ITV

Tag: Ashutosh Rana

  • Delhi Capitals & Fever FM celebrates Children’s Day with visually impaired kids from Saksham

    Delhi Capitals & Fever FM celebrates Children’s Day with visually impaired kids from Saksham

    Mumbai: The JSW and GMR co-owned franchise Delhi Capitals, along with its Radio partner Fever FM, celebrated Children’s Day with visually impaired kids from Saksham, an NGO dedicated to the welfare and empowerment of individuals with visual impairment. To mark Children’s Day, team DC & team Fever conceptualised ‘Ek Roshni: An Audio Drama Festival’ at the radio station’s headquarters.

    The audio drama, narrated by actors Ajay Devgn and Ashutosh Rana, featured captivating tales from India’s freedom struggle and was curated for visually impaired children aged 8-16.

    Speaking on the occasion, Saksham IT head and sports coordinator Hari Narayan said, “This concept of an audio drama is really great, it allows individuals with visual impairment to enjoy the experience equally as those with clear vision. I think the kids really enjoyed it. It’s a festive season, and the timing of this celebration was ideal. We closely follow Delhi Capitals, we have some great talent in sports at Saksham. We’re thankful to Delhi Capitals and Fever FM for this great initiative.

    Delhi Capitals is deeply humbled and grateful to have had the opportunity to interact with students and staff from Saksham and bring a smile on their faces on the occasion of Children’s Day.

  • In nostalgia trip, Tata Sky Seniors brings back hit DD show Swabhimaan

    In nostalgia trip, Tata Sky Seniors brings back hit DD show Swabhimaan

    New Delhi: The 90s’ hit Doordarshan soap Swabhimaan directed by Mahesh Bhatt and Debaloy Dey has returned to the TV screen after a long gap of 25 years. The show is being exclusively aired on Tata Sky Seniors.

    The iconic drama that ruled the afternoon primetime on television screens in the 1990s was the first TV serial to finish 500 episodes. Scripted by the columnist and novelist Shobha De and Vinod Ranganath, Swabhimaan brings back the story of succession rights and property entanglements that made waves with its original telecast in 1994.

    It is supported by a stellar cast including Rohit Roy, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Achint Kaur, Tanaaz Currim, Rajeev Paul, Anju Mahendru, Kitu Gidwani, Deepak Parashar and many more. The show narrates the story of its protagonist, Svetlana, who finds herself in a battle where there are no real winners. Insecurity, suspicion, and fear threatens to erode her vivacious spirit as she struggles to come to terms with her position – that of a pampered mistress whose tycoon patron Keshav Malhotra dies leaving her to cope with the ugly aftermath of the tragedy.

    Actor Rohit Roy said, “The audience has seen and appreciated me in several roles and characters over the years but every actor has a special show and character in his life that changes his life forever and for me, that was the character of Rishabh Malhotra in the show Swabhimaan. This iconic show returns on the TV screens, on Tata Sky Seniors, after 25 years and it is a dream come true not only for me but for a lot of people who have awaited the return of the show. Thank you so much for 25 years of love. It's time we give it back to you.”

    The show is exclusively available on Tata Sky Seniors on channel no. 505 from 19 April, Monday to Friday at 12 pm and 9 pm, with a repeat telecast at 7:30 pm on Sundays.

  • #AajTakSabseTez rolls out new film ‘Zara Jhukke’

    #AajTakSabseTez rolls out new film ‘Zara Jhukke’

    NEW DELHI: As part of the ongoing viral campaign #AajTakSabseTez, news channel Aaj Tak has launched the fifth film of the series. Titled Zara Jhukke, the film features Chitra Tripathi and throws light on how increasingly many news channels have political leanings and biases. Aaj Tak on the other hand does not need to do that. It believes in straight forward reporting without any political leanings.

    Conceptualised and directed by the widely acclaimed writer-director Pradeep Sarkar, #AajTakSabseTez campaign is a satirical take on the current news environment in the country and entertainingly highlights the relaxed standards of reporting by some players in the age of fake news. The first film Sach Ka Band brought to light the exaggeration of events while presenting the news; the second film Achaar Gully highlighted the importance of credibility over sensationalism; the third film Afwaah showed the rampant practice of rumour mongering in news and the fourth film Khabaristan took a dig at resorting to convenient truths. The campaign is already talk of the town as many celebrities including Sania Mirza, Ashutosh Rana, Jwala Gutta, Mika, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina and many more have been tweeting about it. 

