Identity crisis

**Spoilers!!!**

While watching Ek Tha Tiger, the thought that kept hitting me again and again was that throughout the making of the film, the makers faced a dilemma and were unable to decide what kind of movie they wanted to make. Did they want to make a realistic story of spies and their world, or did they want to make a full-blown, no-holds-barred, quintessential Salman Khan entertainer which defies logic and earns whistles and claps in abundance? They couldnt decide, and finally, they ended up making a movie that is neither here nor there.

Don't get me wrong. Ek Tha Tiger is not a bad movie. In fact, far from it! It has a decent plot, it maintains its tone and tempo and even has some stunning action scenes. But it is not a very entertaining film. At the same time, it is not the best Salman Khan film ever, as is being touted. Nor is it the best Bollywood action film yet. Heck, it is not even the best spy movie to come out of Bollywood this year. But before we get into comparisons, let's talk about what worked and what did not.

The story concept, although not terribly complex, is interesting. What happens when a spy decides he/she wants to lead a normal life? Can someone who has been trained and who has sworn to put country before self for all his or her life revert the decision at some point of time in life and start a new life afresh? There are so many possibilities there and Ek Tha Tiger pretty much skims over them. The screenplay is quite dull and underplays everything. The stakes dont rise high enough - not in the emotional scenes, not in the funny scenes and surprisingly, not even in the high voltage action scenes. The action scenes are excellently choreographed though, and do appear slick and sophisticated. They are fun to watch but the experience continues to be underwhelming, because the stakes arent high enough, and as an audience member, you dont feel the action has an end purpose that you care about. The culprit here is the direction, which underplays everything and ends up making the entire movie look like a ho-hum effort. The background music is apt and does improve the impact of the scenes in places.

Music is a mixed bag. Banjara is the weakest of the lot and is picturised very typically. It also comes at a point where the momentum of the film is already low and acts as a speed-breaker. Laapata is easy on the eye and comes as a refreshing change in the movie. Saiyaara is perhaps the best placed song, but lacks good visuals to accompany it. Maashallah comes off as the best of the lot, especially since it appears at the end as the credits roll, and there is nothing it can do to spoil the effect of the movie. It is easily the most energetic song of the album and, in spite of an uninspired display of dance moves by the lead pair, manages to entertain. Cinematography is excellent and every frame looks beautiful and adds to the scene. The direction by Kabir Khan, who gave us the very interesting Kabul Express and the fine-till-the-muddled-climax New York, is confused and, for lack of decision, makes a meddle of a good story idea and opportunity.

The supporting cast is pretty good and does a commendable job. Girish Karnad and Ranvir Shorey are a delight to watch in particular. Katrina Kaif is ill suited to the role and although she does her action scenes with aplomb, her emoting is wooden and listless. A better actress could have done wonders in this role, which itself needed more fleshing out. Salman Khan does well as a RAW agent, especially in the first half where he is under disguise and in the action scenes. He plays his part with conviction, without going over-the-top and without his usual low-brow humor. It is refreshing to watch him do simple stuff without hamming or overacting. Where he appears unconvincing is the romantic angle, and that is because the romance is half-baked.

Ultimately, Ek Tha Tiger is a well-meaning film, which at only 2 hrs 10 mins takes too long to come to the point and then makes the point very meekly. In the process, it does not entertain enough and ends up being a middling effort. It is neither a massy film that caters to Sallu fans nor one that will win critical acclaim for its finesse. Again, it is not a bad film, just an underwhelming one. And all this because it faces an identity crisis.

The Tiger Roars...Review

Coming soon....

Ek Tha Mish-mash

Ever since the movie was announced, there has been a lot of anticipation for seeing darling of the masses Sallu bhai in a classy action role sans the juvenile humor that is usually part of his movies (and that drives me nuts! Why does he need to do those pathetic jokes in every single movie!). I was looking forward to the music even more since it is composed by Sohail Sen, who delivered very enjoyable music in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan last year. The album is finally out.

The album starts off with a very, very ordinary Mashallah, sung by Wajid and Shreya Ghoshal and also composed by Sajid-Wajid. Wajid screws up the track to some extent with his uninspiring vocals. And Shreya is the wrong choice for the song. Sunidhi would have been perfect. The Arabian theme is good but the execution is where the song falters.

Next up is Banjaara, easily the best song of the album. I had been looking forward to this song since I saw the shoot clips in Jan. My first reaction to the song was it is underwhelming. The violin tune playing throughout the song is lovely, but Sukhvinder is not in form. His part lacks energy. The song starts off classy, even reminding one of Dil Gira Dafatan from Delhi 6, then moves on to a massy base, and ultimately cant make a choice between being classy and massy; ends up being a middling effort. But after repeated listens, it is starting to grow on me.

