Saturday, August 26, 2006
2 Duds
Aap Ki Khatir
Perhaps because he is accused of always making heavy-duty melodramas, Dharmesh Darshan attempts a comedy this time. Too bad that Aap Ki Khatir is an even bigger headache-inducer than Mela and Bewafaa.
Copying from Hollywood movie The Wedding Date, which wasn’t all that great to begin with, Darshan compounds the error by mixing it with stale formulaic elements from the Hum Aapke Hain Kaun era. Overcrowding the film with dozens of weird ‘relatives’ to add to the already insipid bunch of lead actors is no way to entertain the audience.
Anu (Priyanka Chopra), supposedly a wealthy working woman, but appearing as a pea-brained bimbo, takes along a hired escort Aman (Akshaye Khanna) to London, to her step-sister Shirani’s (Amisha Patel) wedding, to make her former boyfriend Danny (Dino Morea) jealous.
For a long time, the characters just dress up, sing, dance, play cricket; Anu bickers endlessly with Aman, and there’s some very idiotic humour. After some time, more people arrive to join the circus. You alleviate the boredom by wondering what all those over-dressed people are doing there. Why is some vague cousin hanging around? Who are all those foreigners? Why are Anu’s parents (Anupam Kher-Lillete Dubey) acting like horny teenagers? Why does Shirani’s groom (Suniel Shetty) have so many odd relatives—including two single aunts everybody makes fun of.
If the comedy is clunky and the drama flat, the romance is totally without fizz. Shirani looks glum and behaves like she was marrying just because she can’t back out with all those house guests around. Anu falls out of love with Danny and in love with Aman, just because her father tells her so. No slow realization, or love catching people unawares.
Comedy doesn’t come naturally to Akshaye Khanna, but at least he tries. Not like the girls, who have spent all their effort on their wardrobes. And if anyone does not get the innumerable Lokhandwala and ring-tone jokes, please ask Dharmesh Darshan to explain.
Sandwich
This Anees Bazmee film has obviously been in the making for very long, so both in look and content, there is a staleness to it.
When Govinda was at his peak as a comic actor some years ago, Sandwich may have found an audience, now it is almost awkward to see the actor go through the motions in a mechanical way, and in a voice that sounds like someone doing a bad imitation of Dharmendra.
Through circumstances beyond his control, Sher Singh (Govinda) finds himself married to two women (Mahima Chaudhary-Raveena Tandon). For a few years he manages to get by without them finding out, but then his two identical- looking sons meet at school, the wives befriend each other and he is in trouble.
Then a lookalike turns up and the film moves into crime-thriller mode. The chauvinism cannot be avoided, as Sher Singh expects to be pardoned for bigamy, but can’t bear the thought of the duplicate living with one of his wives.
Govinda has Sajaan Chale Sasural on a similar theme before, and there’s also Gharwali Baharwali about a man and two wives—everything about Sandwich is dated and old-fashioned. There are continuity problems galore as the actors’ size and hairstyle keeps changing from scene to scene. The climax with all the actors converging at one place to have a comic fight sequence is so out of the eighties. No reason for an audience to waste money on this one.
Perhaps because he is accused of always making heavy-duty melodramas, Dharmesh Darshan attempts a comedy this time. Too bad that Aap Ki Khatir is an even bigger headache-inducer than Mela and Bewafaa.
Copying from Hollywood movie The Wedding Date, which wasn’t all that great to begin with, Darshan compounds the error by mixing it with stale formulaic elements from the Hum Aapke Hain Kaun era. Overcrowding the film with dozens of weird ‘relatives’ to add to the already insipid bunch of lead actors is no way to entertain the audience.
Anu (Priyanka Chopra), supposedly a wealthy working woman, but appearing as a pea-brained bimbo, takes along a hired escort Aman (Akshaye Khanna) to London, to her step-sister Shirani’s (Amisha Patel) wedding, to make her former boyfriend Danny (Dino Morea) jealous.
