Don 2 - A big disappointment

The trailer of Don2 was one of the most promising trailers we have seen in recent times. It was slick and stylish. But unfortunately the movie is not even 50% of what the trailer promised.

I was not a huge fan of Don 1 but there were lot of things in the previous version that had impressed me including the direction, performances and overall styling. Overall the movie was decent and worth once a watch.

However, not much can be said about Don 2.

First, the movie lacks a story line. A famous gangster like Don has been brought down to a simple conman who wants to commit one of the biggest bank robberies in Europe. Movies on bank robberies have been created so many times that I wonder if there will be a new and original idea to rob a bank this time. And Alas there was nothing new. In fact the robbery shown in Don 2 is pale in comparison to many others seen even in Hindi movies earlier. It lacks credibility. Its a band of crooks stealing with guns, grenades and hostages. Lot of technicalities discussed but nothing used in execution.

It’s also a wonder that such a dreaded gangster will have such poor skilled enemies. That they can hope to kill him with a local hitman.

The story and direction has so many flaws that you really wonder this is the same director who gave us Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya and even Don 1 (Guess Farhan didn’t have to worry about story in Don 1 as it was a remake with a simple twist in the end).

Coming to performances: Shahrukh Khan though acted well looks similar to so many of his previous performances. He has his trademark smirk through out the movie which I believe he should now patent it. The smirk and the laugh was considered overacting in the past but I think now its part of his persona.

Boman Irani and Om Puri such acting stalwarts reduced to paupers is a major disappointment. Priyanka Chopra has so much potential to be a true “Junglee billi” but the director decided to tame her to be a domestic cat. Its beyond me that a girl can still love someone who was responsible for killing her brother and had deceived her so many times. The romantic plot was poor and absolutely unnecessary. It makes her character extremely weak. Lara Dutta has no role whatsoever. You can take her out and nothing will change.

All the rest have been intentionally chosen as weak characters to make Don look strong.

There are hardly any songs to talk about. The background score is a continuation of Don 1 and hence mixes well with the scenes. Some of the dialogues are very good but the issue is you have heard almost all of them in the trailers in the previous few weeks that the novelty factor is totally lost. The only plus point was the stylised locations and the cinematography. The starting scene in Thailand has been shot very well.

Overall, I will rate the movie between 2 and 2.5 stars depending upon how much expectation you go with. Unfortunately, for me this was one of the most anticipated movies of this year and disappointingly falls flat.

A note: If the price for 3D is substantially higher than 2D version, you can safely opt for 2D as there are not many 3D effects in the movie.

The Dirty Picture – More Dirty than Picture

Since the time the first trailer of TDP went live, there has been an enormous amount of curiosity surrounding this movie. Milan Luthria’s next venture after the very successful and brilliant movie “Once upon a Time in Mumbai” coupled with Vidya Balan’s probably first time bold and sexy avatar was something that I was definitely looking forward to.

As there were so much expectations riding on the movie, the movie disappoints in many ways.

The Dirty Picture probably focuses more on shocking the audience with its bold images and double meaning sentences than the story itself. The story is confusing and convoluted many times. It revolves around a young plain village girl (played by Vidya Balan) who runs to Madras city to become a heroine. She is ready to do “anything” to grab a role. One accidental role and she transforms into SILK (very clearly laid out on SILK Smitha’s character from South India film industry).

There are three male protagonists in the movie. Naseeruddin Shah is playing a typical South Indian actor who can shoot Rs 100 note and break into 100 coins of Re 1. Tushar plays Naseer’s shy brother by profession a writer but most of the time either in awe of his brother or in awe of Silk. The last but the main Emran Hashmi who never gets his role clear but for a change doesn’t play the Dirty character.

The story revolves around Silk, these three characters and then again Silk. What makes it confusing is are we supposed to sympathize with her or accept her as a popular item girl. She is initially shown to be a clever, opportunist, who gets ready to drop anything that she wears for a break and subsequent roles. Later she gets affected by stardom and bias in the industry which subsequently leads to her downfall.

I believe Milan got obsessed with Vidya Balan’s first time bold image and decided to capitalize it to the maximum extent possible. In this endeavour, he misses the main story line. There are so many questions which are left to the audience to decipher. Why does Emran Hashmi hate her in the first half and then suddenly starts liking her? Is he a director, critic or an actor? Why does the journalist publicly write against her but keeps applauding and appreciating her in private? Why is Tusshar’s role required in the first place? Is being SILK good or bad? The second half probably is more puzzling than the first. At least in first there is a regular dose of “The Dirty Picture”.

All said above, the movie has its many plus points as well. The first is definitely Vidya. Vidya Balan puts in a towering performance and is clearly the highlight of the movie. She will not just amaze you with her sleazy costumes but will also win you with her acting. She is bold and bindaas. She does justice to both halves. The first one where she is naturally sexy and daring and the second one where she wants to continue with her image despite it not being working out. It is so obvious how much hard work and efforts she would have put in to live the image of SILK. Its only Vidya who could pull off such a role with such command. Any other actress, and there are chances the movie would have looked sleazy even bordering on soft porn. The movie will definitely hand over Vidya Balan the best actor award.

