Shakal Pe Mat Ja Release Date : 18,Nov 2011

Producer    Deepa Sahi, Aanand Mahendroo
 Director    Shubh
 Music    Salim Merchant, Sulaiman Merchant, Nitin Kumar Gupta, Yo Yo Honey Singh
 Writer    Shubh
 Lyrics    Shraddha Pandit, Shubh, Yo Yo Honey Singh
 Release Date    18-Nov-2011

Do not get deceived by the modest face-value of Shakal Pe Mat Ja assuming it to be of the low-on-star value but high-on-humour quotient varieties. The film starts as a seeming spin-off on last year's cult-comedy Tere Bin Laden but ends up being a commotional comedy-of-errors (rather erroneous comedy) treading into the Priyadarshan-Anees Bazmee zone.
So the film's actor-writer-director Shubh Mukherjee plays Aniket, who with his group of friends, aspires to make a documentary film on terror attacks. And you can actually see Aniket's attempt at making a college project film resulting into an amateurish filmmaking attempt by Shubh Mukherjee.
While taking random video shots within the international airport vicinity, the boys are taken into custody by police and detained at airport under suspicion of being terrorists. A potbellied anti-terrorist officer (Saurabh Shukla) comes to investigate. Amidst all this, one Omama Bin Laden, who heads some terrorist group Al Bakaida, is planning an actual attack at the airport.
Noise, disorder and confusion ensue for hours until Shubh comes to the point - to launch himself as the hero. And for that he just has to diffuse a bomb by snipping off one of the red-green-blue wires - a trademark gimmick of the 80s potboilers. Only if bomb diffusing and filmmaking were so easy, a lot more souls would have been saved.
Despite starting on a promising premise, writer-director Shubh Mukherjee isn't able to develop the plot in an interesting way and the potential for a fresh comedy is substituted by a formulaic film. The boys remain detained for more that half of the film and with nothing substantial happening through their confinement (other than repeated and redundant interrogation sessions), the narrative turns static and one-dimensional. The remaining film turns into a (supposed) comedy of mistaken identities inside the airport premises with beings and bags shifting hands every ten minutes.
The tone of the comedy, though not slapstick, is juvenile, inconsistent and ineffective at places. Neither is it supported by witty lines, nor by good comic-timed performances. The second half goes on and on and seems like an endless exercise where every character shouts their lungs out. An India-Pakistan live cricket match that plays in parallel has no relevance whatsoever with the central plot.
Shubh Mukherjee makes an earnest effort but gets the tone of humour wrong as the director. As an actor his dialogue delivery is suggestive of Shahid Kapoor, his acting is reminiscent of Riteish Deshmukh but, in totality, he comes across as a cheap imitation of Ali Zafar. Chitrak Bandhopadyay, employed as a prototype to the fat-bearded comic sidekick in films like Hangover or Delhi Belly, is not half as amusing. The only thing he makes noise for is his flatulent farting and fake firang accent. Child actor Pratik Katare isn't partially as funny as he was in Paa. Harsh Parekh lacks screen presence. Saurabh Shukla keeps 'shouting' at everyone around to lower their voice. Raghuvir Yadav appears malnourished. Pretty face Umang Jain is underused in an inconsequential role (once again after Love Breakups Zindagi). Aamna Shariff is hardly there. And why is Joy Sengupta even there.

Rockstar Release Date : 11,Nov 2011

Producer    Dhilin Mehta
 Director    Imtiaz Ali
 Music    A. R. Rahman
 Lyrics    Irshad Kamil
 Release Date    11-Nov-2011

In the film, Ranbir Kapoor is advised that to be a true-blue artist and a real rockstar he has to experience pain, which will come through heartbreak. If we go by this theory, most audiences of this film will walk out of the hall as rockstars, since the movie will largely leave them heartbroken. But for heartbreak, it is imperative to fall in love first and that's exactly what director Imtiaz Ali does. He starts off the film on a promising note and just when you fall in love with the amazing first half, the narrative nosedives with a stagnant second half.
So you have the naive Janardhan Jakhar (Ranbir Kapoor) who aspires to be a rockstar like Jim Morrison. His yearning for heartbreak gets him close to Heer (Nargis Fakhri), as they bond over soft-porn cinema and country liquor. Soon after, the girl is married off to some NRI, the boy is thrown out of his house, he seeks solace in a dargah and next you know he's a singing sensation rechristened as Jordan.
A foreign tour reunites him with Heer and their passive passion rekindles until Jordan is obsessed with her. What follows is another tribute to Devdas or rather Dev.D with the neurotic, lovelorn protagonist unable to get over his mixed emotions and confused definition of love. But that's not all as the plot meanders to culminate into an undesired arena of Erich Segal's Love Story.
Imtiaz Ali is known for his old-wine-in-new-bottle brand of cinema. Rockstar is very much engaging as far as it is in that familiar territory, where the director adds a refreshing touch to the regular romance drama. The casual chemistry that he induces between the lead pair through their wacky and eventful escapades has its moments of charm. The passion-play between them when they reunite after years is spontaneous, smoldering and yet tastefully achieved. Their reunion is also faintly reminiscent of the Jab We Met reunion, where the character-conduct is reversed with the burbling boy now trying to make the gloomy girl's life more exciting. And like Love Aaj Kal, Imtiaz Ali kick-starts the film with a montage song highlighting select significant sequences from the entire film.
But beyond that when the director ventures into uncharted zone, the narrative loses track. While one can still overlook the Dev.D influenced intoxicating attitude of the proceedings (which you can somehow attribute to the convoluted rockstar protagonist), the subsequent terminal illness conflict takes the film towards an unwelcome and undefined end. After an interesting graph to the narrative in the first half, the story almost turns stationary in the second half. The screenplay seems stretched and gets monotonous with repetitive media-bashing scenes and flashback shots of what has been already served to you.
Another problem with the plot is that it is neither a standalone story about the rise-of-an-underdog who becomes the biggest rockstar nor is it merely a love story with a rockstar backdrop. The director somewhere attempts to correlate the rockstar's rise with his romance but isn't able to achieve that impeccably. In fact the original one-liner plot with which the movie starts (a painful heartbreak gets out the real artist inside you) goes for a complete toss by the end. One can never clearly perceive when Jordan's heart is broken in the assorted scheme of events and that's where the film loses objectivity.
The storytelling pattern of the film is needlessly intricate for a simple romance-drama genre. While it is very much linear, the frequent use of multiple montages can have you confused. Initially the montages aid brisk storytelling but subsequently there are so much of them that it gets puzzling. Editing the film would surely have been a difficult task. Anil Mehta's cinematography is brilliant as he captures the beauty of Kashmir, Italy and Delhi with panache. AR Rahman's wide range of music has numbers which are instantly infectious (Sadda Haq) and others that take time to grow on you.
If Rockstar keeps you engaged even after you have given up on the story by the end, it is only because of Ranbir Kapoor. From his innocence in the opening reels to his arrogance in the climax, Ranbir breathes life into Jordan and keeps you riveted. Whether he adlibs his songs, gives a dance-tribute to Shammi Kapoor or dictates the concert crowd, Ranbir gives cent percent to his character. How much ever you try to ignore, but Nargis Fakhri fervently reminds of Katrina Kaif through her looks, acting, lip movements (and seemingly also has the same voice dubbing artist). Nevertheless she is likeable and shares good chemistry with Ranbir. Kumud Mishra as Jordan's advisor-turned-manager is impressive. Aditi Rao Hydari is confident but marred by a short-lived character. Piyush Mishra makes for an animated-yet-interesting negative lead. And it's pleasing to see Shammi Kapoor is his last decent cameo.
Rockstar rocks you but only partially thanks to the star called Ranbir Kapoor.

