Indian movies

Character Sketch

Sarika as Sheetal Thadani
Sheetal Thadani is a singer married to Ranjeet the owner of Soundman Industries, a music company. She is trying hard to get her husband Ranjeet away from his habits of poking fun at innocent people. Well aware that her husband is beating his stress by engaging in such activities, she terms his doings as unfair. She decides that leaving him will only teach him what she had been trying for two years.

Rajat Kapoor as Ranjeet Thadani
Ranjeet Thadani is a bored, arrogant music company executive who lives up his upper class existence by attending “talent dinners” hosted by his friends and him. His life revolves around this stress busting fun which is just not appreciated by his wife. It is his pride that will probably lead to his downfall.

Vinay Pathak as Bharat Bhushan
Bharat Bhushan is a roly-poly officer with the Income Tax department. His innocence and his obsession for singing gets him trapped in Ranjeet Thadani's house. He shares his pain through Hindi songs and a scrap book which contains memoirs of his childhood. He relentlessly tries to be of some help to Ranjeet Thadani, only to make matters worse on every front. A likeable, warm little fellow, he is undeniably a big time goof up.

Ranvir Shorey as Asif Merchant
Asif Merchant apart from being the finest tax inspector of his department is also Bharat Bhushan's best friend. He is as egoistic as Ranjeet Thadani and is always looking to put the other person down. He comes to help Ranjeet at the behest of his friend Bhushan, only to discover his worst nightmare come true!

Milind Soman as Anant Ghosal
Anant Ghosal a music director is an old society friend of the Thadani's. He is the friend in need, who is ready to help Ranjeet in spite of the fact that Sheetal chose Ranjeet over him two years ago. He is ready to forgive Ranjeet for the betrayal and assists him in finding the whereabouts of Sheetal after she leaves Ranjeet.

Bhairavi Goswami as Suman Rao
Suman Rao is the provocative, melodramatic friend of Ranjeet Thadani. A wannabe singer, she is always trying to lure Ranjeet towards herself. Well aware of Ranjeet's past she waits patiently for the day when Ranjeet will reciprocate her love.

Storyline

Ranjeet Thadani (Rajat Kapoor), a bored, arrogant music company executive hurts his back the night he has found a prize catch for a weekly bring - your -idiot talent dinner hosted by his friends and him. He ends up spending the evening with this idiot, Bharat Bhushan (Vinay Pathak) who tries to help him get his wife (Sarika) back who left him earlier that day. The result is utter chaos let loose by the idiot, who cannot do a single thing without messing it up further.

The plot turns around to be a series of mini disasters that leave Ranjeet's comfortable life in ruins. Call it the idiot's revenge!

'If music be the food of love, play on….' William Shakespeare.

The movie tells the story of a group of young friends who want to do more than just hang out. They want to leave their mark on the musical scene. Continuing a hand-me-down career is boring and certainly not happening and therefore when three people turn their backs on the wishes of their parents…they front a new career. They form a multi-cultural-ethnic band.

The manager is a pretty female vocalist who's father was an Indian pop singer, now faded and retired as a clothing manufacturer and boutique owner.
We have an alcoholic singer, who sweeps the streets of the city at night.
An Afro-Elvis clone, whose father has a respectable sound equipment store, now chucks it all and joins in as the lead guitarist.
A Chinese post-university-drummer. He dresses like a girl…much to the disappointment of his mother!
A George Harrison hippie remixes the hippie culture.
Two waitresses throw their jobs in and join the band as backing singers.

A Bank robber has his £4million robbery foiled...but where’s the money disappeared to?

Pubs sign on this group to play at their venues and soon they enter a competition that will send the winners to America.

Do they make it?
Do they stick together?
Do their parents permit this 'sultry' business?
Will their music live on after them?

Character Sketch

Saif Ali Khan as Rajveer Singh (RV)
Hi. I'm RV. The best race car driver in the world! Sounds nice to be able to finally say that, especially since I've wanted to be one, ever since I was a little boy, racing model cars around my room. Racing has always been my dream, and after Mom & Dad died, I worked even harder towards that goal. Since I never really had much interest in studies, I dropped out of college & started working in the pit-crew of a racing team: the only way I could be near race cars! My life seemed to be going smoothly along this loveless still-nowhere-near-driving-a-race-car track, until one momentous cab ride later, everything changed.

That's when I met Harry (my future manager) and Radhika (my future wife), all in the space of 5 minutes. One crazy trip later, I was the new race car driver for 'Speeding Saddles'; and a couple of chance encounters (and my first win in a race) later, I was in love: with the most beautiful & intelligent & talented & creative & …… (you get the picture…) woman who ever came out of West Bengal to live in New York. A music student & a racer don't somehow seem like the best of matches, but sometimes the cliché works. Opposites do attract and we were quite possibly the happiest couple in Manhattan. And that's how Rajveer Singh the pit-crew tyre changer became RV the racer. I was a man with a new job that I had been dreaming about my entire life, a love that I kept dreaming about and everything that I could have asked for. And then my kids arrived on the scene. Princess and Champ - the two people who suddenly gave my life a new meaning. I didn't think I could be happier, but I was! My career took off much like my car when the starter flag goes down, and my family was the backbone that kept me going. Seeing them cheer me on at every race that I won was what made the dream even more beautiful in its reality.

Until that fateful accident…
That one day changed things forever. I was forced to give up my dream career and my dream life. Everything came crashing down to a very painful and a very changed reality. A reality which involved giving up the wild and racy lifestyle that I had always followed. I tried to make it back… but it was never the same. But now, I have no choice. Something has happened and I need to win. But I don't know what will happen. Will I be able to overcome my fears on the racetrack? Will I be able to save my family? Will I once again become the best father, the best husband and the best racer that I have always been for my wife and kids?

