luck by chance

the term 'underplay' is used very early in 'luck by chance' by the head of an acting institute. he states that underplaying a character never works in bollywood and an actor should always be over the top with his potrayal. zoya akthar spends the rest of the film in contradiciting that statement and proves that subtlety and underplaying can definitely work if used with finesse, tact and clarity. 

'luck by chance' is a fascinating film with a simple story and complex characters. it satirizes bollywood to a superlative extent but still comes out on top because its heart is in the right place. it also marks the debut of a director with vision, humogonous potential and someone who stays clear from the pseudo-real kind of cinema. 'luck by chance' is most simply a breath of fresh air at a time when film-making is getting stagnated.

it's the story of vikram and sona, two budding actors who will do whatever it takes to get them to the top. farhan akhthar completley justifies his selection and plays his manipulating, selfish and charming character with insght and delicacy. he gets everything right and does not overact or underperform. his success at making the audience love his character eventhough he does things that are regarded as villainous firmly establishes the fact that he has remarkable aptitude.

konkona sen-sharma plays her many-layered, difficult to depict character with ease. she also substantiates why she is considered one of the most gifted actresses of her generation.

not mentioning the rest of the cast would be a crime against cinema. rishi kapoor plays the caricatured producer to perfection and his break-down scene shows us not only the depth in the character but also his ability. dimple kapadia is exceptional playing the diva and is very very effective in a confession scene. hrithik roshan, in an extended special appearence is brilliant in playing the star who gets insecure in an elusive way, something that is expressed only through his eyes. juhi chawla and isha sharvani get it right in their respective roles.

the beauty of the film lies in the fact that eventhough the characters are stereotypical, they show their chasm with just expressions and 'underplay'. the performances are top-notch and the inside-jokes are fantastic.

the climax proves that the director is not scared of showing reality on screen even when indian audiences are not too high on not-happy endings. 

'luck by chance' is not cliched, not unreal, not boring and in all a superb package. it's an impressive debut by zoya akhthar...she gives us the kind of cinema we need, the kind of cinema that is appreciated and the kind of cinema that is intelligent. i guarantee that 'luck by chance' will be pure bliss for a bollywood fan.

p.s: srk delivers just one line in the film...and that one line deserves applause.

RATING - 4/5

chandni chowk to china

"can a film be tht bad n still do well at the box office?" i questioned myself after watching a film which had so much hype and very little substance. i am truly amazed at the indian audience...how can u endorse such a bad film? has our taste for cinema become so mediocre that we are satisfied with films that insult our intelligence?

to tell u the truth, 'cc2c' had everything going behind it; the storyline sounded good, the cast looked impressive, the hype was as usual, huge and the expectations were high. i went in expecting a decent entertainer with some funny lines and some good action. it turned out to be torture. dont get me wrong, 'cc2c' does not falter because the expectations are high, it would fail even if one had no expectations at all.

the action of the film is one of the best i have seen in hindi cinema so far, it is completely inspired from chinese action flicks and is mindblowing. akshay kumar overacts in a few scenes but doesnt do a bad job. his comic timing is perfect and he does the action scenes marvelously. there isnt much substance, depth or evolution in his character, hence i wouldnt praise him at all. deepika padukone on the other hand is placed in the film for publicity and looks. she doesnt have one good line in the film...if there was i dint notice. mithun da potrays his small role well and holds his own against akshay in every scene.

by now, you would be thinking, why i had criticised the film to such an extent? the reason for that is mr. nikhil advani's direction. the misadventure with 'salaam-e-ishq' wasnt enough for him to comprehend that he should stop directing films. he converts a very decent storyline with ok performances into a disaster. in trying to make it look like an old jackie chan film, he screws up in all departments...he should go back to karan johar and take lessons. i really feel bad for the cast because 'cc2c' could have been such a fantastic action-adventure-comedy film. alas! mr. advani does not let that happen and leaves us with cinema, you are completely annoyed with.

i really hope that akshay kumar does a different genre of films now, he is starting to get repetitive and it is showing in his acting. in a time when even srk is experimenting, i think he should look for better scripts and for better directors. 

