Guldasta

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Stunning for the most part, Aamir is a movie you should not miss. When a director shows so much promise and yet slips in a few places, you can only wish how much further he could have gone. I give it a clear 3.5 out of 5.

The movie belongs to two people – Raj Kumar Gupta (director) and Rajeev Khandelwal (lead actor). You know what is in store even before the starting rolls are midway. The shots are real and the camera seeks to capture it all with breathtaking reality. If you love that kind of cinema, Aamir will live up to your needs.

The story revolves around a young doctor named Aamir (Rajeev Khandelwal) who returns to Mumbai from UK and finds he is sinking into an almost outlandish weird situation. And he seemingly has no control. Yet the end defies (to some extent) the idea that one has no control over one’s destiny.

How real is the movie? VERY. Take the scene where Aamir has to fetch a phone number from a lavatory. 10 more seconds and I would have gone sick from the stench which the actor is shown to be in. The streets are real, the chase is real and the hotel rooms are real. No oxymorons of poor people wearing expensive designer clothes, no fresh painted staircases or rooftops. This is Mumbai’s underbelly shown up close and personal.

There are some irritating flaws but they do not snatch the movie away from being good. The red briefcase is completely out of place. Maybe the director wanted to highlight the briefcase, but then who goes around carrying secret stuff in such a conspicuous bag? The always sullen attitude of the bad guys is another repeated to death angle in Bollywood, so no freshness there. And the end could have been tighter. The last few minutes seemed to stretch beyond need and were a little predictable.

But all said there is no denying that Aamir is top class and probably the best to come out of Bollywood in this year. No songs to dilute the edginess, no female leads swooning and exposing. Just hardcore cinema.
Rajeev makes a superb portrayal of a young suave doctor, who, till the very end is unable to comprehend what is happening to him. His delivery of anger, exasperation, exhaustion and freedom leaves little to be said. The camera spans not too close and not too far. There are quite a few refreshing new angles. There are enough of mannerisms to give you a ringside feeling.

If you enjoy movies that leave you speechless for some time after you come out of the theater, then Aamir is a must.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aamir_(2008_film)

http://www.aamirthefilm.com/

This movie could have been aptly named “Thoda Bakwaas, Thoda Aur Bakwaas”
I give it a very generous 1 out of 5. I sincerely believe it is not possible to have made a more trashy and stupid film than this. See it only if the choice is between the movie and 6 months in jail with Shakti Kapoor.

Nobody, just about nobody acts. Throughout the movie I got this strong sense that the dialogues are forced and actors are pushing them out simply because there is a director standing in front with a cheque in his hand. Rani Mukherjee (who plays an angel) needs to rethink about her acting career. A few more movies like this and she might have to take-up a career as “extras”. All her movies in the recent past seem alike and I cannot recall when she last gave a performance that moved me.
Saif is just about OK, but a shadow of his own self from recent successes like Omkara.

The kids are a complete pain in the ass. Sorry for being so harsh on the little ones. But since the director did not discount the movie ticket because he has kids in it, I see no reason why I should discount a honest feedback. Not one single scene looked natural and the poor younglings made no impact.

And please do not get me started on Rishi Kapoor and Amisha Patel. I feel like breaking some glassware just thinking about the movie.

All of this tells me that the director did not do his homework. When you have not one character whose part is memorable, not one scene which makes you sit up and not one frame that makes you go “Wow!”, there is no one to blame but the director.

Indian cinema is still very incapable of getting children to act natural. Most of the time you have over the top caricatures passing off as children. Darsheel in Tare Zameen Par being an exception. The four kids in the Thoda Pyaar go from one cooked up nonsense scene to another.

And two instances in the movie tell me the director is either a strong supporter of the Communist or an escaped madman. Not that there is any difference between the two. The way the children treat Amisha Patel is nothing but rude and devilish. They torment a woman who goes out of her way to make them comfortable. Her only crime is she is not sophisticated and loves shopping. The other instance is how the kids treat the children of this businessman in LA who is trying to negotiate a take-over by Saif. The American shouts at Saif’s kids and this triggers a very strong reaction from Saif, which in turn makes the kids realise how much he loves them. Yuck!

And then there is the mother of all problems that plagues most of Indian cinema. The director truly believes, you, the viewer, are an idiot who has no brain and thus will make the characters say EVERYTHING he wants the movie to say. No message is given subtly through acts, references, glances, etc. It is like sitting in a classroom for 5 year olds.

Neither is there the defense that this movie is for kids. I refuse to allow the director to hide behind that excuse. Children films demand no less cinematic excellence and acting. The children in this film do real damage to people around them; good people around them. They also lie a lot. They are never reprimanded for their acts. The angel makes a promise to God (to not use magic openly) and then breaks it so many times I lost count. The poolside song sequence is very very sleazy. Where is the innocence and message of goodness one would expect in a Children film? “Makdi” and “Blue Umbrella” are children’s films. This movie is not.

However, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is surely a film for many grown up Indians. Specially the ones who cannot count beyond 10.

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I like movies with hope. I like movies with stillness. And with movement. Of the Heart.

Freedom Writers is one such movie. I rate it at 4/5.

