When Goa first hosted the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2004, it seemed there was no escaping Bollywood and its glamour.

Vidya Balan, Salman Khan, and a host of Bollywood stars were part of the event.

It led to vehement protests from delegates and guests at the festival who felt “unnecessary importance” was being given to popular cinema.

Over the years, organisers have tried to reduce the influence of Bollywood on the festival, saying they wanted to concentrate on “serious cinema”.

Yet we unfailingly see a Bollywood star inaugurating the festival, its premieres taking place and references being made to India’s most popular export at every stage.

Festival organisers admit that there is no escaping Bollywood, but say they have to maintain a balance. Where that balance lies, is something that most film lovers still struggle to answer.

As someone who has attended the festival for the last five years, I know that a lot of people who want to see “serious” cinema are the first ones to complain when there are no stars or red carpets taking place.

Should Bollywood be a part of “serious cinema”? Can a harmonious balance be achieved?

If you watched Kabir Khan’s “New York” this summer, you won’t find much novelty in Rensil D’Silva’s “Kurbaan”. The storyline is pretty much the same, except for a few cosmetic differences.

There is an educated, suave man living a double life as a terrorist, his beautiful wife who doesn’t know about his identity and the “third man” who tries to help the family.

However, D’Silva still manages to draw you into his story, thanks to some taut moments, a fast-paced first half, and some slick packaging.

Kareena Kapoor plays Avantika, a New York professor who falls in love and gets married to colleague Ehsaan Khan (Saif Ali Khan).

They buy a house in an Indian neighbourhood and on their first night there, are introduced to their neighbours, a group of conservative Muslims — who seem to be hiding something.

Avantika soon realises she has to make a choice between her marriage and what is right.

She meets Riyaz Masood (Viveik Oberoi), a reporter with a local channel who helps her expose the truth, but they both find they are pawns in a larger game.
The film maintains a tight pace in the first half but slackens in the second, when all the surprises in the story seem to die out.

Also, D’Silva hardly dwells on the relationship between Ehsaan and Avantika, when that could have been the main draw of the film.

The dialogue is unimaginative in places, and so are the character sketches. Saif’s character comes across as half-baked and we never see why he made the transition from an ordinary man into a terrorist.

There are good points however — the few confrontation scenes between Ehsaan and Avantika are taut and the chemistry is crackling. Also, even though the director does oversimplify the themes of Islamic fundamentalism and jihad, the film does make some pertinent points which hit home.

Of the performances, Saif Ali Khan is stranded with a badly written role that doesn’t allow him to explore the character much. Kareena Kapoor does well, playing the part of the trapped wife to perfection. Viveik Oberoi’s character demanded that he be understated, instead the actor goes for over-the-top acting, thus ruining the effect.

“Kurbaan” is a good one-time-watch.

Cyclone Phyan may have scared the wits out of Mumbaikars but it certainly provided a good enough platform to director Kunal Deshmukh for his film “Tum Mile”.

The rain scenes in the film and its reference to a similar tragedy could have hit home if it had been made compellingly. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen.

The film, a love story set in the backdrop of the 2005 Mumbai floods, could have been India’s first “disaster” film but settles for a long-drawn-out unoriginal plot with sporadic shots of rain and people shouting “mujhe bachao”.
Emraan Hashmi and Soha Ali Khan play Akshay and Sanjana, former lovers who meet on a flight to India on July 26, 2005, the day when Mumbai went under water.

Akshay is a brooding artist who also waits tables at a café in Cape Town. Sanjana, on the other hand, is a journalist with a rich father.

Their story is told in flashback, even as both Sanjana and Akshay struggle for survival in the rain.

Unfortunately, it is the flashback which takes up more screen time than the tragedy itself, which would have provided a far more interesting backdrop.

There are hardly any exciting moments and the special effects are tacky. Both Hashmi and Khan aren’t able to muster up the intensity required for their roles and don’t have much chemistry going.

In the end, this film ends up a soppy love story rather than a racy disaster film. Take a life jacket along to save yourself.

You hear the words Rajkumar Santoshi and comedy in one sentence and you immediately think — “Andaz Apna Apna”.

Fifteen years later, Santoshi is back with another comic caper, this time starring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.  But if you are expecting another “Andaz Apna Apna”, you will be sorely disappointed.

This film has almost nothing going for it and if it weren’t for some funny moments in the first half and the brilliant comic timing of Ranbir Kapoor, it would have sunk into oblivion.

Ranbir plays Prem Shankar Sharma, a loveable but good-for-nothing young man who runs something called a “Happy Club” (the purpose of this club is unclear).

He meets Jenny (Katrina Kaif), falls in love and spends the film’s first half wooing her. This is the half that is funny in parts and will make you laugh.
Unfortunately, it is all downhill from there.

Jenny, it turns out, is in love with Rahul (Upen Patel with an atrocious accent) but cannot marry him because Rahul’s father is a politician afraid of losing ‘Hindu’ votes if his son marries a Christian. Our filmmakers are inventing newer obstacles in the path of love.

So Prem puts aside his “prem” and sets about helping Jenny get hers. The second half has some funny moments, like the scene between Prem’s parents, but otherwise the script wears thin.

“Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani” has some really shoddy editing and awkward dialogues. Upen Patel’s accent makes it hard to understand anything he says, and even when you do understand, he delivers emotional dialogues in such a deadpan manner you wonder whether he understood them in the first place.

Katrina Kaif is pleasing on the eye and manages some comic expressions but the real star is Ranbir Kapoor. He has such a screen presence and brilliant comic timing you cannot look away from the screen even during the most inane scenes.

It is the mark of a star to be able to stand out among mediocrity and indeed Kapoor is the only reason anyone should watch this film. This is really his story.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I rented a DVD of Frank Darabont’s “The Shawshank Redemption” last weekend, watching this landmark film for the umpteenth time. So when I went in to watch “Jail”, expectations were high.

Obviously, Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Jail” is not a patch on Andy and Red’s story but it doesn’t even qualify as a gripping entertainer, mainly because of a sloppy script and characters who might as well have been caricatures.

“Jail” follows Bhandarkar’s unique formula of putting the spotlight on a particular milieu (like fashion, page 3, bar girls and corporates) and exposing the “truth”.

In this case, he attempts to depict India’s justice and prison system, the corruption that prevails and the thousands who are trapped within.

Neil Nitin Mukesh plays Parag Dixit, a young, successful executive who becomes an unwitting participant in a narcotics case and is arrested. He is sent to judicial custody, despite pleas that he is innocent and begins life as an undertrial in jail.

Manoj Bajpai plays Nawab, a prisoner who befriends Parag and tries to guide him in an overcrowded, under managed jail. Most of the film is a string of incidents, with half- baked comments on the jail system, the judicial process and half-a-dozen social evils.

None of them sound convincing because Bhandarkar doesn’t make an attempt to keep the characters real.

The dialogue is over the top with examples like “the first night in jail is like the night of a bride’s wedding — no matter how much you try, you can never sleep.”

Also, none of the actors bring any conviction to their roles. Manoj Bajpai’s character could have been developed more, but he is stuck with a role that involves looking serious and serving the jailor tea.

Neil Nitin Mukesh is the real failure in this film because he brings zero conviction and believability to his role. He is awkward, lacks any real expressions and is unable to carry this film.

“Jail” is one sentence you want to avoid.

Sujoy Ghosh’s ‘Aladin’, a film that attempts to give a twist to the classic fairy tale, starts off well enough.

The protagonist is Aladin Chatterjee, an unassuming young man (Riteish Deshmukh), who is orphaned at a young age.

His name is his nemesis as he is constantly being bullied into rubbing lamps by his friends. In the course of time Aladin falls in love with Jasmine, the college beauty, but is too shy to take the romance any further.

All that changes when he is given a lamp as a birthday gift. This lamp is indeed magic and a genie appears when he rubs it.

Unlike the lore of Baghdad, Aladin Chatterjee’s genie is ‘Genius’ (Amitabh Bachchan) and calls the master of the lamp “bro”.

Genius tells Aladin that he can grant him three wishes but things have to move quickly because he is close to retirement.

In the meanwhile the ‘Ringmaster’ (Sanjay Dutt) is looking for the lamp. So far so good.

Ghosh decides to concentrate on the romance of Jasmine and Aladin and inserts songs and dream sequences that have no bearing on the narration.

The special effects in the film provide the backbone to what could have been a thrilling, magical ride, but Ghosh loses control mid way and delays the confrontation and resolution for so long that you lose interest.

The film wavers in the second half and some gaping holes in the script are exposed.

I watched the film with children and while most of them enjoyed the first half, their restlessness was telling during the second.

Of the cast, Deshmukh impresses but newcomer Jacqueline Fernandes does not. Amitabh Bachchan as Genius is delightful for the most part but Sanjay Dutt doesn’t quite manage to put fear in your heart as the villain.

This could have been quite a magical ride, but ultimately it turns out to be rather unbearable.

One of my favourite films from 2008 was Abhishek Kapoor’s ‘Rock On’, the story of four rock band members who have a bitter fall out only to regroup years later.

It was a coming of age story that managed to stay in my heart for a while.

Vipul Shah’s ‘London Dreams’ has a similar storyline and a much larger scale and tone. Unfortunately, what it has in terms of budget and scale, it lacks in terms of heart.

The story revolves around two friends - Manjeet (Salman Khan) and Arjun (Ajay Devgan) - who grow up in Punjab’s Bhatinda.

Even as a child, Arjun is driven by an all consuming passion to make it big in music.

He dreams of having a concert at the Wembley stadium in London and works with single minded dedication towards that goal.

Manjeet on the other hand, has no ambition in life and prefers idling away time spying on girls to learning music.

After his father’s death, Arjun goes to London with his uncle and tries to make it as a singer.

On a visit to his hometown, Arjun hears Manjeet sing and decides to take him back to London and make him a part of his band.

The inevitable (in films) soon happens, and it is clear that Manjeet is a better singer than Arjun.

Angered by Manjeet’s success, Arjun vows to get his fame back.

