Pyaar Ka Punchnama - The funniest tragedy I've seen!!

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Movie - Pyaar Ka Punchnama (Hindi)
Writer/Director - Luv Ranjan
Producer - Abhishek Pathak
Cast - Kartikeya Tiwari, Rayo Bakhirta, Divyendu Sharma, Sonalli Sehgal, Nushrat Bharucha, Ishita Sharma
Music - Clinton Cerejo, Hitesh Sonik, Luv Ranjan, Ad Boys
Cinematography - Sudhir K Chaudhury
Editor - Akiv Ali
Release Date - 20th May 2011

There have been n - number of movies in India which featured issues of exploitation (physical, emotional, social) of women by men. Pyaar Ka Punchnama addresses a different issue, which is important in its own way - the exploitation of the emotionally weaker sex, MEN, by women at so many different levels. There are so many people to speak for women, but what about men, who do not even acknowledge such problems to themselves, leave alone talk about it to others, just because they're supposed to be 'Men'. Luv Ranjan cleverly brings all this together in his brilliant satire on relationships, Pyaar Ka Punchnama soaked in sharp humour, something which 3-time National Award winning director Madhur Bhandarkar so miserably failed to do in his lousy attempt at romantic comedy, Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji. 

Rajat (Kartikeya), Vikrant Chaudhury (Rayo) & Liquid/Nishant (Divyendu) are 3 best buddies sharing an apartment in Delhi, each having his own boring job and list of frustrations, the biggest of them being that they are all single. And as their lives progress, Rajat falls for Neha (Nushrat), Chaudhury gets closer to Riya (Sonalli) and Liquid finds his first female friend in Charu (Ishita Sharma). Rajat moves on to a live-in relationship with Neha, Chaudhury helps Riya get over her break up with ex, Varun and Liquid tries to be an honest best friend to Charu who rejects his proposal. From here on, the lives of the 3 of them turn topsy turvy in ways they couldnt have imagined. 

3 different shades of modern day relationships are explored in the process of the narrative and its guaranteed that every guy who watches this movie would find at least some of him in either of the 3 characters. Be it Rajat, who tries to do everything to keep his complaining girlfriend happy or Vikrant who honestly tries to help Riya to get over her previous relationship; and the most honest of them - Liquid, who tries to be a support system for the manipulative colleague who is just interested in using him at her pleasure; being the biggest loser of them all . Many might have complaints that the movie has painted all its female characters completely evil. But hey, thats not true. The movie actually portrays how much more stronger they are compared to men, when it comes to the mind. They are confused most of the time;  but if they make their mind that they want something, they know the exact ways to get it done. The guys are not all white either. They have their own flaws and problems as well. 

[And even if the female characters are leaning towards negative shades, is that such a big problem? Dont men stay quiet when almost all of them are stereotypically depicted as lecherous creatures behind the woman's body in almost all of those female-oriented movies?? This movie tells how men feel about certain women who manipulate them. So take it like that, and if you cant handle it, then please dont watch this movie.]

The movie doesnt have your typical Hindi film romance or heroes or heroines. One of our heroes cries like a baby falling on her lap when she tells him that she's leaving him and another is terribly humiliated in his own office by someone for whom he remained a loyal dog. So if you are used to the Rajshri, Dharma, Yashraj kind of romances, stay away from this one, as this shows the real deal. Not all relationships may not be like the ones shown in this movie, but most of them do go through several stages which are depicted in this movie for sure. The movie tries to understand the toughest question of them all - 'What does a woman really want?' and fails in its quest by the end, just like our heroes. And director Luv Ranjan has done that with a confident and irreverent attitude by portraying many heartbreaking moments through such hilarity. 

The performances by the 3 guys are fantastic. Divyendu steals the show beyond doubt. Playing the desperate, seedha-saadha Liquid who is all talk but no action, he is just mindblowing. He gets the best lines in the movie as well. Kartikeya's hopeless lover who loses it after a point is brilliant in his own way. Watch out for him in his 6-minute long monologue (one of the best I've seen in Hindi), he's too good in it. Rayo plays the laid-back Chaudhury, in his undies whenever he's at home, with a guitar for company most of the time. He also makes a confident and impressive debut. Out of the ladies, it is clearly Nushrat who plays Neha who gets the maximum screen time and makes the most use of it as well. She plays her part so well that it is hard not to hate her. ;) Sonalli as Riya is neither attractive nor very effective, but since her character is written well, we dont mind it so much. Ishita is impressive playing the manipulative Charu effectively. And each of these actors should thank their writers for giving them such effectively etched-out characters. 