The make up man has also done a superb job in the second half including making her look overweight and then trying to conceal her fat.

All three male actors have put in a good job despite a lack of connect built into their roles.

The dialogues are another highlight. Despite being double meaning at many places, the dialogues have been written with so much power. This is in continuation with Once upon a time in Mumbai. Some of the one-liners were razor-sharp and witty at the same time.

Overall, The Dirty Picture is a one-time watch.

A note: Be prepared to whistles and loud roars from college students and others sitting next to you everytime Vidya Balan exposes herself or a double meaning punch is spoken. And I can assure both are there in generous quantities.

Rockstar – An intense musical piece

Going by the title, let me first talk about the music. Frankly speaking, I am not a big fan of AR Rahman. In last few years, there are many of his creations / albums that I didn’t like. The top among the list is his Oscar winning performance “Slumdog Millionnaire”. But I loved the music of Rockstar which I believe is one of his best creation in last few years. The music rocks. It brings the Rock genre back in vogue. Almost all songs are beautiful and touching at the same time. While some songs like “Katia Karun” and “Sadda Haq” are already a hit. I think its just a matter of time when the others pick up. Each song (and there are many) has the caliber to be on the charts.

Music is the soul of Rockstar whether its the background score or the songs. The movie progresses in songs. Each song sketches the emotional turmoil that the characters are going through. Whether it is the maturing of characters or the appreciation of romance, everything happens in songs. Each song has a significance. The biggest hit and the current rock anthem “Sadda Haq” is so intense that you can actually feel it in your nerves. This is a movie that it can easily be classified as a “musical”. The last movie of this kind which I liked was “Rock On”.

Moving back to the movie and its review. The story is simple. It is the story of a simpleton who dreams of being a Rockstar and wants to emulate Jim Morrison. The trouble is its just a dream for him. He is unable to impress anyone. And then one joke by his friend transforms his life. The joke is “Only those people are famous who have suffered tragedies and whose hearts are broken”. It seems a joke at that time but believe me the movie is just this one line.

The story has two contrasting halves. The first half which is entertaining might appeal more to the masses. It is a story that builds the chemistry between the lead characters. It is funny, witty and also prepares you for the emotive second half. However, the only flaws in the movie are in the first half. The editor has taken his job a bit too seriously here. There are scenes which are randomly cut to make it short as the director really wanted to reach the core of the movie which is the second half. The second half is much better. It is a high tension mix of emotional turbulence and commotion.

However, going by the response of people close to me in the theater, I can sense that not many people liked it as compared to the first half.

In the acting department, the movie revolves around Ranbir and Nargis Fakhri. I can safely say that this is Ranbir’s most matured performance. He is no doubt a great actor and has proved his talent time and again but this is a movie that will win him the greatest appreciation and may be many critic awards. He lives and breathes in his character. You could see how a simple Jat transitions slowly into an arrogant and painful character where success has lost its meaning for him. This is Nargis’s debut movie and for a debutant, her performance is commendable. She might not have given her best considering she was up against Ranbir but she has put in a lot of efforts. Needless to say, she is gorgeous in the movie with a very sensual appeal.

All other characters are good. The one worth mentioning is his friend “Kataria”. He has also put in a superb effort. (Sorry don’t know his name). It is also important to put in a word for great Shammi Kapoor. This is his last movie and he looks great in the short cameo appearance.

RockStar is Imtiaz’s 4^th movie. I have liked all his previous ones. In fact the one that I liked least was his biggest hit “Jab We Met”. A close look at all his movies “Socha Na Tha”, “Jab we met”, Love Aaj Kal” reveals that he loves doing unusual love stories. His movies are confined within the boundaries of only two characters. With such short scope and confinements, it is his genius only that can wove stories around it. He has directed the movie beautifully and just focussed on the passionate affair and the sensibilities around it. The movie is not a typical romcom and also doesn’t have a predictable ending. In fact the end is poignant and a bit abstract for the audience to understand.

Summing up, this is not your typical Friday blockbuster which will break opening collections or weekly records. This is not Ready, Bodyguard, Golmal or Ra. One. This is not even Love Aajkal. This is different. Not many people will like it but I am sure a lot will appreciate it.

Ra.One - The movie with good visual effects

If you were in India over the last few weeks, it would have been impossible to miss the high voltage promotion of Ra.One. Be it Hoardings, Brand tie-ups, TV ads, mall promotions, or serial inducts... he has been all over the place. Shahrukh has been promoting it to such an extent that there are jokes on twitter and facebook that he might even pop out of your salad and say “its raw one”.

The movie has generated so much hype that even if the movie was bad, it still would have recovered its cost and more through opening weekend collections which in India is a real long one. But fortunately (and thankfully), the movie is a decent watch.

Ra.One is a story of a geek father who is trying to win over his modern age son. In this effort to be a cool dad, he builds up a game where the villain is more powerful than the hero. Some error happens and the game transitions into the real world with the villain stepping out. To kill Ra.One (the evil guy), G.One (the good guy) is made to step out as well.