Rani Mukerji as Radhika
Life can be the most unexpected journey of all. This is something that I have learnt over my many years with RV, the man who I never thought could be the kind of person I could fall for. My life as Radhika Shekhar Rai Banerjee started off with ambition and very careful planning. I always knew what I wanted to be and exactly how I wanted to get there. Right from when I was a little girl playing with my carefully organized & acquired dolls to when I decided to pursue a career in music - everything I have done has been well thought out and every step chalked along the way. My Dad, who owns one of the biggest software companies in the world, obviously approved. But everything changed when one sunny day I happened to get into a cab that took off with a bang & propelled me into a life that I had never thought I would lead.

RV exploded into my life with the usual madness & energy that I have now come to expect from him as an everyday trait. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the stands of the New York Speedway, cheering on with wild abandon a man that I had barely met 2 days ago. But that's what I mean about life being unexpected. Love too, in this case. I fell in love in a manner completely contrary to everything that I've ever done so far, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me! And suddenly Radhika Shekhar Rai Banerjee, the straight-laced girl became 'Shona', a woman in love. Life with RV was always a roller-coaster ride of emotions, and things didn't change even with the arrival of Princess & Champ - the two shining lights in my life. We were the ideal happy family that I never knew I wanted, but was so content that I had! But life, in all its unpredictability, had more in store for us…

RV's departure from the race track forced us to give up the idyll of a happy & content life, including our beautiful house. Suddenly we had to fend for a living using any means possible, all the while maintaining a facade of normalcy for the sake of our children. Will I be able to keep my family together while struggling against the vagaries of life? Will I manage to see us through yet another crisis?

Angelina Idnani as Priya
Welcome to my world… the world of Priya Rajveer Singh. I am 'Princess' to the people who are close to me. I have four important people in my world and without them I am lost - Papa, Mama, Champ and Bruno (our dog)… I love them all… strictly in that order! I love my school, Miss Peggy my teacher and my friends… not in that order... ha ha ha!!! I love when Papa races. He looks so good in his uniform, wow! Mama, Champ and myself we all go and cheer Papa!

Champ and I are good children, we never fight… well almost never :)
I am his big sister, and also his friend. But when Papa had his accident, we got really scared… and life is not like it used to be. I want my old world back a happy world in which there were smiling faces of Papa, Mama, Champ and Bruno!

Ali Haji as Champ
Hi. I am Ranveer Rajveer Singh but pyaar se everyone calls me ‘Champ’ - because when I was born, my Papa won a big big race. I like to go school, listen to Princess because she is always right. I also like to fight with her. My favourites are Cars and Burgers - I love to eat burgers. I also like to play games. I don't like to make Mama-Papa, Princess sad. I always want us to be smiling and happy. And I always sing the song they love “ta ra rum pum…”

Storyline

This is the story of one man, his family and how they overcome the obstacles that life puts in their way, together. It is the story of human spirit and how it ultimately prevails.

Rajveer Singh (Saif Ali Khan) is a pit-crew worker in a racing team with a passion for driving who gets discovered by a team manager, Harry (Jaaved Jaaferi). The same day he accidentally meets a music student, Radhika (Rani Mukerji), who he falls for instantly. He gets drafted into 'Speeding Saddles' – a failing race team and transforms from Rajveer Singh to “RV” the race car driver. While his racing career takes off instantly, his love life also blossoms after a whirlwind romance. A few months later, he is both a happily married man and one of the country's best racers. Fatherhood and greater success both follow and soon he is the Number 1 race car driver in the USA, as well as the proud father of two precocious kids Priya (Angelina Idnani) and Ranveer (Ali Haji).

But as a result of a bad racing accident, RV is hospitalized for a few months. When he tries to make a comeback, he realizes that he has been mentally scarred by the accident and has lost his edge. His life now takes a turn for the worse and after a string of failures, he is forced to auction his house and move with his family to a run-down Bronx-style neighborhood.

However, RV and Radhika decide not to tell their children the truth and construct a skillful masquerade of a reality show where they have to live a poor life in order to win a mythical grand prize. The family struggles to survive a life that they are not used to, using a mixture of fantasy and cheerfulness to pull through in the face of adversity. But an incident forces RV to reclaim the life that was taken away from him.

Can he, once again and perhaps for a last time, face down his inner demons on the race track?

Can the family remain together in the wake of what could perhaps be their biggest challenge yet?

When you are young, you believe, the possibilities are endless...

What does an eighteen year old guy in college really want? Dil Dosti Etc is a fresh and unabashed look at how young men of today think and choose to live their lives. Dil Dosti Etc is set around students in Delhi University. Through two university hostellers, Apurv (Imaad Shah), a rich, cosmopolitan guy and, Sanjay Mishra (Shreyas Talpade), an old-fashioned Bihari guy, the film juxtaposes the ‘new/ liberal’ and the ‘old/ conservative’ in our society.

Sanjay is an ambitious and focused student-politician in Delhi. He represents the romantic and the idealist who steadfastly pursues his political goals. On the other hand, Apurv’s life is directionless. With the abundance of time and money in hand, he searches for meaning in life through amorous escapades with various girls.

The three female leads – that of a prostitute (Smriti Mishra), a school girl and a rich model, provide a myriad of social and emotional backdrops to the film. Vaisali (Smriti Mishra) plays an attractive but sharp-tongued prostitute. She claims never to get emotionally attached to her customers. Then there is the precocious school girl Kintu (Ishitta Sharrma), who coquettishly remains noncommittal to Apurv’s flirtations and plays hard to get. Prerna (Nikita Anand) is the rich South Delhi babe who aspires to become an international model, and yet finds herself attracted to the earthy and charismatic student-politician, Sanjay.

Dil Dosti Etc uses a rich ensemble of characters, stories and themes to explore the very nature of friendship, male bonding, voyeurism, sexual perversion, love and betrayal. The film, based on an original screenplay, is full with realism and black humour and shows the coming of age of not only a young man but also explores the ambiguities and pre-occupations of an entire generation.

Dil Dosti Etc has been produced by Prakash Jha and directed by Manish Tiwary.

Rahul is one young man with dreams. Working as a call centre executive in a BPO in Mumbai. He silently loves his boss, Neha. A smart young woman who has made it up the ranks in a very short time. And hard work is not her only secret. Because her boss, Ranjeet loves her and is willing to shower her with gifts and opportunities… only if she is willing.

