Review of Kai Po Che !

Release date –  22’nd  February 2013 

One Line which describes the film – 
"Friends are the family we choose for ourselves "

Best  Dialogue – Lines from the song Manjha -

'Soi takdiirein jaga denge
Kal ko ambar bhi jhuka denge
Haa haa hai jazba
Ho ho hai jazba
Suljha lenge uljhe rishton ka Manjha '

Genre –  Drama
 
Story - Based on The 3 Mistakes of My Life  by Chetan Bhagat

Music – Amit Trivedi

Producer -  Ronnie Screwvala , Siddharth Roy Kapur

Direction - Abhishek Kapoor

Cast - Sushant Singh Rajput , Raj Kumar Yadav , Amit Sadh , Amrita Puri

Budget – 12 crores

Over the years we have seen many films based on friendship . The last , Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara  was about three friends, Arjun, Imraan and Kabir, who have been inseparable since their childhood. They set off to Spain on a bachelor trip and face their fears.

Change the urban ,rich background to rural ,middle class  and we have Kai Po Che ,a  story of three friends where one is an Ex district player who was a victim of politics in the cricketing space, the other one is the nephew of a hindu politician who funds their business and third one is cautious 'baniya'  who wants to make it big in life and is the mastermind behind starting a sports shop and also a sports academy . 

The film is based between 2000 and 2002, real life incidents like the devastating earthquake and the horrendous post-Godhra riots are a part of the film . But the director has steered clear of focusing too much on the controversial parts and the main focus is on how the bonds of friendship are tested in difficult times . 

Rajkumar Yadav ,earlier seen in small roles in  Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2 , Talaash etc leaves a lasting impact in the character of  Govind who is practical yet readily gives in to his friends' wishes .

Sushant Singh as Ishaan who is  obsessed with grooming a young Muslim kid with immense batting potential has given an award winning performance . He has wonderful screen presence and in the shirtless scenes he easily gives competition to Hrithik Roshan and Salman Khan !

Amit Sadh has given some forgettable performances in the past but he is perfect as  Omi, a guy who has no great ambitions in life and is happy to just be with his friends  .

Kai Po Che is a Gujarati phrase that means "I have cut the kite" which refers to a kite competition where one of the competitors uses his kite to cut off another competitors kite and yells "Kai Po Che!" 

In the film they have a one minute scene where all friends are flying kites but I still wonder why they chose it as the film's title . In Chetan Bhagat's  novel 'The 3 mistakes of my life '  Govind is the narrator and the central character of the novel, and the story revolves around the three biggest mistakes of his life . As the film is a complete copy of the novel the original title would have suited it better.

In a line if you are a cricket fan and haven't read  ' The 3 Mistakes of my life ' you will love the film ,others can watch it for some heart touching emotions exchanged between the three friends . 

Must watch for excellent performances by the lead actors .

Rank-  3   (Out of the 14 films I have seen in 2013 )

Review of Murder 3

Release date – 15’th February 2013

One Word which describes the film – Thrilling 

Worst  Dialogue – “ tanha mard ke aankhon mein aansoo mujhe pasand nahi hain ” 

Genre – Suspense / Thriller 
 
Story - Mahesh Bhatt, 

Music – Pritam(Guest Composer) , Roxen (band)

Producer -  Vishesh Films, Fox Star Studios

Direction -Vishesh Bhatt

Cast - Randeep Hooda , Aditi Rao Hydari , Sara Loren (earlier known as Mona Lizza ,debuted in Kajraare )

Budget – 10 crores (approximately )

The film starts with the love story of Randeep Hooda, a wildlife photographer in South Africa who gets a one year contract which involves him shifting to fashion photography in Mumbai with his girlfriend . The first half of the film is slow with songs coming one after the another . The original  Murder (2004) was an erotic thriller which gave a big boost to Emran Hashmi's career . In this film till interval we keep wondering if it's a thriller or horror . There are scenes which remind you of the Raaz series .

