Hrithik Roshan makes Guzaarish a great watch.

Movie – Guzaarish (Hindi)

Director – Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Producers – Ronnie Screwvala, Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Cast – Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Rajit Kapoor, Shernaz Patel, Nafisa Ali, Monikangana Dutta, Suhel Seth,

Music – Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Cinematography – Sudeep Chatterjee

Editor – Hemal Kothari

Screenplay, Dialogues – Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bhavani Iyer, Vibhu Puri

Background Score – Tubby

Release Date – 19^th November 2010.

I was quite turned off by the promos and song visuals of Guzaarish that I saw on TV so far. I thought Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali was making the same mistake of being over-indulgent like he did in Saawariya. The movie looked like it was inspired from Christopher Nolan’s brilliant The Prestige from the visuals of the magic shows in the promos. The music also didn’t impress me much except for a couple of songs on the first hearing. Yet, I wanted to watch the movie for Hrithik Roshan and the stunning visuals that has become Bhansali’s trademark. And when I watched it today, I realized I was so wrong about the movie.

Guzaarish tells the story of Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan), a famed magician who turned into a quadriplegic after a fatal accident during one of his shows.  He has been going through the pain and suffering of living a completely paralyzed life for 14 long years. He is completely dependent on his caretaker/nurse for 12 years, Sofia (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) who gave up everything in her life to look after Ethan. Ethan hosts a radio show through which he inspires the people of Goa to live their lives fully, but on the other hand, he wants to end his miserable life full of suffering. So he requests his advocate friend Devayani (Shrenaz Patel) to appeal for Euthanasia aka mercy killing to the court. In the meanwhile, an enthusiastic Omar Siddiqui (Aditya Roy Kapoor) also lands at Ethan's mansion to learn magic from him. Guzaarish tells the story of Ethan and his relationships with these few people in his life.

The storyline of Guzaarish is almost completely lifted from an Academy Award winning Spanish movie The Sea Inside [2004] (No, I havent seen it, I read up the synopsis on IMDB. :P) making it Bhansali's second film on disability lifted from a foreign feature film. And the various sub-plots are lifted from various other films. If Rani Mukherji could not see, hear or speak in Black, those are the only things that Hrithik Roshan can do in Guzaarish, as he is completely paralyzed below his neck. Even though the film is not original, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has managed to create a beautiful picture out of the source material with some great performances, touching moments and stunning cinematography. There are several moments in Guzaarish which make you smile utilizing Hindi Cinema’s best charm – the feel good factor, and there are many others which make your eyes moist. And yes, he has utilized his passion for narrating his stories opulently, Broadway style, just like he did in Saawariya, but he has used it better this time around for a much more engaging story. While Saawariya remained a showreel for Ravi K Chandran’s cinematography, Omung Kumar’s art direction and Monty’s music, Guzaarish is more than just that.

But the film is not devoid of faults. Bhansali’s films have always been detached from reality and Guzaarish is no different. The film is set is supposed to be set in present day Goa, but it is drastically different from the Goa we have seen on screen so far. His trademark melodrama also seeps in time and again and goes to great heights during a silly group hug in the closing shot, which one can tolerate only because of Hrithik’s great performance. The major issue with the writing is that the audience cannot identify with Ethan’s plea for Euthanasi in spite of all the characters and Ethan himself talking about his pain and suffering several times. Guzaarish begins like a feel good movie which you think would have a very positive ending which would leave you with a smile. But when it actually gets over, one is confused whether he/she should feel happy or sad about what happened in the end. Another aspect is that, the relationship between Ethan and his student Omar is never explored. It had such great potential to be a great influence on Ethan’s life. But it is not developed beyond a point. Bhansali doesn’t show how Ethan passes on his magic tricks to Omar, and conveniently tells us by the end that Omar has learned all of Ethan’s tricks and has become a great magician himself. This angle certainly needed to be developed in a better way, especially when there was a back story of why Omar came to Ethan. In spite of all this, the movie strikes a chord with the audience, and that is the director’s success. The dialogues by Vibhu Puri and Bhavani Iyer are very good.  

