Rajneeti

My brother told me that Rajneeti was a mix of the Mahabharata and The Godfather - I decided to see the movie for myself to see how good or bad of a job they had done - and the verdict - not too bad at all. It was a tad too long but kept me engrossed for the most part except that I still cannot quite believe that politics in India is such a dirty business... that may be my naive side talking. I mean I have no illusions that politics is this super clean world but in this movie they take it to the next level - people killing people in cold blood with no remorse at all, barter of personal relationships in the name of politics... basically anything goes - the end justifies the means.

The plot definitely borrows heavily from the Mahabharata with the daughter of a major political figure getting pregnant through a brief affair. In efforts to cover up the scandal, her brother takes the baby and abandons him - the baby grows to be Ajay Devgan whose foster father coincidentally works for his biological mother's family as a driver (Kunti and Karna anyone?) Arjun Rampal and Ranbir play brothers - half brothers of Ajay Devgan (whose character is named Suraj) in the movie who ends up on the opposite side of the political play with their cousin played by Manoj Bajpai. It borrows from The Godfather with the younger son (Ranbir's Samar) who initially is far removed from the family's world of politics and ends up slowly becoming the main player and the brains behind the party despite his older brother being the face of the party. Katrina plays a family friend's daughter Indu, madly in love with Samar. However Samar has a girlfriend in the US and only agrees to marry her to have her father finance their party - her father however wants her to marry the older son because he will be CM. For whatever reason she agrees to the match and marries the older son. It is soon revealed to the family that Samar has a girlfriend and she comes to live with him in India.

As Samar is drawn deeper into the world of lies, cover-ups and deceit that is politics Sarah insists on leaving because she cannot bear to raise her as-yet unborn baby in that environment. Samar decides to leave with her but a bomb sets off (ostensibly set by Suraj and their cousin) and she and the older brother end up dead. Samar is once again required to step up to the task of running the party and the family ends up anointing Indu as the candidate for CM. A lot of blood and gore later, the movie ends with Indu becoming Chief Minister and Samar deciding to go back to the US leaving behind the murky world of politics.

On the whole, the movie was pretty decent but I found it a tad too long and all this without the usual unnecessary songs that usually make up a typical Hindi movie. Some of the scenes in the movie were unintentionally hilarious - there is a scene in the hospital where Samar's uncle ends up having a heart attack and they are trying to use the defibrillator and it is just hilarious - I have watched enough ER and Grey's Anatomy to know at least how the process should look and this movie did it no justice at all. The nurse just barely touched the paddles to him. An added bonus was that I watched the movie with the sub-titles on and the translation was atrocious. I honestly believe that reading the sub-titles is more entertaining than the movie these days.

All the characters do a decent job overall - I liked Katrina Kaif better in this movie than all her movies with Akshay Kumar. Ranbir Kapoor did a good job as usual. It's now expected of him. Arjun Rampal is getting much better as an actor... he is finally leaving behind his modeling days and his non-actor label :) Manoj Bajpai and Ajay Devgan were good too. There was nobody in the main cast that let their characters down.

I would say this is a DVD watch because you can forward through a few scenes rather than sitting through the whole thing. Some scenes are very violent but what is a hindi movie without some masala...

Karthik Calling Karthik... oops wrong number!!

Just got back from Karthik Calling Karthik - a prime example of a concept that is kinda unique but suffers due to poor execution. The film was also a tad too long - the second half dragged - they could have wrapped up the movie in 1.5 hours.

The movie is about an average guy, Karthik (played quite well by Farhan Akhtar) who takes a lot of shit from his boss, his co-workers, his landlord and basically everyone in his life and is invisible to the lady he adores from afar Shonali Mukherjee (played by Deepika Padukone). He is almost on the verge of committing suicide one day, when a phone call from himself, changes his life. Karthik starts calling Karthik regularly and changes his life for the better. He commands respect at his workplace, manages to successfully woo his lady love and stands up for himself. Life progresses very smoothly until he lets Shonali in on his secret about getting calls from himself. She persuades him to see a psychiatrist (played by Shefali Shah who has now changed the spelling of her name to Shiffali or something) but the calls start getting nasty as Karthik did not want Karthik to tell anyone about these phone calls. He now wants to wreak havoc in Karthik's life. What happens when things start getting ugly? Will Karthik ever get a break in this lifetime?

