Jodha Akbar - Movie Review

Jodha Akbar
Reviewed by Aramita


There has been much hype surrounding the release of magnum opus Jodha Akbar, and why not? After brilliant films like Lagaan and Swades, one tends to expect nothing short of brilliance from director Ashutosh Gowariker.

Getting straight to the point, Jodha Akbar does not live up to the high standards set by his previous two releases.

Do not get me wrong, it's not an Aag, at the same time, it's not a 'modern day masterpiece' as some critics made it out to be.

Cons:

1).The film moves at a snail's pace, awfully testing the viewer's patience.

Why oh why was it 3 and a 1/2 hours long? Seriously, I could not comprehend the reason the film was so lengthy. The makers could have been easily chopped off half an hour or so, in order to spare our sanity.

I am all for a long film, but it needs to hold my interest throughout. Sadly, Jodha Akbar had me yawning in boredom during many stages of the film.

2). Khwaja song - One of the worst song picturisations I have seen. Right from the weird expression of the actors, to the dance movements, to Akbar doing his little jiggy dance - simply awful!

3). The ear-piercing 'trumpets roar' that played during dramatic sequences - What the hell was that about?!

4). For cartoon-like character actors, that screamed at the top of their voices and made silly faces thinking it can be passed off as acting - Please don't quit your day jobs.

5). Jodha sitting in front of a Hindu idol, from day to night, praying for her husband's recovery ... and voila! He recovers - Too much Ekta Kapoor prime time maybe?

Pros:

All that said and done, Jodha Akbar isn't a bad movie. In fact, it is a good movie, which could have been great. There are many aspects of the film which I liked.

1). Hrithik - perfect casting. He not only looks the part, but also performs well up to the task. His much talked about 'inadequate voice' didn't seem a drawback at all. Overall, great performance by an ever improving actor. Not to forget, he looked dam.n good!

2). Aiswariya - don't be shocked! I did honestly like her here. Perfect casting yet again. Looking gorgeous and performing well too. I found her subdued, with none of her usual overacting. Overall, a good performance by Mrs. Rai-Bachchan.

3). I loved all the romantic scenes in the film, what I thought would be boring, turned out to be the best part of the film. The chemistry between Hrithik and Ash is too good. As of now, they are the second best on-screen jodi after SRK and Kajol winking smiley

4). The first battle scene and the fight during the climax. Well shot, well executed. Its surely no Lord of the Rings, but it is still impressive for Bollywood standards. I loved the sword fight between Hrithik and Ash.

5). Azeem -o- Shan Shahensha. Brilliantly picturised and one of the highpoints of the film. Jashan-e-Bahara and In Lamhon ke Daaman Mein too have been nicely picturised, apart from being beautiful melodies. A.R.Rehman has once again done a fabulous job.


Visuals are outstanding! Ditto for the Art direction and Costumes. Yes, the film is grandness and opulence personified.

Dialogues, most of the time, sound cliched. I, was afraid there would be heavy usage of complicated Urdu, but overall, the language was pretty understandable.

Background score is good, apart from that previously mentioned 'annoying' background piece.

You must have noticed I didn't mention the plot synopsis. That's because I am still trying to decipher this story, what with all the sub-plots revolving around deceit, murder, conspiracy, jealousy. Not since "At Worlds End" have I had such a tough time keeping up with all the different angles of one plot.


Jodha Akbar isn't a complete let down. Yet, it's a disappointment coming from Ashutosh Gowariker. The screenplay felt haphazardly put together. The film isn't body beautiful minus soul. There is a story, an idea behind making this film, but it's executed is a very haphazard fashion. If only more detail was put into the story/screenplay and editing, then in Ash's jewelery, we may have had another masterpiece from the Gowariker camp.

A strictly good one time watch ... if you can make it though the first forty minutes.

Rating: 3/5

Sunday - Movie Review

Sunday

Reviewed by Aramita

*Spoilers Ahead*

After Golmaal, Sunday is Rohit Shetty's latest attempt at the genre of comedy. While I did enjoy Golmaal as an entertainer, story-wise, the film disappointed.

Sunday is suspense/comedy that (for the most part) follows the same formula of 'devoid of logic' entertainers.

But difference between Golmaal and Sunday, is that the latter is better content-wise.


