Review: Raktacharitra (2010)

Ram Gopal Varma's 'Raktacharitra' is an out and out gory and violent film. Seemingly better than his recent attempts, Rakthcharitra is spellbinding and exciting.

You see a vengeful and raging Prakash (Vivek Oberoi) growing into a hero of the masses. RGV shows you the politics, 'goonda raj' in a place called Anantapur in AP and also the many different ways a person can be killed using brain, brawn and other utensils.

The story starts cliched as one of the party members starts feeling jealous about another lower caste man who grows higher and faster in the party leader's eyes. Thus, he arouses a misunderstanding between them and that further leads to bloodshed and killing and finally ends with a personal vendetta coming out successfully.

RGV captures this thrilling drama in his trademark style, only that blood is given more importance. The background music does the trick, you feel the energy in every swoosh of the weapon, you get angry when something unlawful happens to the innocent and you feel extremely happy when the people get the treatment they need.

Raktacharitra's plot is not something new. It is the usual revenge but the portrayal of the revenge is shown in a never before seen way. Too much of blood is shed and the wounds are blatantly shown. Some might even puke watching them. As RGV rightly said, this movie is not for the faint hearted, it is not to be watched with family, it is not for the ladies and housewives, it is only for the true RGV fans and movie fanatics who don't mind outright gore and violence.

Yea, for people who have digested, Saw, Hostel and films of similar lines, RGV's Raktacharitra is a cakewalk but for people who didn't, please donot watch this flick.

Technically, there were a certain flaws in the action choreography. Most of the dialogues lacked the punch while some of them aroused a few laughs. There is hidden comedy between the frames.

The actors deliver their dialogues with a telugu accent which is apt for the plot's location. Kudos to RGV for keeping that in mind. Editing was good but not great. The way the suspense builds up, and paves a way for the sequel, RGV definitely needs a pat on the back.

RGV was quoted saying, “Raktacharitra is like a hardcore porn DVD. Some might hate it, some love it, some may be disgusted by it, but if it is there in the room, everyone wouldn't resist watching it” and Raktacharitra lives up to it.

Rating: 3/5

Raktacharitra – Gory and vengeful vendetta!

Review: Endhiran - The Robot (2010)

Disclaimer: There are no spoilers. So, people who haven't watched the movie yet can also read. Enjoy.

Magnanimous, Grandiloquent, Pompous, Pontifical, Portentous, Awesome, Magniloquent, Gargantuan, My word web couldn't give me more words as i run out of them to describe the movie. The most awaited movie of the century, in kollywood, has arrived and is here to stay. Shankar and Sun Pictures' magnum opus 'Endhiran' has been under production for 2 years, and its worth the wait.




Rajinikanth grows younger and younger in his movies. This time he doesn't demand an introduction scene, neither does he dance to a self appraisal song nor does he fly in the air defying the laws of gravity, he opens up his screen presence in a subtle manner, as a scentist making his robot after continuous hard work for 10 years.
The first half is totally logical, you can see the protagonists introducing their characters slowly and maturely. There are enough comical sequences, enough songs for the first half. Director Shankar has given robotics a lot of research and one cannot find any flaw whatsoever. The viewer will enjoy the movie and go gaga over every scene until the climax. The first 30 mins of the second half is where things go wrong, the viewer gets vexed watching 3 songs in quick succession. Though the songs are awesome to watch on the big screen, they tend to plant an ache in the viewer's mind. Once the songs are over and the robot's character changes moods suddenly, the movie is back on track and you start enjoying again.




For people who argue that robots should follow Isaac Assimov's three principles, our protagonist has a proper reason as to why his creation wouldn't follow the rules. He makes the robots with an aim and he tries his best to put things in place but as usual they go wrong. What you can expect from this movie is that, even though you can predict the storyline, it doesn't fail to entertain you. The movie has its own crispy n crunchy twists. Watch it to experience it!




