Review: Gandhi my father

Gandhi my father

Directed by : Feroz Abbas Khan

*ing : Darshan Jariwala
Akshaye Khanna
Shefali Shah
Bhoomika Chawla
Rating: **

Strangely enough, every time a slightly good film is made on a real-life legend, it's hailed as great and magnificent from day one because of the impact it creates. It can be a historical like Attenborough's Gandhi, uplifting like A Beautiful Mind; just a pale, boring biopic like Capote or a classy entertainer like our very own Lage Raho Munnabhai!

Now sadly enough, not the same can be said about Gandhi my father. Promoted as a story of how the father of a nation couldn't be a good father himself turns out to be just another run off the mill tragedy, irrespective of its marvelous characters and real plot.

The film crawls into a start with Barrister Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Darshan Jariwala) living a typically non-white life in South Africa with the lovely Kasturba (Shefali Shah) and his three younger sons. Whereas, their eldest son Harilal has been left behind in Gujarat in order to complete his studies. Harilal ends up marrying his childhood fiancé Gulab (Bhoomika Chawla) in a fit of unknown urgency which causes the initial rifts between him and his father. The rifts widen and deepen as the ongoings proceed slowly (pun intended) towards the slower climax. Harilal's demands to study further in England, Mahatma's denials, Harilal's rebellious antics, Kasturba's convincing sessions, Harilal's drinking, credit and unethical habits being just some of the factors that successfully fail the love between them.

In fact, the film is a complete fade-ins and fade-outs of unchained scenes portraying the troubled family and its consequences. From Harilal's neglected feeling to his failure in academics, from Kasturba's demand for attention for her son to Mahatma's hardcore principles, every frame and every event is as boring as watching a tree grow.

The director (Feroz Abbas Khan) fails miserably to transform his super hit play Gandhi virudh Gandhi into a successful film. Some scenes are so monotonous that they seem being shot in a theater itself. The director's only winning ace is that he doesn't take sides and presents us with a very neutral view on the father-son relationship, leaving it to the viewer to judge right and wrong.

Also the first half of the film seems oblivious from the freedom struggle going on outside the theater they're shooting in. Its only in the second half that the makers take the pain to merge the father-son tale with the freedom struggle, creating a very uneven, unsatisfying feeling throughout.

Though some scenes like Harilal's outburst and his meeting with his mother at the railway platform succeed in causing lump-in-the-throat syndrome, major chunk of this sad real life story is cold, illogical and clichéd.

The technicalities aren't left far behind in the race to bore. The music is straight from 1947 B.C. and the editor (Sreekar Prasad) seems to have been put to sleep by the film itself leading to sloppy work. The screenplay (Feroz Abbas Khan) is picked up straight from the play, neglecting the need to make a cinematic difference to it.

What truly stands out is the exquisite Art (Nitin Desai) and Costume (Sujata Sharma) design apart from a handful top notch performances.

Darshan Jariwala though caught in a tight spot and a loose script does shine when he brings that human quality to the very immortal Mahatma.
Shefali Shah as Kasturba is splendidly contrived and amazingly demonstrative at the same moment. She is the extremely loveable mother from the very first frame and surely has the most expressive eyes I've witnessed.

Akshaye Khanna as the confused, lost and complex Harilal is fabulous. Its his film all the way with those smirks, jerks and crackles. He plays the neglected small sapling shadowed by the massive palm with perfection personified. Award worthy performance.
Bhoomika Chawla with the smallest role shines through and wins heart with instant ease.

Gandhi my father had the potential and story of being next year's Best Foreign Film Oscar Winner. What doesn't do justice to this unique and rarely known fact filled story is its insensitive direction, neglected detailing and basically a heart and soul in the wrong place. Your heart will bleed at the way a great story and superb concept is lost forever unless a much more hardcore remake is on the cards.

If you don't mind sitting through unwanted boredom and unsatisfied frustration for just above two hours then you're welcome. I'd rather rent Lage Raho and revise the Mahatma's smashing principles in a much more entertaining scenario.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind [2001]

Directed by: Ron Howard

*ing: Russell Crowe
Ed Harris
Jennifer Connelly
Christopher Plummer
Paul Bettany
Josh Lucas

Rating: *****

It is impossible to understand Hollywood’s fascination with making films on weird and comparatively unknown real life people. Films like Finding Neverland, Erin Brockovich, Capote and the recent The Last King of Scotland being examples. One such piece of cinema is the Four Academy Award winner including Best Picture and Direction - The Beautiful Mind, a film that follows the life and times of Nobel Prize Winner John Nash, loosely based on Sylvia Nasar’s biography of the same name. It turns out to be one of the best films in its genre. A true master-piece of our times.

Depicting the life of John Nash from September, 1947 when he receives the Carnegie Scholarship for mathematics and arrives at the prestigious Princeton University as a grad-student to December, 1994 when he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics, the film is a roller-coaster ride of emotions, illusions, love, humility and survival.

Already showing signs of some sort of mental sickness as he arrives at Princeton, the unstable John Nash becomes best friends with his funny literature-student-room-mate Charles (Paul Bettany) and forms an awkward friendship with his other colleagues as well as intellectual rival Martin Hansen (Josh Lucas). He talks less and works more as he claims that he doesn’t like people and vise-versa. His unsuccessful experiences with women and other college experiences on the whole, inspire him to fruitfully create the theory of governing dynamics in mathematical economics. He is instantly considered a genius by every staff and fellow-student.

After completing his studies, he starts working for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a couple of old colleagues in tow. It’s the year 1953, and John is invited to The Pentagon to decipher encrypted telecommunication codes from an enemy which he successfully does only using his mind. Surprised by his amazing abilities with numbers, a mysterious Government Defense Agent - William Hatcher (Ed Harris) encourages John to look out for numerical patterns in magazines, newspapers etc. in order to thwart a Soviet plot. He obliges as he is convinced of helping the country.

A revisit to Princeton and John encounters his old room-mate Charles again who is accompanied by his niece Marcee (Vivien Cardone). John also gets smitten by one of his students Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) which leads to a jittery proposal and marriage. Meanwhile, John is chased and fired at by presumed Russians when he is on his way after depositing a confidential report in the letterbox of William Hatcher’s secret office. It’s this incident that triggers off John’s already unstable state of mind. He becomes increasingly paranoid of being attacked or killed and even behaves like a secret agent himself.

Due to his highly eccentric behaviour, he’s finally taken away by the medics to a psychiatric facility on his wife’s request. Tests and investigations reveal that John is a patient of severe schizophrenia. He continues believing himself to be a hostage of the Russians when a meeting with Alicia dawns him with the ultimate truth. He realizes that he has been living a life consisting of illusions, delusions and fantasies. That most of the people he talks to and is close to are nothing but characters out of his insane imagination including his best friend Charles. John is devastated.

After a series of shock-therapy sessions, John is taken home and permanently put on antipsychotic medicine. Taking these medicines though affect his intellect and sex life immensely, frustrating and killing him from within.

The second half of the film trails John’s fight with medication, himself, his illusions and society.

It portrays his immense self-confidence and will power as he starts living with his imaginary friends around him without letting them disrupt his normal life. It captures his journey from a mad-man out of the asylum to teaching at the Princeton and going on to win the Nobel Prize. He conquers humiliation, shame, madness, fun makers and his own demons to become one of the greatest mathematicians of our time.