What starts off with a murder driven by jealousy, cut to a dead body floating in a lake, which quickly shifts to the central protagonist Seher, and the unprecedented happenings of her life. Unexplained scratches on her neck, goons out to kill her, a taxi driver whom she owes money to, a small time actor who thinks she is a ghost and an entire day gone missing from her memory - How? What? Why? Where? Seher goes to the police in order to unravel the mystery behind all the strange occurrences, but after further investigation, Seher is shocked to find out that she may have been involved in a cold blooded murder herself.

The kick-start to the proceedings was somewhat lame. The chase sequence wasn't executed well and was stretched for no apparent reason. But the film gathered steam as soon as Ayesha's character was introduced, and the rest of the first half was a fun-filled joyride, all the while keeping a healthy balance of suspense and humour.

The second half wasn't as tight as the first, but still, the interest was maintained well and the situations didn't bore for the most part.

Although the romance angle of Seher and Rajvir, I felt was not needed, and the dream song too felt forced.

The climax too could have been more powerful, the 'revelation' wasn't as hard-hitting as it should have been.

The action sequences may have been intended to look stylish, but instead ended up looking cheesy - the cops and robbers chase at the start of the film, the car chase and the scene where Ajay fights with an entire gang of goons, all the while eating ice cream. During those scenes, I felt as if I was watching Cash part 2.

The aspect where this film scored highly is the comedy department. Saying its just funny would be an understatement. Some scenes were damn hilarious - 'Arshad getting shot', 'the hospital scene', 'the scene where Arshad thinks Ajay is coming on to him", "the scene where Arshad and Irfan think Ayesha is a ghost" were some of the funniest moments in the film.

Music was strictly okay, but picturisation's could have been a lot better.

Dialogues were great. Most of the witty one-liners would leave you in a split of laughter!

Coming to performances:

Ajay Devgan was good. He played the part of the corrupt cop very well and his comic timing was also good.

Ayesha Takia was wonderful. Her second best performance after Dor.

Arshad Warsi was brilliant! This actor continues to impress with every film.

Irfan Khan was awesome! His shared great chemistry with Arshad, and their scenes together were the best part of the film.
Anjana Sukhani got another 'non-role' after Salaam -e- Ishq. And did full justice to it.
Mukesh Tiwari performed well.

The Villain (don't know his name) was lousy. Definitely a miscast.


Rohit Shetty's direction was decent. He is becoming more competent with each film. This is the Second time he has proved he can handle comedy very well, but he needs to work on other areas of filmmaking.

Sunday is a good entertainer, not devoid of flaws though.

Rating: 3/5

Halla Bol - Movie Review

Halla Bol

Reviewed by Aramita

*Spoilers ahead*


Making films on political/social injustice - themes that makes for hard-hitting/no-nonsense cinema, is what Rajkumar Santoshi is most famous for.

Halla Bol too has all the trappings of a quintessential Santoshi product.

The film's plot itself isn't novel or path-breaking, in fact, we have seen this kind of stories told before many times in different films.

Yet, Halla Bol's strength lies in the straight-forward execution of a cliched storyline, accompanied with some powerful performances.

The film doesn't go over-the-top, and neither does exaggerate the points about corrupt politicians, social injustice and the public apathy towards social injustice. Cause these issues occur in modern day India, and are not derived from the filmmakers imagination.


Ashfaqe-ullah (Ajay) is a small town theatre activist, who aspires to make it big in the world of Bollywood. Once he succeeds in the film industry, he sheds his middle-class miens. His attitude starts changing, along with his values, ethics and name - Sameer Khan. His family and girlfriend refuse to accept his spoiled superstar personality and his relationship with them turns sour. Sameer's life takes an unexpected turn when he witnesses the murder of a young girl at a party. The event provokes his conscience and he decides to take action against the killers of the girl. But the road to justice isn't devoid of obstacles, as he and his family face harassment from corrupt politicians, businessmen and cops, who are resolute to cover up the murder. And his only pillar of strength in this trying times is his Guru, a former dacoit-turned-theatre activist - Sidhu (Pankaj).


Rajkumar Santoshi showcases a lot of important issues in this 2 + hours cinematic experience.

What starts off as story about a spoiled star's antics, quickly changes into a tale of personal redemption, and the fight against injustice and the county's corrupt political system.

The movie is well paced, and never does get boring, even during the flashback sequences. Only the climax could have been more powerful, but the one we had was pretty good too.

Apart from being a hard-hitting drama, the film manages to make you chuckle many times. There are a lot of humorous sequences throughput the film.

