mohan_i Reviews

Arundhati (2009)

First half was pretty good, second half was awful

[5/10 · 22 July 2013]

I was impressed with the initial half of the movie which shows the villain getting his comeuppance...I felt this part was done pretty nicely even though the CGI used was lousy...

However the latter part of the movie started out bad and it was all downhill thereafter...it was as if different people had worked on different parts of the script...or else as if the scriptwriters and director were suddenly in a hurry to bring the movie to an end and sacrificed logic (& everything else)...

I can understand that certain amount of suspension of belief is necessary while watching a movie which deals with occult, reincarnation, spirits etc...but when logic flies completely out of the window and you are left with a "what the hell" feeling, there is something seriously wrong with the movie...I have read the earlier reviews which heap praise on the movie and I realise that Indian movies have a long, long way to go before they can be compared to international standards...the backbone of any movie, the plot, is so shoddy here that it would have been torn to shreds by international movie critics...

On a more positive note, the acting was pretty good, some parts of the story was fascinating & interesting and had the writer / director not been in a hurry to wrap it up, it would have been a truly awesome film...

Dead Snow (2009)

Godawful stupid Norwegian piece of crap movie

[1/10 · 10 April 2013]

I went into this movie after reading the high ratings given by other reviewers and I have been wondering since then what the fuss was all about…this is a stupid and unimaginative piece of crap disguised as a movie and I can only imagine that the others who gave ratings of 9 & 10 must be Norweigans themselves…if that was true, I think they have set the bar really, really low… First of all the movie plot line feels as if it has been written by a teenager…too many holes and liberties taken throughout…sample this…a bunch of zombies surrounding a farm house and viciously attacking and killing the inhabitants from outside, then dozens of them being dispatched in a ridiculously easy manner by two dudes armed with a small hammer and a kitchen knife…said dudes killing numerous zombies with kitchen implements, in-spite of having a chainsaw and a shotgun…a local who warns the city kids about the dangers in those mountains himself camps out in the same mountains and gets promptly killed…the treasure chest left in the resort for decades, yet when the kids discover it, the zombies decide they want it back and attack them…a gorgeous chick in the group gets desperate to have sex with the fat guy, and wraps herself around him at the worst time possible; when he is taking a crap in the outhouse… This film is just a stupid excuse to show people getting slaughtered in the most brainless manner possible…the zombies in this movie can run, climb trees, locate people through binoculars and take orders from a zombie general…yet it is utterly easy to kill them, even with kitchen knives…if this was meant as a comedy, there was not a single humorous situation not even black humor in the entire movie… This really is a very unimaginative and silly movie…I cannot even classify this as a guilty pleasure…there are loads of other movies which are way better in all aspects…that is why I cannot understand other reviewers getting swept away and giving 9 and 10 ratings…when you give a movie 10 out of 10, it means that the movie is one of the best ever in that genre…which is not the case at all with this film…I would not give it more than a 4 or 5, yet to balance out the ridiculously generous ratings by other reviewers, I am giving it 2 (coz I wasted my time downloading and watching it on the strength of collective rating by others)… There is really nothing here that is not available elsewhere (in much better ways)… If you wanna see a really neat Norwegian movie with loads of black humor, go for The Trollhunter

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Overrated, but brilliant in parts !!!

[6/10 · 10 April 2013]

Public opinion about this critically acclaimed movie seems rather divided…there are people writing rave reviews about it, calling it one of the best movies ever and giving it full marks…others call it a vastly overrated movie and rate it 1 or 2 out of 10…there are no in-betweens in this case…it is clearly a case of loved it or hated it… One could argue then that such a film is the product of a genius mind…those intelligent enough to understand it are completely blown away by it…and the others, the ones who fail to see the point ridicule it… Having seen it, I tend to side with the latter group of people who found this movie a pseudo-intellectual product lacking any coherent purpose…I felt the same about "No country for old men"…many other reviewers have also compared it to NCFOM for the same reasons… Okay I understand that whole movie is about the lifelong conflict between two equally ambitious and morally corrupt individuals…Daniel's character is one of the most reprehensible I have seen in movies…he swindles innocent people and even uses his small adopted son as a mask to disguise the utter contempt he has for other human beings…I normally am captivated by portrayals of such people, who are fascinating in their own right, but in this case, I did not engage with his character…I could not really feel the menace or evil emanating and the fault is with the script writer, not the actor… Most of the movie felt disjointed…as if vast portions were cut out and left on the editing floor…you fail to understand the motivations behind the actions of different characters…it is not even possible to fill in with our own interpretations as the characters themselves were not fully developed… For example, why does Paul Sunday go behind the backs of his own father and twin brother when he would have gained as much (or more) if he had not betrayed his own family? Though the character of Eli Sunday came across as quite irritating and self-serving from the start, it does not explain Daniel's intense hatred for him…and that physical assault on Eli by Daniel was very difficult to digest due to this reason…Eli does not seem to possess the natural charisma or business acumen exhibited by Daniel, so why does Daniel regard him as a lifelong threat and rival? Why does the impostor give himself away so readily after having gone through all that trouble, especially when he realizes how dangerous an individual Daniel is? Somehow all these things and many more did not gel in together when I watched the movie… On a more positive note, the acting by all the main players was excellent…Daniel Day-Lewis has a tremendous screen presence and he makes acting look ridiculously easy, he is that good! Most of the scenes were very well executed…the whole movie has been directed with the easy confidence that comes from a man who knows what he is good at…this is a very ambitious venture – powerfully acted and excellently directed…but somehow the whole product does not go down properly in the end…that's the reason I have mixed feelings about this movie

Straw Dogs (1971)

Is the original really better than the remake??? I don't think so !!!

