Okay, here's the first look of the much awaited movie Mangatha. The teaser was released along with Cloud Nine's Naan Mahaan Alla and was received with a thunderous response from the fans of 'Thala' Ajith all over Tamil Nadu. The film is a multistarrer which also stars the huge star from Telugu Nagarjuna along with Ajith. This movie is definitely a trendsetter, since it is the first time that a huge star like Ajith has agreed to work in a multistarrer in a long long time. This also marks the transition of director Venkat Prabhu into the big league of directors after his super-successful Chennai 600028, Saroja and Goa. Accompanied by his lucky mascots Yuvan Shankar Raja and Sakthi Saravanan, Venkat Prabhu says he will surely satisfy all the expecations of Ajith fans through this movie. Mangatha is Ajith's 50th film. The actor who is going through a rough patch after his films like Aegan, Asal, etc flopped, has to make a strong comeback and this looks the right opportunity. Nagarjuna returns to Tamil films through this movie after a gap of almost 14 years since he did Ratchagan (1996). Here's the teaser trailer of the movie.
Movie - Naan Mahaan Alla (Tamil) Director - Suseenthiran Producer - KE Gnanavelraja, Cloud Nine Movies Cast - Karthi, Kajal Agarwal, Jayaprakash, Soori. Music - Yuvan Shankar Raja Cinematography - Madhie Art - Rajeevan Editor - Kasi Viswanath Story, Screenplay - Suseenthiran Dialogues - Baskar Sakthi Stunts - Anal Arasu Release Date - 20th August 2010
Suseenthiran, who made a fantastic debut with Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu last year returns with Naan Mahaan Alla in a much more bigger canvas. From the village milieu in VKK, he has shifted to namma Chennai in NMA. The story is no great shakes as we've seen the same story several times before. But it is Suseenthiran's screenplay, packaging and treatment of the age-old story that makes this movie effective. This film's genre is diametrically opposite to Suseenthiran's first film and he has proved that he is a versatile director by tackling both these genres with equal precision.
Jeeva (Karthi) is a charming, unemployed, happy-go-lucky young guy and he is very happy with his own world consisting of his family and close friends. He meets the beautiful Priya (Kajal Agarwal) at his friend's Sudha's wedding and immediately falls for her. Priya also finds it hard not to fall for Jeeva's charm. And by the time some lovely scenes and Yuvan's trippy song 'Iragai Pole' get over, Jeeva and Priya fall in love with each other. In the meanwhile, at some other part of the city, there are a bunch of college students who are into criminal activities like rape and murder. The body parts of a young girl and boy are found at the city waste dump by the police soon after. Things take a drastic change when Jeeva's father (Jayaprakash) gets murdered by the same gang. The rest of the film is about Jeeva's quest to find his father's killers.
The first half of the movie proceeds like a lovely romantic comedy and the second half develops into a full on revenge drama. The romantic portions between Karthi and Kajal are a treat to watch, especially due to their crackling on-screen chemistry. The camaraderie between Karthi and his loving dad Jayaprakash is also endearing. The scenes where Karthi goes to different houses as a loan collection agent are a riot. The villains are ruthless rapists and murderers and it is tough to believe that 18-19 year old college going students can turn into such cold-blooded murderers. But Suseenthiran makes us believe so through the scenes involving those guys. The climax seemed like it was a little hurried and leaves many loose ends. But no complaints, since it involved some eye-popping action sequences which were shot amazingly. The dialogues by Baskar Sakthi are witty and as real as dialogues can get. On the flipside, the violence is a little gruesome and may be turn-off for the family audience.
Karthi is a sure-shot superstar. I've said this before in my Paiyya review. But in this movie, he goes a step further. If Paiyya showed him playing an urban hero for the first time, NMA follows it up brilliantly, with Karthi playing a charming, lovable Chennai guy yet again. In each scene, Karthi proves that he's a great actor who has got fantastic star-appeal as well. His screen presence is unbelievable. And in this movie, we get to see two different shades of him. The fun, comic and romantic hero in the first half turns into an intense action hero towards the climax. And he excels in all of them. If he goes on at this rate, he will become as big a star as his own brother in no time. (Where as his brother Suriya had to struggle more than 7-8 years to become the big star that he is today).
