Real American Sidekick

Fascinating as it was to play with these action figures as a child, and to watch the animated series about them, G I Joe Retaliation, not unlike its prequel, is an underwhelming experience. Everytime you picked up one your action figures and screamed ‘Go Joe!’ before plunging into battle with the Cobras, you probably acted out a better narrative than this Jon M Chu film.

In this sequel, which has a severely unconnected time lapse with the previous film, the G I Joes are not only fighting the Cobras, but are also fighting the forces within their own system and the Government. A clinical strike at one of the outstation bases wipes out most of their soldiers and with a handful of them left, they find themselves facing a nemesis that has threatened their very existence. Led by Roadblock (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson), the Joes re-assemble the survivors to re-build and retaliate. With Flint, Lady Jaye and Snake Eyes on his flank, Roadblock reaches out to General Joe (Bruce Willis) to come out of retirement and help them restore order.

An ill-constructed series of explosions and megalomaniac threats that lack dramatic juice, the screenwriters seem to have adopted the screenplay by observing a pretty dull kid for two hours with his action figures. With high-end graphics at their disposal, the finished product seems to lack the awe that makes action films a little more spectacular. The dialogues, which usually help the caricatures create a place in the heart of the viewers, aren’t up to the mark either. Furthermore, in a sequence where Snake Eyes captures Storm Shadow from a hilly terrain in the Himalayas, the filmmaker has pulled off something that wasn’t considered possible. He has made Ninjas look lame.

The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), who plays the protagonist Roadblock (a word that truly describes what the writers of this film hit), just isn’t dynamic enough to be a child’s hero. Bruce Willis, whose character is asked to come out of retirement, is a vague reminder of an action hero that once was; and one that shouldn’t be asked to come out of retirement, at that. Lady Jaye, played by Adrianne Palicki looks nothing like her action figure and hampers the character’s image with her feminine overtone.

In conclusion, after all the fans of this franchise, who will go into cinema hall humming ‘Real American Hero, It’s G I Joe!’ have been thoroughly bored; and after you have given up on even trying to pretend to like it; you can go home, pull out the box of your old toys and enact a better sequence than the unimaginative disappointment that is G I Joe Retaliation.

Rating - 2 out of 5

The 80s Are Back(stabbed)

The film opens with the disco number Thank God It's Friday with Sonakshi Sinha doing her best to appear graceful. Sajid Khan's inability as a director to introduce the time period in which his film is set, couldn't be more visibly stated. And five minutes after the shabbily choreographed dance sequence turns into a street fight, the film fails in recreating the 80s, like the promos promised.

Ajay Devgn is Ravi, the Himmatwala, who is the strongest man in the universe, which is established by his fight with Russia's strongest street fighter -- a feat that even Rocky Balboa required 12 hard-fought rounds to achieve. 

Then, Ravi returns to his village where he reunites with his family and revisits the old wounds and the atrocities that his family faced at the hands of the evil sarpanch Sher Singh (Mahesh Manjrekar); quite similar to Vijay Dinanath Chauhan's return to Mandwa, only more pathetic. And then, with one insignificant twist in the tale, the story unfolds just like it did 30 years ago with Jeetendra and Sridevi.

In a superficial effort to recreate the 80s, Sajid uses the hyper-reality which was an involuntary reflex back then; but ends up making a mockery of everything. If all the dialogues in the film were spoken only once, the film would be cut down by two-thirds.

A sequence where Ravi paints a picture of how he will torture Sher Singh is a re-enactment of the famous shower murder scene from Hitchcock's Psycho. But it all comes across as distasteful and foul; which by the way, seems like the theme of the film.

The only thing Himmatwala has managed to positively recreate is the picturisation of the song Naino Mein Sapna; however, Ajay Devgn's tough-guy physique doesn't allow him to move like the Jumping Jack that Jeetendra was.