[6/10 · 4 April 2013]

Having watched both the new and old versions of "Straw Dogs" in a single day and still fresh from the experience, I found that I identified better with the newer version…for me at least, the remake was more believable than the original, in terms of acting, character development and location… Simply put the English thugs in the original did not strike me as terrifying or menacing…to me they were more buffoonish and funny…I did not find them or their behavior to be particularly intimidating…in fact I felt they behaved in a pretty normal manner when confronted by the American and his seemingly strange mannerisms… If anybody came across as abnormal or psychologically disturbed, it was the main character's wife, who sends out mixed signals by deliberately displaying her panties and subsequently her bare breasts to the gang of leering men, then whining to her nonplussed husband and still later on treating the same men to beer…and the rape was not really a rape, as she does not put much of a resistance even seemingly enjoying it towards the end…she came across as a far more seriously disturbed, immature and dangerous character, more disturbing then the supposed antagonists of this movie…when she is being raped again in the climax, notice how she screams for her ex-boyfriend (who is one of the attackers) instead of her husband for help…this proves that the first sex episode in the movie was not entirely without her consent… The acting too was too exaggerated and cartoonish to be effective…I felt I was watching a parody instead of a serious horror movie…and don't tell me that was how movies were in the early 70s…I have watched older movies with far more convincing acting…I cracked up when Hoffman tries to stop Norman from assaulting the mentally disturbed guy in his house and Norman says "don't lay your hands on meeeeee"…the drawing out of the "me" was unintentionally comic…there were plenty of other moments in the movie where the outlandish acting was funny though not intended to be so… And I absolutely hated the character of the wife, who was silly, clingy, immature and adulterous; hankering unreasonably for her husband's attention and then ready to desert him when he needs her support the most…I would call her the main antagonist in the movie and her husband was too good for a skanky woman like her… The remake addressed and eliminated most of these negative points…the wife was much more sympathetic and her behavior more bearable… unlike Dustin Hoffman who seemed to be barely tolerating Susan George, James Marsden and Kate Bosworth acted realistically like a couple in love…the creeps were genuinely creepy, their behavior intimidating at times and their contempt towards the supposed wimpiness of the husband was barely concealed beneath a veneer of politeness…I could easily imagine myself in the shoes of the various characters and identify with them all… The intimidation and harassment aspect was better brought out in the 2011 version…it starts out subtly by having the workmen gang turning up for work far too early in the morning, blasting loud music, grabbing beer bottles from the refrigerator randomly, requesting for permission to leave work early... steps up relentlessly to the leering catcalls at a jogging Bosworth…and finally the hanging of the cat and the double rape…scenes where Chris asks Mr. Summer which movies he has written scripts for and Charlie warning David over walking out of the church sermon helped to build up tension between the characters...these were not present in the original version.

The only aspects that the original scores over the remake is that Dustin Hoffman is much more of a nerdy and diminutive guy than James Marsden…you could relate to Hoffman as a guy who would have been constantly bullied and pushed around since his school days…but not so much with the muscle-bound, square-jawed Marsden (even if he wears spectacles to look nerdy)…and the final battle in the original movie was more edgy and realistic then the newer version.

Straw Dogs (2011)

Felt the remake is better than the original !!!

[7/10 · 4 April 2013]

Having watched both the new and old versions of "Straw Dogs" in a single day and still fresh from the experience, I found that I identified better with the newer version…for me at least, the remake was more believable than the original, in terms of acting, character development and location… Simply put the English thugs in the original did not strike me as terrifying or menacing…to me they were more buffoonish and funny…I did not find them or their behavior to be particularly intimidating…in fact I felt they behaved in a pretty normal manner when confronted by the American and his seemingly strange mannerisms… If anybody came across as abnormal or psychologically disturbed, it was the main character's wife, who sends out mixed signals by deliberately displaying her panties and subsequently her bare breasts to the gang of leering men, then whining to her nonplussed husband and still later on treating the same men to beer…and the rape was not really a rape, as she does not put much of a resistance even seemingly enjoying it towards the end…she came across as a far more seriously disturbed, immature and dangerous character, more disturbing then the supposed antagonists of this movie…when she is being raped again in the climax, notice how she screams for her ex-boyfriend (who is one of the attackers) instead of her husband for help…this proves that the first sex episode in the movie was not entirely without her consent… The acting too was too exaggerated and cartoonish to be effective…I felt I was watching a parody instead of a serious horror movie…and don't tell me that was how movies were in the early 70s…I have watched older movies with far more convincing acting…I cracked up when Hoffman tries to stop Norman from assaulting the mentally disturbed guy in his house and Norman says "don't lay your hands on meeeeee"…the drawing out of the "me" was unintentionally comic…there were plenty of other moments in the movie where the outlandish acting was funny though not intended to be so… And I absolutely hated the character of the wife, who was silly, clingy, immature and adulterous; hankering unreasonably for her husband's attention and then ready to desert him when he needs her support the most…I would call her the main antagonist in the movie and her husband was too good for a skanky woman like her… The remake addressed and eliminated most of these negative points…the wife was much more sympathetic and her behavior more bearable… unlike Dustin Hoffman who seemed to be barely tolerating Susan George, James Marsden and Kate Bosworth acted realistically like a couple in love…the creeps were genuinely creepy, their behavior intimidating at times and their contempt towards the supposed wimpiness of the husband was barely concealed beneath a veneer of politeness…I could easily imagine myself in the shoes of the various characters and identify with them all… The intimidation and harassment aspect was better brought out in the 2011 version…it starts out subtly by having the workmen gang turning up for work far too early in the morning, blasting loud music, grabbing beer bottles from the refrigerator randomly, requesting for permission to leave work early... steps up relentlessly to the leering catcalls at a jogging Bosworth…and finally the hanging of the cat and the double rape…scenes where Chris asks Mr. Summer which movies he has written scripts for and Charlie warning David over walking out of the church sermon helped to build up tension between the characters...these were not present in the original version.

