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Naksha (2006)
Good, but could have been better
This is the latest movie to hit the screen and again I could not help but end up among the folks lining up to watch the preview. The trailers promised a good time and promotions hinged on this being a "different masala" kind of movie. This also marked the return of Sunny Deol after quite a hiatus.
First the story Two archaeologists, one good and one bad i.e. Bali (Jackie Shroff), are on a quest for a supernatural power. The good guy dies in order to avoid the map falling into the bad guy's hand. 20 years down the line the son of the good guy Vicky (Viveik Oberoi) inadvertently gets the map. Realizing that this was his father's dream he sets out to fulfill it. On the way, he gets into trouble as Jackie's men attack and kidnap him for the map. His elder step-brother Veer (Sunny Deol) comes to his rescue. Veer has come to take him back home and Vicky is in no mood to relent. Vicky manages to convince Veer that this was their father's dream and they ought to realize it. On the way, they realize that their father was not killed in an accident but by Bali who by now has managed to lay his hands on the map. Then starts a roller coaster ride to the destination and in the end the good triumphs over evil.
This film boasts of a very interesting concept. Such films are rarely made in India (the last such movie that you can think of is the Mackenna's gold inspired Zalzala in the 80s). Just like you have seen/read concepts like Da Vinci Code/National Treasure which deal with mythology/history; the film successfully uses mythology (read Mahabharatha). But, interesting concept needs to be in efficient hands to make it into a good film. Such movies (maybe view might have been affected by watching similar kind of Hollywood movies) need to be going at breakneck speed, make your adrenaline pump; basically make you hooked onto the proceedings. This is where Naksha falters.
Notable scenes in the movie are:
***The clues are well thought out and filmed ***The chase through water is good ***The final climax and especially the way they ended was good.
The director being a first timer could be a reason for this. Though some scenes have been handled well, Sachin Bajaj needs to improve on his story telling abilities. Editing doesn't help its cause either. Looks like the editor took leave or fell in love with the visuals. The first half really tests your patience. All the songs prove to be speed breakers and should be chopped off as songs don't have a place in such movies. Also, quite a number of scenes can be trimmed.
Technically the film is far above the "run of the mill" movies. The camera-work is just splendid. The picturesque locations in New Zealand have been captured vividly. Action, by Allan Amin, is another area which has some fantastic work. Some of the action sequences have been directly "inspired" by the Rock movie "Welcome to the Jungle" as also quite a number of scenes. No harm in that as long as you do justice to that and Allan Amin does do justice.
Background score by Salim-Suleiman is also very good. Music by Pritam is decent. The "U & I" number during the end titles stands out.
On the acting front, Sunny Deol is likable as Veer. Given that his role is that of a strong guy, cant imagine others carrying it off convincingly. After a long time we see him in a non-patriotic/non-preachy kind of role and is a welcome change. He was his usual self in bashing up people, like only he can. His dancing was surprise though and looked like he thoroughly enjoyed himself in the "Jat Yamla" song, a far cry from his days of exercising in the name of dance (remember "Yaara O Yaara" from JeetJ).
Viveik Anand Oberoi, that's what he calls himself now, might need to reevaluate his profession. The first 15-20 mins when he was showing himself as cool guy was irritating to say the least and the audience was praying for Sunny Deol to appear on screen (Actually the cheers were pretty loud when Sunny entered). Viveik was better off in the later parts but could have been better. No idea what happened to the promise he showed in his debut movie "Company".
Sameera Reddy does not have anything to do and only once or twice mentions she was a journalist that's it. Just there for singing and dancing.
Jackie is good as the villainous Bali and he does look sinister enough. A talented actor who nowadays does not do good enough movies shines here.
Mridula Chandrashekhar marks her debut as a moll and is utterly wooden. She does nothing noteworthy except bare her body which she does effectively. Others like Suhashini Mulay, Navni Parihar, Lilliput are all wasted in inconsequential roles.
Overall Naksha has an interesting, different plot and has its moments but makes you wonder how good it would have been with a competent director and and some editor
Darwaza Bandh Rakho (2006)
Decent Comedy but could have been better
Darwaza Bandh Rakho was touted as a comedy coming from RGV's factory after a string on action/scary movies. Chekravarthy directs this movie and considering his previous ventures (anyone unfortunate enough to view Durga would agree) and the star cast of this one, the expectations were zilch. After watching a lackluster Anthony
you anyway don't want to have many expectations from a movie.
