Lafangey Parindey Release Date : 20,Aug 2010

Producer Aditya Chopra
Director Pradeep Sarkar
Music R. Anandh
Writer Gopi Puthran
Lyrics Swanand Kirkire
Release Date 20-Aug-2010

Pradeep Sarkar after delivering a critical and box office success with his debut feature Parineeta had faltered in his next one, Laga Chunari Mein Daag but with Lafangey Parindey he has managed to get back in form and has succeeded in giving masala entertainer. The only thing that goes against it are the predictable plot points and the slow pace. But despite its few flaws LP is still worth a watch for its unusual lead pair Neil and Deepika and good direction aided by nice music.

Nandan Kamthekar aka One Shot Nandu (Neil) works for Usmaan bhai (Piyush Mishra) as a fighter for his betting games. In the Tilakwadi basti that he lives in Mumbai, also stays Pinky Palkar (Deepika) an ace skating dancer who aspires to win a TV reality show contest and break out of the lower middle class life. A botched up job for Usmaan bhai along with his mentor Anna (Kay Kay Menon) leads to a big mess for Nandu. Pinky’s life changes over night too as all her dreams get crashed with her accident that leaves her blind. Circumstances lead to Nandu helping out Pinky and teaming with her to participate in the talent hunt show which she always dreamt of winning. How it changes all equations for Nandu and the people connected to him forms the rest of the plot!

Pradeep Sarkar should be commended for opting for a completely different genre to the female oriented subjects he has been adept at. However, Sarkar has ensured his female lead’s character is pretty strong enough. The Mumbai chawl setting appears authentic and so do the characters inhabiting it. The action and skate dance sequences have been imaginatively shot. The songs too don’t act as speed breakers. The only major flaw of the enterprise is the sense of déjà vu one gets of films like Jeetendra – Hema Malini starrer Kinara and Aamir Khan’s Ghulam. But then that is a minor flaw, as the screenplay is infused with plenty of good moments that need to be experienced on screen.

Neil Nitin Mukesh convincingly adapts himself as a Mumbai tapori despite his suave persona befitting a rich dude. Deepika Padukone is only getting better with each film and with this one she treads successfully on a difficult character graph. She is effortless in her blind girl act and very good in emotional scenes. Piyush Mishra as the bad ass don is super cool in his act and is fun to watch mouth some really acidic lines laced with humour. Kay Kay Menon in a short but significant part is effective. All the actors playing Neil’s friends are very good. Manish Choudhary (last seen in Rocket Singh) playing a Police investigating officer delivers a fine act too. The two kids of Tilakwadi are hilarious to watch, especially Ameya Pandya in his tapori kid act.

R.Anandh’s music is fresh with Man Lafanga and Dhatad Dhatad being the pick of the lot. N. Natarajan Subramaniam’s cinematography is good and captures the dark night Mumbai sequences well. Editing by Sanjib Dutta however could have been better as the film drops pace in regular intervals. Bosco Caesar’s choreography is innovative.

Do give Lafangey Parindey a chance. It is definitely not a waste of time. Its characters succeed in endearing themselves to you. It may not be an ace but its still a quality product from Yash Raj Fims and marks the return to form of Pradeep Sarkar.

And Once Again Release Date : 20,Aug 2010

Producer Shangrila Kreations
Director Amol Palekar
Music Debajyoti Mishra, Anjan Biswas
Writer Sandhya Gokhale
Lyrics Asif Ali Beg
Release Date 20-Aug-2010

Directed by veteran actor Amol Palekar, ‘And Once Again’ is a warm rendition of human emotions, intertwined beautifully with a heart wrenching story of a pained heart, recuperating from the loss of losing one’s love and then finding the same love, lost in the most unusual way - once again!

Starring Antara Mali, Rajat Kapoor and Rituparna Sengupta, the movie subtly talks about repercussions of violence on human life.

