Showing posts with label Bollywood Movie Reviews. Show all posts
Delhi 6 is a delightful musical run through the Hindu and Muslim cultures of Old Delhi as seen through the eyes of protagonist Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) who comes to India to fulfill the desire of his terminally ill Daadi (Waheeda Rehman) to spend the last days of her life in her hometown. As Roshan after a brief culture shock, tries to understand the complexities of relations that kept his people apart from each other as well as close to each other, he slowly gets attached to Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) and the chemistry grows, which is very convincingly directed using rich background music and believable day-to-day situations.
The first half, though appearing a little lengthy focuses on reverse-culture-shock jokes, lavishly reproduced Ram Leela, a visit to the Taj Mahal, and a cow giving birth in the street. It is in the second half that things take a more serious turn. Unwelcome traditions and smoldering religious hatred comes bubbling to the surface and erupt into a Do the Right Thing climax that takes everyone by surprise. Several characters and subplots weaved together to relate to the central plot of analyzing beliefs against rational thinking, with a touch of humor is quite entertaining but one has to endure the laborious and forced accent of Abhishek Bachchan throughout the movie. Although at several places, the movie seems predictable, Mehra succeeds in putting surprises well in time and balance. The climax gets dragged due to cameos and voiceovers. Although Roshan’s attempts to put belief and trust in people ahead of belief in customs and religion deserve a pat, what disappoints is Mehra getting preachy at many places. Rahman’s soulful music takes the film to a completely different level altogether.
Mehra and his cameraman Binod Pradhan have succeeded in capturing the buzz of Delhi city very well in every frame. Those living outside of India will find that connect with that feeling of wanting to be in both places. The song in the second half which juxtaposes Abhishek’s life in the US with the people and life in India is beautifully done as well. Hat’s off to the director and technical team there.
Abhishek has delivered one of his better performances but his American accent doesn’t really work. Sonam Kapoor doesn’t have much to do but except for the climax but she carries herself immensely well. Waheeda Rehman, Om Puri and Rishi Kapoor are simply outstanding. The huge ensemble cast comprising of acclaimed actors such as Raghubir Yadav, Pavan Malhotra, Supriya Pathak Shah, Deepak Dobriyal, Divya Dutta, Vijay Raaz, Tanvi Azmi and Atul Kulkarni do a wonderful job.
Just look at the diversity of topics addressed convincingly through brilliant performances and slick editing, you will realize why I say it’s worth a watch
Both these medium-budget releases of last week (Jan 30) have proven to be duds in terms of business. Despite much appreciation by critics in India and abroad, “Luck By…” got a slow initial on the opening day with the counters warming up in the evening. The momentum did stay over the weekend, but started dwindling Monday onwards. On the other hand, the cricket drama starring Hurman S. Baweja has proved to be a debacle with no takers at the windows. Despite mixed reviews and some appreciation for Hurman's portrayal of an underdog cricketer, the film couldn't lure audiences. “It doesn't happen with too many movies. Surprisingly, the collections for a genuinely well-made movie like 'Luck By Chance' haven't been as per expectations over the opening weekend. The film has seen a good release but the occupancy at theatres has only been near 50 percent,” trade analyst and critic Joginder Tuteja told IANS. “As for 'Victory', it has turned out to be one the lowest openers in the last many months with only around 20 percent odd collections and that too only at single screens. There wasn't much buzz about the film to begin with and somehow as the film got close to the release, the interest level only continued to go down. Promotion was weak, promos uneven and marketing uninspiring,” he added. Said Joginder Mahajan, a Delhi-based distributor: “Sports movies are not that successful in India and considering the disastrous record of Hurman's first movie 'Love Story 2050', 'Victory' already had less chances of survival. “So far as 'Luck By…' is concerned, the movie is being appreciated for its true flavour and the inside look of Bollywood, but business-wise it could rake in whatever was possible only over the first three-days,” he explained. Produced by Excel Entertainment in association with Big Pictures, "Luck By Chance" stars Zoya'sbrother Farhan Akhtar and an ensemble cast featuring Konkona Sen Sharma, Dimple Kapadia, Rishi Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Hrithik Roshan and Isha Sharvani. It is the story of an aspiring actor who arrives in Mumbai to make it big in Bollywood. On the other hand, “Victory” produced by Mangat and Manmohan Shetty is the story of a father's dream to see his son become a national cricketer. Released over 900 screens worldwide, Excel's Ritesh Sidhwani did not divulge any details about the budget of “Luck By Chance” while “Victory”, which hit close to 500 screens in India, was made at around Rs.400 million. However, keeping the box-office boat steady have been Vishesh Films' “Raaz - The Mystery Continues" and Danny Boyle's Oscar-nominated underdog drama “”Slumdog Millionaire”. Despite being in the second week, while, the former had already proven to be 2009s first hit, the latter has also picked up the momentum because of the hype due to the 10 Oscar nominations.
Vijay Shekhawat (Hurman) a Jaisalmer boy after a lot of struggle manages to fulfill his father’s (Anupam Kher) dream of making it to the Indian cricket team. With a great debut he wins not just fans but a lot of endorsement deals and lucrative contracts. Success begins to spoil and distancing him from his lady love (Amrita Rao) back home. Blinded by success and the taste of the high society life he losses both focus and form.
