Ladies vs Ricky Bahl review: "Fails to recreate Band Baaja magic!!!"

We are now into the final month of 2011 & with just a handful of movies to hit the silver screens before this year is confined to history. As one would vividly recall the biggest surprise of 2010 was the success of "Band Baaja Baaraat", so one can naturally understand the expectations when the same team comes together for "Ladies vs Ricky Bahl". So can they repeat their glorious history???

Nowadays, whenever we open the newspapers there's a plethora of incidents related to conning. Incidentally, Maneesh Sharma has weaved his story based on this very concept. Dimple (Parineeti Chopra), is the reckless daughter of a rich Delhi businessman, who is head over heels for her fitness trainer boyfriend, Sunny (Ranveer Singh). After having gained the confidence of Dimple's parents, Sunny pulls a fast one on them before vanishing for good. His next target was Raina (Dipannita Sharma), a no-nonsense fiercely competitive corporate lady who was duped on the pretext of obtaining M.F Hussain's painting for her boss by posing as an art dealer, Deven. Feeling suspicious, Dimple contacts Raina who is also being contacted by a similar victim, Saira (Aditi Sharma) & realises that they have all been conned by the same person. The girls now hatch a plan to con the seasoned player with the help of Ishika (Anushka Sharma), a smart sales girl. So will the girls have the last laugh???

Though the idea of the story was interesting, I wouldnt term it as original as it seems definitely inspired from the Tamil  flick "Naan Avan Illai".It's always easy when you are a debutant as there is no weight of expectations. But once you shine through in that phase, then things can get a bit too tough to handle as Maneesh would have felt. Maneesh kicks off the first half in a lively manner with much of the credit owing to Parineeti's impressive performance. Even the second con also manages to keep the audience interested but from then on, the film fails to keep up with the tempo. The second half  invariably focuses on the girls trying to get back to him, but it doesnt attract as much attention. Habib Faisal's dialogues are witty while the music by Salim Sulaiman is hip.

 

Rather than the protagonists, the person who impressed me the most was Parineeti Chopra who was brilliant as the demanding yet crazy Dimple. It's mainly due to her, that the first half was so enjoyable not to forget some of her witty one liners in the latter half as well. Ranveer has done a decent job with nothing much to go ga-ga but he does have the knack for being flirtatious while Anushka was impressive as always exuding confidence. As for the rest, both Dipannita & Aditi have done justice to their roles.

Verdict: The initials are bound to be impressive owing to the expectations generated due to the stupendous success of their first film. With an impressive first half coupled with a decent second half, it should do average business in Multiplexes though it wont repeat the success of "Band Baaja Baaraat". In short, you my give it a try if you have time to spare!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

The Dirty Picture review: "Vidya sweeps us off our feet!!!"

Since the turn of the new millennium, India has undergone a sea of change in all spheres of life due to the influence of the Western world. Though various factors contributed to this inevitable turn of events, the film industry has to thank the one & only, Silk Smitha. In the 80's, to utter the word "sex" itself was considered taboo, so it was almost unimaginable to show skin on screen until Silk broke that mind set. Now Milan Luthria, decided to celebrate this sex siren in the form of a biopic titled "The Dirty Picture". So can Milan recreate the magic of his previous biopic "Once upon a time in Mumbai"???

Silk Smitha's life has been the talk of the film industry as it chronicled the meteoric rise of a highly motivated female unperturbed by anything until a point reaches where she presses on the self destruction mode. The film unfolds with Reshma (Vidya Balan) makes an escape from her home to fulfill her dream of becoming an actress. After facing numerous rejections, she finally lands the role of a seductive siren which catapults her to stardom & gives her the name "Silk".

Her romance or more appropriately, her sexual favours for the undisputed egoistical middle aged superstar, Suryakant (Naseeruddin Shah) lands her with numerous stereotypical roles much to the displeasure of noted film makers such as Abraham (Emraan Hashmi). Though how much ever provocative & bold she appeared, she yearned for the love of someone which eventually makes her dump Suryakant for whom she was nothing but an object of desire. At this juncture, Ramakant (Tusshar Kapoor) (Surya's brother), provides her with the support & love that she had hoped for. But things werent going to pan out as she had wished for.  So what eventually destroys her career & life???

