A mother’s love – Peck on the Cheek (Kannathil Muthamittal)

I finally snagged a copy of Kannathil Muthamittal through Netflix and spent a wonderful evening watching an amazing drama unfold. It began with Shyama (a winsome Nandita Das) getting married to Dhileepan in the backwaters of Sri Lanka and then a war took over their romance. Shyama has to flee to India and landed in a refugee camp where she gave birth to a child. Several years later we see Amudha, a playful well-loved child (P. S. Keerthana), who is the darling (or burden) of teachers, parents and fellow schoolmates alike, in a very “How to Solve a Problem Like Maria” (Sound of Music) sequence. On her birthday she is told by her parents Thiru (Madhavan) and Indra (Simran) that she is not their biological child, she was adopted. This tilts her confident love-filled world and she constantly dwells on why her birth mother left her. Several attempts at truancy later the adoptive parents take her to Sri Lanka to try to find her birth mother. The country is torn asunder by a raging civil war and the trio are inevitably caught up in the mess. But this also leads to their meeting the new Shyama – one who finally is confronted by Amudha and asked why she abandoned her daughter.

The story of a child who has to grapple with the fact that she was abandoned at birth, her obsessive drive to reconnect with her birth mother, the unconditional love of the adoptive parents, the demons that drive the birth mother, the normalcy of Chennai and the horrors of terrorism ravaged Sri Lanka – Mani Ratnam made a masterful film that blended many ingredients into a saga that is soul stirring. AR Rahman’s music beautifully complements the magical and the poignant moments in the film. The film has excellent performances from Madhavan, Nandita Das, Simran and an absolute stunner role as Amudha – the abandoned one – done by the child artiste P. S. Keerthana. This performance won her a National award.

The cinematography is visual poetry – each frame is beautifully crafted and breathtakingly shot. I am intrigued by the connection Mani Ratnam has with terrorism, love and obsessions. I think his exploration of these subjects is absolutely outstanding. Mahadevan’s character was quite unique – his passion and idealism did not make him selfish, rather was well matched with how much he cared for the little girl. His one liners were hilarious. The mother played by Simran was also quite multi-dimensional – she was idealistic, loved the adopted daughter but also worried about her biological kids.

Read more HERE

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Raavan – Movie review thread

Please post all the media movie reviews of RAAVAN on this thread.

Nikhat Kazmi’s review from Times of India

Critic’s Rating: 3.5

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram, Govinda, Ravi Kishan

Direction: Mani Ratnam

Genre: Drama

Duration: 2 hours 6 minutes

 

Story: Cop Dev Pratap Sharma (Vikram) has just one mission in his life. He wants to capture the local outlaw, Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) who may be a Robin Hood for the tribals around, nevertheless, he is a law breaker. More importantly, he has kidnapped the cop’s beautiful wife, Ragini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) to avenge a personal grouse and has escaped into the dense jungles. Turn ofevents: the kidnapper falls in love with his trophy victim who too gets indecisive about where her loyalties lie….

Movie Review: The epics return again to contemporary cinema. After a re-telling of the Mahabharata against a political backdrop in Prakash Jha’s Raajneeti, cineastes can now feast their eyes on a modern-day rewrite of the Ramayana, against a cops-and-robbers canvas.

Feast? Yes. The high point of Mani Ratnam’s film is primarily its visual opulence. The film is literally a work of art where one luminescent frame follows another as the scenes keep shifting from one wet and rocky landscape to another misty mountainscape. You can’t seem to get enough of the montages that leave you breathless with the excellent camera artistry by Santosh Sivan and Manikandan. From the opening sequences where Beera (Abhishek) smashes his boat into wide-eyed Aishwarya’s canoe, to the fleeing, flinging, fulminating visage of Aishwarya, captured against wild waterfalls, turbulent tidal rivers, crumbling trees and silken drizzle, the film is a string of breath taking images. So much so, you seem to forget — and almost forgive — the fact that the first half hardly has any story. It is essentially just one prolonged chase, where cop Dev (Vikram) relentlessly pursues criminal Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) in order to rescue his wife (Ragini) and book the fugitive who garners great local support.  