He is then understandably dumped by the selectors. Following which, his father gets a heart attack. Vijay then decides to mend his mistakes and fight his way back to the team. In final match, despite a severe head injury he manages to get India a near impossible win. A sports film is always crippled with a same storyline that of a underdog, his rise then fall and subsequent rise back to gain the impossible victory. This film is no different. But one expects atleast some sense of creativity wherein the interest is kept alive throughout.
Twenty minutes into the film and one somehow senses whats in store. So full of cliches and melodrama is the film that sometimes you begin to wonder did the makers intend to take the viewers for a ride. If the melodrama was intended to bring in that emotional connect with the audience then the writer-director have clearly failed as throughout the film the emotional impact is clearly missing. Also nowhere does the lead character’s passion for the game comes across. Also one fails to understand the need of Hurman’s character using swear words for his opponents. Wear is your sporting spirit dude is what we wish to ask him! His character therefore fails to evoke any sympathy from the audience.
The biggest high point of sports films are games shown in the film. But here they are biggest drawbacks. Not only there are just a very few games but also what are shown are simply thanda! There is total lack of edge of the seat excitement which was very much needed. Also homework by the makers is clearly lacking if they intended to show the ‘real’ behind the scenes happenings of the cricket match for example the dressing room interactions etc.
Just putting in famous national-international cricketing names don’t necessarily give the film authenticity. One feels really sad for Hurman Baweja whose tremendous hard work is noticeable in every single scene but is mightily let down by a pathetic script and listless direction by debutante Ajitpal Mangat. Amrita Rao reprises her typical simple small town girl act for the nth time. She looks very pretty though. Anupam Kher after a point of time starts grating on your nerves with his screeching over melodramatic act. Gulshan Grover is just about okay.
The music doesn’t really register any impact as there are no full songs as well. The Balla Utha number mostly keeps playing in the background during the match sequences. But thankfully the songs are less. The film is a complete let down in many departments and instead of wasting time on this film it is a better option to watch a re-run of any Indian cricket team match on TV or best spend your time watching the current India v/s Sri Lanka one day series. -
Vikram Jaisingh (Farhan) comes down to Bollywood town Mumbai from Delhi to become a star. At his fellow struggle friend’s house he meets Sona (Konkona) for the first time. Sona too has dreams in her eyes of becoming a lead actress in an A grade film. For the past three years till then she has been living with this hope in her eyes. Taking advantage of her is Chaudhary (Aly Khan) a small time producer who has been assuring her of that one big break and in return of which he is sexually exploiting her and assigning her B grade projects. Both Sona and Vikram start getting closer as they are doing their struggling.
At the same time, a big producer Romy Rolly (Rishi) is making a film starring one of industry’s hottest stars cum his protégé Zafar Khan (Hrithik) and launching Nikki (Isha) opposite him. Nisha is the daughter of famous yesteryears actress Nina Walia (Dimple). When Zafar gets the opportunity to work in Karan Johar film along with Shah Rukh Khan he dumps Rolly’s film despite the shooting for it having begun. Destiny plays a crucial role then and the smooth talking struggle Vikram manages to bag the lead hero’s part whereas on the same day Sona’s dream of becoming a lead actress get shattered when Chaudhary ditches her. What happens next as Vikram manages to grab that one lucky chance and how it takes the toll on his love life forms the rest of the film. Luck By Chance just like Rangeela or to some extent Om Shanti Om takes you right into the true to life functioning of the Hindi film world. Zoya for her directorial debut deserves a huge applause for making a brilliant film which manages to strike the fine balance between art house cinema and a commercial entertainer. Her characterizations and selection of right actors deserve special mention. While it may appear as Vikram’s story you realize as the film comes to an end that the main protagonist is not him but Sona.
The ending may not be everyone’s cup of tea but the way it has being treated you do get the feeling that this is the perfect and most logical way how the story could have ended. Zoya has handled the emotional moments very sensitively. Giving Zoya perfect aid is her father Javed Akhtar in the dialogues department. Right from philosophy laden ones to extremely witty liners, the dialogues manage to touch your heart. The production values of the film are of high standards with Carlos Catalan’s camerawork giving the film a very international look. Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music is already climbing the charts and is well mixed in the film’s proceedings. Don’t miss the opening song sequence. Konkona delivers an award winning performance which lingers in your mind for a long time even after the film is over. Farhan is extremely natural in his act and has brilliantly underplayed his part. Rishi Kapoor and Juhi give able support. Dimple is extremely charming and is brilliant in the pre-climax scene where she brings out her frustration on her daughter very well played by Isha. Sanjay Kapoor is very funny as the film director. Hrithik Roshan in an extended special appearance is simply superb.
His dance sequence is awe inspiring. The film has quite a few guest appearances right from Aamir Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Akshaye Khanna, Kareena Kapoor to Shah Rukh Khan and are very well treated. But it is writer-director Anurag Kashyap making his acting debut who is simply outstanding in his 2 scene appearance as a frustrated writer. Luck By Chance is quality cinema that takes you straight into the heart of the Hindi film industry’s functioning, showing you both the good, the bad and the ugly side of it and yet keeps your love intact for the film industry.