There is no doubt that Milan Luthria in the company of Rajat Arora has given a very praise worthy movie both in terms of content & performances. Just as in "Once upon a time..", the dialogues here are equally fantastic as it conveys a lot in a sly yet hard hitting way...be it Silk's speech at the award ceremony or her conversation with Abraham at the canteen. The first half was right on the money as it showcases the rise of Silk & subsequently the latter half on her fall. Though the second half does slacken off in the romantic sequences, it doesnt necessarily bore the audience as it has some hard hitting scenes. Vishal Shekhar does provide a decent soundtrack with "Oo la la" rendered by Bappi Lahiri & Shreya Ghoshal being a winner with the awesome choreography reminiscent of the 80s being the icing on the cake.

I have virtually no words to describe the brilliant performance by Vidya. Though she does lack the sultry look & sex appeal of Silk, Vidya hasnt left any stone unturned to get into the skin of the character both emotionally & physically. Naseeruddin Shah is an actor par excellence & here too, he reiterates the fact as to why he is considered as one of the best in the country. Tusshar does seem to be a miscast while Emraan Hashmi does manage to give a decent act in the limited screen space provided.

Verdict:  The movie will have a blistering opening owing to its titillating promos & impressive star cast. There is no doubt that the impressive screenplay, smashing dialogues & Vidya's scintillating act will go a long way in making it a hit. In short, watch it without fail!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Beautiful review: "Decent effort but caters to a Multiplex audience!!!"

After the month long strike within the Malayalam industry, things have slowly started to tide back to normalcy with the release of films since last week. With the last month of the year upon us which is incidentally one of the eagerly awaited money spinning period as well, there is an abundance of films to hit the screens. So kicking off this highly anticipated season is V.K Prakash's "Beautiful". Due to Prakash's interesting track record along with the script by Anoop Menon, it wouldnt be prudent to suggest that the audience does harbor positive vibes. So can the duo spark off a beautiful start to December???

Stephen Louis (Jayasurya) is a multi millionaire paraplegic, who believes in living life to the fullest rather than brooding over his misfortune. After having lived in various places, he decides to make Cochin his base. Just as one would expect, money breeds pseudo affection & Stephen was very well aware of it due to which maintained a stoic distance with his relatives who were plotting for his demise. On one of his outings to a restaurant, he meets up with John (Anoop Menon), a musician & offers him a better offer for being his personal singer. Before long, they become good friends & it is at this juncture that Anjali (Meghna Raj), turns up to be the home nurse for Stephen. So will Anjali be a bone of contention in their friendship & will Stephen's kin be successful in their plan???

The last few years has seen a host of impressive films focussing on mentally or physically challenged characters, be it "Thanmatra", "Black", "Guzaarish", "Taare Zameen Par" or "Deiva Thirumagal". So when I first saw the promos of "Beautiful", I was apprehensive whether it would be an spin off from "Guzaarish". However, Anoop Menon dispelled off all such doubts & comes up with a pretty decent script. The one thing which really caught my fancy were the dialogues as it was natural intermingled with humour & philosophy. Though not blockbusters, V.K Prakash does have an impressive track record be it "Karmayogi", "Gulumal" or "Freaky Chakra". Over here as well, the first half does have its light moments without ever stooping down to the sympathetic mode while the second half brings about a twist culminating in a swift climax. The flaw which many might feel, though I dont entirely agree to is the pace of the movie as it tends to slack at times.

V.K Prakash with the protagonists

Jayasurya is one of those very few actors who always tries to do something different be it in his choice of script & body language. Though at times, he tends to go overboard with his act; this time around he has given a restrained yet apt act in keeping with the character. Anoop Menon has always experimented with off beat type of characters which is realistic & as expected, he comes up with a winner here as well. Meghna Raj with her gorgeous looks has also delivered a decent performance along with Tini Tom & the rest of the supporting cast. Another aspect which deserves special mention is the music by Ratheesh Vega especially "Mazhaneer Thullikal" rendered by Unni Menon being the talk of youtube ever since it released.

