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)

Ya Rabba...

I love this song from Salaam-E-Ishq. The lyrics are beautiful and Kailash Kher's voice brings soul to this song.

Pyaar Hai Ya Saja, Aai Mere Dil Bata

Tootata Kyon Nahi Dard Ka Silsila

Is Pyaar Mein Hon Kaise Kaise Imntihaan

Ye Pyaar Likhe Kaisi Kaisi Dastaan

Ya Rabba De De Koi Jaan Bhi Agar

Dilbar Pe Ho Na, Dilbar Pe Ho Na Koi Asar

Ho Ya Rabba De De Koi Jaan Bhi Agar

Dilbar Pe Ho Na, Dilbar Pe Ho Na Koi Asar

Pyaar Hai Ya Saja, Aai Mere Dil Bata

Tootata Kyon Nahi Dard Ka Silsila

Kaisa Hai Safar Wafa Ki Manjil Ka

Na Hai Koi Hal Dilon Ki Mushkil Ka

Dhadkan Dhadkan Bikhri Ranjishein

Saansein Saansein Tooti Bandishein

Kahi To Har Lamha Honton Pe Fariyaad Hai

Kisi Ki Duniya Chaahat Mein Barbaad Hai

Ya Rabba De De Koi Jaan Bhi Agar

Dilbar Pe Ho Na, Dilbar Pe Ho Na Koi Asar

Ho Ya Rabba De De Koi Jaan Bhi Agar

Dilbar Pe Ho Na, Dilbar Pe Ho Na Koi Asar

Koi Na Sune Sisakati Aanhon Ko

Koi Na Dhare Tadapati Baahon Ko

Aadhi Aadhi Puri Khwaishein

Tooti Footi Sab Farmaaishein

Kahin Shak Hain Kahin Nafrat Ki Deewaar Hai

Kahin Jeet Mein Bhi Shamil Palpal Haar Hain

Ya Rabba De De Koi Jaan Bhi Agar

Dilbar Pe Ho Na, Dilbar Pe Ho Na Koi Asar

Ho Ya Rabba De De Koi Jaan Bhi Agar

Dilbar Pe Ho Na, Dilbar Pe Ho Na Koi Asar

Ho O O Pyaar Hai Ya Saja, Aai Mere Dil Bata

Tootata Kyon Nahi Dard Ka Silsila

Ho O O O Ho O O O

Na Poocho Dard Bandon Se

Hansi Kaisi Khushi Kaisi

Musibat Sar Pe Rehati Hain

Kabhi Kaisi Kabhi Kaisi

Ho O O O... Rabba, Rabba Ho O O Ho

Rabba Ho O O, Ho O Ho Rabba

Love Aaaj Kal -

Love Aaj Kal is declared a hit in Mumbai by film trade analysts. Is it that Mumbai audience has a different taste for films or is it that it has been deliberately declared a hit? Whatever it be, I did not like the film and I have a few reasons. Firstly, the film runs at a very slow pace. Secondly, the first ten minutes is made very complicated, in the sense that, the present and the past are shown back to back, compelling the audience to get confused. After something like Jab We Met, this film was quite disappointing.

Saif was good to watch, but there's nothing new from Deepika. The screenplay was complicated but Imtiaz handled it very well especially after the first 40 minutes. The film begins with a break-up between Saif and Deepika because they feel that they cannot sustain a long distance relationship. She heads for India for a career in art restoration and he stays back in London to pursue his dream of getting into Golden Gate Inc. in the US of A. Saif gets a new blonde girlfriend and Deepika dates her boss (the charming Rahul Khanna). Time and Rishi Kapoor make Saif realize that Meera (Deepika) has become an integral part in his life. He goes to Delhi to meet her and they eventually realize that they are together even after a one year break-up.

Rishi Kapoor was apt for the Sardar's role, who gives lots of gyan to Saif and narrates his own love story in a parallel track which runs in a similar fashion. There are few glitches like the episode where Meera gets married to her boss and the truth dawns upon her the very next day that she is in love with Saif. If it takes one day for her to make a decision, why couldn't she decide in the short span before her wedding?

The surprise package of the film is Neetu Kapoor's entry in the last scene as Rishi Kapoor's wife.

