Dhobi Ghat [2010]

(A short review for a change)

Cast : Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar (Genelia's bro in Jaane Tu...), Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra

Direction : Kiran Rao
Description : Dhobi Ghat (or Mumbai Diaries) revolves around four characters: Munna (Prateik), the Dhobi; Arun (Aamir), the painter; Shai (Monica), an NRI investment banker in the US who's in town on a sabbatical to explore the city for her passion, photography; and Yasmin (Kriti), a young girl from U.P. who has moved in after her marriage, and is recording a video for her brother back home.
The stories of the four characters display many a facets of the Maximum City, the everyday hustle-bustle of its inhabitants, class differences, lifestyles of the (so called) lower class and the upper class.

Review : It was quite bold on the part of Kiran Rao to debut with a movie distant from the mainstream cinema. It is not an entertainer, it is an art film; not meant for everyone. Watch it for the cinematic experience. The Screenplay and Editing are excellent, Background Music well suited, good Cinematography. All the actors have done justice to their roles. Prateik and Kriti were particularly remarkable. However, Aamir looked a bit uncomfortable. Maybe he just wanted to downplay his part and highlight the other characters, like in Taare Zameen Par, but the effort seemed too conscious this time. The pace of the film might seem slow, but it suits the gradual development of the story. The only weak link seems to be the unconclusive end.
It is aptly titled Mumbai Diaries, for it depicts the city very well, almost as the fifth character of the story. Be patient, let the story develop, and you'll like it.
My Rating : 3.5/5

Dabangg [2010]

Cast: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha (d/o Shatrughna Sinha! ), Arbaaz Khan, Sonu Sood, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Mahie Gill (Dev-D's Paaro)
Direction: Abhinav Kashyap (Anurag Kashyaps's bro)
Plot: Set in Uttar Pradesh, Dabangg (aka Wanted++) is the story of a corrupt police officer and highlights the flaws and loopholes in the system. The film primarily deals with the unlawful practices in the states of UP and Bihar.
Description: Chulbul Pandey (Salman) is one fearlesss cop, whose unorthodox approach to crime-fighting puts fear into everyone else around.
He is lovable but corrupt, and lives up to the Robin Hood tag, stealing from the corrupt/criminals and distributing to the needy. This even begins to irk the local youth leader Chhedi Singh (Sonu Sood) as he finds his men constantly under Chulbul’s radar.But when Chulbul is not in action against criminals, he is battling the disturbances at the domestic front. He holds a childhood grudge against his step father Pandey  (Vinod Khanna) and his dimwit step-brother Makkhi (Arbaaz). Yet the love for his mother (Dimple) keeps him buckled up. Love manages to make way into his busy life, in the form of Raajo (Sonakshi) which leads to Robin Hood Pandey beginning to change for the better, in his attempt to woo the damsel.
Things however take a drastic turn with the demise of the mother, post which, Chulbul snaps all ties with Makkhi and his step father. Chhedi Singh meanwhile decides to use this situation to his advantage.
Review: Dabangg is a complete masala movie with almost no dull moments and you will truly enjoy it if you can easily leave your brain out before watching. The first half is very refreshing as we get to know Chulbul's character well.
The script has many flaws and the screenplay doesn't seem to be consistent. The climax action scene seems to be never-ending. The direction and cinematography are good, but do not quite make up for the flawed script. The song  "Tere Mast Mast Do Nain" by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is particularly melodious. Malaika Arora  sizzles in the item number "Munni Badnaam Hui" and is particularly memorable. Other songs are average.
Salman is all over the movie and is at his usual best as an entertainer (if not an actor). Its hard to imagine anyone else from B-town in Chulbul Pandey's shoes. Salman still has no idea how to shed tears on screen. But a true action hero need not cry, heck need not even act! They need to look cool, be cool, talk cool and smash the hell out of every other livin’ fool! Watch out for his dance moves in "Munni..." and the title track. They can best be describes as "LOL" ! Salman tries to dance at every possible opportunity in the film, but Pappu can't dance saala…!!

Speaking of other performances, Sonu Sood is the most notable. He is very convincing in his role of a local politician-cum-goon. Sonakshi looks gorgeous and gives a good debut performance with some 10 one line dialogues given to her. Mahie Gill, as Makkhi's lady love is hardly noticable. Veterans Vinod Khanaa, Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Tinu Anand are totally wasted. Dimple Kapadia's act as Chulbul's ailing mother seemed very artificial. Even Arbaaz Khan did better.

I dont know if the problem was with the print I saw, but the sound in some of the action scenes seemed partially suppressed. One expects a high-decibel dishoom-dishoom and gunfire in such scenes.

The bitterness between Chulbul and his father isnt well justified. Raajo's father committing suicide doesn't feel logical. And what is point of Chulbul coming to brother Makkhi's wedding and getting his own marriage performed there ?? Now, one might say: Kamaal karte ho yaar. Sallu ki picture hai. Itna sochne ki zarurat nahi !

To sum it up, Dabangg is Entertainment guaranteed! Watch it with a light heart (and brain ofcourse) and you won't need anyone else to say: Bhaiyyaji, Smile !!

My Rating: 3/5

Trivia: Dabangg had a 1st-day collection of 14.4 crores - the highest till date at the Indian Box Office, and has also beaten 3 Idiots (the previous record holder) in the opening-weekend collection. It has also set a record for piracy in India. Within 72 hrs of its release, more than 150,000 downloads from some 200 websites providing the full-length movie.

Something is rotten...

