De Dana Dan - Review

It's Priyadarshan time once again. A mad caper filled with over-the-top slapstick humour coupled with the successful combo of Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal & Sunil Shetty. Does it work?
Not at all. It can be called a mind numbing experience.

De Dana Dan is a twisted story of how Nitin (Akshay Kumar), who is a servant/driver of mean & crude Archana Puran Singh is in love with rich girl Anjali (Katrina Kaif). Frustrated with his life, he attempts committing suicide & ends up meeting Ram (Suniel Shetty) who's life is equally miserable. They plot a plan to make money of Archana & end up getting caught up in a vortex of madness.
On a parallel plot, conman Harbans (Paresh Rawal) is looking to get his son (Chunkey Pandey) married off to whoever has the maximum dowry money & he too gets entangled in a web of lies & misunderstandings.
Ironically all the characters end up at one hotel & that's where the story unfolds, making it a maniacal adventure for all.

The film has a plethora of actors & can hardly be called an Akshay Kumar film. Additional characters include weird accented chinese gangster Asrani & sleazy as always Shakti Kapoor amongst a host of others.

The first half of this film is extremely boring & the narrative extremely weak, while the second half is haphazard & makes for the odd laugh here & there. The fault is in the screenplay itself which stretches & pulls beyond requirement. The film is painstakingly long & needs to be trimmed by atleast 30 min. The climax is absurd & pointless.

Priyadarshan's direction is nothing to write home about as he attempts this ominous task of weaving 15-20 characters into a single plot. Also, the movie has his typical style of filmmaking with the climax having each & every character in the film running behind each other.
The music is strictly OK & the good melodies are not included in the film.

Of the actors, Paresh Rawal has the meatiest role but doesn't impress. This can be considered as one of his weak performances. Akshay Kumar delivers his 5th turkey this year & has bid adieu to good cinema. Sunil Shetty just about manages. The female actors are hardly present. Shakti Kapoor is apt. Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav falter.

From the comedy house of Priyadarshan, this one's a rotten egg. Having done great work before, he doesn't manage to hold the audience & at best delivers a few laughs. At the box office, one doesn't see it going too far & I strongly recommend everyone NOT to watch this film.
Save time, Save money, Save sanity.

Critical: 1.5/5
Commercial: 2.5/5

Kurbaan - Review

From the house of Karan Johar, the much awaited & anticipated Kurbaan hits the screens today.....is it worth your money??
I think it makes the cut.

Kurbaan takes on topic of Islamic terrorism tackled by numerous Bollywood films (read: New York, Aamir, etc). It is the story of two professor's Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) & Ehsaan (Saif Ali Khan) who teach in New Delhi. They fall in love & owing to certain opportunities which come Avantika's way, they get married & shift base to New York.
Here they come across very orthodox Islamic neighbours & Avantika is spellbound when one of her neighbor's asks for help, telling her that her life is in peril. What follows next is a whirlwind of events that leave her aghast & turn her life completely around.

The film begins on a slow, romantic note but 20 minutes in, things start picking up. For most of it, the movie does grip you & provide for some edge-of-the-seat entertainment. Though the second half does falter at many points, the end impresses.
The screenplay is well written but the movie is a tad long. The camera work & action sequence are nothing out of the ordinary. The music of the film is great & the director maintains a perfect balance by not overloading the viewer with dance numbers.

The highlight of the film has to be it's performances. Kareena Kapoor looks great & delivers a stellar performance with a meaty role. Definitely one of the best female performances this year. Saif Ali Khan too puts up a brilliant display. Funny, Intense or Poignant, he emotes with ease. Vivek Oberoi is good & plays his part well. Om Puri & Kirron Kher support perfectly. Dia Mirza is a hit-n-miss.
First time Director Rensil D'silva does a good job at taking a done-to-death topic & adding some life to it. Only if the length was trimmed, the film would be much better.

All in all, the film has it highs n lows but finishes off with a great climax. It definitely has it's moments & is a good looking product. At the box office, one sees it doing decent business, though the A certificate wouldn't help its cause.
So go for Kurbaan without expecting much & let this decent entertainer play its part.

Critical: 3/5
Commercial: 3/5

Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani - Review

After a gap of 15 years, Raj Kumar Santoshi returns to comedy with APKGK...does it create magic similar to the cult-classic Andaaz apna apna??
Not even in Mr.Santoshi's wildest dreams.

APKGK is the story of a small town boy Prem Chopra (Ranbir Kapoor) who runs a Happy Club (a place to make people happy) with his friends. Prem is besotted by Jenny (Katrina Kaif) who moves into this small colourful set of a town & his only aim is to win her heart. They don't get off on the right foot but eventually they develop a great friendship which Prem believes is love. Jenny on the other hand has planned her marriage to London boy Upen Patel & the story then unfolds as to whether Jenny realizes Prem's love.