The first half of the movie is strong. The build up of the two lead gaming characters (Ra.One and G.One) is really nice. The fusion of real and gaming world and how each level in the gaming world would eventually progress was, I must say, creative. This is the same half where most of the visual effects are also there. Though some of them do resemble Terminator 2.

But the story starts losing out in second half which seems similar to Robot. The biggest problem with it is the genre movie wanted to focus on. Shahrukh being Shahrukh wanted to please everyone. So the movie has bits and pieces of fiction, emotions, drama, romance, comedy, action and more. There are unnecessary songs brought in. Because the leading lady is Kareena and she must be given some screen time, there are scenes stuffed in, which if edited out, will have absolutely no impact to the film. Might have even made the movie slicker and smarter.

The first half lays out the rules of the games and second half is supposed to be the playtime. But somehow the real gaming levels come across as weak. In fact the final gaming level (which in any video game is supposed to be the most challenging) is the weakest part in the movie. The third level where G.One kills Ra.One should have been more powerful and packed with more effects. There are also lot of inconsistencies but I guess such things are pardonable in Bollywood movies.

Coming back to the strengths; the visual effects are a major plus and its obvious lot of money has gone in it. Shahrukh has acted well and his energy at this age is infectious. The character who plays his son is also good (sorry don’t know the kids real name). Arjun Rampal though plays the title role, has a smaller role as most of the times, it’s the visual effect playing Ra.One. But in all scenes, where he appears, he does look menacing. Rajnikanth's cameo was unnecessary and definitely unimpressive. Kareena (as usual) doesn’t have a role except to look pretty and dance in songs like “Chhamak Chhalo”. The music is already a hit. Most songs have been and will be on the charts for some time. I especially like “Dildaara”.

Summing up, the audience in the theatre liked it yesterday. The kids loved it. Most critics might end up giving it 3 stars and more. Overall, the movie is good and I am sure the movie will be a hit. Lastly, the way the story ends, do expect a lot more from G.One. Shahrukh definitely has plans to turn it into a franchisee concept.

Mere Brother Ki Dulhan - Average flick... good in bits and pieces

“Mere Brother Ki Dulhan” or in short MBKD (this abbreviation trend must have started because of Yash Raj and Barjatyas because of their tendency to name films in sentences than words!!).

MBKD is the next from YRF banner. Well the problem is ... these days the production houses have stopped directing their own ventures and instead give a chance to younger directors thus diluting their own image. When was the last we saw a true YRF movie produced and importantly directed by Yash Raj Chopra? Well, I cant recollect... and that’s why this movie also doesn’t meet the class and standards that YRC had set in the past.

The movie is average and feels a half-hearted attempt. There are so many scenes, where you feel that the acting, the direction and the editing is a bit restrained. They just couldn’t make sure to go whole hog with the flow. There are many unwanted scenes and many unnecessary songs that have been put together in haste in order to complete the length of the movie. And man... the movie has length... It feels sooooo long. In fact at one point, I was wondering if I missed the interval.

I don’t need to tell the story because the name sums it up and there is nothing more, nothing less than what the title suggests.

Katrina Kaif was supposed to be projected as funky and sparky. In order to do that, the movie makers added so many scenes which just goes over the top. She also tries to overact in order to step outside her boundaries. On the contrary, Imran Khan is supposed to be the shy, reticent guy and he underacts to play the part. The last is the director himself (Ali Zafar from Tere Bin Laden fame). This is his first commercial Hindi venture. I don’t count “Tere Bin Laden” (which was a classic comedy) because that was a Pakistani movie. Here, he somehow tries to carry the same tone which might have worked in Pakistani comedies but somehow in a full-on Bollywood venture, it sometimes came across as over-acting. But there are scenes, where he outperforms Imran.

There are some good points in the movie as well. The music is already a hit. Songs like “Dhunki” and “Kaisa hai Ishq” are good and will continue to be chart busters. There are also many funny moments which will make you laugh. The unusual pair of Imran and Katrina appeals in many scenes especially because the two characters are so different both on and off screen.

The movie had scope for emotions but the director decided to focus on the comedy part. May be curtailing some over-the-top comical scenes with a bit emotions would have made the movie a full Bollywood drama.

In all, if there is nothing else to do this week, the movie can be watched. In any case, there hasn’t been a good movie since last 3 weeks (Please I still don’t count Bodyguard as a decent flick).

