film of courage, belief and honesty, and it's made with that same honesty is projects making it no wonder why it's such a good film.

Mili [1975]

2007-08-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

Mili
Reviewed: August 03 2007

After waiting to see this movie for years I finally got the DVD a month or so back and watched it last night. Chupke Chupke has been one of my all time favourite movies ever since I first saw it... Among Hrishikesh's other films I adore Guddi which I also saw just recently (it's a classic all the way)! The other two films I've seen made by him are Anand and Jhoot Bole Kauwa Kaate, both of which I don't think are classics like the others but they're still quite good. Anyway, so I've been trying to work my way through all of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's cinema and Mili was another step forward for me.

What did I think of it? I simply loved it! Here is a film that I wont forget any time soon, it truly leaves a deep impact with the viewer.

The story is simply fantastic. So real, simple and about human life like all of H.M's films. Screenplay is tight and gripping - after Guddi this is another film from H.M which did not drag in the least bit and kept me glued to the screen in each and every frame! It finishes so quickly (just a 2 hour film) and you wish it had gone on for a bit more. The end of the film deserves a special mention here because it took me by complete surprise. We're left wondering what happened next... In today's day and age we'd probably have a sequel thrown upon us haha but I think the cliffhanger we're left with is perfect...

Kal Ho Naa Ho? People say Karan Johar was inspired by Anand while writing his KHNH, and though I do see parts of Anand in KHNH, I would actually go as far as saying KHNH may be 30% similar to Anandbut it's actually something like 50-60% similar to Mili! I'm really surprised that Mili's name never appeared as an influence to KHNH in any of its reviews!! Hrishikesh Mukherjee had his Mili - and there Karan Johar found his Aman. Dying day by day, knowing of his/her illness but still going strong and keeping that smile fixed on his/her face. Making others around him/her smile and laugh and live life to the fullest. If Karan wrote Naina Catherine Kapur - Hrishikesh Mukherjee had already written Shekhar! Depressed and living a cynical life due to the situation one has been left in thanks to his/her father's doings. Someone finally comes into his/her life to bring happiness and a reason to live - teaching him/her how to smile!

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Mili is a fight of human spirit. It's a pure evergreen classic and I know I will watch this film more and more over the years, it outstanding cinema at its best.

Performances by each and every actor are perfect and natural!

Jaya Bhaduri Honestly, what can I say? Every single time I see a movie of Jaya Bhaduri, I just wonder what happened to her?! Such a beautiful and natural actress... Jaya Bachchan is not a patch on Jaya Bhaduri - and I honestly don't feel anyone will go against my saying this. She was such a natural actress... she portrayed the role with such simplicity, such sweetness and she just oozed of reality - there wasn't a single moment she went overboard, there never is in any of her older performances that I've seen. Definitely, without any doubt, a performance of a lifetime!

Amitabh Bachchan Wow. The power in his eyes...the depression, the cynical attitude...everything was projected with utmost perfection! Of course, there isnt' really a surprise there because Amitabh was, is and always will be one of the most brilliant actors our cinema has ever and will ever see. His character had so many layers for him to dig his teeth into as an actor and he did a brilliant job, his performance as Shekhar was outstanding!

Ashok Kumar was outstanding as the father. He had so many fantastic scenes but the two that really took the cake were [1] when the doctor tells him that Mili's nearing her last days and [2] the night when Mili goes to him and says she wants to sleep with him 'coz she's not slept for days. A really amazing performance.

Aruna Irani looked so young and beautiful! She portrayed her role naturally. It seems like H.M was a big fan of Asrani hehe... he was really funny in his guest appearance - his scene was hilarious!

Great entertainment value, heart-touching story and a gripping screenplay makes me recommend Mili to each and every one of you out there who has not experienced her - because she'll really make you smile and make you cry!

Khiladi [1992]

2007-08-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

Khiladi
Reviewed: 08 August 2007

I had seen Khiladi a few times when I was younger but I didn't remember it much at all. I bought the DVD a few months back and finally got round to (re)watching it today. In my eyes Abbas-Mustan have never made a bad film. They've had films which are weaker in comparison to their others (e.g. 36 China Town) but even they've not been 'bad cinema'. Though supposedly they had directed three movies in the 80s, Khiladi (1992) was their first film to grab the tag of being a 'Blockbuster'.

Movie Preview: Raj [A.K] and Boney [D.T] are college friends who enjoy betting with each other, and Raj being the king in the field of betting doesn't know how to lose. Raj falls in love with Neelam [A.J] at first sight. The friends enjoy their college days to the fullest and are forever pulling pranks on people and betting with each other, but the problem arises when they go a tad bit too far with these innocent games, only to result in the murder of the fourth member in their group of friends - Sheetal [Sabeeha]. Everything begins to go down the drain and Raj, Boney & Neelam are faced with the toughest circumstances as they have to try and hide Sheetal's death because they know all evidence of the murder points to them!

The music of the film, composed by legendary duo Jatin-Lalit, consists of tracks which live on to be evergreen even today. Almost each of the songs was a blockbuster success.

Among the performances it's undoubtedly Akshay Kumar who steals the show. His performance is natural as ever and he looks extremely adorable too!

Deepak Tijori too leaves an impact in his parallel role. A natural performance and he excels throughout but leaves the best impression through his comic scenes.

Ayesha Jhulka impresses. She looks cute and performs very well in whatever she has to do. Sabeeha is someone I have not really seen much work of at all, but she was really good in this film and looked very pretty!

The usually sidelined Shakti Kapoor gets a good deal and justifies his role very well. It's surprising and yet so wonderful to see him in a non-perverted and instead rather sober role. Johnny Lever is good as always.

Director-duo Abbas-Mustan have always impressed me and this is no exception. Even though it's been 15 years since the release of Khiladi, the film is fresh and exciting to watch even today - thanks to the directorial brilliance of the Burmawalla brothers.

Partner [2007]

2007-07-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Partner
Reviewed 23.07.07

Expectations? David Dhawan – the name itself builds it’s own group of expectations. You know what to and what not to expect from a David Dhawan film. Don’t look for a classic – look for an entertainer. Don’t look for a film that you’ll want to treasure forever as a cinematic experience of a lifetime – look for a film that will pass your 2/3 hours without you noticing where the time is going, look for a film which you will end up buying on DVD as soon as it hits the stands because you know however many times you watch it one thing is for sure – it will entertain you. Does Partner meet those expectations? Yes, perfectly so. However, the screenplay was a bit weak at times and could’ve been much tighter. Had a further 15/20 minutes been chopped off the film it would’ve been even better then it was.

The soundtrack of the film is outstanding. It’s easily the best soundtrack of the lot from 2007 so far – I love each and every song. Choreography of each song was fabulous also, however as expected from a DD film the songs did pop out of nowhere and for heavens sake there was even a song on the actor speculating what the name of the actress is [Maria]…Nonetheless, the songs were fun to watch even though they didn’t further the story.

Children the film deserves a special section for the children because the children David and Sohail casted are actually superstars in their own right [as none of them were newcomers]! Ali Haji is the cutest child artiste in the world! He’s too adorable… And he’s gone so big now! I loved him so much in Fanaa and Ta Ra Rum Pum – everything about him is lovely and I know he’s gonna grow up and become a hot leading actor haha… He’s fabulous as ever in Partner…I just could not get over how big he has become. Lara was too cute with him [especially those pictures in their house – I wish we had those pics on the net] they looked like a real mum-son… and Salman and Ali looked adorable together too! The little boy from Baabul was in it too right? The boy with specs was him I’m sure? So cute…He’s adorable! Chinky Jaiswal The superstar kid from Indian TV … haha I was really surprised to see her…she was even in Kkusum and JJKN and I think in KSBKBT… She’s like a legend on Indian TV haha so was nice to see her in the film, though to be honest I don’t like her LOL

Salman Khan was in full form after quite some time! He gave a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful performance…and simply rocked! He looked hot and performed brilliantly…Never once going over the top…I think he worked harder because he was working with the king of comedy [Govinda] so he knew he had to up his performance – and he did, with such ease. Great performance. And a special mention to his dancing – after a looong time I saw the actor who was once one of my fave dancers – dancing amazing again!

Govinda is BACK! And HOW!!! After the scene-stealing performance in Salaam-e-Ishq, he delivers yet another brilliant and flawless performance. His performance is absolutely impeccable…I fell in love with Govinda all over again. He looked adorable and he’s just so funny…amazingly natural actor! And an outstanding dancer!

Katrina Kaif didn’t have much to do but she looked gorgeous and acted whatever she had to with such ease… I just wish people would let her use her own beautiful voice, I hate filmmakers who dub her voice they all deserve a huge slap and push to the ground to bang their heads…why do they do this? She has a great voice and they should take advantage of it! And she’s such a natural actress… I loved her a lot and I loved her pairing with Govinda… I think she’s become the best DD heroine after Karisma.

Lara Dutta was awesome. I actually really liked her role and do not agree with those who feel she had nothing to do – ‘coz she did… My favourite part of her performance was when she’s watching that movie with Ali and then she starts to cry… the way she cried was so natural – one of the most natural crying scenes from such a new actress ever! And not to mention she looked amazingly gorgeous – but that was expected. And she made one helluva gorgeous pairing with Salman, I hope we see them together again!

Salman-Govinda were just amazing together. And it was great seeing Katrina-Lara in the film, both were wonderful, as they are two of my most fave newcomers these days!

Special mention to the outfits loved them all…All the designers did a great job!