Na Jaane Kabse.. Release Date : 04,Nov 2011

Producer    Pammi Somal, Gurtejpal S. Somal
 Director    Pammi Somal
 Music    Jatin Pandit
 Writer    Pammi Somal
 Release Date    04-Nov-2011

New Delhi: With no big releases to draw audiences this week, smaller releases like 'Shakal Pe Mat Ja', 'Happi', 'Who's there?' and 'Na Jaane Kabse' were hoping to draw in the audiences between them.
But what actually happened, without a doubt, was a box office wipe out. Strikes one in the face when one walks in to an empty movie hall on a Friday evening.
'Na Jaane Kabse' stars new comer Gary Gill, Amrita Prakash, Sharat Saxena, Gurpreet Guggi, Lilette Dubey, Javed Sheikh, Ayub Khan, Anju Mahendroo and Himan Shivpuri.
'Na Jaane Kabse' is another brave attempt by the director Pammi Somal of the 'Mummy Punjabi' fame. It is a typical Bollywood love story between a 'self made' bartender-turned-resort's managing director and a librarian. At this point it must be added that the girl is actually the daughter of a bigger resort owner who has made the library for his daughter so as she does not have to work outside her protective precinct.
Could the movie have worked if the girl was actually a librarian? We may never know for economic differences are not Somal's bone of contention. Everyone in her movies seems to have ample money and fancy homes.
Karan (Garry Gill) is in need for a bride (albeit a fake one) when the girl he is supposed to get married to runs out on him. As Bollywood coincidences would have it he ends up taking a lift from Anjali (Amrita Prakash) and in a turn of events the 'drama queen' Anjali decides to help out 'tragedy king' Karan.
So begins the picturesque journey to a Karan's resort in the hills and in three days time they magically fall in love. Cliched? Who’s judging? They have the rains at the strategic time, the magical make over of a spectacled Anjali to a rather pretty 'fake' bride, the photoshoots by the foreign press, the Bollywood perfected gestures of affection and jokes.
The subplot of the story is Karan’s effort to get his resort publicity and the entry of Anjali's father – played rather deftly by Sharat Saxena who seems to have mastered comedy by now. He has been doing it since 'Mr India'. The main plot is the 3 day long love story filled with 'bhangra-perfect' songs – incidentally Somal has bhangra dancers ready all the time! And one prays silently that there will come a time when B grade Bollywood will grow up from the stock formula of a boy who wants to marry someone ‘hot and sexy’ and falls instead for a spectacle wearing 'gharelu' girl. And here’s the twist – he actually wears glassed himself!
And that is basically all the movie has to offer – the songs are not half bad but they suffer from bad choreography. At one point in the movie Anjali has a dream sequence in Leh-Ladakh and one can actually spot her wearing sneakers in quite a handful of scenes till finally a close up shows her golden sandals. You have to give it to the director – the locations are wonderful.
But as a film that aims to give a 'social' message as even 'Mummy Punjabi' does – the message seems to be rather obscure – Anjali tells her father – 'Why don't parents understand that their children can choose their life partners well'.
Characters appear and disappear just as abruptly and the audience (the few who can brave this) sit and wonder why they are even there. In his debut Garry Gill has a long, long, long way to go. Amrita Prakash, who ideally has more on-screen experience than Gill does – does a better job. She has played the kid sister in so many movies that she has not come out of that mode. It seems that Geet from 'Jab We Met' is the role model of all chirpy, smartly in-your-face girls all over India.
The story had some marginal potential but it was all done away with sub-standard acting from the lead actors. One can never figure out how the father suddenly changes his mind and is so terribly apologetic to his daughter – she was after all in love with a 'ex-bartender' – the old money against the nouveau riche logic. One cannot fathom the waste of an actor like Lilette Dubey and even Himani Shivpuri.
The most excruciating part of the movie is the love letter/proposal that Anjali sends out to her 'self made man of substance' Karan – for she wants to make sure she does not hurt his bruised ego (bruised by being jilted in love).
Give this movie a miss, you have nothing to lose.

Loot Release Date : 04,Nov 2011

Producer    Suniel Shetty, Shabbir Boxwala
 Director    Rajneesh Thakur
 Music    Shamir Tandon, Mika Singh
 Writer    Prawal Raman
 Release Date    04-Nov-2011

It might have taken debutante director Rajnish Raj Thakur huge efforts to mess up a fairly engaging plotline. His insipid direction, some disinterested performances, painful dialogues, shoddy editing and shabby production values do the wonders of looting Crime Spree of its original essence.
So you have four small-time robbers sent to Pattaya on a big assignment. Govinda and Javed Jafferi only speak in coded gibberish. Mahaakshay Chakraborthy's stereotype Christian character insists on uttering 'hey man' in every line he speaks in the film, perhaps to cover up the sissiness in his vocal chords. (Producer) Suniel Shetty takes a backseat, subtly hinting the group that he has sponsored the Thailand vacation and they have to run the extra mile. The quartet accidentally ends up robbing the wrong guy Lala (Mahesh Manjrekar), who happens to be a local don. Now he is out to get them and so are a bunch of some other guys (including the annoyed audience).
Rajnish Thakur does a blatant copy-paste job to the extent that he doesn't even bother to change the backdrops, locations or props in the scenes. It is certainly not a case of 'giving an apt tribute to the original' but more of 'having no vision of his own'. Crime Spree, in itself, was an offshoot of the cult success of Guy Ritchie's Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and interpreted its inherent sense of humour. Alas Loot isn't able to adapt the humour of the original and most of the gags are lost in translation and fall flat.
Also almost everyone seems to be miscast in the film. The comic genius of Govinda and Javed Jafferi are employed for action sequences in place of Suniel Shetty. The meek Mahaakshay is supposed to exude heroism. Mika doesn't sing but act. The dialogues are written as if a prosaic antakshari were playing, with every line trying to interconnect itself with the succeeding line. The editing is bad, cinematography is tacky and Pattaya looks so paltry that possibly Thailand tourism would think twice before sanctioning another film to be shot there.
The performances are consistently unappealing. Govinda and Javed Jafferi's potential to induce genuine laughs (esp. when the comedy was not merely slapstick) remains untapped. Suniel Shetty is regular. Mahaakshay Chakraborty should quit acting. Mahesh Manjrekar is let down by a dull director. Ravi Kishan and Mika are plain average. Thankfully Shweta Bhardwaj is knocked off pretty early in the plot and Rakhi Sawant's item number appears only in the end credits.
Loot robs you off some potential entertaining moments!