You're so immersed in the narrative of the movie that it is hard to notice the work of the rest of the crew. Sudhir Chaudhury's slick and flashy cinematography sets the right mood for the film. The bachelor pad created by the art director would make every guy wish to have one like it, even though its mostly in a mess. Akiv Ali has put together the 3 different tracks very well, but he could've sharpened the movie a bit more in the second half. Music and background score are super-effective, even though one or two songs unnecessarily slowed down the pace. The 'Ban gaya kutta' song has been used to hilarious effect in many scenes. 

Pyaar Ka Punchnama has more laugh-out-loud moments than all the mundane comedies that Bollywood has been producing over the past few years. And the movie makes sense too. Now, thats a rare combination in Bollywood. If Dil Chahta Hai set the benchmark on narrating stories on friendship and relationships in the last decade, Pyaar Ka Punchnama does that for this decade, without any star power to back it. The dialogues are howlarious, especially Rajat's monologue. [The constant beeps everytime there was the slightest of abuses, were really annoying. Will our Censor Board ever grow up?]

It is a perfect buddy film. And its also a tragedy in the sense that every man, be it Superman or Batman, was a dog to his woman at some point or the other. So guys, go catch this flick after a couple of beers with your best friends and have a great time. Hilarious scenes, great performances and a fresh take on relationships. What more could you ask for!! And please dont make the mistake of taking your girlfriends along, as it might lead to events of disastrous proportions. ;) 

If Woody Allen ever made a mainstream Hindi movie, it would be something like this. And yea, I think I can take some liberty and call Pyaar Ka Punchnama as the Dil Chahta Hai of this decade. It actually goes much beyond where Dil Chahta Hai went. Luv Ranjan and team, take a bow!! 

Bottomline - Launde log, is film ko dekh lena apne doston ke saath, immediately!! 

Stanley Ka Dabba is Delicious!!

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Movie - Stanley Ka Dabba (Hindi)
Writer/Producer/Director - Amole Gupte
Cast - Partho, Numan, Abhishek, Amole Gupte, Divya Dutta, Divya Jagdale, Raj Zutshi
Director of Photography - Amol Gole
Music & Background Score - Hitesh Sonik
Editor/Co-Producer - Deepa Bhatia
Production Designer - Sheetal Bapardekar
Sound Designers - Dwarak Warrier & Madhu Apasara
Release Date - 13th May 2011

In between all the star studded extravagances and mindless masala movies, comes Bollywood's first true-blue independent cinema Stanley Ka Dabba spreading a beautiful aroma and so many smiles around. Amole Gupte, whose brainchild Taare Zameen Par blew our minds and hearts not so long ago, scores yet again with his directorial debut. An original, genuine, sincere, simple and beautiful film, which is all heart - that is Stanley Ka Dabba. 

Stanley (Partho) is an enthusiastic and multi-talented child studying in Std IV F of Holy Family High School along with his friends Abhishek (Abhishek), Aman Mehra (Numan) & party. While all his friends feast on their dabbas during lunch breaks, Stanley doesnt bring a dabba and usually gets his share of lunch from his cool friends, most of whom are fans of him, and his stories. Trouble comes in the form of the terrifying Khadoos Varma (Amole Gupte), their Hindi teacher, who takes pleasure on eating food from others' dabbas, be it his students or his colleagues in the staff room. Stanley Ka Dabba effectively captures the routine school life of these children and their fight against the villain in their lives - the Khadoos Hindi teacher; and gives a shocking jolt by the end, which makes us see the entire film once again in another perspective. 

Amole Gupte is a brilliant storyteller, which was evident from his first screenplay Taare Zameen Par (which he was directing, until Aamir Khan took over). Stanley Ka Dabba is similar to TZP in many ways, yet so drastically different. Both films are essentially about children, and both tackle serious issues without being preachy as well and the similarity ends there. Stanley Ka Dabba makes us revisit the times when going to school, learning things, eating lunch with friends, getting a chocolate from the teacher, playing football during breaks and such small things were the biggest pleasures in life. School was such an important part of the growing up years of every single one of us and Amole Gupte takes us back to one of the classes in primary school and makes us feel like we're one among the students there. The film, which was shot completely on a digital still camera (Canon 7D, its the first mainstream Hindi film to use this technology) over weekends and vacations without disturbing the classes of any of its child actors, has captured the children at their most candid of moments, which makes the film so strikingly real and at the same time, enjoyable. None of the performances look like a performance, and never do you get a sense that what you are watching is actually a film which was written and made by a bunch of people over a period of time. You are sucked into the world of Stanley and his friends that you forget about everything else. Very rarely can a filmmaker achieve this. 

