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| Sonia Chopra | ||||||||||
| The self-explanatory title sums up the film’s premise succinctly. Gaurav (Akshaye Khanna looking marvellous, unlike Race where he had baby fat and bushy chest hair on display) is a businessman running a store in a mall and lives with his widowed father Rane (Paresh Rawal). After his wife’s death, Rane took over the reins of the house and now busies himself with lovingly cooking for his son. In a role reversal of sorts, Gaurav disapproves of Rane’s friend Mathur (Om Puri) who he calls “buri sangat” for chasing women, young and old, in the hope of marriage. In a scene meant to be endearing, but ends up a drag, Gaurav gives a stern dressing down to a morose Rane, who’s sitting with his head lowered like a naughty child caught. No wonder Gaurav calls him beta-baapu, as he even reminds him to fasten the seatbelt in the car. Out of nowhere, Gaurav is inundated with calls from a girl called Rose who claims she’s his old classmate and lover and even has had a child off him. The girl turns out to be Sakshi (Genelia D’Souza) who’s visiting India from America, and who wanted to see Gaurav squirm to settle an old score. Soon, they begin as friends and get closer. At the wedding of Sakshi’s best friend, Rane meets a lady Anuradha Joshi (Shobhana), a music teacher, and is dumbfounded. She turns out to be Sakshi’s guardian in India and his long-lost love whom he still pines for. But with Gaurav and Sakshi’s marriage on the cards, how does he go ahead with his own budding love? The film’s premise admittedly has scope for lots of laughs and some tuggy heart moments, but in the film you hardly see either. Going by the humour, the film fails miserably, given that this was to be a laugh riot. Here’s what you have: a stern over-the-top ACP Bhawani (Archana Puran Singh) coincidentally always spotting Rane and Mathur around girls in a college and arresting them for indecent behaviour with Gaurav bailing them out. Funnily, the reactions of the collegians on seeing older people on the campus (not for misbehaving, just by virtue of being old) are scarier than that of the police. Another attempt at humour is when Gaurav sends his assistant with an expletives-filled letter to his tormentor Rose (such an ungentlemanly thing to do) which reaches a housewife who immediately dials the police—and guess who turns up. Gaurav is again at the mercy of ACP Bhawani negotiating the release of his assistant. And so on. The only entertaining moments are a few of the many daddy-sonny interactions; Rane’s hilarious overnight transformation after meeting his ladylove—kurta-pajama ditched for shirts and trousers stolen from Gaurav’s wardrobe, dyed hair and surreptitious visits on a bike around the teacher’s home like a love-struck teen. Also somewhat absorbing is how Gaurav and Shikha try to trick the shy older lovebirds into reuniting. But, unfortunately, the question that Gaurav must finally settle—my love or my Bapu’s happiness—comes into play only during the ending reels of the film. That’s atrocious in a film that’s named after this delicious dilemma. There’s also an added sub-plot about Rane’s second son, a calm sort, who has a dominating wife. Interestingly, the wife—who hollers quite a bit and, as we are told, does not prepare nashta—is in contemporary clothes. She’s the only one with serious reservations about Rane’s plan of getting re-married. But a resounding slap from her husband and she’s the epitome of a bharatiya nari, dressed in crisp saris and ever-smiling. Perhaps it’s Priyadarshan who deserves the slap for his chauvinistic endorsement of hitting to solve marital disputes. The dialogue is a major let-down. There are many complaints with the dialogue writing—for one, it’s phrase laden which works once in a while, not throughout the film. Here are some examples—‘cheenti ke chachere bhai’, ‘bhains ki bachee’, etc. This kind of spoken conversation just doesn’t cut ice—after all, no one speaks like that in real life. The dialogue is also crude and sexist throughout—women are often compared to or referred to as machli, phataka, maal and what not. Then there are gems like ‘jab badhiya mil rahi hai, to budhiya kyon?’ The cast is of utmost importance here—Akshaye Khanna carries the film gamely on his shoulders and gives a first rate performance. Genelia is sprightly but has a standard two-three expressions bank in this film. Hope to see her actually perform in her forthcoming Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Paresh Rawal and Om Puri as buddies make an adorable team, but their talents are monumentally wasted. Their comic prowess is just not exploited, neither solo nor together, and that’s an unforgivable faux pas. Archana Puran Singh as the ACP is funny enough. Shobhana as Anuradha is restrained and effective. Naseeruddin Shah makes an ok cameo. If you care to know of the technical aspect—cinematography (though strangely static) and art direction is good. The sound designing is clever, but in most scenes, the ambient sound is completely cut off. Case in point is a party scene where people are dancing to a song. As soon as the emotional bend starts, the music is completely cut off and a more sentimental background track takes its place, even as people oddly continue dancing in the background to music we can’t hear. Editing is lax—the story doesn’t have enough meat to sustain itself for a long film and should have clocked in at something like two hours, 30 minutes. Music is disappointing for a Priyadarshan film that usually has at least one chartbuster. Coming from Priyadarshan, there are definitely reasonable expectations, especially if the film is touted as a comedy. This three-hour saga runs much like a stage-play with no editing control and a non-mobile camera; the film’s writing is uninspired and the talented actors are made to repeat themselves. Avoid. Rating: 1 star | ||||||||||
Mere Baap Pehle Aap
No one's clapping for De Taali
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| If you've watched the promos of De Taali, you'd expect a film with tremendous youth power. You'd expect gags, gimmicks and lots of fun. But the film is anything but this. On the contrary, it's a slow-paced love story, which depicts one of the actors as a modern-day Devdas who hits the bottle when his girlfriend walks out on him. There's a kahani mein twist as well, the kidnapping episode, but you don't feel giving a taali to that too. There is the other disappointing factor. Two songs from the film have been heavily promoted, the title track and Maari Teetri which might compel you to buy the ticket. The title track comes when the movie concludes (during the end credits), while the other song is just not there. Most importantly, De Taali gets it wrong on the script level. Loosely inspired by popular TV drama Dawson's Creek, the material lacks the power to keep you hooked. Sure, De Taali has a few engaging and enjoyable moments, but it's akin to an oasis in a desert. In one word, disappointing! Paglu (Riteish Deshmukh), Amu (Ayesha Takia] and Abhi (Aftab Shivdasaani) are buddies. Amu is the girl amongst the two guys, though Paglu and Abhi don't treat her like one. Paglu is the one who makes her realize about her feelings for Abhi. Life, however, takes a serious turn when Abhi falls in love with Kartika aka Anjali (Rimi Sen). De Taali starts off quite well and the bonding between the three friends is well established in the initial parts. Everything's fine till Rimi Sen is kidnapped at the interval point. But things go downhill in the second hour. The entire kidnap drama, the Saurabh Shukla track, the dejected lovers (Mukul Dev, Pawan Malhotra, Sanjay Narvekar) reaching the wedding venue and the family surfacing from oblivion, everything looks ludicrous. By the time you reach the finale, the viewer is already bored and has lost all interest in the enterprise. E Niwas doesn't get in right this time. He knows the job well, but if you've noticed his last few outings as well as De Taali, you'd agree that he needs to concentrate on the script than making the frames look alluring. Vishal-Shekhar's music is a mixed bag. Barring the above-mentioned two numbers, the rest of the songs lack fizz. Riteish is lovable and his range is finally being tapped by film-makers. Aftab lends his part to the required class. Ayesha Takia is getting better with every film and Rimi Sen spices up the otherwise bland scenario with her performance as a gold digger. Anupam Kher is wasted. Ditto for Pawan Malhotra and Mukul Dev. On the whole, De Taali is a poor show. It's an apt case of the promos looking great and not the film. | ||||||||||||
Haal-e-Dil is a pain
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| This common question is addressed to the producer (Kumar Mangat), director (Anil Devgan) and lead actors (Amita Pathak, Nakuul Mehta, Adhyayan Suman) of Haal-e-Dil; What actually did you see in the script of this film? And the next question is for writer, Dhiraj Ratan, how could you pen this sorry script? If there was a Razzie (Raspberry awards for the worst Hollywood movies) in Bollywood, the writer would've walked away with the statuette, stealing the march from contenders such as Tashan, Jimmy and Hastey Hastey. Haal-e-Dil suits the adage so well - body beautiful minus soul. Filmed in some stunning locales, the film registers a strong visual impact. Add to it the popular musical score. Also, the two lead men show sparks and are sure to be noticed, irrespective of how badly this film fares at the ticket window. Sadly, the shoddy writing camouflages the positives completely. You expect to be served a sumptuous, seven-course meal, but the writer serves you a few crumbs. All said, Haal-e-Dil