Kajal is lovely in the film. Her cute looks and bubbly nature helped a lot in making the romantic scenes in the first half endearing. She performs effortlessly during the comic scenes as well, which is very rare among north-indian imports in Tamil cinema. Kajal finally makes a mark in Tamil through this movie. Jeyaprakash is slowly turning into an excellent character actor. The actor who impressed everyone through Pasanga last year, plays the loving dad to Karthi and his performance is so real that you feel they are actually father and son. Soori, the parotta guy from Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu is fabulous as Karthi's friend. The goonda friend of Karthi also plays his part well. The gang of villains, led by the new guy Vinoth (who played the young Surya in Nandhaa) are quite successfull in sending a chill down your spine each time they come on screen.
The cinematography by Madhie and art direction by Rajeevan go hand in hand and gives us the effect of actually being there in the midst of the events, especially in the claustrophobic space of Jeeva's house and the Tsunami affected houses in the climax. Yuvan as usual, does a kickass job with the music of the film. The movie has only 3 songs of which the brilliant 'Iragai Pole' whcih showcases the Jeeva and Priya's love story, stands out as the best. Yuvan also gives a killer background score which comes into own in the climax. Stunts by Anal Arasu are sure to get wolf whistles from action lovers and diverts the attention from a weakly written end to a good screenplay.
NMA works because of Suseenthiran's effective story-telling and Karthi's amazing presence. The great music, stunts, art work, cinematography and dialogues add on to the impact making NMA one of the best entertainers in recent times. If the writer-director had given some more thought to the climax of the film, he would have had a flawless entertainer in his hands. But as i said earlier, the stunts more than make up for the slightly weaker climax (compared to the rest of the film). Go for Naan Mahaan Alla, it is guaranteed that you will be engaged and entertained throughout its length. And yea, there's the sleek teaser of Venkat Prabhu's 'Mangaatha' starring Ajith and Nagarjuna added to the print of NMA as an extra bonus.
Movie - Peepli [Live] (Hindi) Director - Anusha Rizvi Producer - Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Ronnie Screwvala Cast - Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghubir Yadav, Malaika Shenoy, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shalini Vatsa, Farrukh Jaffer, Naseeruddin Shah, Vishal Sharma Sitaram Panchal and others. Music - Indian Ocean, Brij Mandal, Bhadwai, Nageen Tanvir, Ram Sampat Cinematography - Shanker Raman Editor - Hemanti Sarkar Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Anusha Rizvi Release Date - 13th August 2010
The name Aamir Khan attached to any film in any possible manner creates a huge buzz. Peepli Live is his fourth production after Lagaan, Taare Zameen Par and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. The first two are 2 of the best films ever made in the country and the last one was a fun romantic comedy which worked wonders at the box office. So when he comes up with a project like Peepli Live, which has literally no stars, with a debutante director and a completely offbeat script, the curiosity levels certainly go pretty high. And yes, Aamir hasnt gone wrong this time also as he delivers a fantastic, quality product from his production house yet again, which could easily feature among the best Hindi films made in recent times.
Official Synopsis - ‘Peepli Live’ is a satire, which revolves around a villager from Central India called Natha,his brother Budhia and their family. The family is about to lose their land because they are unable to repay a loan, when, they hear of a government programme which offers the family of any farmer committing suicide a compensation of rupees 100,000. The older brother convinces his sibling into agreeing to commit suicide. This sets in motion a chain of events which finds Natha in the eye of a storm. The local big wigs, the state government, high ranking bureaucrats, federal ministers and the national media all become stakeholders in the mad circus that erupts. This is the story of India today. Rural society, the bureaucracy, media, politics and life . .
Peepli Live tackles three major issues - the plight of the farmers in Central India; the race between the media professionals for higher TRPs and the indifferent attitude of our bureaucrats - both central and state. Anusha brilliantly touches upon all these issues without going overboard in this social satire. Even when you're laughing out loud at the fantastic jokes, the movie makes you think about the issues that are being addressed through those jokes, and that is the success of this film.
The electronic media is strongly criticized in the film and shows the heights that the journalists go to get that one exclusive story, before their competitors. One of the reporters of a Hindi news channel in the movie even goes to the extent of analysing Natha's faeces for the sake of a story. Not one bit of exaggeration, as the electronic media today are already doing much more than this for the sake of TRPs. But there is at least one character among the journalists who genuinely feels about the issue and refrains from sensationalizing it after a point. The scene where the local reporter Rakesh and the high-profile English reporter Nandita talk about the media circus that is happening, is perhaps the best written scene in the film. The director surely knows the inside workings of the media, having been a journalist herself and has taken some fantastic digs at two of the most popular TV reporters in the country - one in Hindi and one in English. The politicians are not spared either. All the different games they play to capitalize on the issue are brought out very well. The movie does not try to give a solution to the issue. Instead, it makes us think about how sad the state of affairs in our country is, while entertaining us through some smart comedy. The climax was perfect and there couldnt have been a better culmination for a film like this.
