Movie Review: Student of The Year

For the past few years every movie produced or directed by maverick film maker Karan Johar has been awaited by every cine goers. It is a fast rule you can like him or hate him but you cannot ignore his movies or him. This week KJo comes out with his first movie that introduces not only the three main leads but also a horde of newcomers in the supporting cast. 

Student of the Year or SOTY is the only movie that doesn't cast his favorite King Khan and still has got all the ingredients to make it a full fledged BLOCKBUSTER. Coming to the story. SOTY is the story of Abhimanyu Singh [Sidharth Malhotra] and Rohan Nanda [Varun Dhawan], who traverse the path of competition, envy, triumph, failure, manipulation and heartbreak in their mini-universe of St. Teresa's High School, Dehradun. 

Rohan a.k.a. Ro is the son of a business tycoon who has the hots for every girl in the town although he has a devoted girlfriend in Shanaya [Alia Bhatt]. He is a popular guy in the college and for him the twists and turns in his life makes it a goal to become the SOTY. While Abhimanyu a.k.a Abhi comes from a middle-class family and wants to achieve great heights of success and prosperity, the first step to which will be the 'Student Of The Year' trophy.

The two protagonists with distinct backgrounds and clear goals clash with each other in the locker room, football field and the canteen. Things are further knotted up when Shanaya Singhania [Alia Bhatt], falls in love with Abhi who also is attracted to her even though she is his best friend's girl. This causes a rift in their friendship and, Abhi and Rohan are ready for a face-off and battle lines are drawn through the length and breadth of the campus, with only one goal in everyone's eyes -- 'Student Of The Year' trophy. 

The story is nothing great but the treatment by KJo is wonderful, every character gets a distinct role that is well defined. The supporting cast comprising of Sana Saeed, Sahil Anand, Kayoze Irani, Ram Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Ronit Roy etc are brilliant. 

Among the main leads Varun Dhawan is a performer while Siddharth Malhotra is someone to look for in the coming years. Alia Bhat is beautiful and has done a decent job. The music compared to KJo's previous movies are not great shakes but still 'Ishqwala Love' 'Velle' 'Disco Deewane' and 'Radha' are quite good. 

On the whole the movie is going to do very well at the Box Office and it will benefit everyone associated with the movie.

Movie Review: AIYYA

After watching a mind blowing 'English Vinglish' last week, comes a drab 'Aiyya' which infact even I am surprised how a director like Sachin Kundalkar (who won a National Award for the same story in Marathi) could make. I am wondering how Rani Mukherjee and Anurag Kashyap who are known for their brilliant script sense could actually go for a script like this?

To give you a backhand story, Sachin Kundalkar made a movie "Gandh - The Smell" in Marathi few years back that had three short stories woven together, revolving around 'smell'. One of the short stories titled 'Lagnacha Vayachi Mulgi' has been stretched and made into a 2hr 30 mins 'masala' potboiler in Hindi by him.

Like Rani's screen father says in the end of the movie, "That he could not understand what was happening all the while?" was the same thing I uttered to myself after the movie came to an end (actually I was waiting for it to end). The movie was neither a comedy nor a thought provoking drama or even a masala entertainer that it was being projected as, all through its promos and songs.

The story is about a middle class girl Meenaxi (Rani) who falls in love with a South Indian guy named Surya (Prithviraj) only because of his body smell. Her quirky or rather an over dramatic family fixes her marriage with a simpleton Madhav (Subodh Bhave) who loves Farooque Shaikh and Deepti Naval movies. Soon Meenaxi realizes that she can never be happy with Madhav as she is in love with Surya or rather his smell and what happens to Meenaxi and would she get the man of her dreams is what AIYYA is all about.

Performances by every actor including Rani is over the top, loud and dramatic. South Sensation Prithviraj has nothing much to do and has just a couple of dialogues in the entire movie. The songs are wonderful and they are choreographed well by Vaibhavi Merchant. Dialogues are too loud and at times too boring. Direction was average, I still want to believe that Sachin was either sleeping when he directed this movie or maybe he drank a bottle full of vodka from the water-bag named 'Jumbo' carried by Rani's colleague Maina in the movie.