The other thing in the film that is from the 80s, is the sense of humour. Most of the punches are just too predictable and jokes that you may have read in a time when forwarding text messages first became cool. Some typical Sajid Khan puns and double entendres, which Paresh Rawal sportingly delivers in his caricature role as Narayan Das, are simply not funny. If you find yourself in a theatre where people are actually laughing at them, then consider it as a sad commentary on sense of humour of the times we live in.

Of all the films that were made in the 80s, Himmatwala was probably the last film that deserved resurrection. Defining a dark phase in the world of mainstream Hindi cinema, the 80s are a thing of the past for a reason.

For a devotee of Indian cinema, the 80s are a fond memory for parallel films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and Chashme Buddoor and they would like it if it stayed that way. And with David Dhawan's remake of Chashme Buddoor just a week away from us, we can only pray that it doesn't ruin the image of a timeless classic.

As far as Sajid Khan's deteriorating sense of humour is concerned, Himmatwala hasn't brought back the 80s, but it has, in a way, brought mediocrity and crass back into filmmaking.

Rating - 1/2 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 30, 2013 

Sleepy Hollow

Makarand Deshpande seems to have carried the sensibilities of the unbothered hitch-hiker he played in Swades into his filmmaking. Sona Spa, a film made on an unconventional subject, is nothing but a surface level comment on the ills of modern lifestyle.

The film revolves around a premise of delegating the task of completing your sleep to someone else. However, doing so will open that delegate to the world of your dreams, thereby ridding you off the stress. Yes, does sound an Inception-like plot. However, what Christopher Nolan does with extreme craftsmanship is that he gets you so involved in the story that you do not stop to question the plausibility of the concept. Makarand’s film, sadly, has a story that is too preachy and once you get the gist of it, you stop paying attention to the déjà-vu dialogues narrated by Naseeruddin Shah, referred to as Babaji throughout the film.

On paper, the concept appears quite intriguing, but the film fails to translate the psychological thriller onto screen. The film focuses on two of the ‘sleep workers’; one of whom is a middle-class girl from Pune overcoming a family tragedy while the other is a rich girl from Mumbai belonging to a dysfunctional family and coping with the death of her mother. The plot outline may interest you at first, but it unfolds in an unflattering manner leaving you disappointed. A lot of the blame goes to the form in which the film is presented. A dark theme like this is presented with flat visuals and primitive graphics, and is shot like casual coverage of events; lending it a crude look which doesn’t generate any interest.

Naseeruddin Shah, who is the largest figure on the promotional material of this film doesn’t play a very important role in the film. He is reduced to being on a television screen at the Spa or simply heard in the background, save for a few scenes where he preaches about the importance of sleep by breaking the fourth wall. Ritu and Richa, played by Aahana Kumrah and Shruti Vyas try to make the most of the poorly crafted scenes and imperfect dialogue. Aahana, shows promise and maybe we will get to see her in a better film in the near future.

Makarand’s sense of humor, like him, appears in the film for brief moments. For instance, Babaji (Naseer) is said to have settled in Seattle because people are ‘Sleepless In Seattle’. But apart from that, the film is a superficial commentary on life as we know it, in a way that is seen in cheap pop-psychological stories and pretentious college plays.


Rating - 1.5 out of 5

Colourless Emotions

In adherence to Sajid Khan's warning that the 80s will be back on March 29, we were too busy preparing for it to realise that the 80s arrived a week early with Priyadarshan's juvenile melodrama Rangrezz. The National Award winning director has the knack of making the most memorable films as well as really disappointing ones. This, unfortunately, is a point in favour of the latter.

 

Jacky Bhagnani plays Rishi, an honest young man belonging to a middle class Maharashtrian family and is on the verge of being recruited as a Police officer. And as barter for his job, he is betrothed to Megha (Priya Anand), the daughter of his father's friend. He has two close friends - Winu and Pakya (Amitosh Nagpal and Vijay Verma). And as the film introduces this first crop of characters, the focus is suddenly shifted to Joy, Rishi's childhood friend, who has problems with his romantic life. And suddenly, we find ourselves in Lalitpur (UP), as Rishi and his friends drive there to help the two lovers elope. Who drives from Mumbai to somewhere in Uttar Pradesh to elope?