The premise of the movie is really unique and could have been really well done if the story moved a bit faster and if the direction was a bit more taut. Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is immensely enjoyable (am still humming "Uff teri adaa, I like the way you move" in my head). For once, I liked Ms. Padukone in a movie - she acted and showed a hint of an actress emerging from behind the pretty face (in all her other movies, I never fully believed that she was the character - a bit like Hema Malini - in every movie save a couple, she was Hema Malini). Farhan Akhtar was good - seems like he is fortifying his acting career with yet another solid performance after Rock On and Luck By Chance. However good the lead pair are, they still cannot save the movie from the weak second half and uninspired direction.

All in all, my recommendation is to wait for the DVD and save your movie money for something else.

All Izz Well

Yes - I watched 3 idiots this weekend but before I begin, a very very happy new year to you all. My wish for all of us for 2010 is optimism and joy for the new decade that is upon us.

Now onto the movie - 3 idiots is a Hindi movie that used to come about very rarely but I am happy to say that it is not as unusual an occurrence any more. The movie is based loosely on the book 5 point Someone by Chetan Bhagat (I've added it to my request list at the library - am waiting eagerly to read the book).

The movie starts with 2 friends looking for their third pal, with whom they have lost touch since their graduation from Engineering college. Via flashbacks, the story of their friendship and days in Engineering College ICE (supposedly modeled after IIT) is told. Their long-lost friend Ranchordas Shyamaldas Chanchad (played remarkably by Aamir Khan) has an alag point of view which is evident from the moment he walks into the hostel and befriends his 2 roommates. He is not afraid to take on the system and question age-old teaching traditions which earns him the ire of their principal played by Boman Irani. The movie moves forward effortlessly with their comic capers and antics of their fellow students (especially Chatur played by Omi Vaidya - the darling of their principal affectionately dubbed Virus). After their journey to reach Rancho, they are shocked to find out that Rancho is not who he said he was. They then decide to continue their journey to discover the truth about their friend. Along the way they manage to stop Rancho's girlfriend Priya's (played by Kareena Kapoor) wedding in the nick of time. She also joins the quest for Rancho. Will they find Rancho? Will Priya and Rancho have their happy ending? To find out, you will have to watch 3 Idiots.

The movie kept my engaged throughout and the pace did not slack anywhere. However, I take issue with the whole storyline related to Priya's sister delivering her baby with the aid of Rancho and his friends. That to me was a little far-fetched. Our movies have a problem with staying away from melodrama. That said however, the movie is thoroughly enjoyable - I loved the ending. Everyone has done full justice to their roles. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi who play the 2 buddies have done a good job. Boman Irani is really good playing a caricature of a college principal, staying completely true to his atrocious character. Kareena Kapoor does a good job in her brief role as Priya. Her song and dance routine with Aamir Khan is an enjoyable throwback to Hindi cinema of the 60s and 70s. Aamir Khan is simply awesome. Other than some of his earlier movies where he was a newcomer trying to establish a foothold, he is yet to make a wrong choice in recent times. He is fabulous from start to finish. As a director Rajkumar Hirani has done an excellent job. He is another director who is yet to fumble - his track record as director so far has been unblemished what with this movie following the Munnabhai movies. Vidhu Vinod Chopra must be laughing his way to the bank.

A must watch for Bollywood enthusiasts.

2009 Bollywood - year in review

Back from the hubby's company Christmas party last night, this morning promises to be a lazy Saturday morning. Since the year is almost over, I was going over a program on TV listing their top picks for Bollywood for the year 2009 which gave me the idea to review my own picks for this year - now by no means can I claim to have watched each and every Bollywood flick released last year but of my own population of movies viewed, here is my list.

Most entertaining movies of 2009 (in no particular order):
1. Kaminey (stellar performance from Shahid Kapoor and great songs - what is a Bollywood movie without hummable music)

2. Wake Up Sid (loved Ranbir and Konkona in it - one of the few movies that has established Ranbir Kapoor as a force to reckon with despite his disastrous debut in 2008, loved the iktaara song from it - my current obsession)

3. Love Aaj Kal (while the story was a bit confusing with its back and forth flashbacks what with Saif essaying the role of a young Rishi Kapoor in addition to his own role in the movie - it was quite entertaining. I'm still not convinced that Deepika Padukone can act and am completely convinced that Saif cannot dance - if you don't believe me watch his bhangra numbers and the twist karein song - terrible dancing!! I'm glad the movie introduced us to the Chor Bazaari song - loved it.)