Ash, starts off showing her age in 'Kadal Anukkal', one can clearly note the aged look on her face. But as the movie progresses, she slowly becomes more beautiful scene by scene. You can easily make out the way, you know probably, has a hip size of X and finally ending up with a hip size of X-5. I personally don't like her much, but the way Shankar has shown Ash in this movie clearly makes me her fan. She is sexy, she is hot, she is beautiful, she is gorgeous in all her outfits, be it the casuals, be it the traditional saree or be it even the tribal kinda outfit in the song 'Kilimanjaaro'. She has rocked. There is enough screen presence. Shankar must be lauded for he gives all his heroines an equivalent screen presence. Her negatives in this movie include, no proper lip syncing in songs, sometimes she does it correctly, sometimes she blabbers, clearly visible.

Danny Denzongpa, of course dubbed by some other stylishly speaking dubbing artist, performs his part well as the ego centric mentor of Dr.Vaseegaran(Rajinikanth). He dies also quite quickly, because he isn't the villain of the movie anyway.

Santhanam and Karunas, are good comedians otherwise, but their performance in Endhiran is below average, they portray serious characters although their bullying of Chitti the Robot sure springs up some laughs.

Art director Sabu Cyril has erected some wonderful sets, especially where the song 'Arima Arima' has been picturised are astounding and you literally gape over his work. He has also made a cameo in the film. Hope everyone figures out.




Cinematography by R.Rathnavelu, an upcoming technician, has captured the moments well and is sure to grab a lot of projects in the future. His way of picturising the 'Kilimanjaro' song in the heights of Machu Pichu is highly laudable and a commendable effort overall.

Dialogues by Sujatha, Shankar and Karky are wonderful. They amuse us as well as makes us think in a specific direction towards certain situations.

P.S. There is a hidden social message towards the end of the film.

Music by A.R.Rahman is outstanding. Brilliant background music. Even the firing of the bullets, the sounds made by robots, the carnatic touch, everything shows that only ARR can give so much detail into the background score. Two thumbs up to him.




Special Effects, is par excellence for a tamil film, although the viewer could make out easily the graphic sequences in many places. But the climax robot formations are awesome and never before seen even in hollywood. I think Shankar has taken Tamil cinema to a new level where most of the hollywood movies would hav difficulty in catching up with.




Last but not the least, the man who wielded the megaphone, the man behind the movie, Director Shankar, has his basics of robotics right but he too falters in many places. Like the locations are ambiguous, he shifts from Chennai, Mumbai, Vellore quite fast and in fact he shows all of the above as existent in Chennai only. He should have given more importance to it. Anyways, Rajini overshadows everything. He has brought out the 'actor' in Rajini after a long time. No director could do that in recent times. I hope people can understand what i'm trying to convey because you don't see the commerical stylish Rajini in this film, you can only see the intellectual sober Rajini, who doesn't know how to fight, how to dance, how to even crack jokes. Although, Rajini in the robot form is all powerful. So his fans don't lose anything. Shankar has tried at a different genre. You can't call it pure sci-fi. Its something else. Something bigger and better. Although, there are some scenes lifted straight out of the Will Smith starrer 'I-Robot', including the general look of the robot, this movie is something new to Indian Cinema and people must appreciate it. Kudos to Shankar.


So, i end my review here. I didn't want to write much but i ended up with more than i expected just like you would walk out of the movie with just two words, 'Exceeded Expectations'.

The movie has flaws, i don't want to go into it, but yeah i'm sure people can digest it. They are small and do not affect much as movies are made just for entertainment.
So watch it for Rajini, watch it for shankar, and watch it for Ash. And you sure are in for a treat and full paisa Vasool. Here's your movie critic signing off. Please do NOT miss Endhiran.




Rating: 3.5/5


Endhiran - Masala Sci-Fi

Review : Inception (2010)

Whoa! The motion picture of the decade is here. From the director, who brought you ‘The Dark Night’ which is currently is in the 11^th position of all time-best movies, Christopher Nolan, comes a masterpiece which is par excellence and brought out of sheer creativity. Inception, the movie sticks on to your head and even one flicker in your eye might change your discernment.