After a lot of opposition, hardship and an extremely loud chase sequence, they finally succeed but not before Rishi is hurt, Winu loses a leg and Pakya goes deaf due to an injury to his head. However, satisfied that they helped two lovers meet, they return to their own world, which has been turned upside down and start a catering business. Whatever happened to wanting to become a policeman and Winu's dream of setting up a computer company? And thus continues a series of events which eventually leads to the group learning that all their efforts have been in vain and that the couple has split.

In a film stuffed with over-dramatic acting and situations with a heightened sense of emotions, the climax is just about right as Rishi gives a lecture on love, integrity and draws a moral line between love and lust. Remake of the Tamil film Naadodigal, Rangrezz is cinematographed by Santosh Sivan, who has little to work with, in the story.

The final message that the film gives is unclear and hence, too convoluted and can be misinterpreted. From beginning to end, the film is in search for an identity but fails to locate it. A mixed up narrative, poor execution and a clear attempt of a father to re-launch his son as a serious actor; Rangrezz is guilty of all charges. The Gangnam Style video at the end of the movie is the place where you can earn your money's worth.

Rating - 1.5 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 24, 2013 

Aatma-hatya

Suparn Verma's Aatma, starring the in-form Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Bipasha Basu, opens with a promising title credits sequence to a theme song composed by Hitesh Sonik. But once the film begins, the honest attempt to deliver a product that could finally lift the jaded and stereotyped genre of horror movies loses its grip.

The film begins establishing an unseen father figure of Nawazuddin's character, quite ironically named Abhay, pampering his 8-year-old daughter Nia while being extremely harsh to his wife Maya (Bipasha). It is then revealed that Abhay has died in an accident following a bad divorce on account of domestic violence and mental harassment. However, his love for his daughter and her attachment to him has brought him back. And now, one by one he is going to decimate anyone who causes the slightest discomfort to his daughter, and his ultimate aim - to take Nia with him. The only thing stopping this powerful aatma from doing so, is the little girl's love for her mother - the same reason why Voldemort couldn't kill Harry, no?

At ninety minutes, the film moves at a brisk pace from sequence to sequence but the elements that induce the horror in the situations are extremely ordinary. Verma makes a great attempt to shun the genre specific stereotypes like the creaky door or the turning heads, but the devices used in the film are not that special either. After having created suspense around the ghost of Abhay, his first screen appearance happens when he murders one of Nia's teachers - a typical horror sequence where the ghost is seen only on one side of the mirror and does his business on the other. Certain elements have been sprinkled onto the narrative just to make sure it doesn't fall short of scaring you. For instance, an old woman in a scary make-up says lines like "woh aa gaya hai..woh apni beti ko lene aya hai". It shows the director's lack of confidence on the story to do the scaring.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is categorically miscast in the role as an upper-middle class father and although he sportingly does justice to the ghost part of him, his interactions while he is alive often remind you of the rural gangster that he was in GOW. Bipasha Basu is on the receiving end of most of the paranormal activity but you never truly feel any sympathy for her character because of her bland portrayal of it.

Finally, the litmus test that determines the success of any horror film is the following night's sleep. And even if you watch the last show of Aatma at an empty multiplex, by the time you drive home, you will have forgotten all the loud noises that temporarily scared you.

Rating - 2 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 23, 2013 

Quentin Unleashed

Known for his own brand of unapologetic grotesque and witty action thrillers, Quentin Tarantino returns with the much awaited Django Unchained. For his fans, the film has everything that they expected from it and a little more. With his signature on every single character, event, dialogue and gunshot in the film, it is perhaps the most refined Tarantino masterpiece. The film's tagline reads, 'They took his freedom, he is taking everything', and from an Indian point of view, it simply translates as Tarantino's cinematic version of 'Keh Ke Loonga'.

Django, a slave with a brutal history of torture is sought by bounty hunter Dr King Schultz for an assignment to kill the Brittle brothers. However, they develop an understanding and decide to become partners in crime, as it were, to make some more money. But, Django is focused on one ultimate goal - to find and rescue his wife Broomhilda. Tarantino combines the western genre and puts in a very stylised sophisticated manner in this extravagant tale of violent retribution.

