We are Family!!

Breaking news: Karan Johar movie minus SRK!!!

Another outing for Dharma Productions, with yet another newbie for direction, Siddharth P Malhotra (should find out his claim to fame lineage). This time the story is the adaptation of Susan Sarandon-Julia Roberts, soppy sweet story of “Stepmom”, but with a desi touch. I even got reminded of "Raising Helen" (with Kate Hudson, in some pieces)
WAF stars Kajol as Maya – Susan Sarandon, Kareena Kapoor as Shreya – Julia Roberts and Arjun Rampal as Aman. Possibly for the first time in a KJo movie, I didn’t hear anyone’s surname which is usually oh-so- important. Never ever mind…and of course the 3 kids – Aaliya, Ankush and Anjali.
Story starts with a birthday party for Anjali, to which Aman brings Shreya to befriend the children, as it’s been a while since Maya and Aman are divorced and he’s been together with Shreya. As expected, life is not a bed of roses and things get messed up from the word go. Then comes a situation, where Shreya has to watch the kids since both parents are out on their respective priorities. One of the kids go missing and mayhem follows. This leads to Maya not wanting Shreya anywhere near the kids without her permission. Aman really can’t do a thing about it…. He’s actually caught between both women.
One fine day, Maya is told by her doc that she is sick. She takes Aman into confidence and he moves back in and they function as a happy family unit. Shreya is obviously unceremoniously dumped. Poor her, she didn’t even know what was wrong. Complications arise in Maya’s health, and she ultimately turns to Shreya for help.
Then comes the maternal emotional tug-of-war. Each have their own way of bringing up the kids, and the friction irks Aman to no end. Soon Maya has few days to live and she hands over the reins of the children’s lives to Shreya.
What works:
Kajol as always- she does not need to act to be the perfect mom.
The kid Anjali - she thinks everything can be done in this world with her magic wand, hamesha and forever.
What sucks:
Except for the tribute to Elvis (Jailhouse Rock), no songs which are characteristic of Dharma Productions or Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
The 3 kids of ages 4-13, hang out together in the house all the time, don’t have a normal life or friends (except for a brief rebellious situation of Aaliya going out for a party of beer n boys..yawnnnnnn)
Kareena Kapoor – has very little to do, not that I’m complaining.
Arjun Rampal – could not really display his perfect bod, since this is a family movie
Unexplainable and irrational bratty behavior by Aaliya for a 13-yr old
My verdict:Unless you are a hard core Kajol fan like me, you would want to give this movie a miss.
Poor Dharma Productions, they may also be crying equally lots....they may not even recover the flight charges incurred for making this movie in Australia!!

Once Upon a Time in Mumbai

Imagine Ekta Kapoor without all the designer, crystal studded sarees, glittering diamonds and the sindoor bhari maang at her disposal. Kinda weird right…but that’s how OUATIM is made, and the icing on the cake, she actually has not cast Tusshar Kapoor in even one frame!! Nepotism is not her favorite subject I guess. :)

OUATIM is set in the 1970s with the storyline talking about the Mumbai underworld and the world of glamour and politics that is always associated with it. Rags to riches epitome is Sultan Mirza (Ajay Devgn), another good and solid performance from him after Raajneeti. He has very simple principles, he only does things what the Government does not permit (not his conscience), and he also knows that stepping on other smugglers’ toes is not going to help anyone. He divides the entire city of Mumbai among others and keeps the sea as his territory. Smart move I must say!! He only has one distraction in life, actress Rehana (Kangna Ranaut). He is besotted by her and she is impressed by his persistence in wooing her.
Meanwhile, there is a crown prince in the making Shoaib (Emraan Hashmi) who is a chota chor and has a cute girlfriend Mumtaz (Prachi Desai). She has no clue what he does for a living, except for the fact, they both are totally in love with each other. She works in a jewellery showroom and looks grossly out of place convincing customers on their choice. Shoaib’s father is a cop and this helps him get away with his petty thefts.
ACP Agnel Wilson (Randeep Hooda) is hot on the trail of underworld and just needs a toehold into the whole web, but is unable to do so. He then decides to somehow have Shoaib as a guinea pig, with the thought of making him a state witness, should things go wrong in the case.
Sultan is content being the messiah for the poor and underprivileged and raises his empire to great heights. A personal tragedy strikes and he hands over the reins to Suhail, while he sorts out matters. Shoaib starts running things his way and this becomes a bone of contention for the two dons, paving the way for the climax.
What worked:
Crisp storyline… healthy pace and intrigues the viewer.
Controlled performance and nothing OTT
What did not fit:
Prachi Desai showing glimpses of her Bani avatar

