Bodyguard - Movie Review

Disclaimer: I really loved Dabbang, enjoyed Wanted and did not like Ready.

Walking into Bodyguard I knew I was in for another masala, Salman Khan movie. The movie trailer promised a different love story packed with action. In a nutshell, the movie delivered what it promised; there was definitely a love story and abundance of action!

Bodyguard is the third Salman Khan film to be released on Eid, after Wanted in 2009 and Dabbang in 2010. However the movie failed to evoke the awesomeness of Dabbang, despite having similar over-the-top, logic-defying action sequences and story proceedings. The twist in the story was indeed out-of-the-blue but not life changing. It played along conveniently in the culmination of the film.

Having said that, the principal actors have all performed well; with Salman Khan doing what only he can. I love his expression and his innocence in the movie. Of course the innocence factor was over-stretched and got to the height of dumbness in the climax (which I shall not spoil).

Kareena was strictly alright; her outfits were interesting and wearing by a normal girl. Hazel Keech, as Kareena’s best friend, makes a confident debut and even outshines Kareena in a few scenes. Aditya Pancholi used his eyes (was he wearing coloured lenses?) to emote which is a rarity for villains in Hindi movies.

The new funny man side-kick debutant, Rajat Rawail, worked in parts but mostly failed to tickle. He has a long way to reach comedy success of likes of Paresh Rawal and Johnny Lever. Also the fat-man and dwarf/ small people jokes fall flat.

The songs in the movie aren’t chart-busting, with the exception of I Love You and title track Bodyguard. It was a pleasure to hear I Love You singer, Ash King, sing live. He has an amazing voice and is definitely a singing talent to watch out for.

Despite all the shortcomings, Bodyguard is a true entertainer and Salman Khan would most certainly pull off another Eid blockbuster release and complete a hat trick! Also Doc Martins will definitely see their sales rise after having Salman Khan prominently wear them in the movie.

Rang Rasiya (Colours of Passion)- Movie Review

Source: http://j.mp/mFvD7K

The second day of the London Indian Film Festival 2011 (LIFF) featured the screening of the Ketan Mehta movie, Rang Rasiya, at the Victoria and Albert museum.

Rang Rasiya is a movie that tells the story of the Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma and his tryst with art, science and technology against the backdrop of religious and conservative British India. Over 500years later the issues tackled in the movie are still pertinent; MF Hussain and the uproar over his art. With many non-Indian characters and being set in British India, the movie is in both English and Hindi giving it a more realistic touch.

Rang Rasiya tells a beautiful story of an unsung Indian hero but as one viewer said, “the movie succeeds in conveying a message but through a torturous journey”. The movie starts off abruptly with many confusing characters; especially that of the wife and Kamini. Fortunately the despite the abruptness the story is not lost. The songs are lovely but don’t do justice to the on-goings of the movie. A song-less movie with a melodious background score would have worked better.

The movie belongs to Randeep Hooda who does an exceptional job as the great Indian painter. He acts convincingly and adds life to the story. Only thing off might be him having a six-pack even in old age (I’m guessing the girls won’t mind). For the actresses, Nandana Sen and Ferena Wazeir do a good job. Ferena performs well in her role though I wish her character was better defined. Nandana Sen acts well and the scene where she breaks down stands out.

Rang Rasiya was completed 2 years ago and has been in the news since then about the controversial nudity scenes by Nandana Sen. This scene is one of the most beautifully and artistically shot scenes. In fact it almost looks like a painting. Kudos to Nandana Sen for taking this bold step, and Randeep Hoodda for complimenting her. Many movies claim to showcase “skin-show” artistically but Rang Rasiya is the only movie to fully embody that statement.

All in all, Rang Rasiya is a lovely movie which tells a wonderful story of India. Definitely worth a watch if only to watch the story of Raja Ravi Varma. The movie is expected to have a proper worldwide release in September 2011.

