Chilled out Disco, Prude wale Khisko

Delhi Belly! What a ridiculously funny and thoroughly enjoyable movie! Another feather in the cap of AK Productions! Its difficult to make a movie of the genre that boasts of classics like Pulp Fiction, Lock,Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. After all, trying to emulate Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino is not a mean task! There's every chance of falling flat on your face. But director Abhinay Deo and writer Akshat Verma perform a fine job of not only sketching a loony story but also fleshing it out on screen with aplomb! Delhi Belly is pathbreaking for Hindi cinema for rarely have you heard such irreverent dialogue delivered so nonchalantly by mainstream actors in a supposedly indie film produced by a leading production house and released in all major centres across India and the world.

Technically, the movie is fine with some razor-sharp editing, stupendous background score, great art direction and a deadly mix of subtle as well as in-your-face dialogue which basically elevates the movie several notches above regular comedies dished out by Bollywood. The music by Ram Sampath is creative and top-notch to say the least with almost all tracks including D K Bose, Jaa Chudail, Switty, Nakkadwaley Disco and the egregiously named I Hate You (Like I Love You) scoring on the ears as well as the eyes. Direction is spot on and although the movie starts off slow, it picks up pace pretty soon and doesnt slow down till the very end.

Of the cast, almost everyone does a near-perfect job. Imran Khan is excellent in the main protagonist's role. Vir Das is brilliant as the poker-faced sidekick while Kunal Roy Kapoor gets a crucial role which he plays with a lot of character. Aamir Khan was interested in playing this role when he read the script and although its a pity he couldnt, since it would have taken a lot of time to put on weight for the film, Kunal makes sure that doesnt have any negative impact. Poorna Jagannathan is hawt in an unconventional female lead while Shenaz is competent. The real scene-stealer though is Vijay Raaz with his wonderfully nuanced and understated act. There are plenty of actors who perform bit roles and have their 15 seconds of fame on screen viz. the "loondry" guy and the pervert landlord. Aamir Khan makes a "Look-I-made-an-insane-movie-and-still-made-you-enjoy-it" appearance in the end in the delightfully choreographed number with the zazzy Anusha Dandekar, which is like a tight slap in the face for the audience - a gift from AK Productions to you - which hurts and still feels good!

Delhi Belly is a fun, well-made movie, and while it may not be the best we have seen this year - Dhobi Ghaat, 7 Khoon Maaf and Yeh Saali Zindagi were probably better products - it is for sure something new and immensely enjoyable. As long as you dont shy away from a few expletives and some toilet humor, go get your dose of gross!

AK shows how it otta be done!

Have u seen the Nagarjuna-starrer Mass? Don No. 1? Chiranjeevi's Indra-The Tiger? Nope?? Well then the new AK starrer may not be ur cup of tea...or is it? well frankly i dunno....

AK continues to surprise the audience with a new turn as a loverboy-turned-maniacal killer in this south-ishtyle entertainer...The movie isnt wat u wud expect frm the perfectionist, since we are accustomed to being made to think aftr watching most of hs movies...and with hs habit of raising the bar a few notches high wit every movie, m not surprised tht most of us expect the moon frm hs next venture every tim...so its pretty much an anti-climax whn AK returns to the big screen wit a film as hardcore-devoid of logic-commercial as any and catches the viewers on the wrong foot...m not gonna get into any of the loopholes/cliches, which r plenty in number as wel as severity....simply bcz for the entire running tim of 3 hr 5 min (yep its tht long!), i dint look at my watch even once...and tht is a mark of hw engrossing/gripping ths movie is! its not a masterpiece, its not a landmark, it may not even b anothr feather in Aamir's gloriusly over-crowded cap, but entertaining it sure is! and hugely at tht!

The direction hs a distinct south-indian flavor and it works big tim bcz of the conviction wit which AK plays hs character...its lik he believes ths guy exists and it is him! ur willing to suspend disbelief during the corniest of action scenes....simply bcz they dont seem corny with AK getting into the skin of the character....any othr actor in ths role and i wud hv laughed my way thru the 3 hrs...hats off to Aamir for having the guts to try out a mainstream, commercial role and doing more than full justice to it...Asin is gorgeous and does a fab job...Jiah Khan is miscast! and i especially hated the guy aftr whom the movie is named...he and hs band of goons is so nauseatingly cliche tht they seem to belong to a completely diffrnt movie...the screenplay hs a couple of gaping holes...and the background music can get on ur nerves at times...but its all in keeping wit the mood of the movie...the action scenes r raw and stylishly shot and executed...music is a (not really necessary) filler...but every song wit AK in it is brilliantly shot and presented...unfair to othrs but true!

At the core however, wat keeps the movie togethr othr than AK, is the delightfully penned back-story, which is breezy and interesting, primarily bcz of the lead actors...and the clinching aspect for me ws tht the movie wsnt pretentious or preachy at al...it didnt pretend to b intelligent or sermonizing or morally correct...all it did ws entertain! and thts not saying less...bcz i dont remember a recent movie tht made me sit thru the entire 2.5-3 hrs without giving a single yawn or fidgeting uncomfortably or looking at my watch even once...

Finally, Ghajini is no Memento...its not even close in terms of class...but in terms of style and performance, it sure does pack a powerful knock-out punch!