A beautiful mind needs a beautiful perception to understand its depth and emotions. It’s the extraordinary story of an extraordinary man, extraordinarily and mesmerizing told by the director.

On the technical front, the cinematography (Roger Deakins) and art direction (Robert Guerra) succeed in making every year and decade shown extremely believable. Special kudos to the make-up department for the superb and realistic make-up of the aging John Nash.

Russell Crowe as John Forbes Nash is out of this world, outstanding and mind-blowing. He portrays the razor-thin line between genius and crazy with meticulous magnificence. As the mad illusionist mathematician he will steal your hearts and souls. He arouses sympathy and care with every move and each frame. I fail to understand what else could he do to win that Oscar? It’s a performance that is a million stages higher than winners like Capote and The Last King of Scotland.

Jennifer Connelly as the woman in the ultimate dilemma is as heart warming as she is real. As an erratic genius’ wife, she is splendidly contrived.

Christopher Plummer as John’s doctor, Paul Bettany, Ed Harris and Josh Lucas prove that they’re thankful just to be in a film of this caliber.

A Beautiful Mind is not the back-door entertainment available cheaply and instantly. It’s a motion picture that will move you, explode you with its execution and bombard you with lumps in the throat. Even though the film is ‘Hollywoodized’ and commercialized by omitting details like Nash's life as a bisexual, his divorce, having a child out of wedlock, the timely occurrence of his schizophrenia, and the fact that he never spoke a word at the Nobel Prize ceremony, it’s still a piece of art that comes along once in a lifetime. A film as warm and enlightening as this one shouldn’t be missed even if it’s your wedding.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Snatch

Snatch (2000)

Directed by: Guy Ritchie

*ing: Jason Statham
Stephen Graham
Alan Ford
Benicio Del Toro
Rade Serbedzija
Dennis Ferina
Mike Reid
Brad Pitt

Rating: ****1/2

I had been recommended Snatch umpteen number of times by a couple of friends and strangers.
Somehow, the idea of a heavy British comedy about diamonds did not excite my enthusiasm much.
With nothing to do off late and a copy of Snatch lying with me, I went through it to kill time.

What pleasantly surprised me was its ability to be more than a time-killer. Much, much more.

Guy Ritchie has taken a handful of colourful characters, a fizzy plot, the beautiful London as backdrop and made a hell of a movie out of them.

To start with, Turkish (Jason Statham) and Tommy (Stephen Graham) are unlicensed-boxing agents working as partners. They’re hired by a tough cookie Brick Top (Alan Ford) who wants their man to loose illegally in the fourth round so that his clients win their bets.

Meanwhile Frank Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) has just burgled an 84 carat diamond that has invited the interests of a Russian gun dealer Boris ‘The Blade’ (Rade Serbedzija), jeweler Doug ‘The Head’ (Mike Reid) and his American based Cousin Avi (Dennis Farina).
Boris hires conmen Vincent (Robbie Gee) and Sol (Lennie James) to get him the diamond whereas Doug and Avi hire a hilarious hit man, Bullet Tooth Toney (Vinnie Jones) towards the climax to get matters finished.

Here the boxer representing Turkish is knocked down in one punch by the crazy gypsy Mickey (Brad Pitt) in a street fight and now it’s Mickey himself who’ll have to step in the ring as proxy.

Now, how these obviously mad characters, the diamond, the mafia, the gypsies and a stupid dog get involved in to a hell-tangle of a plot is amazingly executed. Who gets the diamond in the end being the mammoth question!

The proceedings are blessed with so many amusing twists and turns that it’s impossible to put them on paper. It is an experience you have to fervor.

The screenplay (Guy Ritchie) doesn’t arouse one slightly boring millisecond and the editing (Jon Harris), dialogues (Guy Ritchie) are super slick. London is beautifully captured by Tim Maurice-Jones.

Jason Statham proves he can emote and Stephen Graham as his partner is fantastic.
Alan Ford as the fast-talking gangster is outstanding. He’s also endowed with the best lines in the film.

Benecio Del Toro has very little to do but shines through.
Rade Serbedzija as the official Russian is a delight to watch along with Mike Reid and the super-frustrated Dennis Ferinia. Vinnie Jones come right in the dying hours and creates havoc.

Above all rises Brad Pitt as a dirty, filthy gypsy with an accent that no one can understand. His timing is perfect, his body language immaculate and his lines tactfully delivered. He is the Ace in this pack of wicked characters.

Guy Ritchie has successfully achieved what he set out to make. A mad-colourful-hilarious comedy.
In fact it is so entertaining that it might exhaust you.
A final advice though, watch it with subtitles to understand 90% of the film.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Omkara

Omkara (2006)

Directed by: Vishal Bharadwaj

*ing: Ajay Devgan
Saif Ali Khan
Viveik Oberoi
Kareena Kapoor
Konkana Sen Sharma

Rating: ****

Several attempts we have witnessed when seasoned film makers strive hard to make a realistic, hard-hitting film. But we also witness, the way they falter just before they reach that final step to vivid reality in a bid to please all the strata’s of viewers – the reality lovers, the front benchers, the whistlers and the dreamers.

With Omkara, Vishal Bharadwaj goes all the way. He achieves what he set out to and doesn’t at all falter in the process in order to charm viewers in to the theater.

Bhaisaab (Naseruddin Shah) is the godfather to the local village don Omkara/Omi (Ajay Devgan). On his persistence and due to arrival of certain unforeseen circumstances, Omi has to choose his successor among his two trusted comrades – the limping, Langda Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan) and the handsome village dude, Keshu Phirangi (Viveik Oberoi).

While Langda is too sure shot of himself, Omi instead opts for Keshu and crowns him amidst a magnanimous crowd of villagers. They celebrate and chant, Langda joins in, sarcastically.
The fire of vengeance, hatred and jealousy is instantly ignited in the heart of the already inferior Langda. While he still worships Omi, he spins an evil yarn around him, his fiancé Dolly (Kareena Kapoor) and Keshu.

Omi’s unconditional love for his so called mistress converts into dangerous possessiveness. He smells foul between Dolly and Keshu (who is also Dolly’s college mate by chance) thanks to Langda’s evil, creative antics and his wife Indu’s (Konkana) detailed assistance.

Here on, Omkara climbs uphill and reaches its predictable but explosive climax.

Egos clash, minds race, truths unveil and blood flows. It sticks to the original “Othello” by William Shakespeare but doesn’t miss out on being truly original itself in regard to treatment, premise and characterization.

The sets are brilliantly real, the casting is mouth watering, the editing (Meghna Manchanda) is swift, and the dialogues (Vishal Bharadwaj) drip with authenticity which are understandable only after 15 minutes of concentrated viewing. Tassaduq Hussain captures the brilliant back drops efficiently and the screenplay (Vishal Bharadwaj, Robin Bhatt, Abhishek Chaubhey) doesn’t let you relax for a millisecond.
The music by Bharadwaj again has the scent of the film rubbed in. Super.

You rub your eyes with astonishment after seeing Saif Ali Khan’s first 5 minutes on screen and wonder if he’s the same metro-sexual dude from Salaam Namaste. This is by far and far, his best performance to date. He portrays the jealousy, hatred, inferiority complex and the complexities in his mind with such panache that you want to kill him.
This film belongs to him.

