LOVE AAJ KAL - Movie Review : Starts off maturely, entertains in parts and ends with a routine drama. (Review by Bobby Sing)

A film with gigantic expectations and a highly popular soundtrack opens with the young college going crowd hitting the multiplexes in great numbers. And as the movie starts, they are all set to have a good time, seeing their favorite stars romancing on the screen with a fresh approach. As a welcome change, the freshness is there, the direction is mature and the treatment is novel. But the movie entertains in parts and ends up with a routine kind of drama towards its climax, leaving a mixed kind of impact on the viewer.

The first hour of the movie moves at a jet speed, with the lead pair, Saif & Deepika, falling in love and thinking about their affair in pure practical terms. Imitaz Ali scores the maximum in this brilliantly directed part where he sincerely tries to explain the complexities felt by the young couples from the current generation. The problem of choice between career and love is portrayed beautifully with some well written dialogues and impressive scenes in the first half. And with the entry of Rishi Kapoor, playing the old lovable Sikh character, we are taken back into another love story happening in 1965, with two completely different characters on the screen.

This promising start makes you feel better and you start expecting a lot more coming in the later reels. But gradually as both the lover stories progress, the movie starts moving towards the same old romantic formula where the hero realizes his mistake towards the end and then decides to get back his lady love at any cost. The second half, though has its own cinematic moments, but still fails to make a better impact than the first hour. Like, the transformation of Saif from an ambitious engineer to a desperate lover is brilliantly captured in a single song. But I feel, Imtiaz should have thought of another unique and novel climax rather than moving into the same old arena as in “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na“, “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” or “Woh Saat Din”.

Performance wise both Saif & Deepika excel themselves giving their career best acts. Saif especially looks more convincing in the second half both in the role of a passionate Sikh lover and a desperate modern man tired of his ambitions. In the first half he is the same old Saif like in “Hum-Tum”. Deepika shows more glimpses of her hidden acting talent but still looks like holding herself in the freaking out scenes (like the drunken act). Rishi Kapoor is impressively super cool getting less attention towards the climax. Rahul Khanna has nothing much to do in his few scenes. Neetu Kapoor making a guest appearance in the last minute is a treat for the eyes. The unknown actress playing the young girl from the 1965 era, leaves a calm impact with her simple yet beautiful looks.

The soundtrack is already a huge Hit with foot tapping numbers and well sung songs coming once again from the Hit machine, Pritam. “Twist” is the best of the lot and “Kade Tan Has Bol Ve” is arranged well in an interesting style. This Punjabi song is originally sung by Shaukat Ali from Pakistan. The songs have been both shot & choreographed energetically. Cinematography and Art Direction is impressive as it captures both the eras of 1965 and 2009 with a creative touch. Editing is fast and crisp merging both the love stories innovatively.

The 1960s part of the movie is finely executed with wisely chosen locations, valid props and relevant costumes. But the Sikh characters are a little overdone in certain sequences, which should have been avoided. Saif himself playing the young Rishi Kapoor also might confuse certain viewers. The “Break-up Party” scenes are good but the movie is less appealing to the smaller centers with urban humor incorporated in large dosages. On the whole, “Love Aaj Kal”, is fresh in treatment and high on music. It makes you smile in the first half and manages to entertain in parts. But the second half and climax takes you onto the same old journey based on the Hit Bollywood formula. In short, Imitaz & Saif come up with a somehow polished product, with an exception of a routine ending seen many times before.

Ratings : 2.5 / 5

(Originally Posted at www.bobbytalkscinema.com)

LUCK - Movie Review : A spineless thriller without any basic script. (Review by Bobby Sing)

Indian Cinema has unarguably proved its mastery over the genre of drama and comedy in the past decades. But if we look upon the thrillers made in our part of the world, then there is still lot to achieve as per the International Standards. “Luck” also falls in the same category of thriller movies based on weak scripts relying heavily on its huge star-cast and exciting action sequences. In fact, here we have a movie, made only on an idea of human life being used in the betting mafia and has no basic script heading towards any particular event.

