Delhi 6 - Movie Review

Being a Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra film is the enough reason for a film to be a master piece. How can we forget the glorious “Rang De Basanti” that not only encouraged the public into organizing candle-light marches and public protests on various issues of public interest but also motivated the youth to participate in politics?

We were full of yearning, dying of anticipation for the next from Mr. Mehra. But this time Mehra’s cinematic vision is diluted in perplexity of various subplots and we are left with a terrible story, wherein a Kaala Bandar is trying to fix communal discord. Still I would not like to believe that “Delhi 6” is really a Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra film. It’s the perfect example of this apparent disaster, which guaranteed to turn off fans with its monotonous and boring story. The preview trailers imply that the film has got real essence of Old Delhi. It’s an interesting concept, but the screenwriters (Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Prasoon Joshi, Kamlesh Pandey) soon turn the script from a light heartening romantic tale into an often heavy-handed, sentimental drama.

Set in old Delhi, the first half of the movie sets up the drama with an emphasis on the various characters in choked gullies of Old Delhi. The second half puts the “Kaala Bandar” as the central point of the story. And at the end, the wacky climax makes you laugh at the futility of the screenplay.

DELHI 6 unfolds the story of Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) a young American boy of Indian origin, who brings his ailing grandmother (Waheeda Rehman) back from the US to her home in Chandni Chowk, as she wants to spend the last days of her life in her soil. Roshan and his grandmother are welcomed back home with great warmth. For Roshan, who has led American lifestyle, everything is strange in India. So he is busy exploring India in the obstructed gullies of Old Delhi. And there he meets his neighbor, beautiful Bittu (Sonam Kapoor). Bittu is a vivacious girl with big dream in her eyes and a desire to live life on her own term. Started out as a feeling, Roshan can’t help falling in love with Bittu. But then the story takes a twist and suddenly Kaala Bandar becomes the highlight of the film.

Various characters and subplots in the film make the main plot loosing it sight. There are two warring brothers (Om Puri, Pawan Malhotra) and their families staying in the neighborhood. Bittu is the daughter of the brother played by Om Puri. There is also a garbage collector Jalebi(Divya Dutta), who is untouchable for the society but is everyone’s lust. A friend of the family (Rishi Kapoor), who was once deeply in love with Roshan's mother (Tanvi Aaazmi). A moneylender (Prem Chopra) and her young wife who's having an affair with the neighborhood photographer(Cyrus Sahukar). The worthless policeman Choudhary (Vijay Raaz).

Actually, despite its faults the film has many good moments. Some of the film’s best portions are those with Sonam Kapoor, but Abhishek’s presence doesn’t create magic. One might like to see more of Sonam Kapoor.

The supporting cast is very strong, especially Waheeda Rahman, Divya Dutta and Om Puri.
The directing is so-so and the writing is uneven, both attempting to force a weedy story into a visual delight.

Thanks to A.R. Rahman’s music, this gives much needed pace to the lousy story of the film. Music is already popular and topping the chart everywhere.

Overall, it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped.

Cast:

Abhishek Bachchan...... Roshan Mehra
Sonam Kapoor...... Bittu
Atul Kulkarni...... Gobar
Divya Dutta...... Jalebi
Om Puri...... Madan Gopal
Rishi Kapoor...... Ali
Waheeda Rehman...... Dadi
Pawan Malhotra...... Jai Gopal
Supriya Pathak...... Vimla
Tanvi Azmi...... Fatima
Vijay Raaz...... Inspector Ranvijay
Cyrus Sahukar...... Suresh
Prem Chopra...... Lala Bhairam
Amitabh Bachchan...... Roshan Mehra (Grand Father)

Crew:

Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Producer: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ronnie Screwvala 

Cinematography: Binod Pradhan
Editing: P S Bharathi 

Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi, Vivinenne Pocha, Claire
Music Director: A R Rahman, Rajat Dholakia
Screenplay: Rakesh Mehra, Prasoon Joshi, Kamlesh Pandey
Story Writer: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Kamlesh Pandey

Billu - Movie Review

Priyadarshan’s new comedy-drama “Billu” is a stirring tale of friendship between a superstar heartthrob actor and an ordinary barber. The latest offering from the Shahrukh Khan’s home production Red Chillies stars Shahrukh Khan himself, Irrfan Khan, and Lara Dutta in wonderful piece of ensemble acting.