Partho is a brilliant actor. Amole Gupte's son proves that he might be as talented as his father at this young age itself. Those who loved Darsheel Zafary's Ishaan Nandakishore Awasthi, would adore Partho's Stanley Fernandez. Stanley is the complete opposite of whatever Ishaan was and he wins our heart right from the second he does his own version of Vishal Bhardwaj's Dhan Te Nan in the beginning of the film. Partho plays the enthusiastic, wide-eyed, talented and cute Stanley so beautifully that you cant help falling in love with the child. This is the best performance you would've come across in a Hindi film in a long long time and the best part is that it doesnt even look like its a performance. Partho is Stanley for everyone watching the film. Numaan Sheikh plays the chubby little Aman Mehra, the rich, but sweet kid who brings the tallest of dabbas and loves to share it with his buddies. Abhishek Reddy reminds you of your best buddy during school who would stand by you no matter what. The rest of the children are all so good that many of our leading men should take acting lessons from them. Anyone who has had the experience of shooting with children would vouch that it is one of the toughest things to do, but Amole Gupte has extracted some wonderful performances from a whole bunch of kids, which is indeed an enormous task. 

Divya Dutta plays the super-sweet English teacher whom Stanley has a major crush on. Lovely is too small a word to desrcibe her in the movie. Every grown up would have memories of a strict, no-nonsense and sarcastic teacher like the South Indian Science teacher Mrs Iyer, played perfectly by Divya Jagdale. And then there is the director Amole Gupte himself, playing the film's antagonist Khadoos Varma, who is as villainous as any of our iconic Hindi film villains, even when he snatches food from unsuspecting kids and teachers. His Varma actually mirrors Stanley's situation, but leaning towards the negative side of it. After Kaminey, Phas Gaye Re Obama and the Malayalam film Urumi, we get to see the wonderful actor having a ball playing a great character whom we feel both hatred and sympathy towards, at the same time. And then there's Raj Zutshi in a delightful cameo giving food for thought for Gupte's character. 

The routine school lives become so lively and energetic through Deepa Bhatia (Gupte's wife)'s clever and fantastic editing. Amol Gole, the director of photography has used the wonderful Canon 7D to its maximum potential and has captured children so beautifully and realistically, without many of them even noticing that they were being shot by a camera. Mixed with some real good DI work, nowhere does the film look like its been shot on a digital format, leave alone a still camera. This experiment has the power to revolutionize independent cinema in India and encourage more and more filmmakers to start making movies with the lowest of budgets. The film was shot completely on natural and ambient light which makes it look completely real. Dwarak Warrier & Madhu Apasara have captured the sound on location since it would be an enormous task to get all those kids to dub their lines; and they have done a great job with the sound design. Music by Hitesh Sonik is wonderful and the songs seamlessly fit into the narrative, thereby enhancing it. 

The charm of Stanley Ka Dabba lies in its simplicity and the nuances which the director has used to convey emotions through his characters. The ending might give you a shock, but yes, its a true fact which makes one think, after smiling throughout the movie. As the caption says, its a small story with a big heart. And this movie doesnt have the support or backing of a superstar like Aamir Khan, so its the responsibility for lovers of good and independent cinema to see to it that the film gets the viewership, success and recognition it deserves. And please dont deprive your children from the joy of seeing this movie. Make this film your vacation treat for your kids and its a given fact they would completely adore it. Rarely does a film which is so sincere and full of heart like this gets made in Hindi Cinema. Make sure you catch it immediately. The father & son are sure to win your hearts. 

To put it in Rosy Miss' words - 'Stanley, You Rock! ;-)'

P.S. - Carry lots of food with you when you watch this movie, it would come in handy, trust me. ;)

Bottomline - A heartwarming film which would make you smile throughout, and leave you with a lump in your throat by the end. MUST WATCH!!