Ajay Devgan plays the pivotal title role to perfection. Confidently mixing the difficult blend of leadership, courage, vulnerability, love, possessiveness and sensitivity into one believable character
Kareena’s love and star-struck Dolly makes you laugh and cry simultaneously. She is vividly and instantly loveable.
Konkana Sen Sharma plays the strong loyal village woman to the hilt supporting her husband’s deeds without question or objection.

Viveik Oberoi sticks out like a sore thumb. He is the only one in the frame who is completely out of form and should look for an alternative career. Fishing may be!

A special mention, for the enigmatic Deepak Dobriyal, who is Langda’s only favourite man. Why doesn’t such amazing talent get recognized more often?

After Maqbool, I could seldom imagine a more hard-hitting, realistic and honest take on Shakespeare’s works. Omkara is the answer. Vishal Bharadwaj spins a mammothly impressive master-piece out of Shakespeare’s fictitious and un-real characters.
Do I see Mr. William smiling?

- Abbas Aziz Dalal

Review: Chokher Bali

Chokher Bali (Sand in the Eye) [2003]

Directed by: Rituparno Ghosh

*ing: Prosenjit Chatterjee
Tota Raychaudhuri
Aishwarya Rai
Raima Sen
Lily Chakrabarti

Rating: ****

We have witnessed innumerable attempts by filmmakers worldwide striving to bring the sensitivity and hard-ships of the widows of the pre-independence era, on screen. Though most of them do succeed to an extent, this premise still attracts many more. One such exemplary effort is Chokher Bali, a remake of Tagore’s novel and Satu Sen’s 1938 super-classic of the same name. Other than sympathy, mercy and revolution, this film succeeds in arousing much more.

Set between 1902 and 1905, Rituparno Ghosh illustrates Tagore’s characters beautifully in this dramatic tale of luscious deceptions and relationship manipulations.

We are straightaway introduced to Binodini (Aishwarya Rai) who is denied marriage by a high society Brahmin Doctor - Mahendra (Prosenjit Chatterjee) because he isn’t ready for it yet. She marries another man out of emergency who sadly, dies within a year. Widowed and slapped by fate, she starts living a dull, meaningless life in her village.

Meanwhile, its celebrations in Kolkata as Mahendra marries Ashalata (Raima Sen) who was supposed to be marrying Mahendra’s cousin Bihari (Tota Raychaudhuri) till Mahendra intervened. Bihari still stores feelings for his sister in-law but hides them for his family’s sake.

On the other hand Mahendra’s mother Rajlakshmi (Lily Chakrabarti) visits her village and gets Binodini along with her to her majestic then-Calcutta home as a maid and daily help.

It’s now on that relationships, love and faith spiral out of control into lust, deception and adultery. Binodini and Ashalata instantly bond to become best friends and fondly nickname each other “Chokher Bali”. While, Binodini being deprived of physical needs is easily smitten by the only two men she is close to at home, Mahendra and Bihari. Mahendra lusts for her equally but Bihari though fond of her has sweared celibacy. Mahendra and Binodini get involved in a whirlwind affair and eventually fall in love as Ashalata continues to blindly trust Binodini and her husband as well.

Finally as the secrets tumble out of the closet and circumstances arise, Binodini rushes to Bihari for forgiveness and acceptance. The rest of the film unfolds in the holy city of Kashi where decisions are made and truths are revealed. Binodini on the other hand remains irritatingly indecisive about her future, her needs and her intentions till the very end
Despite Binodini’s crafty antics and attempts at seducing men, she doesn’t come across as a clichéd negative character. This is the director’s forte and Tagore’s magic.

The great Rabindranath Tagore had exclaimed “I have always regretted the ending of Chokher Bali” on 24^th June, 1940. Personally, I think the climax is as perfect as they come.

Chokher Bali is a film about changing relationships and temptations. It proves that a person can be in love with more than one at a time. It’s also a saga of a widow who refuses to surrender to her cultural norms and society’s regulations. It is also a glimpse in to the rich Bengali culture and its pre-evolution era, where drinking tea by a widow was considered a sin

The only low-points of this mini-classic are its sloppy editing and the not so perfect dubbing that leaves much more to be desired. A film of this class deserves equal technical expertise.

Aishwarya Rai as the widow who breaks all the rules is brilliantly honest. Her bold and rebellious portrayal is effective to a great extent till she herself gets entangled in her previous helpless characters as in Taal and Devdas. She slightly struggles to balance the scale between a sympathy seeker and a nymphomaniac but succeeds for the most of it.

Prosenjit Chatterjee is competently contrived and displays the under-tones of a confused man with grace. Tota Raychaudhari and Lily Chakrabarti are picture perfect.

Its Raima Sen though who towers above all else as the dumb, lovely and innocent village dame. She is so immensely likeable that everything else doesn’t matter. Her dilemmas between choosing her best friend or her husband come across with precision and impact.

Chokher Bali is not a fun-filled potboiler but portrayal of Tagore’s wonderful literature on celluloid.
It is highly recommended cinema but strictly for the niche and discerning viewer. Step down “Closer”, “Chokher Bali” is here.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Babel

Babel (2006)

Directed by: Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu

*ing: Brad Pitt
Cate Blanchett
Mohamed Akhzam
Said Tarchani
Boubker Ait El Caid
Adriana Barraza
Gael Garcia Bernal
Rinko Kikuchi and a million others.

Rating: ****1/2

Named after the “tower of Babel” mentioned in the holy Bible, Babel is a saga spanning across four continents.
Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu is back to what he does best. A handful of stories intertwined with a common, basic factor. In, Amores Perros (Life’s a Bitch, his first and best film to date) it was dogs and a car crash and in Babel, it’s a shot gun and everyday human tragedy.
Although Babel is not as spectacular as Amores perros, it is definitely a classic in its own right. After all, it would be stupid to keep chasing Amores perros for a successor.

The film commences in the rugged North Africa, Morocco to be precise. A local shepherd (Mohammed) purchases an old, smuggled shot gun to keep the wolves at bay. He hands the gun over to his sons Ahmed (Said Tarchani) and Yussef (Boubker Ait El Caid), drenched in authenticity with dirt, sweat and masturbation in the desert. They fool around idiotically trying to figure the better shooter; till Yussef lets one loose on a tourist bus he spots from the cliff. What happens here after in these villager’s lives is too shocking to reveal.

Boom! It’s Susan (Cate Blanchett) who is shot through the bus’ glass window. Her vacation to Morocco with her husband Richard (Brad Pitt) now seems jinxed. They had considered this as their “time away” from their monotonous lives to work out their dying marriage. It’s Susan who might die now. With nowhere to go and thousands of miles away from any sight of a developed structure, they’re compelled to take refuge in a local village doctor’s stuffy home. Does she survive the gruesome wound, the barren country and unforeseen circumstances?

Shift to the U.S.A., where Richard and Susan’s kids are being taken care of by their Mexican nanny Amelia (Adriana Barraza) who desperately wants to visit New Mexico for a family wedding. Denied by Richard, she indulges in foul play as she does visit New Mexico but also takes the kids along. It’s her nephew Santiago (Gael Garcia Barnel) who does the honours of driving them across the border. But it’s when they are returning back to the States when tragedy strikes. Nanny, Santiago and kids are considered illegal immigrants which lead to dangerous circumstances.

