Rann Release Date : 29,Jan 2010

When the watchdog of democracy turns into a business enterprise and when journalistic ethics are pawned off for TRP-friendly sensationalism, it’s time to sit up and take note. Without succumbing to cynicism typical of other filmmakers repeatedly offering us the so-called ‘slice-of-life cinema’, Ram Gopal Varma guides us through the innards of the fourth estate, revealing its dirty underbelly that serves as a handy tool for politicians in their power games in Rann. At the centre of the drama, without hogging the limelight, is Amitabh Bachchan, playing Vijay Harshwardhan Malik, the founding head of a news channel, India 24/7. In a media age where news is selectively edited, hyperbolized and presented with attention grabbing headlines and dramatic background music to boot, Malik is somewhat an oddball. A conscientious newsman, he sticks to his uncompromising journalistic ethics, even though it may lead to nose-diving TRPs for his channel. No surprise that his US-returned ambitious son Jay (Sudeep) doesn’t believe in his dad’s ideals and opines that the news channel ought to be run like a business company if it has to beat their rival (Mohnish Bahl), who believes in ‘creating’ news rather than reporting it. Things take a turn for worse when Malik’s son Jay and son-in-law (Rajat Kapoor) become pawns in the hands of the wily and cunning politician Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal) who masterminds a media-led campaign against his political rival to get to the Prime Minister’s seat. There’s only one man who can put a spanner in their working - Purab Shastri (Ritesh Deshmukh) who imbibes the lofty journalistic ideals of Vijay Harshwardhan Malik and an unwavering desire to dig out the truth and report it to people. Credit must be reserved for Ram Gopal Varma for not making ‘Rann’ a mere bland exposé of the world of overzealous hacks. Ramu pumps in enough drama, grit and a wee bit of suspense and thrills to make the movie a compelling watch. However, at times the maverick filmmaker does overflap in his flight of idealism. Sequences like the one where Bachchan is shown spieling against religious hatred on a national television seem far-fetched. Also the plot gets a little convoluted in the second half as the story keeps flitting between a dozen or so characters. There’s also humour to be found in some characters - like that of Rajpal Yadav, playing the creative director with a knack for sensationalizing even the dullest of news stories. In a sequence he tells a filmmaker (Gul Panag) that the media’s job isn’t very different from that of a filmmaker - that is, providing entertainment. ‘Rann’ boasts of some stupendous performances, not the least by Amitabh Bachchan and Sudeep. Big B somehow stays the central force of the film without hogging much footage, but it is Sudeep (of Phoonk fame) who truly impresses with his well nuanced performance. Ritesh Deshmukh takes to a serious role effectively and Gul Panag (as his live-in girlfriend) does emote well the few scenes she’s given. Paresh Rawal is superb as the debauched politician. On the sidelines, Suchitra Krishnamurthy (playing the programming head of India 24/7) and Neetu Chandra (the Muslim fiancée of Jay) perform well. Like his previous film ‘Sarkar’, Ramu’s cinematographer Amit Roy plays with light and shade and cans the shots from imaginative angles. The background music however gets jarring at times. Ramu can’t seem to do without it. Rohit Banawlikar’s writing is not without holes. The dialogues reek of superfluity in some sequences. ‘Rann’ takes off well but begins to lose momentum in intermittent reels. The drama does build up nicely in the last half hour - with a literal ‘sting’ in the tale - and concludes on a thought-provoking monologue by Big B.

Ishqiya Release Date : 29,Jan 2010

Get ready for tangy, pungent, sizzling and spicy stuff. Be forewarned, ISHQIYA isn't the fluffy, candyfloss, saccharine sweet story of lovers breaking into songs in mustard fields. In ISHQIYA, you just don't know what turn the story may take next. Not just the story, even the characters here are so impulsive and unpredictable.

You need to have a strong stomach to absorb ISHQIYA. It's high on drama, it's wild, it's real. But it's not dark, it's not sleazy, it's not crass. Frankly, you don't expect debutante director Abhishek Chaubey to make a stereotypical fare thanks to the tutelage by his guru Vishal Bhardwaj, who loves to swim against the tide and undertake risks in film after film.