The movie starts off excitingly, introducing Sanjay Dutt as the Don of betting trade participating in a dangerous death race himself. And then the background narration (by Danny) unfolds the entire star-cast with their different individual sequences. Actually, these are those needy people, chosen to play the dangerous life taking games arranged by the betting Don. But surprisingly this introduction chain exceeds its desired limits and continues till we reach the Intermission. In short the first half is only about the Introductions and has nothing in terms of story or content.

So, all expectations are set for an engrossing second half, showcasing a grand thrilling event and a great exciting climax. But sadly nothing goes as expected and we are only made to witness some unexplained and uninteresting sequences leading to nowhere. Usually in a script where few characters are brought together for a purpose, everything moves towards a specific event or a plan which has a great excitement value. But in “Luck”, there is neither any striking spectacular event nor a crescendo kind of impact, building towards its climax. The writers are only interested in talking about the idea of betting mafia playing games involving human lives and that’s it.

In order to give it an International look, director Soham, emphasizes more on the glossy and technical aspect of the project and less on its lackluster content and storyline. As a result, the movie based on a groundless script, gives no opportunity to any artist in particular to prove his art. In fact, one wonders why veteran artists like Sanjay Dutt and Danny opted for this movie with no great roles written for them. Sanjay, though looks great as the Don, has got nothing new to deliver other than the usual Bhai stuff. Danny is simply, mis-cast as the Sutradhar or the person responsible for getting every player together.

Imran, with a great fan following should be more careful in choosing his projects as this will be his second movie in a row, which fails to impress. Shruti Hassan, who comes just before the intermission, has got great screen presence, but should work on her dialogue delivery as she sounds uncomfortable speaking her Hindi lines. And there was really no need of her Bikini act in the movie as “the script never demanded it”.

Mithun Da is completely wasted. He unconvincingly uses his famous dialogue “Koi Shaque” from “Ghulami”, which simply fails to generate the similar impact as in the original. Above all, both Ravi Kishan and Chitrashi are able to impress the most with their splendid performances. Among the songs added for some glamour value, only “Aazma Luck” impresses to some extent. Background score on the other hand serves the purpose perfectly. Cinematography brilliantly captures the well directed action sequences both in the air and below the water. But their brilliance goes in vain, in absence of a good storyline and captivating writing.

So, for thrillers fans, the movie may be below their expectations, with no great excitement or special unique points to mention here. And if you are a real movie buff then you surely must have seen many better flicks in the same genre before.

Ratings : 1 / 5

(Originally Posted at www.bobbytalkscinema.com)

JASHNN - Movie Review : A stale love story lacking entertainment. (Review by Bobby Sing)

Vishesh Films and Bhatt brothers are known for their successful track record of intense and musical love stories. But their latest movie “Jashnn” does not have the content to impress, as expected from the reputed production house. The movie, which falls in the same genre of “Rock On”, has got a very routine & uninspiring treatment given by the director duo Hasnain –Raksha. And therefore has nothing new or surprising in the offering for the viewers.

From the first scene itself, you can sense that this is a story of a not so rich, wannabe singer who will fall in love with a wealthy girl. But still, since the movie comes from the Bhatt banner, one keeps waiting for some unpredictable sub plots to unfold on the screen. Sadly, nothing happens, and the movie goes on & on with many lifeless sequences, shot in a usual way. In other words, the film lacks the high excitement level, required for an intense musical love story (especially if coming from the Bhatts).

In real terms, apart from some well acted emotional scenes, the movie fails to hold your interest both in pre and post interval segments. The first half is the same, as seen in several love stories before, where the love blossoms between a rich girl and a struggling boy. And the second half, is even more tiring with many unwanted and lengthy scenes asking for a better edit. Unlike their (Vishesh Films) previous hits, “Jashnn” also has a completely uninspiring climax showing a lackluster contest being won by the hero in a very jaded style. So, content wise, the movie scores too low at its entertainment quotient and has no unique special point to mention.

