pravat_65 Reviews

Tees Maar Khan (2010)

Tees baar Maaro Khan ko

[1/10 · 24 December 2010]

'Sheila Ki Jawani' is fun, but 'Tawaif ki luti izzat' overdone. Likewise, director Farah Khan's third baby Tees Maar Khan is a joke stretched too far, with she poking fun at all and sundry from Hollywood to apna Bollywood, be it Manoj Day Ramalan shooting a jingoistic Brit-bashing period piece in rural Dhulia, or an Oscar-obsessed actor Aatish Kapoor (Akshaye Khanna) ruing his missed chance to work with Danny Doyle in Dumbdog. And ah! there's also Chunky Pandey in chaddi dancing to the raunchy cameo 'Choli mein Holi'.

If you haven't got the drift yet, let's take the lid off this part-funny-part-frustrating piece of campiness which is clearly the remake of the 1966 Italian clunker 'After The Fox' (starring the inimitable Peter Sellers), but quite absurdly credits Farah's hubby and the film's editor Shirish Kunder for writing the story.

Like Farah's previous film Om Shanti Om, TMK too has a few in-house jokes on Bollywood. The character of Aatish Kapoor (Akshaye Khanna), an intense, overacting superstar, coming pretty close to being a spoof of Shahrukh Khan. On the other hand, Salman Khan walks away with claps and catcalls after a spirited cameo in the song Wallah-re-wallah.

All said, TMK may not be Farah's best work to date, but it sure does not entertain for half its running time before coming to an expected Happy Ending.After seeing the film I thanked GOD that Farah Khan didn't approached to SRK for this futile crap.

Lafangey Parindey (2010)

U decide.

[5/10 · 20 August 2010]

Sometimes, your reputation precedes you. Pradeep Sarkar carries the reputation of making women-centric movies. Films like PARINEETA and LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG prove it. Who would've ever thought Sarkar would do a 360 degree turn in his third film by calling it LAFANGEY PARINDEY, set it in a ch awl and make his characters speak groundless lingo? Hard to digest, isn't it? Frankly, the skilled storyteller takes you on a trip least expected from him.

When you attempt something you haven't attempted earlier or ventured into before, you either fall flat on your face or walk with your chin up in air. Sarkar doesn't slip, although LAFANGEY PARINDEY does have its share of hiccups that show up intermittently. Unlike PARINEETA and LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG, Sarkar narrates a simple story this time around and though it has nothing to do with the Rajesh Khanna – Mumtaz – Meena Kumari starer DUSHMUN, you can't help but draw parallels with it, which, frankly, could be a coincidence as well. Yet, to be fair to Sarkar, he ventures in an unknown territory like a seasoned player On the flip side, the film has a major flaw and that dilutes the impact to an extent: Casting Neil Nitin Mukesh as a bogus. He just doesn't look like one. Even if he tries very hard to get into the skin of the character, you just can't connect with him since the suave and dashing demeanor makes him look like a Harvard returned, not someone from the streets or wadis of Mumbai definitely.

Final word? Sure, it has its share of shortcomings, but is an engaging watch nonetheless.

LAFANGEY PARINDEY is about a group of youngsters living in the back streets of Mumbai. It is the love story of Nandu and Pinky .

One-Shot Nandu takes boxing to a new level by knocking down his opponents – blindfolded. Needless to say, One-Shot lives life on his own terms and is a local hero amongst his friends. But all that changes when he meets Pinky.

Pinky works at a mall, but is a kick ass dancer on skates. Strong-headed, talented and fiercely ambitious, she aspires to rise above all the 'losers' living in her locality and carve a niche for herself. Two different personalities. Two different lives. Destined to meet.

LAFANGEY PARINDEY starts with gusto! Also, it moves on a singular path, without diversifying into unwanted sub-plots and superfluous characters. In fact, the story takes off at the commencement of the film itself and how Neil and Deepika's lives get intertwined makes for interesting viewing.