BILLU is story of an ordinary man, Bilas Rao Pardesi (Irrfan Khan), living in a village with his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta) and two kids. Irrfan runs a hair cutting saloon at the market place near by his village. Ever since a new stylish saloon is opened in front of his shabby saloon no one comes to him, as he couldn't provide a splendid hair cutting experience in his old broken chair. His children are thrown out of the school as he fails to deposit their tuition fee after several reminders. Life is getting tougher for him as a single earning member of the family. Still he is very much engaged in simplifying the complicated things in his meager life.

Billu’s life takes a shaking turn when superstar Sahir Khan(Shah Rukh Khan) comes to the village for a film shoot. The village metamorphoses into a glittering fair and everyone is irrepressible to get a glimpse of the superstar. The real problem starts when people come to know that superstar Sahir khan is a friend of Billu. After this the reaction of villagers and their unexpected generosity towards Billu form the basis of what follows. The best part of the movie comes in the climax of the movie. The last scene between Shah Rukh and Irrfan is one of the best scenes in recent times. It’s so moving that you cannot resist your tears to fill your eyes. Brilliant performances from both the Khans.

It’s the modern version of the old age saga of friendship between lord Krishna and Sudama, though in this tale Sudama had never cheated with the lord Krishna in their childhood. In contrary, Billu had supported Sahir Khan in achieving his eminence. Yet poor Billu hasn’t got the courage to face his prosperous friend and is shying away from him. There are moments of overly cute comic shtick and the ingenuous personality of Irrfan’s character provides most of the laugh lines. For the most part, however, the characters are allowed to be genuinely human rather than stereotypes.

Shah Rukh has delivered a few good scenes as a rich and happening friend of Irrfan, but Irfan steals the show. It is Irrfan’s character Billu who ultimately is responsible for arranging some moving moments in the film.

Three item numbers with the stunning presence of Karina, Priyanka and Deepika have given the glamorous quotient to the film justifying the superstar status of Shahir Khan.

It is a touching story of friendship and Priyadarshan has filmed it brilliantly. Film’s cinematography is superb. The camera has beautifully captured the landscapes of the village. Rest of the job has been done by sharp editing. Film’s music is already a hit as “Marjani” and “Love Mera Hit Hit” topping the charts.

Billu may live up to its expectation, although its not one of the best works of Priyadarshan.

Cast:

Shahrukh Khan...... Sahir Khan

Irrfan Khan...... Billo Barber (Vilas Pardesi)

Lara Dutta...... Bindiya

Asrani...... Nobat Chacha

Om Puri...... Damchand

Rajpal Yadav...... Jhallan Prasad Budbudia

Manoj Joshi...... Damodar Dubey

Jagdish...... Madan

Rasika Joshi...... Principal Gahalot

Pratik Dalvi...... Duggu

Mitali Mayakar...... Gunja

Atul Parchure...... Charandas Chaubey

Chirag Vohra...... Jerry

Crew:

Director: Priyadarshan

Producer: Gauri Khan

Lyrics: Gulzar, Sayeed Quadri

Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty

Cinematography: M.Manikandan

Editing: Arun Kumar

Screenplay: Mushtaque Shiekh, Priyadarshan

Story Writer: Srinivasan

Action Direction: Thyagarajan

Dev D - Movie Review

It finally arrived in subconscious of a daring filmmaker, when bollywood was craving for a spanking new twist in the tale. Anurag Kashyap has redefined the word experiment with his bold interpretation of modern days "Devdas". It’s a brave new world of Bollywood, where rules are made to be broken. And I have only one word to say, bravo!

"Dev D" is not really a tragedy, however, nor is it basically a heavy drama about a dysfunctional man and his muses. It is foremost a musical love story—a very black love story, yet one whose casual bitterness is balanced and finally surpassed by a deep inner optimism.

"Dev D" is a young, rich, Punjabi lad who has moved to Oxford from Bhatinda for higher studies, as per his parents wish. His lack of direction and sexual fantasies of his childhood sweetheart brings him back to Bhatinda. The cocktail of open-mindedness and orthodoxy makes him question the virginity of his girlfriend, Paro( Mahi Gill). As the result of this heartbreak, Paro ends up marrying a chap from Delhi, leaving her egoist, disconnected, self destructive boyfriend in the darkness of alcohol and drug addiction.