The only aspects that the original scores over the remake is that Dustin Hoffman is much more of a nerdy and diminutive guy than James Marsden…you could relate to Hoffman as a guy who would have been constantly bullied and pushed around since his school days…but not so much with the muscle-bound, square-jawed Marsden (even if he wears spectacles to look nerdy)…and the final battle in the original movie was more edgy and realistic then the newer version.

Limitless (I) (2011)

What a vastly over rated stinker !!!

[5/10 · 4 April 2013]

This must be like one of the most ridiculous films I have seen with gaping plot holes, suspension of belief and all notwithstanding…I can understand that scriptwriters have to take liberties with the script to get the film going, set the pace right, make the story interesting and so on…but there is a limit and frankly this steaming pile of dog-turd strained my credulity…

Unlike low-budget, 'leave-your-brain-at-home', C-grade flicks which you watch with low expectations, this film has no such excuse. The fact that this is a mega budget movie with big movie stars (Bradley Cooper, for god's sake) and has a 71% rating on rotten tomatoes seriously leads me to question the direction in which Hollywood movies are headed…

This is a supposedly intelligent movie with novel and interesting premise…a super drug which enhances the mental abilities of anybody who pops it…sounds good??? Let's talk about the most stupid plot holes which I have arranged in descending order (most stupid coming first and so on)…

1) The whole point of the drug is that whoever stops taking it falls sick and eventually dies, which is presumably the reason the drug dealer himself does not take it and become a business tycoon, president or somebody…so much is made out of its side effects throughout the film…however at the end of the movie, our hero has shrugged off the habit quite easily and still retained his mental super-abilities…very convenient huh…and he explains this off in such a matter of fact manner, which De Niro accepts without question… 2) The hero is not shown to be especially sharp or intelligent…in fact he is a failure and a loser, who claims to be a writer, but has been unable to write a single word…yet he figures out something that the other users could not (including his extremely smart ex-wife)…that if he eats on time, he can control the side effects of the drug… 3) Bradley explains in a voice-over that he has forked out several million dollars for personal security – hiring professional bodyguards, renting a fortress like apartment with latest technology etc to keep away from the Russian thugs…the smug smile on his face (visible only to the audience) when he finalises the deal for the multimillion dollar apartment suggests that he has bested his opponents…however in the climax of the movie, they bust in with utmost ease…and before that they bump off his freakishly huge professional bodyguards…what is the point of investing so much in personal security if a band of thugs can get too you without breaking a sweat??? 4) The thing about the hero sipping on the thug's blood to get back his super abilities really cracked me up…come on…when you inject a drug, it gets diluted across your entire blood stream…how does he get the full benefit just by sipping on a little blood??? 5) Why would a guy with enhanced mental abilities, a super smart person borrow money from a dangerous gangster and then forget to pay it back…and which retarded person grabs a pill from a relative stranger's hand and pops it without considering the potential harm??? Yet that is exactly what the Russian gangster does… 6) At the end of the movie, De Niro (for some inexplicable reason) wants Cooper to work for him, presumably for his artificially enhanced mental abilities…he reveals that he now owns the company that produced the drug…but in that case, why would Niro want to hire a guy who is a natural loser like Cooper and difficult to control…won't a naturally genius and successful businessman like Niro have several super-smart guys already working for him, who can be enhanced with the drug…or what is to prevent Niro from taking the drug himself and trying to become President of the United States??? His sudden and inexplicable switch from good guy to guy with negative shades, for no valid reasons, is difficult to digest… 7) I figure that if I had a finite supply of the mind-enhancing drug, the thing to do would be to crank out a dozen or more best sellers before the supply runs out…and then release them one at a time…this would rake in the millions by way of royalties and make me famous…no super smart person would play the money market game to get rich as that would raise a thousand questions…

I know that you are supposed to ignore small things and not think too much while watching a movie…but this entire film is an excellent example of deus ex machine (a plot device to solve a seemingly unsolvable problem suddenly and abruptly, with the contrived intervention of some new, unexpected event…frequently used when the writer has "painted himself into a corner")…the acting and other aspects are adequate, but I could not pay much attention to anything else as I was too incredulous with the ludicrous storyline

Dombivli Fast (2005)

Hard-hitting & effective movie, a must-watch...

