Story: Tiger is one of India's most effective espionage agents. But when this brave heart falls in love, even he has to seek cover to realise his dream.
Movie Review: Kabir Khan's movies—Kabul Express; New York, Ek Tha Tiger start with the similar sepia-toned skyline montages of what could be Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq; strife-ridden country associated with extremists. In ETT, the montages pass quickly.
Story:Gautam likes Veronica. Veronica likes him too. Gautam falls for Meera. Now what does Meera do? Three close friends find themselves caught in a vortex of emotions.
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty, Randeep Hooda
Direction: Homi Adajania
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 25 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: Two's company; is three a crowd? Homi Adajania's romantic comedy Cocktail is a slice-of-life film mounted beautifully and imaginatively on a large canvas with the vibrant colours of London, Cape Town and New Delhi. The film addresses the proverb--two is company; is three a crowd--situation throughout. With some super-light, sweet moments that one has seen in the mid-90s American sitcom Friends; that revolved around a group of friends in Manhattan; Cocktail deals with the fun moments and then the emotional turmoil faced by three Indian friends settled in the UK, whose paths cross inadvertently.
Story: Three
love stories set in three different eras; all of which go through the
inevitable love-cycle of hook-up, heartbreak, separation and reunion.
Story: Low-life thief Shiva and top-cop Vikram Rathore are identical. Vikram's killed by foes but his daughter thinks Shiva's her dad - can this Rowdy win respect?
Movie Review: In case I get a spelling wrong, that's because my ears are still ringing with all the seetis and taalis at Rowdy Rathore. The film's an unabashed, gunpowder-hot, sambar-spiced star-vehicle which runs along energetically most of the time because its star - Akshay Kumar, essaying a double role as Rathore and Shiva - is worth it, something that's emphasized often. At one point, a girl asks Shiva, pursuing pretty Paaro (Sinha) from Patna, 'Na tum mein Hrithik ke looks hain, na Shah Rukh ka charm, na Aamir ki cuteness, na Salman ki body - what's so cool about you?' Akshay drawls back, "Lagta hai Khiladi ko bhool gayi aap." Cue for crowd - erupt in rapture.
ROWDY RATHORE OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)
Multiply that moment by 100 and you have Rowdy Rathore, a peppery pot-boiler brimming over with action, slapstick comedy and romance, dynamite lines and Akshay Kumar - lots of Akshay Kumar, channeling vintage heroes Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, adding a dollop of Jeetendra, topping with his trademark flair as he snarls, tongue deeply in-cheek, "Don't angry me!"
A lull in its second half aside, Rowdy's mostly quick-stepping, moving from Mumbai's malls to medieval Bihar where Baapji (Nasser) and his hamming henchmen terrorise Devgarh's townsfolk through pillage, beatings and rape. Till cop Vikram Rathore (Kumar) arrives on the Shramjeevi Express, assaulting local yokels with handy gannas, infusing new meaning to 'sugar-cane'. With terrific overhead shots capturing his exploits, the fearless Rathore even bumps off Baapji's vicious beta Munna, so Baapji won't rest till Vikram is killed.
SEXY SINHA: SONAKSHI SINHA
Despite an injury to his brain (which the doctor says causes 'hammo-rage'), Vikram and his little daughter Chinki reach Mumbai. Here, their paths cross with Shiva who adopts Chinki when Vikram's felled. And goes to Devgarh where he tells Baapji, 'A village can have only one Rowdy.' It's time Baapji - or 'lemon-chus', as Rowdy addresses him - shoved off.
This involves toe-curling violence though. A guy gets stabbed in the mouth, a head's crushed on a rock, swords slash through navels. Against the gore, Shiva's dancing with Paaro provides breezy relief but the music itself is unmemorable. In a Prabhudheva picture, expectedly the dances are eye-catching, some moves like sweet caresses, some sexy little bites. Sonakshi glows as Paaro, a spunky Indian beauty showing flashes of her star-father's confidence when she snarls at the villains, 'O saand ke bhes mein kukur." This Patna girl's stepped out in style with Rowdy. But the same can't be said for those playing Devgarh's dread-struck. Apart from Yashpal Sharma (sincere as a junior cop), the rest are unconvincing, as is the villainous set-up itself, located somewhere oddly between feudal Bihar, accented Andhra and Sholay's bandit lair.
Indeed, Rowdy Rathore pays homage to iconic filmi characters - identical heroes, golden-hearted chors, brave Men in Brown beating evil people to pulp. However, it pays most homage to its own star, Akshay Kumar, who pulls off Shiva with style but Vikram less so, possibly because all that violence overwhelms acting itself. Not that the crowd seemed to mind. As Shiva exhorts a woman raped by Baapji's son to beat him up, the girl next to me cried, "Why doesn't she?" Her neighbour replied, "She will." And she did - much to the crowd's Rowdy delight.
Tip-Off: Fans will love Akshay's mooch-twirling masala-act but be ready for hardcore action too - some pretty gruesome.
Story: Damyaan, the evil snake of Sonpur, is simply a step away from being over powerful and immortal since he has access to the Book of Magi. What's stopping him? The curse that has him locked inside a palace for ages... a curse that shall be broken should the king of Dholakpur set him free. Now, the king does set him free (by mistake) and then chaos forms the order of the day. Can Chhota Bheem and team stop Damyaan from doing the unwanted? Can Chhota Bheem and his team make Dholakpur one happy place to live happily ever after in?
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Voice by Kaustav Ghosh, Rupa Bhimani
Direction: Rajiv Chilaka
Genre: Animation
Duration: 1 hour 27 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review : Jham, jham, jhambhura! Now we know why our tweeny lot always maange more of Chhota Bheem. After all, our hero can do anything and everything that every Bollywood mainstream hero does. Chhota Bheem can save the girls from being kidnapped. Chhota Bheem can fight a dozen of bad guys at the same time. Chhota Bheem can fight tigers and snakes. And, most importantly, Chhota Bheem knows how to be in sync with the time - he can play (and win) the T20 cricket tournament in town. Not to miss out is his looks: Chhota Bheem is a hit with girls in his kingdom (He looks rather cute), and has a couple of pretty things hitting on him!
Now for the movie. Talk of animation and it's bright and colourful, though not really sharp.
