Monday, September 15, 2008

Maan Gaye Mughal E Azam (2008) - Hindi Movie Review

Rating: 4/5 on humor scale

Cast: Rahul Bose, Mallika Sherawat, Paresh Rawal, Kay Kay Menon
Director: Sanjay Chel



The most random movie ever...you ask me what the story is? and I ask you the question back...because there is no story. The best thing about the movie is that it does not pretend to be a movie with a purpose or a good movie or a great movie or anything like it...it is a funny movie and does not disappoint you at all...wonder why Indian media was so mean to this one...but I have to agree that this is best watched on a DVD in your home with family (esp. ones that understand Hindo to translate stuff to you incase you are like me in Hindi department). Also it is one of those movies that you can watch over and over again and also repeat a few dialogues in real life situations...

Mallika is married to Paresh and both of them are stage actors...while Paresh thinks he is the greatest actor ever, Mallika is vying to move to Bollywood when she starts having an affair with Rahul who is an undecover detective trying to stop Dawood from planting bombs in India...Of course there is a ghazal singer Kay Kay who works hand in hand with the bhai...and of course he also falls for the charm of Mallika as does anothe rlocal goodn Kayuum Cable (dont know his real name...sorry)...anyways in the end all's well that end's well with roaring laughter...

I know that MS has been reduced to the role of a pin-up girl but she is not bad in the acting department okay...I really thought that she carried her comic timing very well in this movie...she is funny and the role suited her perfectly...Rahul was a little out of place but funny...it was just funny to see both Rahul and Kay Kay, two serious actors doing a randomly hillarious role...

Must watch...can make a dreary day fun!

Friday, September 05, 2008

Rock on (2008) - Hindi Movie Review

Rating: 3.75/5

Cast: Farhan Akthar, Prachi Desai, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kolhi, Luke Kenny, Koel Puri, Nicolette Bird, Shabana Goswami
Director: Abhishek Kapoor
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy


I liked seeing this movie as cliched as it was...There was nothing new about the movie or the story...it was just the screenplay and the acting that gave it the freshness...Right from the very start you can predict the movie and act as a pseudo director knowing exactly what the next shot was going to be...but the point it the movie was not slacking or nagging at any point...it just flowed from one scene into the other and from past to present in one continuous motion...

Aditya (Farhan) is an investment banker married to Sakshi (Prachi). They lead a rich but loveless life with Adi using his work as an excuse to shy away from family life...Sakshi bumps into KD (Purab) during one of her trips to a jewellery store which his dad owns. From then on Sakshi discovers a new side to her husband which she never knew existed. She requests KD to get all of Adi's friends for a surprise birthday party that she had planned for him.

KD gets back in touch with Rob (Luke) and also with Joe (Arjun) to join him for the party. Everyone but Joe make it to the party. Adi is also reluctant to mingle with his decade old friends. That very night after the part Adi and Sakshi get into an argument and she leaves the house asking him to rethink the life he has been leading.

From the flashback we know that KD (Killer drummer), Rob (Keyboard player), Joe (Lead Guitarist), and Adi (singer, composer, and guitarist) used to be in a band called magik...which of course disbanded due to difference of opinion and when they split Adi and Joe did not see things eye to eye...

Will Sakshi's digging into past help reunite the band? Guesses?

So ya the movie is a definite family viewer and it is an entertainer too...I am not fond of very dark movies but this one is kinda sorta an exception for me...I still wish the director had used a bit more light...I have to go and kick Santosh Sivan's ass for starting that trend and Mani Ratnam's too!

Not many actors can become good directors but on the contrary most good directors can act well...not just in the role of hero...it can be anything...because they know what they want to see on the screen and what they have to do to get the correct effect...Farhan Akthar falls into this category...He is definitely a good actor and in the movie he has done a great job...

The rest of the cast is also very impressive...From Arjun to Shabana...it is all work done amazingle well...the casting director needs kudos! I loved watching this movie and hope you do too :)

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Amu (2007) - Hindi/English Movie Review

Rating: 3/5 if you like riot movies...if you are like me then 0/5

Cast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Ankur Sharma
Director: Shonali Bose

I hate it...absolutely...when people make movies on riots and then dedicate it to people who died in it or people who suffered through it...don't make a dedication of movies that the victim's relatives and friends have to live through once again...dedicate something fun instead...or how about build a school in the money you spend making a movie on the subject? However and noble the motive is, it affects people who were affected by the riots and trust me not in a positive way...by bringing awareness to the riots you are going to make the government change its stance or do anything for the victims...so let sleeping dogs sleep and do something more productive...thanks...

I am writing this post after seeing an Indian movie with English dialogues (also available with Hindi dubbing) called Amu. When G picked it up at the Punjabi store I saw that the Singh behind the counter was very happy at his choice...I wondered why...when we got home it was already 10 in the night so G decided that we can watch the other DVD's later and see this one now as it is should be a short one and we could go to bed at a decent time.

The movie started out pretty fine...the casting is also good...the story seems tight...Kokona as Kaju visits India from LA. She is an Indian born but American raised girl and she visits her hometown to figure out her roots...she befriends Ankur Khanna as Kabir and he helps take her around the city of Delhi. Slowly she starts unravelling the truth behind her identity, which is not very pleasant...

The movie revolves around the 1984 riots in Delhi which followed the assasination of Indira Gandhi during which as many as (apparently) 5,000 Sikhs were hunted down and killed mercilessly because the people who killed Indira were Sikhs...the movie has done a decent job in terms of not showing too many visuals regarding how rape/murder/torture happen in such circumstances...but the fact is we can feel the fear...it is imminent...

I should say the movie is well shot and everything is good...but I personally hate such movies...the same reason why I was not in favor of watching movies like Bombay, Parzania, and Hey Ram among others...I get scared and being a girl the very fact that we are more vulnerable under such situations scare me a lot and render many a unpleasant dreams...and now that I have a daughter I only get more and more protective of her everytime I see such movies...

I am sorry I just cannot understand what drives people to watch such movies and also claim that it was shot so realistically...when you should not be enjoying reality of this nature...the tears that roll down my cheeks after seeing these movies cannot describe the feeling of hatred that arises inside me for these directors...they are torturing people who are seeking movies as a medium of entertainment by calling their movie a work of art...I would rather watch boring Sawariya ten times over than watching Amu, Parzania, etc...

IMHO...the movie was good...but I regretted watching it...bad after taste!

Ratings by outbrain