[2 October 2011]

The first thing that you hear is an alarm clock ringing urgently...

Right then you know that this is a movie about someone whose life is a routine affair revolving around the clock...in the next series of scenes we see the central character Madhav Apte (Sandeep Kulkarni) going through his daily act of preparing to leave for his job in his less-than-luxurious residence...we see his children being bullied into getting up by his harried wife and him leaving the house, to board the second class compartment of a very crowded local train...he then reaches the bank where he works, has his lunch, then a cup of tea at a roadside stall & the evening sees him again in a congested local...finally we see him having dinner with his daughter...the exact same routine is repeated several times & we get the idea of a lower middle class family struggling to exist in a far-flung suburb of Mumbai, Dombivli...

We learn that Madhav is a principled individual who sticks to his beliefs at the cost of being impractical - an oddity in a world full of people who have resigned themselves to the ways of the world...in this world, Madhav sticks up like a sore thumb & rubs several people the wrong way, including his clients, colleagues & his long-suffering wife...needless to say Madhav's unrelenting attitude has been causing friction in his world & his family suffers as a result...faced with the bleak prospect of spending the reminder of her life in this thankless manner, Madhav's wife one day goads him by telling him to try & change the world if he can...

An emotionally stressed out Madhav snaps when a shop keeper attempts to charge some extra money over the MRP for a soft drink he has just had...he proceeds to destroy the shop with a wooden bat...he then goes on a rampage venting his ire at several things including a wrongly parked bike, corrupt cops accepting bribes, a Corporator who is blind to the miseries of the common man & so on...

Further on, Madhav also sets fire to a drug joint & shames a doctor into admitting a poor person in his hospital...during a run-in with the cops, his wooden bat is confiscated, so he uses a knife & then a revolver which he picks up...though he never causes grievous injury to any person, the media picks up his story in a sensational manner (that we are all familiar with) & we see the reactions of the common man, ranging from the skeptical to the sympathetic & apathetic...this entire range of events happen in the course of 2 days...

During all this, the police is hot on his trial, but always a couple of steps behind...Inspector Anaspure develops a peculiar empathy with Madhav as he feels that he (Madhav) is doing something that the police is paid to do, however are unable to do justice to...having studied Madhav's background, Anaspure knows that Madhav is a sincere & honest soul, but wants to stop him for his own good...finally under tremendous political pressure, a shoot-at-site order is issued by the police Brass against Madhav...

The final confrontation happens (ironically) in a local train, which a tired Madhav boards to reach home...the police is tipped off & when they arrive, it is evident that Madhav's mental equilibrium has failed, as he does not have a perception of having done anything wrong...this results in a stand-off between Inspector Anaspure & Madhav and ends with Madhav being shot fatally...it is then revealed that Madhav's revolver was empty of bullets, which underlines the fact that he never intended to hurt anybody...

A particularly poignant moment is when a dying Madhav tells Anaspure that he has spent his life sitting on the fourth seat in a local train, so whether he could sit at the window seat for some time...the movie ends with a deeply moved Inspector Anaspure reflecting that while Madhav took the easy way of setting things right, the System took a much easier way out by killing a person, who dared to stand up for what is right...

This thought-provoking movie is directed by Marathi Director Nishikant Kamath...it is a critically acclaimed movie & Sandeep Kulkarni's acting bagged him the Star Screen award for Best Male Actor (Marathi)...what is not well-knowing is that this movie is inspired by a 1993 Michael Douglas film "Falling Down"...however it has been well adapted to our city & times...this movie deals with several very valid issues, including the evil practices prevalent in the education system (teachers who fail students who do not attend their coaching classes & colleges illegally charging donations)...

Watch this movie and watch out for my favourite scene in which Madhav in a monologue laments the fact that human beings developed a set of rules & regulations to establish civilizations, but then instead of adhering to the same, in their greed for more, relentlessly break the very same rules...a person like him who strives to follow those rules is branded as an anti-social & eccentric person...he then vents his rage & frustration to the Almighty proclaiming that he is not eligible to live on this planet as per norms set by fellow human beings, so he is resigning his life & enclosing his soul to be taken back by God...

A Few Good Men (1992)

A riveting movie with power-packed performances..

[2 October 2011]

Normally a courtroom drama movie sounds quite dull & dreary to most of us...even the most hard-core movie buffs amongst us might be from time to time lured away by movies full of visual effects & wise-cracking humour...

It is an extremely difficult job to conceptualise & create a movie where the climax is a tense, court room scene and the rest of the movie is either in the same court room or deals with events leading up to it...not many of us are able to comprehend legal terms & would prefer to steer clear of such endeavours...

However if such a film is crafted masterfully, peppered with crisp dialogues & brilliant acting, watching it becomes a very enjoyable experience...I have come across a few such movies...

A Few Good Men is definitely one of those movies which I would heartily recommend to all movie aficionados...A friend of mine, whose judgement I trust & whose taste in movies I share recommended it to me...I downloaded it from the internet & watched it one evening after getting home from work...trust me the movie has a few scenes, which I rewinded & watched several times...after a couple of days, I watched the movie again...it just kept on getting better & better...