7 Khoon Maaf is disappointing!!

Movie - 7 Khoon Maaf (Hindi)
Director - Vishal Bhardwaj
Producers - Vishal Bhardwaj, Ronnie Screwvala
Cast - Priyanka Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah, Annu Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vivaan Shah, Aleksandr Dyachenko, Usha Uthup, Harish Khanna
Music - Vishal Bhardwaj
Cinematography - Ranjan Palit
Editor - Sreekar Prasad
Story - Ruskin Bond
Screenplay, Dialogues - Vishal Bhardwaj, Matthew Robbins
Lyrics - Gulzar
Release Date - 18th February 2011

Vishal Bhardwaj had grown to be a master filmmaker with films like Maqbool, Omkara, The Blue Umbrella & Kaminey behind him. So when he announced 7 Khoon Maaf, an adaptation of Ruskin Bond’s short story Susanna’s Seven Husbands, all eyes were on him to see how he would translate that story which had limited cinematic appeal to a big budget Hindi film with such a huge cast. And the bad news is that 7 Khoon Maaf is Vishal’s weakest film to date and is a huge disappointment to fans of the composer turned director.

                                                           

Designed as a dark comedy, 7 Khoon Maaf tells the story of Susanna who is in search of love and goes wrong each time in choosing a partner. And then, Vishal Bhardwaj spells out episodes in Susanna’s life where she marries, kills her partner and remarries in the most predictable fashion. An impotent army-man, a coke-snorting rockstar, a sadomasochistic poet, a two-timing Russian spy, a lecherous cop and a doctor who has other schemes and an adopted orphan are the men in her life. Each husband is introduced, gets a song or two to show his romance with Susanna, reveals his flaw and then conveniently gets bumped off.  On one side, Bhardwaj tells Susanna is a psychopath who would rather kill a dog who is in her way than take another safer route available. And on the other hand, he gives us the impression that Susanna is a lady who is in constant search of true love, but never able to get it. Ultimately, the audience is left confused as to who Susanna really is. And of course, Susanna clearly hasn’t heard of a concept called divorce.

Priyanka Chopra’s performance is inconsistent. She is very good in some scenes and very poor in some other. And most of it has a heavy hangover of what she did in Fashion. She doesn’t look convincing as an ageing lady and the patchy make-up does even more damage. All the male actors have given poorly developed characters with very little screen time dedicated to each of them. Neil Nitin Mukesh is ridiculous, John Abraham is convincing, Irrfan is great, the Russian actor Aleksandr Dyachenko is charming, Annu Kapoor is brilliant and Naseeruddin Shah is wasted in a poorly written role. Vivaan Shah, son of Naseeruddin Shah, making his debut, has perhaps the best written character in the movie and he plays it effortlessly. Harish Khanna as the butler makes a mark. Ruskin Bond, on whose story the film is based, makes an appearance too. Usha Uthup is decent. Konkona Sen Sharma pitches in a delightful cameo. 

There are indicators in the form of crises and major events in the country like Operation Bluestar, the Babri Masjid demolition, the nuclear test, Kandahar hijack and 26/11 to indicate which time period the narrative is taking place in. Otherwise, the world Vishal has created in this movie is quite detached from our regular world. He also gives smart references to novels The Seven Wives of Bluebird and Anna Karenina, and even Deewaar (why didnt someone tell the Russian that 'Mere Paas Maa Hai' is Shashi Kapoor's line, not Amitabh Bachchan's). There are dialogues and moments which reminds one of the incredible talent of Bhardwaj, but they are few and far in between. The movie follows a completely predictable narrative which leads to an interesting surreal climax and epilogue, but by then the audience had already lost interest. 

Ranjan Palit’s camera keeps us in the dark world of Susanna and Sreekar Prasad’s editing is confusing, reminding one of his work in Raavan. The visual effects are very poor and gimmicky. Good news is that Vishal Bhardwaj doesn’t disappoint as a music composer as he comes up with a fantastic score with great songs such as India's first true-blue rock song O Mama, the chartbuster Darling & the sublime Bekaraan along with lyricist Gulzar. But it is a crime for a composer like Vishal Bhardwaj to create a gem of a song like Tere Liye for a movie and then not include it in the movie. The background score sounds more like Rahman than Bhardwaj.

All in all, 7 Khoon Maaf is a major disappointment coming from one of India’s best filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj.  It is not a bad movie, but it is certainly not a good movie too. Lets hope the maverick filmmaker comes back to form with his next, a film in a more commercial format - the 2 States adaptation with Shahrukh Khan in the lead. What stays with you after 7 Khoon Maaf are the brilliant songs and the striking image of a snow white cat against the backdrop of the snowy peaks in Kashmir. 