Next, talk of music and there's ample to tap your foot. In fact, the theme track (sung by Shaan) works well. As for the fun, it's all in there to make our under-12s happy. Case in point, Chhota Bheem goes all dishum dishum with Damyaan, Bheem and his team being gifted with magical powers. However, the wait for fun unlimited is a bit too long. And if tween claps is what you are on the lookout for, there's ample scope particularly when our little hero fights one enemy after the other... all in a row: first the giant spider, then the tiger, then the MMA warrior, then the snake guy.... Finally, those into sci-fi stuff can have there share of time travel as well - of course, it's absoluetly desi in every sense of the word.
Sadly it's the voice-over that just does not seem to connect well specially for a face like that of Chhota Bheem. But then you might choose to overlook that considering there is hardly happening entertainment for kids in desi cinema. Right bachcha party?
Like other Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) films, Department has an idea - a force to finish the underworld by stepping over the law's boundaries. But like other RGV flicks, this one also blasts itself out of the water, leaving you savouring jarring camerawork, flimsy acting and over-the-top violence. Inspector Mahadev Bhosle (Dutt) creates Mumbai's department to battle, ahem, mafia dons Mohammad Ghori and Sawatiya (Raaz). Bhosle inducts Shivnarayan (Daggubati) and with skulls crashing on walls, children flung out of windows and criminals impaled on rods, they take on the underworld. So far, so gross, but the film pulls along, powered largely by Daggubati whose smokin' machismo holds Department together - but not for long. That's despite Bachchan popping up as don-turned-politico Sarjerao Gaikwad, all silvery hair, dark glasses, manic laughter and a tinkling bell. Bachchan's clearly having fun - but few viewers are.
That's because Department, which should've been a taut, tense encounter between three strong men, is instead ripped to shreds by too many weak actors given puzzlingly large roles. There's a most non-don-like Raaz, living in a shed, sporting an enviably slender waist exposed by mysteriously thin dhotis. His sullen sidekicks DK (Singh) and Naseer (Shalini) make one of the most unattractive screen duos ever. They mouth lines banally, shoot bullets expressionlessly, blow smoke dully into each other's mouths, yet have more screen time than Bachchan even. Others - like Shiv's wife Bharti (Sukhani, pleasant) - have little to do except dodge those bullets and bodies.
Watch Department Movie Trailer (HD)
The violence might even have clicked, considering the tale's twists - but crazy camerawork makes you forget all that. Varma's experimented, placing multiple cameras at different angles, treating you to close-ups of bottles pressed to mouths, lips sucking cigarettes, zooms up Dutt's hairline. The camera even flips upside down, puncturing the tension that should've vibrated between Bachchan and Dutt. One line - "Chamatkaar ko namaskar" - nails it. You stagger out sensing something wasted - Nathalia Kaur's item number's more hideous than hot, the prettiest thing around is a translucent tea-cup, the action is mind-numbing. Losing the plot and three strong stars, Department shoots itself in the foot.
Story:Where love and hate collide, this love story is born. Two people who're raised hating each other, break the unwritten family dictat; and fall in love. These outlaws of love thus start a new war.
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra
Direction: Habib Faisal
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review:It's the war of the roses. And it's as (t)horny as it can get. Splattered with bandooks and badmaashi, goondas and gaalis - starts this ajab prem kahani. Firebrands Parma (Arjun Kapoor) and Zoya (Parineeti Chopra) are childhood hate-mates, born into politically warring families who've avowed to hate unto death. So, in the rustic and earthy brown landscape of small-town Almore - where pocket guns are a fashion accessory, and local yokels could kill for anything - diesel or dancing girl Chand (Gauhar Khan), the Queen of 'KwalityBaar' - a love story blossoms between loveable rowdy rascal Parma and feisty, free-spirited Zoya. They growl at each other with the same fierce passion with which they grope each other and get-it-on. Most riveting in this love-hate plot, is the (fore)playful chemistry between the two, with their volatile verbal wars, and sexed-up lovemaking; even between chases and gunshots. Rare indeed to find such a beautifully complementing debut pair onscreen.
ISHAQZAADE OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)
In an impressive debut, Arjun Kapoor believably plays Parma with dollops of arrogance, energy and unabashed guts; chomping with the same crudity with which he shoots, spits gaalis, pisses on posters, manhandles his girl and makes raw love. He uses his boy-man charm topped with that infectious 'batteesi' effectively, and keeps up the temperatures throughout.
Parineeti Chopra is fabulously effervescent. As the 'mango 'ishmile' flashing Zoya, she's adorable and admirable. She lacks the obvious, larger-than-life mega-screen presence, but wins you over with her 'item'bomb' simplicity.
Gauhar Khan 'reveals' a lot more, of her acting skills that is.
UPCOMING VOLCANO: Parineeti Chopra
Director Habib Faisal takes you into the heart of this small-town story, creating a politically-divided Almore with elan - penning gripping characters (a rigid and arrogant Dadda, a suppressed, dukhiari Amma, two overbearing brothers), but fails to maintain the crescendo in the second half. After highlights like a sensitively shot lovemaking scene on a rusty train berth, a subtly picturized romantic song (Pareshan), and a shocking pre-interval scene, it starts falling apart like a house of cards; ultimately folding into a predictable climax. The flatness of the second half is what takes away from the pace of a launch vehicle that could've been memorable.
'Ishaqzaade' starts with a bang-bang, but ends up firing blanks.
Story:Navin and Nandini are to marry - but Navin dies in an accident that wasn't supposed to kill him. He returns in Sudeep's chubby body - but will 'Fatso' get his girl?
Critic's Rating:
Direction: Rajat Kapoor
Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Purab Kohli, Gul Panag, Neil Bhoopalam, Gunjan Bakshi, Brijendra Kala
Genre: Romance
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: Think of all those uber-cool Mumbai movies you've seen - Dil Chahta Hai, Bluffmaster, Wake Up Sid - put them in an imaginary blender, switch on, and hey presto, you have Fatso, frothing over with shots of surfing sea, rain-soaked skies, stylish bars.
Fatso Movie Official Trailer
Add a group of friends led by Navin (Kohli), who pops the question to Nandini (Panag) before crashing headlong into a truck and you have Fatso's main course - how to live after death. And what to do if your buddy, thinking you're in the great beyond, makes a move on your girl.
Fatso's a whimsical film with a rhythm somewhere between jazz and an old Bollywood song. Starting on an innovative note, it's brightened by Kohli's sparkly performance, Panag's dimpled smile and every shot of Mumbai that's made prize-winning cliche-level. Its most stunning sequences however occur in the grim sarkari office everyone apparently visits after they're dead - there is no heaven or hell, posits Fatso, just hundreds of peons, files, queues and babus, eternally occupied in 'mittings'. But Navin refuses to rest in peace till returned to earth - as fat friend Sudeep (Shorey). With Shorey literally getting a new lease of life, having visibly restrained himself as the much-mocked 'saand' of his group, you imagine Fatso's second half will rev up.