However, performance wise it has a brighter side, with a few well written and brilliantly acted scenes between Adhyayan Suman & Shahana Goswami playing brother and sister in the movie. Their powerful confrontation dialogues make you remember the great intensity seen in the old & famous masterpieces from Mahesh Bhatt. And this is the only worth mentioning point of an otherwise unentertaining movie coming from the Bhatt camp. Adhyayan Suman shows the spark, but only in a few particular scenes. Hence, he still has to work hard to score a perfect 10. Anjana Sukhani looks cute and fresh, giving her best to a routine role. Humayun Saeed is a complete surprise delivering an unexpectedly fine act. But the best one again comes from Shahana Goswami, who is simply superb and growing better with every new film of her.

In the music department too, “Jashnn” fails to make a stronger impact as expected. With only one or two worth listening songs, it does not have the right tracks required for a musical love story. And the same can be said about its cinematography, which is just fine and normal. But here I will surely like to mention a major flaw in the script and direction, observed towards the climax. Throughout the movie, Adhyayan is shown to be having a musical band with 3 more friends. But strangely, in the climax contest, he decides to perform a solo song, keeping all his three band members aside. Even if he arrived late in the contest, how could he perform a solo number simply ignoring his other 3 members of the band, selfishly? That was indeed a great thought by the writer and director for their climax.

Summing up, if you go by the reputation of “Vishesh Films”, then “Jashnn” is surely a disappointment, with only one silver lining in the black clouds and that’s Shahana Goswami’s performance.

Ratings : 1 / 5

(Originally Posted at www.bobbytalkscinema.com)

SANKAT CITY - Movie Review : A pleasant surprise in a small package on the lines of “Ek Chalis Ki Last Local”. (Review by Bobby Sing)

In a week, where the big banner has failed to deliver, here comes an entertainer in a small package. “Sankat City”, directed by Pankaj Advani, is a comedy cum thriller, capable of impressing both the critiques and the viewers who are in search of something out of the routine. It’s a roller coaster ride with enjoyable sequences and well written scenes along with splendid performances by the entire star-cast.

The movie takes off slowly, creating the required ambience for its characters to establish themselves. And after 15 initial minutes, it drags you in and starts entertaining with its superb enthralling narration. The story moves around a few amusing characters who all have to pay back huge amount of money to a big Gangster of the town. Now how they all manage to arrange that money, which keeps changing hands every five minutes, is the small gist of the movie.

The first half moves on an electrifying pace as compared to the later. The second half has only few minutes of dragging and predictable scenes but then it also picks up the pace, progressing towards an engrossing and surprising climax. Sequences related to various characters are interconnected superbly, backed by some great skillful writing. The star-case ensemble has everyone giving a worth watching performance in their own respective roles. The most entertaining one comes from Dilip Prabhawalkar, as the old man who is a master in re-painting the stolen cars. Kay Kay Menon as the car thief impresses once again with his effortless act. Anupam Kher bounces back with his famous comic timing as the big Gangster. Rimi Sen looks cool and convincing playing the con woman. Chunky Pandey (the actor), Manoj Pahwa (the producer), Yashpal Sharma (the businessman), Rahul Dev (the contract killer) and Virendera Saxena (the imposter Godman), all leave a good impact in their brief roles.

Musically, it has only a few songs, used briefly along with the moving storyline. So, they don’t act as an obstacle in the high paced drama. Cinematography is simply basic, with no special gimmick or lighting used to enhance the scenes. But even then, the director keeps you glued to your seats with his interesting and unexpected twists and turns in the story. The intelligent remarks on fake religious figures and sexual fantasies are a treat to watch in this black comedy. Though it also has some major flaws in the storyline but the fast proceedings on the screen don’t give you the moment to think about them.

In short, if you love the genre of thrillers without heavy action, relying more on conspiracies, plans and last minute upsets, then “Sankat City” will not disappoint you, if given a chance. It’s a brilliant take on conmen, media world and gangsters on the similar lines of “Ek Chalis Ki Last Local”. A must watch as the small surprise package of the season.