Hrithik Roshan gives a mesmerizing performance as Ethan Mascarenhas. Acting out such a part where there is absolutely no scope for body language, since the character is paralyzed, is extremely difficult. And Hrithik has come up trumps by using only his face and dialogue delivery and gives us his second best performance (his best still has to be Jodhaa Akbar). All the awards should come pouring in pretty soon. After the dismal show of his previous film Kites, the actor is back with a stunning performance which only an actor of his calibre can deliver. If there’s one reason which you should watch Guzaarish for, it is Hrithik Roshan.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is very good. This year, there has been an overdose of Aishwarya through Raavan/Raavanan, Enthiran, Action Replayy and now Guzaarish. She looked stunning in Enthiran and Action Replayy, but in Guzaarish, her looks are not that impressive, and she messes it up with some really unwanted (in this movie at least, :P) display of cleavage and the bright red lipstick that she sports in almost all the scenes. Come on, she’s a home nurse, for God’s sake!! If home nurses were to look like Aishwarya Rai, almost all the men in the country would willingly fall ill. Her wonderful chemistry with co-star Hrithik, evident in their earlier films like Dhoom:2 and Jodhaa Akbar is still intact. Watch out for the scene where Hrithik pretends to be aroused and Aishwarya responds to it with some naughty moans. Its an instant classic. Aishwarya’s acting is great, but is completely overshadowed by the absolutely brilliant performance of Shernaz Patel who plays Hrithik’s advocate. Shernaz is excellent as Ethan’s friend and lawyer who has to fight for his death plea in spite of being against it. Aditya Roy Kapoor is impressive in a loosely written role that had so much more potential. Rajit Kapoor, Nafisa Ali and Suhel Seth are good.

Each frame in the movie is a masterpiece. Sudeep Chatterjee, take a bow!! The frames are designed in such a way that they look stunning, no matter what the content of the scene is. The cinematographer and art director along with the costume designer have worked hard to give an amazing look to the film. And unlike Saawariya, the film is not saturated with any colour. Most of the colours are muted and dull, just like Ethan’s world and the only instances where the movie gets colourful are the ones where Ethan is taken out of his mansion. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s music was not great when listened to as an independent soundtrack, but when the songs play out in the movie; they work very well for the film. He always had a great taste for music and that has been evident in all his films so far. ‘Tera Zikr’ is the pick of the lot and the beautiful ‘Sau Gram Zindagi’ reflects Ethan’s life. The brilliantly choreographed ‘Udi’ has Aishwarya showing off her dancing skills yet again. But the brilliance of a usual SLB movie soundtrack is sorely missed. The film is credited to four production designers and the effort is definitely shown. The background score is decent.

Bhansali has plagiarized a great plot and made it into a fairly good movie, with some serious faults in the writing department, which the which the master craftsman that he is, managed to camouflage to a certain extent. Picture perfect cinematography, opulent sets, good music, some beautiful moments and most importantly, Hrithik Roshan’s stunning performance make Guzaarish a worthy watch which you wouldn’t regret spending your time on. Definitely one of the better films of the year.

Rating – 3.5/5

Action Replayy - Theek hai.

Movie - Action Replayy (Hindi)
Director - Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Producer - Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Cast - Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Rannvijay Singh, Neha Dhupia, Om Puri, Kirron Kher, Rajpal Yadav, Randhir Kapoor
Music - Pritam
Cinematography - Sejal Shah
Editing - Amitabh Shukla
Art - Aparna Raina
Screenplay, Dialogues - Suresh Nair, Aatish Kapadia
Release Date - 5th November 2010. 

• The film begins with a colourful retro-styled title sequence, complete with dhinchak music. Like.
• One of the earliest scenes has a joke about Mallika Sherawat. Like.
• Aditya Roy Kapoor is re-introduced (according to the titles) and he does a decent job. But the length and shape of his hair keeps changing throughout the movie. And yea, he wears a Master Yoda T shirt in one of the scenes which I so want to buy. Like. 
• The storyline is a straight rip-off from Back To The Future. But they credit it to some Gujarati play. Maybe the Gujarati play itself was lifted from Back To The Future. :P Dislike. 
• The totally dhinchak and awesome song 'Zor Ka Jhatka' is totally misplaced in the film, even before it goes into retro mode and introduces the characters in their true form. Dislike. 
• The retro effect does not come out anywhere near Om Shanti Om or Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai. They have tried, but have not succeeded completely. It remains just as an over the top attempt to go retro. Dislike.
• Rajpal Yadav. :) :) :) :) . Like. 
• Rannvijay Singh is much better than how he was in London Dreams. Like. 
• Om Puri is always great. Like.
• Kirron Kher is over the top in a good way. Like. 
• Akshay Kumar in a hideous wig and with a completely fake buck tooth in the first half. Dislike. 
• Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is totally hot in her intro song and continues to look hot and beautiful throughout the movie. Like. 
• Akshay Kumar continues his nerdy act and that irritating laugh from Jaanemann. Manages to be funny in majority of the scenes despite his bad make-up. Like. 
• Neha Dhupia appears randomly in scenes and songs. Has no dialogues except for a couple of lines in the second half. Looks very pretty and cute. Like. 
• Randhir Kapoor as the nutty professor who invents a silly looking time machine. And he's named Anthony Gonzalves. Dislike. 