On the whole this movie is not worth watching unless you want to hold your head and scream angrily "AIYYA". This movie will be a total loss at the Box Office, maybe a miracle can save it.

As for the other release of the week BHOOT RETURNS... I would rather say Mr. RGV can you please stop wasting your time and producers money by making such crass movies.... Please take a break and do some soul searching... We want to see RGV of Rangeela, Satya, Bhoot, Company and Sarkar series.... The worst movie I have ever seen so wouldn't waste my time and energy in reviewing it... At the box office this BHOOT will not make any RETURNS ;)

ENGLISH VINGLISH: Movie Review

At last the prayers of all Sridevi fans including me have been answered with the release of Gauri Shinde directed 'English Vinglish'. A simply and cute story told in a very simple and emotional way. Nothing new if you want to give a straightaway judgement, but that is the beauty of this simple movie.

Sashi (Sridevi) is a housewife and a small time 'Entrepreneur' who sells home made 'laddoos' and takes care of her family. However her biggest problem in life is not knowing English language because of which she is not valued by her children and husband.

On her sister's insistence she goes to US to help with the marriage preparations of her niece. There she happens to enroll herself for a short term English learning class. She discovers, like her there are couple of characters who have come from different countries to US for work and are struggling with their lack of knowledge of English language.

Soon she is on a roll and she learns the language to earn respect and dignity among her family members.

The story is very simple, the direction is wonderful although there are few glitches in the screenplay but that can be ignored when you see the end result.

Sridevi as always is endearing and she is as natural as she can be. It seems the character was tailor-made for her. Even after 15 years she is still in great form and will beat every competition to win all the awards and  maybe even the National Award for her potrayal of Sashi Godbole. The rest  of the supporting cast is wonderful so is the cameo by Amitabh Bachchan. The music is very good especially the title song and 'Navrai'. After 'Cheeni Kum' and 'Paa', R. Balki comes back as a producer for 'English Vinglish' bringing back the feel good quality of his past ventures.

On the whole this is one movie which everyone should watch and maybe after that our views about our mothers and housewives in general will change. As it is said, being a housewife is a 24 hour duty and even though a woman does her chores with dedication, still she never gets to hear a 'Thank You' or a word of appreciation from her family members, because she is taken for granted. I am not saying that suddenly the views towards the housewives will change however one will definitely think about it.

My verdict please do go and watch this BRILLIANT movie... as for box office numbers, it will definitely bring in good numbers and ensure everyone associated with this movie gets benefited. 

Oh My God! - Movie Review

OMG - Oh My God is this week's new release and to tell you frankly it is one of the best movies to come out starring Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal after a long time. Although Akshay had a good year earlier with Housefull 2 and Rowdy Rathore which were inane comedies that made good money at the box office,  he also had an insipid 'Joker' which was one of his biggest flops. However OMG is something that Akshay will be proud off not only as an actor but also as a Producer.

To start with, the movie is an official adaptation of the popular play "Kishan V/s Kanhaiya" which has been successfully running from past one decade and the movie makers have also given credit to 'The Man Who Sued God' which was an English movie released in 2001. The movie has some fresh plots and scenarios which were not seen in the original play and it really compliments the movie as a whole.

The story is about Kanji (played brilliantly by Paresh Rawal) who runs an antique shop in Chor Bazar and he does not believe in God. One day an earthquake strikes the city destroying his shop and he approaches his insurance company who raises their hands saying as it an 'Act of God' they are not liable to compensate. Upset with the situation, Kanji files a case against God in Court of Law and he sends notices to every Godman and religious institutions to compensate for his loss.

The case creates a furor in the city and the entire city is divided into two, one group supporting Kanji and the other group supporting the religious priests and Godmen. Finally God (Akshay Kumar) is forced to come down to handle the situation.

The message is very strong where one gets to understand that one should not be God Fearing but God Loving. Moreover the movie is not anti-religion and gives us a clear picture that instead of searching for God in temples and religious places, one should search HIM within ourselves.

