Love आज कल - A review

Now, this is a movie that was begging to be skewered. There was much hype about the film what with it being directed by Imtiaz Ali of Jab We Met fame. Jab I saw this film though, I felt it was quite a let-down. That's not to say it didn't have some good bits...they were few and far in between, is all.

Let me start at the beginning...rather what I assume to be the beginning. The first five minutes whizzed past so fast you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a trailer. Then ofcourse, it could just be that I was too thick to appreciate the plot. Saif (Jai) and Deepika (Meera) are on course to a break-up, I figured out...even before I knew they were together. However, instead breaking up the lame old way, they decide to celebrate it. A break up party is organized, ostensibly to show that they split up was mutual and so they can part on good terms. In true Bollywood style, that's when they realize how much they love each other though neither of them admits it. Enter, Rishi Kapoor, who catches Jai at this restaurant just after the break up. He recounts his tale of love to Jai, to express his views on the shallowness of love as professed by today's youth.

This sets the stage for a parallel storyline that progresses in a different timeline. It is Saif again who plays the role of a young Rishi Kapoor (Veer) complete with a turban and all. I felt it was a curious choice to cast Saif who nevertheless plays the part pretty well though he can't pull off an authentic Punjabi munda. His romantic interest is Harleen Kaur, a shy, demure punjabi kudi who is everything Veer is not. The story follows Veer's attempts to woo his love and the subtle, endearing romance that ensues. All the while though, there are only ishaaras and almost no talk. It was only after the movie that I discovered, why this part of the story was surprisingly devoid of dialogue...the lady was a Brazilian actress! You could easily be fooled into believing she is a typical Punjabi girl if no one told you otherwise.

To cut a long story short, Jai eventually realizes that his own love for Meera is not too different from what Veer describes. And hence the title...

The music for this film has been (ahem) composed by Pritam. I say composed as I don't yet know which part of the world these tunes were 'inspired' by. Don't get me wrong...he makes great music. Only, its not always entirely his own. There is a mix of both old and new in this movie with songs like Chor Bazaari (Neeraj Sridhar & Sunidhi Chauhan), Twist (Mostly Neeraj Sridhar and a motley group of singers) and Yeh Dooriyan (Mohit Chauhan). Neeraj Sridhar's voice is well suited to the kind of new age songs that he's given and the result is not too bad. Mohit Chauhan is always a pleasure to hear and he didn't disappoint this time either. As is the trend these days, to coerce spectators in to sitting down a little longer, you have the customary context-free song after the end. Ahun Ahun is a Punjabi folk like song with enough to keep everyone happy.

Coming to the actors, Saif was a bit disappointing in his main role as Jai. He sort of makes up for it with his portrayal of a young Veer. Deepika Padukone on the other hand manages to look pretty and does only that. There seemed to be absolutely no chemistry on-screen between Saif and Deepika somehow. In scenes when she's supposed to be talking to Saif, I couldn't help but think she was talking to the screen instead. Her dialogue delivery leaves a lot to be desired. Come to think of it, the dialogues themselves were quite absurd in some places. A case in point is when Meera's newly wedded husband discovers that she loves Jai the morning after their wedding. Meera insists she has to meet Jai and talk to him...her consolation to the poor soul is thus 'मैं तुमसे बाद में माफ़ी मांग लूंगी'!! Try as I might, I failed to understand the sentiment behind such a lame and insensitive statement. Rishi Kapoor as usual delivers a smooth performance as the present day Veer. This combination of him and Saif works quite well as it did in Hum Tum.

Love Aaj Kal is a movie you'll possibly like if you are a fan of either Saif or Deepika. If you like me, who's neither, you're likely to end up wishing you'd spent the money on a more worthwhile pursuit.