In his 30s, Ranjeet is married to Shikha with a 6 year old son. Shikha is very well educated and was a better student that Ranjeet. But they decided that she should stay back at home and take care of the house and the kid. So Ranjeet ventured out on his quest for money and success… and forgot his family somewhere on the way. And bitterness and boredom crept into their relationship. Soon he found solace and a fresh lease of life in Neha. An exciting, non-committal relationship based on sex.

Neglected by an indifferent husband and bogged down by family chores, Shikha is soon attracted to a maverick in Akash. A loser and a rebel without a cause, Akash is a struggling theatre artist whose wife divorces him… because she cannot stand his failures anymore. Akash and Shikha’s love blossoms and she almost crosses her limits that she has so fervently guarded all these years.

Amol is a 70 year old man who’s returned to India after 40 years. To spend last few years of his life with his first love, Vaijanti. This lady lives in an old age home and is Shikha’s aunty who gives moral strength to Shikha.

Shikha’s sister and Neha’s room-mate, Shruti works in at Radio Mirchi. A producer. In her 30’s and still a virgin, she’s desperate to get married. She is dreamy eyed about her RJ, Wishy K. Her boss hooks her up with Wishy K. While she also meets Debu through a matrimonial site. Hates him. But Debu, an ordinary man, is ready to marry her. Her affair with Wishy K blossoms.

Rahul is extremely ambitiously and discovers the easiest way to success. Rather the key to success. The key to his uncle’s opulent apartment where he stays while his uncle is away. Most of the men in his office look for places to take their mistresses, girlfriends or prostitutes. He provides the perfect place to release their libido. His apartment. The cost? A recommendation for his out of turn promotion. Even Ranjeet gets the key and takes Neha to the apartment.

Amidst one of their escapades Neha asks Ranjeet about their future. A commitment? Ranjeet makes it clear that she should not even think of a commitment. He insults her and leaves. She tries to commit suicide. Rahul discovers her in his apartment and takes care of her, They share some loving moments… come closer but still she’s unsure about him.

The current generation of working professionals leads a life very different than what it was earlier. That’s the essence of DELHII HEIGHTS.

But the question is, does this seemingly realistic yarn work? Sure, DELHII HEIGHTS tries to portray the life of many working professionals in the metros of India, with Delhi in particular, but the result isn’t as convincing.

What acts as a spoilsport here is the writing. Had the material been as compelling as the actors enacting the parts, the results would’ve been complimentary. But that’s not the case here!

Abi [Jimmy Shergill] and Suhana [Neha Dhupia] are a newly-wed couple who live in a building complex called Delhii Heights. They work for rival companies. In the same society live Timmy [Om Puri], his wife Ruby [Kamini Khana] and their daughter Sweety. Abi’s friend Bobby [Rohit Roy] and his wife Saima [Simone Singh] also live in the same complex.

Due to their tiresome and tedious professional lives, Abi and Suhana are not able to dedicate ample time to each other and have to compromise on many occasions. On the other hand, Bobby is a compulsive flirt. When Suhana and Bobby dance on Holi and when they meet at Suhana’s house for a business chat, Abi begins to feel uncomfortable with Bobby being around too much and gets a little possessive. All these factors reduce the tolerance level of the couple.

Abi and Suhana, employed with rival companies, are working on the same deal and it seems to be going in favor of Abi. But at the end moment, the deal goes in favor of Suhana’s company. Abi feels Suhana has taken advantage by reading his confidential documents and taking the deal away from him. He has a tiff with her and does not even give her a chance to explain her viewpoint.

Saima is fed up of her husband’s flirtatious ways and catches him red-handed one day. In the tension that follows, Bobby meets with an accident. Since she loves him, she takes care of him until he recovers. Bobby begs for another chance. That incident changes their lives.

Meanwhile, Abi realizes his fault and apologizes to Suhana, realizing that she was not responsible for anything and had never broken his trust in the first place. All’s well that ends well. Other tracks are that of a group of friends who are just having fun and play pranks.

The story stands on a realistic platform and the identification with the premise is tremendous. But the material hasn’t been explored to the optimum. An exciting screenplay would’ve only taken the graph of the film upwards. Also, a number of scenes are unnecessary and seem forced in the narrative. The writing lacks vision.

Barring the Jimmy-Neha track and to an extent, Rohit-Simone track, the other stories only add to the length of the film. Had the director concentrated on limited characters, the results would’ve been better.

After an ordinary first hour, you expect things to perk up in the second half. But, again, the mediocre writing doesn’t improve things. Even the climax is a disappointment. A better culmination was the need of the hour for sure.

Given the material, director Anand Kumar’s execution doesn’t really help elevate matters. Music [Rabbi Shergill] is pleasant. ‘Tere Bin’ is the best track of the enterprise; its one number you carry home after the show has concluded. Cinematography is striking. Dialogues don’t leave much of an impact.

Jimmy Shergill is a complete natural. The role demanded an able performer and Jimmy doesn’t let you down one bit. Neha Dhupia enacts her part with equal conviction. She seems to be evolving into a fine actor. Rohit Roy goes a little over the top, but is alright otherwise. Simone Singh is efficient. Om Puri doesn’t get substantial footage, but is a delight to watch whenever he appears on screen. Kamini Khanna and Vivek Shauq are just about okay.

On the whole, DELHII HEIGHTS is too mediocre a fare to leave any impression. The pre-release promotion [attractive promos] might appeal to a section of the multiplex-going junta, that’s about it!

Love life, enjoy life and live life to the fullest — that's exactly the mindset of the four central characters of Raffoo Chakkar. Pappu (Aslam Khan) and Munnu (Yudhishtir), known as PM are very rich brothers. Millie (Nauheed Cyrusi) and Julie (Nisha Rawal), known as MJ are sisters from the upper crust of society. All of them believe in enjoying their life to the fullest and are not interested in getting married. But the unbelievable happens. When forced to get married they run away from their homes.

