QaReZmA Reviews

Aisha (I) (2010)

Feel good, love to hate

[8/10 · 6 March 2011]

Aisha is about this super rich good-hearted luxury-snob who sees nothing beyond anything high class, and she can very well afford to. Sonam Kapoor plays Aisha, who is some sort of a cross between Sex and The City's Carrie (in her quintessential fashion sense) and Cher from Clueless (in her adorable snobbishness). She's into social services such as protecting animal rights, appreciating and creating arts, and not to forget her newly found talent, match making.

Teamed with her best friend Pinky, Aisha tries to match make a plain-Haryana-Jane (named Shefali) with her friend Randhir, whom she thinks is perfect for Shefali, but Randhir in fact is in love with Aisha herself. Her only obstacle is Arjun (Abhay Deol), or so she thinks.

In a nut shell, Aisha is a feel good movie, with cute and lovely characters, who each leave their mark with their roles and acting, although I felt Abhay Deol was shortchanged for the amount of potential he has. Amrita Puri (Shefali) in my opinion is the best one to watch out for. Sonam is also very lovable in the snobbish role of a high society snob whom we'd love to hate.

One downside of the movie is that I felt the movie was really pretentious with the amount of super high flying luxurious life shown, especially with the polo match and unreal river rafting getaway in a well-equipped camp house for the vain people. On a positive note, the movie was some very light hearted moments, even makes a what seems serious love declaration at the wedding function into a light comedy moment. You can't help loving Aisha!

Band Baaja Baaraat (2010)

A lovely surprise!

[9/10 · 3 March 2011]

Finally a YRF movie that is getting good reviews, and made me really curious to watch and check out what is the deal all about. Lead actors are debutant Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma , who has already had a box office hit with her debut film with SRK.

The movie is fully set and shot in Delhi, and all characters speak with authentic Delhi-ite accent, it almost becomes difficult understanding after being so used to the Mumbaiya accent in all the other films. Shruti (Anushka) aspires to open her own wedding planner business while Bitto (Ranveer) is finding a way to escape his father's plans to taking him back to village to help in the sugar cane business. They get together and start their wedding planning company, named Shaadi Mubarak, with strict policy of never involving emotions or love in between them. Business goes successfully for them, and predictably, emotions come in between, causing a conflict in running the business together.

The love conflict is not new, but the treatment given on the subject, and the whole execution of the movie is fresh and commendable. Also, the movie has a fairly fast pace where there is no dull moment. However, I wish the ending would have been handled a different way, but I guess the director did not want to opt for clichéd ways.

Anushka is very pleasant to watch, and she is looking very good in her simple girl-next-door getups, some scenes even with minimal makeup. Ranveer does his role well too, but seeing his interview on Koffee With Karan, it almost feels like he acted as himself.

Highly recommended rom-com!

Mumbai Diaries (2010)

Mixed feelings, but good overall

[8/10 · 2 February 2011]

Not all films are made for commercial success, and not all the films are made for the masses. Dhobi Ghat is one such example.

As the tagline, DG indeed is the Mumbai Diaries. DG shows the different classes and masses of India, from both extremes. The poor is so down and dirty, and the rich are living luxuriously. It amazed me how different contrast of lifestyle can be put together in just one film, this is not something that you see often in an Indian film.

There are four characters with their lives crossing each other. Shai (Monica Dogra) is a New Yorker on a sabbatical in Mumbai, who meets Arun (Amir Khan) at this art show, and after a one night stand, she gets attracted, and perhaps in love with him. Then enters Munna (Prateik Babbar) who is the dhobi (washerman) for the two. He gets close to Shai, falling in love with her, while showing her around Mumbai and getting her to do his portfolio. Arun, who has just moved in to a new flat, comes across a few video tapes recorded by Yasmin for her brother.

One character is having fascination and feelings for other, and there we see the lengths they go for it.