The premise of the movie is this - Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is an inexperience US Navy lawyer, entrusted with the defence of two marines accused of murdering a fellow marine of their unit...Naval investigator JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) is his senior officer & co-counsel...Kaffee gets the case as he has a penchant for plea-bargains & at first glance, this looks like an open-and-shut case...but is it really so un-complicated or are there deeper secrets lurking?

Jack Nicholson, as the Commanding Officer of the Marine detachment, gives a powerful performance which crackles every time he is on the screen...Tom Cruise has done a commendable job, though some of his lines are too dramatic & don't ring true...Demi Moore turns in a subdued performance...the surprise package is Keifer Sutherland, who you get to see only a couple of times, but packs quite a punch...you also get to see Cuba Gooding in a short cameo...

This movie was remade in Hindi as "Shaurya", although there are slight alterations to the basic plot...I have not seen the Hindi version, but have heard it is very good...unfortunately due to lack of hype & publicity, it was not very successful commercially...the fact that the cast did not include any major filmstars, but consisted of talented actors such as Rahul Bose & Kay Kay Menon did not help either...I would still recommend it over the so-called mega-budget & multi-star block busters, which are quite often so full of style, but no substance... Do watch either of these movies (or both) & write to let me know if you agree...

Piya Ka Ghar (1972)

Light-hearted, feel-good movie about the plight of a newly married couple staying in a joint family

[8/10 · 29 June 2010]

Piya ka Ghar is a Hindi comedy set (mainly) in Mumbai in the 1970s. It is supposedly a remake of Raja Thakur's Marathi film "Mumbaicha Javai." It portrays the difficulties of life in India's biggest city in the form of a comic family drama.

This is one of my favourite old Hindi movies and though almost forty years have passed since this movie was made, watching it is still a pleasant way of spending a few hours…I can still relate to the movie, though it was made a good six years before I was even born… After having watched it quite a few times on the television over the years, I decided to download the film and add it to my collection…I have a few other gems in my collection such as Choti si Baat, Chupke Chupke, Golmal, Naram Garam, Bawarchi and this movie is cut from the same cloth…

The film is quite breezy and simplistic, containing no antagonists, scheming relatives or friends, no subplots and moves forward in a straight forward manner… It focuses on a north Indian, immigrant middle class family living in a crowded, noisy apartment building (commonly known as a Chawl) in Bombay…the family consists of the male patriarch, his wife, their three sons and the wife of the eldest son…they are in general a happy-go-lucky family, leaving peacefully in the midst of their chaotic surroundings…they are also in search of a bride for their second son Ram (Anil Dhawan), who is the male lead…

They forge an alliance for Ram with Malti (Jaya Bhaduri), who lives in a village…the manner in which the match-maker exonerates the virtues of the prospective bride-groom and his family to Malti's parents is one of the most hilarious scenes in the movie…He paints a very rosy picture of the family staying in dream city Bombay in a palatial building, near the sea-shore, thereby pushing hard for an alliance…

Malti's Tauji (Uncle), who is extremely fond of her opposes the alliance as he does not have a good opinion of Bombay & its inhabitants…his first meeting with the members of the groom's family (when they arrive for the wedding) does not help matters and he regards them as boorish and ill-mannered…however the wedding does take place…

Once Ram brings his bride to Bombay, she quickly adjusts to her new life with the help of her supportive in-laws…but the newly-weds do not get the privacy they desire and attempts by the rest of the family to help them also back-fires…these somewhat funny and poignant efforts at romance forms the main plot line of the movie… Though, both are frustrated, Malti especially is disheartened, though she is otherwise quite happy & well-adjusted…

When her Tau visits Bombay to meet her, he finds her in tears and is convinced that the whole marriage has been a terrible mistake…he decides to take her back to the village and even though the whole family pleads with him, he is adamant…

At this point, not only Ram's family members, but also his neighbours decide to sacrifice substantially for Malti's happiness…this act of utter selflessness by others touches her deeply and she tells her Tau that though she loves him a lot, she is quite content & happy in marriage…this opens his eyes and leads him to realize that he has misunderstood the situation, because of his deep love for Malti…

The film explores many aspects of life in a crowded city such as the struggle for privacy and romance, the selflessness and noble-hearted behavior of people who seem unsophisticated and ill-mannered, stark contrast between life in a village and a city etc…it has some beautiful songs which are quite relevant to the situations in the movie…

An additional bonus is that you get to see Bombay as it was in the early seventies…comic relief in the movie is provided by veterans such as Agha, Keshto Mukherjee, Mukri and Paintal…Anil Dhawan is quite handsome and fits the role of the romantically inclined, newly wed city boy while Jaya Bhaduri breathes life in her role of the coy and introvert Village belle…I especially liked the character of Anil Dhawan's bhabhi (played by Ranjita Thakur), which is quite saucy and naughty, even slightly flirtatious…she enjoys teasing the newly weds…

I would recommend this movie for everybody…watching it will definitely brighten up your day and lift your spirits…it is a film which asks for repeated viewings…

It is a pity that nobody makes such simple hearted movies which entertain and also carry a social message

Jodhaa Akbar (2008)

A classic case of "The Emperor's new Clothes"

[4/10 · 15 April 2009]

I am sure you would be wondering why I am reviewing a movie which was released more than 1 1/2 years ago...truth be told, I was not much inclined to watch this mega-budget, megastar portrayal of the legendary love story of Emperor Akbar & Jodha...the reason behind this is that neither Hrithik Roshan, nor Aishwarya Rai feature on my list of watchable actors...I attribute their success more to their good looks, shrewd career moves and a healthy dose of sheer good luck...