Christopher Nolan could righteously be called the ‘living legend’, for he has brought us THE motion picture of a lifetime. Perhaps, one must be blessed to have born in the era of Christopher Nolan.

I normally say, watch it for this, watch it for that, but for Inception, i would rather say watch it for everything. The Director has made the impossible possible, he has shown all elements of art in this flick. One of the first movies, where the viewer is literally in the edge of the seat but still tightly glued so as not to fall. In Inception, Nolan does the unthinkable : He folds a mirror version of Paris back upon itself; he stages a fight sequence in a gravity-free hotel room; he sends a train plowing through a busy city street. Whatever you can dream, Nolan does it in Inception. Then he nestles those little dreams into even bigger dreams, and those bigger dreams into gargantuan dreams, going on into infinity, cubed. He stretches the boundaries of filmmaking.

Inception is, by itself, a dream. No human would have ever attempted to think of such a script. Such a subject which is sure to woo even the worst of the movie-haters. Dreams, ever thought the physics of it? Inception shows you the most advanced of the physics but just like how you fail to remember the start of a dream, the movie fails to show the basics of Inception.

Inception is about stealing your secrets when you are in the dream state and when the mark wakes up, he/she has no idea of what happened.

Talking about the technicalities, all are perfect, the visuals, the sound, the editing, the costumes, the sets, the cgi, the camera, one word for all of them, STUNNING! Hans Zimmer has rocked the sound department, Cinematography by Wally Pfister and Editing by Lee Smith (of ‘The Dark Night’ and ‘The Prestige’ fame) is stupendous, no further words to describe their work. Nolan has this specific crew with him in most of his movies and no wonder that they are a part of what they turn out to be, AWESOME.

Coming to the protagonist, Leonardo Dicaprio, the man has been choosy in the selection of his films’ script and director, for he has always worked for the best in business and he delivers, he delivers in a way that you start to adore him for his natural acting. Hats off, Caprio. You are on my all time favourite list.

Christopher Nolan, the first of his kind, eccentric, crazy yet a winner all by himself. I always wondered that someone should come up with a movie about dreams, for dreams have been my forte and from now i will continue to dream to explore Nolan’s cognitive skills unless someone wakes me up with a ‘KICK’.

Rating: 4.5/5 (The highest rating that i have ever awarded a movie)

Inception – Movie of the century.

Review: Boss engira Baskaran (2010)

'Boss engira Baskaran', directed by M.Rajesh of 'Siva Manasula Sakthi' doesn't fail to disappoint this time although the storyline is nothing new. Arya, Nayantara and Comedy king Santhanam play lead roles in this comical entertainer.

The story is about Baskaran (Arya), a lousy wanderer, who isn't interested in studies or work. All in all he is totally jobless a.k.a. vetti. He meets Chandrika (Nayantara), who is a professor. What follows is total roll on the floor entertainment. Amazing performance by Santhanam. He literally carries the whole movie in his shoulders. His comical one-liners, as usual, rock and has the viewer in splits.

Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is just spellbinding. 'Yaar Andha Pendhaan' is already a chartbuster and the visuals too sing in unison with the tune's magic. The song may seem cliched, but come on, this is what one should expect from the future, the music directors and composers have run out of tunes. There is nothing new to offer. All other songs are good and Yuvan proves it once again that he is the lone leader of tamil cinema music, of course in ARR's absence.



Other technical aspects, like cinematography, stunts, editing, costumes, etc. need no mention as they are usual and nothing about them is strikingly different from the usual.

Acting wise, no one deserves a special mention except, Santhanam, who emerges out of nowhere to save this film. Because, storywise, screenplay wise, and even acting wise, there is nothing innovative in this movie, the only thing to watch out for is Santhanam's comedy.

Let me keep this review short. The only reason for that is, i have nothing else to praise about in this movie except Santhanam and nothing to criticize negatively about because everyone have put in their best and their best doesn't amuse us much.



On a closing note, Santhanam has proved his mettle. 'Nanbaen da' is sure to be the dialogue of the month, until Superstar's 'Endhiran' overshadows it soon.