You could call ISHQIYA a distant cousin of OMKARA. Set in Gorakhpur in North India, the film has a rustic feel, depicts characters that may make you uncomfortable and is laced with saucy lingo. Yet, it's different than OMKARA

Final word? You can't help but fall in ishq with ISHQIYA. Tired of sherbat? Try this spicy jaljeera for a change!

Two thieves, Khalujaan [Naseeruddin Shah] and Babban [Arshad Warsi], are on the run from their boss, Mushtaq. They seek refuge at a friend's house, but instead meet his widow, Krishna [Vidya Balan]. The time spent together draws the duo to her, Khalu with his tinted vision of old-fashioned love and Babban with his lustful eye. But the past catches up with all three!

There's no denying that the promos had prepared me of the journey ahead, yet it took me a good 15-odd minutes to get into the world of Khalujaan, Babban and Krishna. But once you get sucked into their world, the blurred images start getting clearer and clearer and you become an active participant in their journey.

The first hour passes in a jiffy, but the story actually gets dramatic and volatile in its second hour. It's at this stage that things start getting more and more unpredictable. The story does a somersault every 10 minutes and by the time it reaches its finale, you're curious to know how the debutante director would conclude this saga. The end, of course, will have its share of advocates and adversaries, but the fact remains that it's offbeat.

Abhishek Chaubey is a welcome addition to the ranks of avid storytellers. His choice of the subject and also handling of the material is what makes this film so eminently watchable. Not once do you feel that ISHQIYA has been helmed by a first-timer. Note the change of events in the song 'Dil To Bachcha Hain Ji' or the kidnap drama and the heated argument that follows thereafter. Even the passionate lovemaking sequence between Arshad and Vidya has been dexterously canned.

However, Chaubey and his team of writers could've kept the writing simplistic towards the finale. It's complex and also lacks clarity. Yet, all said and done, screenplay writers Vishal Bhardwaj, Sabrina Dhawan and Abhishek Chaubey deserve kudos for coming up with a film that keeps you hooked for most parts.

Vishal Bhardwaj's musical score has his unmistakable stamp all over. The film is embellished with two lilting gems - 'Ibne Batuta' and 'Dil To Bachcha Hain Ji' - which are a rage with listeners already and have been juxtaposed beautifully in the plot. Mohana Krishna's cinematography is first-rate. Dialogues [Vishal Bhardwaj] are acidic and a few lines are indeed startling.

Every actor in ISHQIYA delivers a sparkling performance! Naseeruddin Shah is superb as a romantic. He is matchless in the sequence when he learns the truth about Vidya and Arshad. Arshad packs in a bravura performance yet again. Post MUNNABHAI films, Arshad should be liked in this one the maximum. Vidya continues to surprise. It's a dynamic performance undoubtedly. PAA and ISHQIYA are two landmarks in her career.

The actors enacting the role of Jijaji, the kidnapped victim and Vidya's husband are all perfect. The child, who interacts with Arshad, is natural. In fact, every performance in ISHQIYA is worthy of mention.

On the whole, ISHQIYA is definitely worth a watch. The film has a riveting plot, great performances, soulful music, an absorbing story and skilful direction to make the viewer fall in ishq with it. It should appeal to the hardcore masses as also the multiplex junta.

Road To Sangam Release Date : 29,Jan 2010

Director Amit Rai
Producer Amit Chheda
Starring Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Pawan Malhotra, Javed Sheikh, Swati Chitnis,

Yusuf Hussain, Masood Akhtar, Rajan Bhise, Sudhir Nema, G P Singh, Vijay Mishra,Tushar Gandhi, Rakesh Shrivastav

One look at the promos of Road To Sangam and you realize that this isn't one of those films you watch every week. Road To Sangam, in fact, pricks your conscience and mirrors a reality. Wars have been fought and are still being fought in the name of religion. Road To Sangam tries to seek answers to the burning issue and in the process, also talks of partition and the Muslims in present-day India. Made with honest intentions, this one's targeted at connoisseurs of cinema

Road To Sangam tells the story of a God-fearing, devout Muslim mechanic named Hashmat Ullah [Paresh Rawal], who has been entrusted the job of repairing an old Ford engine, not knowing its historic significance.

