Posts filed under 'Movies'
The first time in my living memory when actor (turned politician) Govinda and Akshay Kumar have joined hands for a comic flick which is directed by Priyadarshan (
Hera Pheri,
Garam Masala,
Hulchul,
Hungama,
Malamaal Weekly). Since Govinda is returning on the silver screen after a long break, it explains the hype surrounding the release of
Bhagam Bhag (Run Run). The film was embroiled in a controversy when a Malayalam film producer claimed the story of
Bhagam Bhag to be a swipe of his original hit
Mannar Mathai. The matter was
settled out of court by producer Suneil Shetty. Never mind that because the peculiar Priyadarshan rib tickling comedy trait is smeared all over the reels of
Bhagam Bhag.
Fun loving and adventurous Bunty and Babla (Akshay & Govinda) are part of a theatre crew and they can’t keep their hands and eyes off women. One such lousy incident irks the lead actress of the team who fails to turn up on the day everyone is to leave for London for a big show, leaving Champak Chaturvedi (Paresh Rawal) in a limbo. With the show around the corner and left with zero choice, Seth Champak decides to allow one of the 2 to take over as the hero of the event, if they can bring in a female who would play the lead actress and the story dashes forward. A few laughs later, Bunty picks up a woman by the name of Munni (Lara Dutta) who he finds loitering on the streets of London. Everyone finds her behavior quite intriguing but Bunty has already fallen for her until one day it is discovered that she has a past as bizarre as the Bermuda Triangle itself.
The trademark Priyadarshan comic cast also includes Shakti Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi and Asrani. The movie is a heady mixture of drama, suspense and is interspersed with some comic dialogues. Govinda coming back after a break, looks rusty in the dance sequences as compared to Akshay Kumar whose jives and jumps enlighten the lackluster music score by Pritam, (who had earlier composed for Priyadarshan’s Garam Masala). A sound advice before you enter the cinema hall - keep logic out of the equation if you want to enjoy the story.
Technorati Tags: Govinda, Akshay Kumar, Priyadarshan, Bhagam Bhag, Bollywood
December 23rd, 2006
Bikes, babes and battering blows, machoism and hip music; that’s
Dhoom (excitement) for you. But unlike
Dhoom, the prelude, which had John and his team modifying their mobikes and going for the loot, the sequel lacks substantially in a convincing plot (the script had inspired a gang of real thieves in Mumbai which were apprehended by the police some time ago). The mantra of the sequel seems to be gadgets and disguise and the story banks on both to move forward (
ala The Saint). Therefore we have a hunk called Aryan (Hrithik Roshan), an elusive high profile con man, skydiving on a speeding train in the middle of the Namib Desert which is carrying the Queen’s crown. A few implausible acrobats later, the mission is accomplished successfully. Incomparable with the train dacoity sequence from the movie
Sholay, the best in the history of Hindi cinema. But that’s for later.
When our smooth swindler is not busy skydiving or riding bikes or showing off his abs, he’s working peacefully in his lab conceiving the most unbelievable gadgets (yes..you read that right) which will bail him out of the most improbable situations (ala the James Bond). All this is fructified without a helping hand until Sunheri (Aishwarya Rai) comes along and proves her point. By the way, here’s a twist for the I-expect-girls-to-sing-a-song-and-wear-sarees cinema goers. Sunheri’s not the typical bholi-bhali bimbo. This energetic and toned lady struts her masks and moves her arms (ala KillBill) with the same elan as she hops her feet to impress her idol. Got that? ok there are moments of adventure as well in this relationship with a few salsa steps thrown in. Ah.. and not to forget the much hyped Ash-Hrithik kiss too. It’s nothing that anyone hasn’t seen before in Hindi movies. So chill!
If you talk about music, Dhoom the had better compositions. I would pick Crazy Kiya Re as the best from the current album. Top it up with some beautiful dance moves by Ash (choreography by Vaibhavi Merchant). There are special effects everywhere from bike chases; some of them too lengthy and boring to daring escapes and one feels that it was quite overdone. The comical relationship between Ali (Uday Chopra) and Monali (Bipasha Basu) could’ve been exploited further. Amidst the guns and the girls, Ali’s character has been pitifully reduced to a goon-turned-police-officer who mouths unimpressive Mumbaiyya hindi-styled comic dialogues (Munnabhai would not be impressed), a far cry from his performance in the first installment. Unfortunately I get a feeling that the director failed to realize the potential of the original theme of Dhoom and lost his way.
