Ticket to Bollywood

Archive for October, 2007


Posted on October 29, 2007 - by Reema

Movie Review: Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

The thrashing this movie got surprised me. I couldn’t believe that a movie making machine like YRF could churn out so many consecutive bad films (minus CDI of course). After watching, I guess I kind of agree with the critics.

We all know the story by now. So I’ll just do a ‘good points vs. bad points’ type of review.

Good points:
- Rani and Konkona are fabulous actors, and they don’t disappoint here at all, even with a weak script. They shine throughout the movie, especially Konkona. She’s just such a joy to watch on screen.

- Kunal and Konkona’s chemistry. They’re very cute and comfortable with each other. Their scenes were the highlight of the movie (except for Kunal’s scene eating a burger. A big turnoff.)

- Jaya’s performance. She’s great as always. All the women in this one dominated.

Bad points:
- Abhishek. He was completely unnecessary. Thrown in just as a love angle for Rani, which wasn’t needed at all. You don’t understand how he falls in love so quickly, how he immediately accepts what Badki does for a living, etc.

- Badki’s friends in Mumbai. At least the lady. She pushes Badki towards the profession, rather than helping her get a good job. What kind of a friend is that?

- The songs. Each and every one of them was boring, and half of them were unnecessary. Especially the Kunal/Konkona and Abhishek/Rani songs. The last one at the party was a big enjoyable, but then ruined by the English.

- Rohan being Vivaan’s brother. Really, if Chutki and Vivaan are ready to get married, wouldn’t she have met his brother by now? It’s too convenient.

- Anupam’s reaction to Badki’s profession is too calm. An outburst would be the norm, which is what should have happened, even if he did understand why she did it.

- The evil brother and nephew. How does the cousin find out so quickly what Badki does, how much she charges, etc. Also, their backstory is resolved too quickly, with Rohan and Vivaan threatening them. They back down too quickly.

- The manager at the hotel Badki is at. He so willingly gives information to Chutki.

- The ending is too clichéd. Rohan accepting Badki so quickly, both couples getting married together.

The movie could have been much better. Badki’s new profession is just skimmed over, and barely shown. The bright spots in an otherwise dull movie are Konkona, Rani, and Jaya’s performances. We’ve come to expect more from Yash Raj. I wonder what’s happening. Maybe churning out movie after movie isn’t working for them anymore.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


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Posted on October 18, 2007 - by Reema

Movie Review: Bhool Bhulaiya

Before I begin my review on Bhool Bhulaiya, let me ask one thing. What genius decided that using half naked, booty shaking girls would be a good idea for a video of a title song that includes the words “hare ram hare ram, hare krishna hare ram”? I can’t understand what idiot would think it was in good taste.

Ok, getting that out of the way, BB could have been a great movie. It was touted as a comedy/thriller. I understand the thriller part, but the comedy part must have gotten lost somewhere in the mix. I didn’t see anything laughworthy. And if I did, I had already seen it in all the trailors.

Our main character is Akshay, of course. But amazingly, he doesn’t appear until an hour into the movie. An hour. I was shocked. But as you know it, once he’s on the scene, he never leaves. Completely in your face for the next hour and a half. I think I preferred the first hour.

The first half consists of the story with Shiney, Vidya, and the family. Not getting into details, because they’re all boring. Shiney and Vidya are married, and the mansion Shiney owns is supposedly haunted. But they insist on living there, so the whole family moves in with them. Ehh?

I must admit. Shiney and Vidya are very cute together. Though I still don’t see Shiney’s appeal. To me, he’s not all that goodlooking, and in this movie, he seemed to be high on something, especially when he first made his entrance. Too many Red Bulls?

The songs are nothing to write home about. I can’t even remember any of them.

The problem with the movie is it moves too slow. You get bored watching, waiting for something to happen. There are too many moments where you see someone walking down a hall or towards a door or something, and it seems like it takes them half an hour to get there.

And yes, believe it or not, Amisha is actually in this film. Though you wouldn’t believe it while watching it. She pops in here and there, and is gone again before you know it. Poor girl got her song cut out, which was rather nice. Guess all that non-acting caught up to her. Anyone else could have done her role.

The role players were quite good. Paresh Rawal is always great, Rajpal seemed wasted in his role. The others were good as well.

The end isn’t satisfying either. Akki’s suddenly fallen in love with Amisha, and Vidya doesn’t question anything about what’s happened to her, she just simply accepts it. No reaction, no nothing.

Say all you want about Akki, but the real star of this show is the one and only Vidya Balan. Sure, she glides through the three-fourths of the movie, but that last quarter belongs solely to her. She’s simply amazing. Scary even. Major props to her for saving this bland, boring movie.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


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Posted on October 7, 2007 - by Reema

Karan Johar - Love him or hate him?

Since there’s not much going on in Bollywood at the moment (other than the Shahid-Kareena breakup, which I don’t care to talk about. By the way, Shahid, I’m available.), I thought I’d talk about our favorite whipping boy, Karan Johar, or as I like to call him, K-Jo.

I don’t know what to think of K-Jo. He is a good director, I’ll give him that. But sometimes I think he tries too hard. He wants to please everyone, and in doing that, forgets to please his audience. He knows SRK is a given in his movies, so he neglects his characters as well, relegating him to the backdrop, and letting another star take the thunder.

I’m scared for his next movie. Tentatively titled ‘My Name is Khan’, it supposedly reunites Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol (please wait a moment as my head explodes). He calls it a ‘love story with a subtle message’. That scares me. “Subtle”? Does Karan know the meaning of the word? I get the uneasy feeling that he’s banking heavily on the fact that he’s brining Shah Rukh and Kajol back together again, and he’ll let his screenplay/script slip a bit. Or, he’ll try way too hard to please us this time after KANK, that he’ll totally miss the point.

Especially if he’s thinking about taking on the backdrop of 9/11. This movie can go horribly wrong if he doesn’t handle this well. So many people were affected by it, included many Indians. Him being the kind of director he is, and the way he handled adultery in KANK, you can see why I’m worried.

Though he does seem to see what went wrong in KANK. Hopefully, he can have someone behind him, like his father was before, to catch him before he makes those mistakes. I hope he works this one out, because Shah Rukh and Kajol reuniting is something that lots of people have been waiting for.

Oh, and Karan? Bring back the brilliance of the bangle scene before Suraj Hua Maddham, and the gazebo scene from KKHH. We love you for those.


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