Lafangey Parindey

One more gaaliful title….after Kaminey and 3 idiots (LOL), this time from Yashraj Films starring Deepika Padukone as Pinky Palkar and Neil Nitin Mukesh as One shot Nandu.
The movie starts with a fight club like scene with Nandu winning with his trademark single shot which has earned him his title. He gets bashed up like no one’s business and is always blindfolded. He then lands the Kayo punch just when his opponent thinks he has won the bout and has let down his guard. Making money out of these fights is Usman Bhai (Piyush Mishra). Pinky meanwhile is seen skate dancing around in an abandoned house with her colleague in a pristine clean Mumbai chawl (how typical Yashraj).
One rainy night, in a freak accident Anna (Kay Kay Menon) is killed after being sent out to kill a business rival and Pinky also loses her eyesight. Surprisingly, the rest of her body is scratchless….Teflon coating tha kya?!?!?! Taking her of her medical expenses is the secret angel Nandu thru her so-called brother Chaddi (Namit Das). Pinky is unperturbed post her loss of eyesight and wants to continue her efforts for a dance reality show which would mean instant fame and passport to a better life. But alas, her partner is not so understanding and eventually backs out. Nandu meanwhile decides to help her improve skills to compensate for her lack in eyesight. How? Since he fights blindfold…Why? Isn’t it obvious…. And also becomes her dance partner, on skates, while teaching her how to judge distances with ringing bells, sacks of fish and hens.
Soon, as predictable as ever, they reach the finals and in the process fall in love as well. On a parallel track, the cops investigate Anna’s death and linked somewhere is Pinky’s accident. The moment of truth is revealed to her just when she is about to perform, but that does not deter her a teeny weensy bit.
And all’s well that ends well!!!
What worked? – Nothing much….maybe some of the dialogues which maybe original
What didn’t: quite a lot
A Mumbai chawl that’s well landscaped and too clean
Neil’s out of place with Marathi;
Deepika still can’t act, dance and use her height to her advantage
Very thin storyline…nothing outstanding; too much Marathi used which looks fitted in for the sake of it.
Music – not worth remembering
My rating: 2/5 - we can soon find this being telecast on First time on Indian Television category

Aisha

Legendary Anil Kapoor has finally launched his own production company with “Aisha”, but completely executed by his younger daughter Rhea Kapoor.
Aisha (Sonam Kapoor) is a bubbly, vivacious girl whose sole purpose in life is match-making among her closest set of friends/relatives. Courtesy: She was instrumental in setting up the match between her maasi (Anuradha Patel) and an army guy. Aisha drives around Delhi in a Beetle, shops whenever she feels like it and is always glammed up along with her best friend Pinky Bose(Ira Dubey). Her dad even sweetly admonishes her spending but also pays the bill….. why can’t we all have dads like this?Randhir Gambhir (Cyrus Sahukar) a scion of a successful mithai house, is besotted by Aisha.
Enter Shefali (Amrita Puri), a girl from Bahadurgarh who is a complete behenji, who Aisha thinks will be perfect for Randhir. She gives her a complete make-over, but gets ridiculed by Arjun Burman (Abhay Deol) for being meddlesome. And Aisha cannot stand him, thinks he’s a corporate slave, and is uncomfortable with his firang friend Aarti (Lisa Haydon – Angelina Jolie look alike).
Just to spice up things, Aisha gets together with Dhruv (Arunoday Singh), her maasa’s beta. Dhruv, is a super flirt and has the good looks to support his intentions. Just to get out of Delhi and avoid Arjun, she n Shefali even go with Dhruv to Mumbai, where she tries match-making between Shefali and Dhruv.
In a weird twist of tales, Pinky calls her bitchy. Arjun is protective of Shefali and Aisha is left alone. She then goes to the wrong party t confess her love….and then everyone is happy ever after.
It reminds me of Clueless in most parts, and good ol’ Bollywood masala for the ending.
What I like:
Sonam’s Clothes and looks – she looks wow
Abhay Deol – very natural and effortless acting. He certainly is the best looking Deol. (his dance moves have not been tested though)
Music – very refreshing, but needs some time to get used to. Only Gal Mitthi Mitthi bol is catchy enough.
What I didn’t like: Predictable story
My rating: Just about average – one time watch for all the hype

