Saturday, May 10, 2008
Bhoot+Jimmy
Bhoothnath
Big movie star seldom read scripts, but the narration of Bhoothnath must have sounded pretty interesting for stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla and Shah Rukh Khan to sign up, and the BR Films banner to produce.
Unfortunately, there is a slip between narration and execution, because Vivek Sharma’s debut film is not only boring for most part, but also manages the near-impossible feat of getting an indifferent performance from Bachchan.
It starts out well enough, a chirpy young couple is spooked out of a haunted Goa mansion in the midst of their romantic dinner. Next, a family moves into Nath Villa—Aditya (Shah Rukh Khan), his wife Anjali (Juhi Chawla—surprisingly listless) and kid Banku (Aman Siddiqui—spirited enough). They are warned about the resident ghost, but pay no heed.
The kid is told there are no ghosts, only angels, so when he comes across the scruffy Kailash Nath (Bachchan), he is not scared. Of course, it’s odd that the ghost wants to drive away the new tenants (shades of Casper), but plays tricks only on the kid and the drunk (Rajpal Yadav) hired to clean the house, since Anjali can’t find domestic help.
There are some faintly amusing scenes of Banku in school with a gluttonous principal (Satish Shah) who steals the kids’ lunch boxes; and the usual flying objects kind of spooky stuff, but nothing that audiences haven’t seen before, and done better, even in the days when special effects weren’t so advanced (Chamatkar and Mr India, for example), not to mention the really fancy CGI they see in Hollywood films and TV serials.
What really kills the film, however, more so for kids, is the sudden turn in the second half towards heavy duty melodrama. Looks like the Chopras haven’t forgotten the success of Baghban, because there is a condensed repeat here—Kailash Nath’s neglectful son (Priyanshu Chatterji) abandons grieving parents (Neena Kulkarni as the sobbing mother) and goes to America. When he returns, it’s only to sell the house. No wonder his dad dies and turns into a ghost!
Bhoothnath sorely lacks the humour and lightness of touch that a film for children should ideally have, and when it comes to the songs, Sharma does a set piece in which kids dress and dance like adults; and in another scantily clad girls turn up to dance with the bhoot.
There is some inconsistency in the ghost’s powers as well—he can levitate the kid and move through walls at will, but can’t save Banku from taking a lethal toss down the stairs!
Having yawned through this one, what really makes your hair stand on end is the threat of a sequel with that fatal ‘to be continued’ line in the end.
Jimmy
Most star sons get launched with a a bit of fanfare by their fathers, some of them continue to ride on their star dads’ names much after their debuts. If nepotism in the industry is an accepted thing, then poor Mimoh Chakraborty deserved a better film than this tawdry Jimmy, which looks well past its sell-by date.
Mimoh playing Jimmy an automobile engineer by day and DJ by night, is given a lot of dances—but the Michael Jackson style ‘Moonwalk’ steps are not just horribly outdated, but look ridiculous on his large frame.
His bulked up body is topped by his mother Yogita Bali’s round face, long, stringy hair and a voice that sounds like an adolescent’s breaking croak. With so many disadvantages to begin with, he needed a really great script and director to salvage his ill-fated debut.
Raj NC Sippy is still stuck in the seventies—the plot is borrowed from Majboor, the dialogue is so awful that the film turns unintentionally funny in places, and the visual style extremely shoddy.
Today’s films may not be high on logic, but it’s hard to beat the senseless plot of this one, in which the villain easily manipulates the hero and everyone else. Jimmy is told he has a “last stage” brain tumour and only one week to live, but nobody in our films ever takes a second opinion. Then he is offered a large sum to pay off his dead father’s debts if he will take on a murder rap, and he accepts.
It gets worse, but only the very brave or the very kinky will last through Jimmy—it will definitely make it to the list of cult bad films, like some of Mithun Chakraborty’s C–grade actioners.
Mimoh is cast opposite a non-descript girl (Vivana) in huge hoop earrings, and to keep him company is a very hammy Zulfi Sayed, an uncredited actress playing the stereotyped mother, constantly offering her son breakfast and Shakti Kapoor turns up in a guest appearance to utter some sleazy lines.