While on the run lots of fun happens. Pappu and Munnu meet and get attracted to the cute looking Millie and Julie. Naturally they try to woo the girls, not realizing that they are the same girls with whom their father had fixed their marriage. Another twist comes in the story when Millie and Julie meet Kokila and Koena (KK), two middle-aged sisters who hate men and never want to get married.

Fate takes another turn and KK's father, who wants his daughters to get married, dies. In his WILL he clearly puts this condition – if KK do not get married before they turn 45 his property will go to the trust, managed by Dilkhush (Sadashiv Amrapurkar) and Hansmukh (Shakti Kapoor)

They only have 24 hrs to find the boys, get married and save their property because KK will turn 45 the very next day.

P M, who are on the run, are broke but need money to buy an expensive gift for their girls MJ. So they land up at KK's house to rob them. They are in for a surprise. The old girls are Judo/Karate champions and catch the boys red handed. This leads to arrest and eventually marriage to sisters KK. All hell breaks loose.

Since KK want to keep things under their control right from day 1, they start torturing brothers PM.

Further confusion pours in because MJ by now are in love with PM, not knowing their married status with KK sisters. What follows is a plan by PM brothers to murder KK. The trustees realize the marriage is fake which leads to a very hilarious unfolding of the entire story.

Set in London, ‘Provoked’ is the traumatic story of a battered Punjabi housewife and mother of two, Kiranjit Ahluwalia (Aishwarya Rai). Unable to bear the brutality of her alcoholic husband Deepak Ahluwalia (Naveen Andrews), she takes revenge by setting him on fire. Charged with first-degree murder, she is sentenced to life imprisonment, where she befriends her cell-mate, a wealthy white woman Veronica Scott (Miranda Richardson), from whom she learns English.

Her cell mate is so moved by her story that she asks her step-brother Lord Edward Foster (Robbie Coltrane), a highly respected queen’s counsel to file her appeal. Her case comes to the notice of a motley group of south Asian social workers running a under funded organization called South all Black Sisters. They bring her plight to the attention of the media by organizing rallies to gather public support for her freedom.

She is ultimately freed by the judicial system in a landmark case called Regina vs. Ahluwalia that redefined the word PROVOCATION in the case of battered women. She was reunited with her children and subsequently gives an award by the Prime Minister’s wife for her crusade against domestic violence.

Kajol (Karisma Kapoor) is a girl born with silver spoon to very rich parents. She falls in love with a poor boy Suraj (Arshad Warsi), who is her college mate. But as always is the case, the path of lovers never runs smooth …because her father wants her to marry his business partner’s brother Sunil who has got all vices of a rich pampered boy. Suraj with all his good qualities is human and helpful to the fellowmen and is the hero of the college. When Sunil comes to know of the love affair of Kajol and Suraj, he plans to remove him from his path and succeeds in his attempt to get Suraj arrested for a murder of a girl student … Tara …during a college dance drama show.

The efforts by Kajol to extricate Suraj from the murder charge proves futile as all the lawyers became helpless because the witness for prosecution were very strong. Helpless Kajol appeals to all lawyers to save the innocent Suraj. A sympathetic lawyer suggests to Kajol that the only person who can save Suraj from gallows is the famous advocate Shivshankar (Amitabh Bachchan). But unfortunately he has stopped attending court after he became blind in a car bomb explosion and is a almost inaccessible except to his close friend Dr. Madan..

Kajol tries to approach Shivshankar through Dr. Madan but is turned out by him inspite of Kajol’s pleading to save her love. She accuses him of having no knowledge of love. Provoked and angered by this accusation, Shivshankar narrates his own unfulfilled love story and finally asks Kajol to leave the house.

The last hope of engaging the noted advocate Shivshankar to save Suraj became futile and Suraj concludes that he is going to be hanged finally. But Kajol says it will not happen.

Kajol and the entire college agitate before the court. Shivshankar does arrive at the last minute before the final count by the police ACP to order to fire at students.

What did Shivshankar do?
Did he save Suraj?
Whether Kajol got back her love?

A Mira Nair film is special! Over the years, Mira’s films have won tremendous acclaim and admirers on home turf as well as on foreign soil. Although opinions and feedback to her films vary, there’s no denying that the competent storyteller handles human relationships with astute sensitivity.

THE NAMESAKE, based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s best-selling novel, is a cinematic triumph. Like MONSOON WEDDING, THE NAMESAKE explores human relationships, besides raising several poignant issues in those two hours: The diverse cultures and how most children belonging to Asian-American families find themselves in a quandary. The clash of the old and the new, when asked to follow their traditional values.

Mira takes time to set things up and when you do get acquainted with the characters, you’re slowly sucked into their world -- their problems, their differences, their beliefs, their sorrows. That’s one of the primary reasons why THE NAMESAKE works so beautifully!

Ashoke [Irrfan Khan] and wife Ashima [Tabu], a Bengali couple, migrate to New York from Kolkata after an arranged marriage. Leaving behind her family in Kolkata, Ashima decides to adjust to a new life in New York. Soon, they are blessed with two kids -- son Gogol [Kal Penn] and daughter Sonia [Sahira Nair].

Ashoke and Ashima want their children to grow up in the land of opportunities, but retain the traditional Indian culture and customs. Gogol struggles with his name [named after Russian author Gogol] and his heritage/roots. Gogol wants to be like other American kids, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t escape reality.

Gogol attempts to find his way and identity. He starts distancing himself from his traditional parents. He changes his name to the more American-sounding Nick. He moves to another city and begins dating a white girl, Max [Jacinda Barrett], although he knows his parents expect him to marry a Bengali girl.

On a visit home, Ashoke finally explains to Gogol the relevance of his name. In the 1970s, when Ashoke was a young man, he was critically injured in a train accident. He was reading Gogol at that point of time and was engaged in a conversation with a fellow passenger, who urged him to see the world. “Every day since then,” Ashoke tells Gogol, “life has been a gift.”

The story takes a turn when Ashoke dies of a massive heart attack. Gogol longs to turn back the clock and appreciate his father, but it’s too late by then. Later, he marries Moushumi [Zuleikha Robinson], a family friend’s daughter, but Moushumi cheats on him by having an extra-marital affair with a French guy.