जोधा-अकबर (Jodha-Akbar)

जोधा-अकबर is Ashutosh Gowariker's latest chart buster that hit the screens this February. I had been to see it a couple of weeks ago with three of my colleagues, at a theatre here that traditionally screens a lot of Indian movies. Given my usual reluctance, I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of spending three precious hours of my weekend sitting in a dark room being assaulted by flashing pictures! To top it, the movie was set at some period long, long ago in Indian history when people weren't exactly known to burst out in spontaneous song and dance...I was sure it would be painfully dull and also historically inaccurate. Well, that was my initial scepticism anyway. One thing to look forward to was lunch, which was to be at an Indian restaurant called 'Bombay Grill' chosen for its proximity to the theatre complex. We set off in time to make it to the four O' clock show (there was a show every one hour!) and after tucking in some good punjabi food at the afore-mentioned place, arrived to find the parking lot crammed with desis' cars. That gave some hope...The movie couldn't be so bad after all! Or it could just be the initial craze to catch the movie first and being able to brag / crib all about it to everyone else who'd care to listen. As we were entering the main building, we spotted a colleague who was just driving off after seeing the noon show. 'Great movie. You should watch it', was what he said. Greatly heartened by this critical review, we proceeded to march in and buy our tickets. Fortunately, there wasn't much crowd at the counter as most of them were already waiting in line to get in. In typical Indian fashion (no disrespect intended :)), none of the queues were very distinct...it was just a big mass of humanity eager to barge in the moment the doors opened. All we could do was fall in behind some people whom we guessed would be headed towards the same screen as us. When we did make it inside, most of the seats at the back had already been occupied so that left us with seats in the second row - not the best place to be at a theatre. We'd have to crane our necks a bit to be able to see the whole length and breadth of the screen but all that was forgotten as the lights dimmed and it was showtime.

The movie starts off with a disclaimer that there have been many versions of the story surrounding princess Jodha (if that was indeed her name) and this movie was just one other version. Quite necessary, I thought, considering how this could draw a lot of flak from various religious quarters back in India. Then we hear the familiar voice of Amitabh Bachchan tracing the history of mughal rule in India from Babur to Humayun and thereafter Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar. Without delving too much into the story itself, much of which is common knowledge, I shall attempt instead to pick up parts of the movie and pen my thoughts on them.

This is a movie that definitely has to be seen on a large screen to appreciate it. The battle scenes are nicely picturized with all the ingredients to evoke Ooohs and Aaahs from the audience. There are huge armies on both sides peppered with their share of foot soldiers, horses and even elephants. The elephants though did seem a mite artificial though. Watching the armies from both sides converge on each other and the bloodshed that follows, I couldn't but help be reminded of the Brad Pitt starrer, Troy!

It is always refreshing to hear Urdu in a Hindi movie and Jodha Akbar was no exception. However, not everyone can manage to pull off dialogues in Urdu with equal elan. Hrithik Roshan, I felt, was found lacking in this department. Listening to him on screen, it seemed as though he was trying too hard to sound correct...it felt strained. To be fair to him, he does not have the kind of baritone, that for example Amitabh is gifted with. As a result, he almost ends up shouting (you can see the veins in his face standing out) in scenes when a forceful or serious message is to be conveyed. Aishwarya, on the other hand, speaks Hindi for the most part, what with her being a Rajput princess. Kulbhushan Kharbanda and the other old-timers don't leave much to complain about. Ila Arun as Maham anga, the prince's chief nurse, was, to me, one of the best performances in the film. In contrast to this is the character of Jalal's birth mother who could just not utter a simple sentence without giving the impression that she was reading out from a memorized script. Among the others is Sonu Sood, as Raja Sujamal, Jodha's rakhi brother, who has done a decent job of his role. Overall what was evident is that there are few good Urdu speakers left in Bollywood. Either that or the good ones did not get cast in this movie.