Alas. Here's where Fatso flops down heavily. Any sense of magic, of life rescued from death, love saved from vanishing, even the funny ironies of a slim guy stuck in a fat form, is totally missing. The 'friends group' is unconvincing. Kala's notable as a chatty clerk escorting souls about while Panag stands out in the silence of someone hit by grief. A cafe sequence, where Navin sees Nandini ordering spaghetti, then crying in the ladies' room, is moving. But otherwise, strangely flat acting and banal lines leave Fatso more heavy than cheerful.
The film seems overwhelmed by its own smart styling - little details like a dress drying on a clothesline, a girl rubbing hand-cream onto her palms, are clever. But there's too much style, not enough substance. No-one but pretty Tanuja (Bakshi), whose boyfriend Yash (Bhoopalam) hits on Nandini, seems to have a job. Life's a round of bar-hops with holidays when the living gets dull. The movie's peppiest number - 'Fatso! Na jaane kab last time sofe se khara hua' - is reserved for its feeble end, pushed wearily by Shorey listing everything he loves - mangoes to mosquitoes - before Panag mercifully plugs his outpourings with a kiss. Willing, yet weak, Fatso joined a good gym - but could have done with a much stricter trainer.
Story:In the big bad city of Mumbai, four people are on a 24-hour mission to survive. Some make it, some don't. Caution: If you thought a drive down Mumbai's over-flooded, potholed roads was a nightmarish experience, sample this.
Critic's Rating:
Direction: Rakesh Mehta
Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Ranvir Shorey, Pradhuman Singh, Neha Bhasin, Manu Rishi
Genre: Comedy
Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: Salman (Kay Kay Menon), son of a one time underworld biggie ( Jackie Shroff, in a flash of an appearance), is on a mission to nail the murderer of his parents, even before he's started mourning their sudden death.
ACP Chautala (Manu Rishi) is chided by his bully boss and packed off from the capital city to Mumbai's underbelly, to track four Nigerian drug peddlers (referred to as kaale throughout the film). The gold medalist cop, who prides himself on being Haryane-da-sher, cruises his way around Mumbai's gallis with ease, but struggles with Mumbaiyya lingo.
Amol Ganguly (Ranvir Shorey) quits his job as a chef in UK and dashes back to Mumbai to his beloved, only to find out that she's ditched him for an ugly millionaire. Distraught, he seeks comfort in his wannabe rockstar friend, dope-head Ajoy Ghosh (Pradhuman Singh), who walks around in boxers with sazaa-e-maut tattoo on his back, chants 'The Bengali will rock', has 'Mother Chucker' sprawled on his walls, scratches his privates (yuck!) and 'Doogle'-searches ways to commit suicide, for his heart-broken Bong buddy. Chandigarh ki chori, Dolly (Neha Bhasin), a struggling starlet is on a mission to dupe Mumbai's rich men to recover some of her losses (money and dignity). They all converge at the shady Hotel Plaza, amidst bullet showers, purposeless blood-baths, and a climax that leaves an after-taste of stale vada pau.
Ranvir Shorey, as the loser boyfriend looks the part, but only for a few scenes. He loses steam along the way, and boringly finishes the rest. Much-caked-up Menon, tries hard to force intensity, but fails to evoke any emotion. Amidst all this mayhem, Manu Rishi breathes some life and laughs in this movie. Pradhuman Singh as a pseudo rockstar is exaggeratedly stereotyped, driving us to hair-tearing moments. In her debut film, singerNeha Bhasin, looks desperate to make a mark, but has slim chance.
For eons, Mumbai has spurred creativity in filmmakers. Some good, some bad. Some grossly confused. Like this one. Director Rakesh Mehta tells a story which is more cramped with characters than Mumbai's local trains. The dialogues are unmoving and script more disoriented than the city's unbearable traffic. While trying to create a montage of a struggling day in the life of Mumbai, the real story is stuck in some galli of Crawford Market.
Watch it at your own risk, but remember, we warned you. Given a choice, we'd like the real city and a drive on Mumbai's roads - it probably has fewer potholes than this story.
Movie Review: Look carefully - Tezz shows you a London Bollywood hasn't explored before. Forget those chiffon saree-soirees, lush parks and cream teas - Tezz's London showcases illegal Indian migrants trapped between violent ghettoes and furious policemen, wet sewers, oily garages and bomb-strapped garbage bins. This is a gritty city, normally shown as every Indian's vacation paradise - but what happens to those who want to live there, even illegally?
Tezz follows engineer Akash Rana's (Devgn) life unraveling as he and his workmates Megha (Reddy) and Adil (Khan) get hunted by British immigration. Rana suffers the cruelest cut - his marriage to British citizen Nikita (Ranaut) is declared invalid, he's deported, she's jailed for unpaid loans. But it's not over - four years later, Rana returns seeking revenge and the London-Glasgow Express, 500 people on board, finds itself laced with a bomb that'll explode if the train drops under a certain speed.
Sounds familiar? Tezz draws from different vehicle-thrillers, reminding you of Keanu Reeves' Speed one moment, Vinod Khanna's Burning Train another. But it isn't just another machismo-fueled race - instead, Reddy is Tezz's surprise package, pulling off devilish stunts, looking stunning in the short life of a desperate Megha. As Counter-Terrorism Command Chief Arjun Khanna, Kapoor looks good too - and with one glance at a boy with bandaged eyes, he reminds you of the acting power-house he is.
In Tezz, he's pitted against Devgn (the latter can play 'smouldering' in his sleep apparently) and occasionally, Boman Irani as Sanjay Raina, Railway Traffic Controller. In one tense scene, Irani controls a track-switch, trembling almost like a music conductor commanding a symphony. There's a shout-down between Kapoor and him - over far too soon. In fact, you're left wishing Tezz had more dramatic face-offs between its fine actors but instead, the film diverts into several tracks too many.
Mohanlal is poorly used as policeman Nair escorting a criminal via train. As is Ranaut, pretty in her now-familiar 'impending doom' style, but with little to do. Khan looks fresh but has a shaky role - topped with a thrilling chase. Mallika Sherawat performs an item number in the 'Desi Club', asking, "Do you wanna get hot? Do you wanna get wet?" - but after all that promise, dances little and smiles even less. Tezz's London, overrun by Indians, is also populated by Brits speaking hilariously fluent Hindi and despite pumping background music, features few pleasing songs, snatches from just one qawwali, Tere Saaye Mein, standing out. Otherwise, it's gunshots and grim lines, some pacey - "Ye koi naya kameena hai," quips Kapoor of Devgn - some not.