He is caught in a complex situation after a powerful bomb explosion rocks his town, leading to the arrest of innocent Muslim youths of his locality. A strike to work is called by the prominent leaders [played by Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra] of his community to protest against the unjust treatment meted out to those arrested youths by the police.

Will he support the protest and abandon the repair of the engine or go against the wishes of his community? A simple, thought-provoking story, Road To Sangam has some brilliant moments and also some sequences that you carry home. But what could've been told in a concise format seems stretched after a point. Also, besides moving at a snail's pace, there's also sermonising at times, which wasn't really required.

Writer-director Amit Rai explains his point of view, but the screenplay could've been firm for a stronger impact. Otherwise, the director has succeeded in extracting wonderful performances from the principal cast. Paresh Rawal excels in this film. This is amongst his finest works. Om Puri is equally competent, although the length of his role is limited. Pawan Malhotra is efficient, as always. Javed Sheikh is good. The remaining actors enact their parts very well. On the whole, Road To Sangam is mainly for connoisseurs of cinema and also for the festival circuit.

Veer Release Date : 22,Jan 2010

In a scene from the film, Salman Khan fractures his leg and limps almost for one full reel. But in real life, one can say Salman ne apne hi paav par kulhadi maar lee (hit the axe on his own leg). The ordinary story he pens doesn’t do justice to the immense intensity he adds to his performance. Salman is marred and let down by his own self.

Veer opens in 1862 though it resorts to a 1980s kind of Bollywood treatment. Much over the usual Hollywood suspects – Braveheart, Gladiator or Troy it seeks references from epic dramas with a royal streak like Dharam Veer, Rajput and Raj Tilak from our very own Bollywood stock. The story comes close of Amitabh Bachchan’s Mard (1985) minus Manmohan Desai’s trademark lost-and-found formula which is substituted with too much of Bollywood song-and-dance drama.

Prithvi Singh (Mithun Chakravarthy) heads the Pindari community who were once betrayed by the Raja of Madhavgarh (Jackie Shroff). Prithvi’s son Veer (Salman Khan) continues to rebel against Madhavgarh and the British empire in India. Expectedly it’s love-at-first sight with the Raja’s daughter, Princess Yashodhara (Zarine Khan).

With younger brother Punya (Sohail Khan), Veer goes to London to get English gyaan that will help his clan. Predictably he stumbles upon Yashodhara at the university and the epic veers towards campus romance. Back in India, Yashodhara takes charge of her kingdom and is pitted against their enemy – the Pindaris lead by Veer. What follows is love and war though the treatment is more formulaic than fair.

Evidently designed as a project to glorify his heroism, Salman Khan is the single reason you sit through the film. Sadly Salman can’t solely substitute for the abundant ambiguities in the film. Writer Shaktimaan fails to develop Salman’s story into a compelling screenplay falling prey to outmoded clichés and the film merely ends up being a love story between two warring families with the age-old revenge angle thrown in for good measure.

With shot-takings derived from Jodhaa Akbar ’s battlefield sequences, the film starts on an interesting note. But the pace soon drops as an uninspiring love story takes precedence and too much of time is expended in song and dance. Though the narrative in first half doesn’t move beyond their redundant romance, the chemistry between the couple is palpably missing.

Half a dozen character artists are stuffed in the Pindari community, though none of them are established or contribute competently towards the war. Like many of those histrionic action sequences from the film where the hero makes a late entry to win instant applause, the film picks up pulse in the latter reels. The swayamvar sequence (derived from Dharam Veer ) and the climatic combat between father-son (inspired from Mard ) makes way for some dense dramatic moments. But Veer is excruciatingly long at a runtime that doesn’t justify its frail storytelling.

Action director Tinu Verma does a decent job in directing the stunt sequences but at several instances the rope tricks show off. Cinematographer Gopal Shah adds the requisite regal touch to the film, as his camera hovers vibrantly in action and battle sequences to capture accurate animated frames. Sanjay Dhabade’s art direction and Anna Singh’s costume designs somewhere fuses the period feel with a contemporary touch. Sajid Wajid’s musical score is pleasing to the ear and goes in sync with the period setting.

