Tag: Ayushmann Khurrana

‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’….Missing audience

MUMBAI: Dum Laga Ke Haisha is very unlike a Yash Raj Films product. It gives you nothing of that finesse most of their films boast of. What’s more, Bhumi Pednekar, who makes her debut with this film, is not the kind who can become a heartthrob of young men. She is not the traditional slim, stylish, chiffon clad actress Yash Raj women are identified with. Also, unlike most of their films, this one is about a traditional middleclass family based in a small town Haridwar of mid 1990s.

Ayushmann Khurrana, the only son of Sanjay Mishra, looks after the family tape recording shop but is a zero when it comes to studies and is deficient in English. He is a huge Kumar Sanu fan. He is shy and terrified of his dominating father. His father has decided it is time to get him married and the match is found in Bhumi, a fat chubby girl who loves to dance and never wears clothes that match. However, she is better qualified and ready to become a teacher.

The marriage is performed notwithstanding Khurrana’s reluctance. The first night draws a blank and Bhumi starts working on attracting Khurrana towards her. Her first stop is a lingerie shop. Let alone loving her, Khurrana is even ashamed of the fact that she is his wife. But Bhumi is determined and not the kind to take taunts and insults as she gives it back to Khurrana’s aunt and also ends up slapping Khurrana when she hears him insult her behind her back. Bhumi has had enough and is ready to return to her parents.

Producer: Manish Sharma

Director: Sharat Kataria

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, Sanjay Mishra

The dual continues as both miss no opportunity to make each other conscious of their problems. There is a scene where she plays the tape with a song to provoke Khurrana and he on his part comes out of bathroom with soap all over him to play another song to give it back to her. This turns out to be a medley of old songs. And there are times when Khurrana finds it tough to balance his scooter with Bhumi on the pillion.

The story may not find identification with today’s audience initially but its simplicity may finally touch them. The director makes sure he keeps it as simple and maintains its old-fashioned native flavour. However, one thing that stands out as an eyesore is Khurrana’s dressing; there is nothing native about it as his costumes are dandy. Anu Malik stages a comeback and with him come some sensible lyrics and soulful tunes in ‘Moh moh ke dhage….’ As Kumar Sanu gives other two songs, ‘Dard karaara…’and ‘Tu’ the ‘90s feeling. The dialogue has subtle humour. The film is 111 minutes long and becomes more lively post interval.

Khurrana is good in a subdued role. Bhumi is impressive. Sanjay Mishra, as usual, stands out. The rest are good as supporting cast.

Though watchable, Dum Laga Ke Haisha has not been given due publicity and has opened poorly with very little chance of catching up.

‘Ab Tak Chhappan 2’.. Ab tak enough!

Ab Tak Chhappan 2 as the title suggests is a sequel to Ab Tak Chhappan, released 11 years back to the day (27 February, 2004). This also suggests that the sequel has come too late as the theme of specialist police shooters, called encounter specialists, has passed its expiry date and is no more relevant. Also, so many bullets have been fired since by all and sundry (good as well as bad) that a gun-toting cop is no longer exciting.

Nana Patekar is encounter specialist Sadhu Agashe, is facing court cases for unsanctioned killings of criminals. He is happy whiling away his time fishing, making meals for his teenaged son and playing marbles in his native village somewhere in Goa. The criminals have resurfaced and there is chaos in the city of Mumbai. The ex-commissioner, Mohan Agashe, is summoned by CM Dilip Prabhavalkar and HM Vikram Gokhale, during whose tenure as police chief the encounter specialist team was formed and underworld reined in.

Agashe suggests Nana be brought back even as two other senior cops, Ashutosh Rana and Govind Namdeo, disagree with the idea. For his part, Nana too is reluctant despite an offer to withdraw all litigation against him. However, his son convinces him finally to go back since he is a cop and not a fisherman.

