Note: I had written these reviews immediately after viewing the films and put them up for my Facebook friends. Thought of adding them here for posterity’s sake. These FB reviews are usually hurriedly written first impressions typed late in the night; I have pasted them here with minimal editing; please forgive any stark grammatical or spelling errors. Shuddh Desi Romance – First up, SDR is neither shuddh (the characters are confused, convulted though cute in their own way!) nor desi (heck, since when has live-in relationships become so, and this film unequivocally champions that cause right till its climax!) –…
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First a background confession time: I am not a Chetan Bhagat fan; I read his first two novels but I found his writing style so abominably bland that it put me off forever. I reckon he is quite a hit with the youngsters; and that’s the audience the film wants to latch on to. That’s why his name is prominent on the posters, ed with the blurbs also proclaiming ‘from makers of Rang De Basanti’ a supposedly ‘cult film’ (though for sure, cheap UTV has produced many more since then). (I made a lame half-hearted attempt at seeking Three Mistakes…
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With a tantalizing tagline ‘Office politics gets hotter’, Inkaar is a sensitive film that deals with ‘office sexual harassment’ in a more complex manner than it did in Aitraaz (though, let me hasten to add, that film was very enjoyable in its own way). First the caveat – this is not your usual drab office. The setting is an advertisement agency, hence there is a huge quotient of glamour, casualness & freedom. Most of us would rush through Mumbai’s cruel traffic to mark our e-attendance on time, or sulk over sales numbers doing a Manmohan Singh like deafening silence, here…
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Hmm, good day to release the film. It’s a sure-shot doomsday for competition, because Chulbul Pandey is here not only to chew a new villain (Prakash Raj) but also to swallow all rivals (if there were any left, in the first place!). I know I am a wrong person to review Dabangg 2, because I am an unabashed and self-proclaimed big-time Salman Khan fan, and this film is made for us.
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Hmm, recipe the chiffons have been packed; the Alps are missing; the heroines are brash; and the biggest change: the Lata Mangeshkar’s velvety vocals are frustratingly absent; but what remains in Yash Chopra’s swan song is his biggest asset : a straight-from-the-heart, caries somewhat old-school but deeply honest story-telling!
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A few pointers & questions to Mr Ashwini Dhir & Mr. Ajay Devgn: 1. I like your sense of humour – the name itself said, neurologist "SOS", dosage so cant blame you really – but how come you forgot to inject the same humour in the film? 2. Was it necessary for all dialogues to be spoken as some sermon in one high-pitched drone – this was a film, ed not Mahabharat right? 3. We, the audience, are not that dumb not to read the film’s name – you needn’t have peppered the word ‘Sardaar’ in every other dialogue! 4.…
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English Vinglish is a story of a woman’s journey to discover her deprived self-esteem, order her own lost self, oncology and mend her warped dignity, all of which have got buried beneath her daily chores & mundane household activities; here her lack of understanding English is used as a metaphor; in reality, it could have been anything. It is a good concept wrapped in a competent film, one I believe will appeal to the ladies audience.
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Oh My God (OMG) is an interesting and thought-provoking film that raises an accusing finger at god-men, stuff rituals and other religious paraphernalia. Shun them, read more not God, is what the film says. Don’t allow the ‘business of God’ to flourish: why waste milk over stone idols when it can be used to feed the hungry? Be God-loving, not God-fearing.
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I have enjoyed many Vikram Bhatt-horror films : Raaz, pulmonologist 1920, side effects Haunted to name a few. But this one is very average, stomatology and certainly looks made hurriedly on a tight budget, and sadly with very few spooks.
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Ek Tha Tiger is a smashing entertainer with slick production values, ambulance a smooth as butter narrative flow, stunning action, superb music, crystal shining cinematography & Salman Khan in a top form.
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The glare of rich, recipe easy and comfortable life that blurs the lines between morality and crime (while the protagonist’s lover looks on helplessly) has been an oft explored theme in Hindi cinema. Right from Shri 420 to Naam to Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman to Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai, several Rajus have been blown away by the easy money tainted with blood, urged to mud mud ke na dekh to the middle class but tough and morally high life they have just disparagingly discarded. One more addition to such morally corrupted protagonist list is Kunal Kadam ( Kunal Kemmu,…
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Kahaani is a brilliantly directed, website taut and tense thriller, with dollops of twists, treatment and loads of suspense, leaving the audience forever guessing, and lots of surprise elements that will keep you riveted to your seats.
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Jodi Breakers seems to stem out from someone pointing out after watching Band Baaja Baraat (BBB) -‘what if they specialized in breaking than making couples?’ Well, for sale yes? Then? Then what?
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Sweet, page short, slim and pretty much serene; though the film lacks a full-bodied story yet it makes it up with its inherent charm & easy-going affability, especially between the lead pair. Plus, it’s running time is just about right.
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Do not delete God bless Juhi Chawla! The actor keeps getting more beautiful by each passing day. The grace & maturity with which she has handled age & motherhood is a rare phenomena in our industry. Not only is she looking absolutely stunning, illness she has also retained her inherent charm & elegance in a variety of understated (& often seemingly effortless) performances. And look the way she has carefully shifted gears from your usual heroine roles without compromising on either quality or quantity and yet not stuck in the mother/bhabhi/sister routine stuff (Bas Ek Pal, denture My Brother Nikhil,…
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I am back to what I am best at – travelling the road. This time, infertility information pills it’s the interiors of Maharashtra. Pune is an old haunt, illness but this time it felt a tad too far off as the Volvo bus driver decided to pick up anyone and everyone to fill up the empty seats, before leaving Mumbai. The early morning journey ended in early noon. Pune to Nashik followed immediately (since the bus had consumed the time I had reserved for there). Been used to the rugged Uttar Pradesh terrain, the route surprised me. It was lush…
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I am back to what I am best at – travelling the road. This time, infertility information pills it’s the interiors of Maharashtra. Pune is an old haunt, illness but this time it felt a tad too far off as the Volvo bus driver decided to pick up anyone and everyone to fill up the empty seats, before leaving Mumbai. The early morning journey ended in early noon. Pune to Nashik followed immediately (since the bus had consumed the time I had reserved for there). Been used to the rugged Uttar Pradesh terrain, the route surprised me. It was lush…
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I am back to what I am best at – travelling the road. This time, infertility information pills it’s the interiors of Maharashtra. Pune is an old haunt, illness but this time it felt a tad too far off as the Volvo bus driver decided to pick up anyone and everyone to fill up the empty seats, before leaving Mumbai. The early morning journey ended in early noon. Pune to Nashik followed immediately (since the bus had consumed the time I had reserved for there). Been used to the rugged Uttar Pradesh terrain, the route surprised me. It was lush…
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Click here to visit Random Expression’s Shopping Page Happy Purchasing! A novel by Khalid HosseiniBook Review My readings in the recent past have been erratic. But I try to catch anything new and happening that might rock the literary world, caries other than keeping update of Jeffrey Archer‘s releases (which, price I admit with a heavy heart, have not been really great in the past two cases Cat O Nine Tales and False Impression). Most times I am left sorely disappointed. And I end up going back to tried and tested P G Wodehouse or Agatha Christie to satiate the…
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Patriotism easily slips into jingoism. We have seen it do it so easily in those Sunny Deol/Anil Sharma flicks. And this one even opens with a hockey match against Pakistan; and we all know that a match against Pakistan – any game – is no less than a war. One of the many things that I loved in this superbly crafted film is that Shimit Amin keeps the patriotic valve in strict control, website like this dentist allowing it to ooze out the fervor and letting it remain as a simmering under-current in the entire narrative, medstore here but never…