The paper-thin plot in the first half, does get you somewhat restless, despite a seminal scene where Sita-esque Aishwarya suddenly discovers a strange new emotion for a Raavan-esque Abhishek. After having labelled him beastly and brutish, a complete low-life when compared to her devta-like husband Dev, she finds herself being involuntarily drawn towards her kidnapper, despite his muddy visage and his gory past. And herein lies the second hook that draws you to the film: it’s revisionist tale of a Sita-like heroine flipping for a Raavan-like anti-hero, even as the traditional hero gets imbued in grey tones…. The anti-hero has always remained an alluring figure in cinema lore and Mani Ratnam carries his charisma forward with Raavan.


The second half of the film does get a semblance of story, with adequate twists and turns which reflect the Surpanakha legend (again revised), the Hanuman-Sita encounter, the Agni-pariksha demand (re-interpreted again as a polygraph test) and the film moves from sheer visual to visceral too. There are enough punches in the second half to keep the momentum going, but by and large, the film scores mostly on art and aesthete. Everything seems to be geared to make Raavan an object d’art, including the music (AR Rahman and Gulzar create a few foot-tapping numbers), the stunts, the cinematography and the no-make-up and heavily-made-up look of Aishwarya and Abhishek respectively. However, a little more attention to the narrative was desperately needed in Raavan.


In terms of performance, Aishwarya stands out as the lead actor, with her competent rendition of a woman who is torn between her love and loyalty towards her husband and her attraction towards a misunderstood brigand, with a heart of gold. Vikram, by and large remains a side hero: somewhat undefined and formless while Govinda’s Hanuman-like rendition of the forest guard is flippant. Which brings us to Beera: Abhishek Bachchan is immensely watchable, but he fails to lift the character of the anti-hero to another level altogether. Maybe, a less of multani mitti (mud packs) and `bagad billa’ antics would have allowed the natural actor in him to surface and bloom. Also, his other two outings with Mani Ratnam — Yuva and Guru — definitely tower above Beera.


But hey, Raavan is chicken soup for the senses. Go, indulge yourself.


A word about:


Performances: Aishwarya leads, Abhishek follows, Vikram lags behind, Govinda’s going nowhere.


Story: The screenplay by Mani Ratnam needed more substance and bite.


Cinematography: Absolutely riveting! The camera artistry by Santosh Sivan and Manikandan is the heart and soul of Raavan.


Music: AR Rahman and Gulzar create an interesting audio track, although Rahman’s earlier associations with Mani Ratnam remain unforgettable. Numbers to watch out for: Beera, Behne De and Khili Re.


Styling: Sabyasachi Mukherji’s costumes are apt, blending modernity with tradition, just as the film tries to do. Aishwarya’s no-make-up look is a winner.


Inspiration: The film is a modern day, revisionist adaptation of the epic, Ramayana.

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My thoughts on Raavan

At the outset, I would like to make it clear that this piece is NOT a review of the film. Too many of those have already been written and dissected endlessly! However, I would just like to share (more appropriately “vent”) my thoughts on this long awaited film. My overwhelming feeling after watching Raavan was that I had just seen a montage of breathtaking images put together with a wafer-thin plot thrown somewhere in between. The whole experience was extremely choppy and uneven with the non-linear narrative confounding the situation even further. The film at a basic level is deeply flawed, but the biggest disappointment are its lead actors. I have a lot of grievances with the filmmakers, but I’ll restrict myself to just listing a few of my peeves here:

1. I had a gargantuan issue with the vague geography of the film (another film where I had this quandary was Saawariya). Where was this beautiful place where there were huts, caves, waterfalls, and forests, all in the same location? We were being transported back and forth at a frenzied pace from the backwaters of Kerala to the thick forests of Karnataka to Malshej Ghats in Maharashtra to the villages of Madhya Pradesh, almost as if the cinematography was the central character of the film instead of the lead actors! If it’s “real” that Mani wanted, then why give us such designer fare?