is a terrible waste of a terrific opportunity. This one, I am sure, would easily rank prominently in the 'Letdowns of 2008' when one compiles the facts as the sun sets on the year. Haal-e-Dil tells the story of Sanjana (Amita Pathka), for whom love is chaste and sacred. It's the story of Shekhar (Nakuul Mehta), who keeps tripping for every second girl and loves to be in the perennial state of love, not realizing that he is going to meet a girl who'll change his existence. It's also the story of Rohit (Adhyayan Suman), who would fall so deep in love that resurfacing would be impossible. Sanjana is at the crossroads of life where she has to choose between her perfect love and a perfect stranger. Strangely, two of the three Hindi releases this week (Haal-e-Dil and Khushboo) bear an uncanny resemblance to the immensely likable Jab We Met. In this case, the story fails to grab your attention from the very start. In fact, confusion prevails all through this misadventure. The love story is completely lifeless and the train journey is anything but enjoyable. The adventure in the jungles (where the couple bumps into a Veerappan look-alike) is equally flat. The seven-day fast undertaken by one of the leads in the concluding reels is equally plain. Are we living in the 21st century? Why is the screen writing so regressive in Hindi movies? Prior to that, the viewer learns that one of the leads has passed away and you actually fall off your seat. Where did this twist come from? Director Anil Devgan is off the mark this time. Frankly, his Raju Chacha and Blackmailappear as classics when compared to this one. Music is the only saving grace. Every track has been filmed on a panoramic locale and acts only as eye candy. Nakuul Mehta may subconsciously be inspired by SRK, but you don't mind it. In all fairness, he's very confident, a bundle of energy and knows his job well. His expressions are perfect at all times. Adhyayan Suman definitely deserved a better launch. What's he doing in this film? He has the talent, which, unfortunately, hasn't been exploited at all in this misadventure. Amita Pathak is a fine actress, but there's a problem. She looks too plump and her makeup makes her look mature. Very frankly, she looks much better in real life than on screen. On the whole, Haal-e-Dil looks set to sink at the box-office! | ||||||||||||
Khushboo does stink a little
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| Sonia Chopra | ||||||||||||
| Pahlaj Niahalni (producer of films like Shola Aur Shabnam, Andaz, Aankhen) is back after a hiatus of five years. His last few films were disasters like Uljhan and Talaash. This one is only marginally better. The mind boggles at the reason for the downward spiral of this prolific producer of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Rajesh Ram Singh directs Khushboo that is intended, I think, to be a bittersweet story about love. Through decades, our makers have tried and tried to tell the same ol’ tale, adding a twist here and there, to refresh and enliven it; but the ploy works only sometimes. Usually when there’s a star at helm. With a new star cast and an old story, the chances of the film likening itself to the audience are already dim. Yes, in today’s dating and marriage scenario where religion, cast and creed don’t matter much, and our metros are full of smug-marrieds belonging to different backgrounds, the premise of the story is, at once, topical. So we meet one super-ambitious type Raghu Iyer (Rishi Rehan) who’s all set to make his dream-life in America. But he’s to make a six-month detour stop in Chandigarh. And no prizes for guessing what happens there. He meets Punjabi kudi Pinky (Avantikka, another fan of the letter K) a photography enthusiast, if you please, who’s bubblier than soda and jumpier than jellybeans. She keeps appearing, disappearing and re-appearing wasting precious time and film reel. Ultimately the two bump into each other and have a one-night-stand (quite adventurous, so far). Soon, we learn that she’s pregnant and wants to keep the baby. Now Raghu must accompany her to her village and meet her big, boisterous Punjabi family (a seemingly recent Bollywood cliché). The inevitable happens—a bond is formed between Raghu and the family and he is now in a dilemma. The couple eventually marries and further comedy ensues when Raghu’s south Indian parents meet the Punjabi bride. Yawning reading the story already? Understandable as you’ve seen this plot spread thin in several films like Jab We Met, DDLJ, Namastey London and hey, you can even note snatches from A Walk in the Clouds (1995). Technically, the film is alright. Of the cast, Avantikka stands out as the one with most zing and pizzazz. With a more steady-handed director she could deliver a decent performance. Dialogue is tryingly clichéd; screenplay plays it linear and safe. Adnan Sami’s music is above average (but faces serious competition from some superb film music off-late). Production value looks a bit outdated compared to the blindingly stunning visual quotient in our current films. This week’s releases have been a mixed bag and if one must compare, Khushboo is a far better watch than Haal-e-Dil (which is not saying much), but not half as funny and fresh as De Taali. Rating: One-and-a-half stars | ||||||||||||