Dialogues sound cliched at times, but pack a punch nonetheless.

Music is bad. For the exception of the 'Jab tak hai dum', none of the songs are pleasant to hear and were not needed.


Performances are strong:

After two debacles, Ajay Devgan goes back to do what he does best - act. He enacts the role of Sameer with extreme conviction. The films rests mainly on his shoulders, and he doesn't disappoint this time.

Vidya Balan doesn't have a meaty role, but still gives a very good performance.

Pankaj Kapoor is absolutely brilliant. He even has more on screen presence than Ajay, and puts in a stellar performance.

Darshan Jariwala was also good as the evil politician.

Rest of the cast is also competent, specially the actors who play Ajay's parents.


Rajkumar Santoshi is is full form this time. Halla Bol is sincere movie on a topical theme. Overall, the film manages to convey the message it set out too... in powerful manner.

Rating: 4/5

Taare Zameen Par - Movie Review

Taare Zameen Par

Reviewed by Aramita

*Mild Spoilers Ahead*

Taare Zameen Par cannot be classified as just another film, instead, it is more an entertaining, inspiring and heart-warming experience. A special experience, that will surely be cherished by everyone who loves good cinema.

It is not a children's film as perceived to be, but a film revolving around children.


Ishaan Awasthi is a eight-year-old boy with an active imagination. His world is filled with colours, animals and space-battles with math problems....A world that no one seems to understand or appreciate. His lack of interest in homework and knack for getting into trouble lands him in boarding school against his wishes. Away from home and his mother, his moodiness increases, and being reprimanded daily only adds to his grievances. Nothing changes, until one day, a new art teacher named Ram Shankar Nikumbh arrives. Ram decides to discover the reason behind Ishaan's unhappiness, and eventually help the boy regain confidence in himself.

Written by Amole Gupte, the film deals with an unorthodox subject portrayed in a beutifully sensitive manner. The narrative of the movie is simplicity exemplified, the film moves at a wonderfully breezy pace. Yawn-worthy situations are pretty non-existant, as nothing seems forced or out-of-place.

Performances are top notch:

Aamir Khan (Ram Shankar Nikumbh) comes in 90 minutes into the film. And delivers exactly what is expected from him, an excellent performance.

Vipin Sharma as Ishaan's father (Nandkishore Awasthi) is competant. Tisca Chopra as Ishaan's mother (Maya Awasthi) is excellent! Sachet Engineer as Ishaan's brother (Yohaan Awasthi) delivers a fine performance, so does Tanay Chheda as Ishaan's best friend (Rajan Damodaran).

The star of the show is undoubtedly Darsheel Safary (Ishaan Awasthi). The young actor puts up a brilliant act that needs to be seen to be believed.

Music (Shanker, Ehsaan, Loy) is another high point. The songs have been beutifully incorporated in the narrative. The best of the lot is the Title track, Jame Raho and Maa. The last of three mentioned songs comes at a crucial point in the film. The heart-wrenching situation, combined with the touching lyrics of the song (Prasoon Jhoshi) is bound to get you all choked up. If you don't, then your dead inside!

Taare Zameen Par marks Aamir Khan's foray into filmmaking. And with this film, Aamir shows exactly why he's called Mr. Perfectionist.

He is a fabulous storyteller with a great eye for detail. From handling the sensitive plot with extreme conviction to extracting an award worthy performance from child actor Darsheel, Aamir is brilliant all the way.

One of the best films to have come out this year. It is the ultimate treat this holiday season, go watch it, you won't regret it.

Rating: 4.5/5

Saawariya - Movie Review

Saawariya

Reviewed by Aramita

*Spoilers Ahead*

Ranbir Raj is an idealist by nature, a vagabond, who one day arrives in a surreal, almost ethereal town. He finds work in a swanky nightclub as a lead singer/musician. He meets and greets the residents while spreading his infectious charm everywhere he goes. He makes friends with a streetwalker and charms his way into an elderly lady’s home as a tenant. No bad for a days works! One night, as he notices a mysterious girl standing alone on a bridge, little did he know then, that one poignant moment would affect his life forever.

There is something special about a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. whether it was Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas or Black. His movies are mostly credited for being simple tales told in a beautiful manner....On the flip side, he is often criticized for his slow, sometimes boring narratives (Black) and obsessive importance to opulence and grandeur (Devdas).