Ratings : 3 / 5

(Originally posted at WWW.BOBBYTALKSCINEMA.COM)

SHORTKUT - Movie Review : A poor comedy which discloses its humor plot after two hours. (Review by Bobby Sing)

Anil Kapoor Production comes up with a poorly executed, so called comedy, which doesn’t even a single comic sequence to talk about. In fact it simply should not be called a comedy at all, since the main plot with the actual fun element unbelievably comes after 2 long hours in the film. And before that you are enforced to see all the boring, predictable and badly written scenes which completely fail to generate any kind of interest in the viewers.

The first half talks about friends betraying each other and a stolen script which makes the career of Arshad Warsi and ruins the future of Akshay Khanna. Along with this, the love angle has Amrita Rao playing a well known actress and Chunky Pandey playing the acting guru, managing Arshad Warsi’s filmi career. In spite of having a bollywood based concept, the movie doesn’t excite you at all and even makes you feel uneasy watching the dull and unentertaining portrayal of the movie world. Moreover it is also quite weird to see Amrita Rao dancing with veterans, Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt in a routine item song. Amrita just looks like a tiny young girl caught between two huge grown up giants on the dancing floor.

Director Neeraj Vora, who is known for some worth mentioning associations in his career, delivers a very childish kind of product having nothing to offer in the name of comedy. Aneez Bazmee, the writer, seems to have written the project in his extra time without any special efforts put in for entertainment. And due to this lack of spirit in the project, all the actors fail to deliver any noticeable performance in the movie, acting simply as their routine job.

Arshad Warsi, tends to go overboard this time and is not able to entertain. Akshay Khanna is again loud as seen in some of his earlier performances. Chunky Pandey opts for more hamming in his scenes and that too without any comedy. Amrita Rao, finally decides to shed a few clothes and agrees to become the glamour element in the movie (though she signs only few good projects..?). The rest of the cast is just there as needed with only one sweet performance by Tiku Talsania, who plays the soft hearted movie producer helping Akshay. Cinematography and Music department has got nothing new to offer other than the usual stuff. Hence, a good catchy song needed to push a big project now a days, was surely missing.

Story wise, the plot did have the required punch for a comedy, but it was not incorporated properly as expected from the director Neeraj Vora. The movie keeps on swinging between various genres as a pendulum. And in the first half it more looks like an emotional drama than a comedy. Actually, the main comic part of the movie starts just before the climax when Akshay decides to complete his movie in an unusual style. But till then it becomes too late to cover up the mess.

However, may be this main comedy plot in the story, was pushed deliberately towards the end, since it is highly inspired from the movie “Bowfinger” released in 1999. Even the tag line “The Con is on” is also borrowed as it is from the English Comedy featuring Steve Martin & Eddie Murphy.

With “Global Awareness” regarding Indian Movies, growing stronger than ever before, the producers may have decided to use less of the inspired plot, adding more new angles into the storyline. In any case, the main point is that the most entertaining part of the story, which could have resulted in a good comedy, has been strangely used only towards the climax. And due to that, the movie cannot be tagged merely as a Bollywood Comedy from any angle.

Officially “Shortkut” is said to be the remake of a Malayalam movie “Udayananu Tharam”. But that too was released in 2005, much later than “Bowfinger” which came in 1999. So here’s another movie from a big production house with a stamp of “Inspired One”. If asked for a recommendation, I would simply request to opt something else for an entertaining weekend this time.

Ratings : 1 / 5

(ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WWW.BOBBYTALKSCINEMA.COM)

KAMBAKKHT ISHQ - Movie Review : Akshay is finally back in form but could not hit a clear six. (Review by Bobby Sing)

One of the most awaited films of the year, with the terrific pair of Akshay & Kareena, opens with great excitement, whistles and cheers. The viewers are really desperate to see some quality work which can be unanimously acclaimed by both critiques and the general public. But once again, Bollywood delivers a half baked product called “Kambakkht Ishq” which has an enjoyable and entertaining first half but miserably fails to sustain the same energy in the second.

The director Sabbir Khan starts off shiningly and straight away comes to the point. Introducing all the lead characters in the first five minutes only, he brilliantly directs the opening sequence of a church wedding, where Akshay & Kareena have their first verbal clash. From here on you start expecting more entertaining stuff coming down the lane related to the battle of the sexes, but sadly you are not served a better dish later on.