Salman Khan takes absolute precedence amongst everything else and roars through a powerful performance. The warrior character befits his stud and sturdy image and he doesn’t have to try too hard. Prominent in every frame of the film, he overshadows everyone else so much so that supplementary actor-brother Sohail Khan doesn’t even get one consolation solo scene. That thankfully moderates the trauma since all Sohail does is his brand buffoonery. Mithun Chakravarthy is the only one who stands on his own other than Salman Khan adding life to his character. Zarine Khan is a replica of Katrina Kaif and using the same dubbing artist only adds to the analogy. Lisa Lazarus is absolutely wasted in a two scene role. Jackie Shroff repeats his humdrum villainous act. Puru Rajkumar is unintentionally funny in his accented English.

Veer doesn’t offer variety. But if you are a veracious Salman Khan fan, Veer is watchable.

Chance Pe Dance Release Date : 15,Jan 2010

Ken Ghosh’s dance-drama takes no chance in experimenting with storytelling style and ends up being an extended version of the music videos that he used to direct before making feature films.

Chance Pe Dance is stuff legendary Bollywood biographies are made of. Sameer Behl (Shahid Kapoor) comes to Bombay with Bollywood dreams, struggles through the day as a courier boy and keeps failing in auditions for advertisements. More stereotypes are stuffed in as he refuses to take help from his dad in Delhi (Parikshit Sahni almost repeating his Idiot act), is thrown out from his rented flat by the landlord (Kurush Deboo still unable to surpass his Parsi performance) and comes away with his calculative companion (Vikas Bhalla making his comeback).

Soon Sameer is signed as the male lead in a film and friend Tina (Genelia D’Souza) is selected as the choreographer on the same project. The characterizations kinda remind of Naach ; Ram Gopal Varma’s film on dance, if you have heard of it by any chance. Both homeless and jobless now, Sameer sleeps in his car (yes, he could afford one after doing one lungi ad) and works as a dance teacher in a school. Regardless of the references it derives from Jack Black’s The School of Rock , the film fails to rock till the end credits roll.

Subsequently Sameer loses his film and is disillusioned. Tina encourages him to participate in a television talent-hunt show, the winner of which will win the same role that Sameer was to play. In his screen-test, Sameer dedicates his monologue to his mother in the same mould with which most Miss India participants mouth their monotonous thanksgiving speech.

The film starts on a promising note with smoothly synchronized opening credits but by its sixth scene you sense where it’s heading. The screenplay by Ken Ghosh and Nupur Asthana is conventional to the core, has predictable plot-points and lacks any dramatic graph. Kiran Kotrial’s dialogues lack depth and additional writing help by Manu Rishi ( Oye Lucky Lucky Oye ) doesn’t add any value to the narrative. Ken Ghosh’s direction lacks as much conviction as his writing and it’s easy to comprehend how he hurries and fabricates the storytelling in the second half.

The story had enough scope to be humourous but the treatment is lame and laughable. Sameer’s training and team-building sessions with the school kids is rushed through a transition song and does not contribute to the central plot in any way. Though Shahid and Genelia make a cute couple on screen, their chemistry is concocted at the same dull and dreary speed with which Genelia rides her two-wheeler in those two hilarious scenes of the film. Sadly by the time she picks up pace in the climax, it’s a bit too late.

For a dance-driven film like this, the music should have been catchy beyond comparison. Though Adnan Sami and Pritam’s tunes don’t disappoint, it isn’t mind-blowing material. Choreography is a clearly the highlight of the film. Dance directors Ahmed Khan and international artist Marty Kudelka give challenging steps to Shahid Kapoor that he performs with effortless grace, panache and attitude. But too much of song-n-dance is detrimental to the film’s flow.

Finally the entire burden of carrying off this film lands on Shahid Kapoor’s shoulders and his chiseled flashboard abs prove of no help in this respect. He dances fabulously and acts convincingly but isn’t able to salvage the sinking ship. Genelia D’Souza is delightful and appealing. The kids try too hard to be cute. Zian Khan esp. has lost his childish charm.

Sadly, scripts are written for reality shows today but there is no real good scripting involved in feature films. So in times when dance talent-hunt shows on television promise more drama and entertainment, you find no good reason why to give this dance a chance.