Although THE NAMESAKE is a lengthy journey, you don’t mind it for two vital reasons: Mira Nair’s deft handling of the subject material and bravura performances by each and every member of the cast. The narrative catches your attention from the very start, but the film gathers momentum when Gogol grows up and starts finding his way.

The sequences that hold your interest are mostly those that feature Irrfan and Tabu. At the start. In New York. And their last interaction together -- an unwell Irrfan calling up from a hospital -- gives you goose bumps. The film becomes an emotional journey thereafter, when Gogol goes back to his roots.

Also, the film envelopes the heat and dust of Kolkata and the snow and slush of New York beautifully. The Kolkata episode specifically -- when the family visits their ancestral home, right till their journey to Taj Mahal -- are amongst the interesting moments of the enterprise. The screenplay [Sooni Taraporevala] is just perfect.

The film is embellished with topnotch performances. Tabu is brilliant, essaying the roles of a wife as also the mother with flourish. Note her expressions when the voice on the phone informs her that her husband passed away after a heart attack. You’d agree, she’s a world class actor. Irrfan Khan is splendid. Controlled and convincing, he enacts a difficult part with amazing ease. It’s yet another significant performance from this supremely talented actor.

Kal Penn is first-rate. Although he’s plain ordinary in the initial reels, the actor matches up to Tabu and Irrfan’s level in the latter half. The transformation after his father’s demise is the highpoint of his performance. Barrett and Sahira are able. Zuleikha is quite good.

On the whole, THE NAMESAKE is a classy product that caters to a niche audience mainly -- those who appreciate qualitative cinema. At the box-office, it’s a film for very select multiplexes.

Faced with conflicting cultural values and beliefs of their families, Aryan Khanna (Sarvar Ahuja) and Nandini Iyer (Aditi Sharma) have run away from home. While on the run, a series of unforeseen circumstances unfold and unknown to them a CD containing proof of relationship between a known politician and infamous terrorist Donga lands up in their Bag. Chased by their parents, cops and terrorists in the jungle of Lal dora; what ensues then is series of adventures and misadventures.

Would their parents overcome animosity for the sake of their children? Would they survive between the crossfire of cops and the terrorist? And most importantly, would the young love survive the reality check of life?

Life Mein Kabhie Kabhiee is the story of five friends, five lives, five years, one goal – happiness.

On their graduation day Manish (Aftab Shidasani), Rajeev (Dino Morea), Jai (Sameer Dattani), Monica (Nauheed Cyrusi) and Ishita (Anjori) get insanely drunk and have a bet that who out of them would be the happiest in life. They give themselves five years. At the end of five years Manish would decide who was the happiest. All of them have different ideas of happiness.

Rajeev thinks that to be the best in what you do is happiness,
Monica thinks fame is happiness
Jai thinks power is happiness
and
Ishita thinks money is what happiness is all about.

Life Mein Kabhie Kabhiee is the story of the journey of these five friends. What people do to achieve what they want? It is a journey of success and failure, triumphs and tribulations, hope and despair, happiness and sadness and of course the final question. Who will win the bet?

The boy is actually a 64 year old man, Amitabh Bachchan - Buddhadev Gupta. The girl is a 34 year old woman, Tabu - Nina Verma

Buddhadev Gupta is the 64 year old chef cum owner of London's top Indian restaurant. He lives with his 85 year old mother and his only friend and confidante is his 9 year old neighbour - Sexy. Buddhadev Gupta is an arrogant, egoistic, pompous man with a singular passion in life - cooking. A confirmed bachelor who has never been in love.

Until…….Nina Verma walks into his restaurant and life.

Nina Verma is a beautiful, charming, Indian woman. Cool, calm, quiet, always smiling, but independent and strong willed.

Two extremes…in age, character and attitude. Meet and against all odds fall in love. They decide to get married. And, like any Indian man, Buddhadev Gupta respectfully comes to ask Nina's father, a true Gandhian, living in Delhi, for her hand.

Sweet……Just one problem….

Mr. Omprakash Verma, Nina's father is 58 years old 6 years younger than Buddhadev Gupta, his would be son-in-law.

Cheeni kum……A romantic, musical comedy!!

Raqeeb is a musical thriller – a roller coaster ride that hurtles from one twist to the next at breakneck speed. The story has many themes that are so different and yet so closely linked that they overlap each other. These themes are like shadows where the viewer is never quite sure where one shadow ends and the next begins. Seduction leads to love, love becomes betrayal, betrayal is motivated by passion, passion leads to obsession and to crime, and this crime reveals another betrayal which again is motivated by love.

The protagonist, Remo Mathews, is a computer whiz kid and the owner of a highly successful software company. Remo’s parents had died in a car crash when he was still a child. Siddharth is his employee and probably, only friend. Sidharth is the extroverted playboy, and is the exact opposite of Remo who is shy, introverted and asthmatic. Sidharth constantly pesters Remo to socialize so that he can meet a few girls and fall in love with one of them. Remo seems to be averse to the whole idea until, one day Sidharth plays a prank and sets Remo up for a blind date.

Remo meets the girl and after the initial hilarious misunderstanding falls in love with her. The girl is Sofie, a theatre actress who is high on life. Love blossoms and all is going smoothly until Remo and Sofie discover that her parents died in the same car crash in which Remo’s parents had been killed. Sofie realizes that Remo’s parents were responsible for the death of her parents. Remo doesn’t know how to deal with this tragic discovery. Sidharth persuades him to propose to Sofie. Remo proposes and after the initial hesitation, Sofie accepts. Remo and Sofie get married. Thereafter, the story takes an unexpected twist with the introduction of Sunny.

Sunny is a struggling actor who was in love with Sofie. But Sofie had always wanted a luxurious life which Sunny was unable to provide. Hence, Sofie married Remo. When they meet again, the old love is rekindled. Thus begins a torrid affair between them. Finally, tired of having to meet secretly and only occasionally, they plan to kill Remo. The plan is to hide Remo’s asthma medicine and then aggravate his asthma so as to trigger an asthma attack. Once the asthma attack occurs, Sunny has to pretend to shoot Remo with fake bullets so as to aggravate his condition further eventually leading to death. The post mortem will reveal that Remo died of natural causes and hence, no one will be suspected of any foul play.

