Movie Review: Luv Ka The End

Starring: Shraddha Kapoor, Taaha Shah
Director: Bumpy
Original Release Date: May 6, 2011

*No Spoilers*

Yes, you read that right. The director of this film was someone named...Bumpy. I have no idea who he (or she?) is, but I digress...

Luv Ka The End was the first production of Y-Films, a subsidiary of Yash Raj Films which caters to younger audiences. Because of the horrible reviews and the cheesy look and feel of Y-Films in general, I went into this with really, really low expectations.

This film is formulaic, cheesy, and the complete opposite of "deep" or "moving." It really has nothing new to offer--especially to an NRI viewer. But you know what? I actually enjoyed it! Sure, Luv Ka The End didn't explore some new unfound territory, but for a Bollywood movie it was certainly quite refreshing.

Let's backtrack. The movie is about a sweet girl named Rhea (Shraddha Kapoor) who basically gets duped by her creep of a boyfriend Luv (Taaha Shah). With the help of her friends Jugs and Sonia, Rhea plots revenge against Luv which all comes to a head on her 18th birthday at a big college party. As you can probably tell, the movie did take some inspiration from Hollywood films like John Tucker Must Die and even Mean Girls.

There were a couple specific things I liked about Luv Ka The End. First of all, the characters actually spoke Hindi. I know, shocking. The movie didn't follow the atrocious trend of showcasing India's youth only speaking really unnatural English. Also, the characters actually looked their age. Not too young, and not too old. Rhea looked 18, not 25 like in most American shows/movies I'm used to. Lastly, the movie portrayed youth and sex in a pretty realistic manner. Rhea wasn't afraid of putting her "izzat" on the line at the thought of losing her virginity at 18 years old. The movie even had a gay character. Sure, the situation was mostly comedic, but so was the movie.

Performances by the lead characters were only okay for me--nothing too memorable. Taaha is just really good looking. I'm not sure how I feel about Shraddha yet and if she really has what it takes to be an A level actress. I'd have to see her in a less juvenile role to be able to make a real judgement. The performance that did stand out to me was that of Sreejita De who played Sonia, Rhea's ditzy friend. She was funny, natural, beautiful, and someone I'd like to see more of in the future.

I'm not even gonna pretend the music of Luv Ka The End was any good. Although the "Mutton" song had me laughing out loud.

If you're looking for a fun, lighthearted flick then this movie's for you. I was impressed by the modernity of Luv Ka The End in terms of the themes it decided to explore (teen sex, partying, drinking, etc.) If nothing else, watch this movie for Ali Zafar's cameo at the end!

Final Verdict: 6/10

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

Movie Review: Chalo Dilli

Starring: Lara Dutta, Vinay Pathak
Director: Shashant Shah
Original Release Date: April 29, 2011

*No Spoilers*

For me, Chalo Dilli was the surprise of the season. I wasn't expecting much from what seemed to be unexciting actors and a subpar storyline but what resulted was a light-hearted entertainer that kept the viewer fully engaged throughout.

Chalo Dilli revolves around hi-shi advertising executive Mihika Banerjee's (Lara) misfortunes as she tries to get to Delhi after a rerouted flight. She meets the annoying yet well-intentioned Manu Gupta (Vinay) who ends up becoming her "chipku" counterpart throughout the journey. What ensues is various mishaps putting Mihika in uncomfortable situations, unrealistic situations, and plain unfortunate events.

Lara's character, Mihika, didn't require much--it's nothing new to play an uptight, high class, modern woman. Somehow, Lara still manages to make the character likeable by delivering a favorable performance. Vinay truly shines in his performance. His comic timing was almost perfect causing multiple laugh out loud moments. The two were able to carry the entire film almost solely on their shoulders, which is a great feat. It was also fun to see Akshay Kumar in a small cameo.

The music was simply okay. The title track is actually quite catchy. Yana Gupta's item song "Laila O Laila" was a big disappointment. I really enjoyed the audio of the song (it grew on me after a while) and was excited to see the picturization of the song. Even for an item song, it was just trashy. Yana simply shook her goods and stripped (Seriously, Zeenat? You're offended by "Mit Jaaye Gham" but not this?). On top of that, a significant amount of the song was chopped off. Bad move for an item song.

For a comedy, Chalo Dilli was actually funny--which is refreshing. It did drag on for a bit (the portion with the bad guys and the jeep seemed unnecessary) but was overall able maintain it's comic pace. The movie also did a nice job of wrapping up literally every character's story.

Within the goofiness of the film was also a lesson in appreciating both rural and urban surroundings and stopping to enjoy the small joys in life. Chalo Dilli is a small gem hidden within a slew of mainstream blockbusters. Check it out if you're in the mood to be entertained by a simple, but sweet film.

Final Verdict: 8/10

Movie Review: Dhamaal

Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Jaaved Jaffrey, Aatish Chaudhary
Director: Indra Kumar
Original Release Date: September 7, 2007

* No Spoilers*

In anticipation of the upcoming release Double Dhamaal, I finally got around to watching its 2007 predecessor Dhamaal. Clearly inspired by a number of Hollywood films, Dhamaal isn't necessarily an "original" story. But because it's all about execution, I don't think that matters in this case.