Ready - watch at your own risk

There are comedies, there are loud comedies and then there are “Anees” comedies. With every passing movie, Anees Bazmee tries to outdo himself (or should I say lower himself). “Ready” belongs to this genre. It takes Indian cinemas to the days when double entendres were considered cool. When theatres were not fitted with good quality dolby digital sound systems; hence every actor used to shout at the pitch of his voice so that he could be heard over others. Where comedies meant you keep your brains and minds and intelligence and so on along with the Rs 500 bucks that you just paid at the ticket counter. The brain might get refunded back but with a deduction of a 3hrs interest. Where the following things were considered comical: actors farting, actors peeing in the open to water the dry plants, kids peeing in their pants, kids peeing on the villains (on second thought I think there was a lot of peeing in the film, no wonder the interval says pee break), actors using “choo”, “maa ki”, “kamini” and so on in almost every alternate sentence, dances being choreographed where actors and even little kids are using actions that you might think twice before showing them to your own kids...or actors speaking garbled dialogues. Sample this: Salman speaking to Asin’s aunty and introducing himself "mein kutta hun or yeh meri kuttiya hai..."

Ready is a brainless, illogical, non-sensical comedy.. in short an Anees Bazmee movie. Needless to say it doesn’t have a story.

Having said that, I don’t want to be over critical (you must be wondering what my first para was all about in that case). The movie does have some witty moments. I could hear lots of laughter around me so I assume there are people who liked the movie as well. Salman Khan is “Salman”. Asin looks a bit better in this movie. Other talented actors like Paresh Rawal and Mahesh Manjrekar were totally wasted. The songs are ok. While most of the songs have become popular, I think the best is still “Character Dheela” though howsoever hard she tries, Zareen still looks fat.

The backdrop locations are fabulous especially in song sequences. Overall, watch the movie at your own risk.

Three Cups of Tea - A worthy Read

Post 9/11, the words “War on Terror” and “Weapons of Mass Destruction” have been the most used and abused phrases in modern history. Numerous wars (success or failure depends on which side of the war you were on) have been raged. Countries have been toppled (quite literally and structurally).

"Three Cups of Tea ...One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time" authored by Greg Mortenson with David Oliver’s support is a very interesting book that shows a very different perspective of these wars and how best they can be won. I started reading this book at the same time the book got into controversy. But having read the book, I can safely say even if 50% of the book is true and this man Greg has even built half of the number of schools, medical facilties, vocation centers that he talks about in the book, it is still worth it. He still deserves all the accolades and appreciation for having dedicated his life, his family and his entire youth to this self-less cause.

Coming back to the book, Three Cups of Tea (or as the elongated title suggests), is a book of 1 man’s journey towards bring peace in some of the most hostile and “so-called” terrorist regions in the world be it Northern Pakistan – The Baltistan region or the Afghanistan regions. After his failed attempt to conquer the most dangerous peaks in the world (K2 – karakoram), he finds himself spending a month in Northern Pakistan’s most neglected areas and witnesses the people’s warmth and hospitality. This is where the title makes shape. Basically it is a phrase in that part of Pakistan... The first time you share tea with them, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest and the third time you share a cup of tea, you become a family.

Having witnessed the need for education, he decides to build a school for Korphe region and therein starts his struggle. This need for 1 school slowly becomes a full time job for him courtesy some generous donations and he opens Central Asia institute dedicated to the humanitarian development of the region.

The book comes across as a selfless account of this man’s journey written in a fashion that can allow more donations to flow through the institute. The basic theory remains the same. The war on terror cannot be won by Bushes and Obamas way of unsolicited and unashamed attacks but to enable people to understand the different between a school and wahhabi madarasas. To move them away from extremism to more modern educational system where they can emrace the world and allow a holistic development.

The book might not come across as a fast read as the writing style is documentary oriented but the message is strong and convincing.

The book also throws some interesting insights for an Indian like me who has always viewed Pakistan with just 1 angle. Reading about the Kargil conflict by someone who was in Pakistan at the same time is such an interesting read for me.

Overall... a good book to read if you are interested in modern history and the birth of terror in today’s times.

Dum Maaro Dum – A dumdaar first half with a feeka second half

I know I am very late in blogging about this one. Considering that the buzz around this movie was quite low initially and it was yet another Abhishek Bachchan’s movie after a series of turkeys last year put this in a low priority for me. But with word of mouth, the movie gained publicity and hence prompted me to watch it last night.

The movie starts with a bang. I loved the way the title and casting appears ... just what you need to set the tempo for a suspense action thriller. By the time the interval happens, I was totally impressed... The movie was shot at such a pace that didn’t even realized when 75 mins had passed. Everything was terrific (in critics language 5 star). The pace of the movie, action sequences, dialogues, performances, the Goan set-up under the dark shady clouds of drugs, the flashback sequences, and the smart direction...everything was packed with style (ekdum dumdar).

With this, the expectations from the second half sky rockets and that’s where I think the movie fails. The first half had covered so much that post interval, there is not much left for the filmmaker to cover. So he tends to drag the movie to ensure the audience gets his due of atleast 2 hrs for the 250 bucks they had spent. The second half tends to linger with Abhishek chasing the villain in long-winded sequences.

Having said that, DMD is still a good movie. As I said, the styling is really good. After Bluffmaster, Rohan Sippy once again comes back with a sharp direction and also uses Abhishek Bachchan to his strengths. The new hero Rana Dugubatti is even better (actually cant say he is new because people say he is a big thing in South). Liked his croaky voice. Prateik didn’t have much to do but plays the small role of Goan lad well. Bipasha just had to look the ultra glam girl and I think she plays it to the core. Aditya Pancholi comes back after a very long time (don’t even remember when was the last I saw him) but he too is brilliant in the “bad mafia lord” character.

