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Category: Reviews

  • Freaky Ali….A slapstick, forced comedy

    Freaky Ali….A slapstick, forced comedy

    We have had some sports films which dealt with the theme of an underdog making it to the victory podium after a lot of struggle and toil besides, of course, the glory and honour of the nation. However, the sport has been the one which our people identify with.

    Freaky Ali is a love sports story. The sport is golf, a sport purely the domain of the rich. It is also about an underdog but not of the usual kind. In fact, he is a kind of character one would not even expect to see anywhere near a golf course.

    Golf is a sport alien to most common people anywhere in the world as it is in India. But, when a film about an independent sport like this is inspired by a Hollywood film, the sport can’t be changed from golf to cricket, a team sport.

    Nawazuddin is a debt collector along with Arbaaz Khan. Nikitin Dheer is their boss. This, Nawaz thinks, is the way to make a fast buck. The duo works for the kind the ‘finance institutions’ that existed not long ago in India to recover monies lent to retail borrowers who were not readily forthcoming with repayments.

    Earlier, in the movie, Nawaz had tried his hand at selling undergarments. But, when it came to the girl he loved the most, his proposal was rejected because of his profession.

    Nawaz lands up on the golf course during one of his loan recovery rounds. Here his boast leads him to try the sport. And, as the film stories can fit in anything, Nawaz surprises all. His latent talent in noticed by a caddie, Asif Basra, who decides to help him hone his skills.

    Abracadabra. Nawaz is now a golf champion of international standards. He is soon doing the professional circuit. He goes on a winning spree much to the discomfiture of his rival Jas Arora. Also, working against Nawaz’s interest is Nikitin, who wants him to lose at any cost.

    With success comes love — Amy Jackson.

    The film loses the battle when it borrows the idea of the sport of golf and an underdog. The comedy is forced instead of emanating naturally from the situations, and falls flat. Direction in the movie is weak to state the least and editing is slack.

    Dialogues in the movie are good at some places, especially the lines written for Nawaz. The cinematography is okay. The songs don’t entertain at all. The qawwali, Ya Ali Murtaza, is the only saving grace.

    Nawaz shines even in this mundane comedy. Arbaaz Khan manages with his limited acting skills. Asif Basra is okay. Amy has too little to do to make a mark. Jackie Shroff plays a cameo to no avail.

    Freaky Ali lacks appeal even for the growing breed of Nawaz fans.

  • Freaky Ali….A slapstick, forced comedy

    Freaky Ali….A slapstick, forced comedy

    We have had some sports films which dealt with the theme of an underdog making it to the victory podium after a lot of struggle and toil besides, of course, the glory and honour of the nation. However, the sport has been the one which our people identify with.

    Freaky Ali is a love sports story. The sport is golf, a sport purely the domain of the rich. It is also about an underdog but not of the usual kind. In fact, he is a kind of character one would not even expect to see anywhere near a golf course.

    Golf is a sport alien to most common people anywhere in the world as it is in India. But, when a film about an independent sport like this is inspired by a Hollywood film, the sport can’t be changed from golf to cricket, a team sport.

    Nawazuddin is a debt collector along with Arbaaz Khan. Nikitin Dheer is their boss. This, Nawaz thinks, is the way to make a fast buck. The duo works for the kind the ‘finance institutions’ that existed not long ago in India to recover monies lent to retail borrowers who were not readily forthcoming with repayments.

    Earlier, in the movie, Nawaz had tried his hand at selling undergarments. But, when it came to the girl he loved the most, his proposal was rejected because of his profession.

    Nawaz lands up on the golf course during one of his loan recovery rounds. Here his boast leads him to try the sport. And, as the film stories can fit in anything, Nawaz surprises all. His latent talent in noticed by a caddie, Asif Basra, who decides to help him hone his skills.

    Abracadabra. Nawaz is now a golf champion of international standards. He is soon doing the professional circuit. He goes on a winning spree much to the discomfiture of his rival Jas Arora. Also, working against Nawaz’s interest is Nikitin, who wants him to lose at any cost.

    With success comes love — Amy Jackson.

    The film loses the battle when it borrows the idea of the sport of golf and an underdog. The comedy is forced instead of emanating naturally from the situations, and falls flat. Direction in the movie is weak to state the least and editing is slack.

    Dialogues in the movie are good at some places, especially the lines written for Nawaz. The cinematography is okay. The songs don’t entertain at all. The qawwali, Ya Ali Murtaza, is the only saving grace.

    Nawaz shines even in this mundane comedy. Arbaaz Khan manages with his limited acting skills. Asif Basra is okay. Amy has too little to do to make a mark. Jackie Shroff plays a cameo to no avail.