Rating – 2.5/5

Dhobi Ghat leaves you unsatisfied.

Movie - Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries) [Hindi, partly English]
Director - Kiran Rao
Producers - Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao
Cast - Prateik, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra & Aamir Khan
Cinematography - Tushar Kanti Ray
Music - Gustavo Santaolalla
Editor - Nishant Radhakrishnan
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Kiran Rao
Release Date - 21st January 2011

Aamir Khan Productions was always associated with different and quality cinema and they had maintained that even in a commercial venture like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, and during the promotions of Dhobi Ghat, Aamir was quite insistent that Dhobi Ghat is not your regular mainstream cinema, it belongs to the arthouse genre and is meant to watched seriously. He was quite right as Dhobi Ghat is not your regular movie. It is more about the city of Mumbai rather than a plot or its main characters. But the problem with the movie is that it never really grows beyond that, and remains an ode to the city which leaves one unsatisfied with the experience. 

Dhobi Ghat tells the story of four people - Munna (Prateik), a dhobi by day and a rat killer by night (he also has another embarrassing job, which if revealed would be a spoiler); Shaai (Monica Dogra), an NRI investment banker on a sabbatical to do her own thing of photographing of 'poor India, hungry India' in black & white; Arun (Aamir Khan) a reclusive artist who runs away from relationships and people as such, but intrigued by a discovery of a Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra)'s newly-wed life in Mumbai recorded on DV tapes as letters to her brother, which she never sent. And then there's the fifth character- the city of Mumbai itself which is the most important of all of them, as the movie is all about the effect the city has on these people. 

The movie begins as a romanticized account of the city of Mumbai and tries to shock us by showing the grim reality of the city by the end of its narrative. I'm not quite sure if that is the theme that Kiran Rao wanted to portray through this movie. There are way too many coincidences and the four different characters distinctly different by class and societal statuses, keep bumping into each other quite often in the movie. So many coincidences are hard to believe in a movie which is supposed to be realistic. Even the slight shocks that the director tries to give by the end of the movie does not really come across as shocking to the audience as it was already predictable. Even the underworld angle which is included towards the end of the movie does not fit into the movie. The major problem with the film is that its story does not have enough meat to be a feature film, even though its running time is just 95 minutes. 

But there are many other things that work in the film. First of all, the beautiful portrayal of India's busiest city in all its glory, shot at locations and angles which filmmakers havent explored prior to this one. Tushar Kanti Ray's exceptional camerawork gives a new perspective to the city of Mumbai - its busy streets, its beaches, its people, its monsoons and its dark nights. The video diary format used as part of Yasmin's excitement in moving to Mumbai was another great touch. There are some wonderful moments in the movie - like the one where Shaai's maid brings chai for the dhobi in an ordinary glass while its a porcelain cup for Shaai; Shaai's photoshoot for Munna who aspires to be Salman Khan someday;  the one where Munna chases her car towards the end of the movie and the shock on Arun's face when he's done with Yasmin's tapes. All these are great cinematic moments, but they are far in between in this slowly-paced movie. 

The performances are fantastic. There should be no more discussions or questions if Ranbir or Imran is the future, it is Prateik. This guy has enormous screen presence and that is something everybody realized with his delightful cameo in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na itself. As the dhobi Munna who lives multiple lives, Prateik is so natural and much at ease with his character. He definitely has inherited his acting genes from his exceptionally talented mother Smita Patil and there is ample evidence for that in his performance. Monica Dogra is wonderful and her subtle portrayal of Shaai who wants to explore the city on one hand and extend her relationship with Arun beyond a one-night stand was extremely effective. Kriti Malhotra was endearing, and during most of her screen time, she is talking directly to the camera thereby engaging the viewers in a direct way. Aamir Khan is not Aamir Khan, the superstar in this movie. He is just one among the characters in the movie, the one with the least dialogues and his restraint throughout the movie makes his character seem very real. The audience get to see a different Aamir Khan in the movie, stripped of all his superstar glory by his wife in her debut film. And of course, the brilliant actor gets to show off his acting capability in a great moment towards the climax, something which we already discussed. 

We've already talked about how effective the cinematography of the film is. In fact, even when the film turns out to be really tedious, the cinematography is what keeps our interest. The musical score by Academy Award winner Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain, Babel) elevates the movie and haunts you much after you leave the hall. Nishant Radhakrishnan could have made much difference in this multiple narrative story with his editing, but his editing hardly has any effect except for some very interesting cut-to-cut edits. The black & white still photographs of Mumbai are brilliant, but we've seen such stuff so many movies the latest being Wake Up Sid. The final painting done by Arun inspired by Yasmin's life is some form of modern art which is very difficult for the ordinary public (including me) to comprehend. 

