Movie Reviews and Much More

7 Low-Budget Movies of 2015 that Stole the Limelight with Unconventional Storyline

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sun, 07 Jun 2015 08:12:00 +0000

After a really long spell I am once again blogging about Hindi movies that not just entertain, but also provide some value for money experience. I've always been passionate about Hindi movies that have an unconventional plot, something that the audience don't expect. Hindi film industry or Bollywood as they call it here in India usually sticks to a conventional plot which is so predictable that you can virtually travel in the future and know what's coming up next. This is also because producers want to play safe and want to ensure profit right from the start. A conventional plot, big stars, foot-tapping music and a wide-scale marketing campaign is all that you need to be successful in Bollywood.

Honestly, I am tired of all this, but majority of the Indians still prefer this kind of escapism cinema where sensible scripts take a backseat or at times are absent. However, the Hindi film industry scene is changing as many upcoming and gutsy producers that fuel projects in which they believe. Over past few years, small budget movies are popping up along with big budget movies and it is surprising to see that these small budget movies are doing well. Low budget means low financial risk and these movies sometimes do not have the star power to propel it further, but they have a strong and fresh script that appeals to certain sections of the society. The story itself is the hero along with the vision of the director and some terrific performances by actors that get an opportunity to portray a different role altogether.

Surprisingly, the year 2015 has been the year of low budget movies. Packed with fresh scripts and topped with terrific performances these movies have managed to gained critical acclaim and recover their production and marketing costs.

Here is my list of movies along with trailers with English subtitles. For my international readers, I would recommend, read the content and then view the trailers on YouTube.

Shamitabh

Shamitabh which released in February this year might have a somewhat-weak script, but I give credit to director R. Balki for bringing together an innovative concept on the silver screen. The movie pits megastar Amitabh Bacchan against the superstar-of-the-South Dhanush and while critics have panned the movie, I still vote for the movie, only because of its innovative plot. Well, for my international readers let me inform that Amitabh Bacchan has been ruling the movie industry for 40 years now, and he is known for his deep baritone immortalizing many popular dialogues. The movie sort of pays tribute to his deep baritone. Dhanush on the other hand, has done a fine a job as a mute wanna-be-actor expressing his feelings only through his facial expressions.

The movie revolves around Daanish (Dhanush), a mute, whose childhood dream is to become a Bollywood actor. While he has the passion for acting, he gets rejected every time as he has no voice. He finally bumps into Assistant Director Akshara Pandey (Akshara Hassan) who sees the potential in him. Akshara tries hard to convince her director, but fails. Eventually, she takes Daanish to a voice hospital for a check-up only to find that Daanish's vocal chords are fully paralyzed. However, the doctor advises of using Voice Transfer technology where a chip is fitted inside Daanish's larynx with which another person could transfer his voice into the chip. When the other person speaks into the mic the words seem to come out from Daanish's mouth and all Daanish has to do is lip-sync to make others believe that he can speak. Akshara and Daanish now set out to search for a person that would provide voice.

They come across an old drunkard Amitabh Sinha (Amitabh Bacchan) who also once wanted to be an actor, but was rejected because of his deep baritone. After many negotiations they set up an agreement, Amitabh decides to be a ghost-voice-provider for Daanish and in return would be compensated financially from the money that Daanish would make through movies. They come up with a portmanteau 'Shamitabh' (combining daaniSH-AMITABH). The combine efforts of Daanish's acting skills and Amitabh's voice works like a magic and Daanish becomes a Bollywood sensation hogging the limelight while Amitabh stays in the background without any appreciation. Amitabh who also wanted to be an actor long time realizes that it is because of his baritone that Daanish has risen to fame and therefore he also should get the same appreciation which eventually fuels ego problems and the confrontation begins.

While the movie has the star power factor, but it failed mainly due to weaker script and unwanted songs that break the rhythm of the story. Amitabh Bacchan is a veteran actor who can sleepwalk through any character and he does a fabulous job as an old drunkard with a hint of sarcasm. He delivers sarcastic lines that highlight the darker side of the movie industry. Dhanush is new to Hindi movie industry, but he is not new to South Indian film industry and he delivers as expected. He emotes his feelings through his face as he has no dialogs in the movie.

I certainly recommend this one.

Badlapur

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Badlapur is one movie that received rave reviews across the country. Directed by Sriram Raghavan, it presents the sweet-chocolate-face Varun Dhavan in a darker shade, should I say, 'bitter chocolate' this time. A revenge saga made at a shoestring budget, this one really goes for the kill right from the first scene keeping audience on the edge of their seat.

The movie revolves around Raghu (Varun Dhawan) who is completely shattered from the loss of his wife and his son, who killed accidentally as they become victims of a bank robbery getaway. While he goes into a reclusive life for 15 years, he discovers more about the robbers who were responsible for the death of his wife and son and embarks on a revenge journey that gets darker, twisted and uglier.

With tight script and crisp editing, Badlapur manages to hold the viewers throughout. Varun Dhawan for the first time sheds his college boy image and transforms himself into a mature role as a husband-father who has lost his wife and son at a tender age. On the other side, we have Nawazuddin Siddiqui delivering impeccable performance as one of the robbers. Huma Qureshi also shines in a supporting role adding value to the strong script.

It’s a must watch for those who like tight and crisp revenge-based film.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha

There are countless movies based on love, marriage and the after-marriage crisis, but Dum Laga Ke Haisha is in its own league. Focusing on the concept of arranged marriage and issues related to marrying a fat girl in a funny sarcastic way that tickles your funny bone while making you realize that marriage is more than just external appearances and body size.

The movie focuses on small town life in Haridwar. Prem Prakash Tiwari (Ayushmann Khurrana) owns an audio cassette shop in the local market, struggles in English language and dreams of having a good looking wife. However, under family pressure gets married to an educated, but overweight girl Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar) who aims to become a teacher. Despite all loving attempts from Sandhya, Prem despises her and feels that his life has been ruined forever. The frustration eventually leads to heated exchange of words and relationships get further complicated. How they come out it and hold their marriage together is an interesting part of the movie.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha is shot superbly and showcases the mentality of the men of wanting for good looking educated girl even if they’re uneducated and not so good looking. Ayushmann Khurrana as a small town guy is extremely good along with Bhumi Pednekar who actually had to put on 20 kilos for the role. The supporting cast brilliantly supports the story and keeps you laughing every few minutes.

It’s a must watch family drama. No Action, Pure Comedy Drama.

NH10

Dark and raw NH10 is a sleeper hit of the year. Directed by Navdeep Singh, NH10 showcases the violent crimes in North India as it happens in the real world. There’s no melodrama, no mercy and no sub-plots to divert your attention. The story focuses on a young couple whose road trip goes horribly wrong after an encounter with a group of violent criminals. The title of the movie highlights the 403 kilometers long National Highway 10 (NH10).

Meera (Anushka Sharma) and Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam) are modern corporate executives both focused about their careers and personal lives. They head for a road trip celebrating Meera’s birthday, but on the way they witness a gang abducting a girl and beating up a boy. Things go wrong when Arjun decides to follow the gang to save the girl. After Arjun gets injured by the gang it is all up to Meera to save herself and Arjun and escape from the gang.

While some called NH10 a revenge story, but it is actually loosely based on a real life incident and is an edge of the seat thriller that penetrates fear right in the heart of the audience of what will happen next. Some critics found similarities between NH10 and British thriller Eden Lake, but only certain scenes are similar and not the entire plot. Anushka Sharma not only leads the movie as the protagonist, but also debuts as a producer for this low budget hard-hitting movie.

A must watch only for those who have a strong heart.

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!

If you love solving crimes Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is going to give you a good dose of thrills and suspense that will keep you busy for couple of hours. Based on the fictional detective character by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is just a simple man who has the passion to find the truth. Throughout the movie, he claims that he is not a detective or a cop, but a truth-seeker and he is out there to find the truth.

Set in 1943 Calcutta, during the British regime in India, a top drug gangster is killed, but miraculously he comes back to the town to reclaim his business and to avenge. At the same time, a college student Byomkesh Bakshy (Sushant Singh Rajput) is approached by a classmate Ajit Banerjee (Anand Tiwari) regarding his missing father Bhuvan Banerjee who used to be a top chemist. As Byomkesh digs down the case of finding the missing father of his friend, he is entangled in a web of deceit and politics of local politicians, business community, drug gangsters and local police authorities. The movie plot also combines the Chinese-Japanese war in British India at that time, a potent mixture that only complicates the storyline.

The movie keeps you on the edge of the seat and thinking of who’s the mastermind and whether Byomkesh will be able to solve the case. Sushant Singh Rajput does a marvelous job as Byomkesh Bakshy. Director Dibakar Banerjee manages to create the Calcutta of the 1940s with finesse and the audience gets transported immediately. The rock music with retro story line works really great.

I certainly recommend this to those who love crime thrillers.

Piku

A light-hearted comedy drama that offers complete value for money, Piku managed to steal the hearts of every Indian becoming a box-office hit despite being a low-budget movie. The movie revolves around Piku Banerjee (Deepika Padukone), a Bengali architect (West Bengal is a state on the eastern coast of India and people who hail from West Bengal are called Bengali). She works and lives in New Delhi along with her hypochondriac father Bhashkor Banerjee (Amitabh Bacchan) who has constipation problems and is paranoid that every problems is somehow related to his bowel movements.

Directed by Shoojit Sircar, Piku takes no time to make you laugh and find a place in your heart. It explores the relationship of a father-daughter, where a daughter is frustrated with the tantrums of her old father, but she still loves her and is willing to provide the best comfort and options to keep him happy at any cost. Irrfan Khan as Rana Chaudhary adds well to the father-daughter combination and together these three characters keep the movie lively and funny till the end.

Watch Piku – Its one of the best movies this year.

Tanu Weds Manu Returns

I saved this for the last, the biggest blockbuster so far this year is Tanu Weds Manu Returns. The movie is hilariously funny and it takes off right from the next scene where Tanu Weds Manu (2010 movie) ends. While the 2010 movie focuses on the complex dating issues of the characters, this one focuses on the post-marriage crisis and the issues that come along.

The earlier part ends with Tanu (Kangana Ranaut) marrying Manu (Madhavan). This movie begins four years after the marriage where both the leads cannot stand each other and start bickering and putting up allegations against each other. Eventually, they decide to part ways, but Manu dashes into Kusum (again Kangana Ranaut in a double-role) who is an athlete student with pixie hair-cut and looks like his wife. He thinks she is his wife and follows her, but Kusum eventually tells him that she is not his wife, just a look-alike.