After interval the film suddenly catches speed and there are certain twists in the plot which make the overall film entertaining . 

Randeep Hooda looks bad  in the Emraan kind of  hairstyle . He hardly looks attractive enough to get a girlfriend but in the film we  find pretty females falling over him one after another which is very hard to believe.

Sara just adds to the glamour quotient  in the film .

Aditi is the best of the three actors and looks very natural in both the positive and negative shades her role demands . 

  

In a line if you have seen the original film 'The hidden face '  you can miss this film , otherwise it has some good scenes and climax .

One time watch . 

Rank - 8 (Out of the 14 films I have seen in 2013 )

Review of Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story

Release date - 15'th February 2013

One Line which describes the film – Implausible   

Best  Dialogue – " Joking re, sense of humorous "

Genre -  Romance / Comedy
 
Story - Kiran Kotrial

Music – Sachin-Jigar

Producer -  Kumar S. Taurani

Direction - Vinnil Markan

Cast - Vivek Oberoi , Neha Sharma

Budget – 10- 15 crores (approximately)

Eleven years back Vivek Oberoi started his career with  Company for which he got best Filmfare Best Debut Award and Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award . He gave another try at being a gangster in Shootout at Lokhandwala for which he was nominated for the Filmfare Best Villain Award . This time his attempt to pose as a gangster who falls in love for the beautiful and educated Neha has totally failed to impress the audience or critics . 

The film appeared to be made in two parts . First part had the songs which were lavishly shot , had good choreography and  looked like a part of a big budget film .Second part which was the main film had just 2-3 poorly made sets which looked as fake as Vivek's bhai accent in the film .  Vivek keeps calling Neha Bhadotri , Bhaodtri in the film without telling the viewers its meaning. When I checked Google I came to know it meant 'tenant ' !

The film had random scenes which appeared one after the another which made no contribution in keeping the audience entertained . Vivek , the gangster had no  good scenes or actions. His only work was to beat some petty gangsters 2-3 times in the film and listen to sarcastic comments from his boss .

The most unbelievable  character was that of Neha Sharma who is out of job , faints because of malnutrition but roams around with salon treated hair and briefest briefs . She belongs to an orthodox family but has no problems in  drinking and dancing with the gangster next door . 

The story had so many episodes that before the first one had the chance to develop or engross the audience some other episode started . We could not decide whether the story was about a girl with big dreams which got shattered due to recession or a temperamental guy who wanted to be a   big gangster , or a girl who wants to keep her father in dark by pretending she was dating a rich guy or a gangster who had a change of heart and just wants that people should do the right things in life.

   
In a line this love story is so lame that even the biggest Vivek Oberoi fan would say that he should stay away from romance and do roles like Maya Dolas or Prathap Ravi ( Rakht Charitra I )
Highly Avoidable .

Rank- 11   (Out of the 11 films I have seen in 2013 )

Review of Special 26

Release date - 8'th February 2013

One Word which describes the film – Enthralling

Best  Dialogue – 

"Asli power dil main hoti hai "

Genre - Heist drama 
 
Story - Neeraj Pandey

Music – M. M. Keeravani, Himesh Reshammiya

Producer -  Viacom 18 Motion Pictures , Friday Filmworks , Kumar Mangat

Direction - Neeraj Pandey

Cast -  Anupam Kher , Akshay Kumar , Kajal Aggarwal , Jimmy Shergill , Manoj Bajpai , 

Budget – 35 crores(approximately)

Special 26 was indeed special as after many years I saw a completely packed theater and the audience clapping and whistling for a film which didn't star Salman Khan . 
In Anupam Kher words " asli power film ki story main hoti hai " . The story and screenplay were perfect and had no loose ends . To create a 80's kind of setup the director showed us a clipping featuring Rajeev Gandhi , a cricket match where Sunil Gavaskar was playing and Manoj Bajpayee driving a 'lambretta' . Even the background music reminded us of the 80's films .

