Apartment Movie Review |
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| Apartment - Boring & awfully uninspiring |
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 What is it all about? If anyone loves a trend, its Bollywood. Jag Mundra makes a futile attempt in chasing hard on a pack that started by early 90s smashes such as ‘Basic Instinct’, which gave birth to ‘Single White Female’, which later on gets adopted in ‘Apartment’. The Story……..of course Tanushree Dutta is an airhostess living in with her boyfriend Rohit Roy. They share a nice apartment and are befriended by their elderly neighbour Anupam Kher, a struggling poet and lyricist. Tanushree is possessive and has issues with trust. When she mistakenly suspects her boyfriend to be unfaithful, she throws him out of the house, but soon realizes she can't afford the payment on the apartment on her own. On the advice of a fellow airhostess, she advertises for a tenant to share her apartment. Enter Neetu Chandra, a modest small-town girl asking for accommodation. Very impressed by her simplicity and respectfulness, Tanushree believes she has found a perfect tenant. The two girls soon become close - their camaraderie leads them to even become companions. Until things begin to go disastrously wrong. What to look out for? Neetu tries hard to make us sit through her effective eyes and striking figure in whatever way she can as Tanushree gives her ample support while Ronit Roy looks on and Anupam Kher does the routine.  Technical aspects are stylish and production values are excellent What Not? If you asked for changes made in the Bollywood version of ‘Single White Female’ then here is the list Its shamelessly shies away from the Hitchcockian peril that captured the auds and inspired those Hollywood flicks. The actors have nothing innovative to do as the helmer himself is lost of ideas as he tries those tried and tested things in order to provide thrills. No thrill, no mystery and no sex then what is it suppose to be. Director Jag Mundra losses it completely as he doesn’t know what to do. The movie travels on undefined zone and when the psycho Neetu Chandra gets into the psycho mode its turns out to be unintentionally funny. The writing is so poor by the helmer Jagmohan Mundhra and his partner Syed Gulrez that it neither establishes the character of Neetu neither does it care to establish any bonding between the two making the audience care a damn when Neetu goes wild. Conclusion: With obvious flaws and its unfaithfulness to the genre, Mundra’s ‘Apartment’ is a sad joke on slasher/psycho thrillers even worse, the movie ends giving the hint of a sequel. Rating * |
What is it all about?
With all respect to Bollywood’s scareamia Ram Gopal Varma, after watching ‘Phoonk 2’ you come across a feeling that first timer Milind Gadagkar was not the right choice to pilot this one.
That doesn’t mean that Milind is a bad helmer but you need certain qualities to be shocky and when taking over the responsibility to helm a sequel presented by an infamous devotee of scares in Bollywood, it’s essential to be both creepy and stylish at the same time.
The Story….of course
‘Phoonk’ ends with the killing of Madhu (Ashwini Kalsekar), the woman who casts a black magic spell on Rajiv's (Sudeep) daughter Raksha (Ahsaas Channa). ‘Phoonk 2’ begins with Madhu's ghost returning from the grave to seek revenge on the family.
Rajiv moves with his family to a new place. Raksha and her brother Rohan begin exploring the new place and the surroundings - the lonely beach and then the woods behind the house. The terror begins with Raksha and Rohan finding a doll in the woods and then it progresses to a series of highly traumatizing experiences for the whole family.
Manja (Zakhir Hussain), the only man whom Rajiv could turn to, meets a gruesome death at the hands of Madhu's ghost. Madhu seeks revenge on Rajiv by torturing his loved ones - his wife Aarti (Amruta Khanvilkar) and their children, Raksha and Rohan - in unimaginably cruel ways.
What to look out for?
In the last fifteen minutes Milind makes a desperate attempt to register the film in the horror zone and succeeds to some extant. The ‘zoom in-zoom out’ camera work by Charles Meher who again like in many RGV makes his camera travel like a free butterfly and Rahul Pandirkar background along with the sound by Jayesh Dhakkan and Jayant Vajpayee trying to tease the audience in anticipation of something scary on cards.
Milind does get his technicalities right as mentioned earlier and the actors manage to attract attention. Sudeep is effective, Amruta Khanvilkar is noteworthy, Ahsaas Channa is decent and Ashwini Kalsekar looks scary.
What not?
Continuing from where the prequel ended, ‘Phoonk2’ moves at a leisurely pace where the real spine chilling moments coming after the first half (the killing of the tantrik manjha is bloody scary). But that’s a long wait for any horror enthusiast or any cinegoer for that matter.