They start meeting and Kusum sympathizes with Manu. On the other hand, Manu falls in love with Kusum, but soon situations turn when Kusum is about to get married to Raja Awasthi (Jimmy Shergill) who was once the boyfriend of his wife (Tanu). Will he be able to do this the second time? Will Tanu go back to his former boyfriend or come back to her husband?

Tanu Weds Manu Returns is armed with a tricky plot and insanely funny dialogues. Director Aanand L. Rai has done a superb job to display the intricacies of relationships and how characters explore the weakness and strengths of each other.

A must watch, but make sure you also watch the 2010 movie first.

My Favorite Songs - Lyrics and Translations

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 08:35:00 +0000

Music is an indispensable part of Bollywood movies. Indians are usually brought up on heavy doses of movie music no matter where they are. When you come down to India, you will find movie songs everywhere. Wedding receptions, festivals, birthday parties, graduation parties, family events, community gatherings and so on. There are millions of songs already and every day there are more songs being released that hit the charts. Some just fade away, some live on forever. I guess since my mother was so much passionate about music, I inherited this love for music and songs from her, but it was only after certain age that I started to differentiate between a crappy and genuinely lyrical song.

Few years ago, I had this friend in Maine, USA and she was so fascinated with India that she wanted to hear Indian songs. I enjoyed every bit of translating songs for her so that she could enjoy that in a better way. Now, that I have a great group here my passion for sharing music has regrown. I created a Gmail account called DjRukie (well, she couldn’t pronounce my name so she called me Rukie) and we used that account only for music sharing. Every email had a song file attached and lyrics (if required), so if we want we can use the same ID again and we all can share our song files here. I can share the password so we all can access it from different locations.

Anyways, I am still going to share some of my favorite songs with you all. I am translating the lyrics as well along with the theme of the song so you understand the emotions behind the song and I guess rest of the job will be done by music itself because music is a universal language.

Song - Aas Paas Hain Khuda (God is Around Us)

Movie – Anjaana Anjaani (Stranger Stranger)

Theme – It’s a conversation between God or should I say Angel of God to a human being. Giving hope and reassurance that God is always with us. He never abandons us even in trying times when we feel He is not around and the hope is lost.

Why I Love It? – Every time I am sad, lost, depressed or just running out of answers I listen to this song. The words are as powerful as the message and I feel better when I realize that God is truly somewhere around me.

Dhundhla Jaayein Jo Manzilein (When the road ahead gets foggy)

Ek Pal Ko Tu Nazar Jhuka (Take a moment and bow down)

Jhuk Jaye Sar Jahan Wahi (And when you look down)

Milta Hain Rab Ka Rasta (You’ll find where His roadmap)

Teri Kismat Tu Badal De (Change your own destiny)

Rakh Himmat Bus Chal De (Keep the Faith and Keep Walking)

Tera Saathi, Mere Kadmon Ke Hain Nishan (Your only companion, are My footprints)

Tu Na Jaane Aas Pass Hain Khuda (Because you don’t realize God is Around You)

Khud Pey Daal Tu Nazar (Just look at yourself)

Halaton Se Haar Kar (vanquished by circumstances)

Kahan Chala Re (heading for nowhere)

Haath Ki Lakeer Ko (Trying to bend those palm lines (destiny))

Modhta Marodhta Hai Hosla Re (with all the strength that is left)

To Khud Tere Khawabon Key Rang Mein (So, with the color of your dreams)

Tu Apne Jahan Ko Bhi Rang De (Go ahead and color your world too)

Ke Chalta Hoon Main Tere Sang Mein (Because, I am walking with you)

Ho Shaam Bhi Toh Kya (So what if its dusk already)

Jab Hoga Andhera (And when there will be darkness)

Tab Payega Dar Mera (You will find My door)

Uss Dar Pe Phir Hogi Teri Subah (and on that door you will rise to a new dawn)

Tu Na Jaane Aas Pass Hain Khuda (Because you don’t realize God is Around You)

Mit Jaate Hain (Everything perishes)

Sab ke Nishaan (Time erases us all)

Bas Ek Woh Mitta Nahi Hain (Only the one remains)

Maan Le Jo Har Mushkil Ko (One who believes every challenge and sorrow)

Marzi Meri (is a part of My plan)

Ho Humsafar Na Tera Jab Koi (And when you have no one to talk to)

Tu Ho Jahan, Rahoonga Main Wahi (Wherever you are, I am with you)

Tujhse Kabhi Na Ek Pal Bhi Main Juda (Never away from you for a moment)

Tu Na Jaane Aas Pass Hain Khuda (Because you don’t realize God is Around You)

Song – Give Me Some Sunshine

Movie – 3 Idiots

Theme – Well, the song is more about students who are under constant pressure to score higher percentage to live up to the expectations of their parents. It is a common thing here in India where parents usually force their ambitions on their children to become what they (parents) want them to be and not what their kids are passionate about.

Why I Love It? It’s got a great tune and lyrics which I am sure you will like it. I am not translating the lyrics for this song because the video already has the translations with the lyrics.

Song – Abhi Mujh Mein Kahi (Now, Within Me Somewhere)

Movie – Agneepath

Theme – The theme of the song is about happiness. Well, its hard to express when you are surrounded with happiness after a long gap of sorrow. The singer in this song is trying to express his emotions that he is so immensely happy right now in the moment that he has no words or has no idea what to do next. He is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the kindness of love on his hard and rough life.

Why I Love It? Well, this song won many awards here in India and it has great lyrics with so much emotion infused in it. Awesome music, if you listen to it patiently till the end.

Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin, (Now, Somewhere in Me)

Baaki Thodi Si Hai Zindagi (a little bit of life is alive)

Jagi Dhadkan Nayi, (A new heartbeat has pumped)

Jaana Zinda Hoon Main Toh Abhi (So I realized I am still alive)

Kuch Aisi Lagan Iss Lamhe Mein Hai (Such power this moment has)

Yeh Lamha Kahaan Tha Mera (Where was this moment of mine hiding)

Ab Hai Saamne, Isse Chhoo Loon Zara (Now, its right here, Should I feel it?)

Marr Jaaun Ya Jee Loon Zara (Should I live it, or just die of happiness?)

Khushiyaan Choom Loon (Should I kiss this happiness?)

Ya Ro Loon Zara (Or should I cry of overwhelmedness?)

Marr Jaaun Ya Jee Loon Zara (Should I live it or just die of happiness?)

Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin, (Now, Somewhere in Me)

Baaki Thodi Si Hai Zindagi (a little bit of life is alive)

Dhoop Mein Jalte Hue Tann Ko, (Like a body blistering in scorching sunlight)

Chhaya Pedh Ki Mil Gayi (Receives a cool shade of tree)

Roothe Bacche Ki Hansi Jaise, (Like a smile of an angry kid)

Phuslaane Se Phir Khil Gayi (that returned upon some cajoling)

Kuch Aisa Hi Ab Dil Ko Mehsoos Ho Raha Hai (Something like this, my heart is feeling now)

Barson Ke Puraane Zakhmon Pe Marham Laga Sa Hai (Like a soothing ointment on age-old bruises)

Kuch Aisa Rehem, Iss Lamhe Mein Hai (Such mercy this moment has)

Ye Lamha Kahaan Tha Mera (Where was this moment of mine hiding?)

Ab Hai Saamne, Isse Chhoo Loon Zara (Now, its right here, Should I feel it?)

Marr Jaaun Ya Jee Loon Zara (Should I live it, or just die of happiness?)

Khushiyaan Choom Loon (Should I kiss this happiness?)

Ya Ro Loon Zara (Or should I cry of overwhelmedness?)

Marr Jaaun Ya Jee Loon Zara (Should I live it or just die of happiness?)

Dor Se Tooti Patang Jaisi, (Like a broken kite in the sky)

Thi Yeh Zindagaani Meri (This life of mine has been)

Aaj Hoon Kal Ho Mera Na Ho (Today I am, tomorrow I might not be alive)

Har Din Thi Kahaani Meri (Such were the days I have lived, Never bothered about death)

Ek Bandhan Naya Peeche Se Ab Mujhko Bulaaye (Now, a new bond from my past calls me)

Aane Wale Kal Ki Kyun Fikar Mujhko Sataa Jaaye (And I am worried about the future all of sudden)

Ik Aisi Chubhan, Iss Lamhe Mein Hai (Such prickle this moment has)

Yeh Lamha Kahaan Tha Mera (Where was this moment of mine hiding)

Ab Hai Saamne, Isse Chhoo Loon Zara (Now, its right here, Should I feel it?)

Marr Jaaun Ya Jee Loon Zara (Should I live it, or just die of happiness?)

Khushiyaan Choom Loon (Should I kiss this happiness?)

Ya Ro Loon Zara (Or should I cry of overwhelmedness?)

Marr Jaaun Ya Jee Loon Zara (Should I live it or just die of happiness?)

Discovering India – 8 Biographical Films that You Should Not Miss Out

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sun, 11 May 2014 13:33:00 +0000

Biographies have always attracted me as they not just provide a real story, but it also shares some real ideas and situations that we never know about. Films on biographies might not do well commercially as audiences are more interested in some entertainment rather than taking a peek into the history. You can call me names, but for me every movie is a learning experience and I gather some information in my mind that I can use or apply somewhere. I love watching international biographies about great leaders and influential people that made their name in various fields. I believe when you watch biopic films you not just get to see the character of that individual, but the culture of that country and the time and era in which that individual struggled to be what he or she has become.

Let me share with you some interesting biopic films in India about Indians that will help you to discover more about India. I have attached the real life pictures along with movie posters to make the post more interesting. I give the credit of this idea to my wife Sarah who came up with the idea that real life pictures would make a great impact on the readers.

Sardar

iMDB Rating – 7.8/10

This movie is the reason why I am so passionate about biopic films. I watched it on TV when I was in the last year of my school and the impact has been tremendous. Directed by Ketan Mehta and performed exceptionally by veteran actor Paresh Rawal, Sardar is a biopic on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of India’s greatest freedom fighter also popularly known in India as the Iron Man of India. The movie focuses on his relationship with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru without taking any cinematic liberties and fictional concepts keeping it as real and true to real incidents and his vision of one independent nation called India.

Bandit Queen

iMDB Rating – 7.5/10

Truth is stranger than fiction and Bandit Queen certainly stands true to its story. The movie is based on the life of Phoolan Devi, a dacoit who later turned to politics. Directed by Shekhar Kapur and starring Seema Biswas in the title role, Bandit Queen is not for the faint hearted. It highlights shocking facts of child marriage, child abuse, sexual abuse, caste discrimination, molestation and gruesome murders. This rape and revenge saga from the deep pockets of India has also won some international recognition in the year 1994.