Verdict: The cast & crew are unlikely to attract a full house, however the impressive sound track & promos should provide a well needed impetus. Though there isnt anything significant to find fault with the film, it wouldnt cater to the mass audience owing to its off beat nature. Frankly speaking, I believe it's a pretty decent effort & does deserve a watch!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Mayakkam Enna: "Brothers' combo rocks in this slow yet engaging movie!!!

Since the last few years, the quality of movies being churned out by the Tamil film industry has left everyone flabbergasted. Once upon a time, it was all about super human heroes but with time their thinking evolved with the inception of several promising youngsters. Without doubt, Selvaraghavan is one of the prominent directors among this present lot. He collaborates with his National Award winning brother, Dhanush for the fourth time in "Mayakkam Enna". So can the brothers churn out a winner yet again???

Just as in his previous movies, Selvaraghavan touches upon the different facets of a person's character through the various stages of his life. Here the protagonist is Karthik Swaminathan (Dhanush), a struggling freelance photographer who dreams of making it into the big league someday. Though he shoots portfolios & weddings for covering his expenses, his love has always been wildlife photography & idolises the ace photographer, Madhesh Krishnaswamy (Ravi Prasad). Karthik & his sister being orphans, were always in the company of their friends with Sundar being one of them who dates Yamini (Richa) .Though Karthik & Yamini were at loggerheads initially, that hatred eventually turns into love & finally culminates into marriage. In the meantime, Karthik is duped by Madhesh on the pretext of making him his assistant only to realise later on that his snaps won the best photography award but in Madhesh's name. This incident virtually shatters him, plunging him into a self destruction mode which puts his marriage on the rocks. So will Karthik ever be able to resurrect from this depression???

Selvaraghavan's films has always attracted be it "Kadhal Kondein", "7G Rainbow Colony" or "Ayirathil Oruvan". The major strength of this movie is its off beat yet strong script, with all the various elements added in an apt measure. The first half of the movie focuses on the frustration of Karthik on failing to get a break inspite of repeated efforts. At the same time, he expresses his anguish & guilt on falling in love with his friend's lover. The second half changes gears drastically as it's high on melodrama with the iron willed wife taking lead & making efforts to make things right. On the whole the film is slow, but the events & brilliant performances make it for an interesting watch.

Dhanush seems to be getting better with each & every movie, as he comes up with a brilliant performance yet again post "Aadukalam". Unlike "Aadukalam", this role required him to display varying body language as there is a plethora of emotions flowing through the length of the film. Richa's debut was equally praise worthy as she performs on par with Dhanush, with her dubbing artist Deepa Venkat deserving a word of praise as well. Sundhar was apt as his friend while Ravi Prasad as the arrogant & selfish Madhesh being right on the money. The music & BGM by G.V Prakash was outstanding with visuals by Ramji being a delight for the senses.

Verdict: The impressive track record of the brothers will ensure a good opening at the box office. With almost all the various aspects of the film being top notch, it will have the box office bells ringing in earnest. In short, it's a well made film with impressive performances; so dont miss it!!!

Rating: 4/5

Regards...Ben

Desi Boyz review: "Entertaining yet a no brainer time pass!!!"

It's common knowledge that there has been a dearth of good clean comedies in Bollywood in the last few years. If at all anything of that genre does appear, it invariably hovers around slap stick stuff with ample reference to gay jokes. Trying to bring back some of the wholesome clean comedies is Rohit Dhawan, son of the undisputed king of comedies,David Dhawan. So can Rohit's directorial debut "Desi Boyz" live upto the expectations imparted by the catchy promos, stunning male protagonists & lineage???