The movie does have it's moments. It starts off very well & the first 30 min keep a smile on your face...but it is the length of this film that can kill you. Post the interval the movie refuses to even crawl & the story goes nowhere. The jokes start diminishing (leave alone the odd funny one) & the audience is tortured by the painful music, mind-numbing jokes & Upen Patel.
The humour of this film is slapstick in it's crudest form & the action scenes towards the end are best suited for kids aged 4-10.

One highlight of this film is Ranbir Kapoor. He delivers a fabulous performance & takes all honours. Alas, the content is so weak that even good acting cant salvage any respect to the film. Katrina looks pretty & fits the role. Upen Patel gives a crash course on how a performance can end ones film career. Darshan Jariwala is good.

If one has to look at the directors past work, it leaves you in shock to see this futile effort in the name of comedy come out of the same stable. Even with two current favourites Ranbir Kapoor & Katrina Kaif, Santoshi delivers a turkey.
At the box office, Ranbir.K would definitely draw audiences but word of mouth will do the film no good. One sees a decent performance on that front.

I strongly suggest people to skip this film. The promos didn't look good & the film itself is similar. The only people who should enter the cinema are those who like Ranbir Kapoor, want to show their kids a movie or want to watch Salman Khan's 117 second cameo.
Better yet, donate the ticket money to the "I died watching Upen Patel act - Fund"

Critical: 2/5
Commercial: 3/5

London Dreams - Review

After Aankhen, Waqt & Namaste London, entertainer Vipul Shah's new project London Dreams looked very promising. With Salman Khan & Ajay Devgan donning the Rockstar hats, does the movie deliver......well, half way there.

London Dreams is the story of Arjun (Ajay Devgan) & his lifelong dream to perform at the Wembley Stadium. Coming from a small town, Arjun works hard along with his bandmates Zoheb (Ranvijay) & Wasim (Aditya Roy) to achieve his goal. In this journey, he gets his childhood friend Manjit a.k.a. Mannu (Salman Khan) to join the band. Mannu is extremely talented & affable but doesn't have the same desire & passion as Arjun.
London Dreams (the band) becomes an overnight success & people love Mannu thereby causing a jealous Arjun to plot Mannu's exit from the band. There is also a love angle here with Priya (Asin) who is also a part of the band.

The first half of the film is great & entertains but the narrative falls extremely weak in the second half. The story moves from being a perfect mix of fun & emotions to an emotional overload. The melodrama reaches it's peak in the last 30 min & the story goes through the regular predictable Filmi routines.
Being a Rock-based musical film, the songs fail to impress. After Rock On, Shankar-Ehsan-Loy falter, leave alone a couple of tracks, with Barso Yaron being the highlight of the film.


The movie truly & only belongs to Salman Khan. He delivers a knockout performance & makes you fall in love with the happy-go-lucky Mannu. Either as a Rockstar or a brash villager, Salman's own personality fits with the character Mannu thereby making it one of his best roles to date.
Ajay Devgan is completely overshadowed & even with his intense performance, he doesn't suit the Rockstar image at all, a complete misfit. One sees Saif or Sanjay Dutt as better option's for Devgan's role. Asin is pleasing & has good chemistry with Salman. Ranvijay & Aditya Roy ham through their short roles.

Director Vipul Shah gets it right in the first half, but slips in the second. With a little less glycerine & drama the film would have done wonders.

All in all, London Dreams is a one time watch. At the box office, one sees it doing fair business, nothing to extravagant.
For those of you going for Ajay Devgan-DONT.
For all you Salman fans-Go watch it, it's his movie.

Critical: 2.5/5
Commercial: 3/5

All the Best - Review

One look at the promos & All the Best didn't look like the most promising film this Diwali....but Rohit Shetty & Ajay Devgn have sprung a surprise & ATB has emerged the clear winner, trouncing Blue & Main Aur Mrs Khanna.

ATB is the story of how Veer (Fardeen Khan) lies to his brother Dharam (Sanjay Dutt) about his marriage to Vidya (Mugda Godse) in order to get some additional pocket money for himself. The idea is suggested by Veer's buddy Prem Chopra (Ajay Devgn) who is married to Jhanvi (Bipasha Basu).
Dharam has never met Vidya & the story begins when he comes to Goa & mistakes Jhanvi to be Vidya. Then begins a maniacal journey of lies, humour & madness. Throw in a mute money-lender goon (Johnny Lever), a crazy lessee (Sanjay Mishra) & Vidya's hyperactive father (Asrani) & you have all the ingredients for a fun ride.

The first half of this film breezes past & is absolutely hilarious. It has the typical leave-your-brain-behind kind of comedy that has you in splits. The second half of the film slows down a bit & had it been trimmed by 15 minutes, ATB would be a terrific outing. Nevertheless, the film does entertain.

Of the performances, Sajay Dutt delivers a stellar performance. He has great comic timing & does full justice to his role. Ajay Devgn too, is top notch & has great scenes with Dutt. Fardeen matures as an actor & this movie can be considered one of his better performances. Bipasha is apt & Mugda non-existent. A special mention for Sanjay Mishra & Asrani, both of whom are fantastic. Johnny Lever is patchy.
Rohit Shetty shows again that comedy is his forte. The Ajay Devgn-Rohit Shetty combo delivers a hat-trick. The movie is vibrant, colourful & fun & for the most part, hilarious. The music is mediocre & action scenes interesting.