Rating: 2.5/5


Boss (e) Baskaran : Comic Caper!

Review: Dabangg (2010)

'Hud Hud Dabangg...Dabangg...'
Oh, i shouldn't be singing, it's review time and i'm back with the most sought after movie in recent times.
Abhinav Singh Kashyap's 'Dabangg' is nothing new. Its the same old masala story and in the same old illogical screenplay. But there sure are some important things to watch out for. The first and foremost is Salman (Sallu Bhai), I wasn't his die hard fan but now i am. Sallu Bhai Rocks!
The next is the background score and the songs. Gosh! The stunts, the dialogues and the protagonist's mannerisms all dance in unison to the background score.
The last but not the least is Sonakshi Sinha. She looks gorgeous, not at all amateurish. She does it in flamboyant style. Hats off to her!


Above all, the credit must go to the dialogue writers, Jalees Sherwani-Faaiz Anwar-Lalit Pandit. I mean, each sentence spoken by even the junior most actor is both comical and apt to the story-screenplay. One would wonder where these people were till now. Salman's each dialogue was what a south indian would call a 'punch dialogue'.

Oh, the story, Forgot about it totally. Its nothing, there is this eccentric police officer (Chulbul Pandey) and the movie is about his chronicles in his era in that area. There is nothing much to worry about the story because it is totally garbled. Leave your brains at home or at your workplace and watch this movie to relieve off all your stress. No further arguments.


Dance directors and choreographers need a special mention here. The whole world knows Sallu Bhai cannot do complicated steps, so they have given him funny and cranky steps which will literally make you roll on the floor and laugh.

Munni (Malaika Arora Khan), one might question as to why she was the item girl here even after having 2 kids. Well, i donot have an answer to that and i object her casting but yeah she does have the 'pivotless' hip shake which is sure to make your heads bang and jaws drop.

Stunts by S.Vijayan (probably 'FEFSI Vijayan' of kollywood) is damn amazing. Each stunt perfectly choreographed and acted out. Really deserves a special appraisal.

Cinematography by Mahesh Limaye (of 'Fashion' and 'C U at 9' fame) deserves special mention for his brilliant and artistic work. The combined effort of the editor and cinematographer adds up magic pixels on to the already glowing Sallu Bhai studded screen. Kudos!

All in all, Dabangg is wholesome entertainment, an adrenalin rush, an amalgam of all south indian commercial entertainers. Something which Bollywood lacked in a long time. Don't miss it. Watch it for Salman and the dialogues. 'Hum tumme itne ched karenge ki conphuse ho jaaoge ki saans kahaan se laen aur....... hehehehe.....'


PS: Please throw out all false allegations that Dabangg will only be enjoyed by Sallu Bhai's fans. It is completely wrong. Anyone with a decent comic sense should like the movie throwing all illogical mistakes out. Otherwise, the better option for the dislikers is to go create a world of their own and let live others in peace. And Dabangg means 'fearless' for people who don't know.


Rating: 3.5/5


Dabangg - Kick ass Jhakaas!

Review: Naan Mahaan Alla (2010)

From the director of ‘Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu’, comes yet another master flick. ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’, the title might raise some eyebrows once the end credits start rolling. But the title is justified and apt. Never before would you have seen such a justification. I couldn’t infer it at first but a little thought into it and some inputs from my friend made me succumb to the fact that director Suseendran is a ‘genius’.

Naan Mahaan Alla was one of the most awaited movies of the year for me. Why? Not for Karthi, Not for Suseendran and definitely not for Yuvan or Studio Green K.E. Gnanavel Raja. It was for Kajal, the hot and happening chick in south Indian tinsel town. Ever since Magadheera, I’ve been mesmerized by her. Kajal looks ravishing and her every move is certain to move you. The Scenes between Karthi and Kajal in the first half is quite popular these days and sometimes it does give you goosebumps. (What if i had such a life and such a girl? :P )

Start watching this movie without any expectations, because its not a romantic movie that couples would enjoy watching together, it is a fast paced logical thriller with few social issues to ponder about.