Movie trivia: There are 3 versions of the movie; an all Hindi version, an all English version and a mixed Hindi and English version

Delhi Belly- Movie Review

Source: http://j.mp/iK7goV

Disclaimer: I love Imran Khan, Aamir Khan Production movies and movies that are different

Delhi Belly had its world premiere last night on the opening night of the London Indian Film Festival 2011 (LIFF). Being part the PR team for LIFF I got to be at the opening night and watch the movie. And what a movie?! Delhi Belly delivers everything it promised and more; its raunchy, crude, hilarious and a real movie.

The movie is all about the 3 actors who were amazing. In fact Imran Khan was the one who seemed a little miss-cast for his role. However it was a slight thing and it didn’t take away from the awesomeness of the movie. Vijay Razz is fantastic as a villain and only adds to the story and movie. The movie is majorly in English and its interesting to hear the Indian actors deliver their English dialogues.

Delhi Belly is hilarious and the audiences responded to its humour greatly. Some scenes literally leave you gasping for breath! Of course the movie is filled with raunchy scenes and crude language. Some of these were too shocking even for UK audience. The dream scene at the wedding stands out for this. The movie does get predictive towards the end portions through the final scenes are really great. Also Aamir Khan’s “item” number is brilliant!

The movie doesn't have any song and the sound track is woven into the background score. This is refreshing and ensures that the story doesn't get disturbed.

All in all, the movie is a must watch though I strongly advice that don’t watch this movie with your family!!

Interesting trivia: Aamir Khan was approached to play the villain

Double Dhamaal- Movie Review

Source: http://j.mp/iM18KQ

Disclaimer: I enjoyed Dhamaal!

Double Dhamaal comes on the heels of the many recent Hindi movie sequels, which have not had the best track record. However the trailer and reviews made the movie sound promisingly funny. After the disastrous viewing of Always… kabhi kabhi I really hoping for a good comedy experience.

However Double Dhamaal was not as funny as it was being made out to be. It had its funny moments but they were few and far. The best scene was the imitation of Shah Rukh Khan being identified as that of a farm animal. The songs seemed forced and except for Jalebi Bai none of them were enjoyable. Mallika smoked in the song and danced well.

The boys acted well but Ritesh Deshmukh stood out, especially in his disguise as the wealthy Gujrati investor. Ashish Choudhary deserves special mention for his fantastic disguise as a hot female who funnily enough looked a lot like Neha Dhupia! For the girls, I preferred Mallika Sherawat as Kangana seemed to overact which made her look very uncomfortable and weird even.

All in all, the basic promise of out and out comedy was not fulfilled though the movie is watchable for light entertainment and definitely for the scene imitating Shah Rukh Khan.

Always…kabhi kabhi – Movie Review

Source: Bollywood Hungama http://i.indiafm.com/firstlook/akk1.jpg

Disclaimer: I love Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for those who said Always…kabhi kabhi was the new Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for today’s youths.

Always…Kabhi kabhi made me laugh a lot, not because it was funny but because it was so bad. The scenes, the dialogues, the situations and the issues in the movie were incredulous. The obvious tries to make the movie young and in tune with youths today was painful to watch.

The movie was filled with cringe-worthy lines and songs that were forced into the “story”. 2 of these painful lines were “Life ko experience karo google nahi” and “SMS kar raha hoga. Aaj kaal ke bacche tabhi saar jhukate hain”. There was even a song titled antenna!! I may not be the youth today but I am sure they have far better taste than what they movie offered them. The climax of the movie left me thinking “WTF” and I’m confident it wasn’t me alone who was wondering what was happening on the screen.

The movie had 4 debutant actors and each was worse than the other. They were all acting so randomly as if the movie was one very long audition process in which they forced expressions and emotions at whim and fancy regardless of the scene. Ali Fazal especially seemed inspired by Shah Rukh Khan but not in a good manner. Vijay Raaz was also totally a waste in the movie; what was his role, why was he in the movie?

All in all, the movie is perfect if you want to feel great about your normal life as the four characters in the movie have the most weird life and problems. Worst movie I have watched in a long time! I felt like I was being violated while watching the movie. God only knows why and how I sat through the whole movie... I should have walked out with the many viewers who started leaving 30min into the movie.