Violence and retaliation are recurring themes in most of his films; nevertheless, there is an element in Django that supersedes vengeance. In a scene where Django asks Schultz why he is going out of his way to help him, Schultz replies, "I have never given anybody their freedom before. And now that I have, I feel responsible for you." That element of emotion and personal interaction are what take the film to a new level. We are used to seeing characters in Tarantino's films who are almost comic book-like with one cardinal trait, but here, you see these albeit quirky characters as people too.

Music plays a very important role in providing many memorable moments in the director's previous works - be it Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang in the opening credits of Kill Bill Vol 1 or Girl, you'll be a woman soon at John Travolta and Uma Thurman's unconventional date in Pulp Fiction. In Django Unchained, the soundtrack adds to the pre-existent charm. Country music dominates the first half of the film and before you know it; modern hip-hop takes over as the characters wreak havoc with all guns blazing in the climax.

Playing a character with a similar poise as General Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds, Christoph Waltz's Dr King Schultz is the most adorable character in the movie. Django, played by Jamie Foxx, is also impressive; but if visual yearning serves right, that was a role tailor-made for a young Samuel L Jackson. Jackson is seen in this film in a negative role of Stephen, a loyal and conservative slave at the house of Monsieur Calvin Candie.

Candie, played by Leonardo Di Caprio is the powerful slave trader who owns Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). His growth from being a naive, torturous rich man to a no-nonsense ego maniac is commendable. Tarantino himself plays yet another cameo in a semi-vital scene towards the climax.
 

Looking at his filmography, it would be unfair to call Django Unchained as Tarantino's best work, because that would undermine his other best works. Having carved a niche and created a cult that follows his kind of cinema which is not at all suited for the faint-hearted, his film underlines one fact about the world - it is bloody, brutal and violent; so you might as well enjoy its grotesqueness.


Rating: 4 out of 5


Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 23, 2013

Tarantino's Magic Bullets

Writer-director-actor Quentin Tarantino has given us many memorable cinematic experiences with his quirky dialogues and unforgettable characters. As his latest film Django Unchained unleashes in the theatres, here are five immortal monologues from the films of this cleft-chinned modern master

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) addressing the five criminals who don't even know each others' names, says, "So, you guys like to tell jokes, huh? Gigglin' and laughin' like a bunch of young broads sittin' in a schoolyard. Well, let me tell a joke. Five guys, sittin' in a bullpen, in San Quentin. All wondering how the f*** they got there. What should we have done, what didn't we do, who's fault is it, is it my fault, your fault, his fault, all that bullshit. Then one of them says, hey. Wait a minute. When we were planning this caper, all we did was sit around tellin' f***in' jokes! Get the message?" The no-nonsense interaction between the gangsters who suspect one of them is a police informer, was Tarantino's claim to fame.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Jules Winnfield (Samuel L Jackson), a short-tempered paid assassin, has a phrase memorised. It goes, "Ezekiel 25:17. The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those, who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you. (Gun shots)." Rest assured, those are the last words one hears.

Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003)

The film opens to a face of a dying Uma Thurman with a man's voice addressing her. He says, "Do you find me sadistic? You know, I bet I could fry an egg on your head right now, if I wanted to. You know, Kiddo, I'd like to believe that you're aware enough even now to know that there's nothing sadistic in my actions. Well, maybe towards those other... jokers, but not you. No Kiddo, at this moment, this is me at my most...(cocks pistol) masochistic." With nothing but words, Tarantino establishes the principle characters and justifies the motives for a saga of revenge that follows.