Miley Naa Miley Hum Release Date : 04,Nov 2011

Producer    Anuuj Saxena
 Director    Tanveer Khan
 Music    Sajid, Wajid
 Lyrics    Javed Akhtar
 Release Date    04-Nov-2011

Chirag (Chirag Paswan) happens to be the blue-eyed boy of his father ( Kabir Bedi) and mother (Poonam Dhillon), though his parents have separated years ago. Reason? Mother was upset that father was playing tennis when son was born!!! Never mind, now both the parents are hell-bent to marry off their only son to a girl of their choice. Prospective candidates come in form of Bollywood stereotypes of an NRI chick (Sagarika Ghatge) and the desi Punjabi kudi prototype (Neeru Bajwa).
One song with each contender and Chirag is convinced that neither girl is his type. So he hires an aspiring model Anishka (Kangana Ranaut) to pose as his girlfriend to ward off the others. All that the goofy Anishka does is spit and puke on Chirag and he still falls in love with her!!! Amidst all this, just forgot to mention (like the script) that Chirag's heart actually beats for tennis sport. Interested or not, you have to sit through an entire match before the film ends.
Writer-director Tanveer Khan comes up with a boring plot, which doesn't even qualify to be a TV serial and above that a screenplay, which is as amateurish as the performances. In what would seem like the most unconvincing scene of the year - when daddy dear makes a phone call to long-lost friend ( Dalip Tahil) with a marriage proposal for their kids, the friend, who is almost on the verge of marrying off his daughter to someone else, instantly calls off the engagement. Saying that a friend in need is a friend indeed would only be an understatement.
Chirag Paswan tries too hard to make an impact but fails to deliver with an inflexible demeanour. Had it been some other genre, one could have passed it off as a no-nonsense character (but sorry, no luck here). He maintains the same expression (or the lack of it) throughout the film. Thanks to her lack of comic timing, Kangana Ranaut continues to consistently disappoint from No Problem, Rascals to this one. Sagarika Ghatge and Neeru Bajwa are hardly there for a couple of scenes and comparatively Shweta Tiwari gets more visibility in her solo item number. Poonam Dhillon almost reprises her role from Dil Bole Hadippa. And Kabir Bedi's baritone leaves more impact than the whole film.
So if the question is Miley Naa Miley Hum, you know the answer...

Ye Stupid Pyar Release Date : 04,Nov 2011

Producer    Rakesh Jain
 Director    Rakesh Jain
 Music    Vipin Patwa
 Writer    Rakesh Jain
 Release Date    04-Nov-2011

Tension Doooor Release Date : 04,Nov 2011

Producer    Ekta Arora
 Director    Ambrish Sangal
 Music    Director Ali Gani
 Writer    Nawab Arzoo
 Lyrics    Nawab Arzoo
 Release Date    04-Nov-2011

If the other two releases of this week namely Loot and Miley Na Miley Hum weren't enough for atrocious viewing, here comes another flick that might seriously injure you brains cells - Tension Doooor.

Gopal that's Swaraj Singh is a sincere village boy who survives a freak road accident. Post recovery, he realises he also is able to hear and understand the unspoken feelings in a person's mind, which results in some of the corrupt authorities of his village being exposed and getting him thrown out. So when he leaves the village and his love that's Bijli (Swati Anand) behind, he finds solace in the company of Papplu (Ali Asgar) who helps him make a noble living with his ability that is till they land themselves in some deep trouble.

Tension Doooor is one such film that would make you run away from the cinema hall (that's if you choose to watch it in the first place) right in the initial 30 minutes. Though the only saviour of the entire film is stand up comedian and small screen actor Ali Asgar who provides some comic relief, the sight of the lead actor makes you squirm in your seat.

The fact that this movie shouldn't have been made is an understatement. Everything about Tension Doooor should carefully be kept doooor only. The makers who show the movie's name as Tension Doooor.com at one end and as just Tension Doooor at other prove just how careless the making is.

Performances by everyone especially lead actor Swaraj Singh is the purest form of torture. Song sequences test patience. Poor script and cheap editing make for a horrible watch. To mention that through the movie, supporting actors are forever speaking in chorus is also just being polite. Once known for his feat, director Ambrish Singhal lets us down with an ancient portrayal.

To sum it up, one can stay as doooor from Tension Door as possible unless one wants to invite Tension!

I Am Singh Release Date : 31,Oct 2011

Producer    Sardar Peshaura Singh Thind
 Director    Puneet Issar
 Music    Monty Sharma, Daler Mehndi, Sukhwinder Singh, Sudhakar Dutt Sharma
 Writer    Puneet Issar
 Release Date    31-Oct-2011

I AM SINGH – The film is a salute to the Undying spirit of unconquerable Sikhs all over the world. This film is written and directed by Renowed actor, writer, Director Puneet Issar best known for his powerful performance as Duryodhan in the TV series Mahabharata.
Cast: GulzarInder Chahal, Tulip Joshi, Mika Singh, Brooke Johnston, Rizwan Haider, Puneet Isarr
Written and Directed By : Puneet Isarr
Produced By: Sardar Peshaura singh Thind
Music Directors – Monty Sharma, Daler Mehndi, Sukhwinder Singh, Sudhakar Dutt Sharma
The story is about a young sikh named Ranveer Singh Sodi.
Ranveer is a young, confident, intelligent and a very well settled man in India. Ranveer’s elder brothers Balbir Singh & Bikram Singh are citizens of America. They are doing very well for themselves. They run restaurant business in the USA. Ranveer’s parents leave for holiday to the US to meet their son. Ranveer doesn’t want to join them as he is busy attending his friend’s wedding in India. Life is easy going for this family.

Damadamm Release Date : 27,Oct 2011

Producer    Studio 18
 Director    Swapna Waghmare
 Music    Himesh Reshammiya
 Writer    Himesh Reshammiya
 Lyrics    Shabbir Ahmed, Sameer
 Release Date    27-Oct-2011

Starring Himesh Reshammiya, Purbi Joshi, Sonal Sehgal
Directed by Swapna Waghmare
So here he is. Himesh Reshammiya is back in front of the camera. This time he moves away from the wannabe-rockstar’s image to play a working-class nerd. Himesh’s Sameer is a bit of an idiot. So he celebrates the departure of his over-possessive bossy girlfriend Shikha (Purbi Joshi) by dancing on the steeets, making weird faces at passing chicks(who should be shown reciprocating with a stern scowl if not a slap but are instead shown giggling), messing up his tidy apartment and binging on booze with his unsavoury boss who keeps giving our Sameer wrong advice on how to handle women, particularly bossy over-possessive girlfriends.
Damaddam has its nice sweet wholesome moments. It’s one of those innocuous romcoms that neither leave you impressed nor cold.The heartwarming moments come on when you are most expecting them and linger on screen long enough to make you forgot how annoyingly misguided a character the hero really is.
There is a ring of truth to Sameer’s selfdestructive rejection of a 5-year old seemingly stifling relationship for a posh fling in the tempting lap of luxury with his boss’ classy sister Sanjana(Sonal Sehgal).
Shah Rukh Khan had done the same in Aziz Mirza’s Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, given up the comfort of true love for a fling with a rich heiress. To her credit Sonal Sehgal doesn’t play the Other Woman as a bitch. She echoes Sushmita Sen’s tranquil seductiveness from Goldie Behl’s Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai. And that’s high praise.
Remarkably Surbat Sinha’s screenplay has a believable trio of protagonists, flawed, fumbling, all too human. But the peripheral characters are a letdown. They aren’t only sketchy but also clumsily etched into the plot. Also the music, Himesh Reshammiya’s mainstay, is here uninspiring and often obtrusive. The track ‘Ishq’ unplugged comes at an embarrassing juncture when the love triangle is in need of a solution, not a song.
What wins you over is the director Swapna Waghmare’s earnestness. She has her heart in the right place. So does the film. Some of the time. For the rest you’ve to grin and bear the excessive zeal of a supporting cast and a music score that don’t know where to draw the line.
Himesh Reashmmiya’s performance is that of a goofy Everyman, a bit of a messed-up soul who finally admits he needs a bullying girlfriend to get him through the complexities of life. Himesh works his performance around the character’s weaknesses and his own limitations as an actor.
It is the underused Purbi Joshi as Himesh’s overbearing girlfriend who steals the show. She imparts a sense of lived-in authenticity to her role, almost at times going beyond the script in search of her character’s lost soul. Why don’t we get to see more of this pretty talented girl in our films?

