Delhi 6 - Review

Well the much awaited Delhi 6 is finally out. With Masakalli making waves all over the place, the hype was enough to ensure a great opening weekend. But the question is, does the movie stand forth to the expectations.

Set in Delhi, the movie deals with the tale of an American Indian Roshan (Abhishek B) who has come to Delhi to leave his grandmother (Waheeda Rahman) so that she can spend her final days in her "Watan"
From the start, the movie keeps talking about a "Kaala Bandar" a.k.a Black Monkey who is terrorising the streets of Delhi, killing a few as well. Although the audience is expected to look at this seriously, it has been shown with some poor humour. (One sees a lift of the joke from Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, wonder if is the UTV connection.)
Roshan comes to Delhi and instantly falls in love with India, its people, its ways (read a Cow giving birth in the middle of the road) & its madness.
Along the way he meets a lot of family members and neighbours and takes particular fancy to one Bittu (Sonam Kapoor). Bittu has only one aim, to become the next Indian Idol. She does not want to get married & does not get along too well with her always angry father Madangopal (Om Puri). Madangopal also has a brother Jaigpopal (Pavan Malhotra), whom he doesn't meet eye to eye with. They share one roof divided by a wall.

The first half of the movie has a weak narrative where not much happens & you begin to wonder where this is going. There are a lot of scenes involving the Ram Leela play, which definitely could be cut down on. They come abruptly and leave you a bit irritated.
Here again, there are a lot of references to cast-ism, where an untouchable woman Jalebi (Divya Dutta) is not allowed for a puja, or the Babri Masjid issue (a Mosque built over a temple). There is room for a lot of cliches here, be it a politicians typical speech or the local policeman Ranvijay (Vijay Raaz) accepting a bribe.

The second half sees a new story unfolding. The Kaala Bandar tale spirals into a Hindu-Musilm question (Why again?). The story drifts far away from the original plot and you begin to wonder what is the motive of the storyteller.
As the movie progresses the target drifts way off track & reaches a different issue all together, something that is more social than entertaining.

The absolutely brilliant music by A.R Rahman has been reduced to mere filler items. The timing of the songs are poor . They could have been the soul of the film, yet they end up being the frills, leaving Masakalli as the only saving grace.

From the performances, Deepak Dobriyal as Mamdu the jalebiwalla is top notch. The scene where his shop is burnt and he is in tears truly moves one. Rishi Kapoor too, as Roshan's uncle is great.
A special mention for two stellar performances, Atul Kulkarni as the dumb Gobar & Divya Dutta as Jalebi. They both stand out and do more than justice to their small albeit impactful roles.
Sonam Kapoor looks beautiful, displaying an old world charm, she is perfectly cast for the role and acts well, but unfortunately, she is wasted. You don't get to see enough of her, and one looks forward to seeing her future work.
Abhishek Bachchan is good in parts, with not too many lines, he has a hybrid accent & his typical expressions irritate at times. He does not impress.

Rakesh Omprakash Mehra fails after delivering a knockout performance in RDB. The story itself is weak, and even though he has assembled a perfect cast, most of whom do great justice to their roles, the narrative itself doesn't impress. He drifts from where he starts and tries too hard to deliver a social message.

To sum it up, No, it does not meet expectations & even an absurd cameo by Amitabh Bachchan doesn't do much for the film. It has definitely got its moments & some soul, but unfortunately the body doesn't support it. It is strictly a one time watch & go for it with no expectations.

Critical: 2.5/5
Commercial: 3/5

The Stoneman Murders - Review

A string of murders, a shunned cop and a cat & mouse game is what this movie is all about.

The Stoneman Murders takes you back to the 1983, when a manic killer was on the loose in Mumbai's Matunga-Dadar area, with no clues on who he was, each murder being a cold-blooded stone attack, spreading fear amongst all.

This is the story of Sanjay Shelaar (KK), a cop taken off the "Pathharmaar" case, doing his parallel research & attempting to solve the case by himself. It is a wild goose chase between him & the unknown caped killer.
Along the way, he encounters multiple murders, dark alleyways, eerie highways and a thrilling ride to the finish.
This movie had all the makings to be an absolutely intense, edge-of-the-seat Thriller and it somewhat makes it there, missing by just a little.

The first half moves pretty quickly, taking you through the investigations and Sanjays obsession with the case, while the second half is more of the chase between the killer and him.
The film definitely has its moments, especially the shots with the murders and the railway station chase sequences, leaving you thrilled and wanting more.

Where the movie falters is the slow narrative towards the end. Even though the twists and suspense do make a good end, it could have been showed in a much better way. Also, an item number in the first half, which could definitely be avoided or atleast cut down on.