December 4th, 2006
It was time to renew the passion of watching movies. The sinister look of Michael Caine on the cover of this DVD intrigued me to pick it up. So for this week, I selected
The Statement (2003). The story of the movie is about frenchman Pierre Brossad (Michael Caine) who belongs to the Vichy police, without whom the Nazis could never have murdered some 77,000 Jews in France. Brossad himself is responsible for murdering 7 Jews in a daybreak assault in a village called Dombay. He manages to evade justice by absconding and remains undetected under the protection of the clergy. However, a team of Jewish hit-men supported by some individuals in the seats of power are on his trail to avenge the killing of their brethren, 44 years later. A ’statement’ proclaiming the justice and the avenging of the death of the Jews would be left on his dead body. Judge Annemarie Livi (Tilda Swinton) and Colonel Roux (Jeremy Northam) are assigned the task of reviving the case against Brossad for crimes against humanity and bring him to justice. Clearly it’s now the case of who-gets-him-first - the bullet or the long arm of justice.
Caine in his interview had said that he’s never played a character he’s disliked so much and it proves in the portrayal. He’s displayed the cunningness of Brossad who always seems to cover his tracks, with the same aplomb as the sick individual who clenches his chest in pain while moving around and shooting his predators. The movie, is based on a novel by Brian Moore and inspired from a real life incident.
» The Official Movie Website
Technorati Tags: Michael Caine, The Statement, Nazi, WW II, Tilda Swinton
November 12th, 2006
I am back from my long vacation and it’s a great relief to have taken this break. The pleasant weather of Nasik has rejuvenated me to take on bigger things in life which I am expecting to be coming my way in the next days (or weeks). The salient feature of this current visit was the discovery of a vibrant and a youthful Nasik city, especially elating for me because Nasik is claimed to be a pilgrimage hot spot in India. The 3M syndrome seems to have finally hit this sleepy city now - the Malls, the multiplexes and McDonald’s, identifiable with the true blue globalized economy of India. Not to mention the other ‘M’ - the powerful Middle-class which was seen shopping at various places and thronging the streets for the Diwali celebrations. So thank god for not making me visit the Godavari
ghats and the shrines this time around. BTW, you can view some of my favorite shots from the recent trip
here.
Let me come to the point now. Being the first in a series of remakes (Umrao Jaan, Guide, etc.) which have been planned by eminent directors and producers of Bollywood, I was awaiting the theatrical release of DON. Much has been said and written about the movie and the expectation it has raised for the film industry who has now turned to repackaging older movies for success. I won’t be biased in my opinion because frankly I am not a great admirer of Shahrukh Khan’s acting abilities. Nevertheless Don is a character which could only have been portrayed by a star like Shahrukh. The magic has been further enhanced by the packaging of the movie; from the typography to the action sequences down to the haunting background score; comparable to the current James Bond or the Bourne series. In a nutshell, I am amazed at the brilliance of Farhan Akhtar’s adaption of the original Don.
Director Chandra Barot’s Don was released in 1978 where Amitabh Bachchan essayed the character and won the Filmfare Award in the Best Actor category for his dual role. The film was made from an unnamed script written by Salim-Javed which had a central character called ‘Don’. The adaptation retains the names of some characters from the original. It’s a privilege to note it down here just for the record - DCP DeSilva (earlier played by Iftikar & presently Boman Irani), Roma (Zeenat Aman and Priyanka Chopra), Kamini (Helen and Kareena Kapoor), Anita (Arpana Choudhary and Isha Koppikar), Malik (Om Shiv Puri and Om Puri), Narang (Kamal Kapoor and Pawan Mallhotra), Mac (Mac Mohan and Shakeel Khan), Deepu (Master Alankar in the original. Not sure about the name of the child artiste in the current version) and lastly Jasjit (Pran and Arjun Rampal). Quite a few songs have also been remixed but I did not quite enjoy them.
Great Diwali treat for me and hopefully a film which would make it’s predecessors feel proud. Don’t miss the end though. The sting is truly in the tail.
Technorati Tags: Nasik, Don, Shahrukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Bollywood
October 28th, 2006
Crime thrillers are my favorites and it takes little effort in selecting movies which deal in the subject, albeit of course staying away from those gory ones. Benjamin O’Ryan (Ben Kingsley) is gifted with telepathic qualities and is part of a secret government funded program called
Project Icarus which looks into exploiting those qualities for military purposes. FBI Agents Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart) and Agent Fran Kulok (Carrie-Ann Moss) are assigned to look into the spate of murders in the country which O’Ryan is suspected of committing. The victims are all serial killers who are accused of committing various crimes. Mackelway and Kulok must find the real ‘Suspect Zero’ who wanders the country in a heavy truck and kidnaps children to his ranch.
A good plot but somehow, at the very onset of the film, it was difficult to piece together the puzzle and create a picture. Kingsley’s depiction of a man, trying to escape his extraordinary qualities which give him endless nightmares till the very end, is noteworthy. It’s unfortunately something which he was born with but couldn’t ’shut it off’.
» The Official Movie Website
Technorati Tags: Suspect Zero, Crime Thrillers, FBI
October 8th, 2006
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