Tell Me O Kkhuda Release Date : 27,Oct 2011

Producer    Hema Malini
 Director    Hema Malini, Mayur Puri
 Music    Pritam Chakraborty
 Release Date    27-Oct-2011

Tania (Esha Deol), a supposed novelist who inspires others, is disillusioned when she learns that she was an adopted child. Thereby she sets on an aimless, endless and pointless journey to find her biological parents, accompanied by her friends (Arjan Bajwa, Chandan Roy Sanyal) who have nothing better to do than escort her on her sponsored world tours. She has managed to preserve her 24-year old hospital birth tag (phew) which leads them to an overtly enthusiastic municipality clerk ( Johnny Lever) who is more than willing to help her with paternal prescriptions. And every time the municipal hospital is refurbished, the clerk comes up with new options for Daddy dear!
That gives the film an excuse to explore different geographical territories from Rajasthan, Turkey to Goa. Of course that doesn't make the narrative one-bit multidimensional as one only wishes the story could have explored the characters and their conflicts better. The first father candidate is a Rajasthan Royal (Vinod Khanna) and the ensuring episode is a moral science lesson against female feticide and about gender equality. Nominee number 2 is a Turkish hotelier (Rishi Kapoor) whose wife has turned recluse ever since the death of their daughter. But do we care?
Finally comes our very own Papaji (Dharmendra) with tweaked side-locks and studded ears as Goa's don Tony Costello. Hema Malini also makes a default special appearance and you know who the daughter belongs to. So by the time Esha Deol walks with 'four fathers' in the climax, you realize that this dull drama dates back to your 'forefathers'.
While the film is certainly not designed as some suspense flick about the identity of the real father, it doesn't even work as a decent drama. Hema Malini's direction is slack, shallow and lacks the dramatic punches when the scene demands and, on the contrary, gets melodramatic when not required. There is no palpable tension when Tania confronts any of her prospective papas for the first time. The dullness in her direction can be simply sensed from the fact that she fails to add excitement or animation even in the potential camel race sequence.
Completely centered on Esha Deol, the actress disappoints with her apathetic act. She carries the same red-nosed, crybaby expression throughout and fails to strike a chord. And as desperately as she tries to exude an oomph appeal, all her attempts fall flat. Arjan Bajwa gets no scope. Chandan Roy Sanyal is used as an add-on who merely giggles and sprints like a buffoon. His comedy seems forced and the film could have even done without his character. Vinod Khanna has good screen presence. Rishi Kapoor is marred by a half-baked role. Dharmendra is unable to rise over the mediocre script. Farooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval are decent. Hema Malini fails to impress both off-screen and on-screen.

Ra.One Release Date : 26,Oct 2011

Producer    Gauri Khan
 Director    Anubhav Sinha
 Release Date    26-Oct-2011

Pataka? Item? Tota? An actor throws around a few casual words that mean a beautiful girl, until he hits upon one that encompasses all of the above: chammak challo. Shah Rukh Khan's superhero-blue eyes light up, Kareena Kapoor's red sari glows, and they start to dance to Akon's song along with Russian dancers in Bharatnatyam-inspired mini-skirts. Yes, it's that sort of a movie, where everything happens all at once. Amitabh Bachchan does part of the voice-over; Rajinikanth's Chitti, the Robot, shows G.One, Shah Rukh's superhero, how to twirl his sunglasses; artist Subodh Gupta paints the costume; and even pals Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra act out a juvenile joke, playing characters in video game where the star can vanquish the sisters of Bruce Lee called Iski Lee, Uski Lee and Sabki Lee. Even as you cringe at Shah Rukh's Tamil accented Hindi and his eating-curd-with-noodle act, hoping his curly wig will fall into his dinner plate, you realise it's a big party and everyone's invited.
Welcome to a movie as a gigantic open house. Shah Rukh is the host and he will make sure your VFX canapés are delivered at regular interval; your emotion goblet is kept topped up; and there are enough homilies about being careful-what-you-wish-for that you can take home as back presents. This is film-making not so much as noble passion but as grand indulgence, not so much as a marathon magic show but as an event to be managed. No effort is spared. Shah Rukh walks sideways on a Mumbai local train, stops an engine with his bare hands, charges himself with electricity, even slaps his heroine's butt and grabs her breast. In between throwing cars at his arch nemesis, recently escaped from a video game; dancing like Michael Jackson; and quoting V. Shantaram, the superhero moves between the digital and real world, London and Chennai, burial as Christian and prayer as Hindu.
I presume there is some lesson here about being a global citizen, and Shah Rukh's hyperactive child fans will no doubt benefit from it, but it would have been more fun to see more Volkswagens ploughing through many more red buses. But yes, we know, this is a superhero with a heart and ladai goliyon se nahin, dil se jeeti jati hai. The special effects work, but are not always evenly applied through the film. The cool metallic blue of the superhero suit doesn't always show up on screen. And hey, Arjun Rampal really needs to stop clenching his teeth while delivering menacing dialogues. We are not scared because we simply cannot understand. Shah Rukh throws himself about, vaulting up and own buildings, leaping through the air and even landing on his feet with Kareena Kapoor in his arms. In the face of such indefatigable energy, we surrender. Go on, Shah Rukh, give it a rest. In the words of your superhero, you did good.

Be-Careful Release Date : 21,Oct 2011

Producer    Amrit Guzari, Raju Bhati, Ritesh Charodia
 Director    Chandrakant Singh
 Music    Siddharth, Suhas
 Writer    M. Salim
 Lyrics    Kumaar
 Release Date    21-Oct-2011

Story: The best way for Sameer and Anand to enjoy a moment of sensuous bliss is to take a trip away from home... and away from their respective wives, Anjali and Kiran. But fun becomes a far fetched dream for the boys when they realise the wives themselves are up to something naughty in Bangkok....