The pace was slow, and very little of Amir Khan was impressing. Then again, he was playing someone serious, with a sad past. Monica was very pretty and alluring, and did her role well. But the show stealer has got to be Prateik Babbar, as the dhobi-partime-mouse-killer-actor-wannabe. His acting would make you empathize and yet laugh at his antiques.

Just as the trailers show, do not expect anything loud or overly dramatic here, just go for a simple showcase of Mumbai diaries.

Enthiran (2010)

Awesomeness

[9/10 · 4 October 2010]

Superstar Rajinikanth is back with his a new film for his fans that not just idolise him but also worship him like their God. Just when you think, what else can be new? A super entrance scene for Rajini, countless Rajini punch dialogues, and stunts with glasses and cigarettes, who wants to see those things again? Definitely not me, that is why I was super sceptical about watching Endhiran in the first place, furthermore his last film, Shivaji didn't exactly earn good reviews.

With countless positive reviews on Endhiran buzzing around, it got me curious to see how exactly can Rajini be different this time. This movie has been raved for the special effects & sci-fi content, on par with Hollywood standard. And not to mention hubby who has been losing sleep (ok, maybe that's a little aggregation, but somewhat to that effect) over catching the movie ever since the trailers were released.

How can Rajini triumph himself? By himself, of course! That is how Shankar's latest offering, Endhiran seems to have been conceived. Shankar has always shown his mastery in direction and highly imaginative song picturisation. He has always come up with the most unique special effects and amazing skills in his film song picturisations. It is high time he put his visions into a film that actually justifies the use of special effects.

The good news is, there is no lame Rajini super-entrance scene. It all starts with Dr. Vasi creating an andro humanoid (not to be confused with android), Chitti, to work with the military and help the society. Chitti is configured with the most advanced specifications and has the ability to do what human can and can't do, minus feelings. Vasi has a girlfriend, Sana, vying for his attention, so he lets his Robot spend time and help her out, eg bashing up thugs in the train, rescuing her from rape and even cheating in exam. While trying to get Chitti qualified with the Artificial Intelligence Research Department, Vasi gets influenced by his mentor Bohra, into programming feelings into Chitti, which is when the trouble begins. Like most Indian films, we have a love triangle situation, with a twist! Once Vasi realises the repercussions, he finally destroys and disposes Chitti, later falling into the wrong hands, and voila, you have the super-villain Chitti version 2.0.

Rajini has definitely outdone himself in Endhiran. He does a wimpy Dr Vasi, comedian Chitti, and villainous Chitti v2.0 (here we get to see some of Rajini's usual style, I believe infused to satisfy die-hard fans of his). And not just that, Rajini also plays the thousands of henchmen Chitti v2.0 creates by himself as his army. You also see multiples of Rajini in one song sequence, which is done nicely without looking like copy and paste of Rajini images. It is amazing the kind of acting and action Rajini can do in his 60s, a feat not many actors can stand up to.

Aishwarya, with not much acting to do, looks gorgeous throughout, and looks almost goddess-like in the songs. I like her hip-hop rapper image in 'Boom Boom Robo Da' song. She looks younger for her age, but does not look like a student, heck, if you have a 60 year old Rajini playing much younger role, why not her? She has, perhaps the best, body language and dancing skills in the industry. AR Rahman's music is just OK, but watching the film, it really grows on you.

Not much scope and attention is given to the other characters, perhaps to keep the storyline emphasized between the main characters. Most amazingly, you would feel more chemistry between Sana and Chitti than with Vasi himself.

Some unnecessary scenes and situations are added in to accommodate the chartbusting songs, which could have easily been omitted to keep the pace. The two comedian acting as lab assistants for Vasi, are avoidable, as Chitti himself provides us with plenty of laugh and light moments.

The moral of the story, andro humanoids can have all abilities, but humanity is not something to be memorised, but to be understood. The evil in humans is what creates evil and suffering in the world.