2. There was no time to feel the emotional connection with any of the characters because of lack of context/poor editing. Why does Beera fall in love with Raagini so suddenly? Because she wasn’t scared of him? Puhleez…gimme a break! Defiance would be reason enough for instant retribution by the kidnapper under normal circumstances. It’s not as if Beera was demanding a ransom from Dev and had to keep Raagini alive! In fact, the whole point of the kidnapping was to kill Raagini to avenge his sister’s rape and subsequent suicide. There was absolutely no context or background shown for this abrupt falling in love with the abductee.

3. Even more warped is the logic of Raagini’s attraction to Beera! She was a strong woman who was in love with her husband. When and how she develops this strange attraction has not been explored at all. Her entire journey from anger and loathing towards her abductor transforming to sympathy and eventually a reluctant attraction required an actor with far more depth than Aishwarya posesses!

4. There are so many other situations that come to mind where there is no context or explanation given. Like for e.g. how does Sanjeevni find out where Raagini is when the entire police force couldn’t locate her? In the climax scene, how does Raagini manage to find the exact location of Beera?

5. The ending of the film was quite ambiguous which is not a problem per se; however, it did leave me dissatisfied and kind of craving for a closure for Raagini. I was left wondering about her marriage- did it survive the turmoil? Also, the symbolism that Mani wanted to convey through the virginal white costume of Raagini was in my opinion totally wrong. Mani’s Sita was actually not pure, at least not where it really counts- in thoughts!

6. Lastly, a word about the performances! Abhishek totally hammed his way through the entire film. His deranged bak-bak-jhak-jhak act was so over-the-top that the audience was actually laughing instead of feeling the chilling intensity his character should have evoked. Made me wish for a Manoj Bajpai in and as Raavan! As for Aishwarya, her limited range of two to three expressions and constant screeching (all the while looking pretty in her Sabyasachi costumes and full makeup) throughout the movie grated on my nerves. Vikram was quite good as Dev, managing to appear intense and ruthless at the same time without over-acting which was quite a relief after Jr B’s act! Also, Priyamani and Ravi Kissen were quite impressive in their brief roles. Govinda was reduced to a caricature- don’t know why he accepted that humiliating role! Didn’t expect Mani Ratnam to make such a literal adaptation of Ramayana where Hanuman is named Sanjeevni and is actually made to act like a baboon.

This is not to say that the movie did not have its redeeming features. There were flashes of brilliance like the opening credit sequences, the bridge scene, Abhi-Priyamani track (superbly enacted by both actors), and several others. And of course, the cinematography, the background score and music was outstanding. The only problem was the rest of it was an exercise in self-indulgence by India’s most celebrated director!

My verdict- 2.5/5

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Raavan – My Review

In a religious country like India, where people have ended up fighting over Rama and Allah, it needs some courage to take up one of the two greatest epics written and show our worshipped Lord Rama having a grey side to him. It takes even more courage to start telling the story from the villain Raavan’s point of view and justify his actions. Mani Ratnam is his latest film does exactly that when he gives the mythological story a realistic setting in today’s world and twists the story a bit to make people sympathize for the villain of the epic.

Abhishek Bachchan plays an outlaw called Beera(Raavan) in the film. Though he goes against the law, the villagers believe in him, his actions, and his ideology which makes him a character like Don Vito Corleone or the Sarkar. The only difference is he is wilder than those. The wildness, ofcourse is to draw parallelism to Raavan’s character in Ramayana. He kidnaps Raagini(Sita) played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to kill her for reasons told later in the film. But instead of killing her, he starts falling for her beauty, her bravery. This is where we see the film getting similar to RGV’s Jungle where the lead bandit started falling for Urmilla Matondkar and starts taking wrong decisions.

