Movies Review

The Worst Amitabh Bachchan Films

2011-08-19T22:59:00.000-07:00

The reviews last week's Aarakshan got, all unanimously suggest only one thing: that while the film was disappointing, Amitabh Bachchan was great in it. It's not the first time that's happened, and unlikely to be the last.

Bachchan, one of the most prolific leading men in the history of cinema, has shown up in his fair share of turkeys. Here are some recent films that didn't help Amitabh's filmography at all.

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Teen Patti (2010)

He acted opposite Sir Ben Kingsley, sure, but there was little of merit in Leena Yadav's film besides these two gentlemen sharing the screen.

A derivative and mixed-up film about card-counting, this preposterous production even had Jackie Shroff playing an Italian. Bizarre.

A scene from Teen PattiTeen Patti is a card game, which can have seasoned gamblers salivating at the mouth. Even casual players who may just indulge in a couple of rounds at Diwali or New Year love the excitement. With such a title and Amitabh Bachchan [ Images ] in the lead role, one would have thought the producers have a sure shot winner on their hands.

Unfortunately, not.

One of the most popular moves in Teen Patti is 'Blind'. But here, it seems director Leena Yadav was moving blindly in all directions.

Amitabh Bachchan (Venkat Subramanium) is an unsuccessful Maths professor whose superiors claim his research projects have no practical applications. But his latest is a dissertation on the Theory of Probability which can help them predict the winner in a card game and earn megabucks in the process. So the tutor and his bunch of students are encouraged to take a shot at implementing the theory in the real world. And then all hell breaks loose.

The students, who started out as middle-class simpletons, turn into raving lunatics overnight. They come and go as they please, stash hundreds of rupees in their hostel rooms and get hysterical.

The script doesn't evolve, it just jumps jerkily from one level to another so that the director can take her story to a predictable end. Such a pity because co-writer Shiv Subramaniam has written such brilliant films like Parinda and Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi.

It's getting tiring watching R Madhavan doing young man roles. He hasn't lost his acting abilities but he really needs to rid himself of his flab. The energy and zest that the actor used to bring on screen -- especially seen in Guru -- is missing.

A scene from Teen PattiAfter The Last Lear it was just a matter of time before somebody tried to recreate a similar persona for Amitabh Bachchan. But the consistency is missing here. Bachchan does his best but he's tied down with a clichéd script.

Also, his costumes don't make him look like a millionaire, who can afford to lose lakhs of rupees in one night. In a few scenes, he is seen wearing a white shirt and coat, and looks straight out of Cheeni Kum.

The script is not the only place where the clichés abound. The underground gambling dens are garish and look straight out of Dev D. The high-profile parties and casinos look even more bizarre. It's apparent they were trying to create a Las Vegas kind of effect but it just doesn't work.

Shakti Kapoor was the fun part of the film. He's called Prem London, a loud-mouthed compulsive gambler. His dialogues are full of expletives. His daughter Shraddha makes her debut in the film as Aparna. Though a bit raw, she has a lot of potential.

In fact, it is the acting prowess of the ensemble cast that gets you involved. Newcomers Dhruv Ganesh, Siddharth Kher and Vaibhav Talwar show great promise. This is one aspect where Leena Yadav has really delivered the goods.

Three decades after Gandhi, Ben Kingsley still weaves magic for the Indian audiences. As Kingsley and Bachchan share their life experiences, there is the sheer pleasure of watching two legends share screen space. And since there is no attempt to overshadow the other, the experience is memorable. It's difficult to visualise other actors in these roles. Teen Patti is worth a watch just for the actors.

Salman Khan Delays Ek Tha Tiger?

2011-07-28T03:52:00.000-07:00

Ahead of his maiden tryst with Yash Raj Films, actor Salman Khan has already caused a tittle-tattle in B-Town. Even before Kabir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger goes on floor, the film has been delayed. And according to hearsay, it is the Dabangg star, who postponed the first schedule of the film, which was apparently set to start on July 5.

Buzz has it that Salman’s upcoming film, Bodyguard, co-produced by brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri required extra dates, so the actor’s next, Ek Tha Tiger, has been delayed. Yash Raj Films’ spokesperson, Rafiq Gangjee, confirms that the film has been pushed, but merely by ten days and not a month. “Yes, we start shooting on August 10. The schedule has shifted due to our own production requirements. It has nothing to do with Bodyguard. We have always had our production schedule,” says Rafiq.