For a long time, the characters just dress up, sing, dance, play cricket; Anu bickers endlessly with Aman, and there’s some very idiotic humour. After some time, more people arrive to join the circus. You alleviate the boredom by wondering what all those over-dressed people are doing there. Why is some vague cousin hanging around? Who are all those foreigners? Why are Anu’s parents (Anupam Kher-Lillete Dubey) acting like horny teenagers? Why does Shirani’s groom (Suniel Shetty) have so many odd relatives—including two single aunts everybody makes fun of.
If the comedy is clunky and the drama flat, the romance is totally without fizz. Shirani looks glum and behaves like she was marrying just because she can’t back out with all those house guests around. Anu falls out of love with Danny and in love with Aman, just because her father tells her so. No slow realization, or love catching people unawares.
Comedy doesn’t come naturally to Akshaye Khanna, but at least he tries. Not like the girls, who have spent all their effort on their wardrobes. And if anyone does not get the innumerable Lokhandwala and ring-tone jokes, please ask Dharmesh Darshan to explain.
Sandwich
This Anees Bazmee film has obviously been in the making for very long, so both in look and content, there is a staleness to it.
When Govinda was at his peak as a comic actor some years ago, Sandwich may have found an audience, now it is almost awkward to see the actor go through the motions in a mechanical way, and in a voice that sounds like someone doing a bad imitation of Dharmendra.
Through circumstances beyond his control, Sher Singh (Govinda) finds himself married to two women (Mahima Chaudhary-Raveena Tandon). For a few years he manages to get by without them finding out, but then his two identical- looking sons meet at school, the wives befriend each other and he is in trouble.
Then a lookalike turns up and the film moves into crime-thriller mode. The chauvinism cannot be avoided, as Sher Singh expects to be pardoned for bigamy, but can’t bear the thought of the duplicate living with one of his wives.
Govinda has Sajaan Chale Sasural on a similar theme before, and there’s also Gharwali Baharwali about a man and two wives—everything about Sandwich is dated and old-fashioned. There are continuity problems galore as the actors’ size and hairstyle keeps changing from scene to scene. The climax with all the actors converging at one place to have a comic fight sequence is so out of the eighties. No reason for an audience to waste money on this one.
Labels: Cinemaah
Sunday, August 20, 2006
2 This Week
Katputtli
There’s no harm in producing a film for yourself if nobody else will give you a good break, but first isn’t a talent check mandatory? Mink Brar, who made her debut in Dev Anand’s Pyar Ka Tarana in 1993 and sort of vanished into cameo limbo, produces Katputtli with her brother (calling their company Bro and Sis Production—cute!), giving herself the lead role. Not just that, she is in almost every frame of the film.
She is good looking in a model-ish sort of way, but does not have the talent or presence to carry an entire film, more so since the rest of the cast is also over-dressed, over-made up plywood.
She plays Lisa, a rich gal who has lost her memory, which is an excuse to speak all her lines in a slow, breathless way. Her husband (Milind Soman) looks after her, and her neighbours (Sameer Dharmadikari-Yukta Mookey) are helpful too, but Lisa feels something’s not quite right. For one, why was she wandering the streets in blood stained clothes, wearing a trench coat with lakhs in her pockets?
Despite a long and tedious explanation in the end, this bit is still not explained—why a trench coat? When did she stuff it with money? And the person who was responsible for her condition just stood there and watched her go?
Such questions arise simply because the film, directed by Sanjay Khanna trying desperately to be stylish, does not make much sense. But it is good for a lot of unintended laughs. Like Seema Biswas playing a sinister looking doctor, who evokes chuckles just by her get-up; the nurse in microminis and huge hoop earrings, who looks like she escaped from a Z-grade horror flick. Or the neighbours who break into an inexplicable salsa routine. And the appearance of a dozen of the Bro and Sis’s Page 3 buddies—so a helper in the hospital flounces around in wispy party togs. And a long-haired, junkie dude in pin-stripes glides in slow-motion.
Katputtli is not a comedy, but it is hilarious!