Despite slick action and stunning scenes - bullets ramming underwater into a sunlit stream, a violet flower-bush before a cop-car - Tezz loses speed often. Here's possibly why - director Priyadarshan's oeuvre is putting characters in desperate situations and watching them respond. It works beautifully in comedies - but Tezz needs relentless pushing, not frequent stops pondering over the unfairness of citizenship. You can't run fast carrying heavy baggage - that's why Tezz huffs and puffs a little too much.
Story: Journalist Kavya Krishna loves tycoon Siddharth - who uses and abuses her. How far will Kavya go to get revenge?
Critic's Rating:
Direction: Vivek Agnihotri
Cast: Paoli Dam, Gulshan Devaiya, Nikhil Dwivedi
Genre: Thriller
Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: So, yeah, Hate Story exposes a lot - underneath Delhi's surface, that is, not really, as the adverts so tantalizingly showcased, of leading lady Paoli Dam. The film instead blows the top right off the dirty deals, the, well, intercourse between different power spheres ruling India's capital - business, politics, journalism, police, all meet in this slick flick. Depending on who you are, the intersections provide some pleasure - and lots of pain.
Hate Story starts with reporter Kavya (Dam) joining photographer-friend Vicky (Dwivedi) in exposing cement tycoon Siddharth Dhanrajgir (Devaiya) bribing a judge. Enraged, 'Sid' takes revenge - sweetly. Ignoring Vicky completely, he offers Kavya the sky if she works for him, letting him, as he terms it, use her talent. Remarkably, Kavya instantly agrees. Hugging a huffy Vicky goodbye, she leaps into Sid's deals, winning him a biggie in Mumbai. As a result, the tycoon takes her to dinner - and to bed.
But it's not quite as charmless as that - Sid makes love to Kayva in gentle rain, in fluffy duvets, in the shower, pouring her with expensive watches and a big diamond. Swept off her feet, Kavya's in love - till Sid drops the honey-brush, slaps her one and throws her out of work with chilling contempt. She's also expecting - but he'll have none of it. A forced abortion follows after which her unconvincing 'middle-class family' (spot Pitaji by his red muffler) abandons her. Seeking revenge, Kavya approaches Delhi's most plush and padded prostitute, demanding seduction classes. These last one hot little moment - but more sex with more men follows, all leading towards entrapping Sid within a web of truth and lies, exposing and exposes.
Interestingly, Hate Story isn't just one woman hating one man - it's also a tale of hateful deals, corruption, brutality and sleaze tiling the farmhouses fringing the capital, glistening in hotel bars, twinkling wickedly off the sunlight on the NCR's corporate buildings. It would all be so interesting - if only deeper and tighter. Instead, we get little sense of the porcelain-faced Kavya's torment, sliding from reporter to prostitute. We get even less sense of backup-BF Vicky's feelings - while we get way too much of Delhi's street-shots, wasted lines, lip-gloss thick as a moustache, bathrobes, jacuzzis and cars, all burdening Hate Story by about 30 minutes too many.
Underneath this, even the sex-scenes sag - the frontbenchers clap most wildly not at Dam's bare back when she's riding Sid's brother Raj, but at a Haryanvi cop telling her when arrested for Raj's murder, "Kuch kapde pehen lete toh theek hota." Better acting and more music under-wiring this plot would've helped - the only memorable melody is the velveteen lament 'Dil kaanch sa', layering Kavya's trauma after Sid's brutality.
But there are pluses too - Devaiya stands out as a stammering little egomaniac and the electricity between him and Dam crackles. There are memorable shots - Dam staring with agonised eyes at Sid's office while having car-sex with a stranger outside, a moment of acute tension when she meets Raj's wife in court. One more encounter follows - but let's leave something to the imagination. Appreciate, if you will, the thriller, not the diet-erotica - that's rather an anti-climax.
Story: Cameraman Bittoo is the 'boss' of all weddings in a small-town. In a desperate attempt to make it big, he dabbles in the sex-spy camera business. Will his fate change, or will the good-hearted boy go back to the less-perverted shaadi scene?
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Pulkit Samrat, Amita Pathak Language: Hindi
Direction: Supavitra Babul
Genre: Comedy
Duration: 2 hours
Avg Viewer's Rating:
Movie Review : In the town of Anandpur, Punjab, no wedding can start without band, bajaa and Bittoo (Pulkit Samrat). He's the blue-eyed-boy of all celebrations, because he's the only 'sesky' (read: sexy) videographer who can turn any Katto into Katrina. Every time they see his lens, the kudis flutter their lashes and say, "Ab toh meri le ley" (sic). So much so, that even Bittoo is seduced for some behind-the-camera 'action'.
In the first scene we are transported to Pammi and Gurvinder's wedding (surprise, surprise), where Bittoo meets Mrinalini (Amita Pathak) and voila ... it's love in the first frame. At first she rejects him, but a few scenes later, she realizes that he's local, but kadak. To this point it seems like a big-fat Indian wedding, a sweet love story even, but wait, this 'VDO-grapher' has a different story to tell. In a momentary lapse of judgment, he's brainwashed into taking the big bad leap. Leaving behind the shaadi videos, he moves on to shooting suhaagraats, with hidden cameras. Hawww!
Bittoo's grey shades don't really turn 'blue' anytime soon. All he ends up doing is preventing teenage rape and helping an inhibited 'haasband' copulate. Is this still the same movie we started out with? We're not so sure.
With a character sketch, screen-name and styling so reminiscent of Ranveer Singh, debutant Pulkit Samrat has little scope to create his own identity. However, he pulls off the small-town-munda act with sincerity, and a natural ease.
Amita Pathak doesn't strike an impression overall, but she shows spark in some dramatic scenes. Ashok Pathak as Bittoo's sidekick, overacts. Debutant director Babul had an interesting premise to start with, but after the first half, the script is more scattered than sorted. Some caricaturish characters, dialogues with local tadka, and few laughable moments save the day. At a time when sex and 'dirty pictures' sell, Babul scripts a hero who describes sex as 'dilon ka milan.' Ho-hum!
This one had the potential to be an entertainer, but turns out to be a 'bit-too' much..!!