Overall Partner isn’t a classic [but then who in the world would expect it to be?] and it isn’t a great/mindblowing film…yet it still works – big time…why? There are two reasons… [1] David Dhawan and [2] Salman-Govinda. David Dhawan brings together the two actors he has worked best with in his career and Salman-Govinda as a team are too brilliant for words to express – the chemistry they share make the film worth watching and the comic moments David executes are fantastic.

I would not say it’s the best film of the year… But I do understand that there’s going to be an audience that will go crazy for this because this is the kind of film they wait for all year round, therefore chances of it achieving a high BO status are very large. On my list it will possibly feature as the 5th or 6th best film of the year so far.

2007 So Far 1. Namastey London 2. Ta Ra Rum 3. Apne 4. Naqaab 5. Salaam-e-Ishq / Partner

Jaanwar [1999]

2007-07-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

Jaanwar
Reviewed 23.07.07

I remember having seen Jaanwar for the first time only a couple of years back as for some reason I had missed it when it released in 1999. I loved it a lot then. I eventually got to add the DVD to my collection and rewatched it today. I really enjoyed the film.

Akshay Kumar obviously steals the show with his power-packed performance. He's brilliant, especially in the second half. Shilpa Shetty pitches in a really good effort too, as does Mohnish Behl. Karisma Kapoor looks pretty and dances well but has no scope for performance. Johny Lever is good and Shakti Kapoor is slight irritating with his strange get-up.

The music is quite nice and overall I really like the film. The relationship between Akshay and his son is the highlight of the film, as well as Shilpa-Mohnish's angle.

Overall, it's a good film from Suneel Darshan!

Naqaab [2007]

2007-07-18T04:15:00.000-07:00

Naqaab
Reviewed July 16th 07

Abbas-Mustan – the name says it all. Naqaab proves yet again why they are the only directors in Hindi Cinema who can handle making thrillers! I don’t know or frankly care whether it’s inspired or a scene-for-scene copy of some English, Japanese, American or Irish film, all I know is that Naqaab is a winner, in quality, all the way.

I expected so much from this film, because I’ve always been a huge Abbas-Mustan fan. Actually I remember when I used to dream to be an actress, I had actually vowed to someone that I will only act if Abbas-Mustan debut me LOL… So yeah my love for them has only grown stronger over the years and I really admire their cinema. They’ve carved their own niche in the industry and it’s a given that in HiFI thrillers are their forte and no one else dare attempt to match their forte ‘coz the individual will easily fall flat on their faces!

The soundtrack is brilliant and forms easily one of the best soundtracks of 2007 [which has to some extent been a disappointing year for music in the HiFI]. Each and every track is memorable and catchy; each is composed with excellence and been sang extremely beautifully.

The story is brilliant. The twists and turns are typical of those found in an Abbas-Mustan film, in the sense that every time you feel you have the whole thing worked out you’re yet again surprised because another twist comes your way. With so many twists and been executed so intelligently there is no doubt that the film is aimed at a more modern multiplex audience, with whom the film will by the grace of God gain all the success it deserves. The film is slick and grabs your attention throughout. A brilliant screenplay, never giving scope for the viewer to fall bored.

The performances of the film are the highlight, with each and every actor, regardless of their screen time, doing absolute justice to their given character.

Bobby Deol had the least demanding role of the three actors but nonetheless did complete justice to it. He excels especially in the last portions of the film and proves what a natural and versatile performer he is. A special mention to how he looks in the film – as he is looking stunningly handsome throughout!

Akshaye Khanna has a habit of stealing the show and he manages to do just that yet again. He’s one of the most natural actors ever and performs the role with such ease, making his character come alive beautifully. He works extremely well with the Abbas-Mustan duo and here’s hoping the association continues.

Urvashi Sharma never once lets the viewer realise that this is just her first film. She truly does get a dream debut and she performs the role with such ease, though it is quite a complex character to play. The girl is talent galore, and acts and looks absolutely perfect throughout the film – here’s an actress to watch out for, good luck to her for her future projects because she’s very promising.

Overall, I am very pleased with the overall product and will fight with everything I have saying that this is one of the finest films this year, because it is. Personally, it is my favourite this year alongside Apne and just following Namastey London & Ta Ra Rum Pum, which hold the top spot for me.

Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar [1992]

2007-07-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
Reviewed 13th July 07

This is one of those films I had seen as a child but never seen since, so as you can imagine I remembered more or less nothing about the film.

I'm not going to beat around the bush here - Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar is a classic! I'm so glad I finally watched it because it was worth every second of my time. Entertaining and made so well - a brilliant film.

The Music is fantastic. All of the songs are nice but of course the ones that stand out are 'Yahaan Ke Hum Sikandar' and 'Pehla Nasha'. My personal favourite of the two is 'Yahaan Ke Hum Sikandar' - I can't seem to get the song out of my head now, it just keeps spinning round and round - amazing song..

I had seen a film called Rok Sako To Rok Lo a couple of years back [and absolutely loved it so much] and I remember hearing how it was inspired by Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar - the similarities cannot be denied... Nonetheless, I love both films.

Aamir Khan is perfect!! He's an actor beyond perfect, as we all know, so of course you expect nothing but the best from him and he always delivers the best. His comic timing, the way he emotes through his eyes, his body language, his dialogue delivery - everything is PERFECT in JJWS as expected! He looks and performs so cute.

Deepak Tijori is wonderful and delivers a really good performance. I've always liked Deepak and he's in a lot of my favourite films from the 90s. His onscreen chemistry with Aamir is fantastic be it here or in Ghulam - their rivalry is fab to watch.

Kulbhushan Kharbanda is in full form as always. I think he's one of the best onscreen fathers in Hindi Cinema.

Ayesha Jhulka is adorable! She does complete justice to her character and performs the role with such ease and so naturally. She looks and acts really sweet and makes a nice pairing with Aamir.

Pooja Bedi looks good, though a bit OTT at parts...And performs fine. I like her a lot but she's not really much of an actress.

Overall... Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar makes you laugh, makes you cry and touches the right strings in the viewers heart making it a classic all the way.

Bol Radha Bol (1992)

2007-07-12T06:22:00.000-07:00

Bol Radha Bol
Reviewed 12 July 2007

As a child I would watch this David Dhawan film numerous times and it undoubtedly featured amongst my favourite movies, primarily due to the cast as both Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla were my favourites at the time the film released. When I found the DVD in my local store I couldn't help but buy it - it had to be added to my collection. So finally today I got round to watching the film, that was once my favourite, after many years.

Bol Radha Bol is completely different to director David Dhawan’s typical style of filmmaking. It’s not an out and out loud comedy, as what Dhawan is known for directing, and is instead a drama revolving around identity theft with of course moments of both comedy and romance thrown in. However, even though the style is not that typical of Dhawan, the film is no less entertaining then his other ventures. It is a typical masaala movie of the 90’s; full of entertainment, colourful songs, dancing on the hills and a load of overdramatic drama going on – and that’s where the fun lies. I enjoyed the film just as much watching it today as I did all those many years back as a child.

The music is good. Though there isn’t really any track that lives on as a classic or anything, but the songs are fun to both listen to and watch.

Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla made a brilliant onscreen pairing. They were like two chubby teddy bears onscreen together – absolutely adorable, no wonder I’ve been crazy about them ever since I was about 3 or 4 years old!

Rishi delivers a brilliantly natural performance as per usual. His expressions are real and believable. Juhi is as lovable as ever, she looks and performs typically in her style and stole my heart all over.

Shakti Kapoor, Kader Khan, Sushma Seth, Kiran Kumar & Alok Nath each did justice to their characters.

Overall, Bol Radha Bol is one of the many names on the list of David Dhawan’s great works. I really enjoyed watching it after such a long gap and I’m so glad I’ve finally added the DVD to my collection.

Mr & Mrs Iyer (2002)

2007-07-12T06:07:00.001-07:00

I've always wanted to see Mr & Mrs Iyer, especially since I had seen and loved 15 Park Avenue last year. Finally this weekend just gone, I bought the DVD from ABC in Southall.

The film is brilliant. I probably wont ever list it in the list of my all time favourite movies or anything, but this is one film that truly leaves an impact. It's haunting because it's so real - any of us can experience a situation like this at any point in life. The film makes you think, makes you fear, makes you feel, and all this happens because of Aparna Sen's great filmmaking skills. Not a single leaf is left unturned and she truly does justice to the story! The screenplay is good too and the film doesn't drag at all though the entire pace in itself is quite slow but I guess that's because the film captures many moments rather then having over-dramatic subplots.

Rahul Bose & Konkona Sen Sharma are one of my favourite duo's both onscreen and offscreen. The first time I saw them together was their appearance on Season 1 of Koffee With Karan and their relationship was so appealing, also there's something about them physically that just 'matches' the way the likes of Amitabh-Rekha, SRK-Kajol and Rani-Vivek suit each other. I then saw them in 15 Park Avenue and now in Mr & Mrs Iyer and they've not failed to impress me - a great combination of actors and I hope they continue to work together time and time again 'coz it's a pleasure to watch them whether it's for a movie or an interview!

Rahul Bose is a complete natural - there's no two ways about that. No one can deny his talent, he's simply mindblowing. He performs this role with excellence! His dialogue delivery is IMO his biggest strength and his facial expressions, body language and overall performance are so fun to watch whether it's films like Mr & Mrs Iyer and 15 Park Avenue or Pyar Ke Side Effects and Jhankar Beats. He never fails to give flawless performances back to back - the man is amazing!

