RAAZ - THE MYSTERY CONTINUES: Movie Review

A long silence. A dog barks.(ooh!! scary!!)
A long silence. A cow moos.(ooh!! very scary!)
A long silence. Your boyfriend calls you from behind (Really scary!)
Emraan Hashmi staring at you. (Gotta admit, that IS scary!)
Watching Adhyayan Suman act. (Run! It’s the scariest thing in the world!!)
Bollywood isn’t exactly known for its horror movies. And the special effects never match up to Hollywood standards. This one ain't anything different. What does 'Raaz-The Mystery Continues' offer? A supermodel Kangana is in love with a Reality TV show producer Adhyayan. In comes Emraan who can see Kangana’s future and paints them. Apparently something terrible is gonna happen to her, something ghost-related.
Well it’s a ghost film, so you don’t look for any logic.(Apparently a butterfly can cause a storm. Go figure) All you see is weird noises, flying people and scary appearances. Does it work? well.... ermm ... kinda. Bhatts pull every trick known in the horror genre. But we are no dumb fools either. You kinda already know whats probably gonna happen next. It doesn’t scare for sure, but it doesn’t pain either. It intrigues in parts. You know that in bollywood horror movies the ghost is always trying to get some message across the lead character. And that’s the only thing that keeps you in your seat - the climax where you get to know the real intentions of the ghost.
Performances - Kangana and Emraan do justice to their roles. Adhyayan doesn’t impress.
Does it scare? Nope. Does it thrill? It tries. Does it chill? Kinda. Should you watch the movie? Honestly, I don't care.

THE PRESIDENT IS COMING: Movie Review

Ok, so the review of 'The President is Coming' is long overdue but I will be surprised if anyone was actually waiting for this one.
First scene :
'The film you are about to watch is a fake documentary. The views expressed do not hold water, as views often should. We regret our lack of credibilty.'
Surprised??
Few scenes later:
'In 2006, US President George W Bush visited India. One young Indian was chosen to shake his hand. This never before seen footage reveals the truth behind that famous handshake.'
Well, that pretty much sums up the story of the movie. A bunch of 6 characters compete with each other to shake hands with George Bush. Only, they do it in a reality show format.
Honestly guys, I really didn’t think Indian film-makers had it in them - A total character driven comedy which actually makes me laugh. Each character is well defined. Those 6 characters couldn’t have been more different. From a bengali novelist to the gujarati stock-broker, from a Paris Hilton wannabe to a narrow-minded social activist, you get the feeling that you have met these people before. They do act silly at times, but that silliness is something I see around myself occasionally, only I might have missed the humour then. This movie lets me rediscover those moments with a lot of fun and charm. It is not the usual slapstick thingy that we are fed with but something that I like to call 'intelligent' comedy (well, it did make me laugh, you see.) It is sarcastic, subtle and innovative. Also the documentary treatment given to the movie (similar to the show 'The Office'), gives a realistic touch and helps you to relate quite easily.
Except for Konkona Sen Sharma, the movie doesn’t feature any known actors, and Thank God for that, because the movie wouldn’t have been half funny hadn’t it been for the actors. Each actor stands out in his role and makes the characters believable though ridiculous they may seem.
I would like to thank Kunal Roy Kapor and Rohan Sippy for genuinely making a 'hatke' film.
Thanks to the low-key promotion, the movie has been hardly heard about. That's sad. The movie deserves to be heard and most definitely watched!