‘Phoonk 2’ suffers due to the lack of focus in being creepy and stylish as it needs to be which plagues the entire film.
The helmer who is also the writer handicaps himself by keeping himself aloof from any choices that his script can offer.
Making the sequel to ‘Phoonk’ feel like unnecessary and forgettable.
Conclusion: With suitable camera work and sound effects laden, the sequel to ‘Phoonk’ suffers from an eerie-deficient script and a surprising lack of genuine chills. Go if you really must.
Rating: **
What is it all about?
Choreographer-director-writer Ahmed Khan turns producer with ‘Paathshaala’ where Milind Ukey does a bland helming of a pious subject about pressures on children but the flick in its writing by the producer himself and dubious handling by the director sums up as a non touchy movie which is resolutely devoid of real drama and interesting characters.
The story……of course
When Rahul unifies the teachers (Ayesha Takia, Sushant Singh) against the atrocities of school management, Principal Aditya Sahay (Nana Patekar) defends the management decision. This comes as a shocker to the teachers as Sahay is known for his dedication as an educationist for last 32 years, which has built the school's high reputation.
The situation turns grave as the school management becomes over-ambitious with its growth and involves media planners in the extra-curricular activities. This demands the involvement of students in TV reality shows and many other media activities used for building up the school image in public, which starts reflecting on the students' stress levels. The pressure on young minds increases incredibly, leading to unexpected consequences.
What to look out for?
The sole miracles are Shahid and Nana who manage to keep few balls in the air. Other actors just pass musters but the flick comes with rich tech credits.
What not?
This 2+hr flick doesn't even recognize what exactly it wants to deal with until after the intermission, and then fails to capitalize on it dramatically.
The movie neither gets established as an entertainer or a messenger while it wastes renowned senior and young talents like Nana and Shahid respectively.
Seriously the movie asks many questions first of all whether the premise is a school or a hostel.
What attachment Nana has with this school?
Is everybody afraid of Nana or he is respected?
Only two scenes between Nana and Shahid?
What teachers in Bollywood of late are shown as morons?
And why did that boy pissed in his pants during that first reel?
Is the movie about the commercialization of the education system in schools?
Or it’s about the short span of fame and glory that parents want to enjoy through their child?
Or it’s about the clash of ideologies between a pious headmaster and a business minded owner of the school?
What principle does the principal has?
The movie fails to provide a single answer.
Ends up with a soggy finale where Nana who didn’t spoke much delivers a speech which only the writer can understand.
Conclusion: ‘Paathshaala’ comes with a noble idea but wayward execution which is devoid of real drama and interesting characters that makes it tough for the viewers.
Rating *
What is it all about?
First time helmer Kookie in a story by Shiraz ‘coins’ this memory loss thingie into a ‘who am I actioner’ where Bollywood masala in a modern libaas meets mission impossible meeting Dhoom 2 meeting James Bond affair.
If your idea of a good time is watching people flying, a girl shooting people from a hand glider, sexy legs, and marvelous stunts without an intriguing plot then ‘Prince’ is right up your alley.
The Story……..of course
One of the savviest thieves in the world (Vivek Oberoi) commits the biggest heist of his life. He wakes up next the morning to realize he has a gunshot wound on his arm that he doesn't remember getting. In his quest to find answers, he discovers his name is Prince, he used to work for a man named Sarang and his girlfriend's name is Maya.
He is being hunted by the secret service of India, the CBI and the biggest white collared criminals in the world. He is the most wanted man in the country because only he knows the whereabouts of the heist, which contains a secret that is linked not only to his loss of memory, but threatens the future of the human race.
Every day he meets a new girl claiming to be Maya. He doesn't remember where he has hidden the Heist. He has just five days of his life. Time is running out...
What to look out for?
Vivek Oberoi is back with a stellar performance in the film that works for action enthusiast for most of its part like a video game with a known Bollywood face with 3 gorgeous girls doing shootouts, fistfights and some leg show in minding its own business of action.
The story takes off immediately with a robbery and an item song introducing the famous thief in full on Bollywood masala ishtyle later on much of the burden of first time helmer Kookie V Gulati is taken by action choreographer Allan Amin (super job).
The movie is a ride and much of the action is stylish Kookie’s first attempt is ambitious he gets splendid support from his cameramen Vishnu Rao who moves the camera in mood as the background by Sandeep Shirodkar keeps the momentum going.
The girls all named Maya with one having a tattooed kaya (Nandana Sen- love that) scoring over her contemporaries.
Musically Sajid Wajid has given one peppy number “Oh Mere Khuda” which is climbing the music charts.