Konkona Sen Sharma has always amazed everyone with her capabilities, and with her touching portrayal of Meenakshi she continues to amaze me. She's another natural performer and one that has to be accepted as a brilliant actress regardless to what you feel about her otherwise! She handles the role with perfection and maturity... She did seem a bit uneasy with her English but I presume that was required for the role. A brilliant performance and I'm super-glad that she won the National award for this one, it's a shame Rahul didn't win the same

Both the characters were so layered and probably such a treat for actors to portray - and both Rahul & Konkona did complete justice to their characters, amazing performances!

Overall, I recommend this film to everyone! It truly is a brilliant film and the highlight of it are the performances by both Rahul & Konkona, so if you're a fan of either/both of them there is no way you should miss this!

Taarzan: The Wonder Car (2004)

2007-07-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

Taarzan: The Wonder Car
Reviewed 11th July 2007

The Burmawalla Brothers direct yet another fast-paced, exciting, thrilling and unique cinema experience in form of 'Taarzan: The Wonder Car'.

I've always loved this film so it was great watching it again yesterday after such a long gap (as I finally added the DVD to my collection).

The story is brilliant. Screenplay is fantastic and gripping. The music forms yet another catchy soundtrack on Himesh Reshammiya's resume - the man is so versatile as a music director making it a shame that today when he's focusing more on the trends in HiFI's music industry, people are forgetting that he has proved his capabilities in composing various types of music over the years (having been in HiFI's music industry for 10 years).

Direction is in full form as Abbas-Mustan prove for the nth time that noone can match them when it comes to this genre [thrillers] in Hindi Cinema.

Vatsal Seth gives a stunningly natural performance and it's tough to keep in mind that this was a newcomers performance. He delivers a mature and natural act, leaving no scope for people to wish another actor had done his role. He's excellent! I wish he had more good offers after this, I know A-M were very impressed by his work so I hope he gets to work with them soon and until then I guess Samir Karnik's MBM is not a bad project to be associated with either!

Ayesha Takia is gorgeous and natural. Her adorable, innocent looks and good fashion sense contribute to liking her even more, but it's her ability to appear so real infront of the camera that really impresses me. She's such a natural performer and can do justice to almost any role!

Ajay Devgan is brilliant in his appearance! And you don't forget him throughout the film 'coz even when he's not there in body you feel he is still there in soul (through Taarzan) hehe

Farida Jalal is the best onscreen mother figure our industry has ever seen! She exudes such warmth and love, you feel like giving her a big hug! Amrish Puri is first-rate and natural as ever. I miss him so much! This was one of the last movies we got to see him in...He was a legend. Gulshan Grover, Shakti Kapoor, Mukesh Tiwari, Rajpal Yadav and all the other character artistes were absolutely brilliant and fitted their roles perfectly. No one annoyed me!

The brilliance of the film is that it is made in pure Abbas-Mustan style [their filmmaking style has become a genre in itself]. The fast-paced thriller catches your attention so well you never once lose focus or get bored. The comic moments [primarily those with 'Jojo' and his father] are so hilarious, I actually had to hold my stomach 'coz I couldn't control my laughter haha... That Jojo character is as much a legend as the Jojo from Soldier.. I just love A-M's Jojo's LOL Though the one in Humraaz was annoying!

The romantic moments between Ayesha and Vatsal are really sweet and they make one helluva adorable pairing!!

Overall, Taarzaan: The Wonder Car is another classic in my eyes, from the super talented director-duo. I love it!

Gadar [2001]

2007-07-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

Gadar
Reviewed 10th July 07

I had seen Gadar 6 years ago when it first released, on a pirated copy at home... I thought it was average but didn't like it much. I had bought a copy of the DVD a few months back and eventually got round to watching it. I enjoyed the film so much and just adored it - it's brilliant!

I still stand by believing what I always did though - that Shaheed-E-Mohabbat [*ing Gurdas Mann] is a much better version of Gadar because that story has been developed more interestingly then Gadar IMO...

But nonetheless Gadar is a really good film and it impressed me a lot more this time watching it on an ORIGINAL copy (Seriously...DAMN piracy! I'm so glad I don't watch pirates anymore...they ruin the films quality.)

The only downside of Gadar is its crusty cinematography and at times bad editing. The technicalities are a drawback to the otherwise fantastic film.

Sunny Deol is a legend...You can never come up with enough adjectives to describe what a natural and brilliant actor he is and how he justifies each of his roles. He lives the role of Tara Singh like no one else could've done so.

Amisha Patel delivered one of her career-best performances in her second film alone. She looks gorgeous and performs with utmost perfection, proving that she was the perfect choice for Sakina.

The music of the film is outstanding. After Dil To Paagal Hai, Uttam Singh once again composed an all-time classic album! And the lyrics by Anand Bakshi were just so beautiful... I miss him so much. Whenever I hear an album with lyrics by Anand Bakshi I remember how he'd make each song sound so beautiful just with the lyrics alone...the words he chose were always so perfect and...lyrical lol they created music in themselves.

Overall, Gadar is another masterpiece from Anil Sharma. I used to think this was my least favourite film from Anil... But now I believe that whether it's Gadar, The Hero, Ab Tumhaare Hawale Watan Saathiyo, Apne... it doesn't matter which film we're talking about but all those Anil Sharma films I've seen are simply superb IMO!

Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage

2007-07-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage
Reviewed 05 July 2007

My sister bought the DVD recently so today I rewatched it after 5 years [when it released]. I had LOVED the movie back then, but did it impress me just as much after all these years? Hmm.. Well, no not as much because this time I noticed some downsides to the film that I had not cared for earlier. However, I still think AMALL has a great concept and is made quite well... But the potential it has as a story was not depicted as well as it could have been, which is a shame.

As a director Vicky does a fine job as per usual!

The Music by Rajesh Roshan was extremely disappointing and no track is memorable or even too likable. It's the weakest point of the film definitely.

The screenplay was also weak and many points could've been edited [actually, I found 99.9% of the scenes which did not feature either Amisha or Hrithik to be utter nonsense haha]...

Hrithik and Amisha were adorable as a pairing, just as they were in Kaho Naa... they're so sweet together! I really hope they are paired together again sometime, Amisha definitely makes one of Hrithik's best pairings.

In terms of performances the film belongs entirely to Hrithik. He carries the film on his shoulders and delivers a brilliant performance! He fits the role perfectly and does a fine job. On the other hand, Amisha is not at her best - far from it. Her crying attacks are hideously shocking and I just don't understand what warped her to perform like this and what went on in Vicky's head to OK her majorly terrible shots?? Anyway she did look very gorgeous nonetheless!!

Overall, AMALL is one of those films that came in what people considered Hrithik's bad period and I was one of those rare [or perhaps the only] ones to have loved each and every one of those movies that came in his supposed low phase haha... I can't say AMALL is a very good film, but it's OK... The entertainment value and concept are both good enough for me to have enjoyed it both times I have seen it and safely say that the DVD was worth buying because I probably will watch it at least a few more times. An entertaining and sweet film!

Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love (2001)

2007-07-05T03:12:00.000-07:00

Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love
Reviewed 05 July 2007

I had bought the DVD sometime last year so I decided to watch it again last night as I've not seen it since it released back in 2001. I didn't remember anything except the songs so watching it yesterday was almost like watching a new movie.

The Story was good... And the film didn't really drag even though it was almost a full 3 hours. Screenplay was fine, though there were moments that could've easily been chopped off [Sankla! ]

Music is awesome... I always loved the songs of Ek Rishtaa and even today the songs are beautiful and fresh! Dil Lagane Ki Saza, Mohabbat Ne Mohabbat Ko & Ek Dil Hai are awesome.

The Cast were all chosen aptly as each actor does justice to their role, be it from Amitabh Bachchan to Suniel Shetty to Shakti Kapoor.

Amitabh Bachchan was fantastic. As much as I may have begun to dislike this guy in real life, there's no denying his capabilities as a performer - he's beyond brilliant.

Rakhee was good and it was nice to see her play a mum role, as you don't really get to see people like her these days sadly.

Akshay Kumar was perfect. He's an outstanding actor and fit this role as well as he fits any and every role... One of the most brilliant actors of his time, he's such a natural. And his onscreen chemistry with Amitabh is just so touching. Amitabh-Akshay make a far, far, far better father-son pair then Amitabh and his real life son!

Karisma Kapoor looked gorgeous! First off I have to say Manish did an amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing job with her outfits *sigh*...The outfits still look so fashionable, unique and pretty even 6 years later! She just looked amazing and performed really well. I miss her!

Juhi Chawla acted naturally as always and looked adorable! However, I have to add how much I hated her character... If it wasn't Juhi playing it I don't think I could've coped watching it, though the character did improve in the last portion, but seriously what a dim person...I wish someone would've switched Preeti's lights on!

Mohnish Behl acted well and did justice to the negative character.

I was surprised to see Suniel in his appearance, as I had totally forgotten he was in the film, but it was nice to see him.

OVERALL Ek Rishtaa's a sweet film with a nice story, good performances, great music and GORGEOUS outfits worn by Karisma Haha, I had to mention the outfits again! It was fun watching it again after so many years.

Khal Naaika [1993], Lootere [1993], Dil Aashna Hai [1992] & Koi Aap Sa [2005]

2007-07-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

Reviewed: 15th May 2007

Khal Naaika
Always been a favourite of mine and I still love it... The songs are pathetic haha and useless...but they are the only downside to the movie. Everything else about it was really good. Jeetu was as always v.good in his small role but the film belonged to Jaya and Anu - and both were quite good - convincing in their portrayals.

Lootere
Gosh...typical Dharshan movie. Very slow paced and quite ridiculous and painful to watch at times. But it was OK overall I guess... Worth watching for Juhi and Sunny...they are adorable together and I loved the scenes they shared.