Kill Bill Vol 2 (2004)

One of Tarantino's specialties is he introduces a new way to kill somebody with every film. Here, as Budd (Michael Madsen) is dying after being bitten by a Black Mamba; Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), the ferocious lady assassin with an eye patch, coldly explains to him how he will die: "The venom of a black mamba can kill a human in four hours, if, say, bitten on the ankle or the thumb. However, a bite to the face or torso can bring death from paralysis within 20 minutes. Now, you should listen to this, 'cause this concerns you. The amount of venom that can be delivered from a single bite can be gargantuan. You know, I've always liked that word...gargantuan ... so rarely have an opportunity to use it in a sentence. If not treated quickly with anti-venom, 10 to 15 milligrams can be fatal to human beings. However, the black mamba can deliver as much as 100 to 400 milligrams of venom from a single bite."

Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), in his opening remarks to the eight Jewish-American soldiers selected for a unique mission to kill Nazis, says, "...but I got a word of warning for all you would-be warriors. When you join my command, you take on debt. A debt you owe me personally. Each and every man under my command owes me one hundred Nazi scalps. And I want my scalps. And all y'all will get me one hundred Nazi scalps, taken from the heads of one hundred dead Nazis. Or you will die tryin'. You probably heard we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business; we in the killin' Nazi business. And cousin, business is a-boomin'." And there it is; you know this is no ordinary action film.

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 22, 2013

Platinum Kapoor - A list of Shashi Kapoor's Best Films

Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965)

Belonging to the second generation of the Kapoors, Shashi was the youngest son and had two great examples in front of him in Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor. After a slow start to an otherwise illustrious career, Shashi Kapoor became a superstar after Jab Jab Phool Khile. Starring opposite Nanda, who was a bigger name in the industry than him, Shashi mesmerised the audience with his sharp features on a childlike face. The duo went on to act in several films together and had mutual admiration for each other. Set in the heaven-on-earth setting of Kashmir, the film saw Shashi as a boatman who falls in love with a rich tourist girl. The film is remembered for its romantic songs like 'Ye Sama, Sama hai ye pyar ka' and 'Pardesiyon Se Na Ankhiyan Milana'.

 

Shakespeare Wallah (1965)

One of the first Indian actors to go international, Shashi Kapoor has acted in several English films in the early days of his career and also in his twilight. Shakespeare Wallah was a story of a theatre troupe that toured India performing Shakespearean plays. Shashi played the role of Sanju, and was cast opposite Felicity Kendal. Interestingly, Shashi fell in love with her sister Jennifer and got married. As a couple, they made a huge contribution to cinema before Jennifer’s death in ‘84. Shashi also produced 36 Chowringhee Lane which starred Jennifer, the 1981 film by Aparna Sen.

 

Deewaar (1975)

You know you have had the last word in any argument when you are the one saying “Mere Paas Maa hai”. When Shashi Kapoor’s Ravi says it to Amitabh’s Vijay, for the first time in the film, you see him as more powerful than the angry-young-man. One of his most powerful supporting roles, Shashi did a lot of films with Amitabh, like Namak Halal, Do Aur Do Paanch, Suhaag, Kaala Patthar, Trishul, Kabhie Kabhie and Silsila among others. In many, his role could easily be classified as a supporting actor, but his Inspector Ravi Verma was by no means a supporting role. He was a parallel hero.

 

Junoon (1978)

Yet another collaborative with Shyam Benegal saw Shashi Kapoor produce and act in this period drama based on A Flight of Pigeons, a novella by Ruskin Bond. Set around the revolt of 1857, the film is about an unexpected love that blooms between a British girl and a feudal lord. A gripping tale of love, jealousy and loyalty; the film explores the period and strikes the right balance between the personal and the social aspects. Shashi Kapoor plays the role of Javed Khan, the feudal lord whose world revolves around breeding carrier pigeons. The film won the National Award for best film as well as for cinematography (Govind Nihalani)

 

Kalyug (1981)

Taking cues from the most important story in the world, Shyam Benegal's Kalyug was quite unfairly dubbed as a modern Mahabharat. The characterisation of most important characters was indeed derived from the epic, but the plot and the screenplay of the film were very different from what Vyas originally wrote. However, in a role as Karan Singh, Shashi Kapoor had the opportunity to portray Indian literature's most tragic character. The film was critically well received and Shashi Kapoor's role was applauded by many and remains one of his best performances on screen.