The film has some truly engaging moments and most of them are in its first hour. Sequences between Neil and Deepika after the accident are wonderful and keep you hooked. However, things begin to slacken in the post-interval portions, when the love story takes over and Neil and Deepika realize that they share a deeper bond. Just when things are about to go downhill, the climax happens and LAFANGEY PARINDEY is back on track. In fact, the drama in the finale – when Deepika and Neil have to perform the final act for a television show – is the highpoint of this film. The skating sequences and choreography are stunning and awe-inspiring. Blemishes? Oh yes! The love story is conventional and dreary. Also, the investigating officer's track is half-baked and looks like an add-on. Besides, the film is embellished with a mediocre musical score . Also, the Bambaiya Hindi has its limitations.

Like I pointed out earlier, Neil is the wrong choice for this part. Also, he lacks the fire to carry off the role with flourish. LAFANGEY PARINDEY clearly belongs to Deepika Padukone, who suits the character and enacts it with such competence that it leaves you amazed. The pretty lass is only getting better with every film. Piyush Mishra is first-rate. Kay Kay Menon is okay in a brief role. The friends, each them, leave a mark. Especially Namit Das, who's wonderful. Shiamak Davar, Juhi Chawla and Javed Jafferi feature in brief roles.

On the whole, LAFANGEY PARINDEY may be predictable, but is engaging and entertaining nonetheless. A decent watch!

Raavan (2010)

Raavan is not Mani Ratnam's style.

[18 June 2010]

Mani Ratnam's direction, like the story and his screenplay, has sectional appeal. While his narration will be loved by the class audience, it will be found far less appealing by the masses. Also, his twist in the climax is a red mark on the film's report card. A.R. Rahman's music score is very good. 'Beera Beera' is a hit number. 'Behene de', 'Kata kata' and 'Thok de killi' are also appealing songs. 'Khilli re khilli' stands out for Aishwarya's dance. Song picturisations, mostly on heavenly and unusual locations further enhance the appeal of the songs. Even otherwise, choreography (Ganesh Acharya, Brinda, Shobhana and Astad Deboo) is marvellous. Santosh Sivan and V. Manikandan's cinematography befits the extraordinary locations on which the film has been shot, making the visual impact simply astounding. Action scenes (Peter Hein and Sham Kaushal) are very exciting. Sreekar Prasad's editing is crisp.

On the whole, Raavan will remain a film for the classes mainly. It will do well in select multiplexes of big cities but not at many other places and in single-screen cinemas. Its weird climax is its biggest minus point and that will spell doom for the film. Considering its cost, it will entail huge losses to its worldwide distributor (Reliance Big Pictures).

I will rate ***/**********.(3/10)

Ek Second... Jo Zindagi Badal De... (2010)

It would be better if the director thinks about this "DIRT" for at least second.

[1/10 · 15 June 2010]

Manisha Koirala returns after a prolonged hiatus, as does Jackie Shroff. But, while Ms Koirala manages to look fit and trim, Jackie seems to have slipped and slipped and slipped....Same Parinda, Khalnayak, Ram Lakhan guy? Ahem! Manisha is essentially aaj ki naari who wants it all: job satisfaction, love, romance, shaadi, motherhood, family. But which door will lead her to it in a world of Sliding Doors? Option one: she can settle down to a middle class existence with boyfriend Muammar Rana who prefers a bit (Nikita Anand) on the side. Option two: she can kick butt of a two-timing lover and take a hike on the greener side, with Mr Moneybags (Jackie Shroff) who too happens to have a side dish (Rosa Catalano). So who does she opt for? Ask the in-house counsel, good friend Sam (Sunil Sharma), whose job is to set things right for all the confused souls sailing across the screen.

Play it again, Sam! Need to pump in some more dumb, both in the drama and the star cast to enable the film to have an impact that lasts beyond Ek Second.

Dev.D (2009)

Not every film is required to entertain its audience, but every film must engage its viewers

[4 June 2010]

Now that's a tall order when the film in question centers around the most boring, uni-dimensional character Indian literature could have possibly produced – the alcoholic, self-destructive romantic, Devdas. Add to that the fact that at least three Hindi films have already transported Devdas' tragic story to the screen.

