Ritu's Reviews

For the first time ever, two of the BEST actors of Indian cinema come opposite one another as a romantic pair. Fanaa stars Aamir Khan and Kajol! It tops the list as one of the most awaited films this summer, surrounded by hype primarily for 3 reasons: firstly, it’s a Yash Raj production, secondly, it brings Aamir Khan and Kajol together of course, and thirdly, last but not least, it’s the previous queen bee Kajol’s full feature comeback film! She allowed fans to thirst for her onscreen charisma for so long, till she finally decided to quench their thirst with her solo lead in Fanaa.

With a striking star cast, a proven director behind the wheels, and a solid production house, how can this film crash?

Well don’t be surprised, but it can.

With audience expectations as they are, box-office records can attest, in this day and age, no combination is a guarantee. If it’s good it’s good, if it isn’t, it just isn’t. No miraculous star pair can save the day. The rule remains for Fanaa – Destroyed in Love.

Proving himself with 2004’s hit Hum Tum, a romantic comedy, loosely based on the concept of When Harry Met Sally, director Kunal Kohli this time takes on a patriotic romance. However, this time around, he proves to be a poor storyteller. Capable of handling romance, he doesn’t quite hold the reigns in others areas of the film. But it’s not entirely his fault. Where as Hum Tum has a focus friendship, love, and a brush of serendipity, Fanaa, lacks focus.

It’s difficult to execute a story that has far too much taking place. You have issues of:
- blind girl
- mother out of wedlock
- widow
- terrorism
- Kashmir vs. the world
- “I love my India”
- con-man
...the list goes on!

Basically the movie tries to incorporate love, patriotism, drama, and more all in to one, but doesn’t end up being satisfying in any SINGLE aspect. Everything is all over the place and proper time isn’t really given to unfold the layers that lay beneath a single issue.
The first half of the film is breezy, a bit unrealistic even for a Bollywood film, but cute. The poetic exchange of dialogue is entertaining and sweet. In the latter half, the pace is slow and you are confronted with the question of “where is the story going and when will it get there”?

Music by Jatin-Lalit, sounds similar to the styles of A.R. Rahman and Ismail Darbar. Still they can only boast of 3 striking compositions, vs. their tendency to score and entire hit album.
‘Chand Sifarish’, ‘Mere Haath Mein’, and ‘Dekho Na’ are the select winners.
Although beautifully shot, the length of the songs between the already lengthy film are slightly annoying.

Cinematography is of quality. Special effects on the other hand could have been more apt.

The beef of the film is in the natural performances by Kajol and Aamir. They are the right couple in the wrong film. Great onscreen chemistry makes them a desirable pair.
Kajol, after motherhood, is back younger and more stunning than ever before. It is truly wonderful to have an actress with such great histrionics back on screen. Be it looks or performance she does not fail the expectations of her fans.
As for Aamir, he carries off his complicated character as best he can. Audiences will be more appreciative of his appearance in the second half vs. his look in the first half. Although not one of his greatest performances, being the perfectionist he is, no major room for complaints. (On an entirely personal and side note, he may not have been able to save the fate of the film, but Shah Rukh Khan would have added a little more charm with his presence.)
Rishi Kapoor and Kiran Kher are functional. Lara Dutta makes a bizarre and pointless appearance. Shiney Ahuja too shows face for no apparent reason. The child artist will win hearts with his cuteness, warm presence, and silly antics.

Fanaa resulted as an average show. Reactions of people out of theatres ranged anywhere from, "not a bad film, OK, timepass" to "humaare teen ghante FANAA ho gaye" (our three hours were destroyed!)

From a disappointed critic, FANAA receives Ritu's 2 ½ stars!

...now all we have to look forward to this summer are KKRISH & Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna...
Let's hope the magic of the 'K' works!

Posted by Ritu at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A word of advice… the next time your out at a coffee shop, take a good look who your standing around. You never know, you may just be in the presence of the next big upcoming star! A coffee shop is precisely where our female lead of today’s film, Kangana Ranuat was discovered by director Anurag Basu. He was in search for the right face and she was at the right place. Take a look at the Bhatt brother’s presentation of Anurag Basu’s Gangster – A Love Story and see Kangana in action!

