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Movie Review: 'Dirty Politics' is an extremely confusing, sordid & messy

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Dirty Politics

Banner: B. M. B Music & Magnetics Ltd
Producer: Nihal Farhat
Director: K. C. Bokadia
Cast: Mallika Sherawat, Jackie Shroff, Anupam Kher, Atul Kulkarni, Om Puri, Rahul Solanki, Ashutosh Rana, Rajpal Yadav, Sushant Singh, Govind Namdev, Charu Sharma & Naseeruddin Shah
Music: Aadesh Shrivastav, Robby Badal & Sanjeev Darshan

K. C. Bokadia needs no special introduction in the directional arena after having given scores of gems of movies but his return after a hiatus is highly questionable and especially his making of a dirty & seedy movie like ‘Dirty Politics’ is more highly objectionable, debatable as well as highly lamentable issue.

Now let’s get straight to the extremely confusing, sordid & messy plot. Mukhtar (Jackie Shroff) is addressing a massive crowd claiming that “He is an insaan” (a la ‘MSG – The Messenger Of God’?), and that’s why he should be made victorious in the elections. No sooner he wraps up the speech; he is arrested by 2 sincere police officers Nirbhay Singh (Atul Kulkarni) & Nischay Singh (Sushant Singh), on the charges of killing Anokhi Devi (Mallika Sherawat). Thereafter starts the flashback of events which establishes Mukhtar’s killing of Anokhi Devi and also the reason behind it. The constantly juxtaposed back & front  flashback starts off with a dance number performed by Anokhi Devi (a ‘breathtakingly gorgeous’ dancer by profession). Seeing her & her waist’s gyrations, Jan Seva Party’s headhoncho Dinanath (Om Puri) falls head over heels in love with her and wants to ‘achieve’ her at any cost. A couple of meetings later, when Om Puri becomes successful in his ‘achievement’, he then, in the flow of events, promises Anokhi Devi to be a candidate from the Merta region, something that even Mukhtar sets his eyes on. Because Mukhtar knows lot a of secrets about Dinanath, the latter becomes a helpless pawn in his hands and then, lands up officially announcing Mukhtar to be a candidate from Merta. This decision of Dinanath sets Anokhi Devi’s emotions & political ambitions on fire. That’s when she drops a bombshell on Dinanath by showing him an explosive CD that has them both in a highly compromising positions with each other. On the advice of Dinanath’s partner in crime (Ashutosh Rana), Anokhi Devi strikes a deal with Dinanath asking him for a whopping Rs. 50 crores, in return for the CD.

Director K. C. Bokadia seems to have completely lost his sensible & intelligence marbles. His experience of making intelligent & commercial movies (even with Big B) has gone for a complete toss, in ‘Dirty Politics’, en route to nowhere. The biggest atrocity is that all the veteran actors have been wasted blatantly while Bokadia sir had set his eyes & mind totally on Mallika Sherawat’s curvaceously enticing figure. The resultant effect is that everything else has gone haywire from “The Beginning” to “The End”. I rest my case at this juncture. And yes one last point. This time too I pity the latest scapegoat, Mr. Moneybags namely Nihal Farhat.

Performance wise Mallika Sherawat looks sexy as usual in lieu with her obscenely lensed dance movements. I think it is the directors & choreographers who are responsible for Mallika’s non – talent and than hardcore crics like me are forced to comment that Mallika can’t act for nuts. So Ms. Skin Show it is high time that you hone up your acting skills before one & all bid you adieu forever. While the rest of the gang of veteran actors like Jackie Shroff, Atul Kulkarni, Om Puri, Ashutosh Rana, Rajpal Yadav, Govind Namdev, Sunil Pal & Naseeruddin Shah et al should be ready to hang up their histrionics boots, if they continue to waste their time & efforts in silly projects like ‘Dirty Politics’. Thank God – The Almighty that at least Sushant Singh in tandem with Anupam Kher have ended up delivering a bit convincing performance.

Tailpiece: Warning:- Suitable & recommended only for the hardcore Mallika Sherawat fans only!!!!! You know what I mean.