Producers: Raju Chadha

Director: Aejaz Gulab

Cast: Nana Pateka, Gul Panag, Mohan Agashe, Govind Namdev, Raj Zutshi, Vikram Gokhale, Ashutosh Rana

So Nana is back heading the force with a very resistant Rana as an enemy within. It is business as usual as Nana goes on a shooting spree, killing a goon first and then telling the viewers about the deceased. They are just dummies. But, the joke is about the two dons who rule over Mumbai underworld; one is a suave, computer-wiz Raj Zutshi, holed up somewhere abroad because he is scared of his rival, a nondescript actor, who may just pass off as a street side gunda, least of all a big time don!

As has been reported often, these specialists also work on behest of dons and that happens in this story too as it did in the earlier version 11 years back. Nothing is new. Nana’s wife was shot dead in part one, this time his son falls to the villains’ bullets. That is the final push he needs.

However, there is an effort to salvage the already sunk plot; this is not just another cop story, there is a twist though a very predictable one from reel one. There is a greedy politician pulling strings.

Ab Tak Chhappan 2 is built on a wrong premise: just about everything about it is misconceived. The script is run of the mill and the direction is copy book; nothing original or inspirational. Camera angles are corny. Thankfully, there are no songs and the background score is okay. Despite a tolerable 105-minute duration, the film gives the feeling of being lengthy; some crisp editing could have brought it down to maybe 90 minutes.

Dialogue is very tacky. There is no scope for performances and Nana sticks to being Nana. So do Rana and Namdeo, who stick to their routine. Gul Panag, whose character is forced in, is a misfit and miscast. Prabhavalkar has little to make an impact. The only actor who makes his presence felt is Gokhale.

Ab Tak Chhappan 2 has had a miserable opening and may find it hard to last the week.

February 27, 2015
Channel V’s V Fest now set to treat audiences twice a year

GOA: Channel V’s flagship live event property “India Fest” is all set to be held twice a year henceforth. Speaking at the event that was held at the Baga Grounds on 13 and 14 February, an official channel spokesperson says, “In the first six months of the year, we will have the live mega event in Goa while during the other six months we will conduct V Fest Tours across the country where winners from the fest in Goa will be taken for the shows that we hope will ignite the rock and pop culture.”

Speaking about how live events will enhance the channel’s offering, the spokesperson adds, “Today’s youth are no longer stuck to the television. Events are an essential part of college life, which no one forgets. As a corporate we decided to offer that to them on a large scale where they could fast track their passion into a career. This helps them focus and believe in what our channel has to offer them.”

Day one of the fest had performances by DJ Suketu, the band Underground Authority as well as singer turned Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana. On the second day Shilpa Rao, Mika Singh and Varun Dhawan entertained audiences. Channel sources placed the day one turnout during the day at 13,000 people turning up while 21,000 turned out at night. Day two had almost double the crowd number, the source claimed.

When queried on the innovations that the channel introduced this year, the official spokesperson informs that, firstly it integrated the fest with television channel. “The channel has created a weekend property, which is a eight episode series called the V Fest Show. The shows include various performances, contests and on ground activity that the fest managed to put up. Two of the episodes have already been aired. The eight episode series will also include a finale show of two and a half hour,” the spokesperson informs.

Secondly, the hosts and anchors for this edition of the fest were all popular faces from the channel’s various shows. This was done to resonate its programming with the crowd. Thirdly it decided to rebrand the name India Fest as V Fest from this edition for better brand recall of the channel. The spokesperson also adds that the channel brought in a big name like Varun Dhawan because they felt he embodies the youth of today quite well.

This edition of the fest had Microsoft as the title sponsor, while the other sponsors on board included Ponds Men and Parle. Maybelline was the grooming partner, while Mufti was the style partner. The event was supported by Star India with Red 93.5 FM as the radio partner. The channel took close to six months to plan for the fest. Brainstorming for next year’s edition will commence by March this year.

On the marketing front, the channel roped in 1000 college ambassadors for the fest in various colleges in India to help build buzz. Besides initiatives in various metros like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, Channel V also undertook zonal marketing programs in cities like Pune where close to 10,000 people turned out for the contests versus a crowd of only 700 to 800 people it managed to garner in previous season. The channel also brandished the fest at airports besides hoardings in metros.