The movie is about a gang of four Ajay (Aftab Shivdasani), Goga (Snehal Dabhi), Raghu(Chunky Pandey) and Abbas (Zakir Hussain) who want to make a quick buck. They kidnap a construction magnate's spoilt daughter Isha (Isha Sharvani) and end up in a now-broke Guajarati household taking the family of Kantilal Shah (Ishrat Ali) as hostages. As Isha's father is in US they have to keep put up in the same house. As time passes quite a few characters like a pizza delivery boy Mugale Azam (Nitin Raikwar), shampoo sales girl Julie (Manisha Koirala), money lender Shetty (Jeeva), real estate agent Mehta(Goga Kapoor), constable Ganpat(Ravi Kale), a veterinary doctor (Kota Srinivas Rao) etc turn up and are promptly taken in as hostages. The kidnappers have to keep up with the idiosyncrasies of the hostages till they get the money. In the meanwhile the pizza boy wants to cozy up to them as he always wanted to be in underworld; Raghu takes a liking to Julie whereas Isha takes a liking to Ajay. The kidnappers then try to outsmart one another to get the money for themselves. There is lots of confusion and finally the police arrives to finish the matters.
The story has enough in it to be turned into a laugh riot. Does it succeed in doing so? Yes and No. There are some fantastic one-liners and the acting is good.
Some dialogues that stand out Only incoming, outgoing cut Only cats, dogs cows
no mans and a couple of others.
But, the cohesiveness in the film is missing. There are so many things that can be done with such a story line and that's where you feel let down. The pace of the movie never slackens. Dialogues are good and have mass appeal. Cinematography is also good.
Acting is one area where there are some revelations. Ishrat Ali is undoubtedly the star of the movie. I have always held that he cannot deliver dialogues but he screams them but here it works and how! This is the best I have seen him perform in spite of seeing him in dozens of movies. Fantastic!
Isha Sharvani is another revelation. Seeing her in Kisna I had remarked she is good for doing mallahkambh maybe and not acting Here she does really well as a kid who is excited about being kidnapped.
Aftab is lackluster, Chunky and Snehal are OK whereas Manisha looks uninterested in the going on. Zakir is good. Divya Dutta as the maid is as usual. Among the supporting cast Kota Srinivas Rao stands out.
Chekravarthy's direction shows improvement over his debut film. He has handled some scenes well but has still a long way to go.
Overall the movie is time pass if you go with less expectation. After all movie-watching is a matter of managing your expectations. I think here also you are better off waiting for a few months by when this should be coming on channels.
PS: The movie was touted as 35 people under one roof, believe it or not I counted the number of people in the house and they never reached 35!! In the climax when a gang of people reach the house and following them is a police team it might have neared 35 that's it and for most of the movie it is 15 people.
Anthony Kaun Hai? (2006)
Disappointing movie which has its moments
The trailers promised a good time what with a tried and tested Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi combination. The expectations were built up with the sleek promos and some good (now mandatory) Himesh numbers. The movie being inspired by an English movie and being directed by a guy who has given only duds in the past were the dampeners which reduced expectations.
Anthony Kaun Hai? This is the question uppermost in the viewer's mind while venturing into a Cineplex to view this movie. Does the movie answer this question? No! Till the end Anthony is not really shown though he is shown in shadows and it is mentioned he was a journalist.
The movie is about a hit-man Madan (Sanjay Dutt) out to kill Anthony. He picks up Champ (Arshad Warsi) who is masquerading as Anthony. Champ tells Madan his story about stolen diamonds, which he had come to know while in jail and how he ended up being Anthony. This is the crux of the story.
Now when you have such a story the drama should be gripping. That is what is missing. Editing is not good. There is lot of things which could have been avoided. The entire Rosa (Anusha) track could have been avoided as also a couple of songs removed from the narrative as they act as speed breakers. The screenplay is the culprit here. The movie is slickly shot though. Bangkok is captured well and gives the film a glossy look.