Story: Tiger is one of India's most effective espionage agents. But when this brave heart falls in love, even he has to seek cover to realise his dream.
Movie Review: Kabir Khan's movies—Kabul Express; New York, Ek Tha Tiger start with the similar sepia-toned skyline montages of what could be Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq; strife-ridden country associated with extremists. In ETT, the montages pass quickly.
Story:Gautam likes Veronica. Veronica likes him too. Gautam falls for Meera. Now what does Meera do? Three close friends find themselves caught in a vortex of emotions.
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty, Randeep Hooda
Direction: Homi Adajania
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 25 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: Two's company; is three a crowd? Homi Adajania's romantic comedy Cocktail is a slice-of-life film mounted beautifully and imaginatively on a large canvas with the vibrant colours of London, Cape Town and New Delhi. The film addresses the proverb--two is company; is three a crowd--situation throughout. With some super-light, sweet moments that one has seen in the mid-90s American sitcom Friends; that revolved around a group of friends in Manhattan; Cocktail deals with the fun moments and then the emotional turmoil faced by three Indian friends settled in the UK, whose paths cross inadvertently.
Story: Three
love stories set in three different eras; all of which go through the
inevitable love-cycle of hook-up, heartbreak, separation and reunion.
Story: Low-life thief Shiva and top-cop Vikram Rathore are identical. Vikram's killed by foes but his daughter thinks Shiva's her dad - can this Rowdy win respect?
Movie Review: In case I get a spelling wrong, that's because my ears are still ringing with all the seetis and taalis at Rowdy Rathore. The film's an unabashed, gunpowder-hot, sambar-spiced star-vehicle which runs along energetically most of the time because its star - Akshay Kumar, essaying a double role as Rathore and Shiva - is worth it, something that's emphasized often. At one point, a girl asks Shiva, pursuing pretty Paaro (Sinha) from Patna, 'Na tum mein Hrithik ke looks hain, na Shah Rukh ka charm, na Aamir ki cuteness, na Salman ki body - what's so cool about you?' Akshay drawls back, "Lagta hai Khiladi ko bhool gayi aap." Cue for crowd - erupt in rapture.
ROWDY RATHORE OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)
Multiply that moment by 100 and you have Rowdy Rathore, a peppery pot-boiler brimming over with action, slapstick comedy and romance, dynamite lines and Akshay Kumar - lots of Akshay Kumar, channeling vintage heroes Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, adding a dollop of Jeetendra, topping with his trademark flair as he snarls, tongue deeply in-cheek, "Don't angry me!"
A lull in its second half aside, Rowdy's mostly quick-stepping, moving from Mumbai's malls to medieval Bihar where Baapji (Nasser) and his hamming henchmen terrorise Devgarh's townsfolk through pillage, beatings and rape. Till cop Vikram Rathore (Kumar) arrives on the Shramjeevi Express, assaulting local yokels with handy gannas, infusing new meaning to 'sugar-cane'. With terrific overhead shots capturing his exploits, the fearless Rathore even bumps off Baapji's vicious beta Munna, so Baapji won't rest till Vikram is killed.
SEXY SINHA: SONAKSHI SINHA
Despite an injury to his brain (which the doctor says causes 'hammo-rage'), Vikram and his little daughter Chinki reach Mumbai. Here, their paths cross with Shiva who adopts Chinki when Vikram's felled. And goes to Devgarh where he tells Baapji, 'A village can have only one Rowdy.' It's time Baapji - or 'lemon-chus', as Rowdy addresses him - shoved off.
This involves toe-curling violence though. A guy gets stabbed in the mouth, a head's crushed on a rock, swords slash through navels. Against the gore, Shiva's dancing with Paaro provides breezy relief but the music itself is unmemorable. In a Prabhudheva picture, expectedly the dances are eye-catching, some moves like sweet caresses, some sexy little bites. Sonakshi glows as Paaro, a spunky Indian beauty showing flashes of her star-father's confidence when she snarls at the villains, 'O saand ke bhes mein kukur." This Patna girl's stepped out in style with Rowdy. But the same can't be said for those playing Devgarh's dread-struck. Apart from Yashpal Sharma (sincere as a junior cop), the rest are unconvincing, as is the villainous set-up itself, located somewhere oddly between feudal Bihar, accented Andhra and Sholay's bandit lair.
Indeed, Rowdy Rathore pays homage to iconic filmi characters - identical heroes, golden-hearted chors, brave Men in Brown beating evil people to pulp. However, it pays most homage to its own star, Akshay Kumar, who pulls off Shiva with style but Vikram less so, possibly because all that violence overwhelms acting itself. Not that the crowd seemed to mind. As Shiva exhorts a woman raped by Baapji's son to beat him up, the girl next to me cried, "Why doesn't she?" Her neighbour replied, "She will." And she did - much to the crowd's Rowdy delight.
Tip-Off: Fans will love Akshay's mooch-twirling masala-act but be ready for hardcore action too - some pretty gruesome.
Story: Damyaan, the evil snake of Sonpur, is simply a step away from being over powerful and immortal since he has access to the Book of Magi. What's stopping him? The curse that has him locked inside a palace for ages... a curse that shall be broken should the king of Dholakpur set him free. Now, the king does set him free (by mistake) and then chaos forms the order of the day. Can Chhota Bheem and team stop Damyaan from doing the unwanted? Can Chhota Bheem and his team make Dholakpur one happy place to live happily ever after in?
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Voice by Kaustav Ghosh, Rupa Bhimani
Direction: Rajiv Chilaka
Genre: Animation
Duration: 1 hour 27 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review : Jham, jham, jhambhura! Now we know why our tweeny lot always maange more of Chhota Bheem. After all, our hero can do anything and everything that every Bollywood mainstream hero does. Chhota Bheem can save the girls from being kidnapped. Chhota Bheem can fight a dozen of bad guys at the same time. Chhota Bheem can fight tigers and snakes. And, most importantly, Chhota Bheem knows how to be in sync with the time - he can play (and win) the T20 cricket tournament in town. Not to miss out is his looks: Chhota Bheem is a hit with girls in his kingdom (He looks rather cute), and has a couple of pretty things hitting on him!
Now for the movie. Talk of animation and it's bright and colourful, though not really sharp.