    Aaj Tak and its brave journalists have brought a ringside view of every major happening in the country. While many news outlets may have clear leanings, Aaj Tak has always taken the middle ground, without any bias. As the depth of echo chambers increases, the need for a shared platform where both sides can be heard is essential. A place where people can agree to disagree is the need of the hour. Aaj Tak is that listening room, that middle ground for the two sides to continue a meaningful dialogue. What else is a society if not a vibrant conversation in progress?

    These films, while depicting Aaj Tak’s relentless pursuit to always side with the truth, are equally sure to put a smile on your face.

    You can watch the film here: 

  • Shorgul……About nothing….

    Shorgul……About nothing….

    MUMBAI: Providing entertainment to the high priced admission rates paying audience seems to be no more the reason why many producers/ directors make films. That too in a country where each state charges entertainment tax at whim, and, which consists of a major portion of the admission rates.

    Shorgul is another film that decides to coincide its content with the incidents that happened in a particular state, UP in this case, driven by communal politics. So the content is the routine say, a piece of local news from any vernacular media like a Hindu- Muslim boy girl romance, statue of a deity found in Muslim’s farm, just about anything that can tilt the balance of harmony between communities. In the process, the film also touches some of the more controversial events of the state.

    A Hindu boy Anirudh Dave and a Muslim girl, SuhaGezen, are neighbours growing together. As they mature, Anirudh has fallen in love with Suha but it is one-sided and Suha treats this just as a friendship and she is soon to be engaged to be married to a Muslim boy, HitenTejwani.
    The town has a gallery of politicians named so as to bear close resemblance to real life active politicians of UP. Jimmy Sherrill is a Hindu politician (modelled after SangeetSom) and member of the assembly. He is the kind armed with fuel and always on a lookout for fire to add to it. On the other side is Narendra Jha (representing Azam Khan). While, there is also a caricature of Amar Singh, Sanjay Suri plays the UP CM MIthilesh Yadav kind of role. While Jimmy and Jha ferment trouble using community card, there is also a saner, balancing factor in town in Ashutosh Rana, father of the lovelorn Hindu boy, Anirudh, who is respected by both the communities.

    This is about as original as the makers get for rest of the events loosely woven together in the name of a political drama.The end is, as is the norm in such a film, about sermonizing, blaming mainly the politicians for muddying up the peace between the two communities. The film has a horde of talented actors in the cast and even as all of them do well, Ashutosh and Hiten stand out.

    As for the commercial for Shorgul, the film promises none.

    Producers: Swatantra Vijay Singh, Vyas Verma.
    Directors: Pranav Kumar Singh, Jitentra Tiwari.
    Cast: Jimmy Shergill, Ashutosh Rana, Narendra Jha, Anirudh Dave, HitenTejwani, Sanjay Suri, Eijaz Khan, SuhaGezen, Neetu Pandey, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Jay Shanker Pandey.

  • Shorgul……About nothing….

    Shorgul……About nothing….

    MUMBAI: Providing entertainment to the high priced admission rates paying audience seems to be no more the reason why many producers/ directors make films. That too in a country where each state charges entertainment tax at whim, and, which consists of a major portion of the admission rates.

    Shorgul is another film that decides to coincide its content with the incidents that happened in a particular state, UP in this case, driven by communal politics. So the content is the routine say, a piece of local news from any vernacular media like a Hindu- Muslim boy girl romance, statue of a deity found in Muslim’s farm, just about anything that can tilt the balance of harmony between communities. In the process, the film also touches some of the more controversial events of the state.

    A Hindu boy Anirudh Dave and a Muslim girl, SuhaGezen, are neighbours growing together. As they mature, Anirudh has fallen in love with Suha but it is one-sided and Suha treats this just as a friendship and she is soon to be engaged to be married to a Muslim boy, HitenTejwani.
    The town has a gallery of politicians named so as to bear close resemblance to real life active politicians of UP. Jimmy Sherrill is a Hindu politician (modelled after SangeetSom) and member of the assembly. He is the kind armed with fuel and always on a lookout for fire to add to it. On the other side is Narendra Jha (representing Azam Khan). While, there is also a caricature of Amar Singh, Sanjay Suri plays the UP CM MIthilesh Yadav kind of role. While Jimmy and Jha ferment trouble using community card, there is also a saner, balancing factor in town in Ashutosh Rana, father of the lovelorn Hindu boy, Anirudh, who is respected by both the communities.