Next up is Laapata sung by KK and Shreya. It is okayish and sounds like a leftover from Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. These kind of songs suited Sallu during his Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge days when he put loads of energy into the dances.

The album concludes with Saiyaara, which is another neither here nor there effort. Mohit Chauhan does well but is not in top form. The song sounds like a wannabe great emotional number but ends up being just that - a wannabe.

The Tiger theme is decent, but nothing great. Overall, I am disappointed with the album, although it isnt the worst of the year. Its just about average. Expected a lot from it and Sohail Sen after his chartbusters last year. Hope this is one of those cases where okayish music does not spoil the effect of the movie (think 3 Idiots)

Bawdyguard :|

Mediocre with no redeeming factors. Ready and Dabangg seem like masterpieces in front of this one. And they are not. Time to reinvent self sir.

Ready?

So, the promos made no bones about this one being a typical, masala entertainer fueled by the audience's new-found love for Sallu. But after watching Ready yesterday, I must say I expected the makers to make an effort to exploit Sallu more! The fact that there is a story, silly as it may be, and there are a host of actors who actually get to say funny lines and play a part in the proceedings, came as a pleasant surprise! Lets not get carried away though, for Ready is hardly great, or for that matter even good, cinema. Its not even old wine in a new bottle - more like old wine in an old bottle with a new shining label and elevated brand value.

It would be blasphemy to review the movie since that would mean putting a lot more thought into the review than the makers put in its making, but I am willing to make the effort, even if only for Sallu. I loved the fact that dependable actors like Mahesh Manjrekar, Manoj Joshi, Paresh Rawal and Manoj Pahwa get to play reasonably significant roles and they do pretty well. Most of the rest of the cast is okayish - special metion must be made of the bike riding maid though :D There are plenty of funny gags altho a couple of pathetic scenes stand out like a sore thumb. Like that one involving a kid and pee and a skeleton suit. Not sure who the target audience was for that one! The direction is ho-hum - anyone who knows something about movie making could have directed it. The dialogues are not very funny but the actors put enough conviction in them to make us laugh. The cinematography is nothing we havent seen before, and the editing could have been sharper.

Ultimately what saves Ready is the spate of in-jokes and comic timing of most actors! Sallu's self-digs at Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Prem, his colossal flops Yuvvraaj and Veer, the hit-and-run case and more are quite amusing and make you laugh, even if for their sheer silliness, or at times, the honesty with which Sallu owns up to all accusations made against him. Sample the scene in which he takes his shirt off after his uncle says "Prem, shirt utaarne ka isse acha mauka nahin milega" after the goon's shirt tears, and how it all turns out to be a figment of Asin's imagination, meaning she wants to get a look at the hunk herself :D Also, the way Sallu asks later "Mazaa aaya?" ; its hard to imagine any other actor who can pull this off while being self-critical and brash at the same time. Few such moments aside however, Sallu looks disinterested in the proceedings. Hopefully, Bodyguard will be a welcome change from his bored-looking roles (I have read the story and it has a lot of potential if made well). Asin looks horrible - I was constantly chiding her to go wash her face throughout the movie. Not sure what went wrong with her make-up, coz she's quite pretty otherwise. The music is a mixed-bag. The romantic Humko Pyaar Hua is a yaaaawn and the shaadi song is an exercise in showcasing Sallu's moves. Dhinka Chika and Character Dheela however are superb in terms of picturization and I definitely got my money's worth with those two music videos. The cameos by a horde of actors are fun to watch too!

Ultimately, Ready is a fun, family film that does nothing new and yet ensures you enjoy. I must admit I alternated between being non-plussed and amused, but the rest of the jam-packed theatre was enjoying every bit of the movie. Its all luck - had this movie released 3 yrs earlier, nobody would have seen it. Post-Dabangg, everyone wants a slice of Sallu entertainment. One one hand, its sad Ready will make more money than a lot of Sallu's much better and under-appreciated movies like Jaan-e-Mann and Salaam-e-Ishq, on the other hand, it was fun to watch an entertaining Hindi movie in theaters after so long!

P.S. : Does it seem like I was disinterested when writing this review? Well, can you blame me? :)

FAIL!

Vishal Shekhar turn in a surprisingly pedestrian soundtrack with TMK! Nothing much to write home about. The title track is different (sung in multiple voices by the versatile Sonu Nigam) but that's it....And its composed by Shirish Kunder. So, after the pretty ho-hum trailer (with the lame aadha Robinhood line!), the music is another indicator that this one's probably gonna be a damp damp squib...Only God can save this movie now! Or, you know, Katrina Kaif.