Rishi (Rajat) is trying to cope with the reality since he had lost his wife and son in a violent attack when he was posted in Yugoslavia. While he was undergoing therapy in order to overcome his trauma, Rishi met Manuvela (Rituparna) – his psychiatrist’s daughter. She fell in love with him. Their marriage helped him to get back to life.

Manuvela is an architect who is on her official visit to Sikkim, India. On her insistence, her husband, Rishi joins her to the home of rotating prayer bells, the fluttering holy flags encircling the majestic monasteries and the overwhelming peace filled in the valleys.

Both are enjoying their stay and relish the serenity of the gorgeous hills, oblivious of the events that are to dictate their future!

As Rishi is returning from a monastery in Sikkim, Rishi sees a female monk who resembled his first wife Savitri (Antara). He gets restless with his doubt: he tries to identify her – unfortunately, his suspicion gets confirmed. Subsequently, he confides in Manu about this accidental revelation: she also gets shaken.

The film unfolds their complex situation while tracing the roots of this incredible coincidence. Had Savitri not died? How did she end up being a monk in Sikkim? Does Savitri recognize Rishi? How does Manu react? What is end of this awkward dilemma?

While dealing with intricacies of man-woman relationship, the film casts a lingering shadow on all of us with its startling shades as the characters manage to draw a line between their past and present. ‘And Once Ahain’ is rather slow, but worth a dekko for the perfect monsoon weekend!

Rating: Two cheers for this one!

Kis Hudh Tak Release Date 20-Aug-2010

Producer Tarun Dhanrajgirji
Director Tarun Dhanrajgirji
Music Abid Shah
Writer Tarun Dhanrajgirji, Abid Shah
Lyrics Abid Shah
Release Date 20-Aug-2010

Kis Hudh Tak sets out to be a tale of justice, conviction and sacrifice but, sadly, turns out to be an insensitive bag of wannabes trying to prove a point: a rape, in this case.

Item numbers are passé. I think everybody knows that by now. Still, director Tarun Dhanrajgir takes the risk to begin the film with an item number with lead actor Sharad Bhutani (Sharma), a move that backfires. Our preening hero (Sharad keeps running his fingers through his hair ever so often) is the typical spoilt brat who leads a 'colourful' life (tell us something new). The mother is a control freak (of course, with no control) with political ambitions. Our heroine Dia (Shah) is a law student whose charm floors Sharad and they start dating.

'Rape is a crime… if you can prove it,' says the film's tagline. As predicted, Sharad is put behind bars and even his politically powerful mother cannot save him from the proverbial 'kanoon ke lambey haath'.The story is about Dia and her fight for justice, for whom you know only in the end.

It’s strange how the filmmaker fails to realise how painfully repetitive and overused the dialogues are, especially the way the characters yell “rape”, completely trivialising a very serious subject and defeating the purpose of the film.

Talking about purpose, the film looks like the product of the confusion of many minds wanting to show many things in roughly two-and-a-half hours. As the filmmaker claims that the film has a “definite message”, you feel like asking him the meaning of “definite”. You don’t know whether the film tells you not to date, not to rape, or to go to any extent to prove that you were raped. The attempt may be sincere, but the approach and portrayal are trifling.

As for acting talent, there is none on display. Newcomer Shah shows some promise, but Sharma looks like a wannabe trying to make it big in Hindi cinema. I’m not sure how far he will go with this kind of performance. The best of the lot is Sharad's mother Nirmala Devi (Kumar) with her Indira Gandhi-like hairstyle and strict demeanour. She has been seen in television serials before. In fact, many of the locations in the film remind you of the afternoon TV serials.

I guess the film's producers doubted their own product (why shouldn’t they?) and so came up with a 'buy 1 get 1 free' offer on tickets for the film. In Mumbai, the film is releasing in only one theatre, Eros.

The filmmaker deserves punishment for bad treatment of a great subject. Don’t even think of wasting your time and money on this one.