I have always believed in not comparing Indian films with Hollywood because both the industries produce movies of different genres to server their respective audience. And with Endhiran, it is the dawn of a new film genre, masala sci-fi action. It is in a category of its own with fantabulous effects and action. Watch out for the 25 minutes climax action scene, it got a non-action-lover like me gawking with out-of-the-world awesomeness! There are going to be countless film makers following this genre after this.

Finally a movie that can justify Rajini's super-human actions, and it does not disappoint. Endhiran, it is! What humans can't do, Rajini, I mean, Robot can!

Race (I) (2008)

Too many twists doesn't make a winner

[1/10 · 30 April 2008]

My analysis on the movie.. i would rate it below 0 if i could

1)For a movie set in Durban, you hardly see any foreigners, all the people are hindustanis who can speak perfect Hindi.

2)Hindi movies have reached such stage of advancement in movie making that they even have fictionised song and dance sequence in a fictionised flashback situation

3)No one is surprised (not even the so-called investigator) that the so-called wife of the deceased Ranvir is not at all bothered that her husband of 2 days has slept with his sister in law

4)By the way, what kind of investigator is RD?

5)Investigators like RD have requirements for their assistants: - strictly only blond Indian babe - dress code of nothing less than cleavage as deep as your assets go

6)The hit-man hired to kill Bipasha had to restart his engine after hitting her car, perhaps his manual car failed at first gear, time to get a real driving license

7)So many twists and turns, the unpredictable plot was very predictable after Ranvir's death

8)This is the most original movie of BW of this year, come on, do u think any other movie/story/director can be as stupid?

9)Despite having a 'gupt' camera at the registry of marriage, they were unable to detect the change of certificate done by Rajiv and Sofia?

10)All govt buildings, offices and even morgue in Durban have exteriors like a mansion, with a tiny signboard to keep us abreast of the venue (becos inside, they all look the same)

11)Why did RD have such a stupid assistant? i have the answer, she was like the narrative voice of the genius analysis of RD, so thru her questions we get to know how advanced is RD with his investigation

12)Woman are still strictly regarded as ornaments in most parts of BW

13)Both brothers were stupid enuf in the end to accept their opponents car for race

14)So where is the actually Race u may ask... it was the Race among the actresses of whose cleavage ran deeper!!

Jodhaa Akbar (2008)

the best period film after lagaan

[8/10 · 25 February 2008]

The most awaited film of the year, Jodha Akbar brings many surprises and brickbats, despite disclaimers clearly stated at the beginning of the film. And the endorsement on the animal rights is impressive, given the fact so many animals were used the making of the movie, the producer left no leaf unturned to ensure the best for the film.

Director Ashutosh is well known for this Oscar nominated Lagaan and critically acclaimed Swades. His latest efforts in bringing magnificence and grandeur to the mughal king's life story is impressive, shows how versatile Ashutosh is in portraying different lifestyles and emotions to the camera. The lavish costumes and sets are hardly a typical Ashutosh material, but he's pulled it off with panache.

In most areas JA is very well done, Hritik looked and acted fabulously, and most believable as a King. One can hardly imagine it is the same mentally challenged guy from Koi mil gaya... Aishwarya's naturally wooden worked to her advantage acting as princess who was forced to get married to a Muslim King.

Character actor Ila Arun shines among the rest, Sonu Sood is a close second. Music is at it's minimal, and best, although the background score was recycled from the songs very often. 'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah' is the best song ever made in the praise of a King.

JA is not flawless, due to the nature of the story inherited the lengthiness and various subplots and due to that the pace was so fast in some scenes that its hard to catch up. And thanks to the English subtitles, i was able to understand the bombastic urdu and Hindi throughout the film...

Om Shanti Om (2007)

Masala film in the best form!

[9/10 · 22 November 2007]

It's a bird… it's a plane… its mohabbat-man!! Farah Khan is back, with a movie that clearly depicts her love for Bollywood in a affectionately humorous way. Who else would have thought that someone could easily take the credit for one of the most famous quotes in Indian cinema? With Farah, everything is possible, she even has Shah Rukh wrapped around her fingers.