    This is about as original as the makers get for rest of the events loosely woven together in the name of a political drama.The end is, as is the norm in such a film, about sermonizing, blaming mainly the politicians for muddying up the peace between the two communities. The film has a horde of talented actors in the cast and even as all of them do well, Ashutosh and Hiten stand out.

    As for the commercial for Shorgul, the film promises none.

    Producers: Swatantra Vijay Singh, Vyas Verma.
    Directors: Pranav Kumar Singh, Jitentra Tiwari.
    Cast: Jimmy Shergill, Ashutosh Rana, Narendra Jha, Anirudh Dave, HitenTejwani, Sanjay Suri, Eijaz Khan, SuhaGezen, Neetu Pandey, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Jay Shanker Pandey.

  • ‘Brothers’: Messed up

    ‘Brothers’: Messed up

    MUMBAI: Brothers was expected to be next best thing to happen after Bajrangi Bhaijaan, at least for the exhibition trade. Coming as it does from Dharma Productions and director Karan Malhotra, who made his debut with the Agneepath remake in 2012.

    While Agneepath was a remake of director Mukul Anand’s Amitabh Bachchan 1990 starrer of same name, Brothers, Malhotra’s new film, has been adapted from the Hollywood film, Warrior (2011).

    It follows the story of two estranged brothers practising a no-holds-barred body combat sport, which is said to have its roots in ancient Greece and has, since then, travelled through various countries through eras in various forms and finally named as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). 

    While, Malhotra tried and made his version of Agneepath more contemporary, here he has tried to make Brothers more Indian in that trying to add desi emotions. In the process he ends up making it dated instead. 

    Jackie Shroff is due to leave jail after serving his time and when his possessions are returned to him, the only thing he is looking for is the picture of his wife, Shefali Shah, for whose killing he served the sentence in jail. As he comes out, his son, Sidharth Malhotra, is there to receive him. As Jackie enters his home, he goes hyper, remembering his loving wife, the way she liked her furniture and the way she liked to set her comfort chair where she could read.

    You would think that Jackie loved his wife immensely and cared for the family. As it turns out in the flashbacks, Jackie was a drunkard, a wife beater, who was disloyal to her. What’s more, he also brings home the son from his other woman to Shefali. The boy grows up to be Sidharth. This multifaceted characterisation of Jackie is the first hint at the things that will follow. In an attempt to give the film Indian emotions, things have been messed up. 

    Jackie is an ex MMA trainer and to coincide with his release, MMA has been legalised in the country! Kiran Kumar, an ex-pro at this sport, has returned to India from the US to promote it and organise a world champions contest. The contest often proves fatal for the loser but certain rules have been formed to make it safe, which are not exactly evident in practise. 

    But, there is huge money in this contest of Kiran Kumar and Sidharth want to be a part of it. Jackie takes it upon himself to train Sidharth. It is time for Akshay to make his presence felt. Akshay is the elder and legitimate son who has made his own life and hates Jackie for killing his mother. He is a school teacher, sports tattoos all over, is married to Jacqueline Fernandez and has a six year old daughter.

    Akshay’s daughter suffers from an ailment as both her kidneys are weak since birth and she needs urgent attention. To make some side money, Akshay fights in underground MMA for which the school principal reprimands him and later sacks him. His lender refuses to renew his loan and Akshay decides to do the next best thing he knows, go for MMA for the money needed for his daughter. For him, Kiran has come just in time and the ‘TV media’ has gone gaga over him and his contest.

    The MMA contest is announced with a huge press conference and a few WWF-reject kind of champions from various countries are introduced with high decibel music in the background, which distracts instead of adding to the effect of the scene. Also on the menu are Akshay and Sidharth, the brothers. 

    Sidharth sails through with ease in his initial rounds felling some of the ‘reputed’ fighters in one or two knocks. Akshay has to struggle but, being a hero, manages to win them. It is time for the finals and the opponents are the two brothers putting Jackie in a great dilemma. Somehow, here Akshay proves to be superior to Sidharth because a hero can’t lose. He even manages to break Sidharth’s arm. That is when the director recalls some flashbacks of the brothers’ past, the growing up years and how they cared for and loved each other. And, while pretending to be still fighting, both call for a truce, swearing on their growing up love!