Fly to Tokya, where a deaf and mute school girl Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) cannot connect with the rest of the world or her father. The deafening music in a discotheque, the giggling girls, the fast-speaking hunks, none of this makes any sense to her. She is like a dog on Pluto. What is so touching about her is her vulnerability in this sad-bad world. She’s also sex-starved and extremely desperate to loose her virginity. From flashing in public to arousing a cop at her apartment, she tries every possible measure to get laid. But there’s more than that meats the eye. There lies a buried secret, between her father and her. A secret about their lives, their tragedies and “the blessed gun”; which is unraveled at the very climax of the climax.

What works for Babel is its massive appeal and honest execution. Also, the way the director handles such a complex concept with delicate finesse is highly commendable.

The camerawork and cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto) are world class. Taking effeicient advantage of the beautiful landscapes, flashing neon-lights, glittering deserts and rugged backdrops, the various locations offer.
The music by Gustavo Santaolalla is mesmerizing and vivid. Better than his rap, hip-hop score in Amores perros.

Of the almost infinite starcast:
Its Rinko Kikuchi who stands out instantly. She is meticulously detailed as the frustrated, deprived and tragedy-struck young girl. Amidst mammoth celebrities, she holds her own. Outstanding.

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are perfect. They play the typical American couple with ultra eas

Adriana Barraza as the lovely nanny is heart-melting and arouses sympathy with every tear shed. Gael Garcia Barnel as the care-free Santiago is effective even in a pea-sized role. These two Mexican stalwarts portray complex characters with amazing depth.

As the first timers, the Moroccon actors - Mohamed Akhzam, Said Tarchani, Boubker Ait El Caid etc. are as real as the film itself.

Babel is as diverse a film as one can make in regard to genre, language, location, religion and characters. Just writing this review and fitting every aspect has exhausted me no end. Thus, one can imagine the hardships and trauma; the director must have faced in order to complete such a motion picture successfully.

Not only does he successfully complete it but does an enormously splendid job of it. He breaks all possible barriers and touches the dimension of our emotions, we never knew existed.
My money was on Babel for the Best Picture Oscar. I believe, the film was too good for the Oscar itself.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Jhoom Barabar Jhoom

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom

Directed by: Shaad Ali Sehgal

*ing: Abhishek Bachchan
Preity Zinta
Bobby Deol
Lara Dutta

Rating: **

When Shaad Ali had debuted with Saathiya, every soul claimed “a new director and a new vision was born”. With Jhoom Barabar Jhoom after the super-boring Bunty aur Bubli, that vision has drowned in a Tsunami.

Though Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is endowed with mammoth production values and it seems it had an infinite budget, it goes boom on grey-matter value!

Its pointless, meaningless and torturous. Its not what you expect when you read the kind of names involved in the credits.

It crawls into start when the very wannabe Ricky Thukral (Abhishek Bachchan) meets one suave, Paki-British, Alvira Khan (Preity Zinta) at London’s Waterloo Railway Station waiting for their respective fiancé’s on the way from Birmingham. The trains turns out to be 2 hours late one after the other which gives these two freaks enough time to narrate their respective “how I met and fell in love” epics to each other. These flashback stories turn out to be excruciatingly boring and un-funnily enduring. The jokes fall flat and the plots seem hopeless.

The film does pick up minute momentum in the second half when secrets come tumbling out of the glass closet. The characters change and so does the narrative. It becomes slightly entertaining and then you want it to end which it eventually has mercy and does.

The script is filled with loop-holes and the dialogues are downright bad. The screenplay on the other hand mimics a tortoise. Gulzar's lyrics are beautiful and un-understandable by common man in parts. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy hit the right instruments and notes.

Speaking of entertainment, the parts that do entertain the most are when Mr. Amitabh Bachchan jumps in and pulls of difficult steps in a rug-coat and awkward-hat with class. He’s a delight to watch, no matter what he does. And of course, the brightest highlights of this caper are the spectacularly choreographed (Vaibhavi Merchant) and mesmerizingly shot songs amidst foot-tapping music. It’s the best song picturisation you shall see after Tumse milke from Main Hoon Na. Especially, the brilliant “Kiss of love” and the ten-minute title song-sequence. Amazing. It seems they’ve spent millions!

There are only four performances to speak of thankfully. Abhishek Bachchan as the bling-bling, I can sing, wannabe Ricky Thukral is over the top. The character is interesting but he hams it up in some parts and under-plays in others. What were you thinking dude??

Preity Zinta as the don’t-touch-me Alvira Khan is just about passable. Another surprise.

And more surprise, the best performances from this spam-fiesta come from the two under-dogs. Bobby Deol is spot on as the mama’s boy Satinder in the second half. He’s deliberately nervous and shy. Just like the mama’s boy next door. One of his best performances.
Lara Dutta on the other hand steals the thunder from Priety for once. She’s is superb as Laila and equally love-able as Anaida. She is also inevitably hot. Check her out!

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom desperately tries to be a mad-comic-caper, stealing our hearts and making us laugh. It fails miserably. Its full of bling-bling, massive production values, designer clothes, pink limousines, shimmering sets and golden celebs. But everything that shines, ain’t gold. Is it? Its like a double-frosted, cherry topped, blue-berry cheesecake but it doesn't taste that great.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Directed by: Frank Darabont
*ing: Tim Robbins
Morgan Freeman
Bob Gunton

Rating: *****

The Shawshank Redemption is voted as the 2^nd best film of all time after The Godfather on imdb.com. I found out why.

It starts off with a very strong court-room scene where Andy Dufresne {Tim Robbins), a successful banker is sentenced two back-to-back life imprisonments for the murder of his wife and her golf-pro lover. He pleads guilty.

He is immediately sent off to the Shawshank Prison headed by the warden from hell, Samuel Norton played by Bob Gunton. Norton's comrade the super-aggressive Caption Hadley (Clancy Brown) is the supervisor.

Andy finds out the prison is full of maniac criminals, homo-sexuals and innocents like himself. He bonds instantly with an old inmate – Red (Morgan Freeman), who is the official "man that knows how to get things" of this state prison. From cigarettes to whiskey to rock hammer. He can get it all.

Andy thus starts the journey of this new life with a soft, silent persona. He is dragged into the dark corners, beaten up and abused by homo-sexuals and guards but he never utters a word. He forms a camaraderie with other prisoners because he is so instantly likeabe.
He also brings touches of freedom, peace and sometimes serenity in their lives with his brilliant antics. He builds up a library, plays music on the microphone, makes a deal for beer for his friends and much more. Andy and Red become best of buddied.

Characters come on go, giving required momentum and depth to the plot. The screenplay is smooth as cheese. The cinematography and camera-work succeeds big time in dispaying the eerie prisoned feeling. One important character though, who changes the pattern of the film before climax is Tommy (Gil Bellows), who reveals who the actual guilty for Andy's crime is.

The climax of the film will leave you astonished, saturated and exhillerated. There are very few films that have a just 'perfect' ending. This is one of them. Infact this is a 'perfect' film itself. It is a simple story of how a man finds friends, hope, passion, ambition and finally redemption.