The title “Gangster” automatically forces negative associations. Presumtions that the film contains violence and mobster action are made. The Bhatts Gangster - A Love Story hardly focuses on those aspects of a gangster’s life. In fact the film is female oriented sharing the plight behind being in love with someone of the dangerous profession. It’s a twisted tale of friendship, love, and life. A story about the ultimate deception from all three.
Anurag Basu does a solid job in executing this presenation. He carries the flow with consistency and allows for a good mix of action, thrill, and romance. The flashback sequence is touching, while the post-interval episodes maintain a level of curiousity to see where what direction the story will proceed.
Cinematography presents Korea in with an apt take, fitting with the needs of the script. The pace of the film is slow, not necessarily due to editing, but lenghty pieces incorporated in the script. Music by Pritam is awesome with catchy tracks using a Sufi-influenced flair. Vocalist James, from Bangladesh, has a distinct voice that adds feeling to his tracks.
Emraan Hashmi is becoming a staple in the Bhatt camp, he performs much better here than in Kalyug. A decent show of growth, he shows competance. Shiney Ahuja shines in his complicated character. Only given a limited number of lines, his performance is purely based on expression. For the most part he emotes well, better in stern scenes vs. tear-jerking emotional scenes. He shapes out more like a yuppy than a man of strength. Kangana Ranaut is brilliant for her first film. With only college theatre experience she carries off a power packed performance in a story primarily revolving around her with panache. Truly a star to watch out for this 19-year old has many years to go! An area that could use improvement is voice modulation, given she fixes that hurdle, she’ll be jumping leaps and bounds forward.
The specialty of Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt is that they make films new to Indian cinema, (although they may borrow concepts from American cinema), have an exemplary taste in music, and utilize upcoming talent. Its for these reasons we need to keep the Bhatts and the Ram Gopal Varma’s in the industry because they dare to be different. If it wasn’t for these breeds we would be watching the same predictable hit formulas of the Chopra’s and Johar’s. These production houses allow their directors to be creative and explore questionable scripts. Sometimes a hit, and sometimes a miss, they fear not when it comes to growth in the spectrum of films hindi cinema has to offer.
Gangster – A Love Story offers an endearing story that is emontionally intense. Some will find it to appeal and deliver to their senses and others will walk away indifferent, viewing it as time pass. Ritu Mahindru gives it credit, for a decent film in its genre with 3 stars.

The Bhatts’ can take credit for putting the careers of hotties like Bipasha Basu with Jism Mallaika Sherawat with Murder, and even today’s numero uno Rani Mukherjee with Ghulam on the map. I’m sure their new discovery Kangana Ranaut will prove to be a winning choice as well!

Posted by Ritu at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Pyare Mohan takes inspiration from ‘See no Evil, Hear no Evil’. Fardeen Khan and Vivek Anand Oberoi play the endearing characters of Pyare and Mohan. The two counterparts lack specific capabilities. Pyare can’t see and Mohan can’t hear. With a basic setup for comedy, director Indra Kumar takes you on a halting ride of kicks and giggles.
Indra Kumar’s previous comedy ‘Masti’ provided far more continuous entertainment, laughter, and joy, than what this film comes close to. The first half makes you chuckle with silly humor, but the second half loses sight.
Fardeen and Vivek try to make the flavor last, but aren’t able to support the faulty structure.
Vivek Anand Oberoi, a.k.a Vivek Oberoi, must change more than his name to change his luck. Where as he was a natural when he first began his career, to climb out of this slump, he tries hard, but ends up hamming throughout.
Fardeen on the other hand is a talented delight. Enacting his part with skill, the only area of criticism that stands out is his appearance. Although cute, he’s getting a bit pudgy, risking his potential for onscreen magic. As for a friendly duo, Vivek and Fardeen share an adorable chemistry.
Chemistry brings us to the relation shared between Esha Deol and Amrita Rao. Hats off to the ladies for tolerating one anther in every frame. After the real life incident of Esha slapping Amrita, the two set personal differences aside to put up a decent show of teamwork, as they share footage throughout. Although their performances and roles don’t accredit them much on the professional front, they sure do on a personal level, which they meet. Ironically the ladies make a good power girls duo, looking the part, with not too much to act.
Booman Irani is average. His character has an added twist to it, but is not sketched clearly.
Looking at the technical angle, cinematography is of standard. Editing is in grave need of direction. A good 45 minutes could have been chopped or condensed, as the chase sequence running around the city of Bangkok is hardly comical, and more of a nuance.
Anu Malik’s music is easily forgettable. “I love you my Angel” is hummable, but corny.
Indra Kumar disappoints with this venture. Perhaps the talented director needs a breather to come back with something fresh. Pyare Mohan scores 2 stars on Ritu's review.

Posted by Ritu at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Subash Ghai’s Mukta Arts presents a film directed by funny man Satish Kaushik. Although the director’s last subjects have been serious, he does have an inborn knack for comedy as witnessed through his onscreen characters. Let’s take a look and see if he’s just as good behind the screen executing as he is on.