Movie Review: Badmashiyaan – the undurable torture never ends

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Badmashiyaan

Banner: VRG Motion Pictures
Producer: Vijay Gutte
Director: Amit Khanna
Cast: Suzanna Mukherjee, Sidhant Gupta, Sharib Hashmi, Karan Thacker & Gunjan Malhotra
Music: Bobby-Imran

The biggest blunder that ails tinsel town is when a débutante director indulges in plagiarism nay a blatant frame by frame copy under the garb of inspiration and palms off the rehashed version or rather the coctailed version of movies round the globe to gullible & innocent film makers. Amit Khanna, the latest débutante director has done the same in his debut directorial offering ‘Badmashiyaan’. So Amit Khanna’s mixed recipe can be credited to movies like Hollywood’s ‘Runaway Bride’, Korean film ‘Couples’ et al and also from our recently released another desi version ‘Dolly Ki Doli’.

The carelessly plotted scenario opens in Chandigarh, Naari (Suzanna Mukherjee), is a sexy & trendy girl whose sole aim is to make easy money and in the process she cons every man who comes her way. Dev (Sidhant Gupta) falls head over heels to the charm of Naari and in the process withdraws money from the bank to buy a big house for her. Her strange disappearance creates confusion in Dev’s life and in order to resolve it, he hires his college friend & detective Pinkesh (Karan Mehra) to find Naari. Meanwhile, Dev gets trapped in a bank robbery and meets the girl-next-door Palak (Gunjan Malhotra) who helps him from tricky situations and then the sparks fly! On the other hand, Pinkesh becomes the next victim of Naari’s trap and as he tries to woo her through situations, he gets caught in the hands of a dangerous gangster Jazzy (Sharib Hashmi). Jazzy who is in search of his fiancée Naari, who has conned him off his money, plots a plan to find Naari which in turn brings him face to face with 2 other victims of Naari (Pinkesh & Dev).

Débutante director Amit Khanna has not only stopped at rehashing game but also fails to extract a decent performance out of his ensemble cast of wooden albeit débutante actor barring Shaarib Hashmi, the multiple award winner of ‘Filmistan’ fame. Even his entire technical crew has delivered the “chaalu” goods with a “chalta hai” hai attitude. I really pity Mr. Money Bags Vijay Gutte.

Performances wise Suzzana Mukherjee could have won the battle of histrionics as the film was based on her character, like Sonam Kapoor’s character in ‘Dolly Ki Doli, but she appears more like a walkie talkie glam doll. On the other Sidhant Gupta as Dev, the die hard romantic shows some spark in bits & pieces, here & there in the entire duration of the film. Karan Mehra let’s you down totally in spite of having shown a few sparks in the small screen arena. Yet another disappointing act has been delivered by Sharib Hashmi, the recent award winning actor of ‘Filmistan’ fame, as mentioned above. While Karan Thacker & Gunjan Mehrotra have given their best in spite of a limited scope.

Tailpiece: What? Are you still planning to visit your nearest theatre? Okay By me but do so at your own risk. Period!

Movie Review: Against The Sun

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Against The Sun

Banner: The American Film Company
Producer: Brian Falk, Kurt Graver & Mark Moran
Director: Brian Falk
Cast: Tom Felton, Jake Abel, Garret Dillahunt & Nadia Parra
Music: Paul Mills

Director Brian Falk in his latest offering ‘Against The Sun’ has tackled a very experimentally oriented arty tale about 3 Navy airmen stranded in a raft in Pacific Ocean and the turmoil they under go in tandem with the trials & the tribulations for survival at Sea for almost 40 days. The credibility of the movie ‘Against The Sun’ is palatable as it is based on a true story, but of course it bears an uncanny resemblance to Angelina Jolie’s movie ‘Unbroken’ released not so long ago in the past. That apart it also seems to be heavily inspired by a black & white classic movie of the 60’s era whose name I cannot recollect.

Just picture, the stranded in a raft scenario (Circa 1942), of 3 US Navy airmen who accidentally crash land their torpedo bomber in the South Pacific during World War II and find themselves on a tiny life raft, surrounded by open blue ocean with not a morsel of food to satiate their pangs of hunger, not a single drop of water to quench their thirst, so much so that one of the airmen takes recourse to drinking his own piss, besides they do not even see a faint ray of hope of rescue. Against incredible odds, these 3 virtual strangers survive storms, sharks, starvation and above all each other, as they try to sail more than a thousand miles to safety. The American Film Company’s ‘Against The Sun’ tells the true story of an air crew who had to take to the life raft after their plane went down in the Pacific Ocean. The 3 man crew was presumed missing at sea, after a cursory “box search” was done for them. So ‘Against The Sun’ is a respectfully told survivalist tale of pilot Harold Dixon (Garret Dillahunt), bombardier Tony Pastula (Tom Felton), & radioman Gene Aldrich (Jake Abel).