This movie had already made more than 100% profit even before the release of the film, the rights sold to Eros, cost 65 crore, that is a 35 crore profit from a cost of 30 crore, they could have released the movie tickets for free, but then stampedes and over-crowding of Cineplex's would incur loss in civil lawsuits against her and SRK, the producer of the film.

We see SRK playing a Junior Artist in the late 70s, the settings, and ambiance brings you back to numerous memorable (but also funny bone tickling) moments in the Bollywood industry. For those who have grown up watching those 70s and 80s movies, there are a lot of scenes you'd identify with and also roll on the floor laughing.

Newcomer Deepika is playing Hema Malini-ish heroine in the 70s, even appears with many surprises and familiar faces of that era. Our (junior) hero falls for her only to discover some surprises in the interval, and later is involves in an accident that takes his life.

'Pickar abhi baaki hai, mere dost' as we hear in the promos, the movie is yet to continue. Om is reincarnated, and 30 years later (thankfully, cos seeing SRK play his 20s is no more acceptable) we see him as an arrogant actor born to a famous filmi family (hint… hint). And from here, with a series of events, (the new) Om regains his memories from his previous life, and is determined to take revenge.

This doesn't mean the second half is filled with boring dramebazi, in the 2000s we actually we to see more parody and spoof portrayed on the actors of the current era, and many references made to the current situation of Indian cinema… want to know more, I guess you should catch the movie, cos Farah is a much better story teller than me!

Nishabd (2007)

Brilliant!!

[9/10 · 30 September 2007]

Don't be fooled by the promos of the latest Ram Gopal Varma's (RGV) venture featuring the leggy lass Jiah Khan... well of course we get plenty of the legs to watch but only when you watch the movie it catches you by surprise...

This is probably the best RGV movie after Bhoot... in the chase to do 'different' films, more often than not RGV ends up making movies that are either 1) too different and unappealing, and 2) different adaptations (remakes) of his own flop films. Nevertheless this is the same RGV who did Rangeela and Satya (2 of his best films) leaving audiences speechless, in fact it would not be wrong to say that RGV has brought the trend of not-so-good-cop and gave us insights in the life of a gangster (the famous Bhiku Matre).

Somehow after seeing RGV lose his touch for a while now, i did not have much expectation on Nishabd, thinking that he too is probably just banking on the sex-crazed film industry, my was i wrong.

He totally proves the audience's expectations (and mine too) and he showed much more of the sensual side of Jiah Khan, as well as her childishness and prudish jokes that somehow appears cute, which is the factor in her that got Big B's attention in the movie.

RGV had total new look planned for Jiah, that is what makes her more appealing and stand in different light in comparison with her contemporaries. Good screenplay, medium paced story, Jiah's antiques and ways never slow it down.

The beginning, the monologue is totally illusion for the audience. It only grasps you during the climax when you wonder the conclusion. The ending doesn't keep you guessing, but just punches you in the face when you think you've figured it out, and Big B in that part, is simply brilliant, in fact brilliant is too mild of a word.

Moral of the story: 1) For the uncles of Big B's age - don't put your family on stake by falling in love with a younger gal, in the end you will not get her or even your family 2) Audience - stop expecting steamy sex scenes, opt for Emran Hashmi movie instead

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

read the book instead

[3/10 · 30 September 2007]

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, Harry is back as a moody and grumpy teenage who is having a crush on his school senior. We all remember Harry as the cute and adorable child whose life changed overnight when he was brought to the Hogwarts, school of wizardy and witchcraft, but in this 5th installation, Harry is not just going through adolescence but is also disturbed by the rise of he-who-must-not-be-named, what the heck, Voldemort.