On the acting front, the movie basically rests on Arshad's shoulders and he delivers. You can make out he has put in a lot of effort and he makes some tepid scenes also work. He is definitely one of the most underrated actors around. Another big plus is the chemistry between Arshad and Sanjay Dutt. The amazing chemistry promises a lot when Lage Raho Munnabhai comes in a couple of week's time. The music is decent but what was it that made the director to put two songs back-to-back at the end!! People out to see Sanjay Dutt will be disappointed as he hardly has 25-30 mins of screen time. His role is nothing but an extended guest appearance, though he is good as the stylish hit-man. The style statement coming out by the Ferrari that he drives! More scenes of Sanjay Dutt would have been better Minissha Lamba needs to look pretty and does that. In fact she is better than the minuscule role she portrayed in Corporate. She has a long way to go to be taken seriously. Raghuvir Yadav is a disappointment. Ravi Baswani as the doc brings some smiles. Gulshan Grover is OK. Anusha Dandekar does a lot of swimwear ads, so to say, in the movie. She is better off being a VJ where her dress sense and giggles might be appreciated but not on big screen.
Raj Koushal has shown improvement, but not in story telling which is the hallmark of a good director. He has taken care of aesthetics but forgets that it is the story that takes a film forward. His good luck charm i.e. his wife Mandira Bedi, in a walk in part also does not seem to work for the movie.
The movie can be termed thriller which has comic situations but is definitely not an edge of seat thriller nor is a comedy! Overall a disappointing movie which has its moments and you can watch if you have time on your hands and have lesser expectations. I think you are better off waiting for a few months by when this should be coming on channels.
PS: Though it was touted that the hit-man character is a bollywood buff, there are only 2 instances when this is shown. Once when he mentions Andaz (Mehboob Khan's 1949 movie) and once when he says the story should be like Yash Chopra movie.
Omkara (2006)
Good but could be spoiler for some.....
Omkara is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello. The expectation from the movie is huge due to the accomplished names associated with it, both on and off the screen. As also that it is the first time some filmmaker has attempted to adapt a tragic Shakespearean drama. I watched the movie yesterday in the paid preview and here is my take on it.
Omkara( Ajay Devgun) is a 'bahubali' (name given for a local dons in UP/Bihar) who is very close to politician bhaisaab (Naseeruddin Shah). When Bhaisaab moves from being an MLA to an MP, he nominates Omkara for MLA seat. This leaves a vacancy for the bahubali and Kesu Firangi (Vivek Oberoi), a trusted lieutenant is made one. This enrages Langda Tyagi (Saif), another lieutenant as he expected the post. Raju (Deepak Dobriyal), the person who was supposed to marry Dolly (Kareena), Omkara's fiancée, edges him on. The story then is about how a jealous Langda creates suspicions and manages to create a rift between the protagonists by poisoning Omkara's mind about Kesu and Dolly. Indu (Konkona), Langda's wife, becomes a pawn without knowing. By the time Omkara realizes the truth it is too late.
Some outstanding scenes/dialogs in the movie to look out for 1. The dialog Dolly's (Kareena) father says to Omkara that a girl who can deceive her father can deceive anyone 2. The sequence where Omkara kills a rival for betting on his love and says "Sharath ghodon pe lagave hai kathor
sheron pe nahin" ("bet on horses not lions") 3. The killing of bhaisaab's arch rival 4. The climax is expertly executed and has a chilling effect with everyone doing an outstanding job here.
The movie succeeds in creating a rural UP ambiance. The dialogs, the settings, the performances all work towards that direction. Cinematography is a plus which aids this. The movie never lacks in pace and is expertly edited. Another aspect is the music which is very good and Gulzar's lyrics are fantastic, as can be expected from the master. "Beedi" and "Saathi Re" are the songs to look out for. The movie does tend to be a bit too realistic. The expletives used could have been toned down as also some 'below the belt' humor. Agreed these make the movie realistic but will put off quite a few people.
Coming to the performances, this is one area where the movie does not lack anything and the expectations from such a cast are completely met.
The one performance that really stands out head and shoulders above is Saif's as Langda. This is no mean achievement considering that the movie has some splendid performers and Saif had never played such a character in his career. He is simply brilliant. Be it the limp in his walk or the stained teeth, be it the way he talks or the emotions he displays on screen are all fabulous. A definite award worthy performance!
Ajay Devgun as the smoldering Omkara is also very good. The pathos he shows when suffering with suspicion is fantastic.
Kareena Kapoor also puts in a fantastic performance. She plays the innocent Dolly to perfection. This is after a long time that I can talk about her performance. Just goes to show what she can achieve given the right directors and setup as otherwise most of her characters are way too loud (K3G, Khushi, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon come to mind) and those really put off a lot of people.