The movie left me with that very important thought which needs constant replenishment. That there is more to Life than worrying about oneself.

The film follows the true life story of Erin Gruwell, a freshman and sophomore year English teacher at Long Beach who, when faced with the onerous task of managing a class waiting to be ripped apart by inter-racial hatred, is “foolish” enough to believe she can bond them, forge them as one and make them seek their true potential.

Hillary Swank is a fine artist. I fell for her in “Boys don’t cry” and again in “Million Dollar Baby”. In this movie she does a good job of etching the character of Ms. Gruwell. But that is not what makes this such a fine film. The actors playing the students have their moments of greatness. But that again is not what makes the movie what it is.

For me, the movie is great because of the dialogues, closing remarks to conversations and the telling spaces. To prove my point, I would like you to watch for the kid who reads out from his diary at the “Toast for Change” occasion. His words moved me. They sure did. And I was crying and laughing in one moment of human bonding. I have seen kids like that and I know what he was talking about. And unless you’ve lived with your eyes closed, there is a fair chance you’ve seen kids like that too.

The story of a school teacher struggling to manage a class refusing to behave is not new. But how does that make another good film on that topic any less good? It’s like I have hugged my mother many times in the past, but how does that make it any less lovely to hug her once more? Some people need to be hugged as frequently as we can. Some stories need to be told (and heard) as frequently as we can.

Go hug yourself. See “Freedom Writers”.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lejN7Ulh10s

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0463998/

http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/01/05/movies/05free.html

Reviews of the book “The Freedom Writers Diary” can be read here.

Farah Khan has her finger on the masses’s pulse. Her latest venture is not going to win any critics awards, but there is a fair chance it will pay her back handsomely and leave a large fraction of viewers happy. Me included.

This movie gets 2.5 out of 5. The fun factor in it probably deserves a good 3/5 but since there is no new path broken by the movie, I had to rate it overall at 2.5

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The first half of the movie is more fun than the second half. The last 30 minutes drag and could have been done way better. But what lifts the movie are the many great moments of comedy and young love. The comedy is rib tickling, a little roadside but never vulgar. I specially liked the Manoj Kumar sequence. And yes, Akshay Kumar throwing the gun in the air, catching it in the groin area and shooting bullets with each pelvic thrust was way too funny.

Sharukh Khan does complete justice to his role. I am no fan of SRK but have starting respecting him a lot more after Swades and recently Chak De! He looks his part here and pairs very well with Deepika Padukone, who looked dazzling, poised and very camera confident. She carried the 70s look well enough and I would not be surprised to see a surge in sales for that fashion.

The songs are placed well and never tear you away from the story. The lyrics are catchy and you might find yourself humming them as you walk out. The song with Bollywood’s who’s who is loaded with bonhomie and great fun to watch.

Shreyas Talpade and Kirron Kher look OK but nothing great there. Arjun Rampal looked better as the young Mukesh Mehra but a little unconvincing as the aged Mukesh Mehra.

 If you are looking for over 2 hours of fun without burdening your mind with “deeper meaning”, go watch Om Shanti Om.

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http://www.omshantiomfilm.com/

I paid Rs. 140/- to watch Saawaria. I will gladly pay Rs. 1400/- to get a chance to shake Sanjay Leela Bhansali out of his delusionary slumber.

This movie deserves a puny 1 out of 5.

I cannot believe this comes from the same man who gave us Devdas and Black. Was SLB sleeping while someone else directed and edited the movie? Or has he lost his senses? This movie has NOTHING to make it watchable. A non-existent plot, lack lustre acting, and yes an unending assault on your senses of gaudy “beautiful” sets. Some idiot in the production team thought just showing us painted walls, silk clothes and designer jewellery will sell the film. And God, they never stop showing that!  The movie is completely shot within a set. Not a trace of reality here. A street with potholes has its walls gleaming as if they are painted with Asian paints Royale. There should have been a statutory warning that says “movie loaded with impossible fairy tale settings”.

The worst thing to happen to a love story is that the lead pair leaves you unconvinced they are in love. I was left searching for traces of love between Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. Only to find them cold, sparkless and even cheap at times.

Try this: Ranbir walks into a congregation of Muslims readying for their prayer. A solemn scene. He breaks into a dance and in a second all the devotees start dancing behind him (like they do in parks behind Govinda). I felt like puking.

And logical consistency takes a complete backseat. There are buildings that look like 17th century, trains that seem like early 20th century, clothes varying between 10th and 21st century, and language again from 10th to 21st century. What? Everything is decorated with flowers and geometric patterns, paintings and gold embroidery. After the first 2 minutes, you start feeling sick. After the first 10 minutes, if you were me, you will be swearing and generously using the f*** word.

And will someone please please please give Zohra Sehgal a fresh role? I loved it the first time she was shown as an old lady young at heart. I loved it the second time too. But when it happens the 10th time, you lose all interest in the character she plays. Because it is so damn predictable what she will say, or how she will act.

If you hate yourself, go watch Saawaria.

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Here’s another review of Saawaria by The GreatBong, in a style that is unmatched:

http://greatbong.net/2007/11/15/saawariya-the-review/