Mani Ratnam goes back to what he is most known for and does the best, depicting violence and terrorism on screen. Though Raavan isn’t exactly a film about terrorism, its style is very similar to those. He might not have come back to his real best, but it seems like he is on his right way now after Guru where I thought he completely lost his way and like other directors got pulled and attracted by commercial brand of cinema. With Raavan, he seems to be coming back to his own.

The most pleasing thing in this film is the visuals, the cinematography. Santosh Sivan is really a master of camerawork. He has never disappointed me with his camera work. While Terrorist is his best piece of work for me, Raavan isn’t very far behind. Though shooting infront of the waterfalls, and naturally beautiful scenes makes it easier for him to make the picture look beautiful, he is equally good in indoor scenes and close-up shots. He and Manikandan make the film a visual treat and worth watching just for the visuals alone.

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Rajneeti – Media reviews

Taran Adarsh

I’ve never really followed politics. But I am truly fascinated by ‘Mahabharata’. Lord Krishna, Arjun, Karan, Bheema, Duryodhan… are legendary and the clash between Pandavas and Kauravas is equally unforgettable. Prakash Jha’s RAAJNEETI talks of warring cousins, dynastic rule and electoral politics of the Hindi heartland, besides the vicious and horrifying games some people play to attain power.

To me, RAAJNEETI is a human drama, a complex game that people indulge in to achieve power and how this greed envelopes them and transforms them into ruthless and conniving humans. I admit, it takes time for the story to sink in, but slowly and steadily, you get sucked into a world that’s dark, dangerous and demonish. The attire may be white, but the deeds are grey or black.

RAAJNEETI is not only ‘Mahabharata’, but also ‘Godfather’. Despite knowing ‘Mahabharata’ or ‘Godfather’, one is not able to presume what games the present-day Pandavas and Kauravas would play in RAAJNEETI. In fact, the story alters constantly, unravelling in a serpentine manner and speed… so much so that you don’t know what’s gonna happen next. It keeps you awed at the constant turn of events. Clearly, unpredictability is the biggest strength of RAAJNEETI. Yet, let me clarify, this is not a documentary, tetchy or preachy film. This one not only entertains, but also enlightens.

The flipside? None, actually. The naysayers may point out that the subject material is ‘heavy’, ‘serious’ and ‘dry’, but you ought to know that when you adapt ‘Mahabharata’ in the current milieu [present-day politics], you can’t expect ‘item songs’ and ‘slapdash humour and mimicry’, for God’s sake. These naysayers may also state that the running time [almost 3 hours] is a no-no in today’s times, but let’s not forget that even 3 hours is too short a duration for a good film and vice-versa, even an hour is too lengthy for a terrible film. RAAJNEETI is a genuinely good product, so you definitely don’t mind its length. But one thing is for sure: RAAJNEETI doesn’t cater to an audience that keeps its brains at home while watching a film. You need to be alert while watching this one.

Final word? Prakash Jha, the persona, is known for qualitative cinema and RAAJNEETI, his new offering, stands tall on the list. Cinema is all about narrating interesting stories on celluloid and for that very reason, RAAJNEETI deserves distinction marks. Of course, the massive star cast and the sparkling performances are the icing on the cake.

I strongly advocate this film. Do yourself a favour: Watch RAAJNEETI.

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Goodbye Shrek !

Loosely based upon a story by children’s author William Steig (Sylvester and the Magic Pebble), Shrek is a satiric fairy-tale love story which has been genuinely funny and entertaining since its inception. Having watched all the previous three movies of this franchise multiple times, I must admit I was quite looking forward to the final chapter and hoping that the beloved ogre leaves us on a high note. And he does. Heartfelt and hilarious, this sequel is inspired heavily from Capra’s “Its a Wonderful Life”.