Still, director Anurag Kashyap's Dev D, is a fresh, original take on the subject and the characters, but it's also a long and tiresome film that is not for the fainthearted.

Rooted in the real and the contemporary, Kashyap's film stars Abhay Deol as Dev, an aimless Benjamin Braddock-like drifter who returns home to Punjab after a graduation abroad, but has little in terms of future plans, except for getting into the sack with his childhood friend Paro, with whom he's spent many a long night talking dirty on the phone. On learning that she might have had a promiscuous past, Dev rejects Paro and her advances, driving her to marry a man she doesn't love, and landing himself in a downward spiral of booze and drugs and whores.

Kashyap takes the basic structure of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's original story, but in setting it in the now, updates much of the film's narrative, and makes the characters' actions and motivations more relatable. So you get a back-story to the Chanda character, the hooker Dev hooks up with in his desperate, despondent phase; and sex itself becomes the invisible but omnipresent motivation that drives many an important plot-point.

In its first forty odd minutes Dev D sucks you into its drama, shocking you with its brazenness, and more specifically with Kashyap's audacious re-imagination of the plot and its characters.

Take that scene in which Paro (played by newcomer Mahie Gill) sends for Dev to join her in a dense field so they can get down to doing what they've been unsuccessfully trying to do for some days. Watch the manner in which she virtually attacks a reluctant Dev into submission; and then the following scene in which she heads back home, mattress folded and tied on her cycle, after Dev spurns her overtures.

Watch also the fantastic song Yeh meri zindagi hai and the inventive manner in which Kashyap uses it to introduce Lenny (played by newcomer Kalki Koechlin), the character who goes on to become Chanda.

But from the moment Dev's descent into despair begins, the audience too plunges into what seems like a never-ending roller-coaster ride of loud clanging music, neon lights and head-spinning camera moves. Using music instead of dialogue is a unique and interesting narrative tool, but song-after-song-after-song-after-song your patience wears thin.

The film's second half is indulgent and repetitive to the point of being excessive, as it focuses much of its attention on Chanda; and let down by a disappointing performance and stilted dialogue delivery by Koechlin, it never really regains the momentum or the sheer bravura of its early parts.

In comparison to Koechlin, Mahie Gill makes a more assured debut as Paro, investing both vulnerability and a cocksure attitude into her character. But it's Abhay Deol who's the real scene-stealer, holding together the film with a fearless performance that is so rare to find.

Despite the clever new approach and its stylish telling, the flaw that hurts the film ultimately, is the fact that Devdas is never an engaging enough character and his story lacks soul. Speaking purely for myself, I was bored watching him repeatedly drown himself in drink and drugs. Self destruction is never an attractive quality.

I'm going with two out of five and an average rating for director Anurag Kashyap's Dev D. It's one of those films that's likely to either dazzle you or drain you. There is no middle option. Watch it, and decide for yourself.

Raajneeti (2010)

Rs.65 crores on this.I"m not joking.

[4 June 2010]

Prakash Jha Productions, Walkwater Media Ltd. and UTV Motion Pictures' Raajneeti (UA) is a political thriller. Bhanupratap Singh (Khan Jehangir Khan) and his younger brother, Chandraprakash Singh (Chetan Pandit), head the Rashtravadi Party which had been in power earlier and which now supports the government. It is trying to come back to power. The drama details the games politicians play at the time of elections.

The film has an interesting plot (Prakash Jha). The screenplay, penned jointly by Anjum Rajab Ali and Prakash Jha, is interesting in the first half but deteriorates after interval when the political game gets ugly and people are eliminated one after another. On the plus side of the script is the fact that it is well-researched and gives the viewer a deep insight into what goes on in the name of politics. Some twists and turns are shocking and leave the audience dumbfounded.

But the film is not without its share of flaws and lows. For one, it is too long and since it moves on a single track, it becomes boring and monotonous, especially after interval. Almost all the lead characters in the film are negative and could stoop to any level to gain political mileage. This creates confusion in the minds of the viewers as they don't have a single person whose finger they can hold through the film. In that sense, there is no hero for the audience to consider as their role model. The excessive violence in the second half can act as a deterrent for the female audience who may cringe at the sight of so much bloodshed. Yet another weak point is the use of high-flown Hindi in the dialogues, making it difficult for the viewer, especially the city-based youngsters, to understand the goings-on easily. Besides, there are so many characters in the film that it takes longer than usual for the audience to understand how the various characters are related to one another.