Or there's the slightest chance that the following might just do the trick :

Update within 12 hrs : I was wrong about at least 2 songs. The title song is highly addictive, despite being pretty silly....mainly due to Sonu Nigam's magical vocals....And Walla Re Walla, although seemingly okayish to begin with, is zany and a sure-fire riot on screen with Sallu and Akki sure to set the screen on fire....The album though still qualifies as a disappointment!

Shameless...err "fearless" entertainment!

First things first....On one hand, Dabangg is formulaic, doesnt even get the formula right, has a slow, almost boring, first half, has too many abrupt songs, is devoid of much substance and most of it does not make much sense. On the other hand, SALMAN KHAN!

After watching Dabangg, all I can say is there is NO other star (note, I didnt say actor!) who could have carried off something as ridiculously shameless and unabashedly unpretentious as Dabangg with such elan and made it so much fun as Salman has. That I am huge fan of his is no secret, but really take a moment and try to imagine if there is any other star, or even actor, who can ensure that people, some of them super-sophisticated, not just sit through but enjoy something like Dabangg to their heart's content. Nope, I cudnt think of anyone and if you can, plz lemme kno! Now to the movie...

As mentioned before, Dabangg is hardly path-breaking cinema. In fact, after a couple of remarkable opening scenes, it peters out to become quite tepid for another hour till the interval. And frankly, some part of it is plain boring. The abrupt placement of melodious songs doesnt help either, and inconsistent focus on multiple story lines makes the film quite incoherent. But, what it lacks in cinema, Dabangg makes up in charisma! And that's because unlike his usual style, this time Salman Khan bites into the character so hard, he makes you stand up and take notice of the fact that here's a maverick character written with him in mind, and while he may not possess great acting chops, he has enough charm and screen-presence to bring someone as asinine and insane as Chulbul Pandey to life and kick ass on screen! The movie ultimately is an ode to his star-power and while that was what Wanted was too, this character is much better fleshed out and played by the "actor" like he belongs!

Of the rest, Sonakshi looks kinda cute and does a commendable job whenever she's required to. Sonu Sood is really good and I wish there was more of him in the first half! Arbaaz Khan should have refrained from being in the movie. His character is perfunctory and his acting non-existent. Dimple Kapadia chooses to ham for some reason, while all others are pretty much sidelined. I liked the cameos by a couple of havaldars and the camera-guy tho. They were hilarious! Music is really good and sounds so much better on screen. Song picturization is an ace and pretty much makes up for their abrupt placement. Of course, Munni is the best of the lot and simply sets the screen on fire! Malaika, the foot-tapping beat, the wtf lyrics and Salman's antics make it a truly paisa-vasool number! Cinematography is brilliant and technically, the film has a lot of finesse. Dialogues are very well-written for the most part and Salman gets most of the good one-liners and does a mighty fine job!

Ultimately though, its just Salman Khan who saves this movie from being a complete mess. Take him out of the equation and what you have left is nothing but incoherent hoo-haa and unbelievable sequences. While the first half is pretty much saved by stylishly choreographed actionsequences and Salman-Sonakshi's innocent love story, the second half packs quite a punch with Salman and Sonu Sood's constant bickering and, along with Munni and the climax, ensures you leave the cinema hall satisfied and high on adrenaline!

So, is Dabangg a good film or bad? Well, who cares as long as you are hooting, whistling and cheering for 2.5 hrs in the theatre, for that's what no-holds-barred, all-stops-pulled-out entertainment is all about, aint it? :)

P.S. : The marketing team has done an amazing job of cutting solid promos which ensured tremendous buzz and enabled Dabangg to break 3 Idiots first day figures all across India. And while the movie may not match up in substance or even commercially in the long run to 3I, it is a fine marketing effort nevertheless!

Missing India! bcz of Wanted!

This is the first time i am missing India...and u kno y...bcz Wanted has opened to rave reviews...and I wanna watch it with my Salman-fan frnds!! Man, an actioner frm Sallu aftr such a long time (Garv was the last one i guess, and it ws mediocre, to put it mildly!) with some rocking music and dances, and m not in India at the time! wat a tragedy...hope to catch it at the 1-hour drive away Naz theatre soon if i find some1 to accompany me...els gotta watch it ol this weeknd...

I wanna Jalwa!

Hello...

A pretty decent adaption of a pretty decent book, enacted by pretty decent actors who come up with some pretty decent performances, under pretty decent direction...Go in after reading all the movie-bashing reviews and u mit even feel lik u hv seen a very good movie :) A rare case whr bad reviews actually help the movie... :)

Check out what Chetan Bhagat himself has to say abt Hello...