India Masala

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey: A story worth telling

Ashutosh Gowariker seems to have made a career out of period films – both “Lagaan” and “Jodhaa Akbar” told stories of our past, and in some way the fight for freedom. Gowariker touches on the same theme again in “Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey” but this time he chooses to tell a story closer to our times — just 80 years ago.

Based on journalist Manini Chatterjee’s book “Do and Die”, “Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey” tells the story of the Chittagong Armoury raid, led by school teacher-turned revolutionary Surjya Sen (played by Abhishek Bachchan) and his band of followers, the majority of which are teenage boys.

In a small town in Bengal, Sen plans a simultaneous raid on all English establishments in Chittagong, dreaming of “breathing in fresh air” again. He gathers a motley crew, including two women Kalpana Datta (Deepika Padukone) and Preetilata Waddedar (Vishakha Singh) and a group of teenagers. The group studies plans, carries out reconnaissance and goes over the plan. When the plan is put into action though, things don’t always fall in place.

Gowariker handles this film in an understated manner — there aren’t fiery speeches or jingoistic dialogue. Unfortunately, this understated tone sometimes lapses into a languid pace and there are parts of the first half that you wish were better controlled. The second half is definitely pacier and will keep you engrossed, in spite of some bumps on the road.

One of the biggest weaknesses in the film are the performances — as the protagonist, Abhishek Bachchan doesn’t seem to muster up the fire needed for this kind of role. Some of the supporting cast, especially Sikander Kher also don’t deliver the kind of intensity you’d expect in a film like this.

Gowariker gets the setting right, and even though the film wasn’t shot in Chittagong, the southern coast of Maharashtra does form a fitting backdrop to the film and right from the cars to the footballs of the 1930s, it all seems authentic enough.

KHJJS is not a perfect film, but Gowariker’s biggest strength is that he chooses a story worth telling. For that reason alone, and to get a glimpse into a much-ignored part of our history, this film is worth a watch.

Lafangey Parindey: Skating on thin ice

There are some actors who can elevate a mediocre movie to great heights just on the strength of their craft. And there are some who will plunge their films into further depths of mediocrity. Pradeep Sarkar’s “Lafangey Parindey” falls in the second category.

If last week’s “Peepli (Live)” was the best cast film of 2010, this one is definitely a candidate for worst cast ever. Deepika Padukone and Neil Nitin Mukesh do not look remotely convincing in their characters, speaking Mumbai’s “tapori” language with as much panache as a penthouse-owning, six-figure salary earning South Mumbai resident might be expected to speak. (For those out of Mumbai, these two worlds are poles apart).

Imagine if you will Neil Nitin Mukesh playing a street fighter who, while on an errand for a local goon, is involved in a hit-and-run, injuring his neighbour Pinky Patkar (Padukone), a dancer who has dreams of making it big.

As a result of the accident, Pinky becomes blind and a guilt-ridden Nandu (Mukesh) decides to teach her to “see”, training her to listen with her remaining senses. He is helped by a motley group of friends (one of whom is strangely called ‘chaddi’)

All this is established in the first half-hour of “Lafangey Parindey”. After that, director Sarkar meanders along towards an ending we all knew at the beginning of the film.

Along the way, there are dialogues like “ek nandu ke liye apne sapne ka encounter mat kar”, a few songs and the token police/goon rivalry which is disposed of so summarily you don’t even know where to look in the end. And a lot of skating.

Pinky, you see, is a dancer on skates and wants to enter a reality show to showcase her talent (remind you of any other Yashraj film?) Since her regular partner dumps her after she becomes blind, she latches on to Nandu, teaches him skating and they skate their way through the second half.

Karthik Calling Karthik: Farhan saves this insipid thriller

Farhan Akhtar has now come to be associated with a particular kind of cinema – slick production values, quirky characters and smart writing. So when I went in to watch his latest production, “Karthik Calling Karthik”, I was expecting something similar. While I got to see the first two aspects, the third, and the most important was gravely missing.

The film, a thriller about a meek, submissive man called Karthik, whose life changes when he gets phone calls from an anonymous caller who also calls himself Karthik, starts off well, and is engaging enough, but for some bad writing and corny dialogues, which take away from the edge-of-the-seat thrill that a film like this should give you.

Akhtar plays Karthik Narayan, a mousy MBA grad who is bullied by pretty much everyone around him, including his tyrannical boss, and pesky landlord. He is secretly in love with Shonali Mukherjee (Deepika Padukone), who works in the same office, but is unable to muster up courage to talk to her, instead writing her an email everyday and then saving it in his drafts folder.

Fired from his job, and with no friends to turn to, Karthik is on the verge of suicide when one phone call changes everything. The caller always calls at 5 am and identifies himself as Karthik. He instils confidences in Karthik, exhorting him to set his life right. After the initial apprehension, Karthik actually looks forward to the calls, and egged on by the mysterious caller, sets about reclaiming his life.

The film is meant to be a thriller, but as I said before, there are hardly any edge-of -the seat moments. The narrative is a little bumpy and some of the dialogues are unintentionally funny. Director Vijay Lalwani sets out with a good enough intention, glimpses of which are visible throughout the film, but doesn’t quite reach the destination he intended. Also, the ending of the film is predictable, and I wish had been dealt with in a better way.

But watch this film for Farhan Akhtar, and his performance as Karthik. In some places he reminded me of Naseeruddin Shah in Sai Paranjpe’s “Katha”, where Shah plays a similar meek, submissive character. He carries the film even through its bumpy moments. Deepika Padukone tries her best and looks ravishing, but her acting still feels laboured.

This is a good one time watch at the movies, especially if you are a Farhan fan.