 

New Delhi Times (1985)

After having established himself as an actor and appearing in nearly 10 blockbusters in the 60s and 70s including the epic Waqt (1965), the only thing that made Shashi stand apart from his brothers was his interest in the alternative cinema. New Delhi Times, a rare film that dealt with the issue of corruption, saw Shashi play the role of a newspaper editor who exposes the politician-media nexus. His powerful performance in the film rightfully won him the National Award for Best Actor. Even today, it remains one the few films made in India that deals with the plague that is corruption.

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 15, 2013

Justice Is Served

Expectations were riding high for Subhash Kapoor’s Jolly LLB after his acclaimed Phas Gaye Re Obama. And with Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani in the lead roles, these expectations sky-rocketed. Although the film lingers around the same genre of satire, Jolly LLB is social commentary for the masses. And like most things that are for the masses, it too compromises on quality.

The film opens in Meerut, where an ambitious lawyer, Jolly, whose colleague is a lawyer-astrologer-president, enters a courtroom with laddoos to bribe a judge, who is texting ‘love you too jaanu’ whilst sitting in the high chair. However, Jolly wants to make it big in the legal circle and moves to Delhi. And in this new setting, the film loses interest in subtle black humour and becomes an average drama. In a sudden change of heart, Jolly files a Public Interest Litigation in a hit-and-run case against a rich boy, who is being defended by the evil and successful lawyer Rajpal. Thus begins a saga of predictability, where each party shows their hand, one at a time. But you already know what cards they are holding.

The stale dramatic elements bound by dialogues that sound believable only when Saurabh Shukla’s character repeats them mockingly, lead you to be disinterested in this average courtroom drama. Boman Irani, who sportingly steps into the shoes of the villain, is seen saying things like “bloody honest Indian” and “woh toh do kaudi ka wakeel hai”. Saurabh Shukla, who is the judge presiding over the case, grows from being a flatulent self-serving man to a figure that you see as the epitome of justice. And however superficial the flow, you cannot help but pick him as the real hero of the film. Also, although it was great to see Arshad Warsi in a lead role, you cannot surpass the feeling that he lacks the screen presence to hold a film by himself. As for Amrita Rao, it is better to say nothing.

Some scenes in the film are a reminder of the rudimentary satirical treatment that must have been on the mind of the maker. Advocates unable to spell affidavit and careless police officers nabbing the wrong man without cross-checking who has been summoned, are isolated moments that bring a smile to your face. But on the whole, the film gets too preachy by the time it ends. It mixes what could have been great satire, by showing what the moral high ground is; thus defeating the fundamental purpose of satire.

Overall, Kapoor’s film is a decent watch and leaves you believing in the concept of justice. However, having witnessed the reality more closely in recent months, it is hard not to be a little cynical. Jolly LLB could have been a lot more but it isn’t. It makes for a good weekend watch and an ill-informed 15 minute debate over justice.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 16, 2013

A Family Car

Thanks to the past couple of decades of exposure to Hindi films and pop-music, all Indians are a little Punjabi today. There is a strong element in modern India, where urbanisation has walked almost hand-in-hand with Punjabisation of popular culture. Ashima Chibber’s Mere Dad Ki Maruti, set in Chandigarh, capitalizes on this cultural hegemony.

A situational comedy, the film is about an upper-middle-class family wedding, where the father (Ram Kapoor) has made his daughter a promise that he will marry her off with her groom in a brand new Maruti. His son, Sameer (Saqib Saleem) is a good-for-nothing collegegoer who wants to impress Jasleen ‘Chandigarh Ki Shakira’ (Rhea Chakraborthy). However, blinded by excitement, he misplaces the car that is due as a gift a few days later. The film is a simple joyride, which sees Sameer trying all possible options to get the car back by the wedding.