‘Against The Sun’ takes place almost entirely in the life raft, with a short prologue showing the crew’s final moments in the plane when they realize that they have somehow flown off course and don’t even have enough fuel to get back to the aircraft carrier.

Director Brian Falk’s sensitive directorial touches do strike a chord in your heart with a silent prayer on your lips that God – The Almighty – forbid that not even the worst of your enemy should pass through such a sordid ordeal. The trio of director Brian Falk in lieu with his co – script writer Mark David Keegan, cinematographer Petr Cikhart & editor Sean Albertson certainly deserves a left handed complement for keeping the scenario visually interesting, despite the limitations placed on the tale by the monotonous setting. But the same cannot be said about the musical score of Paul Mills which sometimes seem unnecessarily jarring to the extent of disrupting the flow of the entire proceedings. That apart the entire well – deserved credit goes to Aghor Raj Production Pvt Ltd to import & distribute a good cinema in India for which there are hardly any takers in the Indian Distribution arena.

Performance wise all the 3 characters namely Tom Felton as Tony Pastula, Jake Abel as Gene Aldrich & Garret Dillahunt as Harold Dixon have delivered a picture perfect par excellence performance mainly with their body language and silently gestured expressions. A special mention goes for the 4th character Nadia Parra as Frances who appears a couple of times as one of the Navy officers day dreaming fantasy.

Tailpiece: If you are a lover of good cinema, then this is the fare for you.

Review: 'Coffee Bloom' is a classy and award worthy film

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Coffee Bloom

Banner: Speaking Tree Productions
Producer: Harish Amin
Director: Manu Warrier
Cast: Arjun Mathur, Sugandha Garg, Mohan Kapoor, Nandini Sen, Ishwari Bose-Bhattacharya & Sharath Parvathavani
Music: Prasad Ruparel

Débutante director Manu Warrier in his debut directorial offering ‘Coffee Bloom’ tackles a couple’s (Read Lover’s) relationship, gone sour, in all its humanistic perspective in tandem with angst, jealousy, confusion, greed in lieu with its suicidal attempts et al, in fact all mixed up emotions but more from a male point of view.

The randomly plotted scenario opens when Dev (Arjun Mathur) sells off his family coffee estate as a statement underlining his renunciation of the world. Dev, though a self proclaimed wise man finds more comfort in being a loser, having given up on life as a result of a love gone wrong. A life changing event takes him on a journey to a coffee plantation in Coorg. There he meets Anika (Sugandha Garg), once the love of his life, now his boss and her husband Srinivas (Mohan Kapur). Love between Dev & Anika is on the verge of being rekindled and is about to bloom in an idyllic setting, bringing Dev out of his self imposed funk and Dev finds a new reason to live. But alas a terrible misunderstanding pushes him into taking drastic measures. Much is at stake as the yearly coffee bloom is just round the corner. And Dev is confronted with his past, present &  future, all rolled into one.

Full marks to débutante director Manu Warrier for his deft directorial skills in lieu with cinematographer Yogesh Jaani who has attractively captured the scenic beauty of Coorg. But director Manu Warrier has been a little let down not only by his own script, co-written by Sharath Parvathani who also enacts a brief role, but also by editor Farooq Hundekar who could have enlivened the proceedings by a little more crisp editing. A special mention must be made of producer Harish Amin of Speaking Tree Productions & Shiladitya Bora of Long Live Cinema Pvt Ltd (A distribution concern) for backing such a classy film like ‘Coffee Bloom’.

Performance wise it is the lead pair Arjun Mathur & Sugandha Garg who have literally lived the role of Dev & Anika with their first rate act. Mohan Kapur, as Srinivas, is at times irritating especially punctuated by his obscene gestures & hysterical laughter. The rest of the cast comprising of Nandini Sen, Ishwari Bose-Bhattacharya & Sharath Parvathavani lend an adequate enough support to the lead pair and do not disturb the fluidity of the entire scenario.