Idiot Box Release Date : 15,Jan 2010

Idiot Box Hindi Movie 2010
Romantic Movie
Cast & Crew
Starcast: Hrishitaa Bhatt, Sushant Singh, Reema Lagoo, Surendra Pal, Milind Gunaji
Director: Sunanda Mitra
Producer: Harish Sapkale, Shivnarayan Singh
Music: Anand Raj Anand, Milind Chitragupt
Lyricst: Sameer
Language: Hindi
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 15 jan 2010
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Dulha Mil Gaya Release Date : 08,Jan 2010

Movie Review: Dulha Mil Gaya: Star cast: Fardeen Khan, Sushmita Sen, Ishita Sharma, Mohit Chaddha, Tara Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan (Sp. App); Director: Mudassar Aziz; Rating: * 1/2 - Is a predictable bore.

Settled in Trinidad and Tobago, Tej Dhanraj aka Donsai (Fardeen) is a rich playboy who lives to party hard and have fun with the most attractive gals minus in commitment. His only good female friend is the hot shot super model Shimmer (Sushmita Sen). Donsai hopes of leading a fun life ahead as well comes crashing down when his late father’s will is declared by his lawyer Mr. Vakil (Vivek Vaswani). A clause in the will makes it compulsory for Donsai to get married to his father’s friend’s daughter living in a Punjab village if he wants to inherit the huge riches of his father running into 5 Billion Dollars. A reluctant Donsai only agrees for the same when Vakil suggests him a loophole. So he marries the Punjab small town girl Samarpreet Singh (Ishita Sharma) in quick court marriage and comes back to Trinidad minus her. He stops any communication with her but dutifully keeps sending a fat cheque every month end to her family. Longing for him, the sweet and simple Samarpreet then decides to go to Trinidad herself. But on landing at his doorstep she is in for a cultural shock and is stunned to see Donsai having fun with other females. She is even insulted and thrown away from the house by his bodyguards even before they both meet. Following her accident she lands up in Shimmer’s house. The snooty, high society girl Shimmer at first detests her but after hearing her story she decides to help her. How Shimmer manages to help Samarpreet woo Donsai back by completely transforming her as a hottie Samara and how in the same course also learns a lesson or two about true love of her long time lover PRG (Shah Rukh Khan) forms the rest of the plot.

With a plotline that offers nothing new apart from a unique location setting in the West Indies isles, the predictability of Dulha Mil Gaya puts you off to sleep long before it is over. Shah Rukh Khan in a special appearance making a proper entry just post interval too cannot salvage the film. Just by taking off her glasses and appearing a bit mod, Samarpreet manages to hoodwink Donsai into believing she is someone else, just like Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’s SRK’s Suri character! While the first half breezes past quickly, the problems begin when the 2nd half begins. After SRK’s entry your expectations rise but as soon come crashing down by some really juvenile sequences added. The whole cruise sequence is extremely tackily shot. The climax too is simply lame. Lalit Pandit’s music works well when watched on screen. The entire track of lovers played by Tara Sharma and her DJ boyfriend Mohit Chaddha is a waste of time.

Fardeen puts in the efforts and delivers an okay performance. Sushmita Sen never looked so hot before. Her comic timing is very good. Newcomer Ishita Sharma last seen in a small cameo in Dil, Dosti Etc. is extremely likeable. Be it emotional sequences or comic ones, she gives it her all and leaves you mighty impressed. Tara Sharma looks good but still hasn’t got rid of her pathetic dialogue delivery. Mohit Chaddha is passable. Vivek Vaswani is good but Johnny Lever is complete wasted in the role of Fardeen’s butler. Finally, SRK even his small party, gives a glimpse of his famous romantic lover charm. The superstar puts in his 100% in his half backed character.

Debutante director Mudassar Aziz’s Dulha Mil Gaya could have worked had it been released a decade back. But now it seems too outdated. It constantly keeps you giving a feeling of déjà vu with sequences appearing quiet similar to films like Ponga Pandit, Namastey London and even Dil Bole Hadippa!

Give it a miss guys unless you are a hardcore Shah Rukh Khan fan who doesn’t mind sitting through a 150 minute bore only to catch a few sequences he succeeds in holding your attention in an otherwise boring film.