Before I saw the movie myself, I heard a lot of bad reviews from fellow friends who watched it. Being more dark, and scary, the book version of this movie in fact that concerns from the Malaysian Censorship boards, accusing the books for being too scary for the kids (i think the censorship board itself got spooked out). Gone are the scenes of introduction to the wizarding world and enchanting creatures.. the only creatures you see in this episode are the ones that are trying to kill Harry, but why you may ask, thanks to Tom Riddle (many don't know this is Voldemort's real name) he has managed to collect support from many creatures to be a part of his Death Eaters.

What disappointed me in the movie is that the lack of certain plots that were not portrayed as well as the book. And the character development (except Harry) is horrible, his friends have been turned into cheap side-kicks that we see in cheap action flicks. Dumbledore himself has been cut into very small part, but yet an important one, and Professor Gonagall, is almost non-existent. Nevertheless,even with the minimal footage on Voldemort, he has made a huge impact, played by the good-looking Ralph Fiennes, in fact a lot of work must have gone into giving him the skinny, pale, nose-less face look, which reminds me of another person who could have played the role to the tee, Michael Jackson perhaps? I hope the spoof makers of Epic are listening.. LOL... lastly cho chang doesn't look as good as the Goblet of Fire movie, or maybe my DVD was just a bad copy...

The impressive parts of the movie, no it was not the 'wet' kiss between Harry and Cho Chang, but the graphics and cinematography.. it is amazing how they visualised the story conceived by JK Rowling, and most amazingly, I still do not stop wondering, how did JK actually came up with this huge amount of imagination.. it is just Amazing with a capital A. Dementors are getting more terrifying, in fact they get more footage compared to Harry's friends.

Final verdict, don't watch the movie, grab the book, start all the way up from book#1.

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)

time pass not worthy to be watched in the cineplex

[5/10 · 30 September 2007]

JBJ is a classic example for theory that a great ensemble of a big production house, star-kids, a beauty queen, a queen bee and a great musical score does not guarantee a great film.

The supporting cast has over shadowed the main leads, Lara was a delight to watch with her street antiques, while Bobby was the cute mama's boy. Both Preity and Abhishek are as stale as their last year's flick together, KANK. One fails to understand why a classy girl like Alvira falls for the piracy-specialist Rikki.

This movie has everything in the book for a good film, except a story, which was clearly missing from the big picture. It was like watching a movie of nicely choreographed music videos, all the songs make you jhoom literally, and cinematography was top notch. Song sequence of bol na halke looks something out of Veer-Zaara, which makes me wonder, is the message of the movie is kiss and make up between India and Pakistan?

Apne (2007)

cheap excuse for emotional blackmail

[4/10 · 30 September 2007]

If Sarkar was the best movie for Father-son duo Big B and Abhishek, then Apne is the best platform to feature the Dharmpaji-Sunny-Bobby trio. With a story that reminds you a lot about K3G, this movie does a little more effort in encouraging the Indians to shine in the international sports arena, in fact, Malaysians too should be inspired by this effort, as we have been pretty slow in that area for ages.

Kiron Kher does justice as a typical punjabi mother, Katrina, was just acting, well, pretty. After Shilpa's popularity with Big Brother (UK reality show), one would expect Shilpa being showered with better roles, however, here she gets plenty of footage without substance.

The story pace might seem slow at times, and lengthy that it makes you just wish that one of the characters kick the bucket as soon as possible to cut the story short. As boxers in the international level, both Bobby and Sunny have poor body, easily put to shame by the other boxers in the movie.

The verdict, watch it, but with no hopes at all. The best thing about the movie is minimal songs, thankfully, because I can't stand Himesh's voice.

Chak De! India (2007)

Chakde India is the message, and is wat it does!!

[10/10 · 21 August 2007]

Chakde India is not just about reviving India's national sport hockey, but also about women rights, unity among Indian states, and last but not least, Shah Rukh Khan's versatility in roles other than the typical candy floss films. It is amazing how the screenplay is able to capture the social issues, as well as bring patriotism message, which in fact, works as good as Lagaan, if not better.