A media planning and buying expert placed the marketing expenses of the channel between the range of Rs 5 – 6 crore across markets. The channel spokesperson claimed it had reduced spending on the marketing front this year by close to five per cent as compared to last year.

When quizzed as to why Channel V decided to convert the fest into a bi-annual event, the official spokesperson says, “We have received 10 million unique impressions on our digital platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. We do not want to lose this traction. We want to offer them something about the fest for the rest of the year through the tours and help maintain the brands offering in colleges from where the target audience of the fest comes in.”

Goa will now be a permanent venue for the V Fest.

February 16, 2015
Dismal weekend at the Box Office

MUMBAI: The past weekend has proved to be dismal for the box office with three releases, which all vie for the worst performer tag. Khamoshiyan turns out to be a drab affair with the Bhatt touch visible only in its soundtrack. The film got poor word of mouth and managed to collect just Rs 5.75 crore in its opening weekend.

Rahashya may be based on a real life, well documented double murder case, but gets just about as much attention from moviegoers as yesterday’s headline. And, this story has become stale by all standards. The film opened to a very poor response with no hope of catching up despite being a well-made film. The film had a poor opening weekend with about Rs 20 lakh.

Hawaizaada, a biopic of a maverick self-styled scientist from Maharashtra, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, from which the trade had some hope, comes a cropper. The film comes across as badly scripted and directed one lacking consistency and having no sense of length. A boring fare, the film suffered further after being slaughtered by critics as well as on social media. The poor collections reflect this as the film could manage mere Rs 1.8 crore over its first weekend. It failed to touch Rs 1 crore figure on any of the three days over the weekend.

Baby has not lived up to the hype created in the media before release. The film had way too much similarity in story and substance with a couple of recent films but was worse than them. The film is too verbose with plans of action rather than action itself which is what people want to see from a spy movie. The film collected Rs 52.1 crore in its first week. With three very poor oppositions in second week, the film gets a chance to reduce its losses.

I (dubbed) has collected Rs 1.2 crore in its second week to take its two week total to 11.3 crore. On the other hand, Dolly Ki Doli is a loser facing rejection from day one. The film manages to end its first week with figures of Rs 11.9 crore. Alone adds Rs 2.25 crore in its second week to take its two week tally to Rs 19.5 crore.

PK nears the end of its run at the box office as the film adds Rs 1.3 crore in its sixth week to take its six week total to Rs 329.6 crore.

February 2, 2015
‘Hawaizaada’….Khurrana dreams as audience sleeps!

MUMBAI: Hawaizaada is a biopic and depicts the life of a school dropout but a gifted instinctive scientist, Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, a scion of a zamindar family from Mumbai, who builds a plane called “Marutsakha”. The problem with making a biopic on Talpade is that there is little information about him and his achievements on record or is endorsed. Whatever is available is from family sources and the near and dear ones though the claim is made that among those who witnessed his plane fly was the Maharaja of Baroda State.

Ayushmann Khurrana plays Talpade, a guy who failed eight times in fourth class and finally ended up with his nephew as his bench mate in the same class (while the records say he was a scholar in Sanskrit and Vedas, which he is seen quoting at random in the film despite having been depicted as a failure in education). He can even correct the quotes from Vedas of his Guru, Pandit Subbaraya Shastry, played by Mithun Chakraborty; Mithun is supposed to be a scholar who is said to have authored a book, Vaimanik Shastra, and under whose guidance Khurrana has designed his aeroplane.

Khurrana is seen doing a lot of things on rote. One minute he is in school, the next he is a member of the band which plays on occasions like weddings. Despite a traditional Marathi family background and a strict father, he is a wayward man in the film. He gets drunk with his band mates, mistakes a theatre hall for his home and having done that, falls in love with a tamasha dancer, a Maharashtrian form of dancing enjoyed by shahukars (feudal lords) as well as lower strata. As a result, Khurrana’s character swings like a pendulum; even his interest in designing a plane looks cursory.