Sources close to Ek Tha Tiger add that they were set to hit the floors from August 1. “But since we need to shoot for only a few days in August, we can afford to reshuffle the dates a bit. We will start the main outdoors only in September. And we want Bhai (Salman) to start absolutely fresh. So we want him to take a week-long break because it doesn’t make sense to start shooting immediately after Bodyguard,” adds the source.

For the uninitiated, Bodyguard is touted to be a big Eid release, following suit of Salman’s past hits like Wanted and Dabangg that too were released during the festive season. When asked if Bodyguard is running behind schedule, Atul denies it. “It’s not true. We are on track to complete and release our film as per schedule. We were always supposed to finish our film by the end of this month. In fact, I am happy that we have managed to be on track for the release. So there’s no question of needing extra dates for my film.”

Review: Singham Is For Ajay Devgn Fans Only

2011-07-22T01:21:00.000-07:00

In Rohit Shetty's mass-masala movie Singham, Ajay Devgn plays an upright, honest and do-gooder cop who goes way beyond the training and duties of a regular Indian Police Service officer.

He will stop to push a cart if its wheel is stuck in the mud; play with little kids; become a part time no-interest loan financier to settle a dispute between two people in his village, especially if someone is about to get married and it is their 'izzat ka sawal'.

Devgn's Bajirao Singham is almost the village panchayat, who is blessed by hundreds of drum beating men. His ritual bath in the village pond at night is accompanied with a beautiful display of floating lit lamps, and people dressed in red costumes praying, perhaps for his well-being.

After the bath, Singham walks bare-chested with mysterious smoke rising behind him, subtle dramatic lighting, to the beat of drums and what sounds like Hindu shlokas. He sometimes walks in slow-motion -- that means he is cool. And sometimes leaps at the bad guys -- that means he has lion blood flowing throwing his veins.

Singham is followed by a continuous soundtrack -- mostly the melody of the title song sung by Sukhwinder Singh. But in the second half of the film, when he decides to finally take on the evil Jaykant Shikre (a very loud and over-the-top Prakash Raj), Singham's personal soundtrack changes to religious shlokas -- as if his forthcoming actions, beyond what is allowed by the laws of the land and his training at the IPS academy, are justified and sanctioned by something above everything else -- God, Hinduism, its texts and its hymns.

Remake of a hit 2010 Tamil film, Singham is critical of the Indian politics and society. Time and again, the film's characters make observations against India's flawed and corrupt system.

The film's three writers: Hari, Yunus Sajawal and Farhad Sajid seem to be disappointed with the way India has shaped out to be. They have little faith in the law. Most cops in the film, baring Singham and a couple of his subordinates when he is posted to Goa, are shown to be corrupt or at least have an attitude that do they not give a damn.

The politicians are the guilty party. As Shikre says toward the end of the film -- from 1947 to 2011 no minister has been arrested in India for crime and corruption.

The film makes it very clear -- without the existence of Singham, the good cop, India has no hope. I wonder why no has thought of making him the president or the prime minister of the country!

The film opens with the big dramatic dance sequence celebrating our hero -- it feels like it is Holi, but it is not, as Devgn and the backup dancers strike a pose with as their hands becoming the claws of tigers.

The first half of the film takes its time in establishing Singham's character, his world, his romance with Kaavya Bhosle (Kajal Agarwal, a chirpy, but weak actress, who has a bad habit of rushing through her lines and strangely enough bears a slight resemblance to Devgn's wife Kajol).

In a long fight sequence, Singham beats up a fat bad guy who has snatched Kaavya's green dupatta. And she is so shamed by the dishonour that she wraps herself in a black dupatta.

There is the parallel story about Shikre, who makes money kidnapping rich people and has the protection of the Goa's top cops and politicians. But Singham and Shikre's path do not cross, until almost the intermission.

In the second half, Singham is posted to Goa -- as a punishment, where he is now in the world run by Shikre. He is frustrated and almost gives up hope. But just when he decides to leave, a depressed and overweight kid looks at Singham and begs him to stay back. "Uncle aap nahin hongey to yeh mummy ko marengey," the kid pleads with Singham.

The kid's mummy is Megha Kadam (Sonali Kulkarni), whose husband committed suicide in the opening sequences of the film, but all of that is too complicated to explain here.

Finally, Singham walks up to what looks like the entire Goa police force gathered with their families for a reception. He asks each of those cops to look into the eyes of their family members. Burdened with a sufficient sense of guilt, the reformed cops take off on 'mardon wallah kaam' to deal with Shikre, who by now has been elected for the political office. The method they chose to deal with Shikre may be unethical according to the Indian laws, but then it goes fine with the film's near anarchist attitude.