Tailpiece: ‘Coffee Bloom’ will be appreciated more by the film festival circuit cinegoers & the multiplex audiences rather than the single screen viewers.

"My debut film 'Lucknowi Ishq' is a clean romantic film retaining the Lucknowi tehzeeb": Anand Raut

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An interview with débutante director Anand Raut

Aanand Raut

Débutante director Anand Raut, a reputed theatre persona, hails from Ranchi, Jharkhand. After winning lots of accolades & critical acclaim in the theatrical arena in Ranchi, Jharkhand it was but natural that Anand Raut headed straight for the Mekkah of Bollywood in Mumbai. And in a short span of time he has succeeded in rolling out a Nawabi romantic recipe in the form of his debut offering named ‘Lucknowi Ishq’. Which is now being planned as a New Year’s release in the 1st week of Jan, 2015.

Are you confident that your debut directorial Nawabi recipe named ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ will be received well by cine goers all over?

If you are trying to compare my film ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ with Yashjraj Films ‘Dawat – E – Ishq’. Then rest assured that my film ‘Lucknowi ishq’ will be well received by the audiences all over as I have made a very clean romantic film based on the love story of Gen X especially based in Lucknow. But of course I have tried to retain the Lucknowi Tehzeeb. Believe me ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ is a purely Lucknowi love story well within modesty and not like a typical Mumbaiyya love story mostly bordering on immodesty.

So what is this pure ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ all about?

Well! ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ will depict the love story of a Doctor who loses everything for the sake of his love. The 1st half of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ deals with the one sided love of the Doctor for his so called beloved and the 2nd half of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ deals with the one sided love of the Doctor’s beloved for him and how they ultimately unite in the bonds of love forms the crux of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’.

What according to you are the highlights of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’?

The main highlights of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ will be its high on adrenaline romantic twist in the climax besides its Lucknowi college romance which will be an eye opener and refresh the memory of yesteryear’s films like ‘Palki’, ‘Mere Mehboob’ and others of its ilk. That apart my hero Adhyayan Suman & heroine Karishma Kotak will be seen in a brand new avatar of Muslim lover boy & Muslim lover girl.

So what’s next on your filmmaking agenda after ‘lucknowi Ishq’?

First & foremost I am too busy in the preparation of the release of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’. But of course I am already on to my next project, the pre – production of which is already underway. It will be an out & out commercial venture, a sort of high octane action drama probably featuring either Ajay Devgn or John Abraham. Talks are already on with them to lure one of the star in the project. That’s it.

"Our Fillm 'Rang-E-Ishq' Is An Unusal Triangular Love Story": Jayveer Panghaal

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A Face To Face Encounter With Producer Jayveer Panghaal & Distributor Shakeel Hashmi.

L-R: Shakeel Hashmi and Jayveer Panghaal.

L-R: Shakeel Hashmi and Jayveer Panghaal.

When two diverse personalities like producer Jayveer Panghaal & distributor Shakeel Hashmi join hands they create a cinematic magic. Producer Jayveer Panghaal is a débutante entrant in the field of filmmaking while distributor Shakeel Hashmi has already proved his expertise & versatility in the distribution arena. And now Jayveer Panghaal & Shakeel Hashmi are all set to spread the colors of love, their latest offering symbolically named ‘Rang-E-Ishq’, on the celluloid silver screen on 27th Mar, 2015. This sweet, simple & innocent triangular love story in tandem with its positive & negative shades will keep, both the Multiplex & Single Screen, audiences spell bound till “The End”, especially towards the climax when they will be stunned & shockingly surprised by ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s unusual & unbelievable twists & turns. Present herewith is joint interactive session with the duo.

Shaheen: So let’s start off with both of you giving your brief introduction.

Jayveer: I hail from UP and had made my humble beginning as a steward and then graduated as a Director in Sales & Marketing in the corporate world. Academically speaking I have done Hotel Management from Nainital. Then I acquired my MBA degree from MET University. But I always had this passion for filmmaking as my favorite director is Vishal Bhardwaj and I am a big fan of his realistic films.

Shakeel: I am a North Indian guy also hailing from Uttar Pradesh. I first stepped into Bollywood in the advertising arena. And after gaining expertise I slowly & steadily inched myself into the distribution arena. And now by the grace of Allah – The Almighty I am considered a master of sorts in both the arenas of advertising & distribution.