The good news for all Akshay Kumar’s fans is that he is back in form with his impeccable comic timing in the first half. Portraying the role of a Hollywood Stuntman, he is simply superb, fighting with Kareena in his own freak out style, trying to prove the supremacy of men over women. And equally good is the ravishing Kareena Kapoor who tends to burn the silver screen with her electrifying hot persona. In fact Kareena is only one, who truly deserves the title of “Bollywood Diva” among her current Bollywood contemporaries. Her performance in the movie also proves the immense acting talent she has, as expected from a lady from the Kapoor Family.

So, the first half is high on entertainment where you keep on enjoying the scenes even when there is no story being developed. As seen in Akshay’s last successful movies, this one also has no story plot as such and the movie revolves around only an idea of a Hollywood Stuntman having an affair with a hard to convince girl. The second half talks more about the love affair and the emotional misunderstanding between the characters, which unfortunately falls flat as compared to the initial moments of the movie. Though from the scripting point of view, post interval the movie has a very interesting plot where Akshay is hearing “Om Mangalam” mantra everywhere around him, due to an alarm clock left in his body during an operation. But the writers couldn’t develop the hilarious plot for long, which could have been the highlight of the movie. In short, the director loses the grip in the later part, which may have a negative impact on the box office performance of “Kambakkht Ishq”.

Coming to the grand budget of the movie, it had a highly supportive producer who actually spent more than required on the project, to make it look glossy, majestic and larger than life. And the movie does have the Royal look with all those famous Hollywood actors featuring in it for the first time. Though, it gives you a feeling that it was all done for bringing in the international audiences, still the foreign Icons have performed pretty well more than what was being expected. Among the three, Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards, the most famous in India is THE RAMBO (Sylvester Stallone), who also gets the maximum scenes in the movie. Brandon and Denise are just fine in their short cameos, but Stallone is super cool in his scenes and leaves an impression.

In the supporting cast, Aftab Shivdasani and Amrita Arora play their roles perfectly. Javed Jaffery and Kiron Kher are cast in an underwritten role giving them the same characters which they have already played in many of their previous movies. Boman Irani is completely wasted in a one scene performance and Vindu Singh, surprisingly comes up with a calm comic performance. Annu Malik’s music does have a new sound but the compositions still have his unique Annu stamp written all over them. Out of the numbers being played all over, only the title song by RDB has the right groove and beat to catch on. “Bebo Main Bebo” is not as enjoyable as projected by its promos on air. Cinematography is first rate capturing the Hollywood Studios, Kodak Theater and the grandeur of the subject magnificently.

Talking about the drawbacks of “Kambakhht Ishq”, there are many to state, but since it’s a comic movie made only with an intention to entertain without any social message, so logic has to be kept aside for this particular genre. The movie goes on the similar lines of “Welcome” and “Singh Is Kinng”, having a very weak script but an enjoyable narration with entertaining moments. This time, we have a flick surely better than “Chandni Chowk To China” but still not a clear winner all the way.

However there were some major flaws in the movie which should have been looked upon importantly. Firstly, in a movie based on the life of a Hollywood Stuntman, you don’t find any amazing stunts and action sequences performed by Akshay Kumar. All the fight sequences are too fast, routine and executed in a clumsy manner. Secondly, it was quite strange to find out that Kareena Kapoor is actually there as a professional surgeon in the movie, whereas in all the promotional campaigns she was shown as a Top Model. She only does one modeling assignment in the movie and that too for raising funds to pay her medical fees.

In a nutshell, “Kambakkht Ishq” falls in the same genre of senseless movies, based on a thin plot, made only with a motive to entertain. It is also said to be the remake of a Tamil film “Pammal K. Sambandam” (2002) featuring Kamal Hassan & Simran which was a huge Hit in the south. Regarding its Hindi version, the excited fans of Akshay & Kareena are sure going to have a good time, but the rest may not take it in high spirits. In other words, Akshay is finally, back in form but could not hit a clear six.

Ratings : 2.5 / 5

(ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WWW.BOBBYTALKSCINEMA.COM)