Frankly, the drama appeals till the interval point with the killing of Chandraprakash Singh being the most exciting part. Post-interval, there are some exciting parts but the film tends to get monotonous and repetitive what with people killing people at the drop of a hat. Fans of Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, AjayDevgan, Nana Patekar and NaseeruddinShah may not take too kindly to their characterisations/roles: Ranbir Kapoor, unlike his earlier films, is no fun-loving cool dude; rather, he plays a serious role; Katrina Kaif loves Ranbir but there is no romance between them; Ajay Devgan's Suraj character is present throughout the film but he doesn't have a role that can be called very substantive or one that makes him a hero; Nana Patekar doesn't have fiery dialogues to mouth, something he has become synonymous with; Naseeruddin Shah has such a minuscule role that his fans will feel cheated. The film lacks emotions and light moments. The ending is depressing.

Coming to the performances, the actors have all done very well. Ranbir Kapoor is effective in a serious role. Katrina Kaif does her part well; she leaves a mark in the non-glamorous role too. Arjun Rampal springs a surprise with a promising show. Ajay Devgan underplays suitably but he doesn't have a single scene which could win him applause. Nana Patekar is efficient in a role that is more subdued than one is used to watching him in. Manoj Bajpayee has his moments. He plays his character with finesse, Naseeruddin Shah is excellent but he hardly gets any scope. Sarah Thompson leaves a mark as Sarah. Shruti Seth does a wonderful job. Kiran Karmarkar is superb in the role of police officer Sharma. Vinay Apte is extremely natural. Nikhila Tirkha is okay as Ranbir and Arjun Rampal's mother.Chetan Pandit is wonderfully restrained. Khan Jehangir Khan acts ably. Dayashankar Pandey is superbly natural. Darshan Jariwala and Ravi Khemu provide able support. Barkha Bisht is alright in an item song-dance.

Prakash Jha's direction is good but the narration would appeal more to the audience in the Hindi-speaking belt and the older generation than the youth. Also, by almost neglecting light moments, heart-rending emotions and romance, he has restricted the film's appeal. Music is good but the songs in the film are not complete, having been edited. The audience's enjoyment of the music ('Mora piya' song composed by Aadesh Shrivastava) is, therefore, greatly reduced. Action scenes (Sham Kaushal) are wonderfully composed. The scene of the killing of Chandraprakash Singh and the bomb blast sequence in which two lead characters are killed together deserve special mention. Crowd scenes are handled excellently and there are plenty of them. But here, it must be added that the crowd scenes sometimes look monotonous because there are so many of them. Camera-work (Sachin Kumar Krishnan) is superb. Sets (Jayant Deshmukh) are very nice. Editing (Santosh Mandal) is crisp.

On the whole, Raajneeti suffers on account of a dull, boring and overly lengthy second half. Considering its very fine start, it should do reasonably good business in India but since its business in the Overseas circuit will not be good enough, it may be a problem for its worldwide distributor (UTV) to recover its investment of over Rs. 65 crore.

Admissions Open (2010)

Before opening "Admissions Open" will be closed.

[1/10 · 4 June 2010]

Aman Films Production's Admissions Open (UA) is the story of a group of people, which considers the current education system with grades, marks, classes, faculties et al flawed. These like-minded people want to revolutionise the entire education system for which they start SPIRIT (South Pune Institute of Research & Information Technology). Prof. Tariq Siddiqui (Anupam Kher), whose brainchild the new education system is, has also chalked out a new curriculum for the same. He envisages a learning process without faculty members and in which each student is allowed to follow his heart and pursue the subject which interests him. Unfortunately, even before the new college can open, Prof. Tariq Siddiqui breathes his last. Arjun Sehgal (Ankur Khanna), who is among one of the first students to register his name in the new college, now takes it upon himself to fulfil Prof. Siddiqui's dream. He has the support of three friends of and Prof. Devang Tripathi (Ashish Vidyarthi), a drunkard and a degenerate who has been thrown out by the University and who has radical thoughts about education.