    Freaky Ali lacks appeal even for the growing breed of Nawaz fans.

  • Baar Baar Dekho…Akhir Kyon?

    Baar Baar Dekho…Akhir Kyon?

    MUMBAI: Baar Baar Dekho, the debut directorial venture of Nitya Mehra, is a love story that spans over three decades. The makers seem to have found the basic idea from the Hollywood film, Groundhog Day (1995). Here, the idea has been used for a couple about to marry.

    Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif are born in England around the same time and their parents also decide to move back to India almost at the same time. Katrina and Sidharth meet at school and become close pals at eight. Love blossoms as they grow.

    Sidharth is a gifted mathematician while Katrina’s calling is modern art. Their love is boundless and both families are agreeable. It is time to get them to commit to each other and an engagement ceremony takes place. Sidharth is however not sure he wants to get married at that point in time. His first love is mathematics and he wants to prove himself as a math genius all over the world. At the time he was committing to Katrina, his research paper to Cambridge has been appreciated and he is invited to join the faculty.

    While Sidharth is a middleclass man who believes in making it big on his own, his would-be father-in-law, Ram Kapoor, gifts him a car and a plush flat. This puts him off further. He has an argument with Katrina to the extent that he offends her. To escape things happening around him, he hits the bottle.

    His future travel with wife Katrina is what most of this film is about. Sidharth’s life revolves round his job with little or no time for the family. His mind is so taken up by research, he is unable to connect well with his children when he meets them after gaps. Katrina expresses her displeasure with what is happening to her family life. And, to Sidharth’s discomfort, Kapoor moves in with the family to provide support to Katrina.

    Sidharth’s time with his family is like a long lost relative coming back after ages. On one occasion, he is called when his mother dies. There, he realizes that his divorced wife Katrina has remarried!

    Baar Baar Dekho is a kind of long-winding sermon to men and women planning marriage, and life thereafter. There is just about everything that is going wrong with the film. It starts with the scripting which jumps from one point to another failing to keep the audience informed.
    Sidharth’s ‘amnesia’ is least convincing. The film is beyond the director’s control soon after it takes off. The futuristic approach with communication, be it cell phone or computer, serves no purpose; even the makeup of the aged phase of the actors looks amateur.

    The film has some good songs playing in the background but don’t register as one is trying to figure out the events in the story. The popular number, Kala chashma…., is left for the end titles by which time the viewer has lost the will to stay back. Editing is sorely missing. The only thing that works for the film is the visuals. It is a beautifully shot film.
    Baar Baar Dekho is a grossly disappointing film.

    Producers: Karan Johar, Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar

    Director: Nitya Mehra

    Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Katrina Kaif, Sarika, Ram Kapoor

  • Baar Baar Dekho…Akhir Kyon?

    Baar Baar Dekho…Akhir Kyon?

    MUMBAI: Baar Baar Dekho, the debut directorial venture of Nitya Mehra, is a love story that spans over three decades. The makers seem to have found the basic idea from the Hollywood film, Groundhog Day (1995). Here, the idea has been used for a couple about to marry.

    Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif are born in England around the same time and their parents also decide to move back to India almost at the same time. Katrina and Sidharth meet at school and become close pals at eight. Love blossoms as they grow.

    Sidharth is a gifted mathematician while Katrina’s calling is modern art. Their love is boundless and both families are agreeable. It is time to get them to commit to each other and an engagement ceremony takes place. Sidharth is however not sure he wants to get married at that point in time. His first love is mathematics and he wants to prove himself as a math genius all over the world. At the time he was committing to Katrina, his research paper to Cambridge has been appreciated and he is invited to join the faculty.

    While Sidharth is a middleclass man who believes in making it big on his own, his would-be father-in-law, Ram Kapoor, gifts him a car and a plush flat. This puts him off further. He has an argument with Katrina to the extent that he offends her. To escape things happening around him, he hits the bottle.

    His future travel with wife Katrina is what most of this film is about. Sidharth’s life revolves round his job with little or no time for the family. His mind is so taken up by research, he is unable to connect well with his children when he meets them after gaps. Katrina expresses her displeasure with what is happening to her family life. And, to Sidharth’s discomfort, Kapoor moves in with the family to provide support to Katrina.

    Sidharth’s time with his family is like a long lost relative coming back after ages. On one occasion, he is called when his mother dies. There, he realizes that his divorced wife Katrina has remarried!