    The film has a poor script full of contradictions with its unnecessary and unsuccessful attempt to make it Indian. Direction is patchy with no clue where it is heading. There is no help coming from music or dialogue or romance. The kind of fights the film depends on have been part of innumerable films in Hindi cinema as a passing sequence since 1970s, and here it is the main theme. Editing is missing. 

    The film stars mostly non-performers and among them, Jackie excels, Akshay remains his usual self and Sidharth packs his acting and performance in one perpetually sinister look. Jacqueline is fairly good in an insignificant role. Rest are caricatures. 

    The theme of Brothers will find little identification with the audience and looks fated to go down unsung. The opening is poor and so are reports.

    Producers: Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar, Endemol India

    Director: Karan Malhotra

    Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra, Jackie Shroff, KIran Kumar, Ashutosh Rana and Kareena Kapoor in an item number

    ‘Gour Hari Dastaan’: The forgettable freedom file

    Gour Hari Dastaan is a story that starts in pre-independence days sometime in 1945 and traverses a period of over 60 years. It is a bio-film about a young freedom fighter, who spends most of his life to get his due. He wants his sacrifice and honour to be recognised. 

    There have been bio-films on freedom movement of leaders like MK Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Ambedkar, Savarkar and so on. These films were about their big struggles against British rule. Compared to these great names, Gour Hari’s crusade is the opposite: it is totally personal. It is not that he is doing it for pension. He just wants to be certified by the powers that be, as is done by awarding a Tamra Patra (copper plaque usually given to a freedom fighter) by the government along with lifelong pension and other benefits to freedom fighter and his family. 

    Gour Hari is a young lad (older one, the crusader, played by Vinay Pathak) yet to knock on his teens but the fire of the freedom struggle has been ignited within him. His desire is to see the Indian tricolour fly high. But this is not allowed since the British rule India and the official flag according to them is the Union Jack. India is not yet free but for some reason, Gour is trying to plant a Congress tricolour with a charkha in the centre atop some single storey structure in his town when a British officer tries to stop him but dies accidentally in the attempt. Nothing points back to Gour or his village; the story never refers to it again. The incident was just supposed to tell you how devoted Gour was to his cause of freeing his country.

    After a brief flashback into Gour’s past to establish that he was a freedom fighter, you now see Gour running from pillar to post to get himself identified and get enrolled into the list of freedom fighters. He visits government departments dealing more regularly with them than he signs his own office muster at the Handicraft Board where he is employed. For everybody from his office folk to the neighbourhood, he has become a butt of joke and teased as freedom fighter. But, he also finds a sympathisers in two tabloid journalists, Ranvir Shorey and Tanishtha Chetterjee, who take up his cause against the wishes of their editor, who thinks only stories on gay movement and Section 377 merit coverage. 

    Pathak is not willing to compromise or use any short cuts. But, ironically, when he does get his due, it is through an influential high profile lawyer, Rajit Kapoor, who has influence up to and including the Chief Minister, Vikram Gokhale, and is feared enough to threaten him with legal action. 

    Sadly, it is Pathak’s reach to the powers that brings him justice at the end of 32 years of struggle and not his crusade! The politicians, wary of the media where Pathak is making prime time, make a compromise, and agree to certify him with a Paper Patra instead of a Tamra Part on the contention that they don’t have budget for Tamra. 

    Gour Hari Dastaan is an alien story for the national audience. Like the recent Marathi film,Court, which won the National Award, this film could have served a better purpose in a regional language. 

    The film is about performances and, on that count, Pathak leads the pack. It is his story, after all. Ranvir, Tanishtha and Konkona Sen Sharma (as Pathak’s wife) match him step by step. The film has a horde of cameos by Saurabh Shukla, Gokhale, Rajit, Saurabh Shukla, Vipin Sharma, Asrani etc. 

    As for the script, while Pathak’s crusade is what most of the film is about, there is not enough footage of his fighting for freedom to make up for his 32 years of chasing authorities. What he did and why he merits his copper plaque find little justification in the film since he is one of the mob protesting and jailed for 90 days but never tried in a court of law. 