Producers: Reliance Entertainment, Vishal Gurnani, Rajesh Bagga

Director: Vibhu VIrender Puri

Cast: Ayushman Khurrana , Pallavi Sharda, Mithun Chakraborty, Jayant Kriplani, Naman Jain

Mithun Chakraborty spots the genius in Khurrana and asks him to join him in his research which, for Khurrana, is convenient since he has been thrown out of his own house by his father, Jayant Kriplani. Khurrana and Mithun are enthusiastic but have no funds to work on their project. A Maharaja helps them and they are on again. However, Khurrana’s attention is divided between his project and his lady love, Pallavi Sharda, the tamasha girl. The social taboos, the girl knows, won’t let her marry Khurrana so she leaves the scene to spend time with the Nizam, leaving the field open for Khurrana to design his aeroplane!

When Khurrana finds his lady love again, she has given up tamasha and has taken to making a honest living: she now cleans cotton for making beds! But she is not doing too well and her landlord is making passes at her. Khurrana steals Mithun’s tome on airplane designs and sells it to British rulers who do not want an Indian to hog credit for any inventions! He redeems Sharda with that money. But, Mithun dies of shock when he learns that the man he trusted has betrayed him and sold the only thing he loved in his life. It is now for repentant Khurrana to fulfil Mithun’s dream, obviously.

Hawaizaada is one heck of film. Described as a biopic, which it is not, the best description it fits is weird. There is no consistency in the narration, it takes sudden jumps, maintains no continuity nor establishes a sequence. It starts going haywire from the very beginning and continues to do so all through its unnecessarily prolonged 157 minute of running time offering no respite. Direction is hackneyed. The director’s idea of depicting the 1890s British era, with one studio set of dark blackish hue (more suited to a horror film) and using lowlight, is a total put off. Also, his idea of depicting the men and women of that era like they are today shows his lack of study. The film is full of songs that are not required at odd places, none of which are hit home or are hummable. Rest of the aspects of the film follow the same routine.

As for actors, it is negative for all of them. Khurrana does not fit the character of a Marathi of that era though he keeps uttering Marathi phrases on and off. Nothing is expected of him and he delivers nothing. Sharda is a let-down. Mithun decides to go overboard in the absence of a defined role. The film has been exempted from paying entertaining tax in UP, which will hardly be of help.

Hawaizaada is a very poor film which fails as a biopic as well as an entertainer.

‘Rahashya’….Taut thriller but….

Rahashya is inspired by the infamous double murder case in Noida of Arushi and her domestic help, Hemraj. Aruhsi, the only daughter of Dr Talwar (Ashish Vidyarthi) and his wife (Tisca Chopra) along with the family servant, Hemraj, was killed in her own house. The story took many twists and turns as accusations flew, pointing to domestic help and even to her own parents. The case has been dragging on and no final conclusion has been reached yet though her parents are the prime suspects and convicted and are now in appeal.

Though the film was censored on 14 January, it releases only now after facing litigations post censorship. The accused, Talwars, had tried to stop the release of the film on the grounds that the film’s story bore many similarities to the Arushi murder case, which delayed the film’s release.

The story location of the film has been shifted to Mumbai and told in the Agatha Christie style as, in the end, the CBI officer in charge, Kay Kay Menon, gathers all the suspects in one room and identifies the killer.

Producer: Monica Vimal Maluka

Director: Manish Gupta

Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Tisca Chopra, Ashish Vidyarthi, MIta Vasisht, Ashwini Kalsekar

The film has been given some gloss having been shot at a posh Mumbai duplex penthouse owned by a doctor couple, Ashish Vidhyarthi and Tisca Chopra. A family maid discovers the couple’s young daughter in her bed with her throat slit. The parents are the instant suspects as the case seems to be that of family honour and not of robbery. But there are no immediate conclusions in such a case.

The intentions seem to be honest as all those who share credits give their best. The script is taut with no gimmicks or songs to hinder its pace. Direction is excellent with total control on the happenings. Background music (Ranjit Barot), cinematography and editing back the effort in perfect harmony.