On the whole, Dhobi Ghat is the love-child of Kiran Rao's love to the city of Mumbai. It fails to rise above that many a times and remains a weak screenplay which could have done with a little more drama and a concrete plot. It has some wonderful moments, has terrific work by the technical crew and flawless performances by its four leads. It is unusual, and not meant for the regular cinema going crowd. And by the end of it all, it leaves you unsatisfied despite having great potential. 

Rating - 3/5

Yamla Pagla Deewana - Mast Hai!!

Movie - Yamla Pagla Deewana (Hindi)

Director - Samir Karnik

Producers - Nitin Manmohan, Samir Karnik

Cast - Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Kulraj Randhawa, Nafisa Ali, Anupam Kher, Punit Issar, Mukul Dev, Sucheta Khanna & Emma Brown
Music - Laxmikant - Pyarelal, RDB, Anu Malik, Nouman Javaid, Sandesh Shandilya, Rahul Seth, Sanjoy Choudhury
Cinematography - Kabir Lal, Binod Pradhan
Editing - Mukesh Thakur
Background Score - Sanjoy Chaudhury
Action - Anal Arasu
Art - Jeetendra Karwa
Writer - Jasvinder Bath
Release Date - 14th January 2011

The movie begins with a narration by Ajay Devgn about how Indians love movies which have estranged families reuniting in the climax and takes the example of the umpteen hit movies with this formula in the 70s and 80s. Its been a long long time since such a movie has hit our screens, and YPD taps into that genre which inevitably leaves Indian audiences happy each time it is told on screen. And the director Samir Karnik had a winner in his hands when he managed to get the real life father and sons Dharmendra, Sunny & Bobby Deol to play the leads in this comedy. Bollywood loves this family, especially Dharmendra and Sunny Deol and that was why even a terrible movie like Apne managed to become a success. But unlike Apne, YPD is a very entertaining film that celebrates and spoofs the careers of its 3 leading men, with a certain tongue-in-cheek attitude. The trailer was loved by everyone and the movie is also turning into a hit thereby proved that if they get the right movie, the Deols still have it in them to strike box office gold. 

Paramveer Singh Tillon (Sunny Deol) is married to a Canadian national Mary (Emma Brown) and is settled there with his wife, 2 kids and mother (Nafisa Ali). His mother had been separated from his father Dharam Singh (Dharmendra) for a long 30 years because his father couldnt leave his profession as a con-man and he left the family taking her second son Gajodhar (Bobby Deol) along with him. Paramveer learns that his father and brother are now Benaras and sets out to India to bring them back to his mother. In India, Paramveer meets his brother and father, who is not ready to accept the truth. So he joins their gang and their activities and when his brother Gajodhar falls in love with a Punjabi girl Sahiba (Kulraj Randhawa), he decides to help him win his girl's hand against the oppostion of her army of brothers led by Joginder Singh (Anupam Kher). The fun and confusions that happen eventually forms the rest of the movie. 

Now, with that kind of a plot at hand, the director has had a lot of fun with his characters and the movie gets much more interesting when it shifts to Punjab in the second half a la DDLJ. But the movie works majorly because of the chemistry between the real life father and sons and their own brand of humour. The confusions and the bunch of interesting characters give rise to more fun in the second half, leading to a slapstick climax which again spoofs and celebrates the Deols. There are great Sunny Deol fights, lovely Dharmendra moments, 2 great songs and lots of fun. On the flipside, Bobby Deol's romantic portions dont work and there are another 2-3 unwanted songs which could've been done away with. The first half could've been tighter but as soon as the action shifts from Benaras to Punjab, the movie becomes much more exciting. Usually, it is in the second half that most movies falter, but YPD gets it right in the second half after a not-so-great first half. 