The film is replete with sweeping scenes of rock concerts and is shot all over Europe. Shah tries to lend an epic, grand feel to his film, but is not supported either by the script or the performances. The music also doesn’t stay with you.

Ajay Devgn tries hard to make his character work, but doesn’t fit naturally into the role of a rock star as the protagonists of ‘Rock On’ did.

There is a certain charm in Salman Khan’s performance with the occasional humorous scenes thrown in. Unfortunately they are not nearly enough to salvage the film.

Watch it if you are a die hard Salman Khan fan.

When a friend went to buy movie tickets for Vishal Bhardwaj’s “Kaminey”, she felt uncomfortable.

She had never before used the word — Hindi slang for ’scoundrels’ — and was embarrassed to utter it at the ticket counter.

The film, set in Mumbai streets, is a crime thriller about petty desires that turn two brothers against each other.

Director Bhardwaj says the title, though unusual, is apt. He went ahead with “Kaminey” after his mentor, filmmaker and lyricist Gulzar, approved it.

Bhardwaj, speaking during a panel discussion at the Osian’s-Cinefan Film Festival in New Delhi, revealed that he took inspiration for the title from Gulzar’s “Ijaazat“.

In a scene from the 1987 classic, actor Naseeruddin Shah uses the word as a term of endearment for his wife (Rekha) after she makes a cup of tea for him.

Bhardwaj said this usage of “kaminey” as a romantic expression stuck in his subconscious and changed his perception of the word as used in everyday language.

Not everyone was convinced.

A schoolteacher said she was concerned by the number of children using the slang word after Bollywood gave it legitimacy. She urged filmmakers to be more responsible.

But would “Kaminey” have retained its charm under a different name? And would that name have taken away the essence of the crime thriller.

Should Bollywood filmmakers have the artistic freedom to use slang words in the names of their films? Why or why not?

Watching three films in the space of 18 hours isn’t easy, especially when the first two are films like “Blue” and “Main Aur Mrs Khanna“.

When I settled into my seat to watch Rohit Shetty’s “All the Best”, I was really hoping for some laughs. Thankfully, I got my share of them.

This film starring Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan and Bipasha Basu doesn’t pretend to be anything but a madcap entertainer and because of that, delivers on most counts.

The jokes aren’t too highbrow, there are plenty of them and all the actors seem to be having fun doing the film, which comes across on screen.

I was especially struck by the difference in Sanjay Dutt, who puts in such a lacklustre performance in “Blue”, but seems to be enjoying himself in this film.

The story itself isn’t much. Prem (Ajay Devgn) and Veer (Fardeen) are friends who live in Goa and benefit from Veer’s elder brother Dharam (Sanjay Dutt), a millionaire in Africa who sends him “pocket money” every month.

Dharam thinks Veer is married to Vidya (Mugdha Godse), when in fact he isn’t.

So when Dharam lands up in Goa without any advance notice, both Prem and Veer scramble to cover up their lies. It doesn’t help that they have rented out a house belonging to Dharam and are also on the run from a local thug (played by Johnny Lever). To add to the chaos, Dharam mistakes Prem’s wife Jhanvi (Bipasha Basu) for Vidya.

Although the film’s energy sags in the second half, director Rohit Shetty ensures you are never bored and keeps the gags coming. Both Devgn and Dutt are good with their comic timing as is Fardeen.

This is exactly the kind of film that will light up your Diwali. Go for it.

The other day a colleague asked me why I never seemed to like any film these days. I thought about it and wondered the same myself. Don’t they make good films any more?

Two hours after watching Prem Soni’s “Main Aur Mrs Khanna”, you realise the answer to that question is a resounding NO.

I don’t know whether this is a particularly bad year for Bollywood or whether the industry is just going through a phase but this is certainly not the kind of film you expect as a big Diwali release.

Kareena Kapoor plays Raina Khanna, a troubled wife whose husband Sameer (Salman Khan) is in the middle of a bad spell in his career.

This leads to trouble in the marriage because as he puts it, “financial stability is at the heart of every happy marriage.” Really? Whatever happened to respect, trust and love?

Sameer decides to move cities, from Melbourne to Singapore, and Raina reluctantly agrees. At the airport, Sameer tells her she isn’t coming with him to Singapore. The reasons for this move aren’t elaborated — he merely tells her he wants to save their marriage.

Raina decides to stay on in Melbourne and gets a job at the airport duty-free shop. Bappi Lahiri puts in an appearance as the shop owner and the less said about his role, the better.

She also meets Aakash (Sohail Khan) a goofy waiter at the airport café who lends a shoulder for her to cry on.

I wish the director had concentrated a little more on the problems between Sameer and Raina and their conflicts. Instead we get a mindless romance that goes nowhere. There are so many holes in the script that Bappi Lahiri could have passed through them.

For instance how can Raina, a salesgirl at a shop, afford a mansion and wear designer clothes? Many things are left unexplained and the direction is extremely haphazard.

Preity Zinta is wasted in a mindless cameo that makes you wonder what made her accept it. None of the performances make the cut and even Kareena Kapoor and Salman Khan don’t make an impact. Avoid this film at all costs.