Performance wise, Tisca emerges the best of the lot, usually in control. Ashish Vidyarthi is good too while Kay Kay is okay. Meeta Vasisht, Ashwini Kalsekar, Vinit Kakar and Manoj Maurya are good in support.

Rahashya may be a taut and gripping thriller but its potential can be realised mainly on DVD circuit with no great expectations at the box office.

‘Chal Guru Ho Ja Shuru’….A non starter

Wanting to cash in on the negative image of the god men recently with a few of them cooling their heels in jails, Chal Guru Hoja Shuru is a satire on the theme with its target being Asaram. It revolves around a newly founded sect made of ex-goons and frauds, which they claim to be their entry into the ‘Guru Industry’. The film’s star cast consists mainly of comic or bit role players from films and TV who are not much in demand nowadays but are familiar to the audience.

Hemant Pandey is Hariya Baba, who runs an ashram with Vrajesh Hirjee as his second-in-command and Rajendra Kala as his right-hand man and confidante. They set up the business of playing guru. The business is lucrative and resembles a take on a bearded Baba arrested from Gujarat languishing in jail now.

Producer: Himalaya Dreams

Director: Pravin Bhardwaj

Cast: Hemant Pandey, Chandrachur Singh, Vrajesh Hirjee, Sanjay Mishra, Mithilesh Chaturvedi, Brijendra Kala, Tiku Talsania.

The major activities of the ashram are delivering a sermon every evening, seeking donations and selecting a girl for the night by throwing a banana or an apple prasadam at her. The prasadam sort of mesmerises the girls to seek further personal blessings from the Baba and walk into his abode. The film’s script is based on hearsay of the stories of real life babas. But, anything goes in the name of cinematic liberty.

There are the usual factors of modern day media as TV journalist from BBC of all the places, carries out a sting operation on the nocturnal activities in the Ashram and, along with a PR person, settles the issue of not releasing the disc to media. The PR keeps blackmailing Hariya Baba on regular basis. All this while, Tiku Talsania wants to expose Hariya Baba and his ashram because he has literally lost his wife to the sect. She has become a mad follower.

The film has no running script as such but depends on gags. It is more like a farce where the actors on screen seem to be enjoying the film more than the viewer.

Chal Guru Hoja Shuru is an also ran. (The film has been exempted from entertainment tax in Uttarakhand for whatever reason!)

January 30, 2015
‘Hawaizaada’ actor Ayushmann Khurrana to anchor Republic Day special on Big Magic

MUMBAI: Big Magic, the flagship national Hindi general entertainment channel from Reliance Broadcast Network is positioned as the one stop destination for humour. The channel is all geared up to celebrate Republic Day with the dashing young actor, Ayushmann Khurrana – a TV presenter turned actor as he engages the audience on Monday, 26th January, 7pm- 10pm only on Big Magic. Big Magic partners with Hawaizaada to celebrate the spirit of ‘Made in India’. Hawaizaada releases on Jan 30 2015.

Pumped with fun, humor and patriotism all the shows on Big Magic will celebrate Republic Day with the special episodes wherein Ayushmann Khurrana will be the anchor link. Honoring this day with the entire country, Big Magic will add spark to this occasion with the presence of Ayushmann Khurrana who will also share anecdotes about his upcoming movie. He will be imparting a distinctive message of believing in oneself to the viewers of Big Magic. Ayushmann’s character in his upcoming movie Hawaizaada is based on a 19th century scientist and inventor who flew the 1st aircraft. He is believed to have invented the aeroplane before the Wright Brothers.

Speaking on the three hour special on Big Magic, the dashing actor Ayushmann Khurrana said, “This Republic Day, I am happy to celebrate the essence of my upcoming movie – Hawaizaada which salutes the spirit of being Indian. I am happy to deliver this message to Big Magic viewers through its chatpata comedy content – If you dream, have the courage to accomplish it. My upcoming movie, Hawaizaada, celebrates the fulfilment of an unsung hero who brought forth the brilliance of an Indian talent and intelligence because he dared to dream and fulfil the same fearlessly.”