• The'Oh Bekhabar' song which has Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who looks gorgeous even at 37 (or is it 39?). Like. 
• The pathetic quality of all the other songs while there was ample scope for a chartbuster soundtrack. Pritam - Fail. (Except for Zor Ka Jhatka & Oh Bekhabar). Dislike. 
• Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, apart from looking good, also manages to reflect her own self in a role that suits her perfectly. :P Like. 
• Akshay Kumar after the make-over, even though the wig is still terrible. In top form. Like.
• Aawaaz Neeche!! And the entire audience repeating it with Akshay each time he says it in the movie. Double Like. 
• The screenplay takes a shamelessly convenient and predictable route throughout the movie, just like the team's previous movie London Dreams. If things happened so easily like in this movie, life would be so much better. Dislike. 
• I didnt get the joke about Kundan Lal (Rannvijay) singing in two voices and being signed by some Mahesh Kumar, which everyone seems to like. Dunno whether to Like or Dislike. :|
• They had such a wonderful opportunity to recreate the madness of Padosan since they had a very similar situation where Aditya was singing and Akshay was lip-syncing. But they do that also very conveniently, with no connection or reference to the style followed in Padosan. Dislike. 
• A Hum Kisise Kum Nahin- like singing competition. Great opportunity, totally destroyed with some terrible songs. And again, no reference to that film, despite being influenced by it. Dislike. 
• One more joke about Mallika Sherawat. Like.
• The funny chase sequence towards the climax with almost the entire cast. Like. 
• The half-decent 'Tera Mera Pyar' song, shot well, and has Karthik's vocals. Like. 
• The broken Time Machine is repaired without any explanation whatsoever. Dislike. 
• The girl who played Tanya. Dislike. 
• Cinematography is quite good. The entire film is vibrant and colourful. 
• The over the top art direction and costumes. Retro look didnt work out. Dislike.
• Background Score is quite decent. With some straight lifts from Johnny Gaddaar. Its Pritam. Thats expected. Like. 
• The crowd at Sridar whom I watched the movie with. The atmosphere in there was great and thats a major reason why I could have fun while watching this movie. Like. 

So, as you can see, there are more things I liked about Action Replayy than the things I didnt like about it. I expected a terrible movie after reading the initial reviews. But the movie is much better than Akshay Kumar's recent movies. Its nowhere near Vipul Shah's earlier movies. But still, its a timepass watch, which bored and masala-loving souls like me can enjoy. The film worked for me because of Akshay, Aishwarya, Rajpal Yadav and some good jokes. It could have been a wonderful throwback to the 70s, but the retro effect doesnt work that well. The plot is obviously inspired from Back To The Future but its nowhere as good as the original. But still, the movie is fun as long as it lasts, if you know that you shouldnt be expecting logic and consistency in a movie like this. 

Rating - 3/5

Endhiran - The Robot

Movie - Endhiran - The Robot (Tamil) 

Director - Shankar

Producer - Kalanithi Maran

Cast - Superstar Rajnikanth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Danny Denzongpa

Music - AR Rahman

Cinematography - Rathnavelu

Production Design - Sabu Cyril

Editing - Anthony

Sound Design - Resul Pookutty

Action - Peter Hein

SFX - Stan Winston Studios

Story, Screenplay - Shankar

Dialogues - Sujatha, Shankar, Karky

Release Date - 1st October 2010

A Rajnikanth movie without his spectacular entry, without a self-celebratory introduction song, without punch dialogues and without any of the usual trappings of Rajnikanth movie. Such an instance has never happened for more than 25 years now. This is just one of the impossible things that Shankar achieves through his magnum opus called Endhiran – The Robot. Conceived by him around 10 years back, Shankar went through a lot of hurdles to get this man v/s machine dream project on floors. After the tremendous success of Sivaji – The Boss, Shankar decided to team up with Rajnikanth once again for his most ambitious project  and soon he had Kalanithi Maran and Sun Pictures backing him up with a budget of over Rs.160 crores. And after being in production for around 3 years, Endhiran has finally released sending the millions of fans of Rajnikanth into a frenzy. 