The film starts brilliantly by showing a montage of Shrek’s life replete with three squalling and rambunctious li’l ogres, a loving wife Fiona and a great friend Donkey. In short, a perfect but boring life. And of course Shrek hates it like any other man going through a mid-life crisis! The images are then shown in rapid succession where every passing day is worse than the previous day, until one day Shrek finally throws a royal fit on one of the kid’s birthday and wishes aloud that things could go back to what they were before he had ever met Fiona! As they say, you never know how good things are until they are gone!

Enter the sleazy snarky villain Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), the famous trickster from Brothers Grimm fairy tales. The vengeful devil with ridiculous spiky red hair and predatory eyes convinces the naive ogre to sign away any one day of his childhood. In return, Shrek gets to live one day of his life the way he would have liked; a life of no responsibilites, a life where he can make mud angels till the cows came home, a life where the villagers are still scared of his mighty roar! And, of course the evil guy chooses the day Shrek was born. What follows then is life in an alternate universe where Rumpelstiltskin is the ruler of the kingdom and witches rule the roost! Shrek has never met Fiona and his friends Donkey and Puss don’t recognize him. But of course, there is a way to fix all things! Shrek discovers that a “true love’s kiss” is the only way to undo the contract, but can he do it by the end of the day?

This story is by far the most interesting of all. It doesn’t rely on gimmicks and pop culture references throughout like the first one. The wit and the humor is quite fast-paced. The characters are very engaging and the voices are as sharp and funny as ever. Shrek (Mike Myers) as always is the endearing slob that we all have grown to love and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) is the warrior ogre-princess who is a tough nut to crack. She doesn’t wait to be rescued in this one, she rescues herself, quite a nice change from the usual !! Both of them bring immense warmth to their characters. Donkey (Eddy Murphy) is still as howlarious and cheeky as ever, and Puss (Antonio Bendares) is a pampered house cat now who is too fat to fit in his boots! He still uses his big sad eyes expression eliciting a major awwww in the theater !!

I’m not sure if the 3D animation really added to the overall experience of the movie. For the most part, I found the glasses annoying and would have preferred watching the sharper, crisper colors without the 3D effect.

After having gone horribly wrong with Shrek The Third, the makers went back to telling a simple story with its heart in the right place. And they score with this one. If this really is the final chapter of this terrific franchise, I for one am quite sad to bid goodbye to beloved ogre!

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Flashback : Jewel Thief (1967)

LINK

Starring Dev Anand, Vyjayanthimala, Ashok Kumar, Tanuja, Helen

The main question raised by the thriller is not what kind of world we live in, or what reality is like, but what it has done to us. Vijay Anand’s noir tale presented in a dazzling fashion lives up to the adage. Even after four decades it manages to keep the audience on tenterhooks. On the surface the story of a master thief who becomes a challenge for the Indian police might look convoluted, but when the jigsaw puzzle unfolds you realise how a master auteur was taking you for a ride!

Some films are defined by their repeat value. Thrillers generally don’t fall in this category. But “Jewel Thief” is an exception. When you know the secret, you want to know how he did it. When you realise how he executed it, you get eager to gather where he fooled you. The film’s greatness lies in the fact that every time you visit it, the script grips you, while S.D. Burman’s timeless gems and Vijay Anand’s smart dialogues take charge of the atmospherics.

They say songs have no place in a thriller as they kill the pace of the screenplay, but one of the strengths of Goldie, as Vijay was lovingly called, was that he was a master at song placement and picturisation. With him at the helm, songs used to add layers, giving us a perspective of the times he was talking about. When Tanuja, a welcome exception from the sweet, Savitri-like heroines of the period, effortlessly serenades Dev Anand in “Raat Akeli Hai Bujh Gaye Diye”, it represents the growing expression of sexuality among women of the elite class.

