Hindi

Do not expect any novelty in the plot

Published

14 years ago

May 4, 2012

MUMBAI: Jannat 2 is a cookie-cutter Mukesh Bhatt-Emraan Hashmi film where the hero is lured into petty criminal activities to earn money and aspires to get into bigger crimes to make more money. That is when a woman enters his life and he wants to change for the better.Emraan Hashmi‘s character need not be rewritten since it is the same as the earlier Jannat; he is a petty criminal in Delhi who, under the guise of selling fabric cut pieces, deals in country-made guns. He is picked up by an almost lunatic policeman, Randeep Hooda, who is obsessed with finishing off the business of such guns because his wife, who he loved very much, was shot dead by one such gun.

Hooda wants to use Hashmi to reach the kingpin behind the origins of this business. Hurt in his encounter with Hooda, Hashmi goes to a charity hospital for dressing; following the cyclostyled Bhatt Brothers script where just names change along with the kind of underworld the film is going to deal with, he falls for the doctor, Esha Gupta. His pursuit finally pays off when she agrees to marry him; now he has to mend his ways, give up illegal activities and make a decent life with her.

Hooda has different plan. He wants Hashmi to join the arms ring and reach to the top to uncover the ultimate head. As things turn, Hashmi is stuck between two people, the maniacal Hooda and the ring kingpin, Manish Choudhary. While there is no way he can get out of the trap, he also has to make sure his love, Gupta, does not find out the truth.

Hashmi has to tread carefully within the triangle, a process which lacks twists and turns and often becomes repetitive: his scenes with the cop and Gupta, trying to get free of Hooda‘s grip, dodging the suspicions of the kingpin and balancing his act with Gupta.

It is during first hour while Hashmi plays the tapori along with a sidekick, Zeeshan Ayub, that the film is fun. It gets predictable thereafter due to which the second half of the film loses pace at many places. His chasing Esha Gupta probably needed some more footage to add to the romance angle.

What has changed from the formula is the location and the kind of illegal activity the film deals with, so there is no novelty to be expected in the plot. Considering this, the film needed to be a little tauter.

Direction is copybook style. Music, which has usually been the strong point of Mukesh Bhatt films, is not up the mark here. Cinematography is good. Dialogue is mostly street variety with generous use of Hindi bad words. Emraan Hashmi has to play his usual self being a street smart petty conman. Randeep Hooda goes overboard as a cop gone berserk. Esha Gupta, luckily, does not need to show any histrionics and looks mature. Brijendra Kala impresses with mere expressions having few lines to mouth. Manish Choudhary is passable. Zeeshan Ayub shows promise.

Jannat 2 has opened to a very good response, thanks to the brand equity created by Bhatt banner-Emraan Hashmi-Jannat success combine. However, to make profit for the distributor, the film will have to do much more business than the biggest Emraan Hashmi hit.

Fatso is neither a comedy nor a romance

Original ideas are at a premium and inspiration dignifies lifting ideas from the older movies. Fatso finds its roots in a 1968 Hindi film, Jhuk Gaya Asman, which was copied from a 1941 Hollywood film, Here Comes Mr Jordan, which was in turn adapted from the play, Heaven Can Wait. It has since been made a few more times in film (Heaven Can Wait, 1978, and Down To Earth, 2001 as well as for TV). While Jhuk Gaya Asman was about romance backed up with family wealth, jealousies and treachery, Fatso attempts to make this into a modern youth-centric romance-comedy but emerges as a half-baked product; more like a TV episode.

Purab Kohli, Ranvir Shorey and Neil Bhoopalam are bum chums. Kohli and Gul Panag are deeply in love and are planning their wedding; Bhoopalam has a relationship going with Gunjan Bakshi while Shorey is the one without any ties mainly because he is big, fat and paunchy.

Life is all fun until one day the three friends are driving on a foggy highway and meet with an accident, killing Kohli. It turns out that there is no heaven or hell; dead people only go to a department where there are hundreds of people lining up for nobody knows what; files are made on them after which they can then live without sleep or hunger or any human feelings. The place is more chaotic than an Indian interstate bus depot. The department realises that bringing in Kohli is a blunder and it was really Shorey who was supposed to be killed in the mishap. After some supposed to be funny (but not really funny) scenes, it is decided to send Kohli back on earth but since his body has already been cremated, he has to get into Shorey‘s body, who was to die in the first place.

Wanting to make the most of Kohli‘s death, his friend Bhoopalam wants to win over Panag and dump his own girlfriend. As Kohli, in the form of Shorey, knows he can‘t convince anyone of the reality, he keeps foiling Bhoopalam‘s attempts till finally, Panag sees him filling the void in her life and falls for him. While Kohli in Shorey‘s body gets his love back, Panag has found a new love altogether.

The problem with Fatso is that, it neither succeeds in delivering a comedy nor the moments of romance. Script is rather loose and direction routine. Performance wise, Ranvir Shorey emerges as the best of the lot. Purab Kohli is good; Neil Bhoopalam and Gunjan Bakshi are okay. Gul Panag is her usual bubbly self. Of the rest, Brijendra Kala makes his presence felt.

Fatso has been released at limited screens with one to two shows a day but finding audience will still be a challenge.

