A twist in the tale

Now this is a story Jeffrey Archer would have been proud of. I must admit I went into Kahaani expecting a good movie - a deep, meaningful film with great performances - and came out getting a taut, riveting thriller that is hard to second guess! And yes, it had great performances too. Giving anything out about the movie and its story will be a gross disservice to those who havent seen it yet, so lets just focus on the other aspects.

Kahaani has a great story, which ties up almost all loose ends and manages to be totally convincing. Yes, there can be one or two minor issues you may have with the story (I have a couple, hit me up if you want to get into a discussion), but those are inconsequential when compared to the masterful direction by Sujoy Ghosh. This guy had lost his direction (no pun intended!) with the terrible money-waster Aladin a few years after starting out brightly with Jhankaar Beats, a deliciously fun film with great music, and Home Delivery, a movie that bombed but also one I enjoyed in parts for its superfun spoofy format. He is back on track with Kahaani and I am eagerly looking forward to what he comes up with next.

All the actors are in great form, not the least of them Vidya Balan, fresh from the success and accolades earned for The Dirty Picture (which I found a tad overrated). She gives a fine, controlled performance and barring for a couple of out of place laughs and smiles, she carries the film on her firm shoulders. Nawazuddin Siddique is real as IB officer Khan. But the show is stolen by Saswata Chatterjee in the role of Bob Biswas. He is killer! Technically, the cinematography and editing are apt and the background score fits the mood. The songs are not used much but wisely used wherever they are used.

In the end, Kahaani is a work of a master director. If movies like Johnny Gaddar and Samay are your cup of tea, Kahaani is an exotic chai you shouldnt miss.

The Busty Picture

Cleavage, boobage and thunder thighs - the life of an erstwhile silver-screen temptress is told through as many body parts as possible and while that in itself is not an issue, the corny template-ish treatment definitely is, and that is what made me walk out from the theatre un-moved after the movie ended. The premise is interesting, and so is the acting, but what kills this movie is the Madhur Bhandarkar-ish treatment which makes it a very un-entertaining, long drawn and unrelatable saga of make-believe pathos.

That Silk is played by Vidya Balan with loads of courage and spunk helps the movie a lot. Supporting her ably are brilliant actors like Nasseeruddin Shah, as a lecherous superstar and Emraan Hashmi as a I hate you (like I love you) arty director. And although both do a good job, their characters are half-baked because the director is in a hurry to pack an entire lifetime of the actress and wants to do it hurriedly when not required, while taking his time when totally unnecessary. The movie begins well, but loses its way soon after the intermission and goes totally haywire by the time it ends. Its not a particularly bad movie - the over-the-top dialogues and Vidya Balan ensure that much. But it makes the one cardinal sin that no movie should make - it gets boring very quickly and stays that way till the end. And ultimately, it is so busy focussing on other stuff that it forgets giving enough footage to invoking sympathy for the actress and her feelings.

I know this movie got great reviews and has raked in a lot of moolah, and I am happy to see it do that. If only we had a more heartfelt film with less weirdness like that forced cabaret dance-off and the silly red saree metaphor, it would have felt much better. Alas, the year has pretty much ended the way it began with No One Killed Jessica - another brilliant idea gone all ho-hum due to less-than-able direction and screenplay.

Ganda mazaak hua aitbaar....

Amit Trivedi delivers again and how! Although his latest album NOKJ is no Aisha or Dev D, it still is in a class of its own. I have a project due tomorrow, which I should be working on right now, so lemme get down to business straight away.

Dilli Dilli : Undoubtedly the heart and soul and beat of the album! Pulsating would be an understatement for this rollicking track which has spirited vocals by Tochi, Shriram Iyer and Aditi Sharma. The "d-d-d-d-d-d" hits you like a ton of bricks every single time. Lyrics are earthy and blend amazingly well with the brilliant guitar riffs. Its not even Jan 2011 yet, and I am gonna go out on a limb here and say this is sure to be the track of the year 2011.

Aali Re : Sung by as many as 8 singers (yeah! you read that right! 8! ), Aali re will probably sound really irritating the first time you hear it...It did to me...But rest assured, it is one of the most "mooh-phat" tracks we have heard in Hindi music till date. Amitabh Bhattacharya weaves magic with acidic words and phrases which sting and yet manage to touch your senses - of humor and otherwise. Might turn out to be the most unconventional party track ever if promoted well!

Aitbaar : Vishal Dadlani rocks the rock-ish Aitbaar, which is slightly reminiscent of Nayan Tarse in terms of music arrangements and resembles Zehreeley from Rock On! in terms of vocals, but again manages to stand tall on its own. Lyrics again are caustic and brilliant!

Dua : Starts with some lilting work on the keyboard, and slowly but surely rises to move. Newbie Meenal Jain shines while Amitabh Bhattacharya changes gears to give us some nice lyrics, and also pitching in as one of the three chorus singers. As mentioned before, the song rises from a melody to an anthem, much like Khoon Chala from RDB. The eventual effect is inspiring and exhilarating at the same time.

Yeh Pal : Sung by Shilpa Rao, Yeh Pal has that quality which keeps you gripped to the track inspite of being slightly slow. The instrumental piece in the latter half is particularly well arranged. Something about this song struck me as Rahman'ish, not sure what. But another different and difficult composition that cannot be classified into any genre.

The first promo caught my eye like a spicy Mexican hottie or like an underdog startup which comes out of nowhere to capture 100,000 hits in a few days of launch. The audio has definitely lived up to expectations and the following promos have shown a glimpse of what lies in store. I must confess I have never been a fan of Rani Mukherjee's histrionics but this definitely looks like her comeback movie. That's good news because its been a while since we have seen an actress pack a punch on-screen. As much as I like the long-legged Deepika and the cute Kat, I would rather watch some good acting than over-hyped Sheilas on-screen.

Looks like 2011 is gonna start with a BANG! To more issue-based movies and more Rajkumar Guptas! And of course, more Amit Trivedis and Amitabh Bhattacharyas!

Kismat Konnection...

The movie: Nothing much to write home about...
But Shahid Kapoor rocks!!! :)