“Jewel Thief” also started a trend where directors began putting a song before the climax, but not many could match the depth and splendour of “Honthon Mein Aisi Baat”. In a thriller, the camera should be an active narrator, and Vijay knew this too well. For instance, in “Honthon Mein Aisi Baat” (brilliantly choreographed by Master Sohanlal), as the camera follows Vyjayanthimala, he uses the circular tracks, dynamic angles and cuts to build up the tension to a crescendo. Here is an example of how Western technique could merge with Indian art. Even as you enjoy the aesthetics of dance, you are anxious to know what’s next.

The film’s basic ethics are drawn from a Hitchcockian model, but Vijay wanted to play by his brother’s image as well. So he carved his character in a James Bond mould, somebody who doesn’t mind flirting with more than one woman to reach his goal. A novelty in those moralistic times, Dev Anand, fresh from “Teen Deviyan”, pushed the envelope further and bonded well with Helen, Anju Mahendru and Fariyal — apart from the triangle he forged with Vyjayanthimala and Tanuja.

Staple devices

Vijay uses staple thriller devices like mistaken identity and loss of memory. He introduces us to the world of secret chambers, false ceilings, fake walls and hidden bars. All of them have lost their value due to repeat abuse, but in “Jewel Thief” they still conjure up magic because they are integral to the script. A significant portion of the film was shot in serene Sikkim, which was not part of India at that time.

When the film was being made, S.D. Burman was sulking as his classic compositions of “Guide” were ignored for the Filmfare Award. But this didn’t cast its effect on the melody. It is said that he had composed “Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechara” for Guru Dutt’s last film “Baharein Phir Bhi Ayengi” but when he opted out of the film, he offered the tune to Dev Anand and he lapped it up. This was the time R.D. Burman had begun to assist his father, and his effervescent beats reflect in the compositions.

This was also the time when Vyjayanthimala was about to get married and was not too keen to finish the films on the floor, but again it doesn’t reflect in the final print. Such was the professionalism of the times.

The film hangs on the bent shoulders of Dev Anand, who played Vinay, mistaken for his supposed lookalike Amar/Prince, the jewel thief. He was into his 40s but still managed to woo audiences with his trademark fast dialogue delivery, and his deliberate nodding was still a rage.

But the biggest surprise of the film was the casting of Ashok Kumar against his popular image. One doesn’t want to divulge the details, but the film is a showcase of Kumar’s mettle. Perhaps Dev Anand was paying back Kumar, who gave Anand his first big opportunity with his production “Ziddi”.

Dev Anand once said he and Goldie could have won the Oscar for “Guide” if they had had enough time to lobby in the U.S. “We had to rush back to India to launch ‘Jewel Thief’.” We don’t mind it, folks!

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Robin Hood- I’d rather wait for the sequel !!

As I stepped in the theater last weekend with a large bucket of popcorn in my hand, I expected to see a feel-good familiar tale of everyone’s favorite childhood hero Robin Hood who robs the rich to give to the poor. I expected a tale full of adventure and comedy and goodness and above all, fun! Sadly enough, Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood is none of those. Instead it is a gritty, overly serious epic all jazzed up with brilliant technology. Well, we already knew that the terrific duo of Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe could deliver “epic”- after all, their impeccable history speaks for itself ! But where their vision faltered, was in not giving this brilliantly shot film a “soul” and a bit of “merry”- after all, isnt that why we fell in love with that vagabond thief in the first place?

Robin Hood is played by Russel Crowe with an extremely serious, and grouchy expression, often times appearing uninterested- definitely NOT the merry, and more importantly, the inspiring Robin Hood I anticipated! I think the first hint of a smile appeared on his face after three fourth of the movie was over! The film is set in the England of 12th century where our hero is an expert archer in the army of King Richard the Lionheart (Danny Huston). The plot is extremely convoluted (sometimes appearing like a documentary) where the English are fighting the French. After the King dies, Robin Longstride assumes the identity of a nobleman to bring back the crown to the future King John, the tax-happy brother of Richard (played superbly by Oscar Isaac).