Omkar Das Manikpuri is the life of this film. Even though he hardly has any dialogues, Natha's desperation, confusion, fear and a plethora of emotions is brought out through his expressions mostly, rather than depending on dialogues to do the same. Raghubir Yadav is first-rate as the manipulative Budhiya who forces Natha to make the decision of committing suicide. Malaika Shenoy as the fierce, competitive English reporter is spot on. Nawaazuddin Siddiqui as Rakesh, the sole sensible person among the entire media circus is excellent. Vishal Sharma as the over-the-top Hindi reporter Kumar Deepak who is willing to go to any heights (or lows) for a story is fantastic. Naseeruddin Shah as the shrewd agricultural minister is as usual, amazing. And two of the film's best performances come from the bed-ridden, foul-mouthed mother of Natha played by Farrukh Jaffer and her nagging bahu played by Shalini Vatsa. Eacn and every one among the rest of the cast is brilliant and not for one second do you feel that those people are actually acting.
Anusha's script is tight, concise and has a fantastic flow throughout. There are so many jokes that you have to concentrate really well to get all of them. The dialect spoken is tough to follow in the beginning but you get acquainted to it as the movie progresses. And yea, there are so many expletives in the dialogues, but that makes them more real. Anusha makes a confident debut and delivers a film which even the most experienced of filmmakers would find difficult to make. And thanks to a producer like Aamir Khan who makes sure that this film gets all the attention that it deserves, which might not have happened without his name being attached to it. We need more producers like him who can identify good cinema, invest money in making them and make people come and watch them.
Shanker Raman's cinematography is superb, giving the video feel and the docu-drama feel wherever necessary. Hemanti Sarkar's editing is almost perfect. The earthy music by various artistes suits the theme of the film very well. 'Des Mera' by Indian Ocean is brilliant, so is 'Mehngai Dayain', the folk song which talks about the rising expenses.
On the whole, Peepli Live is a film that has to be watched. Its a film that makes us laugh at ourselves as a country. Its a film which makes us think about so many issues. Its a film which is hilarious from the word go. Its a film which marks the debut of a fantastic filmmaker called Anusha Rizvi. Its a film which reaffirms that Aamir Khan is the best producer a film can get in our country. Its a film filled with fantastic performances. Its a a very important film which deserves a tax-free status. And finally, its one of the best films that has come out in recent times. More than perfect to watch during the Independence Day weekend.
Album - Dabangg (Hindi) Director - Abhinav Singh Kashyap Producer - Arbaaz Khan, Dhilin Mehta, Malaika Arora Music Directors - Sajid-Wajid, Lalit Pandit Cast - Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonu Sood, Arbaaz Khan, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Mahesh Manjrekar, Om Puri, Anupam Kher, Mahie Gill, Tinu Anand Lyrics - Faiz Anwar, Lalit Pandit, Jalees Sherwani Singers - Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Mamta Sharma, Aishwarya, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Sukhwinder Singh, Wajid, Master Saleem, Shabaab Sabri, Salman Khan Choreography - Raju Khan Cinematography - Mahesh Limaye Release Date - 10th September 2010
Composers Sajid and Wajid are supposed to be real close friends of Salman Khan and they do almost every other movie that stars Salman in it. They have been consistently giving hit songs to Salman in films like Hello Brother, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Partner, Wanted, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna and Veer. The duo gave a chartbuster soundtrack for Salman's last masala film Wanted. The first promo has created a rage among the audience and it suddenly became one of the most awaited films of the year. So the soundtrack of the movie has to be nothing short of fantastic. Lets see what Sajid and Wajid have in store for us.