Dil Aashna Hai
I didn't remember it at all and I really enjoyed watching it. It did get blah at points and I ended up skipping a few scenes here and there, but otherwise it's a really good movie - great concept and quite well made. I'm awaiting Hema's next direction now, she's quite good! All the actors did a good job but the film obviously belonged to Divya and then after her I really liked Dimple a lot.

Koi Aap Sa
Really quite a good film surprisingly. Very slow paced though!! The pace just kills it - otherwise it's a good story and acted well by the lead members of the cast. Aftab and Natasha were both so natural and great!! Deepanita and Himanshu pretty much sucked as expected haha I wish someone else was in their roles

Raaz [2002]

2007-07-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

Raaz
Reviewed 07 June 2007

I've not seen Raaz since such a long time, but I bought the DVD this gone weekend so today I decided to watch it again. Wow! I just love the film so much! It kept me engaged throughout... I have to admit that there were times where I had my hands on my face and was finding it a bit scary hehe... It's such an awesome movie...

Vicky rocks, he's one of my fave directors definitely! Bhatt's always rule

Bipasha was just stunning! She handled the role so well and looked so gorgeous! Dino was awesome too, and OMG did he look hot or what!! Everyone else performed well too...especially Ashutosh Rana, he gets a special mention for his great performance as usual.

The Music is gorgeous, love every single song!

I really enjoyed watching the movie a lot !

Tum Bin [2001]

2007-07-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

Tum Bin
Reviewed June 12th 2007

When Tum Bin released I had rented it and turned it off after just 10/15 minutes.. I don't know why but I was not interested in the film at all. Recently though I caught half of the film on Star Gold and was enjoying it so much (but had to leave 'coz I was going somewhere)... So this made me go out and buy the DVD and finally I watched the film entirely today.

My overall thoughts about the movie? Well I loved it! It's sweet, simple and really lovely. It deals with real human emotions so sensitively that even though I've not been through any of the circumstances the characters go through, I still relate to them so much!

The first half of the movie is simply perfect! The second half gets slightly slow in the screenplay and does tend to drag a bit but it's still very nice.

The Music - It's just amazing. I've always loved the soundtrack of the film and that remains even today. The music has soul... the lyrics are gorgeous and so sweet.

Sandali - Well I'm a huge fan of hers and with reason - she's a great actress. She has so much potential. She's talented and gorgeous, and she has amazing screen presence - she knows how to dominate a scene and make her presence be felt in the simplest and most natural way!! I still maintain that her best performance is the one in Ab Tumhaare Hawaale Watan Saathiyo - now that was outstanding. But still, even here she was really good. When she cried, I felt like crying for/with her. The film revolved around her and if you couldn't gather sympathy for her character, the film would fail for you -- Sandali made it work for me. I wish she was more successful as an actress because she's a complete package - I really love this girl!

Priyanshu - I'm really not a fan of his, far from it... However, he delivered quite a good performance here, especially considering it was his first film. So hats off to him for that, I was definitely impressed! And I don't think I'm wrong in saying his performance in his first movie is his best yet - he hasn't matched it in any of his subsequent movies [except perhaps Madhoshi].

Rakesh - Good performance. I wish his role was stronger because he's a very talented actor and he's incredibly cute, I really like him! I remember watching this movie of his called 'Tumse Milke...Wrong Number' - loved it, it's a shame he hasn't seen success in his acting career.

Himanshu - Average performance. I don't like him at all and this did not in any way change my perception of him - he has a long, long way to go as an actor - and I don't know how he became a model!

Anubhav Sinha Dus is one of my favourite movies... I'm not too fond of Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai but it's quite sweet, and I'm really really looking forward to Cash. I haven't seen Tathasthu but I could see from the promos how different the genre is. Anubhav has the ability to make such drastically different styles/genres of movies and succeed so well in them. Dus and Tum Bin are both amazing in their own styles. Anubhav is definitely a great director and for a debutant he absolutely stuns with his professional work in Tum Bin. Oh and I have to add here that the techniques used in the editing and camerawork of the film were fantastic too...

Sensitive, emotional and touching - I don't know why it took me so long to watch this film but I'm glad it finally happened because Tum Bin is fresh and new even today!!

Pyaar, Ishq Aur Mohabbat [2001]

2007-07-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Pyaar, Ishq Aur Mohabbat
Reviewed 19 June 2007

I love this film SO much...I can watch it anytime and however many times and never bore of it! The music is amazing. All the songs are brilliant!! Main Bewafa will always be my number one fave But the others are equally awesome. Aftab is a sweetie cutie pie! Suniel was good too. Kirti was really nice for a newcomer, acted well and looked pretty. and ARJUN! Oh my GOD!!! I fell in love with the guy the first time I saw PIAM and he's just............ he acted GREAT and looked FREAKING GORRRRGEOUS! Everytime he comes onscreen in the film my heart goes *dhak dhak* I'm not kidding he makes my heart skip so many beats...I'm so in love with him, always have been always will be...LUCKY MEHR JESSIA!!!

Anyway..the film is really good. I always liked it and still do..Have seen it many times.

Beta [1992]

2007-07-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

Beta
Reviewed 08 June 2007

I had bought the DVD some time back and haven't seen the film since I was very young [sometime in the 90s, probably when it first released]. I remembered it being quite a good movie but I wanted to watch it again to remember it.

It sucked. It sucked bigtime!!

I don't know why it's called Beta... Anil Kapoor's character was unnecessarily given too much importance... His character was annoying and sucked, and his performance didn't help. Anil has delivered such good performances but this is definitely not one of them.

Madhuri Dixit stole the show. She made the otherwise terrible and disgusting film worth watching. She wasn't amazing or anything, in fact she acted quite poor in some scenes... but overall her performance was quite good. I wish her character was the lead one and not Anil's... 'Coz her character was a lot more interesting and Madhuri did a pretty decent job. She looked very pretty too!!

So, yeah... it's a sucky film and I'm disappointed Madhuri, and maybe one or two of the songs, are the only reason(s) to watch the movie.

Laadla [1994]

2007-07-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

Laadla
Reviewed 15 June 2007

What a boring and crap movie. I thought it was good and that is why I bought the DVD 'coz I remember when I saw it when I was small I liked it and I used to always copy Sri's "Understand? You better understand'...but the film is just so terrible.

Random silly gunda scenes and terrible songs popping out of nowhere constantly. I'm really disappointed.

Anil was OK! Sridevi wasn't at her best, she was on her Judaai-level, very similar actually. Raveena Tandon was the one I liked most surprisingly She was adorable, and Farida was cuute and lovely too!

I watched the almost three hour film in forward-motion and finished it within one hour

Kareeb [1998]

2007-07-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

Kareeb
Reviewed: 14 June 2007

I was watching this film after such a long time today, and it's always been a favourite of mine. Even today I loved it so much! It's a perfect love story *sigh* just so awesome, so sweet! It does have a very slow pace, but Kareeb is one of the very rare occasions on which the slow pace of a film didn't annoy me! I didn't skip a single scene or forward a single moment, each moment was worth watching

Music: What an awesome, awesome, awesome soundtrack... Each song is so perfect! My favourite songs are:

* Haan Judaai Se Darta Hai Dil [Definitely the best one... It's so sad and makes me almost cry everytime I watch the film or hear the song!]

* Reet Yahi [Aww so emotional... A typical 'bidaai' tearjerker, puts a lump in my throat!]

* Tera Gussa [Amazingly hilarious and cute song haha... It's a classic!! I've always loved singing this one ]

Also really like 'Chori Chori Jab Nazrein' and & 'Churalo Na Dil Mera'...

The entire soundtrack is full of amazing songs, albums like these remind me why I used to be such a huge Anu Malik fan... I miss him so much these days, come back Anu!!

Performances:

Bobby Deol was perfect! He was so cute with his dorky and adorable facial expressions haha and I loved his character! "Yeh mera saath hi kyun hota hai" -- Something I myself am always thinking too, so I could so relate to it!! This was the second Bobby film I saw today and I enjoyed watching him so much. He's such a natural actor, so perfect... His dialogue delivery, the way he emotes, his looks, his dancing... Everything about him is just simply awesome. Today I feel more a Bobby fan then anyone elses fan haha I just have fallen in love with him all over again. He's so amazing! I really wish him all the best and all the success 'coz a brilliant actor like him will only go from strength to strength and one day he will achieve the success he deserves, God bless him.

Neha was good and did justice to her character. She had a very strong role and acted very well. This is the only film I've liked her in! She was good in Rahul too but her first performance [in Kareeb] remains her career-best, the role really suited her. I think Amrita Rao looks an incredible lot like Neha, there's a big resemblence.

Moushumi Chatterjee was adorable! She looked so cute and acted really well. And she really looked like she was Neha's mum!

Saurabh Shukla was great... Actually I don't know if I have ever liked him in another movie as much as I like him in Kareeb.

Johnny Lever was very good, this is one of the few 90s movies where I did not ever feel the need to skip his scenes haha...Gotta love him though, he's so funny and cute!

Abhay Chopra acted well and did justice to his role. I was just wondering though, if anyone knows if this is THE Abhay Chopra? As in Ravi Chopra's son [Uday/Adi's cousin]??

Overall Kareeb has always been a favourite of mine and it remains so even today. I was watching it after a long gap and enjoyed myself so much!! Rocking movie!

Aur Pyar Ho Gaya [1997]

2007-07-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Aur Pyar Ho Gaya
Reviewed: 14 June 2007

APHG is definitely one of my favourite time-pass movies. It's sweet, romantic and entertaining. The story is sweet and simple, and yet quite unique.