Shaheen: How did the two of you meet?

Jayveer: Actually speaking I always wanted to be a writer, having written a lot of scripts, but I knew that I would have to struggle like hell to be a writer. So I did the next best thing that is to pursue my passion for filmmaking and the result is my debut film ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ which is all set to release on 27th Mar, 2015. And when the film was ready I was on the look out for a genuine & sincere distributor to get a proper release outlet for my film ‘Rang-E-Ishq’. To be very frank I had heard a lot of Bollywoodian stories on how the distributors take the producers for a merry go ride and cheat them out on their last penny. Anyways one of our common acquaintance suggested Shakeel Hashmi’s name and when I met him all my fears were laid to rest as I found him to be a very honest, sincere & unassuming guy. Instead of discussing about the monetary aspects Shakeel was more interested in knowing about the minutest details of the project, that is about my sorry now our film ‘Rang-E-Ishq’. In fact now I am already thinking on the lines of doing my sorry our next project together.

Shakeel: Yeah! That’s right. One of our common acquaintance gave us a mutual introduction. And on meeting him I found him to be a thorough gentlemen with picture perfect precise ideas. Our chemistry matched spot on although I had taken him to be an arty kind of film festival circuit producer in our initial meeting and when he had told me that his film’s name was ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ I had a hearty laugh as most of the film’s I am distributing of late has a fixture of the word “Ishq” in its title like my upcoming film ‘Lucknowi Ishq’, I think the word “Ishq” is proving very lucky for my distribution concern “Big Curtains Media”. So when Jayveer showed me ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s promos & songs I was floored and took an on the spot decision to be a part of it.

Shaheen: What according to both of you is the story of ‘Rang-E-Ishq’?

Jayveer: ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ is a an unusual triangular love story of a good boy, a good girl and a bad boy. The good boy is a happy go lucky boy more interested in doing social service. The good girl is a school teacher. So when the good boy sees the good girl he falls madly in love with her to a point of no return. And then the bad boy, who is a psycho – a terror in short a bad villain enters the picture perfect love scenario, the loving couple’s apple cart of happiness is overturned as the bad boy also falls in love with the good girl that too beyond redemption. That’s it and to stumble upon the unusual & unbelievable climax you will have to take a stroll in your nearest Multiplex or Single Screen Cinema when the colors of love will be spread, I mean ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ will be released on 27th Mar, 2015.

Shakeel: Jayveer has already given you an insight on the plot scenario of ‘Rang-E-Ishq’. So now I will give an insight on ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s USP. ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ has everything for everyone, for people of all ages and all walks of life. It has romance, emotions, action et al in fact all the ingredients of a commercial potboiler in lieu with the melodious & mellifluous songs. This sweet, simple & innocent triangular love story in tandem with its positive & negative shades will keep, both the Multiplex & Single Screen, audiences spell bound till “The End”, especially towards the climax when they will be stunned & shockingly surprised by ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s unusual & unbelievable twists & turns. Not to forget the brilliant performances of its trio of actors like Mujahid Khan, Kavya Khan & Deepak Kumar.

Shaheen: One last question! Do both of you have any directional plans for future?

Jayveer: Of course I will direct my own films from my own scripts but it is too soon to make any directional plans, let me first pick up some more coordination & directional tips before I set off to wield the megaphone.

Shakeel: No Shaheen Bhai not so soon. As of now I have no directional plans. Right now I am too busy, I would say rather over busy in the operational activities of my advertising & distribution concern namely Big Curtains Media.

"I have no regrets whatsoever as I firmly & strongly feel & believe that my "best" is yet to come": Ashmit Patel

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Ashmit Patel

by Shaheen Raaj

Ashmit Patel happens to be a cool and chilled out dude. He is an unassuming guy who is sensible enough to take, everything in his stride, with a pinch of salt. Yes! Even the ups and downs, more downs than ups, in his professional career as well as his personal life. Yet what makes him most happy is the fact that he goes to bed and even wakes up from it with a contented smile on his countenance. In his decade long checkered and illustrious career he may have done films that can be counted on his own fingertips, but he has no regrets whatsoever as he firmly and strongly feel and believe that his “Best” is yet to come. From his debut film ‘Inteha’ to his, this year’s release, ‘Jai Ho’ he has had an interestingly impressive line up of movies. And now he is ready to spring a surprise with a cop’s role in a Horror flick named ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’, whose impending release is just round the corner.