The album kicks off with the romantic track 'Tere Mast Mast Do Nain' in Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's voice and later as a duet with Shreya Ghoshal. It is the kind of song that you will develop an instant liking towards. With a sufi base and a catchy tune, the track celebrates Chulbul Pandey's (Salman Khan) love towards Rajo (Sonakshi Sinha). The video promo is already doing the rounds and has created a great impact already. Even though Rahat Fateh Ali Khan sings this song also like all the other sufi songs that he has been doing, it still sounds great. And Shreya Ghoshal's beautiful just adds to the impact in the duet version, which is much better than the solo version. (It is the one which has been featured in the film as well). Faiz Anwar's lyrics are beautiful. The song would remain in our hearts because of its inherent melody. (3.5/5)
'Munni Badnaam Hui, Darling Tere Liye'. Now, what does that sound like? Yes. Its a fultoo item song. Perhaps THE best item song to come out after 'Beedi Jalai Le'. Guest composer Lalit Pandit (of Jatin-Lalit) has written and composed this dhinchaak item number. With references to Shilpa sa figure and Bebo si adaa, this song is total masti, and its hard not to groove to it. It has a rustic appeal totally justifying its UP-Bihar setting and totally fun lyrics which doesnt get vulgar anywhere. Mamta Sharma brings the right sensuousness to her voice and Aishwarya joins in the fun later on as Salman's voice. The video shows a super hot Malaika Arora dancing to the number along with the villain Sonu Sood and the hero Salman Khan, all of them having a ball. A hero and villain dancing together with the same item, now, thats a first!! Lalit Pandit has to be given credit for creating the best track of the album. (4/5)
Sajid-Wajid, Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal created a magical track called 'Don't Say Alvida' last year for Salman's Main Aurr Mrs Khanna. The same team comes back to create an even better song called 'Chori Kiya Re Jiya' in Dabangg, with Jalees Sherwani's lyrics. An extremely melodious track, which is definitely one of Sajid-Wajid's best compositions. This one's sure to stay with you long after the theatrical run of the movie. Sonu Nigam who is not heard very often these days brings his trademark charm to the romantic melody. Shreya as usual excels in her portions. It is quite surprising to find such a melodious romantic track in a rustic cop movie like Dabangg. Jalees Sherwani's lyrics are simple and romantic. (4/5)
The second you start listening to 'Udd Udd Dabangg', it reminds you of the glorious title track of Omkara, and this one is also sung by Sukhwinder Singh, like Omkara. The rusticity, the raw-earthy appeal, everything is present in this one also. A song basically to praise the hero and his qualities, this one is quite slower compared to other such tracks done for Salman (say, a Jalwa or something like that). But Sukhwinder's powerful delivery makes sure that the song doesnt go unnoticed. It sounds like a perfect theme track for the movie and its Dabangg hero. Composer Wajid also joins Sukhwinder in this macho track, which is sure to be lapped up by Salman fans. (3.5/5)
'Humka Peeni Hai' is a mast drinking song, much better than the similar 'Taali Maar' from Veer. Master Saleem, Wajid and Shabab Sabri sing this energetic track with full josh and with Salman drinking and dancing on the screen, this track can also be called a sure hit. This song also contains the rustic flavour of the film throughout its length. Another fun track. (3/5)
'Dabangg Theme' is nothing but the audio of the fantastic theatrical trailer of the movie. It has been added as a bonus to Salman Khan's fans who would love to hear him mouthing the already hit dialogues from the movie. Unlike the 'Most Wanted' track from Wanted, there's no song here, but just dialogues and the background score from the trailer. Chulbul Pandey's dialogues are sure to find takers in Salman fans. (3/5)
There are remix tracks of 'Tere Mast Mast', 'Munni Badnaam' and 'Humka Peeni Hai' of which the remix of 'Munni Badnaam' is the only track worth listening to.
On the whole, Dabangg is a total mast album with a raw, earthy appeal. Even though it has a strong Omkara hangover, the music of Dabangg is sure to be a chartbuster. Munni Badnaam and Tere Mast Mast are already topping the charts after the video promos have come out. The music is perfect for the film's theme and would surely look awesome when picturised on Salman Khan who is having a ball playing Chulbul Pandey in the film. Sajid-Wajid come up with yet another hit masala soundtrack for their friend Salman Bhai, much better than their earlier hit, Wanted.
Cast - Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Ira Dubey, Amrita Puri, Cyrus Sahukar, Arunoday Singh, Lisa Haydon, MK Raina, Anuradha Patel
Music - Amit Trivedi
Cinematography - Diego Rodriguez
Editor - Sreekar Prasad
Costumes - Pernia Qureshi, Kunal Rawal
Production Design - Shruti Gupte
Story - Adapted from Jane Austen's 'Emma'
Screenplay - Devika Bhagat
Dialogues - Devika Bhagat, Manu Rishi, Ritu Bhatia
Release Date - 6th August 2010
Aisha is an adaptation of a story which was written around 200 years back. The characters have been transported from the England of that era to present day New Delhi. And India gets her first chick flick!! Its got perhaps all the fantasies of any girl of this age - designer clothes, loads of make-up, good looking guys and what not!! And all of it has been packaged well into 2 hours of the running time of Aisha. It would not be ideal for a guy like me to analyse and ponder over a film like Aisha. But I must say, that it was a neat, watchable chick flick which even guys can sit through, provided they have a decent amount of patience.