Saawariya doesn’t rank as his best work to date, it’s also not his worst - that honor goes to Devdas.

In a nut shell - the Saawariya starts off promisingly, but derails halfway into the film (Sakina’s tale), it comes back on track soon, only to get derailed again (Climax).

There isn’t a set story. Saawariya is a situational movie, detailing the invents of four nights. Hence there is no past history of characters reveled, we don’t know why they are the way they are. Sometimes the character’s actions are mysterious and downright confusing. Why did Imaan leave? Why is he coming after a year? What couldn’t he write to Sakina? Why was Gulab so angry at Raj when he wanted to spend the night with her? Why does Sakina knowingly, lead Raj on?

Due to that, we can’t connect with them and our heart doesn’t go out to any of the characters, except Raj. He is the only character we feel for throughout the movie.

Performances: Ranbir steals the show. Great debut! He looks convincing as the young, drifting, dreamer who is hopelessly in love. But he’s not perfect, his expressions in many scenes are exaggerated and at times he goes over the top, specifically in his dancing scenes and dialogue delivery.

Sonam is strictly okay, no great shakes. And one can’t really blame Sonam for it. Her subdued character doesn’t give her the scope to perform, and at most places she has only one fixed expression. Sakina isn’t at all like (Bhansali’s) usual strong female characters. An okay debut.

Rani is perfect! Playing a brash yet likable prostitute. Gulab isn’t your cliche streetwalker, she can wak engleesh, she can tak engleesh, she wears designer saris and has perfect make up. Rani delivers a laudable performance. Best part - No rona dhona for once.

Salman is just an extended guest appearance, playing the, quite mysterious character Imaan. After hearing a rumor that he has a 45 minute role and he has worked 50 days for this movie, I was surprised to see so little of him. He should have had a bigger role, it would have made the proceedings more interesting. We just had to settle for the ten minutes of screen time he has. An okay performance.

Zohra Sehgal is good as Lilian. Funny at times, has good scenes with Ranbir.

Begum Para is not important.

Reasons to watch:

1.) Ranbir Kapoor. He’s a confidant, competent, chap, who has given the best performance in the film. He needs to work on his expressions, dance, and get a haircut! Other than that, no major complains.

2.) Beautiful music, with some equally striking visuals and wonderful background score. Saawariya title, Yoon Shabnami, Chabeela stand out in terms of picturisation.

3.) Beautiful sets and art direction, effectively sets the mood of the film.

4.) The fresh look and feel of the newcomers, plus the chemistry between the lead pair.

5.) Rani’s streetwalker act. It should shut her critics who feel she can only cry convincingly.

Reasons not to watch:

1.) Complete lack of storyline. Disappointment in the writing department.

2.) Disappointing ending. Unsatisfactory.

3.) Too many songs in the narrative. They pop up like every ten minutes. Pari and Jaan -e-jaan could have been snipped.

4.) Slow paced at times. Drags towards the end, despite being only 2 hours ten minutes long.

5.) Sonam and Salman’s poorly sketched characters.

Overall, Saawariya isn’t cinema that will be lapped up by "aam janta". It caters to a niche audience, much like Black.

Like any SLB movie, its unique, beautiful, but also tests the viewers patience. Its an innovative attempt at movie making. But not without flaws. Top marks to Bhansali and the entire technical team of Saawariya for the out of fantasy, surreal world they have masterfully created. If only SLB had paid more attention to his writing, then he did for the color of the walls, we might have a brilliant movie. Alas, we’ll settle for just a good one.

In madam Gulabji’s lingo - I likes.

Rating: 3.5/5

Om Shanti Om - Movie Review

Om Shanti Om

Reviewed by Aramita

*Spoiler Warning*

"Jab bhi koi cheese dil se chaho, to puri kayanaath usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jati hain"

A junior artist, falls for a superstar back in the 70’s. He loves her more than anything, she loves someone else, that someone else pretends to care, only to betray her later. It all comes down to a thrilling climatic sequence involving love, loss, betrayal and sacrifice.

Cut to, 2007. Superstar Om Kapoor is affected by thoughts and memories of things that never happened and people he never met. Fate leads him to an abandoned film set, where in 30’s years ago, a terrible crime had occurred. What happened? Why it happened? Who was behind it? What is Om’s connection with it?