Disgruntled, Dev moves to Delhi, trying to bury the heartburn in the miasma of cocaine and alcohol. His frustrations lead him to deal with his life crisis. After finding him in over drunken condition, the post modern Chunni babu brings him to Chanda (Kalki Koechlin). Chanda had her own tragedy of a school girl transforming into a call girl. After featuring in a lewd MMS scandal, she was abandoned by her parents. So now she attends college by day and acts sex worker by night. Will the poignancy of the self sacrificing Chanda save Dev from his self destructive obsession?

Abhay Deol is superb as the protagonist Dev D (Devender Singh Dhillon),a 20-something, egoist man struggling to get over the heart pain after breakup from his childhood sweetheart. Mahi Gill, likewise, is excellent as the domineering yet insecure Paro, and Kalki Koechlin is perfect in the role of the post modern version of Chandramukhi, Chanda. She shows amazing control as Chanda, the MMS scandal teenage girl who ends up becoming a call girl.

Director Anurag Kashyap turns what could easily be a story reliant upon its dialogue into a visual feast, with the help of class cinematography. He uses the wide screen beautifully to emphasize the character relationships, their distance from one another, as well as Dev’s distance from the rest of the world, which he prefers to see through the drugs and alcohol. Dev D also uses music & sound in some interesting ways, something other films do not always take the time to do. The soundtrack of the film is already a big hit. As the Emosanal atyachar has become the new youth anthem the other soundtracks of the movie too are riveting.

In short, "Dev D" is a timely slice of post modern mindset, a knowing, maddening, and dark love story that is a sure bet to be remembered for long time. It is a completely different picture from such other strong portrayals of Devdas. Don’t miss Dev D on the big screen.

Cast:
Abhay Deol...... Dev
Kalki Koechlin...... Chanda
Mahi Gill...... Paro
Parakh Madan
Dibyendu Bhattacharya

Crew:
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Music Director: Amit Trivedi
Cinematography: Rajeev Ravi
Choreography: Mansi Agarwal
Editor: Aarti Bajaj (Aarti Kashyap)
Story / Writer: Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane

Luck By Chance - Movie Review

It’s a fresh new start for bollywood in 2009 with a refreshingly good cinema “Luck By Chance”. “Luck By Chance” is a classy film with well developed plot and beautifully crafted screenplay. It's an astonishing tale of the dreamy Bollywood inside out. A sensible effort from Zoya Akhtar keeping the lineage of her father Javed Akhtar and brother Farhan Akhtar.

Sona Mishra (Konkona Sen Sharma), a girl with big dream in her eyes comes to Mumbai from Kanpur to conquer her dream. Vikram Jaisingh (Farhan Akhtar), a suave guy from Delhi leaves his father’s business and comes to Mumbai to make it big in bollywood. One day, Vikram happens to visit his friend Abhi, a theatre actor and by chance he bumps into Abhi’s neighbor Sona. Their shared dream brings them closer to each other. Sona starts doing small roles trusting her producer that someday she would get the lead role. Vikram’s friend Abhi is doing theatre to keep the actor in him alive. The Assistants are tired of assisting and looking for the elevation in their filmi career. Director is trying hard to convince producer. Producer is busy ensuring the film financer. Most of them are commendable but is everyone lucky? No! But for Vikram luck is just an excuse and he believes in taking chances. His funda, if you want more luck, take more chances.

How bollywood reacts to a new comer and has soft corner for star sons and daughters. Luck by chance plays a pivotal role for a new comer in getting a big break. Super models, miss world, miss universe are getting the big breaks and the talented girls like Sona ends up being a side heroin or a small time tv actress. On the other hand the self esteemed and ambitious, Vikram’s adulation for the yesteryears diva wins him a lead role in a big film. And he sets to become a star overnight. We all dream a lot - some are lucky, some are not.

The yesteryear diva, her daughter, the superstar, the star son, you will get to see every eye candy and there tantrum in zoom. Zoya has captured every frame of the real bollywood superbly. Those who are part of the film industry or close to the film industry can identify with some of the films character in real life too.

The tight script and carefully controlled story construction are perfect. Film’s cinematography is wonderful. Konkona Sen is outstanding as Sona Mishra. Farhan Akhatar has again proved his acting caliber with a brilliant performance. Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia are the surprise package to watch for. A well depicted performance by the yesteryear hot jodi. Isha Sarvani is unmatched. Some best performances come from the special appearances. Stupendous cameos by Hrithik, Shahrukh, Juhi and Karan Johar. Zoya manages absolutely well with the long list of special appearances. All the appearances are appropriate and according to the demand of the film. FIm’s music has some good melodies. “Sapno se bhare naina” is a marvelous song.