Pyaar Impossible Release Date : 08,Jan 2010

In the film, Uday Chopra devices a computer software on which any operating system is compatible. The script that he writes is as much compatible with any operative feel-good film, frequently coming out from the Yash Raj banner. The geeky loser-in-love act that he attempts is not much different from what SRK did in bade bhaiya Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (though thankfully there isn’t an image change).

Like most romantic comedies, the basic problem with Pyaar Impossible is that in the first ten minutes of the film you can predict the last ten minutes. Seven years since college, nerdy Abhay Sharma (Uday Chopra) is still in fancy-love with the campus beauty Alisha (Priyanka Chopra) whom he never dared to speak with. His software program is plagiarized by Varun (Dino Morea) who is now selling it to a Singapore company.

So Abhay flies all the way to Singapore to get back his pride and program and expectedly there he stumbles upon Alisha who is now a divorcee and has a daughter. She mistakes Abhay for a nanny and hires him to look after her naughty daughter Tania (Advika Yadav).

More predictably now Varun attempts to hit on Alisha and Tania turns the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai kid with her attempts to hook up her mother with Abhay. And before Abhay can make his confession to Alisha, he is exposed of his nanny trap. Suddenly the frothiness of the casual conversations is replaced by routine melodramatic lines like ‘Maine tum par trust kiya tha Abhay. Ab samjhane ke liye kuch bacha bhi hai?’ and you understand where the film is heading. Finally Alisha runs back to Abhay on comprehending the truth from Tania’s annual day act, making it all seem like a child’s play.

Uday Chopra’s screenplay is as much conservative as the convenience with which he makes a geek of himself through a bespectacled look. He also makes a chocolate-boy of himself (literally) in a vivacious scene where he, as the nanny, serves Thai food to some guests while hiding his face from Varun. Director Jugal Hansraj imparts a light-hearted feel to the romance, building conversational chemistry between the couple and thankfully giving no background accounts to justify Alisha’s broken marriage.

But after a swift first half, both the pacing and proceedings drop in the second. Salim-Sulaiman’s rocking musical score adds vigour and value to the film. Manish Malhotra deserves special mention for styling Priyanka Chopra as a smooth-textured eye-candy and sensuously desirable. Cinematographer Santosh Thundiyil doesn’t get much scope to capture Singapore with a breezy charm.

Apart from appearing gorgeous, Priyanka Chopra comes up with a natural performance. Uday Chopra’s acting isn’t as disappointing as his writing. Even Dino Morea is decent. Child actress Advika Yadav is rehearsed but still cute.

The moral of the film is that one shouldn’t judge a person by their looks. Going by that, however cool this candyfloss flick might appear, it’s still shallow on content. Pyaar Impossible might have certainly not aimed for a ‘10 on 10’. But is it really impossible to even strike an average?

Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi? Release Date : 01,Jan 2010

Movie Review: Raat Gayi Baat Gayi: Star cast: Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Neha Dhupia, Irawati Harse Mayadev, Navneet Nishan, Dalip Tahil and Anu Menon; Director: Saurabh Shukla; Rating: *** 1/2 - A classy, slice of life affair.

Advertised hinting the film as the desi version of Hollywood’s 2009 super hit The Hangover, Raat Gayi Baat Gayi is anything but that! But that doesn’t take away the fact that it’s a wonderfully crafted entertaining affair.

It is basically the story of Rahul (Rajat Kapoor) and his wife, Mitali (Iravati Harshe). The couple had, the previous night, attended a party with friends including Saxena (Dalip Tahil) and Amit (Vinay Pathak) and their respective wives, Jolly (Navneet Nishan) and Nandini (Anu Menon). At the party, Rahul had had a drink too many and had been following Sophia (Neha Dhupia), a sexy woman, at the party. The two had escaped to a room upstairs and were about to get naught, but Rahul just cannot remember what happened thereafter and if anything at all happened. Waking up in the morning with a hangover, Rahul is not sure whether his wife knows anything about his one-night stand with Sophia, that is if ever there was one. But his wife is in a foul mood. His friends, Amit and Saxena, don’t make things easy for him. Amit himself is in the midst of a marital crisis because Nandini has thrown him out of his house for cheating on her by prefering online porn over. As for their novelist friend, Saxena, he too has skeletons in his cupboard but he is a smart operator. What funnily shocking revelations tumble out as Rahul goes in search of what exactly happened in the night makes for a fun watch.

