Dum Maaro Dum - A slick flick

Rohan Sippy and Abhishek Bachchan had given us the uber-chic "Bluffmaster". They are now back after a long time with some powerful supporting cast and a sleek storyline. Mix varied cast, slick screenplay and great technicality and what you get is Dum Maaro Dum.

The story is all set amidst drug abuse issues in Goa. ACP Kamath (Abhishek Bachchan) is vested upon with the responsibility of cleaning up Goa from drug scams by the Home Minister. He chooses two police officials, Mercy and Rana, for this mission. Joki Fernandez (Rana Daggubati) runs a music shop and sings part-time at parties. His is a happy life with girlfriend Zoe (Bipasha Basu), until she falls victim to drug trafficking and is taken away from him by Lorsa Biscuite (Aditya Pancholi) - a leading business man in Goa and the backbone of drug trafficking there.

Lorry (Prateik Babbar) is a student who is rejected financial aid for study at a foreign university, while his girl friend Taani (Anaita) gets it. He gets involved in drug trafficking for the sake of money to go to New York, but gets caught by Kamath. The story runs in parallel tracks in the beginning with narrations from the three men - Kamath, Lorry and Joki - about their life.

The movie is a treat to watch, but there are some loose ends in the screenplay which should have been taken care of, like the episodes of Ricky's murder which goes away without any investigation, episode where ACP Kamath understands who Michael Barbossa is without any background and the climax episode which looked very easy to get away with. Music, cinematography and editing keep up with the film's pace. Performances by all actors are good especially Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu, who acted really well in this film. Go catch it this weekend.

My rating for this film - ****
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)

Jan Lokpal - India Against Corruption

India is finally awakening to the dire need for a fool proof Anti Corruption system. The Jan Lokpal bill drafted by a known section of the civil society has now found voice to make its presence felt in the Parliament. This bill should be definitely passed and the necessary legal Lokpal and Lokyukta entities should be set up as soon as possible.

It is really distressing to see that politicians who make long illustrous speeches and take innumerable rounds in the streets of their constituency to take commoners in their stride, fail to stand up and pledge their vote against corruption. How many will have the guts and passion like Anna to raise voice against the government and the charizma to pull the masses into this movement?

When India can witness one billion people coming together just for a game of cricket, a magnanimous movement like India Against Corruption deserves much more than that.

I pledge my support for my nation. I pledge my support for India Against Corruption.

For more info on Jan Lokpal and India Against Corruption, visit this page.