Related Topics:Emraan Hashmi Esha Gupta Randeep Hooda

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Hindi

Boney Kapoor acquires remake rights of Tamil political satire Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil

Strong word-of-mouth turns Pongal satire into remake pick

Published

1 day ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A Pongal release, a village satire and a theatre visit in Coimbatore have turned into Boney Kapoor’s latest acquisition. The producer has secured the remake rights to the Tamil political satire Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil (TTT), a film that has been enjoying a strong theatrical run powered by word-of-mouth and praise for its sharp, rooted writing.

Set in a rural milieu, the story follows a panchayat leader thrown into disarray when a wedding and a funeral land on the same day. What unfolds is a swirl of satire and humour that skewers local politics, power games, bruised egos and family tensions, all anchored in the textures of everyday village life.

Kapoor first encountered the film earlier this year while in Coimbatore for the Celebrity Cricket League. With time to spare, he caught a screening at a local theatre. That viewing proved decisive. According to sources, the narrative style, performances and the film’s balance of political commentary and comedy caught his attention.

Interest quickly turned into intent. Kapoor reached out to the producers soon after to explore a remake. Talks gathered pace over the following weeks and came to a head last Friday at the film’s success party in Chennai, where Kapoor joined the celebrations and continued negotiations with the makers.

By the end of the evening, the deal was sealed, with Kapoor formally acquiring the remake rights.

For an industry constantly mining regional cinema for the next crossover story, the move is telling. A small-town satire with local flavour has found a national backer. And if Kapoor’s instincts hold, a tale born in one village may soon echo far beyond it.

Hindi

Fans take centre stage as Zee Cine awards turns the spotlight around

Published

3 days ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the applause gets louder than the dialogue, you know the fans have taken over. That was the unmistakable mood as Zee formally announced the Zee Cine Awards 2026, flipping the script to celebrate not just cinema’s stars, but the people who cheer them on the loudest.

The 24th edition of the awards marks a fresh chapter in Zee’s long-standing relationship with Hindi cinema, anchored in its fan-first philosophy, Fantertainment. This year’s theme, ‘Yeh Pal Hai Fans Ka’, reinforces a simple idea: cinema’s most powerful moments are shaped as much by audiences as by actors on screen. Presented by Maruti Suzuki, the awards aim to turn fandom into the main event.

The announcement, held in Mumbai, was anything but a routine press conference. Bollywood stars Akshay Kumar, Tamannaah Bhatia, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Aparshakti Khurana, composer Mithoon and singer Palak Muchhal joined fans to kick off the celebrations, turning the launch into a high-voltage, participative spectacle.

Staying true to the theme, fans didn’t just watch the announcement, they drove it. Akshay Kumar took the lead, pulling fellow stars on stage and energising the room, before the unveiling of a live LED Fan Meter. Powered purely by audience cheers, the rising meter culminated in the reveal of the Zee Cine Awards 2026 ground event date, announced in unison with fans, blurring the line between performer and spectator.

The momentum continued as Tamannaah Bhatia, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa and Aparshakti Khurana recreated iconic hook steps, joined by Mithoon and Palak Muchhal for music-led interactions. Games, spontaneous performances and playful banter kept the focus firmly on shared moments, underscoring the evolving bond between cinema and its audience.

Beyond the launch, the awards will roll out as a multi-platform journey across television, digital, print and fan-led experiences. The aim is sustained engagement from the first announcement to awards night cementing fandom as a cultural force rather than a footnote.

Commenting on the milestone edition Zee head of advertisement revenue, broadcast & digital Laxmi Shetty said the 24th Zee Cine Awards continue to draw strength from the network’s omni-channel ecosystem, reflecting how audiences consume content today across TV, digital and social platforms. She noted that long-standing brand associations, including Maruti Suzuki’s three-year partnership and support from brands such as Hell Energy, underline the platform’s scale, trust and cultural relevance.

As Zee Cine Awards 2026 gathers pace, one thing is clear: this year, the loudest cheers won’t just echo in the auditorium, they’ll shape the show itself.

Hindi

Prime Video to stream Don’t Be Shy, produced by Alia Bhatt

Published

2 weeks ago

January 30, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Prime Video has found its next feel-good original, and it comes with a healthy dose of heart, humour and youthful chaos. The streaming platform has announced Don’t Be Shy, a coming-of-age romantic comedy produced by Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt under their banner, Eternal Sunshine Productions.

Written and directed by Sreeti Mukerji, the film follows Shyamili ‘Shy’ Das, a 20-year-old who believes her life is neatly mapped out until it suddenly is not. What follows is a relatable tumble through friendship, love and the awkward art of growing up, when plans unravel and certainty gives way to self-discovery.

The project is co-produced by Grishma Shah and Vikesh Bhutani, with music composed by Ram Sampath, adding to the film’s promise of warmth and energy. Prime Video describes the story as light-hearted yet emotionally grounded, with a strong female-led narrative at its core.

Prime Video India director and head of originals Nikhil Madhok, said the platform was delighted to collaborate with Eternal Sunshine on a story that blends sincerity with humour. He noted that the film’s fresh writing, earnest characters and infectious music make it an easy, engaging watch for audiences well beyond its young adult setting.

For Alia Bhatt, Don’t Be Shy reflects the kind of storytelling Eternal Sunshine set out to champion. She said the film stood out for its honesty, its coming-of-age perspective and Mukerji’s passion, which she felt was deeply woven into the narrative. Bhatt also praised Prime Video for supporting distinctive voices and bold creative choices.

With its breezy tone and familiar emotional beats, Don’t Be Shy aims to charm viewers whether they are rom-com regulars or simply in the mood for a warm, unpretentious story about life refusing to stick to the plan.