The Legend of Bhagat Singh

iMDB Rating – 8/10

There are countless movies made on Bhagat Singh, but this movie is certainly one step ahead in terms of production values and story-telling concept. Biographies can turn boring if not made properly, but this movie keeps you connected throughout. No wonder, it has such high rating on iMDB. The Legend of Bhagat Singh highlights the story of Bhagat Singh, a freedom fighter who was a Gandhi follower during his childhood days, but later develops a different vision and his struggle for Indian Independence. The story also highlights why his views differ from that of Gandhi’s later on, how his growing popularity affected Gandhi and how he sacrificed his life for the freedom of independent India. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, this will remain Ajay Devgan’s most spectacular performances onscreen. This one is for all those who want to explore more on Indian independence struggle and people involved in it.

Gandhi, My Father

iMDB Rating – 7.4/10

Gandhi being the key figure in Indian freedom struggle has attracted lot of attention from producers and directors globally and locally. However, Gandhi My Father explores a theme that has never been seen before on Indian celluloid. Directed by Feroz Abbas Khan and produced by veteran actor Anil Kapoor, this movie stars Darshan Jariwala as M.K. Gandhi and Akshaye Khanna as Harilal Gandhi, eldest son of M.K. Gandhi. This movie is slow and complex and should I say it’s not exactly entertaining, because it focuses on intricate and strained relationship between M.K. Gandhi and his eldest son Harilal Gandhi. It highlights Harilal’s dreams who wants to become a barrister like his father and would hope to go to London for further Western education, but his hopes are shattered by his father who believes that Western education is not going to serve any good and that his son should stay in India and fight for his ideals and causes. It also focuses on Harilal’s point of view who feels that his father who is also called the Father of the Nation has disappointingly failed in his duty towards his own son and renouncing his family ties in 1911. A must watch movie for all Gandhi fans. (I couldn't find a suitable picture of Harilal Gandhi on the internet).

Harishachandrachi Factory

iMDB Rating – 7.8/10

Indian cinema also known as Bollywood is among the largest centers of film production in the world with US$1.86 billion (93 billion in Indian Rupees) in revenues in 2010. However, it all started with a vision of one man, Dadasaheb Phalke, who is known as the Father of Indian cinema. Harishchandrachi Factory is a Marathi language movie that aptly focuses on the struggles of how he managed to make his first ever feature film Raja Harishchandra in 1913. Directed by Prakash Mokashi, this movie was India’s official entry to Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Although, it depicts the hardships, dedication and struggles of one man on a mission and with a vision to make a feature film it is sprinkled with the right amount of witty humor and scenes. If you believe biographies are boring, you must watch Harishchandrachi Factory and I am sure you will have a change of heart by the end of the movie. When the movie was released in 2010, I wrote a review on it. For detailed review click here.

Paan Singh Tomar

iMDB Rating – 8.3/10

There is a term which Indians usually speak, “It happens only in India”. Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, Paan Singh Tomar tells an exceptional tale of athlete Paan Singh Tomar who serves as a soldier in the Indian Army, wins gold medal at the Indian National Games in the steeplechase event seven years in a row, but circumstances turn upside down forcing him to become a notorious bandit in his region. Superbly performed by Irrfan Khan, this movie is critically acclaimed for the facts and the true story of a young man who respects and serves the law, but how he is forced to turn against the law. The movie also won the National Award for Best Feature Film and Best Actor along with other critics’ awards.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

iMDB Rating – 8.5/10

If you are down and out and weary of your life, take a seat and watch this film and probably you will find inspiration pumped into your veins miraculously. Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag takes us through the ups and downs of the life of Milkha Singh, an Indian athlete who has remained a national champion runner and an Olympian with humble beginnings as he is orphaned and displaced during the Partition of India. The story focuses on his recruitment in the Indian Army and his training in cross-country run that finally inspired him to become an athlete.

Shahid

iMDB Rating – 8/10

While I wanted to write just seven biography films, I just could not ignore this one for its sheer story line and truthfulness. Shahid is a 2013 movie directed by Hansal Mehta based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi who was assassinated in 2010 in Mumbai. The story explores his early adulthood life where Shahid witnesses violence during Bombay Riots which angers him and he decides to run away to Pakistan Administered Kashmir to militant training camp. However, he realizes that being a terrorist and revenge is not an answer to the solution. He returns to Mumbai, but is arrested, and he manages to complete his law degree while in jail. He starts his own career fighting cases for defending those who are wrongly accused in the cases of terrorism, but instead becomes a target for some sections of the society that accuses him as a traitor helping terrorists to go scot-free.

Best Indian Films that Foreigners Should Not Miss Out - Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sun, 04 May 2014 08:17:00 +0000

Movies in India are a part of our life here as most families would prefer to watch a movie in a theater than go out for hiking or other adventure sports. This is why cricket and movies have so much influence on any Indian living on this planet. Let me continue this journey for all my international readers who can explore much more about India through films.

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

iMDB Rating – 8.3/10

If you are passionate about good cinema and sports, this is one movie that you should not give a miss. Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India focuses on rural Indian problems and expertly connects all contemporary Indian society issues with it. This fictional story takes you back in time when India is still under British rule and how Indian villagers are heavily taxed to the bone. However, story takes a turn when situation go wrong between a common village man Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) and Captain Jack Russell (Paul Blackthorne). In order to break Bhuvan psychologically and emotionally, Captain Jack Russell challenges him to a game of cricket which will be played between veteran British cricket players and rural Indian villagers who have never played this game before. To make the challenge enticing enough for Bhuvan, Captain Jack Russell announces that if veteran players win, Indian villagers have to pay three times their tax in a single year. However, if Indian villagers win they do not have to pay tax for the next three years. On hearing that villagers can relieve themselves of tax for next three years, Bhuvan instinctively accepts the challenge on behalf of all. He is heavily criticized by the villagers and all for his stupid act as they believe that it is impossible for them to beat veteran British players while they don’t even know anything about the game, but Bhuvan sticks to his task. Captain Jack Russell’s sister Elizabeth sees this as a cruel and one-sided competition as the villagers are no match for the team that his brother has chosen. She secretly decides to help Bhuvan and the villagers to know about the game and how it is played allowing them a chance to fight back. What comes next is an interesting tale of courage and determination that will keep you glued to your seats until the last bowl of the match.

The movie is 224 minutes long, but trust me it will not bore you at all. The movie has great story and screenplay that keeps you involved and on the seats for what will happen next. Produced by Aamir Khan himself and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, Lagaan (which means Tax) is one of the recent Indian movies that got nominated for Academy Awards in Best Foreign Language Film category in the year 2002. The movie also won American Choreography Awards in 2002. The movie also won Jury Award at the Bergen International Film Festival. It was nominated for European Film Awards and won Audience Award at Leeds International Film Festival and Locarno International Film Festival and Portland International Film Festival and many local and national awards.

Well, if you really liked the story and if you have time and want to see it. I am providing a YouTube link below that has the entire movie with English subtitles. You can open it in YouTube window and enjoy it. Above, I have provided an international trailer completely in English so you can watch and get better idea and down here is the full movie.

Best Indian Films that Foreigners Should Not Miss Out - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 07:48:00 +0000

In my earlier part, I already covered two movies Queen and English Vinglish, so rather than wasting time on another introduction; I am getting started with some other movies that I would like foreign audience to see.

Gangs of Wasseypur

iMDB – 8.6/10

Taking the third spot on my list is Anurag Kashyap’s magnum opus Gangs of Wasseypur which has managed to make its place in the history of Indian cinema for its story telling and crude violence and typical slang dialogues. I would not recommend this for a family audience, but if you enjoyed The Departed, Gangs of New York, The Godfather and all those blood splashing crime movies, you will love this one that comes from the deep territories of North India. The story revolves around Shahid Khan who impersonates as the legendary Sultana Daku (legendary dacoit) to rob British ferry trains in Wasseypur in early 1940s. However, things go wrong and he is exiled. Now as an outcast, Shahid works as a muscleman in coal mines for Ramadhir Singh who looks after many coal mines currently under British control. In 1947, when India is independent, British officers decide to sell coal mines to top industrialist and Ramadhir Singh manages to buy many in Dhanbad region. Now, that Britishers are gone, both Ramadhir Singh and Shahid Khan fight for power which ultimately ignites a bloody revenge battle that passes on to three generations of both families. Based on real events, this movie is among the first movies that highlight the coal mafia in India and how they have undergone changes and how they function within the judiciary system bending laws and breaking them as well. It is also among the longest movies of Indian cinema that runs into 320 minutes and therefore divided into two parts. If you are a fan of Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese and Sergio Leone you should not miss this one at all. Maarenge nahi saale ko, keh ke lenge uski.

Kahaani

iMDB – 8.3/10

How often in movies do you see the lead character as a pregnant woman? Well, this one does. The story focuses on Vidya, a pregnant woman who comes from London to Kolkata searching for her missing husband Arnab, only to find that her husband never existed at all. Intriguing? I certainly put Kahaani (which means The Story in Hindi) is probably the smartest thriller I have seen in recent times. It keeps you on the toes, keeps you entertain and keeps you puzzled at the same time. While everyone is against Vidya and tells her that her husband does not exist, she is determined to continue her search for her love and for her baby. However, the real story starts when she begins to dig deep into the mystery and how she is pulled into the vortex of deceit and crime. Now, she has to protect herself, her baby and find her husband as well before time runs out. Brilliantly shot in the narrow and serpentine lanes of Kolkata and focusing on the Durga Puja festival Kahaani is a movie for all ages and gender and is not just for female audience just because the lead character is a pregnant lady. Even without a star cast, Kahaani manages to hold your attention and you feel the pain and frustration of a pregnant woman trying to solve a mystery and when she misses her husband or when she is constantly making rounds of police station to find about the updates about her missing husband. The climax of the movie offers tremendous shock value that leaves you in awe, but then when the movie ends you feel good because you have seen a really smart movie that outsmarted you completely.

Part 3

Best Indian Films that Foreigners Should Not Miss Out – Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 08:42:00 +0000

Do you love watching movies from different corners of the globe? Well, we all love watching Hollywood movies that are made in the United States and sometimes even in the UK and Canada, but there are some brilliant moviemakers around the world. Let me be very honest here, Indian movies are different from Hollywood flicks in every way. Of course, the budget of Indian films is almost one-tenth or even less than the Hollywood movies, so comparing Hollywood movies with Indian films won’t be the right thing to do. However, there is a lot more difference when it comes to stories and the way movies are made here in India.