All the songs are noteworthy. There already has been lot of buzz about the stunning item cum title song of Deepika. But to me, the best song was “Thain Thain”. With the choreography and rapid movement of story in background, this song tends to grow. The other soft song which is very nice is “Te Amo” with the Goan and Bipasha backdrops.

The camera has played a good role in styling the movie with the entire movie pasteurised in shades of yellow adding to the Goan feel.

Some scenes especially a jail torture scene might be quite uncivilized for Indian standards but I think they form a good part in portraying the tough cop character of Abhishek.

The director wanted to create a suspense thriller. The end does have a suspense but I think somehow it loses its relevance. May be if he would have stuck to the thrill part, the movie might have come out better.

Overall, Dum Maro Dum can be watched. The movie is in its 3rd week so you will need to watch it this week itself as it is unlikely to last one more.

The world Cup Bonus - is it fair?

With the world cup win so close and the national sentiments so high, lot of people might not like what I am going to blog about. But the fact of the matter is I went through similar emotions before writing this one.

We all loved the win and celebrated our cricketers. We turned them into national heros and icons. We have been demanding Bharat Ratna status for some and some are being moulded into religious deities. India is a land of extreme emotions but cricket takes these extremes to a new high. But the sport of cricket is also a business proposition today. There are crores riding on them. So it never surprised me when Dhoni became the largest endorsed player commanding an ad rate equivalent to top Bollywood stars or Yuvraj getting ‘Re-vitalized’ once again or for that matter some of the younger talents like Virat making crores in advertisements. What surprised me and stirred my emotions is when I started seeing our politicians doling out largess.


Last heard, BCCI announced 1 cr for each player. Fair enough, they play for BCCI and so they deserve a bonus for a sparkling performance once in a while apart from the salaries they make on every match. I can equate this to ‘healthy’ bonuses in some of our corporate parlance. No issues at all. Fully acceptable... Its a corporate body paying from their pockets... well is it? ICC just got a tax exemption for the world cup 2011. So that means they will not be paying any tax whatsoever for the enormous money they made for organizing the world cup... be it sponsorships, telecast rights, extensive and comprehensive ads placed on every nook and corner of stadiums, bats, jerseys etc...stadium charges (well we can discount that knowing that on an average it was just 20% of tickets up for sale and the remaining 80% distributed free to their families, sponsors and our ‘beloved’ politicians who by the way are still fighting on the uneven distribution of tickets because they couldn’t accommodate the ‘aunt’ of their mother-in-law’s sister into the stadium to watch the WC final...too bad)

Then came the announcements of individual states each trying to outdo the other with offers ranging from crores (A crore seems to be very common figure now) to residential plots to acres of lands to plush houses. Well who is paying for all this? A government is a representative of the people and its finances are run by tax payers’s money... yes we people ...you and I ... the one who is writing this blog and the one who is reading it now. Well who authorized them to use my money?

So on one hand... ICC doesn’t pay any taxes while on the other hand the taxes that the audience pay is used to further enhance the wealth of the cricket players.

I have no qualms or issues against the cricketers. They played brilliantly and hence deserve all the accolades. Its good to be benevolent sometimes...But shouldn’t we keep it fair? What if the money could have been used to build better sporting facilities for other sports so that a WC triumph can be replicated in other areas or may be a pace bowling cricket academy.

At least this time, I have a consolation. The last time so much tax payer’s money was used in sports was for stuffing pockets of some of the organizers of the common wealth games and that too unaccounted. At least this time, we know where its going and can still attach an emotional reason for it.

‘MOHALI’DAY

30th March 2011 is a day that will get embossed in History. It’s the day when India met its arch rivals Pakistan for the 6th time in World Cup. While the past statistics strongly support India for it had won on all previous occasions. But as we all know statistics are just numbers and can be changed anytime. And on top of that, it was a Semi-Final encounter.

While I am not going to blog about the above as by now everyone has gone through an extensive emotional turmoil and a frenzy of excitement, I just wanted to share what an interesting day I spent on this momentous day. So to start with, not knowing the day and the WC schedule (and also at that time not sure if India will reach this far), I had pre-booked some meetings in Delhi with a return flight in the evening (Yes evening, the same time when the chase begins and the entire sub-continent will be glued to TV at their homes (or may be pubs, multiplexes and in some cases even stadiums like the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad)

The meetings got over and I did manage to watch the initial explosive batting of Sehwag and some of the dropped catches of Sachin. But the real fun started, when we reached the Delhi airport at T-3 around 6:30pm for my 8pm flight back to Mumbai. First, we were told that the flight has been cancelled due to lack of passengers and now I am shifted to 9pm flight. Well not that bad, I might be able to watch some more overs.