Commenting on the same, Lavneesh Gupta, COO, Reliance Broadcast Network said, “To salute Republic Day, a momentous occasion for Indians, the BIG MAGIC family will come together to entertain our audience with fun-filled episodes. We’re glad to be sharing this special day with Ayushmann Khurrana , lead actor of Hawaizaada, where the film salutes Indianness and will together impart an inspiring message to our viewers.”

The Republic Day special will be marketed heavily across television, radio and digital, ensuring excellent promotions and reach.

Big Magic is available across key DTH players ranging Airtel, Videocon, DD Free Dish, Dish TV, Reliance Digital TV along with Hathway, Incable, Digicable, DEN, 7 Star, ABS, Siticable, Star Broadband and GTPL amongst others.

January 20, 2015
Bewakoofiyaan: The title says it all

MUMBAI: Bewakoofiyaan is another Yash Raj Films production, after Gunday, that invests in newer, younger stars. As the stars in these films grow in stature and following, so does the shelf value of these films. Since such films are made with a tight control on the budget and are backed by the same marketing machine that the company’s major films get, YRF is usually safe with the ventures even if a certain film does not make it at the box office.

Bewakoofiyaan is a romantic comedy in that Ayushmann Khurrana and Sonam Kapoor love each other. When Khurrana is promoted to the post of senior executive at the airline where he works, he celebrates by acquiring a car to replace his bike. Sonam’s talent lies in finance and she works for a bank. They have been dating for two years and now that Khurrana has been promoted, it is time to take him to her father, Rishi Kapoor.

Rishi is a freshly retired IAS officer whose grouse is that he never got a decent posting in his career. He has his own set ideas about what kind of man his daughter should marry and has made a dossier of suitors for her of guys who have minimum income of 25 crore! The first hurdle Khurrana faces is that he earns about 10% less than Sonam and that makes him totally not suitable according to Rishi. After that, everything about Khurrana is a negative as far as Rishi is concerned. However, since Sonam is determined to marry Khurrana, Rishi sets terms and a timeframe for him to prove himself suitable to be his son in law.

Producer: Aditya Chopra.

Director: Nupur Asthana.

Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Aushmann Khurana, Sonam Kapoor.

Every day is a test now for Khurrana. Tutored by Sonam on how to deal with Rishi, he lets Rishi have his way, even letting him win in a game of squash. That is when the worst happens. Khurrana’s airline sacks 1200 employees and he is one of them. The logic behind sacking a just promoted executive is that, in his salary, the company can afford three freshers! Confident that he will land another job in matter of time, Khurrana survives on his credit card for a while until he reaches his three lakh credit limit which, as luck would have it, happens when he has asked Rishi out for lunch.

Khurrana now depends on Sonam for his house rent, car installment, fuel, pocket money and everything else. Yet, no job is forthcoming. Those which are coming are not to his liking. There is bound to be pressure on the relationship. While he is scoring brownie points with Rishi, somewhere along the way, his romance is on test.

The problem with Bewakoofiyaan is that, it is not a romance in the making which, since centuries, is exciting to watch. The script has too many contradictions, more so in Rishi’s character. The music, which is a must in any Indian film but essential in a romantic film, is a total let down with the lyrics making no sense. Dialogue is uninspiring. Again, something that a romantic film needs is solid chemistry between its lead characters and here there is none of that between Sonam and Khurrana. Both fall short in performances as well. The one who gets around comfortably is Rishi, but then, he is a veteran.

While the film sags throughout, it becomes a little watchable only during last 20 minutes or so. Even this long weekend will not help Bewakoofiyan much at the box office.

March 14, 2014
Blaupunkt is the sound that drives Ayushmann Khurrana

Ayushmann Khurrana, the multi-faceted actor, singer, composer has been roped in as the brand ambassador for Blaupunkt India, the Germany based leading car infotainment brand.

The brand that epitomises quality, contemporary style, innovation and superior sound, was looking for a face in India that would personify these core values.

