Movie review: Eklavya – The Royal Guard

How many times have you had a great meal followed by a bad dessert? Or a lot of drinks and a great feeling before you puked and destroyed it all? Or, a JJWS kinda feeling where someone pulls that final gear and beats you in the race just when you thought you had won it?

The movie is a pretty good one, but for one haunting memory of the India-SriLanka one day match (the second ODI of the recent series). Everything cruises on so smoothly that you forget that it’s a contest. You are ready to give India a thumbs up on their performance. And suddenly, they lose the match! Eklavya is just that. A great movie where Vidhu Vinod Chopra just decided to go bollywood in the end and come up with a very very very typical climax.

Eklavya – Amitabh, is Eklavya’s movie. Just that Amitabh is the Lord Krishna of Bollywood. Movies, Media, Scripts, Characters, Stories are all centered around him. And he never disappoints. Saif Ali Khan stands tall in front of Amitabh, and that speaks volumes about his performance. Amitabh and Saif are the Maharaja Mac and Coke of this happy meal. And there are plenty of tiny little French fries.

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, Cinematography are the big plusses. Obviously, in addition to the performances of the stars. Characterization is the biggest strength of this movie. Eklavya’s love for tradition and his innermost conflicts are well portrayed. All the characters – Harshvardhan(Saif) as the heir apparent who realizes his true origins after his mother’s (Sharmila) death. Rana (Boman) and his anger at realizing that his royal palace guard is the father of his children. Nandini (Raima) as the mentally retarded daughter and her joys and fears. Pannulal (Sanjay Dutt) as the low caste DSP is good in his cameo. Rajjo (Vidya) as the poor-girl-love-interest of Harsh & Jyotivardhan (Jackie)- the deprived brother of Rana – these two could have been built better. But considering that the movie is really about Eklavya only, creating these strong profiles is a big achievement.

The element of suspense as the drama unfolds is quite intriguing. It’s a well tightened 2 hour movie, implying no embarrassing song and dance sequences.

Movie does not have a consistent pace – it varies with different stages of the movie. The average movie goer will be disappointed at times. And the yash choprization of the climax where everything falls together is the worst thing about the movie.

And the last big take home – a Trailer of Munnabhai chale America in the intermission

Movie Review: Salaam-E-Ishq

Sili Sili Jalti Raaton Mein
Jalta hoon main barsaton mein
Bhiga bhiga har pal yaadon mein
Dil kya kare

Kuch bhi kare, par ye movie na dekhe! (Whatever you do, please don’t watch this movie!). Serious advice from a movie lover.

A bad rip off Love Actually, hamming stories, meaningless editing, a lot of average performances, and wrongly placed focus. That’s what this movie is.

Basic mathematics suggests that six couples in a movie would mean 30 minutes per couple in a 3 hour long movie. 10 minutes for everyones background, 10 for setting up the love story, and another 10 minutes for the culmination, emotion, drama, et al! Is that enough. Well, it might have been. But… But I forgot to mention that 5 minutes per couple should be dedicated to Songs. Where would bollywood be without all this song and dance drama! Worse still, there are some couples who should not have, have got 30mins plus! And those who shouldn’t have, have got less than 30 mins in the movie.

Priyanka Chopra and Salman Khan- The first and the worst couple of the movie are the lousiest.
Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla – the golden oldies have put in a good show, but for a worthless script.
Akshay Khanna and Ayesha Takia- Akshay is believable as the young “I-don’t-want-to-commit” dude representing the youth of this country. Ayesha has been wasted
Sohail Khan and Isha Kopikkar –I don’t know why they are there. Even though they are funny, but the director could have done away with the 5 minutes of wasted footage on this deprived couple.
Govinda and the foreigner girl – The best couple of the movie. Govinda is not quite back to where he was, but he still is the best act in the movie. And the girl doesn’t disappoint a lot.
John Abraham and Vidya Balan – decent, but useless. They keep crying for 70% of their presence in the movie. But the good part is, the climax of their story is not about everything falling into place. They just decide to make do with whatever they have!

Best thing about the movie – the music. Title song, Dil kya kare are the winners so far. But my favorite is Kailash Kher’s Ya Rabba. Another song where this amazing singer showcases his talent!

Rating – 3 on a scale of 10.

Movie Review: Bhagam Bhaag

What I am going to write is going to be nothing short of blasphemy. But let me do it.

I was actually scared of watching this movie. But then, I was the one who got 15 people together, and convinced them to watch this movie. So, even after hearing/reading the reviews that came out during the day, I could not pull out!

Those uncertain steps were certainly not needed. The movie is actually a laugh riot! And as the name suggests (it would means – Utter Chaos! Or Run-Run! Or something like that), the movie should be a runaway success!

