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.

Somewhere in Bollywood, there has to be a movie-making machine.

All you do is insert a reel, change a few specifications (perhaps the hero’s name and occupation or the reason for a romantic obstacle with his leading lady) and wait for a “masala” movie to pop up, fresh and ready to hit unsuspecting audiences.

How else do you explain a movie like “Short Kut: The Con is On“?

This one is supposed to be a sometimes funny, sometimes emotional comedy about a struggling filmmaker and his double-crosser friend. It turns out to be neither.

Akshaye Khanna plays Shekhar, an aspiring filmmaker who believes in taking no shortcuts to success and is in love with actress Mansi (Amrita Rao).

Arshad Warsi plays Raju, a down-and-out actor desperately looking for a break. A producer promises to make a movie for him if he brings him a brilliant script. Raju steals the script written by Shekhar and the resulting film is a hit at the box-office.

Shekhar’s life pretty much collapses around him but he is determined to get back to cinema, which remains his passion. How he does so and gets his own against Raju forms the rest of the plot.

Given how much importance is given to Shekhar’s script for the film within the film, I am surprised director Neeraj Vora didn’t pay much attention to his own script, which is laden with holes.

At the heart of “Short Kut” is an interesting story idea, one borrowed rather heavily from the Malayalam film “Udayananu Tharam“.

However, the implementation of the idea is shoddy and half-hearted and does not make for good entertainment.

For a movie that talks of originality in Bollywood, it takes some shortcuts of its own and that is never a good sign.

Of the cast, Akshaye Khanna shows only glimpses of his immense acting talent, making you wish he would choose his roles wisely. Arshad Warsi, for all his comic timing, looks jaded.

“Short Kut” is a movie that will force you to look hard for positives and who knows you may even find them. No harm in trying, is there?

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Bollywood and Indian culture is getting plenty of attention worldwide — thanks to the “Slumdog Millionaire” effect.

Danny Boyle’s rags-to-riches romance about a poor Indian boy competing in a TV game show scooped eight Academy Awards earlier this year.

The film’s global box-office success brought its relatively unknown young stars on the global stage (with lead actress Freida Pinto slated to star in Woody Allen’s next project).

In the U.S., Bollywood’s arc of influence is creating thriving ancillary industries and garnering buzz for the likes of celebrity stylist Shalini Vadhera.

The Los Angeles entrepreneur, with her Global Goddess beauty products, sits atop a business that brings in a million dollars annually.

“I always feel like Obama winning for the African Americans is ‘Slumdog’ winning for us as Indian Americans and South Asians was fantastic,” she says.

“Because it created an awareness that there are a lot of talented South Asians out there whether it’s in the field of entertainment or fashion or beauty and it’s been wonderful for my business.”

Bollywood and its steady infiltration into Western culture is also boosting the profile of Rajan Shah, a self-taught player and music producer.

“The other day I was walking in Hollister and guess what music they were playing. They were playing ‘Jai Ho’ by A.R. Rahman,” says Shah, who is based in Washington D.C.

“And not just A.R. Rahman but bhangra music is everywhere now.”

What do you think? ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and Bollywood may have helped Indian culture make inroads into America, but is it just a temporary phase?

It’s unusual for Indian cinemas to screen a 2007 film that has already had its television premiere.

But the stand-off between Bollywood producers and multiplexes has resulted in a slew of otherwise straight-to-DVD films getting a chance at the box-office.

“Partition”, in its dubbed Hindi version, is one such film.

This Canadian production revolves around the love story of a Sikh man and a Muslim woman drawn together by the partition of India in 1947.

The storyline is familiar — the Bollywood hit “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha” (2001) had an uncannily similar plot. But despite a host of accomplished actors, this Vic Sarin film is never as impressive.

Illiterate villagers mouthing dialogues in English is okay but an Indian actor in the role of Naseem (Kristin Kreuk) would have been more believable. And although Jimi Mistry as the protagonist Gian is first-class, Irrfan Khan and Vinay Pathak are wasted in their two-bit roles.

Neve Campbell plays with aplomb the role of an English lady who helps Gian search for Naseem’s missing family after the riots.