I was reading an article, when I was in the insti library (Yes, I go there sometimes) recently. Thought of sharing it. So, here I am, with this new, a bit serious post, a deviation from my usual theme: Movies.
Despite the record procurement of 608.79 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat last month, more than 40% of the population goes hungry and 46% of the country’s children are malnourished. As if that wasn’t enough, reports have come of government agencies leaving thousands of tonnes of foodgrain to rot in the open. The pic alongside shows grain rotting in a storage facility(??) in Fatehgarh, Punjab. On the other hand, India is emerging as a major foodgrain exporter to the poor African nations.
As per reports, some 61,000 tonnes of foodgrain in Punjab, Haryana and elsewhere was left to rot in open! This could have fed at least 120 lakh people for a month! The government did nothing to store the grain properly, nor did it consider distributing it to the needy instead of letting it rot.
“The country should get its priorities right,” says Dr M.S. Swaminathan, a renowned agriculture scientist. “It’s a shame. If it cannot save its foodgrain for the needy, the state should not be talking of a food security law. Providing food should be the priority. Instead, the government has chosen to focus on airports and the Commonwealth Games.” Even after this was exposed, all the government did, was to acknowledge it; no investigation, no steps to prevent such a colossal wastage in future.
And we are exporting the surplus to Africa! Can the nation really talk about surplus stocks if all the hungry aren't fed??

-excerpts from "Outlook"

Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai [2010]

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Prachi Desai
Plot: A tale of two gangsters from the 70's era, whose lives enter parallel paths as they struggle to survive within Bombay's criminal underworld.
Description: This is a familiar tale of a powerful smuggler and his fallout with his ambitious protege. It is supposedly the biography (partial) of Mumbai's first Mafia dons, Haji Mastan (played by Ajay) and the young Daud Ibrahim (Emraan).
So begins the story of a much respected smuggler, Sultan Mirza (Ajay), well known throughout the city for his no-nonsense approach and honour amongst thieves, yet possessing that heart of gold and compassion in his willingness to help impoverished folks where the authorities can't, himself having started from an almost impossibly poor beginning and working his way up through a variety of con jobs. The uncharacteristically principled Sultan becomes the reigning don of the city. His basic funda is co-operating and compromising with anyone who comes in his way, instead of making enemies. He is then joined by Shoiab (Emraan), a greedy wannabe gangster. After ruling the cities for quite some time, Sultan's supremacy is challenged by Shoaib. The rest of the film is the bout between the two.
Review: The director has been successful to a good extent in borrowing the 70's style of film-making. As widely publicized, every dialogue is a punch-line. The film moves at a decent pace and the build-up of the story is good. The background score (though copied from Black Strobe's "I'm a Man") and Cinematography is also a strong point. Ajay Devgn gives a splendid performance and is exceptional in his dialogue delivery. Emraan Hashmi has done a fair job but isnt comparable to Ajay. He lacks the charisma an underworld don should have. Kangana justifies her film-star character well. Prachi Desai is pretty average and hasnt got much of a role. Randeep Hooda is effective in his small role as a cop.
The starting scene of the movie is rather illogical. There are quite a few usual gangster-movie cliches. The drama and action do not match the standards of the underworld flicks like Satya and Company. The climax has an unncessary political speech, which somewhat ruins it.
Overall, its definitely worth a watch!
My Rating: 3/5

Been keepin busy lately...

You might think i m already bored of blogging,which isnt the case.. Actually, I havent seen a single movie since my last post (Unbelievable but true)!! Was busy with some work and then was down with viral fever-like symptoms for 2-3 days and was consequently admitted to MedC for 2 days. (used "like" as the gr8 doctors from our MedC didn't know for sure even after discharging me...LOL)
Will definitely watch n write about a few movies before Compre! Till then :-)

Harry Brown [2009]

Cast: Michael Caine (Alfred from d Batman movies), David Bradley (Filch from HP), Emily Mortimer (Nicole from Pink Panther)
Plot: An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.
Description:
Harry (Caine) is a British ex-Marine and now a widower after his wife dies of old-age ailments. He lives a normal,quite lonely life. He and his only friend Len (Bradley) meet regularly at a local pub and play chess.
One day, Len tells Harry that he is being harassed by some local miscreants. He says that he couldn't handle it anymore and would retaliate with the army knife he had procured. The next day, Harry learns from the Police that Len was murdered with the same knife. With his wife and best friend gone, the world closes in around him. When the Police are unable to prosecute any of the murderers, Harry decides to bring out the old serviceman, play the vigilante and punish the murderers. Like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, he’s a former Marine who is handy with a gun or a knife and he’s also merciless in his approach to young offenders.
Review:
Caine is unwavering in his commitment as the grieving widower pushed over the edge by his best friend’s slaying. Harry Brown is ultimately a celebration of a vigilante ethos, suggesting that when there’s a junkie on every corner and decent folk are too scared to leave their homes, then we need a maverick like Harry to come along and commit mass murder.
The cinematography and background score are very effective. There are few moments that fail to ring true (including a police raid on the estate) to undermine the film’s overall credibility. But Michael Caine's mesmerising performance makes up for it. Watch it for him!
My Rating: 4/5

My First Post....

Hello evry1...this is my 1st post on my 1st blog... :-)
I've been thinkin of startin my blog since long but could not do so 4 many reasons...Major one was I cudnt figure out wat I shud write about so that i could update it regularly...Then it clicked to me that ther's one thing i do regularly (aprt from "nothing" ofcourse)...n it is watchin Movies...both bolly and holly...
So,this blog will mostly be about movies that i've watched n my reviews on them...I want u ppl to know abt gud movies... And also some othr things, as and when i feel like sharing them...
So...keep following me and dont forget to add ur comments.... :-)