I did not have much of a choice when my brother-in-law bought a CD of this movie home & my wife insisted that we should view it as a family...I have been hearing rave reviews till now & so was just a little bit intrigued...however after sitting through the entire movie, I am wondering what the hype was all about...without doubt, this is an above-average film and has been made with a lot of care & effort....however does it deserve all the accolades heaped on it...can I, for once, cry out "The Emperor has no clothes"? Let's take a look at the various reasons why I am panning this movie - 1) Hrithik, with his chocolate boy good looks & razor-sharp features is Bollywood star material...however he does not fit in the stereotype of a powerful Mughal Emperor...when you think about Akbar, a powerfully built, swarthy & regal figure springs to mind and Hrithik is anything but...with his soft, melting eyes he looks more like the poster boy of movies such as Dhoom 2 & Krish...

Instead an unknown actor with a commanding presence would have better suited this role...I think Hrithik would be more suited to play the part of Jehangir, in a historic movie, as Jehangir was known to be a typical ladies man...

2) Aishwarya Rai as a Rajput princess is a joke...same as Hrithik, she lacks the stature to play such a part...she is pure eye candy...her voice is weak & she sounds absurd delivering her lines...my choice to play this part would have been Sushmita Sen...

3) The plot of this movie is 2/3rds pure fantasy...Akbar did not have a wife by the name of Jodha...he married a Rajput princess called Hira Kunwar, who promptly converted to Islam and was called Mariam-ul-zamani...she was one of Akbar's many wives and bore him his heir apparent Jehangir...

4) It is not evident whether the director meant for this film to be a love saga or a political drama...too many sub-plots spring out throughout the length of the movie, but get resolved quickly & conveniently...it seems the director wanted to pack in as much masala as possible, culminating in an unnecessary fight scene...

5) Akbar's birth name was Badruddin Mohammed Akbar, after his grandfather Shaikh Ali Akbar and "Akbar" was not a title conferred on him...

5) Akbar was better known as a master strategian & shrewd administrator, not for his chiseled physique...he was also not monogamous as is depicted in the movie, but like other emperors of his time had innumerable wives & concubines...though he has been painted as being broad-minded & liberal as compared to other Mughals, Akbar was far from the benign & forgiving monarch portrayed here...he was responsible for slaughtering thousands of men, women & children, destroying hundreds of temples & ransacking scores of towns & villages...finally no Indian emperor would be fool hardy enough to challenge his adversary to single combat & stake his entire kingdom on the outcome of the fight...

6) The battle scenes are evidently inspired by (read - copied from) Hollywood movies such as Troy & Alexander...however after watching the realistic, gruesome wars depicted in the latter, these appear as tame, watered down versions...the climatic confrontation in this movie reminds too much of the awe-inspiring stand off between Hector & Achilles in Troy...

I admired Ashutosh Gowarikar for his original & entertaining Lagaan and also for his thought-provoking, soul stirring Swades...Aamir & Shahrukh Khan managed to get in the skin of the characters they were playing to such an extent that after watching these movies, you do not remember the stars, you only remember Bhuvan & Mohan Bhargav...here, you are only watching Hrithik who has played romantic lead in several other movies...seems like Ashutosh has succumbed to the practice of making politically correct, commercially successful movies...

This film is really at its most authentic when it abandons all pretence that it was made for any reason other than to bring together Bollywood's two most beautiful people (and a lot of shiny jewellery). Take the magnificently show-offish moment where a shirtless Akbar displays his swordsmanship while Jodha watches in womanly awe. The scene exists completely independent of context – it's about Hrithik as the ultimate alpha-male preening like a peacock (an inordinately muscular peacock) for Aishwarya; it's about sending vicarious thrills through star-struck moviegoers of both sexes. With just a minor alteration in setting and costume, it could easily have come out of Dhoom 2, a film that was a fine showcase for this same couple.

However, to give the devil his due & end on a positive note, several events in the movie are portrayed accurately...the look of the movie is grand...Mughal & Rajput cultures are depicted in royal splendour...dialogues are well written...some of the characters seem to have walked out of a history text book page...weapons & jewellery used have a very realistic look...

Apaharan (2005)

A well-crafted, original movie

[8/10 · 15 April 2009]

Apaharan is a hard hitting movie dealing with many social issues such as the descent of educated youth into the world of crime, the politician-gangster nexus, the kidnapping business which is a thriving & lucrative profession in Bihar...mainly it deals with the practice of kidnapping for money, which has been honed into a fine art in states like Bihar & which is patronised by shady, influential politicians, hence the name of the movie...

Ajay Shashtri (Ajay Devgan) is an unemployed, educated, talented young man who dreams of joining the police force...his father is a high-principled, moralistic man and a social activist, who expects his son to follow in his steps...when his ideals start clashing with Ajay's ambitions & dreams, naturally a rift emerges.

Though Ajay qualifies to join the force on his merit, he discovers that it is impossible to get in without bribing higher officials..as his father refuses to finance his cause, Ajay with his friend's help takes a huge loan to bribe his way in...when things go awry, Ajay and his friend decide to kidnap a Government Official to repay the amount...Ajay loves Megha (Bipasha Basu), who is also in love with him, but their worlds are far apart.