Recession is one of the most dreaded yet most oft used word since the past few years. As one would expect, Europe & the US are the worst affected leading to wide spread unemployment. Jerry Patel (Akshay Kumar) & Nick Mathur (John Abraham) are the best of pals settled in UK. Nick is an investment banker, who had everything that he had wished for..a beautiful fiance, smashing career & a heavy paycheck. On the other hand, Jerry had petty jobs but survived living off Nick. Finally the day arrived, when recession came knocking on their door rendering them jobless. It's in such a scenario that they bump into Desi Boyz Boss (Sanjay Dutt) who offers them the job of male escorts. Though reluctant initially, they take it up as Nick harboured fears of losing Radhika (Deepika) while Jerry had to prevent his nephew,Veer from being sent to a foster home. But their fears turn into reality when their profession becomes known. So how can they get it all back???

Rohit does manage to create a sense of reality by infusing a real life crisis into the plot. As a matter of fact, the first half does entertain the audience as the protagonists share a smashing chemistry interlaced with some really jovial moments. However, the second half falls flat as the film hardly moves forward for John's character as he is seen just wooing Deepika the whole time. Akki does manage to do something more but his track doesnt imply much significance & the film slowly drags to a typical climax. In short, Rohit wasnt able to do anything that will stamp his uniqueness. Pritam's music was outstanding as the title track rendered by K.K & B.o.B is a chart buster not to forget the catchy choreography along with Mika's "Subha Hone Na De". The BGM also deserves mention especially for the revamped version of "Khalnayak".

Akki is a veteran of comedies as his timing is spot on as always while John has definitely grown a lot as an actor & seems much at ease handling comedy as opposed to his performance in "Garam Masala". Their smashing chemistry makes it a delight for the audience as they exude charisma & camaraderie. Deepika didnt have much scope while Chitrangda was reduced to a sexy Economics professor.However, Sanju baba sizzles in his brief cameo, Omi Vaidya tickes the funny bone while Anupam Kher was wasted.

Verdict: The catchy promos & chart-bustering songs will ensure a good opening at the box office. The film is marketed as a popcorn munching entertainer which doesnt take a toll on your brain cells. In short, if you watch it without expectations you will have stuff to laugh about in the first half!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Nayika review: " Interesting thread but Jayaraj falters!!!"

Finally after weeks of dispute between the various sectors of the Malayalam film industry, this weekend heralded the release of Jayaraj's "Nayika" much to the relief of the movie starved audience. The film has already attracted attention owing to its hatke promos, not to forget the fact that one of the greatest yesteryear heroine Sarada is doning the grease paint after a hiatus. Jayaraj is one of those directors whose directorial qualities keeps fluctuating like a pendulum. So the question now is whether the film is as good as what the trailer conveys or is it just a smokescreen???

Aleena (Mamta Mohandas) was the grand daughter of noted director Job, who had calls the shots for many a star. Prominent among them was Grace (Sarada), who ruled the silver screen until her sudden disappearance. This prompts Aleena to unfurl the mystery in the form of a documentary. But things werent going to be easy, as Grace was leading a life of seclusion owing to her mental imbalance. As part of her search for truth, she meets up with many of Grace's colleagues starting with Stephen Muthalali (Siddique), the owner of the production studio under whose banner she had many successful films with the evergreen superstar Anand (Jayaram). Slowly, Aleena comes across stories regarding Grace's romance & the suicide of her adopted daughter Vani (Sarayu). But the more she came to know, the more suspicious she becomes. Are there many more skeletons to tumble out of the cupboard???

Whenever I have come across any film displaying the fictitious disclaimer, I have always taken it with a pinch of salt. The same situation happens here as well & there is no denying the fact that many of the characters & events has been inspired from real life with a wisp of fiction. Deedi Damodaran has incorporated many real life events such as Vijaysree's suicide following her wardrobe malfunction in "Ponnapuram Kotta", Jayaram's character which was a mix of  Prem Nazir's mannerisms along with Sathyan's last few months etc. Deedi definitely had an interesting thread but it failed to produce an impact as expected mainly due to Jayaraj's inadequacy. Some of the sequences such as recreating the past seemed appalling as many of the characters seemed to have drank from the fountain of agelessness. Hardly anything happens in the first half since the build up of events does takes an awful lot of time, while the latter half impresses in spurts.