Suseendran has aptly chosen his cast, giving perfect roles to the perfect artistes. None in the movie are well known stars, they are just soap opera famous faces and a bunch of young blood from Suseendran’s previous flick. But no one gives you the amateurish feeling.

Karthi has been doing the same, there is not much scope for acting here but his voice doesn’t seem to modulate from movie to movie. It sounds to be the same. He plays a chocolate boy kinda role in the first half and a ruffian in the second. Good character transition. His first punch comes in the last quarter of the movie which is good and a welcome change in today’s Tamil masala movies.

Yuvan Shankar Raja’s background music tingles the senses and at the same time grips us on to the seats. Songs are minimal and are placed beautifully in the movie. Thanks to the editor.

Cinematography by Mathi is sheer brilliance. The Slow motion and certain gravity defying sequences are shot wonderfully. Stunts by Anal Arasu are par the usual masala standards, you tend to almost feel each thud or punch, just like in the case of Lingusamy movies.

An average movie goer would come out of the movie in ebullience and director Suseendran deserves all the credit. Mr.Suseendran, Where were you all this while? Kollywood needs you badly.

Yuvan used the pitchblende artfully in ‘Iragai Pole’ traversing from crest to trough and back, Director Suseendran uses the same but only that it never reaches the trough, it takes a U-turn from the zero axis only. You end up getting goosebumps and the movie makes your brain think in a specific direction. Such is the after effect.

For all the revenge lovers out there, ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ is specially dedicated to you. Do not Miss it!

Rating: 3.5/5

Entertainment Guaranteed!

(Tit-Bit) Review: Raavanan (2010)

I see no big difference between the two versions except for Vikram who did it a tad better, but that ain't a masterpiece either nor is it a highly commendable for an actor of his stature. His accent sure is laudable.

Prithviraj gets away with an average easily forgettable performance just like Vikram did in the hindi version.

Ash keeps screaming in this too and her voice seems ordinary without any 'feel'.

Karthik again is forgettable, Govinda was much better and funny too.

Prabhu's presence adds on weight on our head and Ravi Kishen was much better.

Camera work and music remain the same. They are the only things to watch out for.

Overall its nothing special, Raavanan is 'lackadaisical' and so is Raavan. Forget both of them and have a peaceful summer.


Rating: 1/5

Review: Raavan (2010)

The much awaited movie of the year, Raavan finally hit the screens on 18th June. When bollywood slowly veered into releasing senseful movies, Does Raavan continue the legacy? Has Mani Ratnam proved himself once again? Read on to find out...

Raavan, starring celebrity couple Ash-Abhi and Tamil hero Vikram, is a typical adaptation of the Ramayana but it doesn't quite live up to the epic's magic. Mani Ratnam is a fine director, he totally loses it right from the start.

Anyways, here is the story, Dev (Vikram) is supposed to be a police officer who, along with his wife Ragini (Ash) moves into a village (Don't quite remember the name) where Beera (Abhishek) is a big shot. Then its Blah! Blah! Blah! - Beera kidnaps Ragini - Blah! Blah! Blah! - Dev hunts for them - Blah! Blah! Blah! - emotional flashbacks - Blah! Blah! Blah! - Killings, Violence, Explosions - Blah! Blah! Blah! - Ram captures Raavan! And that is it..

So complex a story right? Even super computers wouldn't be able to decipher it.
The movie was a fultoo waste of time, energy and money (if you are watching it in the theatres).

Mani Ratnam , known for his brilliant flicks like Roja, Thalapathi and Guru, miserable fails to create an impression. Even if one let goes the story, detailing and logic part, the trademark style of Mani Ratnam is missing. He has let it loose totally and it goes all wrong. Totally wrong. In fact its a blunder!

While its Ash who keeps screaming in the first half, its her real life spouse who keeps screaming in the second half. Overall its cacophonous to hear. Its ironic when the movie ends with Ash whispering.....Beera!