The Music is mind-blowing!! Definitely one of the best soundtracks ever. Each and every one of the songs are outstanding!!

When Bobby first sees Aashi's pic in the 'India Today'...there's a model on the left hand page -- Is that Bipasha Basu?? It really looked like her!

Bobby Deol looked gorgoeus and so handsome! And he performed great - very naturally, never once going out of character. Bobby and Aish made such a great couple... I've always loved their pairing, even in Shaheed. I wish they did another proper movie together though! Oh and aww Sunny's sp.ap was so cute hehe

Aishwarya Rai didn't acted as well and tended to go overboard at times, but she was still OK and was sweet. She looked really pretty and danced amazing!

Anupam Kher & Shashi Kapoor were both very good as usual!

Overall, I've always loved watching this movie 'coz it's entertaining, sweet, amazing music and has a great repeatibility factor.

Baazigar [1993]

2007-07-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Baazigar
Reviewed: 11 June 2007

I was so stuck on what to watch today and I finally picked Baazigar. I was watching it after a gap of say two years probably... So it was fun to watch!

The movie is a kickass thriller - typical of the Abbas-Mustan genre. It keeps you glued to the screen throughout! Amazing story and a pretty tight screenplay. Actually, I think I have never enjoyed Baazigar as much as I did today!!

Performances were good all round. From the character artistes it was Dalip Tahil and Johnny Lever who stand out and leave an impression.

Shah Rukh was amazing! So amazing that even today he managed to scare me and I'm feeling a bit freaked out at the moment He was just so stunning... What a performance!!! Absolutely PERFECT!

Kajol was brilliant! She handled all the layers in her complex character with ease. Brilliant in the chirpy and happy go lucky moments of the first half, she reminded me a lot of her younger sister Tanisha there! And she was even greater in the second half! Oh and I soo loved her Gabbar-Intro

Shilpa was very good for a newcomer, but the role wasn't right for her to debut with. However, she looked pretty and performed very well in whatever little she had to do.

The Music is just mind-blowing!! Anu Malik composed a superb soundtrack and each and every track lives on today... A classic album!! All the songs are awesome! My favs being Baazigar O Baazigar, Kitaabein Bohat Si & Kaali Kaali Aankhen.

Overall, as almost every Abbas-Mustan movie...Baazigar is AMAZINGGGG!

Aa Ab Laut Chalen [1999]

2007-07-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Aa Ab Laut Chalen
Reviewed: 10 June 2007

I didn't remember AALC at all so today when I had nothing to do I decided to rewatch it as I had bought the DVD almost a year back and still hadn't watched it!

As a first time Director, Rishi Kapoor did a brilliant job. I'm really confused as to why the film was unsuccessful and why he never directed again! I hope to see him back very soon in the role of a director for R K Films and hopefully he'll take Ranbir in his movie!

The Music was really good, Nadeem-Shravan did a good job and I love almost all the songs. The songs were choreographed well by Saroj Khan too.

Performances were overall quite good and everyone did justice to their roles. Their were the few ridiculous performances like that NRI girl Akshaye falls for haha (she was such a loser) and Akshaye's step brother (surely it can't be that hard to act)!

Akshaye Khanna was awesome! The guy is such a natural and fit the role with perfect ease. There never is a moment ever in any of Akshaye's performances/films where you can say he acted badly or over the top. He's always spot on! And I love him in these rom-com kind of roles, he was adorable.

Aishwarya Rai looked stunning! One of her best looks in any movie, handsdown. And she made a great pair with Akshaye, very nice chemistry. Performance-wise she did a good job and did justice to the role. She was sweet, simple and very pretty. For an actress who was quite a newcomer, and that too in the 90s, it was quite a good performance.

Rajesh Khanna What can I say about this man? He is the KING of overacting. From his older movies to his more recent ones... one thing has remained and that is his inability to give a single natural performance. I've nothing against him but he just cannot act! He was okay at most.

Overall I really enjoyed the movie and I had a lot of fun watching it. I don't remember what I thought of it when I saw it back in 1999 but if I can watch it 9 years post it's release date with no memory of how I felt towards it earlier, and now I accept it, then that's something!! It's very entertaining and pretty well made, also has a lot of repeat value.

Aarzoo [1999]

2007-07-02T09:28:00.001-07:00

Aarzoo
Reviewed: 02 July 2007

I've always liked this film [it's a really good entertainer IMO] so I was happy when my sister bought the DVD last week. I watched it today after quite a long time, but loved it the same as I always have.

Interesting story [though the end always irritates me, because I just wish Amar had stayed alive It would've been happier, it was way too sad to kill off his character!] and one of the highlights of the movie [aside from the star cast and their performances of course] is the music. The music is awesome - I love each and every song! My favourite songs would definitely be Ab Tere Dil Mein, Main Aa Raha Hoon & Saajan Saajan.

I love the cast. Akshay-Saif are always a pleasure to watch - they're one of the best pairing's ever! And Madhuri made a nice pair with both of them too.

Saif's performance stole the show. He was fantastic and played the role perfectly, also he looked adorable! Akshay was brilliant as always and performed extremely well especially in the second half. Madhuri suited the role well and did complete justice to it, plus she looked really pretty. Though I didn't like her in some of the english outfits she wore in the first half.

Overall, Aarzoo is a typical 90s film with all the ingredients for pure masaala entertainment. It's not really a good film cinematically, but it's a great time pass and I really enjoyed watching it for the nth time!

Apne [2007]

2007-07-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

Apne
Reviewed: 01 July 2007

After eagerly awaiting for years to see the Deol’s come together for a movie the wait finally come to an end, but the question is whether Apne met the expectations and whether it was the perfect film for the Deol trio to come together?

The Story was brilliant. I loved the concept of having boxing and match-fixing at the heart of the film and wrapping it up with the emotions and struggles of family life. The Deol’s being known as such emotional human beings and so family oriented, and yet having each maintained this strong and heroic action-hero image at the same time – there could not have been a better story come their way. It was definitely the perfect story for the trio to appear in

The Music was perhaps the weakest part of the film. The only tracks that stand out are the title song and ‘Dekhoon Tujhe To’ – I love both those songs a lot, but the rest of the soundtrack is just average.

The Performances

Dharmendra The King is back! And how! He carries the film on his shoulders from the first frame to the last, and proves that he is one of the most brilliant and natural actors our cinema will ever see. Hopefully his comeback in Apne will remind everyone just what an amazing actor he is and hopefully more offers will come pouring their way to him because it would be an honour for the industry and a reward for the audience to continue watching this amazingly natural actor on the screen time and time again. This was the first time I saw Dharmendra on the cinema-screen and he stole my heart all over! He’s not lost his charm at all! He looked dashing and adorable, and performed his heart and soul out. A flawless performance – what a natural performer he is! One thing that was really wonderful was that we get to see both the ‘garam’ and ‘naram’ side of him haha… Oh and it was great to see him with his sons. Seeing Dharmendra-Sunny-Bobby onscreen together truly was an amazing experience and formed a moment that will forever be remembered in the history of our cinema!

Sunny Deol Fantastic! He was simply awesome – so natural as always. He fit the role exceedingly well and performed only as he could. He actually made me cry with the way he expressed his feelings through his eyes in the initial portions of the film especially [when he is so eager to seek his dad’s love/approval], but the Sunny-moment of the film was definitely his fight in the boxing ring… Haha I was like ‘Luca dude! u going down, Sunny just doesn’t know how to lose, u don’t know what u’re taking on!!’ LOL… I loved Sunny’s punches…he was just brilliant!!

Bobby Deol After Dharmendra it was Bobs who had the second most screen-time in the film and his role was quite a challenging one. Of course he handled it with utmost perfection! He looked adorable and performed brilliant. His strongest portions in the film were the emotional scenes where he excelled beyond words! He exuded a warm childlike innocence that he earlier had in [Anil Sharma’s] ATHWS – he was just so adorable and performed his character so well that you felt like reaching out to him and hugging him! His chemistry with Katrina was awesome and I wish we soon get to see them in a film where they have scope as a couple too.

Victor Bannerjee Another fantastic actor who as expected churned out a brilliant performance. He had a really good role and did complete justice to it. I loved him!

Kirron Kher I love Kirron in these Punjabi-mum roles! She was excellent and no other mother-figure-actress could’ve suited the role as well as here.

Shilpa Shetty She looked beautiful and performed extremely well in whatever she had. The role wasn’t long but still important and whenever she appeared onscreen she was really good – she fitted the character really well, even though it was drastically different to the usual ‘jatak matak’ kind of roles she does.

Katrina Kaif Her role wasn’t too lengthy and not developed as much as I hope it had been [because it had potential to be a really good character], but nonetheless Katrina looked stunningly gorgeous and sophisticated [I just adore the way this girl dresses, I want her wardrobe from each and every one of her films LOL] and performed brilliant…she’s reached my fave actresses list last year with HDKG and she continues to impress me. Oh but I was really disappointed that her voice was not used [why didn’t they let her use it?? I’m sure this was NOT her voice!!]

Aryan Vaid I became a huge fan of this dude because of Bigg Boss haha and I remember being hyped that he was in the movie LOL… He did a good job with the role though much was not required of him and I wasn’t fond of the charcter at all [understandably!]… he was good.