Before I focus on the top movies that you should watch, let me first give you a quick outline of what I think about Hindi movies. I am a movie buff, so I watch every movie from old classics of 50s to the latest mainstream Hindi movies. If you have never ever watched a Hindi movie or an Indian movie in your lifetime, let me tell you that a majority of these movies are purely entertainment. Even if the production values are high and some big banner is producing the movie, chances are that the script value is missing. The emphasis is purely on entertainment, so most of the top grossing movies and award winning movies are mindless flicks where hero is chivalrous, protective and over the top guy who can sing, dance, fight, cry, laugh, and protect his loved ones. I believe Indian films back in 50s, 60s and 70s were far superior in terms of script, even though they lack technological advancement. The story would have some social message that was bothering the nation at large and the emphasis was more on the craft and story-telling.

I strongly believe that Indian filmmakers today are more concerned about how much money they make, but there are moviemakers that churn out some extremely good movies that international movies can watch and relate. Since I am a movie maniac and I have friends across the globe, I thought it would be a great idea to bring out a list of movies that my international friends can watch. Some movies that share stories from my part of the world and offering top quality entertainment value in every sense.

Below, I have added posters, trailers which I have hand-picked from different trailers that are available especially for international audience and links to other international reviews, so you can browse further. I would also request readers to experience these videos in full screen to get a better experience or at least click on YouTube logo so that you can switch to YouTube window and watch it over there. Movies are enjoyable on a bigger screen.

Queen – 2014

iMDB Rating – 9/10

Queen Poster

It’s a male dominated world, but Queen that has released just a month ago displays some great maturity in the Indian film industry. It is quite surprising that a women-oriented movie has done so well and has been received positively. Well, Queen is not about Queen Elizabeth, but the story revolves around a local Delhi girl name Rani (Rani means Queen in Hindi language) who hails from a traditional family. The movie starts off with her being nervous and excited about her marriage like every other girl in the world dreaming about how her marriage life would be and what the future holds, but in the middle of all that her marriage dreams are shattered when the guy decides to cancel the marriage. Depressed and utterly disappointed with her life, Rani decides to continue her life, but only after she goes for a solo honeymoon to Paris which she had planned. Life changes when she goes for her solo honeymoon and she meets many people on the way that offer her a new vision and she gradually learns about what life is all about. This coming-of-age movie is a must watch for every girl, not just in India, but universally. The movie is funny, thoughtful and a learning experience not just for girls, but also for male audiences. Don’t miss this out.

English Vinglish

iMDB Rating – 7.9/10

English Vinglish Poster

Another women-oriented movie which I believe should have been nominated at the Oscars for Best Foreign Film Category is English Vinglish. Directed by Gauri Shinde who makes her directorial debut, this film can be watched many times and you still won’t get bored of it. The movie highlights a day-to-day routine of a typical Indian women who plays her role as a mother, wife and daughter-in-law, but becomes an object of ridicule only because she is not fluent in speaking and comprehending English. The film also highlights how educated Indians are obsessed with English and how they look down upon those who are not equally good at English. Sridevi (top reigning actress of 80s and 90s) makes a wonderful comeback with English Vinglish where she displays a character that is so real and true in every sense. The movie protagonist Shashi (Sridevi) is a typical housewife who is fond of cooking, but often endures small slights from her well-educated husband and daughter. When she is called by her sister who resides in New York for her daughter’s wedding, Shashi gets an opportunity to secretly learn English to regain her confidence and to regain her self-respect. The movie not only shows the plight of Indian women in the Indian society who is often ridiculed despite her sacrifices and effort, but also interestingly displays her transformation as a person as she takes small steps and interact with people from different countries and walks of life struggling in New York. Watch out the video that has lot of dialogues in English, plus sub-titles that will make it easier for you.

Part 2

Kites Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sun, 23 May 2010 09:52:00 +0000

There was a lot running through my mind when I bought the tickets for the special screening of Kites, probably because I had a lot of expectations from this film. However, minutes after I saw the initial scenes of the movie, I knew that Kites was nothing like I had expected. Directed by Anurag Basu, Kites has the similar old story packed in a new style and story narration which was very Hollywood.

Hritik Roshan plays the role of J who works as a dancer to earn some income. However, he is into all kinds of methods of making quick money including getting married with illegal immigrants so that they can have their green card. Gina (Kangana Ranaut) is a daughter of rich casino owner Bob (Kabir Bedi) . Gina is madly in love with J, but J hooks up with Gina only to become rich and to enjoy the wealth. However, J finds that his brother-in-law Tony (Nick Brown) is a ruthless guy who is about to get married with a Mexican woman named Natasha (Barbara Mori). In a shocking revelation we find that J already knows Natasha as Linda and she was one of the illegal immigrants with whom J had married earlier. Gradually, J and Linda come closer to each other and that upsets Tony and he tries to hit Linda but J knocks out Tony and both are now on the run to Mexico so that they can escape Gina, Tony and Bob. The rest of the story is all about their love on the run.

If you look from a technical point of view than Kites is surely a very good movie. The car chase sequences and stunts are brilliant. The cinematography by Ayananka Bose is pretty good and of international level. The editing by Avik Ali is excellent because the story keeps moving back and forth in time keeping the curiosity level of the audiences intact. Music by Rajesh Roshan is average compare to his earlier compositions. On an acting level performances by Hritik Roshan is good, but with her first appearance in Bollywood movie, Barbara Mori gives us a splendid performance. Kabir Bedi, Nick Brown and Kangana Ranaut are decent in their character roles.

However, the story of the movie is not as good as the performances and since a lot of dialogues are in Spanish many people will find it difficult to connect with. The overall pace of the movie is slow, except for the chase scenes. The song "Fire" where we some mind blowing dance steps by Hritik is a treat to watch over and over again, but these are the only positive things in the movie. Internationally, Kites might do a good business but I doubt that Kites will fly high on Indian skies.

Badmaash Company Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:40:00 +0000

Do you enjoy watching movies that show about smart con jobs? Badmaash Company is one such movie that is all about international con jobs when the economy of India was not that progressive and when people were fanatical about buying imported items sold in blackmarket at a higher price. The movie is directed by debutant director Parmeet Sethi and produced by Aditya and Yash Chopra.

The story is set in the year 1994 when Mumbai was still Bombay. Soon we are introduced with four ambitious youngsters, Karan (Shahid Kapoor), Bulbul (Anushka Sharma), Chandu (Vir Das) and Zing (Meiyang Chang) who work for a businessman who would send them on foreign trips as tourists so that they can shop consumer goods and bring them back as used items in order to avoid heavy import taxes. While they are together they come closer to each other but soon they are back in India and busy struggling in their own lives. Finally, Karan comes with an intelligent plan that would earn them big bucks so that they can achieve their financial freedom and they all begin to work on the plan. The plan works like a miracle and they become rich. However, in a shocking news the government of India decides to reduce the import duties and the team decides to look out for some other method to con people. Eventually, they move to United States and the greed part takes over Karan and the team splits up. How they come together and reunite is what the concluding part of the movie is all about.

On technical grounds, Badmaash Company is a good movie because the cinematography by Ahmed Khan is quite good. Music by Pritam is pretty decent with Chaska and Ayaashi already among the popular songs played all over the places. After Chance Pe Dance and Paathshala, we see Shahid in a different character and there is no doubt that he is a versatile actor that portrays the youth of India. Anushka Sharma is as superb as she was in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Meiyang Chang is a stunning discovery and acts naturally. Vir Das is excellent with his comedy. The story of the movie is good and intelligent which means that if you are looking for a typical Bollywood style movie than you should not miss Badmaash Company. The cons are very tricky and intelligent and that is what keeps you glued to your seats. Some scenes in the movie are unnecessary and predictable and therefore it might appear boring in parts but hopefully Yash Raj Films will get some relief from Badmaash Company.

Housefull Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:11:00 +0000

Do you enjoy crappy comedy? If you do than this movie is for you. The team of Heyy Babyy is back this year to give some summer entertainment. The movie has some of top actors who are superb at comic timing and therefore there were a lot of expectations from Housefull, but honestly no matter what the box office collection says, the movie has nothing but senseless and crappy comedy.

The movie revolves around Aarush (Akshay Kumar) who is so unlucky that casino owners keep him to spread some bad luck in the casino so that people betting around start losing on their counters. Soon Aarush leaves the job and moves to London to meet his best friend Bob (Ritesh Deshmukh) and his wife Heetal (Lara Dutta), but the couple is soon tired of Aarush's bad luck. Bob and Heetal than try to fix up Aarush with their boss's daughter Devika (Jiah Khan) and it seemed like a perfect match. They get married and on the honeymoon Aarush is surprise to know that Devika already has a boyfriend and that she married him for financial reasons. Tired of his ill-fate catching him up all the time, Aarush decides to suicide but Sandy (Deepika Padukone) saves him and the story moves on further with lots of funny situations happening.

Technically the movie is decent, the cinematography is good. The music of the film by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is certainly not up to the mark and none of the songs are chartbusters. Talking about the performances in the movie, I think Akshay should now quit doing more comedy roles because he gives the same old comic expression. Ritesh and Lara are brilliant in their roles and so is Boman Irani. Deepika Padukone is good in her part but Jiah is side lined throughout the movie. Arjun Rampal is average but Chunkey Pandey steals the show with his comic timing. Right before the movie begins, Sajid Khan pays tribute to some of the legendary directors who have made great entertaining movies but he is miles away from making an entertainment movie. The situations in the movie are absolutely crap, senseless and you might want to cry on wasting you money. Though, there are some genuinely comic scenes but the rest of the movie is pathetic.

Phoonk 2 Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sat, 22 May 2010 21:31:00 +0000

Are you ready to get scared once again? RGV is back with his sequel for Phoonk and this is probably the last horror movie of the year because this year there is only one more horror movie in the list which will be released somewhere in July-August. Phoonk 2 is directed by Milind Gadagkar who is directing his first movie though he had written the earlier version of this sequel. The movie is very low on budget but the director claims that there are more scary scenes than what audience saw in the earlier movie.

Since Phoonk 2 is a sequel you need to watch the earlier version to understand the happenings in this movie. Phoonk 2 begins with Rajiv (Sudeep), Arati (Amruta Khanvilkar) and their kids Rohan (Rishabh Jain) and Raksha (Ahsaas Channa) checkout a new bungalow which is right next to the beach. They soon begin to explore different areas of their new residence. While parents are busy with their own work, kids begin to explore the lonely beach and the creepy woods behind the bungalow where Raksha finds a doll. However, the doll is evil and has a ghost of Madhu who was killed in the climax of the earlier movie. Gradually, every member of the family is trapped under the evil power of Madhu and how Sudeep and his family take over Madhu's evil powers concludes the movie.