Majority of Hindi cinema are banking on semi-clad women to pull in the crowds, but the kind of women power you will see here is totally different and very much appreciated, and hopefully something that we will get to see more of in the future of Indian cinema.

The hockey matches are portrayed exceptionally good, and various tactics put into the choreography of the match, is totally amazing. Despite being a sports based movie, there is no single dull moment, and the absence of typical song dance routines is not missed at all.

Watching the movie in a Singaporean cinema hall, the audience anticipation into the hockey matches and each goal scored truly shows the spirit and essence of patriotism among the locals and NRIs alike. Hats off to director Shimit Amin, for making the Indians proud with his effort.

Jaan-E-Mann: Let's Fall in Love... Again (2006)

Jaan-E-mann rocks!

[8/10 · 8 November 2006]

Jaanemann the best movie to complement this year's string of releases of the comedy film Lage Raho Munnabhai, the emotional drama KANK, and the action flick Don. While almost all Hindi films are on the musical side with plenty of dance and songs regardless of the relevancy to the films, Jaanemann is the only Bollywood musical executed the Broadway style.

The cinematography has been creatively used to reflect story and development of the characters. Salman has been written off by the media continuously and each time he is back with a bang! Salman is definitely not a rock star, but a superstar! Nevertheless Akshay is never overshadowed, his character is a pioneer of such geeky personality in recent times. Preity, as always, is cute, and Anupam is so hilarious you keep asking for more! One does wonder how Salman has suddenly grown a full head of hair while Anupam's wig hairline is pretty obvious, but hey thats besides the point.

The unconventional lyrics are explained by the way the story unfolds. The songs are hummable, and dances feature plenty of beautiful phirangi girls, fortunately this time they are well clothed, a rare departure from the usual half clad babes. This film is not for the critics, but for the light-hearted seeking for a feel good experience.

Filhaal... (2002)

Excellent execution on topic of surrogacy

[8/10 · 7 November 2006]

Filhaal.. the moment, the present.. is an intelligent movie educating the complications and conflicts that would follow a surrogacy pregnancy. Sia and Rewa, 2 very good childhood friends see each other through thick and thin of life. When Rewa has a miscarriage and loses ability to conceive, Sia steps in to offer her womb for the home of their baby. The bollywood audience has previously been mislead on the concept of surrogacy from the movie Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, where the husband is pushed into having an extra marital sex with a prostitute in order to be able to make her pregnant with is child, therefore the bearer of the family name.

Here we see middle class people, dealing with middle class problems in relationships which most of us can identify with in our everyday lives. Rewa being jealous, and Sia being emotional over her pregnancy, is all legitimate walks of life which we can not change regardless of whether we are best friends or siblings. I like the way the true shade of human is shown here, the color gray, instead of the usual Miss goody two shoes. The way the story slowly unfolds is simply brilliant yet solemn. Sushmita's best performance as yet, Tabu is brilliant as always. I have been looking forward to Meghna's next film ever since.

Don (1978)

Watch it for superstar Big B

[8/10 · 17 October 2006]

This film isn't the greatest to ever hit bollywood, nor it is a path breaking film for the industry. Don is a genuine entertainer with an interesting storyline for the 70s era. They could have spent half the film showing the notorious don but instead the character dies soon, and later is replaced by a look-a-like. Which is where we get plenty of laughter and light moments. Towards the end when he is discovered by the police to be a fake Don, he is in a big soup. It is interesting how he manages to prove himself innocent, and how he find the father of the kids he was taking care of. Easily said, Hindi films are generally made up of lots of coincidences and this film is no exception. This is one movie where the female lead is not just used to provide sexual and love interest but Zeenat Aman gets plenty of footage with her martial arts and action scenes. The remake of Don by Farhan Akhtar in 2006 is bound to collect some brickbats, but I believe his movie will be a high-tech thriller compared to the old retro version.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)

A total different sequel

[9/10 · 15 October 2006]

I did not dislike Munnabhai MBBS, neither did I love it… in my opinion it was OK, plenty of laughter and light moments, in fact a realization how much effect a jaadu ka jhappi can make to one's close people. The rare departure of a vasooli gangster to a kind hearted bhai is really adorable to watch, therefore I watched Lage Raho Munnabhai with no expectation at all, just keeping in mind the huge success and revolution it has made in India.