Taking this association a step further, Blaupunkt is the official sound partner of Ayushmann’s new soft rock love ballad single “O Heeriye!’ in which he is seen using Blaupunkt’s recently launched premium headphones – Style.

“My association with Blaupunkt goes back a long way, my first music system was a Blaupunkt and to now partner with the brand, is an honour. Music is an integral part of my life and Blaupunkt’s premium sound takes the music experience to a very different level – be it in the car or at home. For me, quality and innovation play an equally important role, which is reflected in every product of the Blaupunkt range,” said Ayushmann Khurrana.

Commenting on the same, Blaupunkt India marketing head Preeti Bakshi said, “AYK and Blaupunkt are both recognised for great music, innovation, and cool style. We are very excited to partner with Ayushmann and together we will further accelerate the connect of Blaupunkt products with Indian youth and young at heart.”

September 23, 2013
Ayushmann Khurrana turns AD for Madras Café

MUMBAI: Ayushmann Khurrana recently turned assistant director for Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, JA Entertainment and Rising Sun Films’ Madras Cafe. The actor travelled to Kochi for ten days to assist director Shoojit Sircar on a crucial dramatic scene between John Abraham and Siddharth Basu and a few others.

Though Ayushmann was keen on assisting the director through the entire schedule, his professional commitments didn’t permit him to. However, as soon as his calendar opened up, he caught the next flight to Kochi to assist Shoojit on the political thriller.

Says Shoojit Sircar, “Ayushmann had told me during Vicky Donor that if the film tanked and he didn’t get any work thereafter, he would assist me. But the film worked and he became a star. However, to get a better hang of direction, he did join us for a few days on the sets of Madras Cafe and proved to be a talented assistant.”

Says Ayushmann Khurana, “I wish I could be there for all 40 days of the Madras Cafe shoot. Shoojit has a fabulous set up. It was fascinating to see actors from a different point of view. I hope this experience results in making me a better actor.”

Presented by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and JA Entertainment and produced by Rising Sun Films and JA Entertainment, Madras Cafe, directed by Shoojit Sircar is scheduled to release 23 August 2013.

August 2, 2013
Nautanki Saala: Khurrana delivers yet again

MUMBAI: This film defies all descriptions. Nautanki it is not. The film depicts the drought of imagination in story, script, casting, music, direction.

Nautanki Saala opens with the advantage of having Ayushmann Khurrana in the lead. Khurrana made an impact in his debut film, Vicky Donor and this film being his immediate second, is one looked forward to.

Khurana is a successful stage director and actor whose latest play based on the epic Ramayan has run for hundreds of shows. Late one night, he sees a man trying to hang himself from a tree in the middle of the road and being a perpetual do-gooder, he saves Kunaal Roy Kapoor, a loser on all counts. Kapoor has not only amounted to nothing in life, his latest blow is that his girlfriend, Pooja Salvi, has dropped him on the advice of his own grandmother. Khurrana takes him home to make sure he does not make another attempt. Khurrana‘s girlfriend, Gaelyn Mendonca, is not sure he should get too involved but later comes to grow fond of Kapoor.

Khurrana now takes it upon himself to find Salvi and bring her and Kapoor together. Meanwhile, he also tries to build Kapoor‘s self confidence and when the Ram from his Ramayan has left, he decides to cast Kapoor for the role. What follows is supposed to provide laughs which, most of the time, it does not. On the other hand, Khurrana has found Salvi who runs a florist shop and now keeps visiting her waiting for an opportunity to take her to Kapoor. But, there is a hurdle: she has a boyfriend and is due to marry him in few weeks. Kapoor has to get him out of her life and bring her to Kapoor. This is also supposed to provide laughs but does not. The do-gooder Khurrana finally falls for Kapoor‘s girlfriend, drops his own girlfriend like a stale potato and yet all live happily ever after.