Tim Robbins as the soft-spoken, obedient and ambitious inmate Andy is mesmerizingly spectacular. His silences, his minute smiles and his brief imaginations leave you speechless. You want to get up and touch him. You want to tell him everything is going to be fine. They should have given away two best actor Oscsars that year – Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump (which he got) and Tim Robbins for this (which he didn't)

Morgan Freeman has never given an ordinary performance. Neither here. He is the tremendous pillar Andy leans on. Always smiling and always helping. He is the good goon. One of the finest performances, on celluloid.
Bob Gunton as the devil-warden is pathetically, sinfully great. You will hate the smell of him and it's a difficult job to make yourself hate, even onscreen. Tremendous.

The day, they jot down a list of the best films ever-ever made, The Shawshank Redemption will feature in the top ten and the man who made this – Frank Darabont, will finally and most deservingly get an Oscar. This film will fill your heart with love, freedom, friendship, courage, hard-work, enthusiasm and hope. Hope is a good thing. Go find out!

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Trainspotting

Trainspotting (1996)

Directed by: Danny Boyle

*ing: Ewan Mcgregor
Ewen Bremner
Jonny Lee Miller
Kevin McKidd
Robert Carlyle
Kelly Macdonald

Rating: **** (out of 5)

There have been many attempts at bringing the drugs scene on celluloid. Some have been landmarks (Traffic, Cidade de Deus) and some, complete duds (.45). Trainspotting belongs to the former and is by far the most real and no-holds-barred take I have seen on substance-abuse.

It starts off with Renton (Ewan McGregor) running with a bag full of you-don’t-know-what and then the narrative suddenly dives into flashback without a hint. Renton, Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) and Spud (Ewen Bremner) are buddies in Edinburgh, addicted to Heroin and can’t get enough of it. They also glorify these Heroin-hits as being better than anything else in this world, even sex. But if you succeed in viewing this film with the right mindset, attitude and perception, it will make you hate drugs.

It takes you on a tour through the lives of a handful drug addicts, their ups and downs, their atrocities, their confused state of affairs, their harrowed families, their perks and jerks, their innocent minds and their meaningless existence.
Thought this film was made in 1996, it has a very fresh and modern feel to it. A couple of scenes will win you over like when Renton dives into the Dirtiest Toilet in Scotland or when he’s thrown out of the room after a rompy-sex-session.

Ewan McGregor is mind-blowing an on-off-junkie who is so full of dilemma that he is injecting himself one day and giving it all up the other. He wasn’t very famous when he did this film but he proves he’s bound to be famous. He narrates throughout the film with a very rich Scottish accent lending it more originality.
Ewen Bremner as the all time stoned Spud is howlarious but also arises plenty of pity with those loser expressions.
Jonny Lee Miller as Sick Boy and Kevin McKidd as Tommy fit the bill with perfection.
Robert Carlyle as the only non-dope Begbie stands out as the frustratingly violent gangster. Kelly Macdonald is super hot in a pea-sized role.

Trainspotting is an experience. An experience that will make you experience things you have never experienced. The director (Danny Boyle) makes us witness the filth, the shame, the risks, the troubles and the sorrow, drugs can bring into your life. And he does it all with finesse, class and tactfulness without making it preachy for a second. WATCH IT.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Directed by: Michel Gondry

*ing: Jim Carrey
Kate Winslet

Rating: 1 million/10

There are great movies, there are good movies and then there are some movies which you cannot forget for the rest of your lives. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of them. For anyone who has ever loved or lost, this master-piece will strangle your heart and twist your mind till you yell, cry, laugh and ponder!

The French maestro (Michel Gondry) transforms the screen in to a world of love, passion, beauty and hope from the very first frame.
The plot is simple. The treatment, direction and camerawork though is the most complex, I have ever witnessed on celluloid. Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) meets Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) and they fall in Love. They're poles apart, they're night and day but they're crazy about each other. A year passes by when things don't quite work out which leads to an aggressive break up. Joel tries to catch up with Clementine again but she doesn't recognize him. He's desperate and spooked till he finds out the reason for her behavior is an operation she has undergone to "ERASE" him from her brain. Ego shrieks and he goes for the enviable procedure too. It's during the procedure that he realizes that memories is all he has and he really doesn't want to let them go but he cant stop as he's fast asleep!

Having mentioned the crux of the story, the actual proceedings take place during Joel's operation when the director showers us with heart-melting, warm, tremendously performed scenes cum memories between the lead pair. From their first meetings to their love making escapades to the final break up, all of them are the majestically, gloriously shot and chained together. The film takes a sharp turn as Joel tries to hide Clementine in every other possible section of his memory in order to avoid completely erasing her from his mind. Does he succeed? Does he survive? Does she survive? The scenes strut from the past to the present to the near past to the future and so on, making it difficult and sometimes irritating to comprehend but I won't blame the film or the makers for it. Its flawless.

Eternal Sunshine has a very fictitious premise but real, lovely characters.
Jim Carrey isn't a jerk making weird faces for once but is a loveable, lonely and an honest man of a few words. He will mesmerize you with his acting prowess and his ability to hold his own even when he has no lines to mouth. He is tremendous and fabulous, mammoth and massive. Just try taking your eyes of him.

Kate Winslet as the bubbly, confused, inferiority complex-ed, non-stop talker Clementine is so real that you want to get up and touch her. She becomes the girl you see on the bus-stop everyday with ease. Complimenting Carrey in every frame with all her charm, this is one of her best performances. This is completely their movie.

Elijah Woods, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Tom Wilkinson chip in with gems of their own. They contribute to these lovely hours at the movies with all their honesty.

I am thoroughly running out of adjectives and merely words to define this film. This is what cinema is all about. Smiles and Tears. This is a film that will make you cry your heart out inconsolably. This is a film you cannot miss. Rent it. Please.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Ocean's Thirteen

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

*ing: Al Pacino
George Clooney
Brad Pitt
Matt Damon
Don Cheadle
Ellen Barkin

Rating: [6/10]

The great thing about the Ocean's series is that it isn't necessary for you to have seen the previous part to enjoy the present one like The LOTR series or the over-hyped Star Wars.

Oceans's 13 kicks off with Reuben (Elliott Gould) suffering a heart attack because Will Bank (Al Pacino) has tricked him off his partnership in the new casino-project and left him broke.

The mighty Eleven unite under Mr. Ocean again to plunge into revenge against Mr. Will.
There are a couple of twists though. This time around they're master-minding not to steal but to win and leave in front of everybody. Also, assisting them with finance in this ordeal is Mr. Benedict (Andy Garcia), their rival from the previous heists.
They start with conceptualizing the process of beating the Artificial-Intelligence security, then manipulating the dices used to play and then finding a way to steal those 5-star rating diamond necklaces.

Oceans' Thirteen is more of a physical challenge this time than mental like in Eleven or Twelve although the plot isn't oblivious from being complicated. It takes its own sweet time to immerse and get you all interested before the hap-hazzard climax.
What works for this film is its classy camerawork (Soderbergh is famous for), amazing star-cast, glossy production values, crazy plot and the light, funny undertones.
What doesn't work is that it isn't as immensely witty as Eleven nor as amazingly entertaining as Twelve. Sad to say, its – "mediocre"

Of the humongous performers:
George Clooney is his suave best as Danny Ocean but has nothing new to do.
Brad Pitt is continuously munching and talking and making it all look so easy.
Matt Damon has the best cooked role here and he is spot on.
Al Pacino is outstanding as usual and always as the Big-shark casino boss.