“Luck By Chance” is a story about the pursuit of happiness. Whether we are successful, unsuccessful or partially successful what matters is we are doing what we enjoy doing. So if you have a dream, give it a chance to happen. “Don't kill the dream - execute it”. Go for it.

Cast:
Farhan Akthar, Konkona Sen Sharma, Dimple Kapadia, Rishi Kapoor,Cheetah Yagnesh Shetty, Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan

Crew:
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani, Zoya Akhtar
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Cinematography: Carlos Catalan
Editing: Anand Subaya
Art Direction: Anuradha Parikh, T P Abid
Screenplay: Javed Akhtar
Story Writer: Zoya Akhtar

Delhi 6 - Music Review

“Aye Masakali Masakali” we cannot stop humming this song after listening it once. A.R. Rahman comes again with some refreshing melodies. We have been desperately waiting for this album for a long time. When the likes of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Prasoon Joshi and A.R. Rahman come together, history is created and the same happens with Delhi 6. It came, it played and it wone our heart. Delhi 6 is a much awaited film from Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and it claims to capture the real essence of Delhi. So the music has to have the flavor of Delhi.

A.R. Rahman, after the glorious music of Slumdog Millionaire, which wins him a golden globe and two Oscar nominations, again creates the magic he is known for. As whole world is gaga over his music he continues to enthrall us with his new soundtrack “Delhi 6”. It could very well be one of the best music albums of the year. The music conveys the spirit of Delhi through its vibrant tunes superbly. It’s a brilliant combination of folk, classical and western.

To start with 'Masakali', it’s a fresh saucy song with brilliant rendition. There is a mischievousness in this song which brings smile on our face and we want to listen it again and again. The second song of the album is “Bhor Bhaye”, a classical bhajan. The third presentation “Noor” is a commentary by Amitabh Bachchan highlighting the soul of the album. “Tumare bhavan mein” is an Aarti, a soulful song with slow rendition. “Genda phool is a rare fusion of folk and western and will soon to become a chartbuster. “Dil gira dafatan” is a love song keeping the soul of the album alive. “Hey Kaala Bandar” is a rap song and only dance number in the album. “Rehna Tu” is undoubtedly the best track of the album. It’s a beautifully sung love song and will remain in our memory for a long time. The title track of the Album is a peppy number and captures the zest of Delhi very well. The last song of the album, “Arziyan” is a soothing devotional song and one of the best Qauwalies in recent times.

After “Rang de basanti” , Prasoon Joshi has again written lyrics for this Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra film. His words again create some mesmerizing poetries. With “Masakali” he has given a new world to describe the wanderlust of a mischievous girl. The title Track, Delhi 6 captures the quintessence of Delhi wonderfully. All the songs of the album are poetic master piece. “Delhi 6” is surely one of the best works of Prasoon Joshi so far.

Mohit Chauhan is unmatched in “Masakali”. You can expect unexpected from him every time. “Arziyan” is a compelling effort by Javed Ali and Kailash kher. Blaaze, Benny, Viviane, Tanvi and Claire are rocking in the grooviest number of the album “Delhi 6”. 'Hey Kaala Bandar' is a fun song sung by Karthik, Naresh, Srinivas and Bony Chakravorty. 'Genda Phool' is interestingly sung by the Rekha Bharadwaj, Shrradha Pandit, Sujata Majumdar and V.N. Mahathi. Rekha, Shrradha and Sujata Majumdar with Kishori Ashok Gowariker are enchanting in 'Tumre Bhavan Mein'.

There is something special in singing of Rahman. It astonishes us every time. This time again Rehman creates magic with his voice in “Rehna tu”. Ash King is superb in 'Dil gira dafatan'. 'Bhor Bhaye' is a reveting classical masterpiece by the duo of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Shreya Ghoshal.

Overall Deli 6 is an exhilarating album to listen to and the best music album of 2009 so far.