Vivek Oberoi is competent, so is Nasser who has what you can call a special appearance. Konkona Sen-Sharma is brilliant as Indu. Her expressions in the climax are worth watching. Bipasha has only some scenes apart from the two songs where she performs very well. New comer, Deepak Dobriyal as the jilted lover of Dolly, thirsting for revenge is a find for sure. Whether he goes the way of Vijay Raaz is something to be watched out for.
Direction wise the movie is fantastic. Vishal Bhardwaj who previously directed the universally acclaimed Makdee and Maqbool is in form here as well. He is a multi talented personality. He has not only directed this but also given music and written the story and screenplay. He is a director to watch out for the future.
Overall the movie is good but the expletives-laden rustic language is a big put off for families. Another jarring point is the dialect in which the dialogs are spoken. It will be difficult for people outside of UP-Delhi-Bihar belt to really understand the nuances. This can make some not really grasp the movie which goes against it. Watch it if you can manage the language.
Corporate (2006)
A disappointment!
On the back of Madhur's previous movies like Chandni Bar, Satta and Page 3 (excluding his commercial duds like Aan and Trishakti) this movie has quite a bit of expectations around it. The trailers gave the impression of a slick and gripping drama played out in the corporate board rooms. Movies like this have to rely on a taut script, great acting and gripping drama with no time to relax for the viewer. The movie shows the fight for supremacy between rival groups which leads them to abandon all ethics and morals, throw it out of the window. Like a character says "Business is not done with emotion". All that matters is money and power, nothing else.
Corporate is a story about two rival food majors -- Marwah Group and Sehgal Group headed by Dharmesh Marwah (Raj Babbar) and Vinay Sehgal (Rajat Kapur) respectively - and their fight. The state government announces divestment of a PSU for which there are multiple bidders. The movie then shows the wheeling and dealings that the contenders do to be the front runner. During all this, Ritesh (Kay Kay Menon) returns from London and joins his brother-in-law's group (Sehgal) where his lover Nishi (Bipasha) is a top executive. The Sehgals try everything but the Marwahs buy out the minister in charge of the divestment, Gulabrao (Vinay Apte) and eventually win the bid.
Nishi comes to know (thru Marwah CEO Parvez Merchant's secretary who is a spy) that Marwah's are going to use the PSU for a mint-based drink launch. She steals the proposal from Parvez, by using a model after whom his lusts and Sehgals come up with their own plan. After some more drama, Sehgals launch their drink ahead of the Marwahs and capture the market. The twist, before the release they come to know that the drink has more than the prescribed limit of pesticides but Vinay asks the project to go through. At this their CEO Naveen (Harsh Chhaya) resigns but still the product comes out. This news reaches Marwah who uses his clout to bring the issue in the open with the help of media and the helpful minister. To save themselves the Sehgals ask Nishi to take the blame and she becomes the scapegoat.
This is Corporate for you.
How many times have you seen such kind of stories? Replace the entrepreneurs and soft drink with Zamindars/Builders and land of the old and voilà it is same old story! The only difference is that it is given a glossy, corporate look with all characters sporting Allen Solly suits and taking about their millions. The movie moves at a decent pace wherein it does not bore you to death.
The culprit here is the script. The movie set out to be novel but ends up as new wine in old bottle. The movie is all too predictable. Me and my friends were trying to guess the next move and were pretty accurate every time! Does say something doesn't it? Also, too many things are crammed in the story to show all kinds of nexus's that exist, with the end not being satisfying enough. There is the politician-businessman nexus and the corruption that goes on, the businessman-media nexus and the Bollywood angle as well. The songs should have been chopped as they are a hindrance to the narrative. There was also no need to take a dig at a particular director by showing a character (Manoj Joshi in a cameo) as coffee-loving, gay movie director.
The conversations between the office assistants as also the ones between the ministers' bodyguards bring a few chuckles.
Most of the characters are half-baked.
Bipasha made statements like "If a man does not have ambition he is a loser if a woman has one she is a b****" while promoting the movie. But, what does her character do? The statements, dialogs and actions of the character don't go hand in hand. Let us ask ourselves a question here - who in his/her sane mind, being career oriented, would take a fall and accept that all wrongs done are by them to save the company's reputation, that too so that her lover's family's reputation does not get affected? All this after she suddenly talks about ethics and opposes the move (after doing all unethical things herself) and finally finds herself dumped. Wow!