Performances are wonderful and every supporting actor has done a great job. Paresh Rawal steals the show with his perfect portrayal of Kanji Bhai and Akshay Kumar as Lord Krishna is wonderful. Akshay suits the role like a 'T' and it is a pleasure to watch him whenever he comes on screen. Mithoon Chakraborthy as the effeminate Godman is brilliant and hilarious and so is Govind Namdeo.

Music by Himesh Reshammiya do not have much scope in this movie and apart from 'Go Go Go Govinda' song there are non that impresses. The cinematography is good however art direction could have been better as one can clearly see that the movie was shot in a set and not original locations. Director Umesh Shukla has done a wonderful job and on the whole the movie will do well at the BO even though it has some blemishes.

My verdict, this is one wonderful movie to look forward to, so GO FOR IT!

HEROINE: Move Review

A Madhur Bhandarkar movie is always a much awaited fare as he tries to expose the under belly of each profession or field he tries to project on screen. So keeping his past record in mind i.e. Chandni Bar, Satta, Page 3, Traffic Signal, Corporate and Fashion, I was eager to find out what he had to show about the movie industry through the eyes of a Heroine played by Kareena Kapoor. To tell you frankly he disappointed me badly.

If you have followed the movies made by Madhur, you will see a set pattern in every story he brings on screen, where a wannabe becomes a person of importance or peaks his/her career and then because of arrogance and pride hits the bottom of their career only to resurrect and find a meaning above the profession he or she is pursuing. Case in point Satta, Page 3, Corporate, Fashion and now Heroine (here he has done away with her struggling phase and concentrated on her downfall). Let me also tell you that Heroine is no 'The Dirty Picture' that released last year and is now regarded as a cult movie,  and garnered awards as well as rewards for everyone connected with it.

Coming to the movie, it is the story of a successful movie star Mahi Arora (Kareena Kapoor) who is in love with a much married actor Aryan Khanna (Arjun Rampal) who does not acknowledge their relationship out in public or print. She is more concerned about getting a commitment from Aryan than concentrating on her career until she realizes one day that her career as well as her relationship with Aryan is heading no where.

She soon tries to take charge of her career and in the process takes some bad career decisions, exploits people and relationships only to fall flatly in every account. There is not much novelty in the story as we have seen such stories and situations earlier. As a viewer, one would love to see the unknown facet of the movie industry and not the cliched stuff where every actor wants to sleep with every actress, homosexuality, back biting, cut throat competition, drug and alcohol abuse etc.

On close inspection one could notice that the writers have heavily borrowed couple of instances from actress Manisha Koirala's life eg: the alcoholic and eccentric behavior of Mahi (Manisha was known for her alcoholism and eccentric behavior during her prime which lead to her career dwindling down), the sex scandal highlighted before the release of her movie (something similar to what happened during 'Ek Choti Si Love Story' in 2001 where Manisha accused director Sasilal Nair of filming nude and love making scenes with a body double without her knowledge) when her career goes scaling down and she has just one movie to make her mark. Even the part where Mahi is shown living a life of anonymity in Europe in the climax of the movie (something similar to what Manisha did in the last couple of years before she got married and divorced recently) etc.

Now coming to performances; Kareena Kapoor has given a good performance however not a National Award winning one as we have seen her doing much better in many other movies in the past eg: Chameli, Jab We Met, Dev etc. Arjun Rampal seems wooden in the first half only to resurrect in the second half with some good acting display. Randeep Hooda, Divya Dutta, Shahana Goswami gives some wonderful performances in their brief screen space. Govind Namdeo as Kareena's secretary is plain okay, I still don't figure out what Achint Kaur was doing the movie (there was no reference to what or who she was in the movie). Helen as a fading actress does an average job.

Direction by Madhur is strictly okay but the story lets him down heavily, so he needs to work with better writers the next time he makes a movie. Dialogues by Niranjan Iyengar were plain okay and the most irritating part about them was that, every character mouthed 'Babes' in every sentence they spoke. Music by Salim-Suleman is plain below average with just one hum-able 'Saiyan' and an average 'Halkat Jawani'. On the whole I would rate this movie 'Average' and on the Box Office I do not see it making bigger numbers like Barfi or Raaz 3 that released in the last couple of weeks, it might just sail through in the name of Madhur and Kareena.