Dev D - Music Review

The Scintillating audio tracks of "Dev D" enchant us completely with its revitalizing melody. No doubt that "Dev D" is the best soundtrack of this year so far. The music is rhythmic and at the same time soothing to heart. It’s a brilliant fusion of folk and western music. The rule breaker, Anurag Kashyap comes each time with something bizarre. He had done that with Black Friday. And now recreating the history with "Dev D", which is high on emotions and "emosanal atyachar".

Talent is pouring in for bollywood and the latest in the brigade is Amit Trivedi. Amit Trivedi has done a brilliant job in his second film as a Music Director, after his debut with "Aamir" last year. He has done a wonderful rendition of folk and western. The music conveys the sentiments of the different characters supremely.

Each track has its own emotion to feel your heart. "Emosanal atyachar" is topping the chart everywhere. The new age love anthem creates magic on the matrimonial beat. "Saali khushi" is a nice composition. Listening to "Nayan Tarase" carries you away with its deep feeling. Another brilliant composition comes as "Pardesi". It’s a mind boggling fusion of folk and western. "Payaliya" is like a fresh air. You can’t stop tapping your feet while listening to “Hikknaal”, a bhangra with great nuances of dhol. "Ranjhana" is a soulful rendition about the separation of two souls. The fragrance of folk creates magic with the wonderful "Dhol yaara dhol". "Ek hulchul" perfectly expresses the wanderlust and lack of direction of the character at the same time. The remaining songs of the album "Aankh micholi", "Yahi meri zindagi" and "Dil mein jaagi" keep the mood of the album alive.

Kudos! to Amitabh Bhattacharya for his catchy yet brilliantly poetic lyrics, for inventing a new definition of heart break with "Emosanal atyachar". We could feel the loneliness of a lover in "Nayan tarase" and longing for happiness in "Saali khushi".

Best of 2008 - A Wednesday - Movie Review

"A Wednesday" could very well be the best movie of the year 2008. It's a fresh air and it gives a new dimension to the film making in India. An original concept, unpredictable tale and brilliant performances, this film has got all the elements to be a numero uno. The narration of this high pace thriller makes what first appear to be stereotypes ring with an unexpected depth.

"A Wednesday" is a story about an event that took place on a Wednesday in Mumbai. This was the most unusual case in the entire career of Prakash Rathod (Anupam Kher), Commissioner of Police, Mumbai. The case is nowhere in record. But it still lives in the memory of Prakash Rathod.

Flashback starts. In afternoon Prakash Rathod (Anupam Kher), Commissioner of Police, Mumbai gets a call from an anonymous caller who claims that he has planted bombs in various parts of Mumbai. The man calls again and this time demands the release of four militants if millions of lives have to be saved. Is it a real threat or merely a crank call to panic the police department? The suspicion dismissed when some explosions are actually found in the police station just opposite the Police Headquarters. So who is this caller? What is his identity? From where does he operate?

For Prakash Rathod the biggest challenge is to crack the case in time without spreading the panic in public. He calls his best men and puts them in action to get all the information about the anonymous caller. The whole unit is doing there best to grab the man behind the plot. But no results so far. The deadline gets nearer and finally Prakash Rathod gives it up and decides to hand over the four militants to the anonymous caller. Then comes a sharp turn in the tale and whatever happens after that surprises us completely.

“A Wednesday” is not only a well-made film, but is itself a revelation of common man’s guts. For a long time life has become mourning hush for a common man who is not sure if he will reach his home safely. Though, the incompetent system has failed to protect him from the inhuman act of some cold-blooded fanatics, he will no longer be the victim. He will fight back.

Director Neeraj Pandey, in his first film, has turned his own written words into a melancholic tale of images. The wonderfully crafted script keeps the audience guessing until the very end. The film’s cinematographer has given him full support with the sharp movements of camera. The rest is done through effective editing and fine performances, especially by Naseeruddin Shah with strong support from Anupam Kher. There is no doubt that they are the most versatile actors currently we have in the Indian Film industry. Another best performance comes from Jimmy Sheirgil. His acting throughout the film is first-rate. Aamir Bashir has done a brilliant job as the fellow police officer. All the other actors are perfectly suited to their roles.

In one word I would say bravo! Don’t miss it

Cast:
Naseruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill, Aamir Bashir, Deepal Shaw, Gaurav Kapoor

Crew:
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Producer: Anjum Rizvi, Shital Bhatia
Editing: Shree Narayan Singh
Cinematography: Fuwad Khan
Screenplay: Neeraj Pandey
Background Music: Sanjoy Chowdhary