COCKTAIL

If you got nothing to do, get yourself a cocktail. And by Cocktail, I’m referring to the drink, not the film!

Caught between friendship and love are three distinct characters- wild and carefree Veronica (Deepika Padukone), casanova Gautam(Saif Ali Khan) and the typical Indian girl Meera(Diana Penty). Who ends up with whom?

The film has neither sincerity nor an entertaining value. It rests way too much on Veronica’s sexy and wild avatar.  Deepika Padukone plays Veronica with the right oomph and power, but falls low on scenes that require her to actually act. Saif Ali Khan does what he is good at onscreen- flirting at first, remaining confused next and falling in love finally- but at least choose a good film to do that in, man! Perhaps a younger actor could have done a better job. Diana Penty may have acted well, but the script and the film grab our attention more, which is unfortunate.

Director Homi Adajania depicts his guts in making a boring, melodramatic and obsolete film in today’s times when films at least attempt to prove that they are different. He shows no signs of realization of doing this, whatsoever. Being worthy of notice however are some of the special effects- Discotheque scenes, fast paced camera movements and flickering lights strive to stylize the film. The dialogues can constantly remind you of who one of the writers of the film is, but that does not help either. Don’t expect the climax to be any different from Love Aaj Kal, excepting the fact that there is hardly the charm or enduringness of it.

Dimple Kapadia and Boman Irani seem to be victims of a second hand script. Attempts at humor appear desperate- what else explains Saif in a women’s wear dancing to Shiela Ki Jawaani! Very few gags are worth a laugh. Music (Pritam) provides relief only at times. The song that truly possesses the spark is Tum Hi Ho Bandhu, which is why it is out of sync with the film!

You can watch it for a sizzling Deepika Padukone. Not much.

RATING- 1 star

BOL BACHCHAN

When comedy film directors depict melodrama, you are left thinking a-joke-is-up-his-sleeve! Now they seem to be leveraging on that thought. Be it Rohit Shetty or Sajid Khan they seem to be depicting an amazing connection between melodrama and comedy – melody!

Left cheated by a family member, Abbas Ali (Abhishek Bachchan) and his sister Sania (Asin) come to the beautiful village of Ranakpur in Rajasthan. Abbas finds work under the most powerful man, Prithviraj Raghuvamshi (Ajay Devgn) who believes in ethics and hates lies. Little does he know that Abbas has not one but a thousand lies up his sleeve!

A scene in the movie shows Devgn and Bachchan encircled by innumerable goons against whom they fight- a few dhishum dhishum and lots off sound effects later, the baddie’s are left injured halfway in the air in a circle in slow motion! If you can laugh there, you’ve got the nerve of the film.

Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan depict right in the beginning that they are the heroes, root upon them and you shall win! Needless to say, they both give very good performances as they set in the tenor of the film. Abhishek deserves praise for his gay act as Abbas Ali- after all he possesses a prior experience (Dostana). He gets it all, from body language to comic timing. The sound of Prithviraj hitting hard his tattooed chest can make you wonder if he has gulped down a microphone! However it has the shtyle, so does his Englis! If a scene begins to take a dip, an ingredient is immediately added to tickle your bone. The element of humor sustains the film well. Leading ladies Asin and Prachi Desai give decent performances but the lady who grabs attention is Archana Puran Singh who performs impeccably- Be it the ‘mehfil ki shaan, Zohra’ or playing the ‘maa’ with long grey dyed hair, her expressions deserve applause.

Of course there is lots of destruction, shattering, explosion and all the noise that comes with it. The director shows keen interest in blowing up vehicles, crashing shops and making apt usage of ladder, pole or anything handy along with the thrashing shots! Special effects+Slow motion= IStyle! 

The title song featuring the legendary Amitabh Bachchan cannot not leave an impact. He is symbolic of power, an entertainer in true spirit. The conceptualization of the song, choreography and lighting add glamour. Talking of music, we surely never thought of rhyming jaan, baan and praan! - Perfect for the film.

Never does the film promise utmost originality, but does believe in a plot and comedy. The climax might remind you of not just one but two Anees Bazmee films, but look how unabashed the film is about doing it! Anything, for that smile and that laugh.

It’s a Rohit Shetty film- anything can happen. The VFX artists can blow off a car without people in it and expect you to believe that people are in it. It’s a Rohit Shetty film- anything can happen.

Go to watch the Bachchan dance­ – A 'kathak' performance you better not miss!

RATING – 3 stars

SHANGHAI

Lets hope that director Dibakar Banerjee shall watch his own film, say, ten years later and actually wonder- What the hell’s happening?!” At least then he would realize what he made the audience go through! He seems to have got too inspired by watching VB’s Kaminey the very first time!

 IPS officer T.A. Krishnan (Abhay Deol) is in charge of an attempt-to-murder case that is dubbed to be an accident by corrupt officials. Shalini, the victim’s cousin (Kalki Koechlin) and Joginder, a videographer (Emraan Hashmi) play a key role in finding evidences. Will they succeed?