Anil Sharma [The Director] The only films of Anil’s that I recall are those that I’ve seen recently [Gadar, The Hero & ATHWS] – of which, I found Gadar good, The Hero very good and ATHWS awesome! Anil’s impressed me with his work in each of those three films and he continues to do so with Apne. Though at times Apne does appear slightly shoddy in its treatment [just as Gadar and to some extent The Hero did], and it could have been better IMO, it’s still a good attempt from the filmmaker and he’s done a good job with the direction.

Overall I’d recommend Apne to everyone who [1] loves the Deol’s, [2] appreciates good entertainment, [3] loves family, emotions and the meaning of family values. Apne makes you cry, Apne makes you laugh and Apne makes you really feel for your own Apne. A well made film all the way, it’s my third favourite of this year [following only Namastey London and Ta Ra Rum Pum, both of which are tied at the top spot of favourite movies this year so far]. For me what really worked was having Dharmendra-Sunny-Bobby there… the chemistry they shared was just amazing and Anil Sharma really took advantage of how people like me feel towards the Deol family [considering them like my own family even though I’ve never met them LOL] and whenever there were emotional scenes or boxing scenes I felt as though it was happening in my own family and got so tensed/upset. Apne strikes the perfect chords in the audiences heart – it’s really a very good movie. Not the best, not perfect…but from what has come this year it is definitely up there as one of the better films of 2007, EASILY!

Black [2005]

2007-06-29T06:03:00.000-07:00

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.

Bunty Aur Babli [2005]

2007-06-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

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!!

Paheli [2005]

2007-06-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

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!

The Rising: Ballad Of Mangal Pandey [2005]

2007-06-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

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 !!

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna [2006]

2007-06-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

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!

Baabul [2006]

2007-06-29T05:42:00.000-07:00

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!”

Murder [2004]

2007-06-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

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.

Guddi [1971]

2007-06-28T02:45:00.000-07:00

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!!

The Namesake [2006]

2007-06-28T02:07:00.000-07:00

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!

Salaam-e-Ishq [2007]

2007-06-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Guru [2007]

2007-06-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

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!

Eklavya - The Royal Guard [2007]

2007-06-19T07:46:00.001-07:00

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!!

Vivah [2006]

2007-06-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

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!

Shaka Laka Boom Boom [2007]

2007-06-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

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.

Namastey London [2007]

2007-06-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

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*...

Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. [2007]

2007-06-19T07:35:00.001-07:00

Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.
[Reviewed: 22nd April 2007]

Verdict: Disappointed, BIG TIME!

The film is just so...messy! It had potential but the director/screenplay writer were not capable of making it properly. Argh! All the individual stories seemed interesting...but neither were given enough depth... it was like you scratch on the surface of one and run to the other... and in the end nothing was resolved...it just felt like 'ok, and now what?'... I wouldn't say it's a bad film because it isn't... it had a lot of potential... But I'm really, really disappointed with it! The most terrible thing about it is that it moved at an extremely, painfully, slow pace!

All the actors were decent...

Shabana Azmi leaves the most impact... She's a true natural. Handles her role with ease. Great facial expressions and dialogue delivery, this woman rocks! Boman is really good and natural as usual. Shabana and Boman's story had the most depth...it interested me the most too...and they both performed great. I wish the film was just about them two!!

Minisha and Abhay had no scope to perform but they were cute. I liked their childhood flashback.

Amisha Patel was ADORABLE!!

Kay Kay and Raima were good...though they began to irritate me after some point... the sari scene on the beach was hilarious haha

Diya Mirza... *sigh* I thought her story would be really good from the promos... it seemed like it'd be so interesting (how she'd be crying and shying away all the time haha) but it ended up being SOMETHING ELSE which didn't really interest me at all!

I don't know who else to talk about... there were so many people but none were given enough scope to actually stand their own place and be remembered! Messy film! Absolute disappointment!!

Ta Ra Rum Pum [2007]

2007-06-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

Ta Ra Rum Pum
[Reviewed: April 29th 2007]

Expectations Yash Raj Films are the best production house in India and I’m a huge fan of there’s so on that level there were some expectations, plus Saif and Rani are two of my favourites… and SalaamNamaste was an entertaining film. However, the expectations weren’t that high…why? Because frankly Yash Raj Films, as much as I still love them, have not really impressed me since Hum Tum and Dhoom in 2004, after that I felt they started to focus more on quantity and were sacrificing their quality…. So yeah I was looking forward to Ta Ra Rum Pum, but my expectations from the movie were nothing more than expecting a decent entertainer.

The Music Directors, Vishal-Shekhar & Lyricist Javed Akhtar have excelled in their departments, especially Javed Akhtar. The lyrics are beautiful and each song keeps in mind the present situation of the film making the songs flow with the narrative of the film and not just be placed for no apparent reason. After watching the film I am in love with the entire soundtrack, Siddharth was right in saying that the music is very important to the film and very appropriate!

Choreographer, Vaibhavi Merchant does an excellent job with each and every song! Each of the songs remains memorable because each of them is such a delight to watch! Ab To Forever surprised me at how well directed it was! It was so much fun and the dancing looked so real, spontaneous and entertaining… Hey Shona was just so beautiful and it was great to see New York in a new light rather then the same old typical busy-rushy-crappy way we usually see it haha… Ta Ra Ra Ra Rum was beautiful and emotional, more of a musical sequence then a song as such really, same goes for Saaiyaan… Nachle Ve was so much fun and I just loved how it came into the film (bath-time hehe, so touching)…one of the best songs I’ve ever watched, so fun and cute! And finally the title song, Ta Ra Rum Pum, was so adorable…such a cute song *sigh* those bear’s were adorable, as were the animated locations hehe, and hats off to all four actors for acting that song out so well!

The Costumes are just mind-blowing! Each and every actor is dressed so suitably… I especially love the job Surily Goel done in designing Rani’s outfits – they were so normal and so beautiful…fashionable, yet wearable! Each and every time Rani appeared onscreen I would be like ‘wow, that outfit is awesome!’ haha… Mamta Anand (I think it was her anyway) did a good job as per usual with Saif’s designing too! The kids were dressed great too!

Cinematographer, Binod Pradan does a brilliant job as per usual…the film is a visual-treat but the best thing about it is that Binod catches the locations in such a fresh way and realistic way…there are times when the camerawork has been done in such a way that there’s a slight claustrophobic feel in the second part of the film and I thought that was really different to how we usually see places in the USA being shown as some huge and spacious place all the time… Oh and it was great to see him in a special appearance hehe

The Story is fantastic… and the Screenplay is really good too, there wasn’t a moment of boredom… the screenplay was tight and effective – perfect.

Random Comments I don’t have time to talk about my favourite moments or anything but here are some very, very random points…

- A flaw I noticed… there was a picture of the family in their blue clothes from the Nachle Ve song, way before Nachle Ve or the accident etc even happened!! That was a huge flaw that really shocked me… Very irresponsible on the set-designers part (Sharmistra Roy was it?) and quite bad for Sid who, as the director, should have noticed and taken action on that!

- The car races were breath taking! The speed…! God…seriously every time there was a car race my heart was in my throat…and by the climax it was IN MY MOUTH LOL!

- I loved the unique style of the film…I loved the characterisations…especially Rajveer and Radhika… I loved the family-ness…I loved how it dealt with real emotions, money problems…problems that are real.

- The first half was adorable, cute, funny and entertaining… and the second half was heavily emotional, sensitive and beautiful...

Director, Siddharth Anand comes into his own with this film! SalaamNamaste was a nice film and was definitely well directed, but Siddharth has certainly matured as a filmmaker with Ta Ra Rum Pum, dealing with more mature issues and handling them with sensitivity. He never once goes overboard with the emotion and keeps a perfect balance between the comic moments and the sad moments. Hats off to him for this film because this is the first time in 5 years (since K3G) that I have cried my heart out so, so, so much! There is still room for Siddharth to grow and improve as a director…as the captain of the ship he has to take responsibility for the minor (and slightly ridiculous haha) flaws that were in the film, there weren’t many but there were some and hopefully next time he will sort that out also… he’s definitely grown and there’s only one way left for him – climbing even higher. Great job Sid, because I see Ta Ra Rum Pum as a ‘Siddharth Anand product’ and not as a ‘Yash Raj product’ (which SalaamNamaste definitely appeared to be).

Saif Ali Khan is just amazing, he’s a natural… his dialogue delivery, facial expressions, body language…you know it, and you got it in the most perfect form! He suits the role like no one else could have and he carries the film on his shoulders from his entry right till the last scene! Be it as a lover, husband, racer or father – he performs each part of his role with equal excellence… he’s always been a great actor but in the past few years the growth in Saif has been impeccable, he’s ironed out any faults people could’ve pointed at him for and today he is just so talented and definitely right up there at the top as an actor! And of course, he was looking awesome too! Saif and Rani share such a warm and beautiful chemistry, I seriously cannot think of another kind of film that I would have liked to seen them in after Hum Tum…this was a perfect second venture for this gorgeous pair!

Rani Mukerji well, it’s just getting so common now to say that her performance was just so natural and flawless! It was great to see her as Radhika because [1] I don’t remember the first time she done such a youthful role like she was in the first half and [2] seeing her play a mother to the two children in the second half was a first and it was a great treat! The warmth, support and emotion she delivered in the second half is something no other actress could have done! I truly fell in love with her character thanks to her beautifully natural portrayal and the ease with which she makes her character grow from the Radhika in the first half to the second half, oh and not to mention she was looking so gorgeous and glam, it was a treat to watch her in the get-up in both halves of the film!

Angelina Idnani was stunning! Such a great performance from such a little girl… she’s talented, gorgeous and adorable! Her role is really important to the film and she succeeds in portraying it naturally with flying colours.