Bipasha is OK and that is a big step for her, considering her previous outings where she 'acted'. Kay Kay Menon is good in parts but the character is not etched properly and ends up looking confused. Rajat Kapur as the suave, cold-hearted Vinay Sehgal is very good. So is Raj Babbar as the religious Marwah. Sandeep Mehta is good as the lusting CEO but his character is cut off mid way. It could have been used to make the movie more interesting. Harsh Chhaya, Achint Kaur are OK. Vinay Apte as the scheming minister is fantastic. Lillete Dubey and Bharat Dabolkar are completely wasted. Minissha Lamba looked pretty and was good in her debut movie Yahaan but here she does not look pretty neither does she get any scope. Totally wasted! Sameer Dattani has one dialog in the movie and 3-4 scenes. He is better off acting in Kannada movies where he is somewhat of a success in movies like Monalisa and Amrutha Dhare doing well. Again wasted! Noted people like Javed Akhtar and Prahlad Kakkar make special appearances and play themselves.
Madhur's direction lacks the punch of his earlier movies. It says a lot when at the end, the viewer doesn't feel for the character and is indifferent to her plight. I think the movie won't be liked by the 'intelligentsia' as well.
Overall a disappointing movie which is not worth the admission price. You are better off watching it when it comes on TV and wait for a highly anticipated Omkara or the Pirates sequel releasing later this month.
Krrish (2006)
Krrish -- A very good movie
Krrish is the sequel to the hugely successful Koi
Mil Gaya (2003). The expectations from the movie were huge. Facts -- Rakesh Roshan is one of the most successful Hindi Film directors; just check his past record which has only 4 flops in Khel, King Uncle, Karobaar and Kaun Sacha Kaun Jhootha (Koyla did manage some money due to the stars) in 20 years!! Hrithik is one of the most talented actors around and a huge star by himself. The father-son combo had given such super hits like Kaho Na Pyar Hai and Koi Mil Gaya. Naseeruddin Shah (one of the most accomplished actors) plays the bad man. The movie boasted of being a one of a kind in Indian cinema with special effects and action.
With such huge expectations the question on everybody's mind is will the film live up to it. Let us go step by step, first in short the story of the movie:
Krrish starts off with Sonia Mehra (Rekha as grand mother) taking care of her grand son Krishna. Krishna has an extraordinary IQ and this riles her. So, she takes him out to the wilderness and brings him up by teaching him by her own. He grows up being friendless and longing for one. Enter Priyanka Chopra, who captures his imagination and he falls for her hook, line and sinker. Krishna follows her to Singapore, against the wishes of his grandmother. But before going he promises he will not reveal his super powers to others. Krishna puts on a mask to help some kids from a fire and instantly becomes a celebrity. Dr. Arya (Naseeruddin Shah) is an innovator who wants to rule the world and Krrish runs into him (spelling out why will reveal the suspense, hence withholding). Hence a good vs evil fight which obviously the good wins.
Nothing novel or extra-ordinary in the story! But, that is Rakesh Roshan's specialty; his movies don't boast of great story lines as he normally keeps them simple and sometimes clichéd. Check movies like Karan Arjun, Khudgarz, Kishen Kanhaiya and you know what I am talking about. Similarly this movie has a simple story with all ingredients and the movie still works. Hats off to him! The movie is a sure shot hit (already it is the biggest first day grosser ever in Hindi movies!).
The reasons why this film works are also simple. The movie boasts of some great acting, spectacular stunts and special effects (never seen on Hindi screen before), good doses of comedy, amazing cinematography, fantastic choreography and above all the movie moves at a fast pace.
Technically, this is one of the best Hindi movies ever.
The scenes to watch out for 1. Hrithik rescuing Priyanka. A very well done scene 2. The whole "Kalicharan" episode was well done. "Just imagine" could turn out to be pretty popular. 3. Hrithik's martial arts display in Singapore. Awe-inspiring to say the least. 4. "Dil De Diya" song was very well choreographed. 5. Hrithik chasing Naseer on Earth, Air and Water ("Angels and Demons" anyone:-))
Naseer's character is not properly etched, but still he manages to give a good performance. His dialogs are good. Priyanka had to look good and she does that efficiently. Anyway, no superhero movie has a significant role for a leading lady and same is the case here. Rekha is efficient, whereas Hemant Pandey manages some chuckles with the "Just Imagine" scenes. Puneet Issar and Sharad Saxena are OK. It is high time someone told Archana Puran Singh that making faces or screaming is not acting.