    Baar Baar Dekho is a kind of long-winding sermon to men and women planning marriage, and life thereafter. There is just about everything that is going wrong with the film. It starts with the scripting which jumps from one point to another failing to keep the audience informed.
    Sidharth’s ‘amnesia’ is least convincing. The film is beyond the director’s control soon after it takes off. The futuristic approach with communication, be it cell phone or computer, serves no purpose; even the makeup of the aged phase of the actors looks amateur.

    The film has some good songs playing in the background but don’t register as one is trying to figure out the events in the story. The popular number, Kala chashma…., is left for the end titles by which time the viewer has lost the will to stay back. Editing is sorely missing. The only thing that works for the film is the visuals. It is a beautifully shot film.
    Baar Baar Dekho is a grossly disappointing film.

    Producers: Karan Johar, Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar

    Director: Nitya Mehra

    Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Katrina Kaif, Sarika, Ram Kapoor

  • Akira promises but fails in execution

    Akira promises but fails in execution

    MUMBAI: Akira ventures into the woman-oriented action genre where few have dared to tread. There have only been a few films where a woman lawperson takes on the underworld, with Dimple Kapadia, Vijayashanti, Rani Mukerjee et al. The trend has been more popular with the southern filmmakers.

    In Akira, the remake of a Tamil film, Mouna Guru, there is a sort of role reversal in that, Sonakshi Sinha, playing the protagonist, Akira, gets into a situation where she is pitted against a bunch of corrupt, unscrupulous policemen led by Anurag Kashyap.

    Kashyap is corrupt to the core and does all the unlawful things he is actually supposed to stop. He drinks while on duty, smokes weed and randomly kills footpath dwellers with his rash driving. He is the typical South brand of evil film baddie. Kashyap is smart enough not to dirty his own hands and makes the three stooges under his command in the force pull the trigger when needed.

    Sonakshi is introduced in the film with the meaning of her name, Akira is derived from Sanskrit and mostly used as a girl’s name in Indian languages. The word denotes Graceful Strength. And, to live up to her given name, she is enrolled into a martial art institution by her deaf and mute schoolteacher father, Atul Kulkarni.

    A mentally tough Sonakshi moves to Mumbai where her brother works. Seeing that her bhabhi is not comfortable with her presence, Akira decides to stay at the school hostel. Here, as happens in all schools in films, she meets with a hostile group which likes to torment and rag freshers. Having had enough of the bunch, Akira takes them on. This part consumes unnecessary footage in the film just to demonstrate Sonakshi’s prowess with martial arts and toughness.. And that she won’t take injustice.

    Kashyap and his cronies come across a big cache of money from the car of an accident victim. Their greed takes over and instead of taking the dazed accident victim to a hospital, Kashyap speeds up his demise by hitting him with a jack. So far so good since Kashyap is adept at wiping his footprints. But, unknown to him, his paramour shoots a video of Kashyap discussing the crime with his stooges.

    The handycam is stolen and finally ends up at the door of the hostel room of Sonakshi. The typical south brand scheming and plotting start from here as Sonakshi goes through all sorts of torture and deterrents to keep her from leaking the content of the video. She is consigned to a mental asylum while her family as well as friends are convinced that she has lost her sanity. So much so that Sonakshi is totally isolated, with just about everybody believing in her traits and ailment.

    As the film deals with all this drama, it loses its main purpose of showing a strong woman protagonist. It borrows heavily from old films when it comes to props and ploys as per the convenience of the next scene. Even her martial arts background becomes secondary and gets very limited exposure in the climax.

    Akira has a grossly depressing story. It is a crime story the likes of which you watch on crime-based TV serials on a regular basis, but stretched beyond comfort with not an iota of relief from the negativity. Direction has an all-South touch and is predictable, the director AR Murugadoss’ record of Hindi hits, Ghajini and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty besides over a dozen South films, notwithstanding. Songs have no place in the film and, thankfully, they are avoided. Dialogue is routine. Editing is weak.

    Sonakshi Sinha does better than her previous films; this being an author backed role. Anurag Kashyap does not have to do much to look evil, otherwise, he does okay. Konkona Sen Sharma is good in a small role. Rest just fill the bill.

    Akira has had a poor opening and the word of mouth is not expected to help it pick up either.

    Producer: AR Murugadoss.
    Director: AR Murugadoss.
    Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Anurag Kashyap, Konkona Sen Sharma, Amit Sadh, Atul Kulkarni.

  • Akira promises but fails in execution

    Akira promises but fails in execution

    MUMBAI: Akira ventures into the woman-oriented action genre where few have dared to tread. There have only been a few films where a woman lawperson takes on the underworld, with Dimple Kapadia, Vijayashanti, Rani Mukerjee et al. The trend has been more popular with the southern filmmakers.