Inception

Inception is one of those movies, where if you blink, you may end up missing a crucial link in the storyline. You may even forget to chomp on your popcorn or sip your drink, but blink you may not want to.
Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio ) is accused of intending to murder Saito (Ken Watanabe) after being found on the seashore with a gun and a curious top- the kind that spins. Just when you think that this is another random story of espionage and conspiracy, there is a twist which shows a riotous crowd and Cobb being shaken awake to no luck.
The scene then shifts its focus to Cobb and him wanting to get back to his family. Saito promises him one last extracting assignment and freedom as his payment. Cobb first goes back to his father-in law for help, to get a replacement as an extractor. What does an extractor actually do? An extractor taps a person’s thoughts when they are in a dream like state, leads them to believe certain thoughts and can even change their mind. But this is a technique that does not come easily, and requires out of the box, a different plane imagination. He finds an able student in an architect and he starts his preparation on the last assignment.
The assignment given by Saito is that he needs Cobb to create an inception in the mind of Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), a business rival, taking the meaning of industrial conspiracy/espionage to a whole new level. The team eventually starts the project on a long 10 hour flight which Fischer takes to go meet his father, who’s on his deathbed.
Complications arise as Cobb’s wife keeps turning up, lowering his defenses which worries the young architect. Alternately Fischer creates his own defense mechanisms making way for those subtly inserted action sequences that suddenly seem out of place.
The screenplay and the visual effects shoulder the script very well. The entire cast has been well thought of with the icing on the cake being the role of Cobb played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Have not seen a movie with s simple concept but presented elaborately, without the mental agony of figuring out the predictability of the plot.
The entire movie keeps you on the edge with concepts like dream within a dream and how if you die in a dream, you end up with complicated results. You also need to have an object that allows you to differentiate between reality, your dream and someone else's dream. The climax is very well spun and is in line with the whole theme and gets a wee bit dragged out in an attempt to show the concept of multi-layered dreams among a group of people and who need to wake up exactly at the same moment.
My rating: 4/5

Aisha, We are family

Trailer of Aisha - releasing this August: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugdn5sG4gVU
Trailer of We are Family - this September: http://in.movies.yahoo.com/video-play.html?video_id=4417

I Hate Luv Storys

IHLS is another product from the Dharma Productions, encouraging young and new talent. This time it is Punit Malhotra, nephew of the famed designer Manish Malhotra (who designs and makes all of K Jo’s cast look like they’ve just descended from heaven)
IHLS starts with Jay Dhingra (Imran Khan) who just cannot stand the mush that his boss Veer Kapoor(Sameer Soni – spoofing Karan Johar) makes and believes in. He thinks all the movies are just recycled with different actors with slight difference in the drama and location. He bumps into Simran (Sonam Kapoor) during one boring assignment of his and they start on the wrong foot. Next thing he knows, is that Simran is the Production Designer of the latest movie Veer is making, and Jay is her assistant.
Simran is one of the typical characters who we could have seen in movies from the Yashraj banner, Karan Johar movie; all mush…loves pink and romance. She has a long standing relationship to Raj (Sameer Dattani – whose character is somewhat like Subodh of DCH) and Jay thinks they are all too filmy to be true. Raj and Simran always are seen in clothes that have been coordinated, that somewhere you think they could’ve been twins rather than lovers. They even have a funda like ,”We don’t drink on weekdays”. For someone to be playing Raj on the lines of SRK, needs to be really good and convincing. All that this Raj comes up with is expensive gifts and a white flower everyday
While they’re getting to know and work with each other, Jay and Simran start covering up for each other she even starts noticing major differences in their personality that she can’t helpthinking about Jay every time she’s wth Raj .Simran think she’s in love with Jay,who does not believe in the concept of love. She confesses her feelings for him only to be turned down.
The scene then shifts to the outdoor location of the movie they both are part of, where Jay discovers his feelings for her and confesses. But this time she says no. After a few glycerin induced moments which kind of span about 30 min of the movie, which can make you get up and shake these two up and say “ Go and get a grip of yourselves”, and a dramatic enlightening moment, they finally get together.
What I liked:
The breezy first half which showed the chemistry of Imran and Sonam
Sonam’s presentation
Clichéd filmy moments
The title track set in the beaches of Goa, and the track “Jab Mila Tu”. The other 3 tracks are hummable
What bored me:
The 2nd half, where the movie just was showing me a moping Sonam and Imran.
Imran’s acting has gone on a downward spiral; all the promise he showed in Jaane tu…ya jaane na and the kind of gene pool he’s part has disappeared. He has concentrated more on getting a good lean look and lost all faculties of his facial muscles
Sameer Dattani –why does the third angle to a love triangle have to be such a loser, that it’s obvious?
My rating: Average (3/5) – it’s good for an audience which loves the romantic movies from YRF, Dharma with the chiffon and snow