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE: Movie Review

Does the world really care to know what I think about a Academy Award nominated and a Golden Globe winning movie?? ... Anyway, for you lucky losers, here it is.
Rarely comes a movie that holds your attention from the first frame to the last. From the very first scene where they pose the question 'Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it? A: He cheated. B: He's lucky. C: He's a genius. D: It is written' you know you are going to watch something special.
The movie is a simple rag-to-riches tale of a slum boy, but narrated in a very unique way. A slum boy wins the top prize in the Indian version of 'Who wants to be a millionaire?'. How does Jamal (Dev Patel) do it? How does a slum boy know answers to all the tough questions? It’s shown through the various experiences of his life.
Those experiences completely touch you. Right from his childhood where he plays cricket in the local airport through his slightly older phase where he poses as a guide to cheat American tourists to his job as a chaiwallah in a call centre, Jamal is someone you can almost relate to. His struggle and pain evoke sympathy and yet his never ending spirit brings a smile in your face.
'Slumdog' works mainly bacause of 3 people - Danny Boyle(Director), Simon Beaufoy(Screenplay) and A.R.Rahman(music). Danny Boyle brings authenticity to the movie and the situation seem so real that you feel the movie is showing something you see around you every day. Simon Beaufoy's screenplay is top-notch. Each and every scene is well-penned and the sequences of events often surprise you, but never confuse. And Slumdog wouldn't be Slumdog if it wasn't for Rahman's music. Each score drives the scene and brings the emotion to a different level in the movie. On performances - Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan fit perfectly in their roles. Though I wish there was more of Ayush Khedekar (plays Jamal as a kid).
Yes, there is a lot of poverty shown in the movie, which might have attracted the Global acclaim in the first place. But when I was watching the movie, I wasn’t thinking that. All I saw was the India that I know exists somewhere. Should it win the Oscars? I don’t know. Can it win the Oscars? I certainly hope so.

CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA :Movie Review

God. Forgive me that I thought Ghajini was illogical, for I was yet to watch CC2C then.

Honestly, I have never been a big fan of Akshay Kumar comedies. They are mostly about a dumb guy doing dumb stuffs. (I hardly find them funny, but obviously rest of India doesn’t think so, or they wouldn’t have been the huge hits that they are) Such a movie does two things: either it actually makes you laugh or it makes you wonder how the hell anyone can be that dumb. In this case, it makes you want to pull your hair out! This movie is a mish-mash of every hit formula you have seen in movies till now. It has a little bit of Sholay (Gordon Liu playing a Chinese Gabbar), a little bit of Kung-Fu Panda (A clumsy lovable ‘Poo’ Akshay Kumar learning Kung Fu from ‘Master Chifu’ Roger Yuan) and a little bit of Seeta Aur Geeta(please, don’t ask me to explain that one)

Well.... the story goes like this (those still interested may continue reading, others continue to next paragraph) Hojo (Gordon Liu) terrorizes some village in China. Those Chinese villagers always scared. They find a dumb buffoon Sidhu in India and bring him to their village, as they believe he is the reincarnation of some warrior hero and hope that he can save them from Hojo.

What ensues is an endless journey of hell. The movie uses all clichés known in movies, defying every logic on its way. The movie jumps from one absurd scene to another. From a killing hat (yup, you got to see to believe it) to Akshay’s scary ability to make people fly and a song in mid-air – you name it, CC2C has it. Some scenes evoke genuine laughs , but sadly they don’t make up for the misery that rest of them cause. (Seriously, I noticed a guy sitting in front of me bang his head quite a few times).

And finally, the performances – Akshay hams (yup, he has finally done it), Deepika cries, looks beautiful, fights, looks beautiful, smiles, looks beautiful, and cries again. Ranvir is likeable. Gordon Liu has only one expression throughout. Roger Yuan fails to impress.

If you are wondering, what Deepika does in the movie – she dons the Seeta Aur Geeta act, but lesser said the better.

My advice: Just run. Run away from any theater showing this movie. Trust me, I am doing a great service to you.

No Show Last Friday

Rumours are that since all movies released on first friday of the year, in the past few years, have turned out to be flops, producers had decided not to release any movie last friday. As a result we have 4 movies releasing this friday - Bad Luck Govind, Horn Ok Pleassss, Kaashh... Mere Hote & The President Is Coming( source: bollywoodhungama.com).
Of the 4 movies, I am most looking forward to watching 'The President Is Coming' - A novel plot where a bunch of people wanting to meet Mr. George W Bush starring Konkona Sen Sharma in lead. Hopefully the movie will be funny and interesting as the posters suggest.
Also Bad Luck Govind seems to promise something 'different'. Although the promos dont reveal much, vj Gaurav Kapoor should be refreshing.
Bollywood churns out comedies every other week and Horn Ok Pleassss is another product. Though Nana Patekar doesnt exactly strike as a comic actor, lets see what the movie has to offer.
Kaashh... Mere Hote holds kinda least promise among the 4. Promos look a decade old. The actors dont excite.
Anyway .... lets see what happens this friday.