Synopsis - Aisha is a girl with a simple diktat - everyone's business is her business. Arjun is a boy with even a simpler set of beliefs - Aisha should mind her own business. Caught in the Delhi upper class world with its own set of social rules, Aisha navigates her world with a great sense of style and even greater optimism. Caught in her web are her best friend Pinky, the small town girl Shefali, the west Delhi boy Randhir and the hunk Dhruv. Aisha will make sure everyone dances to her tune. And all Arjun wants to do is disentangle that web and get Aisha out of an impending sticky mess. Who will succeed and who will succumb? Welcome to Aisha's fabulous world where playing cupid is as easy as 123...if only that Arjun would stay out of her way! [Courtesy - Aisha FB page ;)]
We havent had many films which had been only about girls and her problems. We have always had a hero who takes things forward (unless if its an issue-based arthouse film). But here, the film is about Aisha and everyone else is just part of the world around her. Even the film's leading man Abhay Deol, stays so for most part of the film. Director Rajshree Ojha and screenwriter Devika Bhagat have succeeded in keeping the essence of the novel intact while adapting it to a 2010 version. But the place where they havent succeeded enough is the melodramatic climax of the movie, which could have done with some innovation. It falls into the category of regular cliched finales of any love story in Hindi cinema, except that the lead pair didnt unite at an airport. And yea, Hindi Cinema's fixation with telling the stories of only the ultra-rich continues in this film as well. (Hope we get some relief with Peepli Live next week).
Sonam Kapoor is effective as the over-confident and ultra-chic Aisha. She oozes confidence throughout the film, be it when she plays the diva or when she goes through a wide range of emotions in the second half. She looks good in some parts, but for most parts, she doesnt look as great as she usually does, under all that make-up and designer clothes, done in order to make her look like a diva. She looked much better as the simple girl in I Hate Luv Storys or an even simpler girl next door in Delhi-6. Even though the title character is played by Sonam Kapoor, it is the two other girls that steal the show in the movie. Amrita Puri as the cute, vulnerable, middle-class Punjabi girl Shefali steals the show with her amazing performance. She has got some great acting chops, I must say. Easily, the best performance in the movie. Ira Dubey as the catty and firebrand Pinky Bose is spot on, and reminds one of her Lilette Dubey quite often. Anything that Abhay Deol has done on screen so far has been great, and he doesnt spoil that reputation of his in this flick as well. He doesnt have the lead role in the film, but he imparts such casual warmth to his character, that it is very difficult not to like him as Arjun in the film. His character keeps both Aisha and the screenplay rooted. Cyrus Sahukar is superb in his goofy character. Arunoday Singh isnt all that great as the hunk Dhruv. MK Raina is brilliant as Aisha's supportive father. Anand Tiwari as Saurabh is excellent in the few scenes that he comes in.
The look of the movie is an extremely important factor, especially in a film like Aisha. The costumes by Pernia Qureshi & Kunal Rawal are trendy, the production design by Shruti Gupte chic, and the cinematography by Diego Rodriguez spectacular. Veteran editor Sreekar Prasad has done a good job and the film has a good flow throughout. But the most appealing of them all is Amit Trivedi's fantastic music score - the songs as well as the background score. The song 'Sham' has been shot very well in an innovative fashion.