At the last minute it turns out the official is in fact one of Tabrez Alam's men (Nana Patekar), a powerful and influential minority leader..Tabrez runs a parallel government; an empire which lives off money and fear and one which Tabrez has under his thumb with the help of his right-hand man; Gaya Singh (Yashpal Sharma)...murders, extortion, bribery, rape and, above all, kidnappings are just some of the illegal activities that are conducted by Tabrez...meanwhile Ajay voluntarily distances himself from Megha as he begins his descent into crime as he does not want her associating with a criminal...

Ajay plans to exact retribution from Gaya who had humiliated him & also kills him in cold blood...instead of fleeing from Tabrez he asks him to take him into his gang...Tabrez sees potential in Ajay and takes him under his wing...soon Ajay exceeds Tabrez's expectations by being ruthlessly cruel & eliminating other rival gangs...Tabrez persuades Ajay to surrender himself to the law & run his illegal activities from inside the safe haven of his cell (which has been converted into a luxury apartment & was previously used by Gaya Singh)...this showcases the manner in which politicians & gangsters blatantly abuse the law to achieve their own ends...Tabrez reveals that he has been using Ajay the whole time & betrays him...the movie ends with Ajay killing Tabrez...

The events in the movie is portrayed in such a realistic manner that it is eerie...the mannerisms of the gangsters, the professional way they run their business, the finer points of kidnapping wealthy individuals, everything is handled masterfully...Ajay Devgan turns in a intense, convincing performance as a disturbed young man who is drawn into crime though not by entirely his choice, but his desire to be successful & earn respect...Mukesh Tiwari as the honest Police officer SP Anwar Khan is excellent...Nana Patekar is well, Nana Patekar...he breathes life effortlessly in his role & its a joy to watch him act...

This movie is directed by Prakash Jha & is as good as, if not better than his earlier directorial venture on the same lines, Gangajaal, which is another of my favourite movies...

Man vs. Wild (2006–2020)

Unwarranted criticism directed towards an entertaining & informative show !!!

[9/10 · 30 March 2009]

I have been watching this show ever since it commenced & I don't think I have missed any episodes as I find them very interesting and entertaining, to say nothing about the information that is given out. I have read a lot about the supposed falsehoods that Bear Grylls is perpetrating & have read comments about many people who have criticized the show.

I would like to add my own two pence of opinion here...accepted that he has a camera crew & other people running behind him, but I think the main purpose of this show is to show us how to survive...somebody has written that he puts himself into situations that nobody who actually gets lost would ever do (like climbing down a waterfall, getting soaked in ice cold water etc)...again the assumption here is that IF anybody encounters such a situation, this is how they could save their life...

I have read allegations that he sleeps in motels and not in the shelters that he has himself built...clearly the filming of an episode takes several days, so why on earth would he subject himself to the inconvenience of sleeping out all that time??? hasn't he demonstrated the most effective way to build a shelter and isn't that more than enough for a person who is watching the show to learn a few tricks? There is another complaint that he never is in any real danger...in fact being the show's star attraction, he would be fool hardy if he put his life in danger and it makes sense that he takes all precautions...again he is showing us the ropes so why don't people understand that? I commend the fact that he is prudent enough to value his own life (for the sake of his producers, fans, his family & obviously himself)...

As for the comparisons with survivorman, I have not seen the other show...from what I have heard that show is quite informative, though not as entertaining...I feel both of them are doing a good job in their own unique ways...it would be unfair to compare them...

Bear Grylls might be making a lot of money with this show, but so what? I don't feel there is anything wrong with using your skills & abilities to earn money...don't we all try to do exactly the same??? The purpose of this show is to provide information about basic survival in various extreme environments in an entertaining manner...I think, on that score, it delivers perfectly...this is evident by the fact that my 10 year old nephew can watch this show in rapt fascination as does my 60 year old father-in-law...

Lastly for all those who criticize the show, though I respect their opinion, I feel they are being too harsh & overlooking the obvious purpose of the show...this is not a test of endurance for Bear grylls and he is not trying to prove anything (check out his background, he has achieved more than most of us will in 10 lifetimes)...he is merely showing ways of survival in a very entertaining manner & let us not be so naive as to think that this could be achieved without a certain amount of manipulation...sit back & enjoy the ride, guys...

Daddy Day Camp (2007)

brainless, mind numbing crap & only succeeds in infuriating the hell out of well meaning viewers...

[1/10 · 19 March 2009]

I had the misfortune of watching two extremely lousy movies on the television in the space of one evening and by the end I was on the verge of tearing my hair out at the sheer absurdity of it all...the first movie was Daddy day camp & the second was Bone eater...at least the latter was a cheap anonymous sci-fi made on a shoe-string budget, with forgettable actors and probably produced with no other intention than to earn some bucks & cater to the large number of fans who love to watch cheap horror movies...

Daddy day camp does not have the same luxury for being an annoying, irritating imitation of a movie because 1) it is a sequel to a popular movie 2) it features well known actors and 3) I bet it was not made on a lean budget...I do not understand the propensity of filmmakers for making sequels of successful movies especially when it is obvious that they are half-hearted efforts at best...they persist even when the actors from the original movie refuse to star in the sequel & to top it all, no one producing the sequel invests half the brains or efforts the second time...the result is an atrocious, pretentious, annoying, embarrassing waste...