    The reason why he has to run from pillar to post is because there is no record of him being tried and jailed so he could qualify as a freedom fighter and the benefits, which ensued from it. 

    Direction is on predictable lines and suffers because too much time is taken on telling this insipid story. Musical score is good. Editing is overshadowed by the director’s vision. Dialogue is positive and, often, peppered with wit and cutting edge. 

    Gour Hari Dastaan has no domestic box office value and will make merry only on the festival circuit. 

    Producers: Sachin Khanolkar, Bindiya Khanolkar

    Director: Ananth Narayan Mahadevan

    Cast: Vinay Pathak, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ranvir Shorey

  • ‘Badmashiyaan’: Nothing of that sort

    ‘Badmashiyaan’: Nothing of that sort

    When one watches a film like Badmashiyaan  one can’t help but wonder: where do such films come from? A banter over drinks? Or, simply, a desire to feel the glamour and glitz of the film industry and an overwhelming desire to belong? For as soon as the film starts to unwind, you know it is a disaster unreeling on the screen.

    There is this girl, Suzanna Mukherjee, who pretends to fall in love with vulnerable men for the sole purpose of conning them. Fall in love, promise marriage, and vanish via the loo after looting them. Her first victim is Sidhant Gupta, a café owner in Chandigarh. Totally besotted with her, he begs, borrows, steals and buys a two crore house to settle his future wife, Suzanna. On a date at a café, she takes time off to go to loo and never returns. 

    Gupta is heartbroken while Suzanna has found a new target, Sharib Hashmi, a Haryanvi don notwithstanding the fact that we have had too much of these UP, Bihar and Haryanvi dons, comic as well as caricatures. 

    Suzanna makes away with some five lakh of the don’s cash, her accomplice is picked up and stripped naked by the don’s man. In case you happen to watch the film and miss it, this is supposed to be the comic element in the film! On his part, the don does not want his money back (despite wasting an hour of running time beating up this poor sod and stripping him to find where the money is), he has fallen head over heels in love with Suzanna and he wants her instead. 

    Producer: Vijay Gutte

    Director: Amit Khanna

    Cast: Suzanna Mukherjee, Sharib Hashmi, Sidhant Gupta, Karan Mehra, Gunjan Malhotra

    If watching this film is an ordeal, writing about it is even bigger torture. 

    Nobody performs in this film and that includes the writer, director and actors. 

    In a year that has seen some of the worst films being released, Badmashiyaan takes the crown for the first quarter of 2015.

     

    ‘Dirty Politics’: What’s the other kind?

    Producer: Nihal farhat

    Director: K. C. Bokadia

    Cast: Suzanna Mallika Sherawat, Jackie Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah

    Eons back, celebrated and one of the most gifted filmmakers, Kundan Shah, was working on a script about a Maharashtrian Tamasha girl going on to become the Chief Minister of the state. I suppose the film was too regional in flavour besides the fact that political themes don’t go down well with our audience and, hence, never made.

    Here, a similar theme seems to have been used for titillation rather than to weave a story around the idea that in politics, anything is possible. 

    Mallika Sherawat, a dancer, has a powerful politician fan in Om Puri. Their proximity sows the seeds of political ambitions in her. But, alas, come elections and she is not on the list of nominees. So she decides to use her ticket to attain her goal: CDs of close encounters between her and Puri, which would defame Puri and ruin his political career. 

    How corny can a plot get when people nowadays don’t care who sleeps with whom as long as they deliver? (Reminds me of a prominent politician spokesperson cum lawyer whose explicit videos were on public domain and he still continues to be all that he used to be!) What follows is predictable. Sherawat goes missing and all sorts of corny plots and subplots follow. 

    The film stars some of the great actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Anupam Kher besides Jackie Shroff and Ashutosh Rana but the script, the direction and Sherawat make sure they are rendered ineffective totally; they are neutralised by everything in this film of which they had no reason to be a part.

     

  • Desi Kattey …..Make in India!

    Desi Kattey …..Make in India!

    MUMBAI: Desi Kattey is yet another film with local Uttar Pradesh flavour with which rest of the country does not usually identify. Again, the film makes one think that UP is the biggest small-scale industry for manufacturing what is locally referred to as ‘kattey’, or a crudely made single-shot gun. The theme is familiar from several other films seen over the decades. But, in an effort to be different, the makers open many tracks and lose the plot.