All in all, girls would have a gala time watching Aisha, and it can serve as a date flick as well too. But calling it the Dil Chahta Hai of girls would be a little too much to ask for. There is everything that you expect from a such a movie in place. Some very good performances, great looking people, fantastic visuals and some awesome music make Aisha a decent viewing experience. Not bad at all for India's first chick flick. :)
Movie -Gulaal (Hindi) Director - Anurag Kashyap Producer - Zee Limelight Cast - Kay Kay Menon, Raj Singh Chaudhary, Abhimanyu Singh, Jesse Randhawa, Deepak Dobriyal, Mahie Gill, Piyush Mishra, Ayesha Mohan, Aditya Srivastava. Music & Lyrics - Piyush Mishra Cinematography - Rajeev Ravi Editing - Aarti Bajaj Story - Raj Singh Chaudhary, Rahul Maharya, Anurag Kashyap Screenplay - Anurag Kashyap Dialogues - Anurag Kashyap, Piyush Mishra Release Date - 13th March 2009
Writing a review of Gulaal, is very tough. The movie is one of the most complex Indian films I've seen. In short, it can be called a hard-hitting socio-political drama. But the movie has many more layers to it than what it appears to have. I'm not sure if I have fully understood all what Anurag Kashyap has tried to say through this movie. The movie is quite engrossing and gripping. Right from the brilliant opening scene, you are hooked on to the movie. It had been in the making for 8 years before Anurag could finally release it in March this year, after he had a success with Dev. D. On the surface level, Gulaal is the story of an innocent graduate who comes to study law in a university in Rajpur, Rajasthan and how his life gets affected by politics and betrayal. It is also about a descendant of a royal family trying to start a secret movement to get a separate country for the Rajputs and get their lost respect and glory back. The film is an outburst against the so-called democratic policies, so much so that, even brands of alcohol are named as Constitution and Republic. There are many more sub-plots to this amazingly well-written movie and none of them are out of sync with the actual narrative. They all add more value to the script. I'm not getting into the details of the story as it is best to get to know the story while watching the movie. As usual Anurag Kashyap films have, this film also has its share of absolutely shocking and daring scenes. The ragging sequence in the hostel, Kay Kay Menon's revolutionary speech, the mentalities of the characters, and many more scenes are things which no other Indian film director can even dare to portray on screen, like Anurag has done. As we saw in Anurag's earlier film, Dev.D, the characters are neither god or bad. They are all very real, unlike the characters we find in usual Hindi films. Each character is extremely well-defined. Which other director can have a protagonist who is an utter loser and still make a compelling movie? This is why I said that Anurag Kashyap is the future of Indian Cinema. He wrote Satya at the age of 22, and he has made 2 absolutely brilliant and unusual movies like Dev. D and Gulaal now, not to forget the amazing Black Friday and the misinterpreted No Smoking, which he had made earlier. He has said that Gulaal is his most angriest film ever, and we can totally understand that while watching this movie. He said that he was inspired to make this movie after hearing some songs from Pyaasa and made this movie as a dedication to all the poets who had a vision of India. He uses the brilliant music and even more brilliant lyrics by Piyush Mishra innovatively in the narrative. At times, you cant help laughing out loud due to the sheer audacity and sarcasm in the lyrics. The climax of the movie, could have been better though. I expected a little more from Anurag. But it was good nevertheless. The performances in this movie are superlative. Kay Kay Menon is the best of them all, as Dukey Bana, the leader of the revolutionary movement, who is both strong and weak at the same time. He steals the show right from the opening scene of the movie. Abhimanyu Singh, as Ransa, impresses in a very short role. He creates a huge impact in the very little screen time he has with his amazing screen presence. Raj Singh Chaudhary who plays Dilip Kumar Singh, the protagonist, plays the coward/loser effectively. He is also the story writer of the movie. Ayesha Mohan plays the manipulative Kavita and does a good job. Deepak Dobriyal is such a fine actor and you can see his brilliance even in a small scene where he nods to some questions by another actor in a paan shop. Aditya Shrivasatav plays the brooding and intense Karan very well. Piyush Mishra also comes up with an excellent performance as the eccentric Prithvi Bana. His songs and dialogues are really thought-provoking even though it is said in a humorous manner. Mahie Gill in a short role, looks sensuous and is responsible for bringing in some light moments as well. Her character is a fan of the actress Tabu and that has been brought through the posters in her room and the superhit song 'Ruk Ruk Ruk' playing on the stereo. Cinematography by Rajeev Ravi is fantastic. He does an excellent job again after Dev.D. Here the prominent colour is red, like the title of the film, and Rajeev perfectly sets the mood for this dark film. Music is one of the most important aspects of this movie. I have already mentioned about the innovative use of music and lyrics in this movie. The music of this movie deserves another detailed review, so I'm leaving it for you people to enjoy yourselves. But in spite of all this, this movie was not accepted when it released. Our audience is not yet ready for such kind of cinema. While Dev.D could become Anurag's first hit because of the relativity of the theme and the aggressive marketing, many people have not even heard about this movie. This movie is not for the light-hearted (it contains loads of expletives used in all their glory) and not for people who enjoy movies with songs, fights and foreign locations. Somebody has rightly described that Anurag is anti-Yash Raj. Just compare Dil Bole Hadippa and Gulaal, and you would understand the difference. This movie is not to be missed by people who appreciate different attempts in cinema. The movie has the signature of the director all over, which is why I say that Anurag Kashyap is a genius and he is certainly the future of Indian Cinema!! Rating - 4/5