The Acting of any particular character isn't special and doesn't deserve a mention. Abhishek has done a pretty decent job portraying Beera but nothing so commendable. Neither does the potential Vikram. His is similar to the 'Saami' character. Ash screams, weeps, screams and she screams all the way.

Music and Cinematography were the only aspects laudable in this flick. Even they faltered at places. The camera kept moving unwantedly but it did picture the exotic places ecstatically.


Few unanswered questions:

1) If Ragini was ready to sacrifice her life, why had she to follow Abhishek all the way. (They are a married couple. But Still! )
2) Dev, inspite of spending 14 days in the jungle, ends up wearing clean dresses. How? (He has a portable washing machine or what? )
3) How does Dev end up climbing up from the wrong side of the cliff after his mysterious fall in the other side.
4) the locations are confusing. Nowhere is the police station shown and nowhere does the village has any relation with the forests and hills.
5) How does Ragini know how to reach Beera even when she's blindfolded all the way when she is kidnapped?


Positives: Music and Cinematography.

Negatives: Everything else!



Rating: 1/5

Raavan - A total misfire!

Review: The Karate Kid (2010)

Jackie Chan turns master in this flick, 'The Karate Kid'. Is it worth the watch? Is it the usual Jackie Chan flick? Find out the answer below.

Harald Zwart, the director who made average flick 'The Pink Panther 2' and 'Agent Cody Banks' is back with 'The Karate Kid', which seems to be an above average flick carved out with a huge budget and a protagonist duo of Legend Jackie Chan and a budding legend Jaden Smith but the latter takes much of the screen space and literally steals the thunder but he does it with stupendous awe. This movie takes him to high altitudes in terms of his acting skills and the little chap needs serious 'pats on the back' for his brilliant performance in 'The Karate Kid'.

The movie on the whole is a huge drag, runs for over 2 hrs. It could have been loved even more if the drags were dropped but the director thinks this serene version of the classic would work. Seriously, it works wonders.


PLOT:
12- year old Dre parker moves to Beijing owing to his mom's sudden transfer of work.And then there is the usual, He totally hates the place, he meets a cute girl, he gets bullied by her admirants (:P) and then it turns out to be a one-on-one encounter between the kids. They choose a kung-fu tournament to display their wits.

Such is the story of The Karate Kid. Doesn't it seem to be 'Kollywoodish'. Yes, it does and the stunts and drama make it similar to one South-Indian flick.


But what makes it click in the viewers' mind is the style, the charisma, the stunts of young lad Jaden Smith and of course the mesmerizing music of James Horner coupled with some really awe-inspiring cinematographic shots by Roger Pratt (of Troy and Harry Potter 2 & 4 fame).

Jaden finds love, Jaden finds kung-fu, Jaden finds acting, Jaden conquers it all. Will Smith's magnetism is felt all over Jaden's expression. He certainly has made his dad real proud. You've done it, Jaden. Keep up the good work going. His mere screen presence and eloquent dialogue delivery shows his panache and his apprehension of cinema in such a young age.Hats off to you!

Jackie Chan, probably for the first time in his life doesn't beat up anybody and neither does his funny bone (Screen presence in itself) tickle ours. He surprisingly plays a serious teacher without any fuss. At the end of the movie, you just take him as a ordinary character in the movie and the only reason for this is Jaden Smith's ecstatic and powerful performance.


Music by James Horner (of Avatar fame) is simply spellbinding, hypnotic and soulful. It simply boosts up your energy and deviates it to your heart and mind only to LOVE the movie even more.

Cinematographer Roger Pratt adds life to the existing beauty of the exotic locales of China. It looks like as if you are watching discovery or national geographic channel (It wasn't an offense of any sort. I meant only the scenery to resemble those coming in the mentioned channels and nothing else. :) )

The stunts were stunning with the average viewer wanting more of it.

All in all, The Karate Kid gets a two thumbs up from me. Watch it in the theatres to get engraved in Harold Zwart's The Karate Kid.

Negatives: A little stretched, less of stunts, little over dramatic.