This is certainly not one of those ‘Pakistan is bad’ propaganda movies — director Sarin ensures there are good and bad characters on both sides of the border. But Naseem’s brother Akbar (Arya Babbar) remains a stereotype.

“Partition” loses its bearings after a placid first half, hurtling towards a predictable and unimpressive climax. Still, it’s worth a watch for its lovely cinematography.

I wasn’t so sure about the trains depicted in the film — they seemed too modern to be around 60 years ago. And the idea of a devout Sikh converting to Islam just to get across the border seemed a bit far-fetched.

Don’t expect “Partition” to be one of those sweeping epic love stories — it never reaches to such heights. If you are a Jimi Mistry fan, catch the film in your neighbourhood cinema. Otherwise, just wait for it to come around on your television screens.

Watching Deepa Mehta’s “Videsh” is not a very pleasant feeling. Watching a woman getting bruised and beaten up never is.

The film is a stark, often unsettling tale that tears into a phenomenon of our times — the NRI marriage. And director Mehta does not shy away from the tough realities this film is about.

Preity Zinta plays Chand, a Ludhiana girl who is sent to Canada to get married to Rocky, a taxi driver she has never met.

Rocky lives with his family — parents, sister and her family — and Chand soon realises life as a non-resident Indian is not all it’s made out to be.

Mehta also builds a portrait of a lower middle-class NRI family — all living in cramped quarters, struggling to make ends meet and in conflict with their identities.

The abuse starts soon enough — the provocation being Rocky’s overprotective mother (who even barges in on the couple’s honeymoon).

At first, Chand tries to win over her husband but when she realises it’s futile, she turns to her only refuge in a strange country — her own imagination.

But she is soon unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

I don’t want to reveal any more for fear of ruining the plot, but Mehta uses this concept of the power of imagination to show Chand’s resilience and her ultimate victory.

Unfortunately, the plotline isn’t entirely as convincing as it should have been and at times it even seems contrived. Also, this film has some stark imagery and some fairly disturbing scenes, so be warned.

“Videsh” (or ‘Heaven on Earth’, which is its international title) is not a film for everyone, but watch it for Zinta’s nuanced performance as Chand — going from a coy bride to a hardened woman ready to fight. She is magnificent.

The camera moves breathlessly through the dark alleys, following the two men as one chases the other. An old man watches flickering images on television, his face revealing myriad emotions every second. A group of men argue in a dingy, ruined shop, even as a child watches wide-eyed.

These are some images from Nandita Das’ “Firaaq” which will stay with you long after you have left the theatre. These are images that have been shot with as much passion as skill, both of which come through on screen.

Das uses the technique of an ensemble film, centred on one major incident. Nishikant Kamat used it in “Mumbai Meri Jaan”. So did the Brad Pitt-starrer “Babel”. In this case, the connection is the aftermath of the Gujarat riots.

The entire film spans over a period of 24 hours or less, and provides a glimpse into five families, so to speak, each of whom are connected one way or other to the riots of 2002.

There is the scared housewife Aarti (played with élan by Deepti Naval) who finds the courage to stand up to her abusive husband (Paresh Rawal), the young couple who have overcome their fears (Tisca Chopra and Sanjay Suri), and Muneera who finds her friendship with a Hindu tested during those 24 hours.

There is also Naseeruddin Shah’s character, a musician who appears seemingly disjointed from reality, but finds solace in the end.

Das has a real affection for her characters and Ravi K. Chandran’s camera takes the film to another level. Also, each of the stories have their own compelling moments.

My only problem with “Firaaq” is that at the end, I didn’t come away with the feeling that I had watched an entire film — it seemed like too much of a disjointed effort to me, and this is a thin line that you tread while watching ensemble films like this one.

The subject of the film, I must say is a tough one to handle and Das does so with great maturity, rare for a first-time director. There is hardly any violence shown in the film, and yet it is conveyed really effectively. Also at a running time of two hours, this isn’t too long.

Watch “Firaaq” for some sensitive stories and get a sense of how communal riots affect people on the ground. After last week’s “Gulaal”, this is another hard-hitting film that will expose you to a reality you may not have known exists.