If we talk about the performances in the movie than Sudeep and Amruta Khanvilkar both have done a pretty convincing job in their respective characters. The kids Rishabh and Ahsaas are good child actors because they know their characters well. Apart from that all the earlier characters like Manja and Lakshmi are very much the same. Technically the movie is very good and full marks goes to Charles Meher for superb cinematography and to Rahul Pandirkar for haunting background score. However, the story written by the director himself did not work out as per the expectations of the audience. The movie drags for nearly twenty five minutes in the start where the family is just checking out the bungalow and by that time people are already tired of watching the bungalow and the beach. The movie is definitely a flop on the box office but if you compare Phoonk with Phoonk 2 than definitely this movie has far more chills than the earlier version.

Love Sex Aur Dhoka Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sat, 22 May 2010 10:28:00 +0000

If you are thinking about this movie as a typical Bollywood masala movie that will have some hot spicy scenes than get read for the betrayal because Love Sex aur Dhoka is one iconoclastic movie that is far more different than what you have ever seen in the history of Indian film industry. After hits like Khosla Ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dibakar Bannerjee has experimented once again giving us a very dark, bold and powerful movie that has the potential of disturbing you for days if you are a weak heart emotional person.

The story has three different sub plots that are connected to each other in some way. Each sub plot stands for one word of the movie title and therefore the first sub plot is about Love. In this plot we see Rahul (Anshuman Jha) who is directing his film but falls in love with the heroine of the film Shruti. Due to family pressures they elope and get married but they are totally unaware of what is coming next. The second sub plot is about Sex and in this sub plot we see Adarsh (Raj Kumar Yadav) who is a manager of a general store which has secret CCTV cameras and he is brainwashed that he needs to woo the store sales girl Rashmi (Neha Chauhan) and have sexual act with her on the security camera. The third plot is about betrayal (Dhoka) where a journalist name Prabhat (Amit Sial) rescues Mrignaina (Arya Devdutta) from a suicide attempt and prepares her for a sting operation against a top pop star Loki Local (Henry Tangri).

Although, the plots sound very common and very boring the way they are filmed is something that you should watch out for yourself. All three sub plots starts with a satirical comment but they have a very bold and dark end. Some scenes in the movie are too shocking to watch on big screen and that can hit your mind to a lot of extent. If we talk about the performances, we already know that there are no established actors in the movie and that was a real good move by Dibakar Bannerjee because that would have worked against the script. The young actors really have the potential to portray the characters they are offered and within minutes you are sucked into the situation. The screenplay by Dibakar Bannerjee and Kanu Behl is simple mind blowing because it keeps you glued to your seats. The editing by Namrata Rao is good and music by Sneha Khanwalkar is very innovative and in pace with the mood of the story. However, it is the superb cinematography by Nikos Andritsakis that is the hero of the movie and keeps you thinking of what will happen next. If you looking for a typical masala movie than it is advisable to keep away from the movie because the concept of this movie is too realistic and far away from entertainment.

Paathshala Review - Upgrade Your Vichaar

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:02:00 +0000

Schools are meant to upgrade and inculcate the next generation with thoughts and ideas that would make our world a better place to live in, but unfortunately schools have became victims of modernization and that is exactly the punch line of Paathshala. Directed by Milind Ukey, the movie has a decent star cast and a decent script that will keep you entertained for a little more than two hours. Paathshaala talks about one of the noblest profession in the world teaching and all the problems that kids are going through in today's world. Before you move ahead with this review let me make a point that Paathshala is not Taare Zameen Par Part 2.

The plot is as simple as you can imagine where Rahul Udyawar (Shahid Kapoor) joins Saraswati Vidya Mandir High School as a English teacher. Aditya Sahay (Nana Patekar) is the principal of the school who has been looking after the institution for more than three decades because he feels that teaching is one of the rare professions where have an opportunity to shape the future of the world. Soon, Rahul is unified with other school teachers which consists of Anjali (Ayesha Takia) who works as a nutritionist, Sushant Singh works as a physical trainer for the kids and Kurush Deboo works as a history teacher. However, soon the school management comes up with new rules and regulations for kids and teachers and the plot takes a new twist which reveals to us how school management works these days.

Coming to the technical aspects of the movie, Paathshala is a good attempt by people who are fairly new to the Bollywood industry. Of course, you cannot compare Paathshala with Taare Zameen Par because the story, the issues and the presentation style is completely different, but you can say that Paathshala is a little lighter version of Taare Zameen Par because its a bit Bollywood style. The cinematography by Basha Lal is good. Music by Hanif Sheikh is not a chartbuster, but still there are decent songs like Ae Khuda, Khushnuma and Bekaraar. On a performance level, Shahid does justice to his role and so does Ayesha. Nana Patekar is good as always and delivers every speech with a lot of dedication. All kids in the movie are very good at their skills and they actually are the real heroes of the film.

However, the script and story by Ahmad Khan is not very tight and that would upset the audience. Many would enter the movie halls thinking that they would get something similar to TZP and that too would disappointing. However, if you love issue-based movies than you will enjoy watching Paathshala that highlights how commercialization is slowly creeping into education industry causing various issues to parents, teachers and kids. Paathshala surely is a good movie that you can attend this weekend with your family.

Lalbaug Parel - Zhali Mumbai Sonyachi

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:27:00 +0000

Time is changing rapidly and so are our movies. Lalbaug Parel is one such movie that will be remembered as a turning point in the history of Marathi movies for its powerful script and direction. Mahesh Manjrekar completes his wonderful hat-trick after giving us superb social-based movies like Mi Shivaji Raje Bhonsale Boltoy and Shikshanachya Aaicha Gho. The movie is all about the mill workers of Mumbai who have contributed equally to the development of this city but who never received any credit for it. On the other hand, the story takes us deeper into the yesteryears of this city when the city lifestyle and living patterns were very much different from what it is today.

The plot starts in the year 1982 and focuses on a family who is always struggling to make their ends meet. The head of the family Anna (Shashank Shende) lives with his wife (Seema Biswas) and works as a mill worker but has not received his dues for last six months due to which he is not able to provide enough to his family. The eldest son of the family Baba (Ankush Choudhary) is a struggling writer and is always aloof from his family but somewhere within he really bothers about the family. The second eldest is Mohan (Vinit Kumar) who is more interested in cricket than in anything else. The third eldest is Naru (Karan Patel) who is always ready to fight for the poor and is regarded as the local bhai and the last of the siblings is Manju (Veena Jamkar) who wants to better family condition and works in a beauty parlor. Each member of the family is in the desperate attempt to uplift the financial condition of the family and how they handle each situation is what Lalbaug Parel is all about.

To be very honest, compressing the main plot of the movie in few words is nearly impossible because every event in the movie is linked to each another so well that we feel that we are witnessing bitter truth on screen and that is really something that we haven't watched so far in the history of Marathi movies. The story moves like a smooth ride and keeps you involved throughout the end. Apart from the strong storyline, Lalbaug Parel has some really good star cast that keeps us involved through their superb on-screen performance. Siddharth Jadhav as Speedbreaker shows his talent right from the very first scene when he makes a comic entry. On the other hand, we have some staggering performances from Sachin Khedekar as Rane and Vinay Apte who are a part of mill union leadership and struggles for the rights of mill workers. Apart from that Kashmira Shah, Satish Kaushik, Ganesh Yadav and Sameer Dharmadhikari are brilliant in their character roles and play an equally important part to keep up the tempo of the movie.

Technically, Lalbaug Parel is very strong because it has a good script that is complimented with awesome screenplay by Mahesh Manjrekar and Jayant Pawar. Interestingly, I found that the action in the movie is more realistic that what we normally see in Bollywood movies and credit goes to Pradyuman for delivering superb action sequences which are so real to life. Ajit Reddy shows his talent with photography and camera work which is excellent and shows you every minute detail of the Mumbai in 1980s. Mahesh Manjrekar gives us yet another shocking reality about the the city of Mumbai which has been developed on crushed dreams of millions of mill workers who were once the pride of the city but now they are nothing less than extinct dinosaurs. However, the length of the movie might upset you because the movie is a bit long. The movie is simultaneously released in Marathi and Hindi (City of Gold - Ek Ansuni Kahani) so you can watch in any of the version you prefer. However, I would recommend Lalbaug Parel only for those who are interested in watching strong and different scripts.

Tum Milo Toh Sahi Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:25:00 +0000

We all know Bollywood for its masala type movies that thrill and entertain us for somewhere around three hours, but in the ocean of this vast movies there are some movies which sound very ordinary but they have a lot of honesty, sincerity and depth which is often neglected. Tum Milo Toh Sahi falls under such a category. The movie is written and directed by Kabir Sadanand who executes the movie in a very off beat way about the lives of people living in Mumbai, so if you are looking for a typical Bollywood entertainer than please don't go for this movie, you will be totally disappointed, but if you like to watch a mature subject on the screen than don't miss out this one.

Tum Milo Toh Sahi is about three different couples, all three of different age groups and mindset. The movie starts with the eldest pair where we see Dilshad Nanji (Dimple Kapadia) who is a Parsi lady somewhere in her late 40s and owns a small cafe called Lucky Cafe which is located on a prime location in South Mumbai like most of the Irani restaurants. The story immediately also focuses on Nana Patekar (Rajgopal Subramanium) who is a lawyer by profession but has been working all his life as a clerk but is suddenly chucked away by his new boss Sood (Mohnish Behl) because he prefers computers instead of typewriters which are primitive and old-fashioned. The next couple is Amit Nagpal (Sunil Shetty) and Anita Nagpal (Vidya Malvade) who have a son but they are not happy with each other because Amit is more busy handling his professional responsibilities in order to take care of the EMIs rather than spending time with family. The third couple are college youngsters, Bikramjeet (Rehan Khan) who wants to be with people and understand the importance of relationships and Shalini (Anjana Sukhani) who is an outgoing, bold and typical Mumbaiya girl. The story revolves around these six central characters but the movie is not a love story about why and how they fall in love with each other. The movie is about a series of incidents that brings them together that takes the plot ahead.