Dr.Vaseegaran (Rajnikanth), after 10 years of hard work, creates an android Chitti (Rajnikanth again - Speed 1 Terabyte, Memory 1 Zeta byte) whom he wishes to use as a replacement to soldiers in the Indian Army. But the committee headed by Dr.Bohra (Danny Denzongpa), Vasi's mentor denies approval to the robot stating that it does not have human emotions and feelings and thus it can be misused by anyone quite easily. Vasi feels dejected by this and sets upon an extremely difficult task of instilling human emotions in Chitti. But when he finally succeeds in that enormous task, things go out of control. Chitti falls in love with Sana (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), Vasi's long-time girlfriend, thus creating a love triangle between the three. Sana rejects Chitti's proposal and this develops into a grand man versus machine spectacle.

It requires a man of amazing vision and imagination to even think that such a script can be pulled off in our country. There are ample moments in Endhiran which makes you want to say hats off to the vision of its director Shankar and his amazing technical crew. And unlike any other sci-fi/superhero film made in India (particularly in Hindi), this film actually has a plot, a wonderful one at that. Even though the film is about advanced robotics and science, Shankar narrates it in such a way that each and every one watching the film would understand every bit of what is going on in the movie. The late writer Sujatha's contribution to the screenplay is very evident in the way such complex themes are brought out with utmost simplicity. Dialogues by Shankar, Sujatha and Karky are simple, yet powerful. It's a movie for the masses, the classes and for all age groups from 6 to 60 and above. Perhaps one of the most entertaining movies ever made in the country, Endhiran is sure to break all collection records (if it hasn't already) in the weeks to come. 

Superstar Rajnikanth is deadlier than ever, playing three different roles with equal flourish. He plays the non-violent Dr.Vasi with a certain sophisticated dignity, Chitti with an irresistibly lovable charm and Chitti- Upgraded Version 2.0 as the devil incarnate. Rajnikanth looks 20 years younger and it is hard to imagine any other actor playing any of the three roles in this movie. He plays hero, comedian, dancer, fighter, savior and evil, all in the same movie and is nothing short of a treat to watch. Devoid of any of his usual gimmicks and style statements, he still manages to mesmerize his fans. And the final 30 minutes of the movie reminds us of the Rajni of the early 80s, and these portions have to be seen to be believed. The acting caliber of Rajnikanth has been utilized after a long long time. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looks stunning for most portions of the film. Even though she plays arm-candy for all the Rajnis, she has a striking presence throughout the movie. She looks absolutely gorgeous in the songs and gives a decent performance as well. Danny Denzongpa gives an elegant performance as the evil Dr.Bohra and is a welcome relief from the usual Tamil villains. (The only issue is the out-of-sync dubbing done for him). Santhanam and Karunas are merely there and are not able to match up to Rajnikanth's impeccable comic timing. Malayalam actors Kalabhavan Mani and the late Cochin Haneefa come in one-scene cameos.

Each and every technical aspect of this film is top-notch. Be it the cinematography, production design, make-up, costumes, action, editing or special effects - each department is handled by the bests of the Indian and International film industries. Rathnavelu captures the movie in all its magnanimity and his work really comes into its own during the song sequences like 'Kaadhal Anukkal' and 'Kilimanjaro'. Sabu Cyril deserves nothing short of a National Award for his highly imaginative and futuristic production design and art works. Anthony could have used his scissors a little more in the second half, but still has done a tremendous job. Resul Pookkutty's sound design proves that he is capable of winning more Academy Awards. Action by Yuen Voo Ping and Peter Hein is unbelievably good. The sequence in the local train and the whole climax portions were fantastic. Special effects by Stan Winston Studios (who have worked on Terminator, Iron Man and Avatar) are the best that Indian Cinema has ever seen. The SFX team and the action team have done some extraordinary work in the final 30 minutes of the film making it a visual spectacle, which you can watch only with bated breath.

AR Rahman's music was declared a chartbuster on its release day itself. Shot in true Shankar style, the songs alone are worth the money you spend on your ticket. 'Kaadhal Anukkal' and 'Kilimanjaro' shows never-before-seen stunning locations like Macchu Picchu, shot in all their glory. Whereas 'Arima Arima' and 'Irumbile' has been shot on futuristic sets with imaginative costumes. The mandatory SP Balasubramaniam title song comes in a toned down, yet appealing version and 'Boom Boom Robo Da' and 'Chitti Dance Showcase' are excuses for Chitti to entertain us shamelessly. Choreography by Prabhu Deva, Raju Sundaram and others is excellent and suits the style of Rajnikanth. Vairamuthu and his son Madhan Karky write lyrics that complement the theme of the movie very well. The background score did not come up to usual Rahman-Shankar standards, but was still very good. The 2.0 theme track was killer. 