Given the magnitude and grandeur of the project, it was only fitting that the music be composed by the maestro A.R Rehman. Of late A.R's songs have seen a subtle shift in style and his score in this film only serves to re-inforce that feeling. 'Khwaja mere Khwaja' is a song that is set in the Sufi style and I can't think of any other music director among the current breed who could have composed such a number. It is wonderfully soothing with what could be called, a touch of the mystic to it. A.R himself has sung the main part of this song and it suits him incredibly well. I almost felt sorry for Hrithik who does a small twirl at the end of this song...that was the only chance he got to display his prowess at dancing! The other song that I liked immensely was "Kehne ko jashn-e-bahara hai" sung by Javed Ali. He was pretty much an unknown name till people heard this piece. I read someplace that he sang in the chorus for 'Kajra re' from Bunty aur Bubli before this. A.R has this incredible knack of being able to mine talented singers/musicians from the depths of Bollywood where they lie in wait for him to present to the world! Javed Ali's rendering of the Urdu lyrics is very good indeed and that adds a lot to the appeal of this number. Next is "Azeem-O-Shaan Shehenshah" which is sort of the peppy song in a movie that does not provide much scope for fast paced music. This song is packed with all kinds of sounds from swords slashing through the air to giant drums beating out an enticing rythym. Its probably not the kind of song you would hum to yourself but you would definitely want to hear it again and again. A.R uses the best vocalists in each genre and it is hardly surprising that he chose Sonu Nigam for 'In lamhon ke daman mein'. The mood of the song lends itself perfectly to the situation on-screen and Sonu's voice only makes it sound better. The only remaining song is 'Man mohana', a deeply devotional bhajan sung by Bela Shinde. At first I thought it was Alka Yagnik but as the song progressed, I could make out it wasn't her. Here's another unheard of voice who shines bright under the skillful direction of A.R. This particular song is a fine example of the great diversity in India...in which other country can you have a movie where a Sufi song is followed by a bhajan?! It happens only in India :).

Jodha-Akbar has its good points and not-so-good ones. Inspite of the latter, of which thankfully there are not too many, I liked the movie. It is definitely worth a watch and that too on a big screen. The rich colour and wide angle shots are just not pleasurable on a TV screen. All in all, a nice attempt at a movie what combines history with the romance of Bollywood! Go see it...

Gajini - Review!

You might all be surprised when I tell you guys this - I went to see Gajini on saturday! I kinda liked the movie, considering the fact that I hardly see any Tamil movies (that too in theatres!). It was sloppy in quite a few places, but on the whole the movie seems to have been very professionally done. Surya in his role as Sanjay Ramaswamy, has done a really good job and fits into his part quite well. The high point of the movie were the action scenes that were neatly choreographed. There are a few gory scenes, specially the one where the heroine (Asin) is clubbed on the head with a metal rod, but thankfully they are not too protracted.

As I said, there a few glitches that the movie it could have done without. There is one particularly silly dialogue where a police officer, upon seeing phone numbers tatooed on Sanjay Ramaswamy's body, remarks "All these numbers are in 10 digits . Must be cell-phone numbers!". Almost everyone in the theatre burst out in laughter on hearing that! There are a few more scenes in the film that don't make too much sense, but I guess I'll leave you guys to see them for yourselves!

Nayantara's character is totally senseless. She is initially shown as a shy medical student. Then comes this show where she's performing a dance routine and you wonder whether its the same person! The costumes border on vulgarity but fortunately they get more decent (relatively!) as the song moves on! The song is a total misfit in the movie and I wonder why they had it in the place. She does some pretty stupid things in the movie which I won't even comment on.

The other songs are pretty good with Kannviddithu Sopnam Kanden being the best. Bombay Jayshree is simply great in this song! The other song Oru Maalai is also quite nice. The background score throughout the movie is very good and suitably rendered according to the situation on-screen.

The story about Sanjay Ramaswamy and Kalpana (Asin) is very light-hearted and romantic. It seems pretty believable and genuine unlike some other stories. Surya looks really handsome and seems to have added some bulk for his role. All in all, I quite liked the movie. Most people here seem to share my sentiments 'cause tickets were and still are hard to come by. Shows are sold out for days together!