Arasangam
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| "Captain" Vijaykanth has kept his promise not to be preachy in his 150th film Arasangam. He and his director Madhesh have delivered a fairly decent entertainer, which is interesting and racy. The film reminds you of the old uncomplicated action movies that the 'Captain' used to do earlier. Araviarasu (Vijaykanth) is a criminologist working as the chief instructor at the police training college. He uses his brains and brawn to catch criminals and has a passion for his job. Arivu is happily married to Aarthy (Navneet Kaur) after some enjoyable courtship and a song. Meanwhile top scientists and entrepreneurs get murdered in the city, by ordinary people like a student, a poor graduate girl, a milkman. The top echelon of the police force is baffled by this murder spree. Suddenly Arivu is asked to investigate the matter as a top cop and his brother-in-law Manoj (Biju Menon) disappears in mid air as he is on his way from Mumbai to Chennai. The sharp brain of Arivu leads him to Chandru (Rahul Dev), a guy who is killing off top 'brain trust' of future India using innocent people to murder them. However Chandru escapes to Canada when the super cop is just about to close in on him. Not to be discouraged our hero in hot pursuit goes to Toronto, to catch the kingpin behind the operations. In Toronto (everybody speaks Tamil!) he is assisted by a sexy undercover Royal Canadian Police agent Lara ( Seril Brindo). Together they unearth a plot to destabilize India with their "operation brain dead" plan where a foreign force jealous of India becoming a world leader wants to kill all scientists and entrepreneurs. The bad guys are led by Martin (no explanation is given how cop Manoj and Martin look like twins? Maybe the bad guy did a face-off with the good guy?) The rest of the film is how our hero brings back Martin to Chennai and also uncovers another diabolical plot to destabilize the country. The film has everything packaged as masala entertainment, and for a change Vijaykanth is engaging and enjoyable. There are just two songs in the film, by Srikanth Deva to show Navneet's and Seril's glamour. Biju Menon as bad guy is promising, while Rahul Dev looks anemic. Thank god there is no irritating comedy track. For the undemanding masala fan, Arasangam is worth a look, when you compare it with the recent crop of over hyped super hero films that failed to deliver. | ||||||||||||
Dasavatharam (Review)
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| Kamal Hassan's die-hard fans will love him in his 10 different avatars. But for many others, Dasavatharam will fall short of the huge expectation and hype it had generated. So what went wrong? It had absolutely no story to speak of, and the twists and turns were predictable. In the end, it turned out to be a routine film rendered more aggravating by its incessant near-miss plot structure. You desperately want to like the film for its maddeningly zany characters played out by Kamal Hassan. Alas! There's only so much life an actor can pump into a moribund script. It once again proves the old theory that, without a proper story and script, no film, however big the actors are, can succeed. The plot The film opens in the 12th century where Rangaraja Nambi (Kamal Hassan), a staunch Vaishnavite, opposes the removal of Lord Vishnu's idol by King Kulothunga Chozhan (Napoleon), who is a strong believer of Shiva. Nambi is punished and thrown into the deep sea tied to the idol. His wife Kothai (Asin) also kills herself. Then the story cuts to the US where Dr Govind (Kamal) discovers a deadly virus, which catches the attention of the government including President George Bush (Kamal). But his boss tries to sell the vial to the enemies and now it’s the turn of our hero to protect it from causing damage. Dr Govind is pursued by a former CIA agent-turned-mercenary Keith Fletcher (Kamal) and his Tamil interpreter (Mallika Sherawat), who land up in Tamil Nadu. An array of other characters are drawn into the chase—Balram Naidu (Kamal), the Telugu speaking RAW chief, a Chinese martial arts teacher (Kamal) thirsting to take revenge on Fletcher, Vincent Poovarahan (Kamal) a Dalit activist , Krishnaveni Patti (Kamal), Khalifullah Khan (Kamal) and a Punjabi pop singer Avatar Singh(Kamal). Andal, a Brahmin girl, is also unwittingly drawn into a long chase. What follows is a cat and mouse game till the Tsunami climax.