To set the ball rolling in your court how would you describe your film journey till this date?

I would say that it was interesting enough. No doubt I too had my own ups and downs, in my case more downs than ups. But at the end of the day I feel blessed that with every night’s fall, I go to bed with a smile on my face and then again with the rise of the day I wake up, again with a smile on my face. Yet I have no regrets whatsoever as I firmly and strongly feel and believe that my “Best” is yet to come. That apart I am also aware that every actor cannot be an Aamir Khan, a Salman Khan or even a Shahrukh Khan.

Your upcoming film is ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’. So tell us what is it all about?

It happens to be the story of a girl who goes to Coorg to surprise her fiance. Out there she is put up in Home Stay, which is like a rented service apartment, a kind of guest house for a paying guest. In a span of 24 hours, varied spooky incidents take place including a murder.

What kind of character are you enacting in ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’?

I am enacting the role of a cop. My 1st uniformed role. I had earlier played the role of a cop in ‘Nazar’, but I was a plain clothes CID officer. So I am happy that I have finally got my share of a cop’s Stars and Stripes including a cop’s uniform in ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’. And believe me it feels great to be attired in a cop’s uniform. Anyways coming to the cop’s role, he is very forthright and well respected. He does not mince words and puts everyone at ease by giving a good reasoning in a logical manner, especially the way he handles the members of the fourth estate during a murder investigation.

How was the experience of shooting in Coorg with Sayali Bhagat & débutante director Santosh Kodenkeri?

Must say it was great fun. We used to shoot for half a day, in spite of the film being shot in the trilingual language of Hindi, Kannada and Tamil, and the rest of the day used to be spent in exploring every nook and corner of Coorg. And then it used to be party time at night. As for Sayali Bhagat I hardly knew her except for meeting her socially 2 or 3 times but once we met on the sets we developed a good rapport. And as this was the 1st film of my director Santosh Kodenkeri, I found him to be very humble and down to earth and it was great fun working with him. I must make a special mention of Ravi Kale who is playing a negative role in ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’. He is just fantastically fabulous.

What according to you are the highlights of ‘Home Stay-Stay Alive’?

I think it is the script, the thrills, the technically sound background score and of course this movie can be rated highest on the performance level of all the artistes including me.

So what’s up next on your professional front?

There are a couple of projects on the anvil but as of now I am very high on a particularly new project, a high octane action drama, for which nowadays I am sporting a heavily bearded look. I can’t reveal anything more about it, no not even the title, because of the strict non-disclosure condition of the contract. Period!

Review: Dum Laga Ke Haisha is an endearingly heart touching movie

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Dum Laga Ke Haisha

by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Aditya Chopra & Maneesh Sharma
Director: Sharat Katariya
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, débutante Bhumi Pednekar along with Sanjay Mishra, Alka Amin, Sheeba Chaddha, Seema Pahwa & Kumar Sanu
Music: Anu Malik & Andrea Guerra

Sharat Katariya in his debut directorial outing ’10 ML Love’ had seemed totally out of focus. No wonder the film had nosedived at the box office turnstiles. Perhaps Sharat learnt his lesson and mended his directorial ways and how? So in his 2nd directorial outing ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, strongly backed by Yash Raj Films, Sharat has crafted an endearingly heart touching movie which comes once in a while like a breath of fresh air and leaves a million dollar smile on your countenance even after you walk out of the darkened auditorium.

The scenario of ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’s plot opens (set in circa 1995 in Haridwar), with a self introduction of a neither qualified nor talented Prem Prakash Tiwari (Ayushmann Khurrana), a high – school dropout & a die – hard fan of crooner Kumar Sanu. He confesses that he has only 3 weaknesses in his life namely exam’s English question paper, his father’s slippers & Kumar Sanu’s melodious voice.

This eventually leads to his matrimonial meet, where his parents meet the parents of the ‘B.Ed graduate but fat’ Sandhya Verma (Débutante Bhumi Pednekar), who wants to become a teacher. Seizing the opportunity, Prem’s parents especially his father Chandrabhan Tiwari (Sanjay Mishra) gets him married to Sandhya, even though Prem is least interested in her because of her fat figure. When a very disinterested Prem does “nothing” on their wedding night, this news reaches the ears of both the families, thus making them nervous and also scared about the couple’s future relationship.