Movie Review: So what exactly does one need to be careful about here? Is it the plot (Two sexually starved husbands run away from their wives to the sinful islands of Thailand for fun unlimited)? Is it the sense of humour (There are plenty of jokes on the Thais)? Is it the level of insensitivity (more than half of the movie goes into getting cheap thrills out of a possible rape encounter to please the girl everybody wants to bed)? Is it the likes of Rajpal Yadav and Johnny Lever left to rechristening themselves when in Bangkok -- One becomes Pands instead of Panditji?

None of the above. Avoid.

Ganga Of Wasseypur Release Date : 18,Oct 2011

Producer    Anurag Kashyap, Sunil Bohra
 Director    Anurag Kashyap
 Writer    Anurag Kashyap, Sachin K. Ladia
 Release Date    18-Oct-2011

Rang Rasiya Release Date : 14,Oct 2011

Producer    Deepa Sahi, Aanand Mahendroo
 Director    Ketan Mehta
 Release Date    14-Oct-2011

The much awaited film “RANG RASIYA”, internationally known as the Colours of Passion, has been selected to be screened at two prestigious international film festivals. The film will be screened at the BFI’s 52nd London Film Festival on 26th October and 30th October, 2008 followed by two screenings at the MIAAC Film Festival in New York, on 6th (Museum of Arts and Design) & 8th (Tribeca Cinemas) November, 2008 respectively.
Deepa Sahi made come back to bollywood movies from the film “Colors of Passion Rang Rasiya  ”. The film is directed by Ketan Mehta and Deepa porcupine and built by Anand Mahendroo. The film's script is based on the real life story of the famous painter Raja Ravi Verma.
The painter Raja Ravi Verma was born in Kerala in the year 1848 and he was criticized by social groups in the regional painting tradition is not a sunset. That he had photographs of the righteous is less common animals to man. Raja Ravi Verma, who was married to Queen Bhageerathi Bayi one of the Royal family and three daughters and two sons.
The film is based on the story of Raja Ravi Verma relationship with the muse Sugandha. Sugansha is played by Nandana Sen and passion is prevalent in the paintings of Raja Ravi Verma up as a topic of the film. Raja Ravi Varma's paintings had been accused of unethical paintings depicting Hindu gods, and he was arrested for his works. He completed Sugandha, a muse and he imagined that matches the beauty Raja Ravi Verma, in his mind.
Out to be the inspiration Sugandha turns for the Raja Ravi Varma, who paints her as a god. He painted many pictures to take Sugandha his subject, and the price paid for Sugandha tell your pictures.
Came across a site which has wallpapers and other interesting trivia of this movie..
Check out

Aazaan Release Date : 14,Oct 2011

Producer    M. R. Shahjahan
 Director    Prashant Chadha
 Music    Salim Merchant, Sulaiman Merchant
 Writer    Prashant Chadha, Shubra Swarup, Heeraz Marfatia
 Lyrics    Amitabh Bhattacharya
 Release Date    14-Oct-2011

The expectations of the movie goers about director Prashant Chadha's latest movie Aazaan suddenly went up after Bollywood Superstar Shahrukh Khan introduced actor Sachiin Joshi and his movie in IIFA 2011 in Toronto. The movie surely lives upto their expectations and it offers something extra-ordinary in the action genre.

Aazaan is an espionage thriller and the action sequences, which lack flamboyance, are the major highlight of the movie. It is the best action movie shot ever in India. Sachiin Joshi's performance, Salim-Suleman's music, Axel Fischer's stunning camera work and Shubra Swaroop's screenplay are other attractions of the film.

The movie is all about a tormented-Muslim secret agent Aazaan, who sets out on to save his country and his brother. The movie is in par with Hollywood standards in many aspects like action, screenplay. In the beginning, Aazaan appears like a beautiful journey, but it soon turns more foggy. Prashant Chadha has a very gripping narration and he goes beyond the predictions of viewers in every scene. Although different characters speak various languages like Hebrew and French, the director has managed that these languages do not divert the attention of the audience.

Aazaan Khan is an Indian army officer, who has Afghan origin. He is trained at the NDA and is working as a secret agent for RAW (Research and Analysis Wing). He goes undercover to find out information to save the country, when India faces the threat of lethal virus attack. Meanwhile, he is also on mission to find his missing brother, who is now involved in terrorists' biological warfare. How Aazaan saves the country and his brother will form the interesting portion of the film.

The director could have selected dynamic actor like Hrithik Roshan for the hero role. But this does not mean that Sachiin Joshi has not performed well. He done a wonderful job in all kinds of sequences. Candice Boucher is also good in her role and she is a feast to the eyes of pranksters. Prashanth Chadha does not seem to have used the actors like Sarita Choudhary, Dalip Tahil and Ravi Kissen in proper way.

In the technical front, Salim-Suleman's background music is the major attraction. Their composition of songs is also good and the placement of songs is also okay. Axel Fischer's cinematography is a visual treat. The action of film moves from Morocco to Germany to Hong Kong and Poland and he has captured this movement in a brilliant way. Dialogues are also commendable and they evokes the sense of patriotism.

Overall, Prashant Chadha has set a Hollywood trend in Indian action thriller with his latest movie Aazaan, which is a treat for action lovers.

Mod Release Date : 14,Oct 2011

Producer    Nagesh Kukunoor, Sujit Kumar Singh, Elahe Hiptoola
 Director    Nagesh Kukunoor
 Music    Tapas Relia
 Writer    Nagesh Kukunoor
 Lyrics    Mir Ali Husain
 Release Date    14-Oct-2011

Starring Ayesha Takia Azmi, Rannvijay Singh, Raghuvir Yadav, Tanve Azmi
Directed by Nagesh Kukunoor
Ahhhhhhh! It’s been a while since one felt that stab in the heart while watching a love story trot towards its somber culmination. Love’s like that. When put on film it can make you fall in love with the emotion called love, as it happened in Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met.
We’ll never know why Imtiaz didn’t cast Ayesha Takia in Jab We Met after she sparkled in Ali’s Socha Na Tha. But there’s Kukunoor who truly values in Takia’s talent.
She brings to this film about that silly thing called, a kind of inner conviction that makes you want to believe in her faith in the oft-abused emotion. When Ayesha speaks her lines they don’t sound written in this under-written film about love that has goes into the realm of the surreal.
Veejay turned actor Rannjvijay Singh is the nerdy stranger who walks into Ayesha/Aranya’s tranquil life in a  scenic soporific hill station that’s threatened, rather crudel, by a construction magnate whom we overhear saying, ‘The first thing we’ll do is get rid of all the greenery around here.’
Ouch! Happily for us and the film, such insensitive moments are too far and in-between to make a difference to the gentle tale of a girl who runs a watch repair-shop in town where time  has nearly stopped still.
Nagesh Kukunoor and his lovely leading lady are most comfortable with the silences that punctuate life away from the city. The camerawork by Chirantan Das shamelessly creates picture-postcard images all around Aranya’s life and world. The relationships that emerge from the  sedate silences of a life lived in an ageless vacuum are woven into a  plot which careens between being a fragile fable and a mawkish melodrama.
Caught in that morning-time dim dawn sun  when the world looks irresistibly innocent and shorn of corruptibility the goings-on in Mod are so evocative of an era that never existed outside the poet’s imagination that we tend to forgive the plotting excesses that mar the second-half  of the film.
The finale on the hilly railway station, however, erases the clumsiness of some of the proceedings in the second-hour. And what we are left with is a film of heart-aching beauty, soo tender and evocative that in terms of manmade craft it replicates the intrictate threadwork of a Kashmiri carpet where very often the design is so nuanced the naked eye can’t see the craftsmanship.
The film has some truly tender supporting performances from Raghuvir Yadav (playing a zany Kishore Kumar fan), Tanve Azmi (always capable of tremendous empathy) and specially Nikhil Ratnaparkhi as Takia’s overweight suitor who in that one sequence where he pleads and threatens Ayesha Takia to marry him, brings so much bridled emotion into the film you are left feeling satiated with the vast amount of talent that this delicately drawn fable-romance pitches forward.
Ayesha Takia Azmi of course presides over the subtle proceedings. With her effortlessly-drawn emotions she is a treat to watch in every frame. Rannvijay Singh in a complex role that demands various mood swings from the actor, is surprisingly in-charge.
Mod is like a gente sonnet played on a  cosy winter morning. It is the tenderest love story in ages with a central performance by Takia that strikes a chord deep in your heart. Mod is a film you want to adopt embrace and hold close to your heart.

Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge Release Date : 14,Oct 2011

Producer    Ashish Patil
 Director    Nupur Ashtana
 Music    Raghu Dixit
 Writer    Pooja Desai, Ashish Patil
 Lyrics    Anvita Dutt Guptan, Raghu Dixit, Aslam Noor
 Release Date    14-Oct-2011

Yash Raj Films are synonymous with love stories, and with their second release from newly launched youth division Y-Films, the production house stick to what they know best: a story about love.
A romantic comedy set against the backdrop of social networking, Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge tells the tale of two losers, Vishal (Saqib Saleem) and Preity (Saba Azad) who fake their online identities in an attempt to get the attention of drop dead gorgeous Malvika (Tara D’Souza) and rockstar Rahul (Nishant Dahiya). What they do not realize, is that the person they hate most in the real world, just happens to be the same person they have fallen in love with online.
So, the premise for the season’s most screwed up love story, is: Rahul loves Malvika. And Malvika loves Rahul. But Rahul is not Rahul. Rahul is Vishal. And Vishal loves Malvika too. But Malvika is not Malvika either. Malvika is Preity. And Preity loves Rahul. But Preity hates Vishal. And Vishal hates Preity. Got it? Good.
From the opening scene with a naked guitarist gone viral, it is clear that director Nupur Asthana – previously known for cult TV shows like Hip Hip Hurray and Mahi Way – is firmly targeting the 18-30 demographic. MTV style jump cuts, speeded up segments and innovative camera angles, do not let us forget that this is a film for the youth.
We have a vague plot centered on a college project to celebrate the founder’s day of the college. Add to that a cast of shiny, happy students, in a campus where seemingly everything takes place except the small matter of study. Throw in shirtless boys and debut heroines not yet at the ‘no-bikini-clause-in-my-contract’ stage of their career, and wash it down with copious amounts of tequila and a thumping background score. And there you have it, all the ingredients necessary for a sweet, zesty film.
Asthana scores bonus points for tapping into the language of young, urban India. So people are ‘despo’ and things are ‘obvo’. A ‘Jawaani Booty Booty’ (don’t ask, just watch) MMS scandal and a ‘BRB’ Facebook status announcing the intermission, will appeal to those always on Facebook – day and night.
As anyone in Bollywood will tell you, launching not one – but four newcomers – is a big risk. Here we have no established stars to support the debut actors, as YRF had tried previously with Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in Mohabbatein. Nor have we taken the star offspring route Karan Johar is currently travelling down in his forthcoming Student of the Year.

When you are banking on newcomers, one of the key attractions that get you into the cinema in the first place, is the kick-ass promo backed by even more kick-ass songs.
With indie musician Raghu Dixit onboard as composer, Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge has created a soundtrack to rival the popularity of ‘Pappu Can’t Dance’ (Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na), and the I Hate Luv Storys title track. ‘Dheaon Dheaon’, a tribute to the South Indian street music form of Dappan Koothu, has been given a fusion feel with hip-hop and rap influences. Sung by Vishal Dadlani and Aditi Singh, the song is already a hit across music channel platforms. ‘Uh-Oh Uh Oh!’ is charming and likeable, picturised with a funky choreographed campus dance. ‘Chhoo Le’ brings Suraj Jagan belted out vocals into a modern twist on the classic stadium rock track.
As is de rigueur for every Yash Raj release post Bunty aur Babli, we are also treated to a bonus track, in the form of a karaoke version of ‘Kajra Re’ sung in the back of a speeding rickshaw.
Performance wise, Saqib Salim as loser Vishal gets my vote. Nishant Dahiya delivers a confident debut as the equally confident Rahul.  Katrina Kaif fans will see something of the star in Tara D’Souza (an identikit accent for starters), while Saba Azad brings the cuteness of Genelia to the table.  Pay close attention to how Preity goes through a post-interval metamorphosis. Graduating from checked shirts and hideously oversized jeans (1974 called and wants its denim back), to a sleek and sophisticated conventional Bollywood heroine look.
Without giving the movie away, the climax – all about love, pyaar, ishq, mohabbatein – ties up the story so that everything is as it should be, and everyone is with who they should be. The final reels have fun with a photo story montage, and seem to do the trick of preventing the audience of rushing en masse to the exit sign before the movie is properly over.
In the pre-Diwali rush to release everything and anything before the arrival of a certain Shah Rukh Khan sci-fi project, Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge jostles for a place in the crowded box office with four other releases. While its target audience will get it, and in urban centres the movie should do well, non-multiplex audiences, however, might literally not connect with this love story.
On the whole, BollySpice is quite happy to make fraaandship with the film (though perhaps on limited profile).  It is not just another love story. ‘It’s complicated’ and we ‘Like’.

Jo Dooba So Paar Release Date : 14,Oct 2011

Producer    Anand Entertainment and Andaaz
 Director    Praveen Kumar
 Music    Manish J. Tipu
 Writer    Praveen Kumar
 Release Date    14-Oct-2011

Story: Keshu ( Anand Tiwari), a student in a small town in Bihar, is hardly interested in the routine business of life. He hangs out with his odd medley of friends and thinks of innovative ways to add spark to their lives. But that's only when he's not assisting his father, a truck driver, who ferries cargo for kidnappers and insurgents in the wild interiors. Everything changes when he meets the new girl in town, an Indian-Italian who is doing research on Madhubani art. Can the small town upstart hope for reciprocity in romance?

Movie Review: There is a refreshing honesty in this film which makes it a small time sparkler. Set in the interiors of Bihar, the director manages to recreate the perfect backdrop of mofussil India where the youth are disoriented due to lack of opportunities and law and order is a far far cry. The lament of disillusioned constable Vinay Pathak, as he drowns himself in alcohol post duty and cries himself to sleep every night is symptomatic of the rot in off-the-map India. But Pathak isn't the only character who touches your heart with his angst. Almost all the other characters are flesh and blood forms and strike a genuine note from the word go.