Positives: Music. Camera. Screenplay. Dialogues. Depth in storyline. Sticking to the classic story. and Jaden Smith's screen presence all the way.



Watch it for the soulful music, Watch it for the magical imagery.Watch it for Jackie Chan's sombre yet inspiring avatar. Watch it for Jaden Smith's amazing and charismatic performace.
If not for all these, Watch it for the entertaining summer movie experience.


Rating: 3.5/5


The Karate Kid : Magical, Soulful, Inspiring and of course Entertaining!

Review: Raajneeti (2010)

From the maker of dark flicks like 'Apaharan' and 'Gangaajal', here comes his straight take on politics - Raajneeti!

Raajneeti shows the darker side of politics blended with an over dramatic and a lengthy family feud. But the fact is that these things do not fail to entertain nor do they deviate from the premise. There is an equal amount of everything. So is Raajneeti a must watch? Does Prakash Jha keep up his name? Read on to find out....



The movie centers on a political family and things which happen inside it when the head of the family dies. The family on the whole gave me a striking resemblance to the current scenario in Tamil Nadu but all that kept aside, Raajneeti is a neat, dark, filmy yet real (at places) take on politics.

Starting with the cast, its huge. With people like Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, what would one expect? An ardent movie goer would definitely feel that - " Oh! there are so many people in the movie? Then it wouldn't be worth watching. It would definitely be a boring movie." But Raajneeti isn't. All of them have the necessary screen space but the only one sad thing about it is that an actor like Naseeruddin Shah is completely wasted. Anyone could have fit in his role.
Anyways, the story is simple or one can say there is nothing so different about it.

The movie is lengthy and could have been shortened but there wasn't a time when you actually looked at the time! It was gripping on the whole with few lackadaisical hence unwanted drags here and there.

The music by Wayne Sharpe is laudable and the central theme is one of the factors which made the movie likeable and watchable.

There wasn't much scope in editing and neither were there any songs which would have possibly made the viewer exit the theatre.

Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif were surprise packages. I never knew that they had the acting potential. Nana Patekar and Ajay Devgan do their parts well with their trademark stamp embossed on every scene of theirs.

Too many kissing scenes for a movie of this genre. (Spoiler: Naseeruddin Shah also has a smooching scene, :) )



Prakash Jha, the man from 'my state' : Jharkhand-Bihar, definitely needs a pat on the back for bringing this huge cast together and making a sensible movie and a movie which will attempt to veer the existing Bollywood trend of continuous non-sense into something which will bring back the magic which existed once upon a time.

So all in all, Raajneeti is a mix masala of Godfather, Sarkar and Mahabharata. Watch it for Prakash Jha's take on politics and also for your knowledge refreshment on the crude truth in today's political world.



Rating: 3/5


Politics is esoteric, Raajneeti throws light on it!

Review : Prince of Persia - Sands of Time (2010)

From the producer of 'Pirates of Caribbean' and the director of 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' comes a true roller coaster ride, 'POP: Sands of time' scores high on the entertainment quota but fails big time on the logic and the much expected CGI areas.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays 'Dastan', character etched out of the video game series by just giving it a name. Well, Dastan is an orphan who is adopted by the king of persia seeing his brave acts. The story goes like this, Dastan and his two foster brothers decide to invade the holy city of Alimut on the say of Nizam (Ben Kingsley) which is against the king's wishes. But Dastan goes on to find Nizam's secret interests during his pursuit of the city and there starts the twists and turns and some high action adrenaline here and there.


Dastan goes on to meet Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) who rules the holy city and they join hands to save the kingdom.

Everyone seems to accept the fact that has been going around in the ears of persia that Princess Tamina is the most beautiful ruler ever. (But i seriously don't accept it at all! )

The main weapon that everyone is after in this movie is the dagger. Whoever releases the sand turns back time and that person can do whatever he/she wants. The logic for all this can be exempted but there are a few places where no one would attempt to digest.