Of the performances, KK as the obsessive cop delivers an absolute knockout performance, reaffirming once again, that he can carry a movie on his shoulders. He fits the bill perfectly and one can say that he is the heart of the movie, raising the overall standard of the film.
Vikram Gokhale as the AIG is good, while Rukhsar as KK's wife is wasted. She looks great in the movie but struggles to act. The scene with her changing being absolutely unnecessary. Veerendra Saxena as the constable is also one of the highlight performances, while Arbaaz Khan shows yet again that acting is not his forte, truly a misfit for the role.

The background score is abrupt sometimes, apt sometimes but the one special mention here is for director Manish Gupta. This product is definitely a fine piece of work & just some adjustments here and there would have made this a brilliant thriller. With a promising start, one waits to see his future work.

So for those who want to go get themselves a conspiracy theory, some amazing performances & a suspenseful thriller, do go watch The Stoneman Murders.
At the box office, the movie would struggle, and I doubt it would last more than a week with Delhi 6 next Friday. So please do watch it before the 20th.

Critical : 3.5/5
Commercial : 2/5

Dev D - Review

From the start, let me mention something, this movie might come as a culture shock to many, and it is not really advisable to see it with your parents/elders.

Now, when we talk of Devdas, we have always thought of epic stories, big actors, glamour & the old age story of Devdas, Paro & Chandramukhi. Dev D has borrowed the basic outline of Devdas, but is in itself, a very different, fresh and interesting view on how it would be in today's scenario.

Dev.D is all about Joints, Vodka, Cocaine, Sex, Dingy brothels & a man confused with himself & his love.

The movie is set in rustic north Indian settings and truly has the punjabi flavour to it, in the language and the locales. It starts of with a young Dev and his childhood love Paro sitting at the riverside eating some parathas. Known for his brash language, this son of a rich industrialist is sent packing to London to study. The scene where his father is slapping him and he is cross questioning him is excellently written & hilarious.

Cut-to 2009. Dev(Abhay Deol) is still in love with his childhood Paro and wants nude pics of hers to be sent to him on the net. Looking at them, Dev makes a return journey to India, in the hope to make love to her and be with her.
Enter Paro (Mahie Gill), daugher of the manager, who gets reunited with Dev & they keep looking for chances to have sex. But a sudden turn of events takes places, which makes Dev despise her & scorn her.

She then decides to get married to someone else and here starts the real journey of Dev.D.
Without her Devs life spirals out of control and he is sucked into a life of drugs, alcohol and randomness.

The other track is that of Lenny (Kalki), who is a 17 year old school girl and gets caught up in an infamous MMS scandal. Her parents start hating her and her life becomes a mess. She is sent packing to her grandparents place & slowly runs away, only to find Chunni (Dibyendu), who runs a brothel and takes her in. He pays for her education by day and she returns the favours at night, under her new found identity Chanda.

Going back, Dev roams around aimlessly drinking all day and night, not bathing, smoking drugs, and thinking about Paro. There are a lot of songs woven into the screenplay which keep coming at regular intervals. Sometimes abrupt, sometimes in the flow, these songs greatly back the films visuals, which by themselves are stunning.

In search of alcohol, Dev stumbles upon Chunni, who brings Chanda into his life and slowly he starts falling in love with her.
Paro returns briefly to meet Dev, clean his clothes & almost have sex with him, but decides against it, making Dev even more miserable, calling for another round of Cocaine lines, Vodka shots & joints.

A sudden turn of events akin to the Salman car case, leave Dev in a bad state, only to be let out on bail to go to his dead fathers funeral. Somewhere here, when you feel that the movie should be reaching a logical end, it does not and is pulled even furthur, where again Dev goes on his random drinking sprees, hitchhiking across the north doing some more drugs and alcohol.
With a sudden revelation, he realises he loves Chanda & goes back to Delhi, and so life moves on.

The cinematography is great, with some amazing trippy visuals, cut-scenes, tight shots and some innovative camera work.
The music is absolutely marvellous, all credit going to Amit Trivedi, who has created some great tracks. Emotional Attyachaar being the highlight in the cinema halls, where people are actually singing in the stalls. One thing is certain, if you don't like the music of this film ,there are chances you might get irritated as the music is part of the narrative.

From the actors, Kalki is apt and fits the role, Mahi impresses with great potential as an actor.
But the true performance of this movie is Abhay Deol. Every frame speaks volumes of his potential as an actor, Dev.D being his best performance yet. It looks like a role crafted for him and gets into the character, a Top Notch performance.

Somewhere in the movie, the narrative gets very slow and this movie would be amazing if 15-20 minutes of trimming was done.