Ali Haji is just the most adorable child I have ever seen, aww he is just so cute! His performance was awesome and his innocence is so heart-warming… I really loved seeing him and Angelina as siblings – they made a really cute bro-sis!

Jaaved Jaffery was fantastic…he carried over some of his SN traits onto this role too (same-to-same as sam-to-sam haha and of course pluralizing some words by adding a random s at the end lol) and it was really fun to see that…but the best thing is that he performed so naturally in not just those comic moments but the more serious times in the film too…great performance!

All the other actors (Shruti Seth, Victor Bannerjee and everyone else) were fantastic in their roles also!

Overall Verdict Ta Ra Rum Pum … Like I said, it’s the first time in 5 years that I have cried so much while watching a film…the film truly touched my heart! It’s entertaining, it has repeat value, it’s emotional and the best thing about it is that it carries the most beautiful social message it could. In today’s day and age when money is such a huge issue, I think it’s really refreshing to see a film like this, which behind all it’s cuteness/glamour/gloss is actually a beautiful, sensitive and warm film that deals with realistic situations … A must watch for all who those people who are very family oriented and of course all you who lead money oriented lives (all you shop-a-holics out there) haha! To be honest, for me, the best thing about the film was that it dealt with a family’s struggle, a family coming together…and a problem (money), which is far more real and problematic, then what most films use (love)… I mean it was refreshing to see the issue here being money and not love and it dealing with a family, not just a couple…all this was REAL and seeing YRF make something like this was a great feel…I’m glad to say YRF did not suffer from quality when it comes to Ta Ra Rum Pum…it’s a quality product all the way…well done Sid and well done to the rest of the team too!

Rating 9/10 (though I was debating with myself, was about to give it a 8.5 but then I was like oh shut it haha what’s a 0.5…Maybe I will revise the rating later but for now it’s definitely getting a 9!)

Strength, family, love and courage…Ta Ra Rum Pum speeds all the way to the centre of my heart… I love it.

Provoked [2007]

2007-06-19T07:29:00.001-07:00

Provoked
Reveiwed: April 7th 2007

I know what to expect from a British film and that's exactly what I expected, and what I got, from 'Provoked'.

A serious issue... made very well. Entertainment-wise it was hardly the best entertainer and film-wise it was not exactly the best film...but nevertheless I'm really glad I saw it on the big screen...Because above everything else, I think...It's a story that, as a PERSON I think, was worth listenning to!

I think the film could've showed us more... we could've seen more of the violence Kiran went through... it would've helped. The ending was a bit kacha-kacha too... I mean was she freed straight away? How many months after? How come she was allowed to go out of the court just like that when her appeal was successful? That was really confusing...

I think the 2 stars that shine through are definitely Kiranjit Ahluwalia and Aishwarya Rai...both deserve a hug! Kiranjit for being a real star and Aishwarya for churning out what is undoubtedly not just the performance of her career but a performance of a lifetime!

Aishwarya stole my heart...I felt like giving her such a big hug...The performance was just so amazing... The way she emoted through her eyes, her expressions, her dialogue delivery...everything...absolutely FANTASTIC...not to mention that as always she looked damn gorgeous... But seriously the performance was so good that words fail to describe it... I wish she does more roles/films like these 'coz she's capable of SO much and this just proved it, I'm really happy to say that she was...AMAZING!!!

Other actors were great too...everyone excelled in their roles. I think the only person who disappointed was Naveen Andrews or whatever his name is...He quite sucked haha...bad performance from him, pretty fake!

But otherwise all the actors were fantastic! The movie though..of course belongs to Aishwarya in every way

So yeah...it's not the most amazing film..but the message it churns out is fantastic... it really makes you think and it makes you CRY..MY GOD does it make u cry or what It's a total Brit movie...made in a typically Brit way..so I dunno how people from other parts of the world will connect with it...

But I think they just might coz on the level of humanity...and thanks to Aish's great portrayal of Kiran..this movie should touch the heart of every human being...

Good movie....and I just can't stop thinking about some great scenes (will discuss them later) and Aish's performance...a must watch for reason x/y/z....Everyone shud see it...so what u waitin for??

Umrao Jaan [2006]

2007-06-19T07:23:00.000-07:00

Umrao Jaan
[Reviewed: June 6th 2007]

* I'm a J P Dutta fan and I've loved all the movies of his that I've seen [Border, Refugee and LOC].

* I have not seen the earlier version of Umrao Jaan starring Rekha, though I have seen the songs and I love Rekha!

* Border, Refugee and LOC are not only films that I love, but the films have such classic albums...all three of them rank as some of my all time favourite soundtracks. When I heard the Umrao Jaan album last year, I felt it did not by any means live upto the soundtracks of JP's past 3 ventures - it was an absolute disappointment. And it was this disappointment from the music that kept me away from watching the film for such a long time.

What did I think of J P Dutta's 'Umrao Jaan'? The starting was strange... The film appeared like some picture of art rather then a feature movie, and that old poet who goes to see Umrao was so annoying - the actor couldn't act and I was like 'oh my God, what am I about to watch?'... but that was just the first 5 or 10 minutes, things definitely got better. In general, the first hour and half of the film were fantastic - I absolutely fell in love with the film!! Those moments in the first half were the real gems of the film and made it beautiful to watch. Then when Suniel Shetty made his appearence, the film got terribly boring and yawn-worthy for about an hour!!! That middle hour was an extreme drag and I was very disappointed. However, thankfully the last 30mins were yet again just as impressive as the first hour and half, so the final impression I have of this movie is that... it was really good! Had the portions with Suniel Shetty been better, it would've helped...but his character and angle to the story kind of weighed down the film a bit - not too much, but it did slow the pace a lot and kind of made it boring...

Performances

Aishwarya Rai Wow! This lady keeps on impressing me in all the movies I’ve seen of her in 2007, something must seriously be wrong haha! No jokes…after watching her natural and flawless performances in Guru and Provoked, she was yet again perfectly breathtaking! Her performance as Ameeran/Umrao was so subtle and natural… and God, she looked so f’in gorgeous! I don’t think she’s looked this beautiful in a movie since Mohabbatein… such a pretty and perfect look, and I loved her costumes. The role wasn’t a dream role or anything and didn’t demand the most histrionics from an actress, but it was still quite a complex role – it was obviously the author backed role of the film and she was simply spellbinding in both performance and appearance. I don’t have any doubts that another ‘top actress’ could have excelled with the performance just as well, however I do not feel that they would’ve left the impact that Aishwarya does, why? Because her being so beautiful and such a graceful and elegant dancer, really helped add that extra quality to the character and the film!

Oh and I absolutely agree that in the part Umrao was narrating, Aishwarya looked and sounded absolutely like Rekha – the resemblance was beyond freaky!

Shabana Azmi was good, though I’ve seen her perform better in other roles and I do feel someone like Kirran Kher would have been more apt for this. I liked Shabana in one of her final scenes when she’s ill and Umrao returns back to her khota after rejection from Sultan.

Abhishek Bachchan Well… Abhishek is a good actor, he is born to act and does the job well… he can sleepwalk through a role – and that’s cool, but it’s also a problem… the same problem he had in ‘Dhoom 2’ comes to the fore in this movie also… a good performance, and that cannot be argued, but it was just such a boring performance…he really must have sleep-walked through it! He looked extremely bored and that wasn’t very appealing. Plus I think it would have been better if an actor with more class, perhaps Saif Ali Khan or even John Abraham, played the role…Abhishek just could not carry it off…Disappointed!!

Suniel Shetty was quite terrible if I must say so, even though I am a Suniel fan! He looked very disinterested and sadly did not do justice to the character in any which way.

The Music of the film was a disappointment for me before watching the film, and I still am no huge fan of it as it is such a disappointment compared to J P’s previous albums, but I must say that after watching the film the songs all seem so much nicer… they were situational and apt for the movie.

Overall The film is definitely worth watching and actually, I may even watch it again sometime seeing as though I own the DVD now hehe and it was a nice movie...

The only downsides of the movie were:

* Abhishek Bachchan & Suniel Shetty - terribly casted. J P loves them, I know... but he could've either changed the characters to suit them, or taken other actors...because these two did not suit the movie or their characters at all, they looked misplaced!

* The length... the films screenplay went for a toss in the middle segment and could've been handled much better.

However, aside from those downfalls... the film is still worth watching and was a treat to watch. Recommended to EVERYONE!!

Just Married [2007]

2007-06-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

Just Married
[Reviewed: 27th April 2007]

Aww what a sweet movie...I just adored it! So real and so touching. I don't really have much to say except that I really enjoyed it and it's definitely one of the best films of the year...really brilliant entertainment and extremely well made film.

The ONLY downside with the film was its music...The songs suck IMO lol but other then that the film was simply rocking!!

The first half was absolutely awesome...funny and entertaining but real at the same time haha ... interval portions and beyond got a bit heavy and slightly on the long side (but that happens with most films)... but nonetheless...very good film overall!

Fardeen and Esha are just perfect...both are so brilliant and essay their roles to perfection!

The rest of the cast was good too but the notable mention here goes to Kiran Kher and Satish Shah, both of whom were so adorable!!

Um what else can I say? Well I felt... it's kind of similar to Honeymoon Travels, except it is 100 times better!! A fantastic film, must watch all the way!

Life Mein Kabhi Kabhi [2007]

2007-06-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Life Mein Kabhi Kabhi
[Reviewed: 17th June 2007]

I really enjoyed it. Yet again Vicky proves that he is one of the better and most talented directors we have. The way the film is made is great!