Neeraj Pandey has not wasted a single minute in the story . Akshay's love story was explained to us through a 5 min song . With this film he has proved that his expertise in  A Wednesday was not a flash in the pan and he is here to stay .
It is good that the director didn't try to give an Indian touch to the film by showing that that they used the loot money for social causes or charity .

Akshay Kumar was perfect in the role of an over confident master mind . His acting was at par with Anupam Kher and Manoj Bajpayee. In some scenes he even excelled them . Every character was significant to the film however  big and small their role was .  Divya Dutta has just one dialogue which she says three time but every time she uses it a 'twist in the tale ' follows .

In a line the film unfolds like a magic show and keeps the viewers enthralled till the end . Must watch . See it before someone tells you the story and breaks the magic.

Rank- 1  (Out of the 13 films I have seen in 2013 )

Review of ABCD Any body can Dance

Release date - 8'th Feb 2013

One Line which describes the film – “ You've gotta' dance like there's nobody watching.” 

Best  Dialogue –  " Dance apne aap me ek nasha hai.Jab ye nasha ho , aur koi nasha nahi ho sakta ”

Genre - Dance  / Drama 


Story - Tushar Hiranandani

Music – Sachin Jigar

Producer -  Ronnie Screwvala ,  Roy Kapur

Director /Choreographer - Remo D'Souza

Cast - Prabhu Deva , Ganesh Acharya , Kay Kay Menon , Terence Lewis , Salman Yusuff Khan , Dharmesh Yelande 

Budget – 25 crores 

Remo D’Souza claims that this ABCD is Bollywood's answer to Hollywood's 'Step up' series. After watching the film you will agree with him as the film has more than 15 different dance sequences which are not only entertaining but also energizing . 

The film shows the difference in opinion between two founder members of a dance academy where one thinks that dance should be done to impress people and make money and other thinks that dance is a way to express your inner feelings.

Prabhudeva as Vishnu Sir is the life and soul of the film . He is one of the best dancer of India but in the film he doesn't tries to impress us  with his dancing skills . He  is an inspiring teacher who thinks that D of the word dance stands for discipline . There is so much truth in his words when he tells a student that he can not perform a stunt with another student until he has faith in him .He constantly encourages his students and makes them start believing in themselves .   

The young boys and girls  who play Prabhu Deva’s students are winners of several dance reality shows  and though they won't be winning any awards for their acting skills they did a great work of bringing Remo D'souza 's vision to life .

In a line it's a simple film with some great dance sequences mixed with doses of emotions and drama .  Must watch for dance lovers .Can be seen in theaters .

Rank-  6  (Out of 11 Films I have seen in 2013 )

Review of Vishwaroopam

Release date - 1'st Feb  2013

One Line which describes the film-
(a line from the film's song) – "Shehron main hinsa ko dekh jangal bhi hairan hai " 


Best  Dialogue –

"Hum Allah ke liye khoon bahate hain aur yeh petrol ke liye."

Genre - Action /Thriller 


Story - Kamal Haasan , Atul Tiwari

Music – Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

Producer -  Chandra Haasan , Kamal Haasan

Direction - Kamal Haasan 

Cast - Kamal Haasan , Pooja Kumar , Andrea Jeremiah , Rahul Bose , Jaideep Ahlawat

Budget – 100 crores

Kamal Hassan , a spy disguises himself as a jihadi fighting the NATO forces in a Afghanistan and later as a Kathak dance teacher . He has to stop Afghani Al-Qaeda jihadi Omar (Rahul Bose) and Salim (Jaideep Ahlawat , earlier appeared as Shahid Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur ) who plan to attack New York  with a “Cesium-bomb”. 

The film starts at a slow speed. After 40 minutes comes a fast action sequence which makes us sit upright in our seats .

