Indian movies

Television producer. Music composer. Singer. And now actor. Oh yes, Himesh Reshammiya wears many caps. Literally! Everyone's curious to know how HR is as an actor? Is he a fine actor? Or has he strolled into the wrong alley?

Don't expect miracles. HR is no Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, SRK or Aamir Khan when it comes to histrionics. He's not the best looker in town either, not anywhere close to Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan or Akshay Kumar.

But you've to hand it over to HR for being the most courageous and confident person around. Can you ever imagine actors like Amitabh Bachchan or SRK turning music composers overnight? It's difficult to take risks, especially when you're under a scanner constantly. Like the famous lines go, every step you take, every move you make, the world'll be watching you…

Let's get one more thing straight. AAP KAA SURROOR is no amar prem kahani. The love story is the type we've watched a zillion times on the screen before. But what saves the ship from sinking is the fact that the turn of events unfold at a feverish pace and before you realize you've been there, seen that, you're already watching the next link to this story.

So what's the verdict on AAP KAA SURROOR? It's crystal clear. The curiosity to watch HR 'act' will ensure his fans and foes making a beeline for movieplexes at least once. HR is sure to have his share of bouquets and brickbats. Bouquets, because the musical score of AAP KAA SURROOR is tremendous. Besides, he has handled a few emotional moments without trying to ape any actor. He's natural. Brickbats, because the film rests on a thin plot. Plus, the writing gets so filmy that you know exactly what the film is all about, at the start itself.

All said, watch it for Himesh Reshammiya take a giant leap. At least he has the guts to chase his dreams!

AAP KAA SURROOR begins with a dead body of a TV journo, Nadia Merchant, being found in a remote area, somewhere in Germany. Soon after, HR is arrested after a concert for murdering the television journalist. HR is put behind bars and the incidents begin to unravel as the movie goes into a flashback.

While on a concert in Germany, HR meets the event organizer [Darshan Jariwala] and his partner [Mallika Sherawat]. He also meets the event planner [Hansika Motwani] and its love at first sight. Love blossoms. After initial reservations, Hansika's father [Sachin Khedekar] approves of the match.

Things take a turn when HR is arrested. He asks Mallika, also a lawyer, to bail him out. But hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Mallika is in love with HR, but the rockstar loves Hansika. He escapes from his prison cell after taking the murdered TV journalist's father [Raj Babbar] as captive. He has to find the actual murderer in one single day, or else his sweetheart will be married off to someone else.

AAP KAA SURROOR starts off as a love story, but gets into the thriller drive subsequently. A key factor that goes in its favor is that the events unfold at a feverish pace, giving no time to the viewer to think or break into a yawn. Besides, the film bears a stylish and glossy look and the viewer is enamored by the stunning locales of Germany as also the melodious musical score that has been filmed on some striking locations. This one's an eye candy!

But what acts as an eyesore is the screenplay; the way the writers have penned a script of convenience. Take for instance the climax. The villain's confession is telecast 'Live' after a deadly chase, so much so that even the dulhan [Hansika] and her father call off the saat pheras after watching the television that's placed next to the mandap. Even the auto-rickshaw sequence looks so weird. Besides, the writers should've kept the identity of the killer concealed right till the end, like it happens in Abbas-Mustan's movies. That's the hallmark of a thriller!

Prashant Chadha knows the technicalities right. The film bears a stylish look all through, but Prashant should've been a bit more real and believable as far as the scripting is concerned. Latching on to the tried and tested stuff doesn't do justice to the tagline of the film -- 'The Real Luv Story'. HR is in form as a composer and every song is a musical gem. However, 'Mehbooba' deserved a better placement. Cinematography [Manoj Soni] is superb. Dialogues are alright.

As mentioned earlier, HR looks confident all through, although he depicts emotions like anger, anguish and sadness far more effectively towards the post-interval portions. Of course, there's room for improvement, but for someone who's playing a 'hero' for the first time, it's a fine attempt.

Hansika is a powerhouse of talent. Although she's no stranger to movies [having done a few films as a child artiste], she makes her big screen debut with supreme confidence. She's extremely photogenic too. Mallika Sherawat is interesting, although her switchover [from negative to positive] looks abrupt and artificial.

Shravan [introduced in KUCH MEETHA HO JAYE], as HR's friend, excels. Bani is fair. Sachin Khedekar does well. Darshan Jariwala goes over the top at times.

On the whole, AAP KAA SURROOR has tremendous curiosity-value attached to it. And that, in turn, will ensure a fantastic opening for the film. The superb promotion [quality and quantity] has created tremendous excitement for the film, which will result in the box-office singing a glorious tune in the final tally. For its distributors, the fabulous opening will have them singing and laughing all the way to the bank. Critics be damned, this one's for the masses!