Next, talk of music and there's ample to tap your foot. In fact, the theme track (sung by Shaan) works well. As for the fun, it's all in there to make our under-12s happy. Case in point, Chhota Bheem goes all dishum dishum with Damyaan, Bheem and his team being gifted with magical powers. However, the wait for fun unlimited is a bit too long. And if tween claps is what you are on the lookout for, there's ample scope particularly when our little hero fights one enemy after the other... all in a row: first the giant spider, then the tiger, then the MMA warrior, then the snake guy.... Finally, those into sci-fi stuff can have there share of time travel as well - of course, it's absoluetly desi in every sense of the word.
Sadly it's the voice-over that just does not seem to connect well specially for a face like that of Chhota Bheem. But then you might choose to overlook that considering there is hardly happening entertainment for kids in desi cinema. Right bachcha party?
Like other Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) films, Department has an idea - a force to finish the underworld by stepping over the law's boundaries. But like other RGV flicks, this one also blasts itself out of the water, leaving you savouring jarring camerawork, flimsy acting and over-the-top violence. Inspector Mahadev Bhosle (Dutt) creates Mumbai's department to battle, ahem, mafia dons Mohammad Ghori and Sawatiya (Raaz). Bhosle inducts Shivnarayan (Daggubati) and with skulls crashing on walls, children flung out of windows and criminals impaled on rods, they take on the underworld. So far, so gross, but the film pulls along, powered largely by Daggubati whose smokin' machismo holds Department together - but not for long. That's despite Bachchan popping up as don-turned-politico Sarjerao Gaikwad, all silvery hair, dark glasses, manic laughter and a tinkling bell. Bachchan's clearly having fun - but few viewers are.
That's because Department, which should've been a taut, tense encounter between three strong men, is instead ripped to shreds by too many weak actors given puzzlingly large roles. There's a most non-don-like Raaz, living in a shed, sporting an enviably slender waist exposed by mysteriously thin dhotis. His sullen sidekicks DK (Singh) and Naseer (Shalini) make one of the most unattractive screen duos ever. They mouth lines banally, shoot bullets expressionlessly, blow smoke dully into each other's mouths, yet have more screen time than Bachchan even. Others - like Shiv's wife Bharti (Sukhani, pleasant) - have little to do except dodge those bullets and bodies.
Watch Department Movie Trailer (HD)
The violence might even have clicked, considering the tale's twists - but crazy camerawork makes you forget all that. Varma's experimented, placing multiple cameras at different angles, treating you to close-ups of bottles pressed to mouths, lips sucking cigarettes, zooms up Dutt's hairline. The camera even flips upside down, puncturing the tension that should've vibrated between Bachchan and Dutt. One line - "Chamatkaar ko namaskar" - nails it. You stagger out sensing something wasted - Nathalia Kaur's item number's more hideous than hot, the prettiest thing around is a translucent tea-cup, the action is mind-numbing. Losing the plot and three strong stars, Department shoots itself in the foot.
Story:Where love and hate collide, this love story is born. Two people who're raised hating each other, break the unwritten family dictat; and fall in love. These outlaws of love thus start a new war.
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra
Direction: Habib Faisal
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review:It's the war of the roses. And it's as (t)horny as it can get. Splattered with bandooks and badmaashi, goondas and gaalis - starts this ajab prem kahani. Firebrands Parma (Arjun Kapoor) and Zoya (Parineeti Chopra) are childhood hate-mates, born into politically warring families who've avowed to hate unto death. So, in the rustic and earthy brown landscape of small-town Almore - where pocket guns are a fashion accessory, and local yokels could kill for anything - diesel or dancing girl Chand (Gauhar Khan), the Queen of 'KwalityBaar' - a love story blossoms between loveable rowdy rascal Parma and feisty, free-spirited Zoya. They growl at each other with the same fierce passion with which they grope each other and get-it-on. Most riveting in this love-hate plot, is the (fore)playful chemistry between the two, with their volatile verbal wars, and sexed-up lovemaking; even between chases and gunshots. Rare indeed to find such a beautifully complementing debut pair onscreen.
ISHAQZAADE OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)
In an impressive debut, Arjun Kapoor believably plays Parma with dollops of arrogance, energy and unabashed guts; chomping with the same crudity with which he shoots, spits gaalis, pisses on posters, manhandles his girl and makes raw love. He uses his boy-man charm topped with that infectious 'batteesi' effectively, and keeps up the temperatures throughout.
Parineeti Chopra is fabulously effervescent. As the 'mango 'ishmile' flashing Zoya, she's adorable and admirable. She lacks the obvious, larger-than-life mega-screen presence, but wins you over with her 'item'bomb' simplicity.
Gauhar Khan 'reveals' a lot more, of her acting skills that is.
UPCOMING VOLCANO: Parineeti Chopra
Director Habib Faisal takes you into the heart of this small-town story, creating a politically-divided Almore with elan - penning gripping characters (a rigid and arrogant Dadda, a suppressed, dukhiari Amma, two overbearing brothers), but fails to maintain the crescendo in the second half. After highlights like a sensitively shot lovemaking scene on a rusty train berth, a subtly picturized romantic song (Pareshan), and a shocking pre-interval scene, it starts falling apart like a house of cards; ultimately folding into a predictable climax. The flatness of the second half is what takes away from the pace of a launch vehicle that could've been memorable.
'Ishaqzaade' starts with a bang-bang, but ends up firing blanks.
Story:Navin and Nandini are to marry - but Navin dies in an accident that wasn't supposed to kill him. He returns in Sudeep's chubby body - but will 'Fatso' get his girl?
Critic's Rating:
Direction: Rajat Kapoor
Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Purab Kohli, Gul Panag, Neil Bhoopalam, Gunjan Bakshi, Brijendra Kala
Genre: Romance
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: Think of all those uber-cool Mumbai movies you've seen - Dil Chahta Hai, Bluffmaster, Wake Up Sid - put them in an imaginary blender, switch on, and hey presto, you have Fatso, frothing over with shots of surfing sea, rain-soaked skies, stylish bars.
Fatso Movie Official Trailer
Add a group of friends led by Navin (Kohli), who pops the question to Nandini (Panag) before crashing headlong into a truck and you have Fatso's main course - how to live after death. And what to do if your buddy, thinking you're in the great beyond, makes a move on your girl.
Fatso's a whimsical film with a rhythm somewhere between jazz and an old Bollywood song. Starting on an innovative note, it's brightened by Kohli's sparkly performance, Panag's dimpled smile and every shot of Mumbai that's made prize-winning cliche-level. Its most stunning sequences however occur in the grim sarkari office everyone apparently visits after they're dead - there is no heaven or hell, posits Fatso, just hundreds of peons, files, queues and babus, eternally occupied in 'mittings'. But Navin refuses to rest in peace till returned to earth - as fat friend Sudeep (Shorey). With Shorey literally getting a new lease of life, having visibly restrained himself as the much-mocked 'saand' of his group, you imagine Fatso's second half will rev up.