Sandhya, on the other hand, who genuinely loves Prem, on the insistence of her mother Subhadra Rani, even tries to seduce him with a ‘foreign waali VCD’. Meanwhile, a certain incident happens between Prem and his friends, in which Prem confesses his utter disliking for Sandhya, which co – incidentally, Sandhya overhears. This leads to her filing for a divorce with Prem. As a legal formality, the court decides a time of 6 months for the couple to spend time with each other, in case they have a change of mind. Amidst all this chaos, their village announces the annual competition named ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, in which the husbands have to carry their wives on their back and run till the finishing lines, despite all the man made hurdles. Again, on his family’s insistence, a very reluctant Prem agrees to carry the ‘moti saand’ (fatso) Sandhya on his back and take part in the competition.

Director Sharat Katariya is in full bloom in his 2nd directorial offering ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ thereby displaying his sparkling directorial brilliance which touches your heart strings in both the romantic & the melancholic moods of the movie. It seems that Bollywood heroines with svelte figures & sexy persona may now have to take a walk with the arrival of an unconventional heroine like Bhoomi Pednekar. Sharat also deserves a pat on his back for his minutest detailing in the entire film in lieu with each & every character in tandem with their performances. Kudos to Aditya Chopra & Manish Sharma (Producers), Anu Malik & Andrea Guerra (Music Scorers), Varun Grover & Chinni Prakash (Choreographers), Manu Anand (Cinematographer), Shajith Koyeri (Sound), Meenal Aggarwal (Production Designer) and above all brickbats to Namrata Rao (Editor).

Performance wise it is the débutante real & reel life actress Bhumi Pednekar who outshines, but never over shadows the entire cast of the talented & the gifted actors. Bhumi displays her natural flair for acting as if possessing an inborn talent. But her real test in histrionics will be her subsequent outings. The next in line actor who has delivered a par excellence performance is of course Ayushmann Khurana. But a cautionary advice to him, at this juncture will not be out of place, is to take care of his stereotypical expressions & mannerisms mostly in close shots. While the remaining cast members which comprises of Sanjay Mishra, Alka Amin, Sheeba Chaddha, Seema Pahwa et al have once again proved that they still are and will always be stalwarts in the histrionics arena.

Tailpiece: It needs a little more “word of mouth” push to come out as a winner with flying colours. Don’t miss out on this honestly made fare.

Review: Ab Tak Chappan 2 leaves you dazed and confused

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ab-tak-chhappan-2

by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Raju Chada & Gopal Dalvi
Director: Aejaz Gulab
Cast: Nana Patekar, Gul Panag, Tejas Jagirdar, Ashutosh Rana, Vikram Gokhale, Mohan Agashe, Govind Namdev, Dilip Prabhawalkar, Raj Zutshi et al
Music: Sandeep Chowta & Amal Mallik

Debutante director Aejaz Gulab in his debut directorial offering ‘Ab Tak Chhapan 2’ tries his utmost best to live up to the legacy of the prequel ‘Ab Tak Chhapan’ directed by Shimit Amin, but he seems to be bowed down under a lot of pressure to live up to the expectations of everyone concerned especially its lead character Sadhu Agashe (Read Nana Patekar).

The film is a sequel to ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’ and the story revolves around Inspector Sadhu Agashe (Nana Patekar) from the Mumbai Encounter Squad. It is inspired by the life of Police sub-Inspector with the Mumbai Police force Daya Nayak. The film carries forward from the prequel where Saadhu Agashe’s wife is shot dead. The scenario opens with Saadhu Aagashe back and taking the encounter count beyond Chappan with ‘Ab Tak Chappan 2’. The sequel of the much applauded film has the Home Minister Janardhan Jagirdar (Vikram Gokhale) along with Chief Minister Anna Saheb (Dilip Prabhawalkar) pledging to eradicate the menace caused by underworld don Rawale (Raj Zutshi) who is operating from Bangkok and don Rauf Lala who is operating from Mumbai. Knowing that the ‘Gandhian’ approach won’t tackle the problem, the Encounter Squad is back to bring justice. A reluctant Saadhu Agashe, due to his son’s (Tejas Jagirdar) insistence, agrees to join the force and do what he does best, remove the pests of the society for good, no pun intended. But will an encounter squad with a clean slate manage to eradicate the menace? At what price would peace be got? Will peace ever come? These are some of the queries that only the filmmakers and above all only Nana can answer.