The D-day arrives and Sunny comes to Remo’s house to execute the plan. But there is another twist in the tale. Sofie double crosses Sunny as well and he is arrested and accused of Remo’s murder.

Why does Sofie double cross Sunny?
Is there more to her than what meets the eye?
Does she really love anyone?
Does Sidharth find out the truth about Sofie?
Is Sunny able to clear his name?
And…is Remo really dead or has he pulled off a Houdini act?

All these questions are answered as the story breathlessly races to its nail biting, chilling climax!

‘Ek Chalis Ki Last Local’ is a comic thriller about two people who miss the last local train at 1:40 am to Vikhroli and have poore dhayi ghante (full two-and-half hours) before the next local will arrive. The movie meanders with an intriguing drama with a set of stories intertwined with each other. The tale revolves around Nilesh (Abhay Deol), a call center executive and how missing the last train home proves to be a significant episode in his life.

Nilesh bumps into Madhu (Neha Dhupia) who has also missed her train on the same station and because there is an auto strike, the duo finds themselves getting together and soon seated in a desi bar for some time pass before their next train. One thing leads to another and circumstances spiral off into experiences and events, some bizarre and beautiful whereas others unpleasant and uncanny. Subtle and dark humor take you by surprise and so does the mystery and excitement as the film picks up pace and Nilesh’s life comes on “fast track”.

Simply surmised, ‘Ek Chalis Ki Last Local’ is uncertain, riotous with alarming twists thrown in to the plot. A story of Nilesh fraught under the pressure of his circumstances for complete two and a half hours and then emerging triumphant with two and a half crores. Taking the audience on a confusing trail, here is an intriguing, comic & psychosomatic drama that unscrambles itself with unforgettable characters and captivating performances.

Dhayi Ghante Mein… Dhayi Crore.

Say Salaam India is the story of cricket. It’s a story that revolves around a group of 4 boys and their passion for the game. The boys come from humble backgrounds and limited resources but what they have is a zeal for the game of cricket and undeniable natural talent. They study in the local corporation school where the most important sport on agenda is wrestling, taught by Wrestling Guru Surinder Huda – a man driven by hatred for cricket because in his eyes it is cricket that is responsible for destroying traditional sports like Kushti, Kabbadi, and Hockey etc.

The story begins with establishing the 4 boys Viru, Mahi, Shakeel and Guri and their milieu, and how they fight their circumstances and lack of resources to pursue their fervor for the game. From here the story moves on to an elite school Royal Heritage in the state capital. It is here that we meet the protagonist of the film, Hari Sadu, a Cricket Fanatic who believes that gully cricket is to be played with a similar commitment as any other level of cricket. His new job is to coach the Royal Heritage team to win their sixth state championship, but he faces a stiff opposition to his coaching methods by the headstrong, arrogant members of the school team, who are more impressed with Sachin’s Ferrari than his batting skills and hard work behind it. The boys are talented but don’t have the passion and the discipline to match Hari’s ideas.

This results in a lot of situations, which add to the already simmering tension leading to a final showdown where Hari Sadu is wrongly accused and is thrown out by the members of the school trust. He’s replaced by Harry Oberoi, who is more of a suave fixer from the cricket world than a coach, but suits the image and profile of the school.

Hari Sadu gets home determined to make a local team to take on the cudgel at the inter school challenge. He is helped in this pursuit by his wife Sonali and his cerebral palsy suffering son Rustam. How he develops a cricketing eleven from the wrestling team at the local corporation school, overcoming various hurdles to take on the Royal Heritage School at the inter School Challenge is the story Say Salaam India.

Too late! That’s your instant reaction when you watch SARHAD PAAR.

Everything comes with an expiry date. Perhaps, SARHAD PAAR may’ve worked had it released a few years ago. Perhaps, SARHAD PAAR may’ve struck a chord with the junta when the Indo-Pak wave was at its peak. But SARHAD PAAR makes a late entry to movieplexes and its release timing is also inappropriate.

What’s the verdict then? SARHAD PAAR won’t work eis paar [India] or sarhad paar [Overseas].

Army man Ranjit Singh [Sanjay Dutt] returns home after a long time. Declared missing in action after he inadvertently crossed the border, Ranjit went through trauma and torment as a prisoner across the border.

Amongst the faces to greet Ranjit on his return is that of his wife Pammi [Tabu] and sister Simran [Mahima Chaudhary]. They are happy that their loved one is back, but are shocked to see his condition.

In the Army Hospital, Ranjit is trying to recuperate from the horrifying experiences he has gone through. He sees a face every time he shuts his eyes, only to reopen them in a state of confusion. He has lost his memory, but can only remember this face.

s Meanwhile, Pammi and Simran try to help Ranjit to get back to normal life, but in vain. Disappointed, Pammi begins giving up hope when Simran vows to bring Ranjit back to his normal self. How she will do this, no one knows, but she has the support of Ravi [Chandrachur Singh], a folk singer whom she is engaged to.

Simran’s efforts pay off and Ranjit discovers the root cause of his pathetic condition. His tormentor was Bhaktavar [Rahul Dev], a mercenary terrorist associated with traitors in India.

While Ranjit tries to fight the enemy within and Pammi tries to recapture the glorious moments with her husband, Simran is caught in the emotional dilemma between supporting her brother in his fight against his oppressor and fulfilling her marital commitment to the man she has tied the knot for life.

You get a strong feeling that you’re watching a dated product once the reels unfold. That’s not the only problem with SARHAD PAAR. It also looks like a disjointed effort, with certain pieces in the narrative giving you the feeling that it was hurriedly packed up, with some loose ends still remaining.

Also, SARHAD PAAR seems like one confused product. Portions of the film give an impression that it’s a realistic, hard-hitting film, but there are times when you feel that the film suddenly tries to play to the gallery [overdose of songs, including a forced item song].