You really have to be in the mood for a faltu slapstick comedy like Dhamaal. If you're looking for classy cinema with award worthy performances, then keep on looking because Dhamaal is mean to be a purely fun flick. And, for the most part, it succeeds in achieving that goal. The film essentially about a competitive quest for treasure--and all the crazy things that happen during that journey. The story seems simple and uninnovative. Yet, somehow, I found myself laughing the entire way through!

The first half of the movie is definitely better than the second, as the film seems to drag on a bit after a while. It was still pretty funny, but a lot of the plot twists seemed to exist only for the sake of making the movie longer, which can get a bit tiring to watch. At the same time, the fact that the "race for the gold" is dragging on because of the stupidest obstacles, becomes funny in and of itself. The second half of the film was also focused on the individual races of each of the characters. It seemed that unequal distribution of screen time to each of the characters made it a bit difficult to keep track of everyone, adding to the tediousness of this part of the movie.

Like I said, this movie isn't one full of amazing performances. No one particularly stood out to me as the "funniest" or most memorable, but everyone did a fair job. Jaaved Jaffrey's character, Maanav, was probably the most annoying, despite the fact that he did manage to get a few laughs out of me. At almost 50 years old, I think Jaaved is too old and mature to play these childish characters (Maanav is the dumb one that talks with a lisp and wears overalls that look like they're from Osh Kosh B'Gosh), and his tendency to overact doesn't help that. Sanjay Dutt's comedic skills are wasted in the film and he's easily forgettable.

The interesting thing about Dhamaal was the lack of a heroine as well as the lack of songs--two things that are usually typical of slapstick Indian comedies. It was kind of refreshing that a side love story wasn't at all present in the movie, or that we're not seeing the main actors constantly going gaga over some bombshell babe. The movie just stays focused on the absurdity at hand. The movie has a couple of songs at the beginning, but nothing interrupts the flow of the film afterwards. The songs are not memorable. Or so I thought until I realized "Dekho Dekho Dil Yeh Bole" has been stuck in my head for the past few days.

Overall, Dhamaal is a fun movie that is strictly time pass, but better than most Indian comedies of this type. Interestingly, the movie ended up even having a moral at the end, which was surprising. I went in with low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised at how funny it actually was. Would I watch it again? Probably not anytime soon. But I do recommend you watch it at least once when you're in the mood for a good laugh (catch it for free on YouTube!). All of the loose ends were tied up by the end of the movie, so there's no clear indication for what the sequel will be about. But I'm interested to see what Double Dhamaal will have in store.

Final Verdict: 7/10

"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?).

Movie Review: Tees Maar Khan

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif
Director: Farah Khan
Original Release Date: December 24, 2010

*No Spoilers*

One thing about Akshay Kumar movies is that you never know what you're in for. Although Akshay is currently the highest paid actor in Bollywood, his films are either a complete hit, or a complete miss. Let's just say that I knew this film was doomed from the opening credits with the title track featuring an incredibly creepy baby-in-the-womb dance sequence. I was left horrified from the outset.

A remake of the Italian film After the Fox (1966), Tees Maar Khan is an utter disaster. The story lacked originality, with the second half of the film being largely reminiscent of the 2009 flick Billu Barber. Now, I'm a strong believer in the idea that a movie doesn't need to be original in order to be a success as long is it's well-made and entertaining. This movie is neither of those things. Marketed as a slapstick comedy, Tees Maar Khan just wasn't funny. At all. Akshay's one-liners had almost no comedic effect, his three "sidekicks" in the film were just plain annoying, and the "Johri Brothers" offered failed attempts and comedic relief. This movie tried really hard to be funny, but reverted to sheer buffoonery (think 1990s Govinda gone wrong) as an excuse for humor, making the entire film seem like a cheap comedy--minus the comedy.

As for acting, there weren't any memorable performances in the film. Akshay did a decent job and fulfilled his role as the careless conman Tabrez Mirza Khan adequately. Akshaye Khanna's cameo was interesting, but the role seemed beneath him. I will say that Katrina Kaif's character was a perfect fit. She played a ditzy aspiring actress who does nothing but overact--no role could be more true to life, don't you think?

Shameless attacks on Katrina aside, she did contribute to the one bright spot of the film-- Sheila ki Jawani. This item number, with all its glitz and glamor, lives up to the colossal hype surrounding it. The music is upbeat and catchy, the lyrics are memorable, and the choreography is impeccable. On top of that, Katrina looks simply ravishing with a body to die for. I would have liked to see more expression in her face, but the sheer spectacle of the song itself made up for that. Wallah re Wallah is also a memorable song, with a special appearance by Salman Khan being the cherry on top.

All in all, save yourself some time by watching Sheila ki Jawani on YouTube, and skipping Tees Maar Khan all together. Farah Khan attempted to make another formulaic masala film, which do usually work, but this one just doesn't leave a mark and is rather disappointing.

Final Verdict: 1/5 stars