Movie Review: Ready

Starring: Salman Khan, Asin
Director: Anees Bazmee
Original Release Date: June 3, 2011

*No Spoilers*

The fact that it took me 3 attempts and a month and a half to finally finish Ready should probably tell you how this review is going to go. I began watching the movie knowing that it was probably going to be a one-man show by Salman Khan and knowing that Anees Bazmee films can be totally hilarious (No Entry, Singh is Kinng) or total duds (Thank You, Welcome) but I could still barely get through Ready.

Ready started off promising. It looked like a fun little light-hearted family comedy that was actually making me laugh. And "Character Dheela" is one of my favorite songs of the year (hey, Zarine Khan is kind of charming!). On top of that, Asin is always loveable. The fun ended there. And so did my ability to stay awake.

I really truly actually like mindless comedies. But there's a catch--they have to actually be funny. What started out as a cute family movie became unnecessarily complicated and tireless with pointless twists, turns, fights, and a needless amount of gunde (who actually looked more like jokers. Were those really dreads on that one guy?) The movie became tiresome way too quickly. Even the picturization of "Dhinka Chika" seemed to completely suck.

I really wouldn't be able to tell you what happened in the middle of Ready because I constantly found my attention wearing away as I daydreamed (probably about better movies) throughout a good portion of it. The film just dragged on and on and on and on...

Ready was strictly an ode to Salman Khan, and that also became old really really fast. Most movies with superstar actors tend to have some tributary elements, but this was so blatantly transparent that it was sickening. Just because you're a superstar doesn't mean you don't have to put in the effort of actually acting. Sorry, but Sallu's constant dialogue-baazi was thoroughly annoying. Those two-liner limericks made me want to shoot myself. I thought I was watching a movie--not reading couplets. Just sayin'.

On the whole, Ready just felt dated. This type of movie would probably fly in 1995, but there's a reason it went out of style. But maybe it's just me, considering that Ready was one of the highest grossing films ever. Yeah, I'm still scratching my head at that.

Ready was a waste of top-notch actors, a waste of good music, and a waste of life. The first half was watchable, and the beginning was actually good. Other than that, Ready was about two hours too long. The commercial success of the film was clearly just a result of Salman's superstar status. And the sad thing is, I don't think they were going for much more than that.

Final Verdict: 3/10

Shahrukh and Asin to star in a forthcoming film?

The Bollywood gossip mill is brewing with rumors that Shahrukh Khan and Asin will be seen opposite each other in Vishal Bhardwaj's next directorial venture. The movie is to be based on Chetan Bhagat's novel 2 States: The Story of My Marriage. Bhagat also wrote the books that inspired the failed 2008 film Hello and the mega-hit 2009 film 3 Idiots.

This would be great news, in my opinion! A Shahrukh-Asin pair would be lovely, considering she's an actress that was able to prove her superior screen capabilities with just one movie (Ghajini). But, alas, nothing has been confirmed so we can't get too excited just yet. Asin would potentially play the role of a South Indian girl who falls in love with a Punjabi guy (Shahrukh). Shahrukh playing a Punjabi? AWESOME. I could definitely use me another Veer Pratap Singh type character!

As you can see, unlike that atrocious Katrina-SRK pairing rumor, I actually hope this one is true. Asin is really making her way through the Khans, isn't she? ;)

Source: http://www.apunkachoice.com/content/article/sid100005429-asin_to_romance_shah_rukh_khan_in_2_states/

"Ready" Banks on "Dabangg"

A lot of the time, Bollywood film marketing strategies seem to be fairly transparent as they tend to simply ride on star power. But after reading this article I realized how unsettling it is when a producer or director actually admits it.

Ready is an upcoming entertainer starring Salman Khan and Asin. I already mentioned before that it seemed that Sallu's character was going to be similar to his character in Dabangg which could possibly lead him to a comfort zone from which he may rarely emerge. Clearly, the producers of Ready are aware of how marketable the success of Dabangg is, and are using it to their advantage as explicitly mentioned by co-producer Bhushan Kumar in the aforementioned article.

Really. REALLY? It's already clear that you're just banking on the success of Dabangg to market Ready, but to actually admit is almost...shameless. Apparently Kumar said: “We have no intention of taking Ready into a different direction. Dabangg used only Salman for it's marketing. He was everywhere. For Ready too we are following a similar formula.” UGH. Well, that explains the lack of Asin in the first look promos. 

No, but seriously. A lot of Bollywood films really do market the star power of the film in order to draw audiences in. But there's something to say about subtlety. While it is pretty bold of Kumar to admit the tactics used for Ready, they've made it so apparent in the entire publicity blitz surrounding the film that Kumar's words just seem kind of arrogant. Almost like, "Yeah. We're manipulating audiences. Because we can." 

I knew from the start that Ready was probably going to be similar to Dabangg. At least we all know for sure now. 


Source: http://www.apunkachoice.com/content/article/sid100005174-salman_khans_ready_rides_on_dabangg_magic/

Are you "Ready" for the first trailer?

The Desi twitterverse literally went ablaze when this official trailer for Salman Khan and Asin's Ready was released. The film is directed by Anees Bazmee (of No Entry, Singh is Kinng, etc.) and is being marketed as a comedy.

My first thought when I watched this promo: why do I feel like I'm watching a trailer for a late 90s movie? We've got dancing in the streets, (possibly) over-the-top comic relief provided by Paresh Rawal, the bashful heroine, and unrealistic actions scenes with a man with...dreads? Are those dreads? And let's not forget Salman's "dhamakedar" dialogues. This is all speculation from an under 2 minute trailer, of course.

I feel like, nowadays, the 90s-esque masala entertainers only truly work when they take a somewhat satirical form (think Om Shanti Om or Dabangg). Since Salman was in Dabangg and it was such a huge hit, I'm afraid he's going to stick to the same type of character or film in order to continue his success, especially after his failures with movies like Main Aur Mrs. Khanna and London Dreams. 

On the other hand, both Salman and Asin look great in the trailer! Sallu really looks young and fresh, especially for his age. Asin looks undeniably beautiful, and I'm excited to finally see more of her after Ghajini (let's not count London Dreams). I'm also looking forward to the music. Masala entertainers almost always have great music on their side, and judging from the promo, we should be getting a good batch of songs.

Ready will be ready for release on June 3, 2011 (haha, the "ready" puns really don't get old, do they?).