Ocean's Thirteen will make you feel slightly empty and unsatisfied and annoyed as you start leaving the theater as you had entered the same expecting way too much. Soderbergh does disappoint to an extent except technically.
The film itself is worth the watch and wait for Clooney's suits, Pitt's smirks, Al Pacino's presence and Andy Garcia's expressions in the end.

Don't do the same mistake as yours truly did. Just enjoy it.

-Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Cheeni Kum

Cheeni Kum

Directed by: R. Balki
*ing:Amitabh Bachchan
Tabu
Zohra Sehgal
Swini Khara
Paresh Rawal
Food

Rating: [6/10]

Cheeni Kum throws you straight into Buddhadev Gupta's (Mr. Bachchan) face from the first frame itself. He is egoistic, ruthless and merciless when it comes to maintaining his restaurant’s status. He owns the best “Indian” restaurant in London and he’s way too proud of it.

Enter Nina (Tabu) who shatters his misconceptions in no time. She makes him apologise (almost) and changes his attitude towards life and people itself. He is 64, she is 34. He falls for her and vice-versa. The chemistry turns enthralling and the romance exhillerating. You just want it to go on and on.

If Cheeni Kum had continued with the dry, sarcastic and unique flavour it has in the first 30 minutes, I would have rated in 10 on 10 but this is where it disappoints. How I wish it had!

The first half of this film is bliss. Completely boggling you with extremely witty dialogues and below the belt one-liners. It will make you laugh out loud, which is saying too much. But as soon as you’ve come back to your seat with the popcorn after the interval, the dialogues become vulgur and the jokes monotonous! The scenes involving Paresh Rawal become boring and the climax is a drag too. The whole sweet-sour comedy turns into an Ekta Kapoor family drama. The jokes start irritating and the scenes make no sense. Also the phony nicknames for each and every character don’t work, especially ‘sexy’ for a kid.

The film’s forte are its dialogues and the characters who mouth them.

Mr. Bachchan comes into his own as the aggressive chef. He is lovable, naughty, egoistic and confident without making it all look cheap in any way. He is a delight when he tries getting all mushy with Tabu. You just cant take your eyes off him. Also off the record, he looks smashing in a complete white suit in one of the scenes.

Tabu is amazing as the sarcastic and adamant Nina. She will steal your heart with those mischievous smirks and nasty smiles. She proves yet again that she’s one of the best actors alive.

Of the supporting cast, Zohra Sehgal as Mr. Bachchan’s mother is lovely and spot on with her comic timing. There’s not a dull moment when the bright old lady is around.
Paresh Rawal as Mr. Verma is passable.

What will go back home with you is Sexy’s (Swini Khara) performance as Buddha’s best friend. She is amazing with her dead-pan dialogue delivery and has the best lines in the film which she does full justice to. This is the most awesome child artist performance you will see after Black. It’s a pleasure.

Cheeni Kum could have been a revolutionary masterpiece in Indian cinema. Opening the doors for off-best, dry, un-emotional, romantic comedies but it isn’t. Director R. Balki strikes but only 50% and looses it on the way home. Don’t go into the theatre expecting too much and you won’t be disappointed.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Hostel

Hostel

Directed by: Eli Roth

*ing: Jay Hernandez
Derek Richardson
Eythor Gudjonsson

Rating: [6/10]

Unsuccessful director and Quentin Tarantino inspired – Eli Roth came in to limelight with his shocking and gruesome thriller Hostel.

Hostel starts off with three American friends [Jay as Paxton, Derak as Josh and Eythor as Oli] enjoying themselves on a holiday in the wild land of Russia. They are advised and instantly tempted by a dope to visit a certain Hostel in Slovakia where gorgeous women long for men.

These three desperate souls immediately set off for the unknown. The hostel turns out to be just as promised. Splendidly beautiful women from all parts of the world roam around naked, changing clothes and visiting the spa. Sex comes very, very easily too. But behind all this alice in wonderland scenario lies a dreadful mystery.

It starts when one by one, two among them disappear and then it dawns on Paxton to find out the naked truth. What he finds out is shocking, gruesome, gross and will send long chills up your spine. What he finds out is claimed to be existing in the real world and it is indeed extremely disturbing.

The first half of hostel is full of tanned, naked women and loads of sex. The crux of this film lies in its second half when truths are revealed and psychotic mysteries are unfolded.
Where rich men “buy” other humans and play with them for pleasure and excitement.

The performances are not worth talking about because all that’s needed to do is to look aroused in the first half and scream in the other as the film is purely plot based.

Hostel’s strongest card is its weird plot and its gruesome execution. Eli Roth doesn’t let you slip a minute with his strong, solid and gross filming techniques. This film belongs to the director all the way. It deserves a watch for its ability to spook you and give you a sleepless night and also for its women.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Ek Chalis ki Last Local

Ek Chalis ki Last Local

Directed by: Sanjay Khandoori

*ing: Abhay Deol
Neha Dhupia
And many more immensely colourful and entertaining characters.

Rating: [6/10]

Nilesh and Nilya (Abhay Deol) to his friends, the average call center employ misses his last local at 1:40 am from Kurla because he was idiotically drinking beer with his colleagues after work. He is shooed away from the platform by a tobacco spitting constable as the next local fom Kurla to Vikhroli is at 4:10 am, a good 2 and a half hours later.

These eventful 2 and half hours transform Nilesh in to a billionaire. The incidents and situations which arise leading to the climax are entertaining and nail-biting through out. But will he succeed in finally taking the bag full of money home?

With only Rs.70 in his off-white trouser pocket, he sets out on a walk to his destination – Vikhroli as no other means of transport is available. Here he finds an all-decked-up doll Madhu (Neha Dhupia), who claims to be returning from an engagement function and on her way to Vikhroli too. Unable to find anything else safer, they enter a Bar to kill time and drink more beer, where certain freak events lead to an edge-of-the-seat, spell binding entertainer. Revealing too much here will of course, kill the film's objective.

From playing cards to escaping being killed by a dwarf-gangster, from saving himself being encountered by cops to being rescued from sleeping with a gay-don, he does it all!!
What is surprising is that this package is entertaining, refreshing and fun through out, without bearing a hint of staleness in regard to plot, story or execution. Everything about this film is original and that is immensely commendable.

Ek Chalis ki Last Local is a vividly dark comedy in every aspect, which is not what we get too see in Bollywood too often. It has everything a dark Mumbai-night can offer – murder, accidents, prostitutes, kidnapping, dons, gambling, encounters, corrupt cops and sleepy eunuchs! And not to forget… LOVE!

For those who have enjoyed previous affairs like Bad Boys2, Borat, Honeymoon travels Ltd. and the recent Bheja fry, will definitely enjoy the slapstick, goofy humour offered by this well-intended film.

The main reasons that turns this not so great film in to a good one, are the splendid character-based performances.

Abhay Deol as Nilesh delivers the exact next-door-guy kinda performance required for such a film. Believe me he is the best Deol on the block right now. He is subtle, funny and immediately lovable.
Neha Dhupia as Madhu fits the bill with perfection, adding the required glamour factor. She is super in the scene, where she reveals her true self to Nilesh in the jugle!