please do not watch 'cc2c', it is an insult to your intelligence and a film where chaos tries to be the binding factor.

rating - 1/5

RocknRolla

guy ritchie is hailed as the emperor of british gangster films...this film tells you exactly why such statements are made. 'rocknrolla' is the term used for a rock and roller at the east end of london. the film also cements that he shud stick to the genre of dark gangster comedies...his forte, a genre he is exceptionally good at. sure, he is not reinventing anything and theres nothing majorly new...but i guess when ur good at something, you should stick to it...its worked in the cae of hugh grant and it has here with mr. guy ritchie.

just like 'lock, stock...' and 'snatch', the plot is a complicated one...it has too many subplots and i'll get lost explaining them. there is one constant though: everybody is trying to con everybody (which is ritchie's speciality). the problem with movies that have too many subplots is that the audience gets lost and doesnt remember where it started. this is where the skill of ritchie as a director comes to play...he doesnt let the audience lose its attention and one understands everything that is going on...this itself is an achievement as a director and ritchie does it with ease.

as far as the style quotient is concerned, the film is oozing with it...every gangster film has to be stylish to work...'rocknrolla' is very high on this ingredient and everyone is distinct and dangerous in the film. comedy is the pillar of the film and again done with such ease and naturality that you cant help but laugh at implausible situations which seem very real and very funny.

tom wilkinson is the star of the film...he plays an old, arrogant, foul-mouthed gangster who is hilarious in parts and menacing as well. gerard butler is the head of the wild bunch (a bunch of crooks who get conned by wilkinson) and his acting is superb. his comic timing is precise and  there are some situations in the film where he makes you roll with laughter. toby kebbell is fantastic as the rocknrolla and one wonders where ritchie finds such talent. thandie newton plays the femme fatale and does an average job as she is the only character who is uni-dimensional.

the soundtrack of the film is very catchy and grows over you as the movie progresses. in all, 'RocknRolla' is nothing new from ritchie but a sound entertainer. he's developing into an institution in himself and i wouldnt eat my words when i say he is the tarantino of british cinema.

a must watch for his fans.

rating - 3.5/5

slumdog millionaire

after watching it, i asked myself, " what is it about 'slumdog millionaire' that has won it 4 golden globes and approval of audiences from all countries?" the answer isnt an easy one. i thought about it for a really long time and i still havent been able to decipher why exactly i loved the movie.

in concise it seems to be a very very predictable story of 'a chaiwala' from the slums who wins a million rupees and his long lost love...nothing impressive at all you would think. but when you watch the whole film, thats when you embrace it...you love it...you cant stop thinking about it.

the greatest strength of 'slumdog' is definitely the direction. mr. danny boyle has resurrected his career with a masterpiece. the journey of jamal has been told in such a fascinating, fast-paced manner that i couldn't help but smile and feel bad at the same time. the hardships he goes through...his small triumphs...his escapes...everything has been directed with such intensity and thrill that it holds a grip on you.

ironically, its mr. danny boyle who shows us the real india...the india with the slums, the communal riots, the greed for money...sure mr. amitabh bacchan thinks its derogatory and makes india look like a thrid world country...but who are we kidding? i mean we still have the largest slum in asia...we still have humogonous amount of poverty and unemployment...we still have people who starve and people who beg...if thats a third world country...then yes, we are one. we have been lost behind the rise of the stock market, the gdp growth, the government slogans that we have really forgotten the real india. and its 'slumdog' that shows us the real india...a fast paced developing one and the other a backward declining one. 

the cinematography is the best i have ever seen...its one of the main reasons for the success of the film and the background score which synchronises with every mood and tone of the film deserves special mention.

the acting by dev patel and the whole cast is brilliant...i have no other words. every actor fits the character perfectly...they have been well cast and have justified it.

i conclude that 'slumdog millionaire' is a phenomenon...it is one of those movies that is a perfect example of wonderful storytelling...of reality...of a simple story of triumph. it makes me proud. we should all be.