     

    In the city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, two young lads who should be playing with slingshots wield kattas instead. They think nothing of using a katta, for they are full of anger with the society and their hunger. Such boys need more than a katta and bullets; they need political support to strengthen their standing while politicians need such boys to do their dirty work. Both complement each other. Ashutosh Rana is the local bahubali aka heavyweight referred to by his followers as Judge. The boys worship him and dream of reaching his position someday.

     

    The boys, Jay Bhanushali and Akhil Kapur, have grown up to be expert shooters and eventually graduate to joining Rana’s unit; Rana is due to fight an election soon. As in all such cliques, there are a few who are envious of these new boys’ sudden rise. Rana wins the election but a situation is created whereby they can’t meet him.

     

    This is most how UP-Bihar katta stories go, but here the makers want to not only continue with the great friendship saga  while trying to extract emotional and melodramatic scenes from non-performers, but also give a purpose to the film by channelling their talent with guns to get them glory of the legit kind.

     

    Suniel Shetty, a disgraced army major, spots the talent of Jay and Akhil and decides that instead of wasting it on killing people, they could be trained professionals and win shooting contests instead. Even as the two are being trained, they come across Rana again who beckons them to return to the fold. Time for a dramatic moment as it is also the time for an interval. Akhil decides to go back with Rana while Jay, who has also found his lady love in Shetty’s sister, Sasha Agha, does not.

     

    The first half was tolerable purely due to force of habit having done so often enough. But the pace drops in the second half. Post interval, as Jay works on his shooting practice, Akhil perfects his shooting on Rana’s rivals. In between, having no enemies of his own to kill, Rana turns Akhil to social service asking him to wipe out all the evil-doers, including a land-mafioso, a pimp, a drug peddler and so on! What was this diversion for from the film’s routine?

     

    The separated friends pine for each other and sob all the time which creates unintended comedy. And, to think that both have found their lady love. Akhil’s being Tia Bajpai who, in another clichéd moment, is killed just when she announces her pregnancy.

     

    Desi Kattey is a badly scripted film trying to cram in too much and stretching itself to about 2.45 hours with a weak face value and limited talent. Direction below par and, again, clichéd. Musical score by Kailash Kher is the plus in this film with hummable tracks. Other aspects are routine. Of the two boys, Jay does better while Akhil just passes muster. Girls make little impression. Shetty is okay. Rana is fairly good.

     

    Poor at box office.

     

    Producer: Anand Kumar.

     

    Director: Anand Kumar.

     

    Cast: Suniel Shetty, Jay Bhanushali, Akhil Kapur, Tia Bajpai, Sasha Agha, Ashutosh Rana, Murli Sharma.

     

     3 A.M. … Not worth staying up for

     

    Horror genre being economical and can even work with new faces mainly on the strength of content and technology, it has been catching up in Hindi industry. As for content, there are a lot of ‘inspirations’ all around the world cinema. And, so are film titles can be sourced from other industries; this one for instance, comes from a Thailand film, 3 A.M.

     

    Rannvijay Singh along with his girlfriend, Anindita Nayar and friends, Kavin Dave and Sahil Acharya are on a night out celebrating. Rannvijay proposes to Anindita. That done, Anindita, a journalist, moves on to research on her article on haunted places of Mumbai.

     

    Rannvijay is fast asleep when he hears a woman’s wail and wakes up. It is 3am. He sees his girlfriend sitting in a dark corner sobbing. Rannvijay tries to reach out to her but can neither move nor speak. Finally, when he can, he tries to contact Anindita whose phone is not reachable. But, Rannvijay gets a call from her father instead informing him that Anindita was found hanging at the Rudra Mills where she had gone earlier in the night for her research.

     

    Rannvijay, a nonbeliever in ghosts and afterlife, however, had a weird experience earlier. Anindita had come to him to apologise for leaving him and that she would always love him. He, along with his friends, decides to carry on the research on ghosts at the mill hoping that his girlfriend has turned into one too and he would be able to meet her.  In the process, you keep watching some mix and match from other horror/ ghost movies.

     

    There is nothing much to the story that can thrill you. Direction is passable sans highlights. Visual effects are good at times. Background score is loud. The three friends are on a ghost hunting mission or fun trip is something that one wonders. Rannvijay does fair while Anindita has a brief role. Kavin and Sahil are okay.