Music in the film is strictly OK. Maybe it is time the Roshans look for people outside of family for music in their movies. Rajesh Roshan's music sort of grows on you but is not of the chart busting type.
There are a host of advertisements in the movie, but the good thing was that it never barged into your senses (like in Yaadein or Virrudh) and all advertisements were very well placed. Be it Rekha using Tide to wash clothes or Hrithik using a Samsung phone or saying I drink Bournvita for energy.
Above all, the film boasts of having a certain Hrithik Roshan in the lead. He breaths life into the movie with his super spirited performance. Just can't imagine anyone else apart from Hrithik in this role. He is absolutely brilliant; be it action where all stunts have been done by him or dance, we all know how good a dancer he is, but still check out the effortless ease with which he performs. You just cannot take your eyes off him even with the gorgeous Priyanka doing the same steps (very simple indeed) around him. He was good even as the old guy who has been tortured for years. An award worthy performance from him!
The way the movie has been handled, it has set a foundation for the next installment as now Krrish is born and knows his history.
There will be some who like and some who won't like this movie. It is a must watch for any Hindi movie buff or a Hrithik fan or most importantly if you have kids. If you liked Koi Mil Gaya, you will love this. Go watch the movie but don't expect it to be a Superman or Spiderman with the hero saving humanity from some gizmo wielding demon/villain. If you go with this expectation you are sure to be disappointed.
Phir Hera Pheri (2006)
Best comedy of the year so far!! Hilarious
Phir Hera Pheri, the sequel to the most endearing cult-comedy of our times has released. I managed to watch it at a paid preview and here is my appraisal of different elements of the movie:
Paresh Rawal as Baburao: Of course you start with him. Baburao is the real hero of the movie. Baburao Ganpatrao Apte is one of my (I think a lot of people will agree with me here) all-time favorite screen characters and Paresh currently one of the best actors around. The way he says "Devaa Devaa, Utalerey", only he can do it. He gets most of the best punchlines and as expected delivers them flawlessly. Whenever he is on screen, which he is most of the times, the smile hardly fades from your face. He overshadows all flaws in the movie and any blemishes from others. Outstanding work by Paresh Rawal!! What an actor! Rating A
Akshay Kumar as Raju: Another fantastic job by him. He is fast becoming the new age comedy icon (if he has already not). There is never a dull moment with him around and he is just getting better with each film. After Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and Garam Masala another knockout performance by him. Check him out when he says "Haaye Mujhe Sharm Aati Hai" or in the maze scene during climax (which is a laugh riot) or the way he addresses Rimii with different names. Well done. Rating A
Suneil Shetty as Shyam: He is the quintessential action guy who is trying his hand at other roles. His comedy roles like in Hera Pheri, Hulchul, Awara Pagal Deewana have been OK. He is not really that great an actor at comedy (On second thoughts in any role) but still somehow manages to hold his own. Here also he holds his own, but he needs to improve somehow or will be reduced to playing inconsequential character roles (irrespective of whether you change the spelling of your name or not). Here he is fine and actually some of his shortcomings are overshadowed by others. Rating B+
Johnny Lever as Munna: One of the most popular comedians ever but he has not been in form in recent times. Here he is back in form as Munna a small time crook who wants to be big by robbing his earlier master. Some of his dialogues are funny. Only problem, his character could have been etched better. Rating B+
Rajpal Yadav as Pappu: Another current favorite. Problem he does get much scope to prove his ability, but he has his moments. Rating B
Bipasha and Rimi: They don't get much scope at all. Bipasha looks hot throughout but I think that is what she was required to do as her acting skills are ahem
Rimi on the other hand looks lost. Anyway not much was expected from their characters. Rating B
Sharad Saxena as Tiwari: Amazing performance!! As "Totla Tiwari" he is riot. He is the don whose money is conned (it's too complicated to explain here) and he expects our heroes to give it back. His character can't talk properly and his scenes with Baburao make you laugh your guts out. Rating A
There are a host of comedians in the movie. But most of the others don't get much scope as this is entirely the story of Baburao, Raju and Shyam. Suresh Menon (Munna's spy in Nanjibhai's camp) and Manoj Joshi (Kachra Seth) are very good. Rating B+ Bhojpuri superstar and one time Hindi film hero Ravi Kissen as Tiwari's henchman is also good Rating B+ Dinesh Hingoo, Milind Gunaji, Razzak Khan are OK. Sunil Pal is wasted. The gorilla and the "man with no visible head" (or Qutb Minar as Akshay puts it) are fun.