Technically polished and sharp as a razor with first grade production values.
What not?
The film which lacks novelty in writing tries to compensate with relentless action. The presence of intriguing engaging elements detracts from the film's effectiveness.
As a result ‘Prince’ is not as tightly focused as it should be thus leeching away its excitement.
An action movie especially in Bollywood needs a strong villain and ‘Prince’ is miserable in this part. The villain played by Isaiah is just average, the helmer tries to make it feel for the audience with ambience but hardly develops any scene for support.
Conclusion: ‘Prince’ scores in action and is designed for action buffs who want to see people flying, dying with/without reason.
Rating **
What is it all about?
Writer Milap Zaveri’s debut as a helmer is a tedious undesirable corporate blunder which asks the question ‘Jane Kya Film Banai Hai’, is it suppose to be a film or a joke. Even if it’s any of them then for whom. This rom com in the fantasy of the writer-helmer is targeted at another space. The whole movie goes bland and flat as a blank computer screen.
The Story……….of course
‘Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai’ is the story of Rajesh (Riteish Deshmukh), a simple Gujarati boy who's been looking for love since he was a baby. Thoroughly unsuccessful in his endeavours, he nearly gives up till he meets Natasha (Sonal Sehgal).
Desh (Ruslaan Mumtaz) is the youngest superstar in the country. Mothers want to adopt him and their daughters want to marry him. But when will he find the girl of his dreams? Their worlds turn upside down when Tara (Jacqueline Fernandez), an alien from Venus, lands on Earth in the search of true love.
What to look out for?
The irony is love stories look for childish charms but here the whole movie is childish with not a single point to mention apart from the performance by Ritesh and Vishal who plays his buddy. Ruslan who plays the superstar. Sonal Sehgal is okay.
The movie is technically polish with first rate production values.
What Not?
In the world of writer-director Milap everyone is witty and childish, and a hopeless romantic ... everyone who matters anyhow.
Warner’s attempt to capture the new age audience with this fantasy – cum-sci-fi cum rom com wants you to believe, to feel good about this kind of everything happening but alas, Milap dresses it up with contradictions in the attempt and you fail to recognize this disguise whether its suppose to be a film or a training video.
The movie is so alien to its audience as the writer –helmer doesn’t bother to tell why Jacqueline lands from Venus to this earth in search of love and the audience don’t bother why Jacqueline doesn’t pay any heed to Ritesh advances and the audience don’t know whether they both should fall in love or not.
The picture is so flat and dumb in its writing which goes haywire from making jokes at SRK to this misadventure where an alien comes to earth to find love and all.
Jacqueline needs lots of polishing and Milap should join a crash course in narration asap.
Conclusion: Wait for its worldwide DTH premiere
Rating *
What is it all about?
Expect the unexpected with Sanjay Gupta’s White Feather Arthouse bold and shocking ‘Pankh’.
Helmed by first timer Sudipto Chattopadhyaya, ‘Pankh’ is no creamy, sugary, feel good, yummy cinema that we are use to.
Its gives you goose bumps as you hear one of its line ‘am the actor as well as the audience’.
This filmmaker refuses to bend and gives a hallucinating saga of the boy-man thingie with slight Tarkovskyish and Rainer Werner Fassbinder approach where the character bares it all. Child molestation has been happening in Bollywood but here we have a junky, trancey, hallucinating film on it ‘Pankh’. Bravo.
It’s not the Sanjay Gupta we know - gorgeous sexy gals, sleek techniques borrowed from Hollywood, an inspiration with a colored tone. No, ‘Pankh’ is daring it has morbid scenes of masturbation, castration, child molestation and very crass language.
The Story….of course
Pankh is a story of the psychological turbulence of a child artiste-turned-unstable-adult — jerry who was once upon a time a national award winning child artiste… Baby Kussum! Between the ages of 4 and 8 he did 14 films... 4 as a boy where he did not get much acclaim... And then there was the big break! Jerry who was then master Jai and become Baby Kussum with “Jeevan Darpan”. Somewhere in the midst of all this he lost his identity. His mother who is over ambitious about her son goes to lengths to get him selected at “auditions”. He grows up to be a troubled young boy who has conversations with Nandini who he fantasizes about. Nandini is also a top film actress, but in Jerry’s wrapped head, he feels Nandini follows him everywhere and teases him and his manhood. The film starts with Jerry’s conversations with his 2 pet turtles and how he wants to run away with them from his mother. Jerry is in search of himself, of his true identity, whether he is Jerry, Jai, master Jai or Baby Kussum. One day when Jerry’s mother forces him to audition for the part of a lead for a film, Jerry is taken back to the studio that he used to frequent as baby Kussum. There Jerry comes across Salim who was the canteen boy at that time and they used to be best friends, or so Jerry thought. But Salim grew up being in love with Kussum, unknowing to the fact that Kussum never existed. Salim refuses to believe Jerry that he was baby Kusum, and Salim tries to befriend Jerry in the hope that he will tell him where Kussum is. Jerry’s life continues to get complicated. Jerry’s mother desperately wants him to be a superstar again. She coaxes him into an audition but it becomes a disaster in a way she cannot imagine.