    In Akira, the remake of a Tamil film, Mouna Guru, there is a sort of role reversal in that, Sonakshi Sinha, playing the protagonist, Akira, gets into a situation where she is pitted against a bunch of corrupt, unscrupulous policemen led by Anurag Kashyap.

    Kashyap is corrupt to the core and does all the unlawful things he is actually supposed to stop. He drinks while on duty, smokes weed and randomly kills footpath dwellers with his rash driving. He is the typical South brand of evil film baddie. Kashyap is smart enough not to dirty his own hands and makes the three stooges under his command in the force pull the trigger when needed.

    Sonakshi is introduced in the film with the meaning of her name, Akira is derived from Sanskrit and mostly used as a girl’s name in Indian languages. The word denotes Graceful Strength. And, to live up to her given name, she is enrolled into a martial art institution by her deaf and mute schoolteacher father, Atul Kulkarni.

    A mentally tough Sonakshi moves to Mumbai where her brother works. Seeing that her bhabhi is not comfortable with her presence, Akira decides to stay at the school hostel. Here, as happens in all schools in films, she meets with a hostile group which likes to torment and rag freshers. Having had enough of the bunch, Akira takes them on. This part consumes unnecessary footage in the film just to demonstrate Sonakshi’s prowess with martial arts and toughness.. And that she won’t take injustice.

    Kashyap and his cronies come across a big cache of money from the car of an accident victim. Their greed takes over and instead of taking the dazed accident victim to a hospital, Kashyap speeds up his demise by hitting him with a jack. So far so good since Kashyap is adept at wiping his footprints. But, unknown to him, his paramour shoots a video of Kashyap discussing the crime with his stooges.

    The handycam is stolen and finally ends up at the door of the hostel room of Sonakshi. The typical south brand scheming and plotting start from here as Sonakshi goes through all sorts of torture and deterrents to keep her from leaking the content of the video. She is consigned to a mental asylum while her family as well as friends are convinced that she has lost her sanity. So much so that Sonakshi is totally isolated, with just about everybody believing in her traits and ailment.

    As the film deals with all this drama, it loses its main purpose of showing a strong woman protagonist. It borrows heavily from old films when it comes to props and ploys as per the convenience of the next scene. Even her martial arts background becomes secondary and gets very limited exposure in the climax.

    Akira has a grossly depressing story. It is a crime story the likes of which you watch on crime-based TV serials on a regular basis, but stretched beyond comfort with not an iota of relief from the negativity. Direction has an all-South touch and is predictable, the director AR Murugadoss’ record of Hindi hits, Ghajini and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty besides over a dozen South films, notwithstanding. Songs have no place in the film and, thankfully, they are avoided. Dialogue is routine. Editing is weak.

    Sonakshi Sinha does better than her previous films; this being an author backed role. Anurag Kashyap does not have to do much to look evil, otherwise, he does okay. Konkona Sen Sharma is good in a small role. Rest just fill the bill.

    Akira has had a poor opening and the word of mouth is not expected to help it pick up either.

    Producer: AR Murugadoss.
    Director: AR Murugadoss.
    Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Anurag Kashyap, Konkona Sen Sharma, Amit Sadh, Atul Kulkarni.

  • ‘A Flying Jatt’ is passable kid stuff

    ‘A Flying Jatt’ is passable kid stuff

    The producers of A Flying Jatt,  Balaji Motion Pictures, takes a total diversion with this film. From their earlier blend of films with mainly adult themes, they have moved to a film that caters to children and the preteen lot. Complately inspired by foreign superhero films, A Flying Jatt keeps Indian sensibilities as its main theme instead.

    The film follows in the footsteps of earlier films of this genre: the incognito superhero kinds like Boney Kapoor’s Mr India (1987), Rakesh Roshan’s Krrish (2006) and Krrish3 (2013), Romu Sippy’s Shiva KaInsaaf (3D- 1985), Tinnu Anand’s Shahenshah(1988) and earlier ones like Kishore Kumar-starrer Mr X In Bombay (1964), which dealt with the villains of the mortal kind.

    A Flying Jatt is about a superhero who propagates Swachh Bharat or Clean India and sings paeans to the valour and glory of the Sikh community and fights a super villain.

    Tiger Shroff is a martial arts instructor at a local school in Punjab. Thanks to his blundering ways and shy nature, he is never taken seriously and even his mastery over the art is passable. His young students make fun of him. While he nurses a silent love for Jacqueline Fernandez, he can’t gather the courage to express it.