My Friend Pinto Release Date : 14,Oct 2011

Producer    Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ronnie Screwvala Screenplay
 Director    Raaghav Dar
 Music    Ajay-Atul
 Writer    Raaghav Dar
 Lyrics    Amitabh Bhattacharya, Deepa Seshadri
 Release Date    14-Oct-2011

This isn’t the first film that explores Mumbai by night. From Khwaja Ahmed Abbas’s “Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein” to Sudhir Mishra’s “Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin”, the dark comic side of the city’s underbelly has ceaselessly fascinated Bollywood since long before the term ‘Bollywood’ was invented.
Debutant director Raghav Dar switches on the innovative mode full-blast. The first and most conspicuous component in his comic romp is the director’s sense of fun.
He is fearless about the fun quotient that he has while going with one sumptuous swoop into lives as different from one another as any two homes, families that live in Mumbai can be.
A semi-retired gangster (Makarand Deshpande) and his never-been star-actress mistress(Divya Dutta), his twin assassin-goons Ajay and Vijay (played by real life Amin and Karim Hajee who were last seen together on screen dancing in a Sufi trance to A.R. Rahman’s devotional number in Jodhaa-Akbar), an old taxidriver and his gambler-son(theatre actor Shakeel Khan making a stellar screen appearance), a lost girl Maggie(Kalki Koechlin) abandoned by her small-time crook boyfriend on the railway station, the competitive couple (Arjun Mathur and Shruti Seth) coping with the sudden appearance of an unwanted guest from Goa, even as they try to cope with the fissures in their own marriage… These, then, are some of the characters who show up one night in Dar’s ‘Mumbai raat ki bahon mein’ (Mumbai at night).
There are many others. Oh yes, characters pop out of every nook and cranny like rabbits from a hat. Bringing them all together is the Goan Mama’s boy, the simpleton Michael Pinto who we’re informed, with tongue firmly in the scriprwriter’s cheek, is the nephew of Albert ‘jissko bahut gussa aata tha’ (who gets very angry).
The reference to Saeed Mirza’s 1980 cult classic “Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai” is not lost in the film’s melee of bustling adventures. The film is knowledgeably laden with references to cinema and cinematic devices from the past including a very pointed allusion to a corpse’s journey across Mumbai from Kundan Shah’s “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron”.
“My Friend Pinto” is a very complex script to write and an even more complex act to pull off on screen. Dar manages the chaos created by Michael Pinto’s misadventures across the celebratory streets of Mumbai with fluency and grace.
The awkwardness that we encounter in the storytelling is purely by design. Pinto is put into all kinds of bizarre and embarrassing situations. Like Charlie Chaplin in the silent films, he walks out of the chaos unscathed.
He is a Goan angel in disguise. He’s Chaplin, Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt from “City Lights”, “Jagte Raho” and “Pyasa”. He is all of those and none of them.
Prateik with his waif-like quality truly finds himself as an actor when he plays a lost character. “My Friend Pinto” needed his vulnerability and uncertainties.
The supporting cast is impressive, with Divya Dutta and Makrand Deshpande having a ball with their guns and games. They are like two bulls in a sex shop. Arjun Mathur as Pinto’s desensitised Mumbai friend creates quite a graph for his character within the limited space provided by the restless script.
Quirky, capricious, whimsical and at times magical (watch those Broadway-styled musical performances), “My Friend Pinto” conveys the key comic patterns of Kundan Shah’s “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron”.
Prateik echoes the innocent adventures of Raj Kapoor in “Jagte Raho”. Dar’s directorial debut is endearing in its eccentricity.
When you leave the crazy comic cosmos of Pinto’s world behind, you take away with you a film that is fiercely original in concept and designed to deliver tongue-in-cheek swipes at all those scared cows of Bollywood that we grew up watching and loving without knowing why we loved them in the first place.
There is something about “My Friend Pinto”. But you don’t really know what.

Love Breakups Zindagi Release Date : 07,Oct 2011

Producer    Dia Mirza, Zayed Khan, Sahil Sangha
 Director    Sahil Sangha
 Music    Salim Merchant, Sulaiman Merchant
 Writer    Sahil Sangha
 Lyrics    Javed Akhtar
 Release Date    07-Oct-2011


Love and breakups have become a common component of urban zindagi. As much as predictability has become a part of most romantic comedies. This zillionth Bollywood spin-off on the second half of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is no different!

Jai (Zayed Khan) and Naina (Dia Mirza) are in their individual mismatched relationships. Until they meet in a common friend's wedding. Amidst song-dance routine, cupid strikes Jai by the interval point. Naina is uncertain until her doting mother advices ' wahi karo jo tumhara dil kehta hai ' (how pioneering and profound!) Alas she takes a little too long to decide while the viewer has already reached to the conformist conclusion.

Till date, Bollywood has devised only two alternatives for the climax of a film like this. In the feel good format, the other man willingly decides to let go his ladylove for the main hero (like Salman Khan did in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ). The other option is when this other man acts difficult (Jimmy Sheirgill in Tanu Weds Manu ). This film belongs to the former feel-good variety.

While the film could have brought some variety with its other assorted couples, the problem with the writing is that all the supporting tracks are half-baked. Jai's friend (Cryus Sahukar) falls for a 'Sheila' (Tisca Chopra) who isn't exactly 'jawaan'. While this odd-aged couple has its moments of charm and comedy, their bonding could certainly have been explored in a better way. The girl from Dairy Milk ad (Umang Jain) has graduated to having ice-creams here after her multiple break-offs, but her sweet revenge spree was far from funny.

The film does have a lighthearted mood throughout but one does feel that its sense of humour, though not bad, could have been more fine-tuned and sharp. While this brand of comedy is anytime better than a senseless slapstick, there is a feeling that the film could have been funnier. At the same time while the director tries to keep things subtle and avoid melodrama, some situations lack the basic intensity that the drama demands. Like Jai's breakup with his first girlfriend (Pallavi Sharda) comes across so casually that it seems as if nothing has happened. The pacing is slow and the length is a little too long for a predictable film.

Zayed Khan and Dia Mirza share good chemistry and are decent in their acts. Dia has a natural charm. Cyrus Sahukar underplays his character and is the butt of most jokes. Tisca Chopra looks delightful despite playing a (slightly) elderly female. Umang Jain is cute but has a short-lived character. Vaibhav Talwar plays in a limited range but pulls off his part. Satyadeep Mishra is good. Pallavi Sharda and Auritra Ghosh get no scope. From all the special appearances, Boman Irani is hilarious and leaves more impact that Shah Rukh Khan who doesn't do much beyond playing himself and endorsing furniture brand.

Director Sahil Singha doesn't show any innovation in the storytelling of his debut venture but he still has the command to bring a smile on your face, thanks to the breezy romance and the film's optimistic outlook. While being conventional cinema, it isn't essentially exasperatingly cliched.

Neither utterly lovely nor breakthrough! Love Breakups Zindagi is that variety of predictable cinema that is passable.