“The free media serve as a mirror in which the public can see itself sans mascara and styling gel. From us you learn the state of your nation, and especially its management by the people you elected to give your children a better future. Sometimes the image you see in that mirror is not a pleasant one. But while you may grumble in the privacy of your armchair, the journalists who hold the mirror up to you do so publicly and at great risk to themselves.”

When I was watching Anurag Kashyap’s “Gulaal”, my mind wandered to this passage I had read some days ago, from the last editorial of Lasantha Wickramatunga, the editor of the Sri Lankan newspaper ‘The Sunday Leader’, who was killed by unknown persons.

Not that this passage is entirely relevant to the film, but I related to the part about the image in the mirror. “Gulaal” is one of those films, that may not be very pleasing or convenient, but nevertheless it is a film that deserves to be watched and discussed later, because it holds up a mirror to a reality not many of us might be willing to face.

Director Kashyap does indeed get rid of the mascara and styling gel, and presents to us a gamut of characters that are multi-layered and well structured.

The story focuses on Dileep Kumar Singh, a mild- mannered student who is ragged in his new university. That one incident sets off a chain of events that change the course of Singh’s life. He befriends the fiery Rananjay, a student at the same university and who, as we discover later, belongs to a royal family.

Dukey Bana, a local Rajput leader eggs on Rananjay to contest the university elections but it is Singh who eventually contests it, thus getting sucked into a whirlwind of political games and deceit.

Kashyap deals with complex issues like regionalism, college politics and money power in such a matter-of-fact way, he makes the point far better than if we had been subjected to long  winded speeches and diatribes. Even the songs in the film make compelling points.

This is the prominent track in the film, but “Gulaal” would not be half the movie it is but for the colourful characters that make up the ensemble.

Piyush Mishra is good as Bana’s elder brother, playing the role of an outsider desperately trying to escape his world.

Kay Kay Menon as Dukey Bana is outstanding –there is no other word for him, but that is also in part because his character is sketched so well, its graph clearly visible as the film progresses.

Deepak Dobriyal is slowly emerging as one of the most nuanced actors to come out of the industry, and in his role as Bhati, Dukey Bana’s trusted lieutenant, I couldn’t help but admire him.

Also watch out for Ayesha Mohan, who plays Kiran, the illegitimate daughter of a king who uses any means to achieve her ambition and achieve some sort of a legitimate status.

“Gulaal’”s weak point lies in the most unexpected of places — its lead actor. As Dileep Singh, Raj Singh Chaudhary had the opportunity of a lifetime — the role of a weak man who undergoes a transformation. Unfortunately, he barely manages to pull either of the two facets. Also, the film’s pace might wear you down a bit. At 150 minutes, this is not a fast-paced one.

You should be willing to forgive all this though, because “Gulaal” is a film that will speak to you about hitherto untouched issues. India is a country of a million mutinies, so many of them hidden from us as we go about our daily lives. Watch “Gulaal” and you might realise the truth of those mutinies.

‘Dostana’ is a path-breaking Bollywood film alright. Maybe not for gay rights but certainly the number of times the word ‘gay’ has been used in a single film.

Indians hoping for a “Brokeback Mountain” may do well to stay away from this slapstick comedy about two men pretending to be a gay couple in order to lay hands on a top-notch condo overlooking the sun-kissed sands of Miami.

The opening shot of John Abraham emerging from the sea sets the tone for the film, with the camera lens lingering a tad too long on his bright yellow trunks.

The latest offering from filmmaker Karan Johar features the usual mélange of romance, snazzy designer wear, exotic locales and foot-tapping numbers.

But writer-director Tarun Mansukhani plays a masterstroke with the ‘gay’ plot, setting the stage for a hitherto unused treasure trove of witty one-liners and bawdy humour.

But why do the leading men pretend to be gay?

Well, photographer Kunal (John Abraham) joins male nurse Sam (Abhishek Bachchan) in the hunt for an apartment, destiny taking both to the abode of (Neha) Priyanka Chopra.