What to look out for?
The script works marvelously in conveying the boy-man’s struggle with his sexual identity.
The helmer brilliantly confirms it with convincing scenes like the protagonist who puts lipstick on his lips but doesn’t like when a hunk kisses him. He fantasies about an actress as his escape route even when she taunts him time and again about his hazy sexuality. Leaving to the audience to judge.
A rare Bollywood phenomenon. Its dark, first timer Sudipto Chattopadhyay deals with the ‘real’ command. Excellently shot by cameraman Somak Mukherjee, who makes the illusion more intoxicating with sharp editing by Raju Singh. Bipasha exudes charm and Maradona does a sincere job.
What not?
The conversation between Jerry and Bipasha sometimes appears repetitive. Its surreal, not for the faint hearted, it’s very individualistic.
Recommended: If you relish in dark, hallucinating, junky, trippy stuff and appreciate innovation in art then catch ‘Pankh’ at your nearest theatre before it vanishes. Regulars excuse. It’s exclusively for niche.
Rating ***
| Well Done Abba Movie Review | |
| Well Done Abba - Maintains a fine level of wit and insight |
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 What is it all about? Shyam Benegal – the pioneer of ‘middle cinema’ does it again. ‘Well Done Abba’ is a double whammy. After the success of ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’ Shyam in this light heartner, again uses strong intelligent repartee rather than the usual buffoonery and slapstick prevalent in many Bollywood comedies giving us a major relief once again. Shyam Benegal’s ‘Well Done Abba’ is more deep in its satire and comment and less cinematic then ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’ but this flaw doesn’t stop ‘Well Done Abba’ from being a standout, that’s the quality of a genius – there can be a flaw but still you maintain your brilliance. The prolific veteran provides Big Pictures it’s another potential earner after the super mighty success of ‘3 Idiots’. The Story……….of course Inspired by two short stories, ‘Narsaiyyan Ki Bavdi’ by Jeelani Bano and Sanjeev's ‘Phulwa Ka Pul’, ‘Well Done Abba’ is the story of Armaan Ali (Boman), a driver working for a Senior Executive in Mumbai, who goes on leave. He wants to find a match for his teenage daughter (Minisha), who stays with his brother Rehman Ali and his wife Salma (Illa Arun). When Armaan returns to work after 3 months his young employer wants to sack him.  But Armaan Ali has a story to tell. The story he tells is a humorous and often hilarious account of the events and happenings that delayed him from returning after a month. He avails a government scheme to dig a well in his agricultural patch. Things spiral out of control so much so that the Government is about to collapse! The question remains, how true is this compelling story! The film is a political satire that veers from the farcical to the often witty and sharp but largely ironic comedy without losing sight of its control theme that deals with the many development projects that the government has initiated which frequently get hijacked by systemic corruption. What to look out for? Maintaining the ‘middle cinema’ pattern, Shyam in ‘Well Done Abba’ succeeds in bringing lightheartedness in the social comment without going for the over the top speech and yet succeeds in lending distinction to the film by developing personalities out of minor characters. Satires are rare species in Bollywood film, ‘Well Done Abba’ is a rare and subtle bird that finds its tone and stays with it. The movie is a mirror of the system we dwell in the red tapism babugiri, bureaucracy we find in our country/state politics. Shyam Benegal makes no bones about his comment, the movie is well written backed by excellent dialogues like ‘mujhe makaron se dar nahin lagta’ (I don’t fear dishonest people) and the preachment is strong. Highlighting the water crises.  Boman Irani gives one of his finest portrayals as a Hyderabadi, mind you his physic and appearance doesn’t give the impression of a driver but from his mannerisms and smart guidance from the master helmer Shyam, Boman overcomes the hurdle very easily and carries the film above his able shoulders in the duo role of a honest driver and a chalu brother and raises his bar as a marvelous actor. Minissha Lamba proves that she is not just a glam doll and the girl can act and act wonderfully. Minissha Lamba’s role as Muskan will remain the highlight of her career for long. Sameer Dattani also impresses while Ravi Kishen as the newlywed despo engineer is enjoyable. Ila Arun, Salim Ghouse, Rajit Kapoor chip in with valuable support. Technically the movie is brilliant; Cinematography by Rajan Kothari is up to mark. The location is apt. Aseem Sinha’s editing is sharp, Sound by Hitendra Ghosh and Manas Chaudhary is according to the mood of the film. Production values are first rate. Music by Shantanu Moitra is another highlight. “Bano badi hoshiyar” sung by Illa Arun has the potential to hit the popularity charts and it reminds of Delhi 6 ‘Genda Phool’. What Not? But the film is not away from its flaws like the human trafficking episode involving the Arab Sheikhs is out of place from the track. The movie drags in the end. It’s disappointing to see talents such as Sonali Kulkarni, Yashpal Sharma and especially Ravi Jhankal who gave such a marvelous performance in Shyam’s ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’ as a eunuch being wasted. Conclusion: ‘Well Done Abba’ is true flag bearer of ‘middle cinema’ maintaining a fine level of wit, and insight those who loved ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’ will certainly enjoy this also. Rating**** |
What is it all about?