Some of you might be a little disappointed that I have not mentioned anything more about the story, but I guess I did it for two reasons. One, because the only thing good about this movie is the script, and sharing more information about it will ruin all the enjoyment if you are going to watch this movie. Second, if you are not interested in off beat movies than there is no point in sharing the script information so I just saved your time. However, let me tell you other things about the movie that would help you to decide whether you should go and watch this movie or not. The movie does not have any glamor at all but you will enjoy performances by Dimple Kapadia and Nana Patekar. Dimple Kapadia does a good job as an old Parsi lady who is always willing to help and Nana Patekar is excellent with his timing. You will definitely enjoy every scene when Nana is on the screen. Apart from these two characters, don't expect anything else but they are enough to keep you involved. Sunil Shetty is usual and so is Vidya Malvade. Mohnish Behl does his job well as a negative character somewhat similar to Rann. The youngest couple Rehan Khan and Anjana Sukhani are good but they could have done better. The music of the film by Sandesh Shandilya is very average, I think the director should have avoided the songs in the movie because they are not in flow with the script, but thankfully they are only for a minute or two so they you can bear them. The cinematography by Pushpan Kripalani is good and one of the strong points in technical department. The screenplay by Sameer Siddiqi and Rajen Makhija is quite engaging because the story is about three different couples which merges soon after interval and therefore it is very important that the flow of the movie is in the right direction. The climax of the movie is the high point and it is well executed.

The movie might not work because it does not have any glamor, it does not have a good star cast, it is very Mumbai-centric so there are chances that people from other parts may not be able to connect with the story and above all the story is not the same typical candy-floss love story. Tum Milo Toh Sahi is a good story very true to life and about the problems that you and I go through in everyday life. Apart from the lifestyle of people in Mumbai the story also focuses on how Mumbai is losing its heritage value day by day as more and more multinationals are establishing their headquarters here by converting old mills into malls, old heritage buildings into multiplexes and Irani restaurants into branded cafes. The movie is not preachy that tells you what is right and what is wrong, it simply reminds us that somewhere down the line we are destroying the old heritage of Mumbai for the sake of westernization and development. Tum Milo Toh Sahi might not be engaging in some parts but it certainly has its heart in the right place...tum dekho toh sahi.

Lahore Review - Truly A Knockout

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:53:00 +0000

Pakistan. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the name of this country which was once a part of India? Hatred, Violence, Terrorism, War or Rivalry? If you think that Lahore is just another movie that is based on these feelings than you are terribly mistaken because is a multi-layered sports story that has been woven with a lot of care and conviction and full marks goes to debutante director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan who has the guts to not only entertain us for two hours, but also ask us one simple question to all Indians and Pakistanis out there. What kind of future does India and Pakistan want to give to its future generations? Of hatred or of peace?

The plot revolves around two brothers Dheerendra Singh (Sushant Singh) and Virendra Singh (Aanaahad) who are top players in their own field of sports. While Dheerendra is a top-notch kickboxer, Virendra is a classy batsman who plays for Delhi. Though, they are busy with their own sports schedule they have a strong bond that holds them together. Rao (Farouque Shaikh) is a Hyderabadi, straight-to-the-point type of coach for kick boxing who believes in fair play and giving opportunities to players purely on basis of their performance and determination, rather than political recommendations. However, inspite of political pressure and recommendation for a well established kick boxer Gajaanan (Kelly Dorji) Rao decides to take Dheerendra Singh for the Kuala Lumpur Kick Boxing Tournament based on his prior performance. Pakistan team which includes of coach Sikandar Hayaat Khan (Sabyasachi Chakravarthy) and his trump card player Noor Mohammed (Mukesh Rishi) and sports psychiatrist Ida (Shraddha Das) also arrive for the tournament and finally it's an India-Pakistan final, where Dheerendra takes the upper hand throughout the match, but Noor's ego and feelings of getting defeated by an Indian forces him to do go beyond fair play and he hits Dheerendra while he is not ready for the fight and the result is that Dheerendra dies of fatal injuries. The news soon rocks the entire India, but sports committee in Pakistan and Malaysia wrap up the news concluding it as an unfortunate accident. Dheerendra's family and his fiancee Neela (Shraddha Nigam) is shattered to hear this, but Rao tries his best to speak out asking for justice, but fails to bring any change. Virendra decides to bring home the lost glory and convinces Rao to get his name registered for the next Quaid-e-Azam GoodWill Kick Boxing match in Lahore and he gets a good amount of support from Pakistani sport psychiatrist Ida who now admires and loves Virendra. How Virendra brings glory to India is wrapped up in a nail-biting kick boxing match that is a must-watch.

On a performance level, Farouque Shaikh is brilliant as a witty coach who does not take any crap from ministers and makes sure that the spirit of sport is kept alive. Debutant actor Aanaahad is very lucky to get such a powerful role in his very first film and he lives up to the expectations as well. Sushant Singh gives out a good performance in the first half of the film. Mukesh Rishi and Sabyasachi Chakravarthy come out with unbelievable performance to keep the level of movie high. The female actors in the movie, Nafisa Ali, Shraddha Das and Shraddha Nigam are good at supporting the movie. The music and background score by M.M. Kreem and Warne Sharpe are good and they blend well with the mood of the story, so you dont feel that the music is interrupting the flow of the movie. However, it is the camera work by Neelabh Kaul and Rolf Dekens that take all the credit with their superb cinematography, especially the fight scenes are extraordinary. The fights by Master Tony Leung Siu Hung are so good that you wont take your eyes off the screen. The movie has already won 4 international awards including the Special Jury Awards for Best Film at Houston International Film Festival.

Lahore is purely a sports film at one level that will appeal to all sports lovers, but there are many other hidden aspects that are brought to attention. The movie sneaks into the level of corruption that not only affects the career of good talented players that never get the credit they deserve, but how it also affects the ranking of a country at international sports level. Why a country like India with a population of 117 crores struggles to get one Olympic gold medal? The movie shows how double-standard some people in India and Pakistan are that they blabber about peace process on one end and than scratch the old wounds that only evokes feelings of hatred and enmity against each other and making games between India and Pakistan seem more like a war and less like a normal game. Lahore is a warning bell that educates the youth of both the countries that we should rise higher and work towards building a peaceful and better future rather than turning back and looking at the tormented history and mistakes of our country. To conclude, I would say that Lahore is neither a Gadar: Ek Prem Katha nor a Chak De India, but it is certainly a good movie that will creep inside your soul.

Shaapit Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:18:00 +0000

The trend of horror movies is back again this summer and after Rokkk the second horror movie to hit the big screen is Shaapit. Directed by Vikram Bhatt, Shaapit is a decent horror movie that has many genuinely scary scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The movie also introduces Aditya Narayan and Shweta Agarwal for the first time on the screen. Like Raaz and 1920, Shaapit is a love story that revolves around a generation curse that haunts the life of those who try to go against it.

The story revolves around Aman (Aditya Narayan) and Kaya (Shweta Agarwal) who are childhood friends and very much in love with each other. Their relationship slowly matures into the next level and they decide to move one step further by getting engaged, but that's exactly when things begin to go wrong. Kaya's father reveals that Aman has to walk out of the life of Kaya because their entire family has been cursed and the curse has followed them through generations. However, Aman and Kaya decide to find out the truth behind the curse and to kill it rather than getting killed. Aman and his friend, Shubh manage to convince Professor Pashupati (Rahul Dev) who is an expert in paranormal science. Together, Aman, Kaya, Pashupati and Shubh decide to peek into the incidents that gave birth to this curse so that they can kill it, but even before they can take their first step to solve the mystery, a series of happenings lead Kaya into coma. How the rest of the three struggle to kill the curse and save Kaya is what leads to the climax of the movie?

The overall story of the movie is typical Bollywood and some scenes almost look like taken from the Ramsay classics, but director Vikram Bhatt is well experienced on how to keep the audience hooked up, scene after scene. The very first few scenes of the movie are really important and if you are going for the movie than make sure you do not miss the beginning because a lot of things are revealed initially that connects the story in the climax. I would have loved to tell you more about the scary scenes as well, but I do not want to spoil the fun, so go watch those scenes for yourself. The story and screenplay is done by Vikram Bhatt himself and that is done decently because the story moves forward and backward in time intelligently keeping the rhythm of the movie in the same flow. Cinematography by Pravin Bhatt is very good, especially the scary scenes are brilliantly executed which is very important when making a genuinely scary movie. Another important aspect of a horror movie is the background score and that too stands out and full credit goes to Raju Rao. However, I felt that the level of background score that we heard in Raaz was missing in Shaapit. The visual effects of the movie are comparatively a lot better, but I think that Hindi movies still haven't achieved that mastery level where we can use visual effects over and over and many people might find that visual effects have spoiled the show, especially towards the end of the movie. What does not work for Shaapit is loose script and over use of songs. I really don't understand why Vikram Bhatt punctured the movie with so many songs. Of course, some songs like Kabhi Na Kabhi To Miloge and Ajnabee Hawayein by Chirantan Bhatt are good, but the rest of the lot spoils the entire rhythm. The Arabic dance song is totally too much to digest because I really wonder if any Hindu King ruling the kingdom 300 years ago would ever had a chance to enjoy belly dance. The climax of the movie too is very filmi and people are well aware of what the hero is going to do next.

On the performance level, Aditya Narayan does a fine job and his acting is very natural compare to Shweta Agarwal who does not get much scope to display her talent. Rahul Dev does a decent job as a professor who is obssessed to find answers to paranormal activities. Overall, Shaapit is a one time watch movie that has many spine chilling scenes that will keep you on the edge of the seat because you never know when the next scene might make you jump out of your seat. However, try not to use too much of logic when you are watching the movie. To conclude, if you are looking for a decent horror flick than go watch Shaapit for a late night show and I am sure you will enjoy the screams.

Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:17:00 +0000

Guest is Pest, that's the way we normally think of when any guest makes a visit to our house. Of course, we might not blurt it out on the face, but director Ashwni Dhir has done a splendid job with his movie Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge. The movie is an ultimate comedy that does not preaches us anything except following our traditions that are long forgotten in the so-called sophisticated society. If you are looking for a movie that should entertain each and every member of your family than Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is the right one for you.

The plot is very simple and to the point. Puneet (Ajay Devgan) and Munmun (Konkana Sen Sharma) are happily married and they have a son name Ayush. Since Puneet and Munmun are very much busy in their own professional lives they rarely get time to pay attention to other aspects of life like keeping a watch on their son's academic progress or socializing with their relatives. However, their lives change forever when one fine day Lambodar Chacha (Paresh Rawal) knocks up at their door. Like any other Indian couple they do invite Lambodar Chacha but soon the couple decides that they are fed up of Chachaji and would like to make plans to kick him out of the house and from their lives as well, but nothing works the way they want. How Puneet and Munmun finally get rid of Lambodar Chacha is something you should watch on the big screen?

Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is more of a satire with a good mixture of comedy. The movie has funny dialogues and Ashwni Dhir mixes his punches very well. Most of the funny comments are comic as well as a stingy comment on the kind of culture we are living in. The movie not only compares the urban and rural lifestyle but it also shows a huge contrast between the kind of values we have today and the values of yesteryears. Ashwni Dhir does a fantastic job with the dialogues and screenplay as well. I really liked the way the word Atithi has been described as A-Ti-thi which means Un-timely and Un-expected. Music by Pritam is very average and none of the songs are chartbusters but they blend well when you watch it as a part of the movie because the songs actually pushes the story forward. Cinematography by Aseem Bajaj is good and decent.

On screen performance of Ajay Devgan is very good and the very scene of the movie is something you should not miss because its a laugh riot scene with one of the most comic dialogues I have ever heard in any film. Konkana Sen Sharma does brilliant job as a housewife and an architect who is strangled between handling finicky clients and Lambodar Chacha. However, Paresh Rawal steals the show with his superb acting skills. From the very first scene Paresh Rawal holds the attention of the audience and makes the story go around. Satish Kaushik and Sanjay Mishra have done their role very well as per the plot. In the end, I would like to say that if you enjoyed oldies like Chupke Chupke, Golmaal and other family entertainers than take my word you will surely enjoy this flick.

Rokkk Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:05:00 +0000

The trend of horror movies is back again in Bollywood with three horror movies that are ready for the release to scare the audiences. First on the list is Rokkk, followed by Shaapit which is produced and directed by Vikram Bhatt and the third on the list is Phoonk 2 which directed by a debutant director Milind Gadagkar. However, Shaapit and Phoonk 2 have not yet released, so let's talk about the first horror release of this season, Rokkk. Director Rajesh Ranshinge has tried his best to scare the audience, but the fact is that no where down the story you will feel that the movie is really taking over your fear factor. Overall, the story is good, though not excellent, but I guess what does not work for Rokkk is the performance from not so regular actors.

The plot revolves around Anushka (Tanushree Dutta) who weds an elderly man Ravi (Sachin Khedekar) against her family and because of this her relationship with her mother (Nishigandha Wad) and sister Ahana (Udita Goswami) is in troubled waters. However, one day Ahana receives a call from Anushka that someone is going to kill her and Ahana finally finds out that Anushka is in a mental asylum. Ahana feels that she must help her sister and rushes to the mental asylum where CID officer Ranveer (Shaad Randhawa) informs Ahana that Anushka has murdered her husband and sister-in-law and now has disappeared from the mental asylum as well. Though, Ranveer and Ahana do not gel together in their initial encounters. However, soon they realize that the only way to find the truth about Anushka is to help each other in every possible way and what and how they reveal is all that leads to the climax of the movie.

Compare to the other reviews of Rokkk, I have tried not to spill out too much of information because honestly, Rokkk does not have anything new to the story. Hence, if I share with you more details than you won't enjoy the movie even for a minute. The plot is good in bits and pieces and director Rajesh Ranshinge has tried his best to lift most of the scenes from a typical Ramsay movie, but fails to pack a punch. Few scenes look like they are inspired from movies like Grudge and The Ring, but still they do not arouse any fear. One good thing about Rokkk is that there are no songs in the movie which makes sure that the story does not deviate, but in any horror movie there are two things that are very important and they are the background score and the camera movement. The sound effects of the movie is very much like a Ramsay movie, they are good but not the best because they do not blend well with the scenes. Imagine you are watching Grudge with a background score from Purana Mandir and what you get is Rokkk. The cinematography by Shakeel Khan is good enough and that is the only plus factor of the movie.

However, Rokkk fails because of poor performance by Udita Goswami, Tanushree Dutta and Shaad Randhawa, but Sachin Khedekar and Ashwini Kalsekar are really good in the limited roles that they are playing on screen. Even Arif Zakaria as a healer has done a good job but even good performance by these senior actors cannot Rokkk the movie from going down the drain.

Karthik Calling Karthik Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:20:00 +0000

If you are someone who loves to watch movies that are really out of the box than Karthik Calling Karthik is one movie that you should not miss out. Time and again Farhan Akhtar along with Ritesh Sidhwani have proved that Bollywood has the potential of making movies that are way above the normal the regular masala flicks. Karthik Calling Karthik does not give out a very loud impression and you might feel that this movie would be a drag, but believe me you will change your mind while you are watching the movie because the movie has so much to offer you than what you have seen in the promos. In fact, none of the promos even give us a hint that this movie is a psychological thriller with an absolutely mind-boggling suspense that will force you to think harder subconsciously.

The plot is very simple where our main protagonist, Karthik (Farhan Akhtar) is a very shy and reserved guy who reminds me of Amol Palekar in Chhoti Si Baat. He is a complete loser with shattered self-confidence and finds himself trapped between daily life challenges and a job where his boss and colleagues never treat him equally qualified, though he has a good educational background. Shonali Mukherjee (Deepika Padukone) is exactly the opposite of Karthik and she is an extrovert who loves to enjoy life as it comes. Karthik is attracted towards Shonali because of her free nature but is unable to express his feelings. Karthik takes help of a psychiatrist Mrs. Kapadia (Shefali Shah) and he tells her that in his childhood his elder brother would always bully him and once his elder brother tried to play a prank on him by pushing him into a well, but accidentally his elder brother slipped and died in the well and from very that moment he feels guilty that it was his mistake that his brother died. However, this consultation doesn't help him much and Karthik feels that he is unable to take the pressure and decides to commit a suicide by consuming sleeping pills, but just when he is about to do that, he receives a call. He picks up the call and finds that the person on the other side is him, Karthik. The other Karthik calms him down and encourages him to be confident and guides him on how to tackle office pressure and attract Shonali towards him. The real Karthik follows his commands obediently and things begin to turn upside down. He gets a promotion at work and Shonali falls in love with Karthik. However, the voice on the phone instructs him to keep their conversations secret because people will not understand the logic, but Karthik shares this information with Shonali and Mrs. Kapadia and things begin to turn upside down again for Karthik. What follows next is a gripping truth that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you are looking for latka-jhatka entertainment than please don't go for this movie, but if you like to watch a brilliant script executed superbly than Karthik Calling Karthik will definitely keep you occupied. The story looks very slow at times but this is only because of the nature of Karthik. You remembered how Dil Chahta Hai slowed down everytime Akshay Khanna came up on the screen? Though, many movie critics have given Karthik Calling Karthik a poor rating, I would say that those people never want Hindi cinema to present something innovative.

Like Luck By Chance and Rock On, Farhan Akhtar once again proves that he has the ability to take the load of the entire movie. Of course, Deepika does give out a good performance this time, but you cannot imagine Karthik Calling Karthik without Farhan. Ram Kapoor as a typical nagging boss does a brilliant job and Vipin Sharma as Ashish does a decent job as well. Shefali Shah does her role of psychiatrist brilliantly. So far I haven't mentioned anything about the direction but I must admit that Vijay Lalwani has done a fantastic job on direction, screenplay, story and dialogues. I wonder any director in Hindi film industry must have made such an intelligent use of a Rubik's Cube the way it is done in this movie. Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is good and different. However, what works for this movie is an incredibly awesome background score by Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale. Some of the scenes in the movie look gripping only because of the background score and witty dialogues. Javed Akhtar provides good lyrics to the songs which help the flow of the movie. In the end, I would like to say - Don't Miss This Call.

Click Fails To Click

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:01:00 +0000

If you are an avid fan of horror movies than it is better that you rent a horror movie DVD rather than wasting your money on Click. From the very first promo of the movie people knew that Click is nothing, but just a remake of 2004 Thai hit Shutter which was than adapted by Hollywood in 2008 under the same title, and you won't believe this but same plot is used in a Tamil movie name Sivi which was released in 2007. The only changes director Sangeeth Sivan has made here is that he has modified the plot as per the Indian audience to ensure that people come up and watch this scary movie which is far away from horror.

The plot revolves around a young photographer Avi (Shreyas Talpade) and his girlfriend Sonia (Sada). Avi loves to click beautiful pictures and has a past before Sonia enters his life. However, one night while they are returning from a party they accidentally hit and run a young girl. Though, Sonia wants to help the girl, Avi fears involvement of police and therefore they decide to flee rather than helping the girl. After a couple of days, all pictures clicked by Avi has some strange white markings and Sonia begins to experience something beyond natural. Avi develops a shoulder pain and though he is fit and healthy his weight shows up as 120 kgs. Soon all best friends of Avi begin to die for some strange reasons and Sonia begins to feel that something is haunting them. The later part of the story is all about Sonia's quest to find out the shocking reality behind all the happenings.

If we look at the plot of the movie there is nothing much to speak about. Those who have already watched the Hollywood version of this movie will be utterly disappointed, because they know where the story is heading and therefore they will be aware of all the thrills about to come on the screen. However, the movie does have some scary moments, but I guess that is not enough to capture audience attention. Director Sangeeth Sivan might be a master at making comedies like Kya Kool Hain Hum and Apna Sapna Money Money, but failed to click as a master of horror.

Apart from the story, performance by Shreyas Talpade is good but his acting alone cannot help Click to register its mark at the box office. Sada is good in her role but there was no need to go for revealing clothes. Another negative point that the movie has is the music by Samir Tandon. I guess there was no need for songs. Often it has been noticed that horror movies punctuated with crappy songs spoils the entire flow of the movie. Cinematography by T.Ramji is presentable but special effects ruins up that department as well. I guess its time that our film makers should realize that there is a very thin line between getting inspired and copy pasting the script.

My Name Is Khan Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:03:00 +0000

My Name Is Khan and I am not a terrorist. The phrase not only has caught up with the audience like an anthem, but it also comes at a very crucial stage in the very beginning of the movie which accelerates the story further. I am not a huge Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar fan, but I have always felt that both have a tremendous potential to showcase their talent if given a strong script like My Name Is Khan. If you are looking for an entertainment movie like any other Karan Johar movies than you will definitely feel disappointed because the movie is not a regular Karan Johar love story. The story is about the spirit of humanity and how far one man can go to prove his love is stronger than all the false ideologies that we have about religion.