"Picture abhi baaki hain haan"

The film starts off at a song picturisation of Om Shanti Om from Karz. Where SRK and Farha (brief appearance) are extras who are fighting over Rishi Kapoor’s jacket. Its a mad yet fun kick start to the proceedings....Most part of the first half follows in the same fun fashion. The situations keep your interest alive and the best part is that this half moves at a very racy pace, leaving no time for boredom to settle in.

The dramatic conclusion to the first half is impressively shot and even gives you an impression that the proceeding are going to get much more serious from now.

But as soon as we get into the second half, the satirical situations are back.

Though largely engrossing, the latter half drags a bit. The cheesy ’plan’ cooked up to capture the one at fault, can indeed be executed only in a Bollwood film. Farha hasn’t been able to make up her mind on exactly what she was trying to achieve in the second half, as it suffers from being a weird mesh of serious and parody storytelling.

Thankfully, the ending wrapped it up quite nicely. A total Bollywood ’ishtyle’ climax... with a masked ball and all! And the little twist in the end. Gotta admit, didn’t see it coming.

Keeping in mind the theme of the film, which is a spoof on cinema from 70’s to 07, the humor aspect is very limited in the film. Much of the ’parody’ moments will bring a smile on to your face and even get a chuckle or two out of you. But overall, the humor is mostly underplayed, except for a few scenes where it goes over the top. Farha needed to strike a balance, as in comparison, Main Hoon Na was much more funny as a parody.

Big stars, small stars, average stars and even non stars. All graced the film with their special appearances. Kudos to SRK and Farha for getting together such an impressive array of personalities in one song, let alone one film.

The Filmfare Awards seemed gimmicky, yet it was fun seeing so many celebrities making fun of themselves. The SRK scene, where he’s being nominated for two movies is a hilarious tongue-in-cheek play on him repeating himself in all his films. Watch out for the Akshay’s scene, it was a complete copy of..... well, you will know when you see it. Did Farha think she will get away with that?

Performances: Shahrukh Khan is delightful. Yes, he does go over the top. But that is expected, since everything in the film is a spoof on our typical ’masala cinema’ old and new. He’s good in first half as Om Prakash Makhija, the struggling junior artist who is madly in love with a superstar. In the second half he plays a spoiled brat Om Kapoor, who just happens to be a superstar. SRK enacts both roles with ease, as the overacting junior artist in the first half and the untalented superstar in the second half..... come to think of it, he’s basically just playing himself!

Considering this is her first film, Deepika Padukone has performed well up the task. She looks great and dances wonderfully. Her expressions and dialogue delivery is good. She is perfect as Shantipriya, but has done a strictly okay job as Sandy in the second half.

There is chemistry between SRK and Deepika, that to my utter shock! I didn’t expect romantic chemistry considering the age difference. But as Kajol aptly stated - "SRK can romance a cow and make it look like chemistry".

Shreyas Talpade as Pappu Master delivers a competent performance. His camaraderie with SRK in first half is great. The two of them share some wonderfully funny and poignant moments together.

Kiron Kher is great as a comical, pseudo filmy mother.

Arjun Rampal also performed very well. He enacts the role of the evil producer Mukesh Mehra with conviction. Definitely one of his best.

Deepika, Arjun and Shreyas perform well, even though they were working alonside a seasoned actor like SRK . So full marks to director Farha Khan for getting the best out of the cast.

Songs were awesome and their picturisations, equally impressive! Dhoom Tana is brilliantly shot, Deepika dances very well in it. Main Agar Kahoon’s set was gorgeous and pictisation, top notch! Deewangi was like ten minutes long and I even didn’t want it to end. Daastan -e OSO, the climax number – brilliant again, the song and picturisation.

Cinemotography (V. Manikandan) is brilliant! Dialogues (Mayur Puri) are effective, sometimes even poignant. Sets and art direction (Sabu Cyril) is good, the main OSO set is pretty as a picture. Editing (Shirish Kunder) could have been better, 10-15 minutes could have been trimmed off the latter half. Background score (Sandeep Chowta) is par-excellence! Visual Effect (Redchillies.VFX) is done pretty well.

Choreographer turned Director Farha Khan, promised that her second cinematic venture - Om Shanti Om is going to be a complete "Paisa Vasool" entertainer. And it is. Not minus a few flaws though. But it still manages to do what it promised, provide 2 hours 40 minutes of pure masala entertainment.

Just don’t expect meaningful cinema, if you do, then the jokes on you mate.

Take it with a spoonful of salt.

Rating: 3.5/5