Following a visible formula of predictable clichés, the film unfolds on the backdrop of a Punjabi wedding, which all experienced movie-goers know to be a recipe for mayhem. But, moving at a brisk pace, the director doesn’t give you time to ponder over the misgivings of the film and you simply let yourself take a backseat in a seemingly smooth ride. Sameer and his friends get involved with an eccentric Haryanvi rental car businessman and a gangster Pathan and yet, on the day of the wedding, it all falls into place – just like it does in all Hindi movies.

Ram Kapoor is the highlight of this film as the distressed father of the bride, whose son has only been a pain in the neck. After his moving role in Udaan, Ram proves his mettle yet again as an adorable and quirky middle-aged man. Saqib, who made his debut in Y-films’ Mujhse Fraandship Karoge continues to be the new face for teenage-flicks and Rhea Chakraborty does a decent job to be the eye-candy with a good heart. The dialogues between Sameer and Jasleen are extremely hilarious, but they are also a back-handed slap in the face of a generation that lives in a grammatically wrong acronym-ridden world.

The film is a great example of how the business of cinema works these days. Identify your audience and make a film that, like the instant food of our time, is easy to cook and effortless to swallow. A well-positioned product in the market, Mere Dad Ki Maruti is good business. But for those who look at cinema as more than just a way to kill two hours at a time, the film may be an un-gratifying experience.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 16, 2013

Disenchanting Illusions

Some may call it a prequel to one of cinema's most celebrated fairytale stories; but, Sam Raimi's Oz The Great And Powerful is a visual delight that nobody ordered. Playing on the nostalgia of The Wizard Of Oz, the film tries to rope in the experienced viewers by drawing a few parallels with the classic; and at the same time tries to satisfy the younger audience with a little charm of its own.

The story begins in Kansas, where a dubious, self-centered circus magician with large ambitions, ends up on a hot air balloon trapped in a storm. And soon, he finds himself out of his regular life and into the magical realm of Oz. There, he thinks he has stumbled upon a treasure, but as he is introduced to the three witches Theodora, Evanora and Glinda, he realises he will have to earn the treasure. The witches, through his actions, are convinced that he is not the right man for the job and that he will not fulfill the prophecy; however, when the time comes, he rises to the occasion in a regular 'cometh the hour, cometh the man' premise.

The film creates a spectacle large enough to mislead the desired audience into losing track of what they really came to see. The lacklustre story provides no new insights into the realm of Oz and the only question it answers is how the wizard really came to Oz in the first place -- a question that no one really asked in so many years.

On the technical side, the film is pretty strong and is the only reason you can sit through the film with a disengaging plot. There's no value addition in terms of storytelling but the visuals, testimony to Hollywood's increasing tendency to sell spectacles, are entertaining indeed. The ceramic girl is the character that truly engages you and is perhaps one of the most adorable animated characters that you have seen on screen. The tiny girl in a frock, epitomising the metaphor for being fragile, makes you feel protective of her, and speaks volumes of how animation can stimulate strong emotions about things that don't really exist.

Oz The Great And Powerful, like its protagonist, is a circus magician. He has a lot of tricks to offer and has an innate knack of making a presentation. But deep inside you always know that it isn't real magic.

Rating - 2 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 9, 2013

This Time It's Personal

Between Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster and its sequel that released yesterday, a lot has changed for Tigmanshu Dhulia. First and foremost, he has become a known face, thanks to his negative role in last year's Anurag Kashyap epic Gangs of Wasseypur as Ramadhir Singh. And how could anybody forget Ramadhir's comment, "Jab tak iss desh mein saneema hai, public c****ya banti rahegi." On that background, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns is a treat for all the cine-phile c****yas.

Set on the backdrop of the division of Uttar Pradesh, the film uses the political scenario as a subplot to engage you in a war that is very personal. Picking up from where he left in the first film, Tigmanshu begins the sequel with wheelchairridden Saheb; who intends to marry Ranjana (Soha Ali Khan), a Rajput heiress, for progeny. Ranjana however, is in love with gangster Indrajeet Singh; whose aim is to avenge his family's lost heritage by killing Saheb. On the other side is the biwi, Madhavi Devi (Mahie Gill), a puppet MLA, trying hard to play the game by her own rules. By now, you find yourself in a web of interpersonal conflicts and as the film progresses, you only go deeper into this web, which then consumes you.