I also fail to understand why filmmakers think that fans of the original movie will watch the crap sequel (just for the heck of it? ) & somehow turn it into another hit...

Cuba Gooding Jr fails miserably as the lead actor...at certain points he seems plain embarrassed to be in this pathetic movie...he contorts his face, screams, hams, does everything to try and look funny, but fails...the plot of the movie is stupid beyond belief...too improbable...too many clichés to the point of being utterly predictable...the kids in the movie (even those who are supposed to be good) are irritating & not at all cute...

It is basically about this guy (Cuba gooding) running a day care center successfully for 7 years, along with his side kick...he also has a wife & kid and he takes the kid to the same camp (driftwood) he himself visited when he was small...predictably the camp is running into a loss with the competition running a much more profitable camp which is flush with funds...predictably the customers (read kids & their parents) prefer the new camp with its technological marvels as compared to driftwood which relies on old fashioned attractions...also predictably the new camp is run by a super-rich brat who has his sights on driftwood...

Our guy purchases the camp, against his better instincts, intending to turn it around and the old geezer who is the part-owner (& who has been running the show for several years) promptly leaves for a vacation leaving behind a consultant who doesn't have a clue...at one point after many mishaps, the consultant makes a remark like "I just joined" in a casual way...WTF...doesn't the guy care for his job? i think it is intended to prove to the viewers that they will make things happen against all odds (& incompetent employees)...boringly predictable too is the attempts by cuba to restore the camp to working order & the mishaps that follow on subsequent visits by kids...for guys who have been running a successful daycare for several years, they are pretty clueless about how to entertain the children as well as how to make profits...also when the competition camp goes on a rampage, more than once, why was the police not informed? maybe so that more histronics could be included ? this movie is brainless, mind numbing crap & only succeeds in infuriating the hell out of well meaning viewers...

Ghajini (2008)

unconvincing, indigestible tripe...

[2/10 · 13 January 2009]

There is no denying that Amir Khan is one of the best & most methodical actors in our country and some of his movies could easily win Oscars…however once in a while he acts in movies with hack-eyed, meaningless plots…

At such times you really wonder what on earth could be the reasons that an actor, who is nothing short of a genius (if his masterpieces are any indication) wastes his time with such tripe? Even though this disappointments only add to our realisation that he is only a human and has his own reasons for indulging in such projects, it is still a major let down though…

Ghajini is such a movie, which had me wondering what has possessed an actor of such calibre to act in a movie, whose script is so weak and mediocre…the storyline is quite interesting & in the right hands, it could have been crafted in a slick masterpiece...however much of what I saw was undigestible & unpalatable..

The plot is full of holes…

1) How are we supposed to believe that a man whose memory spans only 15 minutes not only lives alone, but also plans & executes multiples murders without anybody wising up to that fact? How can he be motivated enough to kill people so ruthlessly & cunningly, if he cannot remember beyond a quarter of an hour? I mean, come on, that would mean that just to sustain his murderous rage, someone would need to be continually reminding him of what has happened to him & the love of his life...by the time, he comprehends enough to erupt with anger, he would have again forgotten everything! At least this should have been addressed sufficiently, but the audience is just expected to accept it without question

Yeah if you watch this movie thinking that the protagonist has a memory span of at least a day & he forgets what has happened to him every single day and wakes up every day in the morning only remembering that he has been brutally beaten up & his lover ruthlessly killed, that would have made much more sense in my opinion...that would also motivate him to train himself into a killing machine and he just needs to remember how many he has killed & how nearer he is to his ultimate goal..

2) The flashback story of his love relationship with a struggling model asin was dull, uninspired & too predictable…I found it difficult to digest that the heroine with a heart of gold gets enough time from her struggle to establish a career to go out of her way helping people and somehow our hero happens to be just there to witness her overflowing with the milk of human goodness...very, very filmy & melodramatic…

When our loverboy proposes to the love of his life and she accepts, their chemistry is as dry & cold as when they were merely friends…in fact even after both accept that they love each other, they behave exactly the way they did all along…no terms of endearment, no passionate moments (except for a couple of songs which looked completely out of place)...& we are supposed to accept that this is the love which causes amir to turn into a raging monster inspite of his memory loss 3) Finally the villain…I had expected the villain of a movie, which is named after him to spend chills along our spines with his mere presence…what we see instead is a uncouth, loud buffoon who does not do justice to his reputation…the way the movie is named after the villain, I had expected him either to be an enigmatic presence or maybe the protagonist himself, which will be revealed at the end of the movie...no chance of any such subtlety...in fact he is the weakest villain I have seen in recent movies

Strange, but he seems to be running a ragtag gang of hooligans who do not have things like guns & other weapons to stop the maruading aamir khan…the villain himself is hiding in adda with only a couple of his men to protect him, that too without weapons of any kind...also which self-respecting villain would leave his enemy (who wants to kill him, already has done away with couple of his henchmen & is extremely dangerous) alive after erasing all tattoos from his body? Sadly this could have been a much better movie if handled properly…I know that when I go to watch a movie, I am supposed to leave my brains at home, but that I do only for movies which don't take themselves too seriously…you cant have everything & some things are simply too much to digest..