Big movie star seldom read scripts, but the narration of Bhoothnath must have sounded pretty interesting for stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla and Shah Rukh Khan to sign up, and the BR Films banner to produce.
Unfortunately, there is a slip between narration and execution, because Vivek Sharma’s debut film is not only boring for most part, but also manages the near-impossible feat of getting an indifferent performance from Bachchan.
It starts out well enough, a chirpy young couple is spooked out of a haunted Goa mansion in the midst of their romantic dinner. Next, a family moves into Nath Villa—Aditya (Shah Rukh Khan), his wife Anjali (Juhi Chawla—surprisingly listless) and kid Banku (Aman Siddiqui—spirited enough). They are warned about the resident ghost, but pay no heed.
The kid is told there are no ghosts, only angels, so when he comes across the scruffy Kailash Nath (Bachchan), he is not scared. Of course, it’s odd that the ghost wants to drive away the new tenants (shades of Casper), but plays tricks only on the kid and the drunk (Rajpal Yadav) hired to clean the house, since Anjali can’t find domestic help.
There are some faintly amusing scenes of Banku in school with a gluttonous principal (Satish Shah) who steals the kids’ lunch boxes; and the usual flying objects kind of spooky stuff, but nothing that audiences haven’t seen before, and done better, even in the days when special effects weren’t so advanced (Chamatkar and Mr India, for example), not to mention the really fancy CGI they see in Hollywood films and TV serials.
What really kills the film, however, more so for kids, is the sudden turn in the second half towards heavy duty melodrama. Looks like the Chopras haven’t forgotten the success of Baghban, because there is a condensed repeat here—Kailash Nath’s neglectful son (Priyanshu Chatterji) abandons grieving parents (Neena Kulkarni as the sobbing mother) and goes to America. When he returns, it’s only to sell the house. No wonder his dad dies and turns into a ghost!
Bhoothnath sorely lacks the humour and lightness of touch that a film for children should ideally have, and when it comes to the songs, Sharma does a set piece in which kids dress and dance like adults; and in another scantily clad girls turn up to dance with the bhoot.
There is some inconsistency in the ghost’s powers as well—he can levitate the kid and move through walls at will, but can’t save Banku from taking a lethal toss down the stairs!
Having yawned through this one, what really makes your hair stand on end is the threat of a sequel with that fatal ‘to be continued’ line in the end.
Jimmy
Most star sons get launched with a a bit of fanfare by their fathers, some of them continue to ride on their star dads’ names much after their debuts. If nepotism in the industry is an accepted thing, then poor Mimoh Chakraborty deserved a better film than this tawdry Jimmy, which looks well past its sell-by date.
Mimoh playing Jimmy an automobile engineer by day and DJ by night, is given a lot of dances—but the Michael Jackson style ‘Moonwalk’ steps are not just horribly outdated, but look ridiculous on his large frame.
His bulked up body is topped by his mother Yogita Bali’s round face, long, stringy hair and a voice that sounds like an adolescent’s breaking croak. With so many disadvantages to begin with, he needed a really great script and director to salvage his ill-fated debut.
Raj NC Sippy is still stuck in the seventies—the plot is borrowed from Majboor, the dialogue is so awful that the film turns unintentionally funny in places, and the visual style extremely shoddy.
Today’s films may not be high on logic, but it’s hard to beat the senseless plot of this one, in which the villain easily manipulates the hero and everyone else. Jimmy is told he has a “last stage” brain tumour and only one week to live, but nobody in our films ever takes a second opinion. Then he is offered a large sum to pay off his dead father’s debts if he will take on a murder rap, and he accepts.
It gets worse, but only the very brave or the very kinky will last through Jimmy—it will definitely make it to the list of cult bad films, like some of Mithun Chakraborty’s C–grade actioners.
Mimoh is cast opposite a non-descript girl (Vivana) in huge hoop earrings, and to keep him company is a very hammy Zulfi Sayed, an uncredited actress playing the stereotyped mother, constantly offering her son breakfast and Shakti Kapoor turns up in a guest appearance to utter some sleazy lines.
Labels: Cinemaah
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