Ahista Ahista
At least this movie can’t be accused of having a misleading title. Ahista Ahista is a slow-paced love story that owes its origin to a telefilm.
Ankush (Abhay Deol) makes a living as a marriage witness for runaway couples outside a Delhi registration office. When Megha (Soha Ali Khan), is left stranded when her boyfriend does not show up, the sweet and decent Ankush helps her, and falls in love. Then the missing boyfriend Dheeraj (Shayan Munshi) turns up looking for her, and Ankush tries hard to prevent him from reaching her.
It’s a sweet love story, but just doesn’t have enough substance to keep it going for a full-length feature. Apart from a drab script, director Shiivam Nair is saddled with actors who have a lot of charm but no spontaneity; as a result the drama is emotionless and the comedy falls flat. Ankush’s loud mockery of an old woman borders on bad taste.
The songs (Himesh Reshammiya) that sounded so good on CD, are indifferently picturised. The Delhi locations give the film a fresh look, and despite his stolidness, Ankush does manage to make the viewer care for him. Whether that’s good enough reason for splurging on a multiplex ticket, depends on how much you like Abhay Deol and Soha Ali Khan.
There’s no harm in producing a film for yourself if nobody else will give you a good break, but first isn’t a talent check mandatory? Mink Brar, who made her debut in Dev Anand’s Pyar Ka Tarana in 1993 and sort of vanished into cameo limbo, produces Katputtli with her brother (calling their company Bro and Sis Production—cute!), giving herself the lead role. Not just that, she is in almost every frame of the film.
She is good looking in a model-ish sort of way, but does not have the talent or presence to carry an entire film, more so since the rest of the cast is also over-dressed, over-made up plywood.
She plays Lisa, a rich gal who has lost her memory, which is an excuse to speak all her lines in a slow, breathless way. Her husband (Milind Soman) looks after her, and her neighbours (Sameer Dharmadikari-Yukta Mookey) are helpful too, but Lisa feels something’s not quite right. For one, why was she wandering the streets in blood stained clothes, wearing a trench coat with lakhs in her pockets?
Despite a long and tedious explanation in the end, this bit is still not explained—why a trench coat? When did she stuff it with money? And the person who was responsible for her condition just stood there and watched her go?
Such questions arise simply because the film, directed by Sanjay Khanna trying desperately to be stylish, does not make much sense. But it is good for a lot of unintended laughs. Like Seema Biswas playing a sinister looking doctor, who evokes chuckles just by her get-up; the nurse in microminis and huge hoop earrings, who looks like she escaped from a Z-grade horror flick. Or the neighbours who break into an inexplicable salsa routine. And the appearance of a dozen of the Bro and Sis’s Page 3 buddies—so a helper in the hospital flounces around in wispy party togs. And a long-haired, junkie dude in pin-stripes glides in slow-motion.
Katputtli is not a comedy, but it is hilarious!
Ahista Ahista
At least this movie can’t be accused of having a misleading title. Ahista Ahista is a slow-paced love story that owes its origin to a telefilm.
Ankush (Abhay Deol) makes a living as a marriage witness for runaway couples outside a Delhi registration office. When Megha (Soha Ali Khan), is left stranded when her boyfriend does not show up, the sweet and decent Ankush helps her, and falls in love. Then the missing boyfriend Dheeraj (Shayan Munshi) turns up looking for her, and Ankush tries hard to prevent him from reaching her.
It’s a sweet love story, but just doesn’t have enough substance to keep it going for a full-length feature. Apart from a drab script, director Shiivam Nair is saddled with actors who have a lot of charm but no spontaneity; as a result the drama is emotionless and the comedy falls flat. Ankush’s loud mockery of an old woman borders on bad taste.
The songs (Himesh Reshammiya) that sounded so good on CD, are indifferently picturised. The Delhi locations give the film a fresh look, and despite his stolidness, Ankush does manage to make the viewer care for him. Whether that’s good enough reason for splurging on a multiplex ticket, depends on how much you like Abhay Deol and Soha Ali Khan.
Labels: Cinemaah