    Tiger is the son of Amrita Singh who always pushes him to take inspiration from his dead father who was considered a hero by the locals. Amrita’s troubles start when a drug mafia run by KK Menon decides to grab her land, which would help his drug factory save millions in money as well as time, due to easy access to the drug markets. But the piece of land holds deep memories for Amrita and it also has a 200 year old tree that is worshipped by the people.

    Menon fails to convince Amrita with money and tries the only other way he knows: by sending out his goons. While the average goons are dealt with by Amrita herself, the tougher ones are for Tiger to handle. To match the strength of Tiger, he sends out his ultimate weapon, the gigantic-looking Nathan Jones (an Australian actor, power-lifting champion and an ex-professional wrestler). Jones takes on Tiger who, in the process of their duel, gets blessed by the sacred tree with super powers and also gets the imprints of the religious symbol of Sikh faith on his back.

    Tiger can now do things a normal human can’t like flying and also packing a powerful punch. Jones, who was buried in the mud, returns to the scene more powerful now as his blood has turned black and he survives by whiffing on polluted air and other waste strewn around by the society. Thanks to the people’s apathy towards environment, Jones is unbeatable, at least on Planet Earth.

    Amrita wants Tiger to don the pagree his father wore, which he refuses because other kids made fun of him with Sikh jokes. While the film goes on to teach people the virtue of keeping the environs clean as well as planting more trees, Amrita, for her part, initiates Tiger into the virtues of Sikh way of life and tells him stories of their exploits.

    Meanwhile, Menon has mended his ways after he almost lost his daughter to pollution-related ailment. But, by this time, Jones is out of control. He has a personal grudge against Tiger now.

    A Flying Jatt does not have much of a story. It is about a simpleton who gains super powers and a lot of footage goes into showing his prowess as he saves people in distress, from calamities as well as goons.

    The length at 151 minutes makes things repetitive while trying for a film aimed mainly at children. In the first half, some comic scenes entertain its target audience. The direction is good in general with impressive use of special effects; the effects in the song ,which also has a nice melodious feel to it, are good. Beat pe booty… is already popular and both songs are appealing. Cinematography is competent. Tiger Shroff excels in dances and action, both being his forte. Jacqueline is okay. Amrita Singh makes her presence felt, while KK Menon has little to do. Nathan Jones can’t act and his drawls are incomprehensible. The film needed to be edited extensively.

    A Flying Jatt is a passable fare with appeal for kids besides audiences in Delhi and Punjab generally. Released on Thursday to cash in on the festive mood of Janmashtami, it gets three more days to rake in the moolah over the weekend at the box office. Sustenance thereafter will be tough.

    Producers: Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor.

    Director: Remo D’Souza.

    Cast: Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez, Amrita Singh, KK Menon, Nathan Jones and Shraddha Kapoor in a cameo.

  • ‘A Flying Jatt’ is passable kid stuff

    ‘A Flying Jatt’ is passable kid stuff

    The producers of A Flying Jatt,  Balaji Motion Pictures, takes a total diversion with this film. From their earlier blend of films with mainly adult themes, they have moved to a film that caters to children and the preteen lot. Complately inspired by foreign superhero films, A Flying Jatt keeps Indian sensibilities as its main theme instead.

    The film follows in the footsteps of earlier films of this genre: the incognito superhero kinds like Boney Kapoor’s Mr India (1987), Rakesh Roshan’s Krrish (2006) and Krrish3 (2013), Romu Sippy’s Shiva KaInsaaf (3D- 1985), Tinnu Anand’s Shahenshah(1988) and earlier ones like Kishore Kumar-starrer Mr X In Bombay (1964), which dealt with the villains of the mortal kind.

    A Flying Jatt is about a superhero who propagates Swachh Bharat or Clean India and sings paeans to the valour and glory of the Sikh community and fights a super villain.

    Tiger Shroff is a martial arts instructor at a local school in Punjab. Thanks to his blundering ways and shy nature, he is never taken seriously and even his mastery over the art is passable. His young students make fun of him. While he nurses a silent love for Jacqueline Fernandez, he can’t gather the courage to express it.

    Tiger is the son of Amrita Singh who always pushes him to take inspiration from his dead father who was considered a hero by the locals. Amrita’s troubles start when a drug mafia run by KK Menon decides to grab her land, which would help his drug factory save millions in money as well as time, due to easy access to the drug markets. But the piece of land holds deep memories for Amrita and it also has a 200 year old tree that is worshipped by the people.