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

13B is an interesting watch

I got to read mixed reviews on 13B starring Madhavan since its release. I liked the movie myself when I watched it on Saturday. It may not have the most interesting plot ever shown in any movie, but it is gripping in parts. Please put your logic aside because this one is a supernatural thriller and we just cannot discuss logic here - ghosts defy logic.. they can enter a telivision or even a cell phone for that matter and communicate with you! Do ghosts exist? is something which is not relevant to this post. We assume ghosts exist and that is how you gotto watch this film.

Manahor aka Manu (Madhavan) and his brother Manoj move into the 13B flat on the 13th floor of their new apartment with their families. Things somehow do not seem to be going well for Manu after shifting into this new house. Adding to that, he realizes that everything that is to happen in his life (or in their house) is planned in advance by a daily soap on T.V. called Sab Khairiyat, which the women in the house get addicted to. Rest is all about how he chases the mystery surrounding the bad omens of number 13 in his life, the characters that appear in that daily soap and the reason behind their death some 20 years ago in the same building where this new apartment is now built.

13B is a cautiously made film and with extreme care not to miss continuity with any of the links in the story. Everybody did well on the acting front especially Madhavan, Neetu Chandra (Madhavan's wife) and the one who played the mentally disturbed Ashok. 13B progresses in the hollywood style of narration and it is no wonder that the US based production house, Weinstein Co has already offered to buy its remake rights in hollywood.

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

8X10 Tasveer

8X10 Tasveer is a supernatural thriller that stars Akshay Kumar as Jai Puri, a forest range officer, who has an unusual power of knowing the past just by looking at a photograph. He gets to see, for a minute, everything that took place at the time when a particular photograph was taken. The film is all about how he uses this power on multiple occasions with a single 8X10 photograph to unravel the mystery behind his father's death.

The suspense element is maintained until the end and this forms the pulse of 8X10 Tasveer. The climax, however, could have been better sans all the typical bollywood drama. The suspense, though, when revealed might look silly or bring out the usual 'ah! is this what I have been waiting for?' kind of an expression, but you bet is highly unpredictable. The recording done for the film is brilliant and so is the photography.

Javed Jaffri as an ex-cop helping Jai with his investigation is very good and brings in good humour at times. Sharmila Tagore is convincing as Jai's widow mother and Ayesha Takia also looks promising. The film is very rich in its technicalities. Nagesh Kukunoor made every effort to make 8X10 Tasveer look technically brilliant and has come out quite successfully with it.

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

Delhi-6 or Kala bandar - How does it matter?

I will not recommend Delhi-6, the new film by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (director of Rang De Basanti), to anybody except for Abhishek Bachchan or Sonam Kapoor fans. The film created much hype before its release, more so with names like the above. The film is more like a narration of few chronological events from the diary of a US born Indian, Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan), who visits India for the first time when he brings his ill grandmother (Waheeda Rehman) back from the US.

Sonam Kapoor plays Bittu, neighbour of Abhishek and a college-going girl who aims to make it big in the world of music through a reality show on music called Indian Idol. Sonam plays her usual self and fits the role. The best thing about this film is its cast. There are the likes of Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Atul Kulkarni, Supriya Pathak, Divya Dutta and Prem Chopra.

The film runs in parallel with the Ram Leela (the stage potrayal of Ramayan by theatre artists anywhere from 11 days to one month) at Chandini Chowk, a busy market place in North Delhi. The film tries to give a message through an imaginary character named Kala bandar (black monkey) that is rumoured to harass the residents of Chandni Chowk. There is a lot of chaos towards the end of the film when the community people mistake Abhishek to be the Kala bandar they have been lookign for. The scene in the heaven between Abhishek and his grandfather (Amitabh Bachchan) seems totally out of place - just imagine people eating jalebis (an Indian sweet made from jaggery syrup) at heaven and also licking their fingers. This is nothing when compared to what Abhishek suggests his grandfather, asking him to call up his wife (Abhishek's grandmother) who is still alive (on earth!) and say sorry. Technology at its best... eh?

Finally, the film should have been called 'Kala Bandar - The black monkey' instead. :D