The dialogues are often hilarious, sometimes unintentionally. Singham to Shikre: "Tu corruption sey paiday hua gandi nalee ka keeda hai."

Shikre to Singham: "Yahan mera music system bajta hai!"

A jaded junior cop to Singham: "Main bhi yahan angry young man ban key aya tha. Lekin in logon ne mujhey Gandhi Ji ka bandar bana diya - na dekho, na bolo, na suno!"

The performances have Bollywood written all over them. Devgn is mostly a caricature of an action hero. His best moments are when he is really angry, gritting his teeth and cracking his knuckles as he gets ready to beat up the bad guys.

The real star of the film is the sound team. Singham is packed with a lot of bone crunching sounds, and loud action moments. Gone are the days when Bollywood films just featured dhishum-dhishum in the fight scenes. Now there is every possible jarring loud sound one hears, as Singham whips up the bad guys with his belts and smashes their bodies on the ground, against walls,.

The fights are long, painful and yet fun to watch. But I never understood why with all the beating they take from one man, none of the bad guys are even slightly injured. There is no bone broken, no cut, not even a bruise. There is violence and yet no after affect of violence. And I am sure that is fine for the Indian censors.

Ajay Overwhelmed By Response To 'Singham'

2011-07-18T21:38:00.001-07:00

Actor Ajay Devgn, who is readying for his upcoming action-packed film Singham, is all praises for his director friend Rohit Shetty and is excited that the initial response to their new venture has been "roaring".

"Singham rocks, growls and ROARS! AAAAWESOME!!! Kudos to Rohit. His best so far... And so says Kajol, I think she really meant it (sic)," Ajay said on Twitter.

Rohit and Ajay's association dates back to Phool Aur Kaante(1991) in which Ajay made his acting debut and Rohit was assistant director.

After that, Rohit worked as assistant or associate director in other Ajay starrer films like Suhaag, Haqeeqat, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Hindustan Ki Kasam and Raju Chacha.

At the age of 29, Rohit directed his first feature film, Zameen in 2003, as an independent director with Ajay as one of the leads.

The actor-director duo went on to work together in films like Sunday, Golmaal series, All The Best and the 42-year-old actor is now overwhelmed with the response to the latest Singham.

"One of the best compliments I got today that just made my day "wish I got a whistle with the ticket. Really missed the whistle!," Ajay said. "The response here is "roaring" (after the trial show)...thanks everyone," he added.

Singham, is a remake of the successful 2010 Tamil film of the same name which was directed by Hari and featured Suriya in the lead role.

The Hindi remake stars Ajay and south actress Kajal Agarwal and releases on July 22.

Harry Potter Finale Makes History, Sets Four New Records

2011-07-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

A swan song of the blockbuster Harry Potter series eclipsed a previous trailblazer of the Hollywood tentpoles by grabbing a heart-stopping $168.55 million over the weekend, as well as creating three other firsts as the highly popular franchise bows out of celluloid incarnation for good, Xinhua reports.

According to estimated statistics released by Warner Bros., which distributes Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, the final and 8th installment on the boy wizard franchise opened as No. 1 in North America box office on Friday, grossing $91.2 million from 4,375 venues in the US and Canada.

It broke the milestone for all-time highest single-day gross which was held by The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which garnered $72.7 million when it opened on Friday, November 20, 2009.

On Saturday, it continued with the foray at box office derby, finishing the business with $42.85 million. All told, the finale of the series has also managed to become No. 1 in three other areas: largest midnight gross ($43.5 million), largest opening weekend -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1, hit the screens last November, previously held that record with $125 million in ticket sales upon its debut, and largest IMAX opening ($15.5 million from 274 theaters).

Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Paramount Pictures' third Transformer installment, continued its money-making business, and is estimated to take in $21.25 million, finishing as No. 2 at the box office. It has garnered a cumulative sales totalling $302.8 million over three weeks.

Horrible Bosses, a New Line/Warner Bros. dark/black comedy which features Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman and Colin Farrell, successfully held up at the box office derby. It is estimated to make $17.63 million as No. 3 most popular films of the weekend. It has reaped $60 million in two weeks.

Rounding out the top five most popular films in North America are:

Zookeeper, $12.3 million this weekend, and $42.35 million in two weeks; Cars 2, $8.3 million this week which is on track to garner $165 million in four weeks.