Apart from the lead cast, it is the supporting cast, which give this film its true flavour. There are a range of classic performances to fervor. Vinay Apte as Ponappa, the short malayali don is excellent. Snehal Dhabi as Habiba the eunuch is so believable that you forget he is the funny shooter from Satya. Deepak Shirke as Mangesh Chilka is a surprise package, watch out for him in the mind-blowing pre-climax scenes with Abhay deol.

Above all stands Ashok Samarth as Inspector Malvankar. He is A-grade as the corrupt, irritated, short-tempered and no-nonsense cop. You start believing, the director has shot an actual cop with a hidden cam.

Sanjay Khandoori has struck with his slapstick, goofy, enjoyable and inevitably funny, one-night-stand directorial debut.
You will enjoy it but will also not take anything home from it. Its one of those mindless, speechless entertainers.

Go for this Last Local, it is a fun, frolic and adventure ride all the way!

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Shootout at Lokhandwala

Shootout at Lokhandwala

Directed by: Apoorva Lakhiya

*ing: Sanjay Dutt
Vivek Oberoi (he has returned to his old spelling from Viveik)
Suneil Shetty
Arbaaz Khan
Tushhar Kapoor
Shabbir Ahluwalia
Etc etc etc

Rating: [5/10]

Ex-Justice Dhingra (Amitabh Bachchan) whimpers and barks as ACP A. A. Khan (Sanjay Dutt) and his colleagues [Sunil Shetty as Kaviraj Patil; Arbaaz Khan as Javed Shaikh] from ATS (Anti Terrorist Squad) sit before him and relive the complete 6-hour shootout at Lokhandwala and the events that led to it.

Claiming to be based on "true rumours" and very close to the actual 90's shootout, the film is as close to reality as India is to Uzbekistan. It is commercial, stylish, heroic and entertaining that life isn't!

The movie starts off with the dreadful scenes of the shootout venue being cleaned and washed off the blood and brains that are spilled all over the place, by Khan and his comrades.

According to the "true rumours" doing the rounds, the film is not only the shootout but it actually builds up to the coveted shootout which is only the final and the most rocking 30 minutes of the film.

Maya Dolas (Vivek Oberoi) and his gang [Shabbir Ahluwalia as RC; Rohit Roy as Fatim (Fatoo); Aditya Lakhia as Doubling] operating under BHAI from Dubai join hands with the dreaded shooter Bhuwa (Tushhar Kapoor) to spread terror in the then west-Bombay. Scenes like Maya's entry where he emerges from the auto-rickshaw, dancing slowly and ends up killing a target in the noisy procession give you a hard-core adrenaline pump! Also when Maya and his buddies barge in to Dagdi Chawl and kill Gawli's men is jaw dropping and gruesome. Apart from a couple of well choreographed action scenes, the sense of styling, a couple great performances and the climatic shootout, the film actually has NOTHING new or refreshing to offer. It in fact bores you to an extent where you want the shootout to just happen and then it does which is the ultimate highlight of this so called realistic movie. The final shootout is not very close to the actual one at Lokhandwala but it is entertaining no doubt. All the gangsters including Maya are eliminated in very unique manners. The action is gripping and gross. Whereas in reality, all the Maya's men were shot dead with guns and not by any other means (especially not by hand).

Of the performances, Vivek Oberoi will steal your heart once again after Company. I had personally started hating him but no more. He will remind of Chandru from company but with a very nasty, sarcastic and stylish twist. He emerges as the clear winner here. He is especially great in the close-up shots. Look out for him when he is talking to BHAI on the phone with a very respectful but sarcastic tone. He is A-Grade.

Sanjay Dutt as A. A. Khan is superb. He is ruthless, sensitive, courageous and gutsy, just as we can imagine the actual cop must have been. Arbaaz and Suneil are like-able and pass muster, so do Maya's dudes.

Amitabh Bachchan as Dhingra packs a punch in the tailor-made, extended role as always!

The sorest and the most pathetic drawback of this enterprise is Tushshar kapoor as Bhuwa, he fails with his dialogue delivery as well as his expressions. As the dangerous shooter, he couldn't scare a goat. Casting him turns out to be the biggest blunder other than commercializing the whole shootout.

I will not say Shootout at Lokhandwala is a bad film. It has ample style, loads of attitude and glossy class but it lacks any kind of plot, story or screenplay.

Shootout is the same old wine but in a very new, shiny, attractive and fake bottle.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Eklavya

EKLAVYA

Directed by: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

*ing: Amitabh Bachchan
Saif Ali Khan
Vidya Balan
Boman Irani

Rating: [8/10]

It took Vidhu Vinod Chopra 5 years to write Eklavya and its worth all the 1825 days of ink, paper, sweat and brains!

Eklavya transports you to the vivid land of Rajasthan, where the Local Rana (Boman Irani, splendid) still considers himself the king even though democracy prevails. Eklavya, the royal guard (Amitabh Bachchan, however unbelievable it may sound this is his best performance till date. In some scenes, you just can't look straight into his eyes! You deserve the Rolce Royce Mr. Bachchan!!) is endowed with the responsibility to protect and safeguard the so called king and his kingdom just like his previous 9 generations have been blindly abiding.

Jackie Shroff as the Rana's hamming, jarring brother and Jimmy Shergill as his wannabe-royal son fit the bill with perfection. They bring about the required menace, darkness and sarcasm to the premiere storyline with a small but irreplaceably tremendous cast.

Sanjay Dutt as Inspector Chauvhan is so superbly refreshing that we forget he plays Munnabhai in another Chopra Production. He also succeeds in providing the required doses of subtle humour.

The film commences with a very unpredictable twist and climaxes with a very predictable one.
What lies in between forms the crux of this miniature masterpiece. The film never lets you leave your seat, even in the interval you don't want to go grab a samosa with the fear of missing a minute. Its darkly intriguing through out with a genuinely original plot. Eklavya mesmerizes you with some superbly crafted scenes. You will keep blinking till you believe when hundreds of camels run along the train kicking up a virtual sandstorm or when Eklavya plunges the cinema hall into darkness with only his ears alert at work. Eklavya isn't your usual pot-boiler but it's still a story of betrayal, deception, jealousy, lust, revenge and love. It comprises of all the usual elements without becoming into a usual film.

The cinematography is breath-takingly A-grade, capturing the barren and beautiful Rajasthan and the Rana's Spooky mahal with grace; the editing is swift and the background score sharply contributes to the ongoings.

Just like the Title, the film too belongs to Mr. Bachchan. He becomes Eklavya.

Saif Ali Khan as Harshwardan is intensely controlled and adds certain royal mannerisms to his performance making it astoundingly original. Where Eklavya loses its grip slightly and two browny points is when the screenplay gets slightly sloppy after the interval and the okie-dokie half-baked romance angle between Harshwardan and Rajjo (Vidya Balan, eye candy). You either make it piping hot or don't make them fall in love at all Mr.Chopra.

Eklavya will blow you away with its plot and the way it is executed and elaborated by the director's witty creativity. You will fall in Lav with Eklavya as soon as you take your first step out of the theater. Go catch this vibrantly entertaining Rajasthan Express which lasts only about 105 minutes and you won't come out unentertained. The message is clear and the medium of message couldn't be more entertaining.

It certainly is Indian cinema at its best.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.