Adding to the original post on 27/12:
Here's wat Mr. Masand hs to say...pretty much wat i hd in mind :)
"
Ghajini works despite its shortcomings because it's a reliably dumb film that is unpretentious in its intentions. Unlike many dumb films that take themselves way too seriously, Ghajini is a dumb film that celebrates its dumbness......
Ghajini isn't a particularly good film, but entertainment it delivers by the bucketful. At a running time of 3 hours, the film seldom drags and therein lies its victory.......
this is Aamir Khan's way of telling us, 'Anything that Shah Rukh or Akshay can do, I can do just as well.'
"
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/masands-verdict-ghajini-is-dumb-and-celebrates-it/81344-8.html
Spoiler: Sanglichi Mulgi Sai Tamhankar plays an "important" part in the movie- tht of the second female lead's close frnd who appears on screen almost everytim she does...thts two in a row for Sai after Black and White...hope to c her in a lead role in a Bollywood flick soon :)

Cant hardly wait...

Ever since i have caught a glimpse of Aamir's cool dude act in the teasers of Ghajini, I have not been able to restrain myself frm watching the promo again an again...and the prime reason behind it, besides Aamir, is the background score...its like a whiff of fresh air tht precedes a cool breezy wind...with A R Rehman at the helm, we can expect anothr encore...ths guy hs given path-breaking scores thrice already ths yr wit Jodhaa Akbar, Jaane Tu and Yuvvraaj (make tht 4 if u count Ada)...and looks lik hes gonna come up with anothr tantalising score for this one...

coming back to the movie, the promo is really stylish and its cool to see Aamir play the tough guy for a change...admittedly, ths is an out and out masala movie acc to him and i hope its doesnt turn out to b anothr Fanaa, which hd all the elements of a turkey...Moreover, being a YashRaj movie and with Kunal Kohli in the driver's seat, all you cud expect was cliches galore and they didnt disappoint...but ths is different...being a rehash of a rehash (Tamil Ghajini which was 'inspired' frm Christopher Nolan's brilliant Memento) it does hv an interesting storyline...and Aamir being Aamir, rest assured it'll be different to say the least...Hope Ghajini gives us somethng to cheer for as ths yr ends...till then...

This December

forget everything

remember

only

GHAJINI

:)

Jaane Tu.... Ya Jaane Na :)

Yes, there's no story to speak of....and yet the film says a lot in those 2.5 hrs...

Yes, the characters are caricaturish at times...and yet they are straight out of ur and my life...

Yes, the guy and girl take quite some time to realise thr feelings for each other...and yet, it seems so perfectly natural on thr part...

Yes, the parents shown in the film are nothing like real-life parents...and yet you can find a lot of similarities in your own parents...

Yes, the basic premise of telling a story seems very very familiar...and yet it works big time...u feel just lik the newcomer in the grp who feels lik she's known Ratz and Meow since ages...

Yes, A R Rehman's work is very different frm his recent releases...and yet its so so refreshing and rocking!!!All the songs are just A-Ma-Zing...esp Aditi,Pappu,Kahin To,Nazrein Milana,Jaane Tu Meri and the jazzy title track (heck! dint i just list the entire album?! :) )

Yes, Genelia sounds like a cross between Tara Sharma and Kim Sharma at times...and yet her spontaneity and sincerity are so heart-warming,u start liking Aditi for wat she is!

Yes, Imran may not be our generation's answer to Aamir....and yet, he comes up with such a natural,underplayed and adorable performance tht u cant help thinking here's a lad who'll sneak up the ladder silently b4 othrs begin to realise tht he hs actually surpassed thm all in terms of quality...

Yes, Prateik Babber's debut (Smita Patil and Raj Babber's son) may hv been sidelined by the more illustrious newcomer in the movie....and yet, he comes up with an absolutely brilliant performance tht clearly shows the gene pool he belongs to (i'm of course referring to Smita Patil here :) )

Yes, the cameos by Paresh Rawal and Khan bros look forced in the screenplay just to up the slapstick quotient....and yet you find urself thoroughly enjoying thr scenes....esp the 'Aidus :D' scene and 'Ranjhore ka Rathore' bit...

Yes,Naseeruddin Shah plays yet another bit-role...and yet, i cant remember the last time when he actually did justice to his talent and made me laugh so much with his poker-faced humor...

Yes, the climax is a 'beaten-to-death' airport scene abound with cliches...and yet it manages to bring a wide smile on ur face...and touches ur heart when Imran sings the evergreen Shashi Kapoor number...

Yes, the culmination to the story and especially the means to it are silly...and yet u find urself willing to suspend disbelief and believe it all...

Yes, the film, in retrospect, offers nothing new...and yet you can relate so much to everything that u end up loving it!Yes, it may not be considered a patch on the Director's earlier scriptwork (Munnabhai MBBS,Maqbool)...and yet,its a triumph in itself, not just for him but for the entire young,bubbly team...

Yes, i generally dont like silly love stories which hv nothing new to offer...and yet, i enjoyd this film so much tht in all probability, i'll shell out 200 bucks more to watch it again :)


As refreshing as a breeze of fresh air which lightly grazes ur face when standing on the edge of a steep cliff...JTYJN is an immensely enjoyable slice of life!

To quote a couple of lines frm the film....
"Mana kabhi kabhi saare jahaan mein andhera hota hai,
Lekin raat ke baad hi to sawera hota hai!"
JTYJN pierces the pitch dark 1st half of 2008 just like a refreshing ray of sunlight ! :)