BARFI - Movie Review

After a very long time I have enjoyed every moment I spent watching a beautiful and simple movie made with lots of love and care by Anurag Basu i.e. BARFII. 2012 will go down in history of Bollywood as a landmark year with different and original concepts making huge mark at the box office. Moreover after a lukewarn KITES, Anurag Basu is in full form with this sweet love story.

BARFII is the story of a deaf and mute guy played by Ranbir who lives in Darjeeling with his father, who works as a driver in Jhilmil's (Priyanka Chopra) house. Jhilmil is an autistic patient who has lived her entire life in a sanitarium named Muskan, as her drunkard mother and wayward father are not capable of taking care off her.

One day Barfii meets Shruti (Ileana D'cruz) who comes to live with her parents in Darjeeling. He instantly falls in love with her even though he is aware that she is soon to be married. Barfi tries his luck in wooing Shruti and soon they both are in love, only to be separated when she has to get married to her fiance due to some unavoidable situation. 

The story then focuses on Barfi and Jhilmil, after he tries to kidnap her to raise money for his father's operation. The lives of Barfi, Jhilmil and Shruti collide once again and then what happens with these three lovable characters, is what the movie is all about.

The love story between Barfi and Shruti is adorable on one side, while the emotional bonding between Barfi and Jhilmil is equally cute and lovable. After a long time a good love triangle has been explored with the main two characters being physically and mentally challenged.

Without getting preachy or making fun of the physical and mental conditions of the characters, Anurag Basu has dealt sensitively with this subject and has made his characters look as normal as any day to day characters. The music is wonderful and my favorites are 'Ashiyan', 'Bawre', 'Ala Barfi' and 'Phir Le Aaya'.

Coming to actors, Ranbir Kapoor as usual is seen shining all over again after an award winning performance in last year's ROCKSTAR. Priyanka Chopra is another brilliant actress who delivers an award winning performance by playing the innocent, childlike Jhilmil who is an autistic patient. Ileana in her debut movie has done justice to her character and it will not be too long when you will see her making mark in Bollywood with more such challenging roles. Saurabh Shukla is wonderful and so are other supporting actors.

This is one of the most enchanting and beautiful movies' to come out this year and it will definitely make its mark at the box office. My recommendation, GO FOR IT! You will not be disappointed.

RAAZ 3 - Movie Review

RAAZ 3 the latest movie to come out of Vishesh Films and Mahesh Bhatt's stable is another story set to cash in on the famous RAAZ franchise they formed 10 years back. However like all recent Vishesh Film movies or the movies made by the Bhatt family, this one too turns out to be a big Rumble in the Bronx.

The story is about a fading actress played superbly by Bipasha Basu who seeks revenge on another upcoming actress played by Esha Gupta, who also happens to be her half sister. To regain what she has lost out to the newbie Bipasha's character resorts to Black Magic and to execute her plan successfully she chooses her boyfriend / lover played by Emran Hashmi.

As the story progresses Emran Hashmi has a change of heart and falls in love with Esha's character and instead of taking the plan ahead of killing her, he enters the world of Spirits to get back her spirit.

There is nothing new about the plotline as every Vikram Bhatt movie has got the same old story treatment and the 3D is just used merely for marketing purpose, as there are not many 3D usable material in the movie. The entire movie revolves around the three characters and after sometime it tends to be boring.

As far as acting goes, Emran is okay, he has given much better performances in the past. Bipasha is good in whatever role she has however the biggest disappointment here is Esha Gupta who really needs to pull up her socks. Vikram is a good storyteller however Shagufta Rafiq lets him down. The cinematography by Praveen Bhatt is very good while the music by Jeet Ganguli and Rashid Khan disappoints considering the fact that the music of RAAZ 1 & RAAZ 2 were good. The 3D effects are good but not much scope for using thrills barring a couple of sequences.

On an average the movie is just a one time watch and considering the hype around the movie, it wouldn't be a wonder if it turns out to be a winner for Vishesh Films, Emran Hashmi and Bipasha.