rating - 4.5/5

ghajini

dissappointed is how i would summarise my experience after watching ghajini. no, the film is not mediocre in content, direction or acting. the reason for my disillusionment is sky high expectations from aamir khan.

i do not feel the need for criticism of a film if it is inspired or remade from another, what matters is what one feels after the running time, what matters is the end product because at the end of the day, every directors interpretation and perception of a script is different. 'memento' is one of my all time favourite films and it just shows  the sheer class of mr. nolan as a director...and it is here where my dismay starts. i could not help but compare mr. murugadoss to mr. nolan and the difference was very very apparent. the aim of nolan was to make an astounding, intriguing, impressive film whereas with murugadoss has dedicated himself into making a slick, action packed, masala thriller which is commercially bankable and plausible. 

do not get me wrong, i am a huge fan of mr. aamir khan's work and i firmly believe that he is the best leading actor we have in the industry today but i really really hoped that he would do a film which has an ending like 'memento' and not the tamil 'ghajini' (i guess it was not in his control). 

thus, ghajini is the kind of film that could have been a masterpiece...a film that would have always been remembered but in the end, it turns out to be a 'masala film'. i feel sad because it is one of those films that could have taken bollywood to another dimension.

aamir khan delivers one his finest performances...one can literally feel his pain when he cries and screams. he handles the anterograde amnesia character with a sublime touch and has enough charm to carry out the rich loverboy as well. he does not overact a single scene which shows the amount of control he has in his acting. asin impresses as the leading girl and has the 'je ne sais quoi' to carry out a relatively difficult role. i was not at all impressed by jiah khan and i cannot believe she is from the lee strassburg studio of acting. pradeep rawat plays the 80s style goon very well and has the presence and intensity needed for such a strong character.

the love story in the film was a pleasant surprise and i thought that asin and aamir had great chemistry. 

'ghajini' is a film that has it all...violence, romance, thrills, drama...but what it lacks is greatness; which is lost to make the film a commercial success. the film's direction did not impress me...it did not bore me either. watch it!

rating - 3/5

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

they say a director's skill is best seen when he has to deal with a weak script. adi chopra shines not only as a skilfull director but as someone who deals with emotional scenes brilliantly and who has acumen for minute detail.

the premise of 'rab ne' is not impressive and i wasn't expecting too much. but, in the end, it turned out to be heartwarming tale of a middle aged, mild, clumsy, boring, unattractive middle-class man finding in his love. it made me smile because in mr. surinder sahni's triumph, i found mine...and i am sure everyone who is not blessed with godly looks smiled too. 

'rab ne' makes you question love, "do only rich, charming, handsome men deserve beautiful women?" "is love only based on how we look from outside and not inside?". the only and probably most important thing that differentiates this film from others is that it is not 'a hero' who wins his love in the end.

shahrukh khan has always been known for his persona and stardom than his acting skills. but it is this film that shows us the evolution of him as an actor. he puts in his best performance after 'swades'. he potrays surinder sahni to perfection, from the punjabi accent to his body language, he gets everything right. sure, he hams up and overacts the role of the jat but you still cannot make out a single difference between the two. i almost believed he was a method actor after watching this film. its the emotional scenes, he deserves special praise for...he delivers every line with a heart-wrenching and superb expressions. i have to say he is the best in the industry when it comes to emotional scenes. his comic timing has always been excellent and this film is no exception.

anushkha sharma delivers a fine performance as the wife and is fortunately well cast. she handles serious scenes with maturity and i could not believe this was her first film. vinay pathak is brilliant as usual and his chemistry with srk is very good.

adi chopra handles a fragile and an implausible storyline very well, which itself is an achievement. every dialogue of the film is perfectly placed, so are the lyrics of the songs.

the film does have short-comings, like the part where you feel that the wife not being able to recognise her husband after a makeover (although srk almost makes us believe it), the pace of the second half which lags behind, the unnecessary shots of amritsar and the songs of the gurudwara.

in all, 'rab ne' is a beautiful and touching tale which is a little too long. it made me smile and i am sure you will too.

rating 3.5/5