Any redeeming aspects? Difficult to find! In fact, the drama loses pace as it progresses. Director Raman Kumar has handled a few sequences well, but a few skillfully executed sequences don’t camouflage the shortcomings. Music [Anand Raaj Anand] is strictly okay. Cinematography is inconsistent, but you can’t blame the D.O.P. for it. The delay in the making is bound to tell!

Sanjay Dutt runs through his part mechanically. Tabu is natural. Mahima Chaudhary is efficient. Chandrachur Singh wears a blank look most of the times. Rahul Dev is loud. Akash Khurana leaves a mark.

On the whole, SARHAD PAAR has nothing going in its favor. At the box-office, it’s a loser!

Four people whose lives and destinies are ruled by music…
Music will connect them…
Music will destroy them…

Music will scale the notes of jealousy… betrayal… passion… desperation…

Character Sketch

Bobby Deol is AJ
The singer/ composer at the pinnacle of success and popularity, he has reached where he is through sheer dint of slog and hard work. He is used to winning; he revels in it and will never allow anybody to overtake him.

Upen Patel is Reggie
The hugely talented newcomer, who wants to be where AJ is – on the top! Reggie’s hunger for success is only matched by his hunger to make music. His talent is inborn, he does not struggle to make music, he struggles to get noticed.

Kangana Ranaut is Ruhi
The lovely young singer who unwittingly comes between the two. She likes singing, admires AJ and falls head over heels in love with Reggie.

Celina Jaitley is Sheena
The beautiful and ambitious PR professional, who once went all out to promote Reggie. Now she will do everything in her power to destroy him.

Storyline

Set against a backdrop of the international music industry, Shakalaka Boom Boom delves into the complex relationship of two dramatically different men who have but one thing in common – their passion for music. If ruthless, manipulative, cut-throat… is considered synonymous with the music industry, these terms certainly do not apply to AJ – the most loved, the most popular singer/composer New York has seen.

If prodigious talent, passion, attitude… is considered synonymous with the music industry. Then Reggie fits the bill. Young and hugely talented, he hungers for what AJ has; he craves to be where AJ is – on the top. Into the lives of these two men enter two beautiful women – aspiring singer Ruhi and ambitious PR professional Sheena.

On the professional front, Ruhi admires and looks up to AJ. On the personal level she has been wooed and won over by Reggie. On the professional front, Sheena has done a lot for Reggie. On the personal level, she holds a huge grudge because he has spurned her. As ambition, manipulation and desperation take centre stage, Ruhi and Sheena become pawns in a ruthless game…

As AJ and Reggie face off against each in a do or die battle… envy and betrayal rear their ugly heads… As talent struggles to survive the onslaught of a carefully orchestrated smear campaign, Music will be the ultimate winner… and the loser… In Shakalaka Boom Boom.

Take a bow, Deepa Mehta.

Deepa Mehta’s body of work includes several noteworthy films, notable among them being EARTH and FIRE. But she reaches the pinnacle with WATER, her most accomplished work so far. Okay, WATER didn’t really win the coveted Academy Award, but film aficionados have given their mandate, showering it with accolades. That, to put it bluntly, is a far bigger achievement than winning the coveted statuette.

In the past, reputed names such as Shakti Samanta [KATI PATANG, ARADHANA], Yash Chopra [DAAG], Ramesh Sippy [SHOLAY], Raj Kapoor [PREM ROG], Rituparno Ghosh [CHOKHER BALI] and Ravi Chopra [BAABUL] depicted the plight of widows. Sometime back, SHWET – WHITE RAINBOW [Sonali Kulkarni] also revolved around widows and their journey to overcome the societal stigma.

WATER is an exquisite drama that works because it encompasses so much in those 2 hours -- life, laughter, tenderness and tragedy. Despite its simplistic plotline, it manages to stir your soul, grip your heart and transport you to an era which many of us haven’t experienced. Also, not once does the film meander into sub-plots or take you away from the core issue. At the same time, it’s not preachy, nor does it get melodramatic.

To sum up, WATER is a remarkable piece of cinema. It’s a must-see for all those who appreciate qualitative and refined cinema. Without doubt, the final chapter in Deepa Mehta’s trilogy [FIRE, EARTH] is her best!

Set during the pre-independence era, WATER revolves around an ashram for Hindu widows in 1930s India. The woman who runs the establishment, Madhumati [veteran actress Manorama], exploits the residents by running a prostitution racket. With the help of a transvestite Gulabi [Raghuvir Yadav], she pimps out the widows to the upper class, so that money keeps flowing in to run the ashram.

Narayan [John Abraham], a Gandhian, falls for the beautiful Kalyani [Lisa Ray], a widow in Madhumati’s house. Chuyia [Sarala], an 8-year-old widow and Shakuntala [Seema Biswas], a middle-aged woman are the other residents of the ashram.

Narayan proposes marriage to Kalyani. Kalyani decides to revolt against Madhumati’s dominance. Madhumati reasons that they will go to hell if Kalyani re-marries, but Kalyani has already made up her mind. Narayan decides to introduce Kalyani to his parents. But when she spots the house they’re heading towards, she insists they turn the ferry around.

Narayan is confused, but Kalyani tells him to ask his father the reason. When Narayan learns that his father had sexually exploited Kalyani, he feels disgusted. The end is tragic: Kalyani commits suicide, while Madhumati and Gulabi pimp out the little Chuyia.

WATER touches your heart on several occasions. The film begins with Chuyia being told that she’s a widow and her heartbroken father drops her at the ashram. The subtle romance between Narayan and Kalyani is another interesting aspect. The understanding between Gulabi and Madhumati raises eyebrows. But the finale is what catches you by complete surprise. Kalyani’s suicide and the innocent Chuiya being thrown to a pervert shakes you up completely.

WATER is, without a shred of doubt, Deepa Mehta’s finest work to date. The director handles the complex relationships with dexterity. Although the pacing is slow, given the theme of the film, not once do you feel uneasy because the drama that ensues has the power to hold your attention. Even the tragic finale has been handled in a classy manner.

