Friday, November 20, 2009
Kurbaan + 1
Kurbaan
Given the state of the world today, a subject like terrorism is not to be trifled with. And whether it is the intention of the filmmaker or not, the issue becomes politically sensitive-- all the more reason to be careful and balanced. If a film points the finger of suspicion at most Muslims-- an educated, suave professor is a terrorist kingpin, the family next door is hatching a terror plot, the harmless professor sitting by a chess board in the corner is a terrorist, no matter where they live Muslims refuse to owe allegiance to the country that shelters them-- it does nothing for the cause of peace, but tarnishes a whole community.
If we overlook all that and accept Rensil D'Silva's Kurbaan as just another commercial film (It has stars, it is produced by Karan Johar), then the complete lack of logic and glaring plot holes are bothersome.
The film, in brief is about professor Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) who is trapped into a marriage by the charming Professor Ehsaan (Saif Ali Khan), because she is an American citizen and he needs a legal way of entering the country. Once there, he gangs up with his cahoots, who are planning terror strikes in New York. Avantika stumbles on to the secret, and is imprisoned at home; she is not killed because she is pregnant. With her help, reporter, Riyaz (Vivek Oberoi) infiltrating the gang to avenge the death of his girlfriend (Dia Mirza) killed in a suicide bombing, manages to foil their plot.
Now the proboem areas: Avantika is an American citizen, yet when she comes to know of the plane bombing, she does not call 911, but leaves a message on the answering machine. When Riyaz hears the message, he does not inform the cops, but plays detective by himself. Ehsaan is a wanted terrorist with a criminal record, and in these days of biometrics, he travels in and out of India and into the US without being detected. Without even mention of a work permit, Ehsaan is allowed to teach a new course in Islamic studies, suggested by him at a New York college. Riyaz easily gets into the gang by making a facile anti-America speech-- in the age of Google, the terrorist group doesn't even do a basic background check.
Absurdities pile up-- Avantika does nothing to seek help or warn her father who is in danger. She is a professor herself, but listens wide-eyed to an older terrorist's (Om Puri) wife (Kirron Kher), who justifies the killing of innocent Americans, saying that US forces killed innocent Muslims in Afghanistan. In one scene Avantika is seen with a distended belly, but when she does a seduction number on the husband (a still from this scene is on the misleading posters of Kurbaan) her belly is flat.
If Avantika came to sympathise with the cause, in a case of the Stockholm Syndrome, the plot would have made some sense, but neither Ehsaan's feelings towards her, nor hers towards him are clear-- after she discovers the truth about him.
So, the look is slick (some thanks to DOP Hemant Chaturvedi), the pace is brisk, Vivek Oberoi and Kareena Kapoor deliver powerful performances-- Saif Ali Khan wears a baffled look at can't cope with the wishy-washy character-- that is the least that can be expected from a big-budget film. But along with production values, how about also delivering a film that also strong on plausibility and purpose?
Shaabash! You Can Do It
You may not even know that such a film has released, if you do, you are not likely to go see it. Unless, there is a good word-of-mouth, and there isn’t going to be… Shaabash! You Can Do It, directed (?) by Shankar Mondal) with a new cast, will be one of those many also-released films that had come out earlier this year during the multiplex strike. Can’t even say it is a good effort.
The film is set in a college, where rich guy Vikram (Atul Kinagi) and ordinary guy Neil ( Hitesh Agrawal) glare malevolently at each other, because Vikram got slapped by his father (Rajiv Verma) in public because he had slapped Neil…much ado about nothing.The father is a politician and wants to enhance his image of being a fair-minded man. Vikram is in love with Gracy (Vedita Pratap Singh), who is found dead at a college picnic,and Professor Siddhant (Sudesh Berry) is framed. (The professor ought to have been jailed for hamming!) Two silly cops (Vishwajeet Pradhan and sidekick) got about investigating, and there’s a bunch of overage students (one of them gay) and dumb professors tripping over one another.
Then there’s some lecturing about yoga being the cure for all ills, and something called ‘Yoga dance’ at which Vikram and Neil compete. They make it sound as if it a matter of life and death, but the banner behind the tacky dance venue declare “Rotary Club of Bombay Hanging Garden.” Not even the MNS would bother to get up to protest against this one. The best performance? Maybe the professor’s wife lying in a coma!
Given the state of the world today, a subject like terrorism is not to be trifled with. And whether it is the intention of the filmmaker or not, the issue becomes politically sensitive-- all the more reason to be careful and balanced. If a film points the finger of suspicion at most Muslims-- an educated, suave professor is a terrorist kingpin, the family next door is hatching a terror plot, the harmless professor sitting by a chess board in the corner is a terrorist, no matter where they live Muslims refuse to owe allegiance to the country that shelters them-- it does nothing for the cause of peace, but tarnishes a whole community.