The story revolves around Rizwan Khan (Tanay Chheda) who grows up with his younger brother Zakir and a widowed mother in a middle class family, but suffers from autism. Though people consider Rizwan as mentally handicap, he is perfectly intelligent and good at repairing machines. He receives more attention from his mother which creates a kind of jealousy in the heart of Zakir who eventually prefers to move apart to United States for a better life. After the death of their mother, Zakir (Jimmy Shergill) sponsors Rizwan (Shah Rukh Khan) to United States and introduces him to his wife Haseena (Sonya Jehan) who is a psychiatrist and she confirms that Rizwan suffers from Asperger's syndrome. Rizwan begins to work under Zakir as a beauty products salesman and meets Mandira (Kajol) who runs a beauty salon. Mandira is a single mother and lives with his son Sameer (Yuvaan Makaar). Gradually Rizwan and Mandira come closer to each other and despite Zakir's disapproval they get married and begin to live a happy life, but their happiness is short-lived. One fine morning 9/11 happens and it changes the course of American history and lives of several Muslim people living in the United States and Rizwan is just one of them. Their beauty salon sales are hit because of the name tag "Khan" attached to it and their son Sameer dies in a racial school fight. Mandira is unable to bear the burden and shatters completely under the circumstances and blames Rizwan for all the happening. How Rizwan goes all the way to prove his love for Mandira and that he is not a terrorist is something really worth watching.

To be very honest, I hardly watch Karan Johar movies because they are nothing more than a typical masala entertainment, but this time Karan Johar has handled a very sensitive subject with immense care. The plot does not have any favorism for any religion or sections of society and still comes out with a strong message that humanity is above any religion and full credit goes to Shibani Bathija for a powerful multi-layered story and screenplay that holds the attention of the viewers from scene one.

Shah Rukh Khan once again proves that he is the Badshah of Bollywood and if you enjoyed his serious performances in Chak De or Swades, I am sure you will love this one as well. Kajol is a power-house of acting and her performance tells us that talent is permanent and does not fade with time even if you are not performing. Jimmy Shergill does justice to his supporting role along with Sonya Jehan. Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is always at its best and songs like Sajda and Noor-e-Khuda are very soothing to ears. Technically, the cinematography by Ravi Chandran is awesome, especially the ariel shots are splendidly done and crisp editing by Deepa Bhatia makes the overall movie watching experience worthwhile. I would like to tell my readers that though there are news that the collection figures of the movie has slide down in the second week, I would humbly request that checkout this awesome movie and decide for yourself. I am sure when you walk out of the movie hall you will be happy that you made a good decision and followed your heart.

Harishchandrachi Factory Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:13:00 +0000

Are you passionate about movies? If you are than you must definitely go for Harishchandrachi Factory. The movie is nothing less than a time machine which takes you back into history when no one was aware about motion pictures and people all over India were satisfied with Indian stage dramas. The movie depicts about the struggle of Dadasaheb Phalke who is also known as the Father of Indian Cinema. Though, the movie is a biography and talks about the struggle of one man with a vision, the movie does not bore you even for a minute and the credit goes to the director Paresh Mokashi for this brave attempt to show something new on the celluloid.

The story is like a time shuttle and take you almost a century ago when Dhundiraj Phalke (Nandu Madhav) works in a printing press, but soon both the partners of the press fall out and Phalke is jobless. Being idle he decides to go for a silent motion picture where he watches the motion picture and decides to come up with his own silent motion picture, but his ideas are not welcomed by his relatives and neighbors who think that he has lost his mind and they even drag him to Thane Mental Hospital for check up, but Dhundiraj takes this task as a challenge to prove everyone wrong. He receives a good support from his wife Savitri (Vibhavari Deshpande) and his two sons. After a lot of struggle he eventually goes to London and learns about making silent motion pictures and when he returns he makes Raja Harishchandra which becomes the first silent motion picture in India.

The overall movie is very simple and since you already know the story line you might feel that the movie might not be that interesting. Even I thought the same way, but director Paresh Mokashi has done a splendid job to keep you involved in the movie. The movie becomes a laugh riot after the return of Phalke from London and some scenes are hilarious even without a dialog. The movie has already won 14 awards at state and national level which includes Best Film and Best Director award and have been selected as India's official entry for Academy Awards.

When we talk about the performance, Nandu Madhav have done an exceptional job for his role of Dhundiraj Phalke. Vibhavari Deshpande once again gives her best performance after Natarang, but here she gets a better scope compare to Natarang. Other situational characters have done their job very well which is why the movie has been so successful. Cinematography by Amalendu Choudary is good. However, what keeps the spirit of the movie alive is the music by Anand Modak which makes every scene engaging. Though, the movie is already out of the Oscar nomination, Harishchandrachi Factory has won many Indian hearts and will always be remembered as a rare tribute to a legend who laid the foundation stone of the biggest film industry in the world.

Rann Is An Eye-Opener

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:34:00 +0000

We all know that level of corruption in politics and many other social institutions have already reached beyond control and therefore most of the common people believe that since the legal system has failed they have media at their disposal which acts like a social mirror reflecting good as good and bad as bad, but Ram Gopal Verma gives us yet another shocking story that reveals the darker side of the electronic media. Rann is all about the media politics and how it affects the local people unknowingly.
The story of Rann revolves around Vijay Harshvardhan Malik (Amitabh Bacchan) who owns a private news channel named India 24/7. He strongly believes that his channel is a medium through which a comman man can voice his opinions and truth can prevail in the society which is ruined by corruption. He prefers to stick to the old rules where journalism demands moral ethics and honesty. Barun (Reitesh Deshmukh) is a newly recruited journalist who admires Vijay Harshvardhan Malik for the passion and honesty that he has towards journalism. However, Jai Malik (Sudeep) is an over-ambitious son of Vijay Harshvardhan Malik who thinks exactly the opposite of his father than news channels can only grow if they present sensationalism because that is what the people all over wants to see on their television sets. Amrish Kakkar (Mohnish Behl) also owns a private news channel named Headlines 24 and competes with India 24/7, but since he adds sensationalism to his news, his news channel does pretty well and that is what hurts Jai Malik. Jai then decides to take an alternate road to ensure that India 24/7 takes the top spot and for that Jai join hands with unethical industrialist Navin (Rajat Kapoor) and corrupt politician Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal). What happens from here is a roller coaster ride of emotions and ethics and Ram Gopal Verma handles the subject delicately.

We have known Ram Gopal Verma for launching movies that are different and explore new areas where Hindi films have never treaded. After two horrible horror stories like Phoonk and Agyaat, Ram Gopal Verma delivers yet another tale of corruption on a different level. Since the subject is very sensitive, the director has handled the subject with great care and the story line does not deviate even for a moment.

Amitabh Bachchan once again delivers an outstanding performance as a responsible Editor-in-Chief along with serious performance by Reitesh Deshmukh. Mohnish Behl has proved that he can act if he is given a meaty role that has substance. Apart from this, Rajat Kapoor and Paresh Rawal are superb in their negative roles. Technically, the movie is superbly made and the cinematography of the movie by Amit Roy is brilliant. The background score is haunting but blends with the situation of the movie. Overall, Rann is for you if you are ready for a thought provoking film.

Ishqiya Is Unpredictable

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:36:00 +0000

If you are tired of watching stereotype Bollywood movies where you already know what will happen next, than go ahead for Ishqiya. Debutant film maker Abhishek Chaubey gives us a perfect what-will-happen-next kind of movie that will force you to think till the very last scene of the movie. Well, you cannot call this movie romantic and neither it is a fast pace action thriller, but with crisp story line and tight screenplay the movie gives you a different taste of Bollywood.

The story takes off from the very first scene where we see a couple sharing some private moments and after a few moments a gas cylinder explosion surprises you from nowhere. The very next scene we see the genius Khalujaan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) dancing on retro Bollywood music which acts as a comic-entry scene and than we hear Ibn-e-Batuta's thumping music that elevates the story to the next level. Khalujaan and Babban are small time thugs who are under debt and constantly on the run to avoid any confrontation with their boss Mushtaq (Salman Shahid). They try out various options to hide from their boss, but nothing works out and finally they decide to seek refuge in Gorakhpur at their deceased friend's house where they find that Krishna (Vidya Balan) is the widow of their deceased friend. While Khalujaan gets closer to Krishna, Babban begins to make friendship with a local boy (Aalok Kumar) who shows him new brothels, but soon Babban falls for Krishna's unpredictable romantic mood and that is where the story takes a new turn. From here you might think that you know what's ahead, but Abhishek Chaubey surprises you with yet another unpredictable plot that changes the course of the movie and you will be scratching your heads till the very last frame.

Technically, the sound mixing is excellent and camerawork by Mohana Krishna is refreshing and ensures that you see every detail even in low light scenes. However, what works for the movie is the screenplay by Vishal Bhardwaj. The genius director who has also written saucy dialogues for the movie have ensured that every scene has been chiseled to perfection. Since the movie is about the interaction between three main characters dialogues play an important role and Vishal Bhardwaj has done a fine job here giving us a rustic feel in every word spoken, but on the other hand, the abusive tone might not be appreciated by all.

However, the movie belongs to Vidya Balan for giving one of her finest performance till date. She works like a catalyst and audience will enjoy watching her in a different role. Naseeruddin Shah as always looks very relaxed and natural in every situation. Arshad Warsi gets better with every performance and continues to humor the audience through his caustic comments. Aalok Kumar as a local boy with a fiery tongue has performed superbly. Overall, every actor in the movie has given the best performance and credit goes to the entire team. For those who haven't watched the movie so far, please don't miss the beginning if you want to enjoy the climax.

Road To Sangam Looks Promising

noreply@blogger.com (Sharukh Bamboat) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:19:00 +0000

Once in a while comes a movie that questions your inner faith and conscience and troubles your mind and soul to do what is really right. I have always loved such movies that are really path-breaking and that has a strong script with powerful performances that is really worth watching. Road To Sangam is one such movie that looks really fresh and iconoclastic. Though, many movies have been produced that dwells on the topic of terrorism and it's ill-effects on the Muslim community, Road To Sangam sounds different to some extent.

The story is about a devout Muslim man name Hashmat Ullah (Paresh Rawal) who is religious and God-fearing but at the same time he is open to new liberal thinking which makes him a villian in the eyes of his community members. Soon events began to happen that tears him apart between his duty towards his religion and his responsibilities towards his motherland.

So far the promos of Road To Sangam looks excellent even though there is no major Bollywood celebrity involved in the production. The movie is directed by Amit Rai. Road To Sangam so far have bagged six major international film festival awards including the Viewers Choice Award for Best Film at the 11th Mumbai International Film Festival. Paresh Rawal, Pawan Malhotra and Om Puri are one of the finest quality actors that we have and seeing them together on the celluloid will take cinematic experience to new heights. So, let's hope that Road To Sangam really penetrates hard into our minds and educates and entertained us at the same time.