Nautanki Saala is supposed to be a comedy but comes out as one huge yawn fest. While Khurrana is natural and tries his best, Kapoor can‘t act and is a drain on an already poor script. The girls lack charm or talent. The film uses two tracks from old movies, ‘So gaya yeh jahan…..‘ from Tezaab and ‘Dhak dhak….‘ from Beta. And that is the best the film has to offer with only original song from the soundtrack worth listening to is ‘Mera man kehne laga…‘

Nautanki Saala has had an average opening and is not expected to sustain the word of mouth being generally against.

Commando – A One Man Army: A mass action flick

Budget films need not always be comedies or sex oriented dramas. At times, they can be action films if you have the right candidate to deliver without the help of special effects which cost a lot. Commando has a hero in Vidyut Jamwal, who can deliver without special effects and crores spent on action sequences. Producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah is as much an entrepreneur as he is a creative man and he brings the age old formulas of One Man Army and The First Blood (Sylvester Stallone) on screen through his action hero.

Jamwal is an elite commando gifted with special talents and trained for special assignments. His helicopter on a routine mission crash-lands and he ends up on the Chinese side of the border. He is captured by the Chinese and treated as an Indian spy. After a year of Chinese torture, he is about to be sentenced when he escapes from under the Chinese army.

While he is away, a drama is being played out in a small town of Punjab where a sinister bad man, Jaideep Ahlawat, has been able to plant his five MLAs in the State Assembly and now controls the area. He eyes the daughter of the earlier, honest, politician. The daughter, Pooja Chopra, decides to flee town rather than marry the ugly villain who was born without pupils in his eyes which make him look repulsive. While Chopra is on the run, Ahlawat‘s goons, led by his brother, Jagat Rawat, catch up with her. Surrounded by a horde of them, she is helpless when Jamwal lands up on his way back. He is a human fighting machine and, in no time, overcomes the goons.

Now, Chopra can‘t stay back and wants Jamwal to escort her out of the district where, she thinks, Ahlawat won‘t be able to reach her. She is wrong because the bus the couple takes is intercepted over a bridge with nowhere to run. Jamwal manages to humiliate the villain and jumps in the river with Chopra. Now, the couple have to survive in the jungle and at the same time keep dodging the villains (as well as fall in love and imagine a couple romantic songs!). Trained for survival in such terrains, Jamwal goes on eliminating Ahlawat‘s people. Ahlawat wants to capture him alive and kill him in the village square so the local folk continue to fear him. The hero is shot by one of the goons and in anger, Ahlawat throws the injured Jamwal into the river. This serves to stretch the film further as the village square vow is postponed letting the hero recoup and return for the final battle and rescue not only Chopra but also the villagers.

Action movies are costly to make but the advantage with this film is that, in Jamwal , the makers have a gifted and trained action hero who requires no double or wires and special effects and does his stunts himself. That helps the budget, wastes little time and makes the fights look natural. Jamwal excels in action and is quite satisfactory in romantic scenes too. Chopra is good. Ahlawat is effective. Rawat supports well. Direction by Dilip Ghosh is competent. The film could have done without songs which would have made it crisper. Dialogue and SMS jokes are a good distraction from this all action movie.

Commando is an outright mass film which has been received well and the weekend should add to this advantage.

April 12, 2013
Eros & John Abraham’s co-produced film Vicky Donor to release on 20 April

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor John Abraham has forayed into movie production under the banner JA Entertainment and has got Eros International to co-produce and release it.

The spoof on sperm donation is titled Vicky Donor and will release on 20 April.

“I am excited about making a foray into producing films and glad to have Eros on board as co-producers. Also, with Eros‘ global marketing and distribution infrastructure, we hope to present this breakthrough commercial cinema to audiences worldwide,” Abraham observed.

Vicky Donor has been directed by Shoojit Sircar and stars debutant Ayushmann Khurrana along with Annu Kapoor and Yami Gautam among others.

The film is about a light hearted take at the taboo attached with infertility and artificial insemination or sperm donation.

Eros International Media Ltd managing director Sunil Lulla said, “With Vicky Donor, one can expect the unusual and out of the box cinema. It is a light, enjoyable film and we are sure audiences are in for a pleasant surprise. We are very happy to associate with John for his maiden production venture.”

March 10, 2012