Shanghai has the typical small town flavor- an ambience of local stores, rural folks, mud, desi dances, gullible mob, political prevalence, unscrupulous officials, ludicrous English etc. Several hand-held camera shots add value to story telling. There is no particular development in any character; incidents are the tool of story building. The execution of the film captures its essence with the climax doing little. There are interesting points that unfortunately don’t last long. There is not much humor, but the little attempts at it are pretty successful. The one mentioning Ramdev Baba could not have had a better timing!

 If there is something evidently missing, it is good music. Bharat Mata Ki Jai has a transitory effect.

 Kalki Koechlin well depicts an unbalanced state of mind. Emraan Hashmi adds good humor. The gold tooth perhaps was meant to be our substitute for a golden script! Abhay Deol does a fantastic job. His silence speaks and so do his words!

 'Shanghai' is a classy name for a not-that-classy film! Now isn’t that quite like classy promises for not-that-classy attempts?!

 RATING- 3 stars

HOUSEFULL 2

Akshay Kumar, Asin, Rishi Kapoor, John Abraham, Jaqueline Fernandez, Randhir Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Zarine Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Shreyas Talpade, Shazahn Padamsee, Boman Irani, Johny Lever, Chunky Pandey and eh, Ranjeet! This one’s definitely got to be HOUSEFULL too !!!

So firstly, this is simply a stupendous script. But do not expect everything or sometimes anything to be original! Sajid Nadiadwala’s story and Sajid Khan’s complements however, leave you in splits. The dialogues are hilarious, direction is outstanding, songs have the most perfect entry, not one character goes futile and not a single situation is rendered useless. There is apt usage of rivalry, melodrama, romance, action and comedy. If Confusion is like alchemy here then no prizes for guessing the alchemist!

Step brothers Chintu Kapoor (Rishi Kapoor) & Dabboo Kapoor (Randhir Kapoor) hate each other. Akhiri Pasta (Chunkey Pandey) who is a marriage counselor is summoned to find the best (read richest) son in law for their respective daughters. Pasta’s ‘joking’ creates misunderstanding and leads to Jai (Shreyas Talpade) with help of Jolly (Riteish Deshmukh) hiring two of their old college pals Sunny (Akshay Kumar) and Max (John Abraham) to revenge Mr Chintu. The duo is to beguile Henna (Asin) and Bobby (Jaqueline). Which of the two Kapoors shall succeed in getting his daughter married to the rich JD (Mithun)’s son, Jolly? Batuk Patel (Boman Irani) shares his own piece of history with JD, his friend. Will the girls get their love amidst all the confusion? If yes, then how?

The film is very well paced. The story escalates beautifully leaving you intrigued in the present situation. The script does justice to each of the notable actors, which is a commendable achievement given the talented star-cast. The songs of the movie are just right. The hilarious “Papa toh band bajaye” has been effectively used throughout the film. “Anarkali” commences befittingly. The action sequences are interesting and entertaining.

Almost every actor acts brilliantly. Sajid Khan probably knows his role only too well. Asin and Jaqueline rise way above the average glam doll act. Shazahn and Zarine too perform pretty well with the latter catching more attention. The male performances are terrific. John Abraham has definitely improved and how! Johnny Lever and Chunky Pandey are mini atom-bombs of humor. Watch Johny shut up Chunky’s “Im-a-joking” in the climax-LOL. Alright, so hero time, never, has anyone made lechery look this good-Akshay Kumar! His comic scenes are,eh, so well done that ordinary lines turn extra-ordinary. Watch him laugh or cry,eh, he is simply a pleasure to the eye!

Overall, the film ranks high on fun and entertainment quotient. The climax is much more improvised and skillful compared to what was in the prequel. This is one jolly movie. (Well, not literally!)

And by chance, if you want to apply brains, then better get your textbooks out & study!
RATING- 3.5 stars

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

If the title just reminded you of the Rishi-Neetu musical then stop. The film isn’t that enchanting!! It is a pleasant entertainer no doubt but for the climax that impetuously claims to be ‘different’!

Rahul Kapoor (Imran Khan) is an architect and a compliant son. Riana Braganza (Kareena Kapoor) is a carefree, open-minded and optimistic hair stylist. Both are jobless and a night in bar gets them talli enough to get hitched. As they decide to annul their marriage, a friendship develops that enables them to cognize each other. Journey of life makes them travel from Vegas to India.

There are just two good things about the film. One, characterization- the director depicts how a person’s surroundings and circumstances influence his attitude in life. Two, performances- Imran gives a splendid performance. Bebo too does so barring a very few scenes.

The film has a good sense of humor. Imran Khan is particularly cute. He gets the skin of his character. Kareena Kapoor is a white beauty though she does look less like Imran’s heroine & more like his brother ki dulhan! However the script justifies that. Ratna Pathak Shah and Boman Irani are wonderful actors.

