film review : Break Ke Baad (2010)

Holy crap! Kunal Kohli always made bad movies. But still I took a chance this time as he wasn’t handling the camera. Also the actors looked decent. And when I am saying all of the above things I spell expectations. Is expecting such a bad thing?

From the first frame to the last frame Break Ke Baad is boring, and most importantly there is no story. Goes something like this – two lovers Abhay (Imran) and Aaliya (Deepika) are dating each other before they knew what love is. Trust me even the growing up bit has been spoiled. When it is clear that they have crossed the stage of puberty and are now old enough to take up jobs and responsibilities the movie becomes even more shitty. Aaliya wants to go to Australia for some course and hence begins the insecurities. The couple begins arguing more as it was turning into a long distance thing. Both are from well-off rich families so the argument too looks artificial.

Aaliya leaves and the distance between her and Abhay becomes more than just the physical separation. New place, new friends and Abhay‘s increasing possessiveness frustrates Aaliya and she decides to take a break which with time becomes a breakup. In between all this the wealthy hero also shifts to Australia and that is when things got worse. Strange! The characters in the movie are becoming mature, and time is seen going by but for us audience it remains still. After prolonging the rape there is again a realization phase which takes Aaliya to India as Abhay had already left. You know what follows. They get married, have kids and the like.

a drab flick.

What needs to be noted here is that even the scenes between the lead pair which are supposed to be breezy and romantic make you blow some air at the ceiling. Shahana and Yudhishtr play their characters quite well but they just had to make sure they looked like fools. Other actors are not even worth mentioning. Debutante director Danish Aslam knows how to make a movie out of an idea, but that sucks. Vishal-Shekhar did manage some peppy songs but there was no background score when it was needed. Imran has opened up and isn’t that stiff anymore and Deepika as the commitment-phobic female wasn’t bad either, but still many around me did doze off.

Kunal Kohli already did bad as a director and now he is taking on production too. Someone please tell this dude we do not want to see him even after the break.

Rating : 2/5

movie review : Housefull (2010)

Heyy Babyy and now Housefull. Two movies down and Sajid Khan has sealed his identity as a maker of no-brainer comedy flicks, of the type that only he can make.

Plot
Housefull (the title has got nothing to do with the movie) is a story about this loser Aarush (Akshay Kumar) who has bad luck written all over him. The movie opens in someplace named Macau. Aarush somehow lands up in all kinds of problems because of his luck and has nothing going for him. Even his chick dumps him stating his bad luck as a reason. Fed up he decides to go stay with his childhood friend Bob (Reteish) in London, who is married to Hetal (Lara). Here we are introduced to Devika (Jiah) who goes on to marry Aarush, only to realize she had other plans. Very conveniently she ditches the born loser.

Situations lead him to meet Sandy (Deepika) and he finally finds the true love he was looking for. But the catch here is Sandy‘s authoritarian brother Krishna Anna (Arjun) who needs to be convinced before taking the vows. In between all this we have Hetal’s estranged pappa (Boman Irani) flying to London to meet his daughter and son-in-law. All of these characters are intertwined to create a furor of comic confusion, and the climax is to prove that the loser is not afterall a loser.

Performances
Akshay is ever ready to play such roles, comedy being his forte. Reteish does his part well and he should just stick to multistarrers. Lara Dutta is a non-actor and is very irritating. Always ready to shed off her clothes at the drop of a hat, even in Housefull she is there for the same reason. Not that I’m complaining but I ignore her. Deepika is lovable and there is no need for her to act here. Like I said only her presence is enough. No one cares whether Jiah Khan can act or not as she doesn’t let that aspect matter. She knows she is hot and if given a chance she would do the entire movie in a two-piece. Arjun Rampal plays this serious dude taking everyone’s case, and his role does not demand any acting. Boman Irani as the gujarathi pappa gets to your nerves after a while. He has done better comedy. Suresh Menon is wasted in a short role. The surprise element is Chunkey Pandey as Aakhri Pasta. Quite entertaining.

Verdict
Housefull is full of situational comedy and should be watched without any expectations. Music does not seem like a Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy creation, although it is. Dialogues have a lot of Sajid Khan in them and are ordinary. Housefull does not have a story, but it has picturesque locales. Watch the movie if you need a reason to laugh for three hours as an excuse for having nothing else to do.

Rating : 2.5/5

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movie review : Karthik Calling Karthik (2010)

Good entertainment. I look for just that.

Excel Entertainment is back again and their most dependable crew member Farhan Akhtar is the lead. With their last release Luck By Chance also having a strong script and storyline, they never disappoint.

Psychological thrillers are seldom made in bollywood, because not everyone can make one. The last movie on the same lines was Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Vidya Balan did take her role seriously. This time round its Farhan Akhtar playing the protagonist Karthik Narayan who is suffering from schizophrenia.

The story begins with our introduction of Karthik as someone who is considered a loser by practically everyone around whom his everyday life revolves. Be it his landlord, his boss (Ram Kapoor is decent) or his to-be girlfriend. Deepika Padukone plays Shonali Mukherjee who shares the same workplace as Karthik and is like any ordinary girl. We are made to go through the ordeal which Karthik has to put up with, including the fact that he likes Shonali and she has not even noticed him around for almost 4 years. Left with no option, he decides to commit suicide when a phone call comes to the rescue of this loner.

Post each of his conversations with the voice on the other end of the phone, there is a much needed change in his life. He transforms into a confident Karthik ready to take on anything or rather anyone. Whether it is making the same rude boss respect his work or being the reason for Shonali‘s breakup with her ex and ofcourse being her man. He becomes dependent on the calls considering the voice as that of his well-wisher and listens to everything the voice has to say. Trouble brews when against the wishes of the supposed well-wisher he shares this secret with Shonali. Things turn upside down and everything starts working against him. He loses his girlfriend, his job and all his savings. As can be figured out the last hour tells us how exactly these phone calls are tackled. Is it really him or is it just his imagination ? What is it that he needs to do for a normal life sans those calls ?

The film picks up pace post-interval as the plot begins to answer questions. Debutante Vijay Lalwani tells us the story in a away where we do not get bored. I say that because this subject could have become an unintelligent attempt at storytelling had it not been treated right. The love story has been depicted very honestly. Lalwani is also the brain behind those witty dialogues as the movie would not have felt the same without them.

Farhan Akhtar has carried this film on his own and i see a fine actor in the making. The heart-rending scene where he breaks down telling his girl about his intentions in the relationship is above par. With each movie Deepika Padukone is getting better – acting as well as choosing scripts, and I need to mention how gorgeous she looks in this particular one. Shefali Shah plays a psychiatrist trying to help Karthik. Considering her filmography this role must have been a cake-walk.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy along with Javed Akhtar produce some fine numbers but not something that has not been heard before. Background score has been done by Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale, and is average. In a thriller background score matters and here its not impressive enough. Technicality very much makes up for it.

I would recommend you to take this call as fresh film-makers like these should be encouraged. As far as bollywood is concerned, Vijay has arrived again and this time he says “mere paas talent hai. hain”.

Rating : 3.5/5

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