Alas. Here's where Fatso flops down heavily. Any sense of magic, of life rescued from death, love saved from vanishing, even the funny ironies of a slim guy stuck in a fat form, is totally missing. The 'friends group' is unconvincing. Kala's notable as a chatty clerk escorting souls about while Panag stands out in the silence of someone hit by grief. A cafe sequence, where Navin sees Nandini ordering spaghetti, then crying in the ladies' room, is moving. But otherwise, strangely flat acting and banal lines leave Fatso more heavy than cheerful.
The film seems overwhelmed by its own smart styling - little details like a dress drying on a clothesline, a girl rubbing hand-cream onto her palms, are clever. But there's too much style, not enough substance. No-one but pretty Tanuja (Bakshi), whose boyfriend Yash (Bhoopalam) hits on Nandini, seems to have a job. Life's a round of bar-hops with holidays when the living gets dull. The movie's peppiest number - 'Fatso! Na jaane kab last time sofe se khara hua' - is reserved for its feeble end, pushed wearily by Shorey listing everything he loves - mangoes to mosquitoes - before Panag mercifully plugs his outpourings with a kiss. Willing, yet weak, Fatso joined a good gym - but could have done with a much stricter trainer.
Story:In the big bad city of Mumbai, four people are on a 24-hour mission to survive. Some make it, some don't. Caution: If you thought a drive down Mumbai's over-flooded, potholed roads was a nightmarish experience, sample this.
Critic's Rating:
Direction: Rakesh Mehta
Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Ranvir Shorey, Pradhuman Singh, Neha Bhasin, Manu Rishi
Genre: Comedy
Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: Salman (Kay Kay Menon), son of a one time underworld biggie ( Jackie Shroff, in a flash of an appearance), is on a mission to nail the murderer of his parents, even before he's started mourning their sudden death.
ACP Chautala (Manu Rishi) is chided by his bully boss and packed off from the capital city to Mumbai's underbelly, to track four Nigerian drug peddlers (referred to as kaale throughout the film). The gold medalist cop, who prides himself on being Haryane-da-sher, cruises his way around Mumbai's gallis with ease, but struggles with Mumbaiyya lingo.
Amol Ganguly (Ranvir Shorey) quits his job as a chef in UK and dashes back to Mumbai to his beloved, only to find out that she's ditched him for an ugly millionaire. Distraught, he seeks comfort in his wannabe rockstar friend, dope-head Ajoy Ghosh (Pradhuman Singh), who walks around in boxers with sazaa-e-maut tattoo on his back, chants 'The Bengali will rock', has 'Mother Chucker' sprawled on his walls, scratches his privates (yuck!) and 'Doogle'-searches ways to commit suicide, for his heart-broken Bong buddy. Chandigarh ki chori, Dolly (Neha Bhasin), a struggling starlet is on a mission to dupe Mumbai's rich men to recover some of her losses (money and dignity). They all converge at the shady Hotel Plaza, amidst bullet showers, purposeless blood-baths, and a climax that leaves an after-taste of stale vada pau.
Ranvir Shorey, as the loser boyfriend looks the part, but only for a few scenes. He loses steam along the way, and boringly finishes the rest. Much-caked-up Menon, tries hard to force intensity, but fails to evoke any emotion. Amidst all this mayhem, Manu Rishi breathes some life and laughs in this movie. Pradhuman Singh as a pseudo rockstar is exaggeratedly stereotyped, driving us to hair-tearing moments. In her debut film, singerNeha Bhasin, looks desperate to make a mark, but has slim chance.
For eons, Mumbai has spurred creativity in filmmakers. Some good, some bad. Some grossly confused. Like this one. Director Rakesh Mehta tells a story which is more cramped with characters than Mumbai's local trains. The dialogues are unmoving and script more disoriented than the city's unbearable traffic. While trying to create a montage of a struggling day in the life of Mumbai, the real story is stuck in some galli of Crawford Market.
Watch it at your own risk, but remember, we warned you. Given a choice, we'd like the real city and a drive on Mumbai's roads - it probably has fewer potholes than this story.
Movie Review: Look carefully - Tezz shows you a London Bollywood hasn't explored before. Forget those chiffon saree-soirees, lush parks and cream teas - Tezz's London showcases illegal Indian migrants trapped between violent ghettoes and furious policemen, wet sewers, oily garages and bomb-strapped garbage bins. This is a gritty city, normally shown as every Indian's vacation paradise - but what happens to those who want to live there, even illegally?
Tezz follows engineer Akash Rana's (Devgn) life unraveling as he and his workmates Megha (Reddy) and Adil (Khan) get hunted by British immigration. Rana suffers the cruelest cut - his marriage to British citizen Nikita (Ranaut) is declared invalid, he's deported, she's jailed for unpaid loans. But it's not over - four years later, Rana returns seeking revenge and the London-Glasgow Express, 500 people on board, finds itself laced with a bomb that'll explode if the train drops under a certain speed.
Sounds familiar? Tezz draws from different vehicle-thrillers, reminding you of Keanu Reeves' Speed one moment, Vinod Khanna's Burning Train another. But it isn't just another machismo-fueled race - instead, Reddy is Tezz's surprise package, pulling off devilish stunts, looking stunning in the short life of a desperate Megha. As Counter-Terrorism Command Chief Arjun Khanna, Kapoor looks good too - and with one glance at a boy with bandaged eyes, he reminds you of the acting power-house he is.
In Tezz, he's pitted against Devgn (the latter can play 'smouldering' in his sleep apparently) and occasionally, Boman Irani as Sanjay Raina, Railway Traffic Controller. In one tense scene, Irani controls a track-switch, trembling almost like a music conductor commanding a symphony. There's a shout-down between Kapoor and him - over far too soon. In fact, you're left wishing Tezz had more dramatic face-offs between its fine actors but instead, the film diverts into several tracks too many.
Mohanlal is poorly used as policeman Nair escorting a criminal via train. As is Ranaut, pretty in her now-familiar 'impending doom' style, but with little to do. Khan looks fresh but has a shaky role - topped with a thrilling chase. Mallika Sherawat performs an item number in the 'Desi Club', asking, "Do you wanna get hot? Do you wanna get wet?" - but after all that promise, dances little and smiles even less. Tezz's London, overrun by Indians, is also populated by Brits speaking hilariously fluent Hindi and despite pumping background music, features few pleasing songs, snatches from just one qawwali, Tere Saaye Mein, standing out. Otherwise, it's gunshots and grim lines, some pacey - "Ye koi naya kameena hai," quips Kapoor of Devgn - some not.