Besides, Deepa Mehta raises several pertinent questions through Chuyia. Questions like ‘For how long will I be a widow’, ‘When will I return home’ or ‘Where do men who’ve lost their wives go’ are brutally honest. Mahatma Gandhi’s appearance in the end is another masterstroke. The final sequence, when Shakuntala hands over Chuyia to Narayan, is akin to a ray of hope.

Another remarkable feature is its cinematography [Giles Nuttgens], which captures the era with precision. Surprising, the film wasn’t nominated in this category! Dialogues are wonderful. The background score [Mychael Danna] as well as the songs [A.R. Rahman] injected in the narrative are appropriate. However, the film could’ve done without songs even otherwise. Costumes [Dolly Ahluwalia] reflect the detailing that has gone into the film.

Every performance in WATER is mesmerizing. But the one who really stands out with a remarkable portrayal is Sarala, who enacts the role of Chuyia with rare maturity. She is incredible! Seema Biswas proves yet again that she’s amongst the finest talents India has produced in recent years.

Lisa Ray looks stunning as always and emotes with flourish. John Abraham is perfect for the part. Known for his handsome looks all the while, you notice the maturity in his performance in WATER. Manorama returns to the big screen after a long gap and you’re bound to hate the lady -- so effective is she!

Raghuvir Yadav is first-rate. Vinay Pathak is believable. Kulbhushan Kharbanda stands out in a brief role. Waheeda Rehman [as John’s mother] suits the part.

On the whole, WATER is Deepa Mehta’s finest work to date and will win unprecedented critical acclaim in the Indian media. At the box-office, the film caters to a niche audience -- those who appreciate qualitative cinema. Therefore, its business at multiplexes of big cities will be better.

There are far too many stories in everyday life. While you forget most of them as a new day unfurls, a few stories find a place in some corner of your mind and are difficult to erase from your memory’s ‘recycle bin’. Nazim Rizvi’s UNDERTRIAL, directed by Aziz Khan, is one such story.

Let’s give you a gist of this straight-out-of-life story: A man is accused of raping his three daughters. Worse, the mother of the girls also testifies in court against the man in question.

Let’s talk of the cinematic interpretation, UNDERTRIAL.
First the good news: The story moves about in a serpentine fashion and since it’s based on a real-life incident, you’re baffled at the turn of events. The intricate details that you weren’t aware of hit you like a ton of bricks!

Now the bad news: Despite genuine intentions and captivating execution, the story isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Although UNDERTRIAL is the celluloid interpretation of a real-life incident, a section of the audience would find the goings-on disturbing, calling it dark and depressing.

Yet, despite the pros and cons, a film like UNDERTRIAL drives home the point that some people succumb to weaknesses and take the wrong path in life, trying to reach the winning post via shortcuts. But at what cost? At the cost of sacrificing your self esteem? Losing out on your dear ones for materialistic pleasures?

Sagar Hussain [Rajpal Yadav] is an undertrial prisoner at the Central Jail. He is accused of raping his daughters continuously for eight years and also for conspiring to murder them. The evidence is stacked up against Sagar.

The last witness is Sagar’s wife Sameena [Monica Castelino], who wants to ensure life imprisonment for him with the help of Public Prosecutor P.P. Verma [Prem Chopra]. Amidst a guaranteed guilty verdict enters Ravi Vishnoi [Kader Khan] to, perhaps, Sagar’s rescue. Does Justice Jaya Reddy [Pratima Kazmi] pronounce him guilty?

Any film that boasts of a hard-hitting and compelling story ought to be handled with equal conviction. Although the initial portions of UNDERTRIAL aren’t captivating, primarily because the film gives more-than-required footage to the jail inmates and assorted characters, a few moments between Rajpal Yadav and Mukesh Tiwari are interesting nonetheless.

But UNDERTRIAL takes a leap in the second hour. The courtroom sequences -- Kader Khan cross-examining the chief complainant [the mother of the daughters] -- is attention grabbing. The flashback -- the mother’s past [already married to someone else – a fact she hid from Sagar], the murder of the eldest daughter, the prostitution racket -- are sure to give you goose bumps. The execution of the material is also first-rate.

The film concludes on a positive note -- the man is freed -- but it instills sadness in you as the jailor questions the man: “Where do you go from here?” And the dejected man, who has almost reached the sunset of his life, replies helplessly: “I don’t know. Jahan raaste le jaaye.” It moves you!

Making his Hindi film debut with UNDERTRIAL, director Aziz Khan handles a complex subject with conviction. The execution stands out during dramatic portions towards the second hour. The screenplay [Nazim Rizvi] is strong, although the entire exercise of capturing the death on a mobile phone looks a bit far-fetched. Although there isn’t scope for music [Anu Malik, Shamir Tandon] in a film of this genre, the two songs [one filmed on the jail inmates and the other, on bar girls] are completely justified. Cinematography [Tapan K. Basu] is just right.

Rajpal Yadav doesn’t get many lines to deliver, but emotes through his eyes. The anger, the pain, the anguish, the agony, the disgust, the will to fight back… the varied emotions surface convincingly all through those two hours. If you thought that the actor is cutout for comic roles only, you need to correct yourself. Watch UNDERTRIAL.

Monica Castelino gets a meaty role and although she goes over the top in a few sequences, you can’t overlook the fact that she’s enacting a role that demands an actor to be loud. Yet, in all fairness, she’s excellent in a role that shows her in various ages: Youngster, middle-aged and reaching the sunset of her life.

Kader Khan enacts his part with gusto. You rarely see the actor in movies these days, but it’s a pleasure watching him fight it out in the courtroom sequences in UNDERTRIAL. Prem Chopra is efficient. Pratima Kazmi is wonderful. She suits the character to the T. Mukesh Tiwari shines yet again, although the makers should’ve given the viewer a background of his character. Sunil Rege and Rajesh Puri are okay. The actor enacting the role of the social activist is effective.

On the whole, UNDERTRIAL has a bold storyline and an engrossing second hour to stay in the viewer’s mind. At the box-office, the lack of face-value will tell on its business, although the film has the merits to rise with a strong word of mouth.