The trouble with the format is that far too many characters of the actor criss-cross without any reason—or they don’t make any difference to the story. It is obvious that characters like the Punjabi pop singer Avatar Singh, the tall Khalifullah Khan, the Japanese martial arts expert , etc., are unnecessarily stitched together to make it a perfect 10. The real crisis point in the film is nebulous. The film also coasts along at a doleful pace—185 minutes. Kamal’s prosthetic makeup, especially as George Bush, Fletcher and Khan, is a bit of a dampener. But Brian Jennings’ special effects, mainly of the climax Tsunami scene, are top class by Indian standards. Himesh Reshammiya’s music is nothing much to talk about other than Kallai Mattum. But Devi Sri Prasad’s background score is superb and makes up for everything. Cinematographer Ravi Varman may take a bow, as his camerawork is glossy and superb. The big plus for watching the movie is the one-man acting school, Kamal Hassan. He pitches in yet another fantastic performance. Among the 10 avataars, the pick of the lot is Naidu the bumbling cop, as the actor is able to bring out his impeccable sense of comic timing. Asin looks cute as the chirpy Andal, but beyond a point her character irritates you with her frequent Perumale.. calls.Her dubbing is top class and deserves special mention. Mallika, in a brief role sizzles. M.S.Bhaskar and napolean in small roles shines. Yes, the film is hugely flawed, but it is still worth a look for its overall packaging and richness in production value. | ||||||||||||||
It's actually hard to believe that in this age of experimentation within the commercial format, the director could think of such a moth-balled story. The earlier Kamal films in which he played dual or multiple roles, like Avvai Shanmukhi, Michael Madan Kamaraj and Indian, were far superior in style and content compared to his latest 10 avatars. Innathe Chinthavishayam
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| Sathyan Anthikad, the biggest brand name in Malayalam cinema after the superstars, is certainly in no mood to take chances. If you are Malayalam cinema's "ladies and family specialist" who has his own following among the audiences, you can't afford to move away from your basic formula that has survived for nearly 30 years. Once again in Innathe Chinthavishayam, Sathyan's 2008 Vishukaineetam, he caters to his core audiences. There is nothing new story wise or in presentation and it's the same old Kadumanga (tender mango pickle) in tetra pack, which has its own unique taste. And Mohanlal the greatest entertainer in Malayalam cinema does his "do-gooder" act, along with Meera. Does the Sathyan- Mohanlal combo succeed? "Yes" to a certain extent, as they have come out with another feel-good family entertainer with a topical message. The film's focus is on three women and their families and moves away from the regular pattern of telling the story through the eyes of its larger-than-life hero. In fact the hero plays second fiddle to the three women and acts more as a Suthradhar who takes the story forward. The writer-director's agenda is to examine the problems that seem to plague marital life today and how urbanisation has caused havoc in personal relationships. The film opens with a voice-over from the director about three couples who are facing martial discord and are on the verge of splitting up. Meet Dr Murali Krishnan (Mukesh) a successful dentist who married Tressa (Sukanya), and has a 10 year-old daughter Lakshmi who is the apple of their eyes. However Murali has a roving eye and is a skirt chaser and his mobile has male names for all his female friends, and soon is cornered by his wife which leads to the dentist walking out on his family. Pitambaran (Vijayraghavan) who was doing well in the gulf throws up his job to live with his wife Premila (Mohini) and their two lovely children, as he has an inferiority complex stemming from the fact that she is beautiful. Pitambaran is always suspicious of his wife's movements, which leads to a showdown between the two. Premila in disgust moves out of her home and goes to live with her rich father, while Pitambaran is an egoist who believes he is right. Similarly the well educated Rehna (Muthumani) married into an orthodox Muslim family consisting of her husband Nassar (Asokhan), his parents and relatives feel suffocated as they are not allowing her the freedom to work as an advocate. She rebels against her husband and his family and starts working independently. Meanwhile our hero Gopa Kumar (Mohanlal) or GK, a garment exporter buys Dr Murali Krishnan's house and when he and the broker Imanuel (Innocent) along with the cook Shajahan (Mammookoya) tries to move into the house they find it still occupied by Tressa. GK does not want to resort to police help because he is "caring and has a large heart that tries to reach across to everybody he meets" including taking care of women in distress! Soon Gopan wins over Tressa her daughter, and the two other women Premila and Rehna who are her 'soul buddies' from college days. Gopan along with his new fashion designer Kamla (Meera Jasmine) plays the good Samaritan and solves all their problems and bring the three feuding couples together. The first half of the film is a rollicking and funny, while the second half drags as Sathyan repeats the gags he has already shown in the first half. The film has no story, as it is string together by a series of incidents. All the women characters are strong, while the men are all weak in comparison. Mohanlal oozes sincerity and he is the pivot around which the film revolves, and his ability to bring his character vibrantly to life with all the nuances of tenderness and humour at his disposal, is reason enough to see this film. Meera repeats her Rasathantram act, as the cute girl with a sad past, while Sukanya, Muthumani and Mohini are a treat to watch as the three women with problems in their marriage while the men who play their husbands Mukesh, Vijayaraghavan and Asokhan are adequate. Ilayaraja's music is melodious, though picturisation is a carbon copy of Sathyan's earlier films. Innathe Chinthavishayam has its flaws but it must be watched because it is able to recreate the Sathyan magic which our families love. | ||||||||||||