If we overlook all that and accept Rensil D'Silva's Kurbaan as just another commercial film (It has stars, it is produced by Karan Johar), then the complete lack of logic and glaring plot holes are bothersome.
The film, in brief is about professor Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) who is trapped into a marriage by the charming Professor Ehsaan (Saif Ali Khan), because she is an American citizen and he needs a legal way of entering the country. Once there, he gangs up with his cahoots, who are planning terror strikes in New York. Avantika stumbles on to the secret, and is imprisoned at home; she is not killed because she is pregnant. With her help, reporter, Riyaz (Vivek Oberoi) infiltrating the gang to avenge the death of his girlfriend (Dia Mirza) killed in a suicide bombing, manages to foil their plot.
Now the proboem areas: Avantika is an American citizen, yet when she comes to know of the plane bombing, she does not call 911, but leaves a message on the answering machine. When Riyaz hears the message, he does not inform the cops, but plays detective by himself. Ehsaan is a wanted terrorist with a criminal record, and in these days of biometrics, he travels in and out of India and into the US without being detected. Without even mention of a work permit, Ehsaan is allowed to teach a new course in Islamic studies, suggested by him at a New York college. Riyaz easily gets into the gang by making a facile anti-America speech-- in the age of Google, the terrorist group doesn't even do a basic background check.
Absurdities pile up-- Avantika does nothing to seek help or warn her father who is in danger. She is a professor herself, but listens wide-eyed to an older terrorist's (Om Puri) wife (Kirron Kher), who justifies the killing of innocent Americans, saying that US forces killed innocent Muslims in Afghanistan. In one scene Avantika is seen with a distended belly, but when she does a seduction number on the husband (a still from this scene is on the misleading posters of Kurbaan) her belly is flat.
If Avantika came to sympathise with the cause, in a case of the Stockholm Syndrome, the plot would have made some sense, but neither Ehsaan's feelings towards her, nor hers towards him are clear-- after she discovers the truth about him.
So, the look is slick (some thanks to DOP Hemant Chaturvedi), the pace is brisk, Vivek Oberoi and Kareena Kapoor deliver powerful performances-- Saif Ali Khan wears a baffled look at can't cope with the wishy-washy character-- that is the least that can be expected from a big-budget film. But along with production values, how about also delivering a film that also strong on plausibility and purpose?
Shaabash! You Can Do It
You may not even know that such a film has released, if you do, you are not likely to go see it. Unless, there is a good word-of-mouth, and there isn’t going to be… Shaabash! You Can Do It, directed (?) by Shankar Mondal) with a new cast, will be one of those many also-released films that had come out earlier this year during the multiplex strike. Can’t even say it is a good effort.
The film is set in a college, where rich guy Vikram (Atul Kinagi) and ordinary guy Neil ( Hitesh Agrawal) glare malevolently at each other, because Vikram got slapped by his father (Rajiv Verma) in public because he had slapped Neil…much ado about nothing.The father is a politician and wants to enhance his image of being a fair-minded man. Vikram is in love with Gracy (Vedita Pratap Singh), who is found dead at a college picnic,and Professor Siddhant (Sudesh Berry) is framed. (The professor ought to have been jailed for hamming!) Two silly cops (Vishwajeet Pradhan and sidekick) got about investigating, and there’s a bunch of overage students (one of them gay) and dumb professors tripping over one another.
Then there’s some lecturing about yoga being the cure for all ills, and something called ‘Yoga dance’ at which Vikram and Neil compete. They make it sound as if it a matter of life and death, but the banner behind the tacky dance venue declare “Rotary Club of Bombay Hanging Garden.” Not even the MNS would bother to get up to protest against this one. The best performance? Maybe the professor’s wife lying in a coma!
Labels: Cinemaah
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tum Mile + Wish
Tum Mile
While Hollywood unleashes its mega-budget doomsday thriller on the world in the form of 2012, Bollywood makes its own modest effort to revisit the Mumbai floods of 2005, with Emraan Hashmi as its sole selling point. Kunal Deshmukh’s Tum Mile is not a global warming red alert, however, just a love story set against the deluge.
In Cape Town (discounted rates after Jannat?) aspiring artist Akshay (Hashmi) falls in love with rich girl Sanjana (Soha Ali Khan). They live together in a pretty sea-facing apartment, but soon, the usual financial problems and career crises come in the way, and they split,
Six years later, they happen to meet on a plane to Mumbai. While the encounter leaves him distraught enough to request a change of seat, she dismisses him to a colleague as “just an accident.”
They arrive in Mumbai in the day of the floods. Akshay and his buddy rush to Sanjana’s rescue—they both realize they still love each other. It’s a pretty ordinary story, but Deshmukh’s treatment is sensitive and mature. The early flirtations between the two might be childish, but their relationship is very ‘today’ without waving any flags.