The movie has a proven comical duo – Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar. And Priyadarshan has pulled in the No.1 Comedian – Govinda as well. The comic timing, as expected, is brilliant. Paresh Rawal, as usual, keeps the story together as “Sethji”. Govinda looks old and a little fatigued, but he still is doing what he does best. Meaningless gabs and witty gags. Akshay Kumar must be thinking – Why the hell did I waste so many precious years trying to kick people around in jeans and full sleeved t-shirts.
Bottomline – the movie rocks! Must watch, irrespective of what the serious critiques tell you. There are times when meaninglessness is shown in an amazingly funny way. And that’s what bhagam-bhaag is all about

Now, I wouldn’t ever become a critique worth my money if I don’t tell you the downers –

• Music definitely is one of them. The “Signal” song is pretty much the draw of the lot. The other songs don’t quite measure up.
• Lara Dutta looks pretty as ever, though her role and character could have been defined slightly better. But then, she would have looked lost when sharing the frame with three of the best comical actors of modern times.
• And lastly, the end-sequence could have been made a little more normal. This time, Priyadarshan has overdone it!

Oops – why is my review a blasphemy? Well, I don’t think I have too many people out there giving out positive and raving reviews about the movie! But then, aren’t we a democratic country?

Movie Review: Don- The (Meaningless) Chase Begins!

I watched “Don- The Chase Begins Again” last night. It was a disaster, relatively speaking (relative to the original). I could have spent those three hours watching a Real Madrid match where they defeated Barcelona, or I could have watched Schumacher pull out a real good one to end up at fourth, when even the stars were against him. But, however, alas! I watched DON! A meaningless chase.

First up – the background score sucks . Too loud, too “not-required”. Unlike what he could achieve in Lakshya and Dil Chahta Hai, Farhan Akhtar and team have gone completely berserk with the background score of Don. Its jarry, incoherent and so distracting. And yes- distracting, the movie is!

Starting off with the golden scene where Amitabh picks the phone only to say – “Don!” in his deep baritone, and replacing it with a K.K.K…Kiran kinda Don voice (c’mon! you can’t really compare the baritone of Amitabh’s voice with Shahrukh’s baby voice, can you?). Every dialogue then-immortalized by Amitabh goes begging for some more justice! SRK is just not there! He does have a strong screen presence. But that’s where the similarities end. Don probably was written for Amitabh. SRK cannot be force-fitted in such a role. Just as I find it difficult to imagine Harish (remember, Prem-Qaidi, debut movie with Karishma Kapoor!) beat 20 guys at one go , I find it difficult to see SRK do justice to Amitabh’s Don. For me, the movie will always remain – “Amitabh’s” Don!

The songs are a disappointment . Morya re is probably the pick of the lot. Ye Mera Dil is not there. Simply because the song has such strong memories of the ethereal Helen dancing the way only the Apsaras of Lord Indra’s court (religiously speaking) could! Kareena Kapoor does not look as hot , as luscious, and certainly, not as flexible. I could not understand why that Don did not give in to the temptation completely. But this Don, I understand. He just didn’t get a good deal! Thank God , she is not there for too long. She looks a sack of potatoes moving around with great difficulty. Aaj ki Raat and Main Hoon Don are just ok. But the music arrangement could have been a little less obtrusive. Khaike Paan does not have the same punch that Kishore da packed.

The movie might have sold off well had it been an independent creation, simply because its brilliant in cinematography and editing. Technical details are well taken care of. Action sequences are involving and pretty much at the international level of film-making. The end is interesting and it leaves a lot of scope for a sequel. The first half of the movie puts you off because you compare almost every shot of the movie with Amitabh’s Don. The second half is Farhan’s creativity- but a little lost! Its difficult to retain the flair and flavor of the original Don , unless you retain the story. Farhan, to that extent, has fallen into the trap of trying to beat the excellent.