I really respect the makers of LRMB for not trying to recreate any magic or moments of the MBBS prequel, neither did they bank on any aspect from the previous movie. In fact this was a fresh start for the characters and the whole storyline itself. With the success of this installation, I will not be surprised if Munnabhai turns out to be a famous franchise of Bollywood film industry, the first of its kind.

The combination of Munnabhai and Circuit manage to churn out plenty of laughter, at the same time bring realization among the youngsters who seem to have forgotten their roots and history of India. This movie is not just applicable to Indian community, but also throughout the world where all of us have forgotten to appreciate small things in life and forget to do good to others. The whole execution of the storyline is admirable, as there is no bit of rona-dhona, overly emotional or drama involved, yet it manages to reach the heart of the viewers.

The ending, is simply superb, one moment you might be feeling a drop of tear in your eyes, and the next moments its so funny, you just feel happy and fall in love with life. Watch it, otherwise its your loss.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)

Watch it with an open mind

[8/10 · 24 August 2006]

KANK has been a genuine effort by Karan Johar to try something different from his usual 'its about loving your family' formula. KKHH and K3G were both sugar laden, drama-Hindi films, but yet I've never complained. Compared to the other inane Hindi films that seems alike to soft porn recently, K-Jo's film is very welcome, to provide some feel-good wholesome entertained, because, lets face it, movies are for entertainment. KANK has a magnificent way of presenting all the 4 stars in different entrances, which is very impressive.

King Khan is in his best form, and if you have enough of his lover-boy image, then this movie is definitely for you. He is portrayed as a guy, who failed in life, and is so bitter to the whole wide world. In short, he is the dude who we love to hate, that bitchiness is over the top.

Rani, on the other hand, shows very little reason to actually stray from this relationship, and we fail to understand why such sweet and romantic guy like Abhishek fails to impress her. OK so she doesn't love him, but didn't she marry him thinking that they might compromise in living together later?

Abhishek, poor lover-boy, who isn't appreciated by his own wife. This guy can sweep any woman off her feet, and frankly, i think Rani's character didn't deserve this sweetie-pie for a husband.

Preity had the least footage of the 6 characters (including playboy dad, and cool mom), but her sense of fashion was excellent! Like Sarah Jessica Parker, I hope Preity kept her wardrobe from the movie, and that should make up for it.

Big B was totally inane, do we really need his character? K-Jo, you need to realize that showing leggy and sexy dancers with Big B is so totally out, it is so K3G. The best thing about the film is that, the cheating husband and wife did not leave their spouses, but it was vice versa.

Having said all that, I didn't dislike the movie, neither do I have anything against it. This movie is not for the conservative people, neither it is something that you can watch with your family, or your couple. Watch it for entertainment, for sensible cinema, I also caught Omkara on DVD, and I am singing praises of both these films.

Omkara (2006)

truly amazing watch!

[9/10 · 13 August 2006]

Omkara is about love, jealousy, revenge and loyalty… its also about not believing everything you see. Ajay devgan as Omkara is top notch, does not fall an inch below our expectations. He truly is the superstar in the lines of amir khan. Kareena is OK, flaunting her natural beauty throughout, she does justice to her role. It is in fact pretty weird to see her under such skin. In short, the 2 main leads of the film did excellent jobs… however performances given by saif ali khan and konkona sen in their respective characters steal the show. it actually made me wonder why the movie isn't titled langda, given how much of the film revolves around saif's character… this is no doubt saif's best performance to date, and such flawless characterization of physically challenged and jealous man yearning for his title is practically impossible to be achieved again. Konkona is definitely one of the most talented of the bunch, with every movie she is just getting better. Vivek and bipasha are effective, storyline moves subtly, but yet manages to grip you in your seat. Movies like omkara are the ones that will bring India on the international front. Hopefully this film gets the publicity it deserves for worldwide recognition. My only regret is not catching this film on the big screen, but if i didn't watch it at all, it will be a bigger loss!