The Deols are nothing short of brilliant in the film. Sunny Deol takes the cake among the three. After so many years of appearing in mundane action flicks which people wish to forget, the National Award winning actor has clearly enjoyed his role as the lovable NRI Sardarji Paramveer Singh. We get to see a lighter side of the actor which hasnt been utilized by any of his earlier directors. Its a delight when he has fun at his own expense in many scenes in the movie. There's a laugh out loud moment in the climax where his famous roar shatters the entire building and throws away both the good guys and bad guys. It is delightful to watch Sunny Deol in form after a long long time and you cant help but whistle when he beats up the baddies effortlessly with those 'dhaai kilo ka haath's. Dharmendra has also had a ball as the con-man baap. He is constantly dressed in colorful and vibrant clothes and his performance is young and energetic. He is endearing in the comedy scenes and powerful in the emotional ones. And of course, he also has a lot of fun spoofing and being spoofed. I am a big time hater of Bobby Deol and his movies, but I must say Bobby, the youngest and the least talented of the Deols, has done extremely well in this movie. In fact, this would be his career best performance. He just stays back and has fun making fun of his dad and big bro most of the time and his comic timing has also improved tremendously. He does fairly well in the romance portions also but those scenes hamper the pace of this comedy film and do not work very well. Kulraj Randhawa is a beautiful young lady and by her performance in this film, it looks like she can act too. She is sure to go places soon. Anupam Kher in a comic role after a really long time is brilliant. Mukul Dev is superb and its a surprise that he wasnt working for such a long time. Sucheta Khanna is lovely as the 'Caneda' loving Poli. Amit Mistry, the funny guy from 99 is very good. Nafisa Ali was hamming a bit too much. There's Johnny Lever also in one funny scene. Emma Brown, the firang who played Sunny's wife was also very good. 

The music of the film is a mixed bag. It has two great songs - the remix of Dharmendra's biggest hit 'Yamla Pagla Deewana', which also serves as a theme track for the movie; and a beautiful Punjabi melody 'Charha De Rang'. The rest of the songs, including two item numbers do not work at all. The background score is very effective and peps up the proceedings. Cinematography by veterans Kabir Lal and Binod Pradhan is wonderful and showcases the beauty of Benaras and Punjab. Action by famous South Indian fight master Anal Arasu is kickass and Sunny Deol's fights are one of the highlights of the movie. Art by Jeetendra Karwa was also effective. Jasvinder Singh Bath's screenplay could've been tighter in the first half but is very effective in the second half with hilarious sequences coming one after the other. The dialogues are first rate. 

On the whole, YPD is a wonderful throwback to the good old masala entertainers of the 70s, 80s and 90s in this age of sophisticated movie-making. And it is also a celebration of one of India's most loved celebrity families - the Deols. They have had a lot of fun making this movie and that reflects on the audience too, making them have as much fun watching this movie, as they did making it. When Hindi Cinema has been making terrible films in the name of comedies and entertainers like Tees Maar Khan & No Problem, Yamla Pagla Deewana shows how its done the right way. Lets hope we get to see more of the Deols in such refreshing movies hereon. Watch it for the fun, the madness and of course, the Deols!! 

Rating - 3.5/5

Tees Maar Khan is silly.

Movie - Tees Maar Khan (Hindi)
Director - Farah Khan
Producers - Ronnie Screwvala, Twinkle Khanna, Shirish Kunder
Cast - Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Akshaye Khanna, Rajiv & Raghu, Arya Babbar, Murli Sharma, Aman Varma, Apara Mehta
Music - Vishal & Shekhar, Shirish Kunder
Cinematography - PS Vinod
Editing - Shirish Kunder
Production Designer - Sabu Cyril
Background Score - Shirish Kunder
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Shirish Kunder, Ashmit Kunder
Release Date - 24th December 2010




Tees Maar Khan opens with a voice-over by Sanjay Dutt showing a baby who takes a liking to Hindi Cinema from his mother's womb itself. I'm sure Farah Khan would also have been such a baby back then, and that is evident in her first two films which celebrated Hindi Cinema and all its masala with elan. Which is why she easily became one of my favourite Indian directors with just two films as a director. But the choreographer-turned-director falls flat with her third directorial venture in hubby Shirish Kunder's script. A lot was said about her fall-out with best friend Shah Rukh Khan and her decision to cast Akshay Kumar instead, and yes, the magic of the SRK-Farah combination which worked wonders in Main Hoon Na & Om Shanti Om is clearly missing in this one. It is an embarassingly silly movie which is nothing but a series of poor jokes, over the top performances, garish costumes and pathetic dialogues. And yea, they've also given the film an official remake tag - by buying the rights of the Peter Sellers movie After The Fox, on which it is based on, at the last minute. 

Tabrez Mirza Khan urff Tees Maar Khan (Akshay Kumar) is a thief by birth. He is the most popular criminal from India around the world & can escape from anyone and anywhere if he wants to. He takes up the biggest con job of his life from the evil Siamese twins Johri Brothers (Raghu & Rajiv), of that to loot a running train containing 10,000 kg of priceless treasures. TMK hatches a plan where he pretends as a Hollywood director Manoj Day Ramalan, and lures the Oscar-obsessed actor Aatish Kapoor (Akshaye Khanna) to act in his movie by promising him an Oscar and gets an entire village along with Aatish and TMK's own wannabe actress girlfriend Anya Khan (Katrina Kaif) involved in his con job, by making them believe that its a film shoot. 

Now that sounds like a great plot for a Farah Khan film with a lot of scope for her brand of humour, action and masala. But sadly, it doesnt turn out to be that way. For most parts, TMK tries very hard to be funny where one silly gag comes after the other. You try laughing at one or two such very silly gags, but when the movie is having ONLY silly gags, its not such a good thing. One cannot expect logic or rationality from Farah Khan's movies, but in spite of that she makes sure that her movies are entertaining, till TMK. Even if you leave your brains at home, it is extremely difficult to digest TMK, especially the second half of the film which stretches on and on, failing to create any impact. The Farah Khan signatures are few and far in between like the scene involving Chunkey Pandey, Akshaye Khanna's argument with his secretary over missing Danny Doyle's (:P) phone call thinking it was Danny Denzongpa and the enthusiastically dancing Anil Kapoor in a TV show along with some slum kids. This is the kind of fun we expect in a full length film from Farah Khan, and that is certainly not what Tees Maar Khan is. The writers are her husband Shirish Kunder and his brother Ashmit Kunder and it doesnt even have the classiness of Shirish's directorial debut, the underrated Jaan-E-Mann. And yea, there is no mention of After The Fox, which they apparently bough the rights of, and the story is credited to Shirish Kunder. 

Akshay Kumar is slightly better than his recent few films, but seeing him in outrageous costumes, delivering silly lines is painful. Akshaye Khanna is great in certain scenes, but atrocious in many other scenes, and just like his previous release Aakrosh, he screams too much. Rajiv & Raghu, the Roadies duo are nothing but another gag in the movie. The 3 sidekicks arent even remotely funny. Same is the case with Aman Varma & Murli Sharma, the gay CBI officers (I dunno for how long Bollywood would keep stretching these homosexual jokes). Arya Babbar leaves a mark through his performance & Apara Mehta is good as the loud mom, a staple in Farah's movies. But the best performance in the movie is by Katrina Kaif. The leggy beauty has clearly had some awesome fun, acting completely over-the-top in every second of her screen time. Her dimwitted character resembles that of a dumb blonde's and she does that to perfection. The only scenes which made me laugh in the second half were the ones where she goes to apply more make-up because an important scene was going to be shot. And of course, there is Sheila Ki Jawani which alone is worth the money spent on your ticket. 

Salman Khan's special appearance along with Akshay and Katrina in a qawwali number is deadly, even though the song is a let down. Its great when Akshay does the Dabangg wala actions of Salman when he sees him coming. [:P] And when Sallu approaches Katrina Kaif, Akshay stops him saying, 'Bhai, mera maal hai!!' These two actors should work together more often. 

Farah's films usually have a kickass musical score. But apart from Sheila Ki Jawani & the title track, the music of TMK is a damp squib. Even the Salman Khan qawwali number (which is another high point of the movie apart from Sheila) is a bad song with a great video. Background score by Shirish Kunder mostly consists of different variations of the title track. PS Vinod's cinematography is vibrant and colourful. Sabu Cyril's art direction is not as impressive as his previous collaborations with Farah, but still his work in the title song & Sheila Ki Jawani deserve special mention. 

On the whole, TMK is a huge disappointment coming from one of my favourite directors, Farah Khan. The only things worth remembering in the entire movie are Katrina Kaif and her 'Sheila Ki Jawani' number. Farah shouldnt have taken her audience for granted after her two super-successful movies. TMK just remains a silly spoof and never rises above that. Farah, please get back with Shah Rukh, or try out a new combination with Salman and stick to writing your own scripts. :) We want more of what you gave us in your first films, not stuff like Tees Maar Khan. 


P.S. - For the first time, Shah Rukh would be happy for not doing a film. [:P]


Rating - 2/5 (For the few trademark Farah Khan scenes, Sheila Ki Jawani & Salman Khan's special appearance). 

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