To conclude, All the Best is a thoroughly entertaining fare & while it may not be your best comedy film, it does not disappoint. At the box office, one sees it slowly picking up with word of mouth but still loosing ground to the much hyped Blue.
I would strongly recommend everyone to catch this fun film, a paisa-vasool one at that. ATB- the dark horse this Diwali.

Critical: 3.5/5
Commercial: 3.5/5

Main aur Mrs Khanna - Review

If you are entering the cinema halls with the hope of catching a romantic comedy, you are WRONG.
If you are entering the cinema halls to watch Salman Khan for 2 hours, you are WRONG.
The posters plastered of MAMK all over the city with Salman & Kareena are quite misleading; as this movie is as much of a Sohail Khan movie (if not more), as it is a Salman; which is utterly disappointing.

Set in Melbourne, MAMK is the tale of Raina (Kareena Kapoor), who is married to Samir Khanna (Salman Khan). Their marriage develops cracks due to Samir being unsuccessful in his career & for their future, he decides to move to Singapore and make his life.
Raina on the other hand chooses to remain in Melbourne & take a job rather than going back to India & here she meets Akash (Sohail Khan). Akash loves her & she takes him as a great friend. He helps her in all her needs & things take a sudden twist when Samir returns (albeit successful in no time) to take back Raina.

Writer/Director Prem Soni has attempted to write a nice simple romantic movie but to no avail. He fails miserably. The story & screenplay has no highs & lows, except for the last 15 minutes, which are actually the most entertaining.
There are times in the fast half when one wonders if they would be able to endure the full length of this film. The songs are hit-n-miss with a couple of nice tunes & one decent item number.

Of the performances, this is a Kareena Kapoor film. She looks great for most of it & does her role full justice.
Post Wanted, one expected Salman to tower over the film, rather than share space with Sohail Khan. He plays the intense husband well, but his role is not worth his star power.
Sohail Khan, the Main in MAMK is patchy. He gets a plum role & does his bit but still fails to impress. One doesn't see him playing the leading man with Salman in the film.
Preity Zinta looks fabulous in her cameo & so does Deepika. Yash Tonk is a little over-the-top & Dino Morea non-existent.

At the box office, the marketing muscle of Blue & All the Best will hurt MAMK & with a bad product, one doesn't see this movie going far.
All in all, MAMK is a utterly disappointing fare, especially post Wanted. Misleading viewers to believe it's an out and out Salman film, doesn't help the cause. I would strongly suggest everyone to avoid this.

Critical: 1.5/5
Commercial: 2.5/5

Blue - Review

The most expensive Bollywood film ever made,
Two bankable stars Akshay Kumar & Sanjay Dutt,
Foreign locales & slick promos,
Eagerly awaited & extremely hyped,
One Word - Marketing


When one walks in to watch Blue, they carry a certain amount of expectations considering the starcast, A.R Rehman music & footage from the promos promising them never-before-seen action......alas, they might get some of these wishes fulfilled, without a real story.

Blue takes you on a journey into the deep waters of the Bahamas, wherein lies a treasure, waiting to be found. Sagar (Sanjay Dutt) is the only one who knows the way & his friend Aarav (Akshay Kumar) wants him to take him there but due to a haunting incident in the past, Sagar never wants to go near the "Lady in Blue" again.
Throw in a situation where Sagar's brother Sameer (Zayed Khan) is in dire need of the money & with no way out, the 3 set out to recover the lost treasure. While this is the core plot of the film, there is also the angle of the bad man Rahul Dev.

There is no denying the scale at which the movie is made. The production values are superb & the movie looks simply fabulous. What it has going for it are some brilliant action sequences, great songs & the fact that its a visual treat.
But on the flipside, the movie struggles to hold the viewer & the screenplay crawls at a snails pace. It starts of very well, but fails to hold its bearings & careens off to a disappointing climax.

Of the performances, Akshay Kumar is brilliant & definitely the pick of the lot. Sanjay Dutt fits the role but his age shows. Zayed Khan struggles yet again in a role that even stone-faced John Abraham could have played to perfection.
Lara Dutt looks stunningly hot & has never looked better before. She oozes oomph & plays her small bit well. Katrina Kaif has a blink-n-miss role.

A special mention has to be made for the cinematographers Pete Zuccarini & Laxman Utekar. They are the true stars of the film & definitely deserve an applause.
The music by A.R Rehman is also fantastic, but his background score doesn't quite fit into the feel of the film.
First time director Anthony D'Souza disappoints with such a huge wallet & stars.

All in all, if you want to know what the hype is about, see it, but you won't come out smiling. Another marketing genius, this movie is all body no soul in the true sense. At the box office, the Diwali weekend will ensure great returns, but one fails to see the recovery of the mammoth budget of this film. So eat some mithai & celebrate Diwali at home, as this is not the best way to start the new year.

Critical: 2.5/5
Commercial: 4/5