So I got my boarding pass and proceeded to security. Not a single soul in sight. The security check which in any normal day would have taken 15-20 mins was such a breeze... only 2 mins. I asked whether there would be TV inside showing live match, and the security guard very heartily responded "YES... OF COURSE" (as if I just asked for some basic essential services). Infact, he also updated me with the latest score. India had lost its 5th wicket and was struggling (as usual in its last 15 overs).

I was almost through security when I heard some loud screams inside...Not sure what it was, I walked past security and would have just crossed the first shop when I realized what cricket can do to the nation.

There was a Giant screen showing cricket with a whole lot of crowd standing in front of it. Audience included passengers, cabin crews, pilots, air hostesses and even the security guards (so much for our tight security). The power play was on and Suresh Raina was trying to achieve a respectable score for India while wickets were falling at the other end. We started searching for a place where we can sit and watch the remaining few overs of Indian batting but there was not an inch left which could offer us a good view. Finally, we went to a pub and watched the remaining overs from there.

1st innings got over and suddenly the entire space was empty as if all flights for takeoff were just waiting for the break.

We watched the first 20 overs quite comfortably before our flight announcement was made.

With some very heavy heart of missing the action, we started walking towards the gate only to find that there were more TVs near each boarding gates. Some passengers even had radios and were listening to the commentary while waiting for their boarding passes to be scanned. We boarded the plane and just casually asked the air hostess... ‘By any chance would you know what the latest score is?’ She immediately responded “Don’t worry Sir, the pilot will be updating shortly and will give regular updates throughout the journey”. Our jaws dropped...’Can this happen??’ She said “YES...OF COURSE” ... once again as if it’s part of the flight price we paid like the cold meals and the tiny water bottles we were entitled to.

The flight took off and as soon as the initial boarding instructions got over; came the first score update. ... Pakistan has lost its 5th wicket and its 144/5. We were happy that at least we will be able to hear (if not witness) some action and are not totally betraying our nation.

The score updates continued and with each update, India’s chances of winning increased. There were some Ethiopian journalists sitting next to us and they were quite curious to know what this frenzy is all about. They had very little clue about cricket and all they wanted to understand after every update was if India was winning or not. We kept confirming "YES...OF COURSE".

The anxiety continued and the pilot mentioned Pakistan needs 86 runs from 63 balls with 3 wickets remaining. And then for the next 20 mins, there were no updates... We got anxious, worried, eager, tensed and many more such emotions flooded our nervous systems. Various theories started coming in the mind. Has India lost? Has Pakistan utilized its batting power play effectively? During those 20 mins, we must have asked the airhostess at least 5 times. The poor girl said she was also upset and has reminded the pilot many times. If she barge in once more, she would be killed.

Just when all hopes were lost, there was a sound of a throat getting cleared and the update being announced. Pakistan needs 31 runs from 10 balls.

Yeh Dil Maange More... We were now desperate for a ball by ball update but the pilot couldn’t oblige much and obviously we couldn’t let the beautiful airhostess get murdered. Then suddenly as if the prayers were answered. I heard a sound which would have been normal if I were on ground. But in the flight....? Is that by any chance sound of a commentary? Is someone able to catch radio signals in the flight? No it cant be possible? I rushed to the source of the sound and tapped the gentleman? ‘By any chance, are you listening to commentary? Do you know the score?’ And he responded “YES... OF COURSE... 30 runs from 6 balls with 1 wicket remaining ... Zaheer will bowl the last over.” Phew...

Another 2 mins and the pilot announced “INDIA HAS WON”. We all clapped and cheered along with our anxious African colleagues. One of their female journalist asked if that’s all we are going to do? Won’t there be any Victory Dance and we immediately imagined and missed the streets in India at that point of time.

What a journey this was... These memories will remain embedded forever. Last but not the least, for the first time in my life, I thoroughly enjoyed flying with the “Maharaja”

7 Khoon Maaf - A dark movie

Last week was “Yeh saali Zindagi” – a quirky dark comedy and this week “7 Khoon Maaf”. Seems like “dark” dimensions are the new “in” things in Bollywood.

Honestly, it was quite difficult for me to write this movie’s review. This is a movie which people will either like it or discard it altogether (like the college teens sitting behind me in the theatre and planned to leave in interval).

So I decided to ask myself a few questions:
Did I like the movie myself? “May Be”
Was the movie bad? “Definitely not”
How was the direction? “All I can say is that I have my doubts if someone else could have directed it better. Vishal Bhardwaj has always been a brilliant director. I don’t think there were ever any doubts. Whether it was his first movie Maqbool or the other ones that followed like Omkara, Ishqiya and Kaminey. He has the habit of exploring the dark psyche of his characters and does it beautifully.”
What about Acting? “7 Khoon Maaf is a movie that transitions with the central character of Priyanka Chopra (Susanna) and her transformation from a shy, scared of her husband housewife to a bold, unapologetic elderly female as she moves from 1 murder to another. Once again I am not sure if someone else could have played Susanna better. All actors (Neil Nitin Mukesh, John Abraham, Naseeruddin Shah, Annu Kapoor, Vivaan Shah, Irrfan Khan and the Russian actor) have their own moments in the movie. Priyanka though brilliant is still restrained and doesn’t try to overshadow the others.”