Debutante director Aejaz Gulab indeed had a gripping story to go ahead but sadly enough with his stuntman oriented background and not to forget his amateurish directorial skills, he fails to deliver the goods. The way he has handled the plot is absolutely confusing. No doubt there is a dirty politician in the midst of this huge mess, but what the actual conspiracy he was involved in remains a mystery even when the end credit title rolls. Either it was a case of the plot being so complex that it was impossible to unravel, or, more likely, it didn’t exist at all.

Performance wise Nana Patekar of course stands apart with his par excellence and unmatched acting skills. Yet it is high time he drops his sometimes stoic and sub-standard expressions especially in close ups. The other veteran actors like Dilip Prabhawalkar, Mohan Agashe, Vikram Gokhale, Raj Zutshi, Govind Namdeo et al lend Nana an able & adequate support to carry on the never ending mysterious plot ahead. Gul Panag appears more like a walkie talkie screeching glamour doll. Ashutosh Rana leaves an impact in his rivalry scenes with Nana. A special noteworthy mention goes to Tejas Jagirdar who leaves a lasting impression with his brief role as Nana’s son.

Tailpiece: Strongly recommended for die hard Nana Patekar fans and for the rest of the mass & class audience too, it will be a sheer waste of time & money too.

An Interview With Javed Jaffrey on the first ever Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA)

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by Shaheen Raaj

Javed Jaffrey, son of veteran funster Jagdeep, is an ace comedian cum versatile actor in his own right. The body of his work too, cannot just be recounted on one’s finger tips. Of late his most talked about film was the Malyalam flick named ‘Picket 43’. That apart he had also earned a lot of accolades in films like ‘Mr Joe B. Carvalho’, ‘Bang Bang’ to name just 2. And surprisingly he has just I film in his kitty namely ‘Total Dhamaal’. When asked the reason for this, he just brushed off the query in his own inimitable style, “Sir! We are here to celebrate the announcement of the 1st ever Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA). So let’s talk about it.” This conversation took place when I had recently bumped into him at the The Leela Hotel at the press conference of the Arab Indo Bollywood Awards (AIBA).

Okay! So tell us in a nutshell what is Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA) all about?

First things first. The Arab Indo Bollywood Award is entirely director Tigmanshu Dhulia’s baby. And myself, Arbaaz Khan, Goldie Behl, Shyam Shroff, Komal Nahta, Sridhar Raghavan & Anees Bazmi are just like the caretaker of this baby. But jokes apart and on a serious note I would like to state that all the above mentioned people including me are on the jury panel of the 1st ever Arab Indo Award (AIBA).

Go on!

So to continue I would like to add that the first ever Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA) event will be held on 10th Apr, 2015 at Dubai as Bollywood has millions of its fans in Gulf countries and with this award sincere efforts are being made to promote Indian films out there. To start off with, a jury panel of this out of the box award ceremony was formed and Tigmanshu Dhulia was appointed as the chairman of this jury. And as I mentioned earlier the other prominent members of this jury are myself, Arbaaz Khan, Goldie Behl, Shyam Shroff, Komal Nahta, Sridhar Raghavan & Anees Bazmi. These awards will have 3 categories and these are Main Awards, Technical Awards & Special Awards. The winners of the 1st 2 categories will be chosen by public voting while the jury members will select the winners of the Special Awards.

And what is so special about the Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA)?

The main highlight of the Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA) is that it will promote Indian films in Gulf countries, AIBA will also arrange the premiere of 1 Indian film every month there and the 1st film to be premiered is ‘Roy’. It’s premiere is being held on 12th Feb, 2015.

Would you like to add anything more?

As a parting shot we, that is the jury members, would like to add in unison that with this award Bollywood would come close to the people of the Gulf countries and we are happy that a proper platform is being offered to promote our films there. Besides UAE’s premiere event management, Entertainment Agency Benchmark Media & India’s Global Entertainment Agency have joined hands to make the Arab Indo Bollywood Award (AIBA) a big successful event. Amen!

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