    Menon fails to convince Amrita with money and tries the only other way he knows: by sending out his goons. While the average goons are dealt with by Amrita herself, the tougher ones are for Tiger to handle. To match the strength of Tiger, he sends out his ultimate weapon, the gigantic-looking Nathan Jones (an Australian actor, power-lifting champion and an ex-professional wrestler). Jones takes on Tiger who, in the process of their duel, gets blessed by the sacred tree with super powers and also gets the imprints of the religious symbol of Sikh faith on his back.

    Tiger can now do things a normal human can’t like flying and also packing a powerful punch. Jones, who was buried in the mud, returns to the scene more powerful now as his blood has turned black and he survives by whiffing on polluted air and other waste strewn around by the society. Thanks to the people’s apathy towards environment, Jones is unbeatable, at least on Planet Earth.

    Amrita wants Tiger to don the pagree his father wore, which he refuses because other kids made fun of him with Sikh jokes. While the film goes on to teach people the virtue of keeping the environs clean as well as planting more trees, Amrita, for her part, initiates Tiger into the virtues of Sikh way of life and tells him stories of their exploits.

    Meanwhile, Menon has mended his ways after he almost lost his daughter to pollution-related ailment. But, by this time, Jones is out of control. He has a personal grudge against Tiger now.

    A Flying Jatt does not have much of a story. It is about a simpleton who gains super powers and a lot of footage goes into showing his prowess as he saves people in distress, from calamities as well as goons.

    The length at 151 minutes makes things repetitive while trying for a film aimed mainly at children. In the first half, some comic scenes entertain its target audience. The direction is good in general with impressive use of special effects; the effects in the song ,which also has a nice melodious feel to it, are good. Beat pe booty… is already popular and both songs are appealing. Cinematography is competent. Tiger Shroff excels in dances and action, both being his forte. Jacqueline is okay. Amrita Singh makes her presence felt, while KK Menon has little to do. Nathan Jones can’t act and his drawls are incomprehensible. The film needed to be edited extensively.

    A Flying Jatt is a passable fare with appeal for kids besides audiences in Delhi and Punjab generally. Released on Thursday to cash in on the festive mood of Janmashtami, it gets three more days to rake in the moolah over the weekend at the box office. Sustenance thereafter will be tough.

    Producers: Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor.

    Director: Remo D’Souza.

    Cast: Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez, Amrita Singh, KK Menon, Nathan Jones and Shraddha Kapoor in a cameo.

  • Happy Bhag Jayegi, Unindian: blending of different cultures dominate cinemas this week

    Happy Bhag Jayegi, Unindian: blending of different cultures dominate cinemas this week

    MUMBAI: There are quite a few films around stories of India-Pakistan cross connections and some seem to benefit both Hindi as well as Pakistani industries as the trans-border themes find more acceptance because of commonality in cultures and could help create a common market.

    Happy Bhag Jayegi takes the two countries one story film even closer in cultures. The story in this film moves within 50 kilometers on two sides Punjab: Amritsar in India and Lahore in Pakistan. As expected, the film has an extensive use of Punjabi dialogue.

    In age-old tradition, Happy aka Diana Penty’s marriage is fixed to an aspiring local politician Jimmy Shergill by her father Kanwaljit Singh. But, Diana is deeply and truly in love with Ali Fazal, a wannabe musician. The wedding ceremony is about to take place when, as planned, Happy jumps in to an open truck parked under her window to make her escape to meet Ali.

    Not wanting to be found, Diana hides herself in a huge carton. But, there has been a mistake. Diana has jumped into a wrong truck and this truck is headed to Lahore in Pakistan via Wagah check post to deliver some stuff there. The carton lands at its destination at the house of Abhay Deol, son of the Punjab province ex-governor Javaid Sheikh.

    Abhay is engaged to his childhood friend Momal Sheikh. This is when Diana makes her presence felt, jumping out of the carton. This spells trouble for Abhay as Momal suspects some hanky-panky between Diana and Abhay. It takes a while for Abhay to clear all doubts as both, Momal and Abhay decide to help Diana unite with Ali.

    Abhay decides to make a trip to India to find Ali and bring him to Pakistan to bring the two lovers together. In India, he has to contend with Jimmy and his goons who are holding Ali in captivity. While Abhay is away in India, Jimmy’s contacts in Pakistan have kidnapped Diana who is now under their custody.

    Javaid sees in Abhay a worthy heir to his political ambitions. His catch phrase in anything to do with Pakistan is: Will change the history of Pakistan. And he feels Abhay can do it too. As a political ploy, Abhay convinces Javaid that they should arrange a community marriage of 100 needy suitors which would help them gain political mileage. Actually, his plan is to also get Ali and Diana tie the knot in the crowd of 100 couples, now that he has brought Ali from India and also got Diana freed.