You can be sure of one thing while watching Endhiran. Such a movie has never come before on the Indian screen and it will take a long time for another such movie to come out as well. It is a spectacle which you can miss only at your own risk. If Sivaji was a Rajni film directed by Shankar, Endhiran is a Shankar film, utilizing both Rajni - the actor and Rajni - the superstar. Shankar with his amazing vision has shown us that nothing is impossible if you dare to dream. Ably supported by the best producers this movie could have ever got, Sun Pictures, this movie is sure to be a milestone in Indian Cinema. Move over Superman, Batman and Spiderman, we have Chitti - The Robot!! Shankar, Rajnikanth, Kalanithi Maran and the entire team can be proud. DOT!!

Rating - 4.5/5


(Previously published on nowrunning.com - http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/5775/tamil/endhiran-the-robot/2750/review.htm)

Preview: Endhiran - The Robot

Movie - Endhiran (Tamil)
Director - Shankar
Producer - Kalanithi Maran
Cast - 'Superstar' Rajnikanth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Santhanam, Karunas, Danny Denzongpa, Kalabhavan Mani, Cochin Haneefa
Music - AR Rahman
Lyrics - Vairamuthu, PA Vijay, Karky
Cinematography - Rathnavelu
Editing - Anthony
Art - Sabu Cyril
Stunts - Peter Hein
Sound - Resul Pookutty CAS
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Sujatha, Shankar, Balakumaran, Karky
Release Date - October 1, 2010


The film that the entire country has been waiting for, Endhiran is finally getting ready for release during the end of this month. This mammoth production stars India's (or probably Asia's) most commercially viable Superstar Rajnikanth and one of the most beautiful and popular actresses in India, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, under the direction of Shankar who has an unbeatable 100% success rate in the Tamil industry. Initially financed by Ayngaran International and Eros, this movie was taken over in 2009 by media moghuls Sun Pictures after the previous producers backed out due to financial difficulties. Sun Pictures, who have been buying the rights and distributing Tamil films for the past 2 years (from Kaadhalil Vizhunthen to Thillalangadi), are venturing into production for the first time with this film. Academy Award & Grammy winner and India's biggest composer AR Rahman composes music for the film, while his fellow Oscar winner Resul Pookutty does the sound design. Multiple National Award winner Sabu Cyril does the art direction while the slick and stylish editor Anthony takes care of the editing. It was Shankar's dream project which he conceptualized 10 years ago, but couldnt make it because it required a humongous budget and there was no market for such films then. But after the stupendous success of Sivaji where he and Rajnikanth joined hands for the first time, he was convinced that with Rajni's star power and his direction, the movie would definitely find a market and reap huge profits. Shankar has written the script along with late veteran writer Sujatha and others like Balakumaran and Karky. 

The film was reportedly made on a budget of around Rs.150-200 crores making it the costliest film made in India. The audio release of the movie was held in Malaysia which was as grand an event as any of the Bollywood award shows. And in the previous week, the trailer launch event of the movie was held at Sathyam Cinemas, Chennai amidst much fanfare. The trailer, which is now being screened in cinemas across the country, is being celebrated by the devoted fans of Superstar Rajnikanth. The film will also release simultaneously in its dubbed Hindi and Telugu versions. The movie is expected with bated breath by fans of Rajnikanth and Indian Cinema across the world. 

Rajnikanth plays a dual role in the film. Scientist Vaseegaran (Rajnikanth) develops an android named Chitti (Rajnikanth again) with artificial intelligence. The robot slowly develops human natures and falls in love Sana (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), Vaseegaran's lady love. On the other hand, Danny Denzongpa is a rival scientist who wants to lay his hands on Chitti and use him for his own evil deeds. Endhiran is the story of the fight between Vaseegaran & Danny Denzongpa, with Chitti acting as a catalyst. And Shankar has promised that there will be a surprise in store like Motta Boss in Sivaji, in Endhiran as well. 


The music of the film is already a rage and topped the worldwide charts of iTunes in its release week itself. The movie is expected to release with 1500 prints all over the world in 3 languages. Here are some stills and the mindblowing trailer of the movie.