Review: Volver

VOLVER

Directed by: Pedro Almodovar

*ing: Penelope Cruz
Carmen Maura
Lola Duenas

Rating: {9/10}

The Academy Award Winning veteran 'Pedro Almodovar' strikes again with yet another 'woman centric' film and it successfully hits the right intentions and emotions all the way as always.

Volver is "coming back" or "to return" in Spanish and the film stays true to its name.

It commences with the very Spanish Raimunda (Cruz) and her daughter, visiting her native village and her very old (both legs hanging in the grave) aunt, who claims that she is being taken care of by Raimunda's long dead mother, Irene (Carmen Maura).

Puzzled and slightly spooked, Raimunda returns to her city life, unemployed abusive husband and her petty job. After a couple of unwanted incidents and circumstances, Irene is suddenly found in the boot of Sole's (Lola, Raimunda's Sister). She starts staying with Sole and claims it as her "return". From here on the characters and the story itself builds up into a confusing whirlwind of emotions, secrets, revelations and shocking truths.

It takes another wild twist as Raimunda's dying village neighbour asks her for the last favour, which she finds very weird indeed.
Those who are familiar with Pedro's films will realize I have already given away too much.

Volver is an intelligent and very sensitive take on relationships, exploitation, patience and love in general. It also proves that "women" are best at all these emotions and more. It will keep you at the very extreme edge of your sofa (no seat coz it's not playing in the theaters anymore). It will also keep you irritatingly guessing about Irene's existence. Is she a ghost or is it all a hallucination or is every one simply insane?

All that you will need is a little more patience as the director pops open all the cards in a very sensitive and elegant chat-on-the-bench scene in the climax. It will leave you speechless, shocked and much more relaxed.

Penelope who was nominated for The Best Actor for this very role proves once again that she is one of the most talented and sensitive actors around. She is splendid as the no-nonsense, short tempered and clean-at-heart Raimunda. Her cleavage plays an equally important part as well, never being out of any possible shot.

Carmen excels as well as the spooky, mysterious Irene who haunts, helps and loves.

Volver is a movie that will stay with you long after you have switched off your DVD player. How do I say this?
It will keep "VOLVERING" back to you!

I recommend it and rent it. QUICK!

-Abbas Dalal.

[feedback will be genuinely appreciated. thanks.]

Review: Borat

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Directed by: Larry Charles
*ing: Sacha Boran Cohen
Ken Devitian

Rating: [10/10]

Nothing much, can be said about Borat as it does not possess a so-called specific plot, storyline or message. It is simply a weird, gross, naughty and sinful pleasure at the movies!

Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Boran Cohen, also known as Ali G) is a very popular journalist in Kazakhstan, who is gifted a trip to the USA by the government to benefit his homeland with the modern and useful culture, he can learn from the Americans.

Thus, Borat sets off with his obese producer Azamat Bagatov (Ken Devitian) on a mind blowing adventure to the US of A!
What follows are hilarious, crazy and sometimes grossly inventive circumstances as Borat travels all through America and meets people from all walk of life.

He tries to impress a stand up comedian with cheap "handicap" jokes, interviews old women, sings at the Rodeo, fights and chases his producer (both fully naked) all over the hotel with an exaggerated black box censoring Borat's pubic area, drives a minibus interstate, buys fuel worth 17 cents, brings a prostitute as date for dinner and falls head over heels for Pamela Anderson. I cannot mention all he does because there is so much crap he does!

The director claims all the scenes where Borat creates havoc are really shot without disclosing Borat's identity and are not enacted. I fail to agree though as some of them do look staged, especially Pamela groping scene!!!

Sacha Boran Cohen as Borat is amazingly vivid, funny, believable and goofy! He becomes the part with ease and also adds that crazy accent which takes time to get used to. You can't help yourself but fall in love with him from the first reel. Ken Devitian as the lazy, obese producer lives up to Borat's enthusiasm and vibrancy.

For me (I make this very personal), Borat is the most amazing, weird, entertaining and goofy comedy I have EVER seen.

Borat will make you experience the messaging phenomenon 'LOL' (laugh out loud for nerds) for REAL. You will laugh till it hurts unless you are strictly vegetarian!

Get Borat and I guarantee, you will make a copy of the DVD to keep forever…

-Abbas Dalal.
{feedback will be thankfully appreciated}

Review: Metro

Life in a… Metro

Directed By: Anurag Basu

*ing: Shilpa Shetty
Konkana Sen Sharma
Irrfan Khan
Kay Kay Menon
Sharman Joshi
Kangana Ranaut
Shiney Ahuja
Woof!

Rating: [7/10]

After the critically acclaimed, box office smash hit Rang De Basanti, UTV is back with Anurag Basu’s Metro. Metro is very different from the director’s previous works (Murder, Gangster) in regard to the emotions, sensitivity and reality it portrays.

Based in Mumbai, Metro is the story of a handful of individuals caught up in the hustling bustling, typical city life. The major advantage to the director here is that he has managed to rope in an Avant grade, splendid star cast to play all his characters to perfection.

Ranjit (Menon) is in a down-hill marriage with Shikha (Shetty) leading to an affair with his employee Neha (Kangana). Rahul (Sharman) who works for Ranjit too, loves Neha.
Neha is Shruti’s (Konkona) room-mate and Shruti is Shikha’s sibling.
Enter Akash (Shiney) who creates new feelings and excitement in Shikha’s dull, meaningless life.

Standing uniquely apart from this relationship-bhendi-masala is Debu (Irrfan) who likes Shruti but its only one way.

There’s also a sensitive, heart-felt oldie romance going on between old-school sweethearts Amol (Dharmendra) and Vaijanti (Nafisa Ali) who is also Shikha’s ex-dance master.

As you must have realized, all the characters though poles apart are inevitably inter-connected. Though this might look highly confusing and time-consuming, Basu successfully manages to wrap up the proceedings in a neat 2 hour package. He also succeeds in giving every character, story and plot ample space and equal time to develop beautifully.

Metro is more true to real life than any other film I have seen this year. Its sincere, sensitive, passionate, cold and unfair just like life itself. It will especially steal your heart in some superbly crafted and enacted scenes. Like when Rahul lends his home to his seniors for one-night stands or the scene where Akash and Shikha get a little too close in a dimly neon-lit room. Also the light-hearted confession scene between Shruti and Debu at Marine Drive is inventively natural and spontaneous. Such moments and many more build up into an entertaining, timeless experience - Metro.

The cinematography is soft and easy on the eye, especially the touchy rainy scenes.

The music by Pritam’s Band Metro which pops up at any given circumstance bursting into a song (concept copied from There’s something about Marry) is hot and cold all the way.

Metro’s highest advantage that works, is the textbook star cast.
Menon is brilliantly aggressive as the call-centre boss. Shetty puts in her best performance to date.

Kanaga is eye candy with a cute north accent. Sharman and Shiney blend in instantly like sugar in to the story. Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali are likeable.

Now, the best performances come from Konkona and Irrfan which isn’t surprising.
Konkona as the 28 year old virgin is so damn loveable that you wanna marry her immeditaely. Irrfan as the 30+ deaperate-to-marry Debu is natural and unintentionally funny.

Metro, despite being very true to LIFE is also extremely entertaining. Anurag Basu has proved that he is one of the most smartest and sensitive director around.

Grab a big bag of popcorn and go get a LIFE…

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.