Music director Amit Trivedi does an appreciable job with the background score, but his soundtrack does not rise above the peppy Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu. Sadly even this song has not been used to its best.

New time director, Shakun Batra has a very good grip over the story. He deserves applause for convincing characterization of every character. His film is crisp but for the ending. The melodrama towards the near-ending gets a little boring which probably the director realizes and brings in a ‘change’at the acme!

The movie ends on quite a friendly note… After all, “Pyaar dosti hai, love is friendship.” What an absolutely delightful thought!

RATING- 3 stars

DON 2

You may want to call it Dhoom! Yes, the Shahrukh Khan starrer DON 2 resembles the YashRaj series of films on stylized heist carried out by the lead protagonist himself. Now it’s great watching Shahrukh perform those energetic stunts and flaunt his muscles in the process, but come to think of it actually- Why does the DON have to do so much stuff all by himself? It begins to look heroic than Don-ic!

Don gets himself arrested and goes to a jail which is now the residence of Vardhan(Boman Irani). Roma (Priyanka Chopra) is very happy to see Don jailed. Vardhan is the key to an important tape which can turn Don into a billionaire. He escapes the jail along with Vardhan to black mail the President of a German bank. He then goes on to scheme a magnanimous and nearly namumkin robbery of money printing plates. Meanwhile detectives Mallik(Om Puri) and Roma and are busy hunting Don. Don’s current girlfriend, Ayesha (Lara Dutta) and a terrific computer hacker, Sameer Ali (Kunal Kapoor) form a part of the plan.

The plot is somewhat too complex to be understood by quite a majority of the audience. And it cleverly sets a fast pace preventing you from trying to spot loopholes! Towards the ending there can be two interpretations- One, DON is a brilliant chess player or two, the writers fool around the audience by the prequel DON type twist(only that this one has some lack of honesty!)

It can be intoxicating to watch SRK smile. So our cute dimpled DON keeps smiling now and then enchanting you. (Who cares if he is a smuggler and does illegal stuff?) He has developed a new style of walk. Wonder if that’s the DON style or those injuries hurt him! (Hope for the former.) Usually, the DON is calmly and stylishly mouthing those Donny dialogues, but the other times when he is supposed to be angry, it’s like he’s just shhh-ed the lead actress who is taking in a lot of stress. So this Don is sweet and cute and nice!

Director Farhan Akhtar seems to have got everything right while building the Don-Roma relationship. And quite a relationship it turns out to be! Priyanka Chopra is extremely good in those scenes. Well, it’s not difficult…loving Shahrukh, is it?

Lara Dutta plays a trivial part well. Kunal Kapoor knows his job. Boman Irani looks submissive in certain parts, but that was probably his role. Farhan Akhtar once again depicts his potential of building suspense in a story too well.

Don2 has a significant style quotient and a charismatic Don which makes it quite a watch.

RATING- 3.5 stars

ROCKSTAR

It’s not just about the story… the manner in which it is presented also holds the power to enthrall. And ask Imtiaz Ali about both!

In the perfect Imtiaz sense, the protagonists exude ‘pagalpan' and wish to do things that perhaps no ‘sane’ person would! Jab We Met had stated “All is fair in love”. Well, Rockstar breathes it.

Janardhan Jakhar(JJ) loves to sing. He is told that only pain in life can make him a great singer. He meets Heer (Nargis Fakhri) in want of a heartbreak. Living in a world that imposes faux morality, incessant love victimizes them both.

Evidently, Rockstar is an enigmatic creation of an artiste. It is meant to be unconventional. It is probably ironical that a film as sophisticated as this is about a character as crudely simple as Janardhan. Films often bring in the "v/s" concept. This guy "v/s" the other- who will the girl choose?, good "v/s" evil- who shall win?, and not very uncommonly, right "v/s" wrong-how will the righteous succeed? Rockstar brings about perspectives. And it is too intelligent to do anything conventional. A frustrated, angry, wounded Jordan sets the perfect tone of rebel, dissent and revolution. Sadda Haq is the heart of the film. Watch Jordan vent out his angst in a true rockstar avatar. Iconoclasts breathe.

Nargis Fakhri has an amazing style of her own. Ranbir Kapoor is fabulous as an innocent Janardhan, a wannabe Jim Morrison, a fun-lover, a brazen artist(who also tears out a contract into pieces and sings out his abuses), guy with a despicable media-image, a frustrated Jordan and essentially a lover. Shammi Kapoor’s cameo contributes finely to this epic.

Music(A R Rahman) of the film is fascinating, lyrics(Irshad Kamil) beautiful. It is not often that one will come across such tracks- bow in respect! Mohit Chauhan's voice creates magic and suits both JJ & Jordan(who are actually not that different from each-other) very well.

This one's sophisticatedly radical, rebellious and bleeds passion! It's intensity can kill. Either you go with the flow, or you don't. But if you do manage to, this would be one of the best, your eyes have witnessed!

RATING- 4.5 stars