My favourite part of the film was undoubtedly whenever Aftab appeared - he was amazing. This actor is beyond excellence. His every smile is worth £20 so this film was obviously worth that amount and much more He's such an amazing actor!! I love this guy. Koel was adorable too - she made a great pairing with Aftab. Their story was the best too.

Dino was brilliant as always and looked fab! He's a really good actor. Mohnish Behl was good too and reminded me a lot of how he was in Vivah and HSSH.

Anjori had a very good story and a very good character and she portrayed it brilliantly. Really great job for a newcomer, I was really impressed.

Nauheed was good, though she went overboard at times. Her story was good in parts but dragged sometimes. The guy who played her boyfriend was very sweet but the guy who played the top-notch-hero looked like a total loser haha

Sameer had the WORST story of the lot. Boring politics - Yawn!! I don't know if I've ever enjoyed a movie about politics Haha... But his performance was quite good nonetheless and a couple of scenes he had were good enough.

The message the film gave out was truly brilliant. 'Happiness can only be reached by making sure you eliminate sadness' - Wow. What a great way to look at life I loved it.

Well made film... Nice message and good performances. Overall, I really enjoyed it! But yes it could've done with some better editing.

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom [2007]

2007-06-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
[Reviewed : 17th June 2007]

Expectations: I’m a huge Yash Raj Films fan and also love Shaad Ali. Saathiya is one of my all time favourite movies and I found Bunty Aur Babli entertaining and brilliant in the first half [but I absolutely hate the second half of Bunty Aur Babli with as much passion as I love the first half of it haha]… So my expectations were high for Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, but not unreasonably high. I didn’t expect a classic – I didn’t get a classic. I expected an out and out entertainer – but did I get that? Read on to find out…

Music: I love each and every song of the film even more after watching it. There’s so much pace and life in the songs, they’re incredible to listen to and hearing them in the cinema was another experience all together! My favourite songs audio-wise are undoubtedly ‘JBJ’, ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’ & ‘Kiss of Love’. ‘Jhoom’ and the ‘Jhoom Jam’ instrumental are brilliant too. Earlier the only songs on the album that I was not fond of were ‘Ticket To Hollywood’ and ‘Bol Na Halke’ but after watching the movie I even like those songs.

Choreography: Each song was pictured really, really, really well. Vaibhavi Merchant is simply stunning!! There wasn’t really any amazing ‘dancing’ going on but still each song was just so much fun to watch…She’s a great choreographer, and one thing I have noticed about her over the years is that she loves hand-movements a lot haha

Jhoom It irritated the life out of me how this song kept popping up out of nowhere all the freaking time. Choreography was all right, nothing to talk about.

Ticket To Hollywood Brilliantly pictured song, it was so entertaining. Abhishek and Lara were just amazing in it, they’re both so cute and performed so well!!

Kiss Of Love One hell of a mad song! I don’t remember ever seeing such a crazy and mad song, it was so fun to watch. Bobby and Preity looked damn gorgeously adorable, aww!

Bol Na Halke Halke Wow! It looked incredibly gorgeous. However, it was so misplaced in the movie and the film could easily do with this song being cut out. It’s nothing more then a ridiculous toilet break for people who are not interested in seeing Abhishek-Preity’s chemistry [which stood out quite a bit in this song] or Aki Narula’s gorgeous outfits. It was basically like putting a better version of Veer-Zaara in form of a song haha

JBJ & Jhoom Barabar Jhoom Brilliant! I was annoyed at the choreography in the promos because it’s true that there are no real dance moves but hey, the characters hardly held degrees in dancing so you can’t sue them for that haha… It was so much fun to watch and I loved how both the songs came back-to-back! Both were extremely fun to watch! Abhishek and Bobby were so entertaining to watch and Lara and Preity looked beyond beautiful, the girls were just stunning in terms of looks! Dancing-wise Lara is the one who impressed most, as she’s got much more clarity in her dance moves then the others who all appeared a bit messy.

Jhoom Jam I loved how they showed the bloopers of each song with this instrumental, very interesting idea and was fun to watch.

Costumes: were fantastic! Each character was suitably dressed in each stage of the film. Aki Narula has proved once again what a brilliant designer he is, he did a great job with all the actors but my favourite outfits were the ones he designed for the girls, especially the Indian outfits he designed for Preity in ‘Bol Na Halke Halke’ they were so amazingly gorgeous that I just wish he had designed for her in Veer-Zaara because he has a lot of sense in designing keeping the concept of the film in mind and he made Preity look her career-best in that song with those pretty outfits!

Story/Screenplay/Editing: There is no story. There’s absolutely no story. When the second half comes you feel like you’ve been wasted throughout the first half. There’s no story, there’s no message… there’s none of that… However, the screenplay is very tight and the film has been written very well. In terms of what else they could’ve cut out, I think the only useless piece of the film was ‘Bol Na Halke Halke’ which was a pop-up toilet break, a pretty music video, that had nothing to do with the film in any which way, they should’ve just shown it at the end in the credits or something if they wanted it so bad. And I think the ‘story’ that Alvira tells of her fiancé [the Steve track] was not all that amazing and came across really disappointing after Rikki’s great story about his fiancé haha he was so funny… They could’ve written Alvira’s story much better [and I guess this is the best place to say how ridicuclous and stupid that whole Madame Tussauds episode was and how FAKE it looked], but it was still nice.

Direction: Shaad Ali is in full form directing this situational comedy. After Saathiya and Bunty Aur Babli he once again proves his capabilities. Direction is very good!

Performances: In order of preference [Lara Dutta > Abhishek Bachchan / Bobby Deol > Preity Zinta].

Lara Dutta: This woman simply stunned me – she easily stole the show in the entire movie. A natural and absolutely perfect ten-on-ten performance. As the imaginary French Anaida of Rikki’s story she was awesome – she totally blew me away. What an amazing performance!! What a tough role and how easily she handled it… I’m just so in awe of her now. I never expected such a great and natural performance from Lara Dutta – I’ve become a huge fan of hers now, just love her so much. Then as Laila, when I thought she just cannot get any better, she completely changed herself all over and continued to stun me haha… I’m just so amazed by this actress… She’s shocked me to no end in JBJ – I hope her forthcoming films do justice to her talent because with JBJ she has proved that if she gets the right offers she can become the number one actress of our country without any problems. She has it all – acting talent, dancing talent, looks and style. Wow. What impressed me most was her accents… How she so easily handled the French accent in the first half and even more easily handled the Brit accent in the second part…She’s such a natural!! She even incorporated the accents into her Hindi…She worked hard on this role and that is obvious, and she emerges a winner in every single way – JBJ is Lara Dutta’s show all the way!

Abhishek Bachchan: I expected he would fit his role perfectly and he did not disappoint me at all. I got my old Abhi baby back and I’m feel all ever-so positive about him again! After boring and unimpressive performances in Umrao Jaan and Dhoom 2, this man is back – and how! He’s an amazingly natural performer and handles his role with perfection. The only times he fell was moments when I think he got so caught up in his acting that he tended to forget about his freshie accent that he was putting on… Like in the car when he gets Alvida’s phone call and they plan to go to the Mr & Miss Southall contest… He kind of slipped and started talking English in his normal accent rather then freshie one… but he didn’t do that often, it was on rare occasions… Overall, a brilliant performance… I’m really, really happy because finally he’s impressed me after the longest time.

Bobby Deol: In the first half as the Steve of Alvira’s story, Bobby acted extremely well and fit in very naturally. And I loved how he tried to add on that Brit accent [especially when he called her ‘Al’ he said that in such a Brit way]! However, the role he had in the first half was very easy and not challenging for an actor of his calibre – it didn’t wow me because that level of performance is easily expected from him. When the second half came and we saw Satvinder, I was impressed and happy to say the least! He churned out a stunning performance and completely stole my heart!! He stole so many scenes in the second half, whenever he appeared on screen he made it was him you look at and no one else. Brilliant facial expressions, even more brilliant dialogue delivery and all this resulted in a performance I, as a huge fan of Bobby Deol, am so hyped about – I had become unsure about Bobby having chosen this role because of some of the reviews but after seeing it for myself I am so happy he agreed to it because it was awesome, especially the second half, he was just so amazing haha…And aww he was soo adorable as Sattu hehe!!

Preity Zinta: To begin with, she looked gorgeous – so natural, so fresh and beautiful! Her role was the least demanding of the four and that was slightly disappointing, but performance-wise she left nothing to be desired as she filled the requirements of the role to absolute perfection! Her facial expressions were adorable and she’s never looked as amazing as she did in ‘Bol Na Halke Halke’. The only disappointment I had from her that she didn’t have a British accent, whereas the other actors all tried to change their accents and succeeded… I wish she had worked harder on that because it would have helped a lot more in understanding her as a Brit character… I mean when you heard her have convo’s with her cousin Humera or even that guy friend of hers, they had total Brit accents, but she sounded like she was from India [because she is]. Anyway I don’t want to dwell on the downside too much, she was still suited to the character more then I can imagine anyone else, and barring the accent problem, she handled the role with absolute ease and perfection!

Amitabh Bachchan: His laugh at the end really annoyed me, urgh!!

Overall: There’s no specific story as such so JBJ is really just a fun film full of funny moments, and there are many of those great moments making JBJ a film worth watching. I have a feeling it will have a lot of repeat value and the DVD will definitely be a worthwhile buy also. It’s not the best film I’ve ever seen and to be honest it’s not even the most entertaining film, because sadly there were some boring moments, however overall it’s a good film and I really enjoyed myself watching it and I can see myself watching it again and again on DVD – can’t wait to buy the DVD!!