Prof. Devang, Arjun and his three friends succeed in mustering the support of hundreds of students. But the five founder-members of the college are clueless about Prof. Siddiqui's curriculum and its whereabouts. Arjun luckily manages to lay his hands on a copy of the curriculum and soon thereafter opens the college where each student is allow- ed to opt for the subject he feels passionate about.

Calamity strikes when Raghuvendra Reddy (Pramod Moutho), the principal of a prestigious college in Pune – Engineering College Of Pune – complains to the National Accreditation Council (NAC) against SPIRIT for being run without accreditation. What happens in the NAC meeting and thereafter is revealed in the climax.

Writers K.D. Satyam, Srikanth Kumar Kandala and Haldar Chaturvedi have penned such a juvenile script that it is an embarrassment to watch a film based on it. The new college looks like an ashram where classes on seduction and occult sciences are held alongside cookery and painting classes! After one event in the college campus, girls and boys are shown to be sleeping with one another in suggestive positions. And when Prof. Devang Tripathi sees this, all he does is smile and crack a sick joke! In any case, Prof. Devang is shown to be a weird professor who drinks throughout the day and has no qualms about doing so in front of his students and while taking lectures! He even uses filthy language (muted by the CBFC) in the course of his lectures. Instead of the audience's sympathy going to him in the NAC meeting when he is thrown out, the public experiences no emotion whatsoever. The clothes he wears in college and also in the NAC meeting (where the Council members are suited-booted) would not even befit a watchman, leave alone a professor. What the writers wanted to prove by showing Prof. Devang being ignorant about Prof. Siddiqui's curriculum is not clear. Except for showing Prof. Devang in a bad light and as a person who couldn't be bothered about anything, the ignorance does little else.

Yet another drawback of the script is that the current education system has been condemned so badly that it would seem to be a crime to be a part of it. Although the story is about the education system, the pronunciations of the English words by the students as well as by Prof. Siddiqui and Prof.Reddy are so vernacular that one could die of shame. The film often raises the point about the accreditation of the college but unbelievable as it may sound, Prof. Siddiqui and even a member of the National Accreditation Council pronounce the word as 'accredition'. Absolutely shameful! All in all, the story, screenplay and dialogues are pathetic.

Ankur Khanna tries to be earnest but is horribly let down by the script. Arshi neither has screen presence nor acting talent. Her dancing is an eyesore. Anupam Kher is mechanical. Ashish Vidyarthi does well but his character is too loud for comfort. Pramod Moutho is sincere. Rati Agnihotri, Yusuf Khan, Sudesh Berry, S.M. Zaheer, Shabnam Kapoor, Shirish Sharma, Ravi Pandey (in the role of Sharad), Abhishek Sharma (as Ashutosh), Manish Vatsalya (as Jimmy) and Dushyant Raj Bhardwaj (in the role of Sachin) provide average support.

K.D. Satyam's direction gives the impression that he knows precious little about the craft of film-making. In other words, his direction is terrible. About the only good thing in the film is Amit Trivedi's music score. The songs are fairly well-tuned. Song picturisations (Raju Khan) are too routine to be true. Madhu S.Rao's camera-work is shockingly poor with a lot of scenes being out of focus. Production and technical values are dull.

On the whole, Admissions Open is such a horrifyingly weak film that most creative people associated with it need to take admission in institutes offering them crash courses in their respective crafts. A disgusting disaster which pretends to be issue-based!

Kaminey (2009)

Fhahid beft performanfe ever.

[10/10 · 4 June 2010]

Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminey is a film you'll either love or passionately despise.

It's an unpredictable crime drama that combines violence and dark humor in a manner that's reminiscent of the films of Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie and the Coen Brothers. And yet Kaminey is so original and inventive in the manner in which it takes Bollywood's favorite formula - twin brothers - and turns it on its head.