    The marriage jamboree is about to begin when Jimmy who followed Abhay to Pakistan plans to take Ali’s place in the wedding ceremony. Kanwaljit has also reached the venue and a free for all follows making for a funny climax.

    Happy Bhag Jayegi is a fairly funny movie with no real negative shades as villains also have comic shades. The film is well scripted as its first half passes smoothly. It sags in the second half, making up to some extent in the climax. There is a problem as the film uses too much of Punjabi – in typical local twang. Direction is able. India Pakistan locales are mixed well. Thankfully, the film has few songs and all are peppy blending well with the theme. Cinematography is good.

    Performances are generally good. Abhay Deol is restrained. Jimmy Shergill is impressive as ever, this time in a comic role. Diana Penty impresses in the role of a typical tomboyish Punjabi girl. Ali Fazal carries his deadpan expression through as needed for his character. Momal Sheikh is fair. Special mention must be made of Piyush Mishra who excels.

    The film, as expected, has had a poor opening and some improvement over the weekend will be limited mainly to Delhi-Punjab areas due to use of Punjabi flavour and language in the film.

    Producers: Anand L Rai, Krishika Lulla.
    Director: Mudassar Aziz.
    Cast: Abhay Deol, Diana Penty, Ali Fazal, Jimmy Shergill, Javaid Sheikh, Momal Sheikh, Kanwaljit Singh, Piyush Mishra.

    UnIndian

    UnIndian is a crossover romance drama and this time, the action moves from our traditional base of such romances – UK or US – to down under in Australia. With a self-made but divorcee woman and traditional parents, a cultural clash becomes the mainstay of this film. While usually such films are loaded with loud Punjabi characters; this one is not.

    Tannishtha Chatterjee is a divorcee living in Australia. She has a daughter and parents, Supriya Pathak and Akash Khurana, who retain their Indian values and traditions. Supriya and Akash, like all well-meaning Indian parents, want their daughter to find a doctor or some such of an Indian background, well settled in life to begin her life anew.

    Bret Lee is an Australian who teaches English as it is used in Australia at the university. The plan is for the settlers from all over to learn the language making it easier for them to blend in society. The tables turn on Lee when he sees and instantly falls in love with Tannishtha. Now he needs to learn things that are Indian.

    Lee has help at hand in Arka Das, his Indian roommate who is a TV anchor of a food show. Arka knows only as much about India as Lee does but guides him all the same. This helps create some funny situations and laughter.

    The love story deals with some side issues while also promoting some tourism for Australia as the love story braves the cultural divide.

    UnIndian is a mildly funny film about meeting of two cultures through the easiest route: a love story. The script is plain with some loose ends but there is just about as much you can do in such a story where distractions cannot be crammed in as in action or song and dance. Direction is fair and the second half of the film goes a bit awry while dealing with unnecessary mush Indian style. Dialogue is simple and witty. Cinematography is competent.

    Tannishtha Chatterjee is natural and sails through the film easily. Bret Lee is better than expected. Arka Das is very good. Supriya Pathak is natural. Akash Khurana and the rest are okay in support.

    UnIndian will find very limited patronage at a few metro multiplexes.

    Producer: Krian Pictures.
    Direction: Anupam Sharma.
    Cast: Brett Lee, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Supriya Pathak, Akash Khurana, Arka Das, Gulshan Grover, Pallavi Sharda.

  • Happy Bhag Jayegi, Unindian: blending of different cultures dominate cinemas this week

    Happy Bhag Jayegi, Unindian: blending of different cultures dominate cinemas this week

    MUMBAI: There are quite a few films around stories of India-Pakistan cross connections and some seem to benefit both Hindi as well as Pakistani industries as the trans-border themes find more acceptance because of commonality in cultures and could help create a common market.

    Happy Bhag Jayegi takes the two countries one story film even closer in cultures. The story in this film moves within 50 kilometers on two sides Punjab: Amritsar in India and Lahore in Pakistan. As expected, the film has an extensive use of Punjabi dialogue.

    In age-old tradition, Happy aka Diana Penty’s marriage is fixed to an aspiring local politician Jimmy Shergill by her father Kanwaljit Singh. But, Diana is deeply and truly in love with Ali Fazal, a wannabe musician. The wedding ceremony is about to take place when, as planned, Happy jumps in to an open truck parked under her window to make her escape to meet Ali.