4. 99 - Small movie with Kunal Khemu and Soha Ali Khan in the lead ably supported by Cyrus Broacha and Boman Irani - I'm only sad that this movie got lost among the myriad of flicks released in 2009.

5. Luck By Chance - introduced us to first-time director Zoya Akhtar. (This is one heck of a multi-talented family. Mom Honey Irani, actress & script writer, Dad Javed Akhtar script writer and lyricist extraordinaire, brother Farhan - awesome director who proved to us that he can also sing and act)

6. Dilli 6 - I found the movie to be a let down (coming as it was from the director of Rang De Basanti). However I enjoyed Sonam Kapoor's acting skills and the songs (zara hatke gaane especially Masakali and the title song)

7. Dev D - people either loved it or hated it - I kind of liked the modern take on Indian classic Devdas - I am a huge fan of Abhay Deol - he is amazing. The movie felt like it was made on a shoestring budget but I enjoyed the slick direction, the folksy songs and the acting of Mr. Deol. He is my favourite Deol hands down.

Now for the films that one goes what were they thinking?

1. What's Your Rashee - complete disappointment
2. Chandni Chowk to China - the less said the better
3. Kambakht Ishq - another Akshay Kumar gem
In addition to these there is a large number of movies that I didn't even want to watch based on everything I heard - the 3 hours of my life spent watching each of these is much too precious to waste - Billu, 13B, Short kut the Con is on, Wanted, Blue, London Dreams (although I have heard some good things about this movie but since I am not a fan of Ajay Devgan or Sallu bhai, I have to pass), De Dana Dan (rule of thumb - movie has Akshay Kumar? If yes, this is not the movie for me), Radio (Himmesh Reshammiya in the lead - enough said)etc.

Some of the 2009 movies on my yet to watch list - Paa, Kurbaan, Main aur Mrs. Khanna (though I have a gut feeling this will go on the second list), Three Idiots, and Rocket Singh (maybe)

If you stop by this blog, leave me your faves and not so faves from this year that is passing us by!!

100% fun

This morning I caught the Bollywood flick 99 and I must say that it's a must-watch entertainer. After a long time I watched a Hindi comedy that actually has a plot. It's not like one of those so-called Hindi comedies where 10 minutes into the film you wonder why the heck you coughed up the moolah to buy that ticket.

The movie starts off with 2 bumbling small-time technology-savvy thieves (Zaramood played by Cyrus Brocha and Sachin played by Kunal Khemu) who make money by peddling illegal SIM cards. Unfortunately they steal a getaway car (which is ultimately wrecked) from one of Mumbai's shady bookies called AGM (played by Mahesh Manjrekar). They now have to work for him to pay him back for stealing and wrecking his favourite car. They are sent to Delhi to retrieve some money that a compulsive gambler (played by Boman Irani) owes AGM. This takes them to Delhi where they run into Pooja (played by Soha Ali Khan) and Sachin promptly falls for her. The rest of the story is how they manage to get AGM's money back and how Boman's character tries to make arrangements for money that he owes several characters besides AGM while at the same time balancing a wife (played by the lovely Simone Singh) who is super mad at him and his gambling tendencies.

This movie sees the return of several actors who I have not seen in a while. Saw Sudesh Berry (I had a giant crush on him when Kashish was on TV) in a blink and you'll miss it role but I guess I didn't blink :). Vinod Khanna makes a guest appearance in the movie as well. And watching Cyrus was just a treat. While this is not a rip-roaring comedy, it has its moments. I was entertained throughout and was quite engrossed in all the situations the main protagonists find themselves in. Directors Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK got a lot of things right with this movie - there are no unnecessary songs in the movie, the script is always moving the movie ahead - not too many stalling moments, the dialogues are witty for the most part with apt use of the Mumbaiyya slang in true tapori fashion and the modest budget appears to be well-spent and all the characters do justice to their roles. I am hopeful to see what Kunal Khemu and Soha Ali Khan do next in their careers - I get that they will probably have to do some run-of-the-mill roles but I hope they continue to explore these "zara-hatke" roles as well.

As far as Bollywood capers go, this was a good entertainer (I mean - one of the smaller fish in the goon sea has a 6 ft-tall sidekick named Dimple - ha ha) that I would recommend - 2.5 stars.