Robin also has another mission to accomplish- return the sword to the dead nobleman’s blind father (von Sydow) in Nottingham. There he meets the nobleman’s widow, the proud and fiesty Lady Marian played brilliantly by Cate Blanchett. This is where you see the phenomenol actors that Crowe and Blanchett really are! Their scenes together can only be defined in one word- Awesomeness! The climax battle scenes are perfectly shot -quite muddy and bloody! Quite a cinematic experience seeing those aerial shots of the English and French armies and all the arrow wizardry going on! But with a runtime of 140 minutes, by the time the movie reached its climax after a long winding history lesson, my popcorn was all gone and I was more than ready to leave! The last few scenes show Robin Hood as an outlaw- FINALLY!

In the end, the movie just attempts doing too much- an epic revisionist drama with a complex political narrative but ends up being a heavy mishmash of a not-so-engaging tale. It has been accurately described as a story behind the legend- a prequel to the story we all know and love. I left the theater wishing I had waited for the sequel instead!!

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Housefull – How big a loser are you?

Akshay Kumar, depressed with his life, swims for a very long time, until he gets tired and tries to commit suicide by drowning himself. Deepika Padukone, just like Clint Eastwood in Spaghetti Western films, comes out of nowhere, lifts him up and carries him towards the shore that is some miles away. And we call Akshay Kumar a Khiladi!!!!

The film starts with the most hilarious disclaimer of the decade. Sajid Khan mentions the names of 5 very important directors in Bollywood who have influenced him to direct films. And that includes Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Heyy babyy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee? HouseFull and Hrishikesh Mukherjee? Ohhhh, that was joke as the film is supposed to be a comedy. Such is the humor in the film that you yourself would need to find out the humorous moments if you want to laugh as the film hardly is humorous.

This is hardly an Akshay Kumar kind of comedy. If you want to watch Akshay Kumar kind of comedy, I think you are better off watching Jaane Kahaan Se Aayi Hai. He manages to make you laugh more in his two and half minutes special appearance than this two and half hours long film. Being a fan of his comic timings and his work in films like Mr. and Mrs Khiladi, Garam Masala, Bhool Bhulaiya, this one surely is a disappointment. The film mainly belongs to the ‘Timepass’ genre films which Sajid or Farah makes. While Farah tries to spoof The Matrix, Karz, Madhumati, Youtube videos in her films and manages to get some laughs, Sajid Khan straightaway copies them with no intention of even spoofing if he can’t get original. He plays the game of wife swapping in the film, something we just saw 6 months ago in All The Best. The game is not even half as funny in Housefull as in All The Best.

Five years ago, filmmakers in India started to feel that a film that does not have the King Khan has to have an item song to make it a hit. The latest trend in ‘Timepass-Filmmaking’ says a film has to have some gay humor in it. Housefull tries having both of them. And since it is a Sajid Khan film, he does not even try putting in efforts in the item song. Instead he simply took up an old Bollywood hit number and remixed it. Though it is wonderfully sung song by Mika, IMO, who manages to keep the craziness alive in the song, the video is very disappointing, thanks to the Arjun Rampal. For most of the film Arjun Rampal plays an angry man with one expression on his face, and for once he was asked to enjoy and he ends up ruining a song, How can one fail to get the right expressions in that song? It should have come out naturally given that song is so crazy. The video really missed the craziness I was expecting it to have.

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Housefull Movie reviews thread

TOI Review by Nikhat kazmi

Critic’s Rating:

Story: Akshay Kumar, the proverbial loser, believes he can ward off his bad luck by finding true love. But each time he falls in love, misfortune strikes and his girlfriend walks out on him. This time, hope begins to float…He finds Deepika Padukone who does love him. But how does he convince her military-man brother, Arjun Rampal and extract himself from the web of lies his friends, Riteish and Lara, have built around him? Movie Review: Sajid Khan returns after the success of Heyy Baby, a spilt milkfood and soiled diaper soiree that did manage to tickle your funny bone with its infant histrionics. With Housefull, he doesn’t stray much and tries to create a similar riot of hilarious episodes, centred around two couples — Akshay Kumar-Deepika Padukone and Riteish Deshmukh-Lara Dutta. Trouble lies not so much with the couples as with their relatives: Lara’s estranged Pappa, Boman Irani and Deepika’s angry brother, Arjun Rampal. Can the boys manage to win their beloved’s parivar walas? Not an easy task, specially when both are losers of sorts and don’t have the mandatory big house, big money, big lifestyle…. The film begins on a funny note, with Akshay trying to seek refuge from his bad luck by moving in with his best buddy, Riteish and his wife, Lara. A vacuum cleaner turned awry and a tryst with a tame tiger on the sofa are some of the spoofs that showcase Akshay Kumar in his quintessential comic act: deadpan humour by the I’m-just-a-simpleton hero. You do settle down for some fun and games, but sadly, the film peters off into a not-so-funny middle with Akshay serenading Jiah Khan and the viewer having to endure a prolonged Chunky Pandey cameo as Aakhri Pasta, an Italian hotelier who actually makes you want to howl than laugh. Thankfully, he is bundled off, but the muddlesome middle has already taken its toll on the film by putting the brakes on comedy. The second half picks up again as the foursome rent a house and the relatives — Boman and Arjun — arrive. The game of subterfuge and mistaken identities begins with Akshay reluctantly pitching in as Lara’s husband and Deepika’s boyfriend and trying his goofy best to win over both Boman and Arjun. It’s literally slapstick humour, with a lot of slaps flying around between simians and humans, humans and humans. Nevertheless, it makes you laugh, provided you don’t go looking for artistry and intelligence. Also, you’ll find the usual jokes about homosexuality and Gujarati incredulousness, made famous by Kal Ho Na Ho. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s audio track has a few peppy numbers which however do not promise to end up as chartbusters, except Mika’s `apni to jaise-taise…’ The rest of the songs are good while they last. Period. Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh share a better chemistry between themselves than they do with the girls. Wish the Boman Irani and Lilette Dubey track had been explored further. It did have great potential. All said and done, Housefull might not set the summer scorching, but it does create a ripple after a prolonged lull at the multiplexes. Let the summer begin to simmer, then sizzle…. A word about: Performances: Akshay Kumar never laughs in the film, yet manages to make you laugh with his `loser’ act. Riteish and Akshay share a combustible chemistry which is much more than we can say about Akshay and Deepika: quite thanda. Dialogue: Simple and slapstick. Story: Revolves around the usual formula of a comedy of errors and mixed-up identities. Cinematography: Vikas Sivaraman keeps his camera mostly indoors, except when it moves to Italy. Music: Shankar-Ehsan-Loy do not come up with an inspired track. They just fit the bill, except when they reinvent the popular Laawaris number `aapka kya hoga, janab-e-wali’. Styling: Both Deepika and Lara sport the urbane and chic look with their skimpy dresses. Jiah Khan oscillates between the traditional and the oomphy image by donning both the salwar kameez and the bikini. The boys — Akshay, Arjun, Riteish — are cool and casual. var agnme = ”; var imgid = ‘5873000’; var capt = ‘A still from Housefull More Pics‘; var cnt=’1′; var ttl=’A still from Housefull’; wid=’541′; im=’460′;wid=’541′; im=’460′;wid=’541′; im=’460′;wid=’541′; im=’460′;wid=’541′; im=’460′;wid=’541′; im=’460′;wid=’541′; im=’460′;wid=’541′; im=’460′;wid=’541′; im=’460′;wid=’541′; im=’460′; var b1=””; var b2=””; var hid=”526″; if(cnt > 1){ if(wid==’1024′) b1 = ‘ More Pictures ‘; else b1 = ‘ More Pictures ‘; } if(wid==’1024’) var b2 = ‘ ‘+ capt +’ ‘; else var b2 = ‘ ‘+ capt +’ ‘; bellyad.innerHTML = b2 + b1;

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