Love Aaj Kal: Not very original but it works

There’s one thing about an Imtiaz Ali film — it may not have the most original storyline or cutting-edge techniques, but it sure has the best dialogues. And that, in my opinion, is the USP of his films.

Director Ali is telling you a regular love story, where you know immediately that the two lead characters are going to end up with each other, but his treatment is fresh and the people in the film don’t act filmy (which sounds like a paradox, but isn’t).

“Love Aaj Kal” begins with the story of Jai Vardhan Singh (Saif Ali Khan) and Meera Pandit (Deepika Padukone), who in London and in love with each other, but are “practical” enough to realise that their relationship can’t take priority over their careers.

So when Meera decides to move to India to pursue a career in conservation architecture, the duo decide to break up, albeit amicably. There are no tantrums, no tears and instead of being sad about it, they decide it’s best to be practical, even throwing a “break-up” party to celebrate the event.

In New Delhi, Meera starts going out with her boss (Rahul Khanna) while Jai falls for a Swiss girl called Jo. He also meets a café owner called Veer Singh (played endearingly by Rishi Kapoor) who narrates his own love story to him, which we get to see in flashback.

Saif plays the younger Rishi Kapoor and is noticeably uncomfortable in his role as a Sikh man in love with Harleen (played by newcomer Gisele). This love track lends to some tender moments in the film, especially the one where Saif’s character lands up in front of Harleen’s balcony one fine morning.

Both the stories play out almost parallel to each other, and while both “styles” of love are diametrically different, they end almost identically, which makes for a nice touch.

A film that means so much more

Deepika Padukone is one of the most charming actresses you could hope to meet.

I have spoken to her several times and she has always been extremely polite, composed and not given to overt displays of emotion.

That is why, at a Mumbai event to unveil the first look of her forthcoming film “Love Aaj Kal”, I was surprised to see the 21-year-old at a loss for words.

She barely managed to speak more than two sentences when asked to do so by co-star Saif Ali Khan, and even while speaking those she stumbled.

“I am really nervous today, I don’t know why,” Padukone said.

Later, the actress confessed that if she hadn’t stopped talking then, she probably would have broken down.

More than ‘just good friends’ in Bollywood

“We are just good friends” has to be the most overused phrase in Bollywood (or even Hollywood) for that matter.

A couple of years ago, each time rumour mills started working non-stop about a “friendship” between celebrities, the two concerned parties were sure to come up with a statement about how they were just good friends.

Of course, there are a lot of Bollywood stars who are genuinely good friends, but cast your mind back to Aishwarya-Abhishek or Lara-Dino and you will see a lot of “we are good friends” statements before the relationship was “outed”.

I do see some change in this attitude though, and Preity Zinta is a good example.

Chandni Chowk to China: Sticking to the formula

If you are looking for intellectual stimulation at the movies, watch Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling” or wait for “Slumdog Millionaire” — “Chandni Chowk to China” is definitely not what you are looking for.

It’s the first big release of the year, is produced by a big Hollywood studio looking to enter the Indian market and has one of India’s most bankable stars. But it also has a lot of Bollywood “formula”.

Now whether you like this film or not depends on whether you like the “formula”. Do you like the twins separating-at-birth-and-meeting-20-years-later formula? Or perhaps the I-will-avenge-my-father’s-death formula? Take your pick because “Chandni Chowk to China” has taken each and every cliché from Hindi cinema of the 70s and 80s and repackaged it.

Akshay Kumar plays Sidhu, a simpleton cook in Delhi’s famed Chandni Chowk, who fumbles his way through life and is waiting for the stroke of luck that will change his life. Through a chance encounter possible only in Hindi cinema, he meets two natives of China. They are convinced Sidhu is the reincarnation of the ancient warrior Liu Sheng, who will rescue them from the clutches of evil villain Hojo.

Somewhere along the way we also learn of Inspector Chang, whose family was separated because of Hojo. Chang’s twin daughters, Sakhi and Suzie (played by Deepika Padukone) are separated while he loses his memory.

To attempt to explain the story beyond this point is difficult, because the plot gets too convoluted and loses itself at many places. Except for the 20 minutes in the second half, where Chang is training Akshay in the art of kung fu, the rest of the movie is one chaotic scene.

Bachna Ae Haseeno: Ranbir comes out shining

Dreamy locales, designer threads, wedding sequences, racy numbers and a happy ending — Yash Raj Films finally got the formula right.”Bachna Ae Haseeno” has all this and more. It’s a formula film no doubt, but it has its heart in the right place.

So when you are introduced to Raj Sharma, an incorrigible flirt and lovable rascal with a serious commitment phobia — you kind of take to him immediately.

He meets girls, makes promises of everlasting love and then disappears. First, its Mahi (played by Minissha Lamba), a sweet Punjabi girl he meets on a trip to Switzerland, then Radhika (played by Bipasha Basu), an ambitious model.

Third time around, our hero is struck really hard — when he meets Gayatri (Deepika Padukone). They drive around Sydney at odd hours, dance around exotic beaches (watch out for the beautifully shot ‘Khuda Jaane’ track) and of course fall in love. Now here comes the twist, which of course we won’t tell you.

Let me just say that a turn of events prompts Raj to revisit Mahi and Radhika to make amends. The rest of the film focuses on this mission.

It’s obvious right from the first frame that this is Ranbir Kapoor’s film through and through — and he comes out shining. His first film (“Saawariya”) didn’t showcase his comic talent and it’s quite obvious Kapoor has lots of it. He pulls off the scenes with the right amount of goofiness and innocence.

The three leading ladies perform well and look great — Yash Raj heroines always do, so that’s not a big surprise. Deepika and Ranbir’s chemistry is crackling on screen but Bipasha and Ranbir also make a great pair.