Unlike the first part, this film has no shortage of great performances. Irrfan Khan, who has worked with Tigmanshu in Paan Singh Tomar, continues charming audiences with his act as a Rajput. Jimmy Sheirgill puts in a brilliant performance and outlines the journey of Saheb as he reemerges to power with the right amount of conceit and flamboyance. Mahie Gill fits the bill as the neglected, disrespected wife; but it is sad to see her getting typecast in such roles. Soha Ali Khan pitches in with what is perhaps her best work on the screen and Pravesh, who makes his debut, is a little stagnant but bearable.

The film is composed brilliantly with specific motifs for every character and scores full marks on its microstructure. Unfortunately, what the film lacks is the same elements that were missing in the previous film too. The music is just not up to the mark. An unnecessary item number by Mugdha Godse does nothing but add to the duration of the film and another song in the film simply reminds you of Aarambh from Gulaal. If you cover your ears a little and ignore the lyrics, you will find the similarities.

The second shortcoming is the production value of the film. In some places, the costumes just don't look royal enough and create a paradox. However, made on a comparatively low budget, the film does convey a lot through its sets, which stand for the fallen prestige of India's royal families.

Through Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns, Tigmanshu Dhulia brings you a thriller, political drama with a grownup romance and a tale of heartbreak at the bottom of it. The film makes you identify with the characters, take sides and as it progresses, introduces a predicament which may make you want to change sides. Engaging to say the least, this will go down as one of this year's better Hindi films.

Rating - 3.5 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 9, 2013

I, Me aur Meh!

A film whose basic premise is primarily a mother saying “I should have slapped you long ago” to her son; Kapil Sharma's I, Me aur Main is a moral in search of a story. Starring John Abraham, Chitrangda Singh and Prachi Desai; the film is all gloss and hardly any substance.

The film opens with a scene where a small boy gets undue support from his mother in a petty play-time quarrel with his sister over the possession of a paper-plane. With that one instance, the director assumes that he has drawn a perfect character sketch as the film jumps 25 years to show what has become of this spoilt little child. Now in a committed relationship, Ishaan Sabharwal (John) is still childish in his approach to life, yet manages being conceited and selfish. Fed up of putting up with such a guy, his girlfriend, Anushka (Chitrangda), puts her foot down and ends the relationship. Ishaan moves to a different apartment, where he meets Gauri (Prachi), a designer and a chirpy young girl, who he gradually falls in love with. But just as he feels he has moved on, his past catches up with unfulfilled commitments. The film explores whether or not Ishaan lives up to his dilemma and whether or not he does the right thing.

With an undulating story which feels like haphazard chunks of events pasted together; the film, from start to finish, has an air of inconsistency about it. A poorly written screenplay which does not aid the mediocre story at all, quite visibly falters with a lot of important details either left to imagination or simply revealed in a verbose manner, through the ordinary and seemingly choreographed dialogues. The characters are extremely shallow and you feel no connect to them; especially because you feel no connect between the characters themselves. At times, scenes go by and you wonder whether the characters are playing that game where every other person has to say something entirely unrelated to what the first person said.

The one word that best describes this film is confusion. Confusion of dialogues, confusion of the relationship dynamics of the characters and confusion from a directorial point of view in knowing what the motives of his characters are. This, coupled with casual performances from the cast have severely dented this film. Zarina Wahab and Chitrangda Singh are fairly ordinary, owing to the lack of depth of their characters. Prachi Desai's character of Gauri seems to have received a one word brief – hyperactive. And John Abraham has done his job by bringing his face and abs on the poster to sell tickets.

Overall, the film is so loose in its structure; that you don't feel like you've just watched one single film. A few cute scenes in isolated parts of the film aside, the missing link in the narrative, that binds the film together is quite evident. And after four good Fridays at the box office, this, coupled with RGV's The Attacks of 26/11, means a gloomy weekend at the theatres.

Rating - 1.5 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 2, 2013