Padmapriya enacting the younger Grace has rendered an impressive performance while Sarada fails to impart as much impact as one would expect. Jayaram was spot on with his mannerisms though it was very much like a glorified guest appearance. Siddique once again showcases his acting prowess while Sarayu was apt in her small yet prominent role. The music by M.K Arjunan was impressive as many of the songs managed to impart a nostalgic feel keeping in with the mood of the movie. As for other aspects, I dont believe it has much to praise nor despise.

Verdict: The film will not open the flood gates, but it will have an average opening owing to the movie starved audience & interesting promos. However, the execution impacts the film majorly driving away any scope of having word of mouth in its favour. Though it does have an interesting thread on the lines of "Thirikatha", it drags at many sequences. In short, it's worth a one time watch but not in theatre!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Rockstar review: "3 R's: Ranbir & Rahman rocks!!!"

It's been almost three weeks since SRK's "Ra One" has hit the screens. Though it did become one of the highest grossers of all time, it's gigantic production cost meant it's an average success. With exhaustive publicity & an unprecedented release in over 4000 screens , the whole industry were expecting it to break all existing records.It might be due to this very fact, that there has been no releases until Imtiaz Ali decided to break the dead  lock with his Ranbir starrer "Rockstar". So can Imtiaz continue his purple patch especially with Ranbir & Rahman giving him company???

Rock music is one of those genres which has been diversified so much that defining it in a single line is difficult. However, through the ages there has been an array of dynamic rock artists who captured the imagination of the audience be it Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen or Jim Morrison. Janardhan Jakkar/JJ/Jordan (Ranbir Kapoor) from Delhi's Pitampura is one of those individuals who dreams of becoming a cult  like Jim Morrison. The film unfolds in Prague where Jordan mesmerises the audience with his concert. But his journey from a middle class aspiring singer to the charismatic icon hasnt been easy. After having faced rejection & humiliation initially, Janardhan stumbles upon the idea adviced by his well wisher that all great musicians had gone through heart break & pain. This entices him to flirt with the college heart throb Heer (Nargis Fakhri), hoping that she would break his heart. But things gets worser than he had anticipated. So will Jordan get Heer or was this the sacrifice that he had to make to attain stardom???

Imtiaz Ali's brand of films has always sparked curiosity as it invariably focuses on contemporary romance ignited between two unlike individuals with the female usually being of the wild type be it Geet of "Jab We Met" or Meera of "Luv Aaj Kal". In addition it will be a travelogue of sorts, traversing various awesome locales. This is pretty much the case in "Rockstar" as well, but I would have to say this was a far riskier & braver attempt. The first half tracks the transformation of Janardhan to Jordan along with some exhilarating moments between the lead pairs. But the second half fails to live upto the expectations as it meanders along aimlessly & finally concluding in a rather tame manner with the audience given the option to infer.

A.R Rahman is at his absolutely best with the music setting the charts on fire & also it seams in perfectly with the mood of the film. Though "Sadda Haq" is the most popular as of now, all the others are equally impressive since various genres has been tackled with equal finesse. The visuals by Anil Mehta is another aspect which deserves a special mention.

Rahman & Ranbir at the music launch

Time & again, Ranbir has proved that he is indeed the future of Bollywood. There is no doubt regarding the amount of effort that he puts into each project that he commits. Over here as well, Ranbir has been absolutely stunning; infact the very best in his career as he transforms from the innocent, jovial character to the edgy, temperamental Jordan & this film will definitely go down in his career graph as one of the standout ones. Without sounding over zealous, I believe that he is gonna sweep all the awards next year. Nargis definitely has the looks & shares amazing chemistry with Ranbir, but she has got to work on her acting skills.Shammi Kapoor graces the silver screen for the last time ever & puts in an impressive act.

Verdict: The film will have an impressive opening owing to the catchy promos & film drought since "Ra One". Being made at a modest 60 crores, I believe it will have the urban audiences interested. In short, the film lacks punch in the second half but it should still garner impressive returns. As far as my opinion goes, it's definitely a one time watch as Ranbir & Rahman are at their absolute best!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben