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nadeem_ali
Reviews
Naqaab (2007)
not the best they've made, not the worst either
Abbas-Mustan, who have introduced bold concepts of wife-swapping, surrogate mother and sexual harassment to Indian cinema, true to their unique style of storytelling, try something different yet again. Naqaab certainly isn't your ordinary run-off-the-mill Bollywood love triangle. And true to the directors' trademark, the film is filled with twists and turns. Saying anymore would be giving the plot away.
While the film is a far cry from Khiladi or Baazigar, it is far better than their recent "36 China town" and "Tarzan the wonder car" Casting is where the directors probably lost it: Akshaye Khanna, an old mascot in the A-M camp, seems not only out of shape to play a struggling actor, he seems 10 years too old for the part. Bobby Deol, another old favorite of A-M's still manages to look the part of the flamboyant rich man, but can't pull it off with finesse. Urvashi Sharma is a major let down in the acting department. her emotions seem concocted and superficial. While she looks decent enough in places, there are parts where she is either made to look bad, or achieves it naturally. The supporting cast is feeble. Vikas Kalantri and Vishal seem to be playing buffoons stuck with a serous job. who knows why Raj Zutshi is even there in the film? While the locations and camera work merge seamlessly into the film and the plot is complex and well conceived, the film loses out in its execution: at times focusing on the obvious and at times playing a tangent to the storyline. while it scores points for originality and keeping the audience curious, it loses points for performances, or lack thereof and one twist too many.
The first half sets the plot in motion with haphazard character introductions and development, and the second half has a twist every few minutes, intentionally put to keep the audience in their seats. character motivations seem strong enough but somehow the film lacks flow.
the good: plot has interesting concept, interesting twists the bad: the acting, the execution of the plot the ugly: the supporting cast final verdict: Could have been better, but worth one watch
Aap Kaa Surroor: The Moviee - The Real Luv Story (2007)
Aap Ka Ghuroor!??
Ego. Seems it's the only reason this movie was made. This movie is so wrong in so many ways that it's below one's dignity to write much about it. Every character was only good at self praise and lead actors (i use this term liberally as has the director) emote in the likeness of stone. the little story, if that, fails on the basic aspects such as logic, feeling and drama. Direction leaves much to be desired. blatant flaws are all over the place (character motives aren't defined, prospective husbands are found overnight, broken car windows mend themselves among other things)
Let's face it, Himesh can't act. neither, it seems, can Hansika Motwani. In her defense, she's still a chubby child who looks older than she is thanks to tonnes of make-up. Raj Babbar Overacts and makes his little presence as fake as possible. Darshan Jariwala laughs a bit too much. The actor who plays Himesh's friend is the only natural.
a few questions do come to mind: how can such a film cost Rs.500,000,000?? where did the money go??? granted that one chase sequence was moderately well shot and Mallika Sherawat was paid an obscene Rs.15,000,000 for her 15 minute appearance and 2 songs. but the sheer stupidity of the film boggles the mind. (including 3 Mumbai auto rickshaws that show up and jump on a police car)
the good: Himesh shows courage by allowing the film to make fun of his nasal voice and trademark "topi." Let's give the Devil his due: Himesh, as usual gives good music.
The bad: Direction, Story, Himesh's singing is still hard to ignore
The Ugly: Dialogs and everything else!!!
Final Word: Painful in every sense of the word! watch this movie only if you loved Subhash Ghai's "Yaadein"
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)
Ek Baar Jhoom
My first reaction after watching "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" was that it's the kind of film David Dhavan would be best at making. Leave your brains at home; it's a fun film with no connection to reality whatsoever.
Let's start with the story. If you're looking for one in this rom-com (romantic comedy) there isn't one. It's just the tale of two people taking a complicated path to discovering their love for each other. But the way it's handled makes the subject enjoyable.
The screenplay is quite tight and holds one's attention throughout. It takes you from London to Paris to Delhi and Agra and back to Southhall. The dialog is contemporary and snappy and varies from intentional bad use of English to variant Punjabi and everything in between. With the camera doing everything from a vertical 180 degrees to seeing the Eiffel Tower sideways and from snappy dance sequences to good old fashioned close-ups, The cinematography leaves no angle unexplored- It's not a bad thing! Shankar-Ehsan-Loy have proved their mettle time and time again, and score yet again with the title track "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" and "JBJ," and "Bol na Halke Halke" is a wonderfully sung slow romantic. However, songs like "Ticket to Hollywood" and "Kiss of Love" seem to hint that the musical geniuses are losing their touch.
In the acting department, Abhisheik Bachchan takes the cake as Rikki Thukral, a small time conman in London. Everything from his swagger to the way he handles his phone etch out a perfect character. The lines he has, such as: "I got class" and the Soorma Bhopali inspired "Kya Keriyo!" are sure to bring a laugh or two. This performance adds to an already impressive repertoire of well executed roles.
Lara Dutta was the surprise package from the lot! She was not only looking stunning, but her acting was refreshingly good. Be it her French accent or the gaudy costumes and swearing, her performance was completely on the money in every scene. Lara has arrived! Bobby Deol does full justice to both his roles: be it the macho lawyer or the shy mama's boy, Bobby, an underrated actor, excels. However character development was certainly weak with little or no effort at the pseudo-British accent Preity Zinta was, alas, good amidst the great. She played a character that was no different to any that we've seen from her in the last five years. There seemed little work put into character development from both actor and director.
Apart from a singing dancing narrator, Amitabh Bachchan's character is inexplicable.
From the foot tapping music to the sensual and sometimes eccentric costumes, from the witty dialog to the dances and from Paris to Agra, this film weaves a lot of fluff around very little substance. It is quite contrary to the kind of subjects handled by Sahgal in the past. Part of the Direction is borrowed from Chicago and Moulin Rouge and a little help from The Usual Suspects. However, the feel of the film is very young and energetic, as was the case with both his previous ventures. While the film is good, it's certainly not his best work.
Trivia: Vaibhavi Merchant (choreographer) reprises her famous "Kajra re" step from Shaad and Abhisheik's previous Bunty aur Babli in the song "Ticket to Hollywood" Bobby and Abhisheik being the sons of Dharmendra and Amitabh respectively, are aptly given a shot where they replay the famous "Yeh Dosti" song as a tribute to Sholay.
A blatant mistake is Priety Zinta's tattoo changing sides.
The Ladykillers (2004)
Poetic Justice
Not your conventional slapstick-laugh-a-minute comedy, but a good one nonetheless. Not a great one mind you, but good. While the story isn't extraordinary, the humor is classy and relies simply on situation and dialogue for a few laughs. The acting is simply superb. Tom Hanks is simply spellbinding as the eccentric professor G. H. Dorr. The complexity of this character is one of the tings that make this film worth watching. An equally well enacted character is that of Marva Munson by Irma P. Hall who makes the lady not only realistic, but also adorable. These characters (and actors) simply overshadow the rest of the characters (and unfortunately, the cast). Marlon Wayans provided some good laughs but ended up being too vulgar and repetitive. The dialogue comedy was subtle and oftentimes linked well with the situation. This movie has no fascinating plot and no gripping story. It is a simple tale of getting what one deserves, yet does not expect- be it good or... not so good.