But Neha’s guardian aunt is on her guard against the two strapping young men. Until Sam has the brainwave of confessing they are gay — and therefore ideal flatmates for a single woman.

The only problem — both have fallen head-over-heels for the vivacious Neha, who works for Verve magazine.

The object of their attention remains oblivious, enjoying the company of her ‘gay’ best friends and arousing their jealousy when a third admirer drops in — Neha’s boss Abhimanyu (Bobby Deol).

The big question — will love triumph over friendship? Or will the ‘gay’ tag be a hindrance.

The first half of “Dostana” is a delight. Bachchan as Sam draws the most laughs, especially with his antics in the Venice flashback sequence he concocts when asked how he and Kunal became a couple.

Sam’s London-based mom, played by a feisty Kirron Kher, doesn’t take too kindly to the idea of her son being gay — and crosses the Atlantic to harangue him.

Also not to be missed is a cameo by Boman Irani, playing a flamboyantly gay editor of Verve magazine, swinging hips with Bachchan and Abraham to a sizzling item number originally picturised on Bipasha Basu.

Unfortunately, the magic of “Dostana” wears off in the second half. The dialogues lose their spontaneity as the film veers inexorably towards its predictable climax.

And even Bachchan, who so ably carried the first half on his shoulders, can’t salvage the film from a heady mix of item numbers and far-fetched scenarios.

Still, if all you want is a dose of non-stop entertainment, gay or not gay, “Dostana” is the movie for you.

There might be some debate on whether the gay characters or mannerisms portrayed in the film are stereotypical, but it’s the first time Bollywood’s leading men are even pretending to be homosexual — so it’s certainly one giant leap for India’s gay community.

If you were expecting Vinay Pathak’s latest film to be a comic caper, you are in for a surprise.

“Dasvidaniya” is a bittersweet comedy about a man diagnosed with cancer and how he spends the last three months of his life.

Heard that one before? It’s a subject Bollywood has dealt with in films like “Anand” and “Kal Ho Naa Ho”. The 2007 Hollywood film “The Bucket List” also had a similar storyline.

But Shashant Shah’s “Dasvidaniya” gives the plot some original twists. The film is the story of Amar Kaul, a 37-year-old timid and lonely bachelor living out a humdrum middle-class existence in a Mumbai suburb.

Vinay Pathak, best known for his simpleton act in the hit comedy ‘Bheja Fry’, plays Kaul with consummate ease — bringing alive the plump, bespectacled accounts manager with a penchant for making things-to-do lists.

Life takes a U-turn for the good-natured protagonist when a routine visit to the doctor reveals that he has stomach cancer.

Faced with the prospect of dying without having truly enjoyed life and egged on by his flamboyant alter ego, Kaul makes his umpteenth list — things-to-do-before-I-die.

He quits his job, plucking up courage to settle a score with his obnoxious boss and embarks in pursuit of his dreams — a shiny red car, a foreign trip, confessing his love to a childhood crush, guitar lessons and reuniting with an estranged brother.

Sound like a tear-jerker?

Well, yes. But there are plenty of interesting characters to provide comic relief.

There’s Kaul’s mother, an eccentric old woman with a hearing problem and an addict to soap operas on television.

There’s Kaul’s boss, the overweight owner of a pharmaceutical firm who spends his days wolfing down junk food in the privacy of his cabin.

And there’s Kaul himself, a kind-hearted soul who longs for love, friendship and some meaning in his life.

“Dasvidaniya” derives its name from the Russian word for ‘goodbye’, a fitting farewell to the hero from the film’s only Russian connection — which we won’t talk about.

The pace of the film does slacken in the second half, but some brilliant acting and poignant dialogues make up for its shortcomings.

Characters played by Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia and Sarita Joshi are an effective foil to Kaul’s bumbling persona. And Ranvir Shorey is impressive in his cameo as a habitual tippler who bumps into Kaul at a bar.

It’s hard for a film without top Bollywood stars to make a killing at the box-office and “Dasvidaniya” may soon share the fate of its unlucky protagonist.

But if you are in the mood to watch a heart-warming film with some splendid performances, spending time with Amar Kaul and his acquaintances might not be a bad idea.