    Not wanting to be found, Diana hides herself in a huge carton. But, there has been a mistake. Diana has jumped into a wrong truck and this truck is headed to Lahore in Pakistan via Wagah check post to deliver some stuff there. The carton lands at its destination at the house of Abhay Deol, son of the Punjab province ex-governor Javaid Sheikh.

    Abhay is engaged to his childhood friend Momal Sheikh. This is when Diana makes her presence felt, jumping out of the carton. This spells trouble for Abhay as Momal suspects some hanky-panky between Diana and Abhay. It takes a while for Abhay to clear all doubts as both, Momal and Abhay decide to help Diana unite with Ali.

    Abhay decides to make a trip to India to find Ali and bring him to Pakistan to bring the two lovers together. In India, he has to contend with Jimmy and his goons who are holding Ali in captivity. While Abhay is away in India, Jimmy’s contacts in Pakistan have kidnapped Diana who is now under their custody.

    Javaid sees in Abhay a worthy heir to his political ambitions. His catch phrase in anything to do with Pakistan is: Will change the history of Pakistan. And he feels Abhay can do it too. As a political ploy, Abhay convinces Javaid that they should arrange a community marriage of 100 needy suitors which would help them gain political mileage. Actually, his plan is to also get Ali and Diana tie the knot in the crowd of 100 couples, now that he has brought Ali from India and also got Diana freed.

    The marriage jamboree is about to begin when Jimmy who followed Abhay to Pakistan plans to take Ali’s place in the wedding ceremony. Kanwaljit has also reached the venue and a free for all follows making for a funny climax.

    Happy Bhag Jayegi is a fairly funny movie with no real negative shades as villains also have comic shades. The film is well scripted as its first half passes smoothly. It sags in the second half, making up to some extent in the climax. There is a problem as the film uses too much of Punjabi – in typical local twang. Direction is able. India Pakistan locales are mixed well. Thankfully, the film has few songs and all are peppy blending well with the theme. Cinematography is good.

    Performances are generally good. Abhay Deol is restrained. Jimmy Shergill is impressive as ever, this time in a comic role. Diana Penty impresses in the role of a typical tomboyish Punjabi girl. Ali Fazal carries his deadpan expression through as needed for his character. Momal Sheikh is fair. Special mention must be made of Piyush Mishra who excels.

    The film, as expected, has had a poor opening and some improvement over the weekend will be limited mainly to Delhi-Punjab areas due to use of Punjabi flavour and language in the film.

    Producers: Anand L Rai, Krishika Lulla.
    Director: Mudassar Aziz.
    Cast: Abhay Deol, Diana Penty, Ali Fazal, Jimmy Shergill, Javaid Sheikh, Momal Sheikh, Kanwaljit Singh, Piyush Mishra.

    UnIndian

    UnIndian is a crossover romance drama and this time, the action moves from our traditional base of such romances – UK or US – to down under in Australia. With a self-made but divorcee woman and traditional parents, a cultural clash becomes the mainstay of this film. While usually such films are loaded with loud Punjabi characters; this one is not.

    Tannishtha Chatterjee is a divorcee living in Australia. She has a daughter and parents, Supriya Pathak and Akash Khurana, who retain their Indian values and traditions. Supriya and Akash, like all well-meaning Indian parents, want their daughter to find a doctor or some such of an Indian background, well settled in life to begin her life anew.

    Bret Lee is an Australian who teaches English as it is used in Australia at the university. The plan is for the settlers from all over to learn the language making it easier for them to blend in society. The tables turn on Lee when he sees and instantly falls in love with Tannishtha. Now he needs to learn things that are Indian.

    Lee has help at hand in Arka Das, his Indian roommate who is a TV anchor of a food show. Arka knows only as much about India as Lee does but guides him all the same. This helps create some funny situations and laughter.

    The love story deals with some side issues while also promoting some tourism for Australia as the love story braves the cultural divide.

    UnIndian is a mildly funny film about meeting of two cultures through the easiest route: a love story. The script is plain with some loose ends but there is just about as much you can do in such a story where distractions cannot be crammed in as in action or song and dance. Direction is fair and the second half of the film goes a bit awry while dealing with unnecessary mush Indian style. Dialogue is simple and witty. Cinematography is competent.

    Tannishtha Chatterjee is natural and sails through the film easily. Bret Lee is better than expected. Arka Das is very good. Supriya Pathak is natural. Akash Khurana and the rest are okay in support.

    UnIndian will find very limited patronage at a few metro multiplexes.

    Producer: Krian Pictures.
    Direction: Anupam Sharma.
    Cast: Brett Lee, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Supriya Pathak, Akash Khurana, Arka Das, Gulshan Grover, Pallavi Sharda.