Arshad turns producer with ‘Hum Tum aur Ghost’, - comedy on the idea of love and humanity with sprinkles of psychophrenia syndrome. The operation is perhaps more interesting in theory than it is on the screen, and appears too shapy to attract a significant audience beyond experimentalism enthusiasts.
The Story…….of course
In the world of Armaan (Arshad) and Gehna (Diya), life is truly beautiful, For Armaan, the fashion photographer, debonair, charmer to the core and loved by all around him life only gets better when he dates Gehna, a High profile fashion magazine editor. Life is picture perfect.
Armaan has learnt that his chronic insomnia is however not a function of any sleeping disorder. The truth is that he hears voices; voices that torture him; voices that are disturbing him. More importantly voices that nobody else can hear! Life is less that picture perfect right now!
While his friends sympathize with his problems, his girlfriend Gehna is irritated with his weird behaviour. Add to that her father constantly berates him for his fondness for the bottle. No one seems to understand his predicament. What puzzles everyone is the fact that he talks to himself or rather, he talks to people, who no one can see, simply because they don't live.
Soon, Armaan becomes aware of his special ability to connect with the souls that haven't crossed over. Equipped with a will to fulfil the wishes of these spirits who hound him, Armaan sets out on a mission to help out three souls - a child, Ali, an old man, Mr. Kapoor and a young woman, Carol.
In this ensuring journey that follows Armaan discovers the lives of his three special companions and ends up frustrating Gehna. Yet, Armaan is on a journey where he discovers a lot about his own self, his own life for the first time.
What to look out for?
Helmed by the talented Kabeer Kaushik (Saher) the movie does manage to cultivate some touchy moments of romance, love and humanity while in the proceedings of a photographer in London who takes to drinking as he hears voices and can see ghost who had made him the ‘Chosen’ one to solve their unsolved miseries, the angels taking help of a misunderstood kind hearted alcoholic human can give a pious spiritual ‘kick’ to some who are comparatively more open-minded then the normal ones.
Some of the interesting sequences involve the ghost Boman Irani and the protagonist Arshad Warsi who sees them and it’s an inspired piece of casting.
The film is at its best between Boman and Arshad and of course the on screen chemistry between Dia Mirza (looks and acts lovely) is warm and romantic.
The movie does makes a beep into your heart as it challenges our familiar story-telling notions by forcing us to make our own decisions about what we're watching and then suddenly sweeping us up into an all-too-human moment.
Arshad is commendable as an actor and as a producer as well for believing in this run of the mill stuff and agreeing to a part as a producer. Boman Irani is likeable as usual. Sandhya Mridul is fantastic. Zehra Naqvi, Shernaz Patel and Javed Sheikh chip in with valuable support.
Shot by the veteran Ashok Mehta, the movie is eye pleasing, Steven H. Bernard editing is up to mark. Sound by Rakesh Ranjan is adequate, the movie posses excellent production values.
What not?
The problem is that the movie drags in the end and it’s a bit disappointing to see that the movie which started promisingly gained height with its spiritual human touch ends on a dull and uninspiring note.
And the climax is cliché and after a point the movie becomes predictable especially during the second half.
Conclusion: The movie has an interesting human touch to it, for those who visit the theatres for sheer fun will be disappointed needs an open mind to absorb and accept ‘Hum Tum aur Ghost’
Rating ***