Narrated in a non-linear manner by actor cum writer-director Saurabh Shukla, the film is his finest effort as a director. Also, full marks to the production company PNC for delivering what one can truly term a ‘multiplex film’. The production values are of absolute high standards and the setting perfectly upmarket. There is absolutely no sleaze and the adult humour is just what one often hears at the parties. Great one-liners spread across plenty of sequences leave you laughing your guts out. The twist at the end is again a big surprise. The peppy songs are pleasant to the ears and very situational with the Love in C major being the pick of the lot.

Neha Dhupia in what can be called her first major multi layered role is a real delight to watch. Playing a sassy tease, Neha tantalizes, decieves, emotes and also brings out her character’s vulnerable side with amazing ease. Rajat Kapoor is very natural as always and shares great chemistry with his buddy on screen Vinay Pathak. Vinay after a long time is back in form. He is superb in the scene where he apologises to his wife. Irawati Harshe is yet another natural performer and one hopes we get to see her more often. Channel V’s Lola Kutty fame Anu Menon is very impressive. Navneet Nishan is very endearing. Dalip Tahil fits his part perfectly well. Ranvir Shorey as the attention seeking NRI is a laugh riot. There are also a host of cameos amongst which the most impressive being of filmmaker Sudhir Mishra.

Don’t expect a sleazy sex comedy while going in for this one and you shall be in for a great pleasant surprise.

Accident On Hill Road Release Date : 01,Jan 2010

Movie Review: Accident on Hill Road: Star cast: Celina Jaitley, Abhimanyu Singh and Farooque Shaikh; Director: Mahesh Nair; Rating: * 1/2 - Audience become casualty.

Sonam Chopra (Celina Jaitley) works as a nurse at an old age home. She is due to go to London for a job she has landed with the Red Cross Society. She has got a call for her visa interview after two days and life couldn’t be more exciting for her. But things for her go terribly wrong when after a binge drinking night party, she knocks down a man, Prakash Srivastav (Farooque Shaikh), while driving her car. Unfortunately, Prakash gets stuck in the windshield of her car with half of his body inside and half outside the car. Fearing that she’d never get her visa if the matter came to the knowledge of the police, she does all under her control to keep this accident a secret. Prakash languishes, badly injured and half-in-half-out, in her garage where she has parked the car. She calls her boyfriend, Sid (Abhimanyu Singh), to help her but he goes away after spending the night in bed with her instead. The next morning, she is shocked to learn that the accident victim is still alive. Prakash pleads with her to extricate his body and let him go and even promises not to complain against her to the police. When Sonam gets more frustrated, she even tries to kill him but Prakash still lives seriously injured. It is then when Sonam requests Sid to help her to eliminate Prakash so that she gets her visa. But destiny has something else in store for the all of three!

With the basic concept copied from the Hollywood film Stuck, Accident on Hill Road makes for a painful watch for the audience because of its childish screenplay and the unbelievable manner in which the film’s major characters behave. Imagine, a boyfriend instead of helping his girlfriend out of a situation which involves a possible dead body stuck in her wind shield, opting to make out with her all night and leaving without even caring to take a look at the car. Also, when the victim, Prakash pleads with her to let him go and allays her fears of a police complaint against her, Sonam doesn’t so much as think even once before turning down his plea and infact doesn’t mind risking a murder against her name rather than trying to solve the problem she has landed herself in. The attempt to create edge of the seat moments fall flat. Debutante director Mahesh Nair shows technical finesse but fails to hold together a thriller. However, his execution of the climax is superb. One hopes with a good script on hand he delivers a much better film next time.

Celina Jaitely gives it her all and delivers a good performance. Abhimanyu Singh is good but is saddled with a half baked role. But one really wonders what made a talented actor like Farooque Shaikh choose this film?

Accident on Hill Road is an absolute waste of your precious time, check it out on the DVD that too only if you are a big fan of Celina Jaitley who looks super hot throughout the film.