The real strength of Kaminey is its writing. The non-linear screenplay is filled with unfamiliar twists and confusing turns that are likely to baffle you along the way; yet they're all neatly tied up and culminate in a thrilling climax which is violent and comical in equal parts.

The film's dialogue is top-notch; writer-director Vishal Bharadwaj finds a way to make the lines humorous without ever seeming to ask for a laugh.

Kaminey boasts the best performance you will see by an ensemble cast in a long time, and that includes even the bit players.

Of the central cast, Amole Gupte is fantastic as the demented Jai Maharashtra-spouting gangster-politician Bhope, and Chandan Roy Sanyal hits all the right notes as the coke-addicted Mikhail.

Also delivering impressive turns are Tenzing Nima as the charismatic drug-smuggler Tashi and Shiv Subramanium as the vulnerable corrupt cop Lobo.

Shahid Kapur rises to the challenge of creating two entirely different characters out of Charlie and Guddu, and delivers a credible performance as each.

Breaking out of his chocolate-boy image, he gives evidence of his potential when trusted with well-written roles.

Springing a delightful surprise in a smaller part is Priyanka Chopra as the feisty Sweety, who sprinkles her lines with a smattering of fluent Marathi and emerges one of the film's most lovable characters.

For an audience numbed by predictable Bollywood potboilers week after week, Kaminey might take some time to settle into; go in with an open mind and enjoy the ride.

With unchoreographed action scenes and dances, and long portions with no background score at all, it's a wildly imaginative, original offering from a fearless filmmaker who doesn't insult your intelligence.

I'm going with 10 out of 10 for director Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminey; amidst all the bloodshed and bullets, this film has a full beating heart. As Charlie would say: It's a MUFT-WATCH

My Name Is Khan (2010)

SRK-Super Rocking Khan

[9/10 · 21 May 2010]

To be very honest, I hardly watch Karan Johar movies because they are nothing more than a typical masala entertainment, but this time Karan Johar has handled a very sensitive subject with immense care. The plot does not have any favorism for any religion or sections of society and still comes out with a strong message that humanity is above any religion and full credit goes to Shibani Bathija for a powerful multi-layered story and screenplay that holds the attention of the viewers from scene one.

Shah Rukh Khan once again proves that he is the Badshah of Bollywood and if you enjoyed his serious performances in Chak De or Swades, I am sure you will love this one as well. Kajol is a power-house of acting and her performance tells us that talent is permanent and does not fade with time even if you are not performing. Jimmy Shergill does justice to his supporting role along with Sonya Jehan. Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is always at its best and songs like Sajda and Noor-e-Khuda are very soothing to ears. Technically, the cinematography by Ravi Chandran is awesome, especially the ariel shots are splendidly done and crisp editing by Deepa Bhatia makes the overall movie watching experience worthwhile. I would like to tell my readers that though there are news that the collection figures of the movie has slide down in the second week, I would humbly request that checkout this awesome movie and decide for yourself. I am sure when you walk out of the movie hall you will be happy that you made a good decision and followed your heart.

Kites (I) (2010)

Kites can' fly.It has many holes, needs patches.

[1/10 · 21 May 2010]

When you watch Hrithik movies you raise your expectations for the next venture.Hrithik's "Jodhaa Akbar" was a masterpiece.I expected this to be too a masterpiece but now I feel shattered.A story that can be told in less than an hour has been dragged to 130 minutes just to not let the theater empty.As every second passed I expected for a thriller but this is moronic.These types of movies were used to be built during 80's and 90's.Sensual scenes,boring story,illogical matter and blah blah blah.In short don't waste your money in this movie.Better go have a nice candle-night dinner with your GF/BF/family(not a candle-night dinner of course).Anurag Basu will get one more flop added to his career.I'm damn sure about this.Hrithik and Barbara can't give take this soul less film to get a hit ticket.When you go to see a bollywood movie you see the film in Hindi but this is the worst exception.Dialogues are mostly in English and Spanish.Most of the time you will have to read subtitles.Come on man I came here to be entertained not to get a Hindi class which Barbara deserves.I felt cheated.Kites need patches.