Where I am trying to reach through this self Q&A is that the subject of the movie was complex. It is inspired from a short story by Ruskin Bond “Susanna’s seven husbands”.

With a complicated subject like this and still managing to hold the audience attention as one murder unfolds after another is definitely an achievement and who better than Vishal Bhardwaj? There are some scenes that are top-notch in Indian cinema and that’s where the director’s brilliance comes in.

The movie picks pace in the second half which is much better than the first. Inspite being a dark movie, it still manages some witty moments and also an excellent surprise (Suspense) in the end. I also liked the fact that though so many husbands are murdered but at no point you either feel sympathetic for the wife or express anger and resentment. Somehow, they continue to have a detached feel.

Overall, cant say whether you will like it or not (I am figuring out myself) but you will certainly have an opinion on it. By the way, it certainly might be the critics’ choice for this year with Vishal and Priyanka bagging the honors.

Ajmal Kasab case - Is this really a win for our judicial system?

This week, Ajmal Kasab’s verdict was announced and he was sentenced to death.
The news was on all National Dailies and media for 1 day and then slowly faded away for other news like Godhra Verdict (after 9 years), World cup cricket (Biggies winning over minnows) and others.

The news was also coupled with lot of smart people providing their comments and analysis. Some were praising the Indian democracy and how he was given a proper court hearing which can happen only in India. There were others who appreciated the speed of Indian judicial system in reaching the verdict so fast (in just 24 months). While others just spoke about how Indian legal system has all the right ingredients in place to ensure that the criminals are punished. One of the politician even went ahead and said while we have completed the process, Pakistan has not even started the case (Read he was referring to Pakistan trying the perpetrators of this heinous act within their own country against those people whom India has suggested were involved in it).

All these praises were for a case of a lone terrorist who survived out of the 10 who mercilessly killed scores of Indians. This guy was caught red handed, was witnessed by numerous people, was caught on CCTV and media cameras while committing the act. He initially even accepted his guilt (only to be retracted later). Everyone in the country including the judge, lawyers, general public and Indian politicos were aware of the case, the accused and I can bet everyone were also sure of the verdict in advance. Still in order to prove that we have the world’s best democracy and may be the world’s best legal system now (???), we went ahead with this long court drama with multiple charges levelled against him (including Ajmal travelling without ticket in a local train), numerous witnesses being paraded in court, many defense lawyers being replaced (after some of them were bashed up by local “Senas”) and providing a ‘Z’ level security to Kasab (So that he doesn’t die before him being pronounced guilty).

All in all, we spent Rs 45 Crore so far (and still counting) and this is over and above the crores that this guy anyways inflicted upon the Indian infrastructure by bombs and bullets. This guy can still appeal in Supreme court and file for mercy petition. There are also very high chances that he might never be hanged (as is the case with previous death sentences) and we continue to bear his expenses.

So should we believe all of this and feel proud about our democracy and judicial system? Was it really important to conduct this entire farce?

Food for thought: What if like the Jessica Lal case (the witnesses would have changed their statements and turned hostile) and there was no proof to convict him, would he have walked out scot-free? What would have we done then?

Yeh Saali Zindagi - 100% raw

When a director like Sudhir Mishra teams up with someone like Prakash Jha, you can be assured the movie will be good, but if the final product exceeds your already high expectations, you know it that the movie was definitely worth much more than the ticket price.

“Yeh Saali Zindagi” is edgy and 100% raw. For those who have loved Quentin Tarantino cinema, Yeh Saali Zindagi has all its traits and characteristics albeit with a Desi Stamp and feel.

There is no point describing the story because the movie has many plots, many turns and many many twists. Each character has its main story and a side story which is dark.

The highlight of the movie is by no doubt its crudeness which gets reflected in its sharp dialogues. The dialogues are rough, witty, coarse, and may be even offensive to many. The direction is superb with the voiceover providing strength to the many storylines. And acting... well the movie has Irrfan Khan, Saurabh Shukla, Sushant Singh, Yashpal Sharma, Chitrangada so no doubt it cant go wrong here as well. Irrfan Khan is brilliant to say the least. In fact he is so good that sometimes he overshadows the other actors in the movie who otherwise have acted brilliantly on their own as well. Chitrangada Singh is sensuous. Arunodya Singh (last seen in Mirchi) has also tried hard to compete with the other stalwarts. In fact his numerous smooches with the newcomer Aditi Rao can give competition to our Emraan Hashmi.

The movie has been shot in Delhi. Recently, “Dilli” has taken centre stage in many Bollywood ventures and this one also tries to have the same “Dilliness” in it. The plot can happen anywhere but “Dilli” feel lends its own charm.

The title song is superb and I am still humming it while writing this review.

I could have easily rated this movie as top stars but for the length of the movie. Such movies should be short so that their crispiness can be maintained. I think that’s where Sudhir might have erred a bit. In order to make it more twisting and turning, he indulged himself further.