“Thinking too seriously is injurious to your smile” – that’s the warning denoted at the start of the film. With the first step in the right direction for a comedy, Shaadi Se Pehle has the got the mood and feel down! To put ‘sense’ in to humor seeps out all the fun! That’s why this film pre-warns you to get ready for some silliness.
Following this lead one would expect to be in a fit of rip-roaring laughter from A-Z. However, there are highlighted moments that evoke chuckles and other times where a mere smirk breaks. The storyline has a good framework but not such clean detailing. In other words the basic idea sits well, but the internal execution is not solid. Before a joke takes place you can predict what it is and so it feels you are simply waiting to hear the punch line even though you already know what it is. Satish Kaushik does an average job. The dialogues are creative and standout. Movement slightly lacks. Starting off at a good speed, the pace wears down with each scene. Technically the film proves to have quality. Locales of Malaysia have been shot with glitz. Himmesh Reshamiya’s sound track is foot tapping and quite enjoyable.
When comedy is in question, it is the actors that truly decide the direction of the film’s success. Luckily the film primarily focuses on Akshaye Khanna who is talented enough to keep the viewer glued. Akshaye is marvelous. The film is funny due to his comedic timing and delivery teamed with fresh expressions. His sidekick Rajpal Yadav shines as well, putting in kicks and punches right where they’re needed. Ayesha Takia’s role is basic in which she basically goes through the motions. But a piece of advice for both Akshaye and Ayesha …get a new stylist! Shaadi Se Pehle does not present them in the best of style and appearance. Speaking of appearances, Mallaika Sherwat on the other hand has been presented with style and class. Skin show aside, she’s indeed an actress. Perfect for her part, there’s no convincing needed when Ms. Sherwat is the temptress to prove whether she can succeed or not. Other actors like Suneil Shetty and Aftaab have poor character sketches. Suniel is the cool dude that he often plays. Calm and composed yet intimidating is the way his character shapes out. However he manages to ham and over do it in scenes. Aftaab, it seems, only plays a mere cameo. Besides just being there, he doesn’t add much. Anupam Kher and Gulshan Grover are wasted. Booman Irani’s contribution has been kept brief, however his scenes are among the finest. The sequence between Booman Irani and Suniel Shetty is the best.
Shaadi Se Pehle is a fluffy film. It keeps you smiling. Ritu laughs with or is it at, Shaadi Se Pehle with 2 ½ stars.

Posted by Ritu at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Banaras – A Mystic Love Story

Banaras – A Mystic Love Story is hardly a love story. It truly engages deeper than the redundant boy meets girl, runs around trees, superficial, puppy love business.
This film is spiritually rich. Every step of the way there is a lesson taught and learned. It’s more about the growth and progression of individuals through a connection built on faith.
Director Pankuj Parashar really puts everything on stake to expose this concept. To average audiences the story will appear peculiar. No one walks in to a full feature Bollywood film to come out having listened to a sermon. So, if you are looking for entertainment, Banaras – A Mystic Love Story does a poor job. But if you are looking for a concoction of Geeta, Ramayana, & Buddhism, based philosophical stories, this is your answer.
Punkuj does a decent job with the narration. However the screenplay could use further depth and tighter knitting. Technically the film is astounding. With an astonishing visual presentation, the film leaps to the best of technical finesse in areas of cinematography and very effective background score. Although, editing could use improvement.
Ironically for a film that relies heavily on music for its theme, the man of the minute, music director Himmesh Reshammiya only provides an average track. Still, his rendition of “Om Namah Shivaya” is praiseworthy.
Also worthy of applaud is the performance of Raj Babbar. He excels to the max as Urmila’s goodhearted father. As for the other actors, Dimple Kapadia is functional. Naseerudhin Shah doesn’t quite reach out with his character as he should. Its almost as if he’s too well known of an actor to play the part with conviction. The same can be said for Urmila, who tries as she may, but just can’t sink into the character. When her character calls on her to be mature, she’s a misfit; and at times when she should be youthful, she looks older and tries too hard to be the bubbly schoolgirl. Ashmit Patel, proves to be an apt choice, doing average, at best.
Odd as it may be, Banaras – A Mystic Love Story offers something of value for rare audiences. Its receive’s Ritu’s invaluable 2 stars.

I’ll be honest; this was a tough film to get through even for me. Initially I thought it was slow and strange. But once you find the connection, it is possible to enjoy the little precious lessons learned.

Posted by Ritu at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)