Talaash

Bringing alive a world in itself is what director Reema Kagti manages to do with an appreciable panache.

Inspector Shekhawat Suri (Aamir Khan) investigates a case of a mysterious car accident of a filmstar. Suri is also entangled in a complicated private life after having lost his son in past. The incident leaves his wife, Roshni (Rani Mukherjee) in psychological distress as the couple find it hard to forget the mishap. Rosie (Kareena Kapoor), a prostitute lures Suri while helping him in his search.

Tinged with thriller-flavor is a sequence of an unbelievably shocking car accident. A high speeding car takes off a sudden turn for no reason, cuts through the pavement and splashes down straight into the sea, causing an impassioned death. Here on, no looking back. Sudden high paced movements with thundering music recur with a comfortably unforgivable disposition. An ambience of local prostitutes and their dealers sets in contrasting with the A-graded filmstars’s world. Soon the police and his team get down to work as the case clumsily involves the men in brown to polish their grey cells and find link between the two.

The director seems to relish upon a non-existent but yet prevalent chemistry between her leads. Watch out for the glamorous Kapoor trying to entice a conscientious Khan in a virtual amorous encounter. Few apt dialogues and some reticence do the magical trick with near perfection.

A psychological angle that is an amalgam of Suri’s personal and professional life churns mind with curiosity and brings out the essence of the story very well. The writers do a fabulous job of balancing, amalgamating and associating.

Certain segments do seem borrowed possessing a Hollywoodish blend while others leverage upon factors that inevitably entertain. The film does not stipulate any novel message to its audience either. Yet its meticulous screenplay and conviction enable it to do justice with its genre. Certain scenes deserve an applause- for instance, the one in which a disabled man jumps off a train and gets on the shutter of the platform and the one in which Inspector Suri performs the burning ceremony paying his respects.

With a suspicion inducing melodic soundtrack and some very good performances, the thriller ends up being gripping and convincing.

RATING- 4 stars

Jab Tak Hai Jaan

Jab Tak Hai Jaan has a soul only it does not touch! Yash Chopra’s gigantic romantic venture fails to sustain attention and takes a dip more than often.

Samar Anand (Shah Rukh Khan) is a fearless soldier working for the bomb defusing squad of the Indian army. Akira (Anushka Sharma) gets hold of Samar’s diary after the latter saves her from drowning. The diary introduces her to a ten years younger Samar who was in love with Meera (Katrina Kaif). Meera, a billionaire's only daughter too falls for Samar, a waiter. During an accident, she bargains her love life for Samar's life to God. Samar now puts the Almighty  to test by working in the bomb squad. He also secretively desires to forget his past as time does not heal his pain.

Aditya Chopra does an average job with the story. There is sincerity and love but not too many novelties. For instance ~ two accidents, memory loss, memory comes back ~ Get back to that zamaane ki filme!  There are certain good elements no doubt but the trite expressions vouch for a better screen presence.  Director Yash Chopra too gives equal weightage to the the low and high quotients of the script. Had he relished upon the strengths and given upon lots of melodrama, the film could have turned better. 

Some songs are lengthy and could have been edited better. A distinguishing stand-out-point of the film is Samar's conflict with God for it is treated well almost carrying a nostalgia of Chopra's Deewar. The movie heavily rests upon this spiritual quest with thankfully convincing dialogues. Romance seems to have been contemporized considering it is a Shah Rukh Khan film. With the director not giving upon his old stratagem of sentimental drama, it is perhaps sad he had to alter his ways when it came to romance. Further, King Khan’s looks are enough to generate passion and intensity. A King of Hearts badly played!

Anushka enjoys the clichés given to her. She gets into modes that we have already seen her play before. Katrina does an appreciable job and her dance oozes oomph. Neetu Singh is as fabulously natural as ever.

The film does a great deal to its leading actor Shah Rukh Khan. Perhaps the Chopra's are so used to having him around that they don't bother to leverage upon his super-stardom. Maybe the benevolent SRK doesn't mind, but it hurts sentiments of his countless fans. Several times, he is given stereotyped scenes and unfortunate dispositions. He is made to compromise upon his signature statements. Further added is a scene in which Meera refuses to romance him. Now we have seldom seen the superstar get romantically rejected. What novelty!

Nevertheless, Shah Rukh exudes charm and looks great. Pardon the melodramatic elasticity to watch him in the Indian Army attire for he carries it off just too well. His comic scenes click. Watch him call Akira, Kurosawa! 

Its music suits the movie well. Rahman’s musical beats are fantastic with pleasant songs. Here, not everyone knows Punjabi, should be a point noted. Saans is a beautiful creation of Gulzar. Alas the execution of some songs further slows the pace of an improperly edited screenplay.

The latter half gets too busy compensating Akira for her loss of love. Her climax speech turns into an endless preach. Also the ending is not far from predictability. SRK-Katrina’s chemistry is limited to a few scenes. 

No magic! Harsh upon SRK fans!

RATING- 2.5 stars

STUDENT OF THE YEAR

The peculiar part of the movie is how it partly disfavors itself and its title towards climax. While most elements seem very much the characteristic Johar we all like, certain others seem of little depth.

The rich brat Rohan (Varun Dhawan) and a highly ambitious Abhimanyu (Siddharth Malhotra) discord only to become best friends. Rohan’s girlfriend, the fashionable, smart and good hearted Shanaya (Alia Bhatt) soon finds her priorities changing. The Student of The Year competition at Saint Teresa School is declared open. Who shall win?

The director very well depicts emotions – the story of two buddies Rohan and Abhimanyu, Shanaya’s disappointment in Rohan, Abhimanyu’s concern for Shanaya and an ultimate clash between Rohan and Abhimanyu. Melodrama in these areas proves to be the strength of the director. Stylish costumes, trendy locales and appropriate make-up make the three debutants look simply gorgeous. The subtlety and simplicity with which Shanaya and Abhimanyu’s love story is depicted adds beauty. Problem perhaps arises with the fact that the concept of Student of The Year competition is somewhat stale. And this is an integral part of the film that we are looking at as it provides the basis which reasons the emotions of characters.

As debutants, Siddharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan are drop dead brilliant. Alia Bhatt fits in with beauty. She is pleasant to look at, lovable and adorable. The “pretty boys” carry most weight of the film extremely well. Needless to say, the three are stars. Dharma Productions seems to have invested in the right talent. Amongst others, Ronit Roy and Rishi Kapoor give good performances. Others are just as well.

Songs greatly enhance the film. Lavish sets, pretty clothes, choreography, the turns and tinge of melodrama grab attention instantly. One may resent the burning tree sequence of Ishq Wala Love getting removed from the film. Music by Vishal-Shekhar is good.

Overall the story would do better if its tonality could get to be more convincing. A watch for KJo fans nevertheless.

RATING- 3 stars