In the shadow of the Harry Potter juggernaut, Disney Animation Studios' Winnie the Pooh was the weekend's only release which was off to a solid start, grossing $2.9 million on Friday and grabbed $8 million in movie ticket sales from 2,405 locations during Friday-Sunday timeframe.

The fifth theatrical film released and the second from the Walt Disney Animation Studios, the animated family film, which was inspired by three A A Milne stories, looks like it's succeeding in luring tots too young for the PG-13 Potter. It received an A-CinemaScore, with those under 18 giving it an A+.

[Source]

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara Movie Review

2011-07-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Expectations, hopes and excitement were sky high. I had done this before; gone to watch a film having convinced myself that I would love it, just by its credentials. Let’s face it, Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara qualified as a potential success in so many departments: three handsome men, two lovely ladies, a road trip, an exotic location… It seemed so well-padded it had to resist failure. The only thing that needed to be added to this otherwise perfect list was the ability to strike a chord with the audience. Could perfection be hit head on by an audience that wanted more?

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a story about three friends who comes together for one last road trip before one of them gives up on his bachelor status. Kabir (Abhay Deol) is all set to marry Natasha (Kalki) but, in true bachelor tradition, he and his friends, Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) and Imraan (Farhan Akhtar) organise a stag holiday to Spain which will see them reunite after a number of years. During the trip, the trio meet Laila (Katrina Kaif) who both Imraan and Arjun take an instant liking to and who goes on to bring a change to all of their lives. The trip sees the threesome take part in various sports, overcome old grudges and it also encourages them all to tackle their biggest fears individually.

It would be wrong to say that the film has a plot not seen before in Indian cinema. It would also be untruthful to state that, albeit with a recurring set of circumstances, it seeks to be something that it’s not. The Spanish touch seems to do wonders for the treatment of the movie. The colourful settings and the picturesque locations make the story come to life. Zoya Akhtar’s style seems to be stamped all over the vivid backgrounds and overall feel of the movie, especially if her directorial debut, Luck By Chance, is anything to go by. You can recognise and appreciate the somewhat subtle charm of the movie right from its first shot because of the romantic avatar and this is one thing the audience is sure to remember about Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

The casting of the film is also very much spot-on. Roshan, Akhtar and Deol seem to fit into their characters perfectly. The comical scenes are particularly effective and what seems to come through the most is the rapport the three must have shared with each other while shooting for the movie. Arjun’s character is not immediately one that you would have placed Roshan in, but he plays him with much dedication and passion. It is refreshing to see him play a character who isn’t instantly likeable, which is very much away from the norm for the actor. Akhtar’s performance as Imraan can be described in just one word: effortless. His comical timing, his spontaneity and his very obvious natural talent in giving a minimalist performance with maximum after-effect is evident in this film. Deol’s character, Kabir, is the one who takes the story forward. It is great to see Deol in such a role as he is by far one of Indian cinema’s most underrated actors. One hopes his undervalued acting talent won’t go unrecognised following this movie. Although the ladies, Kaif and Koechlin don’t have as much exposure as the leading men in the movie, both do their respective roles justice. Kaif is very much a breath of fresh air in her role as Laila.

The performances and scenery is only made better with the soundtrack of the movie which was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The picturisations of the songs are wonderful and each song is given it’s own flavour, which fits in with the overall theme of the movie as well as proving to good reflections on the individual characters. For example, ‘Senorita’ captures the very essence of the bachelor-party trip with Roshan, Akhtar and Deol not only seen to dance with a Spanish dancer, but they also lend their vocals to the celebration song. A special mention should also be given to the very sombre ‘Khaabon Ke Parinday’ which shows the enlightenment of Roshan’s character, Arjun. ‘Ik Junoon’ is also given an extremely innovative visual treatment as it is filmed with cast at the Tomatina Festival.

To conclude, Zindagi Milegi Dobara is full of fun, frolics and friendship. If you’re expecting a big romance, an item song with multiple changes of outfit or even a tear-jerking scene that gives you an excuse to take out those tissues, then you will be sadly disappointed. The film is made up of moments you’ll always remember and funny scenes which will make you laugh even just by thought. The intermingling anecdotes within the grand scheme of things will also keep you entertained. The poetry recited by Farhan Akhtar and written by his father Javed Akhtar which accompanies the reflective scenes is also a highlight. Perhaps the best thing about Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara lies in its ability to sporadically switch between the serious and the hilarious without a second thought.

Although the movie isn’t a fresh and entirely original concept, it very much leaves you wanting to let go of your inhibitions, throw away your doubts, and face your fears but, most of all, it makes you want to LIVE… because you only live once. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara!

[Source]