Chillar Party Release Date : 08,Jul 2011

Producer    Ronnie Screwvala, Salman Khan
 Director    Vikas Bahl, Nitesh Tiwari
 Music    Amit Trivedi
 Writer    Vikas Bahl, Nitesh Tiwari
 Lyrics    Nitesh Tiwari
 Release Date    08-Jul-2011

If you're here to read this review, you're either a minor or you're still stuck in your childhood, mentally. If not, you better be because this film, featuring an adolescent army, is by, for and of the kids (and may be the parents, who have to endure this film with them). And thankfully, the kids in question are remarkably unlike Bollywood kids. They're not pathetically dull, yet not over-smart like kids in TV soaps.
The movie begins with an innocent and a grammatically challenged acknowledgment, 'For the love of dog'. While you try to imagine if editing studios have spell-check, we cut into a detergent commercial. Yes, a commercial after the opening acknowledgment (is still better than in-film?). Since the commercial features kids, some people in the audience will actually applaud it, assuming that the movie has begun. Sigh.
Soon, we're ushered into an average middle class housing colony in Mumbai called Chandan Nagar Society. Each kid residing here is introduced deliciously along with peculiar details that dictate their nicknames. Like the one who's always handed down his elder brother's clothes is called 'Second-hand' and the one who doesn't wear an underwear is dotingly called 'Janghiya'. Anyway, these kids are cumulatively called 'Chillar Party' (CP) by the many neighbourhood uncles, aunties and a certain man who sounds like a woman (appropriately called Googly).
The film picks up pace and interest, as there's a new addition to this merry troupe of toddlers called Fatka, a little labourer who enters the society as a car cleaner with his mutt Bhidu (not to be confused with Jackie Shroff).
Just as the kids get into the swing of things, a politician declares a new law which would make Bhidu a chief target for the dog van. Now, although this may seem like a frivolous issue, it becomes a paramount concern for the CP. And the build-up is such that their concern and stress over the silliest things will easily trickle down to you.
The team of tiny tots formulates several stunts to stir media and public attention to take notice of their humble predicament. With just the right amount of drama, this seemingly trivial film, takes a turn for the better and becomes an inspirational tale of standing up for what you believe in. Unfortunately, it can't maintain the energy till the end. And when we reach a critical juncture in the film where there is a televised debate between the politician and the CP, it ends up being a preachy moral science lecture. Yawn.
'Chillar Party' gets full marks for the background score that actually holds up the intensity of scenes which would otherwise be ignored as feeble and weak. And also the screenplay is tight enough to hold your attention, even without the lure of a recognizable star or the attraction of an earth-shattering story.
Perhaps, debut directors Vikas Bahl and Nitesh Tiwari should be lauded for trying their best (and succeeding to a large extent) in engaging us in a story which has little potential, yet a world of possibilities.

Murder 2 Release Date : 08,Jul 2011

Producer    Mukesh Bhatt
 Director    Mohit Suri
 Music    Harshit Saxena, Sangeet Haldipur, Siddharth Haldipur, Mithoon
 Writer    Mahesh Bhatt
 Lyrics    Sayeed Qadri, Kumaar, Mithoon
 Release Date    08-Jul-2011


The sensationalism that Murder achieved half past the film, the sequel attains in the first ten minutes itself. Jacqueline Fernandez is as much seductive as Mallika Sherawat and comparatively more tastefully tempting. However the entire erotica in the sequel is completely peripheral to the plot. On the contrary while the first part involved only an accidental half-murder, the sequel indulges in rampant massacre. So while the sensuality in the treatment seems forced in Murder 2 , the semi-slasher shade attempts to bring more justice to the title.
Arjun (Emraan Hashmi), an ex-cop, is hired by a Goan pimp for an unofficial assignment. Several hookers have gone missing under mysterious circumstances and Arjun has to trace their whereabouts. He finds out that all the missing girls were called by the same person. When a new girl Reshma (Sulagna) is sent as bait to catch hold of the culprit, she falls prey of the serial killer. Arjun catches hold of the killer but has to get enough evidence against him.
Murder 2 isn't designed as a suspense flick since the identity of the serial killer is revealed much early in the narrative. Also it isn't about tracing the murderer since the killer is caught in the first half itself. While the investigative drama in the film doesn't go beyond an average episode of CID TV show, it is never the focus of the film either. The film tries to play more with the abnormal characterization of the psychopath-cum-sadistic killer who enjoys every 'bit' of his butchering business. From a sadistic slasher to an amnesiac actor, Prashant Narayanan switches shades in his character like a chameleon – credibly and effortlessly.
While Mahesh Bhatt's storyline finds its roots in the 2008 South Korean flick Chugyeogja ( The Chaser) , the antagonist is kind of Indianized by giving him a eunuch identity. As bizarre as it might sound, he was a womanizer who castrated himself and now seeks revenge on female form for his self-induced impotency. Mohit Suri's direction meets the prerequisites of the genre, making it a decently crafted film. He smartly builds up the tension and anticipation that a slasher film demands, showcasing some explicit blood-and-gore sequences, but never over-exploits the potential of the relatively new genre to the Indian audience. It's a calculated risk.