For example, the usage of the word 'entrepreneur' by Alfred Molina (The famous Doc-Oc from Spiderman 2), I seriously doubt such words were used in those times.
Even after digesting the fact that people in persia could speak fluent english, one definitely cannot digest the dialogues they spoke which consisted of advanced english verbose.


The CGI fails to raise the 'oohs! and aaws!' as one would have expected fresh after seeing the trailers. Given the money, i think they could definitely have worked more on that.

The music by Harry Gregson-Williams reminds us of the inevitable 'Pirates of Caribbean' in a lot of places but he does deserve credit for other pieces which seemed original.

Cinematography by John Seale was brilliant although there were a few scenes which were shown particularly for showing his presence as a crew member.




The Stunts were breathtaking and the recent trend of movies banking on parkour stunts might prove to be entertaining for a while but that will need some innovation in the near future too.

The Screenplay was slick at places and pretty awkward and illogical at many other places.

The Plot cannot be criticized because its video game adaptation and leaves much less scope for innovation but the producer and director should be lauded for bringing out a decent summer entertainer.

A viewer can completely enjoy the movie if he/she totally forgets the logic part.
The main negative of the movie comes in bad CGI in a lot of places (brought the memories of S.S.Rajamouli's Magadheera) and extremely wonderful CGI in a lot other places.

On the whole the movie is a mixture of both positives and negatives and though the percentage of the latter is more, the movie leaves a 'feel-good' impression at the end.



Rating: 3/5


POP: Sands of time - Entertaining!

Review: Kites (2010)

'Kites' - the much hyped movie finally hits the screens after a lot of string stretching. Does it fly high in the air making astonishing moves in the sky? Is it worth watching?
Read on to find out!


The movie starts off with 2 kites flying in the air with Jai (Hrithik) narrating with his comical hindi accent as to how he reached his present 'beggar-like' situation. And then the usual, the camera shifts back and forth from past to present and vice versa.




SPOILER:
The Story is basically about Jai who takes salsa classes in Vegas and marries different different girls on the say of his friend for green card purposes and earns a lot from it. One day, Gina (Kangana Ranaut), his student, expresses her love towards him and Jai refuses at first. But after seeing that Gina is the daughter of a rich casino owner Bob (Kabir Bedi), he quickly falls in love with Gina (though just for the sake of money). And, after the usual interactions of Jai with Gina's family brings out Natasha (Barbara Mori) who is Tony's fiance. Then, its love at first sight for Jai-Natasha and they elope...





Such is the story of this film. Would you dare watching it? I mean when you have such a huge budget, better make a decent film and give the rest of the money to charity rather than spending it on useless stunts and candy floss.

Kangana Ranaut is at her devilish and slutty best whereas Barbara Mori who promised a lot for the 'youth' from the trailers looks stunning and hot but is no way near to the perfect 'diva' yet.

Hrithik Roshan is absolutely scintillating, he is the person to watch this movie for and nothing else. The man definitely has got both style and substance.

Rajesh Roshan's background score is awesome and songs are pretty decent enough except for few background score reminiscences here and there of 'Kaho na Pyaar Hai' and 'Koi Mil Gaya'.


Editing is slick but doesn't seem to raise any 'Ooh!s and Aaw!s'. Screenplay is the usual 'copied from Hollywood' style.




Story - I don't think i have to comment on this anymore. The chase scenes are pretty bad for this big budget and there are timely references to flicks such as 'Bunty aur Babli', 'Catch me if you can' and the usual Hide and seek films.

Anurag Basu's 'Life in a Metro' was a brilliant flick after which he made it to the list of promising directors of Bollywood. But his Kites is definitely a 'Kati Patang' in his career.

Rakesh Roshan - Man, if you do have so much money, please give it to me, there are many other people who are in dire need of it.

On the whole, Kites doesn't even make an attempt to fly 2ft high in the air and is a big miss well away from the target.


'KITES' - A big mistake!


Rating: 1.5/5


Continuing the bollywood trend of 'sick' movies in recent times is Anurag Basu's 'Kites', lets see if Mani Ratnam's 'Raavan' clears the air.