Just one last point: The movie has been rated as “A” so respect the decision of Censor Boards and keep your kids at home. There is not a single scene in the movie where you will not cringe if your kids are somewhere nearby.

Dil to Bachcha Hai Ji... Remains a bit ‘kachcha’ in the making

“Dil to Bachcha hai Ji” is Madhur Bhandarkar’s first foray in commercial cinema. Madhur who before has handled only serious “real” subjects (best known for films like Fashion, Corporate, Page 3) tries his hand in something different and attempts a light comedy for the first time.

The movie has its soul ...in fact it has all the ingredients required to make a movie work be it comedy, emotions, love, sex, music, beautiful locations, good looking actors but somehow it still fails to grip the audience.

Its a story of 3 guys in different phases of life and their brush with love. Each story has an independent track and individually each one is good. Ajay is going through marriage turmoil and finds solace in the vivacious Shahzahn. Omi is the ideal Marathi mulga unlikely to impress any girl yet falls for modern Shraddha Das playing a Radio VJ. Emran, the ever flirt playboy (As he calls himself ATM – “Any Time Mohabbat”) has a different girl every night and then falls for Shruti, the social cause girl. While the first two have a decent storyline, Emran’s story has many loopholes but we can pardon the makers for that (for which Hindi movies doesn’t has gaps?)

In terms of acting, it’s once again Ajay Devgn who steals the show with his somewhat matured professional shy in love look. This actor is on a roll with so many hits last year. Omi Vaidya (last seen as the delicious Chatur Ramalingam and his hall of fame “balatkar” speech in 3 Idiots) also does his job struggling with his Hindi as well as his love. Well for Emran Hashmi (how many times have we seen him in something similar ...seems like he has got typecast as the evergreen playboy..at least he doesn’t get to smooch anyone in this movie).

The 4 girls (Shahzahn Padamsee, Shraddha Das, Shruti Hasan and Tisca Chopra) are very beautiful and natural in their roles especially Shahzahn playing a teenage girl just starting her internship. Its a pity the beautiful and talented Shruti gets the least screen space with just a song to her credit.

Talking of songs, the movie has a lovely soundtrack with the 2 top songs hummable especially “Abhi kuchh Dinon se” which also continues as the background score.

Seems like everything is good so far...where does the movie fails? Well you will be surprised if I say direction considering its Madhur Bhandarkar’s department and he is quite good in it. But may be this being a different domain, he struggles. The direction and editing doesn’t have that sharpness required to ensure the jokes keep coming at the right moments. There are times when the movie is dragging. The duration seems really long. The movie could have been shorter, may be better edited and some more wits puffed in.

So as I started, the movie is a light comedy and has many moments that will tickle you. Its far better than some of the boisterous and loud movies served to us as comedies these days (no prizes for guessing which ones I am referring to ... you had many in 2010 including the one released late last year).

Justice for Jessica?

We Indians have a very short memory. I am too tempted to say short term memory loss. We are in the habit of forgetting most of the news that don’t concern us howsoever traumatic or disgusting it might be whether its the numerous scams knocking the top headlines of our newspapers and media channels every day or the hideous rapes and murders that now have become part and parlance of Delhi power politics. And precisely for this reason, we need more movies like “No one killed Jessica”.

‘No one killed Jessica’ is a story on the (in)famous Jessica Lal murder case that stormed our news channels for several years. She was shot dead just because she refused to serve a glass of drink after the pub closed. The murderer 'Manu' was acquitted and only after tremendous media and people pressure, the case was reopened and he was given a life-term sentence. (By the way, the story is still not fully over as the accused was out on bail some months back only to be put behind bars again when he was seeing enjoying himself in a pub and the media created a storm)

The movie per se is not very well directed with the first half excruciatingly slow and a bit confused as well. We are not sure what the director is more concerned about: Is it the status of hi-class societies, the rise of India post Pokhran, Kargil war or just the over-pitched performance of Rani. But the second half picks up and to some extent compensates for the first half. The direction is modestly above average and at some places the movie actually fails to arouse the sentiments of people. This is one movie that should have boiled our bloods but many places people are left laughing at the fillers (like the accused's mother repeating the same dialogue... mere monu ko kuchh nahin hona chahiye). The acting was also not that great with Vidya under acting and Rani over acting. The music is good with the track "dilli" matching the sentiments of the movie.

The place where movie scores is its underlying premise. Its a story worth telling less we forget the injustices meted out to people affected by this case. The long unbearable court proceedings. Imagine a court case that lasts 7 years and still “justice is denied” inspite of 300 witnesses including politicians, police people and social activists. Her own boyfriend who turns hostile midway into the case.

Its a story that should remind us that there are many more such “Jessicas”, “Mattoos”, “Ruchikas”, “Nainas” who have all gone through the same fate where power, politics, law and corruption are all above common man’s plight and his (in most cases 'her') fight for justice. It should once again question the insane and now obsolete laws written during 1800s at the time when "India" didn’t even exist.

As I said, the movie itself might not be very well made but still every Indian should watch the same.