Lets do one on one comparisions –

1. Amitabh Vs SRK – no comments! It will be an insult to the Big B!
2. Chandra Vs. Farhan – Chandra was/is a no-name beyond Don. Farhan has DCH and Lakhshya , two amazingly well made movies. Vote for Farhan. But in the case of this movie, Chandra has kept it taut and flowing, while Farhan has succumbed to the pressure of altering the classic to show his creativity.
3. Zeenat Vs. Priyanka Chopra – I am inclined to vote for Priyanka. While I do think the modern Roma had a more curtailed Role , compared to the old Roma, I think Priyanka has looked good, has acted well and has timed her expressions well.
4. Salim-Javed vs. Farhan – Legendary S-J were the gods of Masala movies. They knew how to weave it all together. I think it would have been their era when RJ’s on vividh bharti started explaining movies this way – Isme action hai , emotion hai, drama hai, suspense hai, thrill hai, romance hai aur song and dance bhee hai! Dekhna na bhooliye apne nezdiki theatre mein!! Farhan’s biggest problem was trying to better a script written by the legendary duo. Farhan is good at natural expressions , and not at grandiosity of emotions. Don is not about subtlety. Its about magnanimity of that one character jise 11 mulkon ki police dhoondh rahi hai!
5. Iftekhaar vs. Boman Irani – vote for iftekhaar. Iftekhaar was the traditional Indian cop who knew how to underplay himself while keeping the emotions/expressions natural. Boman , has a bigger role than iftekhaar and a different shade to it, but he is not in the same league this time.
6. Om Shivpuri vs. Om Puri – Actors like Om Puri should not be wasted the way he has been in this movie. He could have taken one of the more meatier roles (maybe DCP De Silva or Narang). Lets not compare. Both are good!
7. Narang and the side kicks – Mac and Narang are two characters everyone remembers. They are like the sambha and kaalia of sholay. And I missed the originals. They were better. New Narang (Pavan Malhotra) hardly looks menacing.
8. Arpana Chudhrary Vs. Isha Kopikkar (Anita)– The character of Anita had more emotion and meat in the older version. Maybe , Farhan is saving Anita for the sequel.
9. And finally, Pran Vs. Arjun Rampal – Whooooooooooaaaahhhh… There are times when I wonder if Pran was/is better than half our star lot put together. Pran had charisma, personality and an extreme amount of versatility in his performances. Arjun doesn’t look half as suffering/determined as Pran looked.

All in all – watch it if you are totally madly in love with SRK, or if you have absolutely nothing to do. Otherwise , I would say – rent out the original Don DVD (buying might be a good option) and Ensoi!

Movie Review: Dor – How far can you go…..

People keep asking me – what the heck is this analytics thingy that you do? How is the analytics done by you different from what we’re doing and how we’re doing it?

Dont expect an answer in this post. This post, however, is about what I think of the 2 recent movies I saw.

Lets start with “Dor” first.

I missed the first ten minutes of the movie, but my friends did not mind getting into the gory detail of what happened in those ten minutes. However, my comments would reflect the remaining part of the movie.

Its largely about Zeenat (Gul Panag) and a little about Meera (Ayesha Takia), and still lesser about Behroopia (Shreyas). But the man who does leave his mark is the ‘man’- Shreyas. After a very silent performance in Iqbal, iqbal’s delivery in this movie takes us through his imitations of bollywood icons and I must say that he has done a good job. His performance has a level of sensibility and timing that is very refreshing. Especially, the portrayal of conflicting emotions – smiling when doesnt want to, loving zeenat but realizing that he is helping her save her husband, restraint and effervescence. If history is the reflection of future, I think he is a good find for the industry, along with Shiney Ahuja.
I should not take the credit away from Ayesha either. With no makeup and the fact that half the world likes her because of her looks (that is, before this movie), it was a bold move to get into such a de-glamorized role. And she has pulled it off with consummate ease. She adds that element of freshness to an otherwise serious storyline, with her take on Kajra Re, and You are my Sonia.

Gul Panag, on the other hand, had the msot powerful character in the movie, and well, she hasnt done wonders to it. She hasn’t spoilt it either. But its these roles that distinguish the goods from the me-toos.

Now lets talk about the defining things about the movie –

1. Direction – Very tight, crisp, and to the point. There isnt much beating around the bush, trying to create situations where a heavy dialogue is delivered by the protagonists, trying to glorify the goods or the bads. The characters are well defined, the music is in the background, not interferring with the movie.
2. Cinematography – I loved it. Widescreen, panoramic views. Rusty locales that speak of tradition, culture and heritage. Villages and kothis that look like they belong, and not pulled out of some king’s palace. Long Shots that do justice to the sunset. Deserts that look intimidating, and at the same time, you can feel the comfort that someone who’s been there for a long time would feel. In short, a beautifully done movie.
3. Music- nice and unobtrusive. You dont feel that you’ve already heard 3-4 songs.
4. Acting – good overall. Shreyas shines with his cameo. Ayesha looks pretty even without makeup and has done a fabulous job. Gul Panag – decent. Girish Karnad – wasted!
5. Script – nice dialogues. fitting the characters. Zeenat does not talk in long winded sentences. Meera has her initial confused statements where she finds it difficult to express her real emotions. Behroopia talks the sweet language of behroopias. Touch of Rajasthani accent. They could have added a bit more of rajasthani accent to Meera’s family.

Part 2 of my blog, which is blog-in-waiting, will cover my serious take on Lage Raho Munnabhai