     

    3 A.M. has no hope at the box office whatsoever.

     

    Producers: Handprint Pictures, Essel Vision.

     

    Director: Vishal Mahadkar.

     

    Cast: Rannvijay Singh, Anindita Nayar, Salil Acharya, Kavin Dave. 

  • ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’…Join the party

    ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’…Join the party

    MUMBAI: The title may sound confusing. Who is this Humpty Sharma? He is no legendary lover on whom tomes may have been written. It does not give away much except that the story/ scenario would obviously be set against the background of a Delhi Punjabi family. And perhaps that is something about the Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to it? Why not. After all, Dil Wale Dulhania… was an all-time hit, so what’s wrong with borrowing a bit from there?

    Varun Dhawan shyly confesses that he was a very fat child and that is how he was nicknamed Humpty. Not bad considering he could have been nicknamed Sweety or Dimppy, which could be gender defying. Varun heads a gang of three including himself in a Delhi college. The other two are Gaurav Pandey and Sahil Vaid. As in all filmy colleges, you only have a campus with a loosely hung signboard declaring that the premises is a college. He is popular with girls around for no apparent reason except that he is the hero of the story. Despite being in Delhi, for a change, he is not the son of a halwai but, as he says, the only ‘waris of the famous Vidhya Book Store’ which caters to college students’ requirements.

    For a change, Varun does not find his lady love from a college coed. She is an Ambala girl, Alia Bhatt, who is in Delhi to attend her friend’s wedding. Actually, no Punjabi love story can be told without involving a wedding. There she meets Varun who wants to date her, which she does not mind until she gets married to an NRI a few week hence. A little net practice never hurt anybody.

    This is the first man Alia has ever been exposed to. All her life she has been brought up to believe in following the family tradition: marry the guy dad chooses. Dad, Ashutosh Rana, himself has had a love marriage but since then, he has had a reason not to trust such a liaison. But apart from that, Rana is okay with giving his daughter all the freedom she wants. So she takes off for Delhi to spend time with her friend, Guncha Narula, who is due to marry soon as well as to buy a Rs 5 lakh wedding dress for herself—because Guncha has bought one worth Rs 2.5 lakh!

    Producers: Hiroo Johar, Karan Johar.

    Director: Shashank Khaitan.

    Cast: Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Ashutosh Rana, Siddharth Shukla, Kenneth Desai, Gaurav Pandey, Sahil Vaid, Mahnaz Damania, Deepika Amin, Guncha Narula, Jaswant Daman.

    Varun, quite popular in college, sees this new girl in town and as is wont of any Delhi boy, piles on. Alia is the kind who can take a Delhi boy in her stride but quite enjoys Varun’s company. Varun, on his part, has fallen head over heels. The happy days are over and Alia has to return to Ambala as her NRI fiancé is due to arrive. That is when Alia also owns up to her deep love for Varun.

    Back in Ambala, Alia has only one option and that is to forget Varun and get ready for her marriage with this NRI doctor, Siddharth Shukla. Varun chases Alia to Ambala only to be beaten black and blue by her brother and his goons. Varun is unrelenting. Shukla is arriving and Rana decides to offer Varun a chance so as to avoid any tamasha during the wedding. It is five days till wedding, Varun’s job is to hang around Shukla and find some fault in him for Rana to call off Alia’s wedding with him. But, one look at the fiancé and Varun loses all hope. He is a perfect stud with no blemish at all. Since Gaurav and Sahil are also with Varun, the fun and repartees continue. 

    Despite the latter half of the film revisiting Yashraj Films’ all-time hit, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, it is all well done. The film’s writer/director deserve all the credit for coming up with a very plausible take on Dilwale…., with a taut script peppered with witty exchanges between characters. There are some loose ends like disappearance of Shukla from the scene suddenly! The film also has the advantage of some peppy numbers in ‘Saturday Saturday’…., ‘Lucky tu lucky me’…. and a melody in ‘Samjhawan’…albeit all with heavy Punjabi flavour.

    Varun along with Gaurav and Sahil make sure one stays entertained. Alia does well, not going overboard in dramatic scenes. Rana is good while Shukla makes an impact despite a brief role. The supporting cast is adequate.

    Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania is a joyride for youth and an entertainer that also caters to other age groups. While its business may be affected to a degree due to Ramzan month, it is generally a moneymaker.