She works as a journalist and runs the home, he does the cooking and washes dishes, and it all looks perfectly normal. Sanjana’s busy father (Sachin Khedekar) is also cool about their relationship status, and her ex-boyfriend catching the vibes, gracefully exits.
Emraan Hashmi growing as an actor with every film he does, is still capable of springing a surprise—his performance is effortless and impressive. Soha Ali Khan also gets to do a role where she is as important as the leading man, and though not yet as polished as Hashmi, she does a fine job of playing a woman, who chooses between love and career, but is wise enough to understand where she went wrong. The characters are not shallow, and their dilemmas not pointless.
Garnished with Pritam’s hummable songs and Prakash Kutty’s expert cinematography (never mind the so-so special effects), Tum Mile is one of the better offerings of the year.
Aao Wish Karein
It’s perfectly alright for an actor to produce a film for himself, but there should be a limit to vanity. Aftab Shivdasani does not have the talent or star power to carry off a film on his own, and certainly not a remake of Big, with himself in the Tom Hanks role.
Add to that the less than adequate abilities of the leading lady, Aamna Sharif (sack the stylist!), and it’s a project doomed from the start. (There was the 20 year old dud Chandramukhi too, on the same subject, which just shows how some people never learn from others’ mistakes.)
When 12-year old Mickey is called ‘kid’ by Mitika (Aamna Sharif), who he has a crush on, he wishes he were older. His wish is granted, he grows into Aftab Shivdasani, who has the unenviable task of playing a cute, childish grown-up, and getting on the viewers nerves. There’s weird character called Hitchcock (Johnny Lever) around too, to add to the irritation. The only one who can legitimately be called cute here is Mickey’s little Sardar friend Bonnie.
The film has some funny moments, but too few – it is neither a children’s film, neither a teen rom com. Except for the picture post card location, there is very little fairy-tale magic happening here.
Aao Wish Karein is a perfect example of what an actor should not do, unless his (or her) ability matches his (or her) ambition.
While Hollywood unleashes its mega-budget doomsday thriller on the world in the form of 2012, Bollywood makes its own modest effort to revisit the Mumbai floods of 2005, with Emraan Hashmi as its sole selling point. Kunal Deshmukh’s Tum Mile is not a global warming red alert, however, just a love story set against the deluge.
In Cape Town (discounted rates after Jannat?) aspiring artist Akshay (Hashmi) falls in love with rich girl Sanjana (Soha Ali Khan). They live together in a pretty sea-facing apartment, but soon, the usual financial problems and career crises come in the way, and they split,
Six years later, they happen to meet on a plane to Mumbai. While the encounter leaves him distraught enough to request a change of seat, she dismisses him to a colleague as “just an accident.”
They arrive in Mumbai in the day of the floods. Akshay and his buddy rush to Sanjana’s rescue—they both realize they still love each other. It’s a pretty ordinary story, but Deshmukh’s treatment is sensitive and mature. The early flirtations between the two might be childish, but their relationship is very ‘today’ without waving any flags.
She works as a journalist and runs the home, he does the cooking and washes dishes, and it all looks perfectly normal. Sanjana’s busy father (Sachin Khedekar) is also cool about their relationship status, and her ex-boyfriend catching the vibes, gracefully exits.
Emraan Hashmi growing as an actor with every film he does, is still capable of springing a surprise—his performance is effortless and impressive. Soha Ali Khan also gets to do a role where she is as important as the leading man, and though not yet as polished as Hashmi, she does a fine job of playing a woman, who chooses between love and career, but is wise enough to understand where she went wrong. The characters are not shallow, and their dilemmas not pointless.
Garnished with Pritam’s hummable songs and Prakash Kutty’s expert cinematography (never mind the so-so special effects), Tum Mile is one of the better offerings of the year.
Aao Wish Karein
It’s perfectly alright for an actor to produce a film for himself, but there should be a limit to vanity. Aftab Shivdasani does not have the talent or star power to carry off a film on his own, and certainly not a remake of Big, with himself in the Tom Hanks role.
Add to that the less than adequate abilities of the leading lady, Aamna Sharif (sack the stylist!), and it’s a project doomed from the start. (There was the 20 year old dud Chandramukhi too, on the same subject, which just shows how some people never learn from others’ mistakes.)
When 12-year old Mickey is called ‘kid’ by Mitika (Aamna Sharif), who he has a crush on, he wishes he were older. His wish is granted, he grows into Aftab Shivdasani, who has the unenviable task of playing a cute, childish grown-up, and getting on the viewers nerves. There’s weird character called Hitchcock (Johnny Lever) around too, to add to the irritation. The only one who can legitimately be called cute here is Mickey’s little Sardar friend Bonnie.
The film has some funny moments, but too few – it is neither a children’s film, neither a teen rom com. Except for the picture post card location, there is very little fairy-tale magic happening here.
Aao Wish Karein is a perfect example of what an actor should not do, unless his (or her) ability matches his (or her) ambition.
Labels: Cinemaah