The story revolves around a family of 4 members, Aaditya (Father), Aarti (Mother), Ashu (8 year old son), Aditi (Father's Sister) and a maid (Gangubai). The parents of the boy are too involved in their daily lives and hence cannot give much time to the boy who always feels lonely. He would only get to be with the maid.

On one rainy day the boy saves a mouse from drowning and saves his life. He brings the small mouse home and tells the maid about it. She is very happy and tells the boy that he has saved Lord Ganesha's pet ride. The boy not being able to understand Gangubai explains to him the full episode of Lord Ganesha & Mushakraj and also that he is his friend.

Ashu gets sad and tells Gangubai that he is also alone and needs a friend on which she tells him that Ganesha can be his friend. The boy gets excited at this thought. It was a period where the Family was going through crisis & was coinciding with the forthcoming Ganesha Festival.

Gangubai somehow convinces everyone to bring Ganesha home this festival. Ashu is very excited, Ganesha comes in their home and things started turning around in their family. Ganesha becomes Ashu's friend and together with him solves various problems of their family. Together they have a lot of fun these 11 days.

It's an arduous task to make a film with kids. And much more difficult to inject a sport [read, cricket] in the plotline. 2007 has witnessed two films with cricket as the backdrop - HATTRICK and SAY SALAAM INDIA. In CHAIN KULII KI MAIN KULII, two tracks run concurrently -- an orphan's desire to have parents and his passion for cricket.

Made with noble intentions and with the motive of making a film that would appeal to kids from 6 to 60, CHAIN KULII KI MAIN KULII doesn't really measure up to the expectations of either adults or kids. That's because the film appeals in bits and spurts. The sequences on the pitch succeed in arousing the required emotions, but the emotional angle in the story [between Rahul Bose and his estranged father Nasser Abdullah] appears fake. Also, the romance between Rahul and Meera Vasudevan is half-baked. In fact, forced in the narrative.

In a nutshell, CHAIN KULII KI MAIN KULII isn't great cinema. Conversely, it's not a below-the-mark movie-going experience either. It floats somewhere in between.

CHAIN KULII KI MAIN KULII is a journey of a 13-year-old an orphan boy Karan [Zain Khan], who lives in a dilapidated orphanage owned by a stern, uncouth warden, John Kakkad [Rajesh Khera]. Karan has two dreams, one is to have parents and the other is to be a big cricketer. His inspiration is Kapil Dev since he has been brought up on the motivating stories of India's World Cup win by the orphanage caretaker, Bholu Dada [Susheel Parasher].

Karan's best buddy in the orphanage is Daboo [Deeptiman Chaudhary], who often lends his gentle ears to the aspirations which Karan lives on. His dreams take a turn when one day, he lays his hands on an old cricket bat which Karan is convinced is the bat that Kapil Dev used to win the World Cup, and for him the bat becomes a magic bat.

One day, by the stroke of luck, the coach of the Indian cricket team [Vijay Crishna] spots Karan and is highly impressed by his batting skills. This happens at a time when the Indian cricket team is going through a rough patch. Karan is inducted into the team as the opening batsman along with the captain, Varun [Rahul Bose].

Karan soon becomes the nation's heartthrob. Only one person hates him, Raghav [Raj Bhansali], the orphanage bully, who feels that if Karan did not have the magic bat, he would have never made it to the cricket team. Raghav now wants the magic bat at any cost.

At the final one-day match between India and Pakistan, events spiral out of control and Karan's magic bat is destroyed. Karan is a nervous wreck, but Varun makes him realize that faith in oneself counts beyond anything else.

Jay Shewakramani's story has the potential to strike a chord with moviegoers of all ages, but the screenplay [Nupur Asthana] vacillates between convincing and least convincing. In an effort to please the kids as also grown-ups, the film drifts away from the core issue.

Debutante Kituu Salooja's direction is simple and a few moments are deftly executed, especially those in the orphanage. But, as mentioned at the outset, the film works in bits and spurts, not in totality. Salim-Sulaiman's music is plain ordinary. The title track in the end credits is eye-catching. Cinematography [Promod Kumar H. Pradhan] is functional.

Rahul Bose takes a backseat since the focus is on Zain Khan, who's supremely confident all through. Ditto for the other kid, Raj Bhansali. Vijay Crishna is effective. Rajesh Khera's performance is impressive. But his shabby get-up resembles that of a male witch, not an orphanage warden. Meera Vasudevan gets no scope. Deeptiman Chaudhary is cute.

On the whole, CHAIN KULII KI MAIN KULII is an ordinary fare that might attract kids in its opening weekend. But the three tough oppositions next week will marginalize it completely.