Despite slick action and stunning scenes - bullets ramming underwater into a sunlit stream, a violet flower-bush before a cop-car - Tezz loses speed often. Here's possibly why - director Priyadarshan's oeuvre is putting characters in desperate situations and watching them respond. It works beautifully in comedies - but Tezz needs relentless pushing, not frequent stops pondering over the unfairness of citizenship. You can't run fast carrying heavy baggage - that's why Tezz huffs and puffs a little too much.
Story: Journalist Kavya Krishna loves tycoon Siddharth - who uses and abuses her. How far will Kavya go to get revenge?
Critic's Rating:
Direction: Vivek Agnihotri
Cast: Paoli Dam, Gulshan Devaiya, Nikhil Dwivedi
Genre: Thriller
Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: So, yeah, Hate Story exposes a lot - underneath Delhi's surface, that is, not really, as the adverts so tantalizingly showcased, of leading lady Paoli Dam. The film instead blows the top right off the dirty deals, the, well, intercourse between different power spheres ruling India's capital - business, politics, journalism, police, all meet in this slick flick. Depending on who you are, the intersections provide some pleasure - and lots of pain.
Hate Story starts with reporter Kavya (Dam) joining photographer-friend Vicky (Dwivedi) in exposing cement tycoon Siddharth Dhanrajgir (Devaiya) bribing a judge. Enraged, 'Sid' takes revenge - sweetly. Ignoring Vicky completely, he offers Kavya the sky if she works for him, letting him, as he terms it, use her talent. Remarkably, Kavya instantly agrees. Hugging a huffy Vicky goodbye, she leaps into Sid's deals, winning him a biggie in Mumbai. As a result, the tycoon takes her to dinner - and to bed.
But it's not quite as charmless as that - Sid makes love to Kayva in gentle rain, in fluffy duvets, in the shower, pouring her with expensive watches and a big diamond. Swept off her feet, Kavya's in love - till Sid drops the honey-brush, slaps her one and throws her out of work with chilling contempt. She's also expecting - but he'll have none of it. A forced abortion follows after which her unconvincing 'middle-class family' (spot Pitaji by his red muffler) abandons her. Seeking revenge, Kavya approaches Delhi's most plush and padded prostitute, demanding seduction classes. These last one hot little moment - but more sex with more men follows, all leading towards entrapping Sid within a web of truth and lies, exposing and exposes.
Interestingly, Hate Story isn't just one woman hating one man - it's also a tale of hateful deals, corruption, brutality and sleaze tiling the farmhouses fringing the capital, glistening in hotel bars, twinkling wickedly off the sunlight on the NCR's corporate buildings. It would all be so interesting - if only deeper and tighter. Instead, we get little sense of the porcelain-faced Kavya's torment, sliding from reporter to prostitute. We get even less sense of backup-BF Vicky's feelings - while we get way too much of Delhi's street-shots, wasted lines, lip-gloss thick as a moustache, bathrobes, jacuzzis and cars, all burdening Hate Story by about 30 minutes too many.
Underneath this, even the sex-scenes sag - the frontbenchers clap most wildly not at Dam's bare back when she's riding Sid's brother Raj, but at a Haryanvi cop telling her when arrested for Raj's murder, "Kuch kapde pehen lete toh theek hota." Better acting and more music under-wiring this plot would've helped - the only memorable melody is the velveteen lament 'Dil kaanch sa', layering Kavya's trauma after Sid's brutality.
But there are pluses too - Devaiya stands out as a stammering little egomaniac and the electricity between him and Dam crackles. There are memorable shots - Dam staring with agonised eyes at Sid's office while having car-sex with a stranger outside, a moment of acute tension when she meets Raj's wife in court. One more encounter follows - but let's leave something to the imagination. Appreciate, if you will, the thriller, not the diet-erotica - that's rather an anti-climax.
Story: Cameraman Bittoo is the 'boss' of all weddings in a small-town. In a desperate attempt to make it big, he dabbles in the sex-spy camera business. Will his fate change, or will the good-hearted boy go back to the less-perverted shaadi scene?
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Pulkit Samrat, Amita Pathak Language: Hindi
Direction: Supavitra Babul
Genre: Comedy
Duration: 2 hours
Avg Viewer's Rating:
Movie Review : In the town of Anandpur, Punjab, no wedding can start without band, bajaa and Bittoo (Pulkit Samrat). He's the blue-eyed-boy of all celebrations, because he's the only 'sesky' (read: sexy) videographer who can turn any Katto into Katrina. Every time they see his lens, the kudis flutter their lashes and say, "Ab toh meri le ley" (sic). So much so, that even Bittoo is seduced for some behind-the-camera 'action'.
In the first scene we are transported to Pammi and Gurvinder's wedding (surprise, surprise), where Bittoo meets Mrinalini (Amita Pathak) and voila ... it's love in the first frame. At first she rejects him, but a few scenes later, she realizes that he's local, but kadak. To this point it seems like a big-fat Indian wedding, a sweet love story even, but wait, this 'VDO-grapher' has a different story to tell. In a momentary lapse of judgment, he's brainwashed into taking the big bad leap. Leaving behind the shaadi videos, he moves on to shooting suhaagraats, with hidden cameras. Hawww!
Bittoo's grey shades don't really turn 'blue' anytime soon. All he ends up doing is preventing teenage rape and helping an inhibited 'haasband' copulate. Is this still the same movie we started out with? We're not so sure.
With a character sketch, screen-name and styling so reminiscent of Ranveer Singh, debutant Pulkit Samrat has little scope to create his own identity. However, he pulls off the small-town-munda act with sincerity, and a natural ease.
Amita Pathak doesn't strike an impression overall, but she shows spark in some dramatic scenes. Ashok Pathak as Bittoo's sidekick, overacts. Debutant director Babul had an interesting premise to start with, but after the first half, the script is more scattered than sorted. Some caricaturish characters, dialogues with local tadka, and few laughable moments save the day. At a time when sex and 'dirty pictures' sell, Babul scripts a hero who describes sex as 'dilon ka milan.' Ho-hum!
This one had the potential to be an entertainer, but turns out to be a 'bit-too' much..!!