Anurag Kashyap, known for his crazy stories, has truly tried something very new here and he has impressed yet again. His cinema is meant for the thinkers. the wanderers, those who want to go a little over the top. Call it weird, call it arty, he truly knows how to tell a story. Kudos to Anurag.

Although No Smoking did not have many takers, he has taken the risk to venture into the unknown again, this time too though, I doubt this film would have many takers. He has done a great job here, bringing in some serious alternative cinema, but alas, this cinema is not for the masses . They might go to the cinema halls for the sex content, but that is only a few. At the multiplexes (yes, issues solved), this film should have a good opening, especially with the youth, and I would really hope that it gets its due.

I would strongly suggest you catch this one, for Abhay Deol, drugs, a modern day look at Devdas and some weird but interesting storytelling from Anurag Kashyap.

Critical: 3.5/5
Commercial: 2.5/5

Luck By Chance - Review

Guys i m starting a site, which will come soon. It will be only for movie reviews, considering I see every movie that Bollywood makes and get calls every Saturday to know their outcomes. But for now, just use this space. I am writing today the review for Lucky By Chance.

From the very first frame of this film, one this is certain, this is a Quality product. The opening credits certainly bring a smile to your face, as each passing frame, tells a story. Some beautifully crafted shots, you see every element of a Hindi film, from the extras, action sequences, to my personal favorite, the "Chai" being prepared.
Whats starts off then is the journey of two strugglers, namely Farhan Akhtar & Konkana Sen Sharma and their journey to Stardom. While the story might not be the most fresh or new plot, it is the way it has been told that is the USP of this film. Along this journey, the movie has been backed by some exemplary performances, which take the cinematic experience to a new level.

Vikram Jaising (Farhan) comes to Mumbai from Delhi, in search of filmdom & finds it hard to fit in. Living with his aunt & hanging out with his friends , he happens to meet Sona (Konkana), and they hit it off very well. Some of the best scenes in the movie are in the beginning, especially Saurabh Shukla's brilliant cameo as the Acting school teacher.
Somewhere along the way, Vikram meets the right people, impresses yesteryears Diva Neena Walia (Dimple) and lands himself a plum project with her bimbette daughter Niki (Isha Sharvani). The story from there is one heard many times before of stardom, lost friends, jealousy & betrayal. The story moves slowly in the first half, but picks up pace soon after. Somewhere, even with a story that wasn't the best, the direction raises the level for the viewer. It shows how direction can take an ordinary story to an immersive tale.

From the performances, Rishi Kapoor delivers a stupendous performance as the over-the-top producer Romy Rolly, and trully steals the show. His scene with wife Minty (Juhi). where he is disheartened at the respect he recieves is truly a class act. She too suits the role perfectly but is somehow wasted and could have used more screentime.
Sanjay Kapoor delivers a surprise package and is funny in bits. Hrithink Roshans extended cameo is also very good and he does great justice to his role. Dimple impresses in her role as the diva, while Isha Sharvani for the first time shows that she can indeed act.

But the anchor of the movie, pulling off yet another brilliant performance is Farhan Akhtar. For his second film, he has improved by leaps and bounds, and adds a great vulnerability to his charecter. Though one can see him getting typecasted in this sort of semi-parallel cinema.

From the cameos, Aamir seems wasted, Abhishek irritating , Anurag Kashyap absolutely marvellous, with Shahrukh Khan being the pick of the lot. The scene between him and Farhan is brilliant and shows that Farhan was perfectly casted for this role, as he fits in as an upcoming star.
Konkana too delivers a great performance, but looks terrible in her tight close-ups. Her face is puffy and she looks fat.
But a special mention has to be made about Javed Akhtars writing. The dialogues penned by him are amazing and have a lot of depth.
The music is good but not the best, with the cinematography being a good support to the film.

Zoya Akhtar makes a strong debut and the end product has a lot of hard work written on it. Each detail is paid attention to and one can say that the Excel camp might have found themselves another winner. What stands out in her style is the subtle way in which the scenes are crafted, requring a decently intelligent viewer. We would have to wait and watch her future ventures, but from what it seems, she promises to be a great storyteller and has thrown up quite a product compared to the sub-standard movies that are churned out week after week.

At the end of it, the multiplex audience will have a great time watching this movie, which also carries a lot of intelligent jokes (many which would not be understood by the masses). Although the movie has great potential, one does not see it going to far in the single screen theaters. All I can say is, if you love Bollywood the way i do, you will definitely enjoy Luck by Chance, and live the Hindi film industry through the movie.

Critical: 4/5
Commercial: 3/5