Dialogues: Special mention for the dialogues. This movie has some fantastic dialogues. I won't spoil the fun by mentioning them here. Rating A
Music: Himesh Reshammiya can do no wrong currently. Aye Meri Zohrajbeen is a fantastic number and the video is, you've all seen it on music channels, fantastic. The others songs are time pass.
Director: Satish Kaushik was supposed to do this movie but he pulled out and Neeraj Vora the writer has directed this. Considering his previous accomplishment as director (Khiladi 420 anyone), this is an amazing achievement. He has improved by leaps and bounds. It is never easy to direct a comedy that too a sequel and make a good job of it. A sequel always has to endure comparisons to the first part. This is not just another comedy but a sequel to Hera Pheri whose characters have now achieved cult status. There is never a dull moment. The movie moves at a very fast pace which gives you no time to brood over what is happening. Just enjoy the happenings as it is. What a job by Neeraj in this movie. Rating A
The movie has some amazing performances and dialogues. There are some references to the first part like the song "Golmal Hain Bhai Sab Golmal Hai" in the background or the "Dhoti Utaale" scene. But it is still enjoyable. Certain characters could have been avoided. One jarring note was the climax. I didn't like most of it much but people around me were in splits, maybe it was beyond my sensibilities. It will no doubt be compared to the first part. Some will like it and some will not. But don't let the comparisons deter you from watching the best comedy of the year so far. Overall, it is complete time pass. Rating B+
The way the movie ends leaves scope for another sequel (Maybe called "Ek Aur Hera Pheri). Can't have enough of Baburao, Raju and Shyam, so bring it on.
Appraisal Rating Definitions: A -- Fantastic/Excellent B+ -- Very Good B -- Good B- -- OK C -- Poor
Anand (1971)
One of the best Hindi movies ever made.
It is very rare for guys to shed tears after watching a movie, this movie does make you shed tears for Anand, the main protagonist played by the superstar of the 70's Rajesh Khanna.
The movie has everything going for it. Acting, direction, story, music, dialogues etc... everything is fabulous. It has drama, humor, emotions in dollops. It is a story a dying man who looks at life with a positive attitude and enjoys his time knowing fully well his disease is incurable and that he is going to die soon.
Rajesh Khanna as Anand is absolutely brilliant, this is his career-best performance , notwithstanding movies like Kati Patang, Roti, Aradhana, Amar Prem etc. You cannot think of any other actor in this role and to think Rajesh Khanna was not the original choice(Shashi Kapoor was). He makes you laugh and cry. He causes anxiety and goose bumps. Simply superb.
Amitabh Bachchan is fantastic as babumoshai( a name with which Raj Kapoor used to address the film's director Hrishikesh Mukherjee). He showed the world that the next superstar was coming, though he really "arrived" a couple of years later. The rest of the supporting cast is also brilliant be it Johhny Walker(stands out) or Ramesh Deo or Seema or Sumitra. Everyone is wonderful.
Music is the hallmark of all great hindi movies and this one has music ranking right up there, on the top. Be it "Kahin door jab din dhal jaye" or " Maine tere liye hi saath rang" or "Zindagi kaisi hai paheli".
Maverick composer Salil Chowdury comes up with an absolutely fantastic score and singers Mukhesh and Manna Dey do complete justice to his tunes.
About the director Hrishikesh Mukherjee, what can one say, he is one of the best directors ever in the Indian film history. A guy with a complete repertoire,a complete entertainer (though people consider other directors to be more entertaining, but real movie buffs will agree with me). All his movies, he has been directing movies since 1957 are worth a watch. Some are brilliant and others watchable. None of his movies can be rated as unwatchable(except maybe Jooth bole Kauwa kaate and Jhooti).
Simply put, this is one of the best Hindi movies ever made.