Soundtrack Release Date : 07,Oct 2011

Producer    Aditya Shastri
 Director    Neerav Ghosh
 Music    Midival Punditz, Karsh Kale, Kailash Kher, Vishal Vaid, Laxmikant Kudalkar, Pyar
 Lyrics    Dhruv Jagasia, Anushka Manchanda, Gaurav Raina, Kailash Kher, Vishal Vaid, Khalid Alvi Majrooh Sultanpuri, Ankur Tewari, Papon, Anand Bakshi, Aslam Parvez, Karsh Kale, Tapan Raj
 Release Date    07-Oct-2011


Based on true events, Soundtrack is an official remake of the cult English film ' It's All Gone Pete Tong ' (2004). The film traces the meteoric rise and fall of a DJ, Raunak Kaul (Rajeev Khandelwal) who has the talent to make the world dance to his tunes (quite literally). But an excessive lifestyle of sex and substance abuse, not only makes him lose focus towards work, but also leads to a permanent physical disability. In his world dominated by loud music, Raunak turns completely deaf and is unable to pursue his dreams to make music.

Things change when Raunak meets Gauri (Soha Ali Khan), who too is hearing impaired but has mastered the art of lip-reading. In Gauri, Raunak finds a tutor and life-partner. Also his passion for music is rekindled, as he attempts to sense sound (if not hear) and study digital waveforms of tunes he knew, to create new music. Thereby a deaf DJ turns a renowned composer.

Debutante director Neerav Ghosh attempts to give a docu-drama shade to the narrative to make it seem like a biographical take on the life of his protagonist. Thankfully the documentary treatment never overcomes the actual story, which has enough scope for drama per se. The first half seems obsessed with close-up shots of alcohol, drugs, smoke and sex. Raunak boozes as if he were drinking water and smokes like he is breathing air. The idea might be to give a dark and disturbing shade to the film like Anurag Kashyup brand of cinema (the maverick filmmaker also has a cameo), more so with ample scope for substance abuse in the narrative. But after a point of time, it only gets repetitive and seems forced.

The tone of the film suddenly changes in the second half when the narrative turns more soft and sober, as Raunak goes on a self-rehabilitation drive, shunning all addiction. His romance track (with Soha) is blithe as compared to his hardcore sex-drive (with Mrunalini Sharma) in the first half. But beyond the somber shade and his chemistry with costars, the narrative isn't able to create as much contrast between the first half and the second that would have resulted in relating and feeling for the protagonist's plight better.

The depth that it adds to Raunak's relearning process of music (which is the soul of the film) in the second half pales in comparison to the intensity that it lends to the buildup of substance abuse in the first half. Which means the film adds intensity where not needed and vice versa. A basic idea of a deaf person composing decent music makes for an inspiring story. While the promising premise of the film doesn't let you down, one still feels the entire account could have been more stimulating, esp. when the director had straight reference point in the form of the original film.

The entire track of Raunak's fight with his inner demon (clowning around him in a joker-faced mask) looks ludicrous over being symbolic. It gets exasperating after a point and the entire track could certainly have been avoided. For a film dealing primarily with music, the actual 'soundtrack' isn't as stimulating as one would have expected. Also the length could have been shorter and the film could have done away with several repetitive portions. However, the dialogues, esp. in the second half, are well-worded and leave an impact.

Soundtrack works to a big extent because of the persuasive performance of its protagonist played by Rajeev Khandelwal. At the onset, one seems uncertain if the sober-imaged actor would be able to pull off a character as wild and weird as this. But as you see him getting more and more into his character, you are amazed at the conviction he brings to his role. Soha Ali Khan not only plays a deaf character, she has to lisp in her diction too. And the actress does it with absolute subtlety (as compared to the Bollywood stereotypes that go overboard) and brings grace to her role. It would have made more sense if the story enlightened on the reason behind her lisp. Mrinalini Sharma looks refreshingly sexy and is not one-bit vulgar in her skimpily-clad character. Mohan Kapur hams. Manu Rishi doesn't get much scope. Yatin Karyekar is decent.

While it had potential to be a rocking film, Soundtrack, at least, turns out to be sound cinema. Worth giving an ear (and eye) too!

Rascals Release Date : 06,Oct 2011

Producer    Sanjay Dutt, Sanjay Ahluwalia, Vinay Choksey
 Director    David Dhawan
 Music    Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani
 Release Date    06-Oct-2011

David Dhawan was the pioneer of the farcical films genre with the kind of comedies he made through the 90s. However mindless his films might have been, it still had an inherent sense of humour and assured a few good laughs. Sadly, in the subsequent decade, all he served in the name of stress-free slapsticks is noise and commotion. While we aren't demanding that the filmmaker upgrade with times, all we expect is that the one-time king of comedy merely maintain his original brand of humour. Is that asking for too much?

Rascals is what one can call a 'vacation' filmmaking stint where everyone works on the film as if they were on a 'holiday' and the audience is expected to 'leave' their senses behind. The actors make least efforts to add conviction to their performances and the patchy writing just allows them to play as they please. Invariably the director tries to camouflage the shallowness in the story by adding depth only in the decibel levels of the dialogue delivery.

So you have conmen Chetan (Sanjay Dutt) and Bhagat (Ajay Devgn) in one-upmanship game to win the girl (Kangana Ranaut) loaded with assets (both financial and physical). It's never clear what they love more - her body or her bank-balance. And their lecherous rivalry only seems to be about who would get to hug the cleavage-popping girl more number of times.

One-upmanship has been a popular plot for several comedies since the times of Amitabh Bachchan - Shashi Kapoor's Do Aur Do Paanch (1980). Even David Dhawan had smartly handled the concept in his earlier comedies like Govinda-Anil Kapoor's Deewana Mastana (1997) and Akshay-Salman's Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004). Unfortunately it doesn't quite work this time, primarily because Kangana Ranaut doesn't share any chemistry with either men and so their persistent pursuit to get the girl falls flat.

Also thanks to the dull camaraderie, the viewer never really bothers which hero would actually win the heroine in the end. Thereby the small surprise in the climax (no, there isn't a cameo by a third hero) also doesn't register much. The storytelling in the animated title credits is more appealing than the conventional narrative structure.

While one has already left logic behind, the problem is that Yunus Sejawal's screenplay is inconsistent, convenient and uneventful. It lacks the imagination or wit for some real exciting clash between the male leads. One can easily see through most of the worn-out gags. Sanjay Chhel's synchronized rhyming dialogues are occasionally funny but seem forced otherwise. You laugh more on the corniness of the scenes than the comedy per se.

The tone of humour is consistently loud and commotional. Expectedly Ajay Devgn keeps screaming most of the time and hams outrageously. Sanjay Dutt is better in comparison, which isn't saying much. He gets the funnier lines, gags and scenes. Kangana Ranaut is ill at ease in comedy. She struggles to hold her own and emerges as a bimbo in her act. Lisa Haydon is merely employed to look hot and she does a fair job at it. Hiten Paintel is used as an add-on and his presence in the film is immaterial. Satish Kaushik attempts to induce few laughs with his gibberish brand comedy. Bharti Achrekar gets no scope. Chunky Pandey overacts. Arjun Rampal has pretty much nothing to do.

Rascals ends up being a silly and stupid comedy!

Main Krishna Hoon Release Date : 30,Sep 2011

Producer    Nandan Mohato
 Director    Rajiv S Ruia
 Music    Amjad Nadeem
 Release Date    30-Sep-2011