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