Corporate (2006)

Too realistic its scary!

[9/10 · 30 July 2006]

After watching director Madhur Bhandharkar's Chandni Bar and Page 3, this was definitely a highly anticipated film by critics and fans alike. This time he was getting his hands dirty in the big bad world of corporate after tackling the dark world of bar dancers and celebrity-hood. The fact that this is the third installment of his trilogy, I was sure he will be dealing into the realistic topic of corporate firms and yet there was very little to predict or expect. The movie starts off on a nice solemn note as we are introduced into the rivalry of the 2 big enterprises. Do not expect any big twist or turns in the story, but the story just moves Madhur way. Performances by Bipasha and Kay Kay are on top note. Bipasha is impressive as hard-worker who will do anything to get her work done, and Kay Kay is very realistic. Short comedy and jokes scenes in between do not work. If he was trying to pull a Ram Gopal Varma, Madhur still needs to master the skill of developing character roles, however his effort is well appreciated and managed to keep me glued on my seat, regardless of the low quality VCD. Relating to the first 2 films, this film to does not end on a happy note... well just goes to say life goes on!!

Chingaari (2006)

i'd give it 0 rating if i could

[1/10 · 14 June 2006]

i tot kalpana lajmi, the director of films like RUDAALI, DARMIYAAN, DAMAN or KYON, would have given a decent direction and story for the film.. also considering that its adapted from a novel i think... well of course sush and mithun gave some good performance... sush the prostitute who falls in love with a postman... she was good with the emotional and outburst scenes and in some other scenes she was trying to be cute and chulbuli.. clearly having no continuity in her character development...

and since the story itself is pretty controversial, some scenes could have been handled better.. i just ended up feeling grossed out and horrified... some very bold scenes too, makes u feel sad for the life of a prostitute, but later on when she is dancing and singing the bichua song in the mela, u get confused thinking maybe her life is a party after all.. and speaking of songs.. totally irrelevant.. as irrelevant as having chutney with chocolate... reminded me of David dhawan movies...

the cause of the failure of the movie... everything.. the direction, story and actors..

Gangster (2006)

Truly amazing... and unexpected

[10/10 · 6 June 2006]

This has to be the best film i've seen in 2006... ever since i read the review online i was dying to watch the film... and thankfully i was not disappointed with the performances and storyline of the films. The film is executed in a flashback fashion and slowly event unturn revealing plenty of unexpected twists even till the end of the film. This film does not use much dialogues but the music and facial expressions of the actors play a great role in expressing the mood and storyline.. and shiny ahuja, the guy with the least dialogues, makes the BEST impression! Songs are at the minimal best, without distrupting the story... kangna (the lead actress) is great in her first film, though her dialogue delivery and diction isn't perfect, it adds authenticity feel to the movie... emraan hashmi makes a great impact... on the whole.. i am impressed.. and looking forward for more films by anurag basu.. original ones at that!

Bluffmaster (2005)

great watch!!

[8/10 · 30 January 2006]

if u r looking for a nice lighthearted, young, and peppy movie with hip music, this is the one for u... basically out and out comedy with takes a different route halfway thru the movie but catches on with a bang with a twist in the end of the movie! every single frame is like a music video with catchy tunes and remixes!

abhishek is well, just his funky self... contrary to popular belief nothing inherited from bunty n babli, ritesh is cute and very funny and priyanka is OK.. nana patekar has never done so well a comedy film (hey wait, i don't think he had any comedy movies before.. but now he should do more!) and the music is simply... hippy!! thank god the songs r not forcefully placed in between the movies but tastefully done with the whole retro theme of the movie.. not everyone can use this retro theme so well in their movies. I loved it...