There are some points which make the film an intelligent work of art and a must watch

1. We are shown how rigid the jihadis are in their beliefs ,they don't mind punishing their young boys if they find them listening to music , how they want their women to be covered from head to toe .

2.  The Afghanistan set made in Chennai  with the mud houses , caves ,dusty streets was just perfect .  

 Even the minutest details seemed real ,be it the houses or the costumes or the mannerisms of women or even the weapons and the way they were used .

3. The scenes portraying the cruelty that the Taliban were doing in the name of Islam (like killing and hanging people), the scene where a young boy is enjoying on a swing just before he becomes a suicide bomber touch your heart.

4. We are shown how every family member of the jihadi are dragged into terrorism even if they want to choose a different life style . Omar's innocent 5 year old son says that he wants to become a doctor but in  the next scene we find Omar blind folding him and questioning him about different guns and bullets.

Rahul Bose says in a scene " Bhai london main engineer ban na chahta hai aur engineer jihadi ban rahe hai Afghanistan main" 

5. There are scenes where we find Kamal Hassan helpless and in pain as  he knows that he can't protect the innocent people making his character very real ,unlike THE other super human spys in Agent Vinod and Ek Tha Tiger .

In a line despite it's slow speed and a non happening climax Vishwaroopam has some  spell binding moments . 

Good One time watch .

Rank-  2  (Out of the 10 films I have seen in 2013 )

Review of David

Release date - 1'st Feb 2013 

One Word which describes the film – Forgettable / Insignificant 

Best  Dialogue –

" Rajneeti main dushman ko ya to doshi bana dete hai ya misaal "

Genre - Action / Thriller 
 
Story - Bejoy Nambiar , Natasha Sahgal

Music –Prashant Pillai , Mikey McCleary and others .

Producer -  Bejoy Nambiar , Sharada Trilok

Direction - Bejoy Nambiar

Cast - Vikram , Neil Nitin Mukesh , Vinay Virmani , Monica Dogra , Tabu , Isha Sharvani

Budget –  15 crores (approximately )  

Orson Welles once said, " The writer should have the first and the last word in filmmaking." 

There was a time when the film's story ,screenplay , dialogues were written by expert writers like Wajahat Mirza ( Mother India , Mughal-E-Azam ) , Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (  Awara , Shree 420 ),  Gulshan Nanda (Kati Patang, Khilona , Sharmeelee ,  Daag ) Sachin Bhowmick (An Evening in Paris , Bhramachari  Karz ) , Gulzar , Salim- Javed . These films are considered as master pieces and still have the power to entertain and inspire.  

Today writing has taken a backseat to other aspects of filmmaking and we are presented with films like David which are a visual delight with spectacular frames , have excellent background score but hardly leave any long lasting  impact on our minds. We watch them ,talk about them for a week or two and then totally forget about them .

The story revolves around the lives of three DAVIDS in three different parts of the world in three different eras. 

London 1975- This story shot in black and white features David (Neil) as a gangster who works for Iqbal Ghani, a dreaded Mafia don. His quest to know  the truth about his parents and his passionate relation with Monica Dogra is the highlight of the film .

Mumbai 1999- This story features an aspiring musician ( Vinay , earlier seen in Breakaway dubbed into Hindi as Speedy Singhs ) who has a love/ hate relation with his father . His dreams are shattered when his family becomes a target of a religious / political issue .

Goa 2010- This story features an alcoholic  fisherman  ( Vikram ,  who played the role of Aishwarya's husband in  Raavan 2010 ) . His life becomes complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's fiancee .

Tabu has a short role and she manages to leave some impact .  Monica Dogra is striking and is the most powerful female character in the film . Isha Sharvani just has to look pretty . Lara Dutta in her overweight look hardly has any significant role . 

Milind Soman  is totally wasted .

In a line